United States · United States Congress · 18 February 1981
Dependent Care Amendments Act of 1981 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the rate of the income tax credit for household and dependent care expenses, based upon family income. Makes such credit refundable. Increases the amount of allowable dependent care expenses eligible for the credit. Permits the dependent care credit for the care of dependents over the age of 14 or handicapped dependents outside of the home, if such dependents return to the taxpayer's household each day. Imputes a minimum level of earned income to individuals engaged in business on a substantially full-time basis (35 hours a week) for purposes of insuring eligibility for the household and dependent care credit in cases where the taxpayer has little or no income for the taxable year. Grants tax-exempt status to organizations providing dependent care services to the general public. Allows an employee to claim a dependent care credit for the value of employer-provided dependent care services if the value of such services are included in the gross income of the employee.
United States · United States Congress · 18 February 1981
World War I Veterans Service Pension Act of 1981 - Requires the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs to pay (in addition to any pension already paid) a monthly pension of $150: (1) to each veteran of World War I who meets specified service requirements; (2) to the surviving spouse of each such veteran; or (3) when there is no surviving spouse, to the child or children of each such veteran.
United States · United States Congress · 18 February 1981
Older Americans Alternative Care Act of 1981 - Title I: Medicare Amendments - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to remove the homebound requirement for home health services. Includes periodic chore and respite care services as home health services. Permits home health services to be provided in an adult day care center. Title II: Senior Companions Program - Amends the Domestic Volunteer Service Act to authorize the Director of the ACTION Agency to make grants or contracts under the National Older Americans Volunteer Program to establish senior companion programs. Title III: Income Tax Credit for Maintaining Household for Older Dependents - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to authorize an income tax credit for an individual who maintains as his or her home a household for a dependent over age 65.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1981
Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to provide Federal drug enforcement officials with any information, equipment, facilities, training personnel, or advisors which may be helpful to enforcing Federal laws relating to the use of controlled substances. Permits drug officials to provide training and advice to members of the armed forces on the identification of drug traffickers and any other matter related to controlled substances.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1981
Social Security Payroll Credit Act of 1981 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers, employees, and self-employed individuals a refundable income tax credit equal to ten percent of the amount of social security taxes paid by such individuals in 1981 or 1982.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1981
Authorizes the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs to furnish a memorial headstone or marker to commemorate any veteran whose remains are unavailable because of a donation to science, a burial at sea, or other causes. Directs the Administrator to set aside suitable areas in national cemeteries to honor such veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1981
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the National Institute of Arthritis, Metabolism, and Digestive Diseases, to: (1) conduct a clinical investigation of the safety and efficacy of dimethyl sulfoxide as a drug to be used by persons with arthritis; and (2) report to Congress within one year of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit married individuals filing separate income tax returns an election to be taxed at rates applicable to unmarried individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1981
First Home Financing Act of 1981 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow individual taxpayers an income tax deduction for cash contributions to a savings account established for the exclusive purpose of purchasing the taxpayers' or taxpayers' child's first principal residence. Limits the aggregate amount deductible by a taxpayer to 15 percent of his adjusted gross income. Limits the dollar amount of such deduction to $2,000 per year, with a maximum lifetime deduction of $15,000. Exempts such individual housing account from income taxation. Excludes distributions from such account from the taxpayer's gross income as long as such distributions are used for the purchase of a first principal residence. Prescribes penalties for the use of housing account distributions which are used for purposes other than the purchase of a first principal residence. Directs the trustee of an individual housing account to make reports regarding such account to the Secretary of the Treasury as required. Extends the income tax deduction for contributions to an individual housing account to taxpayers who do not itemize deductions.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1981
Requests the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Secretary of Commerce each to report to Congress on the impact on the U.S. economy of the acquisition of U.S. companies by foreign nationals.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1981
Title I: Export Trading Companies - Export Trading Company Act of 1981 - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to promote export trading companies by providing information and by facilitating contacts between producers of exportable goods and export trading companies. Authorizes any banking organization to invest up to specified amounts in export trading companies upon notifying, but without obtaining the prior approval of, the appropriate Federal banking agency, if such investment does not cause an export trading company to become a subsidiary of such organization. Allows greater investment by Edge Act Corporations not engaged in banking. Permits any banking organization to invest beyond such limitations with prior approval of the appropriate Federal banking agency. Requires prior notification of such agencies in specified circumstances. Sets forth further limitations on export trading companies and investments by banking organizations. Specifies factors to be taken into consideration by the banking agencies. Permits such agencies to impose conditions in approving applications to invest in export trading companies. Requires such agencies to report to the appropriate Congressional committees with their recommendations concerning implementation of this Act, related changes in U.S. law, and effects of ownership of U.S. banks by foreign banking organizations. Provides for judicial review of denial orders in the appropriate U.S. Court of Appeals. Sets forth the grounds for disapproval. Provides for remand for further consideration by the banking agency. Directs the Economic Development Administration and the Small Business Administration to give special weight to export-related benefits when considering applications for loans and guarantees by export trading companies. Authorizes up to $20,000,000 to be appropriated for initial investments and operating expenses for each of the fiscal years 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, and 1985. Directs the Export-Import Bank of the United States to provide loan guarantees to export trading companies or exporters, to be secured by accounts receivable or inventories, when adequate financing is not otherwise available and such guarantees will facilitate expansion of exports. Directs the Board of Directors to try to insure that a major share of such guarantees promotes exports from small, medium-size, and minority businesses or agricultural concerns. Title II: Export Trade Associations - Export Trade Association Act of 1981 - Amends the Webb-Pomerene Act to exempt the trade activities and methods of operation of certified export trade associations and export trading companies from the antitrust laws. Delays the effectiveness of any certificate upon the notification of the Secretary of Commerce by the Attorney General or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) of disagreement with the decision to issue a certificate. Sets forth the procedure to be followed by any association or export trading company seeking certification under this Act and by the Secretary in issuing such certificates. Permits automatic certification for existing associations. Provides for appeal of the Secretary's denial of certification. Authorizes the Attorney General or the FTC to bring an action to invalidate a certification. Requires the Secretary, in consultation with the Attorney General and the FTC, to publish guidelines for determining whether an association or export trading company will meet the certification requirements. Requires certified associations and export trading companies to submit annual reports to the Secretary. Directs the Secretary to establish within the Department of Commerce an Office of Export Trade to promote export trade associations and trading companies. Requires such Office to report annually to the appropriate Congressional committees on all East-West trade transactions requiring validated licenses and on the role of U.S. export trading companies in East-West trade. Grants a temporary exemption from the Sherman Act antitrust provisions for existing associations. Requires that all applications for certification be kept confidential with specified exceptions. Authorizes the Secretary to require an association or trading company to modify its operation to be consistent with international obligations of the United States. Directs the President to appoint, with the Senate's advice and consent, a task force seven years after enactment to examine the effect of this Act and to make recommendations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1981
Amends the Federal Mine Safety and Health Amendments Act of 1977 to provide that provisions of such Act shall not apply to: (1) any surface sand or gravel, stone, or clay mine; or (2) any surface structure or road, if constructed by employees not engaged in mining.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1981
Amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require automatic sprinkler systems in all skilled nursing facilities and intermediate care facilities certified for participation in the Medicare or Medicaid programs unless a waiver is granted. Establishes a program of low-interest Federal loans to assist such facilities in constructing or purchasing and installing automatic sprinkler systems.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1981
Amends the Flammable Fabrics Act to direct the Consumer Product Safety Commission to require any article of interior furnishing to be made fire-resistant to the extent necessary to adequately protect the public against unreasonable risk of fire leading to death, injury, or significant property damage. Makes the manufacture, sale, or delivery into commerce of any article of interior furnishing which has not been processed in accordance with such requirements and which may reasonably be expected to be used in places of assembly other than homes a prohibited transaction.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1981
Small Business Tax Relief Act of 1981 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to limit recognition on the gain from the sale or exchange of an unincorporated trade or business prior to the time that the taxpayer attains age 55 by providing that such gain shall be recognized only to the extent that it exceeds the cost of reinvesting in replacement property for another small business venture. Provides for the taxation of such gain, after age 55, as ordinary income according to the ten year averaging rules applicable to lump sum distributions from employee benefit plans. Increases the additional first year depreciation allowance for small businesses. Permits a taxpayer election to amortize over a 36 month period expenses for depreciable property which is acquired to put a small business in compliance with Federal regulations and which does not have any economic usefulness for the business. Exempts domestic international sales corporations (DISC) which have an adjusted taxable income of $1,000,000 or less from the limitations on deferral of base period export gross receipts which are applicable to larger corporations. Permits businesses with gross receipts of less than $1,000,000 to elect the cash method of accounting in reporting income. Allows a credit or refund to employers of their proportionate share of excess social security taxes paid on behalf of employees who were employed by two or more employers during the taxable year. Permits an income tax credit of $5 for each form or document which a small business is required to file pursuant to Federal law.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1981
Presidential Nomination Commission Resolution - Establishes the Commission of Presidential Nominations to make an investigation regarding the presidential nominating process. Directs the Commission to report to the President and Congress respecting such investigation including recommendations for the 1984 presidential elections. Terminates the commission 60 days after submission of such report. Sets forth the powers of such Commission, and related administrative provisions. Authorizes necessary appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1981
Expresses the sense of Congress that, in accordance with specified international agreements, the Soviet Union should provide proper medical care for Viktor Brailovsky and permit him to emigrate to Israel with his family. Urges the President to: (1) continue to express U.S. opposition to the imprisonment and treatment of Brailovsky; and (2) inform the Soviet Union that the United States, in evaluating its relations with other countries, will consider the extent to which those countries honor their commitments to human rights under international law.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a nonrefundable income tax credit of 25 percent of the qualified research and experimental expenditures paid or incurred by a taxpayer in carrying on a trade or business. Defines "qualified research and experimental expenditures" as those business-related expenditures which are deductible under current provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. Limits the scope of such expenditures, for both the tax credit and tax deduction, to technological research designed to develop or improve products or services. Excludes expenditures for research or experimentation in the social sciences or humanities, government-funded research, and certain applied research. Limits the amount of expenditures eligible for the credit to those which exceed the annual average of such expenditures for the immediately preceding three years. Requires taxpayers under common control to aggregate such expenditures for purposes of computing the credit. Sets forth rules for adjusting such expenditure amounts when there is a change in business ownership. Provides for a three-year carryback and seven-year carryover of unused credits.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1981
Urges the United States Postal Service to issue a commemorative postage stamp to honor the sixty-six Americans who were taken hostage in Iran, the six Americans who escaped with the assistance of the Canadian Government, and the eight American servicemen who died in the attempt to rescue the hostages.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1981
Amends the Powerplant and Industrial Fuel Use Act of 1978 to permit local distribution companies to provide natural gas service to residential customers for use in outdoor lighting fixtures installed and receiving natural gas before the enactment of such Act. Requires each local distribution company, in accordance with rules established by the Secretary of Energy, to: (1) periodically inform its customers of the amount of natural gas consumed by outdoor lighting; and (2) report such information method to the Secretary.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1981
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the leaders of the United States, Mexico, and Canada should meet to discuss North American economic development, trading relationships, specific problems, and cooperation and reciprocal negotiations in the joint development of solutions to these problems.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1981
Amends the Powerplant and Industrial Fuel Use Act of 1978 to limit, to 12 1/2 percent of the value of the coal produced yearly, the amount of all State and local severance taxes or fees on coal shipped in interstate commerce to any powerplant or major installation.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1981
Directs the Postal Service to submit to Congress (rather than to the Postal Rate Commission) any proposed change in the nature of postal service which would have nationwide impact. Requires any statement of proposed change so submitted to include an estimate of the impact of such change upon the public, business mail users, service levels and postal finances. Provides that no proposed change shall become effective if either House of Congress adopts a resolution disapproving it within 60 days after it is submitted to Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that the maximum reduction (currently $500,000) in valuation under the special estate tax valuation for certain farm and small business real property shall be increased annually between 1981 and 1985 by $100,000 each year plus an inflation adjustment amount.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the unified credit against the estate and gift tax from $47,000 to $155,800 by specified annual increments through 1985. Provides for a yearly inflation adjustment of the amount of such credit.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1981
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to increase the amount of outside earnings permitted each year without any deduction from OASDI benefits by an amount equal to the total of all State and local real property taxes which an individual pays during a taxable year.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the business expense deduction to any trade or business conducted in the home of the taxpayer. Eliminates the restrictions on the deductibility of expenses relating to the rental of a residence to a family member. Permits a taxpayer to make repairs on rental properties on a full-time basis without being treated as using such properties for personal purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1981
Savings and Retirement Income Incentive Act of 1981 - Amends the Crude Oil Windfall Profit Tax Act of 1980 to make permanent the income tax exclusion for dividend and interest income. Increases such tax exclusion for persons over age 65 to $500 ($1,000 for joint returns). Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase to $2,000 the amount of the income tax deduction for contributions to individual retirement accounts. Eliminates the prohibition against certain pension plan participants (e.g. government and military personnel) from making deductible contributions to individual retirement accounts. Increases the amount of nondeductible contributions which an individual may make to an individual retirement account in a taxable year and over such individual's lifetime. Permits contributors to an individual retirement account to withdraw from such an account up to $10,000, without tax penalty, in order to purchase a first home or finance the higher education of a dependent child. Allows an income tax deduction for voluntary employee contributions to tax-qualified employer pension and annuity plans.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1981
Capital Cost Recovery Act of 1981 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise the method for determining useful lives of business assets for purposes of computing allowable depreciation deductions. Replaces the asset depreciation range (ADR) method with a schedule of capital cost recovery periods for three classes of business property. Establishes capital cost recovery periods for the following classes of business property: (1) buildings and their structural components, ten years; (2) tangible property, five years; and (3) automobiles, taxis, and light-duty trucks (up to $100,000), three years. Permits calculation of the investment tax credit for such property without regard to the useful life of the property. Requires the recapture of depreciation amounts and investment tax credit amounts applicable to assets which are sold or otherwise disposed of prior to the expiration of the capital cost recovery period. Permits a taxpayer to deduct less than the full allowance for capital cost recovery in any taxable year. Permits a carryover to succeeding taxable years of any unused depreciation amounts. Disqualifies capital cost recovery property from the allowance for first year depreciation. Treats amounts claimed as the capital cost recovery of noncorporate lessors as an item of tax preference for purposes of the minimum tax. Adopts as an accounting practice the "half year convention" under which investments eligible for capital cost recovery treatment or the investment tax credit which are made at any time during the taxable year are deemed to be made in the middle of such year.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1981
Biennial Budgeting Act of 1981 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to establish a two-year cycle for the congressional budget process. Requires each standing committee of Congress to review the laws and programs under its jurisdiction every other year and to consider the desirability of new legislation in such areas. Requires separate consideration for authorizing legislation, budget resolutions, and appropriation bills.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1981
Constitutional Amendment - Requires a two-thirds vote of both Houses of Congress to pass any concurrent resolution on the budget which carries a deficit.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1981
Establishes a Joint Select Committee on Defense Readiness and Mobilization Capability to investigate and report on defense readiness and mobilization capability, including an analysis of: (1) the kind and extent of threats to the national defense; and (2) the quality and quantity of manpower, material, transportation, budgetary, and programmatic resources needed at present and able to be mobilized in the future. Sets forth the requirements for appointment to the joint select committee.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 1981
Title I: Limitation on Authorizations - Makes authorization of appropriations under this title effective on October 1, 1981. Limits contractual obligations under this Act to the authority provided in advance in appropriation Acts. Title II: Amendments to the National Trails System Act - National Trails System Act Amendments of 1980 - Amends the National Trails System Act to state as an additional purpose of such Act the encouragement of volunteer citizen involvement in the development and management of national trails. Provides that national scenic trails may be located so as to represent various natural areas which exhibit significant characteristics of the physiographic regions of the United States. Defines the term "extended trails" for purposes of this Act. Permits national recreation trails to be designated on private land if the owners consent. Designates the following as national trails: (1) the Santa Fe National Historic Trail; (2) the Chisolm, Shawnee, and Western National Historic Trails, Texas and Kansas; (3) the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail; (4) the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail, Tennessee and Mississippi; and (5) the Florida National Scenic Trail, Florida. Requires the feasibility of designating a trail to be based on an evaluation of the physical possibility and financial feasibility of developing a trail along a route being studied. Requires the appropriate Secretary to inform specified congressional committees if a proposed route is not feasible for designation as a national trail. Permits the Secretary to terminate further study by notice in the Federal Register unless one committee adopts a resolution of disapproval within 30 days of being informed. Designates the following routes for consideration as national scenic trails: (1) the Juan Bautista de Anza Trail, California; (2) the Trail of Tears, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, and Illinois; (3) the Illinois Trail, Illinois; (4) the Jedediah Smith Trail, Wyoming, California, Utah, and Washington; (5) the General Crook Trail, Arizona; and (6) the Beale Wagon Road, Arizona. Requires the appropriate Secretary to notify the appropriate congressional committees if a trail advisory council cannot be established because of lack of public interest. Redefines the Federal members of trail advisory councils. Requires additional information in the comprehensive management plans for national historic trails. Removes the requirement that connecting or side trails provide additional points of access. Permits the location of such trails on private lands if the owners consent. Requires the appropriate Secretary to consult with all affected State and Federal agencies in the management of a trail. Allows management transfer of any specified trail segment. Authorizes the Secretary to provide for trail interpretation at historic sites. Authorizes the acquisition, if the owner consents, of an entire tract of land when such tract lies partly outside and partly within a right-of-way. Permits lands acquired outside the right-of-way to be exchanged for non-Federal lands within the right-of-way or to be disposed of under existing sales authorities. Provides that cooperative agreements to develop and maintain national trails may include financial assistance provisions, or volunteer status provisions, or both. Requires Federal consultation with State and local governments to encourage the development of laws to regulate land practices and to protect private landowners from trespass, unnecessary personal liability, and property damage caused by trail use. Specifies some activities and vehicle types allowed on designated components of the national trails system. Requires certain Federal officials to encourage the establishment of national trails using the provisions of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976. Provides that the interim use of a railroad right-of-way for trail use shall not constitute an abandonment of the use of the right-of-way for railroad purposes. Authorizes the expenditure of land acquisition funds to provide for one trail interpretation site in each State crossed by the trail. Authorizes appropriations for fiscal year 1982 for the national trails designated in this Act. Limits the funds available for land acquisition for the Natchez Trace Trail and for development of the Natchez Trace Trail system. Authorizes the establishment of a volunteer action trails demonstration program administered by the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture. Authorizes each Secretary to make grants to volunteer trail groups involved in the maintenance or development of national trails or trails which could qualify as national trails. Specifies the permissible uses for such grant money. Sets forth application requirements for volunteer trail groups. Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years 1982 and 1983 to carry out this program. Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to prohibit the imposition of Federal entrance fees at national recreation areas, units of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, or units of the National Trails System. Prohibits the continued imposition of Federal entrance fees at national parks where the collection costs exceeded the receipts in calendar year 1979. Permits the Secretary of the Interior to continue an entrance fee at a national park unit, upon notice to specified congressional committees, if the Secretary determines before April 1, 1981, that the fee is necessary to protect park resources.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 1981
National Health Care Reform Act of 1981 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish actuarial categories, including an aged and disabled actuarial category, of individuals eligible for Federal financial assistance toward the purchase of membership in a health care plan qualified under this Act (health care contributions). Sets forth the factors to be considered in establishing such categories. Requires the Secretary to delineate the United States into health care areas according to specified criteria. Title I: Health Care Contributions - Makes every individual who is a resident citizen of the United States or a lawful resident alien eligible for a health care contribution. Stipulates that dependents of eligible individuals are not eligible for health care contributions unless they are aged or disabled. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax exclusion of contributions paid by an eligible individual's employer toward the premium of such plan. Sets forth the conditions for such exclusion. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a taxpayer a tax credit for the premium paid by such taxpayer during the taxable year for membership in such plan. Limits the tax credit to individuals eligible for such contribution. Specifies the maximum allowable credit for a taxable year. Sets forth additional limitations on such credit. Directs the Secretary to make a contribution to eligible disabled or elderly individuals who elect to receive such contribution in lieu of benefits under Title XVIII of the Social Security Act (Medicare). Requires the Secretary to publish in the Federal Register the amount of contributions for such individuals in each health care area. Sets forth the method for computing such contributions. Entitles an eligible individual whose family income is below specified guidelines to receive for the year in which a plan is effective (plan year) a direct health care contribution. Limits contributions to one eligible individual per family. Sets forth the conditions for receipt of such contribution. Entitles an eligible aged or disabled individual to such a contribution only if he or she has: (1) elected to receive such a contribution in lieu of Medicare benefits; and (2) waived any right for the aged or disabled for the plan year. Provides for the periodic transfer of funds from the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund established under the Social Security Act to make payments for such contributions to aged or disabled individuals. Directs the Secretary to publish in the Federal Register the amount of contributions for the financially needy made for each health care area. Allows the Secretary to enter into a contract with any State under which the State will determine the eligibility for and the amount of a contribution for financially needy residents. Directs the Secretary to issue a health care voucher to eligible individuals in the amount of the contribution. Specifies the contents of such voucher and its date of issuance. Requires a plan to accept a voucher issued to an eligible individual as full or partial payment of the plan's annual premium. Requires the Secretary to make payments to a plan presenting such vouchers. Sets forth the terms for such payments. Prohibits the Secretary from withholding any portion of the health care payments to which a plan is entitled to offset any amount owed to the United States by the plan, an eligible individual, or any other person. Prohibits the Secretary from denying payment of an invalid voucher unless a plan has actual knowledge of such invalidity at the time of acceptance. Prohibits the assignment or attachment of a health care voucher. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude such health care voucher payments from gross income. Title II: Qualified Plans - Allows a plan to apply to the Secretary for certification as a qualified plan in one or more health care areas. Requires the Secretary to act upon such application (otherwise such application shall be deemed approved) within 30 days. Sets forth the factors to be considered in acting upon such application. Directs the Secretary to provide a plan with a written explanation and a hearing in the event of disapproval. Provides for the continued qualification of an approved plan until it is disqualified under this Act. Prohibits the Secretary from changing regulations for a plan year later than April 1 of the previous year unless all affected plans agree. Requires a plan to provide its members with basic health care services including: (1) medical, surgical, and obstetrical care; (2) inpatient, outpatient, and other institutional health services, plus home health or institutional services for aged or disabled individuals; (3) preventive health services; (4) prescription drugs; (5) blood; (6) emergency transportation; (7) medical equipment, including therapeutic devices and prosthetic applications; and (8) out-of-area coverage. Specifies exclusions from such required services. Requires a plan to provide a written membership agreement which sets forth the rights and obligations of the plan and its members. States that the term of each membership agreement shall be a plan year. Limits membership to eligible residents of the health care area in which a plan is located. Requires a plan to: (1) have an open membership enrollment, with specified exceptions including the number of medically high-risk individuals; (2) provide an individual with a written explanation if membership is denied; and (3) enroll a member's spouse or dependents as associate members, including the automatic enrollment of a new spouse or dependent. Requires each plan to establish an annual premium for each actuarial category. Sets a maximum individual cost per plan year for basic health services. Requires the Secretary to publish such maximum cost in the Federal Register. Allows group premium reductions. Requires a plan to permit: (1) monthly premium payments; and (2) premium transfers between qualifying plans. Entitles an aged or disabled individual who tenders a health care voucher which is greater than the premium to a refund or credit. Requires a plan to: (1) report annually to the Secretary with enrollment information; (2) submit to the Secretary any proposed coverage changes; and (3) provide financial information and make payments to the Health Benefits Assurance Corporation established under this Act. Requires a plan to file with the Secretary a brochure for a plan year describing: (1) the health care services to be provided; (2) the method by which such services will be provided; (3) the location of health care facilities; (4) the maximum amount of expenditures required of a member; (5) the health care area or areas in which the plan will be offered; (6) the premium charged for each actuarial category; and (7) the installments in which such premium may be paid. Directs the Secretary and the plan to make such brochures available to the public. Allows advertising of the health care plan. Directs the Secretary to bar the distribution of a misleading and inaccurate brochure or advertisement. Allows: (1) members of a plan to refuse services by a person designated by the plan to provide such service; and (2) health care personnel to refuse for moral reasons to provide certain services. Requires arbitration of specified grievances between an individual and a plan. Sets forth limitations on the authorities of the Secretary, the qualified plan, the plan's sponsor, and the deliverer of health care services. Requires the Secretary to disqualify a plan if any proposed changes will prevent such plan from providing basic health care services or will require excessive out-of-pocket expenditures. Allows the Secretary to: (1) disqualify a plan if the plan's sponsor has violated the antitrust provisions established by this Act; and (2) rescind such disqualification if the plan meets certain criteria. Prohibits treatment of a plan as a qualified plan after the U.S. Health Court appoints a receiver. Requires the Secretary to provide information about qualified plans and to help process applications for health care vouchers. Allows an eligible individual to authorize any person to act as his or her agent. Permits only a chartered health care contribution agent to serve as an authorized agent for more than 25 persons. Directs the Secretary to designate as chartered health care contribution agents persons who meet specified qualifications of honesty and expertise. Prohibits State payments under title III (Unemployment Compensation) and title IV (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) of the Social Security Act to any eligible person who is not a member of a qualified plan. Requires membership in a plan in order to qualify for supplemental security income and food stamp benefits. Exempts specified persons from such membership requirements. Grants standing to a plan to assert the rights of its members. Deems members to have assigned their rights to a claim in specified circumstances. Repeals the provisions of Federal law relating to Federal employee health insurance. Requires the Federal Government to contribute to the premium of a health plan on behalf of Federal employees. Authorizes the Secretary to guarantee an insurance policy of a qualified plan where similar insurance is not available at commercially reasonable rates. Establishes the Health Benefits Assurance Corporation to periodically review health plan applications for financial certification. Exempts the Corporation from all Federal, State, and local taxes. Sets forth the powers of the Corporation. Requires the Corporation to establish a protective fund to assure the provision of services by plans financially unable to meet their obligations. Establishes a revolving fund in the U.S. Treasury for the Corporation to use to carry out its duties. Authorizes the Corporation to issue debt obligations. Requires a plan to repay the Corporation if any amount of the protective fund is used to fulfill the obligations of such plan. Authorizes the Secretary to reimburse a plan for services furnished to a nonmember. Sets forth arbitration procedures. Provides for judicial review of any agency action by the Health Court. Establishes the Health Court. Sets forth the organization of such Court. Grants such Court exclusive jurisdiction over all civil actions brought to enforce this Act and all civil claims and disputes arising under this Act and under agreements by or with qualified plans. Directs the Court to appoint a receiver for a plan if the Court determines there is a strong possibility the plan will not be able to fulfill its obligations to its members. Prohibits the commencement, or requires the suspension, of any Federal or State bankruptcy or reorganization proceeding during any period for which a receiver has been appointed. Establishes a Health Court of Appeals with jurisdiction over appeals brought from the Health Court. Allows the Supreme Court to review cases in the Health Court of Appeals by writ of certiorari. Sets forth criminal penalties for violations of this Act or specified sections of the Internal Revenue Code. Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions - Authorizes the Secretary to make grants and contracts to compensate public or private nonprofit charitable organizations for providing graduate medical education and training for health care professionals. Preempts specified State and local laws, including those which would prevent or impede the health care delivery system reforms of this Act. Revises the medical expense deduction provisions of the Internal Revenue Code to exclude the separate deduction for medical insurance and to prohibit any deduction for premiums paid to qualified health care plans. Sets forth the method of determining the adjustment amount which States that have elected to accept health care contributions instead of Medicaid assistance owe the Federal government or which the Federal government owes such States. Repeals provisions of the Social Security Act concerning professional standards review, uniform reporting, capital expenditure limitations, hospital utilization and bylaws, and customary charges. Revises the reasonable cost definition of the Medicare provisions to be costs actually incurred. Repeals specified provisions of the Public Health Services Act concerning health maintenance organizations, health planning, and health resources development. Negates the duty of an institution to provide free care and to fulfill community service obligations if 50 percent or more of the patient days of such institution were accounted for by members of qualified plans. Title IV: Effective Dates and Nonseverability - Establishes the effective date of this Act. Prohibits the Secretary from making a direct health care contribution to an individual who has not made a timely election to receive the health care contribution instead of Medicare benefits. Repeals the Medicare provisions after more than 50 percent of the eligible persons elect health care contributions. Requires a State to notify the Secretary by a certain date of its irrevocable election to accept health care contributions instead of Medicaid benefits. Deems such a State to have agreed to make any necessary adjustment payments. Deems the Act invalid, except the repeals and amendments of the Social Security and the Public Health Service Acts, if any portion of this Act is found to be invalid.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 1981
Expresses the sense of the Congress that each department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States that utilizes the Draize rabbit eye irritancy test should develop and validate alternative testing procedures that do not require the use of animal test subjects.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 1981
Constitutional Amendment - Directs Congress to assure that the total outlays of the Government during any fiscal year (except for repayment of debt) do not exceed 33 1/3 percent of the average national income for the three prior calendar years. Authorizes the suspension of such measure in the case of national emergency or war. Requires approval of all expenditures in excess of such percentage, during a period of national emergency or war, by a concurrent resolution agreed to by three-fourths of all the Members of each House of Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 1981
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to allow preference visas to be given to an alien who: (1) requests such treatment; (2) was born after 1950 in Korea, Vietnam, Laos, or Thailand; (3) was fathered by an American serviceman; and (4) provides a guarantee of financial support. Stipulates that such guarantee must: (1) be signed by a citizen or lawful permanent resident who is at least 21 years old; and (2) provide that such signing sponsor will provide necessary financial support for five years. Allows the Attorney General to enforce such guarantee against the sponsor in a civil suit unless such sponsor dies or is adjudicated bankrupt.
![Official portrait of Rep. Porter, John Edward [R-IL-10]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/p000444_200.jpg)