United States · United States Congress · 12 November 1981
Condemns the treatment of Yuli Kosharovsky and his family by the Soviet Union. Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the President should express U.S. opposition to the refusal of the Soviet Union to permit Kosharovsky and his family to emigrate to Israel; (2) the Soviet Union should comply with international agreements and with its constitution by permitting the Kosharovsky's to emigrate; and (3) the Soviet Union should end its persecution of persons seeking to emigrate and its denial of basic religious, civil, and human rights to Jews.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1981
National Petroleum Supply Evaluation Act of 1981 - Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to direct the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with others, to investigate the impacts of acquisitions of domestic petroleum companies by major international concerns and to report to Congress concerning such investigation by May 1, 1982. Requires the investigation to evaluate the effect of such acquisition on the exploration, development, production, refining, transportation, distribution, and marketing of domestic petroleum supplies. Prohibits any major international energy concern from acquiring more than five percent of any domestic petroleum company between October 1, 1981, and June 30, 1982.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1981
Expresses the sense of Congress that any presidential request for peacetime emergency powers to promote a national immigration policy is a most dangerous and unwise precedent.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1981
Expresses the sense of the Congress that regulations pertaining to nutritional requirements for meals under the National School Lunch Act be consistent with the goal of such Act to provide one-third of the recommended dietary allowance of nutrients in the school lunch program.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to specify that interest on certain industrial development bonds may be excluded from gross income if such bonds are used for the local furnishing of gas (previously just electric) energy.
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 1981
Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of the Congress, a specially struck gold medal to the widow of Roy Wilkins. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to coin and sell bronze duplicates of such medal. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow handicapped individuals a nonrefundable income tax credit for 20 percent of their commuting expenses for a taxable year. Limits the amount of commuting expenses which may be taken into account for the credit to $5,000. Reduces the amount of commuting expenses eligible for the credit by one-half of the amount by which the taxpayer's adjusted gross income exceeds $20,000. Defines a "handicapped individual" as an individual who is blind or has a medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to last continuously for at least 12 months and which prevents the individual from using public transportation. Defines "commuting expenses" as expenses for the transportation of a handicapped individual between his residence and his principal place of employment.
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 1981
Minority Cancer Control and Prevention Act of 1981 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize a program of cancer detection and treatment among minorities. Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years 1983 through 1985. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out specified cancer demonstration projects during fiscal year 1983. Includes some of these projects under Medicaid coverage. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress within one year. Directs the Secretary to recruit minority health and medical students for training to provide cancer treatment among minorities.
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 1981
Commitment to the Clean Air Act resolution of the Ninety-seventh Congress - Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) clean air is fundamentally important for the health and well-being of the citizens, economy, and environment of the United States; and (2) the existing Clean Air Act should be maintained and strengthened subject only to changes that will improve its administration and effectiveness.
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 1981
Gives the endorsement of Congress to the principles relating to family planning set forth in a resolution adopted by the World Conference of the United Nations Decade for Women. Urges the President to take steps to implement those principles in the United States and in other countries.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1981
Directs the Attorney General to conduct a study of the appropriate role of the Federal Government in the enforcement of alimony, child support, and property settlement orders against an absent spouse or parent. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1981
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code which provide incentives for energy conservation and development of renewable energy sources should not be repealed or amended to reduce such incentives.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1981
National Commission on Down Syndrome Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Director of the National Institutes of Health, the President's Committee on Mental Retardation, and other concerned organizations, to establish a National Commission on Down Syndrome to formulate a long-range plan for the study, prevention, and treatment of Down Syndrome. Requires a final report to the President and the Congress within 12 months after the Commission is organized. Requires the Secretary to submit a related budget analysis to specified congressional committees. Terminates the Commission three months after submission of the final report. Authorizes specified appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1981
Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of the Congress, a gold medal to Fred Waring, Louis L'Amour, and the widow of Joe Louis. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates of each medal. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1981
Hunger Prevention and African Food Security Act - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require the President to use at least half of the funds available for development assistance to provide assistance for persons living in absolute poverty as defined by specified standards. Requires special emphasis to be placed on alleviating hunger in Sub-Saharan Africa and particularly on facilitating the participation of women in food production in that region. Amends the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 to specify a minimum aggregate value of all famine relief agreements. Requires famine relief agreements to provide that at least one-fifth of the commodities made available for famine relief or funds generated from the sale of those commodities in participating countries shall be used to strengthen food distribution systems in famine-prone countries, especially those in Sub-Saharan Africa. Requires each such agreement to specify the measures taken to ensure that such commodities and funds benefit primarily the poor.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1981
Directs the President to suspend U.S. assistance to, prohibit U.S. exports to and imports from, any country which produces and exports opium or any of its illicit derivatives. Exempts exports of food or medicine from such prohibitions. Exempts from such prohibitions countries that export opium or its derivatives solely for pharmaceutical purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1981
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that Congress should not provide military and economic assistance for nations that have not taken adequate steps to eliminate opium cultivation and exportation.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1981
Expresses the sense of Congress that the schedule of cost of living benefit increases as currently in effect under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act should be maintained.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 1981
Amends the Controlled Substances Act to establish in the Department of Health and Human Services the Office for the Supply of Internationally Controlled Drugs, to be responsible for regulating the domestic production of marihuana and the distribution of marihuana for medical, scientific, and research purposes. Establishes procedures for the production of medicinal marihuana. Permits the distribution of medicinal marihuana only to hospitals and pharmacies registered to dispense schedule II controlled substances for the purposes of treating glaucoma or the nausea of cancer patients or research approved under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 1981
Title I: Amendments to Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 - Justice Assistance Act of 1981 - Amends title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (Justice System Improvement) to eliminate the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration and the Office of Justice Assistance, Research and Statistics. Retains the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Institute of Justice. Establishes a new Office of Justice Assistance. Revises the formula grant program to make the following changes. Eliminates the authority for local governments to receive formula grants. Decreases from 23 to 15 the purposes for which formula grants may be made. Requires States to provide a 50 percent match to receive Federal funding, or 25 percent match for innovative programs addressing critical problems of crime. Requires grant recipients to assume program costs after a four-year period. Revises the application requirements for a State to receive formula grant assistance. Requires States to include assurances that not more than ten percent of assistance will be spent on innovative programs addressing critical crime problems or five percent of assistance on administrative costs. Requires submission of the formula grant application for approval to the State legislature which shall act on the application as it would for State budget requests. Retains the current requirement that 80 percent of total funding be allocated for formula grants. Requires a State to distribute formula grants among local governments in the same proportion that such governments expend State funds for law enforcement purposes. Eliminates the national priority grant program. Retains the discretionary grant program. Revises the general purposes for which such grants may be made. Requires that private nonprofit organizations be the primary recipients of such grants for providing educational, training, and technical assistance and undertaking national projects. Revises the training and manpower development program to eliminate the training programs for prosecuting attorneys and State and local criminal justice personnel by the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration. Retains the Federal Bureau of Investigation training of State and local criminal justice personnel and the criminal justice education program. Permits "construction" under such Act to include renovation, repairs, or remodeling. Decreases from $750,000,000 to $170,000,000 the amount authorized to be appropriated for each of FY 1980 through 1983. Authorizes additional appropriations as are necessary to provide emergency law enforcement assistance to States. Eliminates the current authorization of appropriations for the Office of Community Anti-Crime Programs and the requirement that at least 19.15 percent of total appropriations be maintained for juvenile delinquency programs. Title II: Emergency Federal Law Enforcement Assistance - Authorizes a State or local government to apply for emergency Federal law enforcement assistance in the event that a crime problem of serious and epidemic proportions exits. Requires the Attorney General, in approving or disapproving such application, to consider: (1) the nature and extent of the crime problem; (2) the emergency or extraordinary circumstances; (3) the availability of State and local resources; (4) the cost of increased Federal presence; and (5) the need to avoid unnecessary Federal involvement in local concerns. Authorizes appropriations for such purpose.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 1981
Condemns South Africa for invading Angola. Disapproves the U.S. veto of a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning South Africa for that invasion.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 1981
Repeals provisions in the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 regarding the windfall profit tax which: (1) increase the credit for royalty owners for 1981 and exempt royalty oil for 1982 and thereafter; (2) reduce the tax imposed on newly discovered oil; and (3) exempt independent producer stripper well oil.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise requirements for the tax exclusion of interest on small issues of industrial development bonds (IDBs). Requires the Governor of a State to report to the Secretary of the Treasury in 1983 and 1984 on bonds issued during the preceding years. Requires IDB issuing authorities to conduct public hearings prior to the approval and issuance of any small issue IDB. Requires such authorities to certify that: (1) the issue will not create an unjustified competitive disadvantage to existing businesses; (2) the issue will stimulate the local economy; (3) the issue will result in jobs; and (4) the project would not be undertaken without IDB financing. Requires that issues provide commercial property in economically distressed areas. Permits projects in adjacent areas under certain circumstances. Disallows tax- exempt status to obligations if the proceeds facilitate the relocation of activities from one State to another. Prohibits the use of bond proceeds to purchase farmland. Requires the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees on the use of small issue IDBs.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of individual taxpayers interest on reparation payments made to such taxpayers for persecution under the German National Socialist regime.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1981
Air Traffic Controller Act of 1981 - Redefines the terms "air traffic controller" and "controller," for purposes of civil service provisions, to mean air traffic control specialists of the GS-2152 series, excluding management officials. Establishes a workweek of four consecutive eight-hour days for controllers. Directs the Office of Personnel Management to issue regulations providing that: (1) a controller shall be eligible for full retirement after 20 years of service as a controller actively engaged in the control of air traffic; (2) payment of the controller's retirement annuity shall commence within 30 days after the retirement date; and (3) the controller shall qualify for vested rights in the retirement program after five years of service. Declares that controllers shall accrue one day of sick leave for each biweekly pay period. Grants the controllers' exclusive representative the right to bargain collectively with their employer concerning wages, hours, and other conditions of employment. Establishes a salary classification system for controllers. Provides for differential payments for hours worked during a night shift, weekend, or an assignment as an on-the-job instructor. Exempts the salary of an air traffic controller from provisions limiting the pay of Federal employees.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1981
Full Recognition of Angola Resolution - Calls upon the President to recognize the present Government of Angola and to establish full diplomatic relations with Angola.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1981
Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1981 - Amends the Small Business Act to direct the Small Business Administration (SBA) to: (1) maintain an information program to provide small businesses an opportunity to participate in Federal small business innovation research (SBIR) programs; (2) coordinate a schedule for release of SBIR solicitations and prepare a master release schedule; (3) monitor SBIR programs within Federal agencies; and (4) report annually to the congressional Small Business Committees on the SBIR programs. Requires each Federal agency with a research and development budget of at least $100,000,000 in FY 1982 or any subsequent fiscal year to spend a specified percentage of its budget in connection with an SBIR program. Requires each Federal agency with a research and development budget of at least $20,000,000 in FY 1982 or any subsequent fiscal year to establish specific goals for funding research and development agreements with small businesses. Directs each Federal agency to report annually to the SBA the number of awards over $10,000 made under the SBIR program and to concerns other than small business concerns. Directs the Administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, in conjunction with the SBA, to promulgate regulations for the conduct of the SBIR programs. States that this Act does not authorize the appropriation of funds.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 1981
Low-Income Fuel and Weatherization Supplementary Assistance Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to States to assist households with incomes below a specified level to meet home energy costs. Authorizes to be appropriated for fiscal years 1982 through 1986 to carry out such program 100 percent of all funds received by the Federal Government from collections and settlements for fuel overcharges, less all identifiable legitimate claims for such overcharges. Grants to the Governor of a State the discretion to allocate such grants as needed. Allocates funds for States, U.S. territories and possessions, and Indian tribes. Requires that a reasonable amount of such funds be reserved by each State for energy crisis intervention. Requires a State to submit to the Secretary an application for each fiscal year. Conditions allotments, after the first fiscal year in which a State receives funds, on the holding of public hearings in such State on the use and distribution of such funds. Requires that an applicant State agree to: (1) use such funds in accordance with this Act; (2) describe the households eligible for home energy assistance and give priority to certain households; (3) conduct outreach activities to inform people of the availability of such assistance; (4) coordinate activities with similar State and Federal programs; (5) describe the amount of assistance to be provided to participating households; (6) give special consideration in designating local administrative agencies to local public or private nonprofit agencies receiving funds under any other low-income energy assistance or weatherization program; (7) establish notification procedures in connection with direct payments by the State to home energy suppliers; (8) treat owners and renters equitably under the program under this Act; (9) use a maximum of ten percent of the State allotment for administrative expenses; (10) provide for fiscal control and fund accounting procedures and prepare an annual audit of expenditures under such program; and (11) cooperate with any Federal investigations pursuant to this Act. Requires the State to repay to the United States any amounts not expended under this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to offset such amounts against future grants to such State. Prohibits exclusion from participation in, or denial of benefits from, any program or activity funded under this Act on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or handicap. Directs the Secretary to withhold funds from any State which does not use its allotment in accordance with this Act. Prohibits the Secretary from withholding funds from a State for a minor failure to comply with this Act. Requires the Secretary to conduct investigations in States to evaluate and insure compliance with this Act. Prohibits the use of grants under this Act for the purchase or improvement of land or for the purchase, construction, or permanent improvement of any building or facility, except under specified circumstances.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 1981
Directs the United States Postal Service to provide and sell a postage stamp issue to honor American servicemen and women who have been prisoners of war or missing in action as a result of their service during military conflict. Provides that such postage stamp shall be of such denomination and shall be sold for such a time as the United States Postal Service shall determine.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 1981
Expresses the sense of the House that the President should: (1) implement a U.S. nuclear nonproliferation strategy which strengthens the barriers to the spread of nuclear weapons and prescribes methods for achieving restraint by all nuclear suppliers; (2) encourage nations to ratify the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and strengthen the safeguards operations of the International Atomic Energy Agency, (IAEA); (3) work with other nuclear suppliers and with the IAEA to develop credible sanctions against nations which divert nuclear materials, technologies, or equipment to other than peaceful uses; and (4) implement the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act of 1978.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1981
Amends the National School Lunch Act to require schools participating in the school lunch program to provide a nutritionally superior lunch to its students. Lists the food in such lunches and bans the sale of sweets on school premises. Provides that such schools should establish a nutrition council to oversee, and recommend ways to improve, such program.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1981
Prohibits a State, or any of its political subdivisions, from imposing a tax with respect to natural gas which discriminates against any out-of-State producers, transporters, consumers, distributors, or users of natural gas or which applies only to gas produced outside the territory of such State. Deems any tax as discriminatory if it results in a greater tax burden on interstate natural gas than on intrastate gas.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1981
Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to state that a food intended for human consumption shall be deemed misbranded unless it is labeled to show the amount of sodium and potassium it contains when in excess of a certain amount of milligrams. Permits the Secretary of Health and Human Services to exempt a food from such requirement by requiring the information to be prominently displayed in close proximity to the place of display or sale of such food. Exempts from such labeling requirements any manufacturer of such foods whose total annual sale are less than a specified amount.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1981
Directs the Joint Committee on the Library to procure a bust or statue of Dr. Martin Luther King, Junior, for placement in a suitable location in the Capitol.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1981
Postal Service Amendments of 1981 - Authorizes the United States Postal Service to issue written demands requiring access to books, records, documents, or other objects believed to relate to any postal offense or civil matter under investigation by the Postal Service. Provides for the enforcement of such a demand by the appropriate district court. Authorizes the Postal Service to issue an order requiring any person to cease and desist from conducting a lottery or scheme for obtaining money or property by false representations through the mail. Declares that the resumption of such an activity through the use of any instrumentality of interstate commerce shall be considered to be a failure to comply with such order. Permits the Postal Service, in investigating whether a person is conducting such an activity, to tender the price of any article or service that such person has offered for sale. Declares that failure by such person to provide such article or service, or failure to comply with a written demand of the Postal Service for access to materials, shall constitute probable cause to believe such person is engaged in such activities, warranting the detention of such person's incoming mail. Establishes a civil penalty to be assessed by the Postal Service, after an opportunity for an agency hearing, against any person who: (1) attempts to evade an order directing the postmaster to return mail addressed to such person; (2) fails to comply with a cease and desist; or (3) assists another person in evading such an order.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 1981
Small Business Tax Relief Act of 1981 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce corporate income tax rates. Increases from 15 to 25 the permissible number of shareholders in a subchapter S corporation. Increases from $100,000 to $300,000 the allowable cost of used property eligible for the investment tax credit. Provides for a three-year carryback and a seven-year carryover of amounts which exceed $350,000 for any taxable year. Reduces the estate and gift tax rates. Provides for an exemption of $300,000 reduced by amounts allowed as specific exemptions by repealed Code provisions from the gross estate and from the amount used in computing taxable gifts. Repeals the unified credit against the estate and gift taxes. Increases from $3,000 to $10,000 the annual gift tax exclusion.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1981
Expresses the concern of the House of Representatives over the hunger strike in Northern Ireland. Calls upon the British government to exercise greater urgency and flexibility in finding a resolution.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1981
Condominium-Cooperative Conversion Tax Adjustment Act of 1981 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat gain from the sale or exchange of residential rental property as ordinary income (rather than capital gains) if such property is converted into a condominium or cooperative within three years of the date of such sale or exchange. Treats such gain as capital gain if the sale of the residential rental property is made to a tenants association which represents more than 50 percent of the households residing in the rental property prior to the sale or exchange. Requires tenant-stockholders of cooperative housing corporations to reside in the cooperatives in which they own shares in order to qualify for preferential tax treatment. Disallows any amounts of income tax deductions related to the rental of a condominium or cooperative which exceed the gross income of the taxpayer. Requires 100 percent recapture of depreciation on condominium and cooperative rental units which are rented for more than half of the period in which they are owned.