United States · United States Congress · 30 March 1977
Accelerated Depreciation Allowance Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow taxpayers to elect accelerated amortization (twice the allowable depreciation deduction) for manufacturing property placed in service in States having an unemployment rate which is greater than six percent between October 1, 1976 and October 1, 1981.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1977
Declares the sense of the Congress that the President and the Secretary of State should take all necessary steps to bring the Baltic States question before the United Nations and to urge the United Nations to request the Soviet Union to withdraw all non-native troops, agents, colonists, and controls from the Republics of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, and to return all Baltic exiles from Siberia and from prisons and labor camps in the Soviet Union. Requires the Secretary of State to do his utmost to bring the matter of the Baltic States to the attention of all nations by means of special radio programs and publications. Declares that the United States should not agree to the recognition of the Soviet Union's annexation of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. Directs the President to take steps to provide that all maps of Europe show the Republics of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia as independent states. Calls for a return of self-determination to the peoples of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia through free elections conducted under the auspices of the United Nations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1977
Food Additive Safety Amendments - States that a food additive shall be deemed safe if the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (1) makes a finding, based on recommendations of an advisory committee, that the public benefit from permitting the use of such additive would exceed the public risk which might result from such use; (2) gives notice in the Federal Register of such a finding and invites public comment thereon; and (3) issues a final order not earlier than 120 days of such publication in the Federal Register of such findings. Specifies factors the Secretary must take into consideration when evaluating a food additive. Deems saccharin a safe food additive unless the Secretary declares it unsafe under the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 1977
Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to permit a person that may be liable for an industrial accident involving bodily injury to sue an employer for contribution, indemnification, or other relief if such employer's failure to comply with any Federal, State, or common law requirement relating to industrial safety caused or contributed to such injury. Stipulates that worker's compensation laws or similar State statutes shall not act as a bar to such a suit. Permits the defendant in a subrogation suit brought by an employer under workers' compensation laws or similar State statutes to raise as a defense the employer's contributory fault if such fault involves failure to comply with any Federal, State or common law requirements concerning industrial safety.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 1977
Declares the sense of Congress that the President shall take steps to (1) call upon the Soviet Union to resurrect the Ukrainian Orthodox and Catholic Churches, (2) contact the officials of the Soviet Union to secure freedom of worship in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, and (3) raise the question of Stalin's liquidation of such churches in the United Nations.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1977
Prohibits the first salary adjustment which would be made under the Federal Salary Act of 1967 after the date enactment of this Act from taking effect for the Vice President, Members of Congress, judges, commissioners, and referees, and positions in the Executive Schedule.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1977
Authorizes and directs the Secretary of Commerce to issue a medal to a certain individual in commemoration of his service in the Merchant Marine during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1977
Authorizes the Secretary of Labor, under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, to make visits to the work place of any employer, upon the request of the employer, to consult with and advise the employer concerning the obligations of the employer under such Act. Directs the Secretary to give priority to small businesses and hazardous workplaces. Stipulates that no consultative visit made under this Act may serve as an inspection or investigation as otherwise provided for by the Occupational Safety and Health Act, except: (1) in the case of an employer who fails to eliminate a danger disclosed during such a visit; or (2) if conditions are found during such a visit which indicate the probability that death or serious harm could result to employees therefrom, the Secretary may notify the employer of such conditions and afford him a reasonable time to eliminate such conditions. Prohibits the transmission of information obtained during a consultative visit to representatives of the Secretary engaged in enforcement. Directs the Secretary to establish education programs to inform employers and employees of the hazards in particular industries. Authorizes the appropriation of funds through fiscal year 1979 for the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1977
Authorizes the Secretary of Labor, under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, to make visits to the work place of any employer, upon the request of the employer, to consult with and advise the employer concerning the obligations of the employer under such Act. Directs the Secretary to give priority to small businesses and hazardous workplaces. Stipulates that no consultative visit made under this Act may serve as an inspection or investigation as otherwise provided for by the Occupational Safety and Health Act, except: (1) in the case of an employer who fails to eliminate a danger disclosed during such a visit; or (2) if conditions are found during such a visit which indicate the probability that death or serious harm could result to employees therefrom, the Secretary may notify the employer of such conditions and afford him a reasonable time to eliminate such conditions. Prohibits the transmission of information obtained during a consultative visit to representatives of the Secretary engaged in enforcement. Directs the Secretary to establish education programs to inform employers and employees of the hazards in particular industries. Authorizes the appropriation of funds through fiscal year 1979 for the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1977
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the ban or prohibition of saccharin should be delayed until the appropriate Congressional committees have determined that consumption of saccharin in unsafe.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1977
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual income tax credit for 25 percent of the amounts paid or incurred for the purchase and installation of qualified insulative materials or heating equipment in the taxpayer's principal residence. Limits the credit to $375, or $750 in the case of a joint return. Stipulates that to be considered qualified such improvements must meet heat loss reduction or heating efficiency criteria to be established by the Secretary of the Treasury in accordance with standards developed and prescribed by the National Bureau of Standards.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1977
Privacy Protection for Rape Victims Act - Amends the Federal Rules of Evidence to prohibit in cases of rape or assault with intent to rape the introduction of reputation or opinion evidence of a person's past sexual behavior. Permits the introduction of evidence of specific instances of a person's past sexual behavior only if such evidence is offered by the accused and is either: (1) on the issue of whether the accused was the source of pregnancy, disease, semen, or injury; or (2) on the issue of whether the alleged victim consented to the sexual behavior with respect to which the crime is alleged and restricted to the victim's past sexual relations with the defendant. Requires an accused who intends to introduce any such evidence to make a written motion to the court accompanied by a written offer of proof. Directs the court to hold a hearing on any such motion in chambers to determine admissibility.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1977
Establishes a 12-member select committee in the House of Representatives to conduct an investigation of all acts of any agency, official, employee, or agent of the Government of the Republic of Korea or any representative of a business interest carried on in such Republic to influence any present or former Member of the House or employee of the Federal or a State government in his or her official capacity through the giving of gifts.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1977
Amends the Library Services and Construction Act to authorize the appropriation of funds through fiscal year 1981 for the purpose of making grants to States for (1) library services; (2) the construction of public libraries; (3) the carrying out of interlibrary cooperation programs; and (4) the carrying out of library programs for older persons. Requires any State expending Federal funds received under such Act for the administrative costs of such programs to match the amounts expended with non-Federal funds.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1977
Congressional Pay Raise Deferral Act - Amends the Federal Salary Act of 1967 and the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 to provide that any adjustment in the rate of pay for Members of Congress proposed during any Congress shall not take effect earlier than the beginning of the next Congress. States that any such pay adjustment proposed in an even-numbered year of any Congress after the congressional elections and before the beginning of the following Congress, shall be considered as occurring during the first session of the following Congress for the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1977
Alaskan Oil Distribution and Export Plan - Amends the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 to prohibit exports of domestically produced crude oil transported by pipeline over rights-of-way granted pursuant to such Act. Authorizes exemptions from such prohibition where required for convenience or increased efficiency of transportation.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1977
National Conference on Learning Disabilities and Juvenile Delinquency Act - Directs the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to organize and convene a National Conference on Learning Disabilities and Juvenile Delinquency. Directs the Conference to formulate methods of disseminating extant knowledge and the results of ongoing research related to learning disabilities and handicaps to appropriate agencies and individuals. Makes it a goal of such Conference to develop coordinated plans of cooperation among disciplines to deliver all services feasible to the learning disabled. Sets forth the procedures under which the Conference shall operate and the qualifications for membership in it. Calls for the convening of meetings related to the Conference in each State or Region in preparation for the National Conference.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1977
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to limit the application of the Tax Reform Act's elimination of the sick pay exclusion for persons who have not retired on total disability, to taxable years beginning after December 31, 1976.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1977
Social Security Reform Amendments - Repeals the earnings limitation under title II (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act. Provides benefits under such title to husbands, widowers, and fathers on the same basis as wives, widows, and mothers who presently receive benefits. Eliminates the five- month waiting period for disability benefits. Continues the benefit entitlement under such title through the month of the beneficiary's death. Permits individuals 65 years of age or older to elect an exemption from Social Security coverage and payment of Social Security coverage and payment of Social Security taxes. Eliminates marriage or remarriage of a beneficiary as a factor in terminating or reducing the amount of benefits available. Authorizes direct payments to physicians and other providers at their option under the supplementary medical insurance program of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1977
Provides that recipients of veterans' pension and compensation will not have the amount of such pension or compensation reduced, or entitlement thereto discontinued, because of increases in monthly social security benefits. Applies these amendments to annual income determinations made for calendar years after 1972. (Amends 38 U.S.C. 415(g), adds 38 U.S.C. 503(d))
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1977
Regulatory Reform Act - Requires the President to submit to Congress a plan recommending reforms with respect to the regulation of: (1) energy, the environment, housing, and occupational health and safety by specified Federal agencies by April 30, 1979; (2) transportation and communications by specified Federal agencies by April 30, 1981; (3) banking and finance, international trade, and Government procurement by specified Federal agencies by April 30, 1983; and (4) food, consumer health and safety, economic trade practices, and labor- management concerns by specified Federal agencies by April 30, 1985. States that each such plan shall include recommendations for reform of such specified agencies and shall report on the cumulative impact of all Government regulatory activity reviewed, up to that date, on specific industry groupings. States that if the President fails to submit such plans by the specified dates, the Senate and House Committees on Government Operations shall draft their own plans to be submitted to Congress for action. Requires the Comptroller General and the Congressional Budget Office to, contemporaneously with the development of the President's plan, submit a report assessing the purpose, effects, efficiency, and cost effectiveness of each agency included in the plans submitted by the President. States that if no comprehensive regulatory reform legislation is enacted by August 1 of the year following the year in which a comprehensive plan has been submitted by the President, then all agencies affected thereby shall have no authority to issue any new rules not essential for preserving the public health and safety; if such reform is not enacted by October 1 of such year, such agency shall have no authority to enforce any rule not essential for preserving the public health and safety; if no such reform is enacted by December 31 of such year, such agency shall be terminated on such date. States that all rules of such terminated agency essential for preserving the public health and safety shall remain effective and shall be enforced by the Department of Justice. Requires the President to submit subsequent plans in the manner and in the order and frequency set forth by this Act every ten years.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1977
Amends the Rules of the House of Representatives to add rule XLV prohibiting any Member from maintaining or having maintained for such Member's use, an unofficial office account.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1977
Exempts musical and social programs and activities designed for parents and students from the prohibition against sex discrimination in federally assisted educational activities imposed by the Education Amendments of 1972.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1977
Amends rule XVI of the Rules of the House of Representatives to apply the ten minutes of debate rules to a motion to recommit with instructions on the adoption of a simple resolution or conference report after the previous question has been ordered.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1977
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow individuals an income tax deduction for amounts paid into an employee's tax-exempt retirement trust, or for an annuity contract. Limits the allowable deduction to 15 percent of the individual's gross income, or $1,500, whichever is less, minus a specified portion of the employer's contributions and, in the case of employees exempt from self-employment, FICA or Railroad Retirement Act taxation, the amount of FICA tax liability they would have paid if they were not exempt.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1977
Amends the program of Aid to Families with Dependent Children of Title IV and Title XVI (Supplemental Security Income for the Aged, Blind, and Disabled) of the Social Security Act to assure that recipient of aid and benefits under such Titles do not have the amount of such and or benefits reduced because of increases in the amount of benefits under Title II (Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1977
Excludes cost-of-living increases in Social Security benefits from consideration as household income for purposes of determining: (1) eligibility for participation in the food stamp program; (2) the charge for issuing a coupon allotment to a household; and (3) eligibility for any Federal program administered by the Department of Agriculture which provides for the donation or distribution of surplus agricultural commodities to low-income persons.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1977
Provides that recipients of veterans' pensions and compensation will not have the amount of such pension or compensation reduced because of increases in social security benefits. Applies to annual income determinations made for calendar years after 1976.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1977
Amends Title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to assure the individuals otherwise eligible for benefits under such Title do not lose such eligibility, or have the amount of such benefits reduced, because of increases in the amount of benefits under Title II (Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) of such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1977
Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to extend until September 30, 1978, the period of time during which funds allotted to States for the construction of treatment works shall remain available.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1977
Youth Camp Safety Act - Establishes in the Office of the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare an Office of Youth Camp Safety to be headed by a Director of Youth Camp Safety. Confers upon the Director the primary responsibility for the promulgation and enforcement of Federal and State youth camp safety regulations. Requires any State which desires to assume responsibility for the development and modification of youth camp safety standards to submit a State plan to the Director for his approval. Allows a State whose plan has been rejected to obtain review of the decision in the United States Court of Appeals. Authorizes the Director to make grants to States which have in effect approved State plans, such grants not to exceed 80 percent of the cost of carrying out the State plan. Authorizes the Director to enter and inspect youth camps and their records. Charges the Director with establishing within the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare an Advisory Council on Youth Camp Safety and to submit to Congress at least once a year a report on his administration under this Act. Prescribes penalties for each violation by youth camp operators of the standards promulgated pursuant to this Act. Authorizes the Director to request and receive directly from any department or agency of the Federal Government information, suggestions, estimates, and statistics needed to carry out the functions under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1977
Authorizes the President of the United States to designate the week beginning November 6, 1977, and ending November 12, 1977, as "National Volunteer Firemen Week."
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1977
Requires the Congressional Record for the House of Representatives to contain an accurate and verbatim account of remarks actually delivered on the floor of the House together with supporting data. Limits revisions of verbatim remarks in the Record to the correction of grammatical and typographical errors which do not change the meaning, content, or substance of those remarks. Entitles Members to insert in the Records remarks not actually delivered on the floor. Stipulates that such insertions always be clearly distinguishable from verbatim remarks.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1977
Amends rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives to require the establishment in the House of a Select Committee on Investigations whenever in any Congress the majority party in the House and Senate is the same party as that of the President. Requires such select committee to conduct studies and investigations of the administration and enforcement of Federal laws by the Federal departments and agencies.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 1977
Elementary and Secondary Career Education Act - Establishes a career education program for elementary and secondary schools to increase the emphasis such institutions place upon career awareness, exploration, decisionmaking, and planning. Authorizes appropriations for carrying out provisions of this Act for the next five fiscal years. Directs the Commissioner of Education to allot to each State an amount which bears the same ratio to the appropriated sums as such State's population, aged five to eighteen, bears to the total population, aged five to eighteen, of all the States. Stipulates that no State shall be allotted from such sums less than $100,000. Directs the Commissioner to allocate for each fiscal year an amount equal to three percent of the sums appropriated for that year to make grants to local educational agencies located in Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Sets forth procedures for applying to the Commissioner for receiving such funds. Requires that an application contain specified assurances, including assurances that: (1) the State educational agency will be the agency responsible for planning the use and administering the expenditure of funds received under this Act; (2) the State educational agency or State Board of Education will adopt a statement of policy that career education is of prime importance in elementary and secondary schooling within the State; and (3) the State legislature and Governor have been notified of the State's application for such funds. Details the use of funds by the States which are permissible, including: (1) conducting inservice institutes for educational personnel; (2) training local career education coordinators; (3) collecting, evaluating, and disseminating career education materials; and (4) coordinating career education activities with other State and private agencies. Designates the Office of Career Education to be the administering agency within the Office of Education for the review of State plans, applications, and reports submitted pursuant to this Act. Provides that the Office of Career Education shall perform a national leadership role in furthering the purposes of career education. Directs the National Institute of Education to continue its complementary efforts in career education and calls for coordination between the Institute and the Office of Career Education in (1) identifying research and development priorities and (2) disseminating the products and findings of research and development undertaken by the Institute.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 1977
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow taxpayers to credit against the income tax specified higher education expenses, including tuition, fees, books, and supplies, incurred by the taxpayer for himself or any dependent. Limits the credit to 100 percent of the first $200 for any individual, 25 percent of the next $300, and 5 percent of the next $1,000. Limits the credit to expenses incurred by full time students at institutions of vocational and higher education, minus scholarships and veterans' benefits. Limits the total credit allowed the taxpayer to his income tax liability minus the sum of all other credits applied thereto. Disallows any deduction of educational expenses used to determine the amount of the credit allowed by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 1977
Authorizes the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to (1) make loans to certain cities and counties for the establishment and initial operating costs of clinics for the spaying and neutering of dogs and cats, and (2) make grants for the establishment of courses to train paraprofessionals in the anaesthetising and spaying and neutering of dogs and cats. Authorizes appropriations to carry out the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 1977
Government Economy and Spending Reform Act - Title I: Authorization of New Budget Authority - Terminates all budget authority for Federal programs on specified dates according to the functional or subfunctional category of each program as set forth in the fiscal year 1977 budget. Requires the Comptroller General to report to Congress by April 1, 1977, on specified programs with respect to the laws under which such program is carried on, the amount of new budget authority received by such program during the four fiscal years ending before April 1, 1977, and to identify programs for which no outlays have been made during the last two fiscal years ending before April 1, 1977. Prohibits providing new budget authority after the applicable review date set forth in this Act unless the provision of such budget authority is specifically authorized by law or the standing rules of either House of Congress. Title II: Zero-Base Program Review - Sets forth a timetable for Congressional zero-base review of new budget authority. Defines "zero-base review" as an evaluation of a given program to determine the merits of its continuation at a level less than, equal to, or more than its existing level. Requires each congressional committee conducting a zero-based program review to adopt tentative and final review plans, receive reports from the Comptroller General and Federal agencies on the program being reviewed, and report to their respective House the results of such zero-base review of the program. Sets forth minimum objectives of inquiry for such reviews. Requires that any committee reporting pursuant to this Act recommend the extent to which any program reviewed should be continued or eliminated. Title III: Continuing Review - Amends the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 to require, whenever the Comptroller General issues a report which discloses any substantial deficiency in the achievement of the objectives of any Federal program, the agency conducting such program to report to specified congressional committees 60 days after such report and every six months thereafter to delineate the actions taken with respect to such deficiency. Requires that such agency continue to issue such reports until such time as the Comptroller General determines that no purpose is served by their submission. Amends the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921, to require the inclusion in the Budget of a statement of the specific objectives of each Government program, and a comparison, in each subsequent Budget, of the achievement of such objectives for the last completed fiscal year with the planned objectives of such year. Title IV: Miscellaneous - Requires the Director of Management and Budget to study the feasibility of zero-base budgeting for Federal agencies. Requires the Director of the Congressional Budget Office to study the feasibility of personnel ceilings on employees of the United States and their relationships to alternative methods of carrying out the activities of such employees. Requires that such reports be submitted to Congress. Requires Federal agency heads to report requests for new budget authority to Congress. Requires specified committees to study the effectiveness of the zero-base review procedures required by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1977
Investment Tax Credit Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an additional investment tax credit for machinery and equipment placed in service on existing manufacturing plants or in nearby areas.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1977
Establishes a Joint Committee on Intelligence. States that such joint committee shall exercise exclusive legislative jurisdiction with respect to any intelligence activity conducted by any agency or department of the Federal Government. Gives the Committee exclusive jurisdiction with respect to the authorization of funds in connection with any activity conducted by: (1) the Central Intelligence Agency; (2) the National Security Agency; (3) the Defense Intelligence Agency; (4) special offices within the Department of Defense for the collection of specialized intelligence through reconnaissance programs; and (5) intelligence elements of the military services, not including tactical intelligence. Requires all agencies and departments of the Federal Government conducting any intelligence activity to keep the joint committee fully and currently informed with respect to their intelligence activities. Requires members of the joint committee to report to their respective Houses their recommendations with respect to matters which are referred to the joint committee. Makes it the responsibility of the joint committee to establish guidelines for the classification of information originating within the joint committee. Requires the joint committee to keep a record of all its activities. Directs the joint committee to establish rules to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of information obtained by the joint committee. Amends the Rules of the House of Representatives and the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to reflect the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1977
Amends the Social Security Act to set forth standards. relating to the rights of patients, to be met by intermediate care facilities participating in programs under title XVIII (Medicare) and title XIX (Medicaid) of such Act. Provides that the statement of rights required to be adopted by such facilities shall include guarantees: (1) that the Patient's civil and religious liberties will not be infringed; (2) that the patient has the right to private communications with his physician, attorney, or any other person; and (3) that the patient has the right to have privacy in treatment and in caring for personal needs and confidentially in the treatment of personnel and medical records.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1977
Amends Titles XVIII (Medicare), XIX (Medicaid), and XX (Grants to States for Services) of the Social Security Act to establish the Special Commission on Quality Assurance and Utilization Control in Home Health Care. States that the Commission shall be composed of 20 members appointed by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. Sets forth the fields of experience and expertise from which Commission members are to be drawn, including five representatives of professional groups with expertise in accreditation and three who are recipients of benefits under Medicare, Medicaid, or under a State plan of services. Requires Senate approval of the member designated chairman of the Commission. States that the function and duty of the Commission shall be: (1) to conduct a full and complete study, investigation, and review of the provision of home health care and services to individuals in the United States, including care and services furnished by agencies which do not qualify as providers of services under the Social Security Act as well as care and services furnished by agencies which do so qualify, with the particular objective of determining: (a) the extent to which additional quality assurance and utilization control in the provision of such care and services is needed; and (b) the manner in which the standards, conditions, and requirements of Title XVIII, Title XIX, or Title XX should be modified in order to provide additional assurance and control; and (2) to develop, on the basis of such study, investigates and review a detailed plan for quality assurance and utilization control in home health care. Directs the submission to the Secretary and the Congress of the required plan within one year of the appointment of the majority of the members of the Commission. Requires the Secretary, within 90 days of the submission of such plan, to issue regulations making such modifications in the Social Security Act as may be necessary to implement the plan and carry out the Commission's accompanying recommendations, and to submit to the Congress any recommendations which would require a change in existing law.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1977
Establishes an 11-member Commission on the Humane Treatment of Animals to study the treatment of animals. Requires that the membership include zoologists, veterinarians, and representatives from humane societies. Requires the Commission to determine if animals are caused needless pain or suffering as a result of their treatment on farms and in laboratory experimentation. Requires Commission investigation into domestic pet growth rates and the effectiveness of existing laws regarding the treatment of animals. Excludes the study of the treatment of animals occurring in connection with the exercise of any religion. Directs the Commission to report its findings to the Congress and the Commission 60 days after it submits its final report. Authorizes appropriations of $750,000 per year to carry out the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1977
Natural Gas Act Amendments - Amends the Natural Gas Act to terminate Federal Power Commission authority to regulate sales of new natural gas in interstate commerce. Stipulates that prices for offshore sales of new natural gas shall not exceed the ceiling price for sales of new natural gas produced from onshore Federal lands. Stipulates that emergency sales of natural gas to curtailed customers who qualify as essential users shall not affect such exempt status. Authorizes the Commission to terminate such exemptions on or after April 15, 1978, if they are no longer deemed necessary to protect high priority consumers of natural gas. Directs the Federal Power Commission to conduct studies and make reports regarding the nature and availability of natural gas reserves. Requires that the Commission keep current information available relating to the estimated natural gas reserves for individual fields. Establishes procedures for the establishment of ceiling prices for new natural gas produced from offshore Federal lands through December 31, 1982. Authorizes the Commission to grant exemptions to price ceilings within high-cost production areas. Establishes procedures for adjustments to price ceilings established pursuant to this Act. Directs the Commission to prohibit the curtailment of adequate supplies of natural gas for essential agricultural purposes. Directs the Commission to prohibit the use of natural gas as boiler fuel where adequate alternatives are available. Authorizes exemptions from such prohibition where necessary to comply with pollution control or environmental protection and safety standards.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1977
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the taxpayer's age requirement (65 years) and the dollar limitation on the adjusted sales price ($35,000) for the exclusion from gross income of gain realized on the sale of the taxpayer's principal residence.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1977
Constitutional Amendment - Provides that the people of the several States, and the District of Columbia, shall elect the President and Vice President. Requires each elector to cast a single vote for two persons who shall have consented to the joining of their names as candidates for the offices of President and Vice President. Requires the electors of President and Vice President in each State to have the qualifications requisite for electors of Members of Congress from that State, except that for electors of President and Vice President, the legislature of any State may prescribe less restrictive residence qualifications and for electors of President and Vice President, the Congress may establish uniform residence and age requirements. Provides that the pair of persons having the greatest number of votes for President and Vice President shall be elected, if such number be at least 40 percent of the whole number of votes cast for such offices. Provides that if no pair of persons has such number, a runoff election shall be held in which the choice of President and Vice President shall be made from the two pairs of persons who received the highest numbers of votes. Requires the days for such elections to be determined by Congress and to be uniform throughout the United States. Requires Congress to prescribe by law the time, place, and manner in which the results of such elections shall be ascertained and declared. Grants to each State the authority as to the time and place and manner of holding such elections and entitlement to inclusion or the ballot. Specifies that if, at the time fixed for declaring the results of such elections, the presidential candidate who would have been entitled to election as President has died, the Vice Presidential candidate entitled to election as Vice President shall be declared elected President. Allows Congress to provide for the case of the death, inability, or withdrawal of any candidate for President or Vice President before a President and Vice president have been elected, and for the case of the death of both the President and Vice President elect.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1977
Creates a 12 member select committee to conduct an investigation of the circumstances surrounding both product liability and professional liability insurance rate increases and any related issues the committee shall determine. Directs the committee to report to the House as soon as practicable during the present Congress the results of its investigation, together with such recommendations as it deems advisable.