United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1985
Authorizes the Attorney General to make contracts retaining private counsel to furnish legal services in the case of any claim of indebtedness owed the United States. Requires the Attorney General, in making such a contract in any judicial district, to use his best efforts to obtain at least four contracts for legal services with private individuals or firms in such district. Prohibits the fee payable for such legal services from exceeding the fee typically charged in the area for the collection of claims of indebtedness. Permits the head of an executive or legislative agency to refer to a private counsel so retained any claims of indebtedness owed the United States arising out of such agency's activities. Declares that for the purposes of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a private counsel performing collection services under this Act shall be considered a debt collector. Sets forth the procedure for filing counterclaims. Requires the Attorney General to transmit to the Congress an annual report on the activities of the Department of Justice to recover such indebtedness. Requires the Comptroller General to carry out an annual audit of the actions taken by the Attorney General pursuant to this Act during the preceding two years. Requires the Comptroller General to determine the extent to which there is competition among private counsel to obtain contracts pursuant to this Act, the reasonableness of the fees provided in such contracts, and the results of the debt collection efforts. Requires a report to the Congress on the findings and conclusions resulting from such audit. Requires the Attorney General to transmit to the Congress a report on the actions taken under this Act within 180 days after the date of enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1985
Amends the Clayton Act to temporarily prohibit any person engaged in commerce or in any activity affecting commerce from acquiring control of a domestic petroleum corporation if the corporation disapproves the acquisition. Defines "control" as the acquisition of more than four percent of the stock, share capital, or assets of the corporation. Directs the Secretary of Energy, the Federal Trade Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Federal Reserve Board to investigate and report to the Congress on the effects of such prohibited corporate takeovers on domestic petroleum supplies, competition in the marketing of petroleum products, petroleum industry financing methods, and credit markets, respectively.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1985
Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to exempt arrest actions and interrogations in the Bahamas from the ban on participation by U.S. officers and employees in certain foreign drug arrest actions and interrogations.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1985
Synthetic Fuels Corporation Fiscal Responsibility Act - Amends the United States Synthetic Fuels Corporation Act of 1980 to terminate the authority of the United States Synthetic Fuels Corporation (the Corporation) to enter into any awards or commitments for financial assistance. Directs the Corporation's Board of Directors to submit a final report to the Congress regarding the status of the Corporation within 60 days after enactment of this Act. Prohibits the Corporation from expending any funds or acting in furtherance of any commitment made after February 5, 1985, unless a joint resolution approving such transaction is enacted. Requires the Secretaries of Energy and of the Treasury and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to agree on a Memorandum of Understanding which includes a plan for: (1) the abolition of the Corporation; and (2) for the administration of synthetic fuels projects which will continue after the abolition of the Corporation.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1985
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to prohibit the payment of title II benefits to individuals who have been deported pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act because of activities conducted under the direction of association with the Nazi government of Germany or its allies.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1985
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the amount of gambling winnings which are subject to the withholding of tax. Increases such amount from $1,000 to: (1) $2,000 in 1985 and 1986; (2) $3,000 in 1987; (3) $4,000 in 1988; and (4) $5,000 in 1989 and thereafter.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the President should urge Canada to discontinue imposing taxes on travel literature imported from the United States; and (2) a reciprocal tax imposed on imported Canadian literature may be appropriate if Canada continues to impose such taxes.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1985
Establishes a presumption of service-connection for disability purposes for former prisoners of war suffering from the following conditions, manifest to a degree of ten percent or more after active service: (1) chronic liver disease; (2) organic residuals of hypothermia; (3) gastro-intestinal disorders; (4) arthritis; (5) cardiovascular conditions; (6) peripheral neuropathy; (7) immunological dysfunctions; or (8) chronic pulmonary disease. Decreases from six months to 30 days the amount of time a former prisoner of war must have been incarcerated to be eligible for outpatient dental services.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1985
Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 regarding urban development action grant criteria to require at least one-half of aggregate grant amounts to be made solely on the basis of specified criteria, of which job creation, especially for low-income persons and minorities, shall be given priority. Requires a report to the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1985
Social Security Reorganization Act of 1985 - Title I: Establishment of the Social Security Administration - Amends title VII (Administration) of the Social Security Act to establish as an independent executive agency a Social Security Administration, headed by a Social Security Board. Provides that it shall be the duty of the Administration to administer the programs established by titles II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) and XVI (Supplemental Security Income) of the Social Security Act. Establishes in the Administration a General Counsel and an Inspector General. Requires the Board to study and make recommendations as to the most effective methods of providing economic security through social insurance and as to legislation and matters of administrative policy. Establishes in the Administration: (1) a Commissioner of Social Security; (2) a Deputy Commissioner of Social Security; and (3) an Office of the Beneficiary Ombudsman, to be headed by a Beneficiary Ombudsman who shall represent the interests of beneficiaries under the Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance program and the Supplemental Security Income Program within the Administration. Requires the annual report of the Board to include a description of the activities of the Beneficiary Ombudsman. Requires the Board to make annual budgetary recommendations relating to the Administration. Requires that appropriations requests by the Administration for staffing and personnel be based upon a comprehensive workforce plan as established by the Board. Provides for the apportionment of administrative costs. Requires the annual report of the Board to include a section reflecting the use of budget authority provided to the Administration. Requires that authority for automated data processing procurement and facilities construction be provided in the form of contract authority covering the total cost of such acquisitions. Makes amounts needed for the liquidation of contract authority so provided available from the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund to the extent that such amounts are not needed to meet current obligations for benefit payments. Specifies the authorities which are to be delegated to the Board from the Administrator of the General Services Administration. Requires the Board to cause a seal of office to be made and judicial notice taken thereof. Provides for the transfer to the Administration of all functions carried out by the Secretary of Health and Human Services with respect to the programs and activities to be carried out by the Administration under this Act. Abolishes the position of Commissioner of Social Security in the Department of Health and Human Services. Title II: Miscellaneous and Conforming Amendments - Sets forth a contributor and beneficiary bill of rights under which: (1) all individuals are required to be treated fairly by the Board and the Secretary; (2) the Secretary and the Board are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of age, sex, race, creed, color, handicap, national origin, or economic condition; and (3) the Board and the Secretary should maintain prompt, professional, and effective service which is responsive to the community. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Board to report to Congress within 120 days after the beginning of each regular session on their administration under this Act. Requires the Secretary to study and make recommendations on the most effective methods of providing economic security and on the administrative policy for the programs which he or she administers. Title III: Effective Dates and Transitional Rules - Sets forth effective date and transitional rule provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1985
Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct a study on the collection of information by the Department of Health and Human Services in order to determine what information is being collected from the same class of individuals more than once. Requires: (1) the Secretary to report to the Congress on such study; and (2) such report to include detailed recommendations for more efficient information collection.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should: (1) ensure that U.S. officials carry out the pledge to resolve the issue of the Americans still missing and unaccounted for in Indochina; (2) work for the immediate release of any Americans still held captive and the return of the remains of those who died in Southeast Asia; and (3) make every effort to secure the further cooperation of Laos and Vietnam in resolving this issue.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
Amends the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 to require the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in the Department of Justice (Administrator) to make grants to States for the purpose of establishing, operating, or expanding Missing Children Information Clearinghouses. Limits the grants to 50 percent of the costs of establishing and operating the Clearinghouse. Requires any State Clearinghouse to: (1) work in conjunction with the National Crime Information Center; (2) educate parents, children, and community agencies; (3) provide public information to assist in locating missing children; (4) publish a directory of organizations that provide assistance in locating missing children; (5) establish an in-State toll-free line for reporting missing children; (6) work with other public and private organizations; and (7) work with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Allows the Administrator to prescribe rules necessary to carry out this Act. Grants the Comptroller General of the United States access to any books, documents, or records of any State receiving assistance for the purpose of audit. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
Repeals the requirement added by the Tax Reform Act of 1984 relating to the maintenance of contemporaneous records with respect to: (1) business travel expenses, including automobile expenses; (2) business entertainment expenses; and (3) expenses for gifts.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
National Commission on Neurofibromatosis Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish within 60 days a National Commission on Neurofibromatosis which shall formulate a plan to identify the research needed to develop an effective treatment and a cure for neurofibromatosis. Sets forth operating and related provisions. Authorizes the Commission to transmit interim reports. Requires the Commission to make a final report to the President and to each House of the Congress within two years. Terminates the Commission three months after submission of the final report. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Federal Home Loan Bank Board should delay until June 30, 1985, the effective date of its proposed regulations regarding limitations on direct investment in real estate, service corporations, and equity securities by federally insured savings and loan associations. Directs the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs of the House of Representatives to examine alternatives to the proposed regulations which will ensure safety and sound investment activities.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1985
State and Local Narcotics Control Assistance Act of 1985 - Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to States to assist States and local governments to increase their drug enforcement activities. Requires such grants to be based on the relative needs of the States, taking into consideration the severity of drug trafficking and abuse and the availability of State and local resources to resolve such problems. Establishes a procedure for grant applications. Requires such an application to include a State-wide strategy for the enforcement of State drug laws. Imposes limitations on the use of such grants, including a maximum ten percent allocation for administrative purposes. Requires each State which receives a grant to submit a yearly report to the Attorney General, who shall in turn report to the Congress with respect to such grants. Allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to States for developing more effective drug abuse prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation programs. Establishes a procedure for grant applications. Authorizes appropriations for both grant programs for FY 1986 through 1990.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1985
Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Treatment Act of 1985 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to designate 20 centers for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders. Requires such centers to: (1) provide a central facility for diagnosis, evaluation, and counseling; (2) develop standards of treatment and methods of delivering cost-effective services; (3) train professionals and nonprofessionals in diagnosing and treating such disorders; and (4) develop a comprehensive acute and long-term treatment program. Authorizes FY 1986 through 1990 appropriations. Directs the Secretary to make $1,000,000 available to each center for each of at least five years for teaching, training, research, and staffing. Permits eligible persons to elect to receive benefits as provided for by this Act rather than under titles XVIII (Medicare), XIX (Medicaid), or XX (Grants to States for Service) of the Social Security Act, or under the Older Americans Act of 1965.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
National Observance Advisory Act - Establishes the President's Advisory Commission on National Observances to establish criteria for recommending to the President that a proposed national observance be approved or disapproved.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Davis-Bacon Reform Act of 1985 - Amends the Davis-Bacon Act to increase from $2,000 to $1,000,000 the threshold dollar amount subjecting certain contracts to such Act and requiring them to specify the minimum wages to be paid to laborers and mechanics. Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish as the prevailing wage for a class of laborers or mechanics the entire range of wages being paid to a corresponding class of such workers in the particular urban or rural subdivision of the State in which the work is to be performed. Excludes from the computation of wages the basic hourly rates of pay for workers on local Federal projects. Establishes a separate classification for helpers of laborers or mechanics. Amends the Copeland Anti-Kickback Act to require certain contractors or subcontractors to furnish compliance statements concerning weekly wages at the beginning and conclusion of the period covered by the contract, instead of every week as the wages are paid.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Amends the Federal criminal code to establish criteria for the imposition of the death penalty for Federal crimes. Requires the Government, for any offense punishable by death, to serve notice upon the defendant a reasonable time before trial or acceptance of a plea of guilty that it intends to seek the death penalty and the aggravating factors upon which it will rely. Requires a separate sentencing hearing before a jury, or the court upon motion by the defendant, when the defendant is found guilty or pleads guilty to an offense punishable by death. Provides that no presentence report shall be prepared in such cases. Allows the defendant and the Government to present any information relevant to sentencing, without regard to the rules of evidence, but permits information to be excluded where its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading of the jury. Specifies mitigating factors which the defendant must establish by a preponderance of the information and aggravating factors which the Government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt. Includes as threshold, aggravating factors for homicide that the defendant: (1) intentionally killed the victim; (2) intentionally inflicted serious bodily injury which resulted in the death of the victim; (3) intentionally participated in an act which he reasonably should have known would create grave risk of death to a person and the victim did die as a direct result of the act; or (4) attempted to kill the President of the United States. Sets forth special aggravating factors with respect to the crimes of treason and espionage. Includes among the mitigating factors that the defendant was less than 18 years old at the time of the crime. Conditions imposition of the death penalty on a unanimous finding by the jury that: (1) some aggravating factor exists in addition to a threshold factor; and (2) the aggravating factors sufficiently outweigh any mitigating factor found to exist. Directs the court to impose the death penalty upon a finding that such sentence is justified. Requires the court to instruct the jury not to consider the race, color, national origin, creed, or sex of the defendant in its consideration of the death sentence. Limits the circumstances under which the offense of delivering defense information to aid foreign governments is punishable by death. Allows the death penalty to be imposed for the murder of foreign officials and for an offense of kidnapping resulting in the death of any person. Eliminates the death penalty for the crime of rape. Authorizes the death penalty for the crime of attempting to kill the President of the United States if the attempt results in bodily injury to the President or otherwise comes dangerously close to causing his death. Establishes procedures for appeal from a death sentence. Requires the Court of Appeals, upon considering the record and the information and procedures of the sentencing hearing, to affirm the decision if: (1) the sentence was not imposed under influence of passion, prejudice, or arbitrariness; and (2) the information supports the finding of aggravating factors or the absence of mitigating factors. Requires the court to provide a written explanation of its determination.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal rules relating to the determination of the issue price of certain debt instruments issued for property. Amends the Tax Reform Act of 1984 to repeal the revisions made to rules for the imputation of interest on certain deferred payments. Provides that the Internal Revenue Code shall be applied and administered as if such revisions had not been enacted.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Federal Constitution Convention Amendment Act - Sets forth procedures for holding constitutional conventions for proposing amendments to the Constitution. Requires that both Houses of the Congress agree to a concurrent resolution calling for a convention whenever they determine that at least two-thirds of the States have submitted valid applications for the calling of a constitutional convention upon the same subject. Entitles each State to the same number of delegates at such convention as it has Senators and Representatives in the Congress, with one delegate elected from each congressional district and two at large. Authorizes the convention to propose constitutional amendments by a two-thirds vote of the total number of delegates. Provides that an amendment shall become valid when ratified by three-fourths of the States. Permits a State to rescind its ratification.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Amends the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 to make permanent the increase in the excise tax on cigarettes. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for cost-of-living adjustments in the rate of such tax. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to appropriate to the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund the funds raised by such excise tax.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Electric Consumers Protection Act of 1985 - Amends the Federal Power Act to require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to issue a new license to an existing licensee for a hydroelectric project authorized under such Act if the United States does not, upon the expiration of the existing license, exercise its right to take over, maintain, and operate such licensee's project, unless the Commission determines that such licensee's project will not meet the licensing standards under such Act. Provides that if the Commission determines that such licensee's project does not meet such standards, the Commission is authorized to issue a new license to a new licensee which may cover the existing licensee's project provided that the new licensee pays just compensation determined by the Commission and enters into any contracts required under the Federal Power Act. (Under current law, the Commission is authorized to issue a new license to the original licensee or a new license to a new licensee if the United States does not exercise its rights with respect to an expired license.)
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to promote the establishment of family support groups to assist individuals with Alzheimer's disease or a related disorder and their family members and to provide for a national coordinating network of such groups. Requires a report to the Congress within one year.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Water Quality Renewal Act of 1985 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (the Clean Water Act) to authorize appropriations for FY 1983 through 1988 for: (1) specified research, investigation, and training programs in water pollution control; (2) State and interstate pollution control programs; (3) undergraduate programs in water quality control; (4) grants for developing waste treatment management plans for areas with substantial water quality control problems; (5) water pollution control programs in agricultural areas; (6) agreements among Government agencies providing for maximum use of existing programs for water quality control; (7) grants to States for lake pollution control; and (8) carrying out the Clean Water Act generally. Increases the authorization for grants for construction of waste treatment works for FY 1984 and 1985. Authorizes appropriations for such grants for FY 1986 through 1988. Extends the compliance date for specified priority toxic pollutants, all other toxic pollutants and the application of best available technology for all other pollutants to no later than three years and six months after effluent limitations are established. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to promulgate final regulations establishing effluent limitations for direct dischargers and limitations requiring pretreatment for all the priority toxic pollutants which are discharged from certain categories of point sources in accordance with a specified schedule. Requires the Administrator to publish in the Federal Register a list of all navigable waters in each State the water quality of which is being impaired by the discharge from specific sources of toxic pollutants. Directs the Administrator to establish an individual control strategy for each listed segment of navigable waters to reduce the discharge of such pollutants so as to achieve the fishable-swimmable goal of the Clean Water Act. Increases the Federal civil penalties for violations of water quality standard requirements. Requires the Administrator to monitor, study, and report to the Congress on the effects of the impoundment and discharge of waters by dams upon the quality of navigable waters. Directs the Governor of each State to submit to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency for approval a report: (1) identifying navigable waters not meeting applicable water quality standards because of pollution from nonpoint sources (e.g., rainfall runoff as opposed to identifiable pipes); (2) identifying categories of significantly polluting nonpoint sources; (3) identifying State and local programs for controlling such pollution and improving the water quality of the navigable waters; and (4) describing administrative measures to be taken. Directs the Administrator to identify such waters and the nonpoint sources of such pollution if the Governor does not submit such report within a specified time. Requires each Governor to also submit to the Administrator for approval a four-year plan for controlling nonpoint pollution and a report identifying State or Federal agency programs which might conflict with such plan, together with recommendations for modification of existing programs. Requires each four-year plan to target offending land areas for the best land management practices, including the scheduling of targeted areas and categories of nonpoint pollution for implementation of such practices. Requires additional information by way of technical and financial means to be used to improve water quality. Directs the Administrator to consolidate and convey to the appropriate Federal agencies recommended modifications of existing programs necessary to implement States' four-year plans, which such agencies will comply with to the degree possible, consistent with existing law. Provides opportunities for revision of faulty plans. Authorizes the Administrator to provide technical assistance to a local agency to develop a four-year plan if a State fails to submit a satisfactory plan and the local agency is of sufficient geographical size. Treats such local agency as a State agency for implementation assistance purposes after such plan has been approved. Directs the Administrator to convene a management conference of the affected States when any State is unable to meet its applicable water quality standards because of pollution from nonpoint sources in another State. Requires the offending State to submit a plan for approval or revise an approved plan to reduce the pollution in the affected portion of navigable waters. Directs the Administrator to provide grants to States to assist in the implementation of approved four-year plans. Limits the Federal share to a maximum of 50 percent of costs, increased to 60 percent for watersheds with significant private participation in implementing nonpoint source pollution control measures. Sets forth other terms and conditions for such grants, including reporting and administrative requirements. Limits each grant per State to a maximum of 15 percent of total authorizations. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1990. Authorizes the Administrator to give funding priority to States which have implemented effective regulatory mechanisms. Directs the Administrator to make grants to assist States with approved plans in carrying out groundwater water quality protection activities which will help advance such plans. Limits the amount of such assistance. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1990. Directs the Administrator to report annually to the appropriate congressional committees on the progress made in reducing nonpoint source pollution in navigable waters. Directs the Administrator to make a final report by January 1, 1988, analyzing the effectiveness of the plans and State participation. Directs the Administrator to submit to specified congressional committees a lake restoration guidance manual establishing procedures to guide future State and local efforts to improve water quality in lakes. Adds to the authorized uses of grants for construction of treatment works projects to address water quality problems due to impacts of discharges from combined storm water and sanitary sewer overflows. Increases the amount of additional funds which the Administrator shall have available for addressing water quality problems of marine bays and estuaries subject to lower levels of water quality due to the impact of discharges from combined storm water and sanitary sewer overflows. Increases to 65 percent the Federal share of construction costs under the treatment works construction grants program. (Current law provides that the 75 percent Federal share shall be decreased to 55 percent for FY 1985 and subsequent fiscal years.) Deems the activated bio-filter feature of the project for treatment works of Little Falls, Minnesota, an innovative wastewater process and technique entitled to an 85 percent grant. Authorizes the Administrator to make a grant to fund all the costs of modifying or replacing biodisc equipment (rotating biological contractors) in any publicly owned treatment works if deficiencies are not attributable to negligence. Directs the Administrator to make preconstruction agreements with grant applicants for treatment work construction assistance to specify which costs are eligible for Federal payments. Requires grantee certification that the treatment process meets the applicable effluent limitations before the Administrator approves a project. Conditions local treatment works grants on the implementation of any required areawide waste treatment management and/or State plan and State compliance with water quality reporting requirements. Qualifies for treatment works grants purposes a system of user charges imposing lower charges for low-income residential users. Requires the Administrator to allot to States treatment works construction grants for FY 1986 through 1988. Extends through FY 1988 the authorization of appropriations for minimum allotments to States and specified U.S. territories and possessions. Increases the allotment for specified U.S. territories and possessions. Extends through FY 1988 the reservation of certain amounts from State allotments for State administrative expenses. Directs the Administrator to reserve specified amounts from the allotments of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut to make grants to the Interstate Sanitation Commission established by their interstate compact. Extends through FY 1988 specified provisions relating to minimum expenditures for increasing the Federal share of grants for construction of treatment works utilizing innovative processes and techniques. Requires a State to allocate at least 50 percent of its water quality management planning grant to regional and interstate public comprehensive organizations if it is useful to do so. Directs the Administrator to reserve specified appropriations for audits of such construction projects. Directs the Administrator to make grants for specified purposes from the appropriate State allotments for treatment works construction to: (1) the city of Avalon, California; (2) the owners of the Rocky River Wastewater Treatment Plant in Rocky River, Ohio; (3) Walker and Smithfield Townships, Pennsylvania; (4) the Elk Pinch Public Service District, Kanawha County, West Virginia; (5) the city of Taylor Mill, Kentucky; and (6) the city of Watsonville, California. Establishes a program of grants to States for establishment of State water pollution control revolving funds for providing assistance to municipalities and intermunicipal and interstate agencies for construction of publicly owned treatment works. Permits the modification of pH levels and the amount of iron and manganese in discharges from remined areas of coal remining operations if such operations provide potential for water quality improvement and use the best available technology. Directs the Administrator to consider the effects of specified factors on the ecosystem when developing water quality criteria, providing an ample margin of safety to protect human health and fish and wildlife resources. Directs the Administrator to publish a description of significant differences of opinion concerning a pollutant. Reduces the time in which the Administrator must promulgate guidelines establishing test procedures for the analysis of pollutants. Authorizes the Administrator to establish a single compliance date for pretreatment standards for a source subject to more than one if to do so would result in earlier total compliance and the use of compatible technologies. Extends the deadline for compliance with electroplating pretreatment standards. Directs the Administrator to maintain adequate personnel to implement pretreatment requirements. Authorizes a two-year extension for a treatment works to comply with a categorical pretreatment standard if it uses an innovative treatment system which has potential for industry-wide application and the treatment works can still comply with the terms of its permit. Revises criminal penalties. Adds civil penalties for specified violations. Revises the Clean Lakes Program to include saline as well as fresh water lakes. Directs the Administrator to make grants to State for priority projects for control of nonpoint sources of pollution contributing to the degradation of water quality in lakes. Adds provisions for grants to States to carry out approved methods and procedures to restore water quality which has deteriorated as a result of high acidity which may be due to acid deposition. Limits the amount of grants to 80 percent of costs. Requires such funds to be distributed on the basis of need. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1985 through 1989. Directs the Administrator to report annually to specified congressional committees on the status and trend of water quality in lakes in the United States. Directs the Administrator to study water quality problems in Lake Houston, Houston, Texas, and undertake control measures to improve water quality. Directs the Administrator to report to specified congressional committees on such study and measures. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Administrator to: (1) conduct a one-year comprehensive study of the Beaver Lake, Arkansas; (2) undertake a demonstration project for measures identified in such study for preserving and enhancing the reservoir's water quality; and (3) report, with recommendations, on such study and project to specified congressional committees. Makes specified funds available for such purposes. Directs the Administrator to undertake demonstration projects for specified cleanup operations for the following New Jersey bodies of water: (1) Greenwood Lake and Belcher Creek; (2) Deal Lake; and (3) Alcyon Lake. Directs the Administrator to report on such projects to specified congressional committees. Authorizes appropriations. Expands from five to ten years the permit term under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) unless a permit modifies specified requirements or the applicant has not consistently complied with any NPDES permit held by such applicant. Requires that such permits be modified promptly to insure compliance with any new or revised effluent limitation for toxic pollutants or any new or revised requirement pursuant to water quality standards established under specified provisions of the Clean Water Act which is more stringent than those in the existing permit. Prohibits the Administrator from requiring an NPDES permit for discharges of stormwater runoff from mining operations or oil or gas operations composed entirely of flows which are from conveyances or conveyance systems used for collecting and conveying precipitation runoff and which are not contaminated with process wastes, overburden, raw materials, toxic pollutants above natural background levels, spilled product, hazardous substances, or oil, or grease. Requires any person discharging such stormwater runoff to monitor the quality of water in such flows and report at least annually to the Administrator on the results of such monitoring. Prohibits the Administrator from requiring additional pretreatment by a discharger of conventional pollutants when its publicly-owned treatment works is not meeting NPDES permit requirements because of inadequate design or operation. Authorizes a partial NPDES permit program covering a portion of the discharges into the navigable waters in such State if it covers administration of a major category of such discharges or a major component of the State's NPDES permit program. Provides that a State may return, or the Administrator may withdraw approval of, delegated NPDES permit program responsibilities. Authorizes the Administrator to make a grant to the city of New York to install additional facilities and make modifications necessary for the Newtown Creek sewage treatment plant to provide secondary treatment. Limits the grant to 75 percent of costs. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Administrator to make grants to the city of San Diego, California, for construction of a project consisting of publicly owned treatment works to provide primary or advanced treatment of municipal sewage and industrial waste for the city of Tijuana, Mexico, and for San Diego. Directs the Administrator to make grants to the county of Cochise, Arizona, for construction of a project consisting of publicly owned treatment works in Naco, Arizona, to provide primary or more advanced treatment of untreated sewage emanating from the city of Naco, Sonora, Mexico and municipal sewage or industrial waste from Naco, Arizona. Authorizes appropriations. Imposes a cap on raw sewage discharges from the drainage areas of the North River plant, Manhattan, New York, and the Red Hook Plant, Brooklyn, New York, into navigable waters (the Hudson-Raritan Estuary) if New York City fails to meet the deadlines for achieving advanced preliminary treatment contained in the consent decree of December 30, 1982 (August 1, 1986, for the North River plant; August 1, 1987, for the Red Hook plant). Permits the Administrator to raise such cap for seasonal variation or so-called acts of God. States that violations of these requirements shall be considered violations of the the Clean Water Act as well as of the consent decree. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Administrator should not agree to any further modification of the advanced preliminary treatment schedule in the consent decree. Directs the Administrator to work with New York City, implement monitoring activities for both plants, and commence enforcement actions in the event of unexcused violations. Directs the Administrator to make grants to the Metropolitan District Commission, Massachusetts, for a project to undertake emergency improvements at the Deer Island Waste Water Treatment Plant in Boston, Massachusetts. Limits the Federal share to 75 percent of costs. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1985 through 1987. Directs the Administrator to pay, in the same proportion as the Federal share of other project costs, all expenses for the relocation of facilities for the distribution of natural gas with respect to the entire wastewater treatment works known as Oakwood Beach and Red Hook projects, New York. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Administrator to remove raw sewage discharged into Brady's Run and the Beaver River, Pennsylvania, resulting from the destruction of the Chippewa Township, Pennsylvania, sewage treatment facility. Directs the Administrator to study the feasibility and desirability of eliminating the regulation of de minimus discharges of pollutants into navigable waters. Directs the Administrator to report on such study to specified congressional committees within one year after enactment of this Act. Directs the Administrator to study the effectiveness of specified innovative and alternative wastewater treatment processes and techniques which have been used in treatment works constructed under the Clean Water Act. Directs the Administrator to report within two years on such study to specified congressional committees. Directs the Administrator to study the water quality improvements which have been achieved by application of best available technology economically achievable pursuant to specified provisions of such Act, to reporting to specified congressional committees within two year after the enactment of this Act. Directs the Administrator to study the testing procedures for analysis of pollutants established under specified provisions of such Act. Directs the Administrator to report, on such study to specified congressional committees within one year after the enactment of this Act. Directs the Administrator to conduct biennially a state-of-the art review of such test procedures to determine their adequacy and effectiveness. Directs the Administrator to submit to such congressional committees recommendations based on such review for modifying such test procedures to improve their effectiveness. Directs the Administrator to study the pretreatment of toxic pollutants and report to the appropriate congressional committees within two years after enactment of this Act. Directs the Administrator to study the problem of the corrosive effects of sulfides in collection and treatment systems, the extent to which the uniform imposition of categorical pretreatment standards will exacerbate this problem, and the range of available options to deal with the effects. Requires that such study be conducted in consultation with the Los Angeles City and County sanitation agencies which have observed examples of corrosion probably caused by sulfides. Directs the Administrator to report on such study to specified congressional committees within one year after enactment of this Act. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Administrator to make grants to provide alternate water supplies to replace contaminated groundwater. Makes owners or operators of a public water system or units of local government eligible for such assistance. Limits the Federal share of costs to 50 percent, also limiting the maximum amount of any one grant and total grants within a State. Directs the Administrator to report annually to Congress on such grants program, including information on the sources and extent of groundwater contamination and the number of people affected. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1988. Authorizes the Administrator to make a grant of 75 percent of construction costs to the city of Des Moines, Iowa, for construction of the Central Sewage Treatment Plant. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Administrator to make a grant to the San Diego Water Reclamation Agency, California, to demonstrate innovations in wastewater reclamation. Authorizes appropriations. Revises the meaning of the phrase "discharge of any pollutant into marine water." Requires as new conditions for the modification of treatment requirements with respect to the discharge of pollutants from a publicly owned treatment works that an applicant for such modification demonstrate that: (1) in the case of a treatment works serving a population of 50,000 or more, there is in effect a specified pretreatment program for toxic pollutants introduced into such works for which there is no pretreatment requirement in effect; and (2) the effluent which is discharged from such works is receiving primary treatment and meets the criteria for water quality established by the Administrator. Directs the Administrator to convene a management conference if the attainment or maintenance of water quality in an estuary requires the control of sources of pollution in more than one State. Requires that an interstate agency be the lead agency if it has jurisdiction over all or a significant part of the estuary. Directs the Administrator to give priority consideration to: (1) Long Island Sound; (2) Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts; (3) Delaware Bay, Delaware and New Jersey; and (4) Albemarle Sound, North Carolina. Prohibits convening such a conference before a final adjudication has been made in any pending State boundary dispute involving the estuary. Requires a management conference to provide for the implementation of a master plan addressing the pollution problems of the estuary involved. Authorizes the Administrator to make grants to States participating in such a management conference equal to 50 percent of their implementing costs. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1984 through 1988. Authorizes appropriations to the Administrator for FY 1984 through 1988 for: (1) administrative expenses; (2) plan development grants; and (3) implementation monitoring. Directs the Administrator to continue the Chesapeake Bay program and to establish and maintain in the EPA an office of Chesapeake Bay Programs to: (1) collect and disseminate research and other information on the environmental quality of the Bay; (2) coordinate Federal and State research efforts; (3) conduct research on sediment deposition in the Bay; and (4) conduct research on how environmental changes impact on the living resources of the Bay, with particular emphasis on the impact of pollutant loadings. Directs the Administrator to make a grant to implement management mechanisms in the plan if the State has approved and committed to implement all or substantially all aspects of the plan. Requires a State or combination of States, in order to qualify for such grants, to submit a plan for proposed abatement actions and estimated costs for the approval of the Administrator. Limits such grants to 50 percent of the plan implementation costs. Limits administrative costs. Requires States to submit progress reports biennially to the Administrator for transmittal to the Congress. Directs the Administrator to make a grant to assess the principal factors having an adverse effect on the environmental quality of the Narragansett Bay in conjunction with developing and implementing a management program to improve such Bay's water quality. Limits such grants to 50 percent of the program implementation costs. Requires a State to submit a description of the proposed program for Administrator approval, demonstrating that it will: (1) establish a committee to provide advice on design and implementation of a management program and to coordinate communication on issues affecting such Bay's water quality; (2) review and coordinate Federal and State water pollution abatement programs; (3) establish methods for improving sampling data collection and a system for collecting, analyzing, storing, and disseminating such data; and (4) develop and implement water quality management practices and measures to reduce pollutant loadings in such Bay. Requires States to submit annual progress reports to the Administrator. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1985 through 1988 for such Chesapeake and Narragansett Bays programs. Sets forth provisions relating to the New York and New Jersey Harbor area. Directs the Administrator to: (1) collect and make available information on the environmental quality of the Harbor; (2) coordinate Federal and State improvement efforts; and (3) determine the impact of environmental changes on the living resources of the Harbor and on adjacent coastal areas, with particular emphasis on the impact of certain pollutant loadings. Directs the Administrator to make a grant to implement the management mechanisms contained in an interstate management plan for such Harbor. Allows an affected State or States to submit for Administrator approval such a plan, including the estimated cost of the proposed abatement actions. Limits the grant to 50 percent of implementation costs. Limits administrative costs. Requires such States to submit biennial progress reports on the implementation of such plans for transmittal to the Congress. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1985 through 1988. Authorizes the Administrator to undertake a study on consumptive uses of Great Lakes water, focussing on control measures which would reduce the quantity of water consumed without adversely affecting the projected growth of the region. Requires that such study include an analysis of both existing and new technology, including assessments of water quality assessment methodologies, the economic and environmental affects of manufacturing uses, and regulation of such uses. Authorizes appropriations. Grants an exception for certain publicly owned treatment works to a time limitation relating to an application for a permit modification for less than secondary treatment involving an ocean discharge. Designates the Great Lakes National Program Office of EPA as the Great Lakes International Coordination Office to coordinate international (Canada), Federal, State, and local actions aimed at improving Lake water quality. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1990. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1985 to carry out water quality studies of the Great Lakes under the Act. Directs the Administrator to submit annually to Congress a comprehensive assessment of the planned efforts to be pursued in the succeeding fiscal year for implementing the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1978 and another annual report assessing the progress of the previous year. Directs the Administrator to research the harmful effects on the health and welfare of persons caused by pollutants in water, especially the bioaccumulation of these pollutants in aquatic species and any reduction in the value of aquatic industries. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1985 through 1988. Directs the Administrator to carry out and report to the appropriate congressional committees on a demonstration program to restore the biological integrity of acidified lakes and watersheds through liming. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Administrator to make a grant to Seattle, Washington, to construct secondary treatment works. Limits such grant to 75 percent of costs. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Administrator to make grants to States for groundwater quality protection activities. Limits such grants to 50 percent of costs. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1985 through 1989. Directs the Administrator to prepare a study-report for specified congressional committees on the feasibility of achieving compliance with specified environmental standards using the best practicable technology for the Alaska Lumber and Pulp Company, Sitka, Alaska, and the Louisiana-Pacific Corporation, Ketchikan, Alaska. Establishes the National Ground Water Commission to examine all aspects of the nation's groundwater. Directs the Commission to report to the President and the Congress on the findings and conclusions of a preliminary study which includes an analysis of the extent of groundwater contamination caused by hazardous and other solid waste, the regions and major water supplies most significantly affected by such contamination, and Commission recommendations for preventive or remedial measures to protect human health and the environment from the effects of such contamination. Terminates the Commission on January 1, 1987. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1985 through 1987. Sets forth provisions concerning turnkey contracts on construction grants for treatment facilities costing less than $8,000,000. Redefines point source to include a leachate collection system. Directs the Administrator to conduct studies to identify existing and potential point and nonpoint sources of pollution, and measures and practices to control such sources of pollution, in the following groundwater systems and aquifers: (1) the groundwater system of the Upper Santa Cruz Basin and the Avra-Altar Basin of Pima, Pinal, and Santa Cruz Counties, Arizona; (2) the Spokane-Rathdrum Valley Aquifer, Washington and Idaho; (3) the Nassau and Suffolk Counties Aquifer, New York; (4) the Whidbey Island Aquifer, Washington; and (5) the Unconsolidated Quaternary Aquifer, Rockaway River area, New Jersey. Directs the Administrator to then prepare a proposed management plan for each such groundwater system and aquifer. Directs the Administrator to submit to Congress an interim and final report on such studies and proposed management plans. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Administrator to develop a comprehensive master plan for Puget Sound, Washington, recommend priority corrective actions and compliance schedules to address point and nonpoint sources of pollution, and monitor such Sound to determine the effectiveness of such plan. Authorizes the Administrator to make grants to the State of Washington if such State adopts a comprehensive master plan for such Sound. Sets the Federal share at 50 percent of costs. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1985 through 1987. Revises construction grant program provisions under the Clean Water Act to direct the Administrator to make a final decision within 60 days of the filing of an appeal relating to a dispute with respect to the awarding of a contract for construction of treatment works by a grantee. Directs the Administrator to identify those toxic pollutants which may be present in sewage sludge in concentrations which may adversely affect human health or the environment. Directs the Administrator to publish regulations specifying acceptable management practices for sewage sludge containing toxic pollutants and establishing numerical limitations for each such pollutant for each use of or disposal technique for sludge identified. Requires that such management practices and numerical limitations be adequate to protect the public health and environment from any reasonably anticipated adverse effects. Authorizes the Administrator to promulgate management practices or operation standards if it is not feasible to prescribe numerical limitations. Authorizes the Administrator to conduct or initiate scientific studies, demonstration projects, and public information and education projects designed to promote the safe and beneficial use of sewage sludge for restoring abandoned mine sites, conditioning soil for parks and recreation areas, agricultural and horticultural uses, and other beneficial purposes. Authorizes the Administrator to make grants for such studies and projects to State water pollution control agencies other public or nonprofit agencies, institutions, organizations, and individuals. Authorizes the Administrator to collect and disseminate information pertaining to the safe and beneficial use of sewage sludge. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Interstate Banking Act of 1985 - Amends the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, and the National Housing Act to authorize interstate bank branching among States in which State laws specifically authorize such branching. Requires the President to report to Congress concerning the effect of this Act on the financial, economic, and banking environment. Terminates the amendments enacted in this Act five years after the date of enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Establishes immigration procedures for the status adjustment to permanent resident of certain aliens who: (1) have received Cuban/Haitian entrant designation; or (2) are Cuban or Haitian nationals who arrived in the United States before January 1, 1982, and who (with the exception of asylum applicants who filed before such date) were not admitted to the United States as nonimmigrants. Requires such adjustment applications to be filed within two years of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Amends the Hobbs Act to redefine "extortion" to mean obtaining property from another with consent by use of actual or threatened force, violence, or fear thereof, or wrongful use of fear not involving force or violence, or under color of official right. Expresses congressional intent: (1) not to exclude Federal jurisdiction on the ground that conduct involving force, violence, or fear thereof takes place in the course of a legitimate business or labor dispute or on the ground that the conduct violates State or local law; and (2) not to chill legitimate labor activity by authorizing Federal prosecution for offenses occurring during a labor dispute not involving extortion. Makes it an affirmative defense to prosecution that the defendant's conduct: (1) was incidental to peaceful picketing in the course of a legitimate labor dispute; (2) consisted solely of minor bodily injury or property damage; or (3) was not intended to extort property.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Enterprise Zone Act of 1985 - Title I: Designation of Enterprise Zones - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the designation of enterprise zones by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for purposes of extending the tax incentives and regulatory flexibility measures provided by this Act. Provides that State and local governments shall nominate areas for such designation. Limits the designation of enterprise zones to 75 nominated areas over a 36-month period (one-third of which must be in rural areas). Limits the period during which such designations shall remain in effect. Provides that the Secretary may designate such zones only if: (1) the area is within the jurisdiction of the local government; (2) the boundary of the area is continuous; (3) the area has a population of at least 4,000 if any portion thereof is located within a standard metropolitan statistical area (with a population of at least 50,000) or 1,500 otherwise, or is within an Indian reservation; and (4) the area meets specified unemployment and poverty requirements. Requires nominating local governments, as a condition of the Secretary's designation, to agree in writing to follow a course of action which may include reducing tax rates, improving local services, simplifying or streamlining regulation of business, or receiving commitments of private entities to assist employees and residents of the area. Terminates the authority of the Secretary to designate enterprise zones on June 30, 1988, or three years after the publication of regulations pertaining to such zones, whichever is later. Describes areas to which preference shall be given in deciding to designate enterprise zones. Requires the Secretary to prepare and submit to the Congress every four years a report on the effects of such enterprise zones' designation. Requires that any property tax reduction effected by a local government under the terms of this Act be disregarded for purposes of determining the eligibility of a State or local government for Federal assistance or benefits. States that designation of an enterprise zone shall not give displaced persons from such an area any rights or benefits under the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970. Exempts enterprise zones from certain requirements relating to Federal environmental policy. Title II: Federal Income Tax Incentives - Subtitle A: Credit for Employers and Employees - Allows employers located in enterprise zones a nonrefundable income tax credit for increased employment expenditures and employment of the disadvantaged. Allows a three-year carryback and 15-year carryover of such credit. Sets the amount of such credit at ten percent of the increase in payroll (taking into account a maximum of $15,000 in wages per year per employee) plus 50 percent of the wages paid to certain disadvantaged workers for the first three years of the enterprise zone designation. Phases out such credit in the last three years of the enterprise zone designation. Disallows a deduction for the portion of wages taken into account for such credit. Allows employees located in enterprise zones a nonrefundable income tax credit equal to five percent of qualified wages earned per year (taking into account a maximum of $9,000 in wages per year). Phases out such credit in the last three years of the enterprise zone designation. Subtitle B: Credits for Investment in Tangible Property in Enterprise Zones - Allows businesses an additional investment tax credit for investment in certain tangible property located in enterprise zones. Limits such credit to five percent for zone personal property and ten percent for new zone construction property, including rental property. Requires that the property subject to such credit be predominantly used in the zone, be purchased after zone designation, and not be acquired from relatives or related corporations. Requires the recapture of such credit upon early disposition of the property. Phases out such credit in the last three years of the enterprise zone designation. Subtitle C: Rules Reduction in Capital Gain Tax Rates - Eliminates the capital gains tax on property of corporations acquired after the enterprise zone designation and used in a zone business. Qualifies certain low-income rental housing located in an enterprise zone for such treatment. Permits property to remain qualified for purposes of the revised capital gains treatment after a designation of an enterprise zone has terminated. Exempts gain from the sale or exchange of property used in a business in an enterprise zone from the computation of the minimum tax. Allows noncorporate taxpayers to deduct from gross income 100 percent of any net capital gain from qualified enterprise zone property. Subtitle D: Rules Relating to Industrial Development Bonds - Provides that limitation on the cost recovery deductions for property financed with tax-exempt industrial development bonds shall not apply to enterprise zone property. Provides that the termination of the small issue exemption shall not apply to industrial development bonds the proceeds of which are used to finance facilities in such enterprise zones. Subtitle E: Sense of the Congress with Respect to Tax Simplification - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Internal Revenue Service should simplify the administration and enforcement of any provision of the Internal Revenue Code affected by this Act. Title III: Regulatory Flexibility - Revises the definition of "small entity" for purposes of the analysis of regulatory functions to include qualified businesses (as defined in Title II of this Act) and governments and nonprofit enterprises operating within enterprise zones. Authorizes Federal agencies, upon request by a designating government, to waive or modify rules and regulations which pertain to the carrying out of projects or activities within an enterprise zone. Requires agencies to approve such request if the resulting benefits of job creation, community development, or economic revitalization outweigh the public interest in continuation of the rule unchanged. Disallows waiver or modification of a rule that would directly violate a statutory requirement (including the Davis-Bacon Act and Fair Labor Standards Act) or which would present a danger to the public health and safety. Provides that such waivers or modifications of a rule shall remain in effect as long as the zone designations. Amends the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act to direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to promote the coordination of all enterprise zone programs and consolidate all periodic reports required under such programs into one summary report. Title IV: Establishment of Foreign-Trade Zones in Enterprise Zones - Requires the Foreign-Trade Board to consider on a priority basis and expedite the processing of applications for the establishment of foreign trade zones within enterprise zones. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to give priority to, and expedite applications for, the establishment of ports of entry necessary to establish such zones. States that, to the maximum extent practicable, foreign-trade zones should be established within enterprise zones.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with specified agencies, to conduct at least ten demonstration projects to determine the feasibility of providing for alternative Medicare benefits for individuals entitled to Medicare benefits who are diagnosed as suffering from Alzheimer's disease or a related memory disorder. Directs the Secretary, in conducting such projects, to consider: (1) alternative benefits that encompass a range of outpatient services; and (2) providing alternative benefits in a manner that is analogous to the manner in which benefits for hospice care are made available under Medicare. Limits the cost of each such project. Provides for the paying for such projects.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to provide that a beneficiary shall be entitled to a prorated benefit for the month in which he or she dies.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase to $2,500 the maximum deduction for contributions to retirement savings plans. Allows certain individuals to compute the amount of the income tax deduction for retirement savings on the basis of the earned income of their spouses without regard to any community property laws.
![Official portrait of Rep. Shaw, E. Clay, Jr. [R-FL-22]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/s000303_200.jpg)