United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1982
Access to Postsecondary Education Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to raise the interest rates on student loans made, insured, or guaranteed under such Act. Sets the interest rate for such loans to cover the cost of instruction for any period beginning on or after August 1, 1982, at: (1) 10.75 percent per year on the unpaid principal balance of the loan to undergraduates; and (2) 12 percent per year for any other borrower. Provides that, for specified periods during which the average bond equivalent rate of auctioned Treasury bills differs from 12 percent per year by more than one percent, the applicable interest rate of such loans shall be adjusted according to specified formulas to reflect the Federal cost of borrowing. Requires the eligible institution to provide the lender a determination of need for a loan and the amount of such loan in order for a student to qualify for a portion of interest payment under provisions for Federal payments to reduce student interest costs. Repeals provisions for separate needs assessment for student loans. Revises provisions for need analysis to provide for adjustments to reflect any Federal financial assistance received by the family with respect to other dependents in postsecondary education programs. Repeals a provision which excludes all equity in a single principal place of residence from the computation of assets for purposes of determining the expected family contribution. Eliminates grace periods before repayment of specified student loans after academic failure. Increases the minimum repayment amounts of specified student loans. Increases the interest rate on defaulted student loans. Raises to ten percent of the principal the amount which an eligible lender may charge as an origination fee for specified student loans. Extends to August 1, 1984, the period during which the disclosure of such fee need not meet certain Federal and State disclosure requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1982
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should acclaim and support the demonstration of the people of El Salvador in favor of democracy.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 1982
Enterprise Zone Tax Act of 1982 - 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. Specifies that State and local governments shall nominate areas for such designation. Limits the designation of enterprise zones to 25 nominated areas per year. Limits the period during which such designation shall remain in effect. Specifies 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 2,500 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 December 31, 1985. Describes areas to which preference shall be given in deciding to designate enterprise zones. 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. Title II: Federal Income Tax Incentives - Subtitle A - Credits for Employers and Employees - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers a nonrefundable income tax credit for ten percent of the increase in payroll for all employees, taking into account a maximum of $15,000 in wages per employee. Allows such credit only for wages paid to employees who perform 90 percent of their services in work directly related to the conduct of the taxpayers' business located in the enterprise zone and who perform 50 percent of their services within such zone. Phases out such credit in the last three years of the enterprise zone designation. Allows a nonrefundable income tax credit for employers equal to 50 percent of the wages paid to certain disadvantaged workers for the first three years of the enterprise zone designation. Phases out such credit by ten percent a year beginning in the fourth year after such designation. Requires a recapture of such credit for the early termination of such employees. Disallows a deduction for the portion of wages or salaries subject to such credit. Requires employers to furnish to each employee a written statement showing the amount of wages paid to such employee. Provides an income tax credit for enterprise zone employees equal to five percent of the first $9,000 of wages received each year. Phases out such credit in the last four 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 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. Subtitle C: 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. Expresses the sense of Congress that if the minimum tax is modified, enterprise zone capital gain will be excluded in computing minimum taxable income. Subtitle D: Extension of Carryover Periods - Extends the net operating loss and investment tax credit carryover period to the longer of 15 years or the duration of the enterprise zone designation for businesses operating in such zones. Subtitle E: Rules Relating to Industrial Development Bonds - Provides that rules relating to small issue tax-exempt industrial development bonds now in effect shall apply to bonds used to finance land or other depreciable property located in an enterprise zone, even if such rules are subsequently changed. Subtitle F: 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), designating governments, and nonprofit enterprises operating within enterprise zones. Authorizes Federal agencies, upon request by designating governments, 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 the waiver or modification of a rule that would directly violate a statutory requirement (including the Davis-Bacon Act and the 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 Zone 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 · 31 March 1982
Constitutional Amendment - Provides that Supreme Court justices and judges of any inferior court established by Congress shall continue in office only if approved by a majority vote of the people every six years.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 1982
Declares that the United States should propose to the Soviet Union: (1) a long-term, mutual, and verifiable nuclear forces freeze at equal and sharply reduced levels of forces; and (2) practical measures to reduce the danger of an accidental nuclear war and to prevent the use of nuclear weapons by third parties. States that the United States and the Soviet Union should channel their resources away from nuclear armaments and towards fighting poverty, hunger, and disease. Declares that the United States should continue to work for balanced arms reductions.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1982
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to prohibit entitlement to title II benefits in the case of an individual who is not a U. S. citizen or national if such individual: (1) is not a permanent resident of the United States; or (2) is outside the United States. Prohibits the payment of title II benefits to any dependent or survivor of such an individual on the basis of such individual's wages and self-employment income. Makes such prohibition inapplicable if the benefit involved is payable to such an individual as the dependent or survivor of: (1) a U. S. citizen or national; (2) a permanent resident of the United States; or (3) a U. S. citizen or national residing outside the United States if the relationship required for such individual's entitlement already existed at the time such national or citizen reached age 50. Authorizes the payment of title II benefits to an individual who is not entitled to benefits pursuant to this Act until the total amount of such benefits equals the total amount of any taxes paid on the wages and self-employment income on which the benefits are based.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1982
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that neither House of Congress should recess or adjourn for a period of more than three days at a time until congressional action is completed on the first concurrent budget resolution for FY 1983.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 1982
Prohibits Federal involvement in the performance of abortions, except when the life of the mother would be endangered if the child were carried to term. Includes the following activities within the scope of this prohibition: (1) performance of an abortion by a Federal agency; (2) use of appropriated funds to perform or reimburse or refer for abortions; (3) use of funds for research or training with respect to abortion; or (4) contracting for insurance which pays or reimburses for abortions. Prohibits any institution receiving Federal funding from discriminating against any employee or student because of such person's opposition to abortion. Declares that for the purposes of the due process clause of the 14th amendment to the Constitution, human life exists from conception without regard to race, sex, age, health, defect, or condition of dependency, and that "person" includes all human beings. Recognizes the compelling interest of each State to protect the lives of those whom the State regards as human beings, independent of the status of unborn children under the 14th amendment. Provides for expedited Supreme Court review with regard to this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1982
Extends for one year the authority of the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs to contract for hospital care or medical services in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands without reference to patient loads or incidence of provision of medical services for veterans treated by the Veterans' Administration in the contiguous 48 states.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1982
Declares that if Israel or any other democratic state is denied its rights and privileges in the United Nations General Assembly the United States will suspend its participation in the General Assembly and will withhold its contribution to the United Nations until the action is reversed.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1982
Individual Housing Account Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an income tax deduction from gross income for cash contributions to a tax-exempt savings account established for the benefit of the taxpayer (or the taxpayer and spouse if married) for the exclusive purpose of purchasing such taxpayer's first principal residence. Limits the maximum annual deduction to $5,000, with a maximum lifetime deduction of $20,000. Excludes distributions from such account from gross income as long as they are used exclusively for the purpose of purchasing the first principal residence of the taxpayer.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1982
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the problem of Americans missing because of the Vietnam war should be resolved as soon as possible. Urges the President to: (1) take actions to ensure the release of all Americans who remain captive; and (2) obtain from Vietnam, Laos, and Kampuchea a complete accounting of all the Americans who are missing, including a returning of the remains of the dead.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1982
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to implement procedures for identifying social security benefit checks issued under title II which have not been negotiated within 12 months and to credit the appropriate social security trust fund on a monthly basis for the amount of all unnegotiated benefit checks drawn on such trust fund. Requires the Secretary to pay a benefit check presented for payment after it has been credited to one of the trust funds if it is otherwise proper. Authorizes appropriations to reimburse the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund for the total amount of unnegotiated benefit checks.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1982
Flat Rate Tax Act of 1982 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the income tax tables. Provides for an income tax rate of ten percent for all individuals, estates, and trusts. Repeals all special tax deductions, credits, and exclusions from income for individuals. Amends the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 to increase to $2,000 the deduction for personal exemptions.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1982
Limits amounts provided in House Committee expense resolutions for the second session of the Ninety-seventh Congress to the total amounts expended under such resolutions for the first session.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1982
Taxpayer Protection from Congressional Abuse Act - Rescinds any legislation enacted after December 31, 1980, granting Members of Congress an income tax deduction for living expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1982
Declares that the presidential certification submitted to the Congress with respect to sending military aid to El Salvador is void. Directs the President to immediately suspend such assistance. Requires the suspension to remain in effect during FY 1982 and 1983. Prohibits the President from making another such certification until Congress enacts a joint resolution declaring that El Salvador has met specified conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1982
Amends rule VIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives to require a recorded vote on the final passage of legislation that economically affects Members of Congress as a separate and distinct class. Makes it out of order in the House to consider any bill or resolution subject to such amended rule unless it is comprised solely of items relating economically to congressmen.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1982
Amends Rule 12 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure to authorize a new plea of "guilty but insane" for any criminal defendant whose actions constitute all necessary elements of the offense charged but who lacks the requisite state of mind as a result of mental disease or defect. Adopts the current notice provisions for a defense of insanity for the new plea of guilty but insane. Permits the jury or the court in a non-jury trial to find a defendant guilty but insane. Requires the court in any such case to hold a hearing to determine the present mental condition of the convicted person. Directs the court to commit such person to the custody of the Attorney General upon a finding by a preponderance of the evidence that the person is presently suffering from a mental disease or defect as a result of which release would create a substantial danger to himself or to the person or property of another. Directs the Attorney General to release such person to a State which will assume responsibility for his custody and treatment or otherwise to hospitalize such person in a suitable facility. Requires the court to hold a hearing upon the certification by the director of the facility that such person's release will no longer create a substantial danger to himself or the person or property of another. Directs the court to order the discharge of a person who is found to have recovered. Provides for the hospitalization of persons found guilty, imprisoned persons, and persons due for release, who are found to suffer from mental disease or defect.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1982
Emergency Youth Employment Tax Incentive Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an increased income tax credit under the targeted jobs tax credit program for qualified youth employed between May 17, 1982, and September 17, 1982. Increases the rate of such credit from 50 to 85 percent. Defines "qualified youth" as an individual: (1) who is between 16 and 21 years old; (2) who has not displaced any other individual from employment; (3) who performs services on substantially a full-time basis; and (4) who is certified as being a member of an economically disadvantaged family. Provides that 15 percent of the youth hired by any one employer need not be economically disadvantaged. Exempts wages paid to a qualified youth from income tax, social security tax, and unemployment tax.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1982
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should: (1) advise the Soviet Union of U.S. concern over the deprivation by the Soviet government of the religious freedom of the Vashchenko and Chmykhalov families and the refusal of such government to permit the emigration of such families; and (2) ensure that those families will be permitted to stay in the U.S. embassy in Moscow until the Soviet Union authorizes their emigration.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 1982
Amends rule VIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives to require a recorded vote on the final passage of legislation that economically affects Members of Congress as a separate and distinct class.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1982
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the provision allowing an income tax deduction without substantiation for living expenses of Members of Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1982
Terminates provisions of the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 which set forth special rules for the leasing of depreciable business property between corporations after 1981.
United States · United States Congress · 16 December 1981
Clean Air Amendments of 1981 - Amends the Clean Air Act ("the Act") to revise provisions applicable to stationary and mobile sources of air pollution. Declares that such revision is for the purposes of: (1) preserving the basic framework and purposes of the Act; (2) continuing unchanged the Act's statutory requirements for setting and revising national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) (both "primary" NAAQS, relating to human health; and "secondary" NAAQS, relating to other "welfare" factors); (3) lessening the complexity in the process of achieving those standards and other requirements of the Act; (4) expediting the review and approval process for State implementation plans (SIPs); (5) providing reasonably appropriate extensions of time for States to attain NAAQS and providing administrative flexibility for States and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to achieve the purposes of the Act in a timely and reasonably effective way; (6) ensuring adequate consideration of economic, energy, safety, environmental, employment, and other relevant factors in achieving NAAQS and other requirements; (7) supporting training programs for State and local governments; and (8) providing sufficient budget authority and personnel for the Administrator to enable the EPA and the States to carry out the Act in a timely and efficient manner without undue reliance on contractors. Title I: Amendments Relating Primarily to Regulation of Stationary Sources - Revises title I (Air Pollution Prevention and Control) of the Act. Use of Best Available Data - Requires that the best available data obtained by monitoring or modeling be used in revisions of a list of air quality control regions that do not meet specified standards. Provides that, where available, "reliable monitoring data" shall be considered "the best available data." Directs the Administrator to decide upon "the best available data" and "reliable monitoring data." State Plans and State Implementation Plans Revision Process - Revises deadlines for development of State implementation plans (SIPs) to extend the current nine-month period to "a reasonable time as determined by the Administrator (but not to exceed two years)." Directs the Administrator to participate in public hearings conducted by a State, where appropriate to expedite the approval of any SIP revision. Authorizes the Administrator, with the consent of the State, to jointly conduct such hearings. Sets forth new provisions for a State Implementation Plan Revision Process. Directs the Administrator to publish prompt notice of any State submission of any SIP revision. Provides for a written comment period of 30 to 70 days. Permits the Administrator to approve or disapprove the SIP revision, without additional proceedings, where the revision was submitted after State administrative proceedings certified by the State to be at least comparable to specified Federal rulemaking proceedings (including reasonable notice and public hearing) and after the written comment period. Authorizes the Administrator to conduct additional proceedings within a specified period. Directs the Administrator to approve or disapprove the SIP revision 70 to 120 days after submission. Allows the Administrator to: (1) extend for up to 60 days the periods for submission of written comments and for final approval or disapproval; and/or (2) conduct additional proceedings. Requires published notice of and reasons for such extension. Requires published notice of approval or disapproval before the expiration of the 120-day period or the extended period. Deems any SIP revision that has not been approved or disapproved before the expiration of the required (or extended) period to have been approved. Directs the Administrator to publish notice and a copy of the revision, at the expiration of such period (or extension). Provides that specified "noncontroversial revisions" of SIPs shall be deemed approved upon adoption by a State. Requires a State, upon adoption of a noncontroversial SIP revision and expiration of a 30-day written comment period, to transmit notice, to the Administrator and the Federal Register, to be published as if it were a revision promulgated by the Administrator. Defines a "noncontroversial revision" as one: (1) for which no person has filed a written objection based on any provision of the Act or any regulation in effect under the Act; and (2) which is adopted by the State pursuant to Administrator-approved procedures (including reasonable notice and opportunity for participation by the public and the Administrator). Prohibits treating as a noncontroversial revision any change in a stationary source emission limitation, compliance schedule or timetable, or permit provision, until the Administrator has promulgated certain regulations requiring that such changes be limited to a stationary source already in operation and do not permit emissions increases in excess of an amount deemed by rule to be significant. Directs the Administrator to take specified factors into account in promulgating such regulations. Applies the term "noncontroversial revision" also to any revision relating only to specified information requirements. Permits State variances that are SIP revisions issued on a six-month emergency basis to be treated as approved revisions under a process similiar to that for noncontroversial revisions. Directs the Administrator to conduct periodic audits of SIPs and other State activities under the Act. Directs the Inspector General to periodically review, and report to Congress on, the Administrator's audit activities. Directs the Administrator to notify a State of information derived from such audits. Authorizes the Administrator, in addition to requiring appropriate State revision or invoking Federal revisions, to suspend the application of the new SIP revision process where a State fails to correct any deficiency or problem within an appropriate period. Requires that audit reports be available to the State and the public. Allows the Administrator to grant an extension of up to four years (currently a two-year extension) for SIP compliance with NAAQS. Specifies that the Administrator may delegate approvals or disapprovals of SIPs or SIP revisions. New Source Performance Standards - Revises provisions for New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) to limit the application of percentage reduction requirements (under which coal-burning facilities must remove a certain percentage of sulfur emissions) to those categories of stationary sources to which such requirements apply under regulations in effect on December 31, 1981. Enforcement - Provides a one-year period for compliance after issuance of specified Federal enforcement orders (not including Federal orders relating to violations of national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants or State enforcement orders). Repeals a requirement that the Administrator seek an injunction or assess a civil penalty in the case of any major stationary source not in compliance within 30 days of such a Federal enforcement order. Provides discretionary authority for the Administrator to seek injunctions or assess penalties in such cases or in any other cases of noncompliance beyond 30 days of such orders (and continues such discretionary authority in cases not involving major stationary sources). Directs the Administrator to carry out specified enforcement authorities through the use of full-time Federal officers or employees. States that contractors should be used only as necessary to provide technical support for such enforcement. Prohibits the Administrator from contracting with anyone other than a full-time Federal officer or employee to provide legal assistance for such enforcement. Requires (currently allows) each State to develop and submit to the Administrator a plan for carrying out noncompliance penalty provisions in such State. Repeals the authority of the Administrator to carry out noncompliance penalty provisions in a State under certain conditions. Authorizes (currently requires) the State, or the Administrator if the State has not received a delegation, to carry out penalty provisions to assess and collect a noncompliance penalty in specified circumstances. Authorizes the State to grant exemptions from penalties in cases of minor noncompliance (and continues the authority of the Administrator, when appropriate, to do so). Repeals a requirement that the Administrator send notices of noncompliance to specified persons, in the event the State fails to send such notices. Requires persons receiving such notices to submit a calculation of the amount of penalty owed and a schedule of payments within a reasonable period prescribed by the Administrator or the State (currently requires such submission within 45 days of notice issuance or petition denial). Makes a similar change in the deadline for submissions of petitions challenging such notice or alleging entitlement to an exemption. Provides that public hearings on such petitions be conducted by the Administrator or the State, as appropriate, and that decisions on such petitions be made within a reasonable time (currently requires the Administrator to hold such hearings unless the State agrees to do so and currently requires a decision within 90 days after receipt of the petition). Repeals provisions authorizing the Administrator to review State decisions on such petitions and requiring such review under certain conditions. Authorizes the State or the Administrator, as appropriate, to adjust or compromise any penalty assessment if the source is in compliance. Repeals provisions for: (1) final adjustments of penalties after compliance; and (2) Administrator objections to, and substitutions for, State noncompliance penalties. Revises requirements for noncompliance penalty assessed amount determinations and payment schedules. Attainment Date Extensions - Permits States to receive up to five-year extensions beyond the December 31, 1982, primary NAAQS attainment date for pollutants in nonattainment areas (the Act currently permits extensions up to December 31, 1987, for carbon monoxide and photochemical oxidants). Requires, in order to receive such extensions, that a State: (1) certify to the Administrator that attainment is not possible before December 31, 1982, despite implementation of all reasonably available measures; and (2) commit itself to not modifying State nonattainment plan provisions so as to adversely affect reasonable further progress. Directs the Administrator to publish notice of such certification and afford an opportunity of not more than 60 days for public comment, including a hearing where appropriate. Directs the Administrator, if satisfied that such attainment is not possible, to extend the deadline to a date providing for attainment as expeditiously as possible, but not later than December 31, 1987. Grants the Administrator discretionary authority, upon State application and after notice and public hearing, to provide an additional extension of an attainment date for any NAAQS, for up to six years beyond the December 31, 1987 extension. Conditions such additional extensions on a State demonstration that: (1) reasonable further progress toward attainment has been made during the previous extension period; (2) air quality problems are so severe and persistent, for identified reasons, that the previous extended deadline cannot be attained; (3) all applicable SIP provisions, including those relating to legislative and funding actions and reasonably available control technology are being adequately implemented; (4) an approved program has been adopted and implemented applicable to in-use motor vehicle emissions (including a vehicle inspection and maintenance program, where appropriate in the case of carbon monoxide and photochemical oxidants; and (5) a reasonable and practical program for attainment within a specified period has been submitted as a revision of the SIP. Directs the Administrator to: (1) promulgate regulations for determining the terms of such additional extensions; and (2) annually audit the progress of any State that has not attained a NAAQS by the additional extension deadline. Prohibits issuance of a construction or modification permit for any major stationary source which emits a pollutant for which a NAAQS has not been attained by the appropriate deadline. Permits case-by- case waivers of such prohibition for the construction of any new stationary source to replace an existing stationary source, upon determination that emissions from the new source of each air pollutant for which the area is designated a nonattainment area will be less than such emissions from the existing source. Directs the Administrator to: (1) enforce such permit requirements by issuing an order or bringing a civil action; and (2) seek an injunction or assess a civil penalty for violations of such prohibitions against construction or modification. Nonattainment (other amendments) - Revises other part D provisions for permit requirements in nonattainment areas to require that proposed new or modified major stationary sources comply with the best available control technology (BACT) standard, in the case of permits issued on or after the date 180 days after the enactment of this Act (compliance with the lowest achievable emission rate (LAER) standard is thus required only for permits issued before such date). Repeals a requirement that SIP provisions for nonattainment areas establish a specific schedule for implementation of a vehicle emission control inspection and maintenance (I and M) program in order to qualify for a deadline extension in meeting the primary NAAQS for photochemical oxidants or carbon monoxide. Requires that SIP nonattainment provisions for urban areas with greater than 500,000 population in which the 1981 photochemical oxidants and/or carbon monoxide level exceeded the respective primary NAAQS by 50 percent or more must contain a cost-effective program applicable to in-use motor vehicle emissions and not inconsistent with title II (Emission Standards for Moving Sources) of the Act. Requires that such program include an I and M program, if the Administrator deems this appropriate. Allows a State to decide that the I and M program will apply first to motor vehicle fleets and commercial operators and then, when the State determines necessary for attainment, to other vehicles. Permits any State to: (1) continue an I and M program for any nonattainment area which does not fall under the new requirements concerning urban areas with the above-mentioned population and pollution areas; or (2) submit revisions to modify or eliminate such program. Makes specified emissions level requirements for construction and operation in nonattainment areas inapplicable in the case of any SIP under which: (1) all new major stationary sources are required to comply with the best available control technology (BACT) standard; (2) an adequate emissions inventory is maintained; (3) all existing major stationary sources will be in compliance with emission limitations based upon reasonably available control technology (RACT) not later than 1987 (or earlier, as appropriate); and (4) notwithstanding the construction of new major stationary sources, there is a program for obtaining such annual reductions in emissions as represent reasonable further progress. Repeals provisions for Federal authority to withhold Federal grant funds for sewage treatment and highways in cases of noncompliance with the Act. Prevention of Significant Deterioration - Revises provisions for Prevention of Significant Deterioration of Air Quality (PSD). (PSD provisions currently specify allowable short-term and long-term "increments" of emissions of sulfur oxide and particulate matter - regulations for other pollutants are not yet final - in areas with cleaner air than that required by NAAQS. Currently the smallest increments are allowed in "class I" areas, which include "statutorily designated" large national parks and wilderness areas, with larger increments in "class II" areas, and the largest increments in "class III" areas.) Repeals the "increment" limitations (specified "maximum allowable increases over baseline concentrations") for class II and class III areas. Allows, in class I areas, the short-term increment limitation to be exceeded five times per year (currently only one short-term excess is permitted). Permits State Governors to rule that concentrations of particulate matter attributable to fugitive dust from specified sources shall not be taken into account in determining compliance with maximum allowable increases in ambient concentrations, unless the Administrator rules that the inclusion of such fugitive dust is necessary to carry out the purposes of PSD provisions. Eliminates provisions for PSD area redesignations as class III areas. Revises PSD preconstruction review analysis requirements to grant discretion to the permitting authority in determining whether continuous air quality monitoring data is necessary to determine whether emissions from a facility will exceed maximum allowable increases (class I area increments) or maximum allowable concentrations (primary and secondary NAAQS). Eliminates the special definition of "best available control technology" (BACT) for purposes of PSD provisions. Defines BACT for purposes of the Act to mean the applicable New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) (the EPA-set technology-based standards for categories of industries), along with applicable national emission limitation standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAPs). Retains determination of the BACT by the permitting authority on a case-by-case basis where no NSPS exists for a stationary source in a particular category. Allows State and local governments to adopt or enforce standards or limitations more stringent than the BACT standard. Provides that PSD preconstruction requirements shall only apply to physical or operational changes resulting in a significant net increase in source emissions of any air pollutant regulated under provisions for NAAQS, NSPS, or NESHAPs. Sets a de minimis amount for such increase at 100 tons per year (1,000 tons per year of carbon monoxide) for any air pollutant for which a NAAQS is established (except lead). Authorizes the Administrator to determine, by rule, that a lesser amount is necessary to carry out PSD purposes. Makes technical and conforming amendments. Eliminates the requirement that PSD regulations for hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, photochemical oxidants, and nitrogen oxides contain measures at least as effective as the "increment" limitations for sulfur oxides and particulate matter. Effective Data and Transitional Rules - Sets forth an effective date and transitional rules for the amendments relating to Nonattainment provisions and to PSD provisions. Regulatory Stability - Sets forth regulatory stability provisions establishing a ten-year "grandfather" period, commencing with construction or modification, during which a stationary source (unless subsequently modified) shall not be subject to more stringent requirements if the construction or modification is subject to NSPS, obtains a permit or approval, and meets all permit or approval requirements. Excludes from such "grandfather" provision any emission limitation or standard imposed on any stationary source with respect to: (1) hazardous pollutants designated under NESHAP provisions; (2) pollutants with no NAAQS in effect at commencement of the construction; or (3) any other air pollutant, if the Administrator judges that the public health or welfare may be endangered. Ozone Protection - Directs the President to report to the Congress annually, beginning within two years of the enactment of this Act, on the status of actions toward international agreements concerning the protection of stratosphere. Requires that copies of such reports be made available to the public. Directs the Administrator to make specified determinations, considerations of study results, and findings before any ozone protection regulation on chloroflurocarbon control is proposed or promulgated. Title II: Mobile Source Amendments - Revises part A (Motor Vehicle Emission and Fuel Standards) of title II (Emission Standards for Moving Sources) of the Act. Establishment of Emission Standards for New Motor Vehicle or New Motor Vehicle Engines - Requires that any more stringent new standard not become effective for at least: (1) 48 months after prescription or revision, in the case of heavy-duty vehicles or engines; and (2) 36 months after prescription or revision, in the case of all other new motor vehicles or engines. Provides that any more stringent new standards must reflect the degree of emission reduction the Administrator determines to be reasonably achievable through application of technology adequately demonstrated to be available for the appropriate model year. Directs the Administrator, in making such determination, to consider costs, applicability to gasoline or diesel-fueled vehicles or engines, impact on fuel economy, effect on level of all emissions from such vehicles or engines, safety, commercial use, and other appropriate factors. Authorizes the Administrator to arrange with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to review the technical feasibility of such proposed new standards and to submit written reports which shall be available to the public. Revises provisions relating to regulations applicable to emissions of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, oxides of nitrogen, and particulate matter from classes or categories of heavy duty vehicles or engines. Provides that the standards prescribed (after enactment of this Act) in such emissions regulations shall apply for a minimum period of four model years unless less stringent standards are prescribed for any model year during that period. Requires that standards applicable to emissions of oxides of nitrogen and particulate matter be prescribed at the same time. Directs the Administrator to arrange with NAS for a technological feasibility report with respect to any proposed standard for particulate matter to be prescribed for heavy-duty vehicles and engines. Revises provisions for a continuing pollutant specific study concerning the effects of air pollutant emissions. Revises deadlines for such study (making the next deadlines January 1, 1983, and before January 1 of each fourth year thereafter). Requires notice and opportunity for public comment before the Administrator determines that the operation or function of an emission control device, system, or element of design will cause or contribute to an unreasonable risk to public health, welfare, or safety. Adds to the factors the Administrator must consider in making such determination any information obtained from any manufacturer under specified compliance testing provisions. Revises standards for regulation of emissions from light-duty vehicles and engines manufactured during and after model year 1982 for specified pollutant grams per vehicle mile (gpm): (1) .41 gpm of hydrocarbons; (2) seven gpm of carbon monoxide; and (3) two gpm of oxides of nitrogen. Authorizes the Administrator to revise any such standard for any model year after model year 1986. Prohibits any revised standard from being more stringent than the standard applicable (without regard to any waiver) to light-duty vehicles and engines manufactured in the 1981 model year. Revises provisions for waivers of such emission standards. Directs the Administrator, after notice and opportunity for public hearing, to waive any emission standard for any model of vehicles or vehicle engines for up to four model years, upon petition and demonstration by the manufacturer that such waiver is necessary for the use of an innovative power train technology, innovative emission control device or system, or alternative fuel or power source. Adds "the potential to conserve energy" to factors to be considered in granting such waivers. Revises th maximum number of vehicles or engines per manufacturer to which such waivers may apply. Sets such maximum at 200,000 vehicles or engines per year of such waiver, but not more than 500,0000 for a four model years waiver. Prohibits extension or renewal of four model years waivers. Requires that such waivers include appropriate emissions standards to: (1) ensure, in the Administrator's judgment, no significant adverse impact on achieving applicable NAAQS; and (2) encourage development and production of such model. Limits to one-half the average original actual life for each class or category of motor vehicle or motor vehicle engine (other than light-duty or motorcycle) that period of use the Administrator is authorized to determine as appropriate for specified provisions relating to the "useful life" of such vehicles or engines. Provides that future regulations affecting the manufacture, distribution, or sale of motor vehicles or engines for high altitude areas of the United States: (1) shall include the exemptions provided in regulations for model year 1982; and (2) may provide specified high altitude performance adjustments. Prohibits any regulation requiring a percentage of reduction in emissions from high altitude motor vehicles greater than that required for non-high altitude motor vehicles. Prohibits regulations applying a numerical standard for determination of such percentage reduction for high altitude vehicles more stringent than that for non-high altitude vehicles. Prohibits regulations requiring that any emission control device or element of design needed to meet the applicable emissions standards under high altitude conditions also be installed on motor vehicles or engines intended for principal use in non-high altitude locations. Prohibited Acts - Includes among prohibited acts the failure or refusal by any manufacturer to comply with EPA requests for information for a study relating to the availability and distribution to motor vehicle dealers located at high altitudes of models of new light-duty motor vehicles. Compliance Testing and Certification - Revises provisions for compliance testing and conformity certification to direct the Administrator to reliably evaluate or require reliable evaluation of (but not necessarily to test or require testing of): (1) any new motor vehicle or new motor vehicle engine submitted by a manufacturer; and (2) any emission control system incorporated in a vehicle or engine submitted by any person. Repeals a one-year maximum limit on the period which a certificate of conformity may cover. Requires that compliance tests or other reliable evaluations determine the average emissions from vehicles or engines. Requires, in making such determination, that: (1) gasoline-fueled vehicles or engines not be in the same class or category as diesel-fueled; and (2) light-duty vehicles or engines not be in the same class or category as heavy-duty. Allows the inclusion of light-duty trucks, certified as such by the Administrator, in the same class or category as light-duty vehicles or engines. Directs the Administrator to establish an acceptable quality level for all new motor vehicles equivalent to the level applicable to 1981 model year light-duty vehicles. Repeals a requirement that all light-duty vehicles manufactured during and after model year 1984 comply with specified emission standards regardless of the altitude at which they are sold. Compliance by Vehicles and Engines in Actual Use - Revises provisions for compliance by vehicles and engines in actual use to base determinations of nonconformity with regulations by any class or category of vehicles and engines manufactured after a specified date upon the average performance in testing a statistically valid and representative sample. Permits manufacturers to elect to take other actions, in lieu of remedying such nonconformity, with respect to those or other vehicles or engines, consistent with the purposes of title II of the Act. Prohibits manufacturers from including together in the same such actions: (1) both gasoline and diesel-fueled vehicles or engines; or (2) both light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles or engines. Directs the Administrator to consider the effects on competition, in approving a manufacturer's plan to remedy or take other actions with respect to such nonconformity. Repeals a requirement that dealers furnish purchasers of new light-duty motor vehicles certificates of conformity with applicable emission standards, including notice of purchaser warranty rights. State Standards - Provides that, in the case of any new motor vehicle or engine designed to comply with State emission control standards for which a waiver of Federal standards has been granted, compliance with such State standards shall be treated as compliance with applicable Federal standards. High Altitude Performance Adjustments - Repeals a provision requiring that there be a State-instituted motor vehicle inspection and maintenance (I and M) program in nonattainment areas of a State before authority relating to high altitude performance adjustments may be available to such State. Effective Date - Provides that specified foregoing amendments made by this title shall take effect with respect to vehicles and engines manufactured in model years beginning more than 60 days after the enactment of this Act. Study and Development of Alternative Emissions Control - Directs the Administrator to initiate a study and related proceedings, including appropriate informal public hearings, to: (1) develop alternative and practicable approaches to emission control of any air pollutant, subject to such regulation, from new motor vehicles or engines; and (2) evaluate the existing control program. Sets forth the factors to be considered by the Administrator concerning such alternative approach. Requires that a report of such study, including public comments, be submitted to the appropriate committees of the Congress within one year. Sets forth criteria for proposed regulations under any such alternative approach. Prohibits promulgation of such regulations except after final rulemaking as required by this Act and pursuant to legislation reported from the appropriate committees of Congress and enacted either after the date of submission of the report of the study or after the date of submittal of the regulations to the Congress. Warranties and Parts Certifications - Repeals a requirement that manufacturers warrant that new motor vehicles or engines are: (1) designed, built, and equipped so as to conform with emissions standards at the time of sale; and (2) free from defects in materials and workmanship which cause failure to conform during the period of useful life. Requires, instead, a production warranty that the vehicle or engine is equipped with emission control components designed to enable such vehicle or engine to conform at the time of sale with emissions standards for the first 24 months or first 24,000 miles. Repeals provisions for motor vehicle or engine parts certifications by manufacturers or rebuilders for compliance with emissions standards. Limits a free replacement obligation of manufacturers to emissions control components installed for the sole (currently, sole or primary) purpose of reducing vehicle emissions. Limits specified performance warranties to: (1) the first 24 months or 24,000 miles; and (2) certain components installed for the sole purpose of emissions control. Revises provisions for manufacturers' instructions for the maintenance, replacement, and repair of emission control parts or components to eliminate requirements that: (1) such instructions correspond to regulations promulgated by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; and (2) the replacement parts be certified. Eliminates provisions for waivers of a prohibition against including conditions on the purchaser's using components or services unconnected with the manufacturer. Specifies that waivers of the prohibition against State or local standards for emissions control of new motor vehicles or engines subject to Federal standards will be given only: (1) insofar as numerical emission levels are concerned; and (2) if such standards and new motor vehicle certification and other tests are consistent with Federal standards. Specifies that tampering prohibitions refer to parts or components placed on or in motor vehicles or engines for the sole purpose of controlling emissions. Exempts communications regarding any part, component, system, or service provided without charge under the terms of the purchase agreement from specified prohibitions against manufacturer's communications conditioning warranty coverage on use of certain products or services. Prohibits State new motor vehicle emission standards in nonattainment areas from including any provision similar to the production or performance warranty provisions under the Act. Title III: Study and Conforming Provisions - High Altitude Study - Directs the Administrator, upon the request of any national association of motor vehicle dealers with a membership which includes a majority of U.S. retail franchisers selling imported and domestic new light-duty motor vehicles, to compile data relating to the availability and distribution to dealers located at high altitudes of all models of such vehicles manufactured by any specified manufacturer in a specified model year. Authorizes the Administrator to utilize specified information and to require manufacturers to submit relevant information (except information identifying shipments to individual dealers). Directs the Administrator, within six months after such a request is made, to submit to the Congress and publish in the Federal Register a report setting forth the data so compiled, including specified information. Title IV: Amendments Relating to Authorizations - Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations to the Administrator for fiscal years 1982 through 1985. Provides for sums necessary for: (1) the Administrator and the States to effectively carry out the Act's provisions, including training of State and local personnel, enforcement, abatement, and control, consideration of SIPs and revisions, and audits; and (2) sufficient funding for personnel for the Administrator to carry out the Act, particularly its regulatory functions, without undue reliance on contractors. Requires that such authorization not be less than the appropriations authorized in fiscal year 1981 to carry out the Act (except provisions relating to the National Commission on Air Quality). Prohibits the Administrator from using any funds appropriated under the Act for any payment for a reduction-in-force in any fiscal year. Directs the Administrator to inform the appropriate committees of the Congress of the reasons for such reduction, its impact on carrying out the Act, and other detailed or pertinent information, at least 30 days prior to issuing any general notice of such reduction. Declares that nothing in this title shall authorize appropriations for any research and development activities under the Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 1981
Amends current law creating a Federal cause of action for the violation of a person's civil rights under color of State law to prohibit any order based on overcrowding of a correctional facility from benefitting directly or indirectly any prisoner, unless the overcrowding poses a significant health hazard to such prisoner.
United States · United States Congress · 11 December 1981
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to permit an individual to elect hospice care, in lieu of certain other benefits, during two periods of 180 days each during the individual's lifetime. Provides for full reimbursement of reasonable costs to a hospice program, subject to a ceiling. Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study of the hospice reimbursement method. Defines hospice care as including items and services furnished to the terminally ill in their homes, on an outpatient basis, and on a short term inpatient basis.
United States · United States Congress · 11 December 1981
Expands the membership of the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations to include three elected school board officials from different States.
United States · United States Congress · 10 December 1981
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to prohibit entitlement to title II benefits in the case of an individual who is not a U. S. citizen or national if such individual: (1) is not a permanent resident of the United States; or (2) is outside the United States. Prohibits the payment of title II benefits to any dependent or survivor of such an individual on the basis of such individual's wages and self-employment income. Makes such prohibition inapplicable if the benefit involved is payable to such an individual as the dependent or survivor of: (1) a U. S. citizen or national; (2) a permanent resident of the United States; or (3) a U. S. citizen or national residing outside the United States if the relationship required for such individual's entitlement already existed at the time such national or citizen reached age 50. Authorizes the payment of title II benefits to an individual who is not entitled to benefits pursuant to this Act until the total amount of such benefits equals the total amount of any taxes paid on the wages and self-employment income on which the benefits are based.
United States · United States Congress · 10 December 1981
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should instruct the U.S. delegation to the February meeting of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights to tell the Commission that the Soviet Union should stop harassing Soviet Jews and should allow its citizens to practice their religion and to emigrate. Urges the Soviet Union to comply with its human rights obligations. Urges the President to: (1) express, to the Soviet Union, U.S. opposition to harassment of Soviet citizens and to restrictions on emigration; and (2) reiterate that the United States will consider the extent to which other nations honor their commitments under international law when evaluating its relations with such nations.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 1981
Fair Practices in Automotive Products Act - Title I: Domestic Content Requirements for Motor Vehicles - Sets forth for all motor vehicle manufacturers which produce over 100,000 motor vehicles for ultimate retail sale in the United States "minimum domestic content ratios" (the domestic value, including labor and parts, of the manufacturer's production costs of all automotive products sold in the United States). Requires all vehicle manufacturers producing more than 50,000 motor vehicles for sale in the United States to provide information to the Secretary of Transportation for the purpose of administering this requirement. Authorizes the imposition of import restrictions on manufacturers violating such standards. Title II: Unfair and Deceptive Practices by Vehicle Manufacturers - Defines as an unfair method of competition and deceptive act or practice under the Federal Trade Commission Act the refusal of any vehicle manufacturer to determine whether parts produced in the United States by a parts manufacturer satisfy reasonable replacement part standards established by the vehicle manufacturer. Grants the Federal Trade Commission rulemaking authority to administer this title.
United States · United States Congress · 23 November 1981
Requires nationals of Communist countries to register with the Attorney General before engaging in certain activities involving Members of Congress and congressional employees. Requires the Attorney General to deport persons violating this Act. States that such deportations shall not be subject to judicial review or other related provisions under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 1981
Requests the President to designate February 22, 1982, as a day of national celebration in honor of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the birth of George Washington.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1981
Declares that the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Commissioner of Social Security should develop and present to Congress a plan to correct the benefit disparity caused by the 1977 changes in the social security retirement benefit formula.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that the individual income tax rate reductions enacted by the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 shall be reflected in withholding adjustments six months sooner than scheduled.
![Official portrait of Rep. Smith, Albert L., Jr. [R-AL-6]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/s000514_200.jpg)