United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require an annual cost-of-living adjustment, based on the Consumer Price Index, to the individual income tax rates and the personal exemption.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Tuition Tax Credit Act of 1979 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow individual taxpayers an income tax credit for 35 percent of the tuition paid for the elementary, secondary, college, or post-secondary vocational education of the taxpayer, his spouse, or any of his dependents. Sets forth maximum dollar amounts allowable as a credit for calendar years 1979 through 1982, after which the credit expires. Treats tuition payments as paid for calendar year 1979 only if such payments are made on or after August 1, 1979, and before February 1, 1980, for education furnished on or after August 1, 1979, and before January 1, 1980. Treats tuition payments as paid for calendar years 1980 and thereafter only if such payments are made during the particular calendar year or within one month of the beginning or close of such calendar year for education furnished during that year. Defines full-time and qualified half-time student. Excludes from the definition of "tuition" any amounts paid for books, supplies, equipment for coursework, meals, lodging, transportation, or similar personal expenses. Forbids any construction of this Act as granting the Government additional authority to examine the books or activities of any church school except to the extent necessary to determine whether such school is an eligible educational institution within the meaning of this Act. Provides for the immediate certification of any judicial action brought in a United States district court concerning the constitutionality of this Act to the appropriate circuit court of appeals. Authorizes direct appeal to the Supreme Court of any decision by a circuit court. Requires the expedited consideration of such a case at both judicial levels. Requires the disregard of any amount received by the taxpayer as a tuition tax credit for purposes of determining the eligibility of the taxpayer for Federal, State, or local educational assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Amends title II (Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to provide that the automatic cost-of-living increases in benefits be made on a semiannual basis (rather than only on annual basis as at present).
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Grants a Federal charter to the Gold Star Wives of America. Declares that the purpose of such corporation is to aid widows and children of persons who died in the service of their country.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Amends the Agriculture Act of 1949 to require the Secretary of Agriculture to proclaim a national program acreage for feed grains no later than October 15 (currently November 15) of each year for crops harvested in the next succeeding calendar year.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Title I: Authorizations and Miscellaneous Amendments - Amends the Small Business Act to authorize appropriations for specified programs and expenses of the Small Business Administration. States that all appropriations, whether specifically or generally authorized, shall remain available until expended. Authorizes the Administration to make disaster loans available to small business concerns affected by a shortage of energy-producing resources caused by a strike, boycott, or embargo unless such strike, boycott or embargo is directly against such small business concern. Makes specified low-interest disaster loans available until October 1, 1982. Amends the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to repeal the authority of the Administration to invest sums from the revolving fund for surety bond guarantees in Treasury bonds, obligations, and other guaranteed debt securities. Authorizes such investments from the revolving fund for qualified contract guarantees. Transfers specified provisions of the Act which established an Office of Advocacy within the Small Business Administration to the Small Business Act. Title II: Small Business Development Centers - Authorizes the Small Business Administration to make grants to States, State agencies, regional entities, State-chartered development credit corporations, and institutions of higher learning to assist in establishing Small Business Development Centers. Requires such grants to be matched in equal amounts by funds from non-Federal sources. Establishes additional restrictions on such grants for fiscal years 1979 through 1982. States that Small Business Development Centers shall have a full-time staff, business and technology analysts, information and professional specialists, and access to laboratory and engineering facilities. Requires such Centers to provide small businesses with business and technology counseling, information on government regulations, library services, and comprehensive studies and surveys. Directs federally funded laboratories and innovation centers to cooperate with the Small Business Development Centers. Requires the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to appoint a Deputy Associate Administrator for Management and Technical Assistance to administer the Small Business Development Center program. Establishes a National Small Business Development Center Advisory Board consisting of nine civilian members. Sets forth provisions governing the appointment of members, a Chairman, meetings, and compensation of the Board. Directs the Small Business Administration to conduct an evaluation of the Development Center program and to submit a report to the appropriate committees of Congress within three years. Title III: White House Conference on Small Business - White House Conference on Small Business Act - Directs the President to convene a White House Conference on Small Business by June 30, 1980, to identify the problems of small business concerns and to make recommendations for executive and legislative action. Requires the Conference to submit a report to the President and the Congress within one year of the date it convenes. Requires the Small Business Administration to report to the Congress within three years on the status and implementation of the findings and recommendations of the Conference. Authorizes appropriations for the expenses of the Conference.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Prohibits the Secretary of the Treasury from implementing a proposed revenue procedure entitled, "Proposed Revenue Procedure on Private Tax-Exempt Schools," or any other guidelines for determining whether private schools have forfeited their tax-exempt status through the adoption of racially discriminatory policies, during the period beginning with the enactment of this Act and ending on December 31, 1980.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Inflation Reduction and Jobs Protection Act - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1939 to postpone from 1980 to 1982 increases in the minimum wage. Amends the Fair Labor Standards Amendments of 1977 to postpone from 1980 to 1982 modification of the formula for determining the amount of wages which an employer is deemed to have paid to a tipped employee.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Amends title II (Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to remove the limitation on the amount of outside income which an individual may earn while receiving benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit the Internal Revenue Service from terminating the tax-exempt status of an educational institution for reasons of racial discrimination unless such organization has been adjudicated as racially discriminatory by a State or Federal court.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Legislative Oversight Act of 1979 - Title I: Requirements for Authorization Bills - Requires all legislation considered by either House of Congress which authorizes new budget authority or increased tax expenditures to include a statement of objectives of the program to be authorized or established and a requirement that the agencies administering the program report annually to Congress to assist it in determining whether such program should be amended. Requires such agency reports to list the costs and accomplishments of each program. Title II: Requirements for Reports Accompanying Authorization Bills - Requires committee reports accompanying such legislation to identify expected economic and social costs and benefits of new programs authorized or established by such legislation, potentially duplicative programs, and previous efforts to accomplish the objectives of the program being considered. Requires reports to contain an assessment of the degree to which an existing program, authorization, or tax expenditure has met previously stated objectives. Requires the Comptroller General to publish and periodically update a descriptive catalog of interrelated Federal activities which compares program costs and accomplishments and describes program interrelationships, including the extent to which programs are duplicative. Title III: Presidential Budget Recommendations - Requires the President's budget to describe the relationship between the President's recommended program budgets and the program accomplishments reported by Federal agencies under this Act. Title IV: Authorization Time Limit; Certain Obligations Not Impaired - Prohibits congressional consideration of any legislation which authorizes new budget authority or provides new or increased tax expenditures, or new spending authority for a period exceeding five years. Exempts from this prohibition national debt service and payments to individuals from Federal trust funds to which such individuals have contributed. Title V: Miscellaneous Provisions; Effective Date - Recognizes the authority of either House to amend this Act. Sets the effective date of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Adds to the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 a new title (Title XI: Regulatory Budget Procedure) to require Congress, on or before September 15 of each year, to complete action on a concurrent resolution which establishes a regulatory budget for each Federal agency that sets the maximum costs of compliance with all rules and regulations declared by the agency. Directs the President to establish a Business Advisory Council to include representatives of each major industrial and commercial sector, and each geographic region, to provide such information, advice and consultation as he may require to develop and carry out regulatory costs analysis procedures. Directs the President, in consultation with the Council, to formulate the criteria for determining the costs of compliance with Federal rules and regulations. Requires the head of each agency, using such criteria, to conduct a study of the costs of compliance with rules and regulations set forth by the agency and to submit such reports to the President, Congress, and the Comptroller General. Directs the Comptroller General to review such agency reports and to submit its findings to Congress. Requires the President to include regulatory budget recommendations in the Budget to Congress. Directs Congress to utilize such findings and recommendations in developing the regulatory budget for each agency. Requires Congressional committee reports on bills or resolutions to contain a statement of the estimate of the costs of compliance with agency rules or regulations to carry out the provisions of such bill or resolution. Sets forth the rules for consideration of any bill, resolution, or amendment that would cause the level of costs of compliance for any agency to exceed the maximum costs of compliance as established in the regulatory budget for the agency.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Age Discrimination in Employment Amendments of 1979 - Amends the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 to remove the existing 70-year upper age limit to which the prohibitions of such Act apply, thereby extending the protection of such Act to all individuals who are at least 40 years of age. Specifies that there shall be no exceptions to the prohibitions of such Act because of the nature of employment of an individual, or retirement benefits to which an individual may be entitled. Repeals provisions restricting the employment or compensation of an individual in the Federal civil service, Government of the District of Columbia, Foreign Service, or Army Corps of Engineers after such individual retires with an annuity or reaches retirement age. Repeals automatic separation requirements based on age and length of service which relate to employees of the Alaska Railroad, the Panama Canal Company, the Canal Zone Government, and to air traffic controllers and Federal law enforcement officers and firefighters.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Food and Drug Reform Act of 1978 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to eliminate the testing of new drugs and new animal drugs for effectiveness. Requires a label on such a drug stating that it has not been tested or reviewed for efficacy by the Federal Government. Reduces the reporting requirements on applications for new drugs and new animal drugs to require only a summary, not a full report, on each investigation, and to prohibit any required submission of such a report within four years of the date of submission of the application. Requires the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, prior to issuing, amending or repealing any regulation under such Act, to issue a comprehensive economic impact statement addressing specified questions. Requires semiannual reports to Congress on the status of each new drug and new animal drug application which has not been approved or disapproved 30 days before such submission. Establishes drug advisory committees which shall promptly review an application and submit recommendations to the Secretary within 90 days. Grants applicants the right to a mandatory review within 30 days after receiving an adverse recommendation. Requires the Secretary to publish the clinical and preclinical summaries of new drugs and new animal drugs whose applications are approved. Exempts small businesses from the requirement of preclinical test reports on drugs used solely in investigational research, if such research will be conducted by experts from a public or other nonprofit school of medicine, dentistry, or veterinary medicine. Requires Congressional review of the administration of such Act by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in 1982 and every six years thereafter. Directs the Secretary to establish within the Department an office to provide compliance assistance to small manufacturers of new drugs and new animal drugs.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Sunset Act of 1979 - Title I: Reauthorization of Government Programs - Sets forth a ten-year schedule for reauthorization of all Federal programs according to budget function and subfunction as set forth in the Budget of the United States Government for Fiscal Year 1979. Sets forth the procedure in the House of Representatives and the Senate for the consideration of any bill, resolution, or amendment which authorizes new budget authority. States that it is not in order for either House to consider any legislation which authorizes the enactment of new budget authority for a program for a period of more than ten years, for an indefinite period, or for any fiscal year beginning after the next reauthorization date applicable to such program. Provides that before the Congress can appropriate funds for any program, after its first reauthorization date, there must be a specific authorization in law to support the appropriation. Requires the committees of the Senate and House of Representatives to conduct a sunset review of programs during the Congress in which such programs are scheduled for review. Requires that the report accompanying such reauthorization contain specified information, and that the report be completed during the Congress in which the program is scheduled for reauthorization. Exempts from the requirements of this Act specified programs such as interest on Federal debts, health care services, general retirement and disability payments, as well as litigation activities which have as their objectives the protection and implementation of civil rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States and specified retirement pay and benefits. Allows the reauthorization schedule set forth in this Act to be changed by concurrent resolution of the two Houses of Congress and sets forth the procedure for such change. Requires all legislation and other matters related to changes in the dates for programs under this Act to be referred to the committee with legislative jurisdiction over any program affected by the proposal and, sequentially, to the Committee on Rules in the House of Representatives and to the Committee on Rules and Administration in the Senate. Requires such committees to report any concurrent resolution or bill referred to it by a committee of legislative jurisdiction within 30 days, with a statement on each of its recommendations. Makes provisions for any proposed change which has been reported by a committee before June 1, 1980. Title II: Program Inventory - Directs the Comptroller General and the Director of the Congressional Budget Office, in cooperation with the Director of the Congressional Research Service, to prepare an inventory of Federal programs. Declares that the purpose of such program inventory is to advise and assist Congress in carrying out the reauthorization and reexamination requirements and to link such reauthorization and review process with the budget process. Requires the Comptroller General to submit such program inventory to each House of Congress no later than January 1, 1980. Sets forth the contents of the inventory program, including the type of authorization provided for such programs' new budget authority; and the manner in which related program areas may be grouped for evaluation and review. Permits the congressional committees, the Congressional Budget Office, and the Congressional Research Service to review the program inventory and suggest revisions. Requires that the program inventory be revised at the end of each session of Congress, and that such revisions be reported to each House. Requires that periodic reports tabulate the progress of congressional action on bills and resolutions authorizing budget authority for programs in the inventory. Requires the Comptroller General and the Director of the Congressional Budget Office to submit periodic reports to the Congress on the adequacy of the functional and subfunctional categories for grouping programs of like missions or objectives. Title III: Program Reexamination - Requires each committee of the Senate and the House of Representatives to reexamine selected programs or groups of programs over which it has jurisdiction. Sets forth procedures for such review, and criteria for selection of program areas for evaluation. Directs each committee to consult with the appropriate committees of either the House of Representatives or the Senate in order to achieve coordination of program reevaluation and inform itself of the related activities of or available assistance from the General Accounting Office, the Congressional Budget Office, the Congressional Research Service, the Office of Technology Assessment, and appropriate instrumentalities in the executive and judicial branches. Requires each committee to deliver a report on the reexamination to the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House at the date specified in the funding resolution first reported by such committee in 1981 and thereafter for the first session of each Congress. Allows two or more committees which have legislative jurisdiction over the same programs or portions of the same programs to examine such programs jointly and submit a joint report. Stipulates that such report: (1) contain the findings, recommendations, and justifications of the program; and (2) include specified information including, but not limited to, an assessment of the cost-effectiveness of the program and an identification of any trends, developments, and emerging conditions which are likely to affect the nature and extent of the problems or needs which the program is intended to address. Requires each executive department or agency which is responsible for a program selected for reexamination to submit a report to the Office of Management and Budget and to the appropriate committees of the Congress on its findings, recommendations, and justifications of specified aspects of the program. Title IV: Citizens' Commission on the Organization and Operation of Government - Establishes, as an independent instrumentality of the United States, the Citizens' Commission on the Organization and Operation of Government to conduct a nonpartisan study and investigation of the organization and methods of operation of all departments, agencies, independent instrumentalities, and other authorities of the executive branch of the Government, and to make such recommendations as it determines are necessary to promote economic, efficient and improved services in the transaction of public business. Requires the Commission to submit interim reports to the President and the Congress, and to submit a final report with its findings and recommendations. Requires the Comptroller General to report once a year for two years after submission of the Commission's final report on the status of actions taken as a result of the report. Specifies the composition of the 15-member Commission and sets forth the duties and powers of the Commission. States that the Commission shall cease to exist 90 days after submission of its final report. Authorizes to be appropriated until September 30, 1984, without fiscal year limitations, $4,000,000 to carry out the provisions of this Title. Title V: Regulatory Impact - Requires the President to submit, at the beginning of each of the five congresses beginning with the 97th Congress, an analysis of the purposes, function, and efficiency of 16 specified regulatory agencies. Requires the President to submit legislative plans, based on such analyses, for the improvement of operations of such agencies. Establishes a schedule according to which plans for specified agencies will be submitted early in each of the five congresses for which the required analyses are submitted. Directs the President, with each plan, to submit a report on the cumulative impact of government regulatory activity on specific industry groupings. Directs the Comptroller General and the Director of the Congressional Budget Office to assess each of the agencies included in the President's plan and to analyze the plan, and submit such information to the Congress. Title VI: Government Accountability - Requires the President, beginning with the first year of the 97th Congress, to submit biennially, as part of the budget, a report on the management of the executive branch. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to provide an evaluative report on Federal programs to the President to be included with the President's report. Title VII: Tax Expenditures - Requires the Director of the Congressional Budget Office, after consultation with the Joint Committee on Taxation of the Congress, to prepare an inventory of tax expenditure provisions and to submit a report on such inventory to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House and the Senate Finance Committee. Defines the term "tax expenditure provision" as any provision of Federal law which allows a special exclusion, exemption, or deduction in determining liability for any tax or which provides a special credit against any tax, a preferential rate of tax, or a deferral of tax liability. Specifies the contents of the report which include an estimate of the revenue loss from each tax provision. Requires the Director to: (1) submit a revised inventory to each House of Congress by December 1, 1980; (2) revise the inventory after the close of each session of Congress and report such revisions to Congress; and (3) periodically report on congressional action on bills and resolutions which create or affect tax provisions. Directs the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance to prepare a reauthorization schedule for all tax provisions similar to the schedule set out for Federal programs in title I of this Act. Requires Congress to take final action on the reauthorization schedule for tax provisions before the end of the 96th Congress. Provides that each tax expenditure provision shall expire unless it is reauthorized by a law enacted during the Congress in which it is scheduled for review. Sets forth procedures and restrictions for the consideration of bills reauthorizing tax provisions, which are similar to the restrictions and procedures governing bills authorizing new budget authority for Federal programs as described in title I. Requires that the report accompanying a reauthorization bill include specified information. Permits Congress to prescribe technical rules as may be necessary to mitigate adverse effects which might result for taxpayers who rely on a certain tax provision. Title VIII: Miscellaneous - Amends the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 to permit the committees of Congress to obtain from the agencies of the Government estimates or requests for appropriations or requests for increases in an item of any such estimate or request, and recommendations as to how the revenue needs of the Government should be met. Declares that nothing shall require the public disclosure of records which are specifically authorized under criteria established by an Executive order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy and are in fact properly classified pursuant to such Executive order, or which are otherwise specifically protected by law. Sets forth administrative procedures and requirements. Directs the President, with the cooperation of the head of each appropriate agency, to submit to the Congress a "Regulatory Duplication and Conflicts Report" for all programs scheduled for reauthorization in the next Congress. Stipulates that each such report identify duplicative or conflicting rules and regulations promulgated by executive departments, independent agencies, and State and local governments and contain recommendations which address such conflicts or duplications. Defines the term "required authorization waiver resolution" for purposes of this Act. Sets forth the procedure which the chairman of the committee of the Senate or the House of Representatives having legislative jurisdiction over programs must follow in order to introduce a required authorization waiver resolution. Makes it the duty of the Committees on Governmental Affairs and on Rules and Administration of the Senate and the Committees on Government Operations and on Rules of the House of Representatives to review the operation of the procedures established by this Act and to submit a report every five years beginning December 31, 1986. Authorizes to be appropriated through fiscal year 1990 such sums as may be necessary to carry out the review requirements and for the compilation of the inventory of Federal programs.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Constitutional Amendment - Provides that total appropriations shall not exceed estimated revenues. Authorizes the suspension of such prohibition in time of war or national emergency. Prohibits any increase in the national debt as it exists on the date this article is ratified. Sets forth a schedule for repayment of the national debt.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Declares it the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of State should seek the good offices of the Secretary General of the United Nations for the purpose of establishing a special investigatory commission charged with the responsibility of securing a full accounting of Americans listed as missing in Southeast Asia.
United States · United States Congress · 15 October 1978
Declares the sense of the Congress that the President and the Secretary of State should take all necessary steps to bring the Baltic States question before the United Nations and to urge the United Nations to request the Soviet Union to withdraw all non-native troops, agents, colonists, and controls from the Republics of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, and to return all Baltic exiles from Siberia and from prisons and labor camps in the Soviet Union. Requires the Secretary of State to do his utmost to bring the matter of the Baltic States to the attention of all nations by means of special radio programs and publications. Declares that the United States should not agree to the recognition of the Soviet Union's annexation of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. Directs the President to take steps to provide that all maps of Europe show the Republics of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia as independent states. Calls for a return of self-determination to the peoples of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia through free elections conducted under the auspices of the United Nations.
United States · United States Congress · 14 October 1978
American Tax Reduction Act - States as the purposes of this Act: (1) the reduction of the public debt; (2) the imposition of limits on Federal spending; (3) the inducement of Members of Congress to eliminate unneeded Federal programs; (4) the reduction of individual income taxes; (5) tax relief for homeowners; and (6) the indexation of tax rates to reflect inflation of income. Title I: Individual Income Tax Rate Reductions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce individual and estate and trust income tax rates for 1979, 1980, and 1981 and to make a permanent reduction in such rates for years after 1981. Title II: Provisions Relating to Capital Gains - Reduces the alternative tax on capital gains to 15 percent of the net capital gain. Eliminates capital gains as an item of tax preference for purposes of the minimum and maximum tax. Allows a taxpayer to elect to offset against taxable income all capital losses not in excess of taxable income. Permits a one year carryover of losses in excess of taxable income. Permits a one-time exclusion from gross income of $100,000 of the gain from the sale or exchange of a principal residence. Title III: Provisions Relating to Indexing for Inflation - Requires inflation adjustments to income brackets for purposes of the individual income tax, the normal tax on corporate income, and the surtax exemption. Requires a similar adjustment to capital assets for purposes of determining gain or loss and for estates and gifts in determining the tax at the time of transfer. Title IV: Reduction in Federal Spending - Limits Federal spending to 18 percent of the gross national product by 1983. Prohibits the consideration of any bill in Congress which would cause the spending limit to be exceeded. Title V: Reduction of the Public Debt - Requires the application of two percent of the annual Federal budget to the retirement of the Federal deficit.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 1978
Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Act - Title I: Temporary Storage of Spent Fuel - Directs the Secretary of Energy in consultation with other agencies to conduct a study and issue a preliminary report on the amount of spent nuclear fuel which can be stored at temporary spent fuel storage facilities currently in operation or under construction and whether any additional storage facilities should be acquired by the Federal Government. Requires that a final report be evaluated by the President. Directs that within 60 days after the receipt of such report, the President issue a plan for the temporary storage of spent nuclear fuel. Stipulates that any such plan take effect at the end of 60 calendar days of continuous session of Congress after the date on which copies of such plan are transmitted to each House of Congress. Permits the Congress to reject such plan by the adoption of a concurrent resolution. Sets forth the legislative procedure for the consideration of any such resolution. Title II: Permanent Storage of Radioactive Waste - Directs the Secretary in consultation with other Federal agencies to conduct a study to evaluate methods of providing permanent storage of radioactive waste and to determine the amount of storage capacity required to permanently store all radioactive waste. Requires the Secretary within two years from the date of enactment of this Act to issue a preliminary report on the results of such study. Directs the President to evaluate the final report and issue a plan for the permanent storage of radioactive waste. Stipulates that the plan shall take effect after 60 calendar days of Congressional session unless rejected by the adoption of a concurrent resolution. Sets forth the legislative procedure for the consideration of any such resolution.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1978
Inflation Reduction and Jobs Protection Act - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to postpone (1) the minimum wage of $2.90 and (2) modification of the formula for determining the amount of wages which an employer is deemed to have paid to a tipped employee from the year beginning January 1, 1979, to the year beginning January 1, 1980. Postpones a subsequent increase in the minimum wage and further modification of such formula by one year.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1978
Declares it the sense of Congress that, in selecting a site to be used as a launching base for the MX intercontinental missile, the Secretary of Defense should exempt from consideration areas where the siting of such a missile would result in the destruction or idling of productive farmland and the displacing of farmers and ranchers from their homes and land.
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 1978
Prohibits the Secretary of Agriculture from taking any action under the Wholesome Meat Act or any other law to prohibit the sale, distribution, or use of nitrites as a food preservative solely on the basis of any carcinogenic effect in humans that nitrites may be represented to have, unless validated evidence is made available to the Secretary which proves beyond a reasonable doubt that nitrites as a food preservative have a significant carcinogenic effect on humans. States that such prohibition shall not apply if the Secretary determines, and publishes in the Federal Register, that a food preservative is commercially available: (1) which may be used in the place of nitrites; (2) which is effective in the protection of public health from botulism and other forms of food poisoning; and (3) the use of which is economically feasible for meat processors and the consumer. Requires the Secretary to conduct or support (by grant or contract) research and development activities for a food preservative alternative to nitrites.
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 1978
Prohibits the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, from taking any action under the Wholesome Meat Act, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or any other law to prohibit the sale, distribution, or use of nitrites as a food preservative solely on the basis of any carcinogenic effect in humans that nitrites may be represented to have, unless validated evidence is made available to the Secretaries which proves beyond a reasonable doubt that nitrites as a food preservative have a significant carcinogenic effect on humans. States that such prohibition shall not apply if the Secretaries determine, and publish in the Federal Register, that a food preservative is commercially available: (1) which may be used in the place of nitrites; (2) which is effective in the protection of public health from botulism and other forms of food poisoning; and (3) the use of which is economically feasible for meat processors and the consumer. Requires the Secretaries to conduct or support (by grant or contract) research and development activities for a food preservative alternative to nitrites.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 1978
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States, while seeking to improve relations with the People's Republic of China, shall continue to maintain full diplomatic relations with the Republic of China and shall not alter its Mutual Defense Treaty with such country.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1978
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States Olympic Committee should immediately take such measures as necessary to have the International Olympic Committee select a site for the 1980 summer Olympic games outside the Soviet Union.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1978
Sunset Program Reauthorization and Evaluation Act - Title I: Reauthorization of New Budget Authority - Requires Government programs to be evaluated pursuant to a specified schedule to determine whether each such program should be continued, terminated, or altered (reauthorization review). Prohibits the authorization of new budget authority for a period of more than ten years. Prohibits the authorization of new budget authority for any program for which there has not been conducted a reauthorization review. Requires the Director of the Congressional Budget Office, in consulation with the Comptroller General and the Director of the Congressional Research Service, to compile a list of programs subject to a reauthorization date for which new budget authority was not authorized. Title II: Program Inventory - Requires the Comptroller General to compile an inventory of Federal programs including a description of such programs covering specified topics. Title III: Program Review and Evaluation - Requires each House of Congress to select from the programs scheduled for reauthorization review in any given year a number of programs for comprehensive reauthorization review. Requires the President and each congressional committee to recommend such programs. Title IV: Citizens' Commission on the Organization and Operation of Government - Establishes an independent Citizen's Commission on the Organization and Operation of Government to study the organization and operation of Federal agencies and to recommend ways to improve the efficiency and operations of such agencies. Requires the Commission to submit its final report by July 1, 1983, and terminates the Commission 90 days after the submission of such report. Title V: Miscellaneous - Requires the Comptroller General to furnish Congress with the results of prior audits and reviews of programs being reviewed under this Act. Requires all agencies which are exempt from reauthorization review to submit a status report to Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 1978
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to specify requirements regarding the use of structures for the housing, raising, or feeding of hogs, for purposes of the investment tax credit.
United States · United States Congress · 17 August 1978
Two-Step Budget Process Act - Title I: Amendments to the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 - Requires that the contents of the first concurrent resolution of the budget be separated into two titles. Prescribes a two-step process for the consideration of amendments to such budget resolution by which amendments to the first title must be considered and disposed of prior to the consideration of amendments to the second title. Title II: Miscellaneous Provisions - States that such amendments are enacted as an exercise of Congressional rulemaking power.
United States · United States Congress · 16 August 1978
Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to raise the price support levels for milk, wheat, corn, soybeans, and cotton to 90 percent of their respective parity prices. Reduces the price levels at which producers participating in the wheat and feed grains storage program: (1) may redeem and market commodities securing price support loans (from between 140 to 160 percent of their respective parity prices to 100 percent); and (2) must repay such loans (from 175 to 110 percent of their respective parity prices).
United States · United States Congress · 14 August 1978
Expresses the sense of Congress that the Environmental Protection Agency, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the Federal courts should expedite all remaining administrative and judicial proceedings with respect to the Seabrook Nuclear Station project (New Hampshire), and that all licensing and permitting procedures for the construction and operation of nuclear generating stations should be reviewed and modified to improve the efficiency of such procedures.
United States · United States Congress · 7 August 1978
Amends the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 to direct the Administrator of General Services to fix prices for the establishment, maintenance, and operation of motor vehicle pools and to furnish vehicles and related equipment to requisitioning agencies at prices fixed by the Administrator at levels which will recover all elements of cost. Authorizes the Administrator to include increments for the estimated replacement cost of such vehicles and equipment.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1978
Sugar Stabilization Act - Title I: International Sugar Agreement - Authorizes the President to limit the entry, or withdrawal from warehouse, for consumption in the United States, of sugar from any country not a member of the International Sugar Organization, and otherwise to regulate foreign trade in sugar to implement the International Sugar Agreement. Establishes civil penalties for the violation of such regulations. Requires the President to submit to Congress an annual report on the Agreement. Title II: Domestic Sugar Program - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to determine, during the July preceding the commencement of each (October 1 to September 30) sugar supply year, the amount of sugar needed to meet the requirements of consumers in the United States. Sets the price of 16 cents per pound of sugar, raw value, delivered to New York (including freight and the applicable tariff and fees) as the price objective for the sugar supply year 1978. Establishes formulae for determining the price objectives for succeeding sugar supply years. Authorizes the Secretary: (1) to establish, and to adjust, a quota for the entry of sugar from foreign countries; and (2) to impose an import fee in order to attain the established price objective. Prohibits filling of the established quota by direct-consumption sugar, except in specified circumstances. Permits the Secretary to suspend such quota and fees under specified circumstances. Authorizes the Secretary to impose a quota on the entry of sugar-containing products. Prohibits: (1) the entry of sugar, liquid sugar, or sugar-containing products after the import quotas have been filled; (2) the importation of certain sugar or liquid sugar into the Virgin Islands in excess of 100 pounds annually; and (3) the exportation of certain sugar from the United States. Regulates the exportation of sugar. Sets forth items to which the sugar quota shall not apply. Title III: General Provisions - Requires every producer of sugar beets and sugarcane for sugar to pay a specified minimum wage to each person employed on the farm in the production, cultivation, and harvesting of such crops. Establishes a civil cause of action against any producer who fails to pay minimum wages, allowing the employees affected to collect the amount of unpaid wages, plus an equal amount as liquidated damages. Prohibits a producer from discharging or discriminating against any employee who has participated in any way in an investigation or proceeding against the producer under this title. Prohibits a producer from charging farm employees any amount in excess of the reasonable cost of furnishing goods or services customarily furnished to employees engaged in the production. Directs the Secretary to issue regulations to assure that producers furnish workmen's compensation insurance to such employees. Requires persons engaged in the manufacture, marketing, transport, or industrial use of sugar to furnish the Secretary with specified information. Prohibits investment in sugar by officials engaged in the administration of this Act, and establishes penalties for the violation of such prohibition. Authorizes the President to suspend the operation of Title II of this Act in a national emergency. Authorizes the Secretary: (1) to conduct surveys and investigations to carry out this Act; and (2) to announce a daily spot price for raw sugar in specified circumstances. Terminates the authority of the Secretary under this Act on September 30, 1983.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1978
Federal Information Centers Act - Requires the General Services Administration to establish a nationwide network of Federal Information Centers for the purpose of informing the public of programs and procedures of the Federal Government and for other appropriate and related purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1978
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to exclude aliens affiliated with terrorist organizations from: (1) visa eligibility and admission into the United States; (2) temporary parole admission; and (3) transit through the United States as foreign officials. Authorizes the Attorney General to deport such aliens, and prohibits the Attorney General from allowing such aliens to voluntarily depart rather than being deported. Removes specified diplomatic and semidiplomatic immunities from such aliens. Makes it a felony under such Act to knowingly aid such an alien to enter the United States. Defines terrorist organization for purposes of such Act. Amends the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 to: (1) define terrorist organization for purposes of such Act; (2) direct the Attorney General to investigate the activities of any person registered under such Act as an agent of a terrorist organization; and (3) make such an agent who knowingly receives funds from such an organization criminally liable.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 1978
Directs the Secretary of Defense to rescind that portion of the Department of Defense directive which permits deserters from military service to receive in absentia discharges.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 1978
Federal Paperwork Reduction Act - Requires each Federal agency to reduce the paperwork burden such agency places upon the private sector and State and local government by a specified amount each year until fiscal year 1982. Directs that in such year, such paperwork burden shall not exceed 65 percent of the paperwork required by Federal agencies of the private sector and State and local governments in fiscal year 1977. Limits the budget authorizations of any agency which fails to meet the annual reduction quotas established by this Act. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to review and report to Congress on the progress of agency paperwork reduction programs. Amends the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 to require all public legislation reported by any congressional committee to be accompanied by a Paperwork Impact Statement detailing the paperwork burden which would be imposed upon the public sector and State and local governments by such legislation.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 1978
Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to compile and publish a report, to be revised every three years, containing specific recommendations for a railroad transportation system adequate to meet the essential needs of the agricultural industry of the United States. Requires annual reports to Congress regarding the capability of the Nation's transportation system (all forms of transportation) to meet such needs. Directs the Secretary to participate in all proceedings of any Federal agencies likely to make an impact on the agricultural industry of the United States or on rural development in order to foster the cause of an efficient and economical transportation system serving such interests.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 1978
Urges the prompt appointment of the National Commission on Social Security established by the Social Security Amendments of 1977. Resolves that the Congress request such Commission to study the feasibility of converting the present old-age, survivors, and disability insurance programs of the Social Security Act into self-renewing investment funds which will fulfill the purpose of the present program with a substantial reduction in taxes.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1978
Amends the Internal Revenue Code by providing graduated corporate income tax rates ranging, over seven brackets, from a 16 percent rate on a corporation's first $25,000 income to a 45 percent rate on income over $150,000.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1978
Act to Combat International Terrorism - Directs the President to transmit a report to the Congress every six months on those incidents determined to be acts of international terrorism as defined in this Act. Requires that, where the incident involves citizens or property of the United States, such report be transmitted not more than 30 days after the incident. Stipulates that such report shall include a description of the incident and persons involved, the identity of any government providing support for such terrorist acts, a description of the actions of any government which assisted in bringing about a positive termination of the incident, and a description of the response of the United States to such incident. Directs the President to submit to the Congress a list of governments which have demonstrated a pattern of support for international terrorism. Directs the President with respect to countries appearing on such list to: (1) provide no assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961; (2) not authorize any sale or extend any credit or guaranty, with respect to defense articles or services; (3) approve no export license for the export of commodities or technical data which has a potential military application or which would otherwise enable a foreign government to support acts of international terrorism; or (4) extend no duty-free treatment under the Trade Act of 1974. Authorizes the President to suspend such sanctions in the interest of national security. Authorizes the President to take such other actions with respect to such countries as are deemed appropriate. Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to direct the Secretary of Transportation to assess the effectiveness of the security measures at foreign airports. Directs the Secretary, upon a finding that such an airport does not maintain effective security measures, to notify the appropriate authorities of such foreign government of his findings and to recommend any steps necessary to bring the security measures in use to the standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization. Directs the Secretary to publish the names of foreign airports which fail to bring their security measures into compliance with such standards and to display the names of such airports at United States airports. Authorizes the Secretary to withhold, revoke, or impose conditions on the operating authority of any carrier or foreign air carrier to engage in foreign air transportation utilizing such an airport. Authorizes the Secretary to provide technical assistance concerning aviation security to foreign governments. Makes it unlawful for any person to manufacture explosive materials which do not contain identification taggants which are retrievable after detonation and which make possible the identification of the manufacturer, the date of manufacture and which provide such other information as the Secretary of the Treasury may require. Makes it unlawful to manufacture explosive materials which do not contain a detection taggant which permits detection of such material prior to its detonation. Makes the importation, transportation, or receipt of explosive materials without identification and detection taggants, illegal. Sets forth criminal penalties for violations of such taggant requirements. Makes it illegal: (1) to interfere with the operation of any civil aircraft; (2) to commit any act of violence against an aircraft passenger; or (3) to willfully communicate false information which endangers the safety of any aircraft while in flight. Imposes criminal penalties on individuals committing specified offenses against or on board aircraft registered in a State other than the United States and who are afterwards found in this country. Establishes criminal and civil penalties for individuals imparting false information regarding attempts or alleged attempts to commit specified crimes against aircraft.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 1978
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits the levels of total budget outlay and new budget authority for any fiscal year from exceeding the corresponding level for the previous year by a percentage greater than the average annual percentage increase of the gross national product during the three calendar years immediately preceeding the beginning of the applicable fiscal year. Provides an exception to the restriction established by this Act in time of war or national emergency.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1978
Agricultural Foreign Investment Recording Act - Requires annual reporting to the Secretary of Agriculture by foreign persons and agents of purchases of agricultural lands with a cumulative acreage in excess of 25 acres or a cumulative purchase price in excess of $25,000. Specifies reporting requirements and provides for imposition of civil penalties for reporting violations.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 1978
Prohibits the construction of any regulated interstate pipeline unless the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission grants a certificate of public convenience and necessity for construction of such pipeline. Authorizes the Commission to issue a certificate of public convenience and necessity for the construction of any regulated interstate pipeline if (1) the pipeline satisfies the route requirements specified in this Act, (2) the person involved satisfies the reasonable attorneys fee requirement with regard to affected landowners, and (3) the Commission prepares an environmental impact statement.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1978
Urban Growth Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce corporate income tax rates. Increases the corporate surtax exemption to $100,000. Makes the regular investment tax credit permanent. Allows an additional ten percent investment tax credit for new property placed in depressed areas. Increases the limitations on the investment credit to allow it to offset 100 percent of the taxpayer's current liability. Increases the credit allowable for employment of new employees by an amount equal to one percent of the unemployment insurance wages paid to qualified employees during periods of unemployment exceeding seven percent nationally. Allows accelerated amortization of depreciable equipment (with a 60 month period) and facilities (with a period equal to one-half each facility's useful life) which are placed in high unemployment areas. Repeals the income tax exclusion of dividends received by individuals. Allows qualified domestic corporations an unlimited deduction for dividends paid. Provides flat limitations on corporate deductions for dividends from foreign corporations where the taxpayer is not claiming a net operating loss. Allows the current deduction of federally-required, nonproductive expenditures as business expenses. Provides for annual cost-of-living adjustments to depreciation allowances, property bases, and the interest paid on United States savings bonds and certificates, as well as the redemption value of all United States obligations of a year or more, including savings bonds and certificates.