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
Paperwork and Redtape Reduction Act of 1979 - Title I: Central Management and Control Responsibility - Establishes, within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Office of Federal Information Management Policy to have Government-wide responsibility for setting policies and coordinating procedures governing the budgeting, management, and control of Federal information management activities and of costs imposed by Federal programs on individuals, organizations, and other institutions outside the Federal Government. Directs the Administrator of such office to: (1) set annual levels for the number of person-hours of reporting and recordkeeping which each agency may require of individuals, organizations, and other institutions outside the Federal Government; (2) publish an annual report of the costs to each Federal agency of the administration of, and to organizations of compliance with, Federal agency reporting requirements; (3) annually review the paperwork reduction activities of each Federal agency to ascertain their adequacy; (4) develop and recommend to the President and the Congress policies and standards on information disclosure, confidentiality, and safeguarding the security of information collected or maintained by Federal agencies or in conjunction with Federal programs; (5) conduct a research program to develop improved cost accounting and reduction techniques; and (6) keep Congress fully informed of the activities of such office. Requires that the formal meetings of such Office for the purpose of establishing information management procedures be open to the public. Delegates to the Administrator the authority and responsibility of the Director of the OMB under the Federal Reports Act and the Privacy Act of 1974. Makes it the responsibility of the Administrator of the General Services Administration to conduct studies and promulgate standards with respect to records retention requirements imposed on the public by Federal agencies. Title II: Elimination of Unnecessary Duplication - Establishes a Federal Information Locator System composed of an information locator, a data element dictionary, and an information referral service. Directs the System to serve as the authoritative register of all public use reports. Establishes within the General Services Administration a Federal Information Locator Office. Requires the Director of such Locator Office to: (1) prepare a data profile for each public use report; and (2) register all approved new reports and other information holdings in the Federal Information Locator System. Requires data profiles for planned new requirements to be matched against existing profiles in the information locator. Directs the results of such matching to be made available to Federal agencies and the general public. Requires the Director to establish procedures and to insure that at a minimum all data items in public-use reports are registered in the Federal Locator System. Requires the Director to insure that no actual data is contained within the locator system, except descriptive data profiles necessary to identify duplicative data or to locate information. Requires that any information holding which contains a data element of a personal or proprietary nature within the meaning of the Privacy Act of 1974 be identified as such and restricted in access and use. Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions - Authorizes the appropriation of such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.
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
Amends the Saccharin Study and Labeling Act to extend from 18 to 36 months the period during which the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare may not take specified actions to restrict the continued use of saccharin or of any food, drug, or cosmetic containing saccharin.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Amends rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives to require that reports accompanying each public bill or joint resolution contain an evaluation of the paperwork incurred in enacting the measure and an estimate of the costs involved in carrying out such paperwork and recordkeeping.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1978
Declares it the sense of the House of Representatives that the Committee on Ways and Means should study and consider legislation to achieve the goals of recent proposals by certain economists to control inflation by providing tax benefits to employers who moderate price increases for their products and to employees who moderate wage demands.
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 · 7 September 1978
Soft Drink Interbrand Competition Act - Declares that exclusive territorial arrangements made as a part of a licensing agreement for the manufacture, distribution, or sale of a trademarked soft drink product are lawful under the antitrust laws provided such product is in substantial and effective competition with other products of the same general class.
United States · United States Congress · 17 August 1978
Paperwork and Redtape Reduction Act - Title I: Central Management and Control Responsibility - Establishes, within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Office of Federal Information Management Policy to have Government-wide responsibility for setting policies and coordinating procedures governing the budgeting, management, and control of Federal information management activities and of costs imposed by Federal programs on individuals, organizations, and other institutions outside the Federal Government. Directs the Administrator of such office to: (1) publish an annual report of the costs to each Federal agency of the administration of and to organizations of compliance with Federal agency reporting requirements; (2) annually review the paperwork reduction activities of each Federal agency to ascertain their adequacy; (3) develop and recommend to the President and the Congress policies and standards on information disclosure, confidentiality, and safeguarding the security of information collected or maintained by Federal agencies or in conjunction with Federal programs; (4) conduct a research program to develop improved cost accounting and reduction techniques; and (5) keep Congress fully informed of the activities of such office. Requires that the formal meetings of such office for the purpose of establishing information management procedures be open to the public. Delegates to the Administrator the authority and responsibility of the Director of the OMB under the Federal Reports Act and the Privacy Act of 1974. Makes it the responsibility of the Administrator of the General Services Administration to conduct studies and promulgate standards with respect to records retention requirements imposed on the public by Federal agencies. Title II: Elimination of Unnecessary Duplication - Establishes a Federal Information Locator System composed of an information locator, a data element dictionary, and an information referral service. Directs the System to serve as the authoritative register of all public use reports. Establishes within the General Services Administration a Federal Information Locator Office. Requires the Director of such Locator Office to: (1) prepare a data profile for each public use report; and (2) register all approved new reports and other information holdings in the Federal Information Locator System. Requires data profiles for planned new requirements to be matched against existing profiles in the information locator. Directs the results of such matching to be made available to Federal agencies and the general public. Requires the Director to establish procedures and to insure that at a minimum all data items in public-use reports are registered in the Federal Locator System. Requires the Director to insure that no actual data is contained within the locator system, except descriptive data profiles necessary to identify duplicative data or to locate information. Requires that any information holding which contains a data element of a personal or proprietary nature within the meaning of the Privacy Act of 1974 be identified as such and restricted in access and use. Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions - States that a finding of invalidity of any section of this Act shall not affect the remaining sections. Authorizes the appropriation of such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 August 1978
Directs the Civil Aeronautics Board to immediately dissolve the Airlines Mutual Aid Pact. Directs the Board to study the collective bargaining process within the airline industry and to make recommendations to Congress within six months on methods of alleviating the occurrence of protracted airline strikes.
United States · United States Congress · 9 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 · 18 July 1978
Provides that where two or more Members of the House of Representatives pay the basic pay of an individual from the clerk-hire allowance of each such Member, such individual shall be considered to be on the payroll of only one such Member for purposes of determining the number of individuals employed by such Members under the clerk-hire allowance. Requires such Members to designate who shall be considered the employer for the month involved and to report such designation to the Office of Finance.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1978
Farm Water Act - Replaces the existing acreage limitation of 160 acres of reclaimed land per individual with a limitation of 320 acres. Permits larger acreages where the land is less productive or other factors make it less valuable for agriculture. Lists specified lands to which the acreage limitations shall not apply including land within a water district which has paid construction charges of the reclamation project relating to the delivery of water to such landholding. Prevents the delivery of water to irrigable land in excess of 320 acres held in private ownership by a single landowner if such landowner refuses to execute a valid contract for the sale of such excess land. Permits delivery of project water to excess land after the effective date of this Act only if the title to such land is made subject to a condition that the land shall not be sold at a price greater than the landowner's costs increased only by the rate increase of the consumer price index for the period between the dates of purchase and sale. Abolishes the requirement that a qualified recipient must reside on or near a landholding in order for such landholding to be eligible to receive water.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1978
Amends the Small Business Act and the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 to transfer to the Small Business Administration the authority to conduct a program of volunteer assistance for small businesses. Includes the transfer of the SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) and ACE (Active Corps of Executives) programs to the Administration from the ACTION Agency. Increases the maximum allowable compensation and travel expenses for experts and consultants employed by the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to the maximum amounts payable under the executive schedule for Federal employees.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 1978
Amends Title II (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to require States having agreements for coverage of their employees under the system of insurance established by such Title to make payments and reports on a calendar-quarter basis.
United States · United States Congress · 1 June 1978
Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government Appropriations Act - Title I: Department of the Treasury - Treasury Department Appropriations Act - Makes appropriations for fiscal year 1979 within the Department of the Treasury for the following: the Office of the Secretary, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, the Bureau of Government Financial Operations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the United States Customs Service, the Bureau of the Mint, the Bureau of the Public Debt, the Internal Revenue Service, and the United States Secret Service. Title II: U.S. Postal Service - Postal Service Appropriation Act - Makes appropriations for payment to the Postal Service Fund. Title III: Executive Office of the President - Executive Office Appropriations Act - Appropriates funds for fiscal year 1979 for the following: compensation of the President, the Office of Administration, the White House Office, the Executive Residence (operating expenses), the Official Residence of the Vice President (operating expenses), special assistance to the President, the Council of Economic Advisers, the Council on Wage and Price Stability, the Domestic Policy Staff, the National Security Council, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Office of Federal Procurement Policy. Title IV: Independent Agencies - Independent Agencies Appropriations Act - Makes appropriations to the following for fiscal year 1979: the Administrative Conference of the U.S., the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, the Advisory Committee on Federal Pay, the Civil Service Commission, the Committee for Purchase from the Blind and Other Severely Handicapped, the Federal Election Commission, the General Services Administration, the Federal Buildings Fund, the Federal Supply Service, the National Archives and Records Service, the Automated Data and Telecommunications Service, the Federal Preparedness Agency, Allowances for Office Staff for Former Presidents, the National Center for Productivity and Quality of Working Life, the National Commission on Electronic Fund Transfers, the United States Tax Court, and the Defense Civil Preparedness Agency. Title V: General Provisions - Sets forth restrictions and prohibitions with respect to the spending of funds appropriated by this Act. Title VI: General Provisions - Restricts the employment of specified aliens by the Federal Government. Sets forth limitations and legislative provisions with respect to appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 1978
Directs that Federal Employees Group Life Insurance be made available at any time before retirement to any otherwise eligible Member of Congress or congressional employee who is not covered by such insurance. Stipulates that no Member or employee who is already covered by such insurance shall be required to provide medical evidence of insurability as a condition for optional additional insurance.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 1978
Small Business Regulatory Relief Act - Amends the Small Business Act to direct each Federal department, agency, and instrumentality engaged in rulemaking to prepare a written analysis of whether it is legal, feasible, and desirable to exempt small businesses (or classes thereof) from a rule or whether the agency should promulgate a rule with lesser compliance standards for businesses. Sets forth information which must be present in such analysis.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 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 · 13 April 1978
Amends the National Housing Act to prohibit the denial of assistance under the Federal Housing Administration mortgage insurance programs solely because the housing is located in an area identified by any federal agency as an area subject to a high noise level resulting from air transportation conducted in connection with the operation of a nearby civilian or military airport.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1978
Prohibits the Veterans' Administration from refusing to guarantee, insure, or make a home loan to veterans solely because the property is located in an area identified by a Federal agency as the area which is most adversely affected by the noise from the operation of nearby civilian or military airports. Directs the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs, when providing assistance under such conditions, to notify the buyer regarding the nature of such property.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1978
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to issue regulations corresponding to the principles set forth in a certain private letter ruling relating to the exclusion from gross income of amounts deferred by participants in public deferred compensation plans.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1978
Expresses the condemnation of the House of Representatives of the kidnapping of Aldo Moro. Declares it the sense of the House of Representatives that (1) Italy deserves the support of the United States, and (2) the President should instruct the Permanent Representative to the United Nations to press for consideration of solutions to the problem of terrorism in all appropriate forums.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1978
Expresses the condemnation by the Congress of the March 11, 1978, attack on Israel by the Palestine Liberation Organization, and the expressed intention of the PLO to continue such attacks and to disrupt the peace efforts between Israel and Egypt. Requests the President to make the disapproval of the Congress known to governments approving the PLO attack. Expresses Congressional approval of the peace efforts between Israel and Egypt. Urges other Middle East countries to join such efforts. Declares negotiation to be the best way to bring peace to the Middle East.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1978
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow small business investment companies electing to be taxed as regulated investment companies, and having a tax deficiency as a result of a judicial judgment or administrative settlement concerning certain capital gains or dividend deductions to satisfy such deficiencies by paying out dividends within 90 days after the judgment or settlement.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1978
Title I: Amendments to the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 - Amends the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to change the limitation on the amount of securities which the Small Business Administration (SBA) may purchase from various classes of small business investment companies. Authorizes small business investment companies to invest funds in certificates of deposit or savings accounts in institutions whose accounts are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation. Repeals certain requirements with respect to interest rates on debentures purchased by the SBA. Title II: Amendments to the Small Business Act - Amends the Small Business Act to authorize the SBA to let subcontracts or to arrange for the performance of its own government contracts to socially and economically disadvantaged small business concerns for construction work, services, and the manufacture, supply or assembly of articles. Defines socially and economically disadvantaged small business concerns for purposes of this Act. Exempts small businesses receiving such subcontracts from performance bond requirements under specified circumstances. Requires each public contract to be performed in the United States which exceeds $10,000 in amount to include a clause requiring that small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals be given the maximum practicable opportunity to participate in such contracts. Requires each offering company to submit a summary subcontracting plan with its offer. Conditions the award of a contract to an apparently successful offering company upon a determinination by the procurement authority that the final subcontracting plan affords maximum practicable opportunity for participation by small businesses owned and controlled by disadvantaged individuals. Authorizes the SBA to appeal for modification of such a plan to the head of the procuring agency if determined that such standard is not met. Conditions the granting of Federal funds to be used for the procurement of articles, equipment, or construction work upon the applicant agreeing to utilize small business concerns for such procurement to the maximum extent practicable.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1978
Amends Title II (Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code to reduce tax rates below the level established by the Social Security Amendments of 1977 on employment income for both employers and employees and on self-employment income. Increases Federal contributions to the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund, and the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund established under Title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act by 50 percent. Increases the ceiling on the amount of income that is subject to social security taxation to $100,000 in 1979.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1978
Reclamation Safety of Dams Act - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to modify Bureau of Reclamation dams and related facilities in order to preserve structural safety.
United States · United States Congress · 20 February 1978
Limits the number and salaries of persons who may be employed in the White House Office, the Executive Residence at the White House or by the Vice President, the Domestic Policy Staff, or the Office of Administration, at salary levels equivalent to those above GS-16 of the General Schedule. Authorizes the appropriation of $1,000,000 to be used by the President at his discretion to meet unanticipated needs, including personnel needs. Permits the detailing of employees of Federal agencies to the offices specified in this Act, but requires the President to notify Congress annually as to who is so detailed and who is performing the duties which would otherwise be performed by such employee had such employee not been so detailed. Increases the President's travel allowance from $40,000 to $100,000. Replaces specified statutory references to the Executive Mansion and the White House with the term "Executive Residence at the White House."
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1978
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide graduted income tax rates for corporations with a maximum rate of 45 percent on income in excess of $150,000 and a minimum rate of 18 percent on income not in excess of $25,000.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1978
Agriculture Refinance Act - Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to permit insured loans of up to $1,000,000 to farm owners and operators for refinancing existing indebtedness incurred between January 1, 1973, and December 31, 1977. Allows a repayment period for refinancing loans of 40 years for real estate loans, 12 years for equipment loans, and five years for operating loans. Defers the first payment for the interest and principal of such loans for five years for real estate loans, for three years for equipment loans, and for two years for operating loans.
United States · United States Congress · 15 December 1977
States that during the year following the enactment of this Act the Secretary of the Interior shall neither withhold water delivery from any beneficiary of a Federal reclamation project nor initiate any proceeding intended to require the sale of privately owned lands within any project, for purposes of achieving conformity with acreage limitations or residency requirements of reclamation law.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 1977
Amends the Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921 to restrict the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture to determine the justness or reasonableness of any stockyard service rate or charge to only those rates or charges for services at stockyards which have a certain minimum annual sales volume.
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 1977
Consumer Representation and Reorganization Act - Establishes as an independent agency within the executive branch an Office of Consumer Representation to be headed by an Administrator appointed by the President by and with the consent of the Senate. Requires the Administrator to transmit to the Congress and the President by February 1 of each year a report on the activities and accomplishments of the Office during the preceding calendar year including a summary of consumer complaints received and actions taken thereon. States the functions of the Office, including to: (1) represent the interests of consumers before Federal agencies and courts to the extent authorized by this Act; (2) encourage and support research, studies, and testing leading to a better understanding of consumer products and improved products, services and consumer information; (3) submit recommendations annually to the Congress and the President on measures to improve the operation of the Federal Government in the protection and promotion of the interests of consumers; (4) cooperate with State and local governments and private enterprise in the promotion and protection of the interests of consumers; and (5) publish and distribute material to inform consumers and Congress of matters of interest to the consumer. Authorizes the Administrator, whenever the result of any Federal agency proceeding or activity may substantially affect an interest of consumers, to intervene as a party or otherwise participate in representing the interests of consumers. Directs the Agency to receive, evaluate, develop, act on, and transmit complaints to the appropriate Federal or non-Federal entities concerning actions or practices which may be detrimental to the interests of consumers. Requires the Agency to maintain a public document room containing an up-to-date listing of all signed consumer complaints of any significance arranged in meaningful and useful categories together with annotations of Agency actions. Requires the Office to gather and disseminate to the public information concerning: (1) the functions and duties of the Office; (2) consumer products and services; (3) problems encountered by consumers; and (4) notices of Federal hearings, proposed and final rules, and other pertinent activities of Federal agencies. Directs the Office to encourage and support, through both public and private entities, the development and application of information on consumer products and services. Authorizes Federal agencies to perform, at the request of the Administrator, tests regarding products, services, or any matter affecting the interests of consumers. Authorizes each Federal agency, upon the written request of the Administrator, to furnish or allow access to all documents, papers, and records in its possession which the Administrator deems necessary for the performance of his functions. Requires every Federal agency, in considering any action which may substantially affect the interest of consumers, to notify the Agency of such action. Transfers to the Office of Consumer Representation the functions, funds, records, and property of other Federal offices the duties of which now fall within what this Act designates as the jurisdiction of the Office of Consumer Representation. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to report to Congress functions performed by Federal programs which overlap, duplicate, or conflict with the functions performed by the office. Terminates the Office of Consumer Representation five years after the effective date of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 20 October 1977
Consumer Representation and Reorganization Act - Establishes as an independent agency within the executive branch an Office of Consumer Representation to be headed by an Administrator appointed by the President by and with the consent of the Senate. Requires the Administrator to transmit to the Congress and the President by February 1 of each year a report on the activities and accomplishments of the Office during the preceding calendar year including a summary of consumer complaints received and actions taken thereon. States the functions of the Office, including to: (1) represent the interests of consumers before Federal agencies and courts to the extent authorized by this Act; (2) encourage and support research, studies, and testing leading to a better understanding of consumer products and improved products, services and consumer information; (3) submit recommendations annually to the Congress and the President on measures to improve the operation of the Federal Government in the protection and promotion of the interests of consumers; (4) cooperate with State and local governments and private enterprise in the promotion and protection of the interests of consumers; and (5) publish and distribute material to inform consumers and Congress of matters of interest to the consumer. Authorizes the Administrator, whenever the result of any Federal agency proceeding or activity may substantially affect an interest of consumers, to intervene as a party or otherwise participate in representing the interests of consumers. Directs the Agency to receive, evaluate, develop, act on, and transmit complaints to the appropriate Federal or non-Federal entities concerning actions or practices which may be detrimental to the interests of consumers. Requires the Agency to maintain a public document room containing an up-to-date listing of all signed consumer complaints of any significance arranged in meaningful and useful categories together with annotations of Agency actions. Requires the Office to gather and disseminate to the public information concerning: (1) the functions and duties of the Office; (2) consumer products and services; (3) problems encountered by consumers; and (4) notices of Federal hearings, proposed and final rules, and other pertinent activities of Federal agencies. Directs the Office to encourage and support, through both public and private entities, the development and application of information on consumer products and services. Authorizes Federal agencies to perform, at the request of the Administrator, tests regarding products, services, or any matter affecting the interests of consumers. Authorizes each Federal agency, upon the written request of the Administrator, to furnish or allow access to all documents, papers, and records in its possession which the Administrator deems necessary for the performance of his functions. Requires every Federal agency, in considering any action which may substantially affect the interest of consumers, to notify the Agency of such action. Transfers to the Office of Consumer Representation the functions, funds, records, and property of other Federal offices the duties of which now fall within what this Act designates as the jurisdiction of the Office of Consumer Representation. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to report to Congress functions performed by Federal programs which overlap, duplicate, or conflict with the functions performed by the office. Terminates the Office of Consumer Representation five years after the effective date of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 1977
Provides that certain employees of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service who are not entitled to Indian preferences shall be entitled to an annuity after completing 25 years of service (or after attaining 50 years of age and completing 20 years of service) if they are separated from the service before 1990, or any later date before 1991 if the later date is necessary for continued effective operations of the Department involved. Provides that employees entitled to Indian preference and military preference shall be retained in preference to employees entitled to only military preference during reductions in force within the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Prohibits the appointment of unqualified Indians to any positions under the Indian preference laws. Forbids the application of Indian preference laws to any personnel action respecting an individual if the tribal organization served by the unit in which position exists grants a waiver of those laws. Provides that reassignments of individuals within the Bureau of Indian Affairs shall not be subject to the Indian preference laws where the Commissioner of Indian Affairs determines that the reassignment is necessary to: (1) assure the health or safety of an individual or his family; (2) prevent the deterioration of an individual's operation or of a necessary service to the Indian people; or (3) avoid the displacement of an Indian during a reduction in force. Directs the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to recruit Indians for service within the Bureau, to establish training and career development programs for Indian employees of the Bureau and to provide procedures for coordinating Indian preference programs in a uniform manner throughout the Bureau.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1977
Provides for the distribution, investment, and use of funds appropriated in satisfaction of the judgment awarded to the Seminole Indians in dockets 73 and 151 before the Indian Claims Commission.
![Official portrait of Rep. Steed, Tom [D-OK-4]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/s000829_200.jpg)