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United States · Official source
297 records where Rep. Vigorito, Joseph P. [D-PA-24] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1976
Expresses the solidarity of the American people in efforts to enlarge human freedom by the participants in the second Brussels conference, February 17 to 19, 1976.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1976
Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to provide that members of the Federal Election Commission shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1976
National Agricultural Research Policy Act - Declares that the purposes of this Act are to emphasize agricultural research as a distinct mission of the Department of Agriculture, to be certain such research is effectively coordinated, and to provide a mechanism for identifying the Nation's highest priority problems for agricultural research. Provides for an additional Assistant Secretary of Agriculture to be responsible for the agricultural research activities of the Department of Agriculture and to serve as co-chairman of the National Agricultural Research Policy Committee. Directs the Secretary to appoint a scientist to serve and report to such new Assistant Secretary and to act as Executive Secretary of such Committee. Establishes, within the Department of Agriculture, the National Agricultural Research Policy Committee. Specifies the membership of such Committee. States that the Committee's responsibilities shall include: (1) reviewing programs, policies and goals of agricultural research agencies; (2) providing a forum for research sponsoring agencies to exchange information on agricultural plans and programs; and (3) making recommendations to the Secretary of Agriculture regarding applications for funding of mission-oriented basic agricultural research. Requires such Committee to annually submit a report of its activities to specified committees of the Congress. Defines "mission-oriented basic agricultural research" as research on fundamental science topics with regard to which there is a basic need in existence for new knowledge that would be genrated by such research, has a strong potential for benefitting mankind and deals with more than an unproven concept. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to land grant colleges and universities eligible for assistance under the First and Second Morrill Acts and to State agricultural experiment stations eligible for assistance under the Hatch Act to carry out mission-oriented basic research. Allows the Secretary to make grants on a competitive basis to Federal agencies, research institutions, organizations and individuals for agricultural research, without regard to matching State funds. Authorizes appropriations of $50,000,000 for fiscal year 1977, $100,000,000 for fiscal year 1978 and $250,000,000 for fiscal year 1979. Declares it to be the sense of Congress that Federal funding for existing agricultural research programs be increased by $250,000,000 annually.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1976
Constitutional Amendment - Provides that with respect to the right to life, the word "person" as used in the fifth and fourteenth Articles of Amendment to the Constitution of the United States applies to all human beings including unborn offspring at every stage of their biological development. Provides that nothing in such article shall prohibit a law permitting only those medical procedures required to prevent the death of the mother.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1976
Equal Opportunity and Full Employment Act - Directs the President, with the assistance of the Council of Economic Advisers, to transmit annually a full employment and production program to the Congress. Sets forth a summary of the content to be contained in such annual report. Provides for annual Labor Reports of the President. Requires the Labor Reports to provide detailed attention on a continuing and progressively analytical basis to the changing volume and composition of the American labor supply. Renames the United States Employment Service as the United States Full Employment Service. Creates a Job Guarantee Office in the United States Full Employment Office headed by a Job Guarantee Officer whose responsibility is to provide useful and rewarding employment for any American, able and willing to work but not yet working, unable otherwise to obtain work, and applying to such office for assistance. Directs the Job Guarantee Office to carry out responsibilities under this Act upon the recommendation and approval of the local planning councils. Requires that each Job Guarantee Office in carrying out its responsibilities shall insure that among projects planned that adequate consideration be given to such individuals and groups as may face special obstacles in finding and holding useful and rewarding employment and shall provide or have provided through the coordination of existing programs special assistance including but not limited to counseling, training, and, where necessary, transportation and migration assistance. Provides that such individuals and groups shall include (1) those suffering from past or present discrimination or bias on the basis of sex, age, race, color, religion, or national origin; (2) older workers and retirees; (3) the physically or mentally handicapped; (4) youths to age 21; (5) potentially employable recipients of public assistance; (6) the inhabitants of depressed areas, urban and rural; (7) veterans of the Armed Forces; (8) people unemployed because of the relocation, closing, or reduced operations in industrial or military facilities; and (9) such other groups as the President or the Congress may designate from time to time. Directs that each Job Guarantee Office may, subject to the limitations specified in this Act, enter into agreements with public agencies and private organizations operating on a profit, nonprofit, or limited-profit basis. Requires such agreements to contain assurances that the agency or organization will: (1) provide an annual independent audit to the Job Guarantee Office; and (2) not discriminate on the grounds of sex, age, race, color, religion, or national origin in the administration of any program encompassed within the agreement. Directs the Job Guarantee Office to: (1) refer jobseekers to the private sector and general public sector employment placement facilities of the Full Employment Service (other than as supplemented by this Act); and (2) directly refer jobseekers for placement in positions on projects drawn from the reservoir of public service and private employment projects. Provides that anyone who presents himself or herself in person at the Full Employment Office shall be considered prima facie "willing and able" to work. Provides that this stipulation specifically shall include persons with impairments of sight, hearing, movement, coordination, mental retardation, or other handicaps. Directs that this stipulation be implemented by the Job Guarantee Officer, pursuant to regulations issued by the Secretary. Establishes a Standby Job Corps which shall consist of jobseekers registered pursuant to this Act. Provides that such Corps shall be available for public service work upon projects and activities that are approved as a part of community public service work reservoirs established by community boards pursuant to this Act. Directs the Secretary, by regulation, to provide for: (1) a requirement that jobseekers registered in the Standby Job Corps maintain a status of good standing, which status shall include attendance and performance standards; and (2) a system of compensation for Corps members. Provides that no Standby Job Corps members shall be paid less than the minimum wage in effect in the area. Directs the Joint Economic Committee to: (1) annually review the activities of the executive branch under all sections of this Act; (2) regularly conduct on its own behalf, or in cooperation with or through the facilities of the appropriate legislative committees or subcommittees of the Senate and the House, public hearings in as many labor market areas as feasible; and (3) annually report upon, with its own conclusions and recommendations, the development and administration of the policies and programs mandated by this Act. Establishes a National Institute for Full Employment, within the Department of Labor, under a Director to be appointed by the Secretary of Labor, and to operate in continuing consultation with a National Commission for Full Employment Policy Studies. Authorizes and directs the Institute to make, or have made through grants to or contracts with individual researchers and private or public research organizations, universities, and other Government agencies, studies that shall include, but need not be limited to, such subjects as: (1) the policies and programs needed to reduce whatever inflationary pressures may result from full employment to manage any such inflationary pressures through appropriate fiscal policies and indirect and direct controls, and to protect the weaker groups in society from whatever inflationary trends cannot be avoided or controlled; (2) the identification of human potentialities that are hidden, undeveloped, or underdeveloped because of the lack of suitable job opportunities, encouragement, education, or training and of various ways of releasing such potentialities; (3) the forms of education and training needed to help provide people with the skills, knowledge, and values required by existing employment opportunities and technologies and needed to assist in developing such new types of goods, services, technologies, and employment opportunities as may better meet human needs; and (4) the policies and programs needed to substantially eliminate substandard employment, wages, and working conditions and the techniques for establishing standards for employment, wages, and working conditions in accordance with changing levels of national output and resources, and regional variations in output. Authorizes the appropriation for fiscal year 1976, and for each succeeding fiscal year, of such sums as may be needed to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1976
Amends the Social Security Act to maintain the inpatient hospital deductible under the medicare program at the level which was applicable during calendar year 1975.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1976
Government in the Sunshine Act - States that this Act applies to the Federal Election Commission and to any agency where the collegial body comprising the agency consists of two or more individual members, at least a majority of whom are appointed to such position by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. Provides that all meetings of such collegial body, or of a subdivision thereof authorized to take action on behalf of the agency, shall be open to the public. Requires such agency to make public announcement, at least one week before the meeting, of the date, place, and subject matter of the meeting, whether open or closed to the public, and the name and phone number of the official designated by the agency to respond to requests for information about the meeting. Exempts meetings when publicity would result in disclosure of matters: (1) necessary to keep secret in the interests of national defense or foreign policy; (2) not warranting an invasion of personal privacy; (3) constituting trade secrets; and (4) other matters the disclosure of which would not be in the public interest. States that the district courts of the United States shall have jurisdiction to enforce the requirements of this Act by declaratory judgment, injunctive relief, or other relief as may be appropriate. Prohibits the making of an ex parte communication relevant to the merits of the proceeding by an interested person outside the agency to anyone involved in the decisional process of the proceedings.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1976
Amends the Tariff Schedules of the United States to repeal the duty imposed on articles assembled abroad with components produced in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 19 December 1975
Designates the Federal building at West Third Street, Williamsport, Pennyslvania as the Herman T. Schneebeli Building.
United States · United States Congress · 17 December 1975
Provides that any individual who on November 5, 1971, was a law enforcement officer employed in the Naval Investigative Service or the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and at any time after November 5, 1971, and before the date of the enactment of this Act, was an employee of the Defense Investigative Service of the Department of Defense whose duties were primarily related to conducting personnel security investigations, may elect to have all such service within the Defense Investigative Service be considered as service as a law enforcement officer for specified purposes including basic pay, mandatory separation, retirement and computation of annuity.
United States · United States Congress · 17 December 1975
Approves the compact of permanent union between Puerto Rico and the United States. Accords to Puerto Rico the right of self-government and jurisdiction over the population, territorial seas, and Island of Puerto Rico, as well as jurisdiction over the adjacent population, territorial seas, and islands. Gives the U.S. responsibility for and authority with respect to international relations and defense affecting Puerto Rico. Permits Puerto Rico to enter into specified categories of agreements with other countries consistent with the functions of the U.S. as determined by the President and the Governor of the Free Associated State of Puerto Rico on a case-by-case basis. States that all persons born in Puerto Rico are citizens of the U.S. Makes U.S. currency the exclusive currency of Puerto Rico. Declares that economic, trade, and commercial relations between the two parties shall be conducted within the framework of the common market previously and henceforth established. Lists related rights and responsibilities. Provides that U.S. immigration laws, rules, regulations, and procedures shall be applied to Puerto Rico except as the President and Governor agree to limit or increase the quota of aliens who may be admitted. Directs that Puerto Rico be represented by one elected representative in each House of Congress. Provides that U.S. laws, present and past, be given full effect. Allows, prior to passage of any legislation affecting Puerto Rico, the Governor to submit to Congress objections to its applicability. Exempts Puerto Rico from the provisions of such legislation if the respective Congressional committee or committees by vote express agreement with the objections. Prohibits this procedure if proposed laws directly affect the rights and duties of citizens, security and common defense, foreign affairs, or currency. Allows the U.S. to transfer to Puerto Rico, with its consent, the total or partial performance of Federal functions. Creates a six-member Joint Commission, three members and their successors to be appointed by the President, and three by the Governor. Subjects the Commission to review by the President and the Governor after an initial period of five years, such review to encompass the Commission's membership and continuation. Assigns the Commission to help in the perfection of relations between the U.S. and Puerto Rico, directing it to study: (1) the desirability of retaining, modifying, or eliminating the application of specific Federal laws to Puerto Rico, giving priority to laws pertaining to communications, coastal shipping, and administration of Selective Service; (2) the possible transfer of Federal functions to Puerto Rican agencies; and (3) the desirability of recommending a system of contributory payments from Puerto Rico to the U.S. Treasury, based upon disbursements by the Puerto Rican legislature from the general fund or any other sources subject to its legislative action. Grants concurrent jurisdiction to U.S. and Puerto Rican courts with respect to justifiable questions arising under this Act. Establishes a U.S. District Court for Puerto Rico. Declares that the public policy of the U.S. and Puerto Rico is to make the minimum wage in Puerto Rico equal to that of the U.S. as soon as economic conditions permit. Grants Puerto Rico exclusive jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to minimum wage and working hours, labor-management relations, and occupational health and safety regulation, except as those areas apply to the shipping and aviation industries, where the appropriate Federal law governs. Requires that this compact, to become effective: (1) be approved by the U.S. Congress; (2) be approved by the Puerto Rican electorate in a special referendum; and (3) be proclaimed approved by the electorate, such proclamation to include the effective date as agreed upon by the President and the Governor. (It must become effective within one year of approval). Directs that the provisions of this Act shall not interrupt or impair pending matters before courts or quasi-judicial agencies, and shall not affect franchises, permits, and other grants previously issued. Requires mutual agreement between the two governments for modification of this Act, and with respect to specified provisions concerning fundamental relations, the approval of the Puerto Rican electorate is also required.
United States · United States Congress · 15 December 1975
Nuclear Energy Reappraisal Act - Terminates the granting of construction licenses of nuclear fission powerplants in the United States pending action by the Congress following a comprehensive five-year study of the nuclear fuel cycle with particular reference to its safety and environmental hazards, to be conducted by the Office of Technological Assessment. Empowers the Office to compel delivery of any information in the possession of the National Laboratories which the Office deems necessary for conducting its study. Specifies that all Government agencies shall cooperate to the fullest extent with the Office. Directs the Office of Technology Assessment to submit, within five years, a report to Congress and the public concerning safety and environmental hazards of nuclear fission powerplants and the nuclear fuel cycle. Requires the report to include recommendations as to whether a resumption of the licensing of nuclear fission power plants should be allowed, and if so, the conditions under which licenses should be granted. Authorizes appropriations for the study of $15,000,000 for each of the five fiscal years beginning after the date of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 December 1975
Emergency Fossil Fuel Rail Bank Act - Declares the finding of the Congress that railroad rights-of-way existing in areas of the United States in which fossil fuel natural resources are situated are essential to the public interest. Declares the finding that severe energy shortages can be reduced by the preservation of such rights-of-way. Makes it the purpose of this Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide for the creation of a fossil fuel rail bank to assure the preservation of rail trackage and other rail properties for fossil fuel transport. Defines terms used in this Act. Directs the Secretary to establish such a fossil fuel rail bank. Authorizes the Secretary to acquire rail properties or interests in rail properties. Limits the disposition of such rail properties where such would adversely affect continued access to, and egress by rail from, facilities in which fossil fuels are being or can be extracted or processed. Authorizes the appropriation of up to $12,000,000 to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 1975
Designates the week beginning April 4, 1976, as "National Rural Health Week." Urges that efforts in disseminating health information be intensified. Calls for improved health services for rural America.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 1975
Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the heads of other departments affected by this Act, to issue and revise regulations from time to time, relating to the trapping and capturing of animals and birds. Imposes a fine of $500 and/or imprisonment of up to one year for violations of this Act. Establishes an advisory commission of 7 members to consult with the Secretary and make recommendations with respect to regulations concerning trapping and capturing of animals and birds. Imposes a fine of $5,000 and/or imprisonment or of one year, for the sale, shipment, or transport, of any unapproved trap or any animal skin or hide or bird feathers taken in violation of this Act. Outlines those trapping regulations specifically applicable to Federal lands. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with any affected State pursuant to which the Secretary shall assist such State to enable it to comply with the provisions of this Act. Authorizes to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 1975
Includes as an unlawful employment practice, under the Civil Rights Act discrimination against an individual by any employer, employment agency, or labor organization because of the individual's prior drug abuse.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 1975
Rice Production Act - Title I: Rice Allotments and Price Support - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, under the Agricultural Adjustment Act, to establish for each of the 1976 and 1977 rice crops a national acreage allotment of 1,800,000 acres. States that the national acreage allotment shall be apportioned, for each crop of rice, by the Secretary to farms and producers on the basis of allotments established for the 1975 crop. Provides for reserving a portion of the rice allotment for apportionment to new rice farms and new rice producers. Sets forth criteria for reducing or withdrawing entirely the rice allotment of a farm or producer which plants to rice less than the total acreage allotted to it for that crop. Defines exceptions to such criteria. Authorizes the Secretary to transfer for any year because of natural disaster all or a part of such rice acreage for any farm in the county or in any other nearby county on which one or more producers on the farm from which the transfer is to be made will be engaged in the production of rice and will share in the proceeds in accordance with such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe. Directs the Secretary to permit the owner and operator of any farm for which a farm acreage allotment has been established to sell or lease all or any part to any other owner or operator of a farm in the same administrative area, or to transfer all or any part of such allotment to any other farm owned or controlled by him in the same. Provides for the apportionment among the heirs of a rice producer of a farm rice acreage allotment of such producer in States in which the allotment is based on past production of rice. Provides for apportionment of acreage upon dissolution of a partnership in such States. Provides for the voluntary surrender to the county committee of a portion of a farm's rice acreage allotment. States that any acreage planted to rice in excess of the farm or producer acreage allotment in the crop years 1975 and 1977 shall not be taken into account in establishing farm or producer acreage allotments in any year following such period. Establishes, under the Agricultural Act, the price to be used in making payments on rice under the price support program. Sets the price for the 1976 crop at $8 per hundredweight, adjusted for economic and agricultural factors. Directs the Secretary to make loans and purchases on the 1976 rice crop available to producers who are in cooperation with the rice acreage allotment at a rate of $6 per hundredweight, as adjusted for economic and agricultural factors. Bases 1977 loans and purchases on the price paid in 1976 as adjusted. Directs the Secretary to make payments available to cooperators for each of the 1976 and 1977 rice crops. Sets forth criteria for determining the rate of such payments and the total amount of such payments to a cooperator. Directs the Secretary to provide for a set-aside of cropland for a rice crop if an excessive supply of rice for the marketing year under consideration is predicted. Authorizes the raising of specified crops other than rice on set-aside acreage. Limits to $55,000 the total amount of payments which a person shall be entitled to receive during a crop year under this rice program. Makes inapplicable to the 1976 and 1977 crops of rice those provisions of the Agricultural Adjustment Act which regulate the apportionment of the national acreage allotment and marketing quotas with respect to rice. Title II: Rice Research - Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out regional and national research programs with respect to rice for specified purposes, including: (1) to reduce fertilizer and herbicide usage in excess of production needs; (2) to develop varieties of rice utilization; and (3) to improve the resistance of rice plants to disease and to enhance their conservation and environmental qualities. Authorizes the appropriation of up to $1,000,000 for fiscal year 1976 to carry out such research. Title III: Miscellaneous - Provides, under the Agricultural Act, that for the 1976 and 1977 crops of rice, a cooperator shall be a person who has a rice acreage allotment, and, if a set-aside is in effect, who has set aside the acreage required.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 1975
Prohibits the exploration for and the mining of and the purchase of all valuable mineral deposits within any area of the National Park System. Repeals laws or provisions of laws which permit mining in: (1) Glacier Bay National Monument; (2) Death Valley National Monument; (3) Coronado International Memorial, Arizona; (4) Mount McKinley National Park; and (5) Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to promulgate such regulations as are necessary to govern existing valid mineral rights in the National Park System.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 1975
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the signing in Helsinki of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe did not change in any way the longstanding policy of the United States on nonrecognition of the Soviet Union's illegal seizure and annexation of the three Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
United States · United States Congress · 12 November 1975
Provides that no State shall be required to administer individual means tests for the provision of education, nutrition, transportation, recreation, socialization, or associated services provided under the Social Security Act to groups of low-income individuals aged sixty or older. Limits to 6 months the frequency of recertifications of eligibility for services under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 November 1975
Declares that greater emphasis must be placed on recovering and reusing resources now disposed of as waste in order to avoid shortages, price increases, and other burdens on commerce. States that such measures shall also save scarce virgin natural resources and reduce disposal costs. Sets forth the purposes of this Act which are the establishment of a national transportation rate policy for all recovered materials, and the elimination of discriminatory transportation rates charged by regulated carriers for the movement in commerce of recovered waste and recycled or recycable materials. Defines terms as used in this Act. Directs the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Federal Maritime Commission to effect charges in the rate structure to promote the movement by common carriers of recovered materials at the lowest possible lawful rates compatible with the maintenance of adequate transportation service. Provides that the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall take steps as necessary to insure that such action is carried out. Requires the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Federal Maritime Commission to undertake studies of the feasibility of establishing a transportation rate policy for all recovered materials based upon type, size, kind of transportaiton equipment used, and the weight and/or volume of the shipment. Makes it unlawful for any railroad, common carrier by water, or motor carrier in interstate or foreign commerce to demand, charge, or collect any rate or charge for the transportation of recovered materials which are unjustly discriminatory when compared with the rate or charge demanded or collected by the carrier or railroad for the transportation of virgin natural resources. Authorizes the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Federal Maritime Commission to prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. Makes any person, firm, corporation, association, or conference which violates this Act subject to a civil penalty of not more than $5,000 for each such violation.
United States · United States Congress · 6 November 1975
Allows, under the Internal Revenue Code, an income tax deduction for any volunteer public service work contribution made by such individual for the taxable year. Limits such deduction to a maximum of $2,000. Requires that a minimum of 50 hours of service be performed for a qualified recipient organization in order to qualify for the deduction.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 1975
National Coal Production, Leasing, and Mine Reclamation Act - Title I: Amendments to the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 - Revises the procedures followed by the Secretary of the Interior in leasing public lands for coal mining operations pursuant to the Mineral Leasing Act. Prohibits the holding of any lease sale unless the land containing the coal deposits has been included in a comprehensive land-use plan prepared by the Secretary, the Secretary of Agriculture, or a State, and it has been determined that such sale is compatible with such plan. Sets forth requirements governing the preparation of land use plans pursuant to such Act. Directs the Secretary to evaluate and compare the effects of recovering coal by deep mining, by surface mining, or any other method, to determine what method achieves the maximum economic recovery of the coal within a proposed leasing tract. Establishes provisions for the issuance of coal exploration licenses to commercial interests by the Secretary. States that a licensee may not cause substantial disturbance to the natural land surface, and shall furnish to the Secretary copies of all data obtained during such exploration. Establishes a fine of up to $1,000 for each day of exploration conducted without a license. Authorizes the Secretary to approve the consolidation of coal leases into a mining unit. Defines a mining unit as an area of land in which the coal resources can be developed in an efficient, economical, and orderly manner. Directs the Secretary to evaluate the extent, location, and potential for developing the known recoverable coal resources within the coal lands subject to this Act. Decreases from 52 1/2 percent to 40 percent the portion of funds from the sale and rental of public lands which shall be reserved as part of the reclamation fund. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to lease coal or lignite under aquired lands set apart for military or naval purposes, with the concurrence of the Secretary of Defense. Limits such leases to governmental entities which produce electrical energy for sale to the public. Title II: Statement of Findings and Policy - Declares that most of the nation's coal reserve can only be mined by underground methods. States the purposes of this Act, including to establish a nationwide program to prevent the adverse effects to society and the environment from surface coal mining. Title III: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement - Establishes in the Interior Department the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement with a director appointed by the President. States that such office shall administer the programs required by this Act and assist the States in development of State programs for surface coal mining and reclamation. States that the Office shall be considered in independent Federal regulatory body. Title IV: State Mining and Mineral Resources and Research Institutes - Authorizes appropriation to the Secretary of the Interior of sums adequate to provide for each participating State $200,000 for fiscal year 1975, $300,000 for fiscal year 1976., and $400,000 for each fiscal year thereafter for five years, to assist the States in carrying on the work of a competent and qualified mining and minineral resources reasearch institute or center at the school of mines of one public college or university of the State. Requires such monies to be matched dollar for dollar by the States. Authorizes appropriation of $15,000,000 for fiscal year 1975, such sum to be increased by $2,000,000 each fiscal year for six years thereafter, for specific projects in mining and mineral research in research institutes. Directs the Secretary to establish a center for cataloging current and projected scientific research in mining and mineral resources. Requires the Secretary to appoint an Advisory Committee on Mining and Mineral Research to advise him on all matters concerning mining and mineral resources research. Title V: Abandoned Mine Reclamation - Creates the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund in the Treasury. Requires operators of coal mines to pay into the fund quarterly fees of $.35 per ton of coal produced by surface mining and $.15 per ton of coal produced by underground mining, or 10 percent of the value of the coal in the mine, whichever is less. Authorizes use of money in the Fund for acquisition and reclamation of abandoned and unreclaimed mined lands and for acquisitions and fillings of voids and sealing of tunnels and entryways in abandoned mines. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into agreements with landowners, including owners of water rights, under which such landowners shall furnish a conservation and development plan and shall effect such plan in return for financial assistance from the Secretary of Agriculture of up to 80 percent of the cost of such a reclamation effort. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to acquire, by purchase, donation, or otherwise, land which has been affected by surface mining and has not been reclaimed to its aapproximate original contour. Requires the Secretary, in determining the price paid for land under such authority, to take into account the unrestored condition of the land. Provides for the acquisition of lands by condemnation proceedings conducted by the Attorney General: (1) when the owner of such land refuses to negotiate with the Secretary; or (2) when such owner cannot be determined. Encourages States to acquire abandoned and unreclaimed lands, and to transfer such lands to the Secretary for reclamation, and authorizes matching grants for such purpose, up to 90 percent of land price. Allows resale of reclaimed land by public bidding, and allows local public participation in determining the use of reclaimed land. Title VI: Control of the Environmental Impacts of Surface Coal Mining - Directs publication within 180 days of enactment of this Act of regulations, covering surface coal mining and reclamation, setting standards for State programs. States that such regulations must meet approval of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator. Requires all surface coal mining operations commencing within six months of the date of enactment of this Act on State-regulated lands to comply with specified provisions of this Act. Requires all surface coal mining operations on State-regulated lands to be in compliance with specified provisions of this Act within one year of the date of enactment. Requires States which wish to assume exclusive jurisdiction over the regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation operations, to submit to the Secretary of the Interior, within 18 months of enactment, programs to include a State regulatory authority capable of regulating surface coal mining, State laws providing for sanctions for violations of regulations, and a permit system for surface coal mining regulation. Requires such State programs meet the approval of the EPA Administrator. Subjects State programs to approval of Secretary of Interior within 6 months. Requires implementation of a Federal program of surface coal mining regulation where States fail in such implementation. Permits State laws and regulations that are more stringent than those set forth pursuant to this Act. Prohibits the conduct of any surface coal mining operations by any person on or after six months from the promulgation of a State or Federal reclamation program unless the person has first obtained a permit, good for a maximum of five years, to conduct such operations. Provides for the renewal of such permit. Requires permit applications to describe the method of mining and equipment proposed to be used, to describe by maps the land to be affected, and to contain a statement of results of test borings or core samplings of the affected land. States that permits must be accompanied by a mining and reclamation plan which shall include a description of present uses of the land, steps to be taken to prevent environmental damage, and a description of the reclamation activities. Requires the posting of performance bonds and possession of liability insurance by applicants for permits. Requires operators to obtain a permit prior to conducting any coal exploration operations which substantially disturb the natural land surface. Sets general performance standards for environmental protection in surface coal mining which permittees under this Act must meet. Imposes additional standards for steep-slope surface mining. Directs the Secretary, within 135 days from the date of enactment, with the concurrence of the Chief of Engineers, to promulgate standards and criteria regulating the design, construction, maintenance and abandonment of new and existing coal mining coal mine waste piles. Directs the Secretary to promulgate rules and regulations directed at the surface effects of underground mining, including specified requirements. Directs and authorizes inspection of surface coal mining and reclamation to determine compliance with this Act and regulations. Provides for requirements of record keeping and submittal and monitoring by mine operators. Requires surprise inspections by regulatory agencies not less than once a month. Provides that when an operator completes the backfilling, regrading, and drainage control of a bonded area, he may request a release of 60 percent of the bond. Provides that the remaining amount may be returned upon completion of all reclamation. Allows persons with a legal interest to file objections to release of bond, and for public hearings to follow. Permits any person to bring a civil suit against any person, including the United States, alleged to be in violation of this Act. Allows the court to award costs of litigation to parties in suits brought under this Act. Permits the Secretary to intervene in actions under this Act. Allows, where State regulatory authorities do not exist or fail to act, for Federal enforcement of this Act and of permit conditions. Permits issuance of an order to cease mining and reclamation. Provides for the Attorney General to institute civil suit for a restraining order or injunction to enforce this Act or regulations under it. Directs States to designate as unsuitable for surface coal mining those areas where reclamation is impossible or where land is fragile or of historical value. Prohibits existing mining operations from being declared unsuitable. Requires implementation of a Federal lands program applicable to all surface mining and such program to, at least, adopt all requirements of this Act. Demands separate regulations for programs for special bituminous coal surface mines that meet specified criteria, and for anthracite coal surface mines which are regulated by environmental protection standards of the States. Title VII: Designations of Lands Unsuitable for Noncoal Mining - Allows the Secretary to designate Federal lands unsuitable for mining materials other than coal, if they are predominantly urban or suburan in character or if such mining operations would have an adverse impact on lands used primarily for residential and related purposes. Title VIII: Administrative and Miscellaneous Provisions - Defines the terms used in this Act. Prohibits discrimination against employees for filing suit under this Act and for testifying in a proceeding under this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to make annual grants to the States to assist the States in developing, administering, and enforcing State programs under this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to provide technical assistance and training, and assistance in preparing and maintaining a continuing inventory of information on surface coal mining and reclamation projects. Requires the Secretary to submit an annual report to the President and the Congress. Directs the Secretary to contract with the National Academy of Sciences-National Academy of Engineering for a study of surface coal mining conditions in Alaska in order to determine which, if any, of the provisions of this Act should be modified with respect to such operations in Alaska. Directs the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality to contract with the National Academy of Sciences-National Academy of Engineering and other groups for a study of the technology for surface and open-pit mining and reclamation for minerals other than coal designed to assist in the development of regulation for such operations. Directs the Secretary to consult with Indian tribes in studying the regulation of surface mining on Indian lands. Requires all surface coal mining operations on Indian lands to comply with requirements at least as stringent as specified provisions in this Act within 30 months from the enactment of this Act. Authorizes appropriations to carry out this Act, as follows: (1) $10,000,000 for various contract authority immediately and for the next two fiscal years; (2) for administrative and other purposes, $10,000,000 for fiscal year 1975, $20,000,000 for fiscal year 1976 and 1977, and $30,000,000 for fiscal years thereafter; (3) for research and demonstration projects of alternative coal mining technologies, $35,000,000 for fiscal year 1976, and for the next four years. Requires the written consent of the owner of the surface rights before the Secretary shall lease Federally-owned mineral rights, and requires compensation to be paid by the lessee to the surface owner. States that nothing in this Act shall be construed as increasing or diminishing the rights of any owner of coal in Alaska to conduct or authorize surface coal mining operations for coal which has been or is hereafter conveyed out of Federal ownership to the State of Alaska or pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, provided, that such surface coal mining operations meet the requirements of the Act. States that nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting in any way the right of any person to enforce or protect his interest in water resources affected by a surface coal mining operation.
United States · United States Congress · 31 October 1975
Freezes the inpatient hospital deductible under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act at its 1975 level.
United States · United States Congress · 31 October 1975
Allows specified percentage tax deductions under the Internal Revenue Code, for the cost of acquiring recycled solid waste materials during the taxable year. Provides, in lieu of any allowable depreciation deduction, for the amortization of the cost basis of solid waste recycling facilities over a period of 60 months.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 1975
Condemns the resolution adopted by the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly which equates Zionism with racism, and urges the U.N. General Assembly to disapprove such resolution.
United States · United States Congress · 22 October 1975
Farmer-to-Consumer Direct Marketing Act - States that it is the purpose of this Act to foster and promote, through appropriate means and on an economically sustainable basis, the development and expansion and both traditional and innovative approaches to direct marketing of agricultural commodities from farmers to consumers. States that for purposes of this Act, the term "direct marketing from farmers to consumers" means the marketing of agricultural commodities at any marketplace (including, but not limited to, roadside stands, city markets, and vehicles used for house-to-house marketing of agricultural commodities) established and maintained for the purpose of enabling farmers to sell their agricultural commodities directly to individual consumers, or organizations representing consumers. Directs the Extension Service of the Department of Agriculture to conduct and facilitate activities designed to foster methods of direct marketing from farmers to consumers. Authorizes appropriations to carry out the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 October 1975
Farmer-to-Consumer Direct Marketing Act - States that it is the purpose of this Act to foster and promote, through appropriate means and on an economically sustainable basis, the development and expansion of both traditional and innovative approaches to direct marketing of agricultural commodities from farmers to consumers. States that for purposes of this Act, the term "direct marketing from farmers to consumers" means the marketing of agricultural commodities at any marketplace (including, but not limited to, roadside stands, city markets, and vehicles used for house-to-house marketing of agricultural commodities) established and maintained for the purpose of enabling farmers to sell their agricultural commodities directly to individual consumers, or organizations representing consumers. Directs the Extension Service of the Department of Agriculture to conduct and facilitate activities designed to foster traditional methods of direct marketing from farmers to consumers, including: (1) compiling regulations relevant to direct marketing within such State; (2) the sponsorship of conferences designed to facilitate the sharing of information on direct marketing programs; and (3) the providing of technical assistance to groups establishing direct marketing programs. Authorizes appropriations of specified sums to carry out the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 October 1975
Authorizes, under the Privacy Act of 1974, the disclosure to individual Members of Congress or their designates of information regarding individuals. (Amends 5 U.S.C. 552a)
United States · United States Congress · 9 October 1975
Authorizes the President to issue a proclamation designating the week in November which includes Thanksgiving Day in each year as "National Family Week."
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 1975
National Coal Production, Leasing, and Mine Reclamation Act - Title I: Amendments to the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 - Revises the procedures followed by the Secretary of the Interior in leasing public lands for coal operations pursuant to the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920. Prohibits the holding of any lease sale unless the land containing the coal deposits has been included in a comprehensive land-use plan prepared by the Secretary, the Secretary of Agriculture, or a State, and it has been determined that such sale is compatible with such plan. Sets forth requirements governing the preparation of land use plans pursuant to such Act. Directs the Secretary to evaluate and compare the effects of recovering coal by deep mining, by surface mining, or any other method, to determine what method achieves the maximum economic recovery of the coal within a proposed leasing tract. Establishes provisions for the issuance of coal exploration licenses to commercial interests by the Secretary. States that a licensee may not cause substantial disturbance to the natural land surface and shall furnish to the Secretary copies of all data obtained during such exploration. Establishes a fine of up to $1,000 for each day of exploration conducted without a license. Sets the term of a coal lease at 20 years and for so long thereafter as coal is produced annually in commercial quantities from that lease. Requires the termination of leases which are not producing in commercial quantities at the end of ten years. States that, prior to taking any action on a leasehold which might cause a significant disturbance of the environment, the lessee shall submit for the Secretary's approval an operation and reclamation plan. Authorizes and directs the Secretary to conduct a comprehensive exploratory program designed to obtain sufficient data and information to evaluate the extent, location, and potential for developing the known recoverable coal resources within the coal lands subject to such Act. States that nothing in this requirement shall limit any private interest from conducting a survey to determine the existence or extent of coal deposits in such coal lands. Requires the Secretary to maintain published records of the results of all explorations conducted pursuant to such Act. Directs the Secretary to submit to Congress within six months after the end of each fiscal year a report on the leasing and production of coal lands subject to such Act, a summary of management and enforcement activities, and recommendations to Congress for improvements in management, environmental safeguards, and amount of production in leasing and mining operations on lands subject to such Act. Authorizes and directs the Director of the Office of Technology Assessment to conduct a comprehensive study of coal leases entered into by the United States. Prohibits the ownership or control of coal leases on more than 46,080 acres in any one State or of 100,000 in the United States by any single person or entity. Provides for the review by the Attorney General of any proposed issuance, renewal, or readjustment of any lease under such Act. Title II: Statement of Findings and Policy - Declares that most of the nation's coal reserve can only be mined by underground methods. States the purposes of this Act, including to establish a nationwide program to prevent the adverse effects to society and the environment from surface coal mining. Title III: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement - Establishes in the Interior Department the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement with a Director appointed by the President. States that such Office shall administer the programs required by this Act and assist the States in development of State programs for surface coal mining and reclamation. States that the Office shall be considered an independent Federal regulatory body. Title IV: State Mining and Mineral Resources and Research Institutes - Authorizes appropriation to the Secretary of the Interior of sums adequate to provide for each participating State $200,000 for fiscal year 1975, $300,000 for fiscal year 1976, and $400,000 for each fiscal year thereafter for five years, to assist the States in carrying on the work of a competent and qualfied mining and mineral resources research institute or center at the school of mines of one public college or university of the State. Requires such monies to be matched dollar for dollar by the States. Authorizes appropriation of $15,000,000 for fiscal year 1975, such sum to be increased by $2,000,000 each fiscal year for six years thereafter, for specific projects in mining and mineral research in research institutes. Directs the Secretary to establish a center for cataloging current and project scientific research in mining and mineral resources. Requires the Secretary to appoint an Advisory Committee on Mining and Mineral Research to advise him on all matters concerning mining and mineral resources research. Title V: Abandoned Mine Reclamation - Creates the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund in the Treasury. Requires operators of coal mines to pay into the fund quarterly fees of $.35 per ton of coal produced by surface mining and $.15 per ton of coal produced by underground mining, or 10 percent of the value of the coal in the mine, whichever is less. Authorizes use of money in the Fund for acquisition and reclamation of abandoned and unreclaimed mined lands and for acquisitions and fillings of voids and sealing of tunnels and entryways in abandoned mines. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into agreements with landowners, including owners of water rights, under which such landowners shall furnish a conservation and development plan and shall effect such plan in return for financial assistance from the Secretary of Agriculture of up to 80 percent of the cost of such a reclamation effort. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to acquire, by purchase, donation, or otherwise, land which has been affected by surface mining and has not been reclaimed to its appropriate original contour. Requires the Secretary, in determining the price paid for land under such authority, to take into account the unrestored condition of the land. Provides for the acquisition of lands by condemnation proceedings conducted by the Attorney General: (1) when the owner of such land refuses to negotiate with the Secretary; or (2) when such owner cannont be determined. Encourages States to acquire abandoned and unreclaimed lands, and to transfer such land to the Secretary for reclamation, and authorizes matching grants for such purpose, up to 90 percent of land price. Allows resale of reclaimed land by public bidding, and allows local public participation in determining the use of reclaimed land. Title VI: Control of the Environmental Impacts of Surface Coal Mining - Directs publication within 180 days of enactment of this Act of regulations, covering surface coal mining and reclamation, setting standards for State programs. States that such regulations must meet approval of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator. Requires all surface coal mining operations commencing within six months of the date of enactment of this Act on State-regulated lands to comply with specified provisions of this Act. Requires all surface coal mining operations on State-regulated lands to be in compliance with specified provisions of this Act within one year of the date of enactment. Requires States which wish to assume exclusive jurisdiction over the regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation operations, to submit to the Secretary of the Interior, within 18 months of enactment, programs for carrying out this Act, such programs to include a State regulatory authority capable of regulating surface coal mining, State law providing for sanctions for violations of regulations, and a permit system for surface coal mining regulation. Requires such State programs to meet the approval of the EPA Administrator. Subjects State programs to approval of the Secretary of Interior within 6 months. Requires implementation of a Federal program of surface coal mining regulation where States fail in such implementation. Permits State laws and regulations that are more stringent than those set forth pursuant to this Act. Prohibits the conduct of any surface coal mining operations by any person on or after six months from the promulgation of a State or Federal reclamation program unless the person has first obtained a permit, good for a maximum of five years, to conduct such operations. Provides for the renewal of such permits. Requires permit applications to describe the method of mining and equipment proposed to be used, to describe by maps the land to be affected, and to contain a statement of results of test borings or core samplings of the affected land. States that permits must be accompanied by a mining and reclamation plan which shall include a description of present uses of the land, steps to be taken to prevent environmental damage, and a description of reclamation activities. Requires the posting of performance bonds and possession of liability insurance by applicants for permits. Requires operators to obtain a permit prior to conducting any coal exploration operations which substantially disturb the natural land surface. Sets general performance standards for environmental protection in surface coal mining which permittees under this Act must meet. Imposes additional standards for steep-slope surface mining. Directs the Secretary, within 135 days from the date of enactment, with the concurrency of the Chief of Engineers, to promulgate standards and criteria regulating the design, construction, maintenance and abandonment of new and existing coal mine waste piles. Directs the Secretary to promulgate rules and regulations directed at the surface effects of underground mining, including specified requirements. Directs and authorizes inspection of surface coal mining and reclamation to determine compliance with this Act and regulations. Requires surprise inspections by regulatory agencies not less than once a month. Provides that when an operator completes the backfilling, regrading, and drainage control of a bonded area, he may request a release of 60 percent of the bond. Provides that the remaining amount may be returned upon completion of all reclamation. Allows persons with a legal interest to file objections to release of bond, and for public hearings to follow. Permits any person to bring a civil suit against any person, including the United States, alleged to be in violation of this Act. Allows the court to award costs of litigation to parties in suits brought under this Act. Permits the Secretary to intervene in actions under this Act. Allows, where State regulatory authorities do not exist or fail to act, for Federal enforcement of this Act and of permit conditions. Permits issuance of an order to cease mining and reclamation. Provides for the Attorney General to institute civil suit for a restraining order or injunction to enforce this Act or regulations under it. Directs States to designate as unsuitable for surface coal mining those areas where reclamation is impossible or where land is fragile or of historical value. Prohibits existing mining operations from being declared unsuitable. Requires implementation of a Federal lands program applicable to all surface mining and reclamation operations on Federal land. Requires such program to, at least, adopt all requirements of this Act. Demands separate regulations for programs for special bitumious coal surface mines that meet specified criteria, and for anthracite coal surface mines which are regulated by environmental protection standards of the States. Title VII: Designations of Lands Unsuitable for Noncoal Mining - Allows the Secretary to designate Federal land unsuitable for mining materials other than coal, if they are predominantly urban or suburban in character or if such mining operations would have an adverse impact on lands used primarily for residential and related purposes. Title VIII: Administrative and Miscellaneous Provisions - Defines the terms used in this Act. Prohibits discrimination against employees for filing suit under this Act and for testifying in a proceeding under this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to make annual grants to the States to assist the States in developing, administering, and enforcing State programs under this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to provide technical assistance and training, and assistance in preparing and maintaing a continuing inventory of information on surface coal mining and reclamation projects. Requires the Secretary to submit an annual report to the President and the Congress. Directs the Secretary to contract with the National Academy of Sciences-National Academy of Engineering for a study of surface coal mining conditions in Alaska in order to determine which, if any, of the provisions of this Act should be modified with respect to such operations in Alaska. Directs the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality to contract with the National Academy of Sciences- National Academy of Engineering and other groups for a study of the technology for surface and open-pit mining and reclamation for minerals other than coal designed to assist in the development of regulation for such operations. Directs the Secretary to consult with Indian tribes in studying the regulation of surface mining on Indian lands. Requires all surface coal mining operations on Indian lands to comply with requirements at least as stringent as in this Act within 30 months from the enactment of this Act. Authorizes appropriations to carry out this Act, as follows: (1) $10,000,000 for various contract authority immediately and for the next two fiscal years; (2) for administrative and other purposes, $10,000,000 for fiscal year 1975, $20,000,000 for fiscal years 1976 and 1977, and $30,000,000 for fiscal years thereafter; (3) for research and demonstration projects of alternative coal mining technologies, $35,000,000 for fiscal year 1976, and for the next four years. Requires the written consent of the owner of the surface rights before the Secretary shall lease Federally-owned minieral rights, and requires compensation to be paid by the lessee to the surface owner. States that nothing in this Act shall be construed as increasing or diminishing the rights of any owner of coal in Alaska to conduct or authorize surface coal mining operations for coal which has been or is hereafter conveyed out of Federal ownership to the State of Alaska or pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, provided, that such surface coal mining operations meet the requirements of the Act. States that nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting in any way the right of any person to enforce or protect his interest in water resources affected by a surface coal mining operation.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1975
Extends Federal jurisdiction to homicides of civilian officials or employees of the Army Corps of Engineers who are assigned to perform investigations, inspections, or law or regulatory enforcement functions in connection with civil activities of the Department of the Army. (Amends 18 U.S.C. 1114)
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1975
Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to divest the United States of ownership of the Mar-A-Lago National Historic Site, Florida.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 1975
Exempts, under the Internal Revenue Code, nonprofit volunteer firefighting or rescue organizations from the Federal excise taxes on gasoline, diesel fuel, and special fuels. Exempts such organization from the tax on communication services.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 1975
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the signing in Helsinki of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe did not change in any way the longstanding policy of the United States on nonrecognition of the Soviet Union's illegal seizure and annexation of the three Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1975
Authorizes payment under the supplementary medical insurance program of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act for optometric and medical vision care.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 1975
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act - Title I: Statement of Findings and Policy - Declares that most of the nation's coal reserve can only be mined by underground methods. States the purposes of this Act, including to establish a nationwide program to prevent the adverse effects to society and the environment from surface coal mining. Title II: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement - Establishes in the Interior Department the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement with a director appointed by the President. States that such office shall administer the programs required by this Act and assist the States in development of State programs for surface coal mining and reclamation. States that the Office shall be considered an independent Federal regulatory body. Title III: State Mining and Mineral Resources Research Institute - Authorizes appropriation to the Secretary of the Interior of sums adequate to provide for each participating State $200,000 for fiscal year 1975, $300,000 for fiscal year 1976, and $400,000 for each fiscal year thereafter for five years, to assist the States in carrying on the work or a competent and qualified mining and mineral resources research institute or center at the school of mines of one public college or university of the State. Requires such monies to be matched dollar for dollar by the States. Authorizes appropriation of $15,000,000 for fiscal year 1975, such sum to be increased by $2,000,000 each fiscal year for 6 years thereafter, for specific projects in mining and mineral research in research institutes. Directs the Secretary to establish a center for cataloging current and projected scientific research in mining and mineral resources. Requires the Secretary to appoint an Advisory Committee on Mining and Mineral Research to advise him on all matters concerning mining and mineral resources research. Title IV: Abandoned Mine Reclamation - Creates the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund in the Treasury. Requires operators of coal mines to pay into the fund quarterly fees of $.35 per ton of coal produced by surface mining and $.15 per ton of coal produced by underground mining, or 10 percent of the value of the coal in the mine, whichever is less. Authorizes use of money in the Fund for acquisition and reclamation of abandoned and unreclaimed mined lands and for acquisitions and fillings of voids and sealing of tunnels and entryways in abandoned mines. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into agreements with landowners, including owners of water rights, under which such landowners shall furnish a conservation and development plan and shall effect such plan in return for financial assistance from the Secretary of Agriculture of up to 80 percent of the cost of such a reclamation effort. Encourages States to acquire abandoned and unreclaimed land, and to transfer it to the Secretary for reclamation, and authorizes matching grants for such purpose, up to 90 percent of the land price. Allows resale of reclaimed land by public bidding, and allows local public participation in determining the use of reclaimed land. Title V: Control of the Environmental Impacts of Surface Coal Mining - Directs publication within 180 days of enactment of this Act of regulations covering surface coal mining and reclamation and setting standards for State programs. States that such regulations must meet approval of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator. Requires all surface coal mining operations commencing within six months from the date of enactment of this Act on State-regulated lands to comply with specified provisions of this Act. Requires all surface coal mining operations on State-regulated lands to be in compliance with specified provisions of this Act within one year from the date of enactment. Requires States which wish to assume exclusive jurisdiction over the regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation operations to submit to the Secretary of the Interior, within 18 months of enactment, programs for carrying out this Act, such programs to include a State regulatory authority capable of regulating surface coal mining, State laws providing for sanctions for violations of regulations, and a permit system for surface coal mining regulation. Demands that such State programs meet the approval of the EPA Administrator. Subjects State programs to approval of Secretary of Interior within six months. Requires implementation of a Federal program of surface coal mining regulation where States fail in such implementation. Permits State laws and regulations that are more stringent than those set forth pursuant to this Act. Prohibits the conduct of any surface coal mining operations by any person on or after six months from the promulgation of a State or Federal reclamation program unless the person has first obtained a permit, good for a maximum of five years, to conduct such operations. Provides for the renewal of such permits. Requires permit applications to describe the method of mining and equipment proposed to be used, to describe by maps the land to be affected, and to contain a statement of results of test borings or core samplings of the affected land. States that permits must be accompanied by a mining and reclamation plan which shall include a description of present uses of the land, steps to be taken to prevent environmental damage, and a description of the reclamation activities. Requires the posting of performance bonds and possession of liability insurance by applicants for permits. Requires operators to obtain a permit prior to conducting any coal exploration operations which substantially disturb the natural land surface. Sets general performance standards for environmental protection in surface coal mining which permittees under this Act must meet. Imposes additional standards for steep-slope surface mining. Directs the Secretary, within 135 days from the date of enactment, with the concurrence of the Chief of Engineers, to promulgate standards and criteria regulating the design, construction, maintenance and abandonment of new and existing coal mine waste piles. Directs the Secretary to promulgate rules and regulations directed at the surface effects of underground mining. Directs and authorizes inspection of surface coal mining and reclamation to determine compliance with this Act and regulations. Provides requirements for record keeping and submittal and monitoring by mine operators. Requires surprise inspections by regulatory agencies not less than once a month. Imposes civil penalties for violation of this Act or regulations under it. Provides that when an operator completes the backfilling, regrading, and drainage control of a bonded area, he may request a release of 60 percent of the bond. Provides that the remaining amount may be returned upon completion of all reclamation. Allows persons with a legal interest to file objections to release of bond, and for public hearings to follow. Permits any person to bring a civil suit against any person, including the United States, alleged to be in violation of this Act. Allows the court to award costs of litigation to parties in suits brought under this Act. Permits the Secretary to intervene in actions under this Act. Allows, where State regulatory authorities do not exist or fail to act, for Federal enforcement of this Act and of permit conditions. Permits issuance of an order to cease mining and reclamation. Provides for the Attorney General to institute civil suit for a restraining order or injunction to enforce this Act or regulations under it. Directs States to designate as unsuitable for surface coal mining those areas where reclamation is impossible or where land is fragile or of historical value. Prohibits existing mining operations from being declared unsuitable. Requires implementation of a Federal lands program applicable to all surface mining and reclamation operations on Federal land. Requires such program to, at least, adopt all requirements of this Act. Demands separate regulations for programs for special bituminous coal surface mines that meet speicified criteria, and for anthracite coal surface mines which are regulated by environmental protection standards of the States. Title VI: Designation of Lands Unsuitable for Noncoal Mining - Allows the Secretary to designate Federal lands unsuitable for mining materials other than coal, if they are predominantly urban or suburban in character or if such mining operations would have an adverse impact on lands used primarily for residential and related purposes. Title VII: Administrative and Miscellaneous Provisions - Defines the terms used in this Act. Prohibits discrimination against employees for filing suit under this Act and for testifying in a proceeding under this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to make annual grants to the States to assist the States in developing, administering, and enforcing State programs under this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to provide technical assistance and training, and assistance in preparing and maintaining a continuing inventory of information on surface coal mining and reclamation projects. Requires the Secretary to submit an annual report to the President and the Congress. Directs the Secretary to contract with the National Academy of Sciences-National Academy of Engineering for a study of surface coal mining conditions in Alaska in order to determine which, if any, of the provisions of this Act should be modified with respect to such operations in Alaska. Directs the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality to contract with the National Academy of Sciences-National Academy of Engineering and other groups for a study of the technology for surface and open-pit mining and reclamation for minerals other than coal designed to assist in the development of regulation for such operations. Directs the Secretary to consult with Indian tribes in studying the regulation of surface mining on Indian lands. Requires all surface coal mining operations on Indian lands to comply with requirements at least as stringent as specified provisions in this Act within 30 months from the enactment of this Act. Authorizes appropriations to carry out this Act, as follows: (1) $10,000,000 for various contract authority immediately and for the next two fiscal years; (2) for administrative and other purposes, $10,000,000 for fiscal year 1977, $20,000,000 for fiscal years 1978 and 1979, and $30,000,000 for fiscal years thereafter; (3) for research and demonstration projects of alternative coal mining technologies, $35,000,000 for fiscal year 1977, and for the next four years. Requires the written consent of the owner of the surface rights before the Secretary shall lease Federally-owned mineral rights, and requires compensation to be paid by the lessee to the surface owner. States that nothing in this Act shall be construed as increasing or diminishing the rights of any owner of coal in Alaska to conduct or authorize surface coal mining operations for coal which has been or is hereafter conveyed out of Federal ownership to the State of Alaska or pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act; provided, that such surface coal mining operations meet the requirements of the Act. States that nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting in any way the right of any person to enforce or protect his interest in water resources affected by a surface coal mining operation.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 1975
Requires that the support price of milk be adjusted by the Secretary of Agriculture at the beginning of each quarter to reflect estimated changes during the immediately preceding quarter in the index of prices paid by farmers of production items, interest, taxes and wage rates.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 1975
Authorizes the people of the Virgin Islands to organize a government pursuant to a constitution of their own adoption under the provisions of this Act. Authorizes the Legislature of the Virgin Islands to call a constitutional convention to draft a constitution for the people of the Virgin Islands. Requires that such constitution shall include a bill of rights. Provides for eligibility for membership at the convention. Establishes voting procedures for the approval or disapproval of such constitution as may be drafted by the convention. Provides that upon taking effect, a constitution drafted and approved under this Act shall supersede such provisions of the Organic Act of the Virgin Islands as may be inconsistent with such constitution.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 1975
Authorizes the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, to contract with States and their political subdivisions for the purpose of obtaining increased law enforcement services at water resources development projects under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Army. Authorizes to be appropriated the sums necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 1975
Broadcast License Renewal Act - Permits the Federal Communications Commission to extend three-year broadcast licenses for an additional two years upon a finding of public interest. Requires in making such determination, considerations of whether different term lengths for radio and television stations and for different categories of licensees are in the public interest. Limits other class licenses to a five-year maximum, prescribing the renewal procedures for such licenses and the criteria to be considered in renewal, including responsiveness and lack of serious deficiencies. Sets guidelines for expeditious action on applications for renewal of broadcasting station licenses by limiting material required to be filed. Requires the Commission to examine the renewal process and report within six months on methods of reducing and consolidating filings and supporting documents.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 1975
Authorizes the President to issue a proclamation designating Sunday, September 14, 1975, as "National Saint Elizabeth Seton Day" and calling upon the people of the United States to observe that day with appropriate ceremonies.
United States · United States Congress · 3 September 1975
Declares it to be the policy of the Congress to support research in agriculture and forestry at State agricultural experiment stations, land grant colleges, and other forestry research institutions, through Federal grants to help finance physical facilities as required for the effective conduct of adequate research programs. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to make grants to eligible institutions for purposes of planning, acquisition, construction, repair, rehabilitation, renovation, and remodeling of buildings, laboratories and other capital facilities (including the acquisition of fixtures and equipment which are to become a part of such buildings) which are necessary to more effectively conduct research in agriculture, forestry, and related sciences. Authorizes to be appropriated for allocation to eligible institutions for purposes of making such grants such sums as the Congress deems advisible. Sets forth procedures for allocating funds among eligible institutions.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1975
Authorizes the modification of the beach erosion control project for Presque Isle Peninsula, Erie, Pennsylvania. Authorizes to be appropriated up to $14,857,000 for such modification.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1975
Provides for the coverage of a clinical psychologists' services under the supplementary medical insurance benefits program of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1975
Requires the Attorney General of the United States to conduct an investigation to determine whether antitrust violations are occurring in the manufacture or marketing of replacement home canning lids. Directs the Attorney General to submit a report to the Congress no later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this joint resolution detailing his findings, proposed action and recommendations concerning legislation. Calls for a final report no later than one year after enactment of this joint resolution detailing actions taken by the Attorney General against any person violating the antitrust acts in regard to the manufacture or marketing of such lids.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1975
Provides under the Social Security Act that an Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance claimant shall be entitled to an informal conference reconsidering an initial adverse decision concerning such claimant's eligibility for benefits. Prescribes the procedures for such reconsideration hearings. Requires that such a hearing be presided over by an administrative law judge and conducted on the record.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 1975
Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to acquire the lands, waters and interests to forty-eight-mile segment of the Chattahoochee River in Georgia. Provides that such area be set aside to establish the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. Directs the Secretary to allow owners of land, within the recreation area, used for noncommercial residential or agricultural purposes to retain such land for a definite term not to exceed twenty-five years. Directs the Secretary of administer, protest, and develop the recreation area in accordance with the Atlanta Regional Commission Chattahoochee Corridor Study. Allows the Secretary to enter into written agreements with agencies of the State of Georgia for their participation in the administration and development of the recreation area.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 1975
Provides that, subject to the approval by the United States, the Mariana Islands District Legislature, and the people of the Northern Mariana Islands, this covenant shall establish the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. States that the Commonwealth shall be in political union with, and under the sovereignty of the United States of America. States that the people of the Northern Mariana Islands will formulate and approve a Constitution, subject to United States approval. Requires that the Constitution provide for a republican form of government with separate executive, legislative and judicial branches, and that it contain a bill of rights. Provides that all persons, citizens of the Northern Mariana Islands, shall become citizens of the United States entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States of the United States. Establishes within the Commonwealth the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands. Defines the jurisdiction of the court. Specifies those laws and provisions of the United States Constitution which shall apply to the Commonwealth. Directs the President to appoint a seven-member Commission on Federal laws to make recommendations to the United States Congress as to which laws should be made applicable to the Commonwealth. Provides that with limited exceptions the Northern Mariana Islands will be deemed to be a part of the United States under the Immigration and Nationality Act. Makes the income tax laws in force in the United States applicable to the Northern Mariana Islands as a local territorial income tax. Provides that references in the Internal Revenue Code to Guam will be deemed also to refer to the Northern Mariana Islands. States that the Commonwealth shall not be included within the customs territory of the United States. Directs that the Trust Territory Social Security Retirement Fund attributable to the Northern Mariana Islands will be transferred to the Treasury of the United States, to be held in trust as a separate fund and to be known as the "Northern Mariana Islands Social Security Retirement Fund." Provides that the fund will be administered by the United States in accordance with the social security laws of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Exempts all bonds and other obligations issued by the Government of the Northern Mariana Islands from taxation by the United States. Establishes a program of direct grant assistance by the Government of the United States to the Commonwealth in its efforts to achieve a higher standard of living. States that such assistance shall continue for seven fiscal years. Provides $8,250,000 for budgetary support, $4,000,000 for capital improvement projects and $1,750,000 for an economic development loan fund. Makes available to the Commonwealth the full range of Federal programs and services available to the territories of the United States. Directs that the proceeds of all customs duties and Federal income taxes derived from the Northern Mariana Islands shall be paid into the Treasury of the Commonwealth, to be expended to the benefit of the people thereof. Transfers all right, title and interest of the Government of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands in and to real property in the Northern Mariana Islands to the Government of the Northern Mariana Islands. Specifies property within the Commonwealth which shall be made available to the Government of the United States by lease for defense purposes. States that such lease shall be for a term of 50 years with an option to renew for an additional 50 years. Provides that the United States shall pay a total of $19,520,600 in full settlement of such lease. Provides that the Commonwealth may regulate the alienation of permanent and long-term interests in real property so as to restrict the acquisition of such interests to persons of Northern Mariana Islands descent. Provides that such regulation is allowed for a period of 25 years after the termination of the Trusteeship Agreement. Recognizes the importance and scarcity of land in the Northern Mariana Islands. States that the United States shall acquire additional land in the Commonwealth only to the extent necessary to accomplish a public purpose. Authorizes the creation of the position of President Representative to the United States. Establishes requirements for such post. Provides for consultations between the Governments of the United States and the Commonwealth. Directs that such consultations shall be held at the request of either Government but not less frequently than every 10 years. Establishes procedures for acceptance of this covenant. Authorizes the appropriation of such amounts as may be necessary to make full payments of awards under title II of the Micronesia Claims Act of 1971. Allows the President to extend all Federal programs providing grant, loan, and loan guarantees to Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Mariana Islands District and the other Districts of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Requires that notice of such extension be given to Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1975
Industrial Energy Conservation Act - States that the energy needs of United States industry are increasing consistently, although energy resources are limited, and that the conservation of energy is therefore necessary. Declares that rapid development and cost-effectiveness demonstrations, and widespread application by industry, of energy-efficient technologies can be facilitated by Federal financial assistance in the form of research, development, and demonstration projects and through incentives to companies that invest in such technologies. States that it is the purpose of this Act to stimulate the development of energy-efficient technologies in American industry. Defines terms used in this Act. Directs the Administrator of the Energy Research and Development Administration to establish and maintain a program for research, development and demonstration of energy conserving industrial technologies, including: (1) basic and applied research under the control of the Administrator; (2) the development by the Administrator or private persons of prototypes or demonstration models of energy conserving technologies; and (3) the making of grants to private organizations to facilitate the incorporation of such technologies into commercial operating industrial plants, such projects to be used as demonstrations for other industrial facilities. Sets forth priorities to be observed by the Administrator in determining the recipients of grants under this Act. Authorizes the Administrator to make loans and loan guarantees for the purchase, construction, operation or maintenance of energy-efficient equipment or facilities. Enumerates priorities to be observed in making or guaranteeing such loans, including: (1) the extent to which a loan recipient is located within a depressed industrial area, and will contribute to the economic recovery of such area; (2) the extent to which such loan or guarantee will foster the widespread adoption of energy conservant technology; (3) the extent to which modernization, rather than replacement, of existing equipment will contribute to the purposes of this Act; and (4) the extent to which small businesses will be able to participate in the benefits resulting from this Act. Sets forth regulations governing the administration of loans and guarantees made pursuant to this Act. Requires that at least 60 percent of the funds available for loans and guarantees be allocated to recipients in depressed industrial areas. Sets forth additional regulations pertaining only to loan guarantees made pursuant to this Act. Limits the outstanding indebtedness guaranteed under this Act to $500,000,000 at any one time. States that no guarantee shall be made under this Act after September 30, 1977. Authorizes appropriations to carry out the purposes of this Act.