United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1982
Communications Act Amendments of 1982 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to state that participation by one or more Commissioners of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in any international conference shall not be considered an FCC meeting or a panel of Commissioners for any purpose. Deletes the provision relating to the allocation of broadcasting facilities by the FCC. Authorizes the FCC to choose to require a full hearing on license applications or to require evidence in any other form that will give all interested parties a chance to be heard. Requires the FCC to grant renewal of a radio or television broadcaster's license unless the licensee acted in such serious disregard for the Communications Act and the FCC's policies that denial of the license is justified. Denies the FCC the authority to consider the application of any person other than the licensee for the television or radio broadcast facilities for which license renewal is sought. Makes such denial inapplicable for any renewal application filed before January 26, 1982. Repeals the antitrust provisions of the Communications Act. Prohibits the FCC from requiring radio or television broadcast station licensees to: (1) provide certain programs; (2) adhere to a particular programming format; (3) ascertain the interests of their service areas; (4) restrict their commercials; and (5) maintain or make publicly available program logs of the station. Requires an efficiently operating radio on U.S. passenger and cargo ships above a certain size and on all U.S. and foreign ships leaving for a sea voyage. Requires such radio to meet either treaty requirements or FCC regulations. Repeals specified provisions dealing with ship radios and radio operators. Prohibits all U.S. ships carrying more than six passengers for hire from being navigated in the open sea or any U.S. tidewater unless equipped with efficient radio equipment. (Current law exempts certain ships.) Increases from $2,000 to $100,000 the limit on the amount of forfeiture penalty applicable to specified violations of the Communications Act or of the criminal code.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1982
Increases the monthly rate of dependency and indemnity compensation payable to the surviving spouse of a veteran who died from a service-connected or compensable disability by the amount such spouse would have received under the Social Security Act were she caring for a child under 16 (when such child is actually between 16 and 18 years of age). Directs the Administrator to make monthly payments equivalent to the child's insurance benefit under the Social Security Act before the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 to children of such deceased veterans between the ages of 18 and 22 attending institutions of higher learning.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1982
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission should take no action to accelerate the decontrol of wellhead natural gas prices.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1982
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to implement procedures for identifying social security benefit checks issued under title II which have not been negotiated within 12 months and to credit the appropriate social security trust fund on a monthly basis for the amount of all unnegotiated benefit checks drawn on such trust fund. Requires the Secretary to pay a benefit check presented for payment after it has been credited to one of the trust funds if it is otherwise proper. Authorizes appropriations to reimburse the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund for the total amount of unnegotiated benefit checks.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1982
Extends congratulations from the Congress to the Italian Government and its antiterrorist police forces for the successful rescue of Brigadier General James L. Dozier. Extends to General Dozier and his family best wishes for a quick recovery and return to normal life.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1982
Requests the President to present, on behalf of Congress, a gold medal to Lenny Skutnik, in recognition of his heroic rescue of one of the victims of the airline crash into the Potomac River on January 13, 1982. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to cause bronze duplicates of such medal to be coined for sale to the general public.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 1982
Designates January 30, 1982, as A National Day of Solidarity With the Polish People. Expresses the sense of the Congress with respect to the state of martial law in Poland.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1982
Authorizes the Director of the International Communication Agency to make available for broadcasting in the United States the film entitled "Let Poland Be Poland: A Day of Solidarity With the People of Poland."
United States · United States Congress · 16 December 1981
Private Sector Opportunities Act - Amends title VII (Private Sector Opportunities for the Economically Disadvantaged) of the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) to revise provisions for private sector programs. Makes eligible for participation in such programs unemployed or underemployed individuals who reside in designated enterprise zones (replaces the current eligibility standard based on individual low-income). Retains the requirement that 95 percent of title VII funds be allocated among prime sponsors, but deletes a provision that the remainder of such funds be used by the Secretary of Labor to assist prime sponsors jointly establishing a single private industrial council and specified Native American assistance to specified Native American entities. Permits prime sponsors to use such funds for coordination with other economic development activities. Requires that descriptions of proposed private sector initiatives include provisions for training and placement activities in business concerns, especially in small businesses, and for involving, where feasible, community-based organizations. Requires that prime sponsors (or specified Native American, Alaskan, or Hawaiian entities) designate enterprise zones within their jurisdictions, as a condition for receipt of financial assistance under the program. Includes local economic development councils among those groups to which proposed plans for activities must be submitted for comment. Sets forth provisions for the designation of enterprise zones for purposes of the private sector program. Requires that prime sponsors and other specified entities consult with the appropriate private industrial council and, where feasible, with community-based organizations in designating any enterprise zone. Sets forth requirements for the types of urban and rural areas that may be designated as enterprise zones. Directs the Secretary to approve the designation of an enterprise zone submitted by a prime sponsor or other specified entity, unless the application information does not meet such requirements. Adds local economic development councils to those groups from which prime sponsors must appoint members of private industry councils. Specifies that, in appointing such members from educational agencies and institutions, particular consideration should be given to persons with expertise in onsite, industry specific vocational education. Revises the list of activities that private sector opportunities programs may include. Adds to such list the development of: (1) a small business intern program; (2) relationships between employment and training programs, educational institutions, community-based organizations, and the private sector; and (3) onsite, industry specific training programs supportive of industrial and economic development, in cooperation with State vocational education boards, if CETA title VII funds are supplemented, where feasible, by funds from other sources. Adds, also, to such list the provision of on-the-job training subsidies on a declining ratio to wages over the period of training. Provides that program activities may include upgrading and retraining in accordance with CETA title II occupational upgrading and retraining programs. Limits to 15 percent that portion of title VII funds that may be used for such upgrading and retraining. Amends CETA title I administrative provisions to authorize the appropriation of necessary sums for fiscal years 1983 through 1985 to carry out the title VII private sector opportunities program.
United States · United States Congress · 16 December 1981
Low-Income Energy Assistance Trust Fund Act of 1981 - Amends the Department of Energy Organization Act to make unrefunded petroleum price control overcharges available for energy assistance. Establishes in the U.S. Treasury the Energy Assistance Trust Fund which shall be available for home energy assistance, residential energy efficiency programs, and other energy programs to assist low-income energy consumers. Appropriates funds which shall be transferred at least monthly from the general fund of the Treasury to the Trust Fund. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to hold the Trust Fund and report to Congress annually, starting with fiscal year 1982, on the Trust Fund's financial condition and operations for the preceding fiscal year and for the next five fiscal years. Sets forth investment requirements pertaining to the Trust Fund. Establishes in the Department of Health and Human Services the Office of Energy Special Council. Transfers the Office of Special Counsel of the Department of Energy to the Energy Special Council. Requires that the Energy Special Council transmit to the President and Congress a plan for the collection of petroleum price control overcharges made in violation of the Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act of 1973. Requires the Comptroller General to review periodically the Energy Special Council's activities and report quarterly to Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 16 December 1981
Broadcast Licensing, Renewal, and Deregulation Act of 1981 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to establish new procedures for reviewing petitions to deny broadcast license applications. Requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to grant a license renewal application by a radio or television broadcast station licensee unless the actions of the licensee evidence such serious disregard for the Communications Act and for the rules and policies of the FCC that denial of the application is justified. Prohibits the FCC from considering the applications of other persons for a broadcast station's facilities when the FCC is acting upon a license renewal application by a radio or television broadcast station. Permits persons holding construction permits or station licenses to transfer the permit or license without first obtaining an FCC finding that the transfer serves the public interest. Requires the FCC to be notified of such transfer. Provides for public notice of the transfer. Provides for disposition by the FCC of objections to such transfer. Prohibits the FCC from considering whether the public interest would be served by the transfer of the permit or license involved to a different person. Repeals certain provisions relating to the application of the antitrust laws. Prohibits the FCC from imposing requirements on radio or television licensees relating to: (1) programs; (2) programming formats; (3) ascertainment; (4) commercialization; and (5) maintenance of program logs.
United States · United States Congress · 15 December 1981
Orphan Drug Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to promulgate regulations to exempt from such Act drugs intended solely for drug treatment investigations. Defines "drug treatment investigation" as an investigation of a drug which involves human participants with a rare disease or condition. Establishes in the Department of Health and Human Services an interagency committee known as the Committee on Orphan Drug Development. Makes it the function of such committee to promote the development of drugs for rare diseases or conditions (orphan drugs). Requires the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to submit to the Committee an annual report on the rare disease and condition research activities of NIH. Requires the Committee to report by June 1 of each year to the appropriate congressional committees on its activities and the results of its evaluations, including the report submitted by NIH. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for qualified experimental expenses incurred while researching orphan drugs.
United States · United States Congress · 15 December 1981
Expresses the support of the Congress for the Solidarity movement in Poland. Deplores the imposition of martial law. Places the ultimate responsibility for martial law on the Soviet Union. Reaffirms the support of the Congress for the Polish people. Reaffirms its concern over Soviet interference in Polish affairs.
United States · United States Congress · 11 December 1981
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to permit an individual to elect hospice care, in lieu of certain other benefits, during two periods of 180 days each during the individual's lifetime. Provides for full reimbursement of reasonable costs to a hospice program, subject to a ceiling. Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study of the hospice reimbursement method. Defines hospice care as including items and services furnished to the terminally ill in their homes, on an outpatient basis, and on a short term inpatient basis.
United States · United States Congress · 9 December 1981
Amends the Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act to authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to direct the Government National Mortgage Association, during fiscal year 1982, to provide financial assistance to mortgagors by reducing the mortgage payments for certain new homes to amounts the payments would equal if the interest rates on such mortgages were 12 percent. Directs the Association to provide such assistance by: (1) purchasing and servicing mortgages; or (2) making payments to mortgagees on the principal of or interest on mortgage loans. Requires the Association to recapture the lesser of the amount of assistance provided to a mortgagor or 50 percent of the net appreciation of the assisted property whenever the property is sold or refinanced or whenever the property is no longer the mortgagor's principal place of residence. Directs the Secretary to provide that: (1) assistance is allocated among the regions of the country on the basis of each region's inventory of unsold, newly constructed homes; (2) the amount of assistance provided to any mortgagor shall not exceed $6,000; and (3) priority for assistance is given to first-time buyers who could not otherwise afford to buy and who are purchasing modest homes constructed by small homebuilders.
United States · United States Congress · 9 December 1981
M. D. L. 235 Settlement Discounts Tax Act of 1981 - Excludes from gross income any discount or price reduction on property and services provided for under a specified fuel settlement involving Westinghouse Electric Corporation and certain public utilities.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 1981
Fair Practices in Automotive Products Act - Title I: Domestic Content Requirements for Motor Vehicles - Sets forth for all motor vehicle manufacturers which produce over 100,000 motor vehicles for ultimate retail sale in the United States "minimum domestic content ratios" (the domestic value, including labor and parts, of the manufacturer's production costs of all automotive products sold in the United States). Requires all vehicle manufacturers producing more than 50,000 motor vehicles for sale in the United States to provide information to the Secretary of Transportation for the purpose of administering this requirement. Authorizes the imposition of import restrictions on manufacturers violating such standards. Title II: Unfair and Deceptive Practices by Vehicle Manufacturers - Defines as an unfair method of competition and deceptive act or practice under the Federal Trade Commission Act the refusal of any vehicle manufacturer to determine whether parts produced in the United States by a parts manufacturer satisfy reasonable replacement part standards established by the vehicle manufacturer. Grants the Federal Trade Commission rulemaking authority to administer this title.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 1981
Amends the Depository Institutions Deregulation Act of 1980 to suspend, during the period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act and ending six months after such date, the authority of the Depository Institutions Deregulation Committee.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 1981
Milwaukee Railroad and Rock Island Railroad Amendments Act of 1981 - Amends the Milwaukee Railroad Restructuring Act to revise procedures by which the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) oversees the purchase of bankrupt rail lines by financially responsible persons. Defines a "financially responsible person" as one who is capable of paying the purchase price of a railroad line and the expenses of providing service over the line for at least two years. Amends the Rock Island Railroad Transition and Employee Assistance Act to declare that the ICC's authority to grant temporary operating approval for the use of Rock Island or Milwaukee Railroad facilities shall continue until a plan of reorganization or liquidation is approved by the ICC and the bankruptcy court.
United States · United States Congress · 3 December 1981
Authorizes the President, on behalf of the Congress, to present a gold medal to Bryan Lewis Allen, the first aviator to cross the English Channel in a self-powered plane. Authorizes appropriations to carry out provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 November 1981
Requires nationals of Communist countries to register with the Attorney General before engaging in certain activities involving Members of Congress and congressional employees. Requires the Attorney General to deport persons violating this Act. States that such deportations shall not be subject to judicial review or other related provisions under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 1981
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to require each State to submit semiannual reports to the Secretary of Health and Human Services on individuals for whom death certificates have been officially filed during the preceding six-month period. Requires that such reports include the individuals' names, social security numbers, dates of birth and death, sex, and death certificate numbers. Directs the Secretary to release such information upon request to surviving relatives of such individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 1981
Requests the President to designate February 22, 1982, as a day of national celebration in honor of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the birth of George Washington.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 1981
Commends and supports the President's peace initiatives. Reaffirms the desire of Congress to work with the President to reduce the threats of nuclear war.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1981
High-Level Radioactive Waste Management and Policy Act - States that this Act shall not apply to the siting, construction, or operation of repositories used exclusively for the disposal of radioactive waste or spent fuel from the atomic energy defense activities of the Secretary of Energy. Requires the Secretary to prepare a comprehensive mission plan which will provide an informational basis for decisionmaking with respect to the siting, construction, and operation of repositories for the disposal of radioactive waste and spent fuel and the research, development, and demonstration programs required under this Act. Specifies the information to be included in such plan. Directs the Secretary to submit, within a specified time, a draft mission plan to the States, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and other Federal agencies for comments. Requires that the plan and the comments be available for public inspection and that a statement of reasons be published in the Federal Register if the Secretary does not revise the plan to meet any objections raised. Directs the Secretary to submit the plan to appropriate congressional committees within a specified time. Makes the plan effective at the end of the 30-day period following transmittal of the plan. Requires annual reports on the implementation of the plan, including any revisions. Directs the Secretary to complete a final programmatic environmental impact statement on the management of radioactive waste and spent fuel from civilian nuclear activities within 12 months after the enactment of this Act. Requires the Secretary, in consultation with specified Federal agencies, to issue repository site selection guidelines within six months of enactment of this Act. Directs the Secretary to identify three or more potential repository sites in different geologic media within one year after enactment of this Act. Sets forth criteria for the location of such sites in addition to the guidelines issued by the Secretary. Requires notification of the Governor of a State in which a site is located or of the Indian tribe on whose reservation a site is located. Requires the completion of siting research activities, including site characterization activities, for at least three of the potential repository sites within 42 months after the sites have been identified. Requires that the Secretary be able to select a site for the expanded siting research activities pursuant to this Act within 30 months after the site identifications. Requires that within six months of the site identifications, and before beginning site characterization activities, the Secretary hold public meetings near each site on the activities to be conducted there and prepare an environmental assessment of the nonradiological impacts of the site characterization activities. Sets forth restrictions on the use of radioactive material at such sites. Requires at least one legislative-type public hearing near a site before repository site selection and within three months after completion of site characterization activities by the Secretary. Directs the Secretary to notify the Governor of the State in which a site is located or the appropriate Indian tribe if the Secretary selects such site for a repository. Requires submission of a Repository Development Report by the President to Congress. Requires submission of a subsequent Repository Development Report for another site if the Secretary's first selection is disapproved by Congress or the President. Directs the Secretary to apply to the NRC for a license for a repository at an approved site within 30 days after the site selection becomes effective and to provide the appropriate Governor or Indian tribe with a copy of the application. Requires the NRC to submit annual licensing status reports to Congress until an operating license is issued. Requires the NRC to make a final decision on the issuance of construction authorization within 24 months after the submission of the application. Permits an extension of the period for such final decision under certain circumstances. Requires the Secretary to select another repository site if the NRC disapproves an application. Sets forth the procedural requirements for NRC hearings on construction authorization and repository license applications. Requires that within six years after the Secretary obtains a construction authorization: (1) the Secretary complete construction of facilities needed to initiate emplacement of waste; (2) the Secretary operate the repository as soon as practicable after receiving an operating license; and (3) the NRC approve or disapprove an operating license for all or part of a repository. Authorizes the Secretary to petition the NRC any time after filing a license application for a construction authorization, license, or license amendment on an interim basis before the completion of a required hearing on the application. Directs the NRC to grant the petition if all legal requirements other than the required hearing are met and there will be adequate protection to the public health and safety. Prohibits the disposal of waste or spent fuel in a repository for which an interim license has been issued until the regular license to receive and possess waste in the repository has been issued. Requires the NRC to promulgate rules and criteria to apply in the review of all repository license applications within six months after the enactment of this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to take title to the radioactive material emplaced in a repository. Grants to the State or Indian tribe notified of a site identification under this Act the immediate and continuing right to participate in a process of consultation and concurrence (including written agreements with the Secretary) whereby: (1) the Secretary keeps the Governor or appropriate Indian tribe informed about economic or public health and safety impacts in all stages of the establishment of a repository and receives, and works to resolve, objections of the Governor or Indian tribe; and (2) the State may independently and reasonably monitor on-site activities. Requires the Secretary to submit to the President, within six months after completing hearings, a Repository Development Report containing: (1) an environmental impact statement for the site selected; (2) the views and comments of the Governor of the affected State, the appropriate Indian tribe, the Governor of any other interested and affected State, the public, and appropriate Federal agencies and the Secretary's responses; (3) the repository license application to be submitted to the NRC; and (4) a plan for transporting the radioactive materials to the repository. Provides for presidential approval or disapproval of the site selection within 30 days after submission of the report. Requires notice to Congress of the President's decision. Makes a site selection effective 30 days after the President transmits approval to Congress unless the Governor of the affected State or the appropriate Indian tribe submits a petition for disapproval to Congress. Provides that if the President approves a site selection and the Governor or the Indian tribe submits a petition for disapproval, the site selection shall be effective 40 days of continuous session of Congress after submission of the petition unless either House of Congress passes a resolution approving such petition. Requires Federal agencies to assist the Secretary in the preparation of reports required by this Act. States that Federal agency action taken before a site selection becomes effective shall not be considered a major Federal action for purposes of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Directs the Secretary and heads of all Federal agencies to avoid duplication of effort in the preparation of reports pursuant to such Act. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate general standards to protect the environment from radioactive material in repositories. Requires the Secretary to establish a Project Decision Schedule which shall constitute the lawful decisionmaking deadlines for Federal agencies involved in the establishment of a repository. Sets forth procedural requirements for agencies which cannot comply with the schedule. Requires the Secretary to begin, within 64 months after enactment of this Act, the mining and construction of a Test and Evaluation Facility for research on, and demonstration of, the technology for radioactive waste disposal in a repository. Sets forth design requirements for the facility. Requires the Secretary to begin within 88 months after enactment of this Act, an in situ testing program of research and development activities with respect to radioactive waste disposal to support the repository program. Sets forth limitations on the use, and the termination date, of the facility. Requires that the system of engineered barriers and selected geology have the design life required by NRC regulations for repositories. Directs the Secretary to enter into written agreements with the NRC and the Governor of the State in which the Test and Evaluation Facility site is located, or the appropriate Indian tribe, to establish consultative and cooperative roles in the construction and operation of the facility. Requires the Secretary to report to the appropriate congressional committees on the status of such agreements. Requires the Secretary to prepare an environmental assessment before excavating major shafts for the facility and an environmental impact statement before conducting tests with radioactive materials. Provides for the establishment of a demonstration program, in cooperation with the private sector, for the dry storage of spent fuel at nuclear powerplant sites. Directs the Secretary to select between one and three candidate sites at nuclear powerplants and enter into cooperative agreements with the utilities to carry out demonstration projects using alternate dry storage technologies. Requires the Secretary to undertake a cooperative program with utilities to encourage the development of the technology for spent fuel rod consolidation in existing reactor water storage basins. Limits the total contribution to the demonstration program by the Secretary from appropriated funds and Federal services and facilities to 25 percent of the estimated total costs of the program. Provides for the remaining costs to be paid by the utilities involved or from the nuclear waste fund established by this Act. Provides for the Secretary to make specified payments to each State or Indian tribe which has entered into written agreements with respect to the consultation and concurrence process if the State agrees to provide a specified percentage of such payments to the local government which has jurisdiction over the repository site. Grants the State or Indian tribe discretion to use the payments for whatever purpose it deems necessary under the repository program. Grants to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia original and exclusive jurisdiction over civil actions for review of Federal agency action under this Act and over civil actions challenging the constitutionality of actions taken under this Act. Provides that the Supreme Court shall have exclusive authority to review interlocutory judgments or orders of the Court of Appeals pursuant to this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into contracts with individuals for radioactive waste and spent fuel disposal services. Prohibits the NRC from issuing a license to any person to use a utilization or production facility unless such person has contracted, or is negotiating a contract, with the Secretary for such services. Authorizes the NRC to require such an agreement as a precondition to the issuance of a license or license amendment under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. Establishes in the U.S. Treasury a nuclear waste fund to be used by the Secretary in carrying out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 November 1981
Expresses the sense of the Congress that policies of Jewish emigration discrimination and anti-Semitism are morally reprehensible. Urges the President to tell the Soviet Union that the United States opposes these policies and wants emigration restrictions on Soviet Jews removed.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1981
Taxpayer Protection Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to subject the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), in the collection of taxes, to provisions of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act regarding communication and harassment in connection with debt collection. Prohibits the publication of any deficiency which has not been adjudged to be payable by a competent court. Permits individual taxpayers to bring a civil action in a U.S. district court for damages resulting from collection practices prohibited by this Act. Requires a Federal court order before property of a taxpayer may be levied upon for the collection of tax. Specifies that a showing of fraud or malfeasance or a misrepresentation, for purposes of modifying or reconsidering a closing agreement between an individual taxpayer and the Secretary of the Treasury, shall be taken into account only if such a showing or misrepresentation is determined by a competent court. Prohibits the Secretary from consenting to extend for more than one year the period for assessment of the income tax liability of any individual taxpayer. Requires the Secretary to prepare, for distribution to taxpayers, brief but comprehensive statements which set forth in nontechnical terms: (1) the rights and obligations of taxpayers during an audit; (2) the procedures which the IRS may use in enforcing revenue laws; and (3) the procedures by which a taxpayer may appeal adverse decisions, prosecute refund claims, and file taxpayer complaints. Requires a copy of such statement to accompany any tax forms sent to taxpayers. Prescribes criminal penalties for: (1) any investigation by employees of the United States in connection with Federal tax laws which inquires into the beliefs, associations, or activities of any individual or organization; or (2) the maintenance of any records containing information derived from such an investigation. Creates a civil cause of action for any taxpayer aggrieved by a prohibited investigation or by the deprivation of any civil rights. Permits the award of a judgment of costs, including reasonable attorney's fees, to a prevailing taxpayer in any proceeding before the Tax Court. Makes binding on the Secretary : (1) a tax return prepared for the taxpayer by an officer or employee of the IRS acting in his official capacity to provide such assistance; and (2) written information or advice given to the taxpayer by such an officer or employee acting in his official capacity. Places the burden of proof, in administrative and judicial proceedings involving the IRS and a taxpayer, upon the IRS. Directs that all property of taxpayers, for purposes of the estate and gift tax, be valued at historical cost (original cost to the taxpayer or the basis of the property if it was not purchased). Prohibits the use in IRS personnel evaluations of amounts collected pursuant to audits or investigations. Precludes the Secretary from exercising any enforcement authority over churches or certain other organizations. Prohibits the audit of any group of taxpayers unless the Secretary has first met certain notice requirements or permitted members of the group to file an amended return. Sets forth conditions which must be met by the IRS before any action is taken to interfere with the property rights of a taxpayer. Requires the IRS, before securing the records of, or personal data concerning, any taxpayer, to: (1) notify the taxpayer in writing of the demand, the material sought, and the need for the material; (2) have commenced an action in a competent court against the taxpayer; and (3) have justified its need before the court consistent with the discovery rules of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. States that the IRS shall have no authority, in enforcing the tax obligations of any person, which is in conflict with the rights and privileges granted under the Constitution.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 1981
Declares that it is the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the United States must manage its assets in a manner more prudent and beneficial to the interests of the American people; (2) all executive branch agencies should inventory their assets, estimate the approximate value of each asset, and identify the uses to which each asset is put; (3) the President should then identify which assets are surplus to Federal needs and should be candidates for liquidation; (4) the President should submit recommendations to Congress on any legislative and administrative revisions that may be needed to carry out such a program of liquidation in an orderly manner; (5) the receipts of this program should be used only to restrain and ultimately reduce the national debt; and (6) the Comptroller General should investigate and recommend to Congress and each agency improved processes for managing Federal assets, estimating their value, and liquidating those which are unneeded.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 1981
Expresses the sense of the Congress that no limitation should be placed on the Federal income tax deduction for interest paid on a residential mortgage.
United States · United States Congress · 4 November 1981
Directs the United States Postal Service to provide and sell a postage stamp issue to commemorate the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the birth of George Washington. Provides that such postage stamp shall be of such denomination and design, and shall be sold for such period, as the United States Postal Service shall determine.
United States · United States Congress · 4 November 1981
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the United States and Japan should exert maximum efforts to resist Soviet challenges in Asia; (2) Japan should make a greater contribution to its own defense; and (3) Japan's defense expenditures should be at least one percent of its gross national product.
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 1981
Constitutional Amendment - Requires Congress, prior to each fiscal year, to adopt a statement of receipts and outlays for that year in which total outlays are no greater than total receipts. Permits Congress in such statement to provide for a specific excess of outlays over receipts by a three-fifths vote directed solely to that subject. Prohibits total receipts for any fiscal year set forth in such statement from increasing by a rate greater than the rate of increase in national income in the last calendar year ending before such fiscal year, unless Congress passes a bill directed solely to approving specific additional receipts and such bill has become law. Permits Congress to waive the provisions of this Act with respect to any fiscal year in which a declaration of war is in effect. Prohibits the Congress from requiring that the States engage in additional activities without compensation equal to the additional costs. Declares that total receipts shall include all receipts of the United States, except those derived from borrowing and total outlays shall include all outlays of the United States except those for repayment of debt principal.
![Official portrait of Rep. Winn, Larry, Jr. [R-KS-3]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/w000636_200.jpg)