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United States · Official source
867 records where Rep. Wright, James C., Jr. [D-TX-12] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1983
Authorizes the President, notwithstanding any time limitations, to award a medal of honor to a named individual for acts of valor performed as a naval officer during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1983
Appoints a committee to notify the President of the proposed adjournment of Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 1983
Designates March 16 of each year as Freedom of Information Day.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 1983
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the news media should voluntarily refrain from projecting election results before the polls close; and (2) the news media and industry, trade and professional organizations should voluntarily adopt guidelines to assure that exit interview data is not used to project election results before the polls close.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 1983
Pays tribute to Chad Knutson and his parents for his decision to donate his organs at his death which made possible multiple transplant operations.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 1983
Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require a broadcast licensee to provide any person whose personal qualities are attacked during the presentation of views in a broadcast on a controversial issue of public importance with: (1) notification of the time, date, and identification of the broadcast; (2) a script or tape of the attack; and (3) an offer of a reasonable opportunity to respond over the licensee's facilities. Excludes from such requirement any attack: (1) on a foreign group or foreign public figure; (2) made by a legally qualified candidate for public office during the use of a broadcast station; (3) made by such a candidate on another such candidate; or (4) made on a bona fide news show. Requires any licensee which endorses or opposes any candidate in an editorial to transmit to the opposing candidates (in the case of an endorsing editorial) or to the candidate (in the case of an opposing editorial): (1) notification of the date and time of the editorial; (2) a script or tape of the editorial; and (3) an offer of a reasonable opportunity to respond over the licensee's facilities. Terminates the application of this Act on December 31, 1984. Suspends the personal attack rule and the political editorial rule of the Federal Communications Commission until after such date. Prohibits the Commission from repealing or modifying such rules after October 31, 1983, and before January 1, 1985. Voids any such action taken by the Commission after October 31, 1983, and before enactment of this Act. Allows the Commission to repeal or modify such rules beginning on January 1, 1985, provided that no repeal or modification shall become effective until 120 days of continuous session of Congress after it is published as final.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 1983
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States: (1) supports the goals of international Olympic competition; (2) reaffirms its commitment to abide by the Olympic Charter; and (3) extends good will to the American athletes who will participate in the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic games.
United States · United States Congress · 1 November 1983
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the: (1) Argentine people are to be commended on the conduct of elections and the return to democracy; (2) United States is supportive of a transition from military rule to the installation of the duly elected government and discourages any delay in such installation; and (3) United States recognizes the problems confronting the new government.
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 1983
Designates the United States Post Office and Courthouse Building in Greensboro, North Carolina, as the L. Richardson Preyer Federal Building.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 1983
Expresses the condolences of the House of Representatives on the deaths of Americans in Beirut as a result of the terrorist attack on the military compound.
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 1983
Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of Congress, a gold medal to Lady Bird Johnson in recognition of her humanitarian efforts and contributions to the beautification of America. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to provide for the striking of such medal and bronze duplicates for sale to the public. Declares such medals to be national medals. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1983
Civil Liberties Act of 1983 - Title I: Recognition of Injustice and an Apology on Behalf of the Nation - States that the Congress accepts the findings of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians and recognizes that a grave injustice was done to both citizens and resident aliens of Japanese ancestry by the evacuation, relocation, and internment of civilians during World War II. Title II: United States Citizens of Japanese Ancestry and Resident Japanese Aliens - Requests the President to offer pardons of those convicted of violating laws during the internment period whose violation was based on a refusal to accept racially discriminatory treatment. Provides that Federal departments and agencies that review applications for restitution of positions, status, or entitlement lost during the internment period shall review such applications giving full consideration to the findings of the Commission. Establishes within the Treasury a Civil Liberties Public Education Fund. Authorizes appropriations for the Fund. Requires the Attorney General to pay $20,000 each from the Fund in compensation to surviving internees. Establishes a Board of Directors which shall be responsible for making disbursement from the Fund. Provides that disbursement from the Fund shall be used to: (1) sponsor research and public educational activities dealing with the internment; (2) fund studies of similar civil liberties abuses; (3) prepare and distribute hearings and findings of the Commission; and (4) promote the general welfare of the ethnic Japanese community in the United States. Title III: The Aleuts - Requires the Attorney General to identify, locate, and pay a sum of $5,000 each to surviving internees of Alaskan Aleut ancestry. Establishes within the Treasury the Aleutian Islands Education and Restoration Fund. Authorizes appropriations for the Fund. Provides for a Board of Directors to be responsible for making disbursements from the Fund. Authorizes disbursements for community and individual purposes that will be compensatory for the losses and injuries suffered as a result of the evacuation of the Aleuts. Directs the Army Corps of Engineers to rebuild and restore churches and buildings damaged or destroyed in the Aleutian Islands and clear away the military debris that remains there from the evacuation and relocation period. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey the island of Attu, Alaska, to the Aleut native corporation. Title IV: Miscellaneous Provisions - Provides that all documents, personal testimony, and other material collected by the Commission shall be deposited in the National Archives of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1983
Universal Telephone Service Preservation Act of 1983 - Provides that the system of charges for exchange access established under the decisions and orders of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in C.C. docket numbered 78-72 (phase I) shall take effect as modified by this Act. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit the assessment of an end-user common line charge against any residential subscriber of telephone exchange service. Requires the assessment of a special access charge for any line that indirectly interconnects with the facilities of an exchange carrier, whether or not such line is provided by such carrier. Directs the FCC to provide an exemption from such charge for any line that could not use exchange access as a commercially valuable alternative or could not be used to avoid exchange access charges. Requires any such access system, beginning July 1, 1985, to require an exchange common carrier to submit to the FCC a tariff that includes a charge on any interexchange carrier or person who provides exchange access functions, services, or facilities similar to those available from an exchange carrier, without direct or indirect interconnection with such carrier. Requires that such charge: (1) allow for the recovery of an equitable share of the carrier's costs in maintaining exchange service as an available alternative for persons served by such functions; and (2) not exceed ten percent of the special access charge unless the FCC determines that a higher percentage more accurately reflects the carrier's costs. Provides that lines to be exempted from the special access charge shall also be exempt from such charge. Requires that any non-traffic-sensitive costs apportioned to the interstate jurisdiction that are not recovered under such charges, special access charges, or end-user common line charges be recovered through carrier common line charges. Sets forth provisions governing the charges that shall be imposed by exchange carriers for exchange access by interexchange carriers that did not participate in the system of jurisdictional separations of carrier property and expenses on July 1, 1983. Provides for the differentiation of charges based on the quality of exchange access provided to the interexchange carrier. Requires exchange carriers, beginning July 1, 1985, to charge interexchange carriers that directly interconnect with such exchange carriers the full cost of providing exchange access. Requires persons who obtain exchange access for resale to pay the same amount for such access as paid by interexchange carriers, taking into consideration any amount such person may pay indirectly. Requires any person who owns or operates facilities either originating or terminating interexchange service other than through direct interconnection to notify the appropriate exchange carriers, the FCC, and the appropriate State commissions. Prescribes a penalty for failure to make such notification. Directs the FCC, upon the request of a State commission, to delegate to such commission the authority to administer the system of access charges. Sets forth conditions under which the FCC may review affirm, remand, or modify a portion of the tariff pursuant to a petition filed by an interexchange customer alleging that an access charge is not justified by cost. Prohibits any exchange carrier from charging any residential customer for terminal equipment not leased from such carrier. Establishes the Universal Service Fund to assure the continued availability of telephone service at reasonable and affordable charges. Directs the Universal Service Board to determine uniform surcharges on exchange access charges recovered from interexchange carriers or other persons directly or indirectly interconnecting with an exchange carrier, such that the Fund is sufficient to make required payments by January 1, 1986. Entitles an exchange common carrier to payments from the Fund: (1) based on the size of the carrier and the amount by which its certified average costs for all non-traffic-sensitive facilities per subscriber line exceed the national average of such costs; and (2) for 50 percent of its revenue loss (as determined according to a specified formula) incurred as a result of providing lifeline telephone service. Entitles an exchange common carrier to additional Fund payments if needed to assure that the total amount such carrier recovers from the system of exchange access charges and Fund payments is not less than the total revenues such carrier received for exchange access in 1982, with specified reductions. Directs the Board to: (1) establish an exchange access board to administer the Fund in an expeditious manner; and (2) audit and adjust Fund payments to ensure that such payments are used to maintain reasonable rates without removing incentives for the efficient provision of exchange access or impeding the entry and operation of competitive suppliers of exchange services. Directs the FCC to establish the Universal Service Board for the purpose of: (1) ensuring equitable and efficient economic treatment of users of common carrier services and exchange services and carriers providing such services; (2) providing for an orderly transition to the system of charges for exchange access established by this Act; and (3) achieving cooperation between the Federal Government and the States. Directs the Board to: (1) establish and maintain formulas for defining and comparing national average costs and charges and uniform practices for determining the payments required by the Fund, and to oversee the distribution of funds from the Fund by the exchange access board; (2) make such changes and modifications in the system of jurisdictional separation of carrier property and expenses in force as may be necessary for the transitional system of charges for exchange access; and (3) establish and revise practices for ascertaining and apportioning the cost of services and facilities used jointly to provide exchange services and exchange access. Requires any decision of the Federal-State Joint Board pending on October 1, 1983, to be submitted to the Board (in lieu of the FCC) for review and action. Authorizes the Board to permit exchange common carriers which serve not more than 50,000 subscriber lines to use representative statistical cost data in lieu of individual cost statistics to support tariffs for exchange access. Grants State commissions authority: (1) to establish classifications for exchange facilities and the portion of facilities used jointly for exchange and interexchange services assigned to the States by the Board; and (2) to prescribe the methods by which exchange carriers shall recover investments in such facilities. Requires that such methods provide for recovery of no more than the amount prudently invested in such facilities by not later than the end of the useful life of the property involved, and in a manner which promotes the economic viability of the exchange carriers. Requires that any tariff in effect on July 1, 1983, providing for interexchange service by carriers jointly or any successor tariff, whether filed jointly or otherwise, be based on the nationwide average costs of providing interexchange service. Authorizes a State commission to require any exchange common carrier to lease and maintain on request a single basic one-line telephone instrument, and associated wiring, to any subscriber within such State on the basis of a tariff that includes all costs of providing and maintaining such instrument and wiring. Requires each State commission to establish rules for the provision of lifeline telephone service by exchange carriers. Prohibits any lifeline telephone service from including any charges based on time of day, duration, or distance of the call. Defines "lifeline telephone service" as telephone service made available to residential subscribers for a single discounted charge under which a subscriber can make a limited number of calls within the exchange area. Allows a commission to restrict eligibility for such service on the basis of low-income criteria. Prohibits a commission from making individuals receiving aid to families with dependent children, supplemental security income benefits, or benefits under the Food Stamp Act of 1977 ineligible for lifeline service. Requires the charge for lifeline service to recover not more than 50 percent of the carrier's average cost of providing exchange service to a residential subscriber. Prohibits any carrier or exchange carrier from using revenues from regulated communications services to defray any costs associated with its entry into or engaging in commercial activities the prices for which are not regulated by the FCC or any State commissions. Prohibits the FCC or any State commission from considering a carrier's or exchange carrier's revenues from such unregulated activities in determining such carrier's or exchange carrier's revenue requirements. Authorizes the unrestricted shared use of telephone facilities and services in any manner that does not interfere with the rights of others in their use of such facilities and services. Authorizes the FCC to pay a person's costs of participating in a proceeding concerning communication carriers if such person represents an interest whose representation is necessary for a fair disposition of the proceeding and if such person could not otherwise afford to participate. Authorizes the creation in each State of a nonprofit association of residential telephone consumers to represent such consumers before telephone carriers and governmental bodies. Grants any such association the right to intervene as a party or otherwise participate in any State or Federal civil action or administrative proceeding which the association determines may affect the interests of residential telephone consumers in its State. Authorizes such an association to furnish telephone carriers with informational material about such association or other matters of interest to such consumers which such carriers shall include with their periodic customer billings. Directs the association to reimburse such carriers for the cost of including such material in customers' bills, except for postage costs for material not exceeding a specified weight. Sets forth provisions governing the election and duties of the board of directors of each association. Requires the Governor of each State to appoint nine individuals who are known to represent consumers' interests to serve as incorporators and as an interim board of directors of the State association. Authorizes the establishment of the National Consumer Telephone Resource Center which shall: (1) be incorporated in the District of Columbia by selected representatives of State associations; (2) be directed by a board of directors composed of one representative of each State association; (3) provide technical information to State associations; and (4) represent the collective interests of State associations in Federal policy and rulemaking proceedings. Prohibits any telephone carrier from interfering with a State association or the Center, subject to a $5,000 fine.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1983
Designates the week beginning November 6, 1983, as Florence Crittenton Mission Week.
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 1983
Alternative Energy Tax Incentives Act of 1983 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the residential energy income tax credit for renewable energy sources for five years from 1985 to 1990. Reduces the qualifying percentage for energy source expenditures by specified increments between 1985 and 1990. Increases from 15 percent to 20 percent the investment tax credit for solar, wind, geothermal, and ocean thermal property. Extends such tax credit for five years from 1985 to 1990. Extends the investment tax credit for hydroelectric generating property and biomass property for five years from 1985 to 1990. Reestablishes the credit for cogeneration property until 1990. Qualifies until 1995 affirmative commitments for solar, wind, geothermal, ocean thermal, biomass, and cogeneration projects begun by December 31, 1990. Eliminates the 20 percent limitation for oil and natural gas used in cogeneration facilities. Qualifies as biomass property methane- containing gas produced by anaerobic digestion from nonfossil waste materials. Revises the definition of geothermal deposit to lower the required temperature to 104 degrees Fahrenheit (from 122 degrees Fahrenheit). Includes shale oil property and tar sands equipment as energy property for purposes of the investment tax credit.
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 1983
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should rename the National Bipartisan Commission on Central America The Jackson Commission, in tribute to the late Senator Henry Jackson.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 1983
Land Remote Sensing Satellite Authorization Act of 1983 - Amends the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 to direct the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to plan and provide for the development, management, and operation of a civil land remote sensing satellite system using and advancing the developments in land remote sensing technology. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1983
Authorizes the Secretary of Education to provide financial assistance to the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation to assist in the development of the Mansfield Center for Pacific Affairs and the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center at the University of Montana. Authorizes appropriations for such purpose.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1983
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Soviet Union should allow Vladimir Feltsman to travel with his family to perform in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 1983
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should continue to: (1) give support to the efforts by the members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to secure a political resolution of the Kampuchean problem (and ensure the withdrawal of foreign forces and the restoration of Khmer self-determination); (2) urge other nations to support the ASEAN efforts in the United Nations; (3) urge other nations to cooperate with ASEAN in maintaining economic and diplomatic pressure on Vietnam to accept a peaceful settlement; (4) support international efforts through the United Nations Border Relief Operation to relieve the suffering of the Khmer refugees along the Thailand border; and (5) give humanitarian and political support to the non-Communist Khmer nationalist forces.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 1983
Multinational Force in Lebanon Resolution - Authorizes the President, for purposes of the War Powers Resolution, to continue the participation by U.S. armed forces in the Multinational Force in Lebanon, subject to specified conditions. States that such conditions will not preclude such protective measures as are necessary to ensure the safety of such Multinational Force in Lebanon. Requires the President to report to Congress, at least every six months, with respect to the situation in Lebanon. Requires specified information to be included in such reports. Declares the participation of the armed forces of other countries in the Multinational Force in Lebanon to be essential. States Congress' belief that U.S. policy should promote Israeli, Syrian, and Lebanese discussions aimed at the withdrawal of foreign troops from Lebanon and the establishment of conditions that will permit the Lebanese armed forces to carry out their responsibilities in the Beirut area. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should discuss with members of the U.N. Security Council the establishment of a U.N. peacekeeping force to replace the Multinational Force in Lebanon. Requires an analysis of the implications of the response to such discussions to be included in the President's report to Congress. Provides that the continued participation of the U.S. armed forces in the Multinational Force in Lebanon shall be authorized for 18 months, unless the Congress extends it for a longer period. Requires such participation to terminate sooner upon the: (1) withdrawal of all foreign forces from Lebanon, unless the President makes a specified certification to the Congress; or (2) assumption by the United Nations or Lebanon of the responsibilities of the Multinational Force in Lebanon; or (3) implementation of other effective security arrangements in the area. Provides that nothing in this resolution shall: (1) preclude the President from withdrawing U.S. armed forces participation in such Multinational Force in Lebanon if circumstances warrant it or Congress directs such a withdrawal; or (2) modify, limit, or supersede any provision of the War Powers Resolution or a specified part of the Lebanon Emergency Assistance Act of 1983 (relating to congressional authorization for the expansion in the number or role of U.S. armed forces in Lebanon).
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 1983
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the transfer of ownership or management of any civil meteorological satellite system and associated ground system equipment to the private sector is not presently appropriate.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 1983
States that the United States: (1) condemns the Soviet destruction of Korean Air Lines flight 7; (2) calls for an explanation from the Soviets; (3) extends its sympathies to the families who lost loved ones and supports their rights to obtain reparations from the Soviets; (4) calls on the Soviets to assist in the recovery of the remains of the victims; (5) calls for an international investigation by the International Civil Aviation Organization; (6) declares its intention to demand that the Soviets modify their air defense procedures to assure the safety of commercial airliners; (7) finds that this incident will make it difficult for the U.S. and other nations to accept the Soviets as responsible members of the international community; and (8) urges our allies and other nations to cooperate with specified demands on the Soviets.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1983
Wine Equity Act of 1983 - Requires the President to direct the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to negotiate the harmonization of tariff and nontariff barriers on wine with each designated major trading country. Requires negotiations with designated major trading countries which do not export wine to the United States in order to eliminate all tariff and nontariff trade barriers of such countries to the importation of U.S. wine. Requires the President to impose tariff and nontariff trade barriers equal or substantially equivalent to the barriers applied by a designated major trading country if such country does not provide harmonization to U.S. produced-wine with 180 days of the country's designation as a designated major trading country. Provides for removing such U.S. tariff and nontariff barriers. Requires the USTR to report to specified congressional committees at the beginning and end of each negotiation. Requires the USTR to consult with such committees to identify further tariff and nontariff barriers to and potential markets for U.S. wine. Provides for assistance for the USTR from other Federal agencies.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1983
Designates the week of December 11-17, 1983, as National Drunk and Drugged Driving Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1983
Social Security Disability Benefits Reform Act of 1983 - Title I: Standards of Disability - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to provide that an individual who is receiving disability benefits or child, widow's, or widower's insurance benefits based on disability may be determined not to be entitled to such benefits on the grounds that the disability involved has ceased, does not exist, or is not disabling, only if: (1) there has been medical improvement in the individual's impairment so that the individual can engage in substantial gainful activity; (2) the individual can engage in substantial gainful activity as a result of medical or vocational therapy or technology; or (3) on the basis of new or improved diagnostic techniques, the individual's impairment is not considered as disabling as it was at the time of the most recent prior disability determination and the individual can engage in substantial gainful activity. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) conduct a study, in conjunction with the National Academy of Sciences, on the use of subjective evidence of pain in making disability determinations; and (2) submit the study results to specified congressional committees. Requires the Secretary to consider the combined effect of all of an individual's impairments in determining whether such individual is unable to engage in substantial gainful activity. Title II: Disability Determination Process - Requires the Secretary to revise the criteria under the category "Mental Disorders" in the "Listing of Impairments" in effect under part 404 of title 20 of the Code of Federal Regulations which are used to make individualized determinations of disability for purposes of determining eligibility for disability benefits under title II of the Social Security Act. Prohibits the Social Security Administration from carrying out continuing eligibility reviews with respect to individuals previously determined to be under a disability due to mental impairment until such revisions have been established by final regulation. Makes such prohibition inapplicable in any case involving fraud or where an individual is engaged in substantial gainful activity. Sets forth requirements for the redetermination of disability determinations made after the enactment of this Act and before the date on which the Secretary's revisions are established by final regulation. Provides that an initial disability determination by the Secretary or by a State agency which is unfavorable to a disability benefit applicant shall remain pending until after notice and opportunity for review. Requires that such a determination contain a statement of the case which indicates the basis of the disability determination, the right to a review, and the right to submit additional medical evidence before such review. Entitles the applicant or the applicant's spouse, divorced spouse, surviving divorced spouse, surviving spouse, surviving divorced mother, child, or parent to a review of a pending disability determination upon request and upon a showing that his or her rights may be prejudiced by such determination. Sets forth procedural requirements with respect to such a review. Requires the Secretary or the State agency to affirm or modify a pending disability determination on the basis of such a review. Provides that an initial decision by the Secretary as to an individual's eligibility for disability benefits which is based upon an initial disability determination and which is unfavorable to such individual shall contain a statement of the case which indicates the basis of such decision, the individual's right to a hearing, and the individual's right to submit additional evidence before or at such hearing. Entitles an individual who is dissatisfied with an initial decision by the Secretary to judicial review. Requires the Secretary to conduct demonstration projects in at least five States implementing the amendments made by this Act. Requires the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees on such projects. Removes certain time restrictions on the continued payment of disability benefits during the appeal process. Requires the Secretary to study and report to specified congressional committees on: (1) the effect of the continued payment of benefits during the appeal process upon the expenditures of the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund; and (2) the rate of appeals to administrative law judges of unfavorable disability benefit entitlement determinations. Provides that a disability determination in the case of an individual with a mental impairment shall be made only after a qualified psychiatrist or psychologist employed by the State agency or the Secretary has made the proper medical evaluation. Requires the Secretary to prescribe standards with respect to consultative examinations which must be obtained for disability determinations. Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions - Provides for the application of Federal rulemaking and administrative procedure requirements to disability determinations under title II of the Social Security Act. Specifies certain decisions by a U.S. court of appeals with which the Secretary and the Department of Health and Human Services must comply, unless there is a review by the U.S. Supreme Court. Expands the types of cases with respect to which States may be reimbursed by the Secretary for the costs of furnishing vocational rehabilitation services. Establishes in the Department of Health and Human Services an Advisory Council on the Medical Aspects of Disability, which shall advise and make recommendations to the Secretary on disability standards, policies, and procedures. Terminates the Council on December 31, 1985. Amends title VII (Administration) of the Social Security Act to require that each report by the Secretary to Congress on the administration of the Social Security Act contain a description of the current status of the disability insurance program under title II of such Act. Requires the Secretary to establish enough attorney adviser positions in the Department of Health and Human Services to insure adequate opportunity for career advancement for attorneys in the Social Security Administration. Requires that such attorneys be given qualifying experience for appointment to administrative law judge positions. Requires the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees with respect to complying with these requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1983
Establishes the Kamehameha National Monument in Hawaii. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to provide facilities to commemorate the historical significance of the monument. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1983
Universal Telephone Service Preservation Act of 1983 - Provides that, effective as of enactment of this Act, the decisions and orders of the Federal Communications Commission in C.C. docket numbered 78-72 shall cease to have effect. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to direct the Commission to establish a system of charges to compensate exchange common carriers for exchange access, and to reform the system of settlements and jurisdictional separation of property and expenses in force on the date of enactment. States that the purposes of such system of charges shall be: (1) to compensate exchange common carriers for all costs associated with providing or making available exchange access; (2) to achieve equitable treatment of all interexchange carriers and other persons who benefit from the services and facilities of each exchange common carrier, and to prevent contributions between exchange services or functions and interexchange services or functions of such carriers, except as provided below; (3) to ensure the continued universal availability of communications service provided by exchange common carriers at reasonable and affordable charges; (4) to assure that payments and assignments of costs relating to exchange access are carried out in a manner which ensures accountability and is open to public examination; and (5) to encourage efficient investment decisions and technological development. Requires the system to provide that an exchange common carrier shall file to the Commission a tariff for exchange access for each of its exchange areas. Authorizes a carrier to file, or the Commission or State Commission may require a carrier to file, a joint tariff for exchange access for all of its exchange areas within a single State until January 1, 1988, or later as the Commission may provide. Requires each tariff to specify separate charges for each type of exchange access on an element-by-element basis. Requires the charges for each type of tariff to be justified by costs. Requires each tariff to consist of four charges to be recovered from interexchange carriers. Provides that three of the charges shall encompass all costs associated with exchange access and one shall be the surcharge determined by the Universal Service Board (established by this Act). Requires the charges of each tariff which encompass all costs associated with exchange access to specifically identify the separate charges involved. Requires the system to provide that an exchange common carrier shall submit to the Commission a tariff for exchange access available from such carrier for interexchange carriers or other persons who indirectly interconnect with the facilities of such exchange carrier. Requires each tariff to include: (1) a charge for the direct costs of any services, facilities, or other factors required solely for the provision of such interconnection; (2) a charge reflecting an appropriate portion of the cost of services, facilities, and other factors which are used jointly or in common to provide exchange service and exchange access; (3) a charge reflecting the availability of the facilities of the exchange carrier for exchange access as an alternative for indirectly interconnecting interexchange carriers and interexchange customers to the extent such facilities are not used for exchange access by such carriers and customers; and (4) the surcharge determined by the Universal Service Board. Requires any person who owns or operates facilities to originate or terminate interexchange communication other than through direct interconnection to notify the appropriate exchange carriers, the Commission, and the appropriate State Commissions. Imposes a $50,000 fine on any person who is required, but fails, to make such notification. Directs the Commission, after consideration of recommendations of the Universal Service Board, to establish practices and methods to ascertain and fully apportion the cost of services, facilities, and other factors used jointly or in common to provide exchange services and exchange access. Provides that the initial tariffs for exchange access shall take effect on July 1, 1985. Sets forth provisions governing the transitional period. Establishes the Universal Service Fund, in order to assure the continued availability of universal transmission services, including service in rural or remote areas, at reasonable and affordable charges. Directs the Universal Service Board to annually determine uniform surcharges on the amounts collected by exchange common carriers under this Act, such that the Fund is sufficient to make required payments. Provides that an exchange common carrier is entitled to receive payments from the Fund if it certifies to the Universal Service Board that its average costs for nontraffic sensitive facilities per customer access line is in excess of 115 percent of the national average of such costs. Provides that the amount of such payments for an eligible exchange carrier shall be determined by the Universal Service Board. Directs the Universal Service Board to establish and oversee an exchange access board (consisting of representatives of exchange common carriers, interexchange carriers, and other customers directly obtaining exchange access) to administer the accounts of the Universal Service Fund. Directs the Commission to establish the Universal Service Board for the purpose of: (1) ensuring equitable and efficient economic treatment of users of common carrier services and exchange services and carriers providing such services; (2) providing for an orderly transition to the system of charges for exchange access established by this Act; and (3) achieving cooperation between the Federal Government and the States. Directs the Board to: (1) establish and maintain formulas for defining and comparing national average costs and charges and uniform practices for determining the payments required by the Fund, and to oversee the distribution of funds from the Fund by the exchange access board; (2) make such changes and modifications in the system of jurisdictional separation of carrier property and expenses in force as may be necessary for the transitional system of charges for exchange access; and (3) determine at regular intervals the relative assignment by exchange common carriers of the cost of factors of production which are used jointly or in common to provide exchange service and exchange access. Grants State commissions authority: (1) to establish classifications for exchange facilities and the portion of facilities used jointly for exchange and interexchange services assigned to the States by the Board; and (2) to prescribe the methods by which exchange carriers shall recover investments in such facilities. Requires such methods to provide for recovery of investments in such classes of facilities in a manner which promotes the economic viability of the exchange carriers involved. Provides that in the case of any interexchange service provided by any carrier under a tariff in effect July 1, 1983, which was filed jointly with another carrier or under any successor tariff in effect after such date, the tariff applicable to such service provided by such carrier shall be based on the nationwide average of the cost of providing interexchange service. Authorizes a State commission to require any exchange common carrier to lease and maintain on request a single basic one-line telephone instrument, and associated wiring, to any subscriber within such State on the basis of a tariff that includes all costs of providing and maintaining such instrument and wiring. Requires each State commission to establish rules for the provision of lifeline telephone service by exchange carriers which consists of providing minimum telephone exchange service at a discounted rate for low-income residential customers. Prohibits any carrier or exchange carrier from using revenues from regulated communications services to defray any costs associated with its entry into or engaging in commercial activities the prices for which are not regulated by the Commission or any State commissions.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1983
Proclaims September 3, 1983, as a day of national celebration of the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Paris.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 1983
Patent Term Restoration Act of 1983 - Amends the patent laws to extend the terms of patents which encompass specified products or a method for using a product, any of which are subject to certain nonpatent regulatory review periods. Sets forth the terms and conditions of such extension, including a seven year limitation. Directs the Commissioner of Patents to issue to the owner of record of a patent a certificate of extension stating the fact and length of the extension and identifying the product and the use and the claim to which such extension is applicable. Makes such certificate a part of the original patent. Limits the application of such patent term extension to patents for products subject to regulation under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the Public Health Service Act, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, and the Act of March 4, 1913 (relating to virus, serum, toxin, and analogous products).
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 1983
Proclaims March 20, 1984, as National Agriculture Day.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 1983
Amends the Federal Supplemental Compensation Act of 1982 to extend the Federal supplemental unemployment compensation program for an additional six months, through March 31, 1984.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 1983
Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of Congress, a gold medal to the family of the late Honorable Leo J. Ryan. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 1983
National Summit Conference on Education Act of 1983 - Authorizes appropriations to the Department of Education for conducting a National Summit Conference on Education. Sets forth provisions for appointment of participants to the Conference. Directs the Conference to develop recommendations in response to the findings of the National Commission on Excellence in Education and relating to specified areas of educational policy. Directs the Conference to transmit its recommendations to the President, the Congress, and State Governors by January 15, 1984.
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 1983
Historic Shipwreck Preservation Act - Provides that the United States relinquishes to the respective States all right, title, and interest of the United States with respect to historical shipwrecks and structures on the seabed or in the subsoil of lands beneath the navigable waters within the boundaries of such States. Provides that the U.S. maritime law of salvage shall not apply to such shipwrecks or structures.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 1983
Designates a certain U.S. Post Office Building to be built in Fort Worth, Texas, as the Jack D. Watson Post Office Building.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 1983
United States Caribbean Possessions Act - Title I: Eastern Caribbean Regional Development Fund - Lists countries which the President shall consider in designating beneficiary countries for purposes of this title. Prohibits the President from designating a country a beneficiary country: (1) if such country is a communist country; (2) if the country has taken certain expropriating actions against property owned by U.S. citizens; (3) if the country fails to act in good faith with respect to arbitral awards involving U.S. citizens or companies; (4) if the country affords preferential treatment to a developed country other than the United States which adversely affects U.S. commerce unless the President receives certain assurances; (5) if a government-owned entity in such country engages in the broadcast of copyrighted material belonging to U.S. copyright owners without their express consent; and (6) unless such country is party to a treaty regarding the extradition of U.S. citizens. Lists factors the President shall take into account in determining whether to designate a country a beneficiary country. Prohibits the President from terminating the designation of a country as a beneficiary country unless, at least 60 days before the termination, the President has notified the Congress and the beneficiary country of such determination. Directs the President to withdraw or suspend the designation of a country as a beneficiary country if, because of changed circumstances, the country would be barred from designation as a beneficiary country. Establishes in the Treasury the Eastern Caribbean Regional Development Fund. Appropriates to the Fund the amount of money collected from: (1) the import duties on articles entered from beneficiary countries; and (2) the taxes on rum imported into the United States from beneficiary countries. Authorizes the Administrator of the Fund to allocate and distribute the moneys in the Fund to island beneficiary countries. Sets forth the method of allocation. Title II: Tax and Tariff Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require that if the amount of taxes collected on rum imported into the United States from beneficiary countries exceeds the amount needed in the Eastern Caribbean Regional Development Fund the excess shall be covered into the treasuries of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Prohibits granting duty-free treatment to bulk rum manufactured outside the United States, its territories, or possessions.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 1983
Elects the following Members to the specified committees: (1) Dennis E. Eckart, of Ohio, and Timothy J. Penny, of Minnesota, to the Committee on Education and Labor; (2) Barbara Boxer, of California, to the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs; and (3) Frederick C. Boucher, of Virginia, to the Committee on the Judiciary. Provides that the elections to the Committee on Education and Labor and the Committee on the Judiciary are effective only for the first session of the 98th Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1983
Expresses the support of the House of Representatives for Lebanon's and Israel's agreement on arrangements for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon. Calls upon other nations to work toward the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Lebanon. Emphasizes the need of all nations to recognize the sovereignty of Lebanon. Urges Syria and the Palestine Liberation Organization to agree to the arrangements for the withdrawal of their forces from Lebanon.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1983
Proclaims September 3, 1983, a day of national celebration of the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Paris.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 1983
Establishes the Special Joint Committee on Arrangements to provide for the congressional commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Harry S. Truman. Declares it the duty of such committee to: (1) arrange a joint meeting of the Congress in commemoration of such anniversary; (2) plan proceedings for such joint meeting; and (3) coordinate activities with the Truman Centennial Committee. Enumerates the powers of such joint committee. Provides that the expenses of such joint committee may not exceed a specified amount and shall be paid from the contingent fund of the House of Representatives.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1983
National Commission on Neurofibromatosis Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish within 60 days a National Commission on Neurofibromatosis which shall formulate a plan for the study, prevention, and treatment of neurofibromatosis. Sets forth operating and related provisions. Authorizes the Commission to transmit interim reports. Requires: (1) a final report to the President and to each House of Congress within one year; and (2) the Secretary to file a final report and a budget analysis for neurofibromatosis research with the appropriate congressional committees within 15 days after the President submits his budget to Congress. Terminates the Commission three months after submission of the final report. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 1983
Designates August 3, 1983, as National Paralyzed Veterans Recognition Day.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1983
United States Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act - Charters and incorporates, as a nonprofit and charitable corporation, the United States Fish and Wildlife Foundation (the Foundation) which shall encourage, accept, administer or transfer private gifts of real or personal property, and acquire real or personal property for the benefit of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Directs the Foundation to undertake and conduct activities which further the conservation and management of fish and wildlife resources. States that the Foundation will not be an agency or establishment of the U.S. Government. Sets forth provisions concerning: (1) the Board of Directors of the Foundation; (2) the rights and obligations of the Foundation; (3) exemptions from taxation; (4) administrative services and support; (5) volunteers; and (6) accounting and reporting requirements, and petition of the Attorney General for equitable relief. Exempts the United States from all debts, defaults, acts, or omissions of the Foundation. States that the right to repeal, alter, or amend this Act at any time is expressly reserved to the Congress. Authorizes appropriations for ten years.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 1983
Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act - Title I: Duty-Free Treatment - Authorizes the President to proclaim duty-free treatment for all eligible articles from Caribbean countries that the President designates as beneficiary countries. Requires the President to notify Congress before making such a designation. Prohibits the President from terminating such a designation unless both Houses of Congress are notified 60 days before the termination. Requires the President to consider only specified countries and territories as beneficiary countries. Prohibits the President from designating a country as a beneficiary country: (1) if it is a Communist country; (2) if it has nationalized or seized control, or effectively nationalized or seized control, of U.S. property, unless the President determines that a good faith effort is being made to compensate for such seizure; (3) if it fails to act in good faith in recognizing as binding or in enforcing arbitral awards in favor of U.S. citizens or corporations; (4) if it grants preferential treatment to the products of a developed country other than the United States which may have a significant adverse effect on U.S. commerce, unless the President reports to Congress that certain assurances have been made; (5) if it has a government-owned entity engaged in broadcasting copyrighted material belonging to U.S. copyright owners without their express consent; or (6) unless an extradition treaty exists between the United States and such country. Permits the President to designate as a beneficiary country a Communist country, an expropriating country, or a country that fails to act in good faith with respect to an arbitral award if the President determines and reports to Congress that such designation will be in the national interest. Lists factors the President should consider in determining whether to grant beneficiary designation. Amends the Tariff Schedules of the United States to grant to imports from U.S. insular possessions, subject to specified provisions of this Act, duty treatment no less favorable than the treatment afforded such imports from a beneficiary country. Directs the President to withdraw or suspend a country's beneficiary designation, if the President determines that changed circumstances in such country would prohibit such designation under the guidelines in this title. Requires duty-free treatment to apply to any article imported from a beneficiary country, unless otherwise excluded from eligibility, if: (1) the article is imported directly from such country into U.S. customs territory; and (2) the sum of specified costs of the article is not less than 35 percent of its appraised value at the time of its entry. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe regulations governing articles eligible for such duty-free treatment, including the requirement that such articles must be wholly the product of a beneficiary country or must be a new or different article of commerce which has been produced in the beneficiary country. Prohibits this duty-free treatment from applying to: (1) textile and apparel articles which are subject to tariff agreements; (2) certain footwear, handbags, luggage, flat goods, work gloves, and leather wearing apparel; (3) tuna prepared or preserved in airtight containers; or (4) petroleum or certain petroleum products. Directs the President to suspend duty-free treatment of sugar and beef products that are the products of a beneficiary country if: (1) the beneficiary country, within 90 days of its designation as a beneficiary country, does not submit a Stable Food Production Plan to the President for evaluation; (2) the President determines that the Plan of a beneficiary country does not meet specified criteria; or (3) as a result of the monitoring of the operation of the Plan, the President determines that a beneficiary country is not making a good faith effort to implement its Plan, or that the Plan, although being implemented, is not achieving its purposes. Requires the President, before suspending such duty-free treatment, to offer to consult with the country to formulate appropriate remedial action. Requires the President, biennially, to monitor the operation of the Plans implemented by beneficiary countries and to report to Congress. Sets forth the manner of governing the importation and duty-free treatment of certain sugars, sirups, and molasses. Authorizes the President to suspend the duty-free treatment provided by this title and to proclaim a duty for an eligible article if such action is taken pursuant to certain import relief or national security provisions. Requires the International Trade Commission (ITC), in any report on a petition for import relief under the Trade Act of 1974, to state how its findings and recommendations apply to any duty-free article imported from beneficiary countries. Authorizes the President to reduce or end the application of import relief measures which apply to articles imported from beneficiary countries earlier than otherwise scheduled. Requires the suspension of duty-free treatment provided by this title to be treated as an increase in duty for purposes of the import relief section of the Trade Act of 1974. Prohibits such a suspension of duty-free treatment unless the ITC finds that the harm caused by the imports results from its duty-free treatment by this title. Authorizes the filing of petitions for import relief with the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary), as well as with the ITC, for injury from imports of perishable products from beneficiary countries. Directs the Secretary to recommend the granting or denying of such petition within 14 days of its filing. Requires the President to take emergency action or to publish a notice of determination not to take emergency action within seven days of receiving the Secretary's recommendation. Sets forth the limits on the duration of the emergency action. Defines perishable products to include certain live plants, certain fresh or chilled vegetables, fresh mushrooms, fresh fruit, and fresh cut flowers. Exempts from proclamations under this title certain fees imposed pursuant to the Agricultural Adjustment Act. Provides for duty-free treatment of articles imported directly from Puerto Rico and the U.S. insular possessions, so long as foreign materials do not account for more than 70 percent of the total value of the articles (or more than 50 percent of the total value with respect to articles excluded from duty-free treatment under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act). Amends the Tariff Schedules of the United States to increase to five liters (currently, four liters) the amount of duty-free liquor that may be brought into the United States. Provides that not more than four liters, of such five liter limit, may have been produced outside American Samoa, Guam, or the U.S. Virgin Islands. Authorizes the President to withdraw duty-free treatment on rum if the amount of excise taxes on rum that is paid into the treasuries of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands falls below the amount that would have been paid if the rum had been produced in Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. Amends the Trade Agreements Act of 1979 to repeal the provision for protecting U.S. possessions against revenue losses caused by concessions granted by the United States in the Tokyo Round of the Multilateral Trade Negotiations. Prohibits any action under this title from affecting a tariff imposed by Puerto Rico on coffee imported into Puerto Rico. Exempts from specified sections of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act certain discharges from sources in the U.S. Virgin Islands which are attributable to the manufacture of rum. Requires the ITC to report to Congress and the President on the economic impact of this Act on U.S. industries and consumers during: (1) the two year period beginning with the enactment of this Act; and (2) each year afterwards, until duty-free treatment under this title is terminated. Sets forth assessments that the ITC shall make and factors to be considered in making those assessments. Directs the Secretary of State to prepare a study regarding the feasibility of establishing a Caribbean Trade Institute in New York City. Sets forth factors to be assessed in the study. Terminates duty-free treatment to beneficiary countries under this title after FY 1995. Title II: Tax Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require excise taxes on rum imported into the United States to be paid to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to negotiate and conclude an agreement for the exchange of information with any beneficiary country. Requires such exchange to consist of such information as may be necessary to carry out and enforce the tax laws of both the United States and the beneficiary country. Provides that such agreements shall be treated as income conventions for purposes of disclosures of tax return information. Allows a tax deduction for attending a convention held in a beneficiary country, if such beneficiary country has a tax information agreement in effect with the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 1983
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should reduce imports of apparel to no more than 25 percent of the American apparel market.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 1983
Dedicates the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in California to Phillip Burton. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to inform the public of the contributions of Phillip Burton through the use of signs, maps, and interpretive programs and to establish an appropriate memorial to him within the recreation area. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1983
Balanced Monetary Policy Act of 1983 - Amends the Federal Reserve Act to require the Board of Governors and the Federal Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve System to establish yearly targets for money and total credit aggregates and for real interest rates consistent with historic levels. Requires the Board and the Federal Open Market Committee to take necessary actions to assure that such targets are achieved, on average, on an annual basis. Requires a written report to specified Congressional committees if such targets cannot or should not be achieved because of unfavorable economic conditions. Requires the Board of Governors to transmit specified information to Congress biannually. Requires the Board to announce publicly changes in objectives and plans at the time those changes are determined. Requires the President to state for the System's record the administration's position on each vote on monetary policy taken by the Board and by the Federal Open Market Committee.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1983
Authorizes the erection of a memorial on public grounds in the District of Columbia, or its environs, in honor and commemoration of members of the armed forces who served in the Korean war. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to select, with the approval of the National Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission, a suitable site on public grounds for such memorial. Subjects the design and any plans for the memorial to the approval of the Secretary, the National Commission of Fine Arts, and the National Capital Planning Commission. Declares that no moneys belonging to the United States or the District of Columbia shall be expended for the erection of such memorial. Authorizes appropriations for site acquisition and preparation in the event nonpublic land is selected for the memorial.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 1983
Authorizes and requests the President to designate the week of July 24 through July 31, 1983, as National Animal Agriculture Week.