United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1985
Made in America Act - Limits the total number of new imported motor vehicles that may be introduced into interstate commerce for retail sale during any calendar year after 1985 to 15 percent of the aggregate number of new domestic and imported motor vehicles that were introduced into interstate commerce for retail sale during the base year. Defines the "base year" as the second calendar year preceding a calendar year for which such restrictions are established. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to allocate the number of new imported motor vehicles among foreign vehicle manufacturers on the basis of their respective shares of the U.S. market during the base year. Requires the Secretary to determine the limits for each calendar year at least four months before the beginning of the year. Requires the Secretary to publish the limits and the allocations for foreign manufacturers in the Federal Register. Imposes civil penalties for violations of the quantitative restrictions on imports. Requires each foreign vehicle manufacturer that produces more than 25,000 new imported vehicles that were introduced into interstate commerce for retail sales during any calendar year after 1982 to provide the Secretary with production, importation, distribution, and sales information. Terminates the quantitative limitations any time after December 31, 1990, if the Secretary finds that injury to the domestic industry has been prevented or remedied. Requires the Secretary to report annually to Congress on actions taken under this Act and on the impact of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1985
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize the Attorney General and the Secretary of State to establish a three-year pilot visa waiver program for up to eight countries providing a similar benefit to the United States. Sets forth program provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1985
Declares that the House of Representatives deplores the denial of the rights of Hungarians and people of other nationalities in Transylvania by the Romanian Government. Requests the President and the Secretary of State to discuss the human rights of the Hungarians in Transylvania with the Government of Romania.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1985
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that tax-exempt interest shall not be taken into account in determining the amount of social security benefits subject to tax.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1985
Firearms Owners' Protection Act - Title I: Amendments to Title 18, United States Code - Amends the Gun Control Act of 1968 to redefine: (1) "manufacturer" to mean any person engaged in the "business of manufacturing" (instead of "manufacture" of) firearms or ammunition; and (2) "dealer" to exclude dealers in ammunition. Adds a new definition, "engaged in the business," with respect to manufacturers, dealers, and importers. Defines as a manufacturer, dealer, or importer of firearms a person who manufactures or deals in a regular course of trade or business with the principal objective of livelihood and profit. Excludes as dealers persons making occasional sales or repairs of firearms. Eliminates certain activities involving ammunition from the coverage of the current prohibitions. Allows for the sale or delivery of any firearm to a resident of a State other than a State in which the licensee's place of business is located if such sale or delivery complies with the laws of both States. Presumes a licensee to have actual knowledge of the published laws of the State. Requires such transfer to be face to face. Revises the current prohibition against certain classes of persons transporting a firearm or ammunition in interstate commerce to extend such prohibition to possession or receipt in commerce or affecting commerce of any firearm or ammunition. Includes as additional categories illegal aliens, dishonorably discharged members of the armed forces, and U.S. citizens who renounce their citizenship. Excludes ammunition dealers from the current licensing requirements. Declares that a licensed dealer's personal collection of firearms shall not be subject to recordkeeping requirements, under specific circumstances. Permits the Secretary of the Treasury to revoke a license only where the holder "willfully" violates a provision of the Act. Bars the Secretary from denying or revoking a license on the basis of violations which are alleged in criminal proceedings instituted against a licensee where such individual is not convicted of such charges. Allows the Government to voluntarily dismiss criminal charges prior to trial and still proceed with revocation. Imposes as a condition for the inspection or examination of records, documents, firearms, or ammunition that the Secretary has reasonable cause to believe that a violation has occurred and that evidence may be found on the premises. Requires a warrant to be issued for such search. Restricts the kind of firearms information obtained from licensees which the Secretary may make available to State or local governments. Establishes a limited recordkeeping requirement for firearms collectors. Establishes a "willful" scienter (knowledge) requirement with respect to general violations of the Act. Makes it a defense to a prosecution under this section that the conduct constituting the offense consisted of simple carelessness. Amends the forfeiture provision to subject to seizure any firearm or ammunition "involved in or used" in any violation of the Gun Control Act (instead of "involved in or used or intended to be used"). Directs the court to award attorney fees to the prevailing party (other than the United States) in a proceeding for the return of seized firearms or ammunition. Requires the court to award such fees in any other action upon a finding that the action was without foundation or was initiated in bad faith. Limits seizure to firearms individually identified as involved in the violation. Revises the current procedure allowing persons who have been convicted of a crime to apply to the Secretary for relief from the firearms prohibitions by allowing such a person to appeal a denial to the U.S. district court. Amends the rulemaking authority of the Secretary to provide that no regulation may require the transfer of records required under this Act to a facility owned, managed, or controlled by the United States or any State or the establishment of any system of registration of firearms, firearms owners, or firearms transactions. Requires a 90-day public comment period for proposed regulations (no period is currently specified). Prohibits the Secretary from prescribing regulations which require purchasers of black powder to complete affidavits or forms attesting to their exemption from certain provisions of the Federal criminal code. Declares any law or regulation promulgated by any State prohibiting the transfer of an unloaded and not readily accessible firearm or ammunition null and void. Title II: Amendments to Title VII of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 - Repeals title VII of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act (relating to the receipt, possession, or transportation of firearms by felons, veterans dishonorably discharged, mental incompetents, illegal aliens, and persons renouncing their United States citizenship).
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1985
Designates May 7, 1985, as Helsinki Human Rights Day. Requests the President to: (1) reassert American commitment to the Helsinki Accords; (2) raise the issue of noncompliance with such Accords with the U.S.S.R. and the Warsaw Pact nations; and (3) convey to U.S. allies the necessity of unity on these points.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1985
Requires that funds be made available from appropriations under the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies Appropriation Act, 1985 to enable the National Institutes of Health to award 6,500 new and competing research grants in FY 1985.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1985
Secondary School Basic Skills Act - Establishes a program of grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) having especially high concentrations of children from low-income families to enable such agencies to provide more effective instruction in basic skills for economically disadvantaged secondary school students. Defines "basic skills" (to include reading, communications, writing, and mathematics proficiency, as well as problem-solving comprehension, and reasoning.) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1991. Makes certain amounts of such appropriations available for specified activities and types of grants under this Act. Makes a secondary school eligible to receive assistance under this Act for program grants only if 20 percent or more of children aged 12 to 17, inclusive, who are enrolled in such school: (1) are counted under LEA basic grant provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as modified by the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981 (ECIA); or (2) qualify for a free school lunch under the National School Lunch Act of 1946. Requires that funds made available under this Act for program grants be used to develop new approaches to and carry out educational services and activities designed specifically to raise the basic skills of low-achieving disadvantaged children. Authorizes the Secretary of Education, from specified funds appropriated for program grants for FY 1985 through 1990, to make grants to enable eligible secondary schools to develop, implement, and carry out new approaches to achieving improved basic skills instruction of low-achieving economically disadvantaged secondary school students. Requires that the grant application be made on behalf of the eligible secondary school by: (1) the LEA; or (2) an institution of higher education, public agency, or private nonprofit organization if such entity will provide educational services or conduct educational activities subject to the proposal. Requires applicants to assure their participation in a national evaluation. Requires that administrators, teachers, and parents in the eligible school participate in the preparation of the proposal. Requires that the appropriate State educational agency (SEA) be provided on opportunity to review and comment on the application before submittal to the Secretary. Directs the Secretary to assure that: (1) eligible applicants represent various geographic regions of the country, including both rural and urban secondary schools within those various geographic regions; and (2) at least one demonstration grant is made in each State in each fiscal year, unless no applications are received from a State. Requires each LEA which desires to receive program grants under this Act to file with the Secretary an application containing specified assurances. Allows any eligible applicant organization to apply for a five-year grant, subject to specified restrictions, on behalf of an eligible secondary school. Sets forth requirements for such applications. Requires consultation with parents and teachers of low-achieving economically disadvantaged secondary school students in program design and implementation. Directs the Secretary, through the National Institute of Education (NIE), to annually conduct a national evaluation of the effectiveness and the implementation of program grants. Requires that such assessment results be submitted to Congress and disseminated to SEAs, LEAs, State legislatures, and Governors. Directs the Secretary, through NIE, to monitor grants and coordinate activities under this Act with other research activities conducted by NIE and through the Office of Educational Research and Improvement. Directs NIE, once program grants are awarded, to provide eligible recipients with technical assistance. Prohibits the Secretary from disapproving an LEA application without affording notice and opportunity for a hearing. Directs the Secretary to make payments as expeditiously as possible after approval of applications. Prohibits any grant from being made with respect to any eligible secondary school for more than two fiscal years unless there is: (1) an improved performance of the targeted secondary school students at the school on a nationally normed basic skills test; or (2) a decrease in the dropout rate at the school. Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations relating to such requirement. Authorizes the Secretary to grant a waiver of such requirement for one additional academic year of programming if external conditions warrant.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1985
Title I: General Accounting Office Investigation and Report - Directs the General Accounting Office to investigate the situation of displaced nationals of El Salvador, including determinations of those Salvadorans in Central America, unlawfully in the United States, or returned from the United States to El Salvador. Requires a report to the Congress. Title II: Congressional Review - Provides that such report shall be referred to the appropriate committees for hearings and committee reports. Title III: Temporary Stay of Deportation - Provides for a temporary stay of detention and deportation for specified Salvadorans presently in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1985
Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to prohibit the employment of any blind person, or person with impaired sight, at less than the applicable minimum wage under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1985
Directs the President to: (1) secure from the Indochina nations a full accounting of Americans captured or missing as a result of the Vietnam conflict; and (2) work for the release of captive Americans and the return of the remains of those American servicemen and civilians who died in Southeast Asia. Requires the President to submit two reports to Congress on American POW/MIAs in Southeast Asia.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1985
Effective Schools Development in Education Act of 1985 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish a grants program to promote more effective schools and excellence in education. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1990 for such grants program. Allows program grants to be used to: (1) promote State educational agency (SEA) and local educational agency (LEA) awareness of effective schools information through conferences at schools and district and multidistrict offices and through onsite visits to model effective schools; (2) develop and implement systems of data collection, analysis, interpretation, and communication; (3) plan, review, and revise program activities; (4) support related effective schools efforts; (5) obtain technical assistance and consultant services from regional educational laboratories, research and development centers, institutions of higher education, and other nonprofit educational organizations; (6) design, develop, and publish educational materials on effective schools programs; (7) conduct program evaluations; and (8) otherwise identify, document, and disseminate information concerning exemplary effective schools programs. Requires that program grant applications by SEAs or LEAs demonstrate that: (1) the applicant has an effective schools improvement program in effect; (2) grant funds would be used to pay not more than one-half of the cost of any program or activity; (3) grant funds would be supplementary; and (4) independent annual evaluations will be conducted and reported. Directs the Secretary of Education, in selecting grant recipients, to: (1) consider the extent to which grant funds would be used to improve schools in districts with the greatest numbers or percentages of educationally deprived children and the extent to which the applicant's ongoing effective schools program has demonstrated the capacity to improve student achievement or behavior; (2) ensure reasonable geographic distribution of grants; and (3) designate grants as being available for a period of at least one but not more than three years. Sets forth provisions for technical assistance and program evaluation. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress by September 1, 1987.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1985
Youth Incentive Employment Act - Establishes a program to provide part-time school year employment and full-time (or part-time with training) summer employment to economically disadvantaged youths who pursue further education and training. Provides that an individual may qualify to be an eligible youth for program participation purposes if such individual: (1) is 16 to 19 years of age, inclusive, at the time of assignment to a worksite; (2) is economically disadvantaged; (3) is not employed; (4) resides in the service delivery area (SDA) of the administering entity; and (5) has entered into a commitment to pursue further education and training. Requires such individuals to sign a written commitment to: (1) attend either a secondary school for a diploma, an alternative education program for a high school equivalency certificate, a remedial education program, or a skill training program; and (2) meet attendance and performance standards of such school or program and at the worksite to which the individual is referred for employment under this Act. Gives priority for selection under youth incentive plans to eligible youths who are educationally at risk. Terminates an individual's status as an eligible youth upon a finding by the administering entity, after an opportunity for a hearing, that the individual has failed to comply with the commitment. Requires that funds provided under this Act be used to establish and assist programs which assist eligible youth with qualifying employment in the form of: (1) part-time employment during the regular school year, not to exceed 80 hours per month; (2) part-time employment, during the months between regular school years, which is combined with remediation, classroom instruction, or on-the-job or apprenticeship training; and (3) full-time employment for a period of at least eight weeks during the months between regular school years, not to exceed 40 hours per week. Permits funds provided under this Act to be used to pay up to the following percentages of the wages and benefits and the costs of any employer-provided instruction and training of an eligible youth: (1) 100 percent during the first six months of qualifying employment; and (2) 75 percent during any succeeding months of such qualifying employment. Prohibits the use of funds provided under this Act to pay any portion of the wages and benefits of any individual: (1) for full-time employment during the months between the regular school year with a for-profit institution or organization unless such employment is a continuation of employment with that employer during the regular school year; or (2) if the employer has failed to develop or enforce attendance and performance standards consistent with youth incentive plan provisions. Sets forth general requirements for receipt and restrictions on the use of funds under this Act. Provides that the administering entity for any SDA under this Act is the same entity selected to administer the job training plan for that SDA pursuant to the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA). Requires administering entities to: (1) develop and submit to the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) a youth incentive employment plan; and (2) provide from other Federal or State sources, or from local public or private sources, at least 20 percent of program costs for each program year, in cash or in kind. Requires that, of the funds provided to an administering entity for any program year under this Act: (1) at least 70 percent be expended for wages and benefits for qualifying employment, and child care, transportation, or other supportive service expenses for individuals engaged in such employment; (2) not more than 15 percent be expended for provision of basic education services, and of that amount not more than 15 percent be expended for the performance of specified functions. Sets forth requirements relating to youth incentive plans. Requires such plans to contain specified provisions, including: (1) a description of the specific outreach services and programs that will be established to ensure participation in qualifying employment by eligible youths who are school dropouts, as well as by in school youths; (2) assurances that special efforts will be made to recruit youth from families receiving public assistance, including parents of dependent children who meet the age requirement of this Act; and (3) a description of any arrangements made with labor organizations to enable youths to enter into apprenticeship training as part of employment provided under this Act. Requires that such plans, before they are submitted to the Secretary, be: (1) approved by the appropriate chief elected officials and the private industry council for the SDA; and (2) submitted for review and comment to the Governor and the State job training coordinating council, with any comments of the Governor and the council and any reasons for nonconformance with the Governor's and the council's suggestions, as well as a statement that the Governor has reviewed the plan for consistency with the Governor's coordination and special services plan under JTPA. Directs the Secretary, for each of the program years beginning on July 1, 1986, 1987, and 1988, to select a representative sample of SDAs and direct such SDAs to include in their youth incentive plans a description of a performance bonus system to reward those students who show continued improvement in their academic performance. Directs the Secretary to: (1) approve any plan submitted in compliance with the requirements of this Act; and (2) only disapprove a plan after notice and opportunity for a hearing to the administering entity. Requires that specified funds under this Act be used to develop and carry out programs for improving the basic education skills of eligible youth participating in employment and training programs under this Act. Sets forth requirements relating to such basic education services. Provides that no funds shall be awarded to fund such an education program for more than two years unless there is: (1) improved performance on a State or locally approved test of basic academic skills by youth who are enrolled in employment programs under this Act; or (2) a decrease in the drop-out rate of students enrolled in such programs. Sets forth special conditions relating to activities using funds under this Act. Requires certain wage rates under this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to prescribe wage rates for youth participants for projects financed with under $5,000 to which Davis-Bacon Act provisions would otherwise apply. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 and succeeding fiscal years for allocation to administering entities for programs under this Act. Directs the Secretary to reserve a specified amount of such appropriations for allotment among Native American eligible entities, on an equitable basis, taking into account the extent to which regular employment opportunities have been lacking for long-term periods among individuals within the jurisdiction of such entities. Requires that the remainder be allocated among administering entities with an approved youth incentive plan on the basis of numbers in each SDA of: (1) economically disadvantaged youth; (2) unemployed residents; and (3) excess unemployed residents (i.e. those in excess of six and one-half percent of the civilian labor force in the SDA). Directs the Secretary to: (1) also reserve one-half of one percent of such appropriations for any fiscal year for evaluation of programs under this Act; and (2) use 60 percent of such reserved funds for general evaluation of programs and 40 percent for an in-depth study by the National Institute of Education of activities and programs designed to serve drop-out youth under this Act. Requires that such allocations to an administering entity for an SDA be paid to the JTPA grant recipient for that SDA. Provides for a program year basis for funding beginning with FY 1987. Makes FY 1986 appropriations available both to funds activities for the period between October 1, 1985, and July 1, 1986, and for the program year beginning July 1, 1986. Authorizes additional appropriations for the transition to program year funding. Makes specified administrative and enforcement provisions of JTPA applicable to programs under this Act. Requires the administering entity to make quarterly reports to the Secretary on the youth incentive projects authorized under this Act. Requires such reports to include specified topics. Directs the Secretary to compile such reports and submit a summary of the findings to the Congress in the annual report for employment and training programs required under JTPA.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1985
Constitutional Amendment - States that the right to life is the paramount and most fundamental right of a person. Defines "person" to include the unborn for the purposes of the right to life guarantee. Makes such amendment inapplicable to laws permitting medical procedures required to prevent the death of the mother.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1985
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that no changes be enacted in current law that would reduce or delay cost-of-living adjustments for beneficiaries under the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that no law should be enacted which would: (1) increase the costs to be incurred by beneficiaries under titles XVIII (Medicare) or XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act; or (2) make more restrictive the eligibility requirements under such titles.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
Amends the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 to require the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in the Department of Justice (Administrator) to make grants to States for the purpose of establishing, operating, or expanding Missing Children Information Clearinghouses. Limits the grants to 50 percent of the costs of establishing and operating the Clearinghouse. Requires any State Clearinghouse to: (1) work in conjunction with the National Crime Information Center; (2) educate parents, children, and community agencies; (3) provide public information to assist in locating missing children; (4) publish a directory of organizations that provide assistance in locating missing children; (5) establish an in-State toll-free line for reporting missing children; (6) work with other public and private organizations; and (7) work with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Allows the Administrator to prescribe rules necessary to carry out this Act. Grants the Comptroller General of the United States access to any books, documents, or records of any State receiving assistance for the purpose of audit. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
Fair Voting Hours Act of 1985 - Provides for uniform voting hours (between 8 o'clock a.m., eastern standard time and 11 o'clock p.m., eastern standard time) for presidential general elections beginning in 1988.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
Preborn Children's Civil Rights Act of 1985 - Prohibits Federal involvement in the performance of abortions, except that Federal funds may be used for medical procedures required to prevent the death of the mother or the preborn child. Includes the following activities within the scope of this provision: (1) use of appropriated funds to counsel or encourage an abortion; (2) use of appropriated funds to reimburse or refer for abortions; (3) use of funds for research with respect to abortion; or (4) contracting for insurance which pays or reimburses for abortion. Prohibits any institution receiving Federal funds from discriminating against any employee, applicant, or student because of such person's opposition to abortion. Prohibits the granting of attorney fees in a civil action involving a law, ordinance, or regulation prohibiting abortion. Provides for Supreme Court review with regard to a law, ordinance, or regulation prohibiting abortion which a lower Federal court declares unconstitutional.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
Amends the Federal criminal code to provide a mandatory life sentence for any person who kidnaps an individual under the age of 18. Imposes the death penalty in any case where such a victim dies as the result of the kidnapping.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
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 to identify the research needed to develop an effective treatment and a cure for neurofibromatosis. Sets forth operating and related provisions. Authorizes the Commission to transmit interim reports. Requires the Commission to make a final report to the President and to each House of the Congress within two years. Terminates the Commission three months after submission of the final report. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to provide that disability insurance benefits for an individual having a terminal illness shall begin with the first month such individual has such illness.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
Constitutional Amendment - Defines "person" to include the unborn for the purpose of the right to life guarantee. Exempts from applicability of this amendment laws permitting medical procedures required to prevent the death of the mother.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Federal Home Loan Bank Board should delay until June 30, 1985, the effective date of its proposed regulations regarding limitations on direct investment in real estate, service corporations, and equity securities by federally insured savings and loan associations. Directs the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs of the House of Representatives to examine alternatives to the proposed regulations which will ensure safety and sound investment activities.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1985
Repeals the requirement added by the Tax Reform Act of 1984 relating to the maintenance of contemporaneous records with respect to: (1) business travel expenses, including automobile expenses; (2) business entertainment expenses; and (3) expenses for gifts.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1985
Amends the Interstate Commerce Act to revise the Federal rail transportation policy to allow competition among carriers to provide transportation services to establish rates. (Currently competition and the demand for services establish such rates.) Removes provisions which require the maintenance of reasonable rates where rail rates provide excessive revenues. Sets forth factors for the Interstate Commerce Commission to consider when determining the reasonableness of rail rates. Revises standards and procedures for establishing revenue levels for rail carriers. Requires the Commission to assist carriers in attaining such revenue levels, while recognizing the need to maintain reasonable rates where there is market dominance. Revises factors which determine whether or not a rail carrier establishing a challenged rate has market dominance over transportation. Directs the Commission, in determining the existence or absence of effective competition, to consider only transportation competition for the same commodity.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1985
Amends the Steel Import Stabilization Act to direct the U.S. Trade Representative, in negotiating with Japan and South Korea on steel products import limits, to negotiate the apportionment of the aggregate limit among specified subcategories of steel products. Directs the U.S. Trade Representative to apportion the aggregate limit if such negotiations are not successfully concluded within 30 days of the enactment of this Act. Sets forth such subcategories.
![Official portrait of Rep. Young, Robert A. [D-MO-2]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/y000051_200.jpg)