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United States · Official source
1,811 records where Sen. Abdnor, James [R-SD] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 20 February 1985
Designates the week of October 20 through October 26, 1985, as Lupus Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 20 February 1985
Designates the month of June 1985 as Youth Suicide Prevention Month.
United States · United States Congress · 20 February 1985
Prohibits ending the voluntary restraint on imports of Japanese automobiles until U.S. exports to Japan are substantially increased and the U.S. trade deficit with Japan is substantially reduced.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1985
Amends title V (Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant) of the Social Security Act to strike out the word "crippled" wherever it appears and replace it with the term "physically disabled."
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1985
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Act of 1985 - Amends title IV (National Research Institutes) of the Public Health Service Act to establish a National Institute (Institute) of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases in the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 for such establishment and related functions transfers. States that the Institute shall conduct research and related activities concerning arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases, including sports-related disorders. Requires the Director of the Institute, with the advice of the National Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Advisory Council, to establish a plan to coordinate such activities within 180 days. Requires the periodic review and revision of such plan and the transmission of such revisions to the Congress and the Director of NIH. Establishes within the Institute a National Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Advisory Council. Establishes within the Institute a National Arthritis Advisory Board (Advisory Board). Defines the responsibilities of the Advisory Board. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1988. Terminates the existing National Arthritis Advisory Board. Establishes within the Institute: (1) an Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases Interagency Coordinating Committee; and (2) a Skin Diseases Interagency Coordinating Committee. Requires annual reports to: (1) the Secretary of Health and Human Services; (2) the Director of NIH; (3) the Director of the Institute; and (4) the Advisory Council. Establishes within the Institute: (1) the National Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Data System; and (2) the National Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Information Clearinghouse. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1988. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1988 for arthritis and musculoskeletal demonstration projects. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1988 for new and existing multipurpose arthritis and musculoskeletal diseases centers. Requires the Institute to submit a biennial report to the President and the Congress. Transfers arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases functions, funds, personnel, and assets to the Institute from the existing National Institute of Arthritis, Diabetes, and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Redesignates the existing National Institute of Arthritis, Diabetes, and Digestive and Kidney Diseases as the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1985
Malt Beverage Interbrand Competition Act - Declares that no antitrust law shall prohibit the importer, brewer, or trademark licensee of a trademarked malt beverage, when such beverage has substantial competition from other malt beverages in an area, from: (1) entering into an agreement granting a wholesale distributor the exclusive right to sell such beverage within any defined geographic area within a State; or (2) limiting such distributor to the sale of such beverage for ultimate resale to consumers in such area. Declares that this Act shall not affect any provision of any State law.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1985
Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to direct the Federal Communications Commission to require that all telephones provide internal means for use with hearing aids. Requires (currently authorizes) any common carrier or connecting carrier providing telephone exchange service to provide specialized terminal equipment for persons whose hearing, speech, vision, or mobility is impaired. Requires State regulatory commissions to require any such carrier to provide such equipment at affordable rates.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1985
Designates the week of September 8 through September 14, 1985, as National Child Safety Week.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1985
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) it would be in the best interests of allied security and unity for each member country of the security treaty (ANZUS) between Australia, New Zealand, and the United States to reinstate the practice of permitting all naval ships of other member countries access to the ports of such member country; and (2) the President should continue discussions with New Zealand regarding the access of U.S. ships to its ports, explore with Australia the desirability of a bilateral security treaty, preclude New Zealand from participating in military activities with the United States until the present impasse is resolved, and exercise the right of the United States to withdraw from New Zealand the benefits of the injury test provided under the Tariff Act of 1930.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1985
Authorizes and requests the President to designate the week of March 10 through March 16, 1985, as National Employ the Older Worker Week.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1985
Water Resources Development Act of 1985 - Title I - Directs the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, to obligate no sums in excess of those specified in this title for the combined purpose of the "Construction General" account and the "Flood Control, Mississippi River and Tributaries" account. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1990. Title II: General Provisions - Directs the Secretary to enter into agreements with landowners who are benefitted by local flood control projects to assure that such owners will contribute 50 percent of that project's cost. Limits the commencement period for any such flood control project to ten years from the date of authorization of such project unless the Secretary shows that such project remains needed and justified. Allows for the submission of Federal projects with a cost of up to $10,000,000 provided, however, that any project with a cost exceeding $10,000,000 must be authorized by Act of Congress. Provides further that each such project must contain benefits directly related to agriculture that account for at least 20 percent of the total benefits of the project. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to study and report to the appropriate congressional committees on the feasibility of requiring full public access to all water impoundment facilities that have recreation-related potential. Amends Federal law to provide for the compatibility of Federal flood control projects with any existing or planned local flood control improvement programs. Directs the Secretary of the Army to undertake a program for the control of river ice, to assist communities in the breakup of such ice, and to provide technical assistance to local units of government to control or break up such ice. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1990. Directs the Secretary of the Army to undertake a demonstration program for the control of river ice at Hardwick, Vermont. Authorizes appropriations for such program. Directs the Secretary to report to Congress by March 1, 1988, on activities under this section. Directs the Secretary, upon request, to survey the potential of rehabilitating former industrial sites, millraces, etc. already constructed for use as hydroelectric facilities. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1990. Amends the Flood Control Act of 1970 concerning agreements made between Federal and State governments for cooperation in payment of mutually-beneficial flood control projects. Requires a favorable report from the Chief of Engineers before any flood control facility construction may begin. Provides that the Secretary shall not require non-Federal interests to assume operation of any federally-run facility as a condition to the construction of new recreational facilities. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into contracts with area Federal Project Repayment Districts for the recovery of appropriate shares of project costs. Requires the Secretary to determine that revenues derived from such contracts will be sufficient to meet cost recovery requirements under Federal law. Expresses the sense of the Congress that all parties to various lawsuits concerning the issuance of Federal permits necessary for the construction of a coal slurry pipeline development which would use Missouri River water should work to resolve such issues in an expeditious and reasonable manner. Prohibits the Secretary from initiating construction of any water resources project if such project has been modified to increase any of the following project parameters by more than 25 percent: (1) acreage of land acquisition; (2) linear miles of stream channel innundated; (3) width or depth of any navigation channel; (4) displacement of dwelling units; (5) hydroelectric generating capacity; or (6) linear miles of stream channelization. Directs the Secretary to submit to the Congress, within 180 days of proposal, a report on any such project modification together with his recommendations thereon. Amends the Water Resources Research Act to establish the High Plains Study Council to: (1) review research work conducted by State advisory committees; and (2) coordinate such research to avoid duplication of efforts by States of the High Plains. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish within each State of the High Plains region an Ogallala Aquifer technical advisory committee (the State Committee). Directs such State Committee to: (1) review existing State laws concerning water management and recommend appropriate changes; (2) establish State priorities for water resources research and demonstration projects; and (3) provide information and technical assistance concerning the need for water conservation and management. Directs the Secretary to allocate annually funds to States of the High Plains region for research in water-use efficiency, cultural methods, irrigation technologies, water-efficient crops, and water and soil conservation. Directs that such funds shall be distributed to State institutions of higher learning on the basis of merit. Directs the Secretary to divide funds among the States of the High Plains region for research into: (1) precipitation management; (2) weather modification; (3) aquifer recharge opportunities; (4) saline water uses; (5) desalinization technologies; (6) salt-tolerant crops; and (7) local water-transfer opportunities. Directs the Secretary to allocate annually funds to High Plains region States for grants to farmers for demonstration projects in: (1) water-efficient irrigation technologies and practices; (2) soil and water conservation management systems; and (3) the growth and marketing of more water-efficient crops. Provides that such grants to farmers shall be made on the basis of merit. Authorizes the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, to study the feasibility of water transfers into the High Plains Region, and report annually to the Congress. Authorizes the Secretary to monitor the levels of the Ogallala Aquifer, and to report annually to the Congress. Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to make grants to States for programs in water conservation and nonstructural flood control alternatives. Outlines the qualifications for States receiving such grants. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1990. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress on this program by October 1, 1988. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct a study of shoreline protection and beach erosion control policy in view of the prospect for long-term increases in the level of the ocean. Requires the Secretary, within three years of the date of enactment of this Act, to transmit the study together with recommendations to the appropriate congressional committees. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to require a review of the cost effectiveness of design of each water resources project which has a cost in excess of $10,000,000. Requires the Secretary to prepare a feasibility report for each such project being reviewed, after conducting a reconnaissance of the water resources problems, in order to identify potential solutions. Requires such reconnaissance to be limited to 18 months. Requires non-Federal interests to contribute 50 percent of the cost of any such study. Requires the mitigation of fish and wildlife losses to be undertaken before construction on the project involved begins. Authorizes the Secretary to mitigate damages to fish and wildlife to the extent that such mitigation costs do not exceed $7,500,000 per project. Requires a report to the Congress when mitigation costs are expected to exceed $7,500,000 per project. Requires the Secretary to submit with each proposal for the authorization of a water resources project, either: (1) a recommendation with a specific plan to mitigate fish and wildlife losses; or (2) a determination that such project will have negligible adverse impact on fish and wildlife. Directs that when the Secretary recommends activities to enhance fish and wildlife resources, the cost of such enhancement shall be a Federal cost when its benefits are determined to be national in character. Authorizes the Secretary to plan, design, and construct streambank erosion control projects not specifically authorized by Congress when such work is economically feasible and environmentally acceptable. Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years beginning with FY 1985. Prohibits the cost of any single project in this section from exceeding $2,000,000. Title III: Project Provisions - Directs the Secretary to undertake the following flood control improvement projects: (1) Warrior River, Mound State Park, Moundville, Alabama; (2) Fort Toulouse National Historic Landmark and Taskigi Indian Mound, Alabama; and (3) Tangier Island, Virginia. Directs the Secretary to undertake the following navigation and channel improvement projects: (1) Indian River Inlet, Delaware; (2) Abiquiu Dam, New Mexico; (3) Winooski River Basin, Waterbury, Vermont; (4) Tacoma Harbor, Washington; and (5) Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin. Directs the Secretary to study and draft plans for development, utilization, and conservation of water and related land resources in the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Provides that the operation and maintenance of Jackson Hole Snake River project, Wyoming, shall be the responsibility of the Secretary, provided that non-Federal interests contribute the initial $35,000 in construction costs. Modifies the Rio Grande Floodway project, Truth or Consequences Unit, New Mexico, to authorize the Secretary to construct a flood control dam on the Cuchillo Negro Creek. Authorizes and directs the Secretary to undertake restoration measures for the Acequia Systems in New Mexico, provided that the State contribute 20 percent of any project costs. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to consider the Acequia Systems as public entities for purposes of contractual agreements. Authorizes the Secretary to institute cropland irrigation research for the St. John River Basin, Maine. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes bank protection activities in Starr County, Texas, in accordance with certain specifications. Authorizes the Secretary, upon completion of recording of plats for townsites, to: (1) sell lands in accordance with a certain preference scheme; (2) transfer municipal facilities to the appropriate local government entity; and (3) transfer all facilities used for educational purposes to the appropriate school district. Outlines the preference scheme for land sales. Authorizes the Secretary to accept notes secured by mortgages and to provide temporary financial assistance to local government entities in order to facilitate such land sales. Defines "townsite" as including the areas of Riverdale, North Dakota, and Pickstown, South Dakota. Authorizes the Secretary to begin a program for the removal of silt from Lake Herman, South Dakota. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to begin a program of silt traps and silt removal in Lake Worth, Texas. Authorizes and directs the Secretary to conduct mitigation activities in Warwick, Rhode Island. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes and directs the Secretary to undertake studies of the impact on the United States of Canadian tidal power development in the Bay of Fundy, and to submit such studies to the appropriate congressional committees. Authorizes appropriations. Declares downstream recreation on the Gauley River to be an additional project purpose of the Summerville Lake project, West Virginia. Authorizes the construction of three flood control structures on the Johns Creek tributary in the Nonconnah Creek Basin, Tennessee. Authorizes the Secretary to participate in a project to demonstrate the feasibility of non-Federal cost sharing for rural flood protection on the James River in South Dakota. Requires a report to be submitted to the Congress concerning such project by September 30, 1987. Modifies the project for local flood protection on the Milk River at Havre, Montana. Authorizes and directs the Secretary to undertake road improvement measures at Pearson-Skubitz Big Hill Lake, Kansas. Declares a described portion of the Hudson River in New York Bay to be nonnavigable. Deauthorizes the William L. Springer Lake project on the Sangamon River, Illinois. Designates the former Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, Tennessee and Kentucky, as the John Sherman Cooper National Recreation Area. Declares the Port of Houston Authority bridge over Greens Bayou, Texas, to be a lawful bridge. Authorizes the Secretary to undertake the following reconnaissance studies in the State of Utah: (1) the Provo River; (2) existing levees along Utah Lake; (3) Interstate Highway 15, adjacent to Utah Lake; (4) Rock, Little Rock, and Slate Canyons in Provo; (5) the Bear River; (6) the Weber River; and (7) the Sevier River. Directs the Secretary to make certain amendments to the contract between the State of Illinois and the United States for water supply storage at Rend Lake on the Big Muddy River, Illinois. Authorizes increased appropriations for the repair and modification of the Illinois and Mississippi Canal. Designates the Lowndesville Recreation Area in the Richard B. Russell Dam and Lake project, South Carolina and Georgia, as the Jim Rampey Recreation Area. Authorizes the Secretary to permit the delivery of water from the District of Columbia water system at the Dale cartia filtration plant to any appropriate State or local authority of Maryland. Authorizes the Secretary to purchase water from an appropriate Maryland authority which has completed a connection with the Distrct of Columbia water system. Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1974 to authorize the Mountrail County Park Commission, North Dakota, to designate a portion of park lands for the leasing of cabin sites. Directs the Secretary to compensate landowners in Kootenai Flats, Idaho, for erosion of property caused by power generation operations at Libby Dam, Montana. Deauthorizes the Lake Brownwood modification project, Pecan Bayou, Texas. Title IV: Dam Safety - Dam Safety Act of 1985 - Amends public law concerning the definition of "dam". Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1990. Provides for the distribution of such funds among the States. Directs the Secretary to provide assistance to any State that establishes and maintains a dam safety program which includes the following: (1) a procedure for the review of dam plans to determine its safety; (2) a procedure to determine that such dam will be operated in a safe manner; (3) a procedure for inspection at least once every three years, or more if warranted; (4) the State has the power to modify the dam to assure its safety; (5) the State develops a system of emergency procedures to be followed in the event of dam failure; and (6) the State has the necessary emergency funds to make immediate repairs in order to protect human life and property. Provides for the approval of submitted programs within 120 days unless notified prior to that by the Secretary. Provides for periodic review of dam safety programs by the Secretary. Requires the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to report to the Congress on the need for federally-sponsored programs of guarantees of insurance for owners of dams. Authorizes to be established a Federal Dam Safety Review Board responsible for reviewing the design and safety of dams constructed in the United States, and to monitor State implementation of this Act. Requires the Board to file an advisory report on proposed dams prior to their construction. Directs the Board also to study the need for a Federal loan program to assist owners of non-Federal dams in rehabilitating such structures to assure their safety. Provides for the composition of Board members. Directs the Secretary to provide training for dam safety inspectors. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1990. Directs the Secretary to begin research to develop techniques and equipment for more efficient dam inspection. Provides for State participation in such research. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1990. Authorizes the Secretary to maintain and publish information on the inventory of dams authorized under this Act. Authorizes appropriations. Title V: Inland Navigation - Makes funds in the Inland Waterway Trust Fund available to the Secretary for the construction of any dam project for purposes of commercial navigation on inland waterways, if such construction was initiated after June 30, 1984. Declares such trust fund to be the sole source for Federal funding for commercial navigational projects. Authorizes the following works of improvement to the inland waterways by the Secretary: (1) Helena Harbor, Arkansas; (2) White River Navigation to Batesville, Arkansas; (3) Lake Pontchartrain, North Shore, Louisiana; (4) Greenville Harbor, Mississippi; (5) Vicksburg Harbor, Mississippi; (6) Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Bridges, North Carolina; (7) Olcott Harbor, New York; (8) Bonneville Lock and Dam, Oregon and Washington; (9) Memphis Harbor, Memphis, Tennessee; (10) Gallipolis Locks and Dam Replacement, Ohio and West Virginia; (11) Lock and Dam 7 and 8 Replacement, Monongahela River, Pennsylvania; (12) the New York State Barge Canal; provided that control and operation of the Canal continues to reside with the State of New York and that such State provides one half of all operational costs; (13) Saint Louis Harbor, Missouri and Illinois; and (14) Oliver lock replacement, Alabama. Upper Mississippi River System Management Act of 1985 - Provides that Congress recognizes the Upper Mississippi River System as a nationally significant ecosystem and commercial navigation system, and provides for the administration and regulation of such system. Provides that Congress approves of a "Master Plan" as a guide for future water policy on the Upper Mississippi River System. Provides for cooperation of several States in the System toward its growth and development. Authorizes the Secretary to provide for the construction of a second lock at locks and dam 26, Mississippi River, Alton, Illinois and Missouri. Authorizes such sums as necessary to carry out the provisions of this section. Directs the Secretary to monitor traffic movements on the System in order to determine any future capacity expansion. Authorizes appropriations for such monitoring. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to undertake various programs for the enhancement of the Upper Mississippi River System. Authorizes appropriations for this purpose. Authorizes such Secretary to implement a program of recreational projects for the System. Authorizes appropriations for this purpose. Title VI: Cost Sharing - States that the construction of any water resource project authorized to be constructed by the Secretary either in this Act or after the enactment of this Act can only be initiated after the Federal agency and the non-Federal sponsor have contractually agreed to share the project's costs in accordance with certain guidelines (share of cost depends upon type of project provided). Enumerates the non-Federal share for each type of water resource project. Provides for the repayment period of the non-Federal share, with appropriate interest. Provides that any cost-sharing agreement with a non-Federal private or public sponsor shall be subject to the ability of such sponsor to pay. Provides for the sharing of costs up to the date of enactment of this Act. Title VII: Adopts and authorizes the following works of improvement to rivers, harbors, and other waterways for flood control and other purposes to be undertaken by the Secretary in accordance with specified plans and provisions: (a) Flood Control: (1) Village Creek, Jefferson County, Alabama; (2) Eight Mile Creek, Paragould, Arkansas; (3) Fourche Bayou Basin, Little Rock, Arkansas; (4) Helena and vicinity, Arkansas; (5) Little Colorado River at Holbrook, Arizona; (6) Cache Creek Basin, California; (7) Redbank and Fancher Creeks, California; (8) Santa Ana River Mainstem, including Santiago Creek, California; (9) Fountain Creek, Pueblo, Colorado; (10) Metropolitan Denver and South Platte River and Tributaries, Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska; (11) Oates Creek, Georgia; (12) Agana River, Guam; (13) Alenaio Stream, Hawaii; (14) Big Wood River and Tributaries, Idaho; (15) North Branch of Chicago River, Illinois; (16) Rock River at Rockford and vicinity, Illinois; (17) Little Calumet River, Indiana; (18) Des Moines River Basin, Iowa and Minnesota; (19) Mississippi River, Iowa; (20) Perry Creek, Iowa; (21) Halstead, Kansas; (22) Atchafalaya Basin Floodway system, Louisiana; (23) Bushley Bayou, Louisiana; (24) Louisiana State Penitentiary Levee, Mississippi River; (25) Quincy Coastal Streams, Massachusetts; (26) Mississippi River at St. Paul, Minnesota; (27) Redwood River at Marshall, Minnesota; (28) Root River Basin, Minnesota; (29) South Fork Zumbro River Watershed at Rochester, Minnesota; (30) Horn Lake Creek and Tributaries, Tennessee and Mississippi; (31) Sowashee Creek, Mississippi; (32) Brush Creek and Tributaries, Missouri and Kansas; (33) Maline Creek, Missouri; (34) St. Johns Bayou and New Madrid Floodway, Missouri; (35) Robinson's Branch of the Rahway River at Clark, Scotch Plains, and Rahway, New Jersey; (36) Rahway River and Van Winkles Brook at Springfield, New Jersey; (37) Green Brook Subbasin, Raritan River Basin, New Jersey; (38) Middle Rio Grande Flood Protection, Bernalillo to Belen, New Mexico; (39) Puerco River and Tributaries, Gallup, New Mexico; (40) Cazenovia Creek Watershed, New York; (41) Mamaroneck and Sheldrake Rivers Basin and Byram River Basin, New York and Connecticut; (42) Hocking River at Logan and Nelsonville, Ohio; (43) Miami River, Fairfield, Ohio; (44) Miami River, Little Miami River, Ohio; (45) Muskingum River Basin, Ohio; (46) Scioto River at North Chillicothe, Ohio; (47) Fry Creeks, Oklahoma; (48) Mingo Creek, Tulsa, Oklahoma; (49) Parker Lake, Muddy Boggy Creek, Oklahoma; (50) Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; (51) Lock Haven, Pennsylvania; (52) Saw Mill Run, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; (53) Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania; (54) Big River Reservoir, Rhode Island; (55) Nonconnak Creek, Tennessee and Mississippi; (56) Buffalo Bayou and Tributaries, Texas; (57) Boggy Creek, Austin, Texas; (58) Lake Wichita, Holliday Creek, Texas; (59) Lower Rio Grande, Texas; (60) James River Basin, Richmond, Virginia; (61) Sims Bayou, Texas; (62) Chehalis River at South Aberdeen and Cosmopolis, Washington; (63) Yakima Union Gap, Washington; (64) Threemile Creek, Mobile, Alabama; (65) Upper Little Arkansas River Watershed, Kansas; (66) South Quincy Drainage and Levee District, Illinois; (67) Tonawanda Creek Watershed, New York; (68) Park River, North Dakota; and (69) Centralia, Chehalis River and tributaries, Washington; (b) Hydropower Development: (1) Scammon Bay, Alaska; (2) South Central Railbelt Area, Alaska, Hydroelectric Power, Valdez and Copper River Basin; (3) Murray Lock and Dam, Hydropower, Arkansas; (4) Arkansas River and Tributaries, Hydropower, Arkansas and Oklahoma; (5) Metropolitan Atlanta Area, Water Resources Management Study, Georgia; (6) W.D. Mayo Lock and Dam 14, Hydropower, Oklahoma; (7) Blue River Lake, Hydroelectric Power, Willamette River Basin, Oregon; (8) McNary Lock and Dam Second Powerhouse, Columbia River, Oregon and Washington; and (9) Gregory County Hydroelectric Pumped Storage Facility, South Dakota; (c) Shoreline Protection: (1) Charlotte County, Florida; (2) Indian River County, Florida; (3) Panama City Beaches, Florida; (4) Saint Johns County, Florida; (5) Jekyll Island, Georgia; (6) Casino Beach, Illinois Shoreline, Illinois; (7) Atlantic Coast of Maryland and Assateague Island, Virginia; (8) Atlantic Coast of New York City from Rockaway Inlet to Norton Point, New York; (9) Maumee Bay, Lake Erie, Ohio; (10) Presque Isle Peninsula, Erie, Pennsylvania; (11) Folly Beach, South Carolina; (12) Dade County, North of Haulover Beach park, Florida; (13) Monroe County, Florida; (14) Indiana Shoreline Erosion, Indiana; (15) Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina; (16) Willoughby Spit and vicinity, Norfolk, Virginia; and (17) Cape May Point, New Jersey; (d) Mitigation: (1) Fish and Wildlife Program for the Sacramento River Bank Protection Project, California; (2) Richard B. Russell Dam and Lake, Savannah River, Georgia and South Carolina; (3) Davenport, Iowa Local Protection Project-Fish and Wildlife Mitigation Plan; (4) West Kentucky Tributaries Projects, Fish and Wildlife Mitigation Plan, Obion Creek, Kentucky; (5) Downstream Measures at Harry S. Truman Dam and Reservoir, Missouri; (6) Smithville Lake, Little Platte River, Missouri-Plan for Replacement of the Trimble Wildlife Area; (7) Cape May Inlet to Lower Township, New Jersey; and (8) Cooper Lake and Channels Project, Texas, Report on Fish and Wildlife Mitigation; (9) Missouri River, fish and wildlife mitigation, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri; and (10) Yazoo backwater project, Mississippi, fish and wildlife mitigation report; (e) Bank Stabilization: (1) Bethel, Alaska; (f) Demonstration: (1) Cabin Creek, West Virginia; and (2) Lava Flow Control, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to undertake a feasibility study of the water supply and irrigation features of the Gregory Facility and prohibits construction of such facility until such study, together with a favorable certification by the Secretary of the Interior, is submitted to the Congress, and the Congress has authorized appropriations for construction of such facility. Title VIII: Water Supply Loans - Water Supply Rehabilitation and Conservation Act of 1985 - Authorizes the Secretary to make loans to departments, agencies, units of State or local government, or any person operating a water supply system for the purpose of improving such system. Directs the Secretary to allocate one-half of the funds in proportion to each State's population, the other half to be allocated at the Secretary's discretion. Prohibits loans for purposes other than water supply or water conservation. Requires operators of water supply systems to submit loan applications to the Secretary. Lists requirements for loan applications, including: (1) a detailed plan and estimated cost of the project; (2) a showing that the applicant holds all necessary rights to land and water use; and (3) an assessment of the improvements the proposed project will make. Permits the Secretary to make only such loans which the Secretary determines to be technically feasible and which constitute a reasonable financial risk. Directs the Secretary, in making loans, to give priority to: (1) water supply systems unable to obtain financial assistance; and (2) water supply systems using such loans to pay for the cost of installing a new system or improving an existing system in order to comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974. Authorizes the Governor of each State to submit by April 1, 1985, and annually thereafter, a priority list of water supply projects in such State to be financed by loans under this title. Allows the granting of loans only if the operator of a water supply system to whom the loan is granted implements a model water conservation program. Defines a "model water conservation program." Requires the agreement reached between the Secretary and any loan grantee to include: (1) the amount of the loan and its interest rate; (2) a repayment period; and (3) such provisions as are deemed necessary to assure prompt repayment. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1990. Directs the Secretary to submit to the Congress by September 30, 1989, a report concerning loans granted and water supply improvements made under this title. Enumerates specific information and recommendations to be included in such report. Authorizes appropriations. Declares the improvement of water supply and distribution systems to be a legitimate Federal purpose. Title IX: Harbors - National Harbors Improvement Act of 1985 - Establishes a National Commission on Harbor Maintenance (the Commission) to report to appropriate congressional committees on the annual and long-term costs of maintaining the Nation's harbors and make recommendations for the sharing of such costs by non-Federal interests. Authorizes the establishment of a Shipping Advisory Board to aid the Commission in its work. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986. Prohibits the Secretary from obligating more than $420,000,000 in any single fiscal year for maintaining harbors until such time as the report of the Commission is submitted to Congress (i.e., within two years of the date of enactment of this Act). Directs that non-Federal interests shall pay 50 percent of surveying, planning, designing, and engineering costs prior to the construction of any harbor. Allows non-Federal interests to undertake feasibility studies for improvements to any harbor, and submit such study to the Secretary. Provides for the review of such studies by the Secretary. Requires the Secretary, within 180 days after receiving any such study, to transmit to the Congress the results of such study together with any recommendations the Secretary may have. Directs that the non-Federal share of the cost of construction of general cargo harbors on which construction has not commenced shall be 30 percent. Directs the Secretary and the non-Federal interest to enter into a cooperative agreement prior to Federal initiation of construction. Sets forth conditions which any non-Federal interest must assume in such agreement. Authorizes any non-Federal interest to undertake navigational improvements in deep-draft harbors of the United States upon obtaining the proper permits. Authorizes the Secretary to complete and transmit to the appropriate non-Federal interest any study for improvements to deep-draft harbors of the United States. Authorizes the Secretary to complete deep-draft harbor construction projects for which construction was initiated prior to the enactment of this Act, upon certain conditions. Sets forth the responsibilities of the non-Federal interest in such projects. Declares that nothing in this title shall be construed to interfere with Federal authority to operate, maintain, or improve any harbor for military purposes or national defense requirements. Authorizes any appropriate non-Federal interest to collect fees for the use of its navigation projects for specified purposes. Authorizes the Secretary to guarantee the payment of the principal amount and interest on loans made or bonds sold to finance projects for the deepening of a draft harbor of the United States. Prohibits the total outstanding amount of such loans guaranteed in any fiscal year from exceeding $2,000,000,000. Authorizes necessary appropriations to make payments under such loan guarantee program. Requires the Secretary, upon receipt from a non-Federal interest of a notice of intent to construct improvements, to establish procedures for the joint processing of all required Federal permits for such construction. Requires the Secretary to publish in the Federal Register such intent to construct within 15 days of receipt of such intent. Requires the Secretary to enter into agreement with the Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and any other appropriate local authority to establish expedient processing of all required construction permits. Sets forth provisions to be included in such agreement. Requires, within six months of the final date of a project's compliance determination schedule, a report by the Secretary to the appropriate congressional committees. Requires notification of non-Federal interests as to whether permits will be issued. Requires the Secretary, on or before March 1, 1987, to prepare and transmit to Congress a report, together with recommendations, on the amount of time required to issue Federal environmental permits related to construction of harbor improvements. Adopts and authorizes the following works of improvement to general cargo harbors: (1) Kodiak Harbor, Alaska; (2) Oakland Outer Harbor, California; (3) Richmond Harbor, California; (4) Sacramento River, Deepwater Ship Channel, California; (5) New Haven Harbor, Connecticut; (6) Jacksonville Harbor, Mill Cove, Florida; (7) Manatee Harbor, Florida; (8) Tampa Harbor, East Bay Channel, Florida; (9) Savannah Harbor, Widening, Georgia; (10) Grand Haven Harbor, Michigan; (11) Monroe Harbor, Michigan; (12) Gulfport Harbor, Mississippi; (13) Wilmington Harbor, Northeast Cape Fear River, North Carolina; (14) Portsmouth Harbor and the Piscataqua River Basin, Maine and New Hampshire; (15) Gowanus Creek, Channel, New York; (16) Kill Van Kull and Newark Bay Channels, New York and New Jersey; (17) San Juan Harbor, Puerto Rico; (18) Charleston Harbor, South Carolina; (19) Brazos Island Harbor, Texas, Brownsville Channel; (20) Crown Bay Channel-Saint Thomas Harbor, Virgin Islands; (21) Blair and Sitcum Waterways, Tacoma Harbor, Washington, (22) Grays Harbor, Washington; (23) Hampton Roads and vicinity, Virginia; (24) Barnegat Inlet, New Jersey; (25) Saint Paul Island Harbor, Alaska; and (26) Duluth-Superior Harbor, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Authorizes the following works for improvement of deep-draft harbors, if the non-Federal interest possesses specified necessary legal and financial capabilities: (1) Norfolk Harbor and Channels, Virginia; (2) Mobile Harbor, Alabama; and (3) Mississippi River Ship Channel, Gulf to Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1985
Amends the International Travel Act of 1961 to authorize appropriations through FY 1986 for the U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1985
Emergency Farm Credit Assistance Act of 1985 - Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to include "circumstances beyond the borrower's control" (such as income reduction due to death, unemployment, or disaster, or unplanned farm and home operating expenses) as a basis for loan or mortgage foreclosure deferral. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to release to borrowers from normal income security (as defined by this Act) amounts sufficient to assure living and farm operating expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1985
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the deduction for charitable contributions by taxpayers who do not itemize deductions.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1985
Authorizes and requests the President to designate the week of April 21 through April 27, 1985, as National Organ Donation Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1985
Amends the Hobbs Act to redefine "extortion" to mean obtaining property from another with consent by use of actual or threatened force, violence, or fear thereof, or wrongful use of fear not involving force or violence, or under color of official right. Expresses congressional intent: (1) not to exclude Federal jurisdiction on the ground that conduct involving force, violence, or fear thereof, takes place in the course of a legitimate business or labor dispute, or on the ground that the conduct violates State or local law; or (2) not to chill legitimate labor activity by authorizing Federal prosecution for offenses occurring during a labor dispute not involving extortion. Makes it an affirmative defense to a prosecution under this section that the defendant's conduct: (1) was incidental to peaceful picketing in the course of a legitimate labor dispute; (2) consisted solely of minor bodily injury or property damage; or (3) was not intended to extort property.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1985
Authorizes and requests the President to designate September 15, 1985, as Ethnic American Day.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1985
Indian Health Care Amendments of 1985 - Title I: Indian Health Manpower - Amends the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to authorize appropriations for specified Indian health programs for FY 1986 through 1989, including scholarship programs. Prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) from denying scholarship assistance solely on the basis of an applicant's scholastic achievement if such applicant has been admitted to, or maintained good standing at, an accredited health professions institution. Directs the Secretary to grant Indian Health Scholarships to Indians enrolled full-time in certain schools for health professionals. States that the active duty service requirements of the Public Health Service can be met by specified services, including: (1) service under a contract pursuant to the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act; and (2) the private practice of a health professional if such practice is in a health professional shortage area and addresses the health care needs of a substantial number of Indians. Directs the Secretary to maintain a Community Health Representative Program to provide for the training and the use of Indians as health paraprofessionals to Indian communities. Title II: Health Services - Enumerates the health services for which the Secretary is authorized to expend Indian Health Care Improvement Fund appropriations. Prohibits the use of such funds to offset or limit appropriations made under other Acts. Conditions the allocation of such funds upon the health resource deficiency level of the affected Indian tribes. Permits the allocation of such funds on a service unit basis. Requires the Secretary to submit to the Congress a current health services priority system report, including the methodology for determining tribal health resources deficiencies, and the funds needed to raise all tribes to a zero level deficiency. Directs the Secretary to establish a review mechanism for tribal petitions regarding the health resource deficiency level of a tribe. Requires the Secretary to provide a current update of tribal specific health plans. Requires at least one percent of the Indian Health Care Improvement Fund appropriation to be expended for research. Makes programs administered by tribal organizations under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act eligible for specified funds on an equal basis with programs administered directly by the Indian Health Service. Directs the President to include with the submission of the budget a separate statement which specifies the amounts obligated to implement enumerated health services. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1989 for specified health services. Designates such appropriations the Indian Health Care Improvement Fund. Establishes an Indian Catastrophic Health Emergency Fund to meet extraordinary medical costs for victims of disasters or catastrophic illness. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to waive the competitive procurement requirements for health services upon certification by the responsible Chief Medical Officer that such requirements would compromise the quality of health services. Requires the Secretary to provide health promotion and disease prevention services to Indians. Requires each Indian tribe to include within any tribal specific health plan that such tribe is required to submit to the Secretary a comprehensive plan developed by such tribe for health promotion and disease prevention among its members. Title III: Health Facilities - Requires the Secretary to submit to the Congress a health facilities priority system report regarding the construction or renovation needs of the ten top priority inpatient and ambulatory care facilities. Requires the Secretary to consult with any Indian tribe that might be affected by an expenditure for health facilities before the Secretary makes a commitment for such an expenditure. Conditions the closure of any health care facility upon the Secretary's submission to the Congress of an impact assessment one year prior to the contemplated closing. Enumerates the data to be included in such assessment. Directs the President to include with the budgets submitted for FY 1986 through 1989 planning information documents for the construction of ten Indian health facilities. Directs the Secretary to implement a ten-year plan to provide safe water and sanitary sewage and solid waste disposal facilities to Indian homes and communities. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress regarding the Indian Health Service's current Indian sanitation facility priority system and the funds needed to raise all communities or tribes to a zero level of deficiency. Authorizes specified appropriations to provide sanitation facilities. Authorizes the Secretary to provide financial and technical assistance for the operation and maintenance of sanitation facilities, utility organizations, and emergency repairs of sanitation facilities. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1989. Authorizes tribes to expend certain non-Indian Health Service funds for the renovation of Indian health facilities, subject to specified conditions. Title IV: Access to Health Services - Extends the authorization for specified appropriations for grants and contracts with tribal organizations from FY 1986 through 1989. Amends the Social Security Act to make certain providers of the Indian Health Service eligible for Medicare and Medicaid payments. Directs the Secretary to ensure that each service unit of the Indian Health Service receives at least half of the amounts to which its facilities are entitled, if such amounts are necessary to bring the facilities into compliance with this Act. Directs the Secretary to establish a demonstration project in which certain Indian (and Alaska Native) health organizations which provide health care services shall bill for Medicare and Medicaid payments directly. Requires the Secretary to monitor such organizations and to require quarterly reports on their operations. Sets forth eligibility and participation guidelines for such health service facilities. Requires a final report to the Congress by September 30, 1989. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study in consultation with Indian tribes regarding barriers to Indian participation in Medicare or Medicaid programs. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress regarding such study. Title V: Urban Indian Health Services - Directs the Secretary to contract with urban Indian organizations to administer health services programs in urban areas. Sets forth specified requirements to be included in such contracts. Details eligibility criteria for the selection of such organizations. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into contracts with urban Indian organizations to determine the health status and unmet health care needs of urban Indians in affected urban areas. Delineates the requirements of such contracts. Requires the Secretary to: (1) develop evaluation procedures for the performance of such contracts; and (2) conduct annual onsite evaluations of each contracting urban Indian organization. Prescribes guidelines for the renewal of health care or referral services contracts. Prohibits renewal of contracts for determination of unmet health needs if their performance has been non-compliant or otherwise unsatisfactory and problems cannot be resolved. Requires certain reports to the Congress. Title VI: Organizational Improvements - Requires the Secretary to establish an automated management information system for the Indian Health Service. Establishes the Indian Health Service within the Public Health Service of the Department of Health and Human Services (thus terminating the Indian Health Service as part of the Health Resources and Services Administration). Places the Indian Health Service under the direction of a Director of the Indian Health Service who shall report only to the Secretary through the Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Health. Directs the Secretary to implement through the Director all health programs and authorities which are provided specifically for Indians. Directs the Secretary to submit to the Congress a plan for the implementation of the amendments made by this section. Title VII: Miscellaneous - Authorizes the Secretary to enter into legal agreements with Indian tribes or tribal organizations in order to provide compensation for facility space costs associated with the administration and delivery of health services by the Indian Health Service or tribally operated programs. Directs the Secretary to coordinate efforts with the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Education to develop programs to combat alcohol and drug abuse among Indian juveniles, including preventive education programs in schools operated by or under the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Directs the Secretary to establish an Office of Alcohol and Drug Abuse within the Indian Health Service. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1989. Directs the Secretary to arrange with the National Academy of Sciences, in consultation with the Office of Technology Assessment, to conduct a study of health hazards faced by Indians and Indian miners exposed to nuclear resource developments on or near Indian communities. Directs the Secretary and the Indian Health Service to develop a health care plan which addresses the results of such study. Directs the Secretary to submit to the Congress both the health hazard study and the ensuing health care plan, within certain times. Authorizes appropriations for such study. Extends from FY 1984 to 1989 the time during which Arizona is designated as a contract health service delivery area. Authorizes appropriations. Extends eligibility for health services of specified Indians in the State of California from FY 1984 through 1988. Establishes eligibility guidelines for certain California Indian and for certain persons who are otherwise ineligible for medical benefits provided by either the Indian Health Service or by tribes contracting with the Service. Designates the State of California as a contract health service delivery area. Lists programs eligible for Indian Health Service funds. Restricts circumstances under which the Secretary may remove a member of the National Health Service Corps who is performing obligated service in a health facility operated by or under the Indian Health Service. Sets a deadline by which the Secretary must develop and implement a plan to reduce Indian infant and maternal mortality rates to that of the general population. Requires the Secretary to: (1) complete within one year implementation of a program to prevent and control hepatitis-B in Alaska; (2) report to the Congress about the status of such program; and (3) request budget authority for a hepatitis-B control program in Alaska. Directs the Secretary to provide contract health services to the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians who reside in the Trenton Service Area of specified counties in the States of North Dakota and Montana. Directs the Secretary to conduct a population survey of Indians residing in such Service Area in order to determine the basis for distributing equity health care funds and providing contract health care. Provides for the designation of additional counties in the Trenton Service area based upon the population survey results. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study of the physical and mental health care needs of Native Hawaiians and other Native American Pacific Islanders, and to report the results of such study to the Congress by a certain time.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1985
Anti-Nuclear Terrorism Act of 1985 - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to require every individual allowed unescorted access to a nuclear power facility to be fingerprinted. Provides that all fingerprints shall be submitted to the Attorney General for identification and appropriate processing. Authorizes the Nuclear Regulatory Commission by rule to waive such requirement under certain conditions. Allows the Commission to prescribe regulations regarding the use of information received by the Attorney General.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1985
Civil Rights Amendments Act of 1985 - Amends title IX (Prohibition of Sex Discrimination) of the Educational Amendments of 1972, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and title VI (Nondiscrimination in Federally Assisted Programs) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to specify that educational institutions receiving Federal financial assistance are included within prohibitions against discrimination. Provides that, for purposes of such Acts, notwithstanding the Supreme Court decisions in Grove City College and others against Bell, Secretary of Education, and in North Haven Board of Education against Bell, the phrase "program or activity" shall, as applied to educational institutions which are extended Federal financial assistance, mean the educational institution.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1985
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat the use of a public safety vehicle by a public safety employee as a working condition fringe for purposes of the tax exclusion of certain employee fringe benefits. Defines "public safety employee" to include any person working in law enforcement, fire protection, or emergency medical services.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1985
Emergency Highway and Transit Cost Estimates Approval Act of 1985 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to apportion the funds remaining to be apportioned for the Interstate Highway System for FY 1985 and 1986, using the apportionment factors from the interstate cost estimate submitted to the Congress in January 1985. Approves a specified interstate cost estimate submitted to the Congress in March 1983 for any statutory purpose except fund apportionment. Directs the Secretary to apportion certain Interstate substitution funds remaining to be apportioned for highway and public mass transit projects for FY 1984 and 1985, using specified apportionment factors.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1985
Designates the week of November 11 through November 17, 1985, as National Reye's Syndrome Week.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1985
Authorizes and requests the President to designate the week of February 25, 1985, as National Farm Crisis Week.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to construct, operate, and maintain the Lake Andes-Wagner Unit, South Dakota Pumping Division, Pick-Sloan Missouri River basin program, South Dakota, for the purpose of providing irrigation water. Requires such unit to be integrated physically and financially with other Federal works under the Flood Control Act. States that user repayment of construction costs of the irrigation project shall be based upon ability to pay as determined by the Secretary. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
Amends the Federal criminal code to establish criteria for the imposition of the death penalty for Federal crimes. Requires the Government, for any offense punishable by death, to serve notice upon the defendant a reasonable time before trial or acceptance of a plea, that it intends to seek the death penalty and the aggravating factors upon which it will rely. Requires a separate sentencing hearing before a jury, or the court upon motion by the defendant, when the defendant is found guilty or pleads guilty to an offense punishable by death. Allows the defendant and the Government to present any information relevant to sentencing, without regard to the rules of evidence, but permits information to be excluded where its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading of the jury. Specifies mitigating factors which the defendant must establish by a preponderance of the information and aggravating factors which the Government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt. Includes as threshold, aggravating factors for homicide that the defendant: (1) intentionally killed the victim; (2) intentionally inflicted serious bodily injury which resulted in death of the victim; (3) intentionally participated in an act which he reasonably should have known would create grave risk of death to a person and the victim did die as a direct result of the act; or (4) attempted to kill the President of the United States. Sets forth special aggravating factors with respect to the crimes of treason, espionage, homicide, and attempted murder of the President. Includes among the mitigating factors that the defendant was less than 18 years old at the time of the crime. Directs the court, or the jury by unanimous vote, to impose the death penalty upon a finding that such sentence is justified based on consideration of both the aggravating and mitigating factors. Requires the court to instruct the jury not to consider the race, color, national origin, creed, or sex of the defendant in its consideration of the sentence. Limits the circumstances under which the offense of delivering defense information to aid foreign governments is punishable by death. Allows the death penalty to be imposed for: (1) the murder of foreign officials, Federal judges, Federal law enforcement officers, or Federal penal or correction employees; and (2) an offense of kidnapping resulting in the death of any person. Eliminates the death penalty for the crime of rape. Authorizes the death penalty for the crime of attempting to kill the President of the United States if the attempt results in bodily injury to the President or otherwise comes dangerously close to causing his death. Establishes procedures for appeal from a death sentence. Requires the Court of Appeals, upon considering the record and the information and procedures of the sentencing hearing, to affirm the decision if: (1) the sentence was not imposed under influence of passion, prejudice, or arbitrariness; and (2) the information supports the finding of aggravating factors or the absence of mitigating factors. Requires the court to provide a written explanation of its determination. Provides for the death penalty for murders committed by prisoners in Federal correctional institutions.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
Reform of Federal Intervention in State Proceedings Act of 1985 - Amends the Federal judicial code to condition consideration of a habeas corpus claim by a prisoner on a showing of actual prejudice resulting from the Federal right violated and that: (1) State or Federal Government action precluded assertion of that right; (2) the Federal right did not previously exist; or (3) the factual basis of the claim could not have been discovered by reasonable diligence. Establishes a one-year statute of limitations for habeas corpus actions brought by State prisoners, and a two-year statute of limitations for similar motions made by Federal prisoners. Vests authority to issue certificates for probable cause for appeal of habeas corpus orders exclusively in the courts of appeals. Permits denial on the merits of habeas corpus writs notwithstanding the failure to exhaust State remedies. Prohibits the granting of a habeas corpus writ with respect to any claim which has been fully and fairly adjudicated in State proceedings.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
Exclusionary Rule Limitation Act of 1985 - Amends the Federal criminal code to provide that evidence obtained by a search or seizure shall not be excluded in a Federal proceeding if the seizure was undertaken in a reasonable, good faith belief in its conformity with the fourth amendment to the Constitution. Provides that evidence obtained in accordance with a warrant is prima facie evidence of good faith, absent intentional and material misrepresentation.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the requirement that contemporaneous records be kept to substantiate deductions for certain travel expenses, including automobile expenses, business entertainment expenses, and expenses for gifts.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that the substantiation requirements for the deductibility of business expenses for passenger automobiles or other means of transportation shall be met by providing adequate records or sufficient corroborating evidence rather than contemporaneous records.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to limit the deductions of a taxpayer attributable to farming to the sum of: (1) the gross income of such taxpayer from the trade or business of farming for such taxable year, plus; (2) an amount equal to the national median family income for the previous year. Requires the non-farm taxable income of such taxpayer to have exceeded the taxpayer's farm income in five of the preceding seven years. Provides that where the the taxpayer engages in more than one trade or business of farming, all such trade or businesses shall be treated as a single trade or business.
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 appropriations. Authorizes the Commission to transmit interim reports. Requires the Commission to make a final report to the President and to each House of Congress within two years. Terminates the Commission three months after submission of the final report.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
Central South Dakota Water Supply System Act of 1985 - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to construct, operate, and maintain in two stages the Central South Dakota Water Supply System (CENDAK unit) of the Pick-Sloan Missouri basin program to provide irrigation water to 474,000 acres of land in South Dakota. Describes stage one as the Oahe pumping plant and its canal system (to irrigate approximately 300,000 acres), and stage two as the Lake Oahe pumping plant and canal system (to irrigate about 174,000 acres). Requires the Secretary to certify the irrigability of stage two lands prior to construction, or to complete necessary stage two features if construction of certain facilities is undertaken by non-Federal entities, subject to State requirements. States that the project will include measures to mitigate for project-caused impacts on wildlife habitat and water quality. Requires the CENDAK unit to be integrated physically and financially with other Federal works constructed under a plan approved by the Flood Control Act. Directs that facilities constructed and acquired for use in the previous Oahe water supply unit shall be salvaged and utilized and included in the CENDAK unit costs as far as is feasible. Authorizes the Secretary to sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of lands acquired for the previous Oahe unit in order to develop and maintain the CENDAK unit, provided that the Secretary reconvey to former landowners at no less than market value any lands deemed unsuitable for the CENDAK unit. Directs the Secretary to make appropriate allocations of project costs to irrigation, municipal and industrial water supply, fish and wildlife, and recreation. Prohibits private lands from being acquired for mitigation purposes until optimum utilization for fish and wildlife has been made of Federal and State lands in South Dakota. Directs the Secretary to contract with electric power cooperatives to secure power supplies for the CENDAK unit. Provides that repayment and water service contracts for the return of construction costs allocated to irrigation shall require that, as a prerequisite to water service, water users enter into agreements to: (1) participate in an irrigation management system; (2) participate in a program to provide habitat replacement for losses resulting from irrigation; and (3) establish and implement a program for mitigation of any net losses of wildlife due to the use of grassland for irrigated crops. Determines interest rates for the unpaid balance of capital costs of the CENDAK unit. Authorizes the Secretary to transfer to water users' organization(s) the care, operation, and maintenance of the works herein authorized. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
Designates the month of October 1985 as National Make-A-Wish Month.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
Designates 1985 as the Year of Social Security.
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. Makes such amendment inapplicable to laws permitting medical procedures required to prevent the death of the mother.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
Constitutional Amendment - Proclaims the English language to be the official language of the United States. Grants the Congress the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
Directs the President to designate March 1985 as National Mental Retardation Awareness Month.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 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 · 3 January 1985
Amends the Federal criminal code to define "armor-piercing ammunition." Excludes from the definition: (1) shot gun shot required by Federal or State regulations for hunting; (2) frangible projectiles for target shooting; and (3) projectiles that the Secretary of the Treasury determines are primarily intended for sporting purposes. Makes it unlawful for any person to manufacture or import armor-piercing ammunition. Allows for: (1) the manufacture or importation of armor piercing ammunition for the use of the United States or any State or local government; and (2) manufacture for the sole purpose of exportation. Establishes a licensing fee of $1,000 per year for manufacturers and importers of armor-piercing ammunition. Imposes an additional mandatory sentence of not less than five years for any person who uses or carries a firearm and is in possession of armor-piercing ammunition during the commission of a violent felony. Provides that such sentence shall not be suspended nor probation nor parole be granted.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
No Free Lunch Act of 1985 - Requires that all persons be charged the cost of meals received in a Senate dining facility or an executive agency dining room that serves only high level officers and employees.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Amends the Tax Reform Act of 1984 to provide that an individual who, as of September 12, 1984, was performing services for one member of a corporate group and was eligible for nontaxable air travel benefits provided by another corporate affiliate shall continue to be eligible for such benefits if as of that date: (1) at least 50 percent of the individuals performing services for the first such corporation were or had been employees of or had previously performed services for the second such corporation; and (2) the primary business of the affiliated group was air transportation of passengers.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Grants a Federal charter to the Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Title I: Amendments to Title 18, United States Code (18 U.S.C. 921-928) - 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 manufacturer, 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. Defines "with the principal objective of livelihood and profit" to mean that the intent underlying the sale or disposition of firearms is predominantly one of obtaining livelihood and pecuniary gain. Excludes as dealers persons making occasional sales or repairs of firearms. Eliminates certain activities involving ammunition from the coverage of the current prohibitions. Permits the interstate sale of handguns where the sale complies with the law of the licensee's State and the State of the purchaser's residence. Presumes the licensee to have actual knowledge of the published laws of the States. 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 in 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. Provides exceptions to such warrant requirement. Requires licensed collectors to maintain records of the receipt, sale, or other disposition of firearms. Requires records maintained by a licensee who has discontinued business to be delivered to the Archivist of the United States and the Secretary of the Treasury and to be disposed of after 20 years. Sets forth information-gathering procedures for tracing firearms and prohibits criminal charges based solely on information provided under those procedures. Prohibits records from being kept at a centralized location or entered in a computer for storage or retrieval. Permits licensed importers, manufacturers, and dealers to conduct business at temporary locations other than the one specified on a license (for example, gun shows). Establishes either a "knowing" (scienter) or a "willful" requirement with respect to general violations of the Act. Imposes additional penalties for the use of a firearm during the commission of a Federal crime of violence and for carrying a firearm in furtherance of a Federal crime of violence. Increases the penalties for the criminal misuse of firearms by making such penalties mandatory and at higher fine levels or longer prison terms than current law requires. Extends to first offenders the requirement, currently applicable only to second offenders, that the court not suspend any sentence or grant probation. Prohibits the granting of parole to first and subsequent offenders. Declares that no person shall be subject to the additional, mandatory penalties if use of the firearm or destructive device was a nonfelonious attempt to protect persons or property. Amends the forfeiture provision to subject to seizure any firearm or ammunition "involved in or used" in a knowing 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. Permits any person prohibited from possessing, shipping, transporting, or receiving firearms or ammunition to apply for relief. Requires, instead of permits, the Secretary to grant release, unless the applicant will be likely to act in a manner dangerous to public safety. Permits any person who is denied relief to seek de novo judicial review in Federal court. Imposes on the applicant the burden of proof. Makes the authority of the Secretary to permit importation of certain types of firearms and ammunition nondiscretionary. Increases the number of types of sporting firearms which may be imported. 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, dishonorably discharged veterans, mental incompetents, illegal aliens, and persons renouncing their United States citizenship).
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Sex Discrimination in the United States Code Reform Act of 1985 - Title I: Armed Forces, Soldiers' Home, Coast Guard, Lighthouse Service, and Merchant Marine - Amends Federal laws dealing with the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, and the Coast Guard to eliminate gender-based distinctions. Title II: Elimination of Gender-Based Distinctions Under the Social Security Act and the Railroad Retirement Act - Eliminates gender-based distinctions in the social security and railroad retirement programs. Title III: Amendments to United States Code - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Walsh-Healey Act, the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, the Federal criminal code and other Acts (dealing with Indian affairs, transportation, public lands, Saint Elizabeths Hospital, contract law, the U.S. Coast Guard, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, longshoremen and harbor workers, conservation programs, internee benefits, and the spouses of former Presidents, among other subjects) to eliminate gender-based distinctions. Title IV: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective date for the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Provides that each item of any general or special appropriation bill and any bill or joint resolution making supplemental, deficiency, or continuing appropriations that is agreed to in the same form by both Houses of the Congress shall be enrolled as a separate bill or joint resolution for presentation to the President (line-item veto).
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that a person, including an estate or testamentary trust, who sells a principal residence for a purchase price of $250,000 or less will be subject to a nine percent imputed interest test rate. Permits the Secretary of the Treasury to lower the imputed interest test rate in certain circumstances. Requires the use of a "blended" rate to calculate the imputed interest test rate where the sales price exceeds the $250,000 limit. Provides that a homebuilder or realtor selling a residence which is held in inventory and is sold for $250,000 or less would be subject to an imputed interest rate of 80 percent of the applicable Treasury rate. Applies this 80 percent rate to sales of homes to be occupied by owners. Provides that where the purchase price is greater than $250,000, the applicable test rate would be a weighted "blend" of 80 percent of the Federal rate and 100 percent of the applicable Federal rate. Provides that interest deductions on borrowing to carry seller-financed housing would be limited to current interest income, including imputed interest recognized on seller financing. Permits deferred interest deductions on a pro-rata basis as the homebuyer makes payments on the mortgage. Provides that the sale of a farm or ranch with a purchase price of not more than $2,000,000 would be subject to a nine percent imputed interest test rate. Requires the property to have been used as a farm or ranch for the three years prior to the sale and the purchaser to intend to use the property as a farm or ranch. Provides for a "blended" imputed interest test rate where the purchase price is over $2,000,000. Prohibits sale-leaseback transactions. Provides that the nine percent imputed interest test rate shall not apply to sales of new property subject to the investment tax credit. Provides that the sale of a trade or business with a purchase price of $1,000,000 or less would be subject to a nine percent imputed interest test rate. Applies this test rate to the sale of a complete line of such business and to a sale of an ownership interest in such business. Provides that if the business is sold for more than $1,000,000, the imputed interest test weight will be a weighted "blend" rate. Prohibits the sale-leaseback type of arrangement. Prohibits the use of the nine percent imputed interest test rate in the case of sales of new investment credit property. Provides that for sales of real property involving no more than $4,000,000 of deferred payments, the applicable imputed interest test rate will be 80 percent of the applicable Federal rate. Requires that payments for such a sale not extend for more than 12 years. Imposes on sales exceeding $4,000,000 an imputed interest test rate of 100 percent of the applicable Federal rate. Provides that the maximum imputed interest test rate for these transactions shall be 11 percent for the first six months of 1985. Limits the increase in the rates thereafter to one-half percent for every six months until the rate equals 100 percent of the applicable Federal rate. Requires that 80 percent of interest due under the contract be paid currently. Provides that other transactions not meeting the rules stated above shall have an imputed interest test rate of 110 percent of the applicable Federal rate. Exempts certain transactions from the operation of these rules. Limits the increase in the imputed interest test rate where the Federal rate increases by more than two percent during a six month period. Provides that the imputed interest test rate will apply to the sale or exchange of any real property used in an active trade or business by a person who would be qualified if he disposed of an entire interest. Provides that the sales price together with any prior sales during the preceding 12-month period shall not exceed $1,000,000. Prohibits certain restrictions on loan assumptions that are eligible for the nine or ten percent imputed interest test rate.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Product Liability Act - Preempts State product liability laws. States that this Act governs any civil action for harm caused by a product which would have been based on: (1) strict or absolute liability in tort; (2) negligence or gross negligence; (3) breach of express or implied warranty; (4) failure to discharge a duty to warn or instruct; or (5) any other theory that is the basis for an award for damages for loss or damage caused by a product. Makes a manufacturer liable if the claimant establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that a product was unreasonably dangerous: (1) in construction or design; (2) because the manufacturer failed to provide adequate warnings of danger; or (3) because the product did not conform to an express warranty. Specifies the findings which must be made for such proof of unreasonable danger to be determined. Subjects a product seller to liability if the claimant proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the claimant's harm was proximately caused by such seller's failure to use reasonable prudence with respect to the product. Enumerates circumstances under which such a seller is also subject to the liability of a manufacturer. Provides that all claims under this Act shall be governed by the principles of comparative responsibility. Sets forth rules with respect to conduct affecting comparative responsibility, including misuse, alteration, or modification of a product. Specifies the manner in which damages are to be apportioned. Requires that damages in any product liability claim be reduced by an amount paid as workers' compensation benefits. Prescribes a statute of limitations for recovery. Directs the Judicial Conference of the United States to establish a Product Liability Review Panel to conduct an ongoing review of the adequacy of legal remedies available to persons injured by products and to report its findings and recommendations to Congress. Requires the panel to conduct a study to determine the feasibility or availability, or both, of providing compensation without regard to fault to claimants for any loss or damage caused by a product. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1985. Declares that it is the intent of the Congress that, in other than exceptional cases, the Supreme Court shall not review issues relating solely to the sufficiency of the evidence in cases arising under this Act which have been finally decided by the highest court of any State.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Unborn Children's Civil Rights Act of 1985 - Prohibits Federal involvement in the performance of abortions, except Federal funds may be used for medical procedures required to prevent the death of the mother or the unborn 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 · 3 January 1985
High Technology Research and Scientific Education Act of 1985 - Title I: The Credit for Increasing Research Activities - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the tax credit for research and development (R&D) expenditures. Modifies the definition of qualified research for purposes of the R&D credit to narrow the category of eligible activities for which the credit is available. Provides that all in-house and contract research expenses paid or incurred by a regular corporation shall constitute qualified R&D expenses for credit purposes if the corporation undertakes the research with the intention to use the results thereof in the active conduct of a present or future trade or business. Provides that in the case of research being conducted in the partnership form, the trade or business test is applied at the partnership level, and the credit is apportioned among the partners in accordance with general partnership rules. Title II: Promotion of University Research and Scientific Education - Establishes a new income tax credit equal to 20 percent of that portion of a corporation's payments to universities (and other nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations for basic research) which exceeds a fixed, historical "minimum university basic research" floor. Defines the fixed "minimum university basic research" floor as one percent of the annual average of the corporate taxpayer's combined qualified in-house research expenses, contract research expenses, and university basic research payments for the base period composed of the period from 1981 through 1983. Modifies the charitable contribution deduction of corporations for scientific and technical property to: (1) expand the eligible uses to which the property may be put to include direct education as well as research and research training; (2) make computer software eligible for the deduction; and (3) make state-of-the-art equipment used in the taxpayer's trade or business eligible for the deduction. Sets forth a formula for determining the amount of the allowable deduction for scientific equipment. Provides for an income tax exclusion for the scholarships, fellowship grants, student loan forgiveness, or stipends of students who are enrolled in postgraduate study as degree candidates. Provides that such tax exclusion will not be forfeited merely because the student is required, as a condition of the scholarship or fellowship, to perform future service in teaching or research.