United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1978
Directs the Secretary of Transportation to enter into a contract with each State for payment of 100 percent of the costs of repairing highways and surface rails of urban mass transportation systems (other than railroads) which were damaged as a result of the winter weather of 1977-1978. Authorizes appropriations of $250,000,000 out of the Highway Trust Fund to carry out the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1978
Expresses Congressional disapproval of the Presidential denial of import relief to the producers of nuts, bolts, and large screws, under the Trade Act of 1974, transmitted to the Congress on February 10, 1978.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1978
Renewable Resources Extension Act - Provides for a nationally coordinated program to insure the most efficient utilization of forest and range land renewable resources. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a Renewable Resources Extension Program in cooperation with State directors of cooperative extension service programs and eligible colleges and universities. Requires the Secretary and relevant State officials to cooperate in the identification and study of needed areas of research, and in the dissemination of the results of such research. Requires the Secretary to coordinate the establishment of ongoing training programs for landowners, processors and other interested parties. Directs the Secretary to prepare a five-year Renewable Resources Extension Program to provide national guidance for State programs. Requires annual reporting to Congress on implementation of the plan.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1978
Authorizes the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution to acquire the Museum of African Art. Establishes within the Smithsonian Institution a bureau to be known as the Museum of African Art. Sets forth the functions of such bureau. Establishes a Commission for the Museum of African Art to assist the Board in the operation and development of the Museum. Authorizes appropriations to carry out the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1978
Social Security Refinancing Act - Amends Title II (Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) and XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to finance the payment of disability insurance benefits and hospital insurance benefits through general tax revenues, rather than through employment and self-employment tax revenues. Reduces employment and self-employment tax rates below the rates established by the Social Security Financing Amendments of 1977.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1978
Rural Health Needs Planning Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to include in the national guidelines for health planning separate guidelines for nonurbanized areas. Requires to be included on the National Council on Health Planning and Development consumers of health care who are representative of nonmetropolitan areas. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to health systems agencies on the basis of square mileage served by the agency, for the development and operation of subarea councils and requires health systems agencies to consider the views of such councils. Changes the formula by which the size of grants to health systems agencies shall be determined. Requires the inclusion of members from nonmetropolitan areas on Statewide Health Coordinating Councils. Requires centers for health planning to disseminate to health systems agencies planning approaches and methodologies with special emphasis on the needs of medically underserved populations.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1978
Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to change the date after which States establishing interest subsidy programs for guaranteed student loans may receive advances to reserves for making insurance payments under the State guaranteed loan program.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1978
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual a credit against the individual income tax equal to 15 percent of the social security taxes paid by that individual during the taxable year.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1978
Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs Assistance Act - Authorizes the Commissioner of Education to provide financial assistance to assist in the development of the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis-Saint Paul. Authorizes up to $5,000,000 to be appropriated for such purpose.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 1978
Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years 1979, 1980, 1981, and 1982 to the Secretary of the Army to develop and implement a national dam safety program. Stipulates the formula for allocation of such appropriations. Directs the Secretary to furnish financial and training assistance to any State which establishes a dam safety program which meets specified criteria. Directs the Secretary to guarantee any dam failure liability insurance of a dam owner. Establishes a Federal Dam Safety Review Board: (1) to review the procedures and standards in dam design and safety analysis; and (2) to monitor State implementation of this Act. Directs the Secretary to study techniques of dam inspection.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 1978
Authorizes the use of Federal-aid highway funds for the construction or reconstruction of interstate or intrastate access spurs crossing the Mississippi River to scenic, historical, recreational, or archeological features on the other side of the river from the Great River Road. Stipulates that such access spurs shall be the most direct feasible route and shall not include the construction of bridges across the Mississippi River.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1978
National Alcohol Fuels Commission Act - Establishes the National Alcohol Fuels Commission to study the use of alcohol as an alternative fuel source. Charges the Commission with the duty to study the short and long-term potential of alcohol fuels derived from plant, animal and industrial sources and wastes, and from coal. Directs the Commission to study alternative feedstocks and desirability of converting present feedstocks into alcohol fuels. Requires the Commission to identify and study technical, economic, legal, environmental and social factors involved with the production, manufacture, distribution and use of alcohol fuels. Directs relevant Federal agencies to appoint a liaison officer and to cooperate closely with the Commission. Requires the Committee to file a final report with the President and the Congress no later than December 31, 1980.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1978
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of an employee, amounts paid or expenses incurred by the employer for educational assistance to the employee. Limits to 25 percent the amount of payments which may be made by such programs to shareholders or owners (or their spouses or dependents), each of whom owns more than five percent of the stock or of the capital or profits interest in the employer.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1978
Expresses the condolences of the Senate upon the death of the Honorable Hubert H. Humphrey, former Vice President of the United States and a Senator from the State of Minnesota.
United States · United States Congress · 15 December 1977
Veterans' and Survivors' Income Security Act - Title I: Security Pension for Veterans and Survivors - Establishes rates for security pensions which may be elected in lieu of regular pensions by: (1) veterans of a period of war who are permanently and totally disabled from a non-service-connected disability; and (2) surviving spouses or children of veterans of a period of war of deceased veterans entitled to compensation or retirement pay for a service-connected disability. Specifies exclusions from the determination of annual income of such veterans and survivors. Requires persons applying for a security pension to report the income and estate of each spouse and child on account of whom added pension is applied for or received. Title II: Miscellaneous Provisions - Requires annual adjustments of security pension rates in conjunction with cost-of-living increases in Social Security benefits. Title III: Effective Date - Sets the effective date of this Act as October 1, 1978.
United States · United States Congress · 15 December 1977
Authorizes a $543,000,000 appropriation for reimbursing States for expenditures made with respect to services provided by such States under specified titles of the Social Security Act. Sets forth procedures and time limitations for making claims for reimbursement and maximums amounts which a State may receive for providing services under the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 15 December 1977
Dutch Elm Disease Control Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to assist the States in controlling Dutch elm disease through a program of 50-50 matching grants. Directs the Secretary to carry out a program of research and education regarding such disease.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 1977
Amends the Federal Meat Inspection Act to require the Secretary of Agriculture to submit to the House Committee on Agriculture and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry quarterly reports evidencing that all foreign plants exporting meat have been inspected by inspectors appointed by the Secretary and are in compliance with such Act and the regulations issued thereunder.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 1977
Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships - Implements the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973. Applies this Act to ships registered in or of the nationality of the United States or a country party to the Convention and ships registered in or of the nationality of a country not a party to the Convention travelling in all waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Exempts (1) warships, naval auxiliaries or other ships owned by the United States while engaged in noncommercial service, subject to standards prescribed by the appropriate Federal department and agencies, and (2) other ships specifically excluded by the Convention. Authorizes the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to administer, enforce, and prescribe regulations to carry out the provisions of the Convention and this Act, utilizing other Federal departments and agencies as necessary. Authorizes the Secretary to designate persons to issue certificates required by the Convention. Stipulates that (1) certificates shall not be issued to ships of countries not a party to the Convention, and (2) certificates issued by a participating country of the Convention shall be honored. Prescribes that ships required to carry a valid certificate are subject to inspection. Directs the Secretary to ascertain any ship required to have a certificate which either does not have one on board or has a condition in disagreement with the certificate until such ship can proceed to sea without harming the marine environment. Allows any person whose ship is detained to petition the Secretary. Permits compensation for any loss or damage suffered by a ship unreasonably detained or delayed. Directs the Secretary, after consultation with the Environmental Protection Agency, to establish regulations for determining the adequacy of reception facilities of a port or terminal and to issue certificates indicating such facilities for receiving residues and mixtures containing oil or noxious liquid substances from seagoing ships are adequate. States conditions under which such certificate can be inspected, suspended, or revoked. Requires the listing of such certified ports and terminals in the Federal Register. Allows the Secretary to deny entry to any ship retaining residues and mixtures containing oil or noxious liquids to a port or terminal required to have but not holding a valid certificate. Requires immediate reporting of any knowledge of a violation to the Secretary. Directs the Secretary to investigate any such report of violation and take appropriate action, acting through the Secretary of State in cases involving a ship not of United States registry or nationality. Imposes a fine of not more than $50,000 for each violation or imprisonment for not more than five years, or both, and a civil penalty of not more than $10,000, or $1,000 in cases of false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements or representations. Deems a ship liable in rem for any pecuniary fine or penalty incurred. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to refuse or revoke clearance required by R.S. 4197 to any ship liable for such a penalty. Sets forth procedure of action to be taken in accepting a proposed amendment to the Convention received by the United States from the Secretary-General of the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization. Permits any person having an interest adversely affected by (1) any person who is alleged to be in violation of these provisions or (2) a Secretary who is alleged to be in neglect in performing duties under this Act to bring a suit against such party, subject to specified procedures and jurisdictions. Authorizes the court to award costs of litigation. Allows the Attorney General to intervene in any action not involving the United States. Repeals the Oil Pollution Act, 1961, and the Oil Pollution Act Amendments of 1973. Authorizes the Secretary to inspect such vessels subject to this Act, except public vessels engaged in noncommercial service entering navigable waters of and documented under the laws of the United States. Directs the Secretary and the heads of Federal departments to issue regulations, standards, and certificates upon enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 1977
Federal Crop Insurance Act - Amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to: (1) increase the capital stock of the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation from $200,000,000 to $500,000,000; (2) put the compensation basis for members of the Board of Directors and of the Advisory Committee at the GS-18 level; (3) eliminate separate county committees on crop insurance; (4) extend insurance coverage for the crop year 1980 and thereafter to all feed grains, rice, soybeans, sugar beets and sugarcane wherever grown commercially; (5) remove the limit on the number of counties where insurance may be offered; (6) require the Federal Government to pay one-third of each calculated premium assessed against a participant by the Corporation; (7) authorize reinsurance of multiple peril crop insurance risks in not to exceed 20 counties; (8) authorize increased appropriation levels for fiscal years 1979 and following; and (9) direct the Secretary of Agriculture to assess the potential for increasing the role of private enterprise in providing crop insurance coverage for agricultural producers.
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 1977
Trade Procedures Reform Act - Amends the Antidumping Act of 1921 to require conditional payment of antidumping duty upon entry of imported articles. Permits "across-the-board" appraisal of the value of such articles. Eliminates the requirement that the Secretary of the Treasury, upon an interim finding that certain imports are unlikely to injure United States industries, refer the case to the International Trade Commission for investigation. Permits simultaneous investigation by the Secretary and the ITC. Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to permit Congressional disapproval of the President's determination to reduce import relief. Amends the Trade Act of 1974 with respect to procedures for relief from unfair trade practices through complaint to the Special Representative for Trade Negotiations. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to require the Secretary of the Treasury to initiate investigations within 30 days with respect to the existence of violations of such Act which require the imposition of countervailing duties (subsidy of imported products by foreign governments).
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 1977
Buy American Act Amendments - Amends the Buy American Act to require Federal agencies to prescribe regulations to require Federal purchases of American goods under the Act if the price of such goods does not exceed the price of like foreign goods by more than 15 to 50 percent. Makes States subject to the Act with respect to the repair or construction of public buildings or public works at least half the cost of which is financed with Federal funds.
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 1977
Amends rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate to require that bills, joint resolutions, and amendments, reported by the Senate Committee on Finance, which contain or extend tax expenditures provisions be referred to the Senate Committee on Appropriations and the committees having legislative jurisdiction over the subject matters involved.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 1977
Prohibits denial of employment (except by an employer with no more than ten employees) to any person because of any obligation as a member of a Reserve component of the Armed Forces.
United States · United States Congress · 4 November 1977
Civil Rights Commission Act - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1957: (1) to impose upon the Commission on Civil Rights the duty of studying and collecting information concerning legal developments constituting a denial of the equal protection of the laws under the Constitution on account of age or handicap, and appraise Federal laws and policies with respect to such denials; and (2) to extend such Commission for five years, until the end of fiscal year 1983.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 1977
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to pay a specified amount to producers on a farm who, because of insufficient subsoil moisture to produce a commodity for which the farm has an acreage allotment, plant for harvest in 1977 another commodity in lieu of the acreage allotment commodity.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 1977
Telephone Privacy Act - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit unsolicited commercial telephone calls to a telephone subscriber who has notified the telephone company that he does not wish to receive such calls. Directs the Federal Communications Commission to prescribe regulations specifying the manner in which a telephone subscriber shall notify the telephone company that he does not wish to receive unsolicited calls. Prescribes criminal penalties for violations of this Act. Excludes from the definition of unsolicited commercial telephone calls, those calls made in response to an express request of the individual called or in connection with an overdue debt or contractual obligation.
United States · United States Congress · 11 October 1977
Surplus School Recycling Act - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make grants to local agencies to pay the costs of renovating surplus school facilities so they may be converted for other educational and social purposes. Suggests purposes for which conversion grants may be extended, including: (1) community centers; (2) senior citizens centers; (3) day care centers; (4) vocational schools; (5) medical facilities; and (6) recreational centers. Sets forth application requirements which local agencies must complete in order to obtain grants under this Act. States that the amount of a grant under this Act shall be 80 percent of the estimated cost of renovation. Requires local agencies which receive a grant for more than the actual cost of renovation to return surplus money to the Secretary. Sets priorities to be followed by the Secretary in approving applications for grants under this Act. Directs the Secretary to serve as a national clearinghouse to local agencies by providing information on feasible alternative uses of surplus school facilities. Requires the Secretary to prepare and submit to the President and Congress: (1) a yearly report listing local agencies receiving grants and the purposes for which such grants were made; and (2) a detailed evaluation of the effectiveness of the program based on cost analysis and a survey of school closure problems to be submitted at the end of three years.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 1977
Designates the South Portal Federal Office Building of the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare at 200 Independence Avenue Southwest, Washington, D. C., as the "Hubert H. Humphrey Building."
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1977
Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to furnish Federal financial assistance for construction projects to separate rail-highway crossings where the rail facilities have incurred a substantial increase in use as a result of coal transportation activities resulting in substantial delays in highway travel. Stipulates that the Federal share of such a project shall be 90 percent of its cost. Authorizes appropriations of $300,000,000 out of the Highway Trust Fund for each of the fiscal years 1978, 1979, and 1980 to carry out such projects.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1977
Affirms Senate support for existing restrictions on unfair or subsidized competition from imports. Urges the President to enforce laws to prevent dumping, trade discrimination, and other unfair competition having an adverse impact on the American steel industry.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 1977
Declares that the President should establish a Commission on Domestic and International Hunger and Malnutrition which should: (1) collect and generate information and resources on food, hunger, malnutrition and related concerns; (2) assess current programs affecting domestic and international hunger and malnutrition; (3) analyze and report its findings and recommendations to the President, the Congress, and the public; and (4) assist the President and the Congress in implementing its recommendations.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 1977
Tuition Tax Credit Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a credit against an individual's income tax in an amount equal to 50 percent of the sum of the amounts paid by him to educational institutions as tuition (though no more than $500 for any single individual) for the attendance of the taxpayer, the taxpayer's spouse, or any of his dependents with respect to whom he is entitled to a personal exemption.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1977
Senior Citizens' Property Tax Relief Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to pay to a State 66 2/3 percent of the amount the State pays on behalf of senior citizen homeowners for real property taxes. Requires a State which wishes to receive such payments to pay all the property taxes due by the senior citizen and to obtain repayment upon the death of the homeowner from the estate. Directs the State to repay amounts paid by HUD upon receipt of payment from the estate.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 1977
Continues the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs through December 31, 1979. Authorizes the expenditure of additional funds, not to exceed $250,000 per annum, by the Select Committee.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 1977
Right to Financial Privacy Act - States that the purposes of this Act are to protect and preserve the confidential relationship between financial institutions and their customers and the constitutional rights of those customers, and promote commerce by prescribing policies and procedures to insure that customers have the right to challenge unwarranted disclosure of their records. Prohibits any Federal agency or employee, or any State or local government from obtaining copies of, or the information contained in, the financial records of any customer from a financial institution unless the financial records are described with particularity and: (1) such customer has authorized such disclosure in accordance with this Act; (2) such financial records are disclosed in response to an administrative subpena or summons; (3) such financial records are disclosed in response to a court order; or (4) such financial records are disclosed in response to a judicial subpena. Grants to a customer whose financial records have been subpoenaed, the right to challenge the relevancy and scope of the summons and the relationship of the records sought to the investigation from which the subpena issued. States that no financial institution may provide a Federal agency or employee, or any State or local government, copies of or the information contained in the financial records of any customer except in accordance with the requirements of this Act. Sets forth provisions governing customer authorization, administrative subpenas and summons, judicial subpenas, and search warrants. Makes the requirements of this Act inapplicable to specified disclosures including: (1) records used in making reports on returns required by the Internal Revenue Code; (2) grand jury subpenas; and (3) records required by supervisory agencies for use in the regulation of such institution. Prescribes civil and criminal penalties for violations of the provisions of this Act. Makes injunctive relief available to stop and prevent violations of this Act. Invalidates any waiver of the rights granted by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1977
Small Hydroelectric Power Projects Act - Amends the Federal Power Act to direct the Federal Power Commission to establish a program of grants and low-interest loans to assist in the development of small hydroelectric power projects by municipalities, electric cooperatives, industrial development agencies, nonprofit organizations, and other persons. Details procedures and eligibility criteria for such financial assistance programs. Authorizes the appropriation of $50,000,000 per fiscal year for grants under this Act and $50,000,000 per fiscal year for loans under this Act, for each of the fiscal years 1978, 1979, and 1980. Revises licensing requirements to reduce the maximum annual charges for licenses involving Government dams issued after December 31, 1975, to $1 per kilowatt of installed capacity.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1977
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an investment tax credit for investments in depreciable real property and in the case of individuals, in a new principal residence. Makes the amount of such credit dependent on the unemployment rate.
![Official portrait of Sen. Anderson, Wendell R. [D-MN]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/a000202_200.jpg)