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United States · Official source
2,808 records where Sen. Bentsen, Lloyd M. [D-TX] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1986
Amends the Federal judicial code to provide that Federal judges shall receive the same pay increases as are granted all other Federal employees.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1986
National Oil Security Act of 1986 - Directs the President to establish a national oil import ceiling level beyond which foreign crude and oil product imports as a share of U.S. oil consumption shall not rise. Prohibits such ceiling level from exceeding 50 percent of U.S. crude and oil product consumption for any annual period. Requires the President to: (1) annually submit projections to the Congress regarding anticipated U.S. oil production, demand, and imports for the subsequent three years; (2) certify whether imports of crude oil and oil products will exceed domestic production; and (3) submit an Energy Production and Oil Security Policy to the Congress to prevent foreign oil dependence from exceeding the national oil import ceiling for any year in which foreign oil imports are projected to exceed such amount. Grants the Congress ten continuous session days to review such oil projections and to determine whether the ceiling level will be violated within three years. Authorizes the President's energy plan to include: (1) an oil import fee; (2) energy conservation actions; (3) expansion of the Strategic Petroleum Reserves; and (4) production incentives for domestic oil and gas.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1986
Anti-Mercantilism Trade Act of 1986 - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to declare unjustifiable (and therefore actionable under such Act) those foreign acts, policies, or practices: (1) which require a state trading enterprise to compete in international trade with U.S. firms or make purchases or sales in international trade on any basis that is not dependent on commercial considerations; (2) through which a foreign country exercises its authority in order to assist a state trading enterprise in competing in international trade with U.S. firms or making purchases or sales in international trade on any basis that is not dependent on commercial considerations; or (3) which fails to afford U.S. firms adequate opportunity to compete for participation in purchases from, or sales to, state trading enterprise. Defines a state trading enterprise as: (1) a foreign agency which makes purchases in international trade for any purpose other than use of such purchases by such agency or which sells goods or services in international trade; or (2) any business which is substantially owned or controlled by a foreign country or agency, which is granted special privileges by such foreign country or agency, and which makes international trade purchases for any purpose other than use of such purchases by such foreign country or agency or sells goods or services in international trade. Authorizes any person to request, by petition, the International Trade Commission (ITC) to investigate sales by state trading enterprises. Requires such petition to allege that: (1) sales by a state trading enterprise are conducted without depending on commercial considerations; (2) a foreign country has exercised its authority, influence, or power to promote such sales; and (3) the effect or tendency of such sales is to injure substantially an efficient U.S. industry, to prevent the establishment of such an industry in the United States, or to restrain or monopolize trade and commerce in the United States. Sets forth the timetable and standards for completing such investigation. Requires the ITC to issue an order limiting the quantity of imports of an article produced by a state trading enterprise if the allegations contained in the petition are found to be true. Authorizes the ITC, in lieu of imposing such limitation, to issue an order directing the state trading enterprise to stop conducting sales on bases that are not dependent on commercial considerations. Establishes penalties for violating such orders. Sets forth the duration of such orders. Provides for judicial review of such orders. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to issue import licenses in carrying out any import limitation ordered by the ITC. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to auction such import licenses to the highest bidder at a public auction. Requires the President, before entering into trade negotiations with a foreign country and before any foreign country accedes to a multinational trade agreement to which the United States is a party, to determine: (1) whether state trading enterprises account for a significant share of the country's exports or of the country's goods that compete with imports; and (2) whether such state trading enterprises unduly burden and restrict or adversely affect U.S. foreign trade or the U.S. economy or are likely to result in such a burden, restriction, or effect. Authorizes the President, if both such determinations are affirmative, to enter into an agreement with such country or instrumentality only if the agreement provides that such state trading enterprises: (1) will make both purchases which are not for use of such country and sales in international trade in accordance with commercial considerations; and (2) will afford U.S. firms adequate opportunity to compete for participation in such purchases or sales. Provides that if both such determinations are affirmative: (1) the President shall reserve the right to withhold extension between the United States and such foreign country of such agreement; and (2) such trade agreement shall not apply between the United States and such foreign country until the foreign country makes certain assurances about the use of state trading enterprises.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1986
Infant Mortality Reduction and Child Health Act of 1986 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to give States the option of extending coverage to women in need of pregnancy-related medical services and children up to age six whose family income exceeds current income eligibility thresholds, but does not exceed a State maximum income level to be established at or below the Federal poverty level. Leaves to each State's discretion the decision as to whether a resource standard shall be applied in determining the eligibility of such women and children. Prohibits States which provide coverage pursuant to this Act from reducing Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) payment levels after enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1986
Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property Protection Act - Authorizes the President to negotiate and enter into multilateral and bilateral trade agreements with the principal objective of obtaining the elimination or reduction of foreign barriers to, and foreign government acts, policies, or practices which limit, equitable access by U.S. persons to foreign-developed technology. Requires the United States, in pursuing such objectives, to take into account the U.S. policies in making available to foreign persons technology developed by U.S. laboratories. Prohibits any such trade agreement from being entered into which provides for the reduction or elimination of any duty, import quota, or any other import restriction that is imposed under U.S. law before the President enters into the agreement. Requires the U.S. Trade Representative, in conjunction with the National Science Foundation, to monitor and report to specified congressional committees on the transfer of technology between the United States and foreign countries. Provides that an act, policy, or practice of a foreign government or instrumentality shall be considered unreasonable (and therefore actionable under the Trade Act of 1974) if such act, policy, or practice constitutes a requirement, as a condition for importation into such foreign country of a U.S. article, that: (1) intellectual property be licensed to such foreign country or instrumentality or to any firm of such foreign country or instrumentality; or (2) technical information regarding a U.S. product or service be submitted to such foreign country or instrumentality. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to designate a Foreign Commercial Service Officer in a foreign country to monitor and report on the status of the intellectual property system in such country. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize the President to furnish assistance for programs to aid less developed countries in developing and implementing adequate intellectual property laws and in developing their own indigenous technology. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to identify the technical assistance needs of less developed countries. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish the United States Intellectual Property Training Institute which shall train individuals of developing nations in both management and technical skills regarding the protection of intellectual property.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1986
Authorizes the States to raise the speed limit up to 65 miles per hour on highways on the Interstate System which are located outside of an urbanized area of 50,000 population or more.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1986
Designates the United States Post Office Building in Corpus Christi, Texas, as the Dr. Hector Perez Garcia Post Office Building.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1986
Amends the Tariff Schedules of the United States to extend, through December 31, 1989, the suspension of duty on certain small toys.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1986
Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for the appointment of two additional members to the Physician Payment Review Commission. (Currently, there are 11 Commission members.)
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1986
Commends Eugene Lang for providing disadvantaged young people in inner city schools with the incentive and means to finish high school and attend college. Encourages others to give such young people educational opportunities they do not normally have.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1986
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President and the Secretary of State should insist at the Vienna Review Meeting of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, and in discussions with Communist Party and Soviet leaders, that imprisoned and exiled members of the Ukrainian and other Helsinki Monitoring Groups be released and allowed to emigrate to the countries of their choice. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the Secretary of State should ensure that the U.S. consulate in Kiev reports on Soviet human rights violations in the Ukraine; and (2) such information should be included in reports on compliance with the Helsinki Final Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1986
White House Conference on Small Business Authorization Act - Calls upon the President to conduct a National White House Conference on Small Business once every four years to: (1) increase public awareness of the contributions of small business; (2) identify small business problems; (3) examine the status of minority and women small business owners; (4) assist small business in carrying out its role as the nation's job creator; (5) develop specific recommendations for executive and legislative action; and (6) review the status of recommendations adopted at the Conferences. Authorizes and directs Federal departments, agencies, and instrumentalities to provide support and assistance to the planning of such Conferences. Requires a final report of the Conference, within six months from the date a Conference is convened, to be submitted to the President and the Congress. Requires the Small Business Administration to report annually to the Congress for the next three years following the submission of the final report of the Conference. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1986
Medicare Timely Payment Amendments of 1986 - Amends parts A (Hospital Insurance) and B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require intermediaries and carriers to pay the claims of Medicare providers and beneficiaries, and give such providers and beneficiaries notice of improperly submitted claims, within 22 days of receiving such claims (unless payment is made on a periodic interim payment basis). Requires the Federal Government to pay the interest accruing on such claims for the period during which the payment or notice is past due.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1986
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) it is against the national security interests of the United States to abandon existing strategic offensive arms agreements by exceeding the numerical sublimits of such agreements as long as the Soviet Union remains within such sublimits; (2) the Soviet Union should take steps to resolve U.S. concerns about Soviet violations of existing strategic arms agreements and to negotiate a new agreement; and (3) the Congress and the President should continue to review the policy of mutual adherence to the numerical sublimits on launchers of strategic nuclear delivery systems and the significance of both Soviet compliance and noncompliance with existing strategic offensive arms agreements.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1986
Texas Wilderness Act Amendments of 1986 - Modifies the boundaries of specified wilderness areas designated by the Texas Wilderness Act of 1984.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1986
Designates July 2, 1986, as National Literacy Day.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 1986
Designates July 20, 1986, as Space Exploration Day.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1986
Social Security Trust Funds Management Act of 1986 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to direct the Managing Trustee of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund (OASDI trust funds) to immediately invest such portion of the OASDI trust funds as is not required for current withdrawals. Prohibits the sale and redemption of OASDI trust fund assets or the exenditure of OASDI trust fund amounts for purposes other than those specified in title II of the Act. Requires members of such trust funds' Board of Trustees to faithfully execute their duties, but does not impose a fiduciary duty. Requires that, in consideration of the public debt limit, required investments of trust fund amounts occur prior to the issuance of other obligations. Directs that the tax receipts earmarked for the OASDI program be immediately transferred (currently, monthly transfers are made) from the general fund of the Treasury to the OASDI trust funds. Requires the Board of Trustees of the OASDI trust funds to meet at least twice each year. Sets forth provisions requiring reports by the Board of Trustees and the Managing Trustee to the Congress regarding the operation and status of the OASDI trust funds.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1986
Designates March 17, 1987, as National China-Burma-India Veterans Association Day.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1986
Designates the week of September 15 through September 21, 1986, as National Historically Black Colleges Week.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1986
Designates August 1986 as Cajun Music Month.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1986
Amends the Tariff Schedules of the United States to extend, through December 31, 1990, the suspension of duty on imported cantaloupes.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1986
Expresses the sense of the Senate that unless the Health Care Financing Administration allocates sufficient funds and takes other action to ensure prompt payment of Medicare claims, the Senate shall adopt legislation ensuring prompt claims payment.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1986
Prompt Payment Amendments of 1986 - Revises Federal law to deem the head of an agency to receive an invoice on the fifth day after the date on which a property is actually delivered, or final performance of a service is actually completed, unless the contract specifies otherwise. Makes Federal prompt payment provisions applicable to the United States Postal Service. Reduces the 15-day grace period for payment of interest penalties to eight days for solicitations issued before October 1, 1988. Requires an agency to pay a double interest penalty if it fails to meet such grace period and the business concern makes a written demand that the agency pay such penalty. Makes the interest penalty provisions applicable to construction contracts for progress payments and retained amounts. Specifies the calculation of time for interest penalties on discount payments. Revises agency reporting requirements on interest penalty payments to include a description of agency payment practices. Requires the modification of Government-wide procurement regulations to implement Federal prompt payment provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1986
Authorizes and requests the President, on behalf of the Congress, to present gold medals to Doctor Andrei Sakharov and Doctor Yelena Bonner in recognition of the sacrifices they have made to further the causes of human rights and world peace. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to provide for the sale of bronze duplicates of the medals. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1986
Health Care Innovation Act of 1986 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to pay hospitals for their use of a new medical device or procedure which causes hospital operating costs to exceed 110 percent of the price of the diagnosis-related group (DRG) to which the device or procedure is applied. Funds 60 percent of the amount by which the cost of the innovative treatment exceeds 110 percent of the DRG price. Terminates such funding when the decision is made to incorporate or exclude the treatment from the DRG price, but not later than two years after the provision of such funding. Requires that new devices have premarket approval by the Food and Drug Administration and new procedures be suitable for inclusion in the DRG system before such funding is provided. Directs hospitals which receive funds pursuant to this Act to supply the financial and clinical data the Secretary needs to assess the usefulness of the treatment and establish an appropriate DRG rate for the innovative treatment. Sets forth a formula based, in part, on the percentage of total Medicare hospital payments a hospital receives, limiting payments a hospital may receive for the application of innovative treatments. Limits the aggregate payments made pursuant to this Act to one percent of the total Medicare payments made for the operating costs of inpatient hospital services. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress within one year of enactment of this Act on methods of paying health maintenance organizations and competitive medical plans for their application of innovative treatments. Requires the annual adjustment of DRG classifications and weighting factors. (Currently, adjustments are made every four years.)
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1986
Designates June 26, 1986, as National Interstate Highway Day.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1986
Designates 1987 as the National Year of the Americas.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1986
Amends Federal armed forces provisions to designate one of the Assistant Secretaries of Defense as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict, whose principal duty shall be the overall supervision of special operations and low intensity conflict affairs (including terrorism, insurgency, and other unconventional warfare threats) of the Department of Defense. Directs the President to establish a unified command for special operations forces, unless such action is not in the national interest. Amends the National Security Act of 1947 to require the National Security Council to establish within the Council the Board for Low Intensity Conflict to coordinate the low intensity conflict policy for the United States. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should establish the position of Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs for Low Intensity Conflict, and that such Deputy Assistant should act as chairman of the Board for Low Intensity Conflict as established under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1986
Designates the week beginning June 8, 1986, as National Children's Accident Prevention Week.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1986
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Farm Credit System should take specified actions to assist borrowers, including: (1) participating to the maximum extent possible with the Farmers Home Administration and other Government guarantee programs to provide 1986 operating loans; (2) following policies of reasonable loan forbearance; (3) using loan restructuring; (4) emphasizing loan servicing approaches that help borrowers meet the conditions of their loan contracts; (5) resorting to foreclosure only when there is no alternative or when the associated costs would be less than loan restructuring; (6) providing defaulting borrowers with the opportunity to bid on foreclosed property; and (7) maintaining sound institutional credit policies.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1986
International Intellectual Property Protection and Market Access Act of 1986 - Title I: Actions to Increase International Intellectual Property Protection - Requires the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to publish annually: (1) a list of all foreign countries and instrumentalities that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights to U.S. persons; and (2) a list of the above countries that the USTR identifies as priority foreign countries. Sets forth factors for determining whether a country is a priority foreign country. Requires the President to enter into negotiations with priority foreign countries to establish protection for intellectual property rights for U.S. persons in such countries. Grants the President additional authority to enter into agreements with such countries that reduce or eliminate trade barriers and provide adequate and effective protection of intellectual property. Grants the President the authority to enter into compensation agreements in order to maintain the general level of reciprocal and mutually advantageous concessions. Requires the objectives of such negotiations to be to: (1) improve the protection of intellectual property by U.S. trading partners; (2) develop international rules on protection of intellectual property rights; and (3) press for early conclusion of the Anti-Counterfeiting Code on trademarks and for development and enforcement of substantive norms for the protection of all forms of intellectual property. Authorizes the President to exclude a country from such negotiations and remedial provisions if the negotiations would be unlikely to significantly advance, or would be detrimental to, U.S. economic interests. Requires any such agreement to be submitted to the Congress for approval. Requires the President, if the United States is unable to enter into an agreement with a priority foreign country within two years, to take some action, including but not limited to: (1) termination, withdrawal, or suspension of certain trade agreements; (2) increasing or imposing a duty on imports from such country; (3) proclaiming a tariff-rate quota on imports from such country; (4) modifying or imposing a quota on imports from such country; (5) suspending benefits accorded imports from such country under the Generalized System of Preferences; and (6) taking certain other actions under the Trade Act of 1974. Requires the President to impose trade measures that have an economic impact substantially equivalent to lost U.S. revenues resulting from inadequate and ineffectual intellectual property protection in such country. Authorizes the President to defer action for six months if the President certifies to the Congress that negotiations are making substantial progress. Requires the President to consult with interested parties, including members of the Congress, on such negotiations. Title II: Actions to Open Foreign Markets - Requires the USTR to publish annually: (1) a list of all foreign countries and instrumentalities that deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. companies that rely on intellectual property protection; and (2) a list of the above countries that the USTR identifies as priority foreign countries. Sets forth factors for determining whether a country is a priority foreign country. Requires the USTR, in determining whether a country denies such market access, to consider: (1) whether there are restrictions on investments by, or the establishment of, U.S. companies that rely on intellectual property protection in such country; (2) whether there are licensing or certification restrictions in such country that inhibit such U.S. companies from functioning freely; and (3) whether such U.S. companies suffer from discriminatory or monopolistic practices of such country's organizations. Requires the President to enter into negotiations with such priority foreign countries on agreements setting specific terms to provide U.S. companies that rely on intellectual property protection with fair and equitable market access in such countries. Grants the President additional authority to enter into trade agreements that reduce or eliminate trade barriers. Grants the President the authority to enter into compensation agreements in order to maintain the general level of reciprocal and mutually advantageous concessions. Requires the objectives of such market access negotiations to be to: (1) obtain agreements that provide U.S. companies that rely on intellectual property protection fair and equitable market access in all substantial foreign markets; and (2) prevent foreign barriers and restrictions on such U.S. companies from causing continued harm to such companies. Authorizes the USTR, upon consultation with interested U.S. companies, to exclude a specific sector and/or country from negotiations and remedial provisions if such negotiations would be detrimental to such companies. Requires any market access agreement to be submitted to the Congress for approval. Requires the President, if the United States is unable to enter into an agreement with a priority foreign country within two years, to take some action, including but not limited to: (1) termination, withdrawal, or suspension of certain trade agreements; (2) increasing or imposing a duty on imports from such country; (3) proclaiming a tariff-rate quota on imports from such coutry; (4) modifying or imposing a quota on imports from such country; (5) suspending benefits accorded imports from such country under the Generalized System of Preferences; and (6) taking certain other actions under the Trade Act of 1974. Requires the President to impose trade measures that have an economic impact substantially equivalent to lost U.S. revenues resulting from unfair and inequitable market access in such country. Authorizes the President to defer action for six months if the President certifies to the Congress that negotiations are making substantial progress. Requires the President to consult with interested parties, including members of the Congress, on such market access negotiations. Title III: Generalized System of Preferences - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to require the President to terminate benefits previously extended to a country under the Generalized System of Preferences if such country is identified as having inadequate protection of intellectual property or inadequate market access unless the President certifies to the Congress that such country has taken substantial action toward providing intellectual property protection and market access for U.S. persons. Prohibits the President from granting tariff preferences to, or requires the President to remove tariff preferences from, an import which a court or Federal agency has determined infringes a patent, copyright, trademark, mask work, or trade secret. Title IV: Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act - Amends the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act to require the USTR to exclude from benefits under such Act articles imported from countries that do not provide adequate and effective intellectual property protection or fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons, unless the President certifies to the Congress that such country has taken substantial action toward providing such protection and access for U.S. persons. Requires the value of benefits withdrawn by the USTR to have an economic impact substantially equivalent to lost U.S. revenues resulting from the denial of intellectual property protection or market access. Title V: Improvement of Enforcement of United States Rights - Establishes an Office of Enforcement within the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to administer section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 and the provisions of this Act. Authorizes appropriations for such Office. Title VI: Unfair Practices in Import Trade - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to declare that acts of importation into, or sale in, the United States of articles that infringe a valid U.S. patent, copyright, trademark, mask work, or trade secret are unfair and have the effect of destroying or substantially injuring a U.S. industry or impairing the establishment of such industry. Permits any person to petition the International Trade Commission (ITC) for the issuance of an order to exclude such articles, during its investigation, from entry into the United States. Sets forth: (1) civil penalties for violations under this Act; and (2) procedures for the modification or recission of an ITC order under this Act. Repeals a specified section of the Tariff Act of 1930 relating to the importation of products produced under a process covered by claims of an unexpired patent.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1986
Petroleum Equipment Export Act of 1986 - Rescinds foreign policy export controls on the export of oil and gas equipment and technology to the Soviet Union. Retains national security export controls covering the export of goods or technology to the Soviet Union.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1986
Designates the week beginning on June 1, 1986, as National Neighborhood Housing Services Week.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1986
Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1986 - Authorizes appropriations out of the Highway Trust Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account) for FY 1987 through 1990 for: (1) the Federal-aid Interstate-Primary program; (2) the Federal-aid Urban system; (3) the Federal-aid Secondary system; (4) bridge replacement and rehabilitation; (5) the Federal lands highway program; (6) the territorial highway program for the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas; (7) highway safety construction programs; (8) highway safety research and development; (9) certain hazards elimination projects; and (10) hazards elimination projects regarding railway-highway crossings. Makes highway construction projects on any public road serving the area of a withdrawn Interstate route eligible as highway substitution projects. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation (the Secretary) to approve until September 30, 1986, the withdrawal of any route which was under judicial injunction prohibiting its construction as of November 6, 1978. Makes substitution funds available in a State for two years. Authorizes appropriations for highway substitution projects for FY 1987 through 1990. Authorizes the Secretary to adjust in September 1986 and every subsequent September the last approved Interstate Substitute Cost Estimate to make apportionments for: (1) substitute highway projects; and (2) substitute transit projects. Directs the Secretary to reserve in a State's account until a disposition decision has been reached an amount equal to the Federal funds expended to purchase a right-of-way for a withdrawn Interstate route if the State has not disposed of such right-of-way upon the date of enactment of this Act. Directs the Secretary to set aside funds from specified authorizations for the Strategic Highway Research Program. Sets forth apportionment guidelines for FY 1987 through 1990 for: (1) the Federal-aid Interstate-Primary Program; (2) the Federal-aid Secondary System; and (3) the Federal-aid Urban System. Authorizes a State to transfer up to 50 percent of its apportionment between the Urban and Secondary Systems. Requires the approval of the affected local area officials before a State may transfer the allocations for an urbanized area of 200,000 or more population. Authorizes the Secretary to waive competitive bidding on a reconstruction contract in an emergency situation. Makes available for obligation for four years the sums apportioned for: (1) the Interstate Federal-aid Interstate-Primary Program; (2) the Federal-aid Secondary system; (3) the Federal aid Urban system; and (4) bridge replacement and rehabilitation. Declares that apportioned amounts remaining unobligated at the end of four years shall lapse (except for the bridge rehabilitation apportionments, which shall be allocated by the Secretary as bridge discretionary funds). Prohibits the Secretary from reducing more than ten percent of a State's apportioned funds for its failure to: (1) adequately maintain the Interstate system; or (2) certify a maintenance program. Prohibits the Federal share payable for the Primary system (other than the Interstate system) from exceeding 75 percent of construction costs. Allows certain Interstate routes to be improved at a 90 percent Federal share. States that the Federal share payable for a highway emergency relief project may be 100 percent for emergency repairs accomplished in the first 30 days after an occurrence. Authorizes Federal funds to reimburse State costs for the relocation of utility facilities necessitated by a highway construction project, or by a State's highway safety improvement program. Authorizes the expenditure of Federal emergency relief funds for: (1) the Virgin Islands; (2) Guam; (3) American Samoa; and (4) the Northern Mariana Islands. Sets a $5,000,000 obligation ceiling upon such funds during any fiscal year. Revises the penalty provisions regarding violations of vehicle weight limitations on the Interstate System to provide that withheld funds will not lapse if they are subsequently released and obligated within the normal four-year availability period. Precludes Federal funding out of the Highway Trust Fund for State toll facilities which have not been certified by State officials as: (1) being adequately maintained; and (2) having an operator able to fund inadequately-maintained facilities without the use of Federal-aid highway funds. Requires each State to survey and identify all highway-railroad crossings needing separation, relocation, or protective devices. Requires that half of all authorized funds for such crossings be made available for installing protective devices. Requires each State to report annually to the Secretary and the Secretary to report annually to specified congressional committees on program progress. Makes certain sums available for obligation for the Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP). Authorizes the Secretary to implement the SHRP in cooperation with State highway departments. Directs the Secretary to set standards for the use of funds to conduct research, development, and technology transfer activities determined to be strategically important to the national highway transportation system. Authorizes the Secretary to provide grants to and enter into cooperative agreements with State highway departments or the National Academy of Sciences to conduct such activities. Requires the Secretary to report annually to certain congressional committees regarding the progress and research findings of the SHRP. Credits certain State-financed off-system bridge replacement and rehabilitation projects towards the non-Federal share of the cost of other Federal-aid bridge projects. Declares ineligible for Federal reimbursement State or local taxes which are based upon the amount of a federally-assisted contract or which are assessed upon construction materials to be incorporated into a federally-assisted project. Directs the Secretary to make a minimum allocation among the States so that a State's percentage of total apportionments shall be at least 85 percent of the percentage of estimated tax payments attributable to highway users in such State paid into the Highway Trust Fund. Adds total allocations as well as apportionments to the calculation of the 85 percent minimum funds. (Currently only apportioned programs are considered in the minimum allocation calculation.) Establishes the Federal-aid Interstate-Primary Program to bring all elements of the primary system up to certain Federal standards. Declares that such program shall consist of projects for the construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, restoration, and resurfacing or improvement of the primary system and the Interstate system. Requires the Secretary to give priority consideration to: (1) completion of essential gaps on the Interstate System; and (2) rehabilitation of existing highway facilities. Directs States to use for Federal-aid highway projects the net income received from the use, sale, or lease of right-of-way airspace acquired as a result of certain Federal highway programs. Requires the designation of a territorial Federal-aid highway system in each territory. Permits States to use Federal-aid highway funds earmarked for highway substitute projects for bicycle projects. Authorizes States to use one and one-half percent of apportioned Interstate Highway Transfer funds for highway planning and research facilities. Decreases from one-half of one percent to one-quarter of one percent the National Highway Institute funds available for expenditure by a State highway department for the education and training of State and local highway department employees. Requires the Secretary (who currently is merely authorized) to provide education and training of highway employees at no cost to State and local governments for those subject areas which are a Federal program responsibility. Outlines the conditions under which real property may be donated by a person to a State or Federal agency. Provides for: (1) crediting the fair market value of private right-of-way donations for highway projects to the State matching share when such donations are made to the State; and (2) revesting such property to the donor if it is not required after environmental assessments. States that the fair market value of lands donated to the State of California for a State Route 73 relocation and construction project in Orange County shall first be credited toward payment of the non-Federal share of such project cost. Prohibits the disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act or admission as evidence in certain actions for damages of State documents regarding safety enhancement of potential accident sites, road conditions, or rail-highway crossings. Makes "Buy American" provisions applicable to projects whose total costs exceed $500,000. Amends the General Bridge Act of 1906 to repeal Federal regulatory authority over bridge tolls. Directs the Secretary to allocate among the States from the Mass Transit Account of the Highway Trust Fund amounts sufficient to insure that each State's percentage of total allocations from such Account is not less than 85 percent of the percentage of estimated tax payments attributable to highway users in that State paid into the Mass Transit Account in the latest fiscal year for which data are available. Requires States to expend a minimum of ten percent of Federal-aid highway contracts with small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. Prescribes guidelines for a disadvantaged business enterprise program. Releases the State of Maryland from accepting title to any road or portion thereof (such as the Baltimore-Washington Parkway) in return for Federal participation in improvements to such Parkway. Authorizes appropriations for the upgrading of certain highways in the vicinity of the Waste Isolation Pilot Project (a nuclear waste storage repository in New Mexico). Sets forth obligation limitations for Federal-aid highways and highway safety construction programs for FY 1987 through 1990. Makes eligible for Federal-aid bridge funds costs incurred to mitigate harm to an historic bridge if the bridge remains part of the highway system. Requires States to identify historic bridges on the National Bridge Inventory. Requires the Transportation Research Board to review historic bridges and develop rehabilitation standards for such bridges. Sets forth allocation guidelines for forest highways for FY 1987 through 1990. Directs the Secretary to require the planting of native wildflowers for landscaping and scenic enhancement of Federal-aid highways. Directs the Secretary to conduct a Combined Road Program Demonstration to test the feasibility of approaches for combining, streamlining, and increasing the flexibility in the administration of the Federal-aid secondary, Federal-aid urban and off-system urban and secondary bridge programs. Makes the State of California eligible for Federal-aid emergency relief funds for the total amount of the 1986 California flood disaster. Makes certain unobligated balances available for specified projects.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1986
Amends the judicial code to provide that the judicial conferences of each circuit be convened at the discretion of the chief judge of such circuit. (Current law provides that such conferences be convened annually.)
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1986
Rural Health Care Improvement Act of 1986 - Amends part A (General Provisions) of title XI of the Social Security Act to require that whenever the Secretary of Health and Human Services proposes a regulation or promulgates a final version of a regulation under titles XVIII (Medicare), XIX (Medicaid), or part B (Peer Review) of title XI of the Act which will have a substantial impact on small rural hospitals, the Secretary make a regulatory impact analysis available to the public. Amends the Medicare program to continue, beyond FY 1986, current law regarding Medicare payment to sole community hospitals for capital-related costs, treating such costs as distinct from operating costs of inpatient hospital services. Provides certain small sole community and rural hospitals with payment for extremely high cost cases (outlier payments) which represent five or six percent of the total payments made to such hospitals. Sets aside ten percent of amounts expended by the Secretary on certain experiments and demonstration projects for projects relating exclusively to rural health issues. Requires fiscal intermediaries to pay certain small rural hospitals for Medicare claims, at the latest, 30 days after receiving the request for such payment. Amends title VII (Administration) of the Act to establish an Office of Rural Health Policy in the Office of the Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration to: (1) advise the Administrator regarding the effects of changes in the Medicare and Medicaid programs on rural health; and (2) oversee compliance with provisions of this Act requiring regulatory impact analysis and rural health demonstration projects.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1986
Designates the week of November 30 through December 6, 1986, as National Home Care Week.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1986
Declares that the Senate calls upon the President and the Secretary of Agriculture to authorize the shipment of U.S. surplus dried milk to the Government of Poland. Limits the amount of such shipments during a six-month period. States that the Senate requests the President to assure the milk producing allies of the United States that such shipments will not undermine their existing milk sales contracts with the Government of Poland.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1986
Expresses the sense of the Congress that volunteer work should be taken into account by employers when hiring and listed on employment application forms.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1986
Public Buildings Authorization Act of 1986 - Prohibits any appropriation from being made or obligated by the Administrator of General Services unless it has been authorized by the Congress in accordance with this Act. Prohibits any public building construction, renovation, repair, or alteration unless an appropriation for the estimated costs of such construction has been authorized in the same fiscal year. Prohibits entering into any lease, beginning in FY 1988, unless the authority to enter into contracts has first been made for the maximum cost of such lease. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 for the real property management and related activities of the Public Buildings Service of the General Services Administration, including: (1) construction and acquisition; (2) renovations, alterations, and repairs; (3) design and construction services; (4) leasing; (5) real property operations; (6) program direction; and (7) purchase contracts. Requires that ten percent of the funds made available for renovation, alteration, and repair of public buildings and for payment of leases on buildings, shall be available for repair or alteration projects and leases, respectively, not otherwise authorized by this Act, if the Administrator of General Services certifies such to be the result of emergency building conditions or changing or additional programs of Federal agencies. Prohibits the obligation of funds for such projects until 30 days after submission by the Administrator of an explanatory statement to specified congressional committees which includes the reasons why such project or lease cannot be deferred for authorization until the next succeeding fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1986
Designates November 18, 1986, as National Community Education Day.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1986
Designates the week of May 18 through May 24, 1986, as National Food Bank Week.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1986
Designates May 8, 1986, as Naval Aviation Day.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1986
Expresses congressional disapproval of specified deferrals submitted by the President to the Congress relating to: (1) the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (D86-37); and (2) Strategic Petroleum Reserve petroleum account (D86-10-A). Declares that the disapproved deferral amounts shall be made available for obligation. Authorizes appropriations for: (1) FY 1987 through 1989 for crude oil acquisition for storage in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve; and (2) FY 1987 for storage facility construction for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to conduct a survey of possible storage sites to increase the capacity of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to 1,000,000,000 barrels. Directs the Secretary to purchase any crude oil necessary to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve from certain domestic small volume "stripper" wells. Amends the Tariff Schedules of the United States to increase oil import fees. Requires the Secretary to cease production from the Elk Hills Naval Petroleum Reserve for a six-month period in order to provide for a review by the Congress and the President concerning production and pricing practices.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1986
Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act of 1986 - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to set forth factors which must be considered by carriers in determining reasonable charges for physicians' services. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services, when faced with a charge the Secretary believes is not inherently reasonable, to propose a reasonable charge or methodology for arriving at such a charge and, after giving the public and the Physician Payment Review Commission an opportunity to comment on such proposal, make a final determination regarding the charge or methodology. Requires the Secretary, in making recommendations regarding the relative value scale for physicians' services, to establish an index which considers justifiable geographic differences in the costs of practice without exacerbating the geographic maldistribution of physicians. Directs the Secretary to simplify the HCFA (Health Care Financing Administration) Common Procedure Coding System by July 1, 1987, to minimize the possibility that such system overstates the intensity or volume of services provided. Requires hospitals to adopt such system to code the part B services they perform.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1986
Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to issue a permit under the Clean Water Act and the River and Harbor Act of 1899 for the Stacy Dam, Reservoir, and Pipeline Project of the Colorado River Municipal Water District, Texas, not later than November 30, 1986, notwithstanding any pending threatened species proposals by the Secretary of the Interior.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1986
Designates December 1 through December 7, 1986, as National Aplastic Anemia Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1986
Commends John N. McMahon for his exceptional service to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1986
Oil Pollution Liability and Compensation Act of 1986 - Subjects the owner or operator of a vessel or facility to liability for oil discharged in violation of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (unless the discharge was caused by an act of God, war, by a third party, or by Federal negligence). Causes such owners and operators to be liable for: (1) all actual costs of removal incurred by the United States or a State under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, the Intervention on the High Seas Act, or the Deepwater Port Act of 1974; (2) any removal costs incurred by any person, as removal is defined under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act; and (3) specified damages for economic loss or loss of natural resources resulting from such a discharge. Limits such liability, but stipulates that an owner or operator shall be liable for all damages and removal costs in the case of: (1) willful misconduct or negligence; (2) violation of applicable safety, construction, or operating standards or regulations (within the knowledge or privity of the owner or operator); or (3) a refusal to provide reasonable cooperation and assistance requested by a responsible official. Provides that owners or operators subject to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act shall bear all costs of removal. Authorizes the President to establish additional limitations on liability for certain facilities. Provides for third party liability. Establishes the Oil Spill Liability Fund for: (1) payment of removal costs; and (2) related research. Sets forth procedures for asserting claims against the Fund. Requires any claimant, prior to asserting a claim, to present the claim to the owner, operator, or guarantor of the vessel or facility from which the oil was discharged. Directs the President to prescribe forms and procedures for filing claims. Directs the President, acting through certain Federal agencies, to promulgate and periodically review regulations for the assessment of damages for injury to natural resources resulting from an oil spillage. Directs the Comptroller General to report to the Congress regarding Oil Spill Liability Fund audit results. Requires the owner and operator of any offshore vessel and/or facility to establish and maintain stated levels of financial responsibility sufficient to satisfy claims. Amends the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act to abolish the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Liability Fund. Replaces the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Liability Fund and the Deepwater Port Liability Fund with the Oil Spill Liability Fund of this Act. Repeals the oil spill liability provisions of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Amendments of 1978 (thereby replacing the Offshore Oil Pollution Compensation Fund under that Act with the Oil Spill Liability Fund established in this Act).