United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1986
Designates August 1, 1986, the 11th anniversary of the signing of the Helsinki Accords, as Helsinki Human Rights Day. Requests the President to: (1) reassert American commitment to the Helsinki Accords; (2) raise the issue of noncompliance with such Accords with the U.S.S.R. and the Warsaw Pact nations; and (3) convey to U.S. allies the necessity of unity on these points.
United States · United States Congress · 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 · 26 June 1986
Expresses the sense of the Congress that during the official ceremony of the lighting of the torch of the Statue of Liberty, a moment of silence be held for the return of the American captives in Lebanon.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1986
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Small Business Administration be maintained as an independent agency. Urges the President to nominate an Administrator of the Small Business Administration.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1986
National Nuclear Reactor Safety Study Commission Act - Establishes the National Commission on United States Nuclear Safety to: (1) review all information pertaining to the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident; (2) compare Soviet reactor design and safety standards with U.S. commercial and defense production reactors; (3) review and evaluate U.S. nuclear reactor management and regulation; and (4) recommend improvements in licensing and related regulatory practices. Requires the Commission to report its findings and recommendations to the President and the Congress within one year after enactment of this Act. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 1986
Crack and Cocaine Meaningful Penalties Act - Amends the Controlled Substances Act and the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act to impose increased criminal penalties for dealing in: (1) one or more grams of base form of cocaine; and (2) 100 or more grams of other schedule I or II narcotic drugs. (Current law imposes such increased penalties on a kilogram or more of some schedule I or II narcotic drugs.)
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1986
Amends the Disaster Relief Act of 1974 to establish a cost-sharing formula for certain Federal disaster assistance programs. Declares the Federal share of assistance to be 75 percent for the repair of damaged public facilities and debris removal on the condition that remaining costs are paid by a State or local government. Declares the Federal share of assistance to be 100 percent for: (1) unemployment assistance; (2) temporary housing assistance; and (3) crisis counseling assistance and training. Declares that no State shall be ruled ineligible for assistance under this Act by virtue of an arithmetic formula based on income or population if such State has qualified for Federal disaster assistance within the past 24 months.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1986
Declares that the United States: (1) reaffirms its support for the struggle of the Afghan people; and (2) welcomes the Islamic Unity of Afghan Mujahideen delegation led by its spokesman Burhanuddin Rabbani to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 1986
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to prohibit providers or facilities from providing or using reprocessed dialysis devices for the dialysis of a Medicare patient without having obtained the informed, written consent of the patient or the patient's legal guardian. Requires the provider or facility to furnish such patient or guardian with information regarding the use and risks of reprocessed devices and assuring the patient or guardian that a refusal of consent will not result in the denial of access to dialysis devices. Authorizes patients or guardians to terminate prior consent by providing written notification of such termination to the provider or facility.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1986
Federal Mass Transit Improvement Act of 1986 - Amends the Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964 to authorize the Secretary of Transportation (the Secretary) to issue multi-year project obligations to States and public agencies for urban mass transportation projects. Requires the Secretary to notify certain congressional committees at least 30 days prior to issuing such advance obligations. Prohibits such multi-year obligations from exceeding any limitation specified in an appropriations Act. Prescribes guidelines for such obligations. Authorizes the Secretary to make specified grants out of a new balanced investment fund to States and local public bodies for FY 1987 through 1990 for buses and vans. Sets guidelines for the allocation of such funds for urban and rural areas of specified population size. Prohibits such funds from being made available for rail modernization or extension or construction of new rail systems. Prohibits grants or loans for any fixed guideway system construction or extension unless the Secretary has first ensured that the applicant has prepared an evaluation of the proposed project which includes certain information. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1990 for transportation projects substituted for withdrawn Interstate segments. Sets a ceiling upon FY 1987 through 1990 appropriations for grants made to States and local agencies for innovative methods in the management and operation of public transportation services. Makes grants for construction projects also available to finance cost-effective leasing projects. Expands the definition of "associated capital items," and reduces the measure of current fair market value of rolling stock from one percent to one-half of one percent. Allows a recipient to retain for specified projects: (1) the net income received from airspace or adjacent property acquired as a result of a federally funded project; or (2) the income derived from the disposal of fungible items which have been fully depreciated. Provides that no funds apportioned to urbanized areas with populations of less than 200,000 may be used to pay the expenses of any State's management or administration of grant programs for such areas, except in the case of a statewide or regional agency or instrumentality responsible for financing, construction, and operation of public transportation services. Allows a State Governor to make block grant funds transfers between projects in any urbanized area of the State regardless of size: (1) only after approval by local elected officials and publicly owned operators of mass transportation services in each area to which the funding was originally apportioned; or (2) if funding is within 90 days of lapsing and no approvable grant applications are pending. Requires block grants to be apportioned within ten days after appropriation. Requires the Secretary to publish such apportionments on the apportionment date. Requires the Secretary to prepare and submit to specified congressional committees an annual rulemaking agenda. Requires opportunity to be given for public comment on proposed rules, except in the case of emergency rules or rules of routine nature or insignificant impact. Expands the definition of "construction" to include any bus remanufacturing project which extends the economic life of a bus eight years or more, and any project for the overhaul of rolling stock. Sets deadlines by which the Secretary must certify the sampling techniques: (1) used by persons seeking grants; and (2) of newly urbanized areas. States that the receipt of Federal transit aid under this Act does not authorize the Secretary to: (1) regulate or prescribe the mode of operation of any mass transportation system, the choice of mass transportation service provider, or the level of service; or (2) condition the approval of such aid upon either the means by which providers of mass transit services or functions are selected, or the extent of service or functions to be carried out by various private mass transportation service providers. Declares that this Act does not limit the ability of Federal transit aid recipients to determine the extent and amount of mass transit service or functions to be carried out by private enterprise. Authorizes the Secretary to use specified amounts to finance grants for the development, implementation, and evaluation of innovative techniques for private sector involvement in all aspects of public mass transit operations. Requires the Secretary to report annually to certain congressional committees regarding the results of such projects. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1990. Sets allocation guidelines for such funds, including allocations for university transportation centers. Requires as a condition of Federal financial assistance for a major capital project under this Act (or the National Capital Transportation Act of 1969) that the financial aid recipient prepare and implement a project management plan which meets specified criteria. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to public mass transit systems for crime prevention and security. Directs the Secretary to make grants to nonprofit institutions of higher learning to establish and operate one regional transportation center in each of the ten Federal regions which comprise the Standard Federal Regional Boundary System. Directs the Secretary to establish in the Department of Transportation a national advisory council to: (1) coordinate the research and training to be carried out by grant recipients; (2) act as a clearinghouse between such centers and the transportation industry; and (3) review and evaluate programs carried out by such centers.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1986
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Director of the National Institutes of Health should transfer the Silver Spring Monkeys to the Primarily Primates, Inc., animal sanctuary in San Antonio, Texas.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1986
Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act - Requires States to provide by law for elections for Federal office: (1) absentee registration and absentee voting for uniformed services voters and overseas voters; and (2) the use of alternative write-in absentee ballots by overseas voters when State absentee ballots are not available. Directs the President to designate the head of an executive department to have primary responsibility for the administrative functions of this Act, including: (1) prescribing an official postcard form containing a voter registration and an absentee ballot application; (2) prescribing an alternative write-in ballot for overseas voters; (3) prescribing forms and designs for balloting materials; (4) distributing election materials; (5) reporting to the Congress in the year immediately following a presidential election year on its effectiveness; and (6) consulting State and local election officials in carrying out this Act. Provides for the distribution of official postcards. Sets forth recommendations to the States in carrying out provisions of this Act. Provides for Federal and State write-in absentee ballots for overseas voters. Declares balloting materials under this Act free of postage. Establishes criminal and civil penalties for violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1986
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the 50-year-old tax exemption of the 84 nonprofit, community-based Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans be retained without modification.
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 1986
Repeals the District of Columbia Code provision regarding criminal liability for demonstrating outside foreign embassies. Amends the Federal criminal code to repeal a similar provision relating to the District of Columbia.
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
States that regulations of the Secretary of the Interior concerning zoning for the Fire Island National Seashore, New York, preempt other Federal or State laws.
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 · 21 May 1986
Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 - Prohibits U.S. persons from: (1) making loans to South Africa or any organization owned or controlled by South Africa; (2) making any investment in South Africa; (3) contributing technology or technological services to the exploration for, or the research, development, or production of, energy sources in or for South Africa; or (4) making deposits in a foreign bank which is organized under South African law or owned or controlled by South Africans or a branch bank located in South Africa. Prohibits foreign banks organized under South African law or owned or controlled by South Africans from establishing or operating branches in the United States. Excludes from such prohibitions those loans, investments, and technology contracts entered into before May 21, 1986. Prohibits importing uranium ore, uranium oxide, coal, and steel from South Africa. Prohibits: (1) U.S. persons from making or holding any investment in South Africa in a business that sells computers, computer software, or computer services; and (2) exporting computers, computer software, or computer services to South Africa. Provides that such computer investment and export prohibitions shall not apply if, within 12 months of enactment of this Act: (1) the President certifies to the Congress that South Africa has freed Nelson Mandela and all political prisoners and has entered into good faith negotiations with truly representative leaders of the black majority for a new political system or has totally dismantled the apartheid system; and (2) a joint resolution is enacted approving such certification. Provides for expedited consideration of such resolution. Authorizes using additional funds for aid for South Africa under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962. Earmarks such funds for refugee assistance programs and community development projects. Requires the President to give quarterly reports to specified congressional committees on the assistance provided with such funds. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to prohibit the takeoff and landing in the United States of aircraft owned by South Africa or South African nationals except in emergencies. Provides for the enforcement of this Act and for penalties for violations of this Act. Requires the President to try, through negotiations, to persuade other countries to adopt restrictions on activities with respect to South Africa consistent with this Act. Requires the President to report annually to the Congress on the status of such negotiations. Sets forth information to be included in such reports. Requires the President, during June of 1988, to report to the Congress on whether South Africa has: (1) freed Nelson Mandela and all political prisoners and has entered into good faith negotiations with truly representative leaders of the black majority for a new political system; or (2) has totally dismantled the apartheid system. Requires the President, if such conditions have not been met, to include in such report recommendations on whether U.S. persons should be required to divest themselves of their South African investments. Terminates all the provisions of this Act upon enactment of a joint resolution approving a presidential determination that such conditions have been met.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1986
Improved Nuclear Standards Act - Creates the position of Inspector General at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Amends the Inspector General Act of 1978 to require that individuals appointed to the position of Inspector General of NRC have expertise in nuclear safety. Confers responsibility upon the Inspector General to: (1) review all nuclear safety procedures implemented by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; (2) propose public safety regulations to the Commission; and (3) submit an annual report to the Congress regarding the adequacy of nuclear safety procedures used in the United States. Directs the Inspector General of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (the Agency) to review emergency evacuation plans for nuclear power facilities and to make recommendations to the Congress concerning the adequacy and implementation of such plans. Requires the Agency to conduct an annual test of the evacuation plan for each operating nuclear power facility, including facilities not licensed by the Commission. Directs the Commission to suspend the license of any facility until it can certify that its evacuation plan assures public safety. Sets as a prerequisite for the granting of any commercial nuclear power facility license that the Agency certify to the Commission that the facility's evacuation plan assures public safety. Confers responsibility upon the owner of such facility for the payment of the non-Federal costs associated with evacuation test plans for such facility.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1986
Urges that the list of foreign born Americans to be honored at the Statue of Liberty Centennial celebration be expanded so as to guarantee representation by all ethnic American organizations which have made significant contributions to our Nation.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1986
Repeals provisions of the Department of Defense Authorization Act, 1985 which: (1) provide a remedy against the United States for loss of property, personal injury, or death due to exposure to radiation based on acts or omissions by a contractor conducting atomic weapons tests under a contract with the United States; and (2) preclude any other civil action by individuals against a contractor for the purpose of determining civil liability from acts or omissions of such contractor. Makes the period during which such provision was in effect inapplicable for purposes of the tolling of any statute of limitations for claims.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1986
Commends Major General William C. Lee for his long, faithful, and outstanding military service to our Nation. Designates June 6, 1986, as William C. Lee Day.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1986
Cost-of-Living-Adjustment-Reform Act of 1986 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to replace the requirement that there be at least a three-percent rise in the Consumer Price Index before a cost-of-living adjustment of benefits is made with a requirement that such an adjustment be made whenever the cost of living increase is greater than zero.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 1986
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the current tax treatment of individual retirement accounts should be retained and that such retention is consistent with the goals of tax reform.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1986
Ballistic Knife Prohibition Act of 1986 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit the possession, manufacture, sale, importation, and mailing of ballistic knives (knives with a detachable blade that is propelled by a spring-operated mechanism).
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1986
Authorizes the Francis Scott Key Park Foundation to erect a memorial on public grounds in the District of Columbia in honor of Francis Scott Key, the author of the words to the National Anthem. Directs the Secretary of the Interior, with the approval of the National Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission, to select the site for the memorial. Prohibits the use of either Federal or District of Columbia funds to establish the memorial. Terminates the authority created by this Act if construction of the memorial does not begin within five years with funds sufficient to ensure its completion.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 1986
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Counseling, Education, and Services Act of 1986 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants for the establishment of networks of comprehensive outpatient services for individuals who have acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) or acquired immune deficiency syndrome-related complex, including: (1) comprehensive ambulatory care services; (2) home health care services; (3) long-term care and hospice services; (4) mental health, counseling, and psychosocial support services; and (5) case management services. Requires each entity applying for such grants to establish a network advisory committee. Directs the Secretary to make grants for the development, establishment, or expansion of programs to: (1) provide education and disseminate information concerning AIDS; and (2) provide counseling to individuals who have tested positively for the presence of antibodies to the human T-cell lymphotrophic virus III. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1989. Establishes an Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Research Coordinating Committee within the National Institutes of Health to: (1) advise the Directors of the national research institutes with respect to AIDS research; (2) identify the needs for AIDS research; and (3) make recommendations to the Secretary.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1986
Amends Federal law to continue the Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Holiday Commission until April 20, 1989 (three years beyond the present termination date). Directs the Commission to annually report to the President and the Congress on its activities, the final report being submitted on the Commission's termination date. Authorizes the Commission to appoint nine additional Commission members.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1986
Expresses the sense of the Congress that, in view of specified international human rights agreements, the Soviet Union should approve the exit visa applications of Doctor Naum Meiman and his wife, Inna Kitrosskaya-Meiman, and arrange for them to go to the country of their choice. Urges the President to: (1) protest the Soviet Government's refusal to consider the exit visa applications of Dr. Meiman and his wife; (2) call upon all other signatory nations of the Helsinki Accords to join in such protests; and (3) instruct the U.S. delegation to the meeting of experts on human contacts organized under the auspices of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe in Bern, Switzerland, to pursue this matter.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1986
Authorizes and requests the President to present, on behalf of the Congress, gold medals to Anatoly and Avital Shcharansky in recognition of their supreme dedication and total commitment to human rights and freedoms. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to determine the design of the medals. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to sell bronze duplicates of the medals.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1986
Amends the Bank Secrecy Act to prohibit any person from: (1) causing or attempting to cause a domestic financial institution to file a required coin or currency transaction report containing a material omission or misstatement of fact or to fail to file a required report; or (2) structuring or assisting in structuring a transaction for the purpose of evading reporting requirements. Authorizes the seizure and forfeiture to the United States of: (1) any transported monetary instrument or any interest in other property (including any deposit in a financial institution) traceable to such instrument when a required report on such instrument has not been filed or contains a material omission or misstatement; and (2) any U.S. coin or currency or any interest in other property traceable to such coin or currency involved in a transaction for which a required report has not been filed. Provides that no property or interest therein shall be forfeited if the owner is a bona fide purchaser for value with no knowledge of the reporting requirement violation. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the enforcement of such seizure and forfeiture authority by internal revenue enforcement officers. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to impose a civil penalty on a person (excluding a domestic financial institution examined by a Federal bank supervisory agency or a financial institution regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission) who willfully violates a coin or currency transaction reporting requirement. Limits the penalty to the amount of the coin or currency involved reduced by any amount already forfeited.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1986
Designates May 21, 1986, as National Andrei Sakharov Day. Authorizes and requests the President to urge the Soviet Union to permit Andrei Sakharov and Elena Bonner to freely choose their place of residence.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 1986
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 · 14 April 1986
Reform of Federal Intervention in State Proceedings Act of 1986 - 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 · 10 April 1986
Expresses the sense of the Senate that U.S. interests are best served when U.S. business transactions in Angola do not support Cuban troops and Soviet advisers. Requests the President to use special authorities under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to block U.S. business transactions that conflict with U.S. security interests in Angola.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1986
Prohibits the issuance of a letter of offer with respect to specified proposed sales of Sidewinder, Stinger, and Harpoon missiles and services to Saudi Arabia, as described in the April 8, 1986, certifications from the President to the Congress under the Arms Export Control Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1986
Recognizes the Ireland Fund for its laudable charitable achievements, and its founder, Dr. Anthony J.F. O'Reilly, for the humane work he has inspired on behalf of the people of Ireland.
United States · United States Congress · 8 April 1986
Amends the Federal law concerning military uniforms to authorize the wearing of an item of religious apparel as part of the military uniform if: (1) the item is part of the religious faith of the member; and (2) it is neat and unobtrusive. Authorizes the Secretary of the military department concerned to prohibit the wearing of an item of religious apparel if it is found to significantly interfere with the performance of duty.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 1986
Credit Card Disclosure Act of 1986 - Amends the Truth in Lending Act to require that credit card issuers disclose certain information regarding interest rates and fees on applications. Requires credit card issuers to submit such information to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System quarterly.
![Official portrait of Sen. D'Amato, Alfonse [R-NY]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/d000018_200.jpg)