United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1979
Amends the Fishermen's Protective Act of 1967 to direct the Secretary of Commerce or the Interior to monitor and investigate the activities of foreign nations that may affect any international fisheries conservation program and to promptly reach a decision with respect to any such investigation.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 1979
Amends part B (Professional Standards Review) of title XI of the Social Security Act to mandate participation of nurses, dentists, psychologists and other health care practitioners in the professionals standards review process. Establishes an advisory committee to the National Professional Standards Review Council.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1979
Requires the United States to make a lump sum payment of $50,000 to the survivors of any Federal fire fighter or law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty. Includes special policemen and Federal protective officers employed by the General Services Administration as law enforcement officers for purposes of: (1) determining civil service annuities, and (2) the protection of Federal officers.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1979
World Peace Tax Fund Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit conscientious objectors to designate their income, estate, or gift tax payments for nonmilitary purposes. Establishes within the Treasury of the United States a World Peace Tax Fund to receive such tax payments. Defines a conscientious objector as an individual who is opposed to war in any form and who has been exempted from combat training in the Armed Forces under the Military Selective Service Act, or who satisfactorily demonstrates that he is conscientiously opposed to war in any form. Requires tax forms to contain a checkoff for taxpayers who wish to claim conscientious objector status and designate their tax payments for the World Peace Tax Fund. Permits the setting aside of criminal or civil penalties imposed upon a taxpayer for nonpayment of tax prior to 1979, if the taxpayer pays the tax and satisfactorily establishes that the nonpayment was due to his religious beliefs. Directs the Comptroller General to determine the percentage of actual appropriations made by the United States from the Federal budget during the preceding fiscal year for military purposes. Requires the publication of such information in the Congressional Record. Establishes a World Peace Tax Fund Board of Trustees. Sets forth the membership structure and duties of the Board.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 1979
Entitles certain employees of Indian tribal organizations, the Indian Health Service (IHS), or the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to an annuity if separated from service after completing 25 years of service or after attaining 50 years of age and completing 20 years of service, if such employee is not an Indian entitled to an employment preference by law. States that employees entitled to Indian preference and military preference shall be retained in preference to employees entitled to only military preference during reductions in force within the BIA or the IHS. Declares that reassignments of individuals within the BIA or the IHS shall not be subject to the Indian preference laws where the Commissioner of Indian Affairs determines that the reassignment is necessary to: (1) assure the health or safety of an individual or his family; (2) avoid the displacement of an Indian during a reduction in force; or (3) prevent the deterioration of an individual's operation or of a necessary service to the Indian people. Forbids the application of Indian preference laws to any personnel action respecting an individual if the tribal organization served by the unit in which the position exists grants a waiver of those laws. Requires the Secretaries of the Interior and of Health, Education, and Welfare to report annually to Congress on their actions to recruit and train Indians for positions subject to Indian preference laws and to place non-Indian employees of the BIA and the IHS in other Federal positions.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 1979
Amends the GI Bill Improvement Act of 1977 to: (1) eliminate the requirement that States have a program of matching the Federal amounts of veterans' accelerated educational assistance payments in order for a veteran to receive such accelerated payments; (2) revise application filing deadlines for such accelerated payments; and (3) increase from 33 1/3 percent to 66 2/3 percent the maximum rate at which such accelerated payments may be reimbursed by the Federal Government.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 1979
Eliminates restrictions and conditions on the appointment of female pages in the Senate that require Senators to be responsible for: (1) the safe transportation of the female page between the Senate and the page's place of local abode; and (2) the safety, well- being, and strict supervision of such page while she is in her place of local abode.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 1979
Provides for the arbitration of disputes between the Postmaster General and recognized organizations of Postal Service managerial personnel other than officers, postmasters, and employees engaged in personnel work in Postal Service headquarters. Subjects to arbitration under this Act issues relating to pay policies, fringe benefits, and the determination of whether or not a matter is subject to participation by such organization. Establishes an arbitration board to consider a dispute upon the request of the Postal Service or such recognized organization.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1979
Title I: Water Resources Development - Directs the Secretary of the Army, through the Chief of Engineers, to make the following studies and surveys: (1) flood control of certain Mississippi River tributaries, Mississippi; (2) flood control of Saint Francis Lake, Arkansas; (3) river regulation for the Halifax River, Florida; (4) bank stabilization of the Illinois River, Illinois; (5) erosion control of the Kuskokwim River, Alaska; (6) flood control of the Kinnickinnic River, Wisconsin; (7) siltation problems on the Mississippi River, Illinois; (8) water conservation development in the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands; (9) streambank erosion along the Tensaw River, Alabama; (10) water storage projects in northeast Texas; (11) navigation improvements to Buffalo Harbor, New York; (12) rehabilitating the hydroelectric potential at former industrial sites; (13) shoreline erosion damage caused by regulation of Lake Superior by the International Joint Commission-United States and Canada; and (14) river and harbor ice control. Directs the Secretary, through the Chief of Engineers, to begin the design memorandum stage of advanced engineering and design of the following: (1) navigation and design of the following: (1) navigation project at Grays Harbor, Washington; (2) flood control project for the Mamaroneck and Sheldrake River Basins, New York and the Byram River, Connecticut; (3) flood control project for Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; (4) water supply project for the New York metropolitan area; (5) navigation project for the Gulfport Harbor, Mississippi; (6) navigation project for Oakland Outer Harbor, California; (7) multiple purpose improvements on the Missouri River, South Dakota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Montana; and (8) navigation improvement project at Brazos Island Harbor, Texas. Authorizes the Secretary to proceed with the engineering and design of such projects upon findings by the Chief of Engineers that such projects are without substantial controversy and in accordance with recommended conditions. Authorizes the Secretary, through the Chief of Engineers, to carry out the following: (1) navigation project for Kodiak Harbor, Alaska; (2) navigation project for Tacoma harbor, Washington; (3) flood control project on the Agana River, Guam; (4) navigation project on the Chetco River, Oregon; (5) flood control project for the Root River Basin, Minnesota; (6) erosion control and flood protection projects for the Panama City Beaches, Florida; (7) flood control project for the Des Moines River Basin, Iowa and Minnesota; (8) flood control project on the Cazenovia Creek, New York; (9) flood control project on the Little Wood River, Idaho; (10) navigation project for Greenville Harbor, Mississippi; (11) navigation project for the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence Seaway; (12) flood control project for the Rahway River Basin New Jersey; (13) flood control project on the Chehalis River, Washington; (14) flood control for the Bushley Bayou area, Louisiana; (15) powerhouse project for the McNary Lock and Dam, Oregon and Washington; (16) flood protection project for Wears Creek, Missouri; (17) power generating facilities for the Libby Reregulating Dam, Montana; (18) light-draft investigation project for San Francisco Harbor, California; (19) flood control project for Logan and Nelsonville, Ohio; (20) beach erosion project for Coney Island, New York; (21) flood protection for Saint Johns Bayou, New Madrid, Missouri; (22) flood control on the Johns Creek Tributary, Tennessee (23) erosion control in the Nonconnah Creek Basin, Tennessee; (24) Cleveland Harbor improvements, Ohio, (25) beach erosion control at Jekyll Island, Georgia; (26) navigation project for Savannah Harbor, Georgia; and (27) strip mining reclamation project for Cabin Creek, West Virginia. Directs the Secretary, through the Chief of Engineers, to modify the following projects: (1) Galveston Bay, Texas, flood protection project to provide payments and benefits to certain property owners; (2) Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway navigation project, Virginia and North Carolina regarding certain bridges; (3) Sandridge Dam, New York, flood control project to authorize the construction of channel improvements along Ellicott Creek; (4) Obion Creek, Kentucky, project to authorize the acquisition of woodlands for wildlife management and recreation; (5) Barbers Point Harbor, Hawaii, navigation project to require non-Federal contribution to Federal construction costs; (6) Honolulu Harbor, Hawaii, project to delete the requirement for an initial cash contribution from local interests; (7) New London, Connecticut, flood control project to credit certain costs paid by the city against the requirement for non-Federal contributions; (8) Lynnhaven Inlet and Bay, Virginia, navigation project to provide for Federal payment for specified remedial work; (9) Lower Mississippi River flood control project to authorize such measures necessary to insure the stability of the Old River Control Complex, Louisiana; (10) Wenatchee, Washington, flood control project to authorize the acquisition of lands if local interest agree to reimburse the United States; (11) Houston Ship Channel (Greens Bayou), Texas navigation project to authorize necessary dredging operations; (12) Los Esteros Lake, Pecos River, New Mexico, project to authorize certain expenditures for the recovery of cultural resource data; (13) Lucky Peak Lake, Idaho, project to provide for an increase in the diameter of the additional dam outlet; (14) South Platte River Basin, Colorado, flood control project to authorize the reassignment of a portion of the storage space in the Chatfield Lake project for joint flood control and conservation purposes; and (15) Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana, flood protection project to authorize the construction of necessary protective features to locally constructed pumping stations. Terminates the following: (1) Trexler Lake, Pennsylvania, flood control project,; (2) a portion of the project for the Nansemond River, Virginia; (3) Helm Reservoir, Illinois, flood control project; (4) Kickapoo River, Wisconsin, flood control project; and (5) any resolution for review of any water resource report if funds have not yet been expended for such purpose. Directs the Secretary to report to Congress concerning the desirability of such studies and on a means of deauthorizing such studies. Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1976 to authorize appropriations through fiscal year 1982. Postpones the termination date for certain certification reports. Extends the Secretary's authority to provide periodic beach nourishment. Repeals the requirement that a specified water diversion structure not conflict with the Secretary's report. Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1974 to increase the authorized appropriation for the streambank erosion prevention and control demonstration program. Authorizes the Secretary to provide to any person or agency, upon request technical assistance to retard streambank erosion. Extends the national shoreline erosion control development and demonstration program. Increases the authorization of appropriations for dam repair on the Big Sandy River, Kentucky and West Virginia. Authorizes the Secretary to maintain a clear channel on the Little Calumet River, Illinois, with non-Federal interests paying a portion of the costs of such maintenance. Provides for a modification of the agreement with Saint Bernard Parish, Louisiana, concerning installment payments on the Lake Pontchartrain hurricane-flood protection project. Increases the authorization of appropriations for streambank protection works for Boone County, Kentucky. Increases the authorization of appropriations for the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area in Kentucky and Tennessee. Amends the River and Harbor Act of 1970 to extend the time for submitting reports to Congress on the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence Seaway navigation season extension. Increases the authorization of appropriations for such purposes. Requires non-Federal interests to contribute a portion of the costs of maintaining a clear channel on the North Branch of the Chicago River, Illinois. Amends the Flood Control Act of 1970 to delete the requirement for written agreements with non-Federal interests concerning reimbursement of costs. Permits States to repay the costs of water supply storage through revenues received by the State from the sale of such water. Amends the River and Harbor Act of 1960 to raise the ceiling on allotments for any single small river and harbor improvement project. Amends the River and Harbor Act of 1958 to increase the authorization of appropriations for the control of aquatic plant growths. Authorizes the replacement and expansion of the existing industrial canal lock and connecting channels in the vicinity of Meraux, Louisiana. Amends the Flood Control Act of 1954 to authorize the Secretary to provide technical assistance to States for removing obstructions and clearing channels. Increases the ceiling for allotments to any single shore protection project. Amends the Flood Control Act of 1946 to provide that the conservation storage capacity of the Belton Reservoir, Texas, be available for water supply as well as irrigation. Amends the Flood Control Act of 1941 to authorize the Secretary to use a flood emergency fund to control lava flow. Makes killing a civilian employee of the Corps of Engineers a Federal crime. Directs the Secretary to establish a Tennessee-Tombigbee Human Resource Center to monitor and assist minority employment on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway project, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. Repeals the provision in the Water Resources Development Act of 1976 concerning minority hiring. Authorizes the Secretary as a part of water resource development projects to: (1) implement the plan for land replacement for the Trimble Wildlife Area, Missouri; (2) modify such projects for mitigation of damages to fish and wildlife; (3) preserve historic properties located on such projects; and (4) acquire real property to be used for public works and recreation purposes as a part of such projects. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to compile a list of bridges over the navigable waters of the United States constructed or removed. Directs the Secretary of the Army to compile laws relating to water resource development. Modifies: (1) the contract with Illinois concerning payments for use of storage space for water supply in Rend Lake and (2) financing of the sand bypassing facility authorized as part of the Santa Cruz Harbor, California, navigation project. Declares: (1) portions of the Trent River, North Carolina, to be nonnavigable and (2) the Port of Houston Authority bridge over Greens Bayou, to be a lawful bridge. Directs the Secretary to construct flood control measures on portions of the Big Sandy River, Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia, and the Cumberland River, Kentucky. Directs Federal agencies granting hydroelectric power licenses to simplify and expedite such applications. Directs the Secretary to: (1) plan and make recommendations to Congress concerning construction of water supply projects to meet existing future demand, (2) renovate Federal quarters at Dalecarlia Reservoir, Washington, D.C.; (3) construct a public recreation area on the Ohio River, Indiana; (4) take authority over and assure the structural integrity of Trilby Wash Detention Basin (McMicken Dam), Arizona; (5) relocate the water supply intake facility on the Missouri River, South Dakota; (6) reimburse local interests for certain improvements to the Galveston Harbor, and Channel Texas, navigation project; and (7) design a flood control project at Milton, Pennsylvania. Title II: Hydroelectric Power Development Fund - Hydroelectric Power Development Act of 1979 - Establishes, under the Water Resources Development Act of 1976, a Hydroelectric Power Development Fund for the development of hydroelectric power generating facilities. Title III: Dam Inspection and Safety Program - Amends the national dam inspection program to exempt States with an approved dam safety program from the Secretary of the Army's national inspection program. Directs the Secretary to provide assistance to States maintaining approved assistance to States maintaining approved dams safety programs. Provides for insurance guarantees to enable dam owners to obtain liability insurance at reasonable rates. Establishes a Federal Dam Safety Review Board. Sets forth the authority of the Secretary when inspecting dams. Exempts contractors from liability beyond the amount of any contract entered into pursuant to the Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1979
Expresses the gratitude of the Senate upon the retirement of the Honorable Clarence M. Mitchell, Junior, as chief legislative spokesman for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and for his contributions to the establishment of justice and equality in America.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1979
Amends the Federal Mine Safety and Health Amendments Act of 1977 to provide that the provisions of such Act shall not apply to stone mining or sand and gravel mining operations.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1979
Soft Drink Interbrand Competition Act - Declares that exclusive territorial arrangements made as a part of a licensing agreement for the manufacture, distribution, or sale of a trademarked soft drink product are lawful under the antitrust law provided such product is in substantial and effective competition with other products for the same general class in the relevant market or markets. Prohibits recovery in private actions under the Clayton Act based on territorial provisions in a trademark licensing agreement prior to a final determination that such provisions are unlawful.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1979
Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to direct the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to notify the Governor and other State officials, or the Tribal Council of any affected Indian tribe, of its intent to explore a site for a radioactive waste storage and disposal facility to be selected within such State or tribal lands. Directs the Chairman to establish a Federal and State Radioactive Materials Management Commission upon the request of such Governor or Tribal Council, to allow for State or Tribal participation and to obtain concurrence with the Department of Energy regarding site selection and construction of such facilities. Prohibits any Federal agency from proceeding with any such project without resolution of any objections of a State or Tribal Council.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1979
Independent Local Newspaper Act of 1979 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the establishment of independent local newspaper advance estate tax trusts to facilitate payment of the estate tax imposed upon the estate of a decedent who owned an interest in an independent local newspaper. Sets forth requirements for the establishment of such trusts, including requirements that such trusts: (1) be created pursuant to a plan adopted by the newspaper; (2) be governed by a written instrument which requires that contributions to and income of the trust be invested solely in obligations of the United States; (3) name as trustee a bank or another individual who is capable of administering such trust in compliance with the requirements of this Act; (4) maintain trust assets separately from other property; (5) accept contributions exclusively from independent local newspapers; (6) devote assets of the trust solely to the payment of the estate tax; and (7) distribute any excess funding of the trust to its beneficiaries or their estates. Limits an individual who owns interests in several independent local newspapers to participation in not more than one estate tax payment trust. Defines an "independent local newspaper" as a newspaper publication which is not a member of a chain and which maintains all its offices in a single city, community or metropolitan area, or, on January 1, 1979, within one State. Defines "excess funding" as the excess of the face value of the assets of a qualified trust over: (1) 70 percent of the value of a decedent's interest in an independent local newspaper which is includable in his gross estate; or (2) a decedent's estate tax which is attributable to his interest in an independent local newspaper included in his gross estate. Exempts independent local newspaper advance estate tax trusts and the individuals for whom such trusts are established from income taxation with respect to income earned by such trust. Terminates such tax-exempt status if the taxpayer's interest in the newspaper is sold, the newspaper itself is sold or ceases to qualify as an independent newspaper, or there is an excess funding of the trust. Provides that the amount of any excess funding shall be distributed to the individual for whom the trust was created and included in his gross income or gross estate. Allows an income tax deduction to local independent newspapers for contributions made to estate tax payment trusts. Limits the amount of such deduction to 50 percent of the taxable income derived from such newspaper for the taxable year. Requires the redetermination of the estate tax of an individual for whom an independent local newspaper advance estate tax trust is established and the inclusion in the gross estate of such individual of an amount equal to the estate tax payment made by such trust which is attributable to the individual's interest in the newspaper, if the trust or any heir of the individual sells, within 15 years of the death of such individual, any part of the interest in the newspaper with respect to which the trust was created. Provides for the gradual phaseout of any additional estate tax which is imposed due to the premature sale of a newspaper, if the sale does not occur prior to the ten to 15 year period following the death of the individual for whom the estate tax trust is established. Permits the shareholders of an independent local newspaper who receive the stock of a corporation which the newspaper controls to exclude from their gross income any gain realized as a result of such distribution if: (1) the shareholders do not sell such stock within five years after the date of its distribution; (2) the shareholders retain control of the newspaper for five years after the date of the distribution; and (3) the newspaper and the controlled corporation each continue to be engaged in the active conduct of a trade or business through the five year period beginning on the date of the distribution. Excludes from the gross estate of a decedent the value of any interest in an independent local newspaper which he holds at the time of his death and any estate tax payment made by an independent local newspaper advance estate tax payment trust. Permits the executor of an estate which includes an interest in an independent local newspaper to pay the estate tax in two or more (but not exceeding ten) equal installments. Limits the maximum amount of estate tax that may be paid in installments to the excess of the amount of estate tax over the tax that would have been imposed if the interest in the newspaper had not been included in the gross estate, reduced by all payments of the estate tax made by an independent local newspaper advance estate tax payment trust.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1979
Amends the Act providing for a national dam inspection program to repeal the provision limiting the coverage of such Act to dams of a specified size. Exempts dams located in States with an approved dam safety program from the Secretary of the Army's national inspection program. Authorizes appropriations to carry out such Act through fiscal year 1982. Sets forth the formula for distributing such funds among the States. Directs the Secretary to provide assistance to States maintaining approved dam safety programs. Specifies the standards such program must meet. Directs the Secretary to provide guarantees to insurers in order to enable dam owners, in States with approved dam safety programs, to obtain liability insurance at reasonable rates. Requires the Secretary, with the Secretary of the Treasury, to report to Congress with any recommendations for a more comprehensive dam safety insurance program. Authorizes appropriations for a revolving fund to be used for loans to dam owners making dam repairs or other safety improvements. Authorizes the establishment of a Federal Dam Safety Review Board to be responsible for reviewing dam safety procedures and monitoring State implementation of this Act. Directs the Secretary: (1) to provide training for State dam safety inspectors; and (2) to develop improved dam inspection techniques.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1979
Expresses the sense of the Senate that (1) national water resources policies should be implemented through congressional action, and (2) alterations of such programs shall not be implemented through unilateral executive action but shall be subject to congressional concurrence.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1979
Regulatory Reform Act - Requires the President to submit to Congress a plan recommending reforms with respect to the regulation of: (1) energy, the environment, housing, and occupational health and safety by specified Federal agencies by April 30, 1981; (2) transportation and communications by specified Federal agencies by April 30, 1983; (3) banking and finance, international trade, and Government procurement by specified Federal agencies by April 30, 1985; and (4) food, consumer health and safety, economic trade practices, and labor-management concerns by specified Federal agencies by April 30, 1987. States that each such plan shall include recommendations for reform of such specified agencies and shall report on the cumulative impact of all Government regulatory activity reviewed, up to that date, on specific industry groupings. States that if the President fails to submit such plans by the specified dates, the House Committee on Government Operations or the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs in cooperation with the committees of Congress which have legislative jurisdiction over such areas, shall draft their own plans to be submitted to Congress for action. Requires the Comptroller General and the Congressional Budget Office, contemporaneously with the development of the President's plan, to submit a report assessing the purpose, effects, efficiency, and cost effectiveness of each agency included in the plans submitted by the President. States that if no comprehensive regulatory reform legislation is enacted by August 1 of the year following the year in which a comprehensive plan has been submitted by the President, then all agencies affected thereby shall have no authority to issue any new rules not essential for preserving the public health and safety; if such reform is not enacted by October 1 of such year, such agency shall have no authority to enforce any rule not essential for preserving the public health and safety; if no such reform is enacted by December 31 of such year, such agency shall be terminated on such date. States that all rules of such terminated agency essential for preserving the public health and safety shall remain effective and shall be enforced by the Department of Justice. Requires the President to submit subsequent plans in the manner and in the order and frequency set forth by this Act every ten years.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1979
University and Small Business Patent Procedures Act - States that it is the objective of this Act to amend existing patent procedures in order to promote the marketing of inventions developed under federally supported research and development projects by nonprofit organizations and small business firms. Permits any such organization or firm to elect, within a reasonable amount of time, to retain title to such inventions. Permits Federal agencies which have supported such projects to retain title to inventions through their funding agreements in specified circumstances. Requires review of agency determinations that such circumstances exist by the Comptroller General and the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration. Directs the Comptroller General to report to Congress on the implementation of this Act by Federal agencies. Enumerates provisions which must be included in funding agreements between a Federal agency and a small business firm or nonprofit organization including provisions: (1) to insure the rights of the Federal Government under this Act; (2) to provide that the agency shall have a nonexclusive, nontransferable, irrevocable and paid-up license to use the invention; (3) to prohibit a nonprofit organization from assigning rights to the invention without the approval of the Federal agency; (4) to prohibit such an organization from granting exclusive rights from the earlier of five years from the first commercial use of the invention or eight years from the date of invention; and (5) to require such organizations to use their royalties and earnings to support scientific research or education. Authorizes a Federal agency to transfer or assign its rights, acquired from an agency employee as coinventor, to an inventor electing to acquire title to an invention. Empowers any Federal agency to require inventors or their assigns to grant licenses in order to: (1) achieve practical application of the invention in its field of uses; (2) alleviate health or safety needs; (3) meet requirements for public use specified by Federal regulations; or (4) achieve participation by United States industry in the manufacture of an invention. Entitles the government to collect up to 50 percent of all net income above specified amounts received by a patent holder until government research funds have been repaid. Restricts the assignment and licensing of rights by patent holders to foreign owned or controlled firms unless such persons agree that any products embodying the subject invention or produced through the use of the subject invention will be manufactured substantially in the United States. Authorizes Federal agencies to withhold information on inventions from public disclosure. Specifies the authority of Federal agencies with respect to obtaining patents, promoting licensing of inventions, granting licenses, conducting market surveys, transferring custody of patents, and receiving funds. Authorizes the Administrator of General Services to promulgate regulations specifying the terms upon which any federally-owned invention may be licensed. Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to coordinate a program for assisting Federal agencies in protecting and licensing federally-owned inventions. Sets forth the procedure whereby Federal agencies may grant exclusive or partially exclusive licenses in any invention covered by a federally-owned domestic patent or patent application. Prohibits licensing which lessens competition. Directs that small business firms be given preference in exclusive or partially exclusive licensing. Enumerates provisions which must be contained in any grant of a license by a Federal agency. Declares that this Act shall take precedence over any other Act in the disposition of inventions.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1979
Small Business Employee Ownership Act - Amends the Small Business Act to make employee-owned firms eligible for financial assistance under the business loan program. States that in the case of small business concerns using an employee stock ownership plan, as defined in the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, all financial assistance shall be made to the trust created for employee ownership of stock (ESOT). Predicates such assistance on: (1) a guarantee by the company seeking assistance that it will repay all obligations incurred by the ESOT; (2) the written assurance of the trustee of the ESOT that all guaranteed loans will be used solely for the purchase of company stock; (3) a distribution arrangement which vests ownership of all stock with the employees no later than the expiration date of any assistance made available to acquire such stock; and (4) a certified plan, meeting specified conditions, for the allocation of company stock among the employees. Authorizes the extension of loan guarantees to employee organizations, including those using an ESOT, to finance the acquisition of the employee's workplace if it is a small business or a subsidiary which, if independently owned, would be a small business. States that such guarantees may be extended only if the small business or subsidiary would otherwise close, liquidate, relocate or sell out to a large business or if the owner agrees to the purchase by the employees. Requires an employee organization to compile a feasibility study and plan containing specified provisions in order to be eligible for such guarantees. Limits the principal amount of any loan guaranteed under this Act to $1,000,000. Authorizes $10,000 loans to conduct feasibility studies which will be considered grants if the loan application is denied. Directs the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to report periodically to the Congress on the programs established by this Act. Authorizes the Small Business Administration to extend loan guarantees directly to an owner of a business who is selling the business to employees under an installment contract provided specified conditions are met in the event of default. Makes a company with 51 percent of its stock allocated through an ESOT to one or more socially and economically disadvantaged individuals eligible for the minority enterprise contract assistance program.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1979
Constitutional Amendment - Allows the enactment and repeal of laws by popular vote. Excludes specified areas, including the right to: (1) propose Constitutional amendments; (2) declare war; and (3) call forth the militia. Requires a petition signed by at least three percent of the registered voters and which includes the signatures of registered voters in each of ten states equal to three percent of the ballots cast in the last general election for President in each of the ten States in order to place such an issue on the ballot. Requires a majority vote for a proposed law to become law. Declares that any law to repeal or amend a law passed by popular vote during the two years immediately following its effective date must receive an affirmative rollcall vote of two-thirds of the Members of each House of Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 1979
Deep Stripper Well Incentives Act of 1979 - Amends the Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act of 1973 to allow the first sale of deep stripper well crude oil to be exempt from price regulation under such Act. Requires a well to be producing at the maximum feasible rate throughout a 12-month period in order to qualify for such exemption.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 1979
Directs the President to inform Congress of any dangers to Taiwan. Declares the policy of the United States to safeguard its interests and meet any dangers to Taiwan.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 1979
Disapproves the proposed deferral of budget authority deferral D79-6 to promote and develop fishery products and research pertaining to American fisheries, as transmitted by the President to the Congress on October 2, 1978, pursuant to the Impoundment Control Act of 1974.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1979
Equal Access to Justice Act - Entitles a prevailing party (other than the United States) to be awarded fees and other expenses, including attorney fees, which were incurred by such party in: (1) an administrative adjudication, or (2) in any civil action (other than a tort or tax action) brought by or against the United States, unless the agency conducting such adjudication, or the court having jurisdiction of such action, finds that the position of the agency or the United States was substantially justified or that special circumstances make an award unjust. Authorizes a party dissatisfied with such award in an administrative adjudication to petition for leave to appeal the decision in an appropriate Federal court. Authorizes a court to award reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing party in any civil action brought by or against the United States, where the court may award such fees in such suits involving private parties (thus applying to Government litigation the common law exceptions to the "American rule" regarding attorney fee awards). Directs the Administrative Conference of the United States and the Administrative Office of the United States Courts to report annually on the amount of fees and expenses awarded during the preceding fiscal year in such agency adjudications and civil actions.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1979
Antitrust Enforcement Act of 1979 - Amends the Clayton Act to entitle any purchaser or seller in the chain of manufacture, production, or distribution of goods and services to relief under such Act, upon proof of an overcharge or underpayment resulting directly or indirectly from an antitrust violation. States that such relief may be granted in individual suits, suits by the United States, or parens patrie actions brought by a State attorney general for natural persons residing in the State. Authorizes the courts, in any civil action brought by a person or the United States, to permit the defendant to prove that the plaintiff was able to pass on to third parties all or part of an overcharge or underpayment. Grants the court the discretion to hear such evidence as a partial or complete defense in order to avoid duplicative liability. Enables the parties to any class action to prove the fact of injury, the amount of passed on charges and the extent of damages on a classwide basis, without requiring proof of such matters by each individual member of the class. Authorizes the judicial panel on multidistrict litigation to consolidate and transfer any action brought under the Clayton Act, with or without the consent of the parties for both pretrial and trial purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit taxpayers who do not itemize income tax deductions to claim a deduction from gross income for charitable contributions.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1979
Title I: Nurse Training - Nurse Training Amendments of 1979 - Amends title VIII of the Public Health Service Act to extend the assistance program for nurse training and students, generally at reduced levels of authorization through fiscal year 1980. Directs the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to: (1) arrange for the conduct of a study, either with the National Academy of Sciences (if such body agrees) or with another public or nonprofit private entity (if the Academy declines), to determine the need to continue a specific Federal assistance program for nursing education, taking into account specified factors; and (2) report to Congress on such study by January 15, 1980. Title II: Other Health Professions Programs - Amends title VII of the Public Health Service Act (Health Research and Teaching Facilities and Training of Professional Health Personnel) to authorize the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to increase the ceiling on federally insured loans in any academic year to a medical student in a school of medicine, osteopathy, or dentistry from $10,000 to $15,000 upon a determination that educational costs require such increase. Increases the aggregate insured unpaid principal amount for all such insured loans made to any such borrower from $50,000 to $60,000. Authorizes the Secretary to defer the date used with respect to service requirements for National Health Service Corps scholarships for students of medicine, osteopathy, or dentistry for a period longer than the current three-year limit for such deferment. Exempts a medical or osteopathic school participating in an area health education center program from the requirement that such school conduct a program for training physician assistants or nurse practitioners which emphasizes enrolling individuals from the area served by the center of the program, if another school participating in the same program meets such requirement. Increases from $5,000,000 to $10,000,000 the sums which may be obligated for schools of medicine and other types of health care which are financially distressed or unaccredited, from the total authorizations for start-up assistance, financial distress training, and curriculum development of medical schools. Amends the Health Professions Educational Assistance Act of 1976 to extend authorization of appropriations through fiscal year 1981 for certain area health education programs which are funded under the Public Health Service Act prior to October 12, 1976.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1979
Constitutional Amendment - Provides that the people of the several States, and the District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall elect the President and Vice President. Requires each elector to cast a single vote for two persons who shall have consented to the joining of their names as candidates for the offices of President and Vice President. Requires the electors of President and Vice President in each State to have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislature, except that for electors of President and Vice President, the legislature of any State may prescribe less restrictive residence qualifications and for electors of President and Vice President the Congress may establish uniform residence qualifications. Provides that the pair of persons having the greatest number of votes for President and Vice President shall be elected, if such number is at least 40 percent of the whole number of votes cast. Provides that if no pair of persons has such number, a runoff election shall be held in which the choice of President and Vice President shall be made from the two pairs of persons who received the highest numbers of votes. Requires the days for such elections to be determined by Congress and to be uniform throughout the United States. Requires Congress to prescribe by law the time, place, and manner in which the results for such elections shall be ascertained and declared. Allows Congress to provide for the case of the death, inability, or withdrawal of any candidate for President or Vice President before a President and Vice President have been elected, and for the case of the death of both the President-elect and Vice President-elect.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1979
Department of Education Organization Act of 1979 - Title I: General Provisions - Declares the purposes of this Act to be to: (1) insure that education receives the appropriate emphasis at the Federal levels; (2) coordinate Federal educational programs; (3) supplement and complement the educational efforts of State, local, and tribal governments, as well as the private sector; and (4) protect the rights of State, local, and tribal governments, and public and non-public educational institutions in the areas of educational policies, administration of programs, and selection of curriculums and program content. Title II: Establishment of Department - Establishes an executive department to be known as the Department of Education to be headed by a Secretary of Education. Establishes, within such Department, offices of Assistant Secretary for: (1) Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; (2) Postsecondary Education; (3) Elementary and Secondary Education; (4) Occupational, Adult, and Community Education; and (5) Educational Research and Development. Establishes within such Department: (1) a Director of the Office of Civil Rights; (2) two additional Assistant Secretaries; (3) an Inspector General; (4) a General Counsel; and (5) an Administrator of Education for Overseas Dependents. Includes, within the functions of such Department, the administration of programs relating to: (1) elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education; (2) occupational, adult, and community education; (3) grants; (4) special education and rehabilitative services; (5) schools for overseas dependents of the Department of Defense; (6) enforcement of civil rights; (7) educational research; (8) intergovernmental policies; (9) public information; and (10) congressional relations. Establishes, within such Department, Offices of: (1) Civil Rights; (2) Elementary and Secondary Education; (3) Postsecondary Education; (4) Occupational, Adult, and Community Education; (5) Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; (6) Education for Overseas Dependents; (7) Educational Research and Improvement; (8) Inspector General; and (9) General Counsel. Establishes within such Department an Intergovernmental Advisory Council on Education to assure the effective coordination of Federal programs. Establishes a Federal Interagency Committee on Education to assist the Secretary in coordinating the procedures and actions of the Department with other Federal agencies. Title III: Transfers of Agencies and Functions - Transfers to the Department from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW): (1) the Education Division of HEW, including the National Institute of Education; (2) the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Education, including the National Center for Education Statistics; (3) the Institute of Museum Services; (4) any advisory committees primarily concerned with education; and (5) the Office of Information and Resources for Handicapped Individuals; (6) the Rehabilitation Services Administration, except the part of such Administration that administers the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act; (7) the National Institute of Handicapped Research; (8) the Interagency Committee on Handicapped Research; (9) the Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youth and Adults; and (10) the National Council on the Handicapped. Transfers from HEW to the Department of Education educational functions regarding: (1) the General Education Provisions Act; (2) the Emergency School Aid Act; (3) the Higher Education Act of 1965; (4) the Emergency Insured Student Loan Act of 1969; (5) the Act of August 30, 1898; (6) title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965; (7) certain provisions of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Education Act; (8) the International Education Act of 1966; (9) the National Defense Education Act of 1958; (10) the Education of the Handicapped Act; (11) the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science Act; (12) the Vocational Education Act of 1963; (13) the Career Education Incentive Act; (14) the Office of Civil Rights; (15) the budgetary oversight of certain educational institutions; (16) certain loans and scholarships for students in the medical and health services under the Public Health Service Act; (17) certain provisions under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; (18) the National Institute of Education and the Institute of Museum Services; (19) Gallaudet College, Howard University, the American Printing House for the Blind, and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf; and (20) telecommunications grants under the Communications Act of 1934. Transfers to the Department of Education from the Departments of: (1) Defense, the administration and operation of overseas dependents schools; (2) Justice, the student loan and grant programs known as the Law Enforcement and Education Program and the Law Enforcement Intern Program; and (3) Housing and Urban Development, the administration of college housing loans. Transfers to the Department of Education: (1) specified functions of the National Science Foundation; and (2) the Advisory Council on Educational Statistics. Title IV: Administrative Provisions - Authorizes the Secretary to appoint and fix the salaries for the Department's employees in accordance with the civil service laws. Allows certain higher level appointments to be made by the Secretary without Civil Service Commission approval if the individual so appointed is transferred to the Department in connection with a transfer of functions under this Act. Stipulates that Congress shall authorize the annual number of personnel for the Department of Education. Establishes guidelines for computing such personnel authorization. Grants rulemaking authority to the Secretary. Requires such rules to be in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act and specified provisions of the General Education Provisions Act. Authorizes the Secretary to (1) employ experts and consultants; (2) enter into contracts with public agencies and private persons and organizations; (3) provide technical advice to participants or potential participants in Departmental programs; (4) maintain, alter, or discontinue field offices; (5) acquire and maintain schools, laboratories, and related facilities; (6) provide and maintain various facilities for employees and their dependents at remote locations; (7) utilize, with their consent, Federal, State, tribal, or foreign facilities; (8) acquire necessary copyrights and patents; (9) accept and utilize gifts and requests of real and personal property; (10) establish a working capital fund for administrative expenses; and (11) transfer funds within the Department. Directs the Secretary to submit an annual report to the Congress concerning the Department's activities. Stipulates that such report include: (1) a statement of goals and priorities; (2) an assessment of progress; (3) an analysis of data concerning changing trends in education and areas of particular educational concern; (4) five-year budget projections; and (5) recommendations made by the Federal Interagency Committee on Education. Requires that public hearings be held as part of the preparation of such report. Directs that the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget jointly conduct a study of the administration of Federal Indian education programs, and that such study be submitted to the Congress and the President within six months of enactment of this Act. Stipulates that such study contain; (1) an analysis of problems and recommendations for improvements; and (2) recommendations concerning the proper organizational structure for Indian education programs within the Federal Government. Provides that, except where inconsistent with provisions of this Act, the General Education Provisions Act shall apply to functions transferred by this Act. Title V: Transitional, Savings, and Conforming Provisions - Redesignates the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare as the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare as the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Title VI: Effective Date and Interim Appointment - Directs that this Act shall take effect 180 days after the Secretary of Education takes office, or earlier if the President so decides. Authorizes the President to make initial interim appointments to the Department of Education under specified conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow individual and corporate taxpayers to elect to treat certain reforestation expenditures as not chargeable to capital account in order to qualify them as an income tax deduction, limited to $10,000 annually. Denies such deduction for any amount reimbursed under specified Federal reforestation and timber stand improvement cost sharing programs. Establishes in the United States Treasury a Reforestation Trust Fund, whose moneys shall be paid to the Secretary of Agriculture in order to meet obligations incurred in eliminating and preventing a backlog in the reforestation of the National Forest System, but only to the extent such obligations exceed amounts appropriated under any other provision of law. Authorizes the annual appropriation of not to exceed $30,000,000 for such Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1979
Authorizes the inclusion of military service performed by an individual after December, 1956, in the aggregate period of service on which a civil service annuity is based. Stipulates that this Act applies only to individuals becoming eligible for such annuity after the enactment of this Act. Directs the Civil Service Commission, upon request, to recompute the annuity of an individual receiving such annuity before the date of enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1979
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to authorize payment for specified services performed by chiropractors, including x-rays and physical examinations, and related routine laboratory tests.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an income tax deduction equal to ten percent of an employee's gross compensation (or $1,000, whichever is less) for cash contributions made by an individual employee to certain retirement savings and pension plans. Denies such deduction to certain highly compensated participants in such plans who earn the equivalent of a least a GS-14 salary (and such compensation is higher than the wages and salaries of two-thirds of the other plan participants), unless the employer certifies that the plan complies with specified anti-discrimination standards.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow certain individuals to compute the amount of the income tax deduction for retirement savings on the basis of the earned income of their spouses.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
National Ski Patrol System Recognition Act of 1979 - Grants a Federal charter to the National Ski Patrol System. Declares that the purpose of such corporation shall be to promote public safety in skiing.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Authorizes the Attorney General to institute a civil action for or in the name of the United States in an appropriate district court whenever he has reasonable cause to believe that a State or its agents are subjecting persons confined in any correctional facility, juvenile correction center, mental hospital, nursing home, or facility for the mentally ill, retarded, or disabled to conditions of willful or gross neglect which deprive such persons of their Federal constitutional or statutory rights. Permits the Attorney General to intervene in any action commenced in a Federal court in which relief is sought from conditions allegedly depriving institutionalized persons in State institutions of their Federal rights. Prohibits any retaliation against individuals reporting conditions which may constitute a violation. Requires the Attorney General to report to Congress concerning actions instituted or in which the Attorney General has intervened pursuant to this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act Amendments of 1979 - Amends the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to stipulate that, upon the cancellation of stock in a Regional Corporation on December 18, 1991, and issuance of new shares, as is now provided for by such Act, certain restrictions may be imposed on such new shares. Includes among the restrictions which shareholders may impose: (1) the denial of voting rights to non-Native shareholders; and (2) restrictions on alienation of such stock. Authorizes a shareholder who is a member of a profession which limits the ability of such shareholder to practice such profession while owning stock in a Regional Corporation, to transfer such stock in order to practice his or her profession. Stipulates that a Village Corporation shall first convey to the occupants, specified titles to the surface estates in the tracts occupied by such occupants as of December 18, 1971. Sets forth rules for computing basis on gain or loss on the subsequent sale of land acquired pursuant to the Act for purposes of Federal, State, or local tax. Stipulates that all rents, royalties, profits, and other revenues or proceeds derived from real property interests received pursuant to the Act shall be taxable to the same extent as such revenues or proceeds are taxable when received by a non-Native individual or corporation. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, where lands selected and conveyed to a Village Corporation are insufficient to fulfill the Corporation's entitlement, to withdraw twice the amount of unfulfilled entitlement and provide the Village Corporation 90 days to select from the lands withdrawn the land it desires to fulfill its entitlement. Sets forth provisions concerning retained mineral estates and subsurface estates. Authorizes to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out certain provisions of the Act pertaining to the payment into escrow of certain funds received on lands withdrawn for native selection. Authorizes the Secretary to waive, in certain circumstances, the whole section selection requirement. Specifies requirements for conveying real property interests pursuant to a program to provide homesites to shareholders of the Village Corporation. Requires the Secretary to pay, by grant, an amount not more than $100,000 or less than $50,000 to specified incorporated Native Groups established under the Act and certified as an eligible Native Group. Stipulates that whenever a valid State or Native selection is partly in and partly out of the boundary of a conservation system unit, the State or Native Corporation may relinquish its right in any portion of land within such boundary. Withdraws from further entry all lands located in patented townsites which are the subject of an application for patent under specified Acts. Directs the townsite trustee to convey all unoccupied lands and any remaining unobligated trust funds to the home rule or first or second class city organized for the townsite community, or, in the absence of a city, to the State of Alaska in trust.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Constitutional Amendment - Provides that the people of the several States, and the District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall elect the President and Vice President. Requires each elector to cast a single vote for two persons who shall have consented to the joining of their names as candidates for the offices of President and Vice President. Requires the electors of President and Vice President in each State to have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislature, except that for electors of President and Vice President, the legislature of any State may prescribe less restrictive residence qualifications and for electors of President and Vice President the Congress may establish uniform residence qualifications. Provides that the pair of persons having the greatest number of votes for President and Vice President shall be elected, if such number is at least 40 percent of the whole number of votes cast. Provides that if no pair of persons has such number, a runoff election shall be held in which the choice of President and Vice President shall be made from the two pairs of persons who received the highest numbers of votes. Requires the days for such elections to be determined by Congress and to be uniform throughout the United States. Requires Congress to prescribe by law the time, place, and manner in which the results for such elections shall be ascertained and declared. Allows Congress to provide for the case of the death, inability, or withdrawal of any candidate for President or Vice President before a President and Vice President have been elected, and for the case of the death of both the President-elect and Vice President-elect.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1978
Amends the Public Buildings Act of 1959 to authorize the Administrator of General Services, when the cost of a project exceeds the estimated maximum cost, to: (1) increase expenditures by no more than ten percent of the estimated maximum cost; or (2) decrease by no more than ten percent the number of gross square feet to be constructed.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1978
Authorizes the Administrator of General Services to borrow from the Secretary of the Treasury amounts necessary to finance the acquisition or construction of any public building. Prohibits such borrowing if the acquisition or construction has not been approved by the House of Representatives and Senate Committees on Public Works.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 1978
Jobs Credit Extension Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the existing tax credit for the employment of new employees through December 31, 1980. Revises the credit to permit a taxpayer election to offset against tax liability 35 percent of the excess of unemployment wages paid during a calendar year over the amount of such wages paid during the previous year. Eliminates the requirements that the credit not exceed 50 percent of the increase in unemployment wages during a calendar year over 105 percent of the wages paid in the previous year and that the credit apply to unemployment wages paid during the calendar year which exced 102 percent of the wages paid in the preceding year. Limits the amount of the tax credit to $25,000. Allows an additional ten percent credit for the employment of physically or mentally handicapped individuals. Extends eligibility for the credit to the maritime industry.
United States · United States Congress · 17 August 1978
Amends Title XX (Grants to States for Services) of the Social Security Act to increase the ceiling imposed upon payments for services under such Title for the fiscal years 1979, 1980, 1981 and maintains the 1981 level for succeeding years.
United States · United States Congress · 14 August 1978
National Aquaculture Policy Act - Authorizes the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy in cooperation with the Secretary of Agriculture, Commerce, and the Interior to make a comprehensive assessment of aquaculture in the United States and establish a National Aquaculture Development Plan. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, or the Secretary of the Interior, as the case may be, to provide advisory, educational, and technical assistance with respect to aquaculture; consult and cooperate with interested persons regarding the development of aquaculture technology; encourage implementation of aquaculture technology; conduct scale tests of any aquaculture system for the purpose of assessing the biological and economic feasibility; produce and sell at cost, seed stock for commercial aquatic species; develop methods to enhance aquatic species stocks by aquaculture; carry out studies and research with respect to aquatic species and conduct other tests or analyses as necessary. Requires the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, and the Interior to establish and maintain an aquaculture information center, conduct appropriate surveys, arrange for the mutual exchange of aquaculture information with foreign nations, and conduct a continuing study to determine whether existing capture fisheries could be adversely impacted by competition from products produced by commercial aquaculture enterprises significantly aided under this Act. Establishes the Interagency Aquaculture Coordinating Committee which shall insure a continuing exchange of aquaculture information, review the relevant programs and projects, insure that the aquaculture information center is functioning in compliance with policy, and submit a biennial report to Congress on the status of aquaculture in the United States. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture, Commerce, and the Interior to carry out any function under this Act through grants to or contracts with Federal or State agencies, Indian tribes, regional commissions, educational institutions, or any person. Authorizes the Secretaries to guarantee, or make a commitment to guarantee, the payment of interest on, and the principal amount of, any obligation issued by an obligor for any of the following purposes: (1) the financing of construction, reconstruction, or reconditioning of any aquaculture facility; (2) the acquisition of stocks of aquatic species; (3) the financing of initial operating expenses of any aquaculture facility; (4) the financing of marketing operations exclusively for aquaculture products; and (5) the refinancing of any existing obligation. Establishes in the Treasury a Federal Aquaculture Assistance Fund, which shall be available to the Secretary as a revolving fund for purposes of carrying out, and administering guarantees of obligations, and the establishment and operation of aquaculture demonstration projects. Authorizes appropriations necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.
![Official portrait of Sen. Gravel, Mike [D-AK]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/g000388_200.jpg)