United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1980
Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act to include any loan, payment, or gift made for the purpose of participating or intervening in a political campaign for certain offices within the definition of a "contribution or expenditure" by a national bank, a corporation, or a labor organization for purposes of such Act and the Public Utility Holding Company Act. Allows a corporation or labor organization to establish and administer a separate contributory fund for political purposes provided that all contributions for or to the fund are made voluntarily and are unrelated to any fees required for membership or employment in such organization or corporation. Prohibits the payment of any costs of establishing or administering the fund from moneys obtained in any commercial transaction.
United States · United States Congress · 20 February 1980
Directs the Secretary of the Interior to sell specified land in Imperial County, California, to claimants whose title to such lands has inured to the United States by the process of accretion.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1980
Directs the President to issue a proclamation honoring the memory of Walt Disney on the 60th anniversary of the creation and production of his first original, animated cartoon.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1980
Directs the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to halt immediately implementation of those regulations relating to clinical laboratory personnel published October 12, 1979, and published as corrected October 23, 1979.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1980
Expresses the sense of Congress that the President should request the United Nations to establish an international presence in the Khmer refugee camps on the Thailand - Kampuchea (Cambodia) border to promote security and oversee the distribution of food.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1980
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to create a category of incentive stock options for employees, who would not be required to pay tax at the time such an option is exercised and would receive capital gains treatment on the proceeds of any subsequent sale of such stock. Denies the employer any deduction with respect to such stock either at the time of option exercise or at the time of subsequent sale. Requires the issuance of any such option, with shareholder approval, at 100 percent of fair market value. Accepts any stock later determined to be undervalued if issued with a good faith effort to make such issue at not less than fair market value. Allows exercise of such option up to ten years after issuance, and in any sequence. Limits long-term capital gain treatment to the sale of incentive stock held by the employee at least two years after the grant of the option and one year after exercise. Subjects any such stock sold within two years after option grant to ordinary income treatment. Requires an employee to remain an employee continuously from grant to three months prior to exercise. Prohibits the employee from owning more than ten percent of the voting power or value of the stock of the company unless the option price is at least 110 percent of fair market value.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1980
Expresses the gratitude of the Senate for the forceful action of Colonel Ishmail Kahn and Mr. Bill Hamidullah in repelling the attackers of the International School of Islamabad in Pakistan.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1980
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Soviet Union: (1) has violated the Helsinki Accords; and (2) by its actions towards Audrei Sakharov has shown it is an enemy of freedom.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1980
Urges: (1) public support for the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) and athletes; (2) the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to accede to the USOC's proposal to transfer, postpone, or cancel the 1980 summer Olympic games; (3) no American participation or attendance if the IOC fails to adopt such proposal; (4) that other nations be encouraged to support the U.S. policy; and (5) the IOC consider the creation of permanent sites for the summer and winter Olympic games.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1980
Amends the Small Business Act to increase loan authorizations to small business concerns for solar energy and energy conservation measures from $30,000,000 to $60,000,000 in direct and immediate participation loans and from $45,000,000 to $90,000,000 in guaranteed loans.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1980
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the zero bracket amount for heads of households from $2,300 to $3,400 (the same level as that for married individuals filing a joint return).
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1980
Intelligence Reform Act of 1980 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to define "special activity" to mean activity conducted abroad to further official United States programs and policies which is planned and executed so that the role of the Government is not apparent or acknowledged publicly, but excluding diplomatic activity and the collection of intelligence or related support functions. Prohibits the expenditure of funds by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for a special activity unless: (1) the President finds that the activity is important to the national security and reports such activity to the congressional select intelligence committees (current law requires such reporting to the "appropriate" congressional committees); or (2) the National Security Council (NSC) determines that the activity does not involve substantial resources or risks and falls within a category of special activities which (A) have been found by the President to be important to the national security, and (B) have been reported to the congressional select intelligence committees. Amends the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949 to exempt information in files maintained by an intelligence agency or component of the Government from the provisions of any law requiring publication or disclosure, if such files have been specifically designated by the Director of Central Intelligence to be concerned with: (1) scientific or technical systems for the collection of foreign intelligence; (2) special activities and foreign intelligence operations; (3) investigations to determine the suitability of potential foreign intelligence sources; and (4) intelligence liaison arrangements with foreign governments. Requires requests by United States citizens and permanent resident aliens for information concerning themselves to be processed in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act. Amends the National Security Act of 1947 to add a new title V, "Protection of Certain National Security Information." Establishes a maximum criminal penalty of ten years' imprisonment and/or a $50,000 fine for anyone who, having had authorized access to classified information, intentionally discloses to any individual not authorized to receive classified information any information that identifies an individual as an employee of an intelligence agency or as an agent, informant, or source of assistance to an intelligence agency, where the actor knows or has reason to know that the information so identifies such individual and that the United States is taking affirmative measures to conceal such individual's intelligence relationship to the United States. Establishes a maximum criminal penalty of one year imprisonment and/or a $5,000 fine for anyone who with intent to impair the foreign intelligence activities of the United States discloses such information with such knowledge. Makes it a defense to such crimes that before the commission of the offense the United States had publicly acknowledged or revealed the intelligence relationship of the individual to the United States. Stipulates that it shall not be an offense to transmit such information directly to the congressional intelligence committees. Defines "intelligence agency" for the purposes of such offenses to mean the CIA and any intelligence component of the Department of Defense.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1980
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase from 60 percent to 80 percent the income deduction allowed to individuals with respect to net capital gain from equity investment to small business.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1980
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) the U.S. Olympic Committee should petition the International Olympic Committee to relocate the 1980 summer games; and (2) the United States should not participate, if such games are not relocated.
United States · United States Congress · 20 December 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the manufacturer's excise tax on sporting goods, to exclude from the definition of "artificial bait" any substance which contains 85 percent or more by weight of plant or animal material which can be ingested by fish.
United States · United States Congress · 20 December 1979
Expresses the Senate's support for efforts to win the freedom of the hostages in Iran. Calls upon all nations to join in cooperative efforts to restrict relations with Iran. Declares that: (1) any trial or public exploitation of the hostages would be viewed as added provocation; and (2) the American people will not be diverted from their determination that the hostages be freed.
United States · United States Congress · 19 December 1979
Occupational Safety and Health Improvements Act of 1980 - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to exempt employers who maintain workplaces which qualify as non-hazardous, according to specified standards, from inspections or investigations, with specified exceptions. Directs the Secretary of Labor to enter into agreements with State workers' compensation or other appropriate State agencies under which such State agency will submit an annual list of all employers having one or more reported occupational injuries resulting in two or more lost workdays during the preceding year. Requires employers wishing to claim qualification for such exemptions to file an affidavit with the Secretary relating to the safety records of their workplaces. Limits the type or the amount of penalties which may be assessed against employers who maintain an advisory safety committee and a regular consultation program. Requires employers who qualify for exemptions from inspections or limitations on penalties to maintain records to which the Secretary has access. Provides for review by the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission and a U.S. court of appeals of rulings by the Secretary that workplaces do not qualify for exemptions from inspection or limitations on penalties. Prohibits considering consultant or committee reports or recommendations or employee assurances under this Act as evidence of a willful violation of such Act if the employer had a reasonable, good faith belief that the condition involved was not a violation. Prohibits specified liability claims against committees or consultants. Directs the Secretary to: (1) assist State agencies to make necessary procedural modifications; (2) report to Congress on State participation; (3) advise employers and employees of the provisions of this Act; (4) require inclusion of the provisions of this Act, or of similar provisions, for approval of State plans; (5) develop and implement other means to identify workplaces qualifying for exemption, as an alternative to the affidavit process; and (6) explore and report on other means to encourage voluntary self- initiative in workplaces to improve safety and health conditions. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to State agencies to improve their administration of State workers' compensation programs. Authorizes appropriations in specified amounts through fiscal year 1985 for such purpose. Declares the effective date of this Act to be January 1, 1981.
United States · United States Congress · 18 December 1979
Amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to provide for crediting the pro-rata expense obligations of a handler of grapefruit, lemons, and oranges from California and Arizona, pursuant to a marketing order, with all or any portion of such handler's direct expenditures for such marketing promotion.
United States · United States Congress · 15 December 1979
Calls upon all followers of Islam to prevail upon their brethren to: (1) release the American hostages held in Iran; and (2) until they are released, permit them to worship regularly in accordance with their religious faiths and meet with clergy of their faiths.
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 1979
Expresses the sense of Congress that the Soviet Union should permit Irina Astakhova McClellan and her family to emigrate to the United States to join her husband. Urges the President to: (1) express U.S. support on behalf of Irina Astakhova McClellan; and (2) inform the Soviet Union that the United States will take into account a country's commitment to human rights in evaluating U.S. relations with such country.
United States · United States Congress · 10 December 1979
Small Business Export Development Act of 1979 - Title I: Small Business Administration Export Development Programs - Amends the Small Business Act to establish within the Small Business Administration (SBA) an Office of International Trade. Directs the Office to promote sales opportunities for small business goods and services overseas by: (1) providing small businesses with access to current and complete export information; (2) providing assistance to States and other entities through the small business export development grant program; (3) promoting greater small business participation with programs under the Department of Commerce; and (4) providing technical advice to SBA personnel involved in granting loans and other forms of assistance to small businesses engaged in exports. Requires the Office to assign export development specialists to each SBA regional office to assist small businesses: (1) in obtaining export information and assistance from other Federal departments; (2) by maintaining a current directory of all programs pertaining to exports within the region; (3) by encouraging financial institutions to expand and develop programs for export financing; and (4) by providing counseling pursuant to export sales. Authorizes the SBA to make grants to any State government or other entity (applicant) which has established an overseas office to assist such applicant in operating its small business export development program. Provides that such grants shall not exceed 50 percent of the total cost of such program (limited to $150,000 in any one calendar year). Declares that such grants shall be limited to one applicant in each region during the two fiscal years following enactment of this Act. Sets forth terms and conditions for an applicant to participate in such program. Directs the SBA to develop a plan to evaluate such grant program by: (1) determining its impact on small business; (2) determining the amount of export sales generated; and (3) making recommendations concerning its continuation or expansion and possible improvements. Requires such evaluation to be submitted to the appropriate congressional committees by October 1, 1982. Authorizes specified sums to the SBA to carry out programs promulgated under this title. Title II: Commercial Ministers, Commercial Counselors and Commercial Attaches - Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to appoint commercial ministers, counselors, and attaches (who shall be employees of the Department of Commerce) for service in the United States and abroad to carry out the purposes of this title. Requires commercial attaches to participate in training sessions designed by the Secretary in cooperation with the Department of State, the Foreign Service Institute, and other Federal agencies. Declares that such training shall include the study of export and import programs pursuant to the needs of United States businesses for export information and assistance. Declares that such commercial employees shall be accorded the same rank and privileges as other comparable employees posted in United States embassies and consulates abroad. Directs the Secretary of State to attach such commercial employees to the diplomatic mission in the country to which they are assigned by the Secretary of Commerce, and to obtain such diplomatic privileges and immunities enjoyed by comparable Foreign Service personnel. Sets forth the functions and duties of such commercial employees, including all areas of trade and commercial services and export promotion relative to United States interests within their districts. Requires such employees to report semiannually to the Secretary of Commerce on the following information within their districts: (1) market conditions, commercial developments, and economic climate; (2) implementation of and compliance with multilateral and bilateral trade agreements; (3) specific industry and commodity conditions; (4) foreign law and business practices affecting United States interests; and (5) trade opportunities on an industry by industry basis. Directs such employees to maintain and make available current data on the commercial standing and capacity of foreign firms within their districts and any other functions and duties prescribed by the Secretary. Allows any officer or employee assigned to a post abroad to be assigned for duty in the continental United States, at the discretion of the Secretary, for a period of not more than three years. Directs the Secretary of State, at the request of the Secretary of Commerce, to provide office space, equipment, and administrative and clerical personnel deemed necessary for commercial employees to carry out their functions and duties. Authorizes each Federal agency, at the request of the Secretary, to make available its services, personnel, and facilities to such employees. Directs such commercial employees to make available any reports and dispatches to the Department of State, the Small Business Administration, and any other interested Government agencies. Makes available to such employees representative allowances, allowances and benefits, advance payment for rent and other services, and funds for courtesies to foreign representatives. Title III: National Export Council - Establishes in the Executive Office of the President a National Export Council and sets forth its membership and functions. Declares that the Council shall serve as a national advisory body on matters relating to United States export trade. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to provide the Council with administrative and staff services, and support and facilities deemed necessary in the performance of its functions. Provides travel and per diem assistance as authorized by law. Directs the Council to report to Congress by March 31 of each year on its activities. Appropriates sums as may be necessary to carry out this title.
United States · United States Congress · 10 December 1979
Expresses the sense of Congress that the President should: (1) reaffirm U.S. commitment to the Helsinki Accords; (2) communicate to the Soviet Union U.S. disapproval of religious harassment of Christians in the Soviet Union and of the restrictions on such Christians' freedom to emigrate; and (3) advise the Soviet Union of U.S. expectation that the Soviet Union honor its commitments under the Helsinki Accords and under international law.
United States · United States Congress · 7 December 1979
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Government of the United Kingdom merits commendation for reducing tensions in Zimbabwe-Rhodesia and establishing a basis for peace in the region.
United States · United States Congress · 4 December 1979
Amends the Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976 to establish a ninth Regional Fishery Management Council, the California Pacific Council, which shall consist of the State of California and have authority over the fisheries in the Pacific Ocean seaward of such State.
United States · United States Congress · 28 November 1979
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the American people and their representatives are united in their determination and efforts to achieve the immediate, safe, and unconditional release of all U.S. personnel. Calls upon the U.N. Security Council to take all necessary measures to secure the release of all U.S. personnel held hostage in Iran.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 1979
California Wilderness Act of 1979 - Designates specified lands within specified national forests within California as wilderness areas and additions to wilderness areas. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to administer such lands. Requires that lands designated for multiple use other than wilderness pursuant to the Roadless Area Review and Evaluation be managed according to the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resource Planning Act of 1974. Specifies that all other lands, located within the States of California, which have been studied as part of the Roadless Area Review and Evaluation Program and which are not designated as wilderness by this Act shall be available for multiple use other than wilderness.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 1979
Expresses the sense of Congress that the Soviet Union should release Ida Nudel and allow her to emigrate to Israel. Urges the President to: (1) express U.S. opposition to the exile of Ida Nudel to Siberia; and (2) inform the Soviet Union that the United States will take into account the extent to which countries honor their commitments under international law, particularly concerning human rights.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 1979
Authorizes the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Incorporated, to erect a memorial on public grounds in West Potomac Park in the District of Columbia in honor and recognition of the men and women of the armed forces who served in the Vietnam war.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 1979
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) all countries and all people be urged to respond generously to Cambodian relief efforts; (2) Cambodian authorities be encouraged to allow the use of all possible avenues for delivering food and medical supplies; and (3) the United States and the United Nations should express their expectation that the great power supporters of the factions in Cambodia share in international responsibility for averting famine.
United States · United States Congress · 1 November 1979
Savings and Investment Act of 1979 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit individual taxpayers to establish tax-free rollover bank accounts. Defines a "tax-free rollover account" as a trust established for the exclusive benefit of the taxpayer or his beneficiaries to which cash contributions or stock and securities of domestic corporations are made and reinvested at the discretion of the trustee or the individual taxpayer. Provides that interest or dividends accruing to the account shall not be taxed until distributed to the taxpayer. Exempts a rollover account trust from income taxation as an entity. Specifies that the character of income as capital gain or ordinary income in the hands of the individual taxpayer who receives a distribution from a rollover account shall be the same as the character of such income while accumulated in a rollover account trust. Requires the trustee of a rollover account trust to maintain separate accounts for amounts designated as contribution to capital, capital gain, and ordinary income (e.g. interest, dividend, net short-term capital gain). Specifies that distributions from a rollover account shall be treated as made from first, the ordinary income fund, second, the capital gain fund, and third, the capital fund. Treats any transfer or pledge of account funds as security for a loan as a deemed withdrawal from the account, but does not require such treatment if fund are transferred to a spouse pursuant to a divorce decree. Limits an individual taxpayer to the establishment of one rollover account trust at a time. Requires the trustee of a rollover account trust to file an annual informational return containing such information as the Secretary of the Treasury may require.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a credit against the excise tax on domestic or imported distilled spirits, wines, and beer for each proof gallon of the wine content of distilled spirits containing wine. Sets the amount of such credit at the excess of $10.50 over the rate of the additional tax on such wine which would be imposed but for its removal to bonded premises. Specifies the points in time for determining allowance of such credit for domestic and for imported distilled spirits containing wine. Excludes from such credit: (1) any substance which has been subject to distillation at a distilled spirits plant after receipt in bond; and (2) wine containing more than 24 percent of alcohol by volume.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 1979
Mass Transportation Crime Prevention Act - Amends the Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964 to establish criminal penalties for the destruction of property committed in, upon, or in proximity to any mass transportation system.
United States · United States Congress · 9 October 1979
Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act Amendment of 1979 - Amends the Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1975 to permit funds authorized to be appropriated for refugee assistance to be available for obligation through September 30, 1983 (presently, 1981).
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1979
Federal Firearms Law Reform Act of 1979 - Title I: Amendments to Gun Control Act - Amends the Gun Control Act of 1968 to redefine: (1) "manufacturer" to mean any person engaged in the "business of manufacturing" (instead of "manufacture" of) firearms or ammunition; and (2) "dealer" to exclude dealers in ammunition and persons engaged in the business of repairing firearms. Adds a new definition "engaged in the business" with respect to manufacturers, dealers, and importers. Includes as a manufacturer of ammunition a person whose gross sales of his own ammunition exceed $1,000 in any calendar year. Includes as a dealer in firearms a person who deals in firearms as a regular course of business with the principal objective of livelihood and profit through the repetitive purchase and resale of firearms. Replaces the current term "crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year" with a new definition of "disabling crime." Eliminates certain activities regarding ammunition from the coverage of the current prohibitions. Revises current provisions respecting the interstate sale or transfer of firearms. Revises the current prohibition against selling a firearm or ammunition to certain persons (such as persons under indictment for a felony or addicted to drugs) to apply such prohibition only to persons convicted of a "disabling crime." Revises the current prohibition against certain persons transporting a firearm or ammunition in interstate commerce to: (1) extend such prohibition to possession or receipt in commerce or affecting commerce of any firearm or ammunition; (2) conform such prohibition to the new "disabling crime" provision; and (3) include as additional categories illegal aliens, persons dishonorably discharged from the Armed Forces, and persons who have renounced their United States citizenship. Makes the same changes to the current prohibition against certain persons who receive a firearm or ammunition which has been transported in interstate commerce, but applies such prohibition to persons who are employed by the enumerated categories of individuals. Excludes ammunition dealers from the current licensing requirements. Stipulates that the Secretary of the Treasury may revoke a license only where the holder of such license has "knowingly" violated a provision of the Act or regulation. Bars the Secretary from denying or revoking a license on the basis of violations under this Act which are alleged in criminal proceedings instituted against a licensee, where such individual is not convicted of such charges. Imposes as a condition for the inspection or examination of records or documents and any firearm or ammunition kept by an importer, manufacturer, or dealer pursuant to this Act that the Secretary has reasonable grounds to believe that a violation has occurred and that evidence may be found on the premises of such persons. Restricts the firearm information obtained from licensees which the Secretary may make available to State or local governments. Establishes a limited recordkeeping requirement for firearms collectors. Stipulates that the general penalty under this Act shall apply to whoever "willfully" violates any provision. Prohibits, with respect to a person's second or subsequent conviction for illegally using or carrying a firearm during the commission of a felony, the granting of parole before completion of the minimum sentence. Amends the forfeiture provision to subject to seizure any firearm or ammunition "involved in or used" in any violation of the Act (instead of "involved in or used or intended to be used"). Requires a court to award attorney's fees to the prevailing party (other than the United States) in an action or proceeding for the return of seized firearms or ammunition. Allows the court to award such fees in any other action upon a finding that the action was initiated in bad faith. Amends the rulemaking authority of the Secretary to provide that no regulation may require the transfer of records required under this Act to a facility owned, managed, or controlled by the United States or any State or the establishment of any system of registration of firearms, firearms owners, or firearms transactions. Requires a 90-day public comment period for proposed regulations (no period is currently specified). Allows one House of Congress to disapprove by resolution any firearms regulation within 90 days of continuous session of the promulgation of such rule. Requires that resolutions of disapproval be immediately referred to only those standing committees having legislative responsibility for this Act. Allows a sponsor of any such resolution to move to discharge from further consideration a committee which does not report out the resolution within 45 days of continuous session of Congress. States that it shall be in order to move to proceed to the consideration of the resolution any time after a committee has reported or has been discharged from further consideration. Prohibits the Secretary from prescribing any rules identical to regulations disapproved by Congress without the enactment of additional legislation respecting his authority. Prohibits the Secretary from prescribing regulations which require purchasers of black powder to complete affidavits or forms attesting to their exemption from certain provisions of the Federal criminal code. Makes any law or regulation promulgated by any State prohibiting the transfer of an unloaded and not readily accessible firearm or ammunition null and void. Title II: Amendments to title VII of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 - Repeals title VII of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act (relating to the receipt, possession, or transportation of firearms by felons, veterans dishonorably discharged, mental incompetents, illegal aliens, and persons renouncing their United States citizenship).
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 1979
Small Business Innovation Act of 1979 - Title I: Research and Development Contracts - Amends the Small Business Act to direct the Small Business Administration (SBA) to advise, assist, and monitor Federal agencies in meeting the small business research and development set-asides required under this Act. Directs the SBA to develop an information program to assure that each qualified small business concern has the opportunity to participate in the Federal agency Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) programs. Requires the SBA to report annually to the appropriate committees of Congress on the activities of Federal agencies in meeting and development set-asides and on the SBIR programs. Directs each Federal agency to set-aside for award to small business concerns a specified percentage of its budget for prime research and development contracts. Sets forth the percentage for fiscal year 1980 and each succeeding fiscal year until such percentage equals ten percent of the total dollar amount of such contracts. Stipulates that such set-asides apply to basic and applied research and development. Requires each Federal agency having an annual research and development budget of more than $100,000,000 to establish an SBIR program where one percent of its 1980 research and development budget and of its subsequent budgets would be reserved for contract awards to small business firms specifically in connection with the SBIR program. Sets forth responsibilities of each such Federal agency with respect to the administration of an SBIR program as follows: (1) determine categories of projects; (2) issue SBIR solicitations; (3) receive and evaluate proposals; (4) select awardees for SBIR contracts; (5) administer such contracts; (6) make payments to SBIR contractors; and (7) make quarterly reports on the SBIR program to the SBA. Allows such agencies to include the value of SBIR contracts in determining whether such goals are met. Prohibits contract awards to small business concerns for research and development which result from competitive or single source selections other than under an SBIR program to be counted as meeting any portion of the percentage requirements established pursuant to this Act. Directs the Administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, in conjunction with the SBA and the National Science Foundation, to issue regulations for conduct by Federal agencies which shall: (1) provide a simplified acquisition process for the program with SBIR requests for proposals being standardized throughout the Federal Government; and (2) include uniform requirements for patent rights and rights in data. Requires the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy, in cooperation with the SBA, to establish simplified regulations for all Federal agencies for the award of research and development contracts to small business concerns. Directs the Administrator to insure that such regulations shall: (1) eliminate provisions of research contracts which require businesses to absorb expenses of performance of such contract and require Federal agencies to negotiate fees for all services and expenses relative to awarded contracts; (2) prohibit Federal agencies from excluding any small business concern from competition for such contracts on the same terms and conditions as any other business concern; (3) require each agency to consider and review unsolicited research and development proposals from small business concerns; (4) require agencies to consider small businesses on an equal basis with any other business concern in the award of sole source research contracts; (5) require that independent research and development costs and the bid and proposal costs incurred by small businesses shall be attributable to the contract in the fiscal year such expenses are incurred; (6) require agencies to evaluate the feasibility of dividing large scale proposed contracts into small segments to facilitate participation of small businesses; (7) require agency staff and consultants to provide fair and equal opportunity to small businesses owned by women and minorities and to provide guidance and counseling to such businesses; (8) require Federal agencies to evaluate personnel engaged in the awarding of research contracts; and (9) establish the responsibility of Federal agencies to identify the agency procedures in awarding research contracts which discriminate against small business concerns and take appropriate action to eliminate such procedures. Title II: Patents - States that it is the objective of this title to amend existing patent procedures in order to promote the marketing of inventions developed under federally supported research and development projects. Permits any 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. Prohibits funding agreements with small business firms or nonprofit organizations from containing provisions allowing a Federal agency to require licensing to third parties of inventions which are not inventions conceived or first actually reduced to practice under a Federal contract or grant without written justification from the head of such agency. Allows such licensing upon a determination by the agency head that such action is necessary to achieve the practical application of the subject invention or work object. 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 15 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, granting licenses, and transferring custody of patents. Authorizes the Administrator of General Services to promulgate regulations specifying the terms upon which any federally-owned invention may be licensed. 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. Directs the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks to establish regulations governing: (1) the citation to the Patent and Trademark Office of prior art patents or publications which are pertinent to a later patent; and (2) the reexamination of a patent to determine whether such a prior patent or publication has any bearing on the patentability of any claim of such patent. Authorizes any individual to: (1) cite to the Office any such prior patent; and (2) request such a reexamination. Requires the Commissioner within 90 days of such a request to make a determination as to whether the cited prior patent raises a new question of the patentability of any claim of the later patent. Authorizes the Commissioner on his or her own initiative to make such a determination at any time. States that a determination that no new question is raised shall be final. Directs the Commissioner, upon determining that there is a new question of patentability, to order and conduct a reexamination. Requires that the patent owner be provided at least two months to file a statement on such question and that the person making the reexamination request be provided two months to respond to such statement. Declares that the patent owner shall be provided an opportunity in any reexamination to amend any claim of the patent in order to distinguish the claim from the prior patent cited, or in response to a decision adverse to the patentability of the claim. Authorizes the owner to appeal any adverse decision. Directs the Commissioner, upon the conclusion of any reexamination or appeal proceeding, to issue and publish a certificate cancelling any unpatentable claim, confirming any valid claim, and incorporating any amended claim in the patent. Declares that no prior patent or publication may be relied upon as evidence of nonpatentability in a civil action involving the validity or infringement of a patent unless: (1) the prior patent or publication was cited by or to the Office regarding application or reexamination proceedings for the patent; or (2) the court concludes that consideration of the prior patent or publication in such proceedings is unnecessary for adjudication. Sets forth circumstances under which a court may stay the proceedings of a civil action involving the infringement or validity of a patent to enable either party to such action to secure a determination on a request for reexamination of the patent by the Patent and Trademark Office. Provides the moving party in such action the right to dismiss the complaint commencing such action. Title III: Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 - Small Business Research and Development Tax Incentive Act of 1979 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow taxpayers who sell small business stock to recognize the gain from such sale to the extent such gain exceeds the cost of the purchase of other small business stock within 18 months after such sale. Sets forth definitions and special rules applicable to such nonrecognition of gain. Provides procedures for the reduction of basis of small business stock purchased during such 18-month period. Provides, upon notification to the Secretary of the Treasury, a three-year statutory period for the assessment of any deficiency attributable to any such gain. Sets forth the procedure for determining the period for which the taxpayer has held small business stock which resulted in nonrecognition of gain on the sale of such stock. Allows a taxpayer, other than a corporation, to deduct a specified percentage of his net small business capital gain from his gross income applicable to stock acquired after December 31, 1979. Declares that in the case of a qualified small business concern, a net operating loss in any taxable year after December 31, 1979, shall be a net operating loss carryover to each of the ten taxable years following such loss. Allows a qualified small business concern to treat research and experimental expenditures for the acquisition or improvement of property as expenses not chargeable to its capital account. Allows such concerns to treat such expenditures for any property subject to a depreciation or depletion allowance as deferred expenses, and in the case of a building such deferred expense shall be allowed ratably over a period of 120 months. Allows a tax exclusion for small business concerns engaged in a trade or business other than real estate, for deposits made into a reserve for research and development with specified limitations. Disallows a deduction for amounts paid from a reserve for research and development which is used by the taxpayer for research and experimental expenditures, if such expenditures may be taken into account by the taxpayer under other provisions of the Code. Specifies the percentage the taxpayer must include in gross income for amounts from the reserve not used for research and development. Specifies that a contribution to such reserve may be made only in cash for purposes of this Act. Sets forth requirements and procedures for treatment of such reserve when the taxpayer ceases to be a small business concern. Sets forth the definition of qualified stock options and requirements under which employees may use such granted stock options. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow small business corporations to include 100 shareholders, provided such corporations are not venture capital corporations. Makes amendments under this title applicable to taxable years beginning after December 31, 1979. Title IV: Regulatory Flexibility - Regulatory Flexibility Act - Requires Federal agencies to include the following information in the general notice of a proposed rule: (1) the goals and purpose of the rule; (2) the estimated number of individuals, businesses, organizations, and governmental jurisdictions affected by the rule; (3) a statement that the agency seeks alternative proposals which could achieve the goal of the proposed rule at a lower cost to individuals, small businesses, small organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions; and (4) a list of the measures necessary for compliance with any reporting requirement affecting more than ten persons. Requires Federal agencies to accept and consider alternative proposals to a proposed rule and to publish those proposals with justification of the selection of the final rule. Defines a small business, small organization, small governmental jurisdiction, and an individual as used in this Act. Directs each agency to publish a plan for reviewing its rules within 180 days after enactment of this Act. Requires each agency to determine whether such rules are efficiently achieving the goals of the implementing legislation. Directs the agency to publish, annually, a list of the rules to be issued and reviewed during the next year.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 1979
Authorizes the President, on behalf of the Congress, to present a gold medal of appropriate design to Simon Wiesenthal in recognition of his contribution to international justice through the documentation and location of war criminals from World War II. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike bronze duplicates of such medal for sale to the public.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 1979
Expresses the sense of Congress that the Soviet Union should, with regard to the 1980 Summer Olympics: (1) permit full participation by athletes, spectators, and journalists; (2) issue visas, admission tickets, and hotel reservations on a nondiscriminatory basis; (3) not interfere with news coverage; and (4) not prevent or punish its citizens for communicating with participants.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 1979
Agricultural, Forestry, and Rural Energy Act of 1979 - Amends the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 to add a new "Title XX--Agricultural, Forestry, and Rural Energy Act" which directs the Secretary of Agriculture to implement an Agricultural, Forestry, and Rural Energy Production, Use, and Conservation Program in order to enable the United States to achieve net energy independence for agricultural and forestry production, processing, and marketing, and to reduce the petroleum and natural gas consumption of rural residents and communities by 50 percent by the year 2000. Directs the Secretary to establish an Agricultural, Forestry, and Rural Energy Board to assist the Secretary by: (1) making a comprehensive assessment of the Nation's agricultural, forestry and rural energy needs, resources, practices, legal authorities, programs, and related elements (such assessment to be updated at least every five years); and (2) preparing the Energy Production, Use, and Conservation Program. Requires the Energy Production, Use, and Conservation Program to: (1) inventory the specific needs and opportunities for public and private investment in agricultural, forestry, and rural energy production, use, and conservation projects; (2) identify estimated costs, returns, results, and benefits associated with such investments; and (3) discuss the priorities and options for the accomplishment of such Program. Requires cooperation with Federal, State, and local agencies and organizations. Demands submission of the completed Program to the Secretary and to Congress within one year after enactment of this Act, with revision at least every five years. Requires annual reports on the Program to Congress by February 1 of each year, the first to be submitted by February 1, 1981. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to implement an applied research program to develop: (1) economical and energy-efficient fuel hydrocarbons, and petrochemical substitutes from biomass; (2) techniques for using energy so derived in the production, processing, and marketing of agricultural commodities and forest products; (3) economical ways for rural communities to use such energy; (4) the use of wood as an energy-efficient material in building construction; and (5) energy conservation systems and techniques for farmers, owners of forest land, rural residents, and rural communities. Authorizes annual appropriations not to exceed $50,000,000 solely for applied research at State agricultural experiment stations to develop agricultural, forestry, and rural energy production, use, and conservation. Requires the Secretary to study the feasibility of alternate crop-livestock systems to produce both foodstuffs and fiber for domestic and export markets and biomass for use in the production of energy. Directs the Secretary to implement an extension program to disseminate the results of rural energy research and to encourage rural residents and communities to adopt projects for the production and use of biomass energy and energy conservation techniques. Authorizes the annual appropriation of $50,000,000 under the Smith-Lever Act, and $5,000,000 under the Renewable Resources Extension Act of 1978 for rural and forest energy extension work by State extension services. Directs the Secretary to establish (to the extent practicable, at existing Department of Agriculture research facilities) four Wood Energy Centers and four Agricultural Biomass Energy Centers, each in a different geographic region of the United States and located in an area containing substantial amounts of private forest land or intensively used farm land, as appropriate. Requires each Center, under Board direction, to: (1) perform applied wood or agricultural biomass energy production and use and energy conservation research projects; (2) develop an information bank; (3) field-test promising research findings; (4) provide technical assistance to landowners, colleges and universities, and other interested parties; (5) make demonstration projects; (6) disseminate information on new energy technologies; (7) perform energy need analyses for rural residents and communities; (8) perform similar research, field test, and demonstration programs with respect to agricultural commodities; and (9) implement solar energy model farms and demonstration projects. Permits the Secretary to make National Forest Systems wood and residues available to assist in such research and demonstrations. Authorizes annual appropriations of $30,000,000 for Wood Energy Centers and $30,000,000 for Agricultural Biomass Energy Centers. Authorizes the Secretary to share up to 75 percent of the cost of implementing wood energy production practices set forth in agreements for such purposes with owners of nonindustrial private forest land. Requires that such agreements be based on individual forest management plans ensuring maximum development of the land for wood for energy. Authorizes annual appropriations of $100,000,000 for such program. Directs the Secretary to conduct a five-year pilot program of financial assistance to owners of nonindustrial private forest land which shall include, but not be limited to: (1) the insuring and guaranteeing of loans providing periodic loan disbursements; (2) the consolidation for resale in private capital markets of the loan obligations of individual landowners; and (3) the loaning of funds to lending institutions in order to make such guaranteed loans. Declares eligible for such program any private individual, group, Indian tribe or other native group, association, partnership, corporation or other legal entity which owns forest land capable of producing crops of industrial wood, provided the applicant is unable to obtain sufficient credit elsewhere. Requires borrowers to prepare, keep current, and adhere to an individual forest management plan, developed in cooperation with and approved by the State forester (or equivalent official). Limits the maximum amount of any insured or guaranteed loan to any one landowner to $50,000 annually. Authorizes the Secretary to guarantee up to 90 percent of that portion of the overall loan obligation which exceeds the market value of the assets securing such loan. Bases the amount of the periodic loan disbursement upon the future expected market value of the timber securing such loan, limiting the total principal and interest obligation to 80 percent of such value. Allows for adjustment of loan terms, as agreed by both landowner and lender, following periodic reviews of individual loan agreements and forest management plans. Entitles borrowers to prepayment of all or any part of an outstanding loan obligation without penalty. Sets a repayment term of up to 40 years. Allows the interest rate to be set by the lender and borrower. Directs the Secretary to appoint a program development and evaluation committee to advise him regarding the financial assistance program. Requires funding for the program to be drawn from the Rural Development Insurance Fund. Authorizes necessary appropriations for administrative expenses. Limits the total annual expenditure: (1) for insured loans to a maximum $25,000,000; and (2) for guaranteed loans to a maximum of $10,000,000. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to State for the employment of additional State foresters or equivalent officials to provide technical assistance to owners of private forest land in: (1) identifying the opportunities for, and increasing the production of, wood for energy; and (2) developing individual forest management plans under programs of this Act. Requires the Secretary, in determining the amount of such assistance, to consider the underuse of forest growth in the State and the potential for use of this material in energy production in the State. Permits the Secretary to take necessary actions to make wood energy use training programs available to such foresters. Authorizes the annual appropriation of not more than $8,500,000 for such financial assistance program. Directs the Secretary to establish State advisory committees in States with significant amounts of nonindustrial private forest land to advise the Secretary and the State forester periodically about the effectiveness of Federal programs and the potential for developing markets for wood energy. Authorizes the Secretary to make loans to establish concentration and distribution centers that make fuelwood available to homeowners. Authorizes the annual appropriation of $10,000,000 for five fiscal years. Directs the Secretary to implement a program disseminating information and providing technical assistance with respect to the small-scale production and use of ethanol, methanol, low and medium British thermal unit gas, and other energy forms from agricultural biomass. Requires State extension services to conduct at least 100 workshops annually instructing: (1) interested parties on construction and operation of agricultural biomass energy production facilities; and (2) county extension agents on the conduct of agricultural biomass energy extension at the local level. Directs the Secretary to establish projects for rural energy conservation and the production and use of energy from biomass through direct, insured, and guaranteed loans to finance the construction and operation of commercial or on-farm projects. Authorizes the Secretary to make up to $10,000,000 worth of grants for demonstration for the same purposes. Limits the total amount of such loans made or insured in any fiscal year to not more than $250,000,000 with at least one-third allocated for projects using wood or wood wastes, and at least one-fourth allocated for small-scale facilities for the annual production of at most 2,000,000 gallons of ethanol, or the energy equivalent of other forms of biomass energy. Limits the annual total of guaranteed loans to $1,000,000,000 similarly allocated. Requires: (1) the execution of at least 75 percent of such loans, guarantees, and grants by May 31 of the fiscal year in question; and (2) the coordination of such programs with other specified agriculture and energy loan and grant programs. Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to authorize, for fiscal years 1981 and 1982, not to exceed: (1) $25,000,000 for community facility loans for rural electric cooperatives for projects to generate electricity using nonfossil energy sources including biomass and hydropower; (2) $50,000,000 for direct, insured, or guaranteed farm ownership (real estate) loans for nonfossil energy systems used on farms; (3) $20,000,000 for direct, insured, or guaranteed farm operating loans for equipment using biomass or solar energy or increasing energy conservation; (4) $250,000,000 for guaranteed and $20,000,000 for insured industrial development loans, with authority to transfer amounts between such categories, for commercial biomass energy production projects. Authorizes the Administrator of the Rural Electrification Administration to make grants to owners of rural electric systems, or federations of such owners, for projects demonstrating alternate energy and conservation technologies. Authorizes appropriations for such grants for fiscal years 1980 through 1983. Directs the Farm Credit Administration to encourage the production credit associations, Federal land banks, and banks for cooperatives to use the existing authority in the Farm Credit Act of 1971 to make loans to farmers for the establishment or operation of commercially feasible biomass energy production or energy conservation projects. Amends the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act to authorize the Secretary to provide cost-sharing financial assistance and technical assistance to agricultural producers for shelter belts, minimum tillage systems, manure or other suitable fertilizer wastes, integrated pest management, energy-efficient irrigation water management, and water conservation measures necessary to improve crop yields in relation to the amount of energy used in crop production. Makes this Act effective October 1, 1979.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 1979
Antiquities Act and Federal Land Policy and Management Act Amendments of 1979 - Amends the Antiquities Act to define "objects of historic or scientific interest" to include specified items. Stipulates that such objects must be directly associated with human activities. Requires congressional approval of any Presidential proclamation of a national monument before it can effect a reservation of public lands in excess of 5,000 acres. Permits the continuance of uses of public lands within a national monument which were valid uses prior to the designation of such lands as a monument, including hunting, guiding, hiking, boating, and use of motorized vehicles. Stipulates that such uses must not adversely affect the objects sought to be protected by the reservation. Grants such provisions governing the proclamation of national monuments retroactive effect as of October 14, 1978. Amends the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to require congressional approval of withdrawals of public lands in excess of 5,000 acres by the Secretary of the Interior.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 1979
Congressional Pay Cap Act of 1979 - Prohibits the salaries of the Vice President, Senators, Members of the Representatives, the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President pro tempore of the Senate, and the majority and minority leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives from exceeding the rate of pay in effect on September 30, 1978.
United States · United States Congress · 5 September 1979
Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1976 to authorize the Secretary of the Army, through the Chief of Engineers, to construct the Santa Ana River flood control project, California.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1979
Western Lands Distribution and Regional Equalization Act of 1979 - Title I: Short Title; Findings and Declaration of Policy; Definitions - States that the practice of retaining Federal ownership to territory within the borders of States located west of the one-hundredth meridian as a condition precedent to their admission into the Union, has impinged on the sovereignty of such States in derogation of the tenth amendment to the Constitution. Declares that the United States shall hold all such States federally owned, unreserved, and unappropriated lands in trust for such States and shall transfer ownership and administration of such lands to such States when they have adopted legislation which provides a uniformity of State and Federal law relating to land administration, conservation and use. Excludes from transfer in implementing such policy all Federal lands within national parks, national monuments, and national wildlife and migratory bird sanctuaries established prior to January 1, 1979, lands within Indian or military reservations, and lands necessary for the operation of Federal reclamation projects, shipyards docks, defense establishments and other Federal buildings. Title II: Federal Land Transfer Board - Authorizes the Governor of any State seeking to acquire such unreserved and unappropriated lands to petition the President within 60 months of the enactment of this Act to establish a Federal Land Transfer Board for such State. Directs the President to establish such a Board consisting of State and Federal members within 90 days of the receipt of such an application. States that the Board shall serve until all conveyances of such lands within the State are carried out. Requires each Federal Land Transfer Board to coordinate its activities with the State land commission established pursuant to this Act. Directs each Board to carry out the required land transfers within two years of its determination that a State's application meets the requirements of this Act. Empowers the Land Transfer Boards to resolve land claims and disputes arising from the implementation of this Act. Grants any State aggrieved by a decision of a Land Transfer Board on its application the right to a public hearing and review before the Board. Empowers the United States courts of appeals to hear appeals from final orders of the Boards. States that judicial review shall be on the record made before the Board and that the Board's findings shall be conclusive if supported by substantial evidence. States that the judgment of the court of appeals shall be subject to review only by the United States Supreme Court upon a writ of certiorari or certification. Title III: State Land Commissions - Requires each State seeking the conveyance of unreserved and unappropriated land under this Act, to establish a State land commission board to: (1) hold any transferred lands in trust for all people of the United States; (2) manage such lands to maximize conservation and permit compatible land uses; (3) protect the interests of persons who have acquired rights in such land under Federal law; (4) collect fees, rents, and royalties, issue licenses, conduct surveys and perform other administrative functions relating to such lands; (5) transfer to the United States those property interests necessary to continue lawful, Federal activities; and (6) continue to administer lands previously administered by the United States pursuant to a treaty or interstate compact in conformance with the terms of such treaty or compact. Directs each State land commission board to coordinate its activities with the appropriate Federal Land Transfer Board. Title IV: Miscellaneous - Declares that the United States shall retain control over the oceans, seas, navigable rivers, streams, and lakes, and projects of the Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation. Directs the President to modify agreements with other nations if necessary to implement this Act. Grants the consent of Congress to any interstate compact relating to the management and use of such lands if it has been approved by the appropriate Federal Land Transfer Boards. Sets forth provisions to assist individuals whose employment is disrupted by implementation of this Act. Authorizes each Federal agency with jurisdiction over lands conveyed to a State under this Act, to extend low interest loans to such State to insure that it is financially able to comply with the provisions of this Act. Limits the amount of such loans to the anticipated mineral, timber, and grazing revenues derived from such transferred lands over a ten-year period.
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