United States · United States Congress · 20 July 1978
Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act relating to the disclosure of consumer information maintained by financial institutions. Requires every credit, insurance, and banking institution to notify its customers of the routine disclosures it expects to make of any information maintained on its customers. Prohibits the disclosure, without the customer's authorization, of information inconsistent with such notification except: (1) to prevent or protest against the possible occurrence of fraud; or (2) where necessary to service the credit, insurance or banking relationship; or (3) in response to an administrative summons or judicial order. Requires such institutions to notify their customers of changes in their disclosure policies. Permits unauthorized disclosures by insurance institutions and insurance support organizations as defined in this Act only to physicians. State insurance regulators, or where required by a mandatory reporting statute or legal order. Allows unauthorized disclosures to coinsurers, reinsurers, or any other party in interest to the insurance transaction, provided: (1) the disclosed information is limited to matters relevant to the insurance transaction; (2) the recipient is prohibited from disclosure as defined in this Act; (3) the consumer is notified of the disclosure; (4) any disclosed medical information was obtained directly from the consumer, his doctor, parent, guardian, or spouse; (5) the information is disclosed to an organization whose sole function is to prevent fraud in claim settlements; and (6) the insurance institution is prohibited from using the information for other than claim purposes. Imposes civil liability for willful or negligent breach of the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 1978
Free and Fair Trade in Procurement Act - States the purposes of this Act to be to provide a preference in government procurement with Federal funds for domestic goods, and to provide an additional preference for such procurement over foreign goods not freely and fairly traded. Defines "domestic article" for purposes of this Act to be any final good delivered to the government of which at least 75 percent of the total cost is attributable to United States sources. Includes within the definition of "Federal agency" for purposes of this Act AMTRAK and Conrail. Requires that domestic articles and materials be purchased for: (1) procurements by Federal agencies or with Federal funds; (2) public buildings or public works involving Federal funds; and (3) State and local procurements at least 50 percent of which are federally funded. Allows for exceptions to such preference if the domestic product cannot be obtained in sufficient quantity or quality, or if the cost of such product is excessive. Directs that no product may be procured with Federal funds from nonmembers or violators of an international government procurement code to which the United States is a party. Allows for exceptions to such preference due to insufficient quantity, quality, or excessive cost. Extends the preference for domestic goods to subcontracts which form ten percent or more of the total delivered price of the procured product. Stipulates that the procurement preferences provided for in this Act shall not apply to the procurement of goods to be used outside the United States, or for purchases inconsistent with the public interest. States that the cost of a domestic product is to be considered excessive if the cost of the domestic product is: (1) more than ten percent higher than a foreign equivalent product which is freely and fairly traded; or (2) not less than 30 nor more than 40 percent higher than a foreign equivalent product which is not freely and fairly traded. Sets forth the guidelines for determining whether a foreign product is freely and fairly traded for purposes of this Act. Provides that a person in violation of certain unfair import practices under the Tariff Act of 1930 shall be barred from participating in any government procurements for three years. Requires a contractor supplying foreign products for government procurements to certify that he has written assurance from any foreign supplier that such foreign products are not being supplied at below their production cost, and that such foreign supplier is not in violation of United States antitrust laws. Provides that a contractor falsely certifying shall be barred from participating in any government procurements for three years. Repeals the "Buy American Act."
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 1978
Expresses the support of the Senate for the nomination of the Public Groups to Promote Observance of the Helsinki Agreement in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics for the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 1978
National Institute of Justice Act - Establishes an independent agency to be known as the National Institute of Justice. Authorizes and directs the Institute to: (1) make evaluations of the effectiveness and quality of justice and administration of law; (2) conduct research concerning justice and administration of law; (3) conduct experimental programs; and (4) conduct training and educational programs in law and judicial procedures.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1978
Small Communities Act - Title I: Findings and Purposes - States that the purpose of this Act is the simplification of the administrative and financial burdens on small communities in complying with the requirements of Federal assistance programs. Title II: Definitions - Defines terms used in this Act. Defines a "small community" as a county, city, town, township, or other community with a population of less than 50,000. Title III: Administration of Generally Applicable Federal Assistance Requirements - Defines "generally applicable requirements" as requirements which are placed on assistance recipients by Federal legislation or administrative rules and regulations, and which apply to two or more assistance programs. Directs the President to designate Federal agencies to establish standard rules and regulations for, and to report on the implementation of, generally applicable requirements in the areas of: (1) labor practices; (2) equal employment opportunity; (3) public employee standards; (4) equal services requirements based on prohibitions of discrimination; (5) access to government information; (6) citizen participation; (7) environmental protection; (8) relocation and real property acquisition; and (9) procurement standards when such requirements are part of a Federal assistance program. Permits a State or local government to certify to the Federal department or agency administering an assistance program that such government is in compliance with standard rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to this Act or with equivalent State or local rules. Provides for the rescission of such certification by the Federal body upon its finding that the government is not, in fact, in compliance. Title IV: Advance Appropriations - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to establish procedures for budgeting appropriations for multiyear programs of Federal financial assistance one year before the fiscal year in which the funds are to be spent. Title V: Consolidation of Federal Assistance Programs - Requires the President to examine, from time to time, the various Federal assistance programs and to determine what consolidations are necessary to improve the administration, efficiency, and economy of such programs. Directs the President, upon finding that a consolidation of programs is necessary, to designate a single Federal agency to administer the consolidated program. States that the agency chosen must have been in charge of at least one of the programs involved in the consolidation. Title VI: Advisory Committee on Intergovernmental Relations - Increases from 26 to 29 the membership of the Advisory Committee on Intergovernmental Relations by providing for the appointment by the President to the Committee of three elected officials of small communities. Title VII: Flexible Grants Formulas - Directs the President to establish procedures for effective consultation among representatives of small communities, Congress, and the executive branch concerning the needs of small communities. Title VIII: Regulatory Flexibility - Authorizes the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to waive any rule, regulation, or order of any instrumentality of the United States except a Federal court. Title IX: Small Communities Contracts - Permits small communities to obtain assistance or services by contract with other communities or instrumentalities of State or local government. Directs the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to establish guidelines and procedures for such contracts. Title X: Small Community Set-Aside; Cash Grants - Authorizes the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to establish a procedure under which a small community could elect to receive a single cash grant in lieu of the grants presently received through various Federal assistance programs. States that a community selecting such single grant option would not have to meet any Federal requirements or standards imposed by the Federal Government. Title XI: Effect on Other Laws - States that this Act is in addition to the provisions of any other law or regulation under which any remedy or right of appeal is provided for any person, or any procedure is provided for the inquiry into or investigation of any matter. Title XII: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes the appropriation of such sums as are necessary for carrying out the purposes of this Act. Title XIII: Financial Management of Federal Assistance Programs, General Financial Management - Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to establish and maintain, for use by all Federal agencies, standard financial and other requirements for the administration of programs of financial assistance to State and local governments. States that such requirements shall include uniform financial reporting and application forms, standard terms, definitions, and conditions, and procedures for audits of grant programs. Sets forth measures to standardize audits of Federal financial programs. Requires a single audit of a State and local recipient of Federal financial assistance at least once every three years. Title XIV: Effective Dates - Establishes the dates on which specified Titles of this Act shall become effective.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1978
Expresses the sense of the Congress that (1) the trials of Antoly Shcharansky, Viktoras Petkus, and Aleksandr Ilyich Ginzburg are matters of deep concern to the American people that adversely affect Soviet-American relations; and (2) the U.S.S.R. Supreme Soviet should seek a humanitarian resolution to these cases and work toward improving such relations.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 1978
Directs the Administrator of General Services, in conjunction with the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, and the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, to develop plans and a budget for the restoration of the Pension Building in the District of Columbia. Requires the Administrator to insure that such plans are consistent with proposals prepared by the Committee for a National Museum of Building Arts, Incorporated. Provides the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation an opportunity to comment on the plans. Specifies that designs, plans and cost estimates be submitted to the Committee on Public Works and Transportation of the House and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate not later than October 1, 1978. Authorizes appropriations necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1978
Freedom of the Press Act - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit any person acting under color of law from searching any place or seizing any thing in the possession, custody, or control of any reporter or news organization unless such search or seizure is conducted pursuant to a warrant issued by a magistrate or other authorized judicial officer upon probable cause that such reporter or news organization has committed or is committing a criminal offense. Establishes a criminal fine of not more than $10,000 for violation of this Act, and creates a civil cause action for any person aggrieved by a violation. Allows punitive damages of up to $10,000, and reasonable attorneys fees.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1978
Directs the Secretary of the Interior to enter into a cooperative agreement with the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to preserve the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial. Authorizes the appropriation of $500,000 for fiscal year 1979; $200,000 for fiscal year 1980; and such sums as may be necessary for succeeding fiscal years to carry out the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 1978
Recognizes and honors Saint Brigid Roman Catholic Church and its parish community in Meadville, Pennsylvania, on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the church.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 1978
Contract Disputes Act - Declares that this Act applies to any contract entered into by the United States for the procurement or disposal of personal property, the construction or maintenance of real property, the use, construction, or repair of vessels and navigational aids, and to any other contract which by its terms is expressly made subject to the provisions of this Act. Requires all contract dispute claims to be submitted to the appropriate executive agency in writing. Authorizes each such agency to compromise any claim or dispute with a contractor. Requires the contracting officer of such agency to issue a final and binding decision on each dispute which is not settled by compromise. Requires that each contractor be afforded an opportunity to have informal conferences with the agency involved for the purpose of considering the possibility of disposing of the claim by mutual consent after a contracting officer's decision has been issued. Authorizes executive agencies to establish agency boards of contract appeals to which appeals from decisions of contracting officers may be taken. States that if the volume of procurement of any agency does not justify a full-time appeals board, such agency may agree with another agency to permit appeals to be taken by such other agency's appeals board. Requires each appeals board to include a simplified procedure for the expedited disposition of small claims. Authorizes the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority to establish a board of contract appeals over which the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy shall have no authority in establishing or terminating such board. States that the decision of such appeals board may be appealed to any United States district court or to the United States Court of Claims. Permits a contractor to bring a de novo suit in any such court in lieu of appealing the decision of a contracting officer, except that in an action involving the Authority the contractor is limited to the district court. Requires the payment of interest to a prevailing contractor from the date a claim was received by a contracting officer until a final decision by an appeals board, a court of competent jurisdiction, or until a prior settlement.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 1978
Expresses the sense of the Senate that neither the exchange of the Panama Canal Treaty instruments of ratification nor the incurring of any international obligation to exchange such documents should take place earlier than March 31, 1979, unless implementing legislation has been enacted prior to such date.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1978
International Unfair Trade Laws Procedural Reform Act - Title I: Antidumping Act Amendments - Amends the Antidumping Act, 1921, to require the Secretary of the Treasury to conduct a preliminary investigation upon being informed that a particular class of merchandise is being, or is likely to be sold at less than its fair value (dumping). Requires that possible margins of dumping be published in the Federal Register along with notice of the investigation. Prescribes procedures for reporting information on dumping injuries to the Secretary and the United States International Trade Commission. Requires the Commission to conclude whether injury exists. Makes mandatory the Secretary's currently discretionary authority to suspend liquidation retroactively to cover merchandise entering after the publication of the notice of initiation of a full-scale investigation. Reduces the time limits allowed for agency investigations. Adds, to those circumstances under current law following which a hearing will be available, the notice of tentative discontinuance of an antidumping investigation or notice of a tentative modification or revocation of a dumping finding. Authorizes the Secretary to cauculate the foreign market value for purposes of assessing antidumping duties through the use of weighted averages on a manufacturer-by-manufacturer basis over a period of no longer than six months. Requires payment of estimated dumping duties upon entry following a finding of dumping. Provides for review no less than once a year of the amount of estimated duty, with adjustments based on the most recent data available. Provides for return of excess duties. Changes the bonding requirements to require additional information. Requires the liquidation of merchandise subject to a dumping finding within 15 months of entry into the country, or within 18 months if the Secretary concludes that it cannot reasonably be performed within 15 months. Requires information developed in connection with the assessment and liquidation of antidumping duties to be made available in accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act. Title II: 1930 Tariff Act Amendments - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 with respect to countervailing duties to require initiation of investigations as to whether a bounty or grant is being paid or bestowed and to shorten the time limit for making determinations. Changes the requirements for suspension of liquidation as to merchandise. Revises procedures governing the Secretary's actions following the issuance of an order directing the assessment and collection of countervailing duties. Imposes civil penalties for violations of cease and desist orders of the Commission. Specifies standards for review of actions contesting determinations by the Secretary or the Commission in countervailing duty and antidumping cases. Enumerates the decisions which may be challenged in the United States Customs Court. Title III: Study of Transferring Treasury Investigative Responsibilities to International Trade Commission - Directs the General Accounting Office to undertake a one-year study of the need for and feasibility of a transfer of the duties of the Treasury Department under the Antidumping Act, 1921, and the countervailing duty statutes of the Tariff Act of 1930, to the International Trade Commission, or to an independent section of a department of international trade. Title IV: Amendments to the Revenue Act of September 8, 1916 - Amends existing law to redescribe behavior which constitutes dumping to make it unlawful to manufacture in a foreign country and sell in the United States (whether through a related or unrelated importer) merchandise for which the purchase or exporter's sales price is less than the foreign market value, where the effect of such sale has been to substantially lessen competition, restrain trade, or monopolize commerce within the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1978
Requests the President and the Secretary of State to enter into discussions with General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev, the Soviet Ambassador to the United States, and other appropriate officials of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics regarding the issuance of emigration visas by such Government to U.S. citizens John and Lorraine Jodwalis Vaicekauskiene.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1978
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that an individual's allowable charitable contributions shall be deducted when determining the individual's adjusted gross income, thereby allowing the deduction to individuals who do not itemize.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 1978
Steel Trade Negotiations Act - Lists products the manufacture of which shall constitute the "steel sector" for purposes of determining the appropriate product sector with respect to import restriction authority under the Trade Act of 1974.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 1978
Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to include specified textiles and textile products in the articles reserved from tariff reduction or elimination negotiations by the President.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 1978
Product Liability Self-Insurance Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a deduction to any business enterprise engaged in the manufacture, importation, distribution, lease, or sale of any product for contributions to its product liability loss reserve account and for amounts paid to a captive insurer (wholly or partially-owned by the taxpayer) for product liability insurance. Specifies the amount a taxpayer may deduct based upon the ability of such taxpayer to obtain insurance through conventional channels. Disallows any deductions for product liability losses which do not exceed the sum of the total reserve funds in the taxpayer's account at the beginning of the taxable year plus the amount of deductible payment made by the taxpayer to the account during such year. Imposes penalties for the improper use of product liability reserve funds. Treats amounts accumulated in the taxpayer product liability loss reserve account as amounts accumulated for reasonably anticipated business needs, for purposes of avoiding the accumulated earnings tax.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 1978
Expresses the sorrow of the Senate for the death of Aldo Moro. Condemns the Red Brigade for this murder. Declares it the sense of the Senate that Italy deserves the praise of the United States for its efforts to prevent this murder. Declares it the sense of the Senate that the President should instruct the Ambassador to the United Nations to press for consideration of proposals to end terrorism.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1978
Directs the Secretary of Transportation to enter into contracts with any State by which the State may use up to ten percent of certain unobligated allocations for the Federal-aid highway system to repair highways and the surface rails of urban mass transportation systems (other than railroads) which were damaged as a result of the severe weather in the Winter of 1977-1978.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1978
Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to stipulate that nothing in such Act shall be construed to authorize any regulations designed to restrict hunting, sport fishing, or shooting sports or to establish safety or health standards for work performed in connection with hunting, sport fishing, or shooting sports in areas customarily used for such activities.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1978
Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make grants for the following: (1) administrative costs of State and local governments incurred in carrying out urban homesteading programs and (2) facilitation of homesteading of properties acquired by communities as a result of abandonment or tax foreclosure. Authorizes the Secretary to acquire from the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs title to any property which is suitable for inclusion in the urban homesteading program. Amends the Housing Act of 1964 to coordinate the urban homesteading program and the rehabilitation loan program.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1978
Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to include specified textiles and textile products in the articles reserved from tariff reduction or elimination negotiations by the President.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1978
Declares that certain proposed regulations of the Department of the Treasury regarding centralized firearms sales recordkeeping and other firearms control measures exceed the Department's authority, and directs that the regulations be withdrawn.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 1978
Reading Services Expansion and Improvement Act - Authorizes appropriations to States for: (1) employment of persons who through reading aloud can afford blind persons ready access to printed information; (2) transcription of printed information into braille or sound recording, if such transcription is performed pursuant to individual requests from blind persons for such service; (3) the purchase, storage, and distribution of equipment and materials necessary for the production, duplication, and reproduction of braille materials and sound recordings; and (4) the purchase, storage, and distribution of equipment provided to blind persons that affords such persons private individual access to printed materials.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 1978
Reaffirms the support of the Congress for existing laws restricting unfair or subsidized competition from imports. Urges the President to direct Federal agencies to enforce existing laws to prevent dumping, trade discrimination, and unfair competition which have an adverse impact on the American steel industry.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 1978
Amends the Public Buildings Act of 1959 to direct the Administrator of General Services, in conjuction with the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and the Chairmen of the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endownment for the Humanities, to develop plans and a budget for the restoration of the Pension Building in the District of Columbia. Requires the Administrator to insure that such plans are consistent with the proposal prepared by the Committee for a National Museum of Building Arts, incorporated. Directs the Administrator to lease or assign the Pension Building to the Museum of the Building Arts within one year after the date of enactment of this Act. Title II: The Museum of the Building Arts - Sets forth the duties and responsibilities of the Museum, including the development of educational programs, the financial support of research and documentation programs, the presentation of exhibitions, and the establishment of an information center and a Document Center. Authorizes appropriations necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1978
Public Housing Security Demonstration Act - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to implement a demonstration program to provide increased security for public housing projects. Directs the Secretary to survey and report to Congress on crime in public housing projects.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1978
Homeowners Rehabilitation Assistance Act - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to allocate $30,000,000 for contract authority for fiscal year 1979 to be used for home rehabilitation. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into contracts with local public housing agencies whereby such authorities would make payments to qualified private lenders to cover the costs of rehabilitation loans to low-income homeowners.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1978
Housing Act - Title I: Amendments to Provide Additional Relief To Owners and Tenants of Multifamily Projects and to Insure Fiscal Responsibility in Their Management - Provides financial relief for subsidized multifamily projects including: (1) additional monthly assistance payments to project owners for operating expenses; (2) payments to owners of subsidized multifamily projects under section eight of the United States Housing Act of 1937; (3) mortgage interest reduction payments to a mortgagee on behalf of a project owner who has obtained a supplemental loan for his multifamily project which is insured under the National Housing Act; and (4) deferment or extension of mortgage payments by a project owner. Reduces rent for very low-income persons who are tenants of subsidized multifamily projects by authorizing the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make annual payments to owners of projects subsidized under the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965. Sets forth procedures for rent increases in multifamily projects and relating to the rights of tenants in such projects. Title II: HUD Ownership and Disposition of Subsidized Multifamily Rental Housing Projects - Directs the Secretary to make or cause to be made all repairs and improvements necessary to achieve decent, safe, and sanitary conditions in HUD-owned subsidized multifamily housing projects. Requires the Secretary to employ and train tenants of such projects to perform repair and maintenance to the maximum extent feasible. Provides relocation assistance for tenants displaced by repairs and maintenance. Sets eligibility requirements for tenancy in HUD-owned subsidized housing. Provides criteria for the selection of managers and purchasers of HUD-owned property. Sets forth methods by which such property may be disposed of including: sale at reduced prices to nonprofit cooperatives and other nonprofit organizations, and continued HUD ownership with the possibility of eventual acquisition by a nonprofit cooperative. Title III: Disposition of HUD-Owned Nonsubsidized Projects - Directs the Secretary to dispose of any HUD-owned nonsubsidized project if at the time of the acquisition by HUD a majority of tenants are persons of low-income or if a majority of units in the project are rented for not more than 80 percent of the fair market rent. States that persons residing in such housing at the time of acquisition by HUD shall be permitted to remain in occupancy following disposition. Title IV: General Provisions - Defines terms used in this Act. Directs the Secretary to study the desirability of the establishment by Congress of a body corporate within the Department of HUD to own and manage HUD-owned subsidized Multifamily projects and nonsubsidized projects which are, or may be converted to lower income housing projects.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1978
Contract Disputes Act - Declares that this Act applies to any contract entered into by the United States for the procurement or disposal of personal property, the construction or maintenance of real property, the use, construction, or repair of vessels and navigational aids, and for any other contract which by its terms is expressly made subject to the provisions of this Act. Requires all contract disputes claims to be submitted to the appropriate executive agency in writing. Authorizes each such agency to compromise any claim or dispute with a contractor. Requires the contracting officer of such agency to issue a final and binding decision on each dispute which is not settled by compromise. Requires that each contractor be afforded an opportunity to have informal conferences with the agency involved for the purpose of considering the possibility of disposing of the claim by mutual consent after a contracting officer's decision has been issued. Authorizes executive agencies to establish agency boards of contract appeals to which appeals from decisions of contracting officers may be taken. States that if the volume of procurement of any agency does not justify a full-time appeals board, such agency may agree with another agency to permit appeals to be taken by such other agency's appeals board. Requires each appeals board to include a simplified procedure for the expedited disposition of small claims. States that the decision of such appeals board may be appealed to any United States district court or to the United States Court of Claims. Permits a contractor to bring a de novo suit in any such court in lieu of appealing the decision of a contracting officer. Requires the payment of interest to a prevailing contractor from the date a claim was received by a contracting officer until a final decision by an appeals board, a court of competent jurisdiction, or until a prior settlement.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1978
Condemns recent terrorism in Egypt, Israel, and Jordan. Extends Congressional condolences to victims of these attacks. Declares that the President should (1) intensify efforts of the executive branch to counter international terrorism, (2) report to Congress on the implementation of laws regarding terrorism; (3) report to Congress on the activities of the Palestine Liberation Organization office in New York; and (4) report to specified Congressional committees the names of nations which furnish assistance to such Organization.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1978
Amends the Small Business Act to provide "energy independence loan," under specified conditions to individuals or firms that provide energy conservation or solar energy related services or that manfacture, distribute, retail, or install energy conservation or solar energy products or measures.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1978
Small Scale Energy Technology Programs Reorganization Act - Defines "small scale technology" to include but not be limited to energy and nonenergy technologies and systems which provide energy or other services to individual or small groups of end users, which minimize environmental impacts. Establishes within the Department of Energy an Office of Small Scale Technology. Requires the Director of such Office to: (1) make grants to small businesses for small scale technology; (2) act to inform small businesses about opportunities for participation in the programs of the Office; (3) evaluate and certify the performance of equipment and demonstration models of grantees; (4) supervise the activities of the National Center for Appropriate Technology; and (5) coordinate Office activities with related activities of other Federal, State, and local agencies. Directs the Office to enter into contractual or other arrangements with the National Center for Appropriate Technology or other groups with similar experience and expertise to perform research and development programs and demonstration projects concerning weatherization oriented small scale technology and to provide grants and other assistance. Transfers all functions of the Energy Related Inventions Program of the National Bureau of Standards and all functions of such Program located within the Department of Energy to the Office. Establishes an Interagency Council on Appropriate Technology as an independent instrumentality of the United States in the Executive branch. Requires the Council to coordinate all small scale technology programs of the Federal Government.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1978
Directs the Architect of the Capitol to study the feasibility of using solar energy for heating the hot water in the Phillip A. Hart Office Building now under construction. Directs the Architect to make cost comparisons between solar and conventional energy systems over specified periods of time and report such findings to the Senate.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1978
Housing Conservation Act - Amends the Housing Act of 1964 to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 1979 and to set aside specified amounts for multifamily rehabilitation loans and for urban homesteading including under certain circumstances, local programs for homesteading locally held or acquired tax foreclosed land or vacant single family and multifamily properties. Lists conditions to be placed on the authorization of rehabilitation loans.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1978
Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Amendments - Exempts the following transactions from the terms of the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act: (1) sale or lease of any improved land on which there is a condominium; (2) sale or lease of real estate by a developer who is engaged in a sales operation which is predominantly intrastate in nature; and (3) the sale or lease of real estate by a developer who has fulfilled specified conditions to the resident of another State when the principal residence of the purchaser is within a radius of 100 miles from the property. Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to conduct all actions brought under the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1978
Declares it the sense of Congress that the President should (1) assist reconciliation in Rhodesia, (2) oppose efforts to undermine the objectives of the Rhodesian agreement on majority rule and minority rights, and (3) instruct the Ambassador to the United Nations to lend his efforts to insuring United Nations consideration of the agreement. Declares it the sense of Congress (1) that the agreement should be considered by the United States and other governments, and (2) that the role of the United States should be to join with like-minded parties to bring about a peaceful solution.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1978
Congregate Housing Services Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to enter into contracts with public housing agencies for the establishment of congregate housing projects which are supplemented by supportive services for frail and physically impaired residents. Requires assisted public housing authorities to maintain any financial effort they were making in furtherance of congregate services prior to contract authority approval, unless the Secretary waives such requirement. Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to permit the provision of congregate services in existing public housing. Makes provisions for the administration of services and requires assisted public housing agencies to employ elderly and physically disabled residents to the maximum extent practicable. Sets forth application procedures, requirements for eligibility for services, and rules for the setting of fees for congregate services. Directs assisted public housing agencies to review this program with eligible residents and with the professional assessment committee within the 12 month period prior to the submission of an application for renewed funding.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1978
Title I: Lending and Investment Powers - Amends the Home Owners' Loan Act of 1933 to authorize federal savings and loan associations to invest in cooperative housing. Removes the limitation on the percentage of its assets which a savings and loan association may invest in the following: (1) commercial real estate loans; (2) loans for home improvement and mobile homes; and (3) State and local government bonds to raise revenue for the rehabilitation, financing, or construction of residential real estate.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1978
Upper Delaware River Protection Act - Designates a specified segment of the Delaware River in New York and Pennsylvania as a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to develop general guidelines for the land and water use control measures to be developed and implemented by appropriate State and Federal bodies. Requires the Secretary to provide for participation by all levels of State, county and local government as well as by private individuals and organizations in the development of such guidelines. Directs the Secretary to cooperate with and seek the advice of the Delaware River Basin Commission and the Upper Delaware Citizens Advisory Council. Directs that interested State, Federal and private parties develop and submit a management plan to the Secretary within three years of the receipt of appropriations authorized by this Act. Specifies the components of such plan. Restricts the amount of land that may be acquired. Directs the Secretary to review all relevant local plans, laws, and ordinances to determine whether they substantially conform to the approved management plan. Requires the Secretary to give timely notice to the relevant parties concerning such review. Authorizes the Secretary to acquire lands managed in a manner not in conformance with the guidelines. Provides for the creation of an Upper Delaware Citizens Advisory Council to encourage the maximum public involvement in the development and implementation of the purposes of this Act. Directs the Council to report to the Secretary and the Commission concerning the development of the management plan. Specifies that the provisions of this Act will prevail where there is a conflict with any provision of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.
![Official portrait of Sen. Heinz, John [R-PA]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/h000456_200.jpg)