United States · United States Congress · 26 January 1984
Continues to apply after FY 1983 the certification requirements of the International Security and Development Cooperation Act of 1981 which relate to El Salvador until Congress enacts new legislation providing conditions for U.S. military assistance to El Salvador or until September 30, 1984, whichever occurs first.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 1984
Honors Commander Alphonse Desjardins, founder of La Caisse Populaine de St-Marie, Manchester, New Hampshire, the first incorporated credit union in the United States
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1984
Child Support Enforcement Amendments of 1984 - Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of title IV of the Social Security Act to revise the purposes of such part to provide that assistance in obtaining support will be available under part D to all children (whether or not eligible for aid under the Aid to Families With Dependent Children (AFDC) program) for whom such assistance is requested. Requires a State, under part D, to have enacted laws establishing, embodying, or requiring the use of the following procedures to increase the effectiveness of its part D program: (1) procedures for the withholding from income of support amounts; (2) procedures assuring the State will improve the enforcement of support obligations; (3) procedures to collect support from a State tax refund; (4) procedures under which liens are imposed against real and personal property for amounts of past-due support owed by an absent parent; (5) procedures for establishing a child's paternity; (6) procedures requiring an individual to give security or post a bond to secure payment of past-due support if the individual is an absent parent who has demonstrated a pattern of not making payments; (7) procedures by which information regarding the amount of past-due support owed by an absent parent residing in the State will be made available to any consumer credit bureau organization upon the request of such organization, subject to certain conditions; and (8) procedures under which support payments will be made under part D through the State agency or other entity administering the State's income withholding system at the request of either parent, even though no arrearages are involved. Sets forth the procedures (referred to in clause one above) for the withholding from income of support payments. Provides that under such procedures: (1) amounts withheld must comply with the support order; (2) withholding must be initiated without application in the case of a child who is already receiving services under part D, and will be initiated with an application in the case of any other child; (3) withholding must be carried out in full compliance with all procedural due process requirements and must begin as soon as feasible; (4) withholding must be administered by a public agency (or a publicly accountable agency) designated by the State, and amounts withheld must be expeditiously distributed; (5) the State must provide advance notice to each individual who will have payments withheld and information as to how to contest the withholding; (6) State law must give priority to support collection over any other legal process against the same wages; (7) there will be withholding from all forms of income; (8) provisions must be made for terminating withholding; and (9) arrangements will be made with other States providing for reciprocal withholding. Requires, in addition, under such procedures that: (1) an employer withhold ordered payments (which shall include a fee to be paid to the employer) when provided with written notice; (2) an employer be held liable to the State for failure to withhold; and (3) a fine be imposed on any employer who refuses to employ or takes disciplinary action against any individual subject to wage withholding because of the existence of the withholding and additional obligations imposed on the employer. Requires a State's laws to require withholding whenever arrearages occur, even if an application for services under part D is not filed. Provides exemptions from the requirements of this paragraph, subject to the Secretary of Health and Human Services' continuing review, for States demonstrating that the enactment of any of this paragraph's requirements will not improve the State's support enforcement program. Authorizes a State to use the funds available under part D for automated management systems to facilitate the development and improvement of income withholding procedures. Requires a State, whenever a family for whom support payments have been collected and distributed under part D ceases to receive assistance under part A (Aid to Families With Dependent Children) of title IV, to: (1) continue collecting support for up to three months; and (2) continue collection and payment to the family (without requiring reapplication) at the end of the three-month period on the same basis as in the case of individuals not receiving assistance under part A. Repeals the current 12 percent incentive payment which is based on collections made on behalf of AFDC families. Provides, under the new incentive payment provisions, that the basic incentive payment will be four percent of the State's AFDC collections plus four percent of the State's non-AFDC collections. Provides that to the extent that AFDC or non-AFDC collections exceed the State's combined AFDC and non-AFDC administrative costs, higher incentives will be paid on a graduated scale of up to ten percent of AFDC and ten percent of non-AFDC collections. Caps the total dollar amount of incentive paid for non-AFDC collections at 125 percent of the incentive payment for AFDC collections. Provides that the amount of incentive payments to be made to a State for any fiscal year shall be estimated by the Secretary before the beginning of such year and that the Secretary shall make such payments for such year on a quarterly basis, with the payments being reduced or increased to compensate for any prior overpayments or underpayments. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants, in order to encourage and promote the development and use of more effective methods of enforcing support obligations under part D in cases where either the children on whose behalf the support is sought or their absent parents do not reside in the State where such cases are filed, to States proposing to undertake new or innovative methods of support collection in such cases. Authorizes appropriations for such grants. Requires: (1) review of a State's part D program at least once every three years; and (2) the operation by a State of a child support program (under part A) which is in substantial compliance with the State's part D plan. Replaces current penalty provisions under part A with graduated penalties of two, three, and five percent in cases where a State's part D program does not meet applicable requirements. Amends part A (General Provisions) of title XI of the Social Security Act to require any demonstration project undertaken which assists in promoting the objectives of part D of title IV to: (1) be designed to improve the financial well-being of children, and prohibit modifications in the child support program which would have the effect of disadvantaging children in need of support; and (2) not result in increased costs to the Federal Government under part A of title IV. Provides, under part D, that amounts collected by a State as child support on behalf of a child for whom a public agency is making foster care maintenance payments under part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV: (1) shall be retained by the State to the extent necessary to reimburse it for foster care maintenance payments made; (2) shall be paid to the public agency responsible for supervising the placement of a child to the extent that amounts collected exceed foster care maintenance payments made with respect to the child but not amounts required by a court order to be paid on behalf of the child; and (3) shall be retained by the State if any portion of the amounts collected remains after making the payments required above, to the extent that such portion is necessary to reimburse the State for any foster care maintenance payments made for a child. Requires any balance to be paid to the State agency responsible for supervising child care placement. Requires a State, under part E, where appropriate, to take all steps to secure an assignment to the State of any rights to support on behalf of each child receiving foster care maintenance payments. Requires collection by a State of spousal support under part D. (Current law permits such collection.) Requires the Secretary's annual report under part D to include the payment status of all active child support cases in each State, with specific information concerning: (1) interstate cases; and (2) the number of cases in certain defined categories. Requires a State, under part D, to regularly publicize the availability of child support enforcement services, including a telephone number or address where further information can be obtained. Requires a State, as a condition of eligibility for Federal payments under part A or D of title IV, to establish a State Commission on Child Support to examine, investigate, and study the operation of the State's child support system so as to determine the extent to which the system has been successful in securing support and parental involvement for both AFDC and non-AFDC children. Requires a report from the Commission. Permits waivers of the requirement for a Commission in a State if the State already has its own commission, which is making satisfactory progress towards effective child support enforcement, or has in effect objective standards for child support obligations. Directs the Secretary to approve a request from the State of Wisconsin to waive any requirement of part A or D of title IV so as to permit modifications of such State's programs under parts A and D in order to enable such State to make an adequate test of its Child Support Initiative, provided certain conditions are met. Directs the Secretary to issue regulations requiring States to petition for the inclusion of medical support as part of any child support order whenever health care coverage is available to the absent parent at a reasonable cost. Repeals the requirement that a State may not request the assistance of the Federal Parent Locator Service until the State has determined that the absent parent cannot be located through its own agencies. Provides for the continuation of Medicaid (title XIX of the Social Security Act) eligibility for four months if a family loses AFDC eligibility because of the collection or increased collection of support under part D of title IV.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1984
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should take steps to place the question of the involvement by Cuba in drug trafficking on the United Nations' agenda and to request of U.N. agencies investigations and reports regarding such problem.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1984
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) U.S. negotiators, in negotiations with Japan, should insist that Japan dismantle all nontariff barriers to imports of beef; and (2) if progress is not made toward the dismantling of such nontariff barriers by a specified time, the U.S. Trade Representative should seek appropriate relief under U.S. and international trade law.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1984
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of State should request the Organization of American States to consider the question of the involvement by Cuba in drug trafficking and the need for international inspections and factfinding hearings regarding such problem.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1984
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the food stamp plan as well as other food assistance programs should remain national programs and the block grant concept proposed by the President's Task Force on Food Assistance Programs should not be adopted.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1983
Amends the Agriculture and Food Act of 1981 to provide that a buyer in the ordinary course of business who buys farm products from a person engaged in farming operations shall own such goods free of any security interest in such goods even though the security interest is perfected and even though the buyer knows of its existence.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1983
Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1983 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to establish rules, regulations, standards, and orders to assure that: (1) commercial motor vehicles are safely maintained, equipped, loaded, and operated; (2) the responsibilities imposed upon drivers of commercial motor vehicles do not impair such drivers' ability to operate safely; (3) the physical condition of such drivers is adequate to enable them to drive safely; and (4) the operation of commercial motor vehicles does not create deleterious effects on the physical condition of such drivers. Requires the Secretary and the Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, to undertake a study of health hazards to which employees engaged in the operation of commercial motor vehicles are exposed and to develop information to enable such employees to operate free from recognized hazards. Requires that such study be submitted to Congress within one year after enactment of this Act. Directs the Secretary, before prescribing or revising requirements for motor carrier qualifications, hours of service, safety, and equipment standards, to consider the costs and benefits of such requirements. Requires agents of the Secretary, in carrying out the Secretary's inspection and investigation functions, to consult with employers and employees and their authorized representatives and offer such persons the right of accompaniment. Sets forth the Secretary's duty to investigate nonfrivolous complaints and to protect the identities of complainants. Sets forth penalties for violations of safety standards promulgated under this title. Removes the authority of the Secretary to initiate litigation related to highway safety. Vests such authority in the Attorney General. Allows States to adopt more stringent safety rules if such rules are not inconsistent with Federal rules. Requires each commercial motor vehicle to pass an annual inspection of its safety equipment. Directs the Secretary to establish Federal standards for such equipment and a procedure for State implementation of such inspections. Directs the Secretary to establish a procedure to determine the safety fitness of persons seeking operating authority as motor carriers. Requires the submission of such procedure to Congress not later than one year after enactment of this Act. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study of safety characteristics of heavy trucks, including an examination of their handling, braking, stability, and crashworthiness. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1984 and 1985 for such study. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress on the results of a study of crash protection for truck occupants, including potential performance standards for truck manufacturers. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1984 for such study. Directs the Secretary to study the effectiveness of existing regulations on emergency warning devices required to be carried on buses, trucks, truck tractors, and motor-driven vehicles which are involved in emergency situations. Requires such study to investigate the potential costs and benefits of requiring passenger automobile operators to carry emergency warning devices and to examine the benefits of warning devices in enhancing highway safety. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1984 for such study. Directs the appropriate congressional committees to conduct periodic oversight hearings on the effects of this title for the first three years after enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1983
Child Care Act of 1983 - Increases the authorization of appropriations under title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) of the Social Security Act. Requires any State in order to receive an increased allotment for any fiscal year to submit a report to the Secretary certifying that any additional funds will be: (1) used for the provision of child care services and activities; and (2) allocated among the various areas and localities in the State in amounts reflecting the need for child care services and activities in those areas and localities. Establishes the National Advisory Commission on Child Care. Directs the Commission to: (1) develop a national repository of information with respect to the need for various types of child care services and facilities, the current availability of child care services and facilities, and the governmental standards currently applicable to such facilities and such services; and (2) investigate the problems relating to the provision of child care services and activities and report its findings and recommendations to Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1983
Hazardous Air Pollutant Control Act of 1983 - Amends the Clean Air Act ("the Act") to revise provisions relating to hazardous air pollutants. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), within 60 days after enactment of this Act, to identify at least 25 substances or materials for which the Administrator intends to make a decision by December 31, 1985, on whether to include such substances or materials on the list of hazardous air pollutants established under provisions for national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants ("the NESHAPs list"). Requires that such identification include: (1) polycyclic organic matter, nickel, toluene, coke oven emissions, acrylonitrile, carbon tetrachloride, perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene, methyl chloroform, CFC-113, manganese, chromium, cadmium, chlorobenzenes, dioxin, vinylidene chloride, epichlorohydrin, chloroform, hexachlorocyclopentadiene, ethylene oxide, and ethylene dichloride; and (2) each other substance or material under EPA evaluation for inclusion on the NESHAPs list for which EPA has positive data from one or more tests indicating carcinogenicity in humans or other mammals. Directs the Administrator, within one year of such enactment date, to identify at least 15 additional substances or materials for which an inclusion decision will be made by December 31, 1986. Requires that first consideration, in both such identifications, be given to specified substances and materials which the EPA has been evaluating. Directs the National Toxicology Program, through its Director, to recommend substances or materials which should be so identified, and to continue to recommend substances and materials which may be appropriate for inclusion on the NESHAPs list. Directs the Administrator, at the time the additional substances or materials are identified, to also identify any additional research, study, or evaluation which may be useful in making a determination. Directs the Administrator, in cooperation with the National Toxicology Program, to: (1) establish a schedule for initiating and completing such research, study, or evaluation; (2) identify the agency which will undertake it; and (3) identify the source and amount of funding for it, if such funding is not provided through the Hazardous Substance Response Trust Fund. Directs the Administrator, within 30 days after publication of any report under specified provisions of the Public Health Service Act, to publish a notice identifying each substance or material listed in such report which is known or may reasonably be anticipated to be an air pollutant. Requires such notice to allow 60 days for interested parties to submit information and comment on whether any substance or material identified in such notice is a hazardous air pollutant. Directs the Administrator, by December 31, 1985, in the case of those substances in the first identification and by December 31, 1986, in the case of the additional substances identified, to publish the determination of whether each substance or material is a hazardous air pollutant to be included on the NESHAPs list (along with the basis and the available information for such determination) after opportunity for submittal of information by interested parties. Directs the Administrator, within one year after the required date for issuance of each notice relating to the Public Health Service Act list, to determine whether each substance or material identified in each such notice is a hazardous air pollutant. Directs the Administrator, within 30 days after the identification of any substance or material required under this Act, to establish a docket for each such substance or material. Requires that such docket include all relevant information and analyses in the possession of the Administrator, all written comments and documentary information received from any person, and detailed written summaries of oral communications from or to any person on such issue. Requires that a substance or material be included on the NESHAPs list, by operation of law, if the Administrator: (1) fails to make a determination by the appropriate deadline; or (2) determines that such substance or material is a hazardous air pollutant. Directs the Administrator to specify the chemical forms of a substance or material which are determined to be hazardous air pollutants when including such substance or material on the NESHAPs list. Allows any interested party to petition the Administrator to remove any substance or material from the NESHAPs list, but only on the basis of information which was not available to the Administrator before the inclusion on such list. Directs the Administrator, within 120 days after receipt, to: (1) make a finding whether the petition is based on such information; (2) if there is such a basis, to publish a notice of such finding and provide opportunity for public comment; and (3) within 120 days after such notice, publish a determination whether the substance or material is a hazardous air pollutant. Provides that the pendency of any such petition shall not suspend the running time of any statutory or judicial time limit for the proposal or promulgation of NESHAPs standards. Provides that neither the identification for determination purposes nor the automatic listing due to failure to meet the deadline shall be deemed a presumption that a substance or material is a hazardous air pollutant. Directs the Administrator to identify the categories of sources which emit, in significant amounts, each hazardous air pollutant on the NESHAPs list. Requires that such identification include specified categories of stationary sources. Extends from 180 days to one year the period after proposal of emission standards during which the Administrator must establish final emission standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAPs). Requires that NESHAPs be established at a level requiring the greatest degree of emission reduction of such pollutant through the application of the best system of continuous emission reduction available for the class or category of source, taking into account the cost of achieving such reduction and any nonair quality health or environmental impacts (BACT - the Best Available Control Technology). Directs the Administrator to determine whether such emission standard is adequate to protect the public health from such hazardous air pollutant with an adequate margin of safety; and, if not, to establish such standard at a more stringent level. Requires that NESHAPs be at least as stringent as the most stringent emission limitation shown by an adequate operating history to have been achieved in practice by a source of the same category or in a category with similar air pollutant control characteristics (LAER-the Lowest Achievable Emission Rate). Authorizes the Administrator to distinguish among classes, types, sizes, and periods of remaining useful life for sources within a category of sources for purposes of establishing NESHAPs. Revises NESHAPs prohibitions to require permits for: (1) construction of new sources or modification of existing sources which emit or will emit any substance or material included on the NESHAPs list; and (2) operation of existing stationary sources which emit a hazardous air pollutant in violation of a NESHAPs standard. Directs the Administrator to determine specified standards relating to such permits. Directs the Administrator, in the case of such permits for operation of an existing source, to provide for compliance with NESHAPs standards as expeditiously as practicable, but in no event later than two years after the promulgation of the standard. Requires that all such permits include specified monitoring requirements. Limits the period of validity for such permits to seven years, with provisions for renewal. Requires fees to cover costs of reviewing and acting upon such permit applications and implementing and enforcing the terms and conditions of such permits and renewals. Requires that notice and opportunity for a hearing be provided within the locality where the source is located before any such permit or renewal may be issued. Directs the Administrator to delegate NESHAPs implementation and enforcement authority to a State only if the State procedure: (1) provides necessary assurances that the State will have adequate personnel, funding, and authority to carry out such implementation and enforcement; and (2) contains provisions equivalent to those provided under this Act for the issuance and renewal of permits, including requirements for monitoring and permit fees. Provides that the grant or denial of a permit or permit renewal by a State to which such a delegation has been made shall be deemed an action of the Administrator for purposes of judicial review provisions of the Act. Requires that design, equipment, work practice, and operational standards be consistent with specified requirements under NESHAPs provisions. Allows a citizen lawsuit against the Administrator for failure to perform a nondiscretionary act or duty with respect to NESHAPs provisions, or with respect to provisions for listing certain unregulated pollutants, to be commenced ten days after the plaintiff has given notice to the Administrator. Provides that specified amendments made by this Act shall not affect any NESHAP emission standard promulgated prior to the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1983
Comprehensive Trade Law Reform Act of 1983 - Title I: Countervailing and Antidumping Duties - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to direct the administering authority to order the suspension of all entries of merchandise subject to a preliminary determination in an antidumping or countervailing duty investigation if the preliminary determination of the International Trade Commission (ITC) is affirmative. Imposes the burden of persuasion with respect to allegations in such investigations upon the person in possession of the specific information necessary to verify or negate such allegations. Establishes within the Department of Commerce the Small Business International Trade Advocate Office (Advocate) which shall assist small businesses in the preparation for, and participation in, any proceedings related to the administration of the U.S. trade laws (including arguing on behalf of petitioners who are financially unable to prosecute antidumping and countervailing duty investigations). Provides that the Advocate may request the ITC to conduct on behalf of small businesses no more than three fact-finding investigations in a given fiscal year. Requires the Advocate each fiscal year to report its activities to specified congressional committees. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the administering authority and the ITC to make available under a protective order confidential information submitted by a party to an antidumping or countervailing duty investigation upon receipt of an application which describes the information requested. (Current law requires that the application must describe the information with particularity and must set forth the reasons for the request.) Requires that the information to be disclosed shall include all confidential information available to or prepared by the administering authority during an investigation, excluding customer names and the identity of market research organizations. Declares that it shall not be a requirement of disclosure that the person making the request demonstrate a need to have access to the information. Requires the administering authority or ITC to act upon requests for such information within ten days. Directs the ITC, in determining material injury or the threat of material injury in antidumping or countervailing duty investigations, to consider the cumulative impact of imports of merchandise under investigation when combined with imports of the same class or kind which are subject to similar investigations. Declares that in determining whether a petition requesting an antidumping or countervailing duty investigation states a cause of action the absense of a history of imports in sufficient volume to be a present cause of material injury shall not be a basis for a negative determination when a capability to increase exports is asserted. Amends the definition of the nature of a subsidy to require the ITC, in determining whether there is a threat of material injury, to consider information other than the information presented to it by the administering authority and to consider whether the alleged subsidy is related to a promotional program benefitting a specific industry. Sets forth the time periods to be considered by the ITC in determining material injury or threat of material injury. Requires the ITC, in determining threat of material injury, to consider evidence of: (1) increasing domestic inventories of imported merchandise; (2) new or increased capability to manufacture or export such merchandise in the countries under investigation or shift of production and exports among industry product lines; and (3) any effort by a foreign government or instrumentality to promote the development or growth of export capability of the industry under investigation through a combination of policies or programs. Authorizes the imposition of countervailing duties upon merchandise which is likely to be imported into the United States if such merchandise meets all the other requirements for the imposition of countervailing duties. Requires the imposition of countervailing or antidumping duties on merchandise if a U.S. industry is materially injured or threatened with material injury or the establishment of an industry in the United States is materially retarded by sales of imports or offers of sales of imports. Requires the ITC to make its preliminary determination in antidumping or countervailing duty investigations on the basis of the information contained in the petition and any information received by way of questionnaire response. Provides an extension of time for making a preliminary determination if the ITC does not believe the information contained in the hearing and the questionnaire responses establish material injury. Requires the ITC, in such a case, to schedule a hearing during which interested parties may address the factual issues of concern to the ITC. Permits an extension of time during which the preliminary determination by the administering authority in an antidumping or countervailing duty case may be made only if the petitioner files a timely request for such extension and the case is extraordinarily difficult. (Current law permits such extension if either of these conditions is met.) Excludes claims for antidumping and countervailing duties from the authority of the Secretary of the Treasury to compromise Government claims. Amends the Trade Agreement Act of 1979 to require the ITC, in cases involving revocation of countervailing duties, not to base a negative determination of potential material injury on any export taxes, duties, or other charges levied on the export of merchandise to the United States specifically intended to offset the subsidy received. Directs the administering authority, upon being notified of a negative determination of potential material injury based upon clear and convincing evidence presented by any party seeking revocation, to revoke an existing countervailing duty order and refund the countervailing duties that had been collected. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to prohibit the ITC and the administering authority from reviewing a final determination in a countervailing or antidumping duty case or the suspension of an antidumping or countervailing duty investigation less than five years after publication of notice of that determination or suspension. Authorizes the administering authority, after review, to revoke a countervailing or antidumping duty order or to terminate a suspended investigation. Prohibits the administering authority from taking such actions unless, upon clear and convincing evidence presented by any party seeking revocation or termination of a suspended investigation: (1) the administering authority finds that it is substantially unlikely that subsidized sales or sales at less than fair value will be resumed; and (2) the ITC makes a negative determination of potential material injury to U.S. industries by imports covered by the order or investigation. Prohibits the administering authority from revoking a countervailing duty order or terminating a suspended investigation on the basis of any export taxes, duties, or other charges levied on exports to the United States specifically intended to offset the subsidy received. Prohibits the administering authority from revoking a countervailing or antidumping duty order or terminating a suspended investigation unless the affected foreign manufacturers, producers, or exporters give assurances that they shall not receives subsidies or make sales at less than fair value. Sets forth penalties for violations of such assurances. Requires the administering authority and the ITC to continue an antidumping or countervailing duty investigation if the administering authority, within 20 days of publication of the notice of suspension of an investigation, receives a request for continuation of the investigation from the petitioner. Changes the definition of "interested parties" to include: (1) a trade or business association at least ten percent of whose members manufacture, produce, or wholesale a like product in the United States; and (2) a coalition which includes one or more certified unions or recognized groups of workers associated with the production of a like product in the United States and one or more entities which manufacture, produce, or wholesale a like product in the United States. Changes the definition of "like product." Directs the administering authority to reimburse petitioners, upon request, for the costs of preparing an investigation petition and of participating in an investigation if the investigation results in the issuance of a countervailing or antidumping duty order or a suspension agreement. Requires the payments to be made out of an account which shall be established by the administering authority and into which all countervailing and antidumping duties shall be paid. Declares that there shall be no presumption for or against agency action in any civil proceeding arising under the antidumping or countervailing duty provisions of the Tariff Act of 1930. Permits the administering authority to extend the deadline for a final determination in a countervailing duty investigation to the date of its final determination in an antidumping duty investigation if an antidumping duty investigation is initiated simultaneously with the countervailing duty investigation. Adds definitions of "negative determination" and of "affirmative determination" with respect to antidumping and countervailing duty determinations. Authorizes the administering authority to suspend a countervailing duty investigation if the subsidizing government or the exporters who account for substantially all of the imports of the merchandise subject to the investigation agree: (1) to eliminate the subsidy program completely within six months, except that the administering authority shall not accept an agreement unless the suppression or undercutting of price levels of domestic products by imports of that merchandise will be prevented; or (2) to cease exports of that merchandise to the United States within six months. Authorizes the administering authority, for the purpose of determining the net subsidy, to subtract from the gross subsidy only the amount of: (1) any payment made to qualify for or to receive the benefit of the subsidy; and (2) any loss in the value of the subsidy resulting from its deferred receipt if the deferral is mandated by Government order. Changes the definition of "subsidy" to include a domestic subsidy provided directly or indirectly to a supplier of any input to the class or kind of merchandise imported into the United States. Amends the Trade Agreements Act of 1979 to require the ITC to review countervailing duty orders, upon request, if the request is received before a countervailing duty petition is filed with the administration authority. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to prohibit designating a country as a country under the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures until the country has committed itself under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade to eliminate its export subsidies. Permits countries which are beneficiary developing countries under the Trade Act of 1974 to be designated as countries under the Agreement if, in lieu of such commitment such country agrees: (1) to phase out existing export subsidies within five years; (2) not to increase existing export subsidies, nor extend such subsidies to new merchandise, nor introduce new export subsidies; and (3) to eliminate within one year export subsidies on merchandise which the ITC determines is either produced by an import sensitive U.S. industry or already competitive in the U.S. market and would be competitive in the absence of export subsidies. Requires the President to review the status of and compliance with such agreements at least once during each 12-month period following the date on which the agreement becomes effective and upon the request of certain interested parties. Sets forth the effect of a finding by the President that a country designated as "a country under the Agreement" has not honored its commitments relating to eliminating subsidies. Requires that a countervailing duty order shall presumptively apply to all merchandise of the class of kind which have been determined to materially injure U.S. industries and which are exported from the country investigated, except that differing duties may be imposed if the administering authority determines that there is a significant differential between companies receiving subsidy benefits or if a State-owned enterprise is involved. Adds to the definition of "subsidy" specified programs and protections when used as part of a program to develop a significant export capability in a particular product sector. Requires that the foreign market value of the merchandise under investigation shall be the constructed value of the merchandise if the administering authority determines that the cost to the foreign producer of any foreign material incorporated in the merchandise under investigation is unreasonable. Requires that the cost of such preference or subsidy shall be included in the constructed value of the imported merchandise. Authorizes the administering authority to accept an agreement to restrict the volume of imports of merchandise into the United States (with either the government of the country where the merchandise which is being investigated is produced or with the exporters of such merchandise who account for substantially all the imports of such merchandise) if the agreement will eliminate completely the injurious effect of such imports. Authorizes the administering authority to prescribe regulations governing the entry or withdrawal from warehouse for consumption of merchandise covered by: (1) agreements to eliminate completely sales at less than fair value or to cease exports of merchandise; or (2) agreements to eliminate injurious effect. Requires the administering authority to have received the written consent of the petitioner before suspending an antidumping or countervailing duty investigation. Prohibits making an adjustment to the foreign market value of an import for specified differences in circumstances of sale or discounts. Requires the purchase price and exporter's sales price to be adjusted by being reduced by, among other costs, the costs relating to the circumstances of sale. Requires that "cost relating to" circumstances of sale rather than "differences in" circumstances of sale shall be taken into account if they cause a difference between the U.S. price and the foreign market value of the merchandise. Requires that the foreign market value of imported merchandise shall be the weighted average price of all sales or offers for sale of such merchandise subject to specified conditions. Prohibits the administering authority from using items selected by foreign manufacturers, producers, or exporters, or the U.S. importers of merchandise under investigation when the authority uses averaging or sampling techniques to determine the foreign market value of such merchandise. Revises the definition of sales at less than the costs of production to include sales through a related party if such sales are made below the cost of production including related party marketing costs. Requires such sales to be disregarded in determining foreign market value if they have been made over an extended period of time and in substantial quantities. (Current law requires that such sales, in order to be disregarded must also have been at prices which do not permit recovery of all costs within a reasonable period of time in the normal course of trade.) Includes within the definition of "exporter" for purposes of determining U.S. price, any person who owns or controls five percent (currently 20 percent) or more of the voting power or control in the business carried on by the person by whom or for whose account the merchandise is imported into the United States and also five percent (currently 20 percent) or more of such power or control in the business of the exporter, manufacturer, or producer. Requires that any differences between the U.S. price and the foreign market value of imported merchandise which are due to circumstances of sales shall reflect the actual selling expenses incurred by the purchasers in their markets. Repeals the provision for posting security in lieu of estimated antidumping duties pending an early determination of the antidumping duty. Authorizes the administering authority, upon request by an interested party, to negotiate settlement agreements the implementation of which shall be subject to the withdrawal of the petitions resulting in the antidumping or countervailing duty investigation. Provides for the enforcement of such agreements. Title II: Escape Clause - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize an entity which is representative of an industry (including an industry which produces parts irrevocably destined for incorporation in an article like or directly competitve with an imported article) to petition the ITC for import relief. Requires that the ITC, in determining whether increased imports of an article are causing or threatening serious injury to domestic industries, shall take into account whether the article under investigation is incorporated in an imported article. Deletes the provision which defines "substantial cause" for purposes of injury determination as a cause which is important and not less than any other cause. Requires that the ITC, whenever it has reason to believe that the increased imports are attributable to circumstances which come within the purview of other remedial provisions of law, shall promptly notify the appropriate agency and such agency shall initiate the appropriate action. Requires that an affirmative determination of serious injury under this title shall be considered to be an affirmative determination of material injury under other remedial provisions of law if the affirmative determination of serious injury has been made within 12 months of the date on which the petition was filed under the other statutes. Requires that the ITC, if it finds that a serious injury or the threat of a serious injury exists, shall, in order to prevent or remedy such injury: (1) find the amount of increase in or imposition of any duty; (2) determine a tariff rate quota on such article; (3) determine the quantitative import restriction on the import into the United States of such article; or (4) recommend any combination of such actions. Requires at least six months to elapse between investigations of import injury. Requires the ITC to determine, within 45 days of the filing of a petition, whether or not a reasonable indication that conditions for an affirmative finding of serious import injury exist if a petitioner alleges that imports of an article have increased by more than ten percent in volume or 20 percent relative to domestic production in the previous 12 months. Requires the Commissioner of Customs, if the ITC makes an affirmative determination of such indication, to order the suspension of liquidation of entry of such articles. Requires the suspension to continue until: (1) the ITC makes a negative determination of serious injury; or (2) import relief actions take effect. Requires an additional duty to be imposed on any article that is subject to a suspension of liquidation of entry if the ITC makes an affirmative determination of import injury. Deletes the provision authorizing the President to grant trade adjustment assistance instead of import relief to an industry which has been seriously injured by imports. Directs the President, if the President finds that it is in the national economic interest to provide import relief, to either place into effect the determination of the ITC or to negotiate one or more orderly marketing agreements pursuant to the ITC's determination. Requires the President, if the President determines that the import relief recommended by the ITC is not in the national economic interest and that there are alternatives which offset the injury to the same extent as the ITC's recommendations, to transmit to Congress a document setting forth: (1) such determination; (2) the reasons why the ITC's recommendation is not in the national economic interest; (3) other information with respect to the alternatives; and (4) proposed legislation to implement the President's recommendation. Provides for expedited consideration of the President's proposal in the Congress. Requires the President, within 31 days of the submission of such proposal to Congress to: (1) proclaim the actions recommended by the ITC if Congress does not enact the President's proposal; or (2) take the action recommended in the President's proposal. Requires that the import relief proclamation, if it provides for the imposition of or an increase in the rate of duty, shall also provide for periodic review and adjustment of the duty rate in order to maintain substantially the same amount of import relief that has been proclaimed. Requires that bilateral or multilateral orderly marketing agreements negotiated by the President shall limit the export from foreign countries and the import into the United States of articles subject to the import relief proclamation. Prohibits an orderly marketing agreement from becoming effective unless the ITC determines that it provides at least the same level and duration of import relief as found by the ITC to be necessary. Requires the President to proclaim the import relief found by the ITC if the ITC finds that the orderly marketing agreement does not provide the necessary import relief or if the ITC is evenly divided on the question. Requires the import relief to last for not less than five years and not more than ten years. (Current law terminates import relief after five years unless renewed.) Authorizes the import relief to be phased down during the period of such relief but only after the first three years have elapsed. Deletes the provisions providing for extension of import relief. Authorizes the President to reduce or terminate import relief but only after at least five years have elapsed. Requires at least one year to elapse between the end of a period of import relief with respect to an article and the beginning of a new investigation into import relief with respect to such article. (Current law requires two years to elapse between investigations.) Title III: Enforcement of United States Rights - Authorizes the administering authority, based upon information available to it or upon a petition filed with it, to initiate investigations relating to the enforcement of U.S. rights under trade agreements and relating to the U.S. response to certain unfair foreign trade practices. (Current law authorizes the President to begin such investigations.) Authorizes the administering authority to take specified steps to enforce such rights or to respond to the foreign trade practices. Declares that a foreign practice that denies fair and equitable market opportunities to U.S. goods or services or denies to U.S. businesses fair and equitable opportunities for the establishment of an enterprise shall be considered an unreasonable practice which burdens U.S. commerce. Declares that foreign industrial targeting of a specific sector or sectors of the economy shall be considered an unreasonable practice that burdens U.S. commerce. Requires the administering authority to take action if a foreign government has engaged in industrial targeting which causes or threatens to cause material injury to a U.S. industry or which materially retards the establishment of an industry in the United States. Authorizes any interested person to file a petition with the administering authority requesting action to enforce U.S. rights under trade agreements and to respond to certain foreign trade practices. Requires the administering authority to review the sufficiency of the allegations of the petition within 20 days of its filing date. Requires the administering authority, if it finds that the petition provides the basis for action, to publish the petition and provide an opportunity for hearing. Requires the administering authority, if it finds no basis for action in the petition, to reject the petition and inform the petitioner of the reasons for the rejection. Deletes the provision requiring consultation with the affected foreign country regarding issues raised by the petition. Directs the administering authority to present questionnaires to the affected foreign governments and foreign enterprises to develop information about the allegations. Requires the administering authority to verify the information provided by such governments and enterprises and relied upon by the administering authority. Requires the final determination of the administering authority to be based upon the best information available if the foreign governments or entities do not respond to the questionnaires or if the responses cannot be verified. Requires the administering authority to issue a preliminary determination within five months of the initiation of the investigation. Requires the administering authority, if the preliminary determination is affirmative, to take specified actions on a provisional basis. Requires the administering authority to make a final determination within 11 months of the initiation of the investigation. Requires specified actions to be taken within 30 days if the final determination is affirmative. Requires the administering authority to consult closely with the petitioner on the nature of the action taken. Directs the administering authority to make confidential information submitted during an investigation available upon request. Prohibits disclosing customer names and the identity of market research organizations. Authorizes the administering authority, if the contracting parties to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) disapprove an action taken by the United States, to modify or terminate the action or take such other action as it deems appropriate to compensate an adversely affected foreign country. Defines "administering authority" to mean the U.S. Trade Representative or any other U.S. officer to whom the responsibilities of the administering authority under this title are transferred by law. Requires the administering authority to collect data on foreign nontariff trade barriers, foreign barriers to investment, and foreign government programs to promote particular industries. Requires the administering authority to report quarterly to Congress on the information collected. Provides for judicial review of determinations of the administering authority by the U.S. Court of International Trade. Requires the Court to hold unlawful any determination found to be unsupported by substantial evidence on the record or otherwise not in accordance with law. Title IV: Private Remedies - Amends the Revenue Act of 1916 to permit a civil suit against manufacturers, exporters, or importers of an article if: (1) the article is manufactured or produced in a foreign country and imported or sold within the United States at a price less than the foreign market value or constructed value of such article; (2) the importation or sales cause or threaten material injury to U.S. industry or labor or prevent the establishment or modernization of any industry in the United States; and (3) the person filing the suit is injured in business or property because of the importation or sale. Authorizes a plaintiff, if a defendant is found liable, to recover the costs of the action, damages for the injury sustained, or appropriate equitable relief. (Current law provides for criminal penalties and treble damages in civil suits.) Declares that the standard of proof in such actions is the preponderance of the evidence. Grants subpoena power to the district court involved in the case. Makes the District Director of the U.S. Customs Service for the port through which the article is commonly imported the agent of the manufacturer or exporter for service of process. Imposes a four year statute of limitation on such actions. Supends the running of the statute of limitation during certain administrative proceedings under the Tariff Act of 1930. Authorizes the court to enjoin further importation, sale, or distribution of the article or take any other action authorized by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure if the defendant fails to comply with court orders. Preserves the confidentiality of information used in such action. Requires such an action to be expedited in every way possible. Includes within the foreign market value or constructed value of the article any subsidy provided to the manufacturer, producer, or exporter of the article. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the provisions of this title are consistent with the GATT. Title V: Miscellaneous - Sets forth the effective date of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1983
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the President should: (1) continue to express U.S. opposition to the exile of Igor Ogurtsov; and (2) urge the Soviet Union to provide Igor Ogurtsov with medical care, grant his release from exile, and accept his application for an exit visa and allow him to emigrate without forcing him to renounce his views (in accordance with a specified international treaty).
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1983
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the President should appoint a task force on agricultural credit to: (1) examine agricultural credit problems; (2) report to the President and Congress on the credit-related problems confronting agricultural producers and related businesses; and (3) make recommendations on how to resolve problems that might be identified. Directs the task force to: (1) identify and describe the components of the existing agricultural credit system; (2) identify and describe the credit needs of agricultural producers and related businesses; (3) identify and evaluate the current agricultural credit system's ability to meet producer credit needs; and (4) develop for the President and Congress specific recommendations for policies and legislation to ensure the availability of adequate agricultural credit at reasonable cost.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1983
Expresses the appreciation of the Senate to certain organizations for their efforts in carrying out an emergency food distribution and shelter program.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 1983
Employee Stock Ownership Act of 1983 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the nonrecognition of gain on stock sold to: (1) an employee stock ownership plan; (2) a tax credit employee stock ownership plan; or (3) an eligible worker-owned cooperative, if within a specified period of time qualified replacement property is purchased by the taxpayer. Defines "qualified replacement property" as any security issued by a domestic corporation: (1) which does not have passive investment income in excess of a specified limitation; and (2) the equity capital of which does not exceed $10,000,000. Allows an income tax deduction for cash dividends paid with respect to employer stock which is held by a tax credit employee stock ownership plan or an employee stock ownership plan which is a stock bonus plan. Extends the partial exclusion for dividends received to such amounts. Excludes from gross income 50 percent of interest received by a bank, an insurance company, or other lender on loans used by an employee stock ownership plan to acquire employer securities. Provides for a reduction in the capital gains tax with respect to sales of stock in employee-owned corporations. Sets forth special rules for the calculation of such reduction. Relieves an estate of liability for payment of the estate tax to the extent that amounts of the tax are attributable to employer securities transferred to an employee stock ownership plan pursuant to a written agreement guaranteeing that the tax will be paid by the plan in an amount equal to the lesser of: (1) the amount of the tax imposed upon the acquired employer securities; or (2) the amount of the tax imposed on the gross estate reduced by the sum of allowable credits. Permits the payment of such tax in installments. Exempts such transfers from the tax on prohibited transactions. Treats as charitable contributions certain contributions to an employee stock ownership plan. Specifies a qualification test for contributions to receive such treatment. Allows certain small business corporations (subchapter S corporations) to maintain a tax credit employee stock ownership plan or an employee stock ownership plan. Permits recaptured employee stock ownership plan investment tax credits to be used to reduce contributions to payroll based tax credit employee stock ownership plans.
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 1983
Amends the Social Security Amendments of 1983 to delay until after December 31, 1985, mandatory coverage under the Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance program for employees of tax-exempt religious or apostolic organizations which do not have in effect on January 1, 1984, a waiver certificate (which waives such an organization's exemption from taxation for purposes of the Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance program).
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 1983
Expresses the sense of the Senate that, upon confirmation, the new Secretary of the Interior should act to insure that the policies and programs of the Department of the Interior conform with the expressed will of the Congress and regain public support and confidence.
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 1983
States that the Congress: (1) holds Iran responsible for upholding the rights of the Baha'is; (2) condemns Iran's decision to destroy the Baha'i faith; and (3) calls upon the President to work with appropriate foreign governments to form an appeal to Iran concerning the Baha'is, to cooperate with the United Nations in its efforts on behalf of the Baha'is, and to provide humanitarian assistance for Baha'is who flee Iran.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 1983
Confers jurisdiction upon the United States Claims Court to hear, determine, and render judgment on a claim of a named agricultural cooperative association based upon damages resulting from the erroneous grading of the 1980 cotton crop by the Department of Agriculture. Admits liability of the United States for such damages.
United States · United States Congress · 31 October 1983
Department of Defense Procurement Efficiency Reporting Act - Directs the Office of Federal Procurement Policy to review the spare parts for weapon systems procurement practices of the Department of Defense by June 1, 1984. Directs the Secretary of Defense and the Inspector General of the Department to provide all necessary information. Directs the Office of Federal Procurement Policy to review the procurement actions of the Department of Defense during the final week of FY 1983 and report to Congress by February 1, 1984. Requires that such report include number and dollar amounts of contracts and purchases and an assessment of the actual needs of the Department for goods and services purchased. Directs the Secretary and the Inspector General of the Department to provide all necessary information.
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 1983
Missing Children's Assistance Act of 1983 - Amends the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 to require the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to establish and maintain a national toll-free telephone line for reporting information regarding the location of missing children. Directs the Administrator to establish a national resource center and clearinghouse to: (1) provide technical assistance to State and local governments and agencies in locating missing children; (2) coordinate public and private efforts to recover missing children; and (3) disseminate information on innovative missing childrens' programs, services, and legislation. Requires the Administrator to publish an annual summary of research on missing children and prepare a comprehensive plan for coordinating activities of all agencies and organizations responsible for missing children. Authorizes the Administrator, in consultation with the Advisory Board on Missing Children, to make grants for research or demonstration or service programs designed to: (1) educate parents and community agencies on ways to prevent the abduction of children; (2) assist in the recovery or tracking of missing children; (3) aid communities in collecting material to assist parents in the identification of their children; (4) demonstrate the psychological consequences of a child's abduction; and (5) collect data on investigative practices utilized by law enforcement agencies. Requires the Administrator to appoint an Advisory Board on Missing Children to assist the Administrator in coordinating programs and activities relating to missing children. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1984 through 1988.
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 1983
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the United States should fulfill its obligations to promote respect for human rights and freedoms in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania (Baltic States); and (2) the President, acting through specified officials, should take the necessary steps to bring the question of self-determination of the Baltic States before appropriate forums of the United Nations. Suggests that such forums discuss a specified list of topics, including human rights violations in the Baltic States and the withdrawal of Soviet troops.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 1983
Amends title V (Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant) of the Social Security Act to increase the authorization of appropriations for FY 1984 and for each following fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 1983
Farmland Protection Policy Act Amendments of 1983 - Amends the Farmland Protection Policy Act to direct the Department of Agriculture and other Federal agencies to ensure that U.S. farmland shall not be unnecessarily converted to nonagricultural uses. Requires any unit of the Federal Government to hold public hearings and report to the Secretary of Agriculture before making any farmland conversions. Makes the existing one-time congressional report an annual requirement. Repeals the prohibition on legal actions against Federal activities affecting farmland.
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 1983
Boating Safety Amendments of 1983 - Eliminates authority for facilities improvements under the recreational boating safety program. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to expend for State recreational boating safety programs two-thirds of the amount transferred each year to the Boat Safety Account from motorboat fuel taxes. Authorizes such expenditures for FY 1984 through 1988. Directs the Secretary to establish guidelines prescribing the purposes of such funds. Makes the remaining amounts in such Fund available to the Secretary for FY 1984 through 1988 for the operating expenses of the Coast Guard, including the Coast Guard Auxiliary, for recreational boating safety.
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 1983
Commission on Civil Rights Resolution - Establishes within the legislative branch an eight member Commission on Civil Rights (Commission). Provides rules of procedure for Commission hearings. Requires the Commission to: (1) investigate allegations of citizens' being denied their right to vote by reason of their color, religion, sex, age, handicap or national origin; (2) study and collect information concerning discrimination or a denial of equal protection; (3) appraise Federal laws and policy with respect to discrimination and the denial of equal protection; and (4) serve as a national clearinghouse for such information. Prohibits the Commission from investigating any membership practice or internal operation of any fraternal organization, college or university fraternity or sorority, private club or religious organization. Prohibits the Commission from collecting or studying information with respect to abortion. Directs the Commission to appraise the laws and policies of the Federal Government with respect to denials of equal protection involving Americans who are members of eastern - and southern - European ethic groups.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 1983
Criminal Fine Collection Act of 1983 - Amends the Federal criminal code with respect to the imposition, payment, and collection of fines. Lists factors that the court must consider in determining whether to impose a fine, including: (1) the ability of the defendant to pay; (2) the burden that payment will impose on the defendant; and (3) any restitution or reparation made by the defendant. States that payment of a fine is due immediately unless the court requires payment by installment or by any date certain. Permits a sentence to pay a fine to be stayed while an appeal is taken. Makes a fine delinquent if any portion of such fine is not paid within 30 days of when it is due. Provides that a fine is in default if it is more than 90 days delinquent. Allows for the modification or remission of a sentence to pay a fine. Requires the clerk to forward each fine payment to the U.S. Treasury and notify the Attorney General of its receipt. Requires the court to certify to the Attorney General when a fine exceeding $100 is imposed, modified, or remitted. Makes the Attorney General responsible for the collection of any unpaid fine for which certification has been issued. Allows the court to impose interest and monetary penalties for any willful nonpayment. Establishes civil remedies for the satisfication of an unpaid fine. Provides that a judgment imposing a fine may be enforced by execution against the property of the person fined as are judgments in civil cases. Allows the court to resentence a person upon willful failure to pay a fine to any sentence which might originally have been imposed. Provides for a statute of limitations on the liability to pay a fine of 20 years or upon death of the person fined. Provides penalties for criminal default of a fine. Makes payment of a fine a condition of probation or parole in certain circumstances. Requires the Attorney General to include in the annual crime report steps taken to implement this Act and any progress achieved in criminal fine collection.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1983
Drought Relief Act of 1983 - Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to permit farmers and ranchers to qualify for disaster assistance whether or not their counties have been designated as disaster areas. Permits family farmers to request economic hardship loan repayment and foreclosure deferrals through FY 1984. Requires a showing of: (1) good management; (2) temporary inability to repay because of circumstances beyond one's control; (3) reasonable chance of repayment; and (4) no available loan-servicing alternatives. Provides for loan consolidation and rescheduling at the end of such deferral period. Requires the Secretary to notify borrowers regarding such deferral and rescheduling programs. Requires deferred or rescheduled loan interest rates to be at the lower of either original or current rates. Amends the Emergency Agricultural Credit Adjustment Act of 1978 to extend the economic emergency loan program through FY 1984. Gives preference to farmers affected by the 1983 drought. Limits interest rates to eight percent. Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to increase insured and guaranteed operating loan limits. Extends the maximum payment period from seven to 15 years. Requires that at least 20 percent of FY 1984 farm ownership and operating loans be for limited-resource farmers. Requires the Secretary to notify all farmers about such program. Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to require the Secretary to make advance deficiency payments to 1984 wheat, feed grain, upland cotton, and rice producers. Requires the Secretary to make low-grade Commodity Credit Corporation corn available (at 75 percent of the local loan rate) to poultry and livestock producers in areas affected by the 1983 drought. Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to make emergency business loans available to small rural businesses in areas adversely affected by the drought or payment-in-kind program. Requires the Secretary to provide for a graduated scale of rural water and waste disposal grants based on income and population levels. Restricts the maximum rate to projects in communities with populations of 1500 or less and a median income level below 80 percent of the statewide nonmetropolitan median income level. Directs the Secretary to establish a project selection system based on income, population, and health hazards due to lack of potable water or inadequate waste disposal. Authorizes predevelopment grants and technical assistance. Revises the standard for five percent loans from one based on the Federal poverty line to one based on the statewide nonmetropolitan median income level. Establishes a seven-percent loan for communities with median incomes of between 80 and 100 percent of such statewide income level.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1983
Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of Congress, a gold medal to Lady Bird Johnson in recognition of her humanitarian efforts and contributions to the beautification of America. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to provide for the striking of such medal and bronze duplication for sale to the public. Declares such medals to be national medals. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1983
Alternative Energy Tax Incentives Act of 1983 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the residential energy income tax credit for renewable energy sources for five years from 1985 to 1990. Reduces the qualifying percentage for energy source expenditures by specified increments between 1985 and 1990. Increases from 15 percent to 20 percent the investment tax credit for solar, wind, geothermal, and ocean thermal property. Extends such tax credit for five years from 1985 to 1990. Extends the investment tax credit for hydroelectric generating property and biomass property for five years from 1985 to 1990. Reestablishes the credit for cogeneration property until 1990. Qualifies until 1995 affirmative commitments for solar, wind, geothermal, ocean thermal, biomass, and cogeneration projects begun by December 31, 1990. Eliminates the 20 percent limitation for oil and natural gas used in cogeneration facilities. Qualifies as biomass property methane-containing gas produced by anaerobic digestion from nonfossil waste materials. Revises the definition of geothermal deposit to lower the required temperature to 104 degrees Fahrenheit. (Present regulations require a temperature of 122 degrees Fahrenheit.) Includes shale oil property and tar sands equipment as energy property for purposes of the investment tax credit. Grants a 15 percent depletion allowance for tar sands. Allows an investment tax credit for photovoltaic energy property. Defines photovoltaic property.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1983
Food Safety Modernization Act of 1983 - Title I: Amendments to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to define "safe", as applied to food additives, color additives, pesticide residues, and other specified substances, to mean a reasonable certainty that the risks of a substance under the intended conditions of use are negligible. Authorizes the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to permit, under specified conditions, the gradual elimination or phase-out of substances from the food supply if the FDA determines that there will be no unreasonable risk to the public health from continued use of a substance while it is phased out and there is no practicable substitute. Permits an extension for up to an additional five years. Provides that certain cancer-causing substances shall not be banned (and may be approved) if the proponent of use demonstrates on the basis of credible experimental evidence that the risks to humans under the intended conditions of use are negligible. Authorizes the FDA to consider the benefits to human health from a long-used additive with no practicable substitute before prohibiting its use on the basis of risks to human health. Permits continued use of an additive if the risks to human health are acceptable on account of the benefits to human health, such as the effects of its use on the nutritional value and availability of food and uses for dietary management and other health-related purposes. Directs the FDA to establish an independent scientific peer review committee to study and give advice on substantial scientific issues related to food safety. Requires the FDA, within two years of enactment of this Act, to establish by regulations standards to determine under what circumstances the use of a substance in a food contact situation (i.e., an indirect additive) meets the food additive definition of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Directs the FDA, in issuing regulations, to consider the extent of human exposure to a substance under its intended conditions of use and the toxicological characteristics of the substance. Title II - Amendments to the Poultry Products Inspection Act, the Federal Meat Inspection Act, and the Egg Products Inspection Act - Amends the Poultry Products Inspection Act, the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Egg Products Inspection Act to provide that a meat, poultry or egg product is adulterated because it contains an added poisonous or added deleterious substance when the presence of the substance renders the food unsafe within the meaning of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to issue regulations for added poisonous or added deleterious substances in meat, poultry and egg products but only if the FDA has not already done so. Authorizes the Secretary to phaseout the use of substances in meat, poultry, and egg products for which the Department of Agriculture has primary responsibility. Directs the Secretary to establish an independent scientific peer review system. Title III - Effective Date - Provides that the Act shall become effective upon enactment.
![Official portrait of Sen. Hollings, Ernest F. [D-SC]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/h000725_200.jpg)