United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1980
Expresses the condolences of the Congress over the death of members and officials of the United States Amateur Athletic Union boxing team in a plane crash in Warsaw, Poland.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1980
Arts and Humanities Act of 1980 - Title I: Amendments to National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 - Amends the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 to authorize the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts to establish and carry out a program of loans to groups or individuals for projects and productions of substantial artistic and cultural significance. Includes cultural diversity as a factor to be considered by the Chairman in making grants or loans under such Act. Limits the amount of funding the Chairman may allot to certain jurisdictions, other than States which have a population of less than 200,000. Permits the Chairman to enter into interagency agreements on a reimbursable or nonreimbursable basis to promote or assist with the arts-related activities of other Federal agencies. Permits the use of program funds for such purpose. Authorizes the Chairman to establish and carry out a program of contracts with, or grants-in-aid to, public agencies and private nonprofit organizations on a national, State, or local level to assist cultural organizations and institutions and provide additional support for cooperative efforts undertaken by State art agencies and local art groups to promote effective arts activity at the State and local level. Eliminates financial assistance to State agencies for photography and film projects. Eliminates the requirement of Senate advice and consent for the appointment of the members of the National Council on the Arts. Makes available to the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities specified percentages of excess funds from the grants-in-aid programs to be allotted among specified grant recipients. Limits the amount of funding such Chairman may allot to certain jurisdictions, other than States, which have a population of less than 200,000. Permits such Chairman to enter into interagency agreements on a reimbursable or nonreimbursable basis to promote or assist with the humanities-related activities of other Federal agencies. Permits the use of program funds for such purpose. Eliminates the requirement of Senate advice and consent for the appointment of the members of the National Council on the Humanities. Permits such Chairman to unilaterally approve or disapprove any application for $30,000 or less, subject to Council delegation and review. Directs the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities to undertake studies and make reports which address the state of the arts and humanities, particularly with respect to their economic needs and problems. Directs the Council to report to Congress on the state of employment opportunities for professional artists, including the effectiveness of existing Federal programs and the need for new programs. Directs the Council to report to Congress on the effectiveness and feasibility of expanding the indemnity program created by the Arts and Artifacts Indemnity Act. Directs the Chairmen of the National Endowments for the Arts and the Humanities to each conduct a study of and report to Congress on the use, sale, or other disposal of property to carry out the purposes of such Act, the effectiveness of such use, sale, or disposition as an incentive for increasing the levels of non-Federal support, and the extent to which such activities of each Chairman result in undue administrative and financial burdens upon grant recipients. Authorizes appropriations for the National Endowment for the Arts and for the Humanities for fiscal years 1981 through 1985. Sets forth a formula for determining the amount of such authorizations based upon the value of donated property and the total amounts received by grantees from non-Federal sources. Establishes authorization ceilings for fiscal year 1981. Directs the Chairmen of the Endowments to issue guidelines to implement the authorizations. Title II: Museum Services - Amends the Museum Services Act to authorize the Director of the Institute of Museum Services to enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with professional museum organizations to provide financial assistance to undertake projects designed to strengthen museum services. Limits such assistance for projects to a one-year period. Prohibits the use of such assistance for operational expenses. Limits the aggregate amount of financial assistance to such organizations. Requires the Director to establish procedures for reviewing and evaluating grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements. Authorizes appropriations for such assistance for fiscal years 1981 through 1985. Amends the Department of Education Organization Act to repeal the authority of the Secretary of Education to eliminate or restructure the Institute of Museum Services. Title III: Amendments to Arts and Artifacts Indemnity Act - Amends the Arts and Artifacts Indemnity Act to increase from $250,000,000 to $400,000,000 the aggregate amount covered under indemnity agreements. Increases the amounts deductible under such agreements if the estimated value of the covered items exceeds $2,000,000.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1980
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow homeowners a nonrefundable income tax credit for 50 percent of the expenses paid or incurred to make alterations to their residences for the purpose of making such residences more accessible to, and usable by, a handicapped individual who is either the taxpayer, his spouse, or a dependent of the taxpayer. Limits the amount of such credit, for each such handicapped individual, to the lesser of $1,000 or an amount which, when added to previous year's credits, does not exceed $5,000. Reduces the amount of such credit by one-half of the amount by which the adjusted gross income of the taxpayer exceeds $20,000 ($35,000 in the case of married individuals filing jointly). Defines "handicapped individual" as any individual who has a medically identifiable mental or physical impairment which can be expected to result in death or which can be expected to last for a continuous period of at least 12 months, and which substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual. Requires the handicapped individual to live in the principal residence for which the alterations are made for not less than a nine month period during the taxable year.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 1980
Requires the President to take the necessary actions to insure that the Government consumes 20 percent less energy during the first calendar year beginning 60 months after enactment of this Act than it consumed during the calendar year in which this Act is enacted.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1980
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for a repayment of the oil import fee equal to ten cents per gallon of gasoline used for certain exempt purposes. Defines "exempt use" as: (1) any use by a State or local government; (2) any use by a nonprofit educational institution; (3) any use as supplies for vessels or aircraft; (4) agricultural uses; (5) certain business uses; and (6) any use in connection with intercity, local, or school buses.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 1980
Directs the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to carry out a study of the possible relationship between exposure of military personnel to radiation in Hiroshima and Nagasaki immediately after World War II and any health problems they may presently have. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress and the Veterans Administration regarding such study.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 1980
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the excise tax on small cigarettes from $4 per thousand to $9 per thousand, and on large cigarettes from $8.40 per thousand to $18.90 per thousand.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1980
Proclaims October 19, 1981, a national day of celebration as the two hundredth anniversary of the victory of General George Washington at Yorktown, Virginia.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1980
Methane Transportation Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 1980 - Directs the Secretary of Energy to designate an organizational entity within the Department of Energy to manage the methane vehicle research, development, and demonstration program established under this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into agreements with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of Transportation, the Environmental Protection Agency, or any other Federal agency, providing that such agencies conduct specified aspects of such program as the Secretary deems appropriate. States that the Secretary shall have responsibility to ascertain that such program includes activities to: (1) promote research on methane-fueled vehicles; (2) determine optimum overall specifications for such vehicles; (3) determine means and facilities for storing, transporting, and dispensing methane for use as vehicular fuel; (4) conduct demonstration projects with respect to the feasibility of such vehicles; (5) gather performance data on such vehicles and related methane transmission and storage facilities; (6) enter into arrangements to assure adequate continuous supplies of methane for use in the demonstrations assisted under this Act; (7) ascertain the need for modifying available methane-fueled vehicles in order to facilitate their use by fleet owners; and (8) report to the Congress on any changes in fuel supply patterns, tax policies, and manufacturing standards needed to facilitate the manufacture and use of such vehicles. Directs the Secretary to assure maximum coordination between Federal agencies and the Department of Energy in carrying out such program. Directs the Secretary to initiate and provide for research and development in areas relating to such vehicles. Directs the Secretary to promulgate rules and regulations and to issue an initial report for proposals for technical and financial assistance to support public and private entities in developing and implementing demonstration projects to gather data on the operation of such vehicles and facilities for the transmission and storage of methane as a vehicular fuel. Sets forth the types of technical and finacial assistance to be provided under this Act, including grants and loans to cover specified percentages of the costs associated with the installation of methane transmission, storage, and dispensing facilities. Sets forth requirements as to the number and duration of such demonstrations. Directs the Secretary to consult with the Postmaster General, the Administrator of the General Services Administration, the Secretary of Defense, and the heads of other Federal agencies to determine the practicability of using methane vehicles in the performance of agency functions and to arrange for appropriate use of such vehicles at the earliest practicable date. Requires the Secretary to submit an annual report on all activities undertaken under this Act to the Senate and the House of Representatives for referral to appropriate committees. Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years 1981 thorugh 1985 to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1980
Amends the Copyright Act of 1976 to permit without infringement of copyright: (1) the performance or display of a copyrighted work by instructors or pupils in the course of face-to- face teaching activities of any educational institution (previously only nonprofit educational institutions); and (2) the performance of a nondramatic literary or musical work by a nonprofit veterans' or fraternal organization if the profits are used exclusively for education, religious, or charitable purposes and not for private financial gain.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1980
Commuter Taxpayer Assistance Act of 1980 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from an employee's gross income the value of a public transit pass distributed, under a written plan of the employer which does not discriminate in favor of employees who are officers, shareholders, or highly compensated employees, by such employer to such employee and used by such employee for commuting between his residence and place of employment. Requires the taxpayer to demonstrate that at least 80 percent of his commutes are with use of such passes provided by his employer. Declares such passes to be nontransferable. Allows a credit against the income tax of an employer of an amount equal to five percent of the cost of such passes. Requires substantiation of such costs with a receipt from the local transit authority. Requires the pass plan to be nondiscriminatory and in writing.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 1980
Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Services (formerly, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare) from establishing a regulation for the use of a food additive which is found to induce cancer when ingested in reasonable quantities by man or by animal.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1980
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow the residential energy credit for energy conservation expenditures with respect to residences substantially completed after April 19, 1977, if such expenditures are for energy conservation items which are not required by Federal, State, or local housing standards.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1980
Amends the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act to revise the formulas for the allocation of funds under title VII (Private Sector Opportunities for the Economically Disadvantaged). Requires that ten percent of such funds be used by the Secretary of Labor to provide incentive bonuses to prime sponsors who promote coordination with economic development activities supported by Federal, State, or local funds. Prohibits taking funds used for such coordinated activities into account in the computation of cost per participant or cost per placement for purposes of program evaluation. Authorizes appropriations to carry out title VII for fiscal years 1981 through 1984. Includes local economic development councils established under the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 among those entities: (1) to which a proposed plan for activities must be made available by those receiving title VII assistance; and (2) from which prime sponsors receiving such assistance must appoint members to a private industry council.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1980
Directs (rather than permits) the Secretary of Agriculture to promulgate regulations for the clean and sanitary movement of livestock and poultry in interstate commerce or into or from the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1980
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) 50 percent of the net revenues from the windfall profit tax should be allocated toward energy research, development, production, and conservation, and for transit programs; (2) 25 percent of such revenues should be allocated for energy assistance to low-income individuals; and (3) the remaining revenues should be available for any other purpose.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1980
Youth Act of 1980 - Title I: Youth Training and Employment Programs - Youth Training and Employment Act of 1980 - Amends the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) to extend through fiscal year 1984 the authorization of appropriations for the Job Corps (title IV, part B) and the Summer Youth Program (title IV, part C). Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years 1981 through 1984 for the new title IV, part A, Youth Training and Employment Programs established by this Act. Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years 1981 and 1982 to carry out the Private Sector Opportunities for the Economically Disadvantaged program (title VII). Revises title IV, part A to eliminate Youth Employment Demonstration Programs and to establish Youth Training and Employment Programs to assist eligible youth in obtaining job opportunities and in improving their opportunities for future employment and increased earnings. Requires that, to be eligible for part A programs, a youth must be 16 to 21 years of age (inclusive), and have a family income at or below 85 percent of the lower living standard income level. Allows ten percent of each recipient entity's funds to be used for youths of such ages who do not meet such income requirement but who otherwise demonstrate the need for such services. Includes as eligible youth of such ages: (1) those who are economically disadvantaged as defined under such Act; or (2) in accordance with standards prescribed by the Secretary of Labor, those who are handicapped individuals, youths under the supervision or jurisdiction of the juvenile or criminal justice system, pregnant teenagers or teenage mothers, or youths attending target schools under the basic skills program under the Youth Education and Training Act established in title II of this Act. Permits any youth aged 14 and 15 (inclusive), who is otherwise eligible, to receive counseling, occupational information, and other transition services on an individual or a group basis. Directs the Secretary of Labor ("the Secretary") to issue regulations which, as a condition of participation in programs under part A, shall require: (1) a specific period of joblessness prior to application; or (2) a specific initial period without stipend and with counseling, occupational information, career assessment, job referrals, and other transitional services. Directs the Secretary to assure that such programs will give priority to youths experiencing the most severe handicaps in obtaining employment. Applies the same eligibility requirements established under part A to summer youth employment programs under part C, except that otherwise eligible youth ages 14 and 15 (inclusive) may participate if the program includes an educational component. Provides for the allocation of funds among various programs under the Youth Employment and Training Programs and among the States and the territories and possessions of the United States. Requires prime sponsors to provide employment opportunities, appropriate training, and employment related and supportive services for eligible youths. Subjects funds available for such Basic Programs to specified conditions of use. Requires prime sponsors serving areas which include target schools funded under the Youth Education and Training Act to make adequate part-time work experience opportunities available for youths in such schools in conjunction with programs under such Act, pursuant to an agreement with the local educational agency and in accordance with regulations issued by the Secretary of Labor in consultation with the Secretary of Education. Requires prime sponsors receiving equal chance supplemental allocations to primarily use such funds to serve youths residing in communities and neighborhoods which have particularly severe economic and social problems which generate multiple obstacles to the employment and employability development of such youths. Directs the Secretary to provide financial assistance under Youth Employment and Training Programs only to a prime sponsor submitting a youth plan, as part of its comprehensive plan, which meets specified conditions. Provides for review of such plans by the Secretary. Requires prime sponsors to develop and use, as appropriate to individual needs, specified benchmark standards, accepted in the community and based on recommendations from various organizations, of youth achievements needed to obtain and retain jobs. Allows each sponsor to provide both monetary and non-monetary incentives for good performance and appropriate assistance for youths unable to perform satisfactorily. Directs the Secretary to establish: (1) basic criteria for such benchmark standards; and (2) prime sponsor performance standards. Requires each prime sponsor to establish service deliverer performance standards based on program outcomes. Provides that such performance standards be revised annually. Requires prime sponsors to establish youth opportunity councils to assist in the planning and review of youth programs under CETA and under the Youth Education and Training Act. Requires that funds available under Youth Employment and Training Programs to the Governor of each State, be used for special statewide youth services. Provides for special purpose incentive grants to prime sponsors, Governor's special statewide youth services, Native American programs, and migrant and seasonal farmworker programs. Provides for education cooperation incentive grants to prime sponsors to carry out programs developed on a cooperative basis with local educational agencies. Authorizes the Secretary to make arrangements with prime sponsors, public agencies, private organizations, and Federal departments and agencies to carry out innovative, experimental, developmental, and demonstration programs dealing with youth employment problems and the enhancing of future employability for participant youths. Directs the Secretary to consult with specified Federal agencies with regard to such discretionary programs. Authorizes the Secretary to use funds under such discretionary programs for staff training, technical assistance, and knowledge development and dissemination. Prohibits the payment of basic hourly allowances to participating youths under age 18 for time spent in a classroom or institutional training activity, except in special circumstances. Permits the payment of: (1) basic hourly allowances to participating youths age 18 and older; (2) allowances to cover documented costs of program participation; and (3) monetary performance incentives. Authorizes the Secretary to prescribe rates of pay, within specified limits, and appropriate time limitations with respect to work experience under Youth Employment and Training Programs. Directs the Secretary to: (1) encourage the granting of academic credit by educational institutions or agencies to eligible youth in classroom or institutional training activities under such programs; and (2) to cooperate with the Secretary of Education to make suitable arrangements with appropriate State and local educational officials for the award of academic credit for competencies derived from work experience and other activities under such programs. Requires prime sponsors to include the summer youth program component as part of the youth plan. Directs the National Commission on Employment Policy to establish a committee on youth to consider problems caused by youth unemployment, make recommendations to enhance interagency coordination of youth programs, and evaluate training and employment policies and programs affecting youths. Directs the Secretary to include a report on programs, activities, and actions taken under title IV in an annual CETA report. Makes technical and clarifying amendments. Provides for appropriate references to the Departments and Secretaries of Education and of Health and Human Services. Sets forth transitional provisions for financial assistance under specified CETA title IV programs. Title II: Financial Assistance to Meet Basic and Employment Skills Needs of Secondary School Youth - Youth Education and Training Act - Directs the Secretary of Education ("the Secretary") to make payments to State educational agencies for grants made on the basis of entitlements created under this title during the fiscal years 1981 through 1984. Sets forth eligibility standards for basic grants for programs operated by local educational agencies. Bases such eligibility upon the relative numbers of children aged five to 17 in a county: (1) from families below the poverty level; (2) living in non-Federal institutions for neglected or delinquent children, but not counted for purposes of a grant to a State agency under this title; or (3) being supported in foster homes with public funds. Sets forth procedures for determining such numbers. Provides formulas for determining the amount of grants to which the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is entitled and amount of grants to which each county in a State is eligible to receive, based on such relative numbers of children in the county and average per pupil expenditure in the State. Provides for payment to the States of the amounts to which counties are entitled and allocation of such amounts by the States to eligible local educational agencies who have submitted an application to the State educational agency. Requires local educational agencies to use such funds received for fiscal year 1981 to assist selected secondary schools to develop three-year plans to improve basic and employment skills. Limits such planning assistance to secondary schools which serve: (1) a large number or percentage of children from low-income families; or (2) a student body of which at least 75 percent score below the 25th percentile in basic skills achievement on an objective test. Provides for ranking and selection of such schools, amounts of planning grants, plan requirements, school site councils, and the use of funds for inservice training. Requires local educational agencies to select from among school plans those schools that are to receive implementation assistance on the basis of criteria established by such agencies, taking into account specified considerations. Requires such agencies to establish advisory councils, with specified representatives, to make recommendations to such agencies on which schools should receive planning and implementation assistance, which services should be provided to nonpublic school student, and to evaluate each school's progress toward program goals. Requires local educational agencies receiving funds under such program to maintain overall expenditures for education and to ensure that schools receiving such program funds receive regular non-Federal and special Federal, State, and local funds in amounts equivalent to those received by similar schools not receiving funds under this title. Provides for complaint resolution and for reports with regard to such programs. Requires local educational agencies to set aside, from funds available for such programs in any fiscal year, a proportionate amount to arrange for the provision of special services to disadvantaged students enrolled in nonpublic secondary schools within their districts, on a basis comparable to those provided to similar students enrolled in the secondary schools of such agencies. Directs such agencies to give priority, in arranging provision of such services, to students enrolled in nonpublic secondary schools with high concentrations of students who are from low-income families or who demonstrate limited academic achievement. Authorizes such agencies to provide such services: (1) directly to students enrolled in nonpublic secondary schools that do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national origin; or (2) through payments to such schools, provided that such schools are not devoted to religious ends or uses and that such schools are subject to specified requirements. Directs the Secretary to arrange for provision of services to such children from withheld funds whenever a local educational agency fails to do so, or is impeded or prohibited from doing so. Allows States or local educational agencies to appeal for review of such determinations and actions by the Secretary. Entitles a State educational agency or a combination of such agencies, upon application for a fiscal year, to a grant to establish or improve programs for: (1) migratory children of migratory agricultural workers or of migratory fisherman; and (2) children in institutions for neglected or delinquent children or in adult correctional institutions. Bases the amount of such grant to each State on the relative populations of such children and the average per pupil expenditure, within specified limits, in such State. Makes two and one-half percent of the funds appropriated for this title in any fiscal year available for such programs for special populations. Requires that such program be at the secondary school level, be designed to improve the basic and employment skills of such children, and meet other specified conditions. Authorizes the Secretary to arrange with other public or nonprofit private agencies for such private agencies for such programs for such children whenever this would be more beneficial to the children, or more economical or efficient, than relying upon State agencies. Entitles a State educational agency, upon application for a fiscal year, to a grant to establish or improve, through local educational agencies, programs designed to improve the basic and employment skills of disadvantaged secondary school students. Bases the amount of such State supplemental program grants upon the relative incidence of children from low-income families in their respective States and upon the average per pupil expenditure, within specified limits, within such States. Makes ten percent of the funds appropriated for this title in any fiscal year available for such State supplemental program payments. Requires that such such programs be conducted at secondary schools which meet specified eligibility requirements, regardless of whether such schools are within local educational agencies eligible for other program assistance. Requires States to establish advisory councils to advise the State educational agency on the selection of schools to be assisted. Directs the Secretary to pay, from the amount available to each State for grants under this title, an amount (equal to 25 percent of the total funds to which the State is entitled under the local educational agency operated programs, the State supplemental programs, and the payments for State administration) to the sole State agency for vocational education, to plan and implement, through local educational agencies, programs to improve basic, employment, and special occupational skills of disadvantaged in-school youth enrolled in grades ten through 12 and out-of-school youth aged 16 through 19 who left school prior to earning a certificate of graduation and who are eligible for CETA Youth Training and Employment Programs. Sets forth requirements for States to receive such program assistance and for local educational agencies applications to receive such assistance from the State vocational agency. Makes the provisions of the General Education Provisions Act relating to local, State, and Federal administration of programs applicable to the programs assisted under this title. Requires State educational agencies to: (1) coordinate activities assisted under this title with employment, training, and other relevant activities conducted in the State; (2) provide technical assistance to local educational agencies; (3) disseminate information to State and local agencies; (4) submit State monitoring and enforcement plans to the Secretary; and (4) provide for complaint resolution. Authorizes such agencies to suspend specified withholding actions while there is a compliance agreement in effect. Authorizes the Secretary to pay State administration costs under this title. Directs the Secretary to develop and disseminate complaint resolution procedures, with specified inclusions. Authorizes the Secretary to make program research and development grants. Directs the Secretary to set aside one percent of the funds appropriated to carry out this title in any fiscal year for the purpose of making payments for basic and employment skill improvement programs for disadvantaged youth run by: (1) local educational agencies in Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands; and (2) the Secretary of Interior, on behalf of disadvantaged Indian youth. Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years 1981 through 1984 to carry out the provisions of this title.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1980
State Justice Institute Act of 1980 - Establishes in the District of Columbia the State Justice Institute as a private nonprofit corporation to further the development of improved judicial administration in State courts in the United States. Directs the Institute to: (1) direct a national assistance program to assure persons ready access to a fair and effective system of justice; (2) foster coordination and cooperation with the Federal judiciary; (3) make recommendations concerning the proper allocation of responsibility between the State and Federal court systems; (4) promote recognition of the importance of the separation of powers doctrine to an independent judiciary; and (5) encourage education for State court judges and support personnel. Authorizes the Institute to award grants and enter into cooperative agreements or contracts to: (1) conduct research, demonstrations, or special projects relating to the purposes of this Act; (2) serve as a clearinghouse of information regarding State judicial systems; (3) participate in joint projects with other agencies, including the Federal Judicial Center; (4) evaluate the impact of programs carried out under this Act upon the quality of criminal, civil, and juvenile justice; (5) encourage judicial education; (6) serve in a consulting capacity to State and local justice systems; and (7) be responsible for the certification of national programs to improve State judicial systems.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1980
Small Business Capital Incentive Act of 1980 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit a taxpayer to elect shorter useful lives for buildings and business machinery in computing the allowance for depreciation. Specifies that the taxpayer may elect a useful life of 15 years in the case of a building and its structural components, and four years in the case of business machinery eligible for the investment tax credit. Imposes a $3,000,000 basic limit for buildings and a $1,000,000 limit for machinery eligible for the election provided by this Act. Reduces from seven to three years the useful life of investment tax credit property which is eligible for the full amount of such credit.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1980
Amends the Export Administration Act of 1979 to prohibit the export of goods, the sales of which are prohibited or restricted in the United States pursuant to specified public health and safety laws, unless specified conditions are met. Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to issue export licenses permitting the export of such goods if: (1) all statutory requirements are met; (2) the Secretary and the head of the agency regulating the sale of such good in the United States concur that (a) the country has requested such export, (b) the country has been fully informed of any U.S. restrictions and possible hazards, and (c) the potential benefits outweigh the possible hazards; and (3) the sale in the importing country would be subject to restrictions comparable to those imposed in the United States. Requires such exported goods to include all information required by U.S. law. Prohibits the export of such goods if such information is likely to be ineffective. Prohibits the export of any good to be used in manufacturing prohibited goods.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1980
Directs the Secretary of Commerce to specify, in the tabulation of total population by States as required for the apportionment of Representatives in Congress to be completed within nine months after the decennial census date, the number of aliens in each State, including a separate accounting of those aliens not lawfully present in the United States. Provides that such illegal aliens not be counted for purposes of such apportionment.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1980
Acid Rain and National Atmospheric Fallout Act of 1980 - Title I: Objectives - States findings concerning atmospheric fallout and acid rain caused by industrial processes, fossil fuel plants, electrical generating plants, home heating, motorized vehicles, municipal waste disposal, and certain intensive agriculture and forestry operations. Declares it to be the policy of the United States that programs of national research, emission source identification, monitoring, and other specified activities, studies, and plans be established to study and solve the problems of atmospheric fallout from the operations described above. Title II: Interagency Committee - Establishes the Interagency Committee on Atmospheric Fallout to perform specified duties to minimize or eliminate the harmful effects of atmospheric fallout. Sets forth membership requirements for such Committee and other requirements relating to staffing. Directs the Committee to review plans and reports on atmospheric fallout made by other bodies, including the Council on Environmental Quality, and to develop a plan to provide for the amelioration of the harmful effects of atmospheric fallout. Sets forth the elements of such plan and requires that it provide for a coordinated monitoring, management, and research program. Requires the submission of such plan to Congress and to the President no later than twelve months after the date of enactment of this Act. Directs the Committee to submit annual reports to Congress and to the President on publicly and privately supported atmospheric fallout activities, and on progress in implementing the Committee's plan for atmospheric fallout control. Requires that such reports be submitted annually for ten years. Title III: National Advisory Council - Establishes the National Advisory Council on Atmospheric Fallout to review the decisions and actions of the Committee and to increase cooperation and coordination among Federal and State public and private organizations and agencies involved in controlling atmospheric fallout. Sets forth membership and staffing requirements for such Council. Title IV: General Provisions - Authorizes the Committee and the Council to obtain directly from any Federal agency or department any information necessary to enable them to carry out their functions and specifies support services at their disposal. Terminates the authority of the Committee and the Council.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1980
Family Business Ranch, and Farm Protection Act of 1980 - Amends the Internal Revenue Act, with respect to estate taxes, to reduce the value of any jointly held interest in a decedent's gross estate by up to 50 percent (not to exceed $500,000) of any real or tangible property devoted to use as a farm or to use in any other trade or business, where the decedent's spouse and/or children materially participated in the operation of such farm, trade, or business. Specifies a formula for the computation of the special value of any such interest. Imposes an additional tax to recapture any such tax benefits should the spouse and/or child dispose of any interest in such property within five years following the decedent's death.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1980
Expresses the sense of Congress that the International Olympic Committee should allow Taiwan to participate in the 1980 winter Olympic games under its own name, flag, and national anthem.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1980
Small Business Equal Access to Justice Act - Title I: Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy - Amends title II of the Small Business Investment Act (Study of Small Business) to direct the Office of Advocacy within the Small Business Administration to assist the Attorney General, Federal agencies, and the Chairman of the Administrative Conference to facilitate relief afforded to small businesses under such Act. Requires the Chief Counsel for Advocacy to submit biennial reports to the President and Congress on awards made to small businesses under such Act. Title II: Small Business Equal Access to Justice - Excludes from the definition of "party" for purposes of this Act: (1) an individual whose net worth exceeds $1,000,000; and (2) any partnership, corporation, association, organization, or sole owner of an unincorporated business whose net worth exceeds $5,000,000, but includes an agricultural cooperative, as defined in the Agricultural Marketing Act, regardless of its net worth. Entitles a prevailing party (other than the United States) to be awarded fees and other expenses, including attorney fees, which were incurred by such party in: (1) an administrative adjudication (excluding ratemaking and license application hearings, but including such actions as suspension or modification of a license); or (2) in any civil action, other than a tort, brought by or against the United States, unless the agency conducting such adjudication, or the court having jurisdiction of such action, finds that the position of the agency or the United States was substantially justified or that special circumstances make an award unjust. Allows the agency or the court to reduce any such award to the extent that the prevailing party unduly and unreasonably protracted the final resolution of the matter in controversy. Stipulates that such awards in administrative adjudication shall be paid by the particular agency over which the party prevails, but prohibits authorization of appropriations to such agency for the specific purpose of such payments. Authorizes a party dissatisfied with such award in an administrative adjudication to petition for leave to appeal the decision in an appropriate Federal court. Authorizes a court to award reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing party in any civil action brought by or against the United States or any agency, including the Post Office, or official of the United States acting in an official capacity, where the court may award such fees in such suits involving private parties (thus applying to Government litigation the common law and statutory exceptions to the "American rule" which requires parties to be responsible for their own attorney fees). Directs the Administrative Conference of the United States and the Administrative Office of the United States Courts to report annually on the amount of fees and expenses awarded during the preceding fiscal year in such agency adjudications and civil actions. Makes this Act applicable to any civil action pending on, or commencing after, the date of enactment, except for civil tax actions, which shall be subject to this Act six months after enactment. Directs the Office of the Chairman of the Administrative Conference of the United States and Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts to provide to the Small Business Office of Advocacy the information required to be collected in title I of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1980
Establishes a Commission on More Effective Government to study and recommend ways of promoting economy, efficiency, and improved service within the Federal Government. Directs the Commission to recommend methods to improve the relationship between Federal, State, and local governments. Provides for the appointment of members of the Commission by the President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the President pro tempore of the Senate. Sets forth provisions governing the organization and compensation of the Commission and its staff. Empowers the Commission to establish advisory councils and committees as it deems appropriate without regard to the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Sets forth the powers of the Commission enabling it to gather information free from subsequent review or comment by any Federal agency. Directs the Commission to submit its final report to the Congress ten days after the Ninety-eighth Congress convenes. Terminates the Commission 90 days after such date. Authorizes the appropriation of funds necessary to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1980
Vietnam Era Veterans Agent Orange Act - Establishes a presumption of service-connected disability for certain diseases arising in Vietnam-era veterans (and for birth defects in their children) exposed to agent orange.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1980
Expresses appreciation to Canada for: (1) its historic close relations and cooperation with the United States in conducting foreign policy; (2) its support for U.S. efforts to obtain the safe release of the hostages in Iran; and (3) its efforts to protect and arrange the safe departure of certain U.S. citizens from Iran.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1980
Urges the President to prohibit the exportation of fertilizer from the United States to the Soviet Union, until Soviet troops are withdrawn from Afghanistan.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1980
Individual Investors' Incentive Act of 1980 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow individual taxpayers a nonrefundable income tax credit equal to ten percent of the cost of corporate securities purchased by such taxpayer during the taxable year. Limits the dollar amount of such credit to $1,000 ($2,000 for married individuals filing jointly). Requires the recapture of specified amounts of such credit if any securities for which the credit is allowed are disposed of by the taxpayer within one year of their purchase. Disqualifies estates, trusts, and nonresident aliens from eligibility for the credit.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1980
Expresses the sense of Congress that the Soviet Union should release Andrei Sakharov from internal exile immediately. Urges the President, through the Secretary of State to: (1) express U.S. opposition to Sakharov's exile; (2) inform the Soviet Union that the United States will take into account, in evaluating its reactions with other countries, the extent to which those countries honor their commitments under international law.
United States · United States Congress · 27 December 1979
Forestry Incentives Program Act of 1979 - Amends the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 to limit the amounts of appropriations authorized to carry out a forestry incentives program and to specify that such authorization is for fiscal years 1981 through 1983. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to designate up to 20 percent of such appropriations for each fiscal year for technical assistance and associated expenses, taking into consideration the cost data supplied by the States. Directs the Secretary: (1) to undertake an immediate study of the efficiency and effectiveness of the forestry incentives program; (2) to submit findings and recommendations to the appropriate committees of Congress by December 1, 1981; and (3) to consult with representatives of various specified interests in the course of such study and identify their views in forwarding findings and recommendations to Congress. Allows a specified limited amount of the appropriations for this Act to be utilized for such study.
United States · United States Congress · 20 December 1979
Youth Education and Work Act - Title I: Amendments to Title IV of the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act - Amends title IV (Youth Programs) of the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) to establish a Youth Education and Work Entitlement program to guarantee employment and supplemental employment opportunities to eligible youth in poverty areas. Defines "eligible youth" as a person between the ages of 15 and 19, inclusive, who has not acquired a high school diploma or its equivalent and is either attending a qualified high school or is a resident of a poverty area and has not attended school within the previous 12 months. Defines "qualifying school" as any high school a majority of whose students are residents of poverty areas and which serves all the residents of a poverty area. Defines "poverty area" as any Bureau of Census geographic division in which 20 percent or more of the residents are at or below the poverty level. Directs the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Education ("the Secretaries") administer youth education and work entitlement programs. Requires that applications for financial assistance for such programs be submitted jointly by any local education authority having jurisdiction over a qualifying school and the prime sponsor with jurisdiction over the poverty area from which such school draws it students. Sets forth required procedures and contents for such applications. Directs the Secretaries to ensure that opportunity to comment on such applications is given to appropriate parties, including State boards of education. Requires entitlement programs to include specified forms of appropriate compensatory activity consisting of: (1) not more than 20 hours per week during the school year and 40 hours in the summer, for every youth in a qualifying school who is making satisfactory progress; (2) not more than 15 hours per week during the school year and 40 hours in the summer, for every youth in such school who is not making satisfactory progress; and (3) not more than 40 hours per week, subject to specified total limits, for every other eligible youth. Grants a completion bonus to every youth who acquires a high school diploma or its equivalent while a participant in such program. Provides that such bonus: (1) shall have a value equal to 300 times the Federal minimum hourly wage and (2) shall be issued in the form of a certificate by the prime sponsor to the qualifying youth. Allows such bonus to be redeemed within two years issuance: (1) by an employer who has employed the youth for 2,000 hours after issuance and before expiration; or (2) by an institution of postsecondary education at which the youth has pursued a substantial full-time course of study, for an amount not exceeding attendance costs, with any balance to be payable to an employer at the rate of one hour of bonus for every two hours of employment supplied to the youth. Requires that all compensated activity be paid at a rate not less than 85 percent of the otherwise applicable Federal minimum wage. Limits compensation in any one year to 2,000 total hours for any youth and to 1,000 total hours for any youth attending school. Permits prime sponsors to pay in full the wages of any youth employed by any employer under such program. Exempts such program from specified conditions applicable to all other CETA programs. Directs the Secretaries to make grants to Governors to provide needed vocational education services to eligible youths, through State boards and in accordance with agreements between State boards and prime sponsors. Requires State vocational educational boards, prior to such agreements, to consult with designated representatives of State agencies and councils involved in the formulation of a five-year State plan under the Vocational Educational Act of 1963. Authorizes appropriations necessary to carry out such programs. Provides for reimbursement of prime sponsors, and for payments and grants to States and local education authorities. Repeals provisions for Youth Incentive Entitlement Pilot Projects. Title II: Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that remuneration paid to any youth enrolled in the CETA youth entitlement program or paid to a youth within one calendar year after completion of such program is excluded from the definition of "wages" for purposes of employment taxes under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act and unemployment taxes under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act. Title III: Establishment of the Academy of Education and Work - Establishes the Academy of Education and Work, a nonprofit organization to be organized under the laws of the District of Columbia. Directs the Secretaries to each appoint ten persons, representative of those administrating and operating the entitlement program, to be the interim board of governors of the academy. Directs the interim board to organize the academy and promulgate bylaws which include specified provisions. Declares that the purpose of the academy shall be to promote improved and alternative methods of instruction to enhance the educational attainment and employability potential of youth who have dropped out of the education system or are otherwise not being adequately prepared for further education or employment by providing a professional association of persons concerned in programs with that objective. Authorizes the academy to: (1) hold regional meetings of members and national meetings of fellows: (2) conduct training institutes for members; (3) provide professional recognition for those who have made significant contributions to entitlement programs implementation; (4) recommend changes in certification and credentialing procedures; and (5) disseminate information on successful programs using Departments of Education and Labor channels. Authorizes appropriations in specified amounts to carry out such purposes for fiscal year 1981 and to pay the initial organizational expenses of the academy, including travel and subsistence costs of fellows attending national meetings, for fiscal year 1982. Requires that all academy expenses after fiscal year 1982 be paid for by membership dues and contributions.
United States · United States Congress · 20 December 1979
Establishes in the House of Representatives and under the direction of the Committee on House Administration a Congressional Child Care Center to provide child care services for children of Senators, Representatives, and congressional employees. Requires all operating expenses of the Center to be recovered through the fees charged for child care services provided by the Center. Directs the chairman of the Committee on House Administration to appoint a nonpartisan advisory board to make recommendations to the Committee with respect to matters relating to the Center and to conduct semiannual reviews of the operations of the Center and submit a written report of each such review. Establishes in the Department of the Treasury a revolving fund within the contingent fund of the House of Representatives to be known as the Congressional Child Care Center Revolving Fund. Authorizes the Committee on House Administration to acquire such facilities as may be necessary for the operation of the Center.
United States · United States Congress · 19 December 1979
Veterans Administration Adjudication Procedure and Judicial Review Act - Title I: Adjudication Procedures - Codifies, for Veterans Administration (VA) adjudication purposes, the burden of proof and reasonable doubt standard currently provided for by VA regulation. States that a claimant has the burden of submitting sufficient evidence to justify his or her claim, and that if an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence exists regarding the merits of a claim, the VA is to resolve such doubt in favor of the claimant. Stipulates that VA subpoenas may be served either by personal delivery or by registered or certified mail. Increases the size of the Board of Veterans' Appeals from 50 to 65 members. Requires the Chairman of such Board to submit an annual report to the appropriate congressional committees concerning the Board's current handling of cases and projections for the subsequent fiscal year. Requires the Board: (1) to provide notice to a claimant and an opportunity for a hearing before a decision may be based on "additional official information" received after a Board decision has previously been made; (2) provide the claimant with an opportunity for a hearing; and (3) make its decision exclusively on evidence and material of record in the proceeding. Removes the requirement that new material sufficient to allow the Board to reopen a previously disallowed claim be in the form of official reports. Provides that the Board's discretionary authority to reopen a claim will not be diminished by a judicial decision following an appeal as provided for by this Act. Requires the Board to mail to the claimant notice of its decision and the reasons for such decision. Provides that, upon the request of a claimant, the Board shall provide an independent advisory medical opinion when there exists substantial medical disagreements with respect to a material issue in a veterans' appeal. Sets forth new procedural rules for adjudication hearings regarding: (1) oaths, affirmations, and witness examination; (2) admissibility of evidence; (3) procedural rights of claimants; (4) disqualification of a hearing officer; (5) the record of the proceedings and the claimants' right to examine and obtain a copy of such record; and (6) the exclusivity of veterans' adjudication procedures and rights prescribed by the Administrator. Requires the Administrator to provide at each stage of the appeal proceedings written notice to a claimant of procedural rights and procedures. Directs the Administrator to conduct a study of two alternate claims resolution methods, one a new intermediate-level adjudication process, the other an enhanced schedule of formal Appeals Board hearings. Title II: Veterans' Administration Rule Making - Includes the VA's rulemaking procedures under the relevant provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. Title III: Judicial Review - Provides for judicial review of VA decisions in the Federal court system. States, with regard to jurisdiction: (1) that judicial review of a final decision in a claim for benefits may be obtained in a civil action brought within 180 days of the Board's mailing of notice of its decision, and that such action shall be brought in Federal district court; (2) that in cases not directly involving a claim for benefits a civil action otherwise authorized by law shall not be precluded; (3) the definition of final decision; (4) that the judicial review procedures established under this Act shall not apply to insurance and home loans; (5) that the VA shall file the various materials constituting the record in a case together with its answer to the claimant's complaint; and (6) that the court render a decision on the pleadings. States, with regard to the reviewing court's scope of review, that such court: (1) decide questions of law and interpret constitutional, statutory, and regulatory provisions, but that questions of fact (unless unsupported by substantial evidence) will not be subject to a trial de novo; and (2) in reviewing a final decision of the VA which is adverse to a party solely because such party failed to comply with VA procedures, such court may only review questions concerning such procedures. Sets out provisions regarding remand, survival of actions, and appellate review. Title IV: Attorneys' Fees - Authorizes the Administrator to allow attorneys' fees above the present $10 maximum if the appealing party's claim is allowed by the VA after an initial denial. States that such fee shall be the lesser of: (1) the fee agreed upon by the party and attorney; (2) $500, unless the Administrator approves a greater amount; or (3) if the party and attorney have entered into a contingent-fee agreement, not more than 25 percent of the total of any past-due benefits' awarded on the basis of such party's claim. Provides for the approval of attorneys' fees, in successful veterans' claims brought before court, as provided for under this Act. Stipulates that such fees shall be determined by such court, and in contingent-fee agreements such fees shall not exceed 25 percent of the total of any past-due benefits awarded on the basis of such claim. Authorizes attorneys' fees of up to $750 in certain unsuccessful veterans' claims. Prohibits the VA from authorizing payment to a claimant's attorney based on past-due benefits unless such benefits are owed as of the date of the VA's or a court's award. Establishes procedures for the review of the VA's or a court's approval of attorneys' fees. States that in the case of a benefits claim resolved before the VA, either the claimant or the attorney may challenge the award in the Federal district court in which the claimant resides or has his principal place of business within 30 days after notice of the attorneys' award. States that in the case of such a claim resolved in court, either the claimant or the attorney may challenge the award in such court within 30 days after such award. Provides that all parties be given notice. Stipulates that such provisions regarding attorneys' fees shall only apply to claims for benefits under the laws administered by the VA and shall not apply in cases in which the VA is the plaintiff or in which other attorneys' fees statutes are otherwise controlling. Title V: Effective Dates - States that this Act shall become effective 180 days after enactment. Permits review of Board of Veterans' Appeals rendered on or after January 1, 1977, and prior to the effective date of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 December 1979
Medicaid Community Care Act of 1980 - Authorizes a State with a plan approved under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to apply to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (formerly, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare) to have Federal payments for home health care services, nursing services, home health aid services, medical equipment for use in the home, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology services, endiology services, adult day health services, respite care, short-term full-term nursing care, homemaker services, and nutrition counseling made at a higher rate the the rate for other care and services provided under the State plan. Specifies that the Federal medical assistance percentage for such services and the comprehensive assessments provided for in this Act shall be the lesser of: (1) the Federal medical assistance percentage determined under title XIX plus 25 percent; or (2) 90 percent of the cost of such services and assessments. Requires an application to be accompanied by a community care plan which: (1) provides for a comprehensive assessment of each individual eligible or applying for Medicaid who is likely to need long-term skilled nursing facility or intermediate care facility services; (2) makes available, under title XIX, the care and services for which the higher Federal payment may be made to individuals determined pursuant to a comprehensive assessment to be in need of long-term facility services and for whom such assistance is a feasible alternative to long-term facility services; and (3) coordinates the services provided under this Act with similar services provided under the Older Americans Act of 1965, and under titles XVIII (Medicare) and XX (Grants to States for Services) of the Social Security Act. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress with respect to the program established under this Act. Permits a State, for the purposes of title XIX, to treat a noninstitutionalized individual the same as an individual who is in a long-term care facility if the noninstitutionalized individual meets the income and resources standards for long-term facility residents and has been determined, pursuant to an assessment under this Act, to need long-term facility services.
![Official portrait of Sen. Jeffords, James M. [I-VT]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/j000072_200.jpg)