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United States · Official source
5,991 records where Sen. Jeffords, James M. [I-VT] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1985
Designates the week beginning July 27, 1986, as National Nuclear Medicine Week.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1985
Recognizes Camp Fire, Incorporated for its 75 years of service to our Nation.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1985
Designates the week beginning May 18, 1986, as National Tourism Week.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1985
Supports the initiative of the Director of the U.S. Information Agency to: (1) arrange for a high level Soviet official to appear on American television provided the Soviet Union allows a high level American official to appear on Soviet television; and (2) plan for United States and Soviet participation in a worldwide discussion using an international satellite television network and allowing journalists to ask uncensored questions of such officials.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1985
Authorizes the President, on behalf of the Congress, to present gold medals to Jan Scruggs, Robert Doubek, and Jack Wheeler, in recognition of their tireless efforts to give the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to the Nation. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to sell bronze duplicates of the medal. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1985
Young Astronaut Program Medal Act - Commemorates the Young Astronaut Program by directing the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and deliver to the Young Astronaut Council no more than 750,000 medals with emblems, devices, and inscriptions determined by the Secretary. Authorizes the Council to dispose of the medals at a premium and to have them delivered as required in quantities of no less than 2,000. Directs that no medals be struck after December 31, 1987. Directs the Secretary to set the price of the medals at no less than the manufacturing cost plus a surcharge of ten percent of such cost. Requires the furnishing of security sufficient to fully indemnify the United States for such costs. Directs that the medals be struck in gold, silver, and bronze and in such size or sizes as determined by the Secretary. Gives the U.S. Comptroller General the right to examine the records of the Council which are related to the medals.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1985
Designates June 12, 1985, as Anne Frank Day.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1985
Superfund Expansion and Protection Act of 1985 - Title I: Provisions Relating Primarily to Response and Liability - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) (Superfund) to include among hazardous substances subject to such Act any petroleum released from an underground storage tank. Includes pollutants and contaminants under Superfund, defining them as any substance which after release into the environment causes disease or abnormalities upon exposure or assimilation, either directly or through the food chain. Excludes petroleum and natural gas except as otherwise indicated under CERCLA. Redefines "release" to include the abandonment of containers containing hazardous substances or pollutants, or contaminants. Includes within remedial action the offsite transport and treatment and storage of hazardous substances and associated contaminated materials. Includes within removal costs the costs of permanent relocation of residents, business debt installments during the evacuation period, and assistance for lost wages. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish reportable quantities for all hazardous substances within six months of this Act's enactment. Requires the Administrator to conduct periodic audits of reported releases and report to the Congress at least annually on such audits. Directs the Administrator to give primary attention to those releases which may present a public health threat. Permits the Administrator to authorize cleanup by the responsible party if the Administrator determines it will be done properly. Prohibits the Administrator from providing removal or remedial actions for releases or threatened releases which are the product of naturally occurring processes, are in a facility of which such substance forms a structural part, or are the result of ordinary use deterioration in a drinking water system. Permits the Administrator to respond despite such prohibition if a public health or environmental emergency exists and no other authority can respond in a timely and competent fashion. Requires removal actions undertaken by the Administrator to contribute to any long-term remedial action necessary for a release or potential release. Requires the Administrator to assess the health effects associated with such release. Exempts response action contractors from liability for any damages caused by a release in the absence of negligence. Limits the 50 percent State cleanup obligation to those facilities which are both owned and operated by the State. Credits States with expenditures made at National Priorities List (NPL) sites on cost-eligible response actions. Revises other State cost-sharing measures. Requires the Administrator to select appropriate cost-effective remedial actions in accordance with the National Contingency Plan, (NCP). Requires remedial actions selected to provide permanent solutions when feasible. Requires the Administrator to provide interim measures which protect human and environmental health until a permanent solution becomes feasible. Requires these Interim Category sites on the NPL to be reviewed at five-year intervals for removal to the NPL when a feasible, permanent solution is possible. Requires a standard of control at least as strict as that provided by any other applicable Federal environmental law such as the Clean Water Act. Requires onsite disposal to be in compliance with the relevant provisions of the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Requires offsite disposal to be made only at facilities in compliance with such Act. Permits the waiver of such requirements as specified. Grants EPA employees or contractors the necessary access to facilities and information to determine if the need for a response action exists. Requires the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) to develop toxicological profiles for at least 100 hazardous substances, assessing the current state of knowledge of their deleterious effects. Sets forth a schedule for developing such profiles, funding the process out of Superfund monies. Prescribes a cleanup schedule for Superfund, requiring an evaluation by January 1, 1987, of sites on the Emergency Response and Remedial Investigation System (ERRIS) list for possible inclusion on the NPL. Sets a schedule for the conduct of remedial investigations and feasibility studies (RIFS) for NPL sites, requiring the commencement of remedial action at a rate of not fewer than 150 facilities per year. Requires completion of remedial action within five years of this Act's enactment, requiring published explanations of noncompletions. Directs the Administrator to revise the National Contingency Plan (NCP) within 18 months to reflect this Act's amendments. Authorizes individuals to petition the Administrator for a preliminary assessment of a hazardous substance release. Includes human food chain damage and contamination of the ambient air as factors in the hazard ranking system. Eliminates the requirement that the NPL contain at least 400 sites. Permits a State to designate its highest priority facility on the NPL only once. Directs the Administrator to revise abatement action provisions to comply with this Act. States that there is no judicial review of abatement action orders other than orders enforcing such orders or recovery of penalties and punitive damages. Prohibits the subsequent storage of a hazardous waste at a solid Waste Disposal Act site if such waste has leaked sufficiently to require an abatement action and a certain density of population has been or may be affected. Makes certain investigatory and assessment costs recoverable from the responsible party. Exempts from liability for all but negligent actions of government agencies responding to a hazardous substance emergency. Prohibits the Attorney General from representing any Federal agency other than EPA who may be a defendant in a civil environmental action brought by EPA. Presumes the validity of federally- or State-run lab tests. Permits apportionment of damages among parties. Makes liability for abatement actions strict, joint, and several. Permits defendants to bring contribution actions against other, potential defendants. Makes a party to a judically-approved settlement not liable for claims for contribution. States that cleanup costs incurred in a response action constitute a Federal lien against the property of a responsible party. Sets forth evidentiary requirements for establishing financial responsibility. Permits direct action against a financial guarantor if the person liable is financially or physically unavailable for redress. Entitles such a guarantor to all rights and defenses available to the liable party. Limits the liability of such guarantor to its financial responsibility to the responsible party. Authorizes appropriations to the Hazardous Substance Superfund of not more than $2,020,000,000 for each of FY 1986 through 1990. Authorizes $250,000,000 out of general revenues. Prohibits the use of Superfund monies to satisfy claims for natural resources damage. Requires the Inspector General to audit annually the use of Superfund monies. Requires claims for response costs to first be made to the responsible parties or financial guarantor. Sets forth procedures for claim payment. Establishes a three-year statute of limitations for the initiation of actions for contribution for recovery claims for damages to natural resources. Establishes a six-year statute of limitations for cost recovery actions setting forth special rules for minors and incompetents. Requires the promulgation of natural resource assessment damage claims regulations within six months of this Act's enactment. Authorizes nationwide service of process under CERCLA. Authorizes a State to require contributions to a fund to pay the costs of hazardous substance response actions or damages. Requires the Administrator of EPA to provide a reasonable opportunity for public comment on any proposed plan for remedial action before it is implemented. Requires the Administrator to publish an explanation of any divergences from such plan or public comments. Authorizes the Administrator to make assistance available to affected individuals to help them evaluate and assess technical information and data. Authorizes individuals to petition the Administrator of EPA for a health assessment of a site where evidence of human exposure to hazardous substances exists. Requires the Administrator to either initiate a health effects study or publish an explanation of a determined lack of significant risk. Requires the Administrator to provide alternative household water, relocate individuals, or take such measures as may be necessary to eliminate the risk. Requires Federal agencies to notify buyers or transferees of Federal land where hazardous substances were disposed of or stored for one year or more. Holds responsible parties strictly, jointly, and severally liable in State court actions for personal damages caused by exposure to any hazardous substance release. Establishes a three-year statute-of-limitations for such actions, setting forth special rules for minor and incompetents. Title II: Miscellaneous Provisions - Authorizes citizen suits against violators of this Act, including the Administrator and other government officials who have failed to perform nondiscretionary duties. Permits citizen suits against nongovernment officials in the Federal district court in which the violation occurred. Permits citizen suits against any Federal official only in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Empowers such courts to impose civil penalties and to order the performance of required acts. Requires plaintiffs to give notice to the Administrator, the alleged violator, and the State in which the violation occurred before commencing proceedings. Prohibits citizen suits where the Administrator has commenced and is pursuing an enforcement action. Permits the awarding of court costs to the substantially prevailing party. States that the United States may intervene as a matter of right in all citizen suits to which it is not otherwise a party. Requires the Administrator to commence a study on the adverse effects of drilling fluids, produced waters, and other wastes associated with the production of crude oil or natural gas on human health and the environment within six months of this Act's enactment. Requires the Department of Transportation to promulgate regulations requiring shippers to notify transporters whenever hazardous substances are offered for transport. Increases criminal penalties and adds certain civil penalties for violations of this Act, including failure to provide accurate information at specified times. Requires the Federal Government to provide assurances that it will pay a share of the remedial action and maintenance costs of a cleanup on Indian lands that is otherwise required to be made by a State. Authorizes Indian tribes to recover damages for injury to natural resources from hazardous substance releases, except as specified. Includes Indian tribes on the same basis as States under certain provisions of CERCLA. Terminates the Post-closure Liability Trust Fund's responsibility to fund the cleanup of already closed sites where hazardous waste was stored in compliance with the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Title III: Community Right to Know and Emergency Planning - Amends the Toxic Substances Control Act by adding a new title II concerning the communities' right-to-know, emergency planning, and liability. Requires each covered manufacturer, distributor, user, and importer of a sheet for such substance for distribution to local police, fire, and health officials. Requires the fact sheet to include the name, physical properties of, and hazards posed by the substance, including potential routes of human exposure to such substance, symptoms of such exposure, and appropriate emergency and first aid procedures. Requires status sheets on the same basis as fact sheets, with each status sheet to include the maximum inventory and method of storage of the substance, the quantity of its emission into the environment, and the quantity and method of disposal. Requires the releasor of a covered hazardous substance in an emergency situation to provide an emergency bulletin to the State and local police and other local officials. Requires the bulletin to identify the name and amount of the substance released and the response actions taken. Requires fact and status sheets and emergency bulletins to be made available for public inspection with public notice of such availability at the facility of the potential releasor. Requires the Administrator to publish a uniform format for fact and status sheets. Authorizes a State's Governor to identify local officials to receive covered hazardous substance release information, with the Administrator doing so in the absence of the Governor's identification. Requires the potential releasors to maintain records of information required by this Act. Requires manufacturers or importers to transmit fact sheets to covered distributors or users upon shipping of a covered hazardous substance. Provides protection for trade secrets while continuing to make necessary information available to the appropriate persons. Excludes listed or possible carcinogens from such protection. Sets forth application and substantiation procedures for trade secret claims. Permits affected citizens or government officials to compel disclosure of nonsubstantiated trade secrets through the Federal courts. Authorizes the Administrator to grant exemptions from the basic notification requirements of this Act through specified procedures open to the public based upon a cost-benefits analysis where there is no reasonable likelihood of harm. Directs each covered major manufacturer to develop within two years of the enactment of this Act a comprehensive evacuation and emergency response plan which addresses the health and safety issues applicable to such manufacturer's particular situation. Requires the plan to include designations of the appropriate government officials to be notified, mitigation measures, evacuation routes, notification plans, and evaluation of community support services. Authorizes each Governor to designate emergency response districts within 18 months of the enactment of this Act or the Administrator will do so. Permits each Governor to appoint an Emergency Response Committee per district or the Administrator will be treated as such Committee. Requires such Committees to review the manufacturers' plans, revising them where necessary. Directs the Administrator within 18 months of the enactment of this Act to develop uniform national mandatory labeling requirements for pipes, storage tanks, or containers not otherwise required to be labeled which could reasonably be presumed to release a covered hazardous substance. Requires the label to indicate the appropriate response to a release. Directs the Administrator to designate covered major manufacturers for emergency response purposes within one year of the enactment of this Act. Limits the designation to those whose substances would pose an imminent and substantial danger to health and the environment if released in significant quantities. Includes all persons covered under this Act in lieu of such designations. Includes Federal departments as potentially covered major manufacturers. Exempts those whose emergency activities are sufficiently covered under other Federal or State law. Sets forth categories of substances to be considered covered hazardous substances and procedures for adding additional substances. Directs the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry to compile and update a digest of all such substances. Exempts certain substances for this Act's purposes, based upon the form, amount, and other regulation of such substances. Establishes civil and criminal penalties, limiting criminal penalties to the knowing violation of emergency requirements. Authorizes citizens' suits to enforce this Act. Permits States to adopt more stringent right-to-know standards in the workplace context and emergency response requirements. Permits State and local governments to impose fees upon potential releasors to cover administrative costs. Title IV: Internal Revenue Code Provisions - Imposes taxes of $1,077,000,000 for each of FY 1986 through 1990 for deposit in the Hazardous Substance Response Trust Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 1985
Even Start Act - Establishes a pilot program to combine adult basic education for parents and school readiness training for children into a single educational program. Requires that funds made available to a grant recipient under this Act be used to provide a program of adult literacy training which includes as a major component involving parents and children together to enhance the likelihood of educational achievement. Requires that each such program receiving a grant include the following elements: (1) identifying and recruiting eligible participants; (2) screening and preparing parents and children for participation (including testing, referral to necessary counseling, and related services); (3) designing programs and providing support services to suit the participants' work and other responsibilities (including child care, transportation, and scheduling and locating services to allow joint participation by parents and children); (4) establishing instruction programs that promote adult literacy, equip parents to support the education and growth of their children, and prepare children for success in regular school program; and (5) providing and monitoring integrated instructional services to participants through home-based programs. Makes eligible for participation in such programs families that: (1) include a parent eligible to participate in an adult basic education program under the Adult Education Act; and (2) reside, with a child aged four or five, in a school attendance area designated for receipt of funds under chapter 1 (Financial Assistance to Meet Special Educational Needs of Disadvantaged Children) of the Educational Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981 (ECIA). Makes eligible to apply for such program grants any agency, organization, or institution that operates an adult basic education program under the Adult Education Act and that serves an area: (1) in which the unemployment rate exceeds the national average; and (2) at least 75 percent of which is comprised of school attendance areas designated for receipt of funds under chapter 1 of ECIA. Sets forth grant application requirements, including: (1) a demonstration that the applicant can coordinate programs under the Adult Education Act with program under chapter 1 of ECIA, with other related programs such as health care, nutrition, child abuse, and substance abuse control and with State and local educational agencies; (2) a statement of methods to be used to provide program services for those most in need of them and for special populations, such as the handicapped and those with limited English proficiency; and (3) a demonstration that the applicant has qualified personnel to provide staff training and preparation. Directs the Secretary of Education to select 15 to 20 applications for final review, with two-thirds of these from urban areas and one-third from rural areas. Provides that three of these applications shall be selected for receipt of funds by a review panel composed of the Secretary, and specified members of State and local directors of programs under chapter 1 of ECIA and the Adult Education Act, chief State school officers, and representatives from a local Parent-Teacher Association and from institutions of higher education with training, respectively, in early childhood education and in adult literacy training. Sets forth program agreement requirements, including: (1) participant enrollment for at least 12 months; and (2) grant recipient provision of at least 25 percent of program costs for the third year of operation, 50 percent for the fourth year, and continued program operation after the expiration of assistance under this Act, if the program has been demonstrated to be effective. Sets forth requirements for evaluation and dissemination of results of such pilot projects. Requires that the results of such evaluation be submitted by the end of FY 1992 to the national diffusion network for possible dissemination. Directs the Secretary, in order to carry out this Act, to reserve specified amounts from FY 1987 through 1991 funds which would otherwise be available for: (1) grants to States for adult basic education and adult education programs to be carried out by local educational agencies and private nonprofit agencies; and (2) evaluation and studies under chapter 1 of ECIA. Provides that such requirement shall not apply to funds appropriated before the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 1985
Amends Federal law concerning the national minimum drinking age to direct the Secretary of Transportation to promptly apportion to a State funds which have been withheld in any fiscal year because such State's legal minimum drinking age was less than 21 years of age if the number of traffic fatalities involving persons 18 through 20 years old who were driving while intoxicated in each of two consecutive years following such fiscal year is at least ten percent less than the number of such fatalities occurring in that State within the calendar year preceding the first day of such fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1985
Designates the month of November 1985 as National Hospice Month.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1985
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide Medicare coverage for anesthesia services and related care provided by a registered nurse anesthetist.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1985
Designates October 1985 as Learning Disabilities Awareness Month.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 1985
Designates the week of May 11 through May 17, 1985, as Handicapped Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 1985
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should ratify the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Declares that the House will act expeditiously to implement this legislation.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 1985
National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act of 1985 - Title I: Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research - Establishes a ten-year coordinated program, to be known as the National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Program, which will be implemented by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Establishes an Intergovernmental Science Board for Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research to facilitate the management and implementation of such program. Directs the Secretary to appoint an Administrator of Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Program to coordinate such program. Sets forth the functions of the Secretary with respect to such program including: (1) establishing a National Science Foundation administered matching grant program for specified nutritional and dietary purposes; and (2) submitting an annual report to the President and the Congress. Requires the Secretary to prepare and implement a comprehensive National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Plan which shall: (1) assess and report on U.S. nutritional and dietary trends; (2) assess and report on low-income food and household expenditures; (3) sponsor and conduct research; and (4) develop and update a national dietary and nutritional status data bank; (5) assist State and local agencies in developing procedures and networks for nutrition monitoring and surveillance; and (6) focus the activities of Federal agencies. Requires the plan to allocate the project functions and activities among the various Federal agencies and offices involved. Requires the Secretary to provide for and coordinate such scientific research and development as may be necessary to support the coordinated program and comprehensive plan. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: National Nutrition Monitoring Advisory Council - Establishes a 15-member Advisory Council to: (1) provide scientific and technical advice on the development and implementation of all components of the coordinated program and the comprehensive plan; (2) evaluate such program and plan; and (3) submit an annual report to the Secretary.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 1985
Food Stamp and Commodity Distribution Improvement Act of 1985 - Title I: Food Stamp and Related Provisions - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to make homeless persons eligible to participate in the food stamp program (program). Requires State agencies to develop related certification and issuance procedures. Changes the four-person thrifty food plan adult age range from 20 to 54 years old to 20 to 50 years old. Requires the thrifty food plan to be adjusted annually each October 1 to reflect: (1) food price changes through the preceding June; and (2) the Secretary of Agriculture's projection of food price changes through the following September. Revises the definition of "disabled" to include certain persons receiving benefits under the Railroad Retirement Act or persons receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disabled benefits. Prohibits the collection of State and local taxes on food stamp purchases. Removes provisions which prohibited the distribution of federally donated foods in jurisdictions where the food stamp program is operated. Makes households each of whose members receive SSI or Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) categorically eligible for program participation. States that denial of eligibility or termination of benefits from such programs cannot be a basis for denial of food stamp eligibility or termination of benefits. Excludes loan origination fee payments and insurance premiums from "household income" under the program. Includes as such income any income from Federal educational grants not used for tuition and fees, from the program definition of "income." Requires that certain AFDC payments and State assistance made to third parties on behalf of food stamp households be treated as money paid directly to such households. Declares that earnings attributable to the Job Training Partnership Act shall be considered earned income. Increases the earned income deduction from 18 to 20 percent. Separates (presently combined) dependent care and excess shelter expense deductions. Provides for an educational deduction and an energy assistance deduction. Grants States the option of calculating income either prospectively or retrospectively. Authorizes the Food Stamp Disaster Task Force to assist States in implementing and operating the regular food stamp program in a disaster area. Increases the resources limitation from $1500 to $2500, and from $3000 to $3500 for the elderly and disabled. Increases the threshold for accounting a vehicle's value against resources from $4500 to $5500. Requires the disqualification of a household if the head of household fails to fulfill work requirements. (Current law disqualifies a household where any eligible member of such household fails to fulfill work requirements.) Exempts students under the Job Training Partnership Act from certain disqualification provisions and removes the exception for certain students who are parents. Requires each State agency to implement an employment program as set forth under this Act. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1985 through 1989 for such program. Directs the Secretary to report by January 1, 1989, to the appropriate congressional committees on the effectiveness of such programs. Permits States to stagger coupon issuance. Permits the disclosure of information submitted by retail stores to State agencies that administer the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966. Permits federally insured credit unions which have wholesale or retail grocers in their membership to redeem food stamps. Prohibits financial institutions from collecting charges for the redemption of coupons, other than charges relating to the cancellation of such coupons. Directs State agencies to periodically assess the need to keep food stamp offices open during weekend or evening hours. Requires the Secretary to encourage State agencies to disseminate program information. Imposes a civil penalty on the transferor of a disqualified retail food store. Prohibits any new owner from accepting food stamps until such penalty has been paid. Authorizes the Secretary to sue in district court to collect such penalty. Authorizes the Secretary, at the request of a State agency, to waive payment of a portion of any claim asserted against the State for its error rate, if the State shows that it will devote the waived portion to administrative efforts to reduce its payment error rate. Directs the Secretary to develop a model plan for computerization of the information systems under the food stamp program by October 1, 1986. Requires a report to the Congress by April 1, 1987, on the sufficiency of each State's computerized system. Extends the authority to conduct pilot projects intended to improve the efficiency of the program until October 1, 1990. (Currently, such authority expires October 1, 1985.) Authorizes the Secretary to continue any project beyond any established term if such project has a beneficial effect on administrative costs and error rates. Authorizes appropriations for the food stamp program for FY 1986 through 1990. Revises the Puerto Rico block grant program to: (1) make permanent the existing temporary (through September 30, 1985) suspension for the non-cash program requirement; (2) repeal the provision requiring Puerto Rico to pay 50 percent of administrative costs; and (3) repeal the requirement of a single administering agency. Authorizes appropriations for such program for FY 1986 through 1990. (Currently, such authorization is a fixed amount and open-ended.) Amends the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973 to extend the commodity distribution program for FY 1986 through FY 1990 and the commodity supplemental food program from FY 1986 through 1989. (Currently, such programs expire in FY 1985.) Allows the continued distribution of agricultural commodities to low-income elderly under certain pilot projects. Title II: Amendments to the Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 and Other Commodity Distribution Provisions - Amends the Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 to declare emergency feeding organizations as eligible commodity recipients. Defines such organizations as those including charitable institutions, food banks, hunger centers, soup kitchens, and similar nonprofit agencies. Repeals provisions which: (1) authorize the use of wheat provided under the Food Security Wheat Reserve Act of 1980; and (2) relate to agreements for reprocessing commodities into end-use food products. Authorizes State agencies to enter into cooperative agreements for the provision of commodities to an emergency feeding organization. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 and 1987 for the costs associated with the distribution of commodities by emergency feeding organizations. Sets forth conditions associated with such funding. Requires the Secretary to publish regulations regarding the commodity distribution program for FY 1986 and 1987. Requires such regulations to include provisions that set standards of liability for commodity losses. Terminates the temporary emergency food program on September 30, 1987. (Currently, such program terminates September 30, 1985.) Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress on the activities under such program by April 1, 1987. Amends the Agricultural and Food Act of 1981 to require the Secretary to encourage consumption of products made available without charge or credit through agreements with private companies for the reprocessing of such products. Title III: Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Education - Directs the Department of Agriculture, through its Extension Service, to coordinate a program where by State cooperative extension services provide food, nutrition, and consumer education services to low-income persons. Authorizes appropriations for such program for FY 1986 through 1990.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 1985
Designates the week beginning October 27, 1985, as National Alopecia Areata Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 1985
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the administration should comply with the automatic appropriation and earmarking provisions of the Wallop/Breaux Sport Fish Restoration Trust Fund. States that funds owed to the States from such Fund should not be withheld or delayed.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 1985
McIntyre House Reform Amendments - Title I - Amends rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives to require each standing committee, not later than March 1 in the first session of a Congress, to adopt its oversight plans in a meeting open to the public. Requires the committees to submit such plans to the Committee on Government Operations, which shall, not later than March 15 in the first session of a Congress, report such plans to the House with recommendations. Authorizes the Speaker of the House to appoint special ad hoc oversight committees to review specific matters within the jurisdiction of two or more committees. Amends rule XI to require each committee to include in its biennial report to the House a separate section summarizing its legislative and oversight activities during that Congress. Directs the Speaker of the House to initially refer each bill, resolution, or other matter to one committee of principal jurisdiction. Eliminates the Speaker's authority to refer any such matter initially to two or more committees for concurrent consideration. Requires standing committees to be elected by the House not later than five legislative days after the convening of each Congress. Requires each committee to hold its organizational meeting not later than eight legislative days after the commencement of a Congress. Requires the membership of each committee, select committee, and conference committee (and each subcommittee, task force, or subunit thereof) to reflect the ratio of majority to minority Members. Provides that such ratio be reflected for standing committees at the beginning of each Congress, and for select and conference committees at the time of appointment. Prohibits any standing committee from establishing more than six subcommittees, and any Member serving at any one time on more than four subcommittees. Defines subcommittee as any subunit of a standing committee established for a period of more than six months. Requires that motions to recess or adjourn be approved by the majority of committee members present. Prohibits the vote by any member of any committee or subcommittee from being cast by proxy. Provides that a majority of members of each committee or subcommittee shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any business. Requires committee documents (other than reports on bills and resolutions) prepared for public distribution to: (1) be approved by such committee and an opportunity afforded for the inclusion of supplemental, minority, or additional views; or (2) contain a disclaimer in bold face type on its cover and not include the names of committee members. Exempts from such requirement committee documents that do not contain opinions, views, findings, or recommendations. Requires a committee chairman to consult with the ranking minority committee member and the appropriate subcommittee chairman before filing committee reports. Prohibits the issuance of subpoenas if the House is in recess or has adjourned. Requires the Committee on Rules, when reporting measures waiving a House rule, to include: (1) an explanation of and justification for such waiver; and (2) a summary of comments received from the Committee on the Budget regarding any proposed waiver of any provision of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974. Prohibits the House from considering any primary expense resolution until the Committee on House Administration has reported and the House has adopted a resolution establishing committee staff personnel ceilings for the year. Requires such committee to specify in any primary or supplemental expense resolution the number of staff positions authorized therein, of which not less than one-third shall be selected by minority party members. Authorizes the House to consider any supplemental expense resolution in excess of such ceiling by a vote of two-thirds of the Members present. Prohibits, in the second session of the 99th Congress, the overall ceiling for majority or minority committee staff from exceeding 90 percent of such staff employed at the end of the 98th Congress. Prohibits a standing committee from engaging a consultant or appointing a temporary staff except by majority vote, a quorum being present. Amends rule XXI to remove provisions relating to the retrenchment of expenditures in appropriation bill amendments. Amends rule XXVII to prohibit the suspension of rules to consider any matter except by the direction of the committee of jurisdiction, or at the written request of the appropriate chairman or ranking minority member. Prohibits the suspension of rules to consider: (1) any matter which would authorize budget or spending authority in excess of $50,000,000; or (2) any joint resolution proposing to amend the Constitution. Requires notice in the Congressional Record of any matter under a suspension of rules at least one day before its scheduled consideration. Requires the Clerk of the House to maintain for public inspection a copy of a discharge motion, after 100 Members have signed such motion. Amends rule XXXIV to require official reporters of the House, including committee stenographers, to take down verbatim accounts of words spoken in the House and committees. Requires that such accounts be printed in the Congressional Record or the committee transcript with only typographical, technical, or grammatical corrections authorized by the Member delivering such remarks. Prohibits substantive alteration of such accounts and provides for the extension of remarks and extraneous material in the Record. Establishes rule LI to provide for television and radio coverage of House proceedings. Establishes the House Broadcast System to provide complete and unedited audio and visual broadcast coverage of chamber proceedings while the House is in session. Prohibits the restriction of broadcast coverage except as directed in an adopted resolution or when rule XXIX (secret session) is invoked. Vests in the Speaker of the House the responsibility for implementing rule LI. Establishes a Broadcast Advisory Board, consisting of majority and minority party Members, to assist the Speaker. Vests the daily operation and supervision of the broadcast system in the Executive Committee of the Radio and Television Correspondents' Galleries. Authorizes appropriations to carry out rule LI. Declares such rule inapplicable to joint congressional sessions. Provides access to the live coverage of House proceedings to: (1) accredited television and broadcast stations, networks, services, systems (including cable systems), and radio and television correspondents; (2) Member and committee offices; and (3) such other places as the Speaker deems appropriate. Prohibits commercial sponsorship as part of the broadcast coverage, the use of such coverage in commercial advertisements, and the use of such coverage as partisan campaign material. Requires the Archivist of the United States to arrange for the recording, permanent maintenance, and viewing of such coverage for reference and research purposes. Establishes rule LII to require any task force of the Committee on House Administration that is responsible for the investigation of a disputed election to be bipartisan. Establishes rule LIII to require that one-third of committee office space be assigned to minority party committee members. Title II: Additional Reform Proposals - Directs the Committee on Rules to investigate rules X and XI with respect to revising committee operations, oversight, rules and procedures, reducing staff, subcommittees, and Member subcommittee assignments. Requires a report, by resolution, not later than the end of the first session of the 99th Congress. Directs the Speaker of the House to study and implement a scheduling system of full workweeks with regular periods for committee meetings, hearings, and House sessions for the consideration of legislation. Directs the House Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards to study the current operation of the franking privilege with a view to identifying abuses and achieving a cost savings.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1985
Field Office Closing Justification Act - Requires executive agencies (except the General Accounting Office and the Department of Defense) to report to the Congress prior to any personnel action respecting an employee assigned to any field office which is incidental to a reorganization of such field office. Describes such personnel action as removal, reduction in grade or pay, involuntary reassignment, or furlough.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1985
Petroleum Marketing Practices Act Amendments of 1985 - Amends the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act to: (1) redefine the term "failure"; and (2) define the terms "constructive termination" and "similar motor fuel marketing operations." Defines "constructive termination" to mean: (1) the failure by the franchisor to supply the franchisee with motor fuel in an amount equal to the minimum specified in the franchise agreement; (2) the failure by the franchisor to make motor fuel available to the franchisee in such minimum amount at a price which enables the franchisee to compete with similar motor fuel marketing operations of the franchisor; or (3) any adjustment in the quantity of fuel a franchisee is required or entitled to receive unless the franchisor can show that either the adjustment is applied equally to all franchisees and marketing operations of the franchisor within the relevant geographic area, or, if it is a downward adjustment, the franchisor can show that it is reasonable. Authorizes a franchisee who seeks court relief to make a prima facie case of inability to reasonably compete by showing that the price charged to the customer is less than the franchisee's cost of serving such customer. Prohibits a motor fuel franchisor from constructively terminating a franchise. Requires a franchisor, in certain circumstances prior to terminating a franchise, to make a bona fide reasonable offer to transfer the franchise to the franchisee. Permits nonrenewal of a franchise relationship if the franchisor and franchisee cannot agree to changes or additions to the provisions of the franchise which are fair and reasonable. Prohibits nonrenewal because of the failure of the franchisor and franchisee to agree to changes or additions to the provisions of the franchise which relate to materially altering, adding to, or replacing the marketing premises. Permits nonrenewal, in a situation where renewal is presently permitted, when it would be uneconomical to the franchisor despite any reasonable changes acceptable to the franchisee, only if the franchisor demonstrates that the nonrenewal is not being made with the intent of avoiding competition with the franchisee. Requires a franchisor to notify a franchisee, 90 days prior to the franchisor's final opportunity to exercise an option to buy or to continue leasing the land where the franchise is located, of the name, address, and phone number of the owner or holder of the underlying lease. Provides that if a franchisee enters into an agreement with the owner or lessor to maintain possession of the premises, then the franchise agreement may continue, at the option of the franchisee. Requires any franchisor who competes with its own franchisees to supply motor fuel to its franchisees at a price and on terms which reasonably enable the franchisee to compete with the franchisor. States that the burden of proof is on the franchisor to show lack of competition. Revises the definition of "trial franchise." Permits a franchisee to maintain a civil action against a franchisor if the franchisor constructively terminates the franchise. States that the death, retirement, or disability of a franchisee shall not be grounds for termination or nonrenewal of the franchise if, prior to the franchisee's death, retirement, or disability, the franchisee provides the franchisor with a succession plan. Permits termination or nonrenewal if: (1) the franchisor notifies the franchisee in writing, within 30 days of receipt of the plan, of the franchisor's rejection of the plan; (2) the rejection notice includes reasons for the rejection; and (3) the rejection is reasonable. Provides a franchisee with the right to sell or otherwise transfer the franchise subject to the approval of the franchisor. Prohibits the franchisor from withholding such approval upon the grounds that the territory within which the franchise is operated has been designated as direct marketing territory for the franchisor.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1985
Designates May 25, 1985, as National Holstein Day.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 1985
Consumer Lease and Lease-Purchase Agreement Act - Amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act to revise disclosure requirements, including advertisement disclosure requirements, for consumer leases and to establish separate disclosure requirements for lease-purchase agreements. Requires information disclosed pursuant to such requirements to be segregated from all other terms and information provided. Includes among revised disclosures for consumer leases: (1) the total lease cost; (2) the amount of any required security deposit; (3) statements explaining certain information about the consumer's liability based on the residual value of the property; and (4) a statement referring the consumer to the appropriate lease document for information concerning other possible costs. Requires the following information to be disclosed for lease-purchase agreements: (1) the number, individual amount, timing, and total amount of payments; (2) a statement that the consumer will not own the property until all payments are made; (3) a statement referring the consumer to the contract for an explanation of other possible costs; (4) a statement that the consumer is responsible for the fair market value of lost, stolen, damaged, or destroyed property; and (5) a statement indicating whether the property is new or used. Requires that advertisements specify whether the advertised transaction is a lease or a lease-purchase agreement. Provides that a renegotiation is a new lease or agreement requiring new disclosures. Requires no disclosures for a lease or agreement extension. Requires lessors to pay consumers' attorney fees only in unsuccessful suits to collect more than the prescribed maximum amount at the end of a lease. Prescribes civil and criminal penalties for violations and outlines defenses. Authorizes civil actions against lessor assignees only if a violation is apparent on the face of the disclosure statement.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 1985
Establishes a Commission on Employment Discrimination in the Legislative Branch. Directs the Commission to: (1) employ a nongovernmental consultant to study the compensation paid to Library of Congress personnel and analyze personnel policies of the Library; (2) evaluate the compensation system of the Library for compliance with title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and make any recommendations needed to achieve compliance; (3) develop a plan for the application of title VII through the legislative branch; and (4) make recommendations to the Congress for improvement of personnel policies and practices in the legislative branch. Directs the Commission to submit a final report to the Congress 18 months after enactment of this Act. Terminates the Commission 30 days after submission of the final report.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1985
Parkinsons Disease Amelioration Act - Establishes the Commission for the Amelioration of Parkinsonism Disease which shall: (1) conduct a study of the medical and social management of parkinsonism; (2) determine whether there is an appropriate balance between basic brain research and clinical research on parkinsonism and other ailments; (3) investigate and make recommendations concerning the proper roles of Federal, State, and local governments and public and private agencies in the research, prevention, and identification of Parkinson's disease and the treatment and rehabilitation of persons with Parkinson's disease; and (4) develop a national plan for the control of parkinsonism. Sets forth operating and related provisions. Requires the Commission to make a final report to the President and each House of Congress within six months. Terminates the Commission 30 days after submission of the final report.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1985
Comprehensive Alzheimer's Assistance, Research, and Education Act of 1985 - Title I : Amendment to the Public Health Service Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish a National Alzheimer's Education Program to: (1) coordinate education and training programs of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Veterans Administration, other Federal entities, State and local governments, and private organizations; (2) establish an information clearinghouse; (3) provide information to health care providers, organizations, patients, and the general public; and (4) provide technical assistance to States and public and private organizations in the collection and dissemination of information. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1988 for such purposes. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to States to plan, establish, and operate programs to: (1) coordinate the development and operation of diagnostic, treatment, care management, respite care, legal counseling, and education services provided by public and private organizations within the State; (2) provide respite care to patients with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders; (3) provide information to health care providers, organizations, and the general public on treatment and related services for patients and their families; (4) coordinate the development and operation of continuing education for health care providers on the diagnosis, treatment, and care management of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders; (5) review State policies on the financing and reimbursement of health care costs for such patients; (6) review State nursing home regulations as they apply to such patients; and (7) coordinate with the National Alzheimer's Education Program. Limits Federal grants for such programs to the lesser of one half the cost or $1,000,000. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1988. Directs the Secretary to establish a plan for a research program for the study of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders. Directs the Secretary to make grants and enter into contracts with public and private entities for ten to 20 Alzheimer's disease research centers. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1988. Provides for the recovery from Alaska of Federal grants provided under the Public Health Service Act if within 20 years from the date of completion of a medical facility, such facility ceases to be a publicly owned facility operated for the care or treatment of patients under Alaska's mental health program. Title II: Medicare and Medicaid Research, Demonstrations, and Waivers - Directs the Secretary to conduct research, waiver, and demonstration projects under the Medicare and Medicaid provisions of the Social Security Act to determine the: (1) coverage of alternative methods of health care for patients with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders; (2) coverage of nursing home care; and (3) appropriate reimbursement levels for nursing homes with such patients. Title III: Report - Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress within two years after the date of enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1985
Superfund Amendments of 1985 - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) (Superfund) to include petroleum when designated as a hazardous substance under the coverage of such Act, including any petroleum which is released from an underground storage tank. Establishes within Superfund the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Account for expenditures required for response actions for releases or threatened releases of petroleum which is designated a hazardous substance. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer eight and one-half percent of Superfund monies into such Account.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1985
Designates the week beginning on April 13, 1986, as National Garden Week. Urges the wearing of garden flowers during that week as a symbol of appreciation for the contributions of the Nation's gardeners.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1985
Recognizes the 20th anniversary of the enactment of the Older Americans Act of 1965, and reaffirms congressional support for such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1985
Designates November 30, 1985, as National Mark Twain Day.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1985
Space Weapons Treaty Act - Urges the President to seek the negotiation of: (1) a treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union with respect to mutual and verifiable limitations on the testing, production, deployment, and use of space directed or space based weapons systems; and (2) an agreement with the Soviet Union for a moratorium on the testing of anti-satellite weapons. Directs the President to reaffirm the U.S. commitment to the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1985
Establishes in the legislative branch of the Government the Perot Commission on Americans Missing in Southeast Asia to conduct an investigation and report to the Congress its findings with respect to the existence and the release of prisoners of war in Southeast Asia. Sets forth specified administrative procedures and powers of the Commission. Requires the Commission to terminate 30 days after the filing of its report to the Congress or on January 3, 1987, whichever occurs first.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1985
Authorizes the President, on behalf of the Congress, to present a gold medal honoring George Gershwin to his sister, Frances Gershwin Godowsky, and a gold medal honoring Ira Gershwin to his widow, Lenore Gershwin. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to provide for the sale of bronze duplicates of the medal. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1985
Vietnam Property Liquidation Act - Directs the President to liquidate as much of the assets of the Government of Vietnam or of any national of Vietnam as may be necessary to pay the certified awards made by the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the United States to U.S. nationals under the provisions of the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949 dealing with claims against Vietnam. Requires the amount received from the liquidation of such assets to be deposited in the Claims Fund established pursuant to such provisions of such Act. Declares that any surplus shall be deemed to be assets of the Government of Vietnam or of any national of Vietnam.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1985
Soil Conservation Act of 1985 - Makes any person who cultivates crops on highly erodible land ineligible as to those crops for: (1) price supports or payments; (2) farm storage facility loans; (3) crop insurance; (4) disaster payments; or (5) specified other agricultural loans. Exempts crops planted: (1) on land cultivated from 1976 through 1985; (2) before enactment of this Act; (3) under specified conservation systems; or (4) in reliance on a Soil Conservation Service determination that such land was not highly erodible. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to complete certain soil capability surveys as soon as practicable. Directs the Secretary to establish a conservation reserve program to assist producers in conserving soil and water resources on highly erodible land. Directs the Secretary through FY 1990 to enter into long-term (ten years or more) contracts under which the Secretary shall pay an annual fee, share conservation costs, and provide technical assistance in return for converting such cropland into less intensive use such as pasture, permanent grass, or trees. Limits annual payments to any one person to $50,000. Directs the Secretary to provide safeguards to protect the interests of tenants and sharecroppers. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out such program through the Commodity Credit Corporation. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1985
Designates a portion of a specified street in the District of Columbia as Raoul Wallenberg Avenue.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1985
Authorizes the President to call a White House Conference on Library and Information Services, to be held not later than 1989, to develop recommendations for improvement of such services and their public use. Requires that the Conference be planned and conducted by the National Commission on Libraries and Information Sciences. Authorizes the Librarian of Congress, the Director of the National Library of Medicine, and the Director of the National Agricultural Library, upon request, to detail personnel to the Commission. Requires the Conference to submit a final report to the President within 120 days following its close. Directs that the final report be made public, and within 90 days after receipt by the President, transmitted to the Congress with recommendations. Establishes an advisory committee to assist in planning and conducting the Conference. Includes among its appointed members the Secretary of Education and the Librarian of Congress. Authorizes appropriations as necessary.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1985
Directs the Postmaster General to issue a stamp commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Blue Angels. Specifies the design and denomination of the stamp. Establishes the dates within which the stamp shall be issued and directs that it be sold for a period set by the Postmaster General.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1985
Food Assistance and Africa Agriculture Act of 1985 - Title I: Authorization of Appropriations - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize appropriations for: (1) the International Fund for Agricultural Development; and (2) the International Fund for Agricultural Development for its Special Program for Sub-Saharan Countries Affected by Drought and Desertification for each of FY 1986 through 1989. Title II: Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1986 - Makes appropriations for FY 1986 for: (1) expenses for agricultural commodities supplied in connection with dispositions abroad pursuant to the famine relief provisions of the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954; and (2) the U.S. contribution to the International Fund for Agricultural Development and for the Fund's Special Program for Sub-Saharan Countries Affected by Drought and Desertification.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1985
Directs the President to take steps to ensure: (1) substantial equivalence between the number, status, and privileges and immunities of Soviet officers or employees in the United States and the number, status, and privileges and immunities of U.S. officers and employees in the Soviet Union; and (2) that comparable restrictions regarding travel, accommodations and facilities are imposed on Soviet officers and employees living in the United States as are imposed on U.S. officers and employees living in the Soviet Union. Requires the President to report to the Congress on actions taken to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1985
Employment Opportunities for Disabled Americans Act - Title I: SSI Work Incentive Provisions - Makes permanent provisions which provide benefits under title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) of the Social Security Act for individuals who perform substantial gainful activity despite a severe medical impairment. Revises the eligibility requirements for such benefits. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish and implement procedures which provide that whenever an individual is formally notified of his or her SSI eligibility, such individual will also be notified of the availability of assistance under title XIX (Medicaid) of such Act. Directs the Secretary, when any individual receives SSI benefits on the basis of a disability, to notify such individual of his or her potential eligibility for the SSI benefits available for those performing substantial gainful activity despite a severe medical impairment. Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study of the operation of the SSI section which provides benefits for individuals who perform substantial gainful activity despite a severe medical impairment, with the particular objective of evaluating the work incentive provisions of such section. Requires the Comptroller General to report to the Congress the findings of such study. Title II: Disabled Workers Demonstration Program - Amends the Rehabilitation Act to direct the Secretary of Education to establish grant programs to: (1) assist employers to plan, implement, operate, expand, and evaluate retention and reemployment demonstration programs for disabled workers; (2) assist employers to develop plans for the initiation or substantial expansion of a comprehensive retention and reemployment program for disabled workers; (3) assist employers to implement or substantially expand a comprehensive retention and reemployment program for disabled workers; and (4) assist employers in evaluating the effectiveness of any retention and reemployment program for disabled workers. Requires any employer requesting a grant to apply to the Secretary in such form, and at such times, as the Secretary may request. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1992. Title III: Employment Opportunities Demonstration Program for SSI and Disability Insurance Recipients - Directs to Secretary to establish a grant program to assist the States in establishing and operating demonstration programs to promote, identify, secure, and evaluate employment opportunities for individuals receiving SSI on the basis of blindness or disability, and individuals receiving disability insurance benefits or child's insurance benefits under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act. Requires any State requesting a grant to apply to the Secretary in such form, and at such times, as the Secretary may require. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1992.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1985
States that the House of Representatives supports Solidarity Sunday for Soviet Jewry on May 5, 1985.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1985
Superfund Expansion and Protection Act of 1985 - Title I: Provisions Relating Primarily to Response and Liability - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA)(Superfund) to include among hazardous substances subject to such Act any petroleum released from an underground storage tank. Includes pollutants and contaminants under Superfund, defining them as any substance which after release into the environment causes disease or abnormalities upon exposure or assimilation, either directly or through the food chain. Excludes petroleum and natural gas except as otherwise indicated under such Act. Redefines "release" to include the abandonment of containers containing hazardous substances or pollutants or contaminants. Requires the President to consider long-range effects when evaluating the cost-effectiveness of offsite remedial actions. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish reportable quantities for all noncarcinogenic hazardous substances within six months of this Act's enactment and all other hazardous substances by November 1, 1986. Requires the Administrator to conduct periodic audits of reported releases and report to the Congress at least annually on such audits. Increases criminal penalties for failure to notify the Federal Governmentu of a hazardous substance release. Authorizes the Administrator to undertake any response action when faced with a release or threatened release of a hazardous substance unless the Administrator determines the responsible party will take appropriate action. Requires the Administrator to assess the health effects associated with such release or potential release. Exempts from liability for the effects of such release any party performing information or engineering services pursuant to an approved response action. Requires a State to pay 50 percent of the cleanup costs only if the State both owned and operated the polluting facility. Credits States with cleanup costs already dispersed as specified. Requires the Administrator to choose remedial actions which are: (1) consistent with the National Contingency Plan (NCP); (2) cost-effective; and (3) permanent whenever possible. Places facilities for which no permanent solution is technologically feasible on an interim National Priorities List (NPL), such list to be reviewed every five years to determine if a permanent solution has become feasible. Eliminates the requirement that pollutant levels be such as to protect human welfare, leaving the requirement that such levels protect human health and the environment. Requires pollutant levels to comply with the other Federal standards applicable. Specifies under what conditions removal actions must comply with the requirements of the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Entitles Federal and State environmental officials to access to the information and premises of any person who generates, treats, or disposes of hazardous substances for purposes of determining the need for a response action. Directs the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry to prepare toxicological profiles on the most frequently found or threatening hazardous substances. Entitles the public to participate in the selection of a plan for remedial action. Authorizes the Administrator to provide grants for technical assistance to groups which may be affected by a release from a facility on the NPL. Establishes a schedule for the commencement of remedial investigations and feasibility studies for all facilities on the NPL. Provides for the listing of additional facilities at regular intervals. Requires the commencement of remedial actions at a minimum rate of 200 facilities per year by the start of FY 1987. Requires the Administrator to complete preliminary assessments of all facilities on the Emergency and Remedial Response Information System list by the start of 1987. Requires completion of remedial action for facilities currently on the NPL within five years or requires an explanation of nonperformance. Permits individuals to petition the Administrator for a health effects study where hazardous substances have been removed. Permits Federal authorities to provide the Congress with information on such studies and their conduct without administrative clearance or approval. Authorizes the Administrator to: (1) provide alternative water supplies; (2) relocate individuals; and (3) provide medical care if such studies indicate the necessity of such actions. Requires the Administrator to revise the NCP, consistent with these provisions. Permits an individual to petition the Administrator for a preliminary assessment of a release. Includes damage to the food chain and the ambient air among the factors determining a facility or site ranking under the NCP. Authorizes the Administrator to determine whether and how an individual may object to a nonreviewable abatement action. Includes additional Federal cleanup or abatement activities for which a responsible party would be liable. Requires each Federal agency which may be a defendant under this Act to provide its own counsel rather than the Attorney General. Grants Federally-ordered lab tests the presumption of accuracy. Makes liability strict, joint, and several under this Act for damages and costs resulting from the release and cleanup of hazardous substances. Entitles a defendant to prove such damages are divisible and to seek contribution. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1990 for the Hazardous Substance Superfund, earmarking specified amounts for the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Account. Repeals the ability of any party to recover for damages to natural resources caused by a release. Requires an annual audit of the conduct of Superfund, including comparative reports of actions taken in earlier fiscal years. Establishes a statute of limitations of six years after the completion of the response action, regardless of the date of discovery of the loss. Permits a State to require contributions for response costs compensated under this Act. Title II: Federal Cause of Action - Entitles individuals injured by the disposal of a hazardous substance to recover damages from the responsible parties who will be held strictly, jointly, and severally liable. Entitles such individuals to compensation for expenses related to personal injury, economic injury, and limited pain and suffering. States that this Federal cause of action does not preempt State law regarding liability for damages in connection with any hazardous substance. Establishes a three year statute of limitations, running from the date of knowledge of the injury or the date of enactment of this Act. Prohibits dual recovery through worker's compensation or actions filed in a State court and this Act. Permits additional recovery against the source of the disposal for later manifested injuries. Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions - Permits citizen action lawsuits against any party, including the Federal Government, involved with hazardous substances in such a way as may present an imminent and substantial danger to health or the environment or against the President for failure to perform a required duty. Requires potential plaintiffs to give 60 days notice to the appropriate Federal and State officials as well as the alleged violator before commencing an action. Prohibits such action if the Administrator or the State has commenced and is prosecuting a court action already or a settlement has been reached. Permits intervention, as a matter of right. Prohibits citizen actions for the siting or issuance of permit to a hazardous waste disposal facility. Authorizes the Federal district court to award costs to any substantially prevailing party. Permits EPA intervention as a matter of right. Includes the disposal of a pollutant or contaminant under CERCLA only as specified. Directs the Administrator to commence the drilling fluids study required by the Solid Waste Disposal Act within six months of this Act's enactment. Directs the Administrator to select ten to 20 areas to establish and operate for three to five years a victim assistance demonstration program for individuals injured through exposure to hazardous substances. Sets forth application and program criteria and conditions for such grants. Requires such programs to include group insurance benefits for medical treatment and disability. Requires the President to report annually to the Congress on the effectiveness of these programs. Requires participating States to report on such as well. Title IV: Community Right to Know and Emergency Planning - Amends the Toxic Substances Control Act by adding a new title II concerning the communities' right-to-know, emergency planning, and liability. Requires each covered manufacturer, distributor, user, and importer of a covered hazardous substance (potential release) to prepare and update a fact sheet for such substance for distribution to local police, fire, and health officials. Requires the fact sheet to include the name, physical properties of, and hazards posed by the substance, including potential routes of human exposure to such substance, symptoms of such exposure, and appropriate emergency and first aid procedures. Requires status sheets on the same basis as fact sheets, with each status sheet to include the maximum inventory and method of storage of the substance, the quantity of its emission into the environment, and the quantity and method for disposal. Requires the releasor of a covered hazardous substance in an emergency situation to provide an emergency bulletin to the State and local police and other local officials. Requires the bulletin to identify the name and amount of the substance released and the response actions taken. Requires fact and status sheets and emergency bulletins to be made available for public inspection with public notice of such availability at the facility of the potential releasor. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to publish a uniform format for fact and status sheets. Authorizes a State's Governor to identify local officials to receive covered hazardous substance release information, with the Administrator doing so in the absence of the Governor's identification. Requires the potential releasors to maintain records of information required by this Act. Requires manufacturers or importers to transmit fact sheets to covered distributors or users upon shipping of a covered hazardous substance. Excludes certain small businesses and research, medical, and household uses from coverage under this Act. Provides protection for trade secrets while continuing to make necessary information available to the appropriate persons. Excludes listed or possible carcinogens from such protection. Sets forth application and substantiation procedures for trade secret claims. Permits affected citizens or government officials to compel disclosure of nonsubstantiated trade secrets through the Federal courts. Authorizes the Administrator to grant exemptions from the basic notification requirements of this Act through specified procedures open to the public, based upon a cost-benefits analysis where there is no reasonable likelihood of harm. Directs each covered major manufacturer to develop within two years of enactment of this Act a comprehensive evacuation and emergency response plan which addresses the health and safety issues applicable to such manufacturer's particular situation. Requires the plan to include designations of the appropriate government officials to be notified, mitigation measures, evacuation routes, notification plans, and evaluation of community support services. Authorizes each Governor to designate emergency response districts within 18 months of enactment of this Act or the Administrator will do so. Permits each Governor to appoint an Emergency Response Committee per district or the Administrator will be treated as such Committee. Requires such Committees to review the manufacturers' plans, revising them where necessary. Directs the Administrator within 18 months of enactment of this Act to develop uniform national mandatory labeling requirements for pipes, storage tanks, or containers not otherwise required to be labeled which would reasonably be presumed to release a covered hazardous substance. Requires the label to indicate the appropriate response to a release. Directs the Administrator to designate covered major manufacturers for emergency response purposes within one year of enactment of this Act. Limits the designation to those whose substances would pose an imminent and substantial danger to health and the environment if released in significant quantities. Includes all persons covered under this Act in lieu of such designations. Includes Federal departments as potential covered major manufacturers. Exempts those whose emergency activities are sufficiently covered under other Federal or State law. Renders the manufacturer or processor strictly liable for damages caused by accidental or abnormal releases, excluding act of God or war. Covers medical, burial, and economic losses as well as pain and suffering (to a limited extent). Includes specified analysis and scientific evidence and studies among the evidence which may be introduced to establish causation. Establishes a three-year statute of limitations from the date of enactment or the date of realization of injury for causes of action for injury from the release of a covered hazardous substance, whichever is later. Provides that this Act does not preempt State or other law in the area of liability for damages. Requires entitled individuals to receive compensation for injuries sustained from a hazardous substance release from workers' compensation rather than under this Act. Sets forth categories of substances to be considered covered hazardous substances and procedures for adding additional substances. Directs the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry to compile and update a digest of all such substances. Exempts certain substances for this Act's purposes, based upon the form, amount, and other regulation of such substances. Establishes civil and criminal penalties, limiting criminal penalties to the knowing violation of emergency requirements. Authorizes citizens' suits to enforce this Act. Permits States to adopt more stringent right-to-know standards in the workplace context and emergency response requirements. Permits State and local governments to impose fees upon potential releasors to cover administrative costs. Title V: Amendments of the Internal Revenue Code to 1954 - Superfund Revenue Act of 1985 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase and extend through FY 1990 the environmental excise taxes on petroleum and specified chemicals. Includes an inflation adjustment for computing the tax on chemicals. Exempts exported chemicals from tax liability. Adjusts special rules for certain chemicals. Imposes a waste end tax on: (1) the receipt of hazardous waste at a qualified hazardous waste management unit; (2) the ocean dumping of such waste; and (3) the export of such waste. Sets increasing, per-ton tax rates on the disposal of such wastes. Sets forth reporting requirements and penalties for violations. Establishes in the Treasury the Hazardous Substance Response Trust Fund. Establishes within Superfund a separate Leaking Underground Storage Tank Account. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to study the economic impact of the environmental taxes on specified chemicals and report to the Congress on the results by April 1, 1986.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1985
Hazardous Waste Reduction Act of 1985 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a tax on the receipt of: (1) taxable hazardous waste in any qualified hazardous waste management unit; and (2) taxable hazardous waste for export or for disposal in the ocean pursuant to a permit. Provides that the tax rate for all forms of land and ocean waste disposal, except underground injection wells, shall be $20 for each ton of hazardous waste. Provides that the tax rate for each ton of hazardous waste placed in underground injection wells shall be five dollars per ton. Authorizes the Secretary of Treasury to increase the rates of tax on such hazardous waste where the tax revenue falls below projections for any year. Requires the tax to be paid by the owner or operator of the qualified waste management unit at which the taxable waste is received or by the person exporting the taxable hazardous waste or the person holding the permit for transport for ocean disposal. Requires the tax to be paid at the close of the calendar quarter during which the taxable hazardous waste became subject to tax. Imposes a tax of $20 per ton on hazardous waste placed in a facility other than a qualified hazardous waste management unit or pursuant to a permit for export or ocean dumping. Makes the person placing the hazardous material in the facility or location liable for the tax. Provides that such tax will not apply with respect to small quantity generator waste, or with respect to the placement of taxable hazardous waste in any facility, vehicle, or location if such placement is not required to comply with permit, interim status, or manifest requirement under the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Provides that the tax does not apply to the placement of taxable hazardous waste in a vehicle which is required to transport such taxable hazardous waste. Exempts from the tax waste removed from a Superfund site or a closed interim status facility or waste required to be studied. Exempts from the tax qualified wastewater treatment facilities. Provides that the exemption for qualified wastewater treatment facilities shall not apply after November 8, 1988, unless the facility is in compliance with certain minimum technological requirements or meets certain interim status surface impoundments requirements. Permits a tax credit where the taxable hazardous waste is moved from one unit or facility to another. Provides that where the taxable waste is moved from a surface impoundment to an underground injection well, the credit is the difference between the tax on the surface impoundment and the tax on the underground injection. Permits a tax credit for all waste rendered nonhazardous by reason of treatment or conversion within 12 months of receipt at the unit or facility. Prohibits the tax credit for treatment or conversion at a qualified wastewater treatment facility. Prohibits the tax credit for land treatment. Provides that the tax credit will not apply to any treatment or conversion which violates any requirement of Federal or State law relating to the management of hazardous taxable waste. Provides that this tax shall apply for the period from January 1, 1986, through September 30, 1990. Requires every person subject to this tax to keep records, render such statements, make such returns, and comply with such rules and regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury may require. Provides that the revenues from this tax shall be deposited in the Hazardous Substance Superfund. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to make various reports to the Congress concerning different aspects of this tax on hazardous waste disposal.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1985
Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide coverage for outpatient occupational therapy services.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1985
Renewable Energy and Conservation Transition Act of 1985 - Title I: Extension of Business Energy Credits - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the energy investment tax credit for solar energy property from 1985 to 1990. Sets the amount of such credit during such period at 15 percent for low temperature solar property and 25 percent for all other solar property. Extends the energy investment tax credit for wind property from 1985 to 1988. Sets the amount of such credit at: (1) ten percent during 1986 and 1987; and (2) five percent during 1988. Extends the energy investment tax credit for geothermal property and biomass property from 1985 to 1988. Extends the energy investment tax credit for ocean thermal property from 1985 to 1990. Revises the definition of "solar property" for purposes of such tax credit. Sets forth special rules for geothermal equipment to qualify for such credit. Title II: Affirmative Commitment Rule to Extend the Business Credit for Certain Long-Term Projects - Extends the time period during which an affirmative commitment must be made in order for long-term energy projects to be eligible for the energy investment tax credit. Allows such extension: (1) from 1990 to 1993 for solar energy property; (2) from 1988 to 1990 for geothermal energy property; and (3) from 1985 to 1990 for hydroelectric generating property. Title III: Extension of Residential Energy Credits - Extends the residential energy income tax credit for solar renewable energy property from 1985 to 1990. Phases out such credit over such period of time. Provides that solar hot water systems and active space heating systems must meet certain additional standards in order to qualify for such credit. Extends the residential energy income tax credit for wind renewable energy property from 1985 to 1988. Phases out such credit over such period of time. Extends the residential energy income tax credit for geothermal renewable energy property from 1985 to 1988. Phases out such credit over such period of time. Revises the definition of geothermal deposits for purposes of such credit. Revises the definition of energy conservation expenditures for purposes of the residential energy income tax credit to limit the amounts taken into account to $700. Limits the energy conservation income tax credit to taxpayers with an adjusted gross income of less than $30,000. Title IV: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective date of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1985
Designates the week of May 18 through May 24, 1985, as National Food Bank Week.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 1985
Endorses the statements of the Secretary of State that: (1) the system of apartheid in South Africa is "totally repugnant to the people of the United States"; (2) the most recent killings "underline how evil and unacceptable apartheid is"; and (3) the most recent act of violence of the South African police is "deplorable and the people of the United States have nothing except denunciation to say for it." Requests the Secretary to conduct an independent investigation of the violence in the Eastern Cape area of South Africa between March 21 and March 24, 1985, and to submit a report to the Congress by April 30, 1985, on the circumstances relating to the violence.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 1985
Designates the week beginning September 22, 1985, as National Adult Day Care Center Week.