United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1985
Micronesian Fellowship Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide fellowships to U.S. physicians to enable them to: (1) provide health care or health care training in Micronesia; or (2) undertake medical research in Micronesia on the health effects of nuclear weapons testing. Sets a limit of no more than 100 fellowships in any fiscal year. Directs the Secretary to provide, upon request, assistance to private professional organizations providing physicians to serve health needs in Micronesia. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1988.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 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 on the necessary implementing legislation.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1985
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Secretary of State should recommend to the Attorney General that extended voluntary departure status be granted to alien nationals of Guatemala until the situation there becomes safe for their return.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1985
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that no deductions shall be allowed for advertising or other promotion expenses with respect to arms sales.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1985
Veterans' Employment Amendments of 1985 - Amends the Emergency Veterans' Job Training Act of 1983 to extend through July 1, 1986, the provisions of such Act. Increases the eligibility for job training assistance to veterans of the Korean and Vietnam conflicts by lowering the required period of unemployment necessary for such eligibility. Increases to GS-11 the level to which veterans may be appointed for veterans readjustment appointments and career-conditional appointments (currently to GS-9). Eliminates the disability requirement as a condition to such appointments for Vietnam-era veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1985
Congressional Pay Reform Act of 1985 - Amends the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 to specify that pay adjustments for Members of Congress shall become effective on March 1 following the beginning of the next Congress after the Congress during which such adjustment is approved. Amends the Federal Salary Act to require the President to transmit to the Congress within a specified time period, recommendations for rates of pay of Members of Congress legislative and judicial employees. (Currently such recommendations are included in the Federal budget.) Prohibits the House of Representatives and the Senate from considering any bill or joint resolution carrying an appropriation for compensation of Members of Congress for any fiscal year if such bill or joint resolution carries an appropriation, or a limitation of appropriations, for any other purpose. Requires a recorded vote on such bill or resolution.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should express to the Soviet Union the U.S. opposition to the Soviet Union's slave labor policies by all possible means, including refusing to permit imports of products made by such labor. Requests the President to end the delay in enforcing the restriction against importing goods produced by forced labor.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1985
Amends the Federal Tort Claims Act to permit actions to be brought against the United States for money damages for injury, loss of property, or death due to exposure to radiation by a Government contractor carrying out an atomic weapons testing program. Provides for substitution of the United States as defendant if such action is brought against the contractor.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1985
Agricultural Productivity Act of 1985 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) make an inventory of existing research and extension materials and recommend further areas of research regarding crop rotation, intercropping, biological pest control, and other related farming and soil conservation systems; and (2) make such information available to the public. Directs the Secretary to conduct research on 24 pilot farms (having specified mixes of livestock and crops) to examine the effects of the transition from practices relying on chemical fertilizers and pesticides and traditional soil tillage to systems relying on organic and biological pest control, crop rotation, and conservation tillage. Requires such farms to be chosen within 120 days. Directs the Secretary to make a parallel study of 12 farms which have been using such farm systems for at least five years. Sets the term of such projects at five years each. Sets forth on-farm study data, including soil profile changes, crop yields, energy and water use, and farm income. Directs the Secretary to make payments to the owner of a pilot farm if the Secretary determines such payments are justified. Stipulates that these payments may be made only during a project's last four years. Directs the Secretary to coordinate such pilot farms project with specified Federal and State agricultural services, colleges, and farmers. Directs the Secretary to report to the appropriate congressional committees: (1) within 15 months regarding the information inventory; and (2) by April 1 of each year regarding the pilot farms, with a final project summary and recommendations by April 1 of the year following completion. Provides for a five-year program of intercropping assistance under the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1985
Employee Educational Assistance Act of 1985 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend indefinitely the income tax exclusion for employee educational assistance programs. (Present law terminates such exclusion as of December 31, 1985.) Limits the maximum amount of such exclusion (beginning in 1986) to $5,000 of amounts paid or expenses incurred for educational assistance furnished to an employee during a calendar year. Exempts graduate students engaged in teaching or research activities from such maximum limit. Provides for annual cost-of-living adjustments in such maximum limit beginning in 1987.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1985
Amends the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 to prohibit the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from issuing a permit authorizing the incineration of hazardous waste at sea before the Congress receives a hazardous waste reduction and management feasibility report and plan and recommendations from the Administrator to assure that responsible parties are held liable and pay cleanup costs and damages, and the Administrator issues final permit regulations based upon such report and plan and public comments. Directs the Administrator to contract with the Office of Technology Assessment to prepare within three years of this Act's enactment a hazardous waste reduction and managment feasibility report which includes: (1) descriptive surveys of location and types of hazardous wastes and hazardous waste streams; (2) alternative storage and land-based technologies; (3) an assessment of wastes released into the environment and the impact of at sea incineration on human health and the marine environment; (4) epidemiological studies; and (5) an analysis of the transportation impacts for the land or barge transport of the hazardous wastes to the loading site for ocean incineration. Directs the Administrator to submit to the Congress within three years of the report a hazardous waste reduction and management plan which includes: (1) a comprehensive waste management plan; (2) coordination with Federal agencies for major spills of hazardous waste in port, in transit, and during incineration at sea; and (3) legislation which encourages the development of environmentally sound hazardous waste reduction and treatment technologies. Requires the Administrator to involve the public in formulating this plan through hearings and comment. Directs the Administrator to submit to the Congress transcripts of public hearings together with EPA's written response. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1985
Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) (Superfund) to require each Federal agency and department to notify the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) within six months of this Act's enactment of any hazardous substance treated, stored, or disposed of at Federal facilities under their control. Requires such agencies and departments to make annual reports to the Administrator on all facilities not on the initial notice. Requires such initial notice to describe the location, nature, toxicity, contamination, response actions, and cleanup techniques for the hazardous substances. Directs the Administrator to establish a public Federal Agency Hazardous Waste Compliance Docket (Compliance Docket) to record each listed facility and subsequent actions taken. Requires preliminary assessment of each facility for possible evaluation under the National Contingency Plan (NCP) and inclusion on the National Priorities List (NPL). Requires Federal agencies or departments responsible for facilities placed on the NPL to commence a remedial investigation and feasibility study for such facility and enter into an interagency agreement with the Administrator to conduct remedial action. Requires continuous, substantial onsite response within six months of the agreement. Requires that such agreements: (1) review alternative remedial actions and construction design selection by the Administrator; (2) schedule completion of remedial actions; and (3) arrange for long-term operation and maintenance of the facility. Requires completion of remedial actions within two years of the agreement to the extent practicable. Requires explanations of noncompletion which would be included on the Compliance Docket and in the agency's or department's annual report to the Congress on its progress on reaching and implementing interagency agreements. Requires such annual report to also include cost information and public comments. Makes Federal facility cleanup actions ineligible for Superfund monies. Provides that the Administrator shall retain the authority to enforce this Act. Includes Federal facilities within CERCLA guidelines for preliminary assessments, NCP evaluations, and inclusion on the NPL. Requires public participation before adoption of any remedial action and public notice of the final remedial plan adopted or any significant deviations therefrom. Authorizes the Administrator to make grants available to groups affected by releases or threatened releases from any NPL facility to obtain expert advice and technical assistance. Permits the Administrator to bring action under CERCLA against any Federal agency or department and prohibits the Attorney General from representing such agencies or departments in such actions.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1985
Requires the Federal Communications Commission to conduct and take final action in a proceeding for the assignment of a particular channel in the citizens band radio service for use by neighborhood watch programs. Specifies matters to be considered and requires the opportunity for public comment in such proceeding.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1985
Amends the Federal Power Act to require that all license applications for the construction or modification of hydroelectric projects with a 15,000 or less kilowatt power producing capacity be transmitted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to the State in which the project is located for State review and approval. Authorizes State Governors to designate a State authority to cooperate with the Commission regarding State approval and review of such license applications.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that air service to small communities is an essential part of the transportation system, and that Federal financial support for such service under the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 should not be eliminated. (Under current law such support terminates in 1988.)
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1985
Amends part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) of title IV of the Social Security Act to require, in order to establish and maintain improved AFDC quality control standards and procedures: (1) each State to collect and submit to the Secretary of Health and Human Services a statistically reliable sample of AFDC cases; (2) the Secretary to review the sample and notify the State of its error rate; and (3) the State to develop and submit to the Secretary a corrective plan for eliminating or reducing errors. Permits waivers if a State has had a consistently low error rate. Directs the Secretary to establish criteria for corrective action plans. Provides for financial sanctions for States with error rates exceeding certain levels. Permits waivers of the sanctions in certain instances. Defines "error rate" as the ratio of erroneous payments to total payments. Defines "erroneous payments" as: (1) payments to ineligible families; and (2) overpayments to eligible families. Directs the Secretary to study and to report to the Congress concerning: (1) the nature of AFDC client errors; (2) measures of a State's performance under the AFDC program which are broader than the current quality control system based on payment accuracy alone; (3) the desirability of including underpayments as "erroneous payments"; and (4) the cost effectiveness of error reduction. Provides, with respect to title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) of the Act, for the continuation of certain regulations relating to Federal liability for error rates in State supplementation programs.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1985
Commission on Congressional Financing Act - Establishes the Bipartisan Commission on Congressional Campaign Financing to consider and study laws, regulations, and public commentary relating to the financing of congressional elections. Requires such study to give particular attention to the extent to which current campaign financing practices undermine public confidence in the Government. Requires the Commission to consider the following changes in the present system of campaign financing: (1) increasing or decreasing allowable contributions; (2) initiating a plan of public financing; (3) making available free or subsidized broadcasting time; or (4) examining the role of independent expenditures. Directs the Commission to make reasonable efforts to achieve the broadest bipartisan consensus in arriving at its recommendations. Requires the Commission, not later than one year after enactment of this Act, to submit to the Congress its final report. Terminates the Commission 90 days after submission of such report. Requires the Director of the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress and the Chairman of the Federal Election Commission, not later than two months after enactment of this Act, to transmit briefing papers to the Bipartisan Commission which catalog and synthesize pertinent reports, analyses, and recommendations. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the rail passenger service provided by the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) is an essential service that should continue to receive Federal financial assistance without a reduction that would cause an exorbitant fare increase for its users.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) veterans' disability compensation payments should remain exempt from Federal income taxation; and (2) the President should reject any proposals to tax such payments.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1985
Authorizes the Armored Force Monument Committee, the United States Armor Association, the World Wars Tank Corps Association, the Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge, the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment Association, the Tank Destroyer Association, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, and 16th Armored Division Associations, and the Council of Armored Division Associations to erect a memorial in or near Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, to honor and commemorate the American Armored Force. Directs the Secretary of the Interior, with the approval of the National Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission, to select the site and approve the design and plans. Obligates the United States to expenses of maintenance only. Requires the commencement of the erection of the memorial within five years with a certification of sufficiency of funds necessary before commencement.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1985
Amends the Truth in Lending Act to limit the rate of interest which may be charged on credit card accounts to not more than five percentage points higher than the discount rate on 90-day commercial paper in effect at the Federal Reserve district in which the card issuer is located.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1985
Authorizes the President, on behalf of the Congress, to present a gold medal to the family of Harry Chapin in recognition of Harry Chapin's efforts to address issues of world hunger. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to provide for the sale of bronze duplicates of the medal.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1985
Construction Work in Progress Policy Act of 1985 - Amends the Federal Power Act to provide that nothing in such Act shall be construed to affect the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's authority to approve the inclusion of the costs of construction work in progress (defined as construction of a facility used to generate electric energy) in the rate base of a public utility with respect to: (1) any pollution control facility; and (2) the conversion of oil or natural gas-fired facilities to the use of other fuels. Permits a public utility whose internal generation of funds during a test period established by the Commission is 30 percent or less of planned construction expenditures during such period to apply for the inclusion of the cost of construction work in progress in the public utility's rate base. Sets forth the items required in such an application. Requires the Commission to hold an evidentiary hearing upon receipt of an application from a public utility. Requires the Commission to approve the inclusion of the costs of construction work in progress in the utility's rate base if: (1) the facility being constructed is reasonably necessary to meet energy demands; and (2) the utility's financial condition would prevent the financing of such facility except at a cost significantly higher than the average cost of financing within the electric utility industry. Sets forth limitations on the amount of the costs of construction work in progress which may be included in a public utility's rate base. Requires public utilities to discontinue the capitalization of allowance for funds used during construction for those construction work in progress costs which are included in the rate base. Requires that revenues derived from construction work in progress be deferred from inclusion in utility rates for a certain period of time when the facility becomes used for public service.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1985
High Technology Research and Scientific Education Act of 1985 - Title I: The Credit for Increasing Research Activities - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the tax credit for research and development (R&D) expenditures. Modifies the definition of qualified research for purposes of the R&D credit to narrow the category of eligible activities for which the credit is allowable. Provides that in-house and contract research expenses paid or incurred by a regular corporation (not an S corporation, a personal holding company, or a service corporation) will constitute qualified research expenses for R&D credit purposes if the corporation undertakes the research with the intention to use the result thereof in the active conduct of a present or future trade or business. Provides that in the case of research being conducted in partnership form, research expenses will constitute qualified research expenses if they are incurred by the partnership in carrying on a trade or business as applied at the partnership level, and the credit is apportioned among the partners in accordance with general partnership rules. Provides exceptions to this general rule where: (1) there is a joint venture enterprise of regular corporations; or (2) not all of the members of the joint venture are regular corporations, but each member's own trade or business would satisfy the trade or business test with respect to the partnership's research expenditures. Provides that for these two exceptions the research expenses will flow through to the partners, with the trade or business test being applied at the partner level. Title II: Promotion of University Research and Scientific Investigation - Establishes a new income tax credit equal to 20 percent of that portion of a corporation's payments to universities (and other qualified non-profit tax-exempt organizations for basic research) which exceeds a fixed, historical "minimum university basic research" floor. Defines the "minimum university basic research" floor as one percent of the annual average of the corporate taxpayer's combined qualified in-house research expenses, contract research expenses and university basic research payments for the base period composed of the period from 1981 through 1983. Provides that the amounts of research expenses which fall below the floor shall remain eligible for the present R&D credit and are included in the corporation's base period for purposes of calculating the present R&D credit. Treats the amounts which exceed the "minimum university basic research" floor as ineligible for the present R&D credit and excludes such amounts from the corporate taxpayer's base year research expenses for purposes of calculating the corporations R&D credit under present law. Provides that a corporation's payments to universities for basic research that is eligible for the new tax credit shall be reduced to the extent that the corporation's general (i.e., not designated for research purposes) charitable giving to all universities falls below historical levels (the annual average of undesignated payments for three of the immediately preceding four years as selected by the taxpayer). Makes additions to the list of organizations to which corporate payments for basic research may be made and be eligible for the tax credit. Allows a corporation an income tax deduction for contributions of scientific or technical property to an institution of higher education. Defines scientific property to mean tangible personal property (including computer software) used in a trade or business, which is donated for the direct education of students or faculty, for research and experimentation, or for research training in the United States in mathematics, the physical, biological, or chemical sciences, engineering, or advanced computer sciences. Sets forth a formula for determining the amount of the allowable deduction for contributions of scientific property. Provides for an income tax exclusion for the scholarships, fellowship grants, student loan forgiveness, or stipends of a graduate student in mathematics, engineering, computer science, or the physical or biological sciences. Provides that such tax exclusion is not forfeited merely because the student is required, as a condition of the scholarship or fellowship, to perform future service in teaching or research.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1985
States that the Congress recognizes the vital role of the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training and commits itself to the maintenance of a strong and effective Federal presence in apprenticeship programs.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1985
Declares that it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to David Phillip Vetter, of Spring, Texas, to be presented to his family in his memory (as the oldest survivor of congenital severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID)).
United States · United States Congress · 20 February 1985
Authorizes expenditures by the House Committee on Education and Labor for the first session of the 99th Congress, including the procurement of consultant services and assistance for specialized training for its professional staff.
United States · United States Congress · 20 February 1985
Authorizes expenditures by the Subcommittee on Labor Management Relations of the Committee on Education and Labor for the first session of the 99th Congress, including the procurement of consultant services.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1985
Prohibits a Federal agency from procuring by contract any services performed by Federal employees in the competitive service positions of guards, elevator operators, messengers, and custodians if such procurement would: (1) cause the involuntary separation of a preference eligible from any such position; or (2) preclude the performance of any such service by a qualified preference eligible. Provides that neither an involuntary reassignment within the same agency nor an involuntary transfer to another agency shall be considered to be an involuntary separation if such reassignment or transfer is to a vacant position which is the same type, at the same or higher pay, within the same commuting area, and for which the preference eligible is qualified. Allows the procurement of such services by contract: (1) when qualified preference eligibles are not available; and (2) for positions held by employees other than preference eligibles. Requires that any such procurement be conducted in accordance with applicable Federal procurement laws, including specified provisions requiring certain procurements of services from qualified nonprofit agencies for the blind and for other severely handicapped.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1985
Hazardous Materials Transportation Act Amendments of 1985 - Declares the purpose of this Act to be to promote the public safety by providing State and local governments with the authority to adequately meet their enforcement and emergency response responsibilities. Amends the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act to set forth standards and procedures for the Secretary of Transportation to use in making inconsistency and nonpreemption determinations about State and local safety requirements in relation to Federal requirements. Directs the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements for the establishment of regional training centers to train State and local personnel to: (1) respond to hazardous materials transportation accidents; and (2) enforce State and local hazardous materials transportation requirements. States that such agreements shall be for terms of three years. Requires any party to an agreement with the Secretary to bear the cost of constructing training facilities. Directs the Secretary to provide, upon request, training materials and other assistance as may be appropriate. Requires parties to agreements with the Secretary, in developing training materials, to consider the procedures and standards for responding to hazardous substance releases as set forth in the national contingency plan required under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980. Directs (currently, authorizes) the Secretary to establish: (1) criteria for handling hazardous materials; and (2) minimum levels of insurance coverage sufficient to meet injury or damage claims resulting from transportation of such materials. Directs (currently, authorizes) the Secretary to require transporters or shippers of hazardous materials to submit registration statements and to amend such statements as necessary. Requires the Secretary to study and determine the most effective, equitable, and cost-efficient method for imposing a fee on all participants in the registration program to assist States or political subdivisions in developing and conducting enforcement and emergency response programs related to transportation of hazardous materials. Requires a report to the Congress on such study within 12 months of enactment. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986.
![Official portrait of Sen. Jeffords, James M. [I-VT]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/j000072_200.jpg)