United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1985
Lifeline Telephone Service Act of 1985 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to establish a fund from which payments shall be made to exchange common carriers which provide lifeline telephone service. Directs the Federal Communications Commission to determine uniform surcharges on charges for interstate telephone toll service to provide sufficient funds for such payments beginning January 1, 1986. Provides that the amount of such payments to a carrier shall equal 50 percent of the amount of revenue lost by the carrier as a result of providing such service. Directs each State communications commission which desires to participate in providing lifeline service to establish rules for the provision of such provision of lifeline service by carriers. Allows such a commission to restrict eligibility for such service based on low-income criteria accounting for the needs of the elderly, the unemployed, the disabled, and single heads of households.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1985
Water Research Foundation Act of 1985 - Establishes the Water Research Foundation to: (1) promote and support water research; (2) assist in the determination of long term national priorities for the preservation and use of the Nation's water resources; (3) support scientific and social research; (4) foster the interchange of water resource information; and (5) encourage the establishment of non-governmental water research programs. Establishes within the Foundation a Water Research Planning Center to: (1) support studies in cooperation with other institutions, universities, and Federal and non-Federal agencies; (2) correlate water-related studies; (3) determine additional research needs; (4) recommend long term research priorities; and (5) provide funding for research and related efforts approved by the Board. Establishes within the Foundation a Water Information Clearinghouse to: (1) provide information to user groups; (2) analyze water resources information; (3) develop an information retrieval system; and (4) support educational programs and activities about water. Requires the Foundation to report to the Congress five years after the appointment of the Board. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1990.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 1985
Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations through FY 1988 for the following programs: (1) project grants and contracts for family planning services; (2) training grants and contracts; and (3) informational and educational materials.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 1985
Veterans' Administration Health Care Programs Improvement Act of 1985 - Directs the Administrator of Veterans Affairs to establish and conduct a pilot program in five geographic areas to furnish medical, rehabilitative, and social services care to eligible veterans in lieu of nursing home care. Outlines eligibility requirements for veterans participating in such program. Gives priority for such program to veterans who are either over 65 or catastrophically disabled. Requires each Veterans' Administration medical facility administering such pilot program to furnish unified care management services for each veteran receiving services under such program. Prohibits the cost of the pilot program from exceeding 60 percent of what it would have cost the VA to furnish nursing home services instead of such program. Directs the Administrator to conduct a study of the benefits of the pilot program as an alternative to nursing home care and report the findings of such study to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Congress within 18 months after the commencement of the pilot program. Requires the Administrator to submit to the same Committees a final report on the program within 90 days after the termination of such program. Commences the pilot program on January 1, 1986, and terminates it on December 31, 1988. Directs the Administrator to monitor the performance of VA programs of treatment and rehabilitation for alcohol or drug dependence or abuse to determine various benefits of such programs. Requires the Administrator to report findings to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Congress on an annual basis. Prohibits the Administrator from entering into contracts under such programs which exceed a total program level of $10,000,000 in any fiscal year. Directs the Administrator to establish and conduct in five geographic areas a pilot program under which the Administrator may contract for community residential care for chronically mentally ill veterans. Outlines eligibility requirements for veterans participating in such program. Requires each VA medical facility administering the pilot program to furnish unified care management services for each veteran receiving care under such program. Requires the Administrator, within 18 months after the commencement of the pilot program, to provide an interim report to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Congress. Requires the Administrator to submit to the same Committees a final report on the program within 90 days after the termination of such program. Commences the pilot program on January 1, 1986, and terminates it on December 31, 1988. Directs the Administrator, through the Office of the Inspector General of the VA, to establish and conduct a comprehensive quality assurance program to monitor and evaluate the quality of health care furnished by the Department of Medicine and Surgery to eligible veterans. Requires the Chief Medical Director of the Department of Medicine and Surgery to provide certain standards, statistics, and information on the surgery programs within the Department and to make evaluations and recommendations. Requires the Inspector General of the VA to review certain mortality and morbidity data collected, make certain determinations as to the appropriateness of the mortality and morbidity rates within the Department of Medicine and Surgery, and report such findings to the Congress. Requires the Administrator to establish the Advisory Committee on Veterans' Administration Facility Planning. Requires the Committee to review the criteria for sizing VA medical facilities. Directs the Committee, not later than October 1 annually, to report its findings to the VA, together with recommendations. Requires the Administrator, not later than six months after each such annual report is submitted, to transmit such report together with comments and recommendations for proposed legislation to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 1985
Alternate Strategic Defense Initiative Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1986 - Provides that funds authorized under this Act for the Strategic Defense Initiative and for advanced strategic missile systems for FY 1986 are in lieu of any other authorization for such fiscal year for such purposes. Authorizes appropriations to the defense agencies for FY 1986 for research, development, test, and evaluation in connection with the Strategic Defense Initiative under the following programs: (1) Surveillance, Acquisition, and Tracking Program; (2) Directed Energy Weapons Program; (3) Kinetic Energy Weapons Program; (4) Hard Point Defense Technology Development Program; (5) Systems Concepts and Battle Management Program; (6) Threat Analysis Program; (7) Survivability, Lethality, and Key Technologies Program; and (8) Management Headquarters of the Strategic Defense Initiative. Authorizes appropriations to the Air Force for FY 1986 for research, development, test, and evaluation in connection with the Advanced Strategic Missile Systems program. Directs the Threat Analysis Program to be carried out as part of the Air Force Advanced Strategic Missile Systems Program, and requires the Secretary of the Air Force to report results of research conducted under such program to the Congress and other specified officials. Establishes in the Department of Defense (DOD) the Strategic Defense Evaluation Panel (the Panel). Requires the Panel to report to the Congress annually, with the first such report due by April 1, 1986. Requires certain Strategic Defense Initiative projects to be designated as major defense acquisition programs for purposes of reporting requirements. Directs the Secretary of Defense, simultaneously with the submission of the annual budget presentation materials to the Congress for each of FY 1987 through 1991, to report to specified congressional committees on all DOD programs which constitute or relate to the Strategic Defense Initiative, Specifies information to be included in such report. Requires the Director of the Congressional Budget Office to conduct a study on the impact of proposed expenditures of the Strategic Defense Initiative programs for FY 1986 through 1991, and to submit the results of such study to the Congress within 180 days after enactment of this Act. Requires the Joint Economic Committee to conduct a similar study, with the same reporting date. Reaffirms the commitment of the Congress to the 1972 U.S. - Soviet Treaty on the Limitation of Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems and to full compliance with such treaty.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 1985
Prohibits the obligation of funds during FY 1985 and 1986 for the testing of anti-satellite weapons against objects in space unless the President certifies to the Congress certain findings on actions taken by the Soviet Union.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 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 efforts to give the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to the Nation. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to provide for the sale of bronze duplicates of the medal.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 1985
National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Act of 1985 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program as an elective alternative remedy to judicial action for specified vaccine-related injuries. Prescribes the contents of any petition for compensation. Grants sole authority to determine eligibility and compensation to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Sets forth injuries deemed vaccine-related for compensation purposes. Sets compensation limits. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct studies on pertussis and rubella vaccines, and develop related information materials. Establishes an Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines to advise the Secretary on the implementation of such program and recommend research priorities and changes in vaccine-related injury standards. Establishes in the Treasury a National Vaccine Injury Compensation Trust Fund. Authorizes FY 1985 funds. Requires the Secretary to establish annual surcharges on vaccine manufacturers to finance the Fund. Authorizes the Secretary to establish an insurance pool to cover injury claims relating to vaccines for which adequate general liability and product liability insurance is unavailable. Provides for Federal reinsurance of insurance companies participating in such a pool. Prescribes a procedure for determining the necessity of and for establishing such a pool. Authorizes the Secretary to establish in the Treasury a National Childhood Vaccine Fund to pay reinsurance claims. Requires health care providers who vaccinate patients and the manufacturers of specified vaccines to keep specified records. Requires the Secretary to: (1) make a pediatric vaccine-risk study; (2) determine the circumstances under which any such vaccine should be delayed or not given; and (3) direct pediatric health care providers to distribute such information to parents and legal guardians. Directs the Secretary to: (1) encourage the development of vaccines that result in fewer major adverse reactions than those currently on the market; and (2) assure improvements in the vaccine industry to reduce the risks of major adverse reactions. Directs the Secretary to provide grants for the education, treatment, and care of multiple handicapped persons, with priority given to the needs of persons with vaccine-related neurological impairments. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1985 through FY 1990. Entitles any person to commence a civil action against the Secretary where the Secretary allegedly has failed to perform a duty under this Act. Provides for judicial review of the Secretary's regulatory actions in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 1985
Amends the Indian Education Act to authorize the Secretary of Education to make grants to, or enter into contracts with, specified Hawaiian organizations which primarily serve and benefit Hawaiian natives for the purpose of preparing individuals for teaching or administering special projects and programs designed to meet the special educational needs of Hawaiian natives, providing in-service training for persons teaching in such programs, and providing fellowships to such natives for study in graduate and professional programs at institutions of higher education. Renames the Office of Indian Education (within the Department of Education) as the Office of Native American Education. Makes various technical and conforming amendments. Redefines "Native American" (for purposes of such Act and specified other education-related Acts) to include any Hawaiian native. Amends the Indian Elementary and Secondary School Assistance Act to authorize the Secretary to make grants to, or to enter into contracts with, local educational agencies which primarily serve the educational needs of Hawaiian natives. Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to make technical and conforming amendments with this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to, or enter into contracts with, organizations which primarily serve Hawaiian natives for the purpose of providing pilot and demonstration programs for improving educational opportunities for such natives. Amends the Adult Education Act to authorize the Secretary to make grants to, or enter into contracts with, organizations primarily serving Hawaiian natives with respect to the improvement of educational opportunities for Hawaiian native adults.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1985
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize the Attorney General and the Secretary of State to establish a three-year pilot visa waiver program for up to eight countries providing a similar benefit to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 1985
Hospice Extension Act - Amends the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 to extend hospice benefits under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act for an additional three years.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 1985
Designates the Study Center for Trauma and Emergency Medical Systems at the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems at the University of Maryland as the National Study Center for Trauma and Emergency Medical Systems.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 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 · 20 March 1985
Directs that funds be made available from appropriations under the Department of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1985 to enable the National Institutes of Health and the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration to award 7,083 new competitive research grants in FY 1985.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1985
Performing Arts Labor Relations Amendments - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to exclude specified types of employers and performers in the performing arts from coverage under unfair labor practice provisions prohibiting specified contracts or agreements between employers and labor organizations and prohibiting specified actions of labor organizations to force or require cessation of dealings with others, joining of labor or employer organizations, or recognition of or negotiation with labor organizations not certified as representative. Permits such employers, excluding employers in the broadcasting or motion picture industries, to: (1) agree with a labor organization to make membership in such organization a condition of performing arts employment; and (2) make agreements with a labor organization covering performing artists even if the majority status of the organization has not yet been established. Defines "employer" to include purchasers of musical performance services. Defines "employee" to include independent contractors engaged to perform musical services.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1985
Establishes the Veterans Administration as an executive department redesignated as the Department of Veterans' Affairs. Makes technical and conforming changes, including the redesignation of the Administrator as the Secretary of Veterans' Affairs.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1985
Community Right to Know Act of 1985 - Requires the owner or operator of any facility generating, treating, or storing any hazardous substance to notify at least annually the appropriate local officials within a ten-mile radius of the nature and amount of and emergency procedures applicable to each such substance. Requires such owners or operators to notify such officials as soon as possible in case of any health- or environment-threatening accident involving such substances. Exempts quantities below 100 kilograms from these requirements unless their inclusion is necessary to protect the environment or human health or safety. Establishes criminal penalties for the knowing violation of the emergency notification procedures. Permits States to establish more stringent requirements. Requires the coordination of these provisions with other applicable Federal law.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1985
Declares that the Commissioner of Social Security and the Secretary of Health and Human Services should immediately study and report to the Congress on ways to change the benefit disparity caused by the 1977 changes in the social security benefit formula.
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 · 28 February 1985
United States Scholarship Program for Developing Countries Act - Directs the President, acting through the U.S. Information Agency (USIA), to provide an undergraduate scholarship program for citizens and nationals of developing countries to study at U.S. institutions of higher education. Requires that half of each payment to a student shall be in the form of a loan with repayment to be forgiven upon the student's prompt return to his or her country of origin for a period of no less than the number of years spent studying in the United States plus one. Sets forth guidelines for implementing the program. Directs the President, before allocating any funds, to consult with U.S. educational institutions, educational exchange organizations, U.S. missions, and the governments of participating countries on how to implement the guidelines. Authorizes the President to enter into agreements with foreign governments to further the scholarship program. Urges the Administrator of the agency primarily responsible for administering development assistance programs, in implementing such programs, to increase assistance for undergraduate scholarships for students of limited financial means from developing countries to study in the United States. Urges the Director of the USIA to expand opportunities for students from developing countries to receive financial aid for postgraduate study at U.S. institutions of higher education. Urges the President to take steps to expand the opportunities for Americans from all economic classes to study in developing countries. Authorizes the President to establish counseling and orientation services: (1) abroad to prepare foreign students for study in the United States; and (2) at U.S. schools to help them while they are in the United States. Directs the Board of Foreign Scholarships to advise and assist the President in the discharge of programs authorized by this Act. Requires the public and private sectors in the United States to be encouraged to contribute to the costs of the programs financed under this Act. Directs the President to engage the public and private sectors of developing countries in programs to maximize the use of program participants upon their return to their own countries. Authorizes the President to publicize the scholarship program abroad. Directs the President to encourage U.S. schools attended by students receiving scholarships under this Act to provide opportunities for U.S. students to develop their knowledge of the foreign students' cultures. Authorizes the President to provide English instruction abroad when necessary. Requires the President to report annually to the Congress on the activities taken pursuant to this Act. Requires the undergraduate scholarship program financed by the USIA for students from Central America for FY 1986 and 1987 to be conducted in accordance with this Act. Provides for funding to carry out other scholarship programs under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the Job Corps has been a cost effective and successful program that should be continued as a separate component of the Job Training Partnership Act; (2) the commitment of the Congress to the program is reaffirmed; and (3) sufficient appropriations should be made available to maintain the youth program.
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
Maternal and Child Health Preventive Care Amendments of 1985 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to: (1) provide that the making available to pregnant women of any pregnancy-related services shall not require the making available of such services to any other group of Medicaid individuals, provided such services are available to all covered pregnant women; and (2) permit a State to extend the eligibility of pregnant women for 60 days following the end of a pregnancy.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1985
Amends the Federal Tort Claims Act to allow members of the armed forces to bring claims for damages against the United States for personal injury or death arising out of medical, psychological, or dental care furnished by a Department of Defense hospital.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1985
Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1985 - Amends the Education Amendments of 1972, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to provide a definition of the phrase "program or activity." Defines such term as all of the operations of: (1) a department or agency of a State or of a local government; (2) the entity of such State or local government that distributes Federal assistance and each such department or agency to which the assistance is extended; (3) a university or a system of higher education; (4) a local educational agency or other school system; (5) a corporation, partnership, or other private organization; or (6) any other entity consistent with the coverage provided above.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1985
Jacob J. Javits Gifted and Talented Children's Education Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to add this Act as part A (Gifted and Talented Children) of title IX (Additional Programs) of ESEA. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1990 for programs for gifted and talented children. Directs the Secretary of Education to reserve a specified portion of such funds for discretionary programs. Requires that the remainder of such appropriations be available for State programs. Sets forth provisions for State programs. Directs the Secretary to make grants to State educational agencies (SEAs) for the Federal share of the costs of planning, developing, operating, and improving programs to meet the educational needs of gifted and talented children at the preschool, elementary, and secondary levels. Permits such programs to include inservice training of personnel to teach such children. Directs the Secretary to allot such funds in accordance with specified provisions. Requires SEA applications for such grants to contain specified assurances, including the assurance that appropriate consideration will be given to the particular educational needs of disadvantaged gifted and talented children. Prohibits an SEA from reserving more than ten percent of grant funds for program administration, technical assistance, coordination, and statewide planning. Requires an SEA to distribute, on a competitive basis, at least 90 percent of grant funds to local educational agencies (LEAs) which apply, with due regard for the quality of the proposed activities. Requires an SEA to use at least 50 percent of grant funds for programs and projects which include a component for the identification and education of disadvantaged gifted and talented children from low-income families. Permits use of grant funds for instructional equipment only if such equipment will enhance the program or project. Prohibits SEA approval of an LEA application unless the needs of children in nonprofit private elementary and secondary schools have been taken into account. Requires the SEA to provide technical assistance for proposals and programs of LEAs which are unable to compete due to smaller size or lack of financial resources. Requires that an opportunity for a hearing be afforded before the Secretary may disapprove an application which does not meet specified requirements. Sets forth provisions for discretionary programs relating to education of gifted and talented children. Authorizes the Secretary, from amounts reserved for discretionary programs, to pay the Federal share of the costs of grants or contracts to SEAs, LEAs, institutions of higher education, and other public or private organizations for: (1) programs or projects designed to meet the needs of gifted and talented children; (2) training of personnel engaged in the education of gifted and talented children; (3) model projects for identification and education of gifted and talented children; (4) an information clearinghouse; (5) statewide planning, development, operation, and improvement; and (6) research, evaluation, and related activities. Sets forth application requirements for discretionary program grants and contracts. Applies specified requirements relating to private school pupil and teacher participation in such discretionary programs, unless such requirements cannot be legally met in the State. Authorizes the National Institute of Education (NIE) to carry out a program of research and related activities pertaining to the education of gifted and talented children from funds which the Secretary may transfer from discretionary program funds. Sets forth provisions for State allotments of appropriations for programs for gifted and talented children. Directs the Secretary to allot up to one percent of such appropriations, in accordance with their respective needs, among: (1) Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands; (2) programs in schools operated for Indian children by the Department of the Interior; and (3) programs in overseas dependent schools of the Department of Defense. Directs the Secretary to allot the remainder among applicant States on the basis of: ((1) number of children aged five through 17, with a $50,000 minimum allotment to each State; and (2) number of children who are counted for purposes of determining basic grants to LEAs under ESEA. Sets forth provisions for reallotment of any State allotment exceeding the amount a State needs and will be able to use in a fiscal year. Directs the Secretary to designate an administrative unit within the Office of Education to administer and coordinate programs for gifted and talented children and youth. Provides that any Indian tribe which operates schools for its children shall be deemed an LEA for purposes of this Act. Prohibits any financial assistance to an LEA for a period in excess of five years, but provides that such limitation shall not apply to any financial assistance extended prior to the date of enactment of the Education Amendments of 1978. Makes the Federal share for any fiscal year 90 percent, but 100 percent for: (1) programs and projects involving participation of private school students; (2) clearinghouse activities; and (3) research, evaluation, and related activities. Directs the Secretary to reestablish the Office of Gifted and Talented in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1985
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Act of 1985 - Amends title IV (National Research Institutes) of the Public Health Service Act to establish a National Institute (Institute) of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases in the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 for such establishment and related functions transfers. States that the Institute shall conduct research and related activities concerning arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases, including sports-related disorders. Requires the Director of the Institute, with the advice of the National Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Advisory Council, to establish a plan to coordinate such activities within 180 days. Requires the periodic review and revision of such plan and the transmission of such revisions to the Congress and the Director of NIH. Establishes within the Institute a National Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Advisory Council. Establishes within the Institute a National Arthritis Advisory Board (Advisory Board). Defines the responsibilities of the Advisory Board. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1988. Terminates the existing National Arthritis Advisory Board. Establishes within the Institute: (1) an Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases Interagency Coordinating Committee; and (2) a Skin Diseases Interagency Coordinating Committee. Requires annual reports to: (1) the Secretary of Health and Human Services; (2) the Director of NIH; (3) the Director of the Institute; and (4) the Advisory Council. Establishes within the Institute: (1) the National Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Data System; and (2) the National Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Information Clearinghouse. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1988. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1988 for arthritis and musculoskeletal demonstration projects. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1988 for new and existing multipurpose arthritis and musculoskeletal diseases centers. Requires the Institute to submit a biennial report to the President and the Congress. Transfers arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases functions, funds, personnel, and assets to the Institute from the existing National Institute of Arthritis, Diabetes, and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Redesignates the existing National Institute of Arthritis, Diabetes, and Digestive and Kidney Diseases as the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
![Official portrait of Sen. Matsunaga, Spark M. [D-HI]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/m000250_200.jpg)