United States · United States Congress · 10 April 1979
Amends title V of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to define additional terms used in such Act. Makes conforming and technical amendments to such Act. Provides for the reimbursement of application costs to the Secretary of the Interior by applicants for crude oil transportation systems. Removes the requirement of Presidential notification and review of proposed crude oil transportation systems. Directs the Secretary to act upon such proposals. Directs the Secretary to transmit to each Governor a copy of any environmental impact statement prepared by the Department of the Interior concerning such systems. Removes the requirement of Presidential approval or disapproval of proposed systems. Provides that actions which relate to the construction and completion of approved pipeline systems and to applications filed in connection therewith shall be taken without further action and that the actions of Federal officers shall not be subject to judicial review.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 1979
Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to purchase and use the chemical compound sodium monofloracetate (compound 1080) for the purpose of controlling the coyote population on public lands. Allows the manufacture, interstate shipping, or selling of such compound if it is for the use of the Secretary.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 1979
Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Act - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to prepare, for distribution to taxpayers, brief but comprehensive pamphlets which set forth in nontechnical terms: (1) the rights and obligations of taxpayers during an audit; (2) the procedures which the Internal Revenue Service may use in enforcing revenue laws; and (3) the procedures by which a taxpayer may appeal adverse decisions, prosecute refund claims, and file taxpayer complaints. Requires a copy of such pamphlet to accompany the first communication from the Service to any taxpayer regarding tax liability. Establishes within the Internal Revenue Service an Office of Taxpayer Services, directed by an Assistant Commissioner of Internal Revenue, whose primary responsibilities shall include: (1) assisting taxpayers with information about tax returns, audits corrections, appeals procedures, and payment or document location; and (2) receiving and evaluating complaints of improper, abusive, or inefficient service by Internal Revenue Service personnel. Authorizes the Assistant Commissioner for Taxpayer Services to issue a Taxpayer Assistance Order prohibiting the Secretary, for up to 60 days after such issuance, from taking any assessment, collection, or other action adverse to a taxpayer if the Assistant Commissioner determines that such taxpayer is suffering from an unusual, unnecessary, or irreparable loss as a result of such action. Prescribes criminal penalties for: (1) any investigation by employees of the United States in connection with Federal tax laws which inquires into the beliefs, associations, or activities of any individual which are not directly related to such tax laws; or (2) the maintenance of any records containing information derived from such an investigation. Creates a civil cause of action for any taxpayer aggrieved by a prohibited investigation, or by the deprivation of any civil rights. Permits the award of a judgment of costs, including reasonable attorney's fees, to a prevailing taxpayer in any proceeding before the Tax Court. Requires the Internal Revenue Service, upon a taxpayer's request, to conduct any interview regarding a deficiency assessment in the taxpayer's residence or place of business, at a reasonable time convenient to the taxpayer. Requires the officer or employee conducting such interview to warn the taxpayer that: (1) he has a right to remain silent; (2) any statement he makes may be used against him; and (3) he has the right to the presence of an attorney. Exempts certain income producing property from levy for nonpayment of taxes. Directs the Comptroller General of the United States to establish, and to report annually to Congress on, a program to provide for a continuing audit and investigation of the efficiency, uniformity, and equity of the administration of the internal revenue laws of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 1979
Self-Reliant Development and International Food Assistance Reform Act of 1979 - Amends the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 to require the use of agricultural commodities under this Act for humanitarian and developmental objectives. Authorizes the export of commodities to meet developmental purposes even if it results in inadequate domestic supplies. Permits the dollar sales value of the commodities to be applied by the recipient country against their repayment obligation under the Food for Development Program and credit obligation to the Commodity Credit Corporation. Directs the President: (1) to give special consideration to increasing demand for food by expanding markets for local foodstuffs, as well as U.S. commodities; and (2) to take precautions that credit sales and commodity distributions do not interfere with local food production or marketing. Provides for the use of indigenous institutions and workers to assure that food commodities are used effectively and where most needed. Requires countries selling U.S. agricultural commodities for developmental purposes to agree to use the money generated from such sales to alleviate the causes of the need for such assistance, as well as increasing the effectiveness of food distribution and availability of food commodities. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to declare that assistance under such Act and the Agriculture and Trade Assistance Act of 1954 emphasize programs to assist developing countries to increase their national food security.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 1979
Designates the year 1979 as the "Food for Peace Year" to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the enactment of the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1979
Small Business Development Center Act of 1979 - Amends the Small Business Act to implement a pilot program to establish small business development centers in order to provide management, technical, and technological assistance to small businesses. Authorizes the Small Business Administration to make grants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with, States, regional entities, State-chartered development credit or finance corporations, and any public or private institution of higher education to assist them in developing centers to provide small businesses with a broad range of advice, information, and assistance. Requires grant applicants to obtain matching funds on a 50-50 basis from non-Federal sources. Entitles such applicants to an amount of funds for programs in fiscal years 1980 through 1982 based on the percent of the population proposed to be served as compared to total population in the United States. Requires applicants to assist small businesses to solve their business problems in such areas as: operations, manufacturing, engineering, technology exchange and development, personnel administration, marketing, merchandising, finance, accounting, and business strategy development. Stipulates that a center must employ on a full time basis a director, business analysts, technology transfer agents, and information specialists. Requires that the services provided by a center should include, but not be limited to, counseling on a one-to-one basis and solutions for complying with environmental, energy, health, safety, and other Federal, State, and local regulations. Directs the National Science Foundation and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to cooperate with small business development centers participating in the program and to report annually to the Small Business Administration and the Congress and to make recommendations to the Small Business Administration on continued funding. Directs the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to appoint a Deputy Associate Administrator for Management Assistance to administer the small business development center program. Establishes a National Small Business Development Center Advisory Board composed of nine members appointed by the Administrator to advise and confer with the Deputy Associate Administrator for Management Assistance. Directs the Administration, with the advice of the Board, to establish an evaluation plan of the center program and to submit a report to the appropriate committees of Congress within three years. Prohibits the Administration from funding any small business development center program except as authorized by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1979
Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to entitle to specified excess medical care, dependent care, and excess shelter expense deductions from household income, households comprised exclusively of members who are 60 years of age or over or who receive supplemental security income benefits under title XVI of the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1979
Affirms that farmer cooperatives are a vital and necessary element in maintaining and promoting the family farm system of food production. States that the Department of Agriculture and all appropriate budget appropriation review groups should recognize the need to reinforce and expand programs of cooperative research, service, education, and other cooperative assistance. Declares that the Department should: (1) establish an Office of Farmer Cooperatives to coordinate such programs; and (2) take other aggressive leadership toward expanding resources for cooperative work.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an income tax credit for 50 percent (not in excess of $500 per vehicle) of the costs to convert automobile engines to use alcohol fuels.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 1979
Entitles certain employees of Indian tribal organizations, the Indian Health Service (IHS), or the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to an annuity if separated from service after completing 25 years of service or after attaining 50 years of age and completing 20 years of service, if such employee is not an Indian entitled to an employment preference by law. States that employees entitled to Indian preference and military preference shall be retained in preference to employees entitled to only military preference during reductions in force within the BIA or the IHS. Declares that reassignments of individuals within the BIA or the IHS shall not be subject to the Indian preference laws where the Commissioner of Indian Affairs determines that the reassignment is necessary to: (1) assure the health or safety of an individual or his family; (2) avoid the displacement of an Indian during a reduction in force; or (3) prevent the deterioration of an individual's operation or of a necessary service to the Indian people. Forbids the application of Indian preference laws to any personnel action respecting an individual if the tribal organization served by the unit in which the position exists grants a waiver of those laws. Requires the Secretaries of the Interior and of Health, Education, and Welfare to report annually to Congress on their actions to recruit and train Indians for positions subject to Indian preference laws and to place non-Indian employees of the BIA and the IHS in other Federal positions.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 1979
Amends the civil rights provisions of Title 18 of the United States Code to prohibit any Federal employee or officer or any person engaged in interstate commerce from requiring any employee, officer, or applicant for employment to take any polygraph test in connection with such individual's employment. Exempts specified Federal employees or contractors from such provisions. Permits polygraph tests of business employees if such test is freely requested by such employee. Sets forth civil and criminal penalties for violations of such provisions. Authorizes civil actions in U.S. district courts on behalf of aggrieved individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 1979
Amends the Water Bank Act to require the Secretary of Agriculture to reexamine payment rates under wetland conservation agreements at the beginning of the fifth year of any ten-year initial or renewal period and to make needed annual adjustments in such rates. Expands the scope of the types of wetlands covered by such Act. Repeals the $10,000,000 calendar-year maximum amount limitation on payments the Secretary may agree to make to landowners and operators in migratory waterfowl nesting and breeding areas.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 1979
Amends the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to authorize the Administrator of the Rural Electrification Administration to make loans to finance the improvement, expansion, construction, acquisition, and operation of lines, facilities, or systems to provide (separately or in conjunction with telephone service) present or future broadband telecommunications service in any rural area. Directs the Administrator to determine that there is no reasonable probability that the proposed service will be made available in any rural area by any other person before making a loan for service for such area to any applicant. Directs the Administrator, in consultation with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration of the Department of Commerce, and after holding public hearings, to prescribe specific standards to be followed in determining: (1) which of any competing applicants should receive assistance; and (2) the need and demand in the area concerned for proposed services and facilities. Directs the Administrator to publish notice of such application in the area concerned which: (1) specifies types of facilities, services, and approximate dates; (2) invites interested persons to comment on the desirability of approving such loan; and (3) indicates that public hearings, if requested by persons in the area concerned, will be held on the question of such approval. Requires, in cases in which two or more persons apply for such loans, that all such persons be given fair and equal consideration for such assistance. Requires that applicants who directly or through an affiliate own or control poles, ducts, conduits, or rights-of-way, used, in whole or in part, for wire communications: (1) certify that rates for the use (by others) of such facilities are regulated by the Federal Communications Commission; or (2) make a prima facie showing to the Administrator that such use rates would have been or would be in compliance with certain standards for just and reasonable rates under the Communications Act of 1934. Directs the Administrator, in consultation with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, to: (1) conduct field hearings in rural areas to inform interested persons of the availability and purposes of broadband telecommunications loans; and (2) determine and publish a description of essential broadband telecommunications needs of rural areas which could be served through facilities constructed with the aid of such loans. Directs the Administrator to obtain all possible assurances from loan recipients that broadband telecommunications service furnished with such assistance will be available to the largest practical number of rural users. Prohibits the making of any such loan unless: (1) the Administrator finds and certifies that the security for such loan is reasonably adequate and that such loan will be repaid within the time agreed; and (2) all required State or local authorizations for such service are first obtained. Prohibits the use of facilities constructed in whole or part with such loans to provide service not initially indicated in the application unless the applicant has first submitted to the Administrator all required State or local authorizations. Prohibits loans for such service in States with no legally authorized State or regulatory body to issue such authorizations, unless the Administrator determines that no duplication of service will result. Requires applicants for such loans to certify to the Administrator that they: (1) have consulted with the governmental unit of the State concerned having jurisdiction over telecommunications and social services; and (2) are in compliance with all requirements of the State relating to telecommunications and social services. Redefines the term "telephone service" to, among other changes, specifically exclude broadband telecommunications service. Defines "broadband telecommunications service" as any telecommunications service requiring bandwidth capacity which is constructed for the purpose of distributing broadcast quality video and audio television signals, whether or not such service is actually provided, and including all facilities or systems used in the rendition of such service.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 1979
Agricultural Land Protection Act - Title I: Federal Agency Compliance - Requires the interpretation and administration of the policies, regulations, and public laws of the United States in accordance with a recognition of the rights and responsibilities of private landholders in making land use decisions, and the rights and responsibilities of State and local governments in developing public policies regarding non-Federal land use. Directs Federal agencies to consider the retention of agricultural land for agricultural purposes when they make decisions which impact directly or indirectly on private, and State and local government public land, as well as on Federal land. Requires all such Federal agencies to review their administrative procedures, especially those regarding land acquisition and management, in order to bring them into conformity with the policies and purposes of this title. Title II: Farmland Review Study - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to study: (1) agricultural land in the United States; (2) the effects of industrial development, climate, and other factors on the productivity of such land; (3) the acquisition of such land by persons not engaged in agricultural activities; and (4) methods of protecting and improving such land, and of reducing the amount being converted to nonagricultural uses. Requires a final report of findings, conclusions, and recommendations to the President and to Congress within 42 months after the effective date of this Act. Title III: Research Program - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, during a three-year period, to provide financial and technical assistance to States and local governments for the development, demonstration, and testing of methods of reducing the quantity of agricultural land (including such land in and around urban areas) being converted from agricultural uses to nonagricultural uses. Limits such financial assistance to not more than 25 percent of the cost of preparing, establishing, demonstrating, conducting, and testing three such reduction projects. Title IV: Technical Assistance Program - Directs the Secretary, through the Soil Conservation Service, to provide State and local governments with: (1) technical assistance concerning methods of protecting agricultural land and reducing its conversion to nonagricultural uses; and (2) financial assistance (not to exceed 25 percent of costs) to enable such governments to develop plans to implement such methods. Title V: General Provisions - Authorizes specified appropriations for fiscal years 1980 through 1983.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 1979
Amends the Education Amendments of 1978 with regard to the distribution formula for funds used to provide supplemental services to Indian public school students to revise such formula from one determined by a majority vote of eligible Indian tribes to one determined by the Secretary of the Interior (taking into consideration tribal testimony from hearings and comments received from publication of proposed formula options in the Federal Register).
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 1979
Provides for the arbitration of disputes between the Postmaster General and recognized organizations of Postal Service managerial personnel other than officers, postmasters, and employees engaged in personnel work in Postal Service headquarters. Subjects to arbitration under this Act issues relating to pay policies, fringe benefits, and the determination of whether or not a matter is subject to participation by such organization. Establishes an arbitration board to consider a dispute upon the request of the Postal Service or such recognized organization.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 1979
Private Employer and Higher Education Incentive Act of 1979 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to permit institutions of higher education to use up to 20 percent of the funds provided to them for college work study programs under such Act for part-time work study jobs with private employers. Requires an institution of higher education wishing to participate in such private employer program to enter into a supplemental agreement with the Commissioner of Education which: (1) specifies the program's rationale; (2) sets forth the program's objectives and standards, and a plan for their implementation; (3) designates an official of such eligible institution to administer the program; and (4) as assures in writing that such part-time jobs will not (A) supplant existing jobs or fulfill an employer's current or planned vacancies, (B) fail to take into account any existing collective bargaining agreements, (C) pay less than minimum wage, and (D) require private employers to contribute at least 50 percent of the cost of each such job.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1979
Amends the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act to extend the period wherein the Secretary of Agriculture may enter into contracts for the conservation of soil in the Great Plains conservation program. Limits the total payments under this program to $50,000,000 per program year.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the residential energy tax credit to wood- burning equipment. Denies such credit for wood-burning equipment which the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency determines to produce emissions which violate applicable air quality standards or for equipment which the Secretary of Agriculture determines would require an excessive consumption of wood so as to endanger forest supplies.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1979
Amends title VII of the Public Health Service Act (Health Research and Teaching Facilities and Training of Professional Health Personnel) to authorize the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to make grants to schools of medicine and osteopathy for the establishment and operation of educational programs in geriatrics.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1979
Veterans' Disability Compensation and Survivors' Benefits Act of 1979 - Title I: Veterans' Disability Compensation Benefits - Increases the rates of veterans' compensation for: (1) wartime disability compensation; (2) additional compensation for dependents; and (3) clothing allowances paid to certain disabled veterans. Title II: Survivors' Dependency and Indemnity Compensation Benefits - Increases the rates of veterans' dependency and indemnity compensation for: (1) a surviving spouse; (2) surviving children; and (3) supplemental children's benefits. Title III: Effective Date - States that the provisions of this Act shall take effect on October 1, 1979.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1979
Marihuana Control Act of 1979 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act to establish a civil fine of not more than $100 for anyone who: (1) possesses not more than one ounce of marihuana within a private dwelling for his or her own use, or for the use of others within such dwelling, if it is not possessed with the intent to distribute, transfer, or sell in violation of Federal law; (2) possesses in a public area not more than one ounce of marihuana incident to a private use, if it is not possessed with the intent to distribute, transfer, or sell for profit in violation of Federal law; or (3) distributes or transfers lawfully possessed marihuana in public or private to any person for a lawful private use, if such distribution or transfer is not made for profit.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1979
Expresses the gratitude of the Senate upon the retirement of the Honorable Clarence M. Mitchell, Junior, as chief legislative spokesman for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and for his contributions to the establishment of justice and equality in America.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1979
Permits cash basis taxpayers to report as income, support or deficiency payments on wheat and feed grains received pursuant to the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 in the taxable year in which the income normally received from the crops would have been reported.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1979
Soft Drink Interbrand Competition Act - Declares that exclusive territorial arrangements made as a part of a licensing agreement for the manufacture, distribution, or sale of a trademarked soft drink product are lawful under the antitrust law provided such product is in substantial and effective competition with other products for the same general class in the relevant market or markets. Prohibits recovery in private actions under the Clayton Act based on territorial provisions in a trademark licensing agreement prior to a final determination that such provisions are unlawful.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1979
Small and Independent Business Protection Act of 1979 - Prohibits mergers, consolidations, and direct or indirect stock acquisitions sufficient to effectuate a transfer of control between legal entities if: (1) each entity has assets or sales exceeding $350,000,000; or (2) one entity has assets or sales exceeding $350,000,000 and the other entity has 20 percent or more of the sales during the calendar year immediately preceding the acquisition in any line or commerce with annual sales exceeding $100,000,000 in any section of the country. Establishes the following affirmative defenses in actions based on such prohibited transactions: (1) the transaction will have the preponderant effect of substantially enhancing competition; (2) the transaction will result in substantial efficiencies, including economies of scale in manufacturing, marketing, distribution, or research and development; or (3) within one year preceding or succeeding the transaction, the parties shall have divested one or more viable business units with assets and revenues equal to or greater than the assets and revenues of the smaller party to the transaction. Precludes the use of any such affirmative defense if: (1) one of the parties to the transaction has within the preceding year been a party to another prohibited transaction; or (2) each of the entities involved in the transaction has assets or sales exceeding $2,000,000,000. Authorizes the Attorney General of the United States and the Federal Trade Commission to enforce this Act. Directs the Attorney General and the Commission to establish procedures to enable parties to obtain a binding determination that a proposed transaction falls within the terms of any of the affirmative defenses. Empowers the courts to grant injunctive relief to private parties under the terms and conditions prescribed by the Clayton Act.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1979
Farm Entry Assistance Act - Title I: States the findings of Congress, and the purposes of this Act. Title II: Establishment of Farm Entry Assistance Program - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a program to provide financial assistance to individuals who are seeking to establish and operate full-time family farms. Prescribes the general criteria for State programs. Title III: Application for the Program - Limits qualification for such assistance to applicants who: (1) are seeking to operate a family farm; (2) are entering farming on a full-time basis for the first time during the ten years prior to the date of application; (3) have been denied credit on reasonable terms from a commercial source and the Farmers Home Administration, and could not obtain credit without the program's assistance; (4) demonstrate they are qualified to operate a family farm on a full-time basis; and (5) have net worths of less than $75,000 in 1979 dollars. Title IV: Federal Assistance to Applicants through State Agencies - Directs the Secretary to make available to qualified applicants guarantees of not more than 90 percent of the principal and interest of certain loans, not more than 90 percent of payments due under certain leases or contracts. Subjects to the specified guidelines of this program: (1) loans for the purchase of farmland, for operating purposes, or for both; (2) payments on a land purchase contract with a ten-year repayment period; and (3) payments on leases of not more than ten years. Requires the availability of guarantees for other State programs consistent with specified requirements. Prescribes the general procedures the Secretary is to follow in the event of defaults by any beneficiary on such guaranteed loans, contract obligations, or leases. Title V: Funding - Directs the Secretary to make available not more than $400,000,000 in guarantees for each of the four fiscal years following the first fiscal year commencing at least one year after enactment. Prescribes a general allocation formula for distribution of such guarantees among participating States. Creates a Farm Entry Assistance Fund for the discharge of the obligations of the Secretary under contracts guaranteeing loans or leases under this Act. Title VI: Reports - Requires the Secretary to report annually on the operation of the program to the appropriate committees of Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1979
Uniformed Services Health Professionals Special Pay Act of 1979 - Revises the special pay for medical officers, dental officers, veterinary officers, and optometry officers in the uniformed services on active duty.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1979
Expresses the sense of the Senate that (1) national water resources policies should be implemented through congressional action, and (2) alterations of such programs shall not be implemented through unilateral executive action but shall be subject to congressional concurrence.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1979
Deep Seabed Mineral Resources Act - Title I: Regulation of Exploration and Commercial Recovery by United States Citizens - Disclaims extraterritorial sovereignty by the United States over deep seabeds. Prohibits any United States citizen from engaging in exploration of or commercial recovery from, the deep seabed unless authorized: (1) under a license issued pursuant to this Act; (2) under a license issued by a reciprocating state; or (3) pursuant to an international agreement. Permits the continuation of existing exploration upon timely application for such license. Prohibits interference with the activities of a licensee under this Act. Stipulates activities which are exempted from this Act. Sets forth procedures for the issuance of, and limitations upon, licenses for exploration and commercial recovery under this Act. Declares any United States citizen eligible for a license for exploration. Establishes a formula for the determination of priority of right for issuance. Sets forth findings which must be made prior to issuance of a license of exploration or commercial recovery. Permits modifications or suspension of operations upon order of the Secretary of the Interior. Provides for an antitrust review by the Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission of any such license application. Stipulates procedures and effects of denial, suspension, modification, or revocation of a license. Requires the preparation of environmental impact statements with respect to the areas likely to be developed by United States citizens. Specifies criteria for the size of areas of exploration or commercial recovery. Requires the Secretary to impose performance requirements upon licensees. Permits relinquishment or surrender of such licenses. Permits license restrictions pertaining to the conservation of natural resources. Requires certain record keeping, environmental impact statements, navigational safety procedures and disclosure by licensees. Prohibits licensees from interfering with reasonable uses of the seas. Permits the Secretary to monitor exploration or commercial recovery operations. Permits the Secretary to designate "reciprocating states" as defined by this Act. Title II: Transition to an International Agreement - Declares the intent of Congress regarding any international seabed agreements to which the United States may become a party to be: (1) to provide reasonable access to the deep seabed mineral resources for United States citizens; and (2) to recognize certain continuing seabed mining rights of United States citizens who have begun such mining operations prior to any such international agreement. Sets forth the effect upon specified provisions of this Act resulting from subsequent international agreements. Title III: Enforcement Authority - Makes unlawful any violations of this Act. Establishes civil and criminal penalties for such violations. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to enforce this Act. Directs the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to have exclusive responsibility for enforcement measures carried out at sea which affect the operation of vessels under a license or permit. Makes vessels in violation of this Act liable in rem for such violation and subject to civil forfeiture. Title IV: Miscellaneous Provisions - Directs the Secretary to issue regulations for the implementation of this Act and to submit to the Congress an annual report on the implementation of this Act. Title V: Taxation of Removal of Deep Seabed Hard Minerals - Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Removal Tax Act of 1979 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 to impose an excise tax on the removal of hard mineral resources from the deep seabed. Establishes in the United States Treasury a Deep Seabed Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to include displaced homemakers (as defined by the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act Amendments of 1978) as a targeted group for whom the new employee tax credit is available.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1979
International Sugar Stabilization Act of 1979 - Title I: International Sugar Agreement - Authorizes the President to implement the International Sugar Agreement by (1) regulating the entry of sugar from any country not a member of the International Sugar Organization, and (2) requiring records and reports concerning the entry of sugar. Establishes criminal penalties for violating such regulations. Requires the President to submit to Congress an annual report on the Agreement beginning in 1980. Title II: Domestic Sugar Program Provisions - Establishes 17 cents per pound, raw value, as the price objective for domestic sugar during the 1978 sugar supply year. Sets forth the formula for determining the price objective for succeeding years. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to monitor the average daily price of sugar imports. Directs the Secretary to recommend that the President impose special import duties and quotas on sugar and sugar-containing products to assure that the average daily price of sugar imports will meet the proclaimed price objective for sugar. Requires the Secretary to review the imposed duties and quotas and recommend any adjustments to the President. Authorizes the President to impose special import duties or quotas after receiving any recommendation of the Secretary within certain time limitations. Prohibits the importation of direct-consumption sugar unless a national emergency is proclaimed because of an imminent shortage of such sugar due to lack of refining capacity. Prohibits the importation of more than 100 pounds of sugar annually into the Virgin Islands. Prohibits the exportation of certain sugar. Establishes penalties for violations of such regulations. Exempts certain sugar or sugar-containing products from this title. Specifies that certain sugar entered for subsequent export shall not be charged against any proclaimed quota. Authorizes the President to suspend the operation of this title in a national emergency. Amends the Tariff Schedules of the United States to permit the President to proclaim special import duties and quotas on sugars, syrups, and molasses in order to carry out this Act. Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions - Vests jurisdiction for enforcing this Act in U.S. district courts. Requires all persons engaged in manufacturing, marketing, transporting, or industrial use of sugar and other sweeteners to furnish the Secretary with necessary information. Prohibits officials engaged in the administration of this Act from investing or speculating in sugar. Establishes penalties for violating these regulations. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct surveys and investigations to carry out this Act. Directs the Secretary to conduct studies on the costs of producing various sugar and sweetener products. Extends the current price support programs for sugar beets and sugarcane through the 1981 crops. Authorizes the Secretary to waive part of the interest and/or principal to encourage repayment of Commodity Credit Corporation loans with respect to the 1977 and 1978 crops of sugar beets and sugarcane. Terminates this Act, except for Title I and the provisions authorizing the President to impose duties and quotas, on September 30, 1982.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1979
Equal Employment Opportunity for the Handicapped Act of 1979 - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include discrimination of the handicapped as an unlawful employment practice. Permits such discrimination pursuant to a bona fide seniority or merit system or as a bona fide occupational qualification. Authorizes courts to order the hiring or reinstatement or paying of back pay to anyone discriminated against on the basis of their handicap. Prohibits discrimination in Federal employment of the handicapped. Authorizes civil actions for such discrimination.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1979
Authorizes and requests the President to designate the week beginning with the Sunday preceding the fourth Thursday in November of each year as "National Family Week."
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1979
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the President should immediately: (1) initiate measures to increase energy supplies and reduce demands, and (2) present plans to Congress for maintaining the balance of supply and demand and for rationing gasoline in the event of protracted energy supply problems.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1979
National Workers' Compensation Standards Act of 1979 - Establishes minimum standards for State workers' compensation laws. Provides that the employers in any State in which the laws do not meet such minimum standards shall be required to pay to any employee the difference between the State payments and the payments the Federal standards would require. Authorizes grants to States to assist them in achieving compliance with the minimum standards set forth in this Act. Vests administrative responsibility for these provisions in the Department of Labor. Directs the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to undertake studies of employment-related diseases and to develop, and recommend proposals for standards for determining whether particular diseases arise out of and in the course of employment and cause death or disability and for diagnosing such diseases. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor (Secretary) to develop recommended standards for such purposes. Establishes procedures for such development and for publication of and public comment upon such standards. Requires the Secretary to: (1) evaluate States' compliance with such published advisory standards; (2) report such evaluation to Congress and recommend which such standards should be considered by the Congress as mandatory Federal standards; and (3) forward to the Congress reports of advisory committees and records of public hearings concerning such advisory standards. Authorizes the Secretary to recommend alternative means of establishing mandatory occupational disease standards and providing compensation for such disease. Directs the Secretary to conduct: (1) a comparative study of States' compensation of partial disabilities; (2) a study of the desirability and feasibility of a Federal minimum standard requiring periodic adjustment of benefits for death or total disability to reflect changes in the statewide average weekly wage; (3) a program of collection, compilation, and analysis of workers' compensation data; and (4) research, pilot projects and demonstration programs. Establishes a National Workers' Compensation Advisory Commission to monitor the progress of the States in meeting the standards established by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1979
Authorizes expenditures not to exceed $622,949 from March 1, 1979, through February 29, 1980, by the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs for inquiries and investigations. Directs the committee to report its findings and recommendations to the Senate not later than February 29, 1980.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1979
Declares that it is the sense of the Senate that in any governmental reorganization, the Department of Agriculture should not be changed in any way that would diminish its ability to perform any of its vital functions.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1979
Medicare Supplemental Health Insurance Information Disclosure and Protection Act of 1979 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to subject to fine or imprisonment or both any individual who, for the purpose of selling or attempting to sell insurance, misrepresents in any way that he or she is acting under the authority of, or in association with, the health insurance program of title XVIII. Directs the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to develop model legislation and regulations concerning proposed minimum requirements for the sale of Medicare supplemental insurance to Medicare eligible individuals. Directs the Secretary to study the feasibility of a program of Federal certification of Medicare supplemental insurance. Directs the Federal Trade Commission to study deceptive practices in the sale of Medicare supplemental insurance.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1979
International Trade and Investment Reorganization Act - Establishes the Department of International Trade and Investment to coordinate U.S. policies for international trade, negotiate trade agreements, protect U.S. industry, agriculture, and labor from foreign competition, promote international trade, administer the U.S. Customs Service, and participate in the development of friendly countries. Transfers to the Department all functions of the Office of the Special Representative for Trade Negotiations, the Export-Import Bank, and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. Transfers to the Department specified functions of the Departments of State, Commerce, and Treasury and the International Trade Commission. Sets forth the administrative provisions applicable to the Department. Requires the Secretary of International Trade and Investment to report annually to the President for submission to Congress concerning the Department's activities.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1979
Robert A. Taft Institute of Government Trust Fund Act - Establishes in the United States Treasury the Robert A. Taft Institute Trust Fund. Authorizes the Commissioner of Education to make grants from such fund to develop the Robert A. Taft Institute of Government, New York, New York. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to invest portions of the Fund not required to meet current withdrawals. Appropriates $15,000,000 to the Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1979
Authorizes the establishment of Long Island Sound Heritage in the States of Connecticut and New York to protect the special natural and cultural heritage of the region. Directs the Secretary of Interior in cooperation with State and local officials to determine the lands and waters that have special recreational, ecological, conservational, scenic, historic, or cultural potential for inclusion in the heritage area. Directs the Secretary of Interior to implement the purposes of this Act by formulating detailed plans for the acquisition, development, protection, maintenance, and administration of the applicable lands and structures. Sets forth requirements for such plans. Authorizes the Secretary to acquire lands, waters, and interests enumerated by this Act by purchase or donation. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with the States of Connecticut and New York, and political subdivisions of such States and grant financial and other assistance in carrying out such plans in furtherance of the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1979
Catastrophic Health Insurance Act - Title I: Catastrophic Illness Insurance - Establishes a Catastrophic Health Insurance program under the Social Security Act. Sets forth the eligibility criteria for individuals. Entitles every individual who: (1) is a resident of the United States; and (2) is a citizen of, or a lawfully admitted alien in, the United States to catastrophic health insurance benefits provided by this Act in cases where the individual is not covered by an employer plan. Delimits the scope of benefits, including therein hospital and related insurance benefits (hospital, post-hospital and home health services) and medical and other health services. Provides for a general deductible from: (1) the reasonable costs of inpatient hospital services past 60 days; and (2) inpatient hospital benefits of the higher of the following: (A) $2,000 or (B) $2,000 adjusted by the Consumer Price Index to reflect changes in fees for physician services (in $100 increments). Permits payments for specified mental health care services. Requires the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to promulgate regulations prescribing standards designed to assure that services consisting of the furnishing of blood or blood products, or the application of procedures or courses of treatment which are experimental or extraordinarily complex, will be provided only when such services are appropriate to the health care needs of the patient. Creates, in the United States Treasury, a Federal Catastrophic Health Insurance Trust Fund to provide a reserve for payment of benefits authorized by this Act. States that individuals covered under approved employer or self-employed plans shall be entitled to those benefits rather than the benefits provided by the catastrophic health insurance plan. Defines the term "employer plan" as meaning an insurance policy, contract, or other arrangement entered into between an employer and a carrier, in consideration of premiums or other periodic payments, undertaken to pay for the costs of health services received by the employer's employees. Requires that the coverage provided under such plans must include a package of benefits which is the same as that provided by the Federal catastrophic health insurance benefits plan established under this Act. Sets forth additional requirements governing employer health plans. Establishes an Actuarial Committee to prepare and recommend annually to the Secretary a Table of Values of Catastrophic Health Insurance Coverage, which shall establish the actuarial value of one year's catastrophic health insurance coverage for employers, carriers, and others involved in the programs. Creates a tax on self-employment income and an excise tax on employers. Allows a tax credit up to the entire amount of such taxes under the Internal Revenue Code for the actuarial value of catastrophic health insurance coverage for the self-employed and for the employees covered under approved employer plans. Title II: Private Basic Health Insurance Certification Program - Establishes a program, under the Social Security Act, under which any insurer may submit any health insurance policy to the Secretary for examination and certification. Sets forth the standards under which the Secretary shall deny certification of any such insurance policy. Requires the Secretary to offer basic Federal health insurance to individuals residing in States in which no private health insurance program has been certified. Title III: Other Amendments - Authorizes payments for immunizations which the Secretary determines are appropriate under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, but only if provided on a scheduled allowance basis, as determined under regulations promulgated by the Secretary. Increases the amount of reimbursement under Medicare for outpatient mental health care. Reduces the monthly premium for optional coverage under the Medicare hospital insurance programs. Extends coverage of the renal disease program authorized under such Act to specified individuals not previously covered. Expresses the policy of Congress to encourage and expand philanthropic support for health care.
![Official portrait of Sen. Melcher, John [D-MT]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/m000635_200.jpg)