United States · United States Congress · 13 July 1978
Prohibits the modification or restructuring of the route system of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation in effect on January 1, 1978, until October 1, 1979, except with respect to those routes initiated by the Corporation subsequent to January 1, 1978, pursuant to the Rail Passenger Service Act. Stipulates that if after October 1, 1979, it is determined that nay trains or routes are not required under the Final Route Reexamination Recommendations proposed by the Secretary of Transportation and adopted by the Congress, the Corporation shall formally notify the Governor and legislature of the State affected and post such notice of proposed discontinuance at the rail facilities served. Prohibits the Corporation from terminating such service for a 60 day period. Authorizes the continuance of such service beyond such period if the State, regional, or local transportation agency involved agrees to reimburse the Corporation for a reasonable portion of any operating losses and capital costs associated with the continuance of such service. Defines "reasonable portion of such costs for purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 1978
Declares it the sense of the Senate that specified steps should be taken to insure that more efficient use is made of the existing stock of railroad freight cars and power equipment and to encourage the acquisition of new cars and equipment in order to meet the needs of American agriculture.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1978
Expresses the sense of the Congress that (1) the trials of Antoly Shcharansky, Viktoras Petkus, and Aleksandr Ilyich Ginzburg are matters of deep concern to the American people that adversely affect Soviet-American relations; and (2) the U.S.S.R. Supreme Soviet should seek a humanitarian resolution to these cases and work toward improving such relations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1978
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow the investment tax credit for agricultural buildings and their structural components used exclusively for agricultural production, storage, and marketing.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1978
Domestic Petroleum Supply and Security Act - Amends the Export Administration Act to prohibit the exportation of domestically produced petroleum products as defined in the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. Allows such petroleum products to be temporarily exported for refining or processing if such products reenter and are consumed in the United States. Sets forth criteria which must be met for domestically produced petroleum products to be exported under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1978
Amends the Water Bank Act to increase from $10,000,000 to $50,000,000 the payment limitation on conservation agreements for calendar years after 1977. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to re-examine the payment rate for such an agreement at the beginning of the fifth year of any ten-year initial or renewal period, in any calendar year after 1977.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 1978
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Secretary of State: (1) make every effort to negotiate an agreement with Canada to preserve our mutual airshed, protect air resources, and maintain air quality; and (2) take whatever diplomatic actions necessary to reduce or eliminate any undesirable impact on both countries resulting from air pollution from any source.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1978
Requests the President and the Secretary of State to enter into discussions with General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev, the Soviet Ambassador to the United States, and other appropriate officials of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics regarding the issuance of emigration visas by such Government to U.S. citizens John and Lorraine Jodwalis Vaicekauskiene.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1978
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that an individual's allowable charitable contributions shall be deducted when determining the individual's adjusted gross income, thereby allowing the deduction to individuals who do not itemize.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 1978
Investment Incentive Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to restore part of the pre-1969 tax treatment of capital gains by repealing the capital gains item of tax preference for the minimum tax; lowering the corporate alternative tax to 25 percent of net capital gain; and lowering the alternative individual tax to 25 percent of net capital gain.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 1978
Expresses the sorrow of the Senate for the death of Aldo Moro. Condemns the Red Brigade for this murder. Declares it the sense of the Senate that Italy deserves the praise of the United States for its efforts to prevent this murder. Declares it the sense of the Senate that the President should instruct the Ambassador to the United Nations to press for consideration of proposals to end terrorism.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1978
Tuition Advance Fund Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Commissioner of Education to establish a system of undergraduate tuition advances to be repaid as an income tax imposed by the Internal Revenue Code of 1954. Establishes a trust fund in the United States Treasury for such tuition advance program.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1978
ERISA Improvements Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Labor to submit to Congress within 90 days of the passage of this Act any changes in the Internal Revenue Code and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) which are necessitated by the provisions of this Act. Title I: Consolidation of Federal Agency Responsibilities for Employee Benefit Plans - Creates two new positions, one within the Department of the Treasury and the other within the Department of Labor, entitled special liaison officer to the Employee Benefits Commission. Establishes the Employee Benefits Commission within the Executive branch to formulate policy with regard to Federal laws affecting employee benefit plans, to administer and enforce titles I and IV of (ERISA), and to administer and seek compliance with specified provisions of the Internal Revenue Code relating to qualification of employee benefit plans. Grants to the Commission specified powers to enable it to carry out its assigned duties, including the power toinitiate court actions to enforce titles I and IV of ERISA and to certify to the Secretary of the Treasury that an employee benefit plan does or does not satisfy the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code for qualified plans. Transfers all functions of the Secretary of Labor with regard to ERISA, most functions of the Secretary of the Treasury, and all functions of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation to the Commission. Title II: Amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 - Amends ERISA to provide that it shall be an additional purpose of such Act to foster the establishment and maintenance of employee benefit plans. Redefines the term "employees' beneficiary association" in order to clarify whether multiple employer interests are employee benefit plans subject to ERISA. Narrows the definition of the term "party in interest." Redefines "multiemployer plan" to mean a plan which is maintained pursuant to one or more collective bargaining agreements between an employee organization and more than one employer and to which ten or more employers contribute, or to which more than one and fewer than ten employers contribute if the Commission finds that treating such a plan as a multiemployer plan is appropriate. Amends the reporting and recordkeeping requirements imposed on employers maintaining plans. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to exempt any plan from any of the reporting or disclosure requirements of ERISA upon making certain findings. Makes substantive changes in the minimum requirements for a qualified plan with regard to participation, accrual of benefits in a multiemployer plan, suspension of benefits because of reemployment, reduction in retirement or disability benefits, and joint and survivor annuities. Allows the funding method of a plan to take account of all plan provisions, including future benefit reductions. Redefines the contents of a general asset account in the case of plans which have guaranteed benefit policies with an insurer. Imposes a legal obligation to make contributions to a plan upon an employer who has an obligation under a collective bargaining agreement to make contributions to the plan. Permits a multiemployer plan to return an employer contribution within one year after the plan administrator knows that the contribution was made as a result of a mistake of fact. Defines "knowledge" of a fiduciary (who is not a person) for purposes of awareness of a fellow fiduciary's breach of duty. Limits the responsibility of any co-fiduciary with respect to the failure of an employer who is a fiduciary to make contributions to a collectively bargained plan. Subjects every uninsured welfare plan which is a multiple employer trust to such solvency and reserve standards as the Secretary of Labor may require by regulation. Provides that where a judgment has been awarded in an action to collect contributions owed to an employee benefit plan, the court shall allow a reasonable attorney's fee and costs of the action, to be paid by the defendant. Stipulates that with regard to any employee benefit plan other than an eligible individual account plan in which participation is voluntary, no person or employee benefit plan shall be liable in a cause of action alleging explicitly or implicitly that the interest of an employee in such a plan is a security under Federal or State securities laws. Requires that one of the members of the Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans shall be a representative of employers maintaining small plans. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study of the feasibility of requiring pension plans to provide cost of living adjustments to benefits payable under such plans. Title III: Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 - Provides that in the case of a multiemployer plan, defined benefit plans shall be considered separately from defined contribution plans for purposes of lump sum distributions. Permits a multiemployer plan to deem an employee who has not worked in service covered under the plan for six months as having separated from the service for purposes of lump sum distributions. Allows an income tax deduction for contributions made by employees to qualified retirement plans. Limits the deduction to the lesser of 10 percent of compensation or $1,000, but reduces the allowable deduction by 20 percent of the amount by which the employee's adjusted gross income exceeds $30,000. Requires plans to accept these contributions and sets forth the administrative framework for treatment of the contributions by the plan. Allows an income tax credit for small employers who establish retirement plans that meet ERISA's requirements. Allows such credit in addition to the allowable deduction for employer contributions to a qualified plan. Limits the amount of the credit and phases it down and out over the first five years of each new plan. Allows an income tax credit of five percent of an employer's allowable deductions for contributions to a qualified plan for any year in which the Employee Benefits Commission determines that the plan is an improved plan. Defines an "improved plan" as one which has standards on specified matters which exceed the minimum standards of ERISA and the standards of the plan in the prior year. Prohibits sole proprietors and partners or shareholders with a more than ten percent interest in a business from establishing individual retirement accounts for themselves. Title IV: Special Master or Prototype Plans - Amends ERISA to create a new type of individual account employee pension benefit plan, all the assets of which are controlled by one or more investment managers. Relieves an employer who establishes such a plan of many of the administrative requirements of ERISA.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 1978
Amends the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to redefine telephone service as any telecommunication service for the transmission of voice, data, sounds, signals, pictures, writing, or signs of all kinds by wire, radio, light, or other electromagnetic systems, including all lines, facilities, or systems used in the rendition of such service, including community antenna and cable television facilities; but not including message telegram service, or radio broadcasting services or facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 1978
Establishes the President's Commission on the Victims of the Holocaust for the purpose of considering and developing plans for the design, construction, and location of a permanent memorial in the United States to the victims of the Holocaust. Terminates the Commission within one year after the submission of its final report. Requires that such report be submitted to the Congress and the President within 18 months after the effective date of this resolution. Authorizes appropriations of $750,000 to carry out the provisions of this joint resolution.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1978
Sugar Stabilization Act - Sets forth the policy of the Congress with respect to foreign trade in sugar. Title I: International Sugar Agreement - Authorizes the President to prohibit the importation of sugar from any country not a member of the International Sugar Organization, and to otherwise regulate foreign trade in sugar to implement the International Sugar Agreement. Establishes civil penalties for the violation of such regulations. Requires the President to submit to Congress an annual report on the Agreement. Title II: Domestic Sugar Program - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to make an annual estimate of the sugar consumption needs of the United States. Establishes a formula for determining the price objectives of domestic sugar. Authorizes the Secretary to establish a quota for the importation of sugar, and to adjust such quota. Authorizes the Secretary to impose an import fee in order to attain the price objective for sugar. Prohibits the established quota from being filled by direct-consumption sugar, except in specified circumstances. Permits the Secretary to suspend such quota and fees under specified circumstances. Authorizes the Secretary to impose a quota on the importation of "sugar-containing products. Prohibits the importation of sugar, liquid sugar, or "sugar-containing products" after the import quotas have been filled. Prohibits the importation of certain sugar or liquid sugar into the Virgin Islands in excess of 100 pounds annually. Prohibits the exportation of certain sugar from the United States. Regulates the exportation of sugar. Sets forth items to which the sugar quota shall not apply. Title III: General Provisions - Authorizes the Secretary to issue regulations to carry out this Act. Establishes penalties for the violation of such regulations. Requires certain information to be furnished to the Secretary by persons engaged in the manufacture, marketing, transport, or industrial use, of sugar. Prohibits officials engaged in the administration of this Act to invest in sugar. Establishes penalties for the violation of such prohibition. Authorizes the President to suspend the operation of Title II of this Act in a national emergency. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture (1) to conduct surveys and investigations to carry out this Act, and (2) to announce a "daily spot price" for raw sugar in specified circumstances. Terminates the authority of the Secretary under this Act on December 31, 1982.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1978
Adolescent Health, Services, and Pregnancy Prevention and Care Act - Makes findings concerning the health, social, and economic consequences of unwanted initial and repeat pregnancies among adolescents and declares the purpose of this Act to be the prevention of unwanted adolescent pregnancies and the provision of proper care to pregnant adolescents. Title I: Grant Program - Authorizes the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to make grants to public and nonprofit private organizations (grantees) to coordinate their services for the purposes of preventing unwanted adolescent pregnancies and providing care for infants born to adolescents. Sets forth purposes for which grantees may use funds under this Act. Includes among such purposes: (1) the coordination of services aimed at preventing unwanted initial and repeat adolescent pregnancies; (2) the referral of pregnant adolescents or adolescent mothers to maternal health care services; and (3) the supplementation of inadequate local services and care designed to prevent unwanted adolescent pregnancies. Prohibits grantees from establishing income eligibility requirements for the receipt of services funded by this Act or from charging fees for such services, except pursuant to a fee schedule approved by the Secretary. Establishes priorities in choosing which organizations shall receive grants, based upon the incidence of adolescent pregnancies in a particular area served by an organization, the organization's ability to provide services, and other factors. Sets forth the information which a grant application must contain. Authorizes appropriations for carrying out the provisions of this Act. Title II: Improving Coordination of Federal and State Programs - Directs the Secretary to coordinate Federal policies and programs which provide services designed to prevent unwanted adolescent pregnancies. Sets forth measures which the Secretary is required to take to coordinate such programs.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1978
Declares that certain proposed regulations of the Department of the Treasury regarding centralized firearms sales recordkeeping and other firearms control measures exceed the Department's authority, and directs that the regulations be withdrawn.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 1978
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to qualify services performed by a surviving spouse as consideration for purposes of excluding portions of jointly held property from a decedent's taxable estate.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 1978
Solar Power Satellite Research, Development, and Demonstration Program Act - Directs the Secretary of Energy and the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to initiate a Solar Power Satellite Research, Development, and Demonstration Program to study technical problems regarding the viability of the solar power satellite concept. Requires the Secretary to cooperate with the Administrator in the submission to Congress, by September 30, 1978, of a comprehensive plan to implement the Program.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 1978
Uniformed Services Survivor Benefit Plan Amendments Act - Amends the Survivor Benefit Plan to permit members and former members of the uniformed services who have completed the number of years of service required for eligibility for retired pay but who have not yet, because of age, become entitled to such pay to participate in such plan. Entitles dependents of such members or former members who die before becoming entitled to retired pay to certain medical and dental benefits at facilities of the uniformed services.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1978
Bilingual Education Act Amendments - Revises the Bilingual Education Act to extend the general authorization for appropriations under such Act to 1981. Stipulates that grants for assistance to bilingual education programs will be available for fiscal years 1979, 1980, and 1981. Revises application requirements for such grants, including provisions regarding an evaluation plan and bilingual personnel recruitment. Provides special provisions for Puerto Rico regarding use and distribution of funds under such Act. Directs the Commissioner of Education to conduct a study on the need for compensatory English proficiency programs in Puerto Rico. Revises specified bilingual education training provisions under such Act. Extends indefinitely the Commissioner of Education's authority to award fellowships for bilingual teachers training. Directs the Commissioner to undertake an ongoing study of the impact of such fellowships on the field of bilingual education. Revises the definition of "eligible applicant" for purposes of such training grants. Requires an individual receiving such assistance to work in a bilingual education related activity for a period equivalent to the period such assistance was received. Establishes within the Office of Education in place of the existing Office of Bilingual Education a Bureau of Bilingual Education to be headed by a Deputy Commissioner of Bilingual Education. Revises the composition of the National Advisory Council on Bilingual Education, including a requirement that at least two parents of children whose language proficiency is other than English be included in such Council. Extends authorizations for research and demonstration projects under such Act to fiscal year 1981. Provides for a program of grants for fiscal years 1982 and 1983 to States for bilingual education. Provides guidelines for State applications for such bilingual education grants, including a two year comprehensive program plan and a matching funds requirement. Amends the Emergency School Aid Act to revise certain appropriations allocations and application requirements regarding (1) educational television; (2) special projects; and (3) evaluations of specific projects assisted under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1978
Federal Disclosure and Accountability Act - Prohibits any Federal employee from coercing any individual for the purpose of interfering with the right of such individual to disclose any illegal or otherwise improper Government Action to the Review Board on Improper Government Actions established by this Act, and from taking any adverse personnel action against such individual who is a Federal employee in retaliation for such disclosure. Requires the Board to investigate any such disclosure and, in the event further investigation or action is warranted, to notify the person, the head of the agency in which such person is employed, and, if appropriate, the Attorney General and/or the Comptroller General.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1978
Reclamation Reform Act - Replaces the existing maximum Federal reclamation law acreage limitation of 160 acres of reclaimed land per individual with a maximum farm size limit of 1,280 acres, owned or leased by any combination of persons. Restricts the number of persons who may join in such combination to 25 or fewer. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to limit the number of landholdings that any person, firm, or business may manage for the benefit of a qualified recipient. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to designate by rule appropriate increases in the acreage limitation for lands of lesser productive potential. Abolishes the requirement that a qualified recipient must be resident on or near a landholding in order for such landholding to be eligible to receive water. Prohibits any qualified recipient from leasing a landholding acquired after January 1, 1978, unless he or she has derived nonrental income from such landholding for agricultural production for a period of not less than ten years. Provides for the removal of acreage limitations upon repayment of construction charges of the reclamation project required under contracts with the Secretary relating to the delivery of water supplies to such landholding for agricultural use. Prohibits the delivery of water to landholders whose lands do not comply with the federal reclamation law acreage limitation one year after the passage of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1978
SS Life Act - Directs the Secretary of the Navy to transfer to LIFE International for 15 years the hospital ship U.S.S. Sanctuary (AH-17) to furnish health care to developing nations. Renames such ship the "SS LIFE". Authorizes the appropriation of $6,000,000 for fiscal year 1979 for modification of such ship and for maintenance and operation $494,000 for fiscal year 1979, $5,000,000 for fiscal year 1980, $4,000,000 for fiscal year 1981, $3,000,000 for fiscal year 1982, $2,000,000 for fiscal year 1983, and $1,000,000 for fiscal year 1984.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1978
Social Security Refinancing Act - Amends Title II (Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) and XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to finance the payment of disability insurance benefits and hospital insurance benefits through general tax revenues, rather than through employment and self-employment tax revenues. Reduces employment and self-employment tax rates below the rates established by the Social Security Financing Amendments of 1977.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1978
Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act with respect to information to be supplied to the Environmental Protection Agency by owners and operators of any point source to restrict such information to matters that are necessarily and directly involved in carrying out the provisions of the Act. Excludes from required information financial statements or similar comprehensive financial information, investment data, tax information, or general production costs.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1978
Nurse Training Amendments - Amends Title VIII (Nurse Training) of the Public Health Service Act to extend for two fiscal years, through fiscal year 1980, the program of financial assistance for nurse training.
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 1978
Psychotropic Substances Act - Amends the Controlled Substances Act, the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the Public Health Service Act to meet obligations under the Convention on Psychotropic Substances.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1978
Amends the Clayton Act to entitle any foreign sovereign government to sue for actual damages and the cost of suit (but not for treble damages) when injured in its business or property by reason of any action forbidden in the antitrust laws.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1978
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of an employee, amounts paid or expenses incurred by the employer for educational assistance to the employee. Limits to 25 percent the amount of payments which may be made by such programs to shareholders or owners (or their spouses or dependents), each of whom owns more than five percent of the stock or of the capital or profits interest in the employer.
United States · United States Congress · 15 December 1977
Veterans' and Survivors' Income Security Act - Title I: Security Pension for Veterans and Survivors - Establishes rates for security pensions which may be elected in lieu of regular pensions by: (1) veterans of a period of war who are permanently and totally disabled from a non-service-connected disability; and (2) surviving spouses or children of veterans of a period of war of deceased veterans entitled to compensation or retirement pay for a service-connected disability. Specifies exclusions from the determination of annual income of such veterans and survivors. Requires persons applying for a security pension to report the income and estate of each spouse and child on account of whom added pension is applied for or received. Title II: Miscellaneous Provisions - Requires annual adjustments of security pension rates in conjunction with cost-of-living increases in Social Security benefits. Title III: Effective Date - Sets the effective date of this Act as October 1, 1978.
United States · United States Congress · 15 December 1977
Agricultural Trade Expansion Act - Amends the Food for Peace Act of 1966 to permit the Commodity Credit Corporation to finance export sales of agricultural commodities on credit terms in excess of three years, but not more than ten years. Exempts such sales from the requirement that exports be transported on privately owned United States - flag commercial vessels.
United States · United States Congress · 15 December 1977
Equal Access to Courts Act - Entitles a party which: (1) prevails in any civil action, including an action for judicial review of agency actions; and (2) is a small business as defined by the Small Business Act or an individual or entity having assets or income below specified amounts to a judgment for costs and an award for attorney fees, witness fees, and necessary studies and reports. Directs an agency to pay costs and fees to a party meeting the criteria of (2) above if such a party: (1) successfully defends the imposition of an agency sanction; (2) successfully opposes the issuance or amendments of certain agency orders; or (3) successfully appeals agency action or is subject to agency action which is appealed or reviewed. Entitles a party partially prevailing against the United States to costs and fees to the extent to which it prevailed. Authorizes, where in the interest of justice, an award of cost and fees to a party which fails to prevail in a civil action instituted by or against the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 1977
Amends the Federal Meat Inspection Act to require the Secretary of Agriculture to submit to the House Committee on Agriculture and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry quarterly reports evidencing that all foreign plants exporting meat have been inspected by inspectors appointed by the Secretary and are in compliance with such Act and the regulations issued thereunder.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 1977
Authorizes and requests the President to annually designate the Sunday following Fire Service Recognition Day as "Memorial Sunday" for firefighters disabled or killed in the line of duty during the preceeding year.
United States · United States Congress · 22 November 1977
Allows certain cash payments received by farmers pursuant to the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 to be included in gross income in the year the income from the crops would have been reported rather than the year the payments are received.
United States · United States Congress · 4 November 1977
Resources and Conservation Act - Requires the President to annually transmit a Resources and Conservation Report to Congress setting forth: (1) the condition of natural resources with particular reference to attainment of the optimum multiple purpose use of such resources; (2) current and foreseeable trends in the management and utilization of natural resources; (3) the adequacy of available resources for fulfilling human, economic, and national security requirements of the Nation; (4) a review of all conservation programs; (5) the extent of United States dependence or imports for critical minerals and metals; and (6) a program to assure adequate resources for the country's needs and to provide for the development, conservation and use of natural resources. Establishes within the Executive Office of the President a Council of Resources and Conservation Advisers to assist the President in the preparation of such report, and to advise the President on matters regarding natural resources development and conservation. Authorizes appropriations in such amounts as may be necessary to enable the Council to perform its duties under this Act. Authorizes appropriations of $2,000,000 annually for salaries for the members, officers, and employees of the Council. Establishes a Joint Committee on Resources and Conservation to make a continuing study of matters relating to the Resources and Conservation Report and to file annual reports with the Senate and House of Representatives containing its findings and recommendations with respect to each of the main recommendations made by the President in the Report. Authorizes appropriations of up to $600,000 to fund the activities of the Joint Committee.
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 1977
Omnibus Antiterrorism Act - Title I: Reorganization of Executive Office of the President - Establishes a Council to Combat Terrorism in the Executive Office of the President. Includes among the Council's functions (1) assisting the President to implement this Act, (2) assisting in the preparation of lists of countries aiding terrorist enterprises and of dangerous foreign airports, and (3) coordinating Federal efforts to combat terrorism. Directs the President to: (1) report to Congress on each act of terrorism which involves or affects United States citizens; and (2) impose sanctions against countries on the list of countries aiding terrorists and against airports on the list of dangerous foreign airports. Title II: Reorganization of the Department of State - Establishes a Bureau for Combating International Terrorism in the Department of State. Urges the President to seek international agreements which assure cooperation in combating terrorism. Lists provisions which should be given priority in negotiating such agreements. Requires the President to: (1) develop programs to insure full implementation of the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Civil Aviation; (2) approve all defense article sales and credits made to any individual or group; and (3) include the names of all types of explosives on the United States Munitions List. Title III: Reorganization of the Department of Justice - Establishes an Office for Combating Terrorism in the Department of Justice. Directs the President to extend existing safety and security requirements to supplemental means of air transportation. Requires that all explosives contain identification and detection taggants. Title IV: Aircraft Sabotage and Piracy - Amends provisions of title 18, U.S. Code, that specify prohibited acts regarding the destruction of aircraft or aircraft facilities to, among other revisions, set forth penalties for committing violence against a passenger which is likely to endanger an aircraft in service and for communicating false information which results in endangering the safety of an aircraft in flight. Sets forth penalties for a person found in the United States who has committed against or aboard a foreign aircraft an offense in violation of the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Civil Aviation. Authorizes civil penalties for carrying an accessible weapon aboard an aircraft and for imparting or conveying information known to be false regarding one of specified crimes aboard an aircraft. Specifies minimum penalties for threatening to commit air piracy or any other of certain crimes aboard an aircraft.
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 1977
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development should not implement the proposed reorganization of the field and insuring offices of the Department of Housing and Urban Development prior to the time when the appropriate committees of the Congress have had an opportunity to hold hearings on such reorganization.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 1977
Directs the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs to provide chiropractic care to any eligible veteran for outpatient medical treatment upon the request of the veteran.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 1977
Designates the South Portal Federal Office Building of the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare at 200 Independence Avenue Southwest, Washington, D. C., as the "Hubert H. Humphrey Building."
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 1977
Declares that the President should establish a Commission on Domestic and International Hunger and Malnutrition which should: (1) collect and generate information and resources on food, hunger, malnutrition and related concerns; (2) assess current programs affecting domestic and international hunger and malnutrition; (3) analyze and report its findings and recommendations to the President, the Congress, and the public; and (4) assist the President and the Congress in implementing its recommendations.
![Official portrait of Sen. Melcher, John [D-MT]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/m000635_200.jpg)