United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1985
Provides formulae for the distribution and use of specified judgment funds to the: (1) Santee Sioux Tribe of Nebraska; (2) Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe; (3) and Prairie Island Sioux communities, Lower Sioux Indian Community, and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Minnesota. Prohibits any person enrolled with more than one of the specified tribes from receiving per capita or dividend payments as a member of more than one such tribe. Exempts the funds from: (1) State or Federal income taxes; and (2) being considered as income or resources for purposes of eligibility for assistance under Federal assistance programs (including the Social Security Act).
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 1985
Amends the Arts and Artifacts Indemnity Act to delete certain restrictions on the indemnification of works of art when these are exhibited outside the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1985
Federal Communications Commission Network Acquisition Approval Act of 1985 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require the Federal Communications Commission to take specified actions before granting any application proposing the acquisition of ownership or control of a television network whose board of directors has not approved the acquisition. Directs the Commission to require the applicant to file specified information, including: (1) the identities, managerial expertise, and financial resources of the persons involved in the acquisition; (2) the sources of funds and the details of financial arrangements involved in the acquisition, as well as any plan to liquidate assets; (3) any reduction in service to any community that would result from the acquisition; and (4) the reasons that the acquisition would benefit the public interest, convenience, and necessity. Directs the Commission to: (1) issue a public notice indicating that such information is available for public inspection; (2) allow a party 30 days after such notice is issued to file a petition to deny the application; and (3) conduct a full evidentiary hearing on such application.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1985
Clean Campaign Act of 1985 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to provide that if a legally qualified candidate for Federal elective office uses a broadcast station to refer to another candidate for that office: (1) such reference shall be made in person by such candidate; or (2) the station licensee must provide the candidate to whom the reference was made the opportunity to use the same amount of broadcast time, during the same period of the day, without charge. Requires any station licensee which allows a person to broadcast material endorsing or opposing a candidate, to provide to the candidate opposing the endorsed candidate or to the candidate opposed by the material the opportunity to use the same amount of broadcasting time, during the same period of the day, without charge.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1985
Indian Juvenile Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Act - Title I: Inter-Departmental Agreement - Directs the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to enter into an agreement to coordinate specified efforts of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (Bureau) and the Indian Health Service relating to alcohol and drug abuse programs for Indian youth. Provides for the biennial review of such agreement by the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Requires the Secretary of the Interior, upon a tribe's request, to coordinate resources and services related to alcohol and drug abuse with any Indian tribe. Title II: Education - Requires Bureau schools and schools operated under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act to provide instruction on alcohol and drug abuse to students in kindergarten and grades one through 12. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to publish, on a quarterly basis, an alcohol and drug abuse newsletter and to circulate it to specified Government agencies that provide such alcohol and drug abuse-related services to Indian people. Title III: Family and Social Services - Requires any initial training program for new community health representatives and community health aids funded under the Bureau to include not less than two weeks of training on the problems of alcohol and drug abuse, including instruction in crisis intervention, family relations, juvenile alcohol and drug abuse, and the causes and effects of fetal alcohol syndrome. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide training in alcohol and drug abuse problems to specified schools, Indian Health Service personnel, and others. Title IV: Law Enforcement - Requires the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the U.S. Attorney General, to promulgate guidelines under which any tribal or Federal law enforcement officer may place an Indian juvenile who has been arrested for alcohol or drug abuse in a facility other than an emergency shelter or a community-based alcohol or drug abuse treatment facility. Requires such guidelines to be made available to any State which exercises criminal jurisdiction over Indian country. Requires the Secretary of the Interior, with the concurrence of the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to establish temporary emergency shelters to house Indian juveniles who have been arrested for offenses related to alcohol or drug abuse. Requires the Bureau to prescribe standards by which such shelters shall become licensed. Title V: Juvenile Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation - Requires the President to include in the budget submitted to the Congress a request for funds to establish a program that provides alcohol and drug abuse treatment services (including detoxification and counseling services, and follow-up care in Indian Health Service facilities and in facilities operated under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act) to Indian juveniles. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to relevant congressional committees on the progress of such treatment to Indian juveniles. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to complete a study to determine: (1) the size of the Indian population in need of residential alcohol and drug abuse treatment; (2) the location of facilities at which such treatment is available or could be made available; and (3) the cost of providing such treatment. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with Indian tribes and the Secretary of the Interior, to identify and utilize existing facilities owned by the Government or an Indian tribe, or local community or private hospitals, for use as residential alcohol and drug abuse treatment centers for Indian juveniles. Title VI: Definitions, Effective Date, and Authorization of Appropriations - Sets forth definitions and the effective date. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1985
Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to include in the definition of "subsidy" (for countervailing duty purposes) any resource input subsidy as provided for under the provisions of this Act. States that a "resource input subsidy" is found to exist if: (1)(a) a product is provided or sold by a government-regulated or controlled entity within a country for input use within such country at a domestic price that is lower than the fair market value of the input product and is not freely available to U.S. producers; and (b) a product would, if sold at the fair market value, constitute a significant portion of the total cost of the manufacture or production of the merchandise in or for which the input product is used; or (2) under specified circumstances, the right to remove or extract such product is provided or sold by a government or a government-regulated or controlled entity within a country. Sets forth the method of calculation for the amount of a resource input subsidy. Defines "fair market value" and "input use" for purposes of this Act. Requires injury determinations by the U.S. International Trade Commission to be made in all countervailing duty investigations relating to the existence of resource input subsidies.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1985
National Security Protection Act of 1985 - Requires the Secretary of Defense to submit a report to the Congress within 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act: (1) on the existing capabilities of the military departments and the Office of the Secretary of Defense to conduct counterintelligence operations; and (2) on plans of the Secretary for reduction in the number of members of the armed forces of the United States and civilian employees of the Department of Defense who hold clearances granting them access to classified information. Amends the Uniform Code of Military Justice to punish acts of espionage in time of peace by imprisonment for any term of years or for life or by death. Makes such acts of espionage involving the Soviet Union or any other Communist country punishable by death or mandatory life imprisonment. Requires the Secretary of Defense to use polygraph examinations to assist in determining the initial eligibility of persons to have access to sensitive compartmented information and the continued access to such information. Permits the Secretary to use polygraph examinations to assist in determining the initial eligibility of persons to have access to classified information other than sensitive compartmented information and the continued access to such information. Prohibits the use of the polygraph examination as the sole basis for denying eligibility for clearance or access to any classified information. Permits the refusal of clearance or access to classified information of individuals who refuse to submit to polygraph examinations. Requires a report to the Congress on plans to implement the polygraph examination requirements. Restricts the death penalty for an act of espionage to cases involving the Soviet Union or any other Communist country and the documents or information involved is classified. Imposes a mandatory life term of imprisonment for espionage involving the Soviet Union or any other Communist country. Prohibits any probation or suspension of sentence for individuals convicted of espionage involving the Soviet Union or other Communist country, and denies such individuals any opportunity for parole.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 1985
Amends the Federal criminal code to make it a criminal offense for the unauthorized disclosure of classified secret information for profit to any foreign government (or faction therein) with the intent to injure the United States or for the advantage of a foreign nation. Authorizes the death penalty if such disclosure severely jeopardizes the national security of the United States. Requires a separate sentencing hearing before a jury or the court (upon motion by the defendant) when the defendant is found guilty or pleads guilty to such offense, except when the Government stipulates that one or more mitigating factors exist. Requires the jury or the court (if there is no jury) to find that one or more specified mitigating factors exist. States that if such a factor exists the court shall not sentence the defendant to death. Declares that if the death penalty is imposed such sentence shall be carried out by a firing squad. Requires the Attorney General to make a live video and audio coverage of any execution available to the public.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 1985
Fair Insurance Coverage Act - Prohibits any insurer from discriminating in an insurance contract against any person because of blindness. Includes within the prohibition refusing to make or negotiate a contract for insurance or giving different treatment with respect to terms, conditions, rates, or benefits because of blindness. Establishes a preference for State actions prior to judicial enforcement under this Act. Authorizes any aggrieved person, in the absence of State actions or jurisdiction, to bring an action under this Act for individual relief. Authorizes the Attorney General of the United States to bring an action for injunctive relief whenever there is reasonable cause to believe a person is engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination or when an individual is aggrieved and an issue of general public importance is raised. Grants the Federal district courts jurisdiction of such actions regardless of the amount in controversy. Allows a court to order monetary, equitable, or other appropriate relief, including punitive damages.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 1985
Entitles individuals who performed service as National Guard technicians before January 1, 1969, to credit for such service when determining length of service for purposes of civil service retirement, leave, employee death and disability compensation, group life and health insurance, severance pay, tenure, and status.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1985
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the United States: (1) should not sell advanced weapons to Jordan; (2) should ensure that Israel retains its qualitative military edge in the Middle East; and (3) should focus its efforts on bringing Jordan into direct peace negotiations with Israel.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 1985
Korean War Veterans Memorial Act of 1985 - Authorizes the American Battle Monuments Commission to erect a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia or its environs to honor members of the U.S. Armed Forces who served in the Korean war. Subjects the selected site, design, and plans for the construction of such memorial to the approval of the National Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission. Directs that, upon its completion, the memorial shall be turned over to the Department of the Interior which shall then be solely responsible for its maintenance. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 1985
Softwood Lumber Stabilization Act of 1985 - Limits imports of softwood lumber during any calendar quarter to an amount equal to the product of the historical percentage of imports for such quarter multiplied by the total quantity of softwood lumber that the Secretary of Commerce (the Secretary) estimates will be consumed in the United States during such quarter. Directs the Secretary to allocate the limitation among foreign countries. Sets forth factors to be considered in making such allocation. Requires the Secretary to publish in the Federal Register every quarter specified information relating to such limitation. Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of the Treasury to take the actions necessary to enforce this Act. Authorizes the President during the five years following enactment of this Act to enter into trade agreements providing for limitations on imports of softwood lumber into the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1985
International Air Transportation Protection Act of 1985 - Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to direct the Secretary of Transportation to revoke an air carrier's international air transportation certificate if the Secretary establishes that a hostile takeover of such air carrier has occurred, and that a sale or transfer of such certificate has occurred (or been attempted) as part of the liquidation of such air carrier (other than in the ordinary course of business). States that the Secretary is not precluded from issuing any certificate for international air transportation if the Secretary finds the applicant is willing and able to provide such transportation and such transportation is consistent with public convenience and necessity.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1985
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Congress should oppose the Social Security Administration's "Draft Service Delivery Methodology" proposal which, if implemented, would result in the closing or downgrading of specified Social Security Administration offices.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 1985
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide Medicare coverage for anesthesia services and related care provided by a registered nurse anesthetist.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1985
Authorizes and requests the President to: (1) designate the week beginning on April 13, 1986, as National Garden Week; and (2) urge the wearing of garden flowers as a symbol of our appreciation for the contributions of our gardeners.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1985
Integrates the Hilltop and Gray Goose Irrigation Districts, South Dakota, into the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program. Requires such units to be integrated physically and financially with other Federal works under the Flood Control Act of 1944. Makes Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin power available to the Hilltop and Gray Goose Units. States that the suballocated costs assigned to such Units shall be reimbursed by the water users as determined by the Secretary of the Interior.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1985
Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to authorize appropriations for FY 1986 through 1988 to be used by the Secretary of Commerce to assist in the planning and construction of public telecommunications facilities. Repeals a provision that requires 75 percent of the funds appropriated for such purposes in a fiscal year to be available to extend delivery of public telecommunications services to areas not receiving such services. Authorizes appropriations, to match up to a specified amount of non-Federal contributions to public broadcasting entities, for the Public Broadcasting Fund for FY 1987 through 1990. Repeals a provision that requires that a specified portion of the amount made available to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting from the Fund be earmarked for expenses of research, training, technical assistance, engineering, instructional support, and the payment of interest on indebtedness. Repeals provisions requiring a public telecommunications entity to refund to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting an amount of Federal funds equal to the amount of any unrelated business income tax paid by such entity.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 1985
Expresses, on the 40th anniversary of V-E Day, the Nation's deep gratitude and recognizes the enormous debt owed to the American servicemen who fought in World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 1985
Comprehensive Vietnam Veterans' Research and Training Act of 1985 - Requires the Administrator of Veterans Affairs to conduct a comprehensive research program and review of the professional literature on potential physiological and psychological health effects (especially posttraumatic stress disorders) which may be related to military service in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam era or readjustment from such service. Requires the Administrator to conduct a scientific analysis of the findings set out in such literature. Requires the Administrator to establish training and information programs for Veterans Administration personnel who have contact with veterans who are experiencing or potentially will experience adverse health effects from military service during the Vietnam era or readjustment from such service. Sets forth requirements for such programs. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 1985
Vietnam Veterans' Delayed Reentry and Psychological Readjustment and Vocational Rehabilitation Assistance Act of 1985 - Provides Vietnam veterans who are suffering from psychological readjustment problems related to their military service or readjustment therefrom with priority treatment within the mainstream Veterans Administration (VA) medical health resources. Gives service connected disability status, at a noncompensable level, to Vietnam and other eligible veterans who experience mental health problems which are determined by a VA psychiatrist or psychologist to require mental health services to facilitate successful readjustment to civilian life. Requires VA psychiatrists and psychologists to determine if a Vietnam veteran's psychological problems were incurred or aggravated in the service or constitute a post-traumatic stress disorder, thus warranting a service connection for a disability. Directs the VA to institute a comprehensive research and training program for professional, paraprofessional, and lay personnel dealing with Vietnam veterans to assure that they have the ability to counsel, screen, and test Vietnam veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and provide effective therapy, readjustment, and rehabilitation for their unique medical and psychosocial readjustment problems. Authorizes veterans whose serious mental health problems are related to their military service or readjustment therefrom, but do not warrant permanent disability compensation, to participate in the VA's vocational rehabilitation program.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1985
Veterans' Career Development Training and Job Bank Act of 1985 - Amends the Emergency Veterans' Job Training Act of 1983 to change the title of such Act to the "Veterans' Career Development and Training Act" and to restate and revise the purposes of such Act. Revises eligibility requirements for participation in a job training program to provide that a veteran must be a Korean conflict or Vietnam-era veteran: (1) whose employment has been terminated or who has been laid off from employment, is eligible for unemployment compensation, and is unlikely to return to work in the same occupation; (2) whose employment has been terminated due to permanent closure of a plant or facility; (3) who is unemployed in the same occupation or area in which the veteran resides; (4) who in underemployed and has a service-connected disability; (5) who served in Indochina and is underemployed and whose personal income is below the lower living standard income level; or (6) whose income and employment status is significantly below the level that would be reasonably expected of such a veteran. Revises requirements for employment counseling services and other assistance. Requires the Administrator of Veterans Affairs to provide such resources and personnel as may be necessary to carry out the counseling assessment and jobs matching functions authorized under the veterans' job bank and job matching program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1988. Authorizes not more than ten percent of the funds appropriated for FY 1986 and not more than five percent of the funds appropriated for FY 1987 and 1988 to be used by the Administrator to provide counseling, job matching, or supportive services or to pay outreach or necessary and appropriate administrative expenses directly related to the implementation of this Act. Authorizes the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans' Employment to establish and carry out a nationwide computerized job bank and job matching program. Sets forth requirements for such job bank program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 to carry out such program. Increases to GS-11 the level to which veterans may be appointed for veterans readjustment appointments and career-conditional appointments (currently to GS-9). Eliminates the disability requirement as a condition for appointments of Vietnam-era veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1985
Condemns the brutal treatment of and discrimination against the Turkish minority by the Bulgarian Government. Calls upon the President to convey this condemnation of Bulgarian actions and to raise this issue in all appropriate international fora.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should: (1) ensure that U.S. officials carry out the pledge to resolve the issue of the Americans still missing and unaccounted for in Indochina; (2) work for the immediate release of any Americans still held captive and the return of the remains of those who died in Southeast Asia; and (3) make every effort to secure the further cooperation of Laos and Vietnam in resolving this issue.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1985
Beekeeper Preservation Act of 1985 - Requires the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), within 90 days of enactment of this Act, to investigate and report to the President on the effects of honey imports on certain domestic programs and on the amount of products processed in the United States from honey. Requires the President, if the ITC recommends that fees or limitations be imposed on honey imports, to: (1) impose such fees or limitations; or (2) deny the existence of the facts justifying such fees or limitations. Requires the President to take such action within 60 days of the issuance of the ITC report.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1985
Commends the Rural Electrification Administration and dedicated individuals for their contributions to the progress made by the Nation during the past 50 years in achieving the electrification of rural America.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1985
Continental Scientific Drilling and Exploration Act - Directs the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of the Interior through the the United States Geological Survey, and the Director of the National Science Foundation to implement the policies of the proposed Continental Scientific Drilling Program of the United States relating to earth science research and technological development. Prescribes guidelines for such implementation, including: (1) taking action to assure an effective cooperative effort in furtherance of the Program; (2) taking administrative and financial measures to assure the effective functioning of the Interagency Accord on Continental Scientific Drilling; (3) assuring the continuing operation of the Interagency Coordinating Group; and (4) assuring that the Interagency Coordinating Group receives appropriate Federal agency cooperation. Requires a report to the Congress within 180 days of enactment which describes: (1) policy objectives; (2) projected schedules of scientific and engineering events that would advance Program objectives; (3) resources and funding levels needed for projected schedules of events and Program policy objectives; and (4) cooperation with the international community.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1985
Beekeeper Preservation Act of 1985 - Requires the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), within 90 days of enactment of this Act, to investigate and report to the President on the effects of honey imports on certain domestic programs and on the amount of products processed in the United States from honey. Requires the President, if the ITC recommends that fees or limitations be imposed on honey imports, to: (1) impose such fees or limitations; or (2) deny the existence of the facts justifying such fees or limitations. Requires the President to take such action within 60 days of the issuance of the ITC report.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the United States should pay honor to the memories of the innocent civilians and American and Allied soldiers who died at the hands of the Nazis; (2) it is fitting and appropriate for the President, in a gesture of reconciliation, to visit the Federal Republic of Germany; (3) the President should recognize the importance of the relationship between the two countries; and (4) the President should reassess his planned itinerary for his forthcoming trip to the Federal Republic of Germany.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1985
States that the Congress condemns: (1) Nicaraguan actions that hinder freedom of religion; and (2) the association of the Nicaraguan Government with international terrorist organizations, including the Palestine Liberation Organization. Calls upon the President, in communications with Nicaragua, to raise the issues of religious persecution and compensation for members of the Jewish, Miskito, and other communities who have been forced to leave because of interference with freedom of religion.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1985
Veterans' Health Care Promotion Act of 1985 - Directs the Administrator of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot program to determine the most cost-effective method of acquiring medical facilities for the Veterans Administration (VA) using certain specified methods. Requires the Administrator, not later than January 1, 1987, to enter into contracts to carry out the pilot program. Requires such contracts to be with an appropriate entity to construct and operate a nursing home for the VA. Requires the Administrator to enter into a contract with an appropriate entity to plan for, design, and construct a medical facility for the VA and to lease or sell such facility to the VA as directed by the Administrator. Directs the Administrator to also acquire two existing medical facilities. Requires the Administrator to provide the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the House of Representatives an annual report on the administration of the pilot program and a final report promptly after the termination of such program. Requires the Administrator, within 90 days after enactment of this Act, to report to the same such Committees on: (1) the extent to which the VA furnishes respite care to elderly veterans and disabled veterans; (2) the VA's plans for furnishing such care in the future; and (3) an estimate of the cost of increasing community-based nursing home beds available to the VA by specified percentages. Limits the amount of working reserve funds available to the VA for FY 1986 for the purchase of an urban medical facility. Directs the President to include in the budget submitted to the Congress a statement of the estimated expenditures and appropriations required to carry out the pilot program.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1985
Extends through the school year ending June 30, 1987, a school district's eligibility under the school lunch program to continue receiving all cash or all letters of credit in lieu of commodities. Makes such districts eligible for bonus commodities on the same basis as other districts participating in the school lunch program. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to enter into agreements with private companies for processing donated commodities into end food products at the expense of the eligible recipient agencies.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1985
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to provide that benefits payable to an individual under title II on the basis of such individual's income shall be subject to the limitations of the next sentence, if the individual: (1) is not a citizen or U.S. national; (2) has not been lawfully admitted for permanent residence; or (3) has been lawfully admitted for permanent residence and has been out of the country for more than six consecutive months while entitled to title II benefits. Limits title II benefits payable to one of the above described individuals to the sum of: (1) the total amount of social security taxes paid by an individual; and (2) the interest accrued on such taxes.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1985
Amends the Tariff Schedules of the United States to add Afghanistan to the list of communist countries the imports from which are subject to the column two rate of duty. Prohibits granting nondiscriminatory (most-favored-nation) treatment to the products of Afghanistan. Prohibits entering into a commercial agreement with Afghanistan pursuant to the Trade Act of 1974. Prohibits Afghanistan from participating in any program under which the United States extends credit, credit guarantees, or investment guarantees.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 1985
Authorizes the President to call a White House Conference on Library and Information Services, to be held not later than 1989, to develop recommendations for improvement of such services and their public use. Requires that the Conference be planned and conducted by the National Commission on Libraries and Information Sciences. Authorizes the Librarian of Congress, the Director of the National Library of Medicine, and the Director of the National Agricultural Library, upon request, to detail personnel to the Commission. Requires the Conference to submit a final report to the President within 120 days following its close. Directs that the final report be made public, and within 90 days after receipt by the President, transmitted to the Congress with recommendations. Establishes an advisory committee to assist in planning and conducting the Conference. Includes among its appointed members the Secretary of Education and the Librarian of Congress. Authorizes appropriations as necessary.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 1985
Proclaims October 23, 1985, as A Time of Remembrance for all victims of terrorism. Urges Americans to wear a purple ribbon in honor of the sacrifices made in pursuit of peace and freedom. Authorizes and requests the President to call upon U.S. departments, agencies, and other interested parties to fly U.S. flags at half staff.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 1985
National Commission on Illiteracy Act - Establishes a National Commission on Illiteracy. Provides for Commission members to be appointed by the President and by specified congressional officers. Directs the Commission to conduct a full and complete study of the causes of illiteracy, including a study of methods of teaching reading and of methods of teacher training relating to classroom reading instruction. Directs the Commission to: (1) assess the factors which contribute to illiteracy; (2) recommend programs and policies for, and the appropriate local, State, and Federal role in, illiteracy prevention; and (3) assemble, analyze, and publicize its findings. Directs the Commission to submit to the President and the Congress: (1) such interim reports as it deems advisable; and (2) within 12 months after its first meeting, a final report of the study and investigation, with recommendations. Sets forth provisions relating to Commission administration, member compensation, and powers. Terminates the Commission 90 days after the submission of its final report. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 1985
Patient and Program Protection Act for Medicare and Medicaid - Amends part A (General Provisions) of title XI of the Social Security Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to exclude from participation under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act any individual or entity: (1) convicted of a criminal offense related to the delivery of items or services under title XVIII or under titles XIX (Medicaid), V (Maternal and Child Health Block Grant), or XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) of such Act; (2) convicted of a criminal offense, in connection with the delivery of health items or services, relating to fraud or theft, or neglect or abuse of patients; (3) convicted of obstructing any investigation into any offense described above; (4) convicted of unlawfully distributing or prescribing a controlled substance; (5) knowingly and willfully making any false statement in an application for payment under Medicare or a State health care program; or (6) committing certain other prohibited activities. Authorizes the Secretary to exclude from Medicare participation any individual or entity: (1) whose health care license has been suspended or revoked; (2) suspended or excluded from participation in a Federal or State health care program; (3) submitting false claims under Medicare or a State health care program; (4) where ownership or controlling interest in that entity or a managing employee of that entity is a person who has been convicted of specified health care related crimes, fined for specified health care abuses, or excluded from participation in Medicare or a State health care program; or (5) which fails to supply certain information. Entitles any individual or entity excluded from participation to a hearing. Directs the Secretary to promptly notify each appropriate State agency administering or supervising the administration of a State health care program of the fact and circumstances of each exclusion. Requires a State to exclude under its programs those individuals or entities excluded by the Secretary, but permits waivers if requested of and approved by the Secretary. Permits an excluded individual or entity to apply, following the period of exclusion, to the Secretary for reinstatement. Sets forth provisions providing for civil and criminal penalties for acts involving Medicare or State health care programs abuses. Prohibits Federal payments with respect to any amount expended for items or services furnished with respect to any individual or entity excluded from Medicare because of the patient and programs protection provisions of part A of title XI. Requires a State, as a condition of Medicaid plan approval, to provide for the following: (1) a system of reporting any type of adverse action concluded against any health care practitioner or entity by the State or a local licensing authority; and (2) such access to documents as may be necessary by the Secretary. Requires the Secretary to provide suitable safeguards for the confidentiality of such information. Requires any health care provider providing health care services for which payment may be made under the Act to assure that services or items furnished: (1) will be provided economically and only when, and to the extent, medically necessary; (2) will be quality services which meet professionally recognized standards of health care; and (3) will be supported by evidence of medical necessity and quality in such form and fashion and at such time as may reasonably be required by a reviewing peer review organization in the exercise of its duties and responsibilities. Permits a State to exclude from Medicaid participation any individual or entity excluded under Medicare pursuant to the patient and program protection provisions. Requires a State in order to receive Federal payments with respect to a health maintenance organization (HMO) to exclude any HMO that: (1) could be excluded because of the conviction of the owners or managers of certain crimes; or (2) contracts with any individual or entity convicted of such crimes. Prohibits Federal payments with respect to any amount expended for items or services furnished with respect to any individual or entity excluded from Medicaid participation because of the patient and program protection provisions. Prohibits a State under title V from making payments to any individual or entity excluded from participation pursuant to the patient and program protection provisions. Revises disclosure requirements under part A of title XI. Revises Medicare provisions concerning agreements with providers. Sets forth effective date provisions. Amends the Controlled Substances Act and part A (General Provisions) of title XI to authorize the Attorney General to suspend or revoke a registration to manufacture, distribute, or dispense a controlled substance upon a finding that the registrant has been excluded from participation under the Medicare program.
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.
![Official portrait of Sen. Pressler, Larry [R-SD]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/p000513_200.jpg)