United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1973
Designates specified lands in the following national forests for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System including: (1) Bankhead National Forest, Alabama; (2) Ouachita National Forest, Arkansas; (3) Ozark National Forest, Arkansas; (4) Appalachicola National Forest, Florida; (5) Chattahooche and Cherokee National Forests, Georgia and Tennessee; (6) White Mountain National Forest, Maine; (7) Mark Twain National Forest, Missouri; (8) White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire; (9) Natahala and Cherokee National Forests, North Carolina and Tennessee; (10) Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia; (11) George Washington National Forest, Virginia and West Virginia; (12) Jefferson National Forest, Virginia; (13) Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky; (14) Sumter National Forest, South Carolina, (15) Green Mountain National Forest, Vermont; (16) Chequamegon National Forest, Wisconsin; (17) Clark National Forest, Missouri, Hiawatha National Forest, Michigan; and (18) Mark Twain National Forest, Missouri. Authorizes necessary appropriations to carry out the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1973
Sets forth restrictions on the procurement or instigation of an investigative consumer report. States that a person may not procure or cause to be prepared a consumer report on any consumer unless it is clearly and accurately disclosed to the consumer that such a report may be made. Entitles the consumer to a copy of such report. Provides that any consumer reporting agency which negligently or maliciously publishes any untrue statement or representation with respect to a consumer shall be liable to such consumer for: (1) actual damages, but not less than liquidated damages of $1,000; (2) punitive damages; and (3) a reasonable attorney's fee and other litigation costs reasonably incurred. Directs the President to establish a Board of Consumer Investigation Examiners. Provides that the Board shall promulgate such rules and procedures, as it deems necessary or appropriate in order to regulate the examining, licensing, and practices of individuals who investigate consumers for the purpose of preparing or aiding in the preparation of investigative consumer reports. Establishes procedures and guidelines for granting or revoking licenses granted individuals to prepare or aid in the preparation of investigative consumer reports. Provides for judicial review in an appropriate United States district court for any individual aggrieved by any final decision of the Board denying, revoking, or suspending a license. Makes it unlawful for any individual: (1) to investigate any consumer for the purpose of preparing or aiding in the preparation of any investigative consumer report without a license issued to such individual by the Board; or (2) to violate the terms of any license issued to him by the Board. Provides that any individual who violates the above paragraph shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both. Authorizes necessary appropriations to carry out the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1973
Requires the Secretary of Agriculture, under the Water Bank Act, to enter into agreement with landowners in important migratory waterfowl nesting and breeding areas for the conservation of water on specified farm, ranch, or other wetlands identified in a conservation plan developed in cooperation with the Soil and Water Conservation District in which the lands are located, under such rules and regulations as the Secretary may prescribe. (Amends 16 U.S.C. 1302)
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1973
Requires congressional authorization for the reinvolvement of American forces in further hostilities in Indochina. Provides that the provisions of this Act shall take effect sixty days after the agreement is signed in Paris on January 27, 1973, or upon the release of all United States prisioners of war held by the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and its allies and an accounting of United States personnel missing in action, or upon the enactment of the Act, whichever is later.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1973
Prisoner Rights Act - Prohibits the inhumane treatment of any person held under authority of any enactment of Congress. Requires the immediate discharge of any officer or employee of the United States who knowingly and willfully engages in such treatment. Defines the term "inhumane treatment" as meaning: (1) striking, whipping, or otherwise imposing physical pain upon a prisoner as a measure of punishment; (2) any use of physical force by an employee except that which may be necessary for self-defense, to prevent or stop assault by one prisoner upon another person, and for prevention of riot or escape; (3) sexual or other assaults; (4) any punitive or restrictive measure taken in retaliation for the assertion of rights; (5) any measure intended to degrade such person, including insults and verbal abuse; and (6) any invidiously discriminatory treatment based upon race, religion, nationality, or political beliefs. Sets forth restrictions upon the use of solitary confinement in facilities covered by this Act. Directs the Attorney General to establish a grievance procedure to which all persons covered by this Act shall have access. Directs the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to establish rules permitting attorneys of record, relatives, and friends to visit and talk in private with any person covered by this Act. Authorizes civil actions against the authorities of any penal institution or facility who prevent visits permitted under this Act. Provides that any penal institution or facility may be visited at any time by any Member of Congress or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to Congress. (Adds 18 U.S.C. 4012, 4013)
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1973
States that no device shall be used to abridge or deny the equal right of citizens whose primary language is other than English to vote in any election. Provides that whenever the Director of the Census, upon suggestion of the Attorney General, finds that over 7 percent of the voting age population residing in a particular State or political subdivision thereof are persons whose primary language is other than English, and that less than 50 percent of those persons so residing, though citizens, were registered to vote in the last election through which electors for President of the United States were chosen, the Attorney General may apply to the appropriate district court of the United States for orders: (1) that special Federal registrars who speak and understand the primary language of such citizens be appointed under the supervision of the Attorney General to facilitate the registration for voting by such citizens according to the lawful qualifications for voters established by the authority of the State in whose jurisdiction such citizens reside; and (2) that special Federal election officials who speak and understand the primary language of such citizens be appointed under the supervision of the Attorney General to facilitate the voting by such citizens in elections in such State or political subdivision thereof.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1973
Allows a deduction from gross income under the Internal Revenue Code, for social agency, legal, and related expenses incurred in connection with the adoption of a child by the taxpayer. (Amends 26 U.S.C. 219)
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1973
Community School Center Development Act - Declares the purpose of this Act to be to provide recreational, educational, and a variety of other community and social services through the establishment of a community school as a center for such activities in cooperation with other community groups. Title I: Community Education Center Grants - Authorizes the Commissioner of Education to make grants to institutions of higher education to develop and establish programs in community education which will train people as community school directors. Provides that each application to the Commissioner for such grants shall: (1) provide that the programs and activities for which assistance is sought will be administered by or under the supervision of the applicant; (2) describe the programs and activities for which assistance is sought; (3) set forth fiscal control and fund accounting procedures; and (4) provide for reports in such form and containing such information as the Commissioner may reasonably require. Authorizes to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of the title. Title II: Grants for Community Schools - Authorizes the Commissioner to make grants to local educational agencies for the establishment of new community school programs and the expansion of existing ones and for the training and salaries of community school directors as well as actual and administrative and operating expenses. Establishes standards for the apportionment of project grants available to each State. Provides that grants shall be made to the respective State educational agencies for payment to the appropriate local educational agencies. Authorizes to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of the title. Title III: Community School Promotion - Directs the Commissioner to accumulate and disseminate pertinent information to local communities, to appoint twenty-five teams of not more than four individuals each to assist communities contemplating the adoption of a community school program, and to establish a program of permanent liaison between the community school districts and the Commissioner. Establishes in the office of the Commissioner a Community Schools Advisory Council, the members to be appointed by the President for two-year terms. Directs the Commissioner to make available to the Council such information, staffs and other assistance as it may require to carry out its activities. Authorizes to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of the title. Title IV: Miscellaneous - Provides that nothing in this Act shall be construed to authorize any department or agency to exercise control over the curriculum, program of instruction, administration, or personnel of any educational institution or school system. Authorizes any State or local educational agency displeased with the Commissioner's final action with respect to the approval of applications to seek judicial review of the action in the United States Circuit Court of Appeals. Allows the Commissioner to delegate any of his functions under this Act, except the making of regulations, to any officer or employee of the Office of Education. Requires the Commissioner to transmit to the President and to the Congress annually a report of activities under this Act, including the name of each applicant and the number and amount of grants.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1973
Community School Center Development Act - Declares the purpose of this Act to be to provide recreational, educational, and a variety of other community and social services through the establishment of a community school as a center for such activities in cooperation with other community groups. Title I: Community Education Center Grants - Authorizes the Commissioner of Education to make grants to institutions of higher education to develop and establish programs in community education which will train people as community school directors. Provides that each application to the Commissioner for such grants shall: (1) provide that the programs and activities for which assistance is sought will be administered by or under the supervision of the applicant; (2) describe the programs and activities for which assistance is sought; (3) set forth fiscal control and fund accounting procedures; and (4) provide for reports in such form and containing such information as the Commissioner may reasonably require. Authorizes to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of the title. Title II: Grants for Community Schools - Authorizes the Commissioner to make grants to local educational agencies for the establishment of new community school programs and the expansion of existing ones and for the training and salaries of community school directors as well as actual and administrative and operating expenses. Establishes standards for the apportionment of project grants available to each State. Provides that grants shall be made to the respective State educational agencies for payment to the appropriate local educational agencies. Authorizes to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of the title. Title III: Community School Promotion - Directs the Commissioner to accumulate and disseminate pertinent information to local communities, to appoint twenty-five teams of not more than four individuals each to assist communities contemplating the adoption of a community school program, and to establish a program of permanent liaison between the community school districts and the Commissioner. Establishes in the office of the Commissioner a Community Schools Advisory Council, the members to be appointed by the President for two-year terms. Directs the Commissioner to make available to the Council such information, staffs and other assistance as it may require to carry out its activities. Authorizes to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of the title. Title IV: Miscellaneous - Provides that nothing in this Act shall be construed to authorize any department or agency to exercise control over the curriculum, program of instruction, administration, or personnel of any educational institution or school system. Authorizes any State or local educational agency displeased with the Commissioner's final action with respect to the approval of applications to seek judicial review of the action in the United States Circuit Court of Appeals. Allows the Commissioner to delegate any of his functions under this Act, except the making of regulations, to any officer or employee of the Office of Education. Requires the Commissioner to transmit to the President and to the Congress annually a report of activities under this Act, including the name of each applicant and the number and amount of grants.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1973
Permits persons who are aged, blind, or disabled and receiving assistance under title XVI of the Social Security Act (Aid and Medical Assistance to the Aged, Blind, and Disabled) to participate in specified food stamp and surplus commodities programs. (Repeals Sec. 411 of Pub. 92-603)
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1973
National Registration Rights Act - Establishes, within the Bureau of the Census, a National Voter Registration Administration. Directs the Administration to: (1) establish and operate a national voter registration program in accordance with the provisions of this Act; (2) collect, compile, and publish information concerning voter registration, voter participation, and election results; (3) compile, study, and publish copies and analyses of the various State registration and voting laws; (4) inform, cooperate with, and advise State and local registration and election officials concerning registration under the provisions of this Act; and (5) advise the President and the Congress with respect to voter registration and participation in elections throughout the United States, and make such recommendations for additional legislation as it deems appropriate for measures increasing voter registration and participation in elections and improving the election process. Authorizes the Administration to prepare and distribute forms for use by individuals wishing to register to vote. Provides for the distribution of such forms through the mails. Establishes guidelines for use by the States for Federal elections of registration through the National Voter Registration Program. Makes grants and other assistance available to States and local agencies for the cost of processing registration forms. Grants incentive awards to States that comply with standards for facilitating votes registration. Provides that, if any State, precinct, or district does not have 75 percent registration of those potentially eligible to vote in Federal elections within four years after the enactment of this title, the Administration shall (for Federal elections) further augment that area's voter registration so as to make reasonable efforts to achieve 85 percent registration. Requires each State to make provisions for the registration and voting in Federal elections for those of its eligible citizens who have writing, vision, or limb handicaps but who are otherwise eligible to register and vote. Provides that the Administration shall join with the States to make every effort to prevent fraudulent registration or voting by the careful processing of registration and voting records. Provides that whenever the Attorney General has reason to believe that a State or political subdivision is denying or attempting to deny any persons the right to vote in any election in violation of this Act, he shall institute for the United States a restraining order, a preliminary injunction, or such order as he deems appropriate. States that any person who deprives or attempts to deprive any other person of any right secured by this Act shall be fined not more than $5,000, or imprisoned not more than five years or both. Grants individuals standing to seek injunction or redress of grievances committed in violation of rights secured by this Act. Authorizes to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1973
Includes land located in any State or foreign country within the definition of subdivision for the purposes of the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act and defines the term interstate advertising for the purposes of the Act. Provides that a purchaser of a subdivision lot may revoke the contract for such purchase within 72 hours (formerly 48 hours) excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, where he received a property report less than 48 hours before he signed the contract. States that it shall be unlawful for any developer or agent to engage in interstate advertising. Provides that nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit any communication, not otherwise illegal, between a developer or agent and any person who has initiated negotiations regarding the purchase of a lot or any lots in a subdivision. States that it shall be unlawful to sell or lease any lot in any subdivision unless the developer or agent gives bond to assure the completion (in substantial conformity with the estimated schedule) of the improvements to be installed by the developer as required. Provides that the expenses of every investigation of the affairs of any developer, broker, agent, or other person or organization, including any appraisal of its real property or of any real property on which it holds a mortgage, made pursuant to the authority conferred by any provision of the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act, shall be borne and paid by the developer or other person or organization so investigated.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1973
Establishes procedures for determining an overall limit on appropriations for a fiscal year. Requires the President to notify within ten days each House of the Congress by special message of every instance in which he impounds funds or authorizes such impoundment by any officer of the United States. States that such message must specify the amount of impounded funds, the specific programs affected, and the reasons for the impoundment of funds. Provides that the President shall cease the impounding of funds set forth in each special message within sixty days of continuous session after the message is received by the Congress unless the specific impoundment shall have been ratified by the Congress by the passage of a resolution in States that four years after the enactment of this Act the fiscal year shall coincide with the calender year.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1973
Requires congressional authorization for the reinvolvement of American forces in further hostilities in Indochina. Provides that the provisions of this Act shall take effect sixty days after the agreement is signed in Paris on January 27, 1973, or upon the release of all United States prisioners of war held by the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and its allies and an accounting of United States personnel missing in action, or upon the enactment of the Act, whichever is later.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1973
Speedy Trial Act - Title I: Speedy Trial in United States Courts - Provides that the trial of a defendant charged with an offense against the United States shall be commenced within sixty days from the date the defendant is arrested or a summons is issued. Provides that certain necessary delays shall be excluded from the above provision, including periods resulting from defendants absence, the need for a competency hearing, the necessity for proper hearing and disposition of pretrial motions, and a continuance granted at the request of the defendant or the United States attorney upon a showing of good cause. Provides that if a defendant, through no fault of his own or his counsel, is not brought to trial as required by this Act, the information or indictment shall be dismissed on motion of the defendant or on the court's own motion. Provides for a delay of six months in the effective date of this Act for courts with extreme backlogs. Provides that the Supreme Court of the United States and the Advisory Committee on Criminal Rules shall review the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, and the United States Code, where relevant, and report to the Congress by December 30, 1973, on changes in the Federal Rules and the Code which will speed the time from arrest or charge to trial and retain the substantive protections guaranteed to individual defendants by the Constitution. Title II: Speedy Trial in State Courts - Provides that no State shall receive any funds under this title if the Administrator of the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration finds that such State has not adopted a rule of law that any trial arising out of any arrests, indictments, or informations shall be commenced within sixty days of the defendant's arrest or summons, or charge by indictment or information, whichever is earlier, and that, if such trial is not so commenced, the charges against the defendant arising out of such arrest, indictment, or information shall be dismissed with prejudice. Provides that, in the case of a State's inability to meet such requirements, the Administrator may grant an extension of the applicable date of the eligibility requirement, not to exceed a total of two additional years, if he finds that the State or locality has been making a good faith effort to comply with such requirements. Provides that the Administrator is authorized to establish model timetables, provide technical assistance, disseminate information, and generally aid States in planning to comply with the eligibility requirements of this Act. Authorizes to be appropriated $10,000,000 annually for such purpose. Title III: Pretrial Services Officers - Provides that any court having original jurisdiction to try offenses against the United States may appoint one or more suitable persons to serve as pretrial services officers who shall also serve as probation officers and shall have the full range of duties of probation officers. Provides that the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts shall have general supervisory powers over such pretrial services officers, including the duty to annually report on their effectiveness and to recommend necessary modification of the program.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1973
Appellate Review Reform Act - Title I: Appeal From Sentence In United States Courts - Allows a defendant to file an application with the clerk of the district court for leave to appeal from the district court to the court of appeals the sentence of imprisonment of one year or more or death in specified instances. States that in reviewing such application the court of appeals shall consider whether there is prima facie indication that the sentence imposed on the defendant is excessive, although within lawful limits. Provides that if the application for leave to appeal is denied by the court of appeals, the decision is final and not subject to further judicial review. Provides, that upon consideration of the appeal, the court of appeals may dismiss the appeal, affirm, reduce, modify, vacate, or set aside the sentence imposed, remand the cause and direct the entry of an appropriate sentence or direct such further proceedings to be had as may be required under the circumstances. States the defendant's sentence shall not be increased as a result of an appeal under this Act. Authorizes the Administration Office of the United States Courts, in exceptional cases, to make emergency payments to those circuits which require immediate funds to implement the provisions of this title without reducing the quality of justice in the circuit. Authorizes to be appropriated to carry out the provisions of this title not to exceed $1,000,000 for each fiscal year. Title II: Appeal From Sentence in State Courts - Declares that no State shall receive any funds under title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 if the Administrator of the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration finds that such State has not adopted a rule of law that takes effect no later than one year from the date of the enactment of this title and provides that any convicted person may appeal any sentence of imprisonment of one year or more or death in substantially the same manner and on substantially the same grounds as provided in title I of this Act with respect to appeals from Federal sentences. Provides that any State which claims an inability to meet this eligibility requirement may specify in writing to the Administrator the reasons for such inability and the appropriations, authorizations, and administrative changes necessary to meet such requirement. Authorizes the Administrator to grant an extension of the applicable date of the eligiblity requirement, not to exceed a total of one additional year, if he finds that the State or locality has been making a good faith effort to comply with such requirement. Provides that the Administrator may establish model timetables, provide technical assistance, disseminate information, and generally aid States in planning to comply with the eligibility requirement of this title.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1973
Authorizes each Member of the House of Representatives (including the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico and each Delegate to the House) to hire and pay not more than two additional student congressional interns (to serve as such within or outside the District of Columbia).
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1973
Requires States to pass along to individuals who are recipients of aid or assistance under the Federal-State public assistance programs or under specified other Federal programs, and who are entitled to social security benefits, the full amount of the 1972 increase in such benefits, either by disregarding it in determining their need for assistance or otherwise. Makes the same requirement with regard to Veterans' benefits and pensions.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1973
Provides that an individual may qualify for disability insurance benefits and the disability freeze under title II of the Social Security Act if he has enough quarters of coverage to be fully insured for old-age benefit purposes under such Act, regardless of when such quarters were earned.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1973
Abolishes the Committee on Internal Security of the House of Representatives. Enlarges the jurisdiction of the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives to include those activities involving sabotage and other overt acts affecting internal security.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1973
Provides that the discriminatory treatment and outright persecution of Jews by the Governments of Iraq and Syria should be condemned as religious persecution and as violating fundamental human rights. Makes it the sense of the Congress that the President should issue a public statement of United States policy condemning the treatment of the Jewish population of Iraq and Syria by their Governments. Makes it the sense of the Congress that the Attorney General should exercise his parole authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act to facilitate entry into the United States by Jewish citizens of Iraq and Syria fleeing persecution in such countries.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1973
Extends for three years (until July 1, 1975) the provisions under the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970, according full Federal payment of relocation and related costs for victims of Hurricane Agnes and other major disasters occuring between January 1, 1971, and July 1, 1973. (Amends 42 U.S.C. 4527)
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1973
Requires the advice and consent of the Senate for appointments to Director of the Office of Management and Budget under the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921. (Amends 31 U.S.C. 16)
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1973
Provides for military assistance for Laos and Vietnam only through the Foreign Assistance Act or the Foreign Military Sales Act after fiscal year 1973.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1973
National Legal Services Corporation Act - Declares that Congress should create a private, nonprofit corporation to encourage the availability of legal services and legal institutions to all citizens of the United States, free from extraneous interference and control. Establishes, under the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, a National Legal Services Corporation, subject to the corporate laws of the District of Columbia, which shall not be an agency or establishment of the Federal Government. Establishes an incorporating trusteeship composed of: (a) the President and President-elect of the American Bar Association; (b) the Presidents of the National Legal Aid and Defenders Association; (c) the President of the American Association of Law schools; (d) the President of the American Trial Lawyers Association; and (e) the President of the National Bar Association. Directs the trustees to, within sixty days after enactment, establish an eleven member Clients Advisory Council from among persons recommended by the Boards of Directors of existing Legal Services Programs and who are representative of the client community. Directs the trustees, additionally, to establish a Project Attorneys Advisory Council to assist in carrying out the purposes of this Act. Directs the Clients and Project Attorneys Advisory Council to select three representatives to serve on the Corporation's Board of Directors. Establishes a nineteen-member Board of Directors. Enumerates the method of appointment of the Directors and their terms of office. Authorizes the Board to establish a Clients Advisory Council and a Project Attorneys Advisory Council subsequent to the original Councils constituted by this Act. Provides that each Council shall be composed of eleven-members whose duty it shall be to advise the President on, respectively, the needs of the members of the client community and on general policy relating to the furnishing of legal services to that community. Prescribes the activities and powers of the Corporation, includes among those functions an authorization to: (1) provide financial assistance to programs furnishing legal services to the client community; (2) carry out programs, including research, training, technical assistance, and law school clinical assistance, to improve the provision of services to the client community; (3) increase opportunity for legal education for individuals who are economically disadvantaged or members of minority groups; (4) coordinate activities in various parts of the country through information collection and dissemination; (5) assist and coordinate all Federal programs for the provision of legal services to the client community by reviewing and making recommendations upon grants and contracts concerning legal services and proposed legislative or executive action; (6) assure that attorneys paid in whole or in part by funds from the Corporation owe the same duty to clients and enjoy the same protection from interference as if the attorney was directly employed by the client; (7) establish policies which assure the professional quality of the attorneys and adherence to the Canons of Ethics; and (8) establish eligibility standards for clients with first priority on those whose means are least adequate to obtain private legal services. Prohibits the Corporation from making contributions to or supporting any political party or candidate for public office. Assures full access to Corporation records pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act. Authorizes an annual audit by the General Accounting Office and requires the Comptroller General to make a report to Congress on any such audit. Prohibits Federal control over the Corporation or its employees. Provides for the orderly continuation of the existing Legal Services Program. Reserves and makes available to the Legal Services Corporation amounts, appropriated to the Office of Economic Opportunity for carrying out the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, not less than $80 million for fiscal year 1974, and $80 million for fiscal year 1975.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1973
Makes it the sense of the Congress that: (1) H. Con. Res. 108 of the Eighty-third Congress, declaring a congressional policy disavowing the responsibilities created by the trustee obligation of the United States to American Indians and Alaska Natives, is repealed as a policy of the Congress; (2) the integrity and right to continued existence of Indian tribes and Alaska Native governments are expressly confirmed; and (3) the American Indians and Alaska Natives and their governments are assured that the United States will continue to perform its trust responsibilities to them.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1973
Comprehensive Child Development Act - States that it is the purpose of this Act to provide a variety of quality child development and family services in order to assist parents who request such services in providing their children with an opportunity for a healthful and stimulating development, with priority to those preschool children and families with the greatest economic or social needs, in a manner designed to strengthen family life and to insure decisionmaking at the community level through a partnership of parents, State and local governments and the Federal Government, building upon the experience and success of Headstart and other existing programs. Authorizes to be appropriated to carry out this Act $2,000,000,000 for fiscal year 1975. Authorizes to be appropriated $150,000,000 for fiscal year 1974 for the purpose of providing training, technical assistance, planning, and such other activities as the Secretary deems necessary. Sets forth definitions of terms used in this Act. Title I: Headstart, Child Development and Family Services Programs - Provides that the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare shall provide financial assistance to prime sponsors and to other public and private nonprofit agencies and organizations for the purpose of carrying out child development and family service programs for children and their families, including comprehensive child development services and programs designed to meet individual needs of children, to assist children in attaining their full potential and to prepare them for school. Provides that the Secretary may designate as a prime sponsor for the purpose of entering into arrangements directly with the Secretary to carry out programs under this title within a State the following: (1) any State; (2) a unit of general local government or any combination of such units; (3) any Indian tribal organization; and (4) certain other public or private nonprofit agencies. Sets forth the requirements of a prime sponsorship plan for assistance under this Act, including provision for establishing and maintaining a child and family services council, and assurances that the Council will provide: (1) child-related family, social, and rehabilitative services; (2) coordination with educational agencies and providers of educational services; (3) health and mental health services; (4) nutrition services; (5) training of professional and paraprofessional personnel; and (6) where necessary, full-time administrative personnel to conduct the program. Provides for review in the courts of appeal of the United States of adverse determinations on applications for sponsorship under this title by the Secretary. Provides that each prime sponsor shall establish and maintain a Child and Family Services Council. Provides that at least one-third of the total membership of the Council shall be persons who are economically disadvantaged. Provides that financial assistance under this Act shall be provided to prime sponsors pursuant to a program statement, submitted by the prime sponsor. Sets forth standards for financial assistance under this title to be provided to a project applicant for any fiscal year. Authorizes additional assistance under this title to a State for services under this title upon a determination by the Secretary that there is an adequate agreement between State and local prime sponsors for maximum coordination of child development and family services within the State. Authorizes assistance to educational agencies and institutions in cooperation with other project applicants pursuant to program statements for the purpose of planning, carrying out, and evaluating cooperative programs and activities designed to provide continuity between preschool programs, after-school programs and educational and related programs conducted by such agencies and institutions, and to maximize community involvement in child development and family services programs. Provides a formula for the allocation of funds authorized to be appropriated under this Act. Provides that applications for financial assistance for projects including construction or acquisition may be approved only if the Secretary determines that construction or acquisition of such facilities is essential to the provision of adequate child care services, and that rental, lease, or lease-purchase, remodeling, or renovation of adequate facilities is not practicable. Provides that the Secretary shall pay an amount not in excess of 90 percent of the cost of carrying out programs, services, and activities under this title. Provides that the Secretary shall pay an amount equal to 100 percent of the costs of providing child development and family services programs for children of migrant agricultural workers and their families under this title, and for children in Indian tribal organizations under this title. Title II: Training, Technical Assistance, Planning, and Evaluation - Authorizes the Secretary to provide financial assistance to enable individuals employed or preparing for employment in child development and family services programs assisted under this Act, including volunteers, to participate in programs of preservice or inservice training for professional and nonprofessional personnel, to be conducted by public or private nonprofit organizations including institutions of higher education, State and local child development and family service agencies, State and local educational agencies, agencies carrying out child development and family service programs, organizations engaged in teacher training, teacher training institutions, national child development and family service organizations. Authorizes the Secretary to make technical assistance available to prime sponsors and to project applicants participating or seeking to participate in programs assisted under this Act on a continuing basis, to assist them in planning, developing, and carrying out child development and family services programs. Title III: Supportive Services and Special Activities - Authorizes the Secretary to make an evaluation of Federal involvement in activities and services for children and families. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out a program of research and demonstration projects. Authorizes the Secretary to provide financial assistance for the purpose of establishing and operating child care programs for the children of employees of the Federal Government. Provides that, within six months after the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall promulgate a common set of program standards which shall be applicable to all programs providing child development and family services under this Act. Directs the Secretary to appoint a Special Committee on Federal Standards for Child Development and Family Services to advise him on the formulation of such standards. Directs the Secretary to appoint a special committee to develop a uniform minimum code for facilities, to be used in licensing child development and family services facilities receiving assistance under this Act or in which programs receiving assistance under this Act are operated. Authorizes the Secretary to provide mortgage insurance for child development facilities under this Act on mortgages not exceeding $250,000. Directs the Secretary to establish an office of Child Development in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to coordinate child development and family service programs under his jurisdiction. Establishes a Child Development Research Council consisting of representatives of various agencies to assure coordination of child development and related family service activities under their respective jurisdictions. Authorizes the Secretary to withhold payments under this Act for failure to comply with certain requirements of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1973
Act for Freedom of Emigration in East-West Trade - States that after October 15, 1972, products from any nonmarket economy country shall not be eligible to receive most-favored-nation treatment, such country shall not participate in any program of the Government of the United States which extends credits or credit guarantees or investment guarantees, directly or indirectly, and the President of the United States shall not conclude any commercial agreement with any such country during the period beginning with the date on which the President determines that such country: (1) denies its citizens the right or opportunity to emigrate; (2) imposes more than a nominal tax on emigration or on the visas or other documents required for emigration, for any purpose or cause whatsoever; or (3) imposes more than a nominal tax, levy, fine, fee, or other charge on any citizen as a consequence of the desire of such citizen to emigrate to the country of his choice. Provides that, before any of the aforementioned commercial agreements are entered into with any foreign country, the President shall submit to the Congress a report indicating that such country is not in violation of any of the requirements of the preceding paragraph.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1973
Midwest States Fuel Oil Act - Title I: - Sets forth the Congressional findings that: (1) a major cause of inadequate supplies of home heating oil in the upper Midwest States is the limitation on imports of petroleum and petroleum products established by Presidential Proclamation 3279, as amended (the oil import program); and (2) the special supply and demand problems relating to home heating oil in the Midwest States requires creation of a separate import control system for that area. Defines Midwest States as North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Provides that after the effective date of this Act, no quantitative limitations or other import restrictions shall be imposed on the importation of home heating oil into the Midwest States. Title II: - Makes provisions for the duty-free entry into the United States of specified petroleum products. Title III: - Authorizes the Secretary of State to enter into negotiations with the Government of Canada for establishment of a "northcentral regional oil area" consisting of central Canada and Midwest States, and intended to eliminate all restrictions on trade in petroleum and petroleum products between the United States and Canada so as to provide furnished petroleum products at a reasonable cost, consistent with the national security. Requires an annual report to the Congress on the progress and results of such negotiations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1973
Provides, under the Rural Electrification Act, that the Administrator of the Rural Electrification Administration is directed (presently "empowered") to fully obligate funds made available for each fiscal year for rural electrification programs provided for in such Act. (Amends 7 U.S.C. 901, 902, 904, 922)
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1973
Provides for the preservation of historical and archeological data. Extends coverage to all Federal and federally assisted or licensed programs which alter the terrain and potentially cause loss of scientific, prehistorical, historical or archeological data. Directs Federal agencies to notify the Secretary of the Interior if in their operations archeological or other scientific data is revealed or threatened. Provides that whenever any Federal agency finds or is made aware by a responsible authority that its operations in connection with any Federal, federally assisted, or federally licensed activity or program affects or may affect adversely significant scientific, prehistorical, historical, or archeological data, such agency may request the Secretary to undertake protection measures, or may itself expend program or activity funds for the recovery, protection, and preservation of such data (including preliminary survey, analysis, and publication) and shall provide the Secretary with appropriate information concerning the project and the investigation. Provides that the Secretary shall keep the responsible agency notified at all times of the progress of any survey or other investigation made under this Act, or of any work undertaken as a result of such survey, in order that there will be as little disruption or delay as possible in the carrying out of the functions of such agency. Provides that the Secretary in the administration of this Act shall: (1) accept and utilize funds transferred to him by any Federal agency; (2) enter into contracts or make cooperative agreements with any Federal or State agency, any educational or scientific organization, or any institution, corporation, association, or qualified individual; (3) obtain the services of experts and consultants or organizations thereof; and (4) accept and utilize funds made available for salvage archeological purposes by any private person or corporation. Authorizes such appropriations as necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1973
Authorizes appropriations for construction of facilities and equipment for public mass transportation projects, including preferential bus lanes, highway traffic loading and parking facilities, construction of fixed rail facilities, and the purchase of passenger equipment, including rolling stock for fixed rail. (Amends 23 U.S.C. 142(b))
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1973
Authorizes each Member of the House of Representatives and the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico and the Delegates from the District of Columbia, Guam, and the Virgin Islands to hire for two weeks, during the period May 1 to May 31, inclusive, each year, two additional employees to be known as "senior citizen interns" who will serve as such within the District of Columbia. Provides that no person shall be paid compensation as a senior citizen intern who does not have on file with the Clerk of the House of Representatives, at all times during the period of employment, a certificate that such intern is sixty-five years of age or older and a resident of the district which the employing Member or Commissioner or Delegate represents.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1973
Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to make payments, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to any citizen of the United States or any individual who has been admitted to the United States for permanent residence who establishes to the satisfaction of the Director of the Office of Emergency Preparedness that he suffered a physical injury that is directly attributable to the explosions of either of the two atomic bombs dropped by the United States on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in August 1945 or to the radioactive fallout from such explosions.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1973
Authorizes the Commissioner of Education to make grants during the period beginning with the date of enactment of this Act, and ending June 30, 1977, to the Deganawidah-Quetzalcoatl University to be used for its development and improvement. States that such grants shall be subject to such terms and conditions as the Commissioner may prescribe. Authorizes to be appropriated $35,000,000 in the aggregate for making grants under this Act during the period ending June 30, 1977.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1973
Congressional Spending Power Act - Prohibits the President from impounding any funds appropriated by law unless he transmits to both the House of Representatives and the Senate a special message specifying: the amount of funds to be impounded; the specific projects affected thereby; and the reason for the impounding of such funds. Requires the Congress to approve or consider the specific impounding of funds within sixty calendar days of continuous session after the special message is received by the Congress or the impounding of funds shall be deemed to have been refused. Specifies procedures for the consideration by the Congress of the President's special message.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1973
Provides that, notwithstanding any other provision of law or any other regulation, no State shall receive a lesser allocation of water pollution control funds in fiscal year 1973 or fiscal year 1974 than it received in fiscal year 1972.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1973
Provides, under title XVIII (Medicare) and title II (Old-Age, Survivors' and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act, that qualified drugs requiring a physicians prescription or certification shall be included among the items and services covered under the hospital insurance program for the aged at a specified amount of payment. Establishes, within the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, a Formulary Committee to compile and publish a Formulary listing the drugs deemed qualified for benefits under this Act, together with maximum allowable costs and additional information concerning such drugs. Makes provisions for selecting drugs for the Formulary.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1973
Removes the percentage limitations on the amount of urban mass transportation grant assistance which may be available in any one State under the Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964. (Repeals 49 U.S.C. 1611)
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1973
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the level of supplies of home heating oil has not been adequate to meet the needs of homes across the Nation; and (2) the major cause of the inadequate supply of such oil is the limitation on imports of petroleum and petroleum products. Provides that beginning on the date of enactment of this resolution, such limitation shall not apply to the importation of crude oil or number 2 fuel oil (home heating oil) until the ninety-first day after the date of enactment of this resolution (in the case of crude oil) or April 1, 1974 (in the case of number 2 fuel oil).
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1973
Consumer Protection Agency Act - Title I: Office of Consumer Affairs - Creates an Office of Consumer Affairs within the Executive Office of the President. Provides that the office shall be headed by a Director and a Deputy Director, both of whom shall be appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Gives the Director powers to carry out the provisions of this Act. Requires the Director to transmit to Congress and the President in January of each year a report of the activities of the Office during the preceding year including a summary of consumer complaints and recommendations for additional legislation deemed necessary to protect the interests of U.S. consumers. Provides that it shall be the function of the Office to: (1) coordinate the programs and activities of all Federal agencies relating to the interests of consumers in order to achieve effectiveness, avoid duplications and inconsistencies, and to promote the purposes of this title; (2) encourage and assist in the development and implementation of consumer programs and activities in the Federal Government; (3) assure that the interests of consumers are taken into consideration by appropriate Federal agencies both in the formulation of policies with respect to consumers and in the operation of programs that may affect consumer interests; (4) cooperate with and, when requested, provide assistance to the Administrator of the Consumer Protection Agency in carrying out its functions under title II of this Act; (5) advise and make recommendations to all Federal agencies with respect to general policy matters concerning the effectiveness of programs and activities relating to the interests of consumers; (6) submit recommendations to the Congress and the President on the means by which programs and activities relating to the interests of consumers can be improved; (7) conduct conferences and surveys concerning the needs, interests, and problems of consumers which are not duplicative in significant degree to similar activities conducted by other Federal agencies; (8) encourage, initiate, coordinate, and participate in consumer education and counseling programs (including credit counseling); (9) cooperate with and give technical assistance to State and local governments in the promotion and protection of consumer interests; (10) cooperate with and assist private enterprise in the promotion and protection of consumer interests; (11) publish and distribute in a Consumer Register material which will include notice of Federal hearings, proposed and final rules and orders, and other useful information, translated from its technical form into language which is understandable by the public; and (12) keep the appropriate committees of the Congress fully and currently informed of all its activities. Title II: Consumer Protection Agency - Establishes as an independent agency within the executive branch of the Government the Consumer Protection Agency, headed by an Administrator and a Deputy Administrator, both of whom shall be appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Gives the Agency powers to carry out the objective of this Act. States that the functions of the Agency shall be to: (1) represent the interests of consumers before Federal agencies and courts to the extent authorized by this title; (2) encourage and support research, studies, and testing leading to a better understanding of consumer products and improved products, services, and consumer information; (3) submit recommendations annually to the Congress and the President on measures to improve the operation of the Federal Government in the protection and promotion of the consumer interest; (4) publish and distribute material developed pursuant to carrying out its responsibilities under this Act which will inform consumers of matters of interest to them; (5) conduct conferences, surveys, and investigations, including economic surveys, concerning the needs, interests, and problems of consumers which are not duplicative in significant degree to similar activities conducted by other Federal agencies; (6) keep the appropriate committees of Congress fully and currently informed of all its activities; and (7) cooperate with and, when requested, provide assistance to the Director of the Office in the carrying out of his functions.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1973
Comprehensive Older Americans Services Amendments - Title I: Declaration of Objectives - States that the general purpose of this Act is to make available comprehensive health, education, and social service programs to our older citizens. Title II: Administration on Aging - Declares that the Commissioner on Aging shall be the principal officer of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare for carrying out this Act. Establishes within the Administration on Aging a National Information and Resource Center for the Aging to collect, review, organize, publish, and disseminate information and data related to the particular problems caused by aging, including information describing measures which are or may be employed for meeting such problems. Establishes the National Advisory Council on the Aging designated to advise and assist the President as he may direct on matters relating to the special needs of Older Americans; to assist the Commissioner on Aging in carrying out his functions under this Act; to review and evaluate programs of the Federal Government with emphasis on identifying unsolved problems of older Americans; and to make recommendations to the President, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, the Commissioner, and Congress for the establishment of new programs for the aged. Provides that not later than one hundred and twenty days after the close of each fiscal year, the Secretary shall prepare and submit to the President for transmittal to the Congress a complete report on the activities carried out under this Act. Title III: Grants for State and Area Programs - Prescribes standards and procedures for the establishment by the several States of State and area social service programs in order to develop a greater capacity and foster development of comprehensive systems to serve older persons. Provides that the Commissioner shall not finally disapprove any State plan, or any modification thereof, without first affording the State reasonable notice and opportunity for a hearing. Authorizes appropriations of $12,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, and $15,000,000 for fiscal years 1974 and 1975 for grants to States for paying such percentage as each State agency determines, but not more than 75 percent of the cost of administering the State plan. Title IV: Training and Research - Directs the Commissioner to make grants to State agencies and educational institutions for the purpose of: (1) publicizing available opportunities for careers in the field of aging; (2) encouraging qualified persons to enter or re-enter the field of aging; (3) encouraging persons from other professions to undertake assignments on a parttime basis in the field of aging; and (4) assisting in covering the cost of courses of training or study. Authorizes the Commissioner to make grants for the purpose of establishing multidisciplinary centers of gerontology to recruit and train personnel; conduct basic research on the problem of the aged; provide consultation to public and voluntary organizations; and create opportunities for research projects with respect to aging. Authorizes appropriations of $15,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $20,000,000 for fiscal year 1974 and $25,000,000 for fiscal year 1975, for the purposes of attracting personnel to and training personnel in the field of aging. Authorizes appropriations of $20,000,000 for the fiscal year 1973, $30,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $40,000,000 for fiscal year 1975, for establishing multidisciplinary centers or gerontology. Title V: Multipurpose Senior Centers - Authorizes the Commissioner to make grants to units of general purpose local government or other public or nonprofit private agencies to pay not to exceed 75 percent of the cost of leasing, altering, or renovating existing facilities to serve as multipurpose senior centers. Establishes standards to be followed by the Commissioner in making such grants and authorizes appropriations of $35,000,000 annually for fiscal years 1973-1975 to carry out the provisions of this section. Creates a Multipurpose Senior Center Insurance Fund to be adminstered by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to insure mortgages on multipurpose senior centers. Authorizes appropriations of $10,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, and for each of the next two succeeding fiscal years for the purpose of making grants to meet the costs of compensation of professional and technical personnel for the initial operation of multipurpose senior centers. Title VI: National Older Americans Volunteer Program - Provides that no compensation paid to individual volunteers under the Retired Senior Volunteer Program under the Older Americans Act shall be considered income for any purposes. Provides continuing appropriations for such program in the amount of $20,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $30,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $40,000,000 for fiscal year 1975. Authorizes appropriations of $35,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $45,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $55,000,000 for fiscal year 1975, for the continuation of the Foster Grandparent Program under the Older Americans Act. Title VII: Nutrition Programs - Provides under the Older Americans Act of 1965 that the Secretary of Agriculture and the Commodity Credit Corporation may donate specified products acquired by them to a recipient of a grant or contract for providing nutritional services for the elderly. Title VIII: Special Impact Programs - Authorizes the Commissioner to make grants to public or nonprofit private agencies for payment of part of the cost of any program designed to: (1) assist in meeting in special housing needs of older persons; (2) improve the transportation services available to older persons; (3) meet the needs of unemployed low-income older persons; (4) provide continuing education to older persons; and (5) provide retirement education and information to persons planning retirement. Authorizes appropriations of $50,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $75,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $100,000,000 for fiscal year 1975, for providing assistance under this title. Title IX: Amendments to other Acts - Authorizes the Commissioner to make grants to States which have submitted a long-range program and an annual program for library services for older persons. Specifies that the Commissioner is authorized to make grants to institutions of higher education to assist such institutions in planning, developing, and carrying out programs specifically designed to apply the resources of higher education to the problems of the elderly. Directs the Commissioner to make grants to State and local educational agencies or other public or private nonprofit agencies for educational programs for elderly persons whose ability to speak and read the English language is limited and who live in an area with a culture different from their own. (Amends 42 U.S.C. 3001,3011(b); 42 U.S.C. 3012(3), (4); 42 U.S.C. 3044; 42 U.S.C. 3044a, 3044b; Amends 20 U.S.C. 354, 355, 355nts; 20 U.S.C. 1504(a) (2); 20 U.S.C. 1505(a); 20 U.S.C. 1078; 20 U.S.C. 1209, 1210, 1211; 20 U.S.C. 954)
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1973
Vietnam War Ecological Assessment Act - Directs the President to arrange with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a study and investigation to assess the extent of the damage done to the environment of South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia as the result of the operations of the Armed Forces of the United States in such countries and to determine plans for effectively rectifying such damage. Authorizes the appropriation of up to $10,000,000 for the purpose of carrying out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1973
Consumer Protection Act - Title I: Office of Consumer Affairs - Creates an Office of Consumer Affairs, within the Executive Office of the President, to coordinate Federal consumer protection activities, serve as a clearinghouse for complaints, and publish Government consumer information. Provides that the office shall be headed by a Director appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, and gives the Director powers to carry out the objectives of this Act. Requires the Director to transmit to the Congress and the President an annual report of the activities of the office during the preceding year including a summary of complaints and the need for additional legislation to protect the interest of the U.S. consumer. Provides that it shall be the function of the office to: (1) coordinate the programs and activities of all Federal agencies relating to the interests of consumers in order to achieve effectiveness and avoid duplications and inconsistencies; (2) encourage and assist in the development and implementation of consumer programs and activities in the Federal Government; (3) assure that the interests of consumers are taken into consideration by appropriate Federal agencies both in the formulation of policies with respect to consumers and in the operation of programs that may effect consumer interests; (4) cooperate with and, when requested, provide assistance to the Administrator of the Consumer Protection Agency; (5) advise and make recommendations to all Federal agencies with respect to general policy matters concerning the effectiveness of programs and activities relating to the interests of consumers; (6) submit recommendations to the Congress and the President on the means by which programs and activities relating to the interests of consumers can be improved; (7) conduct conferences, surveys, and investigations concerning the needs, interests, and problems of consumers which are not duplicative in significant degree to similar activities conducted by other Federal agencies; (8) encourage, initiate, coordinate, and participate in consumer education and counseling programs (including credit counseling); (9) encourage, report, and coordinate research and studies leading to improved products, services, and consumer information; (10) cooperate with and give technical assistance to State and local governments in the promotion and protection of consumer interests, including programs relating to the arbitration of disputes between consumers and businessmen and producers; (11) cooperate with and assist private enterprise in the promotion and protection of consumer interests; (12) publish and distribute in a Consumer Register material which will include notices of Federal hearings, proposed and final rules and orders, and other useful information, translated from its technical form into language which is understandable by the public; and (13) keep the appropriate committees of the Congress fully and currently informed of all its activities, except that this paragraph is not authority to withhold information requested by individual Members of Congress. Title II: Consumer Protection Agency - Establishes as an independent agency within the executive branch of the Government the Consumer Protection Agency, headed by an Administrator appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, to advise the Congress and the President as to matters concerning consumer interests and to protect the interest of consumers. Gives the Agency powers to carry out the objectives of this Act and sets out specific functions for the Agency. Asserts that the functions of the Agency shall be to: (1) represent the interests of consumers in proceedings before Federal agencies and courts; (2) encourage and support research, studies and testing leading to a better understanding of consumer products and to improved products, services, and consumer information; (3) submit recommendations annually to the Congress and the President on measures to improve the operation of the Federal Government in the protection and promotion of the consumer interests; (4) publish and distribute material developed pursuant to carrying out its responsibilities which will inform consumers of matters of interests to them; (5) conduct conferences, surveys, and investigations, including economic surveys, concerning the needs, interests, and problems of consumers which are not duplicative in significant degree to similar activities conducted by other Federal agencies; (6) keep the appropriate committees of Congress fully and currently informed of all its activities, except that this paragraph is not authority to withhold information requested by individual Members of Congress; and (7) cooperate with and, when requested, provide assistance to the Director of the Office in the carrying out of his functions. Allows the Agency to intervene and represent the interests of consumers in Federal agencies investigations or hearings where the interests of such consumers would not otherwise be adequately protected. Authorizes the Agency to intervene as a party in a proceeding in a court of the United States involving the review of Federal agency action in a rulemaking proceeding in which the Agency had participated in or an adjudicatory proceeding in which the Agency had intervened, and to the extent that a right of judicial review is otherwise accorded by law. Authorizes the Agency to institute a proceeding in a competent court of the United States to secure such a review. Authorizes the Administrator to request the Federal Agency concerned to initiate such proceedings or to take such other action as may be authorized by law with respect to such agency, when the Administrator determines it to be in the interests of consumers. Authorizes the Office of Consumer Affairs and the Agency to receive information disclosing a probable violation of any law, administrative order, Federal judgment, or other trade practice affecting consumer interests and to take action to prohibit any further violation. Requires the Agency and Office to develop and disseminate data concerning the function and duties of the Agency and Office, consumer problems, and trade practices detrimental to the interests of consumers. Authorizes the Agency to encourage and support development and application of methods and techniques for testing consumer products, to recommend to other Federal agencies with respect to such information within their authority which would be useful and beneficial to consumers, and to investigate and report to Congress on the feasibility of establishing a National Consumer Information Foundation. Authorizes the Agency to conduct studies and investigations of the scope and adequacy of measures employed to protect consumers against unreasonable risk of injuries which may be caused by hazardous household products. Provides for limitations on disclosures to the public of information collected by any instrumentality created by or under this Act. Title III: Consumer Advisory Council; Protection of Consumer Interest In Administrative Proceedings; Miscellaneous Amendments - Establishes a Consumer Advisory Council consisting of 15 members to advise the Director and Administrator on matters concerning consumer interests and to review the effectiveness of Federal programs relating to consumer interest. Requires every Federal agency taking any action affecting consumer interests to provide notice of such action to the Office or Agency and to take action to consider the interests of consumers. Authorizes necessary appropriations to carry out the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1973
Rehabilitation Act - Declares that it is the purpose of this Act to provide a statutory basis for the Rehabilitation Service Administration and to establish within the Department of Health, Education and Welfare an Office for the Handicapped, and to authorize specified programs. Establishes within the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare a Rehabilitation Services Administration which shall be administered by a Commissioner. Provides that the Commissioner shall carry out and administer all programs and direct the performance of all services for which authority is provided to the Secretary of H.E.W. under titles I through IV of this Act. Creates within such administration a Division of Research, Training and Evaluation which shall be responsible for carrying out programs and projects under title IV of this Act. Authorizes the inclusion of appropriations under this Act in appropriations for the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which they are available for obligation. Provides that where funds are provided for a single project by more than one Federal agency to an agency or organization assisted under this Act, the Federal agency principally involved may be designated to act for all in administering such funds, pursuant to regulations prescribed by the President. Sets forth definitions of terms used in this Act. Title I: Vocational Rehabilitation Services - States it to be the purpose of this title to authorize grants to assist States to meet the current and future needs of handicapped individuals, so that such individuals may prepare for and engage in gainful employment to the extent of their capabilities. Authorizes to be appropriated $800,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, and $975,000,000 for fiscal year 1974 for the purpose of making grants to States to assist them in meeting the costs of vocational rehabilitation services. Authorizes to be appropriated $50,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $60,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $75,000,000 for fiscal year 1975, for the purpose of making grants to States and public and nonprofit agencies to assist them in meeting the costs of projects to initiate or expand services to handicapped individuals. Sets forth the requirements of State plans to be submitted and approved for participation in programs under this title and under title II of this Act. Authorizes judicial review in United States district courts of decisions by the Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration affecting State plans. Provides that the Commissioner shall insure that the individualized written rehabilitation program required in a State plan in the case of each handicapped individual shall be developed jointly by the vocational rehabilitation counselor or coordinator and the handicapped individual. Defines vocational rehabilitation services provided under this Act as any goods or services necessary to render a handicapped individual employable, including, but not limited to, the following: (1) evaluation of rehabilitation potential; (2) counseling, guidance, referral, and placement services for handicapped individuals; (3) vocational and other training services for handicapped individuals; (4) physical and mental restoration services; (5) maintenance, not exceeding the estimated cost of subsistence, during rehabilitation; (6) interpreter services for the deaf, and reader services for the blind; (7) recruitment and training services for handicapped individuals; (8) rehabilitation teaching services and orientation and mobility services for the blind; (9) occupational licenses, tools, equipment, and initial stocks and supplies; (10) transportation in connection with the rendering of any vocational rehabilitation services; and (11) telecommunications, sensory, and other technological aids and devices. Provides a formula for the allotment and payment of funds to States for providing rehabilitation services under this title. Directs the Commissioner to establish offices in ten to twenty geographically dispersed regions for client assistance pilot projects to provide counselors to inform and advise all clients and client applicants in the project area of all available benefits under this Act and to assist them in their relationships with projects, programs, and facilities providing services to them under this Act. Directs the Commissioner to pay to a State or, at the option of the State, to a public or nonprofit organization or agency a portion of the cost of planning, preparing for, and initiating special programs under the State plan to expand vocational rehabilitation services. Title II: Comprehensive Rehabilitation Services - States it to be the purpose of this title to authorize grants to assist the several States in developing and implementing continuing plans for meeting the current and future needs of handicapped individuals for whom a vocational goal is not possible or feasible authorizes to be appropriated $30,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $50,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $80,000,000 for fiscal year 1975 for grants to carry out the purposes of this title. Specifies the formula to be utilized in alloting such funds to the States. Directs the Commissioner to make grants to States and public and nonprofit agencies or organizations to pay part of the cost of projects for research and demonstration and training which hold promise of making a substantial contribution to the solution of problems related to the rehabilitation of individuals under this title. Title III: Special Federal Responsibilities Authorizes the Commissioner to make grants and contracts to assist in meeting the costs of construction of public or nonprofit rehabilitation facilities, initial staffing, and planning assistance. Authorizes to be appropriated for such grants and contracts $35,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $40,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $45,000,000 for fiscal year 1975. Authorizes the Commissioner to make grants to States and public or nonprofit organizations and agencies to pay up to 90 percent of the cost of projects for providing vocational training services to handicapped individuals, especially those with the most severe handicaps, in public or nonprofit rehabilitation facilities. Authorizes to be appropriated for such grants and contracts $30,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $35,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $40,000,000 for fiscal year 1975. Authorizes the Commissioner to insure up to 100 percent of any mortgage on the construction of facilities for programs for handicapped individuals. Creates a Rehabilitation Facilities Insurance Fund to be used by the Commissioner as a revolving fund for carrying out the insurance provisions of this part. Provides that the total amount of outstanding mortgages shall not exceed $250,000,000. Authorizes to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for initial capital for such Fund. Authorizes the Commissioner to make annual interest grants to assist States and public or nonprofit agencies and organizations to reduce the cost of borrowing from other sources for the construction of rehabilitation facilities. Authorizes to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for the payment of annual interest grants in accordance with this part. Authorizes the Commissioner to make grants to States and public or nonprofit agencies and organizations for paying part of the cost of special projects and demonstrations: (1) for establishing facilities and providing services which hold promise of expanding or otherwise improving rehabilitation services to handicapped individuals, especially those with the most severe handicaps; and (2) for applying new types or patterns of service or devices. Allows the Commissioner to make grants to pay up to 90 percent of the cost of projects or demonstrations for the provision of vocational or comprehensive rehabilitation services to handicappped individuals who are migratory agricultural workers or seasonal farmworkers, and to members of their families who are with them. Provides that the Commissioner may make contracts or jointly finance cooperative arrangements with employers and organizations for the establishment of projects designed to prepare handicapped individuals for gainful and suitable employment in the competitive labor market under which such handicapped individuals are provided training and employment in a realistic work setting and such other services as may be necessary for such individuals to continue to engage in such employment. Authorizes the Commissioner to provide technical assistance to rehabilitation facilities, and for the purpose of removal of architectural and transportation barriers, to any public or nonprofit agency, institution, organization or facility. Authorizes to be appropriated, for the purpose of making grants under this part, $50,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $125,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $150,000,000 for fiscal year 1975. Authorizes to be appropriated $5,000,000 for construction, $800,000 for operations for fiscal year 1973, $1,200,000 for operations for fiscal year 1974, and $2,000,000 for operations for fiscal year 1975, for establishing and operating a National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults. Authorizes to be appropriated $2,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $4,000,000 for fiscal 1974, and $7,000,000 for fiscal year 1975 and for making grants and contracts for the expansion and improvement of vocational or comprehensive rehabilitation services for deaf and blind individuals. Authorizes to be appropriated, for the purpose of establishing and operating National Centers for Spinal Cord Injuries, $15,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $25,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $30,000,000 for fiscal year 1975. Authorizes to be appropriated, for providing services for the treatment of individuals suffering from end-stage renal disease, $25,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $25,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $25,000,000 for fiscal year 1975. Establishes a National Advisory Council on Rehabilitation of Handicapped Individuals in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to: (1) provide policy advice and consultation to the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, and the Commissioner; (2) review the administration and operation of vocational rehabilitation programs under this Act; and (3) advise the Secretary and the Commissioner with respect to the conduct of independent evaluations of programs carried out under this Act. Authorizes appropriations of $100,000 for fiscal year 1973 and $150,000 for each of fiscal years 1974 and 1975 to carry out the functions of the Council. Title IV: Research and Training - Authorizes the Commissioner to make grants to and contracts with States and public or nonprofit agencies and organizations to pay part of the cost of projects for the purpose of planning and conducting research, demonstrations, and related activities, which bear directly on the development of methods, procedures, and devices to assist in the provision of vocational and comprehensive rehabilitation services to handicapped individuals, especially those with the most severe handicaps. Authorizes to be appropriated for such research activities $75,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $100,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $150,000,000 for fiscal year 1975. Authorizes the Commissioner to make grants to and contracts with States and public and nonprofit agencies and organizations to pay part of the cost of projects for training, traineeships, and related activities designed to assist in increasing the numbers of personnel trained in providing vocational and comprehensive rehabilitation services to handicapped individuals and in performing other functions necessary to the development of such services. Authorizes to be appropriated for such training grants $50,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $75,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $100,000,000 for fiscal year 1975. Title V: Administration and Program and Project Evaluation - Provides that, in carrying out his duties under this Act, the Commissioner shall: (1) cooperate with, and render technical assistance to States in matters relating to the rehabilitation of handicapped individuals; (2) provide short-term training and instruction in technical matters relating to vocational and comprehensive rehabilitation services; and (3) disseminate information relating to vocational and comprehensive rehabilitation services, and otherwise promote the cause of the rehabilitation of handicapped individuals and their greater utilization in gainful and suitable employment. Directs the Secretary to measure and evaluate the impact of all programs authorized by this Act. Title VI: Office for the Handicapped - Establishes an Office for the Handicapped in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to: (1) prepare a long-range projection for the provisions of comprehensive services to handicapped individuals; (2) analyze program operations; (3) encourage coordinated and cooperative planning; (4) provide assistance to other committees advising the Secretary; (5) develop means of promoting scientific research to bring about the full integration of handicapped individuals into all aspects of society; and (6) provide a central clearinghouse for information and resource availability for handicapped individuals. Authorizes to be appropriated for purposes of this title $1,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $2,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $2,000,000 for fiscal year 1975. Title VII: Miscellaneous - Provides that the Vocational Rehabilitation Act is repealed ninety days after the date of enactment of this Act. Establishes an Interagency Committee on Handicapped Employees to insure the adequacy of hiring, placement, and advancement practices with respect to handicapped individuals by each department, agency, and instrumentality of the executive branch of Government. Establishes a National Commission on Transportation and Housing for Handicapped Individuals to identify and eliminate transportation barriers that impede the mobility of handicapped individuals and aged handicapped individuals, and to prepare plans and proposals for such further action as may be necessary to the goals of adequate transportation and housing for handicapped individuals. Establishes an Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board to investigate and examine alternative approaches to the architectural, transportation, and attitudinal barriers confronting handicapped individuals. Authorizes appropriations of $1,000,000 for fiscal year 1973; $1,250,000 for fiscal year 1974; and $1,500,000 for fiscal year 1975 to carry out the duties and functions of the Board.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1973
Provides that a person connected with or employed by the news media or press, or who is independently engaged in gathering information for publication or broadcast, shall not be required to disclose before the Congress or any Federal court, grand jury, or administrative entity any information, written or oral, or pictorial material or the source of that information or material procured for publication or broadcast. Provides that the above provisions shall not apply with respect to the source of any allegedly defamatory information in any case where the defendant in a civil action for defamation asserts a defense based on the source of such information.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1973
Urgent Supplemental Appropriations Act - Authorizes an urgent supplemental appropriation for the fiscal year 1973 of $1,800,000 for an additional amount for operating expenses for the national industrial reserve established by the National Industrial Reserve Act of 1948.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1973
Creates an Atlantic Union delegation, composed of 18 eminent citizens, which is authorized to organize and participate in a convention made up of similar delegations from such North Atlantic Treaty parliamentary democracies as desire to join in the enterprise, and other parliamentary democracies the convention may invite, to explore the possibility of agreement on: (1) a declaration that the goal of their peoples is to transform their present relationship into a more effective unity based on Federal principles; (2) a timetable for the transition by stages to this goal; and (3) a commission to facilitate advancement toward such stages. Requires the convention's recommendations to be submitted to the Congress. Provides that not more than half of the delegation's members shall be from one political party, and that 6 of the delegates shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, after consultation with the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, 6 by the President of the Senate, after consultation with the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, and 6 by the President of the United States. Allows all members of the delegation to speak and vote individually in the convention. Authorizes the delegation in carrying out the purposes of this Act: (1) to seek to arrange an international convention and such other meetings and conferences as it may deem necessary; (2) to employ and fix the compensation within prescribed limits of such temporary professional and clerical staff as it deems necessary; and (3) to pay not in excess of $100,000 toward such expenses as may be involved as a consequence of holding any meetings or conferences authorized by this joint resolution. Authorizes not to exceed $200,000 to be appropriated to the Department of State to carry out the purposes of this resolution, payments to be made upon vouchers approved by the Chairman of the delegation subject to the laws, rules, and regulations applicable to the obligation and expenditure of appropriated funds. Requires the delegation to make semiannual reports to Congress accounting for all expenditures and such other information as it deems appropriate. Provides that the delegation shall cease to exist at the expiration of the three-year period beginning on the date of the approval of this resolution.
![Official portrait of Sen. Riegle, Donald W., Jr. [D-MI]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/r000249_200.jpg)