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United States · Official source
4,275 records where Sen. Sarbanes, Paul S. [D-MD] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1985
Authorizes and requests the President to designate the last Friday of April each year as National Arbor Day.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1985
Protection and Advocacy for Mentally Ill Persons Act of 1985 - Expresses the sense of the Congress that each State should review and revise its law to ensure that mental health patients receive the protection and services they require. Declares that States should consider the recommendations of the President's Commission on Mental Health in making such revisions. Sets forth a bill of rights for mental health patients which includes the right to: (1) appropriate treatment; (2) an individualized treatment plan; (3) freedom from restraint or seclusion; (4) confidentiality of and access to records; and (5) privacy. Declares that a patient's attorney or legal representative shall have access to: (1) the patient; (2) the facility; and (3) subject to the patient's written authorization, the records. Permits States to apply for an allotment to establish a system to protect the rights of the mentally ill. Requires such a system to include the establishment of an advisory board to advocate the rights of the mentally ill. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to prescribe a formula for making such allotments. Directs the Secretary to report on the activities, accomplishments, and expenditures of such systems. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 and 1987. Repeals title V (Mental Health Rights and Advocacy) of the Mental Health Systems Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1985
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that an obligation issued by a State to finance a solid waste disposal facility shall not be treated as an obligation which is federally guaranteed for purposes of determining the tax-exempt status of the obligation.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1985
Authorizes the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity to establish a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. Subjects the Fraternity's design and plans for the memorial to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, the Commission of Fine Arts, and the National Capital Planning Commission. Directs the Secretary to: (1) select a site for the memorial with the approval of the Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission; (2) prohibit its construction unless sufficient funds are available for its completion; (3) provide for the maintenance of the memorial upon its completion. Provides that U.S. funds may not be used to establish the memorial. Directs that the authority to establish the memorial is contingent upon its construction beginning within five years.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1985
States that it is the policy of the United States that the budget resolution for FY 1985 shall be deemed to include amounts sufficient to insure full cost-of-living adjustments through FY 1988 for recipients of benefits under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1985
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the budget resolution for FY 1985 and succeeding years shall include sufficient amounts so as to allow full funding of the cost-of-living adjustments for FY 1985 through 1988 under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1985
Amends the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 to reduce from five percent to 3.5 percent the portion of a railroad employee's annuity subject to reduction to offset cost-of-living increases under the Social Security Act. Applies such reduction to annuity adjustments made after January 1984. Directs the Railroad Retirement Board to readjust annuity amounts payable after January 1984 to comply with this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1985
Designates August 29, 1985, as Railroad Retirement Day.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 1985
Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the payment of death benefits to survivors of public safety officers who die as the result of a medical condition sustained while ingesting or inhaling a poisonous substance or while subject to extreme physical stress, on a single occasion, in the performance of duty.
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 · 4 April 1985
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend to January 1, 1989, the termination date for the deduction for expenses incurred in connection with the elimination of architectural and transportation barriers to the handicapped and the elderly.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1985
Directs the President to designate May 1985 as Older Americans Month.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 1985
Agricultural Productivity Act of 1985 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) make an inventory of existing research and extension materials and recommend further areas of research regarding crop rotation, intercropping, biological pest control, and other related farming and soil conservation systems; and (2) make such information available to the public. Directs the Secretary to conduct research on 24 pilot farms (having specified mixes of livestock and crops) to examine the effects of the transition from practices relying on chemical fertilizers and pesticides and traditional soil tillage to systems relying on organic and biological pest control, crop rotation, and conservation tillage. Requires such farms to be chosen within 140 days. Directs the Secretary to make a parallel study of 24 farms which have been using such farm systems for at least five years. Sets the term of such projects at five years each. Sets forth on-farm study data, including soil profile changes, crop yields, energy and water use, and farm income. Directs the Secretary to make payments to the owner of a pilot farm if the Secretary determines such payments are justified. Stipulates that these payments may be made only during a project's last four years. Directs the Secretary to coordinate such pilot farms project with specified Federal and State agricultural services, colleges, and farmers. Directs the Secretary to report to the appropriate congressional committees: (1) within 15 months regarding the information inventory; and (2) by April 1 of each year regarding the pilot farms, with a final project summary and recommendations by April 1 of the year following completion. Provides for a five-year program of intercropping assistance under the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 1985
Appalachian Regional Development Act Amendments of 1985 - Amends the Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965 to authorize appropriations for the administrative expenses of the Appalachian Regional Commission, not to exceed $2,300,000 in any fiscal year, for FY 1986 through FY 1988. Permits the Commission to lease office space through FY 1988. Authorizes appropriations for the construction of highways in the Appalachian region for FY 1986 through FY 1992. Increases from 70 percent to 80 percent the maximum Federal share of such highway construction costs. Allows for Federal supplements to the Federal grant-in-aid programs to continue through FY 1988. Permits the Commission to provide assistance for demonstration projects showing the development of the region's economic resources. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1988. Sets forth an October 1, 1988, termination date for specified sections of such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 1985
Prohibits the obligation of funds during FY 1985 and 1986 for the testing of anti-satellite weapons against objects in space unless the President certifies to the Congress certain findings on actions taken by the Soviet Union.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 1985
Authorizes the President, on behalf of the Congress, to present gold medals to Jan Scruggs, Robert Doubek, and Jack Wheeler in recognition of their efforts to give the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to the Nation. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to provide for the sale of bronze duplicates of the medal.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 1985
National Infrastructure Act - Establishes in the Treasury the National Infrastructure Fund. Authorizes appropriations for each of FY 1986 through 1995. Directs amounts in the Fund to be made available to the Secretary of the Treasury to make interest-free repayable grants to States. Establishes within the Fund a separate account to be known as the Sinking Fund Account for deposits by States of grant obligations. Requires the Secretary to invest amounts in the Account in interest-bearing obligations of the United States. Requires the Secretary to maintain separate records of funds in the Account with respect to each grant made under this Act. Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress from FY 1987 through 2016 on the financial condition of the Account. Entitles each State to repayable grants, according to a specified population ratio, for FY 1986 through 1995. Specifies terms for payments to States by the Secretary and repayments by States to the Secretary of such grants. Allows the Secretary to adjust the amount of any payment if deemed necessary. Allows States 20 years for repayment of grants, with adjustments made to the Account for each State at such time. Sets forth qualifications for States receiving such grants, including: (1) a contractual agreement by the State that it will establish an infrastructure revolving fund in its treasury to deposit and maintain records of grants received and make interest-free loans to various departments and agencies within the State; (2) terms and length of repayment; (3) specified uses to which grant funds may be applied; and (4) specified prohibited uses of grant funds. Requires a State to make available to the Secretary and the Comptroller General for inspection such records as either may require. Requires annual independent financial audits of grant-participating States to determine compliance with this Act. Allows States to waive such audit requirement in specified circumstances. Allows the Secretary to waive such audit requirement in certain cases. Requires any audits done to be made available to the public within 30 days after being received by the Secretary. Directs the Comptroller General to review the activities of the Secretary and the States to determine compliance under this Act. Requires a State making an interest-free loan under this Act to hold at least one public hearing on the proposed loan, with adequate notice to the public. Requires the Secretary, before June 2 of each year ending before January 1, 1997, to report to the Congress on: (1) the status and operation of the Fund during the prior fiscal year; (2) the amounts made available for each such purpose during the prior fiscal year; and (3) the administration of this Act. Requires, at the end of each fiscal year for which repayable grants are made under this Act, each State government receiving such a grant to submit a report to the Secretary on the amount, purposes, and uses of such grant. Requires the Secretary to determine population (used as a statistic in awarding grants) on the same basis that the Secretary of Commerce determines resident population for general statistical purposes. Requires the Secretary to use population estimates provided by the Secretary of Commerce to determine amounts of repayable grants for each fiscal year.
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
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the administration should comply with the automatic appropriation and earmarking provisions of the Wallop/Breaux Sport Fish Restoration Trust Fund and support adequate appropriation for the Boating Safety Account in such Fund. States that funds owed to the States from such Fund should not be withheld or delayed.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 1985
National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Act of 1985 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program as an elective alternative remedy to judicial action for specified vaccine-related injuries. Prescribes the contents of any petition for compensation. Grants sole authority to determine eligibility and compensation to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Sets forth injuries deemed vaccine-related for compensation purposes. Sets compensation limits. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct studies on pertussis and rubella vaccines, and develop related information materials. Establishes an Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines to advise the Secretary on the implementation of such program and recommend research priorities and changes in vaccine-related injury standards. Establishes in the Treasury a National Vaccine Injury Compensation Trust Fund. Authorizes FY 1985 funds. Requires the Secretary to establish annual surcharges on vaccine manufacturers to finance the Fund. Authorizes the Secretary to establish an insurance pool to cover injury claims relating to vaccines for which adequate general liability and product liability insurance is unavailable. Provides for Federal reinsurance of insurance companies participating in such a pool. Prescribes a procedure for determining the necessity of and for establishing such a pool. Authorizes the Secretary to establish in the Treasury a National Childhood Vaccine Fund to pay reinsurance claims. Requires health care providers who vaccinate patients and the manufacturers of specified vaccines to keep specified records. Requires the Secretary to: (1) make a pediatric vaccine-risk study; (2) determine the circumstances under which any such vaccine should be delayed or not given; and (3) direct pediatric health care providers to distribute such information to parents and legal guardians. Directs the Secretary to: (1) encourage the development of vaccines that result in fewer major adverse reactions than those currently on the market; and (2) assure improvements in the vaccine industry to reduce the risks of major adverse reactions. Directs the Secretary to provide grants for the education, treatment, and care of multiple handicapped persons, with priority given to the needs of persons with vaccine-related neurological impairments. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1985 through FY 1990. Entitles any person to commence a civil action against the Secretary where the Secretary allegedly has failed to perform a duty under this Act. Provides for judicial review of the Secretary's regulatory actions in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 1985
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 · 28 March 1985
Child-Care Standards Improvement Act of 1985 - Amends title XX (Block Grants to States for Services) of the Social Security Act to require the Governor of each State, as a condition of the State's eligibility for receiving title XX Federal payments, to establish or designate a State Advisory Committee on Child-Care Standards which shall: (1) examine, investigate, and study the State's laws, regulations, and procedures for licensing, regulating, and monitoring child-care services and programs within the State; and (2) prepare a report outlining the committee's findings and recommendations, including a description of the current status of child-care licensing, regulating, or monitoring within the State to be submitted to each State's Governor for transmittal, along with the Governor's comments, to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Establishes a National Advisory Committee on Child-Care Standards in order to assist and provide guidance to the States in improving the quality of child-care services. Requires each State Advisory Committee and the National Advisory Committee to review the options for child-care standards published by the Department of Health and Human Services in January 1985 and the final 1980 HEW Day Care Regulations. Directs the National Advisory Committee to issue recommended standards for child-care programs, after first publishing proposed standards and receiving comments. Terminates the National Advisory Committee 90 days after the publication of the final recommended standards. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1988 for grants to States to carry out their plans for correcting the deficiencies in or improving the licensing, regulating, or monitoring of child-care programs. Requires each State, in order to receive a grant, to submit a plan to the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out the recommendations contained in its report.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 1985
Designates the Study Center for Trauma and Emergency Medical Systems at the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems at the University of Maryland as the National Study Center for Trauma and Emergency Medical Systems.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 1985
Designates April 24, 1985, as National Day of Remembrance of Man's Inhumanity to Man (especially for remembering the Armenian genocide in Turkey).
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 1985
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the President should: (1) be commended for his efforts to negotiate a multilateral agreement banning chemical weapons; (2) continue to pursue such an agreement; and (3) seek the continuation and the development of bilateral discussions between the United States and the Soviet Union to achieve a verifiable ban on chemical weapons.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 1985
National Endowment for the Homeless Act - Authorizes the establishment of a nonprofit corporation to be known as the National Endowment for the Homeless. States the purposes of the Endowment to be to: (1) provide shelter, food, and supportive services for the homeless; (2) promote greater cooperation between the public and private sectors in providing services for the homeless; and (3) provide funds for innovative local programs for the homeless. States that the Endowment may only fund programs undertaken by nonprofit organizations and units of local government, and that such assistance shall be in addition to, rather than a substitute for, financial support otherwise available for the homeless. Sets forth grant distribution and operating provisions. Establishes within the Endowment a National Council of Shelter, Food, and Service Providers. Requires an annual report to the President for transmittal to the Congress. Authorizes FY 1986 through 1988 appropriations, including additional matching amounts.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 1985
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with specified agencies, to conduct at least ten demonstration projects to determine the feasibility of providing for alternative benefits for individuals entitled to Medicare benefits who are diagnosed as suffering from Alzheimer's disease or a related memory disorder. Directs the Secretary, in conducting such projects, to consider providing alternative benefits: (1) that encompass a range of outpatient services; and (2) in a manner that is analogous to the manner in which benefits for hospice care are made available under Medicare. Limits the cost of each such project.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 1985
Alzheimer's Disease Research Coordination Act of 1985 - Redesignates the National Institute on Aging as the National Institute on Aging and Alzheimer's Disease. Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to coordinate, support, and encourage research into Alzheimer's disease and related disorders. Directs the Secretary to: (1) insure that each specialized research center for Alzheimer's disease expends a portion of its budget on multidisciplinary research; and (2) report annually to the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 1985
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to promote the establishment of family support groups to assist individuals with Alzheimer's disease or a related disorder and their family members and to provide for a national coordinating network of such groups. Requires a report to the Congress within one year.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 1985
National Home Health Care Clearinghouse Act of 1985 - Establishes in the Department of Health and Human Services a Home Health Care Clearinghouse to gather and disseminate information concerning the various public and private agencies providing home health care and related services to the elderly. Directs the Clearinghouse to: (1) establish a computerized system for such purposes; and (2) publish current descriptions of home health care services and benefits available to the elderly under the Social Security Act, the Older Americans Act of 1965, and other related laws. Requires a cost report to the Congress within one year. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 1985
Designates the month of May 1985 as Better Hearing and Speech Month.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 1985
Designates the week beginning May 12, 1985, as National Digestive Diseases Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1985
Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to extend the authorization of appropriations for five years, through FY 1990.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1985
Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide coverage for outpatient occupational therapy services.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1985
Directs that funds be made available from appropriations under the Department of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1985 to enable the National Institutes of Health and the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration to award 7,083 new competitive research grants in FY 1985.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1985
Textile and Apparel Trade Enforcement Act of 1985 - Limits the total quantity of 1985 imports of textiles and textile products from a major exporting country to the lesser of an amount equal to 101 percent: (1) of the total quantity of textile products imported from such country if the total had increased by six percent annually during 1981 through 1984; or (2) if the United States has an agreement with such country providing for an annual growth rate of less than six percent, of the total quantity of such products from such country imported during 1984. Limits the total quantity of 1985 imports of textiles and textile products from an exporting country to an amount equal to the total quantity of such products imported from such country during 1984 plus: (1) 15 percent of such quantity in the case of a category that is not an import sensitive category; or (2) one percent in the case of an import sensitive category. Provides for changing the classification of a country, except for a Caribbean country, from an exporting country to a major exporting country if the total textile imports from such country equals or exceeds one and one-quarter percent of all textiles imported into the United States. Sets forth a formula for adjusting the growth of textile imports annually. Sets forth certain minimum quantities of textile imports that all countries shall be allowed to export to the United States. Requires the Secretary of Commerce to enforce this Act. Directs the Secretary, within six months of enactment of this Act, to establish an import licensing system under which an importer of textiles will be required to present an import permit as a condition of entry of such textiles. Directs the President to report to the Congress annually on the administration of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1985
Amends Federal law to authorize the Office of Personnel Management to waive certain eligibility requirements relating to enrollment of annuitants in a Federal employees health benefits plan if it would be against equity and good conscience not to enroll them.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1985
Designates July 19, 1985, as National P.O.W./M.I.A. Recognition Day.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1985
Performing Arts Labor Relations Amendments - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to exclude specified types of employers and performers in the performing arts from coverage under unfair labor practice provisions prohibiting specified contracts or agreements between employers and labor organizations and prohibiting specified actions of labor organizations to force or require cessation of dealings with others, joining of labor or employer organizations, or recognition of or negotiation with labor organizations not certified as representative. Permits such employers, excluding employers in the broadcasting or motion picture industries, to: (1) agree with a labor organization to make membership in such organization a condition of performing arts employment; and (2) make agreements with a labor organization covering performing artists even if the majority status of the organization has not yet been established. Defines "employer" to include purchasers of musical performance services. Defines "employee" to include independent contractors engaged to perform musical services.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1985
Designates the month of April 1985 as Fair Housing Month.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1985
Amends the Federal Employees Flexible and Compressed Work Schedules Act of 1982 to make permanent the authority of Federal agencies to use flexible and compressed work schedules.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1985
Anti-Apartheid Act of 1985 - Prohibits any U.S. person from making any loan to South Africa or to any organization owned or controlled by South Africa. Excludes from such prohibition a loan for any educational, housing, or health facility which: (1) is available to everyone on a nondiscriminatory basis; and (2) is located in an area accessible to all population groups. Declares that such prohibition shall not apply to loans for which an agreement is entered into before enactment of this Act. Directs the President to issue regulations prohibiting U.S. persons from making any investment (including bank loans) in South Africa. Excludes from such prohibition: (1) an investment which consists of earnings derived from a business enterprise in South Africa established before enactment of this Act and which is made in that business enterprise; or (2) the purchase of certain securities in such business enterprises. Prohibits any person, including U.S. banks, from importing into the United States any gold coin minted in or offered for sale by South Africa. Authorizes the President to waive the prohibitions against investments in South African businesses and against importing South African gold coins if: (1) the Government of South Africa meets at least one of seven conditions; (2) the President submits to the Congress a determination that such conditions are met; and (3) a joint resolution is enacted approving such determination. Authorizes the President to extend the waivers. Provides for expedited consideration of such joint resolution. Amends the Export Administration Act of 1979 to prohibit exporting computers, computer software, or goods or technology intended to service computers to or for use by South Africa or any organization owned or controlled by South Africa. Excludes from such prohibition donations of computers to primary and secondary schools. Declares that certain termination provisions of the Export Administration Act of 1979 shall not apply to such prohibition. Provides for enforcement of this Act. Sets forth penalties for violations of this Act. Directs the President to attempt to persuade through negotiations other countries to adopt restrictions on new investment in South Africa, on bank loans and computer sales to South Africa, and on the importation of krugerrands. Directs the President to submit annual reports to the Congress on the status of negotiations. Terminates the provisions of this Act and all the regulations issued to carry out this Act upon enactment of a joint resolution approving a determination submitted by the President to the Congress that apartheid in South Africa has been abolished.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1985
Amends the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 to allow a retired railroad worker to be employed in any non-railroad employment and still qualify for an annuity, subject to specified deductions, including reduction of certain benefits by $1 for every $2 earned from the last non-railroad employment.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1985
Small Business Paperwork Reduction Act of 1985 - Amends the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 to direct the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to set a goal to reduce the burden on small businesses of Federal collections of information by at least five percent by October 1, 1986, and for each of the next two years by not less than an additional five percent.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1985
Commemorates May 18, 1985, as the 20th anniversary of the Head Start Program. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the Head Start Program has been cost-effective and successful; and (2) congressional support for such program is reaffirmed.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1985
Community Right to Know Act of 1985 - Requires the owner or operator of any facility generating, treating, or storing any hazardous substance to notify at least annually the appropriate local officials within a ten-mile radius of the nature and amount of and emergency procedures applicable to each such substance. Requires such owners or operators to notify such officials as soon as possible in case of any health- or environment-threatening accident involving such substances. Exempts quantities below 100 kilograms from these requirements unless their inclusion is necessary to protect the environment or human health or safety. Establishes criminal penalties for the knowing violation of the emergency notification procedures. Permits States to establish more stringent requirements. Requires the coordination of these provisions with other applicable Federal law.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1985
Designates the month of February 1986 as National Black (Afro-American) History Month.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should: (1) pursue with the Soviet Union the resolution of concerns with respect to compliance with existing strategic arms control agreements and seek corrective actions through confidential diplomatic channels such as the Standing Consultative Commission and the renewed nuclear arms negotiations; and (2) continue to refrain from undercutting existing strategic offensive arms agreements so long as the Soviet Union does the same or until a new agreement is concluded. Urges the Soviet Union to take positive steps to resolve U.S. concerns with regard to compliance with such agreements. Directs the President to report to the Congress regarding the Soviets' adherence to such no-undercut policy, the implications of the deployment of additional U.S. strategic offensive weapons on such policy and on U.S. security, and the future of U.S. interim restraint policy (including possible modifications). Urges the President to consider the impact of any change to this current policy with regard to existing strategic offensive arms agreements on the long-term security interests of the United States and its allies and to consult with the Congress before making such a change in policy.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1985
Health Care Catastrophic Loss Prevention Act of 1985 - Amends part A (Hospital Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) remove the limits on inpatient hospital stays; (2) increase from 100 to 150 days coverage for post-hospital extended care services; (3) reduce the deductible for inpatient hospital services; and (4) reduce coinsurance for post-hospital extended care. Requires the amount of the monthly premium under part A for a year to be an amount such that the aggregate amount of premiums will cover the costs to the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund of such additional benefits and reduced deductibles and coinsurance. Provides that if an individual has a private insurance plan that would cover the additional benefits provided by this Act, then that individual will not be entitled to the additional benefits provided through part A and shall not be required to pay a premium under part A for such benefits. Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII to permit any individual enrolled under part B to pay a premium which would provide catastrophic benefits. Requires the individual to have incurred a specified amount of out-of-pocket expenses annually before the catastrophic benefits are payable. Requires the premiums under part B for a year to be an amount that will cover the costs to the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund of such additional benefits. Provides for automatic enrollment for such benefit when an individual enrolls under part B, unless an individual notifies the Secretary of Health and Human Services that he or she does not wish to be enrolled. Directs the Secretary to appoint a Commission on Long-Term Care Services to conduct a study of extended care services. Requires the Secretary to report the results of the study to the appropriate House and Senate committees.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1985
Designates October 16, 1985, as World Food Day.