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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 · 26 April 1983
Grants a Federal charter to the organization known as the Catholic War Veterans of the United States of America, Incorporated.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1983
Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to revise: (1) the criteria under the category "Mental Disorders" in the "Listing of Impairments" in effect under part 404 of title 20 of the Code of Federal Regulations which are used to make individualized determinations of disability for purposes of determining eligibility for disability benefits under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act; and (2) the methods and procedures for assessing the residual functional capacity of individuals having mental impairments. Requires the Secretary to appoint a panel of outside experts to make recommendations with respect to such revisions. Prohibits the Social Security Administration from carrying out continuing eligibility reviews with respect to individuals previously determined to be under a disability due to mental impairment until such revisions have been established by final regulation. Makes such prohibition inapplicable in any case involving fraud or where an individual is engaged in substantial gainful activity. Sets forth requirements for the redetermination of disability determinations made after the enactment of this Act and before the date on which the Secretary's revisions are established by final regulation. Amends titles II and XVI (Supplemental Security Income) of the Social Security Act to require that a qualified psychiatrist or psychologist complete the medical portion of the sequential evaluation and residual functional capacity assessment in cases where an individual alleges to be under a disability due to a severe mental impairment.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1983
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the President should reduce the percentage of the American apparel market occupied by imports to 25 percent.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 1983
Agricultural Productivity Act of 1983 - 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 12 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 120 days. Directs the Secretary to make a parallel study of 12 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 from 1985 through 1988 regarding the pilot farms, with a final project summary and recommendations by April 1, 1989. Provides for a five-year program of intercropping assistance under the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act. Authorizes ceilinged appropriations for FY 1984 through 1988.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 1983
Designates April 24, 1984, as a day of remembrance for all victims of genocide, especially those of Armenian ancestry who died between 1915 and 1923.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 1983
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the United States Army Reserve be commended on the 75th anniversary of its founding on April 23, 1983.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 1983
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shall be maintained as a scientifically sound Federal institution to safeguard the American people's interest in the oceans and atmosphere. Expresses the sense of the Senate that NOAA's institutional integrity should be preserved through comprehensive authorization legislation.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 1983
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the United States should proceed with the sale and delivery of F-16 aircraft to Israel.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1983
Construction Work in Progress Policy Act of 1983 - Amends the Federal Power Act to authorize the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to approve, upon application by a public utility, the inclusion in the rate base of such utility of the costs of construction work in progress (defined as construction of a facility used to generate electric energy) with respect to: (1) any pollution control facility; and (2) the conversion of oil or natural gas-fired facilities to the use of other fuels. Authorizes the Commission to approve by final order the costs of construction work in progress for other types of facilities, subject to the requirements under this Act. Requires the Commission to hold an evidentiary hearing upon application by a public utility for approval of such a rate increase. Sets forth the items required in any such application. Requires the Commission to approve the rate increase applied for or to order a lesser rate increase if, after the hearing, the Commission finds that: (1) the utility will be in severe financial difficulty unless construction work in progress costs are included in the rate base; (2) the utility has initiated programs to acquire alternative energy resources; (3) the facility being constructed is reasonably necessary to meet energy demands; (4) any mismanagement involved will not affect the utility's future financial situation; (5) the long-term benefits justify short-run rate increases in the case of customers purchasing electric energy for resale; (6) innovative financing is insufficient to alleviate or prevent severe financial difficulty; and (7) the applicant utility will discontinue the capitalization of allowance for funds used during construction for those construction work in progress costs included in the rate base. Provides that no rate increase approved or ordered under this Act may: (1) be charged for electric energy sold before the date of such approval or order; (2) exceed the amount needed to alleviate the utility's financial difficulties; (3) have an anticompetitive effect; (4) be charged to recover any costs imprudently incurred; or (5) be unduly discriminatory or preferential or exceed a just and reasonable amount.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1983
Designates the week of June 24, 1984, as Federal Credit Union Week.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1983
Expresses the sense of the Senate that rural community fire protection grants provided under the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 and rural fire prevention and control activities of the Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture should receive a level of funding for FY 1984 which is at least as high as the level of funding provided for such programs for FY 1983.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 1983
National Security and Arms Export Review Act of 1983 - Amends the Arms Export Control Act to express the sense of the Congress that the President should begin discussions to limit the transfer by member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to developing countries of conventional arms. Requires the President to provide as an addendum to the quarterly report to Congress on military exports the text of all defense requirement surveys completed during the preceding quarter. Requires that the Presidential certification that is sent to Congress before the issuance of a letter of offer to sell defense articles must contain an item stating whether the proposed recipient country or organization has agreed not to transfer the defense article or related training without the consent of the President. Requires that Congress be notified and given an opportunity to disapprove letters of offer to sell and applications for export licenses for: (1) defense articles or services if the price of the defense articles or services is between $50,000,000 and $200,000,000; and (2) defense equipment if the price of the equipment is between $14,000,000 and $200,000,000. Prohibits the issuance of a letter of offer to sell or of an export license for defense articles or services, design, and construction services, or defense equipment if their price is $200,000,000 or more unless: (1) the Congress, within 30 days after receiving certification of the letter of offer or export license application approves of the proposed sale or export; or (2) the President states in the certification that an emergency exists which requires such sale or export in the interests of national security. Prohibits splitting up letters of offer for the sale of defense articles, services, equipment or design and construction service in order to circumvent reporting or review requirements. Requires such letters of offer to include as part of their proposed sales price the sales price of related equipment.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 1983
Requests the President to designate the week beginning May 8, 1982, as Senior Center Week.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1983
Designates October 16, 1983, as World Food Day.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1983
Designates November 1983 as National Alzheimer's Disease Month.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 1983
Expresses the sense of the Senate that May 8 through May 14, 1983, be designated as National Product Safety Week in commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 1983
Natural Gas Consumer Relief Act - Title I: Contracting and Marketing Practices - Amends the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 to declare a take-or-pay clause of a pipeline contract to be against public policy and unenforceable for a three-year period: (1) to the extent that it requires a pipeline to make any payment with respect to natural gas in excess of 50 percent of the maximum annual volume the pipeline has contracted to take; or (2) if such clause does not entitle a pipeline which makes a payment under such clause to take delivery of the gas during the one-year period beginning on the date of payments. Defines "take-or-pay clause" to mean any contract provision which requires payment for the minimum quantity of natural gas contracted for under the contract in the event the pipeline fails to take delivery. Permits a pipeline, in the case of a contract for the first sale of natural gas, to: (1) request the seller to renegotiate the contract; and (2) indicate that, if there is no renegotiation within 30 days of the request, the pipeline will exercise its market-out-option. Permits a pipeline exercising its market-out-option to refuse delivery without incurring an obligation to pay for any amount of natural gas contracted for if the pipeline in its sole discretion determines that it could not market the gas. Declares any indefinite price escalator clause applicable to the first sale of natural gas to be against public policy and unenforceable. Defines "indefinite price escalator clause" as any provision of any contract which provides for the establishment or adjustment of the price for natural gas delivered by reference to prices for natural gas, crude oil, or any other commodity. Prohibits a pipeline from passing through its costs if the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) determines that the amount the pipeline paid was excessive due to imprudence. Declares any minimum commodity bill requirement applicable to any sale of natural gas by any interstate or intrastate pipeline to be against public policy and unenforceable: (1) to the extent that it requires the purchaser to make any payment with respect to natural gas in excess of 50 percent of the maximum annual volume the purchaser has contracted to take; or (2) if such requirement does not entitle a purchaser who makes a payment under such requirement to take delivery of the natural gas involved subsequent to the date of payment provided under the requirement. Directs FERC to order an interstate pipeline, upon application by a producer of natural gas or by a purchaser of natural gas from a producer, to carry natural gas, for a just and reasonable consideration, between the producer and purchaser if FERC finds that: (1) the pipeline has available capacity; (2) no undue burden would be placed upon such pipeline by reason of the order; (3) construction of new facilities would not be required; and (4) the order would not impair the ability of the pipeline to render adequate service to its other customers. Directs FERC to complete a rulemaking proceeding to issue standards for interstate pipeline tariffs. Directs FERC to require, by rule, a first-sale purchaser of natural gas to file a copy of the contract with FERC. Title II: Wellhead Price Provisions - Revises ceiling price provisions for natural gas. Provides that the ceiling price for categories other than high-cost gas shall be the August 1982 ceiling price multiplied by the monthly equivalent of the modified price adjustment factor. Defines the "modified price adjustment factor" for any month as the lower of: (1) 75 percent of the quarterly percent change in the GNP implicit price deflator (as defined in the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978); or (2) the percent change in the energy index, computed and published as an annual rate by the Department of Labor, for the most recent month for which such percent change has been so published at least eight days before the beginning of the month for which the modified price adjustment factor is being calculated. Provides that for high-cost gas the maximum lawful price shall be prescribed by FERC at a rate which provides reasonable incentives for production, but may not exceed 150 percent of the maximum lawful price for categories of gas other than high-cost gas. Authorizes a higher price for high-cost gas in the case of wells the surface drilling of which commenced on or after April 7, 1983, if necessary to allow a reasonable return. Provides for an adjusted ceiling price for wells drilled on or after August 1, 1982, and before enactment. Repeals provisions permitting increases in the ceiling price of certain categories of natural gas if just and reasonable. Provides, as a general rule, that the maximum lawful price applies with respect to the recovery of all costs and profits associated with production and first-sale delivery of marketable natural gas. Prohibits the importation of natural gas if the first sale price in the United States of the gas exceeds 150 percent of the maximum lawful price for domestically produced gas. Directs the President to submit to Congress a report on the status of negotiations with Canada regarding modification of the border price for natural gas imported from Canada. Extends price controls and standby authority for two years beyond their present expiration dates.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 1983
Permits the immediate payment of hospital benefits for disabled veterans (current law requires payment to begin on the first day of the month following hospitalization).
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 1983
Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan Amendments of 1983 - Requires the Federal employees service benefit health plan and the indemnity benefit plan to include, in addition to all types of benefits currently authorized: (1) nervous and mental disorder benefits; and (2) alcoholism and substance abuse treatment and rehabilitation benefits. Prohibits the Office of Personnel Management from contracting for or approving either such plan or any employee organization plan that does not provide for: (1) 50 outpatient visits and 60 inpatient days of nervous and mental disorder benefits; and (2) two 28-day alcoholism or substance abuse treatment and rehabilitation benefits for individuals who have not previously received such treatment. Provides that limits on nervous and mental disorder benefits under the service benefit plan and the indemnity benefit plan shall be exceeded on a case-by-case basis to the extent determined necessary and appropriate by an established peer review mechanism. Requires a specified percentage of such catastrophic benefits to be paid out of the Employees Health Benefits Fund. Earmarks for such payments whatever funds remain from one percent of all contributions to the Fund after deducting the expenses of administering the Federal employees health benefits program.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 1983
Prohibits U.S. agencies from spending money to produce lethal binary chemical munitions. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should continue and intensify efforts at the Disarmament Talks in Geneva to achieve with the Soviet Union a mutual and verifiable ban on the production and stockpiling of such munitions.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 1983
Competitive Shipping and Shipbuilding Act of 1983 - Requires that, by 1984, five percent of all bulk cargoes imported into or exported from the United States by water be carried on U.S.-flag ships. Requires yearly one percent increases until the percentage of bulk cargoes carried on U.S.-flag ships reaches 20 percent. Provides for credit to importers and exporters for the use of U.S.-flag ships for the transportation of bulk cargoes between foreign ports. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to provide relief from the requirements of this Act upon a finding that U.S.-flag ships are not available within guideline rates. Sets forth factors which the Secretary shall consider in determining the extent of relief granted. Requires the Secretary to establish and publish guideline rates for the carriage of bulk cargoes subject to this Act. Requires the Secretary to assure that such rates take into account certain objectives. Requires the Secretary, in order to establish guideline rates, to estimate the current cost of operating U.S.-flag ships in the foreign bulk trades of the United States and of constructing such ships. Requires such cost estimates to be published within six months after enactment of this Act. Requires such estimates to be revised annually. Requires that such rates: (1) be reviewed and adjusted at least annually; (2) not reflect costs greater than the estimated current costs; and (3) be the maximum rates which may be charged for the charter of U.S.-flag ships for the transportation of bulk cargoes governed by this Act. Requires the Secretary to establish and publish interim guideline rates in the first calendar year following the enactment of this Act. Sets forth factors to be taken into account in determining such rates. Requires the Secretary to appoint and consult with an advisory committee to establish and review U.S.-flag ship operating costs, shipyard construction costs, guideline rates, and regulations. Requires anyone engaged in importing or exporting bulk commodities in U.S. foreign commerce whose business volume exceeds $1,000,000 annually to report to the Secretary on the percentages of such person's exports and imports carried on U.S.-flag ships. Requires anyone who fails to transport the required percentage of U.S. bulk cargoes to use exclusively U.S. flag ships until the deficiency has been recouped, unless Secretarial relief has been granted. Establishes civil penalties for violations of this Act. Sets forth procedures for the investigation, prosecution, and judicial review of violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 1983
Authorizes and requests the President to designate April 17 through April 24, 1983, as Jewish Heritage Week.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 1983
Congratulates Mount St. Mary's College on the 175th anniversary of its founding.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1983
Animal Welfare in Research Study Act of 1983 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to arrange for the National Academy of Science, if willing, to conduct a study of the use of live animals in biomedical and behavioral research. Requires certain information from the study. Directs the Secretary to transmit a report concerning the study to specified congressional committees, and to make the report available to the public.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1983
National Archives and Records Administration Act of 1983 - Establishes the National Archives and Records Administration as an independent establishment in the executive branch. Requires the Administration to be directed by the Archivist of the United States who shall be appointed by the President for a ten-year term. Directs the Archivist to appoint a Deputy Archivist. Sets forth the administrative duties and authority of the Archivist. Requires the Archivist to submit to Congress an annual report concerning the administration of functions of the Archivist and the Administration. Transfers to the Administration and the Archivist the functions, duties, and authority of the General Services Administration (GSA) and its Administrator, respectively, concerning: (1) congressional printing and binding; (2) the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations; (3) the distribution and sale of public documents; (4) archival administration; (5) presidential records; (6) the National Archives Trust Fund Board; (7) the National Historical Publications Commission; (8) records management; (9) the disposal of records; (10) official territorial papers; (11) Indian records placed with the Oklahoma Historical Society; (12) public laws, Constitutional amendments, and the United States Statutes at Large; and (13) electoral credentials and certificates. Transfers to the Administration the National Archives and Records Service and the office of Office Information Services of the Office of Information Resources Automated Data and Management (presently within GSA).
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1983
Insider Trading Sanctions Act of 1983 - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to permit the Securities and Exchange Commission, whenever it appears that any person has traded in securities while in possession of material nonpublic information, to seek an order in a district court action requiring the violator, or anyone who aided and abetted the violation, to pay a civil penalty of up to three times the profit gained or loss avoided as a result of the unlawful transaction. Permits the Commission if such person fails to pay such penalty, to refer the matter to the Attorney General who may recover such penalty by action in the appropriate U.S. district court. Increases from $10,000 to $100,000 the maximum criminal fine that may be imposed on persons, other than exchanges, who willfully violate the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1983
Directs the Secretary of Commerce to provide at least 90 days notice to affected persons of any intention to close or consolidate any weather service office. Sets forth the factors the Secretary must consider in making such a determination, including the effect of such closing or consolidation on the community and the employees of the National Weather Service. Directs the Secretary to submit any such determination to Congress. Makes a determination final unless within 90 days Congress adopts a resolution of disapproval.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1983
Federal Land Retention Act of 1983 - Requires Executive agencies to comply with specified inventory, public comment and review, and governmental notification procedures before offering Federal lands for sale. Requires that Federal lands included within specified public land systems be sold at fair market value only in accordance with this Act and only with congressional approval under the Federal Land Policy Management Act of 1976. Authorizes conveyances of specified Federal lands for recreational purposes to government units or nonprofit organizations at no cost or for up to 25 per cent fair market value without Congressional approval. Subjects such conveyance to specified conditions under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act of 1976.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1983
Authorizes and requests the President to designate July 16, 1983, as National Atomic Veterans' Day.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1983
Recognizes the 150th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and Thailand.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 1983
Designates the week of May 22 through May 28, 1983, as National Digestive Diseases Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 1983
Designates the week of May 15 through May 21, 1983, as National Parkinson's Disease Week.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 1983
Declares that Congress: (1) condemns the violence in Northern Ireland; (2) urges U.S. citizens to refrain from any action which contributes to the violence there; (3) urges an early political settlement there that secures the rights of both sides and that achieves Irish unity; (4) believes that a reconciliation can be found between the two Irish political traditions and between Britain and Ireland; and (5) requests the President to convey to Britain and to Ireland the desire of Americans for lasting peace in Northern Ireland.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1983
Expresses the sense of the Senate that Anatoly Shcharansky should be released from prison in the Soviet Union and permitted to emigrate to Israel. Urges the President and the Secretary of State to express U.S. opposition to the imprisonment of Anatoly Shcharansky.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1983
Skilled Enlisted Reserve Training Act - Directs the Secretary of each military department to establish a skilled enlisted reserve training program to obtain adequate numbers of enlisted members with critical technical skills. Permits each Secretary to enter into agreements with a qualified person under which the Secretary agrees to provide educational assistance in a technical field in exchange for that person's agreement to perform either three or more years of active or six or more years of reserve service in the armed forces. Permits the Secretary to pay up to 100 percent of educational expenses and a monthly stipend. Sets forth eligibility requirements. Requires accepted members to complete basic training before beginning technical training. Sets forth the penalties for noncompletion of training, including possible reimbursement of educational assistance. Requires the Secretary concerned to approve the courses and educational institution before entering an agreement with a member. Permits the Secretary to provide assistance to educational institutions providing courses of training. Permits the Secretary to detail members for instructional and administrative duties at such institutions. Directs the President to make an annual report to Congress concerning such program. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1983
Vietnam Veterans Agent Orange Relief Act - Establishes a presumption of service-connected disability for veterans exposed to herbicides during service in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam era who suffer from specified diseases which may be caused by exposure to such herbicides, developed to a ten percent degree of disability. Permits the Administrator of Veterans Affairs to determine what other diseases may be due to exposure to herbicides, chemicals or environmental hazards. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations within one year of enactment incorporating such determinations and setting forth the standards used to reach them.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1983
Ocean and Coastal Development Impact Assistance Block Grant Act - Establishes the Ocean and Coastal Development Impact Assistance Fund in the Treasury. States that five percent of Outer Continental Shelf gas and oil lease revenues shall be used for such Fund. Provides block grants from such Fund to coastal States and territories for: (1) living marine resources; (2) coastal management planning and implementation; (3) energy impact assistance; (4) research, education, and natural resource management; and (5) capital infrastructure. Sets forth an allocation formula based upon oil or gas production, coastal population, shoreline, and bonus revenues. Establishes minimum and maximum grant amounts, with excess funds to be shared among those States eligible for additional amounts. Requires a State to give at least 40 percent of its grant money to local coastal communities. Directs the Secretary to establish by contract a National Coastal Resources Research and Development Institute to be administered in affiliation with the Oregon Institute of Marine Science. Provides monies for the Institute from the Ocean and Coastal Development Impact Assistance Fund. Requires: (1) the Secretary to conduct an ongoing evaluation of the Institute's activities; and (2) the Institute to report to the Secretary within two years, including recommendations for specified regional centers. States that employees of such Institute shall not be considered Federal employees. Provides for block grant audit and assessment.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1983
Amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to maintain a biological pesticide testing facility. Requires such facility to verify pesticide application data and conduct periodic compliance tests.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1983
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Congress: (1) rejects the proposals of the President to eliminate funding for library programs; and (2) should provide funds to continue our Nation's commitment to our libraries.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1983
Fair Practices in Automotive Products Act - Sets forth for all motor vehicle manufacturers which produce over 100,000 motor vehicles for ultimate retail sale in the United States "minimum domestic content ratios" (the domestic value, including labor and parts, of the manufacturer's production costs of all automotive products sold in the United States). Requires all vehicle manufacturers producing more than 100,000 motor vehicles for sale in the United States to provide information to the Secretary of Transportation for the purpose of administering this requirement. Establishes penalties for a vehicle manufacturer who fails to meet the minimum domestic content ratio. Directs the Secretary of Transportation and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate and prepare a written report regarding policies and practices of vehicle manufacturers used to persuade U.S. motor vehicle dealers to favor foreign made parts rather than domestically produced parts.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1983
Eliminates the social security offset against annuities provided under the Survivor Benefit Plan of the armed service when the benefits received are based on the annuitant's own employment.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1983
Recognizes the pause for the Pledge of Allegiance as part of the celebration of National Flag Day.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1983
Authorizes and requests the President to designate the month of January 1984 as National Eye Health Care Month.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1983
Amends the Federal Supplemental Compensation Act of 1982 to increase the amount established in a Federal supplemental unemployment compensation account with respect to an individual's benefit year. Increases the number of weeks, during specified types of unemployment periods in a State, for which benefits are payable to an individual under the Federal supplemental unemployment compensation program. Extends such program payments through weeks beginning on or before September 30, 1983. Makes conforming changes in the period of eligibility for such program payments and in provisions for agreements with States.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1983
(Reported to Senate from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources with amendment, S. Rept. 98-135) Dedicates the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, in Maryland, to Gladys Noon Spellman. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to erect adjacent to such parkway an appropriate marker commemorating the contribution of Gladys Noon Spellman. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1983
Designates May 21, 1983, as National Andrei Sakharov Day. Authorizes and requests the President to: (1) call upon all nations to designate May 21, 1983, as National Andrei Sakharov Day; (2) urge the Soviet Union to permit the Sakharovs to freely choose their place of residence; and (3) direct the American delegation to the United Nations to introduce a resolution in the General Assembly calling upon that body to designate May 21, 1983, as International Andrei Sakharov Day.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1983
Authorizes and requests the President to designate the week of April 10 to 16, 1983, as A Week of Remembrance for the Fortieth Anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1983
Authorizes and requests the President to designate the week of April 10 through April 16, 1983, as National Mental Health Week.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1983
Amends the National Sea Grant College Program Act to authorize appropriations for FY 1984 through 1986. Extends authorizations of appropriations through FY 1986 for the sea grant international cooperative program.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1983
Veterans Administration Adjudication Procedure and Judicial Review Act - Title I: Adjudication Procedures - Codifies, for Veterans Administration (VA) adjudication purposes, the burden of proof and reasonable doubt standards currently provided for by VA regulation. States that a claimant has the burden of submitting sufficient evidence to justify his or her claim, and that if an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence exists regarding the merits of a claim, the VA is to resolve such doubt in favor of the claimant. States that VA subpoenas may be served either by personal delivery or by registered or certified mail. Increases the maximum size of the Board of Veterans' Appeals from 50 to 65 members. Requires the chairman of such Board to submit an annual report to the appropriate congressional committees concerning the Board's current handling of cases and projections for the subsequent fiscal year. Requires the Board to: (1) provide notice to a claimant and an opportunity for a hearing before a decision may be based on "additional official information" received after a Board decision has previously been made; and (2) make its decision exclusively on evidence and material of record in the proceeding. Removes the requirement that new material sufficient to allow the Board to reopen a previously disallowed claim be in the form of official reports. Provides that the Board's discretionary authority to reopen a claim will not be diminished by a judicial decision following an appeal as provided for by this Act. Requires the Board to mail to the claimant notice of its decision and the reasons for such decision. Provides that, upon the request of a claimant, the Board shall provide an independent advisory medical opinion when there exists substantial medical disagreement with respect to a material issue in a veteran's appeal. Sets forth new procedural rules for adjudication hearings regarding: (1) oaths, affirmations, and witness examination; (2) admissibility of evidence; (3) procedural rights of claimants; (4) disqualification of a hearing officer; (5) the record of the proceedings and the claimants' right to examine and obtain a copy of such record; and (6) the exclusiveness of veterans' adjudication procedures and rights prescribed by the Administrator. Requires the Administrator to provide at each stage of the appeal proceedings written notice to a claimant of procedural rights and procedures. Directs the Administrator to conduct a study of two alternative claims resolution methods, one a new intermediate-level adjudication process, the other an enhanced schedule of formal Appeals Board hearings. Directs the Administrator to report to Congress on such studies. Title II: Veterans' Administration Rule Making - Includes the VA's rulemaking procedures under the relevant provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. Title III: Judicial Review - Provides for judicial review of VA decisions in the Federal court system. States with regard to jurisdiction: (1) the definition of final decision; (2) that judicial review of a final decision in a claim for benefits may be obtained in a civil action brought within 180 days of the Board's mailing of notice of its decision, and that such action shall be brought in Federal district court; (3) that the VA shall file the various materials constituting the record in a case together with its answer to the claimant's complaint; (4) that the court may render a decision on the pleadings; and (5) that the judicial review procedures established under this Act shall not apply to insurance and home loans. States, with regard to the reviewing court's scope of review, that such court: (1) decide questions of law and interpret constitutional, statutory, and regulatory provisions, but that questions of fact (unless unsupported by substantial evidence) will not be subject to a trial de novo; and (2) in reviewing a final decision of the VA which is adverse to a party solely because such party failed to comply with VA procedures, such court may only review questions concerning such procedures. Sets out provisions regarding remand, survival of actions, and appellate review. Title IV: Attorneys' Fees - Authorizes the Administrator to allow attorneys' fees above the present $10 maximum if the appealing party's claim is allowed by the VA after an initial denial. States that such fee shall be the lesser of: (1) the fee agreed upon by the party and attorney; (2) $500, unless the Administrator approves a greater amount; or (3) if the party and attorney have entered into a contingent-fee agreement, not more than 25 percent of the total of any past-due benefits awarded on the basis of such party's claim. Provides for the approval of attorneys' fees, in successful veterans' claims brought before a court, as provided for under this Act. States that such fees shall be determined by such court, and in contingent-fee agreements such fees shall not exceed 25 percent of the total of any past-due benefits awarded on the basis of such claim. Authorizes attorneys' fees of up to $750 in certain unsuccessful veterans' claims. Prohibits the VA from authorizing payment to a claimant's attorney based on past-due benefits unless such benefits are owed as of the date of the VA's or a court's award. States that such provisions regarding attorneys' fees shall only apply to claims for benefits under the laws administered by the VA and shall not apply in cases in which the VA is the plaintiff or in which other attorneys' fees statutes are otherwise controlling. Title V: Effective Dates - Sets forth the effective dates for this Act.