United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1987
Atomic Safety Act of 1987 - Declares that it is the sense of the Congress that full emergency planning is an essential element of the nuclear enterprise and that no plant should operate without assurance from Federal experts on emergency preparedness that the public health and safety can and will be protected. Prohibits the Nuclear Regulatory Commission from issuing a utilization facility operating license unless the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has issued a finding regarding whether such facility has in place an offsite emergency plan which will provide assurance that the public health and safety will be protected. Revokes upon enactment of this Act any license issued by the Commission that is not based upon such a finding by FEMA.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1987
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex.
United States · United States Congress · 18 October 1986
Emergency Highway Funding Flexibility Act of 1986 - Provides that unobligated funds apportioned to a State prior to October 1, 1986, for highway construction projects may be obligated by such State prior to April 30, 1987, for highway construction projects eligible to receive such funds under any apportionment.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 1986
Designates 1988 as the Year of Workers With Disabilities. Authorizes the President to conduct a program promoting the employment and career advancement of the disabled.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 1986
Honors the United Way on the occasion of its 100th anniversary. Encourages the United Way to continue its fine work and achieve its goal of doubling its resources by 1991.
United States · United States Congress · 9 October 1986
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Social Security Administration should not take actions which impair the ability of the staff of the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program to make eligibility determinations in accordance with the Social Security Disability Benefits Reform Act of 1984. Urges the Social Security Administration to place a higher priority on assisting States in both complying with the 1984 reforms and improving the accuracy of SSDI eligibility determinations.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1986
Global Resources, Environment, and Population Act of 1986 - Declares public policy with respect to promoting national population stabilization and encouraging other nations to achieve population stabilization to balance population, resources, and environmental quality. Requires that Federal policies, regulations, and public laws be interpreted and administered in accordance with this Act. Directs Federal agencies to use reliable demographic, natural resource, and environmental information in planning and decisionmaking and to assist State and local governments in efforts to balance population, resources, and environmental quality. Requires the President, within three years of enactment of this Act, to report to the Congress on: (1) the current and foreseeable trends in national and global population size and age structure; (2) an evaluation of the adequacy of available natural resources to fulfill population requirements; (3) an evaluation of the short-term and long-term impact that such trends will have on the economy and national security of the United States; (4) a review of the effects of Federal, State, and local laws, regulations, programs, and activities on the attainment of national and global population stabilization; and (5) recommendations for legislative actions as considered necessary.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 1986
Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 - Title I: Provisions Relating Primarily to Response and Liability - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) (Superfund) to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to promulgate final reportable quantity regulations for specified hazardous substances by December 31, 1986, or by April 30, 1988. Permits the President to authorize a responsible party to carry out a response action and to conduct a remedial investigation or feasibility study (RI/FS) if certain conditions are met. Requires the President to give priority to releases which may present a public health threat. Requires removal actions to contribute to the efficient performance of any long-term remedial action with respect to the release concerned, to the extent practicable. Prohibits the President from providing removal or remedial actions for releases or threatened releases which are: (1) the product of naturally occurring processes; (2) are in a facility of which such substance forms a structural part; or (3) are due to a water system's expected deterioration. Permits the President to respond despite such prohibition if a public health or environmental emergency exists and no other authority can respond in a timely and competent fashion. Directs the President to notify Federal and State natural resource trustees of potential damage to their resources and to coordinate efforts. Increases the time and dollar limits on initial response actions to 12 months and $2,000,000. Limits the 50 percent or greater State cleanup obligation for the release of hazardous substances at State- or municipally-owned facilities to those facilities which are also operated by such State or municipality. Credits States with expenditures made at National Priorities List (NPL) sites on cost-eligible response actions. Revises other State cost-sharing measures. Provides for reimbursement to States for 90 percent of cleanup costs at State- or municipally-owned, but not operated facilities. Treats long-term cleanup of groundwater or surface water as part of the costs of remedial action for ten years. Authorizes the President to perform limited interim remedial actions where complete remedial action requires recontracting because of additional environmental information. Requires States to assure the availability of hazardous waste disposal facilities sufficient for the next 20 year's wastes. Permits the President to enter into cooperative agreements with State political subdivisions, or Indian tribes for hazardous waste cleanup on a multisite basis with reimbursement of costs associated with securing site responses from responsible parties. Grants EPA employees or contractors the necessary access to facilities and information to determine if the need for a response action exists. Permits the withholding of information on a very limited basis. Authorizes the President to acquire property if necessary for a remedial action. Requires the President to revise the National Contingency Plan within 18 months to reflect this Act's amendments. Requires the President to amend the Hazard Ranking System within 18 months to accurately assess the relative degree of risk to human health and environment posed by sites and facilities subject to review. Permits individuals to petition the President for a preliminary site hazard assessment. Includes contamination of the air and damage to the human food chain as criteria for ranking a hazard. Requires the Administrator to consider using qualified minority firms for contracts under this Act. Requires the President to consider adding to the NPL facilities where special study wastes are present in significant quantities, as specified. Authorizes reimbursement of potentially responsible parties for response costs, as specified. Includes all vessels releasing hazardous substances within the jurisdiction of the United States under the liability provisions of CERCLA. Makes certain health assessment costs recoverable from the responsible party. Exempts from liability for all but negligent actions government agencies responding to a hazardous substance emergency. Directs the President and each Governor to appoint Federal and State trustees, respectively, for natural resources, creating a rebuttable presumption that their assessment of damages to such resources is valid. States that cleanup costs incurred in a response action constitute a Federal lien against the property of a responsible party, except as specified. Sets forth evidentiary requirements for establishing financial responsibility. Permits direct action against a financial guarantor if the person liable is financially or physically unavailable for redress. Entitles such a guarantor to all rights and defenses available to the liable party. Limits the liability of such guarantor to its financial responsibility to the responsible party. Increases criminal penalties and adds certain civil penalties for violations of this Act, including failure to provide accurate information at specified times. Authorizes a reward for information leading to a criminal conviction under this Act. Directs the Administrators of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and EPA to prepare and update a list of hazardous substances which present the most significant potential threat to human health because of their pervasiveness or toxicity. Requires the Administrator of ATSDR to also develop toxicological profiles for each substance, assessing the current state of knowledge of their deleterious effects, and revising such profiles at least every three years. Requires the Administrator to initiate research where inadequate information on a substance is available. Requires Federal coordination of research efforts. Expresses the sense of the Congress that such research costs be borne by the substance's manufacturer or processor. Requires the Administrator to promulgate regulations within one year to implement such payments. Requires the Administrator of ATSDR to perform a health assessment for each NPL facility. Permits the Administrator of ATSDR to conduct health assessments at other facilities as well. Authorizes individuals to petition the Administrator for a health assessment of a site where evidence of human exposure to hazardous substances exists. Requires the completion of health assessments before the completion of remedial investigation and feasibility studies (RI/FS) whenever possible. Grants priority to those sites where the potential risk to human health appears highest. Requires State or local officials conducting a health assessment to report the results and recommendations to the Administrators. Requires the Administrator of ATSDR to provide the affected State and the Administrator of EPA with the results and recommendations of any ATSDR assessment. Directs the Administrator of ATSDR to conduct a pilot study of health effects of exposure whenever justified by an assessment to determine if full scale epidemiological studies are appropriate. Requires the Administrator to establish a registry of exposted persons if appropriate. Directs the Administrator to initiate a health surveillance program for an exposed population if justified by an epidemiological study or exposure registry. Requires the Administrator to report biennially to the Administrator of EPA and the Congress on ATSDR's activities under this Act. Directs the President to abate significant risks to the human population through exposure by providing alternate household water or relocation of individuals, or through other means. Requires peer review of all ATSDR studies and research. Requires the Administrator of ATSDR to provide States and health professionals with educational materials on exposure-related issues. Authorizes appropriations of $8,500,000,000 for the Hazardous Substance Superfund (Superfund) for five years. Authorizes the use of such funds for the treatment of lead-contaminated soil and technical assistance grants to groups affected by releases from NPL facilities. Limits the payment of natural resource claims from Superfund to those who have exhausted all other remedies. Permits the payment out of Superfund of: (1) evaluation of health assessment petition costs; (2) oversight costs where a responsible party is conducting a RI/FS; (3) land acquisition costs where necessary for a response action; (4) research and development costs; (5) reimbursement of local governments; (6) worker training and education grants; (7) rewards; and (8) lead poisoning in children study costs. Prohibits the paying of natural resource claims in any year in which the President determines all of Superfund is needed for responses to threats to public health. Permits the use of Superfund to pay for alternate water supplies in cases involving federally-owned facilities where groundwater contamination exists beyond the Federal boundary and such facility is not the only potentially responsible party. Requires the Inspector General of each Federal agency carrying out Superfund authorities to conduct an annual audit of how such monies were obligated and report to the Congress the results of such audit. Earmarks funds for ASTDR. Limits funds to be spent on research. Requires the President to notify State and local officials when a site is placed on the NPL, thereby limiting the payment of claims. Authorizes appropriations of $212,500,000 for each of FY 1987 through 1991. Prohibits claims against Superfund while a claimant has a cost recovery action pending in the courts. Sets forth claims procedures. Establishes a six-year statute of limitations for cost recovery claims against Superfund with special rules for minors and incompetents. Establishes a three-year statute of limitations for recovery of natural resource damages. Prohibits double recovery. Provides for nationwide service of process under this Act. Permits actions for contribution within three years of a claim's payment. Permits a court to allocate response costs. States that a person who has resolved his or her liability with the United States or a State shall not be liable for claims for contribution. Establishes a three-year statute of limitations for actions for natural resource damages. Establishes a three-year statute of limitations for cost recovery for removal actions unless a waiver for continued response action has been issued when the statute of limitations would extend to six years. Establishes a remedial action statute of limitation of six years, except as specified. Prohibits actions for contribution, actions based upon subrogation of rights, after three years, or actions to recover indemnification payments. States that there is no preenforcement judicial review of selected response actions. Limits review of the adequacy of a federally-selected response action to the administrative record. Excludes from liability under Superfund (but not under the Solid Waste Disposal Act) any service station dealer who collects and appropriately manages for recycling oil unmixed with other hazardous substances which later is released. Directs the President, to the maximum extent practicable, to complete preliminary assessments of all facilities on the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System (CERCLIS) by January 1, 1988, and for other designated facilities by January 1, 1989. Requires evaluations to be conducted within four years of enactment if warranted by the preliminary assessment. Requires the President to publish an explanation if such goals are not achieved. Establishes a schedule for the commencement of RI/FS over the five years after enactment, the first 275 required to be commenced within three years. Requires an opportunity for public participation before the adoption of a plan for remedial action. Requires explanations of deviations from such plan. Authorizes the President to provide grants for technical assistance to groups who may be affected by a release from an NPL facility. Requires the President to give priority where a release has contaminated a principal drinking water supply or closed a well. Requires the Administrator to make a grant to New Jersey for the removal and storage of radon-contaminated soil. Prohibts any person from locating a landfill or placing solid waste in a landfill over the Unconsolidated Quaternary Aquifer, New Jersey. Directs the Comptroller General to study the problem of shortages of skilled personnel in EPA to carry out response actions. Requires the Comptroller to report to the Congress by July 1, 1987. Limits the applicability of State and local requirements for a release or threatened release at the McColl Site, Fullerton, California. Directs the Administrator of ATSDR to report to the appropriate congressional committees on the nature and extent of lead poisoning in children from environmental sources. Exempts the owners/operators of the Milltown Dam, Montana, from otherwise applicable requirements for hazardous substances in the reservoir. Includes permanent relocation costs and other related costs within removal costs at Times Beach, Missouri sites, as specified. Permits the temporary waiver of specified permit requirements under the Solid Waste Disposal Act for mobile incinerator units in Illinois involved in remedial activity. Directs the Administrator to study the use of trucks used for the transportation of both hazardous and non-hazardous materials. Requires the Administrator to report to the Congress within one year on the location, levels, and mitigation of radon and radon daughters. Directs the Administrator to conduct and report annually to the Congress on a radon mitigation demonstration program. Directs the Administrator to establish a hazardous substance research, development, and demonstration center in Jefferson County, Texas, to conduct research for more effective hazardous substance response and waste management throughout the Gulf Coast. Authorizes appropriations. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President may use alternative and innovative methods in selecting a response action for NPL facilities. Directs the Secretary of Energy to carry out a testing of technologies program at the Liquefied Gaseous Fuels Spill Test Facility for responses to liquefied gaseous and other hazardous substance spills. Requires the Secretary to carry out a technology transfer program under this program. Directs the Secretary to contract with a nonprofit organization in Albany County, Wyoming, for technical support. Directs the Administrator to establish a hazardous substance research, development, and demonstration center in the Pacific Northwest, utilizing nonprofit entities. Authorizes the Administrator and the Secretary to enter into interagency agreements to provide research into alternative and innovative technologies for assessing the hazardous waste contamination at the Hanford site, Washington. Removes the Silver Creek Tailing site, Utah, from the NPL unless certain findings are made. Exempts response-action contractors from liability for nonnegligent cleanup activities if they would not otherwise have been liable, including State employees who assist such contractors in their official capacity. Permits the President to indemnify response action contractors for negligence, as specified. Includes Federal facilities under CERCLA as if they were private facilities, except for certain financial responsibility and time period provisions. Applies the relevant State law when a Federal facility is not on the NPL. Requires the Administrator to establish a Federal Agency Hazardous Waste Compliance Docket for each Federal agency and department which will include information on off-site contamination and monitoring data, and releases of reportable quantities of hazardous substances. Requires that such information be made available to the public. Requires the Administrator to evaluate all Federal facilities on the Docket by January 17, 1988, for placement on the NPL, using NCP criteria. Requires the commencement of a RI/FS within six months of a Federal site's placement on the NPL. Directs the Administrator to review the RI/FS and enter into interagency agreements for cleanup when necessary, allowing for public participation. Requires each agency to report annually to the Congress on its implementation progress. Requires Federal agencies to notify buyers or transferees of Federal land where hazardous substances were disposed of or stored. Authorizes State and local participation in the planning and selection of a remedial action. Sets forth special rules to protect national security at defense facilities needing cleanup. Excludes specified Federal facilities from these requirements. Requires the President to select remedial actions which comply with this Act, the NCP, are cost-effective, and protect human health and the environment. Requires such actions to permanently and significantly decrease the toxicity, mobility, or volume of the hazardous substance pollutant, or contaminant to the degreee practicable. Permits the selection of alternative remedial action. Requires the review every five years of sites where the remedial action left hazardous substances, pollutants and contaminants at such sites to determine if human health and the environment are being protected. Requires such sites to comply with other applicable Federal environmental laws such as the Clean Water Act as it concerns groundwater. Restricts the use of any alternate concentration level process in selecting remedial action. Sets forth the relationship between State and Federal environmental standards. Requires removal or remedial actions which transport material to another facility to transfer such material only to facilities in compliance with the Solid Waste Disposal Act and applicable State requirements. Authorizes the President to select a remedial action that does not meet the appropriate legal standard as specified. Requires the President to publish the findings and reasons that led to such a selection before the remedial action is taken. States that no permits are required for onsite remedial actions. Requires the President to promulgate regulations for significant State involvement in the initiation, development, and selection of remedial actions within such State. Requires the President to give a State 30 days notice if a "substandard" remedial action is selected. Permits a State to intervene through the courts to require the action to meet the applicable standard after an examiniation of the evidence. Authorizes the President to enter into agreements whereby the releasor or any potentially responsible party conducts the remedial response. Permits the Administrator to fund part of such response. Limits the liability of the cleaning up party to that specified in the agreement. Permits the President to take action against any person not a party to such agreement. Enters such agreements in the appropriate U.S. district court as consent agreements, enforceable as such. Directs the President to notify potentially responsible parties of each other's identities and of the seriousness of the necessary cleanup, providing a moratorium on the commencement of remedial action for a specified period after such notice has been given. Grants notified persons an opportunity to submit a proposal to the President for the undertaking or financing of remedial action. Provides for a nonbinding, preliminary allocation of responsibility. Permits the President to commence remedial action if no good faith proposal is forthcoming within a specified period. Authorizes the President to proceed on remedial action where a significant public health threat exists regardless of the status of negotiations. Authorizes the President to agree to refrain from pursuing any future liability of a person if an approved response action would be expedited and the person is in full compliance with the consent decree and other conditions are met, as specified. Permits the President to settle with persons whose share of response costs is not substantial. Authorizes Federal agencies to settle certain claims not yet referred to the Department of Justice. Permits the use of arbitration, as specified. Sets forth settlement procedures. Requires natural resource trustees' agreement to covenants not to sue for damage to such resources, permitting agreement if the potentially responsible party agrees to protect and restore such resources. Authorizes the President to reimburse local communities for temporary emergency response measures. Provides a conditional exemption from liability under this Act for persons who own or operate methane-recovery equipment. Requires the President to revise the Hazard Ranking System as it applies to facilities that contain substantial volumes of wastes that relate to the combustion of coal or other fossil fuels. Prohibits the addition of facilities to the NPL on the basis of the volume of such waste until such revision is completed. Requires the Secretary of Labor to promulgate worker protection standards for government and nongovernment employees engaged in hazardous waste operations. Establishes liability limits for ocean incineration vessels under CERCLA. Directs the President to require additional evidence of financial responsibility for such vessels. Title II: Miscellaneous Provisions - Suspends the transfer of liabilities to the Post-Closure Liability Trust Fund until the Comptroller General studies and the Congress enacts legislation concerning options for the management of liabilities after closure. Requires hazardous substances listed under this Act to also be regulated under the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act within 30 days of enactment. Provides a Federal commencement date for State statutes of limitations which are applicable to harm which results from exposure to a hazardous substance. Renames the Hazardous Substance Response Trust Fund the Hazardous Substances Superfund. Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to authorize the Administrator to provide for the cleanup of leaking underground storage tanks. Requires States to inventory all underground storage tanks containing regulated substances. Requires the Administrator to use funds in the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund for such purposes, but holds the owners and operators of such tanks strictly liable for such costs, requiring them to maintain evidence of financial responsibility, except as specified. Authorizes State implementation of such authority under specified conditions, authorizing the Administrator to make grants to such States for such purpose. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to the Congress on the availability of pollution liability insurance for owners and operators of such tanks. Authorizes citizen suits against violators of this Act, including the President and other government officials who fail to perform nondiscretionary duties. Permits citizen suits against nongovernment officials in the Federal district court in which the violation occurred. Permits citizen suits against any Federal official only in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Empowers such courts to impose civil penalties and to order the performance of required Acts. Requires plaintiffs to give notice to the President, the alleged violator, and the State in which the violation occurred before commencing proceedings. Prohibits any citizen suit where the President has commenced and is pursuing an enforcement action. Permits the awarding of court costs to the substantially prevailing party. States that the United States may intervene as a matter of right in all citizen suits in which it is not otherwise a party. Requires the President to provide the assurances that it will pay the share of the remedial action and maintenance costs of a cleanup on Indian lands that is otherwise required to be paid by a State. Authorizes Indian tribes to recover damages for injury to natural resources from hazardous substance releases, except as specified. Includes Indian tribes on the same basis as States under certain provisions of CERCLA. Prohibits the relocation of tribal members because of site contamination without the Tribe's approval. Directs the President to study and report to the Congress on the extent of hazardous waste sites on Indian lands. Establishes a statute of limitations for Indian claims for environmental damages to their lands. Directs the Comptroller General to appoint a study group to determine the insurability of the liability of persons who generate hazardous substances, own or operate facilities liable for costs under CERCLA, or are liable for harm to persons or property caused by the release of such substances into the environment. Requires the delivery of such report to the Congress within 12 months. Establishes a comprehensive and coordinated Federal program of research, development, demonstration, and training to develop alternative and innovative treatment technologies for response actions under Superfund. Establishes a basic university research and education program within the Department of Health and Human Services and a research, demonstration, and training program within EPA. Establishes an advisory council. Adds title IV - Pollution Insurance, to CERCLA. Authorizes the formation of risk retention groups, corporations, or insurance companies to assume and spread the pollution liability of its group members. Sets forth the relationship of such groups to State laws, insurance laws, and securities laws. Directs the Secretary of Defense to carry out a program of environmental restoration on land under the Secretary's jurisdiction through response and remedial actions covered by CERCLA. Requires the Secretary to carry out a research, development and demonstration program with respect to hazardous wastes, in cooperation with the Administrator and an advisory council. Establishes in the Department of Defense a Defense Environmental Restoration Account for environmental restoration purposes. Requires the Secretary to notify the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) of the most commonly found unregulated hazardous substances at defense facilities. Requires the Secretary of HHS to prepare toxicological profiles on such substances. Requires the Secretary of Defense to keep EPA offices and State environmental authorities apprised of Department environmental activities. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress annually on such activities. Permits otherwise unauthorized military construction projects if necessary for a response action. Requires the Administrator to submit an annual progress report to the Congress on implementing this Act. Authorizes the Administrator to make grants to New York State for the acquisition of property in the Love Canal Emergency Declaration Area. Requires the Administrator to enter into a cooperative agreement with New York for the maintenance of such properties. Requires the Administrator to conduct or have conducted a habitability and land-use study. Title III: Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know - Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 - Subtitle A: Emergency Planning and Notification - Directs each Governor to appoint an emergency response commission to supervise and coordinate local emergency planning committees appointed by the State commission to develop, and when necessary, implement, an emergency response plan for hazardous substance emergencies arising out of activities carried on within such district. Requires the Administrator to publish a list of extremely hazardous substances and threshold planning quantities for each substance. Includes under these requirements facilities where such substances are present in such threshold quantities. Permits the inclusion of other facilities after public notice and comment. Requires covered facility owners or operators to notify the State commissions that this Act applies to them and to revise and update such notification as their inventories change. Requires the State to then notify the Administrator. Requires plans to designate an emergency coordinator and each covered facility to identify a facility representative who will participate as a facility emergency coordinator. Requires such plans to also address procedures, methods, routes of transportation, available equipment and resources, and other elements necessary for a coordinated, planned emergency response. Requires State approval of such plans. Sets forth notification procedures, depending upon the nature of the substance. Authorizes existing Federal emergency training programs to provide training programs for government personnel in hazard mitigation, emergency preparedness, and other aspects of emergency training with response to hazardous chemical emergencies specifically in mind. Authorizes appropriations to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for FY 1987 through 1990 for such purpose. Requires the Administrator to review emergency detection systems and report to the Congress with recommendations. Subtitle B: Reporting Requirements - Requires owners or operators required to prepare a material safety data sheet (MSDS) for a hazardous chemical under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) to provide one to the local and State emergency committees and commissions as well as the appropriate fire department. Sets forth the required contents of such sheet and the treatment of mixtures. Requires that MSDS be made available to the public. Requires such owners or operators to also prepare, submit, and annually update an emergency and hazardous chemical inventory form containing two tiers of information relating to: (1) average inventories of categories (tier I) of substances; and (2) information on the amounts and storage of individual chemicals (tier II). Requires that tier II information to be made available to the public. Requires that covered owners or operators grant on-site access to fire officials. Requires such owners or operators to annually complete a toxic chemical release form detailing the use, manufacture, presence, and disposal of listed toxic chemicals during that year. Exempts certain small manufacturers from that requirement. Permits the Administrator to revise the list of chemicals as appropriate to protect human health. Sets forth a petition procedure for the amendment of such list. Sets toxic chemical threshold amounts for reporting purposes, decreasing the triggering amount with each year from July of 1988 through July of 1990. Requires the Administrator to publish a uniform toxic chemical release form for covered facilities. Requires that such forms be available to the public. Authorizes the Administrator to modify reporting frequency, as specified, but requires that the Congress be notified before such a modification takes place. Requires the Administrator to establish and maintain a computer data base of a national toxic chemical inventory based upon the data submitted. Requires the Comptroller General to report to the Congress by June 30, 1991, on the implementation of these requirements by the Administrator and States, including an evaluation of information use. Directs the Administrator to have a mass balance study performed and report to the Congress within five years on the value of mass balance analysis in determining the accuracy of toxic chemical release information. Requires the Administrator to collect such data from States which utilize this methodology. Subtitle C: General Provisions - States that State and local law are not preempted, except as specified, including the MSDS requirements. Permits owners or operators to withhold certain trade secret information (the specific chemical identity) if they meet applicable evidentiary tests, but requires that such information as well as other information be made available to health professionals, as necessary. Requires that the public be informed of the availability of the plans, information sheets, and notifications required by this Act. Sets forth the civil, administrative, and criminal penalties imposed for violations of these requirements. Authorizes citizen suits, permitting the United States and a State to intervene as a matter of right. Exempts transportation of chemicals from these requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Radon Gas and Indoor Air Quality Research - Radon Gas and Indoor Air Quality Research Act of 1986 - Directs the Administrator to establish a radon gas and indoor air quality research program to gather information, coordinate research efforts, and assess Federal mitigation actions. Requires the Administrator to establish an advisory committee and group. Directs the Administrator to submit to the Congress an implementation plan for such program and to report to the Congress within two years on such program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1989.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 1986
Oil Pollution Cleanup Act of 1986 - Title I: Oil Pollution Liability and Compensation - Establishes the Oil Spill Compensation Fund. Makes vessel owners or operators of onshore or offshore facilities liable for removal costs and for economic and natural resource damages including: (1) injury or loss of real or personal property or natural resources; (2) loss of use (including subsistence use) of natural resources; (3) loss or impairment of income, profits, or earning capacity; and (4) loss of tax, royalty, rental or net profits share revenue for not more than one year. Establishes liability limits for: (1) owners and operators of tankers; (2) vessels; (3) lessees and permittees of outer continental shelf facilities; (4) inland barges; and (5) other facility owners. Authorizes the President to establish lower liability limits for other onshore or offshore facilities, and to periodically adjust liability limits in accordance with the Consumer Price Index. Makes the President (or the authorized representative of any State or foreign government) the trustee to act on behalf of the public to recover damages for injury to Federal, State, or foreign government natural resources. Makes the owner or operator of a vessel liable under: (1) this Act; (2) the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage, 1984; (3) maritime tort law; and (4) the Clean Water Act. Directs the President to use the money in the Oil Spill Compensation Fund for specified removal costs and damages. Establishes a $500,000,000 limit per incident. Authorizes the States to have direct access to the Fund for a minimum of $250,000 per discharge or substantial threat of discharge of oil, and to enter into agreements with the President for additional Fund moneys. Requires the owner or operator of certain-size vessels and offshore facilities to establish financial responsibility sufficient to meet the maximum amount of liability to which such persons could be subjected under this Act. Provides for judicial review of regulations and actions under this Act. Grants State courts jurisdiction to hear cases under this Act, as well as under State law. Permits the State to impose additional liability or requirements regarding oil discharges within their borders. Retains the rights of the States to maintain a fund for oil pollution compensation. Authorizes the States to enforce the financial responsibility requirements of this Act. Requires the President to consult with the affected States regarding removal actions. Title II: Conforming Amendments - Makes conforming amendments to the following Acts: (1) the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act; (2) the Clean Water Act; (3) the Intervention on the High Seas Act; (4) the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act; and (5) the Deepwater Port Act. Amends the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act to abolish the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Liability Fund. Replaces the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Liability Fund and the Deepwater Port Liability Fund with the Oil Spill Compensation Fund of this Act. Repeals the oil spill liability provisions of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Amendments of 1978 (thereby replacing the Offshore Oil Pollution Compensation Fund under that Act with the Oil Spill Compensation Fund established in this Act). Title III: Implementation of the International Conventions - States that the liability of an owner for pollution damage arising from an incident involving a ship shall be determined in accordance with the Civil Liability Convention and the International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage, 1984, if the President determines that such Conventions are consistent with the provisions of this Act. Grants Federal recognition to the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund as a legal entity. Sets forth procedural guidelines for Federal implementation and cooperation with such international bodies.
United States · United States Congress · 15 August 1986
Pipeline Safety Act of 1986 - Amends the Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Act to direct the Secretary of Transportation (the Secretary) to promulgate regulations establishing Federal hazardous liquid pipeline safety standards, including requirements for release detection, prevention, and correction, for the transportation of hazardous liquids and for pipeline facilities. Sets forth the factors which the Secretary may consider when promulgating such regulations. Permits the States to adopt standards or requirements that are more stringent than Federal standards or requirements. Makes the Federal standards and requirements applicable to both interstate and intrastate pipelines. (Currently such requirements apply only to interstate facilities.) Increases from $1,000 to $25,000 the civil penalty imposed for violations of this Act. Increases from $25,000 to $250,000 the criminal penalty imposed for violations of this Act. Amends the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 to include within its coverage pipelines and pipeline facilities whether or not the liquids in such facilities have been included under such Act's coverage. Authorizes the commencement of citizens' civil action suits against the Secretary for failure to perform a duty under this Act. Amends the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 to increase from $3,000,000 to $40,000,000 the fees assessed against hazardous liquids transported by pipelines. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1991.
United States · United States Congress · 15 August 1986
Declares that the annual report of the Secretary of Transportation to the Congress entitled, "Highway Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation Program, Seventh Annual Report to Congress" shall be printed as a Senate document and additional copies shall be printed for the use of the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
United States · United States Congress · 14 August 1986
Amends the Department of Housing and Urban Development-Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1986 to make an additional repayable cash advance to the Hazardous Substance Response Trust Fund (Superfund).
United States · United States Congress · 13 August 1986
Amends the Department of Housing and Urban Development-Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1986 to make an additional repayable cash advance to the Hazardous Substance Response Trust Fund (Superfund).
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1986
Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 - Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to prohibit air carriers from discriminating against handicapped persons. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to promulgate regulations to ensure non-discriminatory treatment of such persons.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1986
Commends Eugene Lang for providing disadvantaged young people in inner city schools with the incentive and means to finish high school and attend college. Encourages others to give such young people educational opportunities they do not normally have.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1986
Plastic Waste Reduction Act of 1986 - Title I: Study of Plastic Pollution - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to study and report to the Congress on the adverse effects on the environment of discarding and dumping plastics. Title II: Regulation to Control Plastic Pollution - Requires packaging containers, within 18 months of enactment, to be made of a naturally degradable material which decomposes within a specified period. Permits States or subdivisions to adopt more stringent standards. Establishes criminal penalties for violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1986
Authorizes the President, on behalf of the Congress, to present a gold medal to Red Skelton in recognition of his work on behalf of Americans. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to provide for the sale of bronze duplicates of the medal.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1986
Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 - Title I: Interception of Communications and Related Matters - Amends the Federal criminal code to extend the prohibition against the unauthorized interception of communications to include specific types of electronic communications. (Present law prohibits the interception of wire and oral communications only.) Specifies certain exceptions with respect to electronic communications. Extends such prohibition to the communications of any provider of wire or electronic communication services. (Present law extends only to communications common carriers.) Provides for reduced criminal penalties where the unauthorized access to the electronic communication is not for a tortious or illegal purpose or private commercial gain. States that the interception of certain satellite transmissions is not an offense unless it is for the purposes of direct or indirect commercial advantage or private financial gain. Prohibits any person or entity providing an electronic communication service, with specified exceptions, from knowingly divulging the contents of any communication carried on that service. Allows any person whose wire, oral, or electronic communication is intercepted, disclosed, or willfully used to bring a civil action to recover damages. (Present law allows such a civil action only for the interception or use of wire or oral communications.) Revises the amount of damages which may be recovered in such actions. Specifies a two-year statute of limitations for the commencement of such actions. Specifies additional crimes for which the interception of wire, oral, or electronic communications can be authorized in the course of the investigation of such crimes. Sets forth additional requirements for applications, court orders, and the implementation of court orders for the interception of such communications. Provides that certain intelligence activities approved by the Attorney General shall not be affected by certain provisions of Federal law. Allows a court-authorized mobile tracking device to be used outside the jurisdiction of that court. Makes it a criminal offense to warn a person that he or she is the subject of surveillance. Allows the Attorney General to initiate a civil action to obtain an injunction to prevent felony level violations of this Act. Title II: Stored Wire and Electronic Communications and Transactional Records Access - Makes it a criminal offense to: (1) willfully access, without authorization, a facility through which an electronic communication service is provided; or (2) willfully exceed an authorized access to such facility. Prohibits the provider of an electronic communication service or remote computing service, except under certain circumstances, from divulging the contents of any communication stored, carried, or maintained by such service. Sets forth the procedural requirements for a governmental entity to obtain access to electronic communications in electronic storage, including court-ordered back-up copies of the contents of such communications. Allows any subscriber or customer of a communication service who is aggrieved by a willful or intentional violation of this Act to initiate a civil action to recover appropriate relief. Grants the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) access to telephone or communication service information and records relevant to any authorized foreign counterintelligence investigation. Prohibits any official or employee or a communications common carrier or service provider from disclosing to any person that the FBI has sought or obtained such access. Title III: Pen Registers - Prohibits the installation or use of a pen register or a tracking device without a court order pursuant to this Act or under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. Imposes criminal penalties for violations of such prohibition. Authorizes Government attorneys and State law enforcement officers to apply for a court order allowing the installation and use of a pen register or tracking device. Allows the issuance of such an order if the attorney or law enforcement officer certifies that information likely to be obtained by such installation is relevant to an ongoing criminal investigation. Requires providers of wire communications, landlords, custodians, and other persons to furnish all information, facilities, and technical assistance necessary to accomplish the installation of a pen register if such assistance is ordered by the court. Requires that anyone providing such assistance be compensated for any reasonable expenses incurred. Requires the Attorney General to report annually to the Congress on the number of pen register orders applied for by law enforcement agencies of the Department of Justice.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1986
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) it is against the national security interests of the United States to abandon existing strategic offensive arms agreements by exceeding the numerical sublimits of such agreements as long as the Soviet Union remains within such sublimits; (2) the Soviet Union should take steps to resolve U.S. concerns about Soviet violations of existing strategic arms agreements and to negotiate a new agreement; and (3) the Congress and the President should continue to review the policy of mutual adherence to the numerical sublimits on launchers of strategic nuclear delivery systems and the significance of both Soviet compliance and noncompliance with existing strategic offensive arms agreements.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1986
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Director of the National Institutes of Health should transfer the Silver Spring Monkeys to the Primarily Primates, Inc., animal sanctuary in San Antonio, Texas.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1986
Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act - Requires States to provide by law for elections for Federal office: (1) absentee registration and absentee voting for uniformed services voters and overseas voters; and (2) the use of alternative write-in absentee ballots by overseas voters when State absentee ballots are not available. Directs the President to designate the head of an executive department to have primary responsibility for the administrative functions of this Act, including: (1) prescribing an official postcard form containing a voter registration and an absentee ballot application; (2) prescribing an alternative write-in ballot for overseas voters; (3) prescribing forms and designs for balloting materials; (4) distributing election materials; (5) reporting to the Congress in the year immediately following a presidential election year on its effectiveness; and (6) consulting State and local election officials in carrying out this Act. Provides for the distribution of official postcards. Sets forth recommendations to the States in carrying out provisions of this Act. Provides for Federal and State write-in absentee ballots for overseas voters. Declares balloting materials under this Act free of postage. Establishes criminal and civil penalties for violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1986
Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1986 - Title I: General Provisions Amendments - Amends the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (the Act) to direct the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to ensure that the Rehabilitation Services Administration staff shall: (1) be in sufficient numbers to meet program needs and at levels to attract and maintain the most qualified personnel; and (2) include individuals with training experience in rehabilitation services and with competencies which meet professional standards. Revises the definitions of "evaluation of rehabilitation potential" and "severe handicap." Adds definitions of "employability," "rehabilitation engineering," and "supported employment." Authorizes the Commissioner of Rehabilitative Services (the Commissioner) to: (1) provide monitoring and conduct evaluations; and (2) appoint necessary task forces. Revises provisions for program and project evaluation to: (1) require the use of appropriate methodology and evaluative research designs; and (2) give the Commissioner, rather than the Secretary, responsibility for carrying out such evaluations. Permits up to one-half of one percent of funds appropriated for discretionary grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements under the Act to be used to provide non-Federal panels of experts to review applications for such grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements. Adds provisions for review of grant or contract applications. Directs the Commissioner to: (1) assess the direct and indirect cost rates charged by State agencies administering State plans or entering into cooperative agreements under the Act; and (2) report on such assessment to the Congress by February 1, 1987. Title II: Vocational Rehabilitation Services - Extends through FY 1990 the authorization of appropriations for grants to States (and Indian tribes) for provision of vocational rehabilitation services and for innovation and expansion of such services. Revises requirements for State plans for vocational rehabilitation services. Requires such plans to: (1) include the results of a comprehensive, State-wide assessment of the rehabilitation needs of all individuals with severe handicaps residing within the State and the State's response to the assessment; (2) describe how rehabilitation engineering services will be provided to assist an increasing number of individuals with handicaps; (3) provide for cooperative agreements with mental health community support programs; (4) provide for conducting a full needs assessment for serving individuals with severe handicaps; and (5) provide satisfactory assurances that the State has an acceptable plan for supported employment services for severely handicapped individuals. Revises provisions for individualized written rehabilitation programs. Requires that each such program to: (1) be developed to achieve the employability of the individual; (2) include, where appropriate, a statement of the specific rehabilitation engineering services to be provided; (3) include an assessment of the expected need for post-employment services; and (4) provide for a reassessment of the need for post-employment services prior to case closure, and a statement, where appropriate for severely handicapped individuals, of how such services will be provided. Revises provisions for review of determinations. Changes the scope of vocational rehabilitation services that must be provided under the Act to include rehabilitation engineering services designed to help individuals with handicaps to increase their functional abilities and potential for self-sufficiency. Revises provisions for the client assistance program. Permits the Governor of a State to remove an agency designated as a client assistance agency only for good cause and after notice. Authorizes the Commissioner to increase minimum allotments under the client assistance program under specified circumstances. Directs the Secretary to pay a client assistance agency a specified amount. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1990 for the client assistance program. Title III: Research and Training - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1990 for the National Institute of Handicapped Research and for research grants for methods and devices to assist in the provision of vocational and rehabilitation services for handicapped individuals. Adds provisions specifying the purpose and functions of the Pacific Basin Research and Training Center. Includes the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health on the Interagency Committee on Handicapped Research. Includes among research projects which may receive funding: (1) studies and analyses of recreational factors affecting rehabilitation of handicapped individuals; and (2) studies, analyses, and other activities related to supported employment. Prohibits the host institution with which the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center is affiliated from collecting more than 15 percent in indirect cost charges. Adds to the functions of Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers the demonstration and dissemination of innovative models for the delivery of cost-effective rehabilitation engineering services to meet the needs of, and address barriers confronted by, individuals with handicaps. Requires that at least two such Centers be established in FY 1987, one in South Carolina and one in Connecticut. Includes the National Institute of Mental Health among agencies to be in joint projects involving rehabilitation. Authorizes the Commissioner to arrange for site visits in evaluating research demonstration and related projects. Title IV: Supplementary Services and Facilities - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1990 for: (1) grants for construction of rehabilitation facilities, staffing, and planning assistance; (2) vocational training services for handicapped individuals; (3) training for personnel involved in providing rehabilitation services for handicapped individuals; (4) comprehensive rehabilitation centers; (5) special projects and supplementary services; and (6) special recreational programs. Includes, under provisions for personnel training grants and contracts, personnel specifically trained to identify, assess, and meet the individual rehabilitation needs of individuals with severe handicaps. Includes among the areas to which personnel training funds may be targeted: (1) rehabilitation engineering; (2) rehabilitation dentistry; (3) physical education; (4) therapeutic recreation; (5) specialized personnel in providing employment training for supported employment; and (6) other specialized personnel for those individuals who meet the definition of severely handicapped. Adds new provisions under provisions for special demonstration programs. Authorizes grants for developing special projects and demonstrations providing supported employment (at least one nationwide in scope), and grants for technical assistance to States in implementing new provisions for supported employment services for severely handicapped individuals. Directs the Commissioner to report annually to the Congress on such grants. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1990 for such grants. Directs the Commissioner to make a grant to a public agency in Massachusetts to expand existing model Statewide transitional planning services to severely handicapped youth. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1990 for such grants. Revises provisions for special recreational programs. Allows grants for such programs to be made to nonprofit private organizations. Includes among authorized program activities leisure education, leisure networking, leisure resource development, physical education, and sports. Requires that, whenever possible and appropriate, such program and activities be: (1) provided in settings with nonhandicapped peers; and (2) designed to demonstrate ways of assisting in maximizing the independence and community integration of individuals with handicaps. Requires that each such grant be for a minimum three-year period. Title V: National Council on the Handicapped - Revises the purpose and duties of the National Council on the Handicapped (the Council). Directs the Council to: (1) examine data on the circumstances of disabled citizens with respect to employment, income, housing, community living, education, discrimination, health services, and participation in community activities; (2) establish goals for individuals with handicaps to be reach by the year 2000 in each of those areas, and recommend strategies to meet such goals; (3) issue a report on such goals and strategies within six months after enactment of this Act; and (4) issue a biannual report, beginning on January 30, 1989, to the President and the Congress outlining national progress in meeting such goals. Directs the Council to: (1) review and assess Federal enforcement of compliance with provisions of the Act for employment of the handicapped under Federal contracts and nondiscrimination under Federal grants and programs and with the provisions of the Education of All Handicapped Children Act of 1975; and (2) report to the Congress and the President, within one year after enactment of this Act, outlining the results of such assessment, with recommendations. Directs the Council, within three months after the enactment of this Act, to transmit to the Congress a transition plan for implementation of these amendments relating to the Council. Authorizes appropriations for the Council for FY 1987 through 1990. Title VI: Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board Reauthorization - Extends the authorization of appropriations for the Architectural and Transportation Compliance Board through FY 1990. Title VII: Projects with Industry and Business Opportunies for Handicapped Individuals - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1990 for community services employment pilot programs for individuals with handicaps. Revises the purpose and scope of projects with industry. Requires such projects to create and expand job opportunities for individuals with handicaps by providing for the establishment of appropriate job placement services. Provides for evaluation reports and technical assistance for such projects. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1990 for projects with industry. Establishes a new part C of title VI of the Act: Supported Employment Services for Severely Handicapped Individuals. Authorizes grants under such part C to assist States in developing collaborative programs with appropriate public agencies and private nonprofit organizations for training and short-term post-employment services leading to supported employment for severely handicapped individuals. Sets forth provisions relating to: (1) eligibility; (2) State allotments; (3) State plans; and (4) availability and comparability of services. Authorizes appropriations for such services for FY 1987 through 1990. Title VIII: Services of Independent Living - Revises provisions for comprehensive services for independent living. Requires State plans to provide assurances that the State will consider recommendations of the State Independent Living Council in determining how independent living services will be expanded or modified. Requires each State receiving such assistance to establish a State Independent Living Council. Sets forth the duties of, and membership guidelines for, such councils. Requires each Center for Independent Living to have a board which is composed of a majority of handicapped individuals or parents, guardians, or family members of handicapped individuals. Includes recreation among the services offered by such centers. Shortens the deadline for State applications for assistance for such centers. Provides for evaluation and review of grants for such centers. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1990 for the following provisions under title VII (Comprehensive Services for Independent Living) of the Act: (1) comprehensive services; (2) centers for independent living; (3) independent living services for older blind individuals; and (4) general provisions (protection and advocacy of individual rights and employment of handicapped individuals). Title IX: Helen Keller National Center - Amends the Helen Keller National Center Act to authorize appropriations for FY 1987 through 1990 to carry out such Act. Title X: Technical Amendments and Miscellaneous Provisions - Makes technical amendments to the Act. Requires that the President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped be guided by the general policies of the National Council on the Handicapped.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1986
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the 50-year-old tax exemption of the 84 nonprofit, community-based Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans be retained without modification.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1986
Encourages State and local governments and local educational agencies to require quality daily physical education programs for all children from kindergarten through grade 12.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1986
Prompt Payment Amendments of 1986 - Revises Federal law to deem the head of an agency to receive an invoice on the fifth day after the date on which a property is actually delivered, or final performance of a service is actually completed, unless the contract specifies otherwise. Makes Federal prompt payment provisions applicable to the United States Postal Service. Reduces the 15-day grace period for payment of interest penalties to eight days for solicitations issued before October 1, 1988. Requires an agency to pay a double interest penalty if it fails to meet such grace period and the business concern makes a written demand that the agency pay such penalty. Makes the interest penalty provisions applicable to construction contracts for progress payments and retained amounts. Specifies the calculation of time for interest penalties on discount payments. Revises agency reporting requirements on interest penalty payments to include a description of agency payment practices. Requires the modification of Government-wide procurement regulations to implement Federal prompt payment provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1986
Antitrust Improvement Act of 1986 - Amends the Clayton Act to authorize claims for damages based on indirect purchases, and claims on behalf of agricultural producers based on indirect sales, in antitrust actions brought by State attorneys general alleging price fixing. Entitles a defendant in such an action to allege, as a defense to a claim by a direct purchaser or seller based on the same conduct, that the direct purchaser's or seller's damages were passed on to indirect purchasers or sellers on whose behalf a claim has been brought. Requires the award for a claim based on indirect purchases or sales to be treble the amount of the overcharge or underpayment shown by the indirect purchaser or seller to be properly allocable to it. Provides that in the case where no claim by a direct purchaser or seller is pending, the defendant shall have the burden of establishing that the total overcharge or underpayment was not passed on to the indirect purchaser or seller. Prohibits duplicate awards for the same overcharge or underpayment. Entitles a person alleging injury from indirect purchases or sales to intervene in an action alleging injury from direct purchases or sales based on the same conduct, if such person requests such intervention within six months after the initial action is filed, after which time a claim by such person based on such conduct shall be barred. Allows any person alleging injury from a direct purchase or sale to intervene in an action alleging injury by an indirect purchase or sale based on the same conduct. Directs the court to consolidate such actions at the request of the defendant. Directs the State attorney general to provide public notice of the allegations of a suit alleging injury from indirect purchases or sales and a description of any direct purchasers who may be entitled to sue. Directs the plaintiff, upon initiating an action alleging injury from direct purchases or sales, to provide the State attorney general with reasonable notice of the allegations of the suit.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1986
Medicare Home Health Care Improvement Act of 1986 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to set limits on Medicare payments for home health services, but requires that such limits be applied on an aggregate rather than a discipline-specific basis for home health agencies. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to take all current cost data into account when computing costs to which payment limits are applied. Requires that Medicare regulations be open to public notice and comment to the same extent to which rulemaking is subject to such procedures by the Administrative Procedure Act. Directs hospitals to implement a discharge planning process which meets guidelines and standards, to be established by the Secretary, ensuring patients a timely and smooth transition to the most appropriate type of, and setting for, post-hospital or rehabilitative care.
![Official portrait of Sen. Stafford, Robert T. [R-VT]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/s000776_200.jpg)