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United States · Official source
1,874 records where Sen. Stafford, Robert T. [R-VT] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1979
Authorizes and requests the President to designate the month of June of each year as "National First Aid Month."
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1979
Congressional Award Program Act - Establishes the Congressional Award Program in the United States and its territories to recognize and promote youth leadership and excellence in the areas of expedition fitness, personal creative development, and public service. Creates a Congressional Award Board with a Director to supervise such program. Authorizes the appointment of State award directors under this Act. Exempts the Board, its property, and its income from present and future Federal, State, and local taxation, with specified exceptions. Creates three Congressional Award Medals to the awarded under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1979
Title I: Nurse Training - Nurse Training Amendments of 1979 - Amends title VIII of the Public Health Service Act to extend the assistance program for nurse training and students, generally at reduced levels of authorization through fiscal year 1980. Directs the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to: (1) arrange for the conduct of a study, either with the National Academy of Sciences (if such body agrees) or with another public or nonprofit private entity (if the Academy declines), to determine the need to continue a specific Federal assistance program for nursing education, taking into account specified factors; and (2) report to Congress on such study by January 15, 1980. Title II: Other Health Professions Programs - Amends title VII of the Public Health Service Act (Health Research and Teaching Facilities and Training of Professional Health Personnel) to authorize the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to increase the ceiling on federally insured loans in any academic year to a medical student in a school of medicine, osteopathy, or dentistry from $10,000 to $15,000 upon a determination that educational costs require such increase. Increases the aggregate insured unpaid principal amount for all such insured loans made to any such borrower from $50,000 to $60,000. Authorizes the Secretary to defer the date used with respect to service requirements for National Health Service Corps scholarships for students of medicine, osteopathy, or dentistry for a period longer than the current three-year limit for such deferment. Exempts a medical or osteopathic school participating in an area health education center program from the requirement that such school conduct a program for training physician assistants or nurse practitioners which emphasizes enrolling individuals from the area served by the center of the program, if another school participating in the same program meets such requirement. Increases from $5,000,000 to $10,000,000 the sums which may be obligated for schools of medicine and other types of health care which are financially distressed or unaccredited, from the total authorizations for start-up assistance, financial distress training, and curriculum development of medical schools. Amends the Health Professions Educational Assistance Act of 1976 to extend authorization of appropriations through fiscal year 1981 for certain area health education programs which are funded under the Public Health Service Act prior to October 12, 1976.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1979
Constitutional Amendment - Provides that the people of the several States, and the District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall elect the President and Vice President. Requires each elector to cast a single vote for two persons who shall have consented to the joining of their names as candidates for the offices of President and Vice President. Requires the electors of President and Vice President in each State to have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislature, except that for electors of President and Vice President, the legislature of any State may prescribe less restrictive residence qualifications and for electors of President and Vice President the Congress may establish uniform residence qualifications. Provides that the pair of persons having the greatest number of votes for President and Vice President shall be elected, if such number is at least 40 percent of the whole number of votes cast. Provides that if no pair of persons has such number, a runoff election shall be held in which the choice of President and Vice President shall be made from the two pairs of persons who received the highest numbers of votes. Requires the days for such elections to be determined by Congress and to be uniform throughout the United States. Requires Congress to prescribe by law the time, place, and manner in which the results for such elections shall be ascertained and declared. Allows Congress to provide for the case of the death, inability, or withdrawal of any candidate for President or Vice President before a President and Vice President have been elected, and for the case of the death of both the President-elect and Vice President-elect.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1979
Department of Education Organization Act of 1979 - Title I: General Provisions - Declares the purposes of this Act to be to: (1) insure that education receives the appropriate emphasis at the Federal levels; (2) coordinate Federal educational programs; (3) supplement and complement the educational efforts of State, local, and tribal governments, as well as the private sector; and (4) protect the rights of State, local, and tribal governments, and public and non-public educational institutions in the areas of educational policies, administration of programs, and selection of curriculums and program content. Title II: Establishment of Department - Establishes an executive department to be known as the Department of Education to be headed by a Secretary of Education. Establishes, within such Department, offices of Assistant Secretary for: (1) Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; (2) Postsecondary Education; (3) Elementary and Secondary Education; (4) Occupational, Adult, and Community Education; and (5) Educational Research and Development. Establishes within such Department: (1) a Director of the Office of Civil Rights; (2) two additional Assistant Secretaries; (3) an Inspector General; (4) a General Counsel; and (5) an Administrator of Education for Overseas Dependents. Includes, within the functions of such Department, the administration of programs relating to: (1) elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education; (2) occupational, adult, and community education; (3) grants; (4) special education and rehabilitative services; (5) schools for overseas dependents of the Department of Defense; (6) enforcement of civil rights; (7) educational research; (8) intergovernmental policies; (9) public information; and (10) congressional relations. Establishes, within such Department, Offices of: (1) Civil Rights; (2) Elementary and Secondary Education; (3) Postsecondary Education; (4) Occupational, Adult, and Community Education; (5) Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; (6) Education for Overseas Dependents; (7) Educational Research and Improvement; (8) Inspector General; and (9) General Counsel. Establishes within such Department an Intergovernmental Advisory Council on Education to assure the effective coordination of Federal programs. Establishes a Federal Interagency Committee on Education to assist the Secretary in coordinating the procedures and actions of the Department with other Federal agencies. Title III: Transfers of Agencies and Functions - Transfers to the Department from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW): (1) the Education Division of HEW, including the National Institute of Education; (2) the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Education, including the National Center for Education Statistics; (3) the Institute of Museum Services; (4) any advisory committees primarily concerned with education; and (5) the Office of Information and Resources for Handicapped Individuals; (6) the Rehabilitation Services Administration, except the part of such Administration that administers the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act; (7) the National Institute of Handicapped Research; (8) the Interagency Committee on Handicapped Research; (9) the Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youth and Adults; and (10) the National Council on the Handicapped. Transfers from HEW to the Department of Education educational functions regarding: (1) the General Education Provisions Act; (2) the Emergency School Aid Act; (3) the Higher Education Act of 1965; (4) the Emergency Insured Student Loan Act of 1969; (5) the Act of August 30, 1898; (6) title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965; (7) certain provisions of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Education Act; (8) the International Education Act of 1966; (9) the National Defense Education Act of 1958; (10) the Education of the Handicapped Act; (11) the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science Act; (12) the Vocational Education Act of 1963; (13) the Career Education Incentive Act; (14) the Office of Civil Rights; (15) the budgetary oversight of certain educational institutions; (16) certain loans and scholarships for students in the medical and health services under the Public Health Service Act; (17) certain provisions under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; (18) the National Institute of Education and the Institute of Museum Services; (19) Gallaudet College, Howard University, the American Printing House for the Blind, and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf; and (20) telecommunications grants under the Communications Act of 1934. Transfers to the Department of Education from the Departments of: (1) Defense, the administration and operation of overseas dependents schools; (2) Justice, the student loan and grant programs known as the Law Enforcement and Education Program and the Law Enforcement Intern Program; and (3) Housing and Urban Development, the administration of college housing loans. Transfers to the Department of Education: (1) specified functions of the National Science Foundation; and (2) the Advisory Council on Educational Statistics. Title IV: Administrative Provisions - Authorizes the Secretary to appoint and fix the salaries for the Department's employees in accordance with the civil service laws. Allows certain higher level appointments to be made by the Secretary without Civil Service Commission approval if the individual so appointed is transferred to the Department in connection with a transfer of functions under this Act. Stipulates that Congress shall authorize the annual number of personnel for the Department of Education. Establishes guidelines for computing such personnel authorization. Grants rulemaking authority to the Secretary. Requires such rules to be in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act and specified provisions of the General Education Provisions Act. Authorizes the Secretary to (1) employ experts and consultants; (2) enter into contracts with public agencies and private persons and organizations; (3) provide technical advice to participants or potential participants in Departmental programs; (4) maintain, alter, or discontinue field offices; (5) acquire and maintain schools, laboratories, and related facilities; (6) provide and maintain various facilities for employees and their dependents at remote locations; (7) utilize, with their consent, Federal, State, tribal, or foreign facilities; (8) acquire necessary copyrights and patents; (9) accept and utilize gifts and requests of real and personal property; (10) establish a working capital fund for administrative expenses; and (11) transfer funds within the Department. Directs the Secretary to submit an annual report to the Congress concerning the Department's activities. Stipulates that such report include: (1) a statement of goals and priorities; (2) an assessment of progress; (3) an analysis of data concerning changing trends in education and areas of particular educational concern; (4) five-year budget projections; and (5) recommendations made by the Federal Interagency Committee on Education. Requires that public hearings be held as part of the preparation of such report. Directs that the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget jointly conduct a study of the administration of Federal Indian education programs, and that such study be submitted to the Congress and the President within six months of enactment of this Act. Stipulates that such study contain; (1) an analysis of problems and recommendations for improvements; and (2) recommendations concerning the proper organizational structure for Indian education programs within the Federal Government. Provides that, except where inconsistent with provisions of this Act, the General Education Provisions Act shall apply to functions transferred by this Act. Title V: Transitional, Savings, and Conforming Provisions - Redesignates the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare as the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare as the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Title VI: Effective Date and Interim Appointment - Directs that this Act shall take effect 180 days after the Secretary of Education takes office, or earlier if the President so decides. Authorizes the President to make initial interim appointments to the Department of Education under specified conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1979
Provides chiropractic treatment for eligible veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1979
Regulatory Procedures Improvements Act of 1979 - Directs each Federal agency to publish an explanation of the need of each proposed, significant rule at least 30 days before publication of the general notice of the rule in the Federal Register. Requires each agency to include in the general notices: (1) a justification of the utilization of a design standard rather than a performance standard in a rule; (2) an evaluation of the paperwork requirements to be imposed on the public by such rule; (3) the effects of the rule or national and international competition; and (4) a summary of the regulatory analysis of the rule. Directs each agency to prepare for each significant rule a regulatory analysis which: (1) describes the major alternatives to the rule which address the matter with which the rule is concerned; (2) describes the economic impact on the private sector and State and local governments of each alternative method considered; (3) analyzes the costs to the Federal Government of monitoring compliance with each alternative; and (4) includes a justification of the selection of the final rule. Directs the agency to revise such analysis to reflect any modifications in the proposed rule and to describe the public comments which were or were not incorporated into the final rule. Requires each agency to make such analysis available to the public. Requires each agency to report to Congress annually on the regulatory activities of the agency during the current fiscal year, the planned activities for the succeeding year, and the cost-effectiveness of agency rules in effect during the fiscal year ending three years prior to the reporting year. Requires each agency to report to Congress every three years on the paperwork requirements of the agency. Requires each agency to set an expiration date for each rule promulgated after enactment of this Act. Declares that each such rule shall expire within five years of its effective date, and each existing rule shall expire within seven years of the enactment date, unless repromulgated by the agency. Directs the Comptroller General to report to Congress within three years on the implementation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
National Ski Patrol System Recognition Act of 1979 - Grants a Federal charter to the National Ski Patrol System. Declares that the purpose of such corporation shall be to promote public safety in skiing.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Sunset Act of 1979 - Title I: Reauthorizations of Government Programs - Sets forth a ten-year schedule for reauthorization of all Federal programs according to budget function and subfunction as set forth in the Budget of the United States Government for Fiscal Year 1979. Sets forth the procedure in the House of Representatives and the Senate for the consideration of any bill, resolution, or amendment which authorizes new budget authority. States that it is not in order for either House to consider any legislation which authorizes the enactment of new budget authority for a program for a period of more than ten years, for an indefinite period, or for any fiscal year beginning after the next reauthorization date applicable to such program. Provides that before the Congress can appropriate funds for any program, after its first reauthorization date, there must be a specific authorization in law to support the appropriation. Requires the committees of the Senate and House of Representatives to conduct a sunset review of programs during the Congress in which such programs are scheduled for review. Requires that the report accompanying such reauthorization contain specified information, and that the report be completed during the Congress in which the program is scheduled for reauthorization. Exempts from the requirements of this Act specified programs such as interest on Federal debts, health care services, general retirement and disability payments, as well as litigation activities which have as their objectives the protection and implementation of civil rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States and specified retirement pay and benefits. Allows the reauthorization schedule set forth in this Act to be changed by concurrent resolution of the two Houses of Congress and sets forth the procedure for such change. Requires all legislation and other matters related to changes in the dates for programs under this Act to be referred to the committee with legislative jurisdiction over any program affected by the proposal and, sequentially, to the Committee on Rules in the House of Representatives and to the Committee on Rules and Administration in the Senate. Requires such committees to report any concurrent resolution or bill referred to it by a committee of legislative jurisdiction within 30 days, with a statement on each of its recommendations. Makes provisions for any proposed change which has been reported by a committee before June 1, 1980. Title II: Program Inventory - Directs the Comptroller General and the Director of the Congressional Budget Office, in cooperation with the Director of the Congressional Research Service, to prepare an inventory of Federal programs. Declares that the purpose of such program inventory is to advise and assist Congress in carrying out the reauthorization and reexamination requirements and to link such reauthorization and review process with the budget process. Requires the Comptroller General to submit such program inventory to each House of Congress no later than January 1, 1980. Sets forth the contents of the inventory program, including the type of authorization provided for such programs' new budget authority, and the manner in which related program areas may be grouped for evaluation and review. Permits the congressional committees, the Congressional Budget Office, and the Congressional Research Service to review the program inventory and suggest revisions. Requires that the program inventory be revised at the end of each session of Congress, and that such revisions be reported to each House. Requires that periodic reports tabulate the progress of congressional action on bills and resolutions authorizing budget authority for programs in the inventory. Requires the Comptroller General and the Director of the Congressional Budget Office to submit periodic reports to the Congress on the adequacy of the functional and subfunctional categories for grouping programs of like missions or objectives. Title III: Program Reexamination - Requires each committee of the Senate and the House of Representatives to reexamine selected programs or groups of programs over which it has jurisdiction. Sets forth procedures for such review, and criteria for selection of program areas for evaluation. Directs each Senate committee to consult with the appropriate committees of either the House of Representatives or the Senate in order to achieve coordination of program reevaluation and inform itself of the related activities of or available assistance from the General Accounting Office, the Congressional Budget Office, the Congressional Research Service, the Office of Technology Assessment, and appropriate instrumentalities in the executive and judicial branches. Requires each Senate committee to deliver a report on the reexamination to the Secretary of the Senate at the date specified in the funding resolution first reported by such committee in 1981, and thereafter reported for the first session of each Congress. Allows two or more committees which have legislative jurisdiction over the same programs or portions of the same programs to examine such programs jointly and submit a joint report. Stipulates that such report: (1) contain the findings, recommendations, and justifications of the program; and (2) include specified information including, but not limited to, an assessment of the cost-effectiveness of the program and an identification of any trends, developments, and emerging conditions which are likely to affect the nature and extent of the problems or needs which the program is intended to address. Requires each executive department or agency which is responsible for a program selected for reexamination to submit a report to the Office of Management and Budget and to the appropriate committees of the Congress on its findings, recommendations, and justifications of specified aspects of the program. Title IV: Citizens' Commission on the Organization and Operation of Government - Establishes, as an independent instrumentality of the United States, the Citizens' Commission on the Organization and Operation of Government to conduct a nonpartisan study and investigation of the organization and methods of operation of all departments, agencies, independent instrumentalities, and other authorities of the executive branch of the Government, and to make such recommendations as it determines are necessary to promote economic, efficient and improved services in the transaction of public business. Requires the Commission to submit interim reports to the President and the Congress, and to submit a final report with its findings and recommendations. Requires the Comptroller General to report once a year for two years after submission of the Commission's final report on the status of actions taken as a result of the report. Specifies the composition of the 15-member Commission and sets forth the duties and powers of the Commission. States that the Commission shall cease to exist 90 days after submission of its final report. Authorizes to be appropriated until September 30, 1984, without fiscal year limitations, $4,000,000 to carry out the provisions of this Title. Title V: Regulatory Impact - Requires the President to submit, at the beginning of each of the five Congresses beginning with the 97th Congress, an analysis of the purpose, function, and efficiency of 16 specified regulatory agencies. Requires the President to submit legislative plans, based on such analyses, for the improvement of operations of such agencies. Establishes a schedule according to which plans for specified agencies will be submitted early in each of the five Congresses for which the required analyses are submitted. Directs the President, with each plan, to submit a report on the cumulative impact of government regulatory activity on specific industry groupings. Directs the Comptroller General and the Director of the Congressional Budget Office to assess each of the agencies included in the President's plans and to analyze such plans, and submit such information to the Congress. Title VI: Government Accountability - Requires the President, beginning with the first year of the 97th Congress, to submit biennially, as a part of the budget, a report on the management of the executive branch. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to provide an evaluative report on Federal programs to the President to be included with the President's report. Title VII: Miscellaneous - Amends the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 to permit the committees of Congress to obtain from the agencies of the government estimates or requests for appropriations or requests for increases in an item of any such estimate or request, and recommendations as to how the revenue needs of the government should be met. Declares that nothing shall require the public disclosure of records which are specifically authorized under criteria established by an Executive order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy and are in fact properly classified pursuant to such Executive order, or which are otherwise specifically protected by law. Provides that the committees of the Senate or the House of Representatives shall not be required to publicly disclose any such records, except as otherwise provided by the rules of either House. Sets forth administrative procedures and requirements. Directs the President, with the cooperation of the head of each appropriate agency, to submit to the Congress a "Regulatory Duplication and Conflicts Report" for all programs scheduled for reauthorization in the next Congress. Stipulates that each such report identify duplicative or conflicting rules and regulations promulgated by executive departments, independent agencies, and State and local governments and contain recommendations which address such conflicts or duplications. Defines the term "required authorization waiver resolution" for purposes of this Act. Sets forth the procedure which the chairman of the committee of the Senate or the House of Representatives having legislative jurisdiction over programs must follow in order to introduce a required authorization waiver resolution. Makes it the duty of the Committees on Governmental Affairs and on Rules and Administration of the Senate and the Committees on Government Operations and on Rules of the House of Representatives to review the operation of the procedures established by this Act and to submit a report every five years beginning December 31, 1986. Authorizes to be appropriated through fiscal year 1990 such sums as may be necessary to carry out the review requirements and for the compilation of the inventory of Federal programs.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Authorizes the Attorney General to institute a civil action for or in the name of the United States in an appropriate district court whenever he has reasonable cause to believe that a State or its agents are subjecting persons confined in any correctional facility, juvenile correction center, mental hospital, nursing home, or facility for the mentally ill, retarded, or disabled to conditions of willful or gross neglect which deprive such persons of their Federal constitutional or statutory rights. Permits the Attorney General to intervene in any action commenced in a Federal court in which relief is sought from conditions allegedly depriving institutionalized persons in State institutions of their Federal rights. Prohibits any retaliation against individuals reporting conditions which may constitute a violation. Requires the Attorney General to report to Congress concerning actions instituted or in which the Attorney General has intervened pursuant to this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to set the price support of milk, for the period beginning with the date of enactment and ending September 30, 1981, at not less than 80 percent of parity.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Veterans' Health Care Amendments of 1979 - Title I: Health Services Programs - Provides that medical examinations for service-connected disability compensation claims be included in the third priority category for veterans' outpatient care. Extends outpatient dental care benefits eligibility to all war veterans who were prisoners of war for more than six months or who have 100 percent service-connected disabilities. Provides for the establishment of a program of readjustment counseling for any veteran who served on active duty during the Vietnam era who requests such counseling within two years from discharge or within two years after the date of enactment of this Act. Requires the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs, in the event of another declaration of war, to recommend to the Congress within six months of such declaration whether the readjustment counseling program should be extended to veterans of such war. Authorizes necessary followup mental health services, including services for family members of eligible veterans. Directs the Veterans' Administration (VA) to provide upon request referral services for non-VA mental health services to former service personnel not eligible for such readjustment counseling because of an other than honorable discharge. Directs the Administrator to cooperate with the Secretary of Defense in notifying veterans of potential eligibility under such readjustment counseling program. Authorizes the Administrator to conduct a five-year pilot program for the treatment and rehabilitation in community-based treatment facilities of veterans with alcohol or drug dependencies. Requires the Administrator to report not later than March 31, 1983, to the House and Senate Committees on Veterans' Affairs regarding the first three years of such pilot program. Authorizes the Administrator, in cooperation with the Secretary of Labor and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, to aid rehabilitated former addict veterans find employment. Directs the VA to provide upon request referral services for non-VA services to former service personnel not eligible for such alcohol and drug treatment services because of an other than honorable discharge. Provides that active service military personnel with an alcohol or drug dependence can not be transferred to a VA treatment center without such person's written request, and that such request can only be made during the last 30 days of enlistment. Authorizes the Administrator to establish a five-year pilot program of preventive health services for certain veterans with a 50 percent or more disability rating, and for veterans receiving treatment involving a service-connected disability. Requires the Administrator to report annually to the Congress with regard to such program. Authorizes the Administrator to provide hospital care, nursing home care, and medical services in VA facilities in the United States for new Philippine Scouts and Commonwealth Army veterans for service-connected disabilities. Title II: Contract-Care Programs - Provides: (1) that if specified conditions for providing contract outpatient care are satisfied veterans eligible for regular aid-and-attendance or household benefits may be provided such care if, on the basis of a medical examination, it is determined that such medical condition precludes proper treatment in a VA or other Government facility; (2) for the VA to contract for diagnostic services necessary to determine eligibility for treatment at independent VA outpatient clinics; and (3) for specified mental health services for veterans in Alaska or Hawaii. Requires an annual report to the appropriate Congressional committees regarding the VA's contract care authority. Authorizes the Administrator to contract with veterans' organizations recognized by the VA to furnish emergency medical services at the national conventions of such organizations. Title III: Construction, Alteration, Lease, and Acquisition of Medical Facilities - Directs the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs, in carrying out his duties under this Act: (1) to provide for the construction and acquisition of medical facilities equitably throughout the United States with due regard for the comparative urgency of the need for each particular facility; and (2) to give due consideration to excellence of architecture and design. States that no appropriation shall be made to construct, alter, or otherwise acquire any medical facility which involves a total expenditure of more than $2,000,000 unless such construction, alteration, or acquisition is first approved by resolution adopted by the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate, respectively. Stipulates that no appropriation shall be made to lease any space at an average annual rental of more than $500,000 for use for a medical facility unless such lease is first approved by resolutions adopted by such committees. Directs the Administrator to submit a prospectus, including cost estimates and facility description, with regard to the funding of any such proposed medical facility. States that if funds for such facility are not appropriated within one year after approval, either of such committees may rescind approval. Enumerates structural requirements for any medical facility constructed pursuant to this Act. Directs the Administrator to submit to Congress an annual report regarding the construction, alteration, and leasing of medical facilities. Requires such report to contain: (1) a five-year plan for those medical facilities most in need of construction, replacement and alteration; (2) a priority list of at least ten such hospitals; and (3) general plans for each medical facility in the five-year plan or the list. Authorizes the Administrator to establish and operate not less than 125,000 beds for the furnishing of nursing home care to eligible veterans in facilities over which the Administrator has direct jurisdiction. Authorizes the Administrator to: (1) carry out construction or alteration of medical facilities pursuant to this Act; (2) make contributions to local authorities for safe ingress or egress to such facilities; (3) construct and operate parking facilities; (4) enter into agreements for the mutual use of Armed Forces facilities; (5) partially relinquish, on behalf of the United States, legislative jurisdiction to the State in which such medical facility may be located; and (6) use certain federally owned facilities. Authorizes the President to accept any building or grounds suitable for the use of disabled persons. Title IV: Benefits Payable to Persons Residing Outside the United States - States that in order for VA benefits to be paid on behalf of a child adopted and residing outside the United States, such child must: (1) be under age 18 at the time of adoption; (2) be receiving at least one half of its annual support from the veteran; (3) not be residing with its natural parent unless the natural parent is the veteran's spouse; and (4) be residing with the veteran except in certain specified circumstances. States that after the veteran's death such an adoption would be recognized for veterans' benefits purposes only if the veteran was entitled to or receiving a dependent's allowance for the child at any time during the year before such veteran's death, if such requirements were met for at least one year prior to the veteran's death. Requires the Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to carry out a study of veterans' benefits payable to persons residing outside the 50 States and the District of Columbia. Title V: Miscellaneous Provisions - Authorizes the payment by non-Federal agencies, organizations, and individuals for travel expenses of certain employees of the VA's Department of Medicine and Surgery in connection with their official duties in specified circumstances. Transfers the authority to appoint the Deputy Administrator of Veterans' Affairs from the Administrator to the President by and with the advice of the Senate. Amends specified provisions relating to benefits for overseas VA employees and the salary schedule of the Department of Medicine and Surgery.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Beverage Container Reuse and Recycling Act of 1979 - Prohibits the sale of carbonated beverages in beverage containers by retailers and distributors unless such containers carry a refund value of not less than five cents. Requires that retailers and distributors pay the amount of the affixed refund value for brands of beverages bought and sold by such retailers or distributors. Prohibits States from imposing any tax on the collection or return of refund values established by this Act. Prohibits distributors and retailers from selling beverages in metal beverage containers with detachable openings. Imposes penalties of up to $1,000 and/or 60 days imprisonment for violation of the provisions of this Act. Stipulates that the labeling of refund values shall be required within three years of the date of enactment of this Act. Stipulates that the prohibition on detachable metal openings shall take effect one year after the date of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Constitutional Amendment - Provides that the people of the several States, and the District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall elect the President and Vice President. Requires each elector to cast a single vote for two persons who shall have consented to the joining of their names as candidates for the offices of President and Vice President. Requires the electors of President and Vice President in each State to have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislature, except that for electors of President and Vice President, the legislature of any State may prescribe less restrictive residence qualifications and for electors of President and Vice President the Congress may establish uniform residence qualifications. Provides that the pair of persons having the greatest number of votes for President and Vice President shall be elected, if such number is at least 40 percent of the whole number of votes cast. Provides that if no pair of persons has such number, a runoff election shall be held in which the choice of President and Vice President shall be made from the two pairs of persons who received the highest numbers of votes. Requires the days for such elections to be determined by Congress and to be uniform throughout the United States. Requires Congress to prescribe by law the time, place, and manner in which the results for such elections shall be ascertained and declared. Allows Congress to provide for the case of the death, inability, or withdrawal of any candidate for President or Vice President before a President and Vice President have been elected, and for the case of the death of both the President-elect and Vice President-elect.
United States · United States Congress · 14 October 1978
Requires the Administrator of the General Services Administration to provide safe bicycle parking facilities at all buildings under control of the Administrator within one year after the date of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 October 1978
Extends the best wishes of the Senate to Senator Dewey F. Bartlett upon his retirement from the Senate.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1978
Amends the Public Buildings Act of 1959 to require the Administrator of General Services to report annually to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and the House of Representatives Committee on Public Works and Transportation concerning: (1) long-range plans for the acquisition and use of space; and (2) real property owned by and leased to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1978
Amends the Public Buildings Act of 1959 by forbidding the exchange of property valued greater than $500,000 unless the exchange is approved by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and the House of Representatives Committee on Public Works and Transportation.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1978
Amends the Public Buildings Act of 1959 to authorize the Administrator of General Services, when the cost of a project exceeds the estimated maximum cost, to: (1) increase expenditures by no more than ten percent of the estimated maximum cost; or (2) decrease by no more than ten percent the number of gross square feet to be constructed.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1978
Authorizes the Administrator of General Services to borrow from the Secretary of the Treasury amounts necessary to finance the acquisition or construction of any public building. Prohibits such borrowing if the acquisition or construction has not been approved by the House of Representatives and Senate Committees on Public Works.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1978
Amends the Public Buildings Act of 1959 to require the Administrator of General Services, in constructing, acquiring, assigning, and utilizing office buildings and space, to be guided by the following criteria: (1) economical provision of space; (2) efficient performance of missions and programs; (3) maximum use of existing Government-owned permanent buildings; (4) consideration to the use of historically, architecturally, or culturally significant buildings; (5) encouragement of community development; (6) conservation of existing urban resources; and (7) improvement of community social, economic, environmental, and cultural conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1978
Amends the Public Buildings Act of 1959 to stipulate that no appropriations shall be available for obligation or expenditure to construct, alter, acquire, or lease any building, costing more than $500,000, without the prior approval of the House of Representatives and Senate Committees on Public Works.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1978
Repeals that section of the Public Buildings Act of 1949 which authorized the Administrator of General Services to name or rename any building under the custody and control of the GSA.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1978
Amends the Public Buildings Act of 1959 to prohibit any appropriation greater than $500,000 for the alteration of any building leased for use as a public building without the prior approval of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and the House Committee on Public Works and Transportation.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 1978
Authorizes the United States Navy Memorial Foundation to erect a memorial in the District of Columbia or its environs in commemoration of the men and women of the United States Navy who have served their country in war and peace.
United States · United States Congress · 17 August 1978
Community Mental Health Assistance Act - Amends Title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to include among the services provided under such Title: (1) outpatient services by community mental health centers for up to ten visits per year; and (2) partial hospitalization services by a community mental health center for up to 60 visits per year. Stipulates that the 190 days of inpatient psychiatric hospital services to which an individual is entitled under Title XVIII during a lifetime shall be reduced by one day for every three partial hospitalization visits to a community mental health center. Sets forth the conditions of and limitations on payments for community health center services, including criteria for utilization review plans of community mental health centers and transfer agreements between hospitals and community mental health centers. Amends the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 to include among the benefits which may be provided under such Act partial hospitalization services and outpatient services furnished by a community mental health center.
United States · United States Congress · 16 August 1978
Congressional Award Program Act - Establishes the Congressional Award Program in the United States and its territories to recognize and promote youth leadership and excellence in the areas of expedition fitness, personal creative development, and public service. Creates a Congressional Award Board with a Director to supervise such program. Authorizes the appointment of State award directors under this Act. Creates three Congressional Award Medals to be awarded under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 8 August 1978
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a one-time tax exclusion of up to $100,000 of the gain from the sale or exchange of a property used by a taxpayer as his principal residence for at least two years during the three year period prior to the date of the sale or exchange.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1978
Amends Title II (Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code to treat individuals engaged in the harvesting or transportation of timber as independent contractors rather than employees for purposes of social security taxation, unemployment taxation, and the withholding of income tax. Requires individuals who pay for services relating to the harvesting or transportation of timber to report to the Secretary of the Treasury on the identity of the individuals providing such services and the total amount paid to them and to furnish such individuals with a written statement of the information reported to the Secretary. Imposes fines for failure to comply with such reporting requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 1978
Directs the Administrator of General Services, in conjunction with the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, and the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, to develop plans and a budget for the restoration of the Pension Building in the District of Columbia. Requires the Administrator to insure that such plans are consistent with proposals prepared by the Committee for a National Museum of Building Arts, Incorporated. Provides the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation an opportunity to comment on the plans. Specifies that designs, plans and cost estimates be submitted to the Committee on Public Works and Transportation of the House and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate not later than October 1, 1978. Authorizes appropriations necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1978
Domestic Petroleum Supply and Security Act - Amends the Export Administration Act to prohibit the exportation of domestically produced petroleum products as defined in the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. Allows such petroleum products to be temporarily exported for refining or processing if such products reenter and are consumed in the United States. Sets forth criteria which must be met for domestically produced petroleum products to be exported under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1978
Changes Memorial Day from the last Monday in May to May 30th.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1978
Expresses Senate disapproval of the proposed Internal Revenue Service reorganization of certain IRS district offices.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 1978
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Secretary of State: (1) make every effort to negotiate an agreement with Canada to preserve our mutual airshed, protect air resources, and maintain air quality; and (2) take whatever diplomatic actions necessary to reduce or eliminate any undesirable impact on both countries resulting from air pollution from any source.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1978
Formula and Projects Grants for Preventive Health Services and Resources for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Act - Title I: Formula and Project Grants for Preventive Health Services - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to make grants to States to assist them in planning for and in meeting the costs of providing preventive health services. States that an application for such a grant shall provide for a detailed plan of a program to reduce, through the prevention of causative conditions, the mortality rates, and, at the option of the applying State, the burden of illness associated with the five leading causes of death in the State. Sets forth specified information to be included in applications for such grants. Requires the Secretary to review annually the activities undertaken by each State pursuant to an approved application. Sets forth a procedure for determining the amount of grants which each State shall receive for planning, providing, and operating preventive health services programs. Requires that all information obtained about any individual under any program that is being carried out with respect to such grants shall not be disclosed without such individual's consent. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States, political subdivisions of States, other public entities, or private entities to assist them in meeting the costs of establishing and maintaining: (1) programs for the screening, detection, diagnosis, prevention, referral for treatment, and follow-up on compliance with treatment of hypertension; (2) programs to immunize children against diseases; (3) community and school-based floridation programs; (4) programs designed to prevent illness caused by factors in the immediate living environment of people; (5) programs to prevent diseases borne by rodents; and (6) comprehensive physical fitness programs. Sets forth specified information to be included in applications for such grants. Requires the Secretary to review annually the activities undertaken by each State pursuant to an approved application. Requires that all information obtained about any individual under any program carried out with respect to such grants shall not be disclosed without such individual's consent. Directs the Secretary to establish standards for comprehensive physical fitness programs. Authorizes appropriations through fiscal year 1982 for lead-based paint poisoning prevention programs. Sets forth a new method for determining the total amount of grants received by State health and mental health authorities for comprehensive public health services under the Public Health Service Act. Authorizes appropriations for such grants through fiscal year 1982. Title II: Resources for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion - Directs the Secretary to make grants to meet the costs of planning and developing new centers, and operating existing and new centers, for multidisciplinary health promotion. Directs the Secretary to undertake or support five intensive and comprehensive community based programs to demonstrate and evaluate optimal methods for organizing and delivering comprehensive preventive health services to defined populations. Requires the Secretary, acting through the National Center for Health Statistics or its equivalent, to submit to Congress on January 1, 1981, and on January 1 of every third year thereafter, a national disease prevention data profile in order to provide a data base for the effective implementation of this Act and to increase public awareness of the prevalence, incidence, and any trends in the preventable causes of death and disability in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1978
Designates the weekend of or preceding April 29 of each year as "Days of Remembrance of Victims of the Holocaust."
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 1978
Extends to 14 years the deadline for ratification of the equal rights amendment.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 1978
Investment Incentive Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to restore part of the pre-1969 tax treatment of capital gains by repealing the capital gains item of tax preference for the minimum tax; lowering the corporate alternative tax to 25 percent of net capital gain; and lowering the alternative individual tax to 25 percent of net capital gain.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 1978
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for increases in the cost of refined petroleum products due to the imposition of duties or fees on such products by the President pursuant to the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. Limits eligibility for such credit to residential users, hospitals, churches, and educational institutions. Limits the amount of allowable credit to $75 for an individual taxpayer. Reduces the amount of allowable credit by 75 percent of the amount by which the adjusted gross income of such individual exceeds $20,000. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to refund in advance one-fourth of the taxpayer's tentative credit under this Act for the taxable year.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 1978
Commends Lee Williams for his long, faithful, and exemplary service to the United States Senate.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1978
Declares it the sense of the Senate that (1) the President recognize the severity of the international monetary crisis; (2) the President undertake discussions with the other industrialized countries to develop a common approach to this crisis; and (3) the approach should focus on a long-term solution to the crisis caused by exclusive reliance on the dollar as the key international monetary reserve asset.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1978
Declares it the sense of the Senate that the President undertake discussions with the other industrialized countries with a view toward establishing, in cooperation with the member countries of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) which are in current account surplus, a major capital pool for productive investment in the developing countries.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 1978
Lobbying Reform Act - Requires annual registration of any organization which expends at least $1,250 per calendar quarter for lobbying purposes, employs any person as a lobbyist for 24 hours or more per quarterly filing period, or two or more such persons for at least 12 hours each per such period, or which expends in excess of $5,000 per quarter to engage any other person as a lobbyist. Requires such organizations to file quarterly lobbying reports disclosing the identity of paid lobbyists, amounts paid to such lobbyists, and the issues such lobbyists sought to influence during the quarter. Requires the annual registration of organizations acting through their own paid officers or employees engaging in 15 or more oral lobbying communications in any quarterly filing period. Permits the filing of abbreviated quarterly filing reports for organizations required to file solely because of the number of oral lobbying communications made by their own personnel. Requires organizations which have submitted any bid or proposal for any Government contract valued at $10,000,000 or more to file annual reports until such contract or grant is awarded disclosing any attempts such organization has made to influence such award. Specifies the required contents of such reports including: (1) identity of any employee seeking to influence such award who, during the past five years, was a Federal employee of the agency responsible for the award who was paid in excess of the highest rate specified for pay grades GS-11, O-4, or W-2, as the case may be; (2) specified gifts made to Federal officers or employees in excess of $35; and (3) an itemized listing of each expenditure for any reception, dinner, or similar event where the total cost of such event exceeds $500. Specifies recordkeeping and report preparation requirements for any organization required to file under this Act. Requires the Comptroller General, with whom such registrations and reports must be filed, to investigate possible violations of this Act and to establish cross-indexing systems to reveal the identity of individuals employed as lobbyists by more than one organization, and to establish similar cross-indexing systems with the Federal Election Commission and the Department of Justice to identify persons mentioned in reports filed under this Act and the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 or the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Directs the Comptroller General to make available to the public copies of reports filed under this Act and summaries of data in such reports. Forbids the use of information secured under this Act for commercial purposes. Imposes upon the Comptroller General the duty to render advisory opinions with respect to the requirements of this Act upon which seekers of such opinions may justifiably rely. Directs the Comptroller General to refer to the Attorney General any actions or omissions which it is believed constitute violations of this Act. Authorizes the Attorney General to institute civil actions where appropriate and requires the prosecution of criminal actions where appropriate. Imposes civil and criminal sanctions for the violation of this Act. Repeals the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 1978
Designates the week of September 10 through September 17 of 1978 as "National Rehabilitation Week."
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1978
Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to include specified textiles and textile products in the articles reserved from tariff reduction or elimination negotiations by the President.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1978
Venereal Disease Amendments - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations through fiscal year 1981 for projects and programs for the prevention and control of venereal disease. Requires the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to establish and maintain a corps of not less than 850 noncommissioned officers and employees of the United States to advise and otherwise engage in the conduct of programs and projects for the prevention and control of venereal disease.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 1978
Public Broadcasting Financing Act - Title I: Construction and Planning of Facilities - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to establish new procedures for the planning and construction of public telecommunications facilities. Sets forth new requirements for the application to the Corporation for construction grants. Authorizes the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to administrator such grants made before October 1, 1978. Provides for the repayment of such grants if the recipient station ceases to be used for public radio or television purposes. States that such applications must include a five-year plan outlining the applicant's projected facilities requirements and must contain assurance that the planned facilities will be used only for educational or cultural purposes. Title II: Telecommunications Demonstrations - Authorizes the appropriation of $1,000,000 for fiscal year 1979 to be available to the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare for disbursement as grants for demonstration projects in the improvement of public telecommunications services. Title III: Corporation for Public Broadcasting - Subjects the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to the requirements of Title VI (Equal Employment Opportunities) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Title IX (prohibition of discrimination in education because of sex or blindness) of the Education Amendments of 1972. Adds to the 15 member Presidentially-appointed board of directors of the Corporation, four members appointed by organizations representing public radio and television licensees. Provides for the reduction of such board by attrition to 15 members, 11 of whom shall be Presidentially-appointed. Terminates the provision for Presidential designation of the chairman of such board. States that the chairman shall be elected from the board membership. Establishes the Public Broadcasting Fund in the Treasury. Authorizes an appropriation of funds to such Fund and provides for annual contributions of public moneys to the Fund based on the amount of non-Federal financial support received by public broadcasting entities. Sets forth regulations governing the use of such Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 1978
National Interpreters for the Deaf Training Act - Amends the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to authorize the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, through the office of Human Development Services, to establish up to 12 programs for training interpreters for the deaf. Designates six institutions which may serve as base centers and requires that the six additional authorized centers have ongoing operating programs for training interpreters. Permits centers to operate satellite interpreter training programs. Directs the Secretary to institute a program for the establishment of information and referral centers and of interpreter referral centers for the deaf in each State.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 1978
Reading Services Expansion and Improvement Act - Authorizes appropriations to States for: (1) employment of persons who through reading aloud can afford blind persons ready access to printed information; (2) transcription of printed information into braille or sound recording, if such transcription is performed pursuant to individual requests from blind persons for such service; (3) the purchase, storage, and distribution of equipment and materials necessary for the production, duplication, and reproduction of braille materials and sound recordings; and (4) the purchase, storage, and distribution of equipment provided to blind persons that affords such persons private individual access to printed materials.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 1978
Oil Spill Liability Fund and Compensation Act - Imposes liability for the illegal discharge of oil or other hazardous substances. Permits, as a defense to such liability, proof that the discharge was solely caused by an act of God, an act of war, negligence on the part of the United States, or an act or omission of a third party. Imposes liability for all costs incurred in cleanup, damages for economic loss or loss of natural resources, and other specified losses including direct or indirect loss of taxes, royalties, rental, or net profits due governments for a maximum of one year. Establishes limits to the liability of offending parties. Waives such limits upon a showing of willful negligence or failure to provide all reasonable cooperation with cleanup crews. Permits the President to establish maximum limits of liability in specified instances. Establishes, in the U.S. Treasury, an Oil Spill Liability Fund. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to collect a fee, to be paid into the Fund, on all oil shipped to or from the United States. Provides for civil penalties for failure to pay or collect fees required by this Act. Permits the President, at any time the Fund is inadequate to meet its obligations, to issue notes or other obligations to cover such obligations. Directs the President to use the moneys in the fund to pay costs in excess of those assessed offending parties, to pay claims where the offending party is unknown, and for other specified purposes. Provides that payment of any claim by the Fund shall entitle the Federal Government to all rights of subrogation arising from such payment. Prohibits use of the Fund for damages caused by gross negligence or willful misconduct. Requires a showing of financial responsibility for specified vessels of over 300 tons gross weight. Provides for the seizure of oil or other hazardous cargoes found aboard vessels in navigable waters of the United States without proof of financial responsibility. Directs owners or operators of onshore or offshore facilities of a specified size to maintain evidence of financial responsibility. Imposes a fine of not more than $10,000 for failure to comply with such requirement. Preempts the establishment of similar funds by State or local governments. Provides for assistance to States for the development of cleanup facilities and personnel training. Repeals specified provisions of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act to transfer moneys of the liability fund therein established to the Oil Spill Liability Fund.