United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1986
Manufacture and Public Distribution of Certain Copyrighted Material Act - Amends the copyright law to extend indefinitely the manufacturing clause, which prohibits the importation of certain English language books not manufactured in the United States or Canada. Eliminates the Canadian exemption, per se, after 1988. Permits exemptions from such restriction if a foreign country, including Canada, is certified by the United States Trade Representative as providing adequate copyright protection for U.S. nationals and such country freely trades in printed matter with the United States or adheres to a bilateral or multilateral agreement with the United States and supports internationally recognized workers' rights.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1986
Provides that any cost-of-living adjustment in military retirement and survivor benefit programs provided by law to take effect during FY 1987 shall be made in accordance with such law and not subject to any reduction, suspension, or contrary presidential order. Defines "military retirement and survivor benefit programs."
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1986
Expresses the sense of the Congress that a Children's Challenge Center for Space Science should be established in conjunction with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration at the Johnson Space Center as a memorial to the seven Challenger astronauts and others who gave their lives exploring space.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1986
Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate a segment of the Kings River, California, as a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1986
Declares that the House of Representatives, on behalf of the U.S. people, expresses its gratitude to the Government and people of the United Kingdom who assisted the United States in its exercise of self-defense against Libya and in the fight against state-sponsored international terrorism.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1986
Expresses the sense of the Congress that, in light of specified international human rights agreements, the Soviet Union should approve the exit visa applications of Doctor Naum Meiman and his wife, Inna Kitrosskaya, and arrange for them to go to the country of their choice. Urges the President to: (1) protest the Soviet Government's refusal to consider the exit visa applications of Dr. Meiman and his wife; (2) call upon all other signatory nations of the Helsinki Accords to join in such protest; and (3) instruct the U.S. delegation to the meeting of experts on human contacts organized under the auspices of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, to be held in Bern, Switzerland, to pursue this matter.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 1986
Acid Deposition Control Act of 1986 - Title I: Stationary Sources - Amends the Clean Air Act to require States to develop and submit to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) an emissions limitation compliance schedule for sulfur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen from fossil-fuel-fired electric utility steam generating units. Requires a two-phase reduction in such emissions, the first to be achieved by 1993, the second by 1997. Requires each State to develop and submit to the Administrator a plan to achieve emissions reductions from other fossil-fuel-fired steam generating units by 1977. Directs the Administrator to conduct and update a comprehensive annual inventory of emissions of sulfur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen from stationary sources, identifying achievable reductions which could be made by 1997. Requires States to submit to the Administrator for approval a plan for achieving such reductions. Grants States discretion in their choice of compliance measures. Requires the Administrator to report to the Congress by July 1, 1993, on phase I reductions and the feasibility of meeting phase II reductions. States that phase II reductions will not take effect if the Congress enacts legislation to that effect. Sets forth emissions rates a State without an approved reductions plan must follow. Authorizes the Administrator to impose a fee on the generation and importation of electric energy between December 31, 1988, and December 31, 1996, to subsidize the interest on qualified pollution control debt incurred by the utility. Establishes civil penalties for fee violations. Establishes in the Treasury the Acid Deposition Control Fund to receive such fees and provide interest subsidy payments for pollution control systems meeting specified standards. Revises the standards for nitrogen oxides emissions for new electric utility steam generating units which burn bituminous or subbituminous coal and for certain fossil-fuel-fired steam generating units. Requires certain smelters to be in compliance with the applicable emissions reduction standard by January 2, 1988, without extension or delay. Title II: Control of Emission from Mobile Sources - Sets oxides of nitrogen emission standards for motor vehicles for model years 1988, 1989, and beyond. Modifies hydrocarbon standards for trucks after model year 1989. Directs the Administrator to regulate sulfur in diesel fuel for 1989 and beyond. Requires either the use of onboard hydrocarbon control technology or the use of gasoline vapor recovery of hydrocarbon emissions emanating from fueling motor vehicles. Title III: International Cooperation - Expresses the concern of the Congress over transboundary pollution between the United States and Mexico and directs the Secretary of State and the Administrator to conclude an agreement within three months of enactment. Requires such an agreement to cover specified copper smelters. Requires the Secretary and the Administrator to report to the Congress within six months on negotiating such agreement. Requires EPA to perform atmospheric field experiments to determine the effects of sulfur dioxide emissions, before and after pollution controls, of the Nacozaria smelter, Mexico, on specified western States. Directs the Secretary to establish an international agency, or utilize an existing agency, to report on the effects of transboundary air pollution from copper smelters on public health and welfare in the United States and in Mexico.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 1986
Designates May 21, 1986, as National Andrei Sakharov Day. Authorizes and requests the President to urge the Soviet Union to permit Andrei Sakharov and Elena Bonner to freely choose their place of residence.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1986
Prohibits the issuance of a letter of offer with respect to specified proposed sales of Sidewinder, Stinger, and Harpoon missiles and services to Saudi Arabia, as described in the April 8, 1986, certifications from the President to the Congress under the Arms Export Control Act.
United States · United States Congress · 8 April 1986
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Secretary of Agriculture should take immediate steps to investigate alternative animal identification procedures in lieu of hot-iron cheek branding.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1986
Effective Schools and Even Start Act - Requires each State receiving an allotment under a certain provision of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981 after enactment of this Act to use a specified portion of such allotment to: (1) plan for, and review proposed changes in, effective schools programs; (2) implement and support effective schools programs; (3) obtain technical assistance and consultant services with respect to effective schools programs from qualified nonprofit educational organizations; (4) design, develop, and publish educational materials on effective schools programs; (5) develop and implement data collection and analysis systems concerning effective schools programs; (6) promote State and local educational agency awareness of effective schools information; (7) conduct evaluations of effective schools programs; and/or (8) otherwise identify and disseminate information concerning exemplary effective schools programs. Requires the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to provide assistance in order to inform State educational agencies of the requirements of this Act and to help such agencies comply with such requirements. Requires the Secretary to make grants from specified funds appropriated pursuant to the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981 and the Adult Education Act to provide a program of adult literacy training which includes involving parents and children together in an effort to enhance the likelihood of educational achievement. Sets forth the elements to be included in such program. Defines an eligible program participant as a parent or child (aged three to seven) from a family: (1) that includes a parent who is eligible for participation in an adult basic education program under the Adult Education Act; and (2) that resides with a child (aged three to seven) in a certain type of school attendance area. Declares that any agency that operates an adult basic education program and serves an area which has an especially high concentration of children from low-income families is eligible to apply for a grant under the Even Start program. Sets forth the requirements for a grant application. Requires that two-thirds of the applications selected for final review shall be from urban areas and one-third shall be from rural areas. Provides for the creation of a review panel to make the final selection of grant recipients. Requires any State educational agency required to use funds for an effective school program to amend its application under a specified section of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981 to reflect the activities to be conducted with such funds. Requires such a State educational agency and an Even Start program applicant who has been selected to receive funding to enter into a program agreement with the Secretary. Sets forth the information to be included in such agreements. Requires the Secretary to analyze the effective schools programs conducted pursuant to this Act and report to the Congress on such programs by September 30, 1989. Requires the Secretary to provide for annual evaluations of the effectiveness of Even Start programs in providing specified services. Requires the results of the evaluations to be submitted to the national diffusion network for possible dissemination.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1986
Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 - Title I: Unified and Specified Commands - Amends general military law to direct the President to establish unified and specified combatant commands to perform military missions and to prescribe the force structure of such commands. Authorizes the Secretary of Defense, if a situation warrants it, to establish a special combatant command. Requires the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to periodically (not less frequently than every other year) review the overall structure of the unified and specified combatant commands and make appropriate recommendations to the President. Directs the President to promptly notify the Congress of any action taken in response to such recommendations. Directs the Secretary of each military department to assign all forces under their jurisdiction (except forces assigned to recruiting, organizing, training, or supplying the armed forces) to unified and specified combatant commands as established under this Act. Outlines provisions concerning the command hierarchy of such assigned forces. Provides that commanders of combatant commands shall be supervised by the Chairman of JCS, and be responsible to the President and the Secretary of Defense for their missions. Makes the Secretary of each military department responsible for the support and administration of forces assigned by that department to combatant commands. Authorizes the commander of a combatant command to request the Secretary of Defense for the transfer to such commander of support or administrative functions. Directs the Secretary of Defense to include in the annual budget of the Department of Defense (DOD) a separate budget proposal for activities of each of the unified and specified combatant commands. Outlines information concerning activities of such combatant commands to be included in such proposals. Requires the commander of each such command to submit to the Chairman of JCS, for review and recommendations, annual program and budget proposals for such commands. Outlines provisions concerning the selection and tenure of combatant command subordinate commanders and staff officers. Establishes in DOD the Joint Commanders Council, consisting of the Chairman of JCS and the commanders of the combatant commands. Directs such council to advise the chairman, the President, and the Secretary of Defense on appropriate matters. Requires the Chairman of JCS to submit to the Secretary of Defense recommendation for the allocation of defense resources under the proposed national defense budget for each fiscal year, and to take certain other specified actions in connection with activities of the unified and specified combatant commands. Directs the Secretary of Defense (the Secretary) to provide for the transfer of staff personnel to the staffs of the commanders of the unified and specified commands in conformity with the reorganization under this Act. Limits the total staff size of the unified and specified commands to a number no greater than the staff size of the military departments before such transfer. Outlines considerations to be included in the initial review of the structure of the unified and specified commands. Title II: Defense Agencies - Directs the Secretary, in appropriate cases, to provide for the performance by one agency or organization of supply or service activities common to more than one military department. Directs the Secretary to periodically (and not less frequently than every two years) review the services and supplies provided by the defense agencies to ensure that such provision is more economical than the provision of such services by the military departments. Specifies various officers and directors whose views are required as part of the Secretary's review. Requires the Chairman of JCS to periodically (and not less frequently than every two years) report to the Secretary concerning the combat support agencies. Outlines information to be included in each report. Directs the Chairman to: (1) provide for the participation of the combat support agencies in joint training exercises; and (2) assess the performance of each agency in such exercise and provide for any necessary changes. Requires the chairman to develop a uniform system for reporting each such agency's readiness to perform in a war or threat to national security. Establishes in each combat support agency a combat support agency policy council. Outlines the composition of such council. Requires such council to: (1) advise the director of that agency on policy matters relating to the operation of that agency; and (2) consider and provide advice as directed by the Secretary of Defense. Requires the director of a combat support agency, upon request, to assign a representative of that agency to the headquarters of a unified or specified combatant commands. Defines "combat support agency." Requires the Secretary of Defense to conduct a study of the functions and organizational structure of the defense agencies. Outlines determinations to be made in such study. Directs the Chairman of JCS and the Secretaries of the military departments to each conduct a study of the functions and organizational structure of the defense agencies. Requires each such study to be submitted to the Secretary of Defense. Outlines matters to be considered in each such study. Directs the Secretary of Defense, within a specified conditional deadline, to report to the Senate and House Armed Services Committees concerning the studies made of the functions and organizational structure of the defense agencies, together with recommendations. Title III: Joint Officer Subspecialty - Directs the Secretary of Defense to establish a secondary occupational specialty for officers in each branch of the armed forces, to be known as the joint subspecialty. Outlines provisions concerning the number, selection, and assignments of officers to joint subspecialties. Directs the Secretary to establish career guidelines for officers in the joint subspecialty. Directs the Secretary to revise the curriculum of schools of the National Defense University in order to enhance the education and training of officers in joint military matters. Requires officers graduating from a joint military school in a joint subspecialty to be assigned to a joint position in that officer's next duty assignment. Prohibits an officer from commanding a unified or specified combatant command unless such officer is in a joint subspecialty. Prohibits an officer from appointment as Chairman of JCS unless the officer has served as the commander of a unified or specified command. Sets forth the promotion policy for joint service officers (including faster promotions). Directs the Secretary to establish procedures for monitoring the careers of officers in the joint subspecialty or other joint officers. Revises provisions concerning the review of promotion lists by the Chairman of JCS to allow the Chairman, in a limited number of instances, to recommend for promotion officers who: (1) have served in joint assignments; and (2) were considered by a review board but not recommended for promotion. Allows the Secretary of the military department concerned to disagree with the Chairman's promotion recommendations. Requires the Secretary concerned to record their disagreement as part of their transmittal to the Secretary of Defense of the selection board's report. Requires the Secretary of Defense to resolve any such disagreements before transmitting the report to the President. Requires previous joint officer assignments for officers promoted to brigadier general or real admiral (lower half). Authorizes the Secretary to waive such prerequisite in appropriate cases. Outlines the length of duty as a joint officer required for promotion to certain grades. Requires the Chairman of JCS to advise the Secretaries of the military departments concerned with respect to duty assignments of officers in the joint subspecialty and other joint officers. Requires the Secretary of Defense to ensure that military schools strengthen the focus on joint military operations in preparing certain level officers for joint duty assignments. Directs the Secretary of Defense to make the initial selection of officers for the joint subspecialty, following certain special rules. Title IV: Military Department Organization - Directs the Secretary of Defense to reorganize the executive part of the military departments, following specified reorganization policies. Defines the executive part of each military department. Outlines the functions of the Assistant Secretaries of a military department as reorganized under this Act. Limits to 30 the size of the personal staff of the Secretary of a military department. Limits the size of the staff of each military department to 85 percent of the size of such staff before the reorganization. Requires the Secretary of Defense to provide that operation and planning responsibilities that are duplicated by the staff of the JCS shall be shifted to that staff. Requires the Secretary, as well as the Secretaries of the military departments, to provide that functions able to be performed by commands outside the Washington, D.C. area shall be reassigned to those commands. Directs the Secretary to complete implementation of this title no later than 180 days after the enactment of this Act, and to report to the Congress on such implementation 30 days after such date.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1986
Railroad Retirement and Unemployment Benefits Protection Act of 1986 - Amends the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 to: (1) provide that certain cost of living increases in railroad retirement annuities shall not be prevented from taking effect by any provision of law other than such Act; (2) prohibit the sequestration of any amounts appropriated to the Dual Benefits Payment Account other than by such Act; and (3) prohibit the sequestration of administrative expenses for the Railroad Retirement Board other than by such Act. Amends the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act to prohibit any: (1) legislative limitation from being placed upon the availability of railroad unemployment insurance benefit payments other than by such Act; and (2) sequestration of railroad unemployment insurance administration funds other than by such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1986
Parental and Medical Leave Act of 1986 - Title I: General Requirements for Parental and Medical Leave - Entitles employees to parental leave for specified periods in cases involving the birth, adoption, or serious health condition of a child. Entitles employees to temporary medical leave for specified periods in cases involving inability to work because of a serious health condition. Sets forth conditions for certification for such types of leave. Provides that such leave may be without pay. Allows employees to substitute other types of paid leave to cover part of such leave period. Sets forth employment and benefits protections relating to such leave. Provides for administrative enforcement of this title by the Secretary of Labor, as well as enforcement by civil action. Sets forth provisions for injunctive relief, monetary relief, and attorneys' fees. Requires employers to post notice of the pertinent provisions of this title. Title II: Parental Leave and Temporary Medical Leave for Civil Service Employees - Amends specified Federal law to entitle civil service employees to parental leave and temporary medical leave for specified periods. Provides that such leave will be without pay. Allows employees to substitute other types of paid leave for part of such leave. Sets forth protection for job position and health insurance benefits of employees using such leave. Directs the Office of Personnel Management to prescribe regulations for administration of this title which are consistent with the regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Labor under title I of this Act. Title III: Commission on Paid Parental and Medical Leave - Establishes the Commission on Paid Parental and Medical Leave. Requires the Commission to report on its study of paid parental and medical leave to the Congress within two years after the Commission first meets. Terminates the Commission within 30 days after its final report. Title IV: Miscellaneous Provisions - Sets forth the effect of this Act on existing laws and existing employment benefits. Directs the Secretary of Labor to prescribe regulations to carry out title I of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1986
Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to exempt the pay adjustments of employees under the Federal prevailing rate pay system (blue collar employees) from the President's sequestration order.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1986
Declares that the House of Representatives calls upon the President to urge: (1) Jean-Claude Duvalier to return to the Haitian people the wealth he has taken illegally; and (2) other countries to deny him asylum until he returns such funds.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1986
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that both Spain and Israel should be congratulated on establishing full diplomatic relations with each other.
![Official portrait of Rep. Hoyer, Steny H. [D-MD-5]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/116_rp_md_5_hoyer_steny_200.jpg)