United States · United States Congress · 29 August 2025
Product Liability Voluntary Claims and Uniform Standards Act - Title I - States that this Act governs any civil action brought against a manufacturer or product seller for personal injury or property damage caused by a product. Preempts State law regarding recovery for injury or damage caused by a product to the extent that an applicable rule of law regarding recovery is established. Establishes record retention requirements for: (1) manufacturers of products for which recovery may be sought under this Act; and (2) any party to a civil action governed by this Act. Establishes civil penalties for the willful destruction of such records. Allows the court to establish a rebuttable presumption adverse to a party who has allowed such records to be destroyed nonwillfully. Requires any attorney contacted by a client inquiring about rights of recovery for harm caused by a product to provide such client with certain information. Allows a client to bring an action against an attorney who fails to make such disclosures. Allows the delivery of the summons and complaint by certified mail upon the defendant in any action brought under this Act. Provides that evidence that a manufacturer or product seller admitted liability or made payment to a claimant for harm caused by a product shall not be admissible in any action brought under this Act or otherwise. States that expert scientific or medical opinion is not sufficient evidence to establish any fact for the purposes of this Act unless such opinion has support in peer-reviewed studies. Provides that subsequent remedial action taken by the manufacturer or product seller shall not be admissible to prove liability. Requires any manufacturer not incorporated or registered to do business under the laws of a State to appoint an agent for service of process in the United States. Requires the Secretary of Commerce to maintain a registry of such agents. Provides civil penalties for manufacturers who fail to comply with such provisions. Establishes the Product Liability Review Panel to assess the expedited procedures and remedies provided by this Act and report to the Congress. Title II - Allows a person who has suffered harm caused by a product to submit an expedited claim. Provides that payment of an expedited claim shall not bar an action for associated physical damage to property. Sets forth the procedures for the submission of an expedited claim. States that the manufacturer shall be liable for the net economic loss of the claimant, as defined in this Act, if: (1) the product, when it left the control of the manufacturer, was unreasonably dangerous; and (2) the unreasonably dangerous aspect of the product was the proximate cause of the claimant's harm while the product was being used in a manner reasonably anticipated by the manufacturer. Provides for the payment of net economic losses, or other mutually acceptable disposition, where the manufacturer does not contest liability. Imposes binding arbitration where the manufacturer has declined to make full payment of an expedited claim solely because of a dispute over the amount of economic loss. Allows a claimant to bring a civil action for an order enforcing his rights where the manufacturer has denied liability. Directs a court to award exemplary damages where there is a finding that the manufacturer had no good cause to: (1) deny liability; or (2) fail to respond to a claim as required by this Act. Requires the claimant to pay the costs of investigating and defending such a claim when the court finds that there was no good cause for bringing such action. Provides a 25-year limitation on liability for non toxic harm caused by a product which is a capital good. Allows a manufacturer who has paid an expedited claim to seek contribution, reimbursement, or indemnity on the basis of comparative responsibility. Permits the collective processing of claims by manufacturers. Establishes the National Toxic Health Effects Panel to: (1) compile and evaluate information and issue guidelines for use by claimants, manufacturers and the courts in processing claims for toxic harms; and (2) determine whether exposure to a product of particular chemical composition would increase the risk of incurring a toxic harm. Authorizes appropriations. Title III - States that any person who brings a civil action against a product manufacturer or seller pursuant to an applicable State or Federal law waives all rights to recovery for the same harm under the expedited claim procedure of this Act. Establishes uniform standards of manufacturer liability for such civil actions. Provides that a manufacturer will be liable to a claimant only if the claimant establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that: (1) an individual product unit manufactured by the manufacturer was the proximate cause of the harm; and (2) the manufacturer was negligent in constructing, designing, or providing warnings regarding a danger connected with the product, or that the product did not conform to an express warranty made by the manufacturer. Provides defenses to such actions if: (1) the product was acquired by the Federal Government for an aerospace or defense application; (2) the Federal Government established or approved reasonably precise contract specifications material to the claim; and (3) the product conformed to such specifications. Establishes uniform standards of product seller liability. Provides that a product seller will be liable to a claimant only if the claimant establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that: (1) the individual product unit which allegedly caused the harm was sold by the defendant; (2) the product seller failed to exercise reasonable care with respect to the product; and (3) such failure to provide reasonable care was a proximate cause of the claimant's harm. Provides an alternative method to establish seller liability where: (1) the product seller made an express warranty as to the product; (2) the product failed to conform to the warranty; and (3) failure of the product to conform to the warranty caused the claimant's harm. Requires that damages in any product liability claim be offset by any amount paid as workers' compensation benefits. Allows awards of punitive damages. Prescribes a statute of limitations for such actions. Title IV - Amends the Product Liability Risk Retention Act to include liability for the payment of expedited claims within the definition of "Product Liability" for risk retention.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2025
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the repayment of the increased excise tax imposed on fuel used in diesel-powered automobiles or light trucks. Sets the amount of such repayment at six cents per gallon. Reduces such repayment amount by repayments payable as of December 31, 1984.
United States · United States Congress · 29 August 2025
Jencks Act Amendments Act of 1985 - Amends the Federal Criminal Code to permit the Government to make available the last name and known address of witnesses, and statements or reports of such witnesses, to defendants in criminal cases. Authorizes the court to deny, restrict, or defer such disclosure if it would constitute a danger to another person, or threat to the integrity of the judicial process.
United States · United States Congress · 29 August 2025
Rural Enterprise Zone Development and Employment Act of 1985 - Title I: Designation of Enterprise Zones - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the designation of enterprise zones by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Specifies that States and local governments shall nominate areas for such designation. Limits to 100 the total number of areas which may be designated as enterprise zones. Limits the period during which such designations shall remain in effect to a maximum of 25 years. Specifies that the Secretary may designate such zones only if: (1) the area is within the jurisdiction of the nominating local government; (2) the boundary of the area is continuous; (3) the area has a population of at least 1,000 or is entirely within an Indian reservation; and (4) the area meets specified unemployment and poverty requirements. Requires nominating local governments, as a condition of the Secretary's designation, to agree in writing to follow a course of action which may include reducing tax rates, improving local services, and providing job training to residents of the area. Terminates the authority of the Secretary to designate rural enterprise zones on June 30, 1987, or two years after the publication of regulations pertaining to such zones, whichever is later. Describes areas to which preference shall be given in deciding to designate enterprise zones. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress every four years on the effects of such enterprise zones' designation in accomplishing the purposes of this Act. Requires that any property tax reduction effected by a local government under the terms of this Act be disregarded for purposes of determining the eligibility of a State or local government for Federal assistance or benefits. States that the designation of an enterprise zone shall not give displaced persons from such an area any rights or benefits under the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970. Provides that such enterprise zones shall be treated for all purposes under Federal law as labor surplus areas. Title II: Federal Income Tax Incentives - Subtitle A: Credits for Employers and Employees - Allows employers located in rural enterprise zones a nonrefundable income tax credit for increased employment expenditures and employment of the disadvantaged. Allows a three-year carryback and a 15-year carryover of such credit. Sets the amount of such credit at ten percent of the increase in payroll (taking into account $17,500 in wages per year per employee) plus a specified percentage of wages paid to certain disadvantaged workers through the first 20 years of the enterprise zone designation. Phases out such credit in the last four years of the enterprise zone designation. Disallows a deduction for the portion of wages taken into account for such credit. Allows an income tax credit to enterprise zone employees for five percent of wages earned (taking into account up to $10,500 per year). Phases out such credit in the last four years of the enterprise zone designation. Subtitle B: Credits for Investment in Tangible Property in Enterprise Zones - Allows businesses an additional investment tax credit for investments made in certain enterprise zone construction property located in enterprise zones. Limits such credit to ten percent for new enterprise zone construction property, including rental property. Requires that the property subject to such credit be located in an enterprise zone, be predominantly used in the zone, be either constructed, reconstructed, renovated, etc. during the period of zone designation or acquired during such period, and not be acquired from relatives or related corporations. Requires the recapture of such credit upon the early disposition of the property. Provides for a phase-out of the enterprise zone tax credit as the enterprise zone ends. Provides for an adjustment to the basis of the enterprise zone construction property to reflect the enterprise zone tax credit. Subtitle C: Nonrecognition of Qualified Enterprise Zone Capital Gain Where Acquisition of Enterprise Zone Business Property - Provides for the nonrecognition of capital gain on the sale of property where, within the one-year period beginning on the date of such sale, qualified replacement property is acquired by the taxpayer, to the extent the gain from the sale does not exceed the cost of the replacement property. Defines "qualified replacement property" as any personal property used predominantly in an enterprise zone in the active conduct of a trade or business within the enterprise zone, any real property located in the enterprise zone used in the active conduct of a trade or business, or any corporation, partnership, or other entity if, for the three most recent taxable years of such entity ending before the date of the purchase of such interest, such entity was a qualified business. Sets forth special rules for the operation of this provision. Requires the basis of the replacement property to be reduced by an amount equal to the amount of gain not recognized on the sale of such other property. Extends the period for the statute of limitations relating to the assessment of tax with respect to the sale of property involving the nonrecognition provisions. Provides that the holding period for the qualified replacement property shall include the period for which the property sold or exchanged had been held as of the date of the sale or exchange. Subtitle D: Deduction for Purchase of Enterprise Stock - Allows a taxpayer to deduct the aggregate amount paid during the taxable year for the purchase of enterprise stock on the original issue of such stock by a qualified issuer. Limits the maximum amount of such deduction to $100,000 a year. Requires that the $100,000 limit must be allocated among the members of a controlled group. Requires the pro rata allocation of the $100,000 limit among the stock purchased where the aggregate amount of stock purchased exceeds the $100,000 limitation. Requires that the gain from the disposition of the stock shall be treated as ordinary income. Provides a formula for calculating such gain. Provides that interest is charged on the disposition of such stock if such disposition occurs before the end of the three-year period beginning on the date the stock was purchased. Provides that where an issuer ceases to be a qualified issuer of enterprise stock before the close of the fifth taxable year after the date the stock was issued, the taxpayer must include in income the amount of the deduction allowed with respect to such stock plus interest on the aggregate decrease in tax of the taxpayer resulting from the deduction allowed with respect to such stock. Sets forth special rules with respect to such stock. Requires the basis of such stock to be reduced by the amount of the deduction allowed with respect to such stock. Subtitle E: Rules Relating to Industrial Development Bonds - Provides that limitations on the cost recovery deductions for property financed with tax-exempt industrial development bonds shall not apply to enterprise zone property. Provides that the termination of the small issue exemption shall not apply to industrial development bonds the proceeds of which are used to finance facilities in such enterprise zones. Subtitle F: Ordinary Loss Deduction for Securities of Enterprise Zone Business Which Become Worthless - Permits an ordinary loss deduction for securities of enterprise zone businesses which become worthless during the taxable year. Subtitle G: Increase in Research Credit for Research Conducted in Enterprise Zones - Increases the tax credit for increasing research activities to 37 and one-half percent (currently, 25 percent) for research conducted in enterprise zones. Subtitle H: Sense of the Congress with Respect to Tax Simplification - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Internal Revenue Service should simplify the administration and enforcement of any provision of the Internal Revenue Code affected by this Act. Subtitle I: Regulations - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue regulations to carry out the provisions of this Act not later than six months after the date of enactment. Title III: Regulatory Flexibility - Revises the definition of "small entity" for purposes of the analysis of regulatory functions to include qualified business, government, and nonprofit enterprises operating within enterprise zones. Authorizes Federal agencies, upon request by a designating government, to waive or modify rules and regulations which pertain to the carrying out of projects or activities within an enterprise zone. Requires agencies to approve such request if the resulting benefits of job creation, community development, or economic revitalization outweigh the public interest in continuation of the rule unchanged. Disallows waiver or modification of a rule that would directly violate a statutory requirement (including the Fair Labor Standards Act) or which would present a danger to the public health and safety. Provides that such waivers or modifications of a rule shall remain in effect as long as the zone designations. Amends the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act to direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to promote the coordination of all enterprise zone programs and consolidate all periodic reports required under such programs into one summary report. Title IV: Establishment of Foreign-Trade Zones in Enterprise Zones - Requires the Foreign-Trade Board to consider on a priority basis and expedite the processing of applications for the establishment of foreign-trade zones within enterprise zones. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to give priority to, and expedite applications for, the establishment of ports of entry necessary to establish such zones. States that, to the maximum extent practicable, foreign-trade zones should be established within enterprise zones.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 2021
Provides that for purposes of determining whether and to what extent a named individual is entitled to a civil service retirement annuity, such individual's employment by the Guam Legislature for a specified period shall be considered creditable service.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 2021
Authorizes the President, notwithstanding certain time limitations for the awarding of medals, to award a medal of honor to Francisco Cortez and Richard Perez for services performed with the U.S. Marine Corps in Vietnam.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2025
Native American Diabetes Prevention and Control Act of 1985 - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to determine: (1) the incidence of diabetes among Native Americans; (2) activities the Indian Health Service should take to reduce such incidence, to provide guidance in the prevention, treatment, and control of diabetes, to provide early diagnosis, and to ensure proper health care to those Native Americans who are diagnosed diabetic; and (3) the fiscal impact to the Federal Government of treating diabetes among such people. Requires the Secretary to prepare an inventory of all health care programs and resources within the United States that are available for the treatment, prevention, or control of diabetes among Native Americans. Requires the Secretary to transmit to the President and the Congress a report containing his determinations and research activities among Native Americans. Requires the Secretary to: (1) implement a program to strengthen and expand the diabetes program of the Indian Health Service; (2) enable the Service to treat such disease effectively; and (3) conduct, for Federal, tribal, and other Native American Health care providers, training programs with respect to the prevention and treatment of diabetes. Requires the Secretary to: (1) maintain specified model diabetes clinics; and (2) establish such clinics at specified locations. Requires the Secretary to develop specified programs with respect to data collection and analysis and research relating to diabetes among Native Americans. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2025
Amends Federal bankruptcy provisions to extend partial immunity from an automatic stay or a court injunction of foreclosure, possession, or disposition proceedings to: (1) creditors with preferred ship mortgages or mortgages on certain fishery facilities; and (2) lessors or conditional vendors of vessels as defined in the Merchant Marine Act of 1936. Requires full payment in cash of all sums owed, plus applicable interest, to cure a default on preferred mortgages, mortgages, security agreements, leases, or conditional sales contracts on certain vessels.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2025
Amends Federal bankruptcy provisions to extend partial immunity from an automatic stay or a court injunction of foreclosure, possession, or disposition proceedings to: (1) creditors with preferred ship mortgages or mortgages on certain fishery facilities; and (2) lessors or conditional vendors of vessels as defined in the Merchant Marine Act of 1936. Requires full payment in cash of all sums owed, plus applicable interest, to cure a default on preferred mortgages, mortgages, security agreements, leases, or conditional sales contracts on certain aircraft equipment and vessels.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2025
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an excise tax on: (1) the first sale within the United States of any crude oil or any refined petroleum product imported into the United States; and (2) the use within the United States of any crude oil or any refined petroleum product imported into the United States if no such tax has been imposed prior to such use. Exempts from such tax: (1) crude oil or refined petroleum products purchased for export; and (2) process fuels, liquid natural gas, heating oil for household use or residual fuel oil and topped crude oil imported for further refining. Sets the rate of such tax as the difference between $22 per barrel and the average world price of crude oil per barrel.
United States · United States Congress · 29 August 2025
Education and Training Partnership Act - Establishes an Education and Training Partnership (ETP) as an independent Federal agency. Provides for a Board of Directors (the Board) of the ETP (composed of employer and labor representatives appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate). Provides that the Secretaries of Labor, Education, Commerce, and Health and Human Services shall also be members. Directs the President to select the Chairperson. Transfers to the ETP the functions of: (1) the Secretary of Labor under the Wagner-Peyser Act and the Job Training Partnership Act; and (2) the Secretary of Education under the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act. Authorizes the Board to delegate any function under this Act to the Secretary of Labor and/or the Secretary of Education, except the approval of grant applications. Sets forth provisions relating to Board personnel, property and personnel transfers, and administrative powers. Authorizes the Secretaries of Labor and Education to reduce the size of their Departments as necessary by reason of transfers made under this Act. Requires the Board to make annual reports on ETP activities to the President for submission to the Congress. Sets forth savings provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 29 August 2025
Semiconductor Trade Fairness Act - Directs the President to take all actions that are necessary to: (1) enforce U.S. rights under trade agreements with Japan and obtain the elimination of unfair trade acts, policies, and practices of Japan; or (2) offset the cumulative impact that any unenforced trade rights or uneliminated unfair trade practices have on the semiconductor balance of trade between the United States and Japan. Requires the President to report to the Congress within 45 days of enactment of this Act on actions the President plans to take under this Act. Requires the President to implement such actions within 90 days of enactment of this Act. Requires that actions taken by the President with respect to unfair trade practices shall be designed to offset the advantages gained by Japanese semiconductor producers through anticompetitive practices. Authorizes the President to modify or revoke actions taken under this Act only if the President determines that: (1) such modification or revocation is necessary to achieve the objectives of this Act; or (2) such objectives have been achieved.
United States · United States Congress · 29 August 2025
Equity in Foreign and Domestic Credit Act - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to prohibit any person, including any foreign person, from receiving a loan or other extension of credit from any lender for the purpose of carrying or purchasing U.S. securities, or for purchasing or carrying any other securities within the United States, if the loan or other credit transaction would be prohibited if it were made by, or occurred in, a lender's office or other place of business in a State. Provides for a private right of action for any issuer of securities and any other person who is injured or threatened with injury by a violation of margin requirements under such Act involving: (1) the acquisition or carrying of the beneficial ownership of more than five percent of any class of equity security by any person; or (2) any tender offer for, or request for tenders of, any class of equity security that would result in such person becoming the beneficial owner of more than five percent of such class. Specifies the statute of limitations for such actions.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2024
Permits the reappointment of a specified number of air traffic controllers who were separated from service for participation in a strike initiated on August 3, 1981. Requires such reappointments to be made in FY 1986 and 1987.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 2026
Pharmaceutical Export Amendments of 1986 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to permit the export of certain drugs (including biological products) intended for human or animal use even though such drugs have not been approved or licensed for use in the United States. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish and update a two-tiered list of countries with adequate governmental health authorities which in the first tier includes developed regulatory procedures and tests with experienced scientific personnel and in the second tier includes sufficient ability to assure consistency of labeling information. Permits shipments to nonlist countries if differing health conditions there make such shipments desirable, e. g. tropical diseases. Permits the export of an unapproved drug to a second tier country if such drug is approved for use in any first-tier country and not banned for use in any first-tier country. Prohibits the export of drugs denied approval on the basis of safety and efficacy or whose manufacture in the United States has been determined to be contrary to U.S. health and safety. Sets forth other criteria and restrictions on the export of such drugs, including notice requirements on shipments and notice of and opportunity to cure deficiencies in such shipments. Permits the Secretaries of Agriculture and Health and Human Services to prohibit noncomplying shipments and shipments otherwise permitted if either Secretary determines a shipment would present an imminent hazard to the public health of the recipient country. Requires the Comptroller General to report biennially to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Congress on the extent to which drugs unauthorized for a country are being received by such country and the extent to which labeling is consistent. Directs the Secretary to contract for a study to be submitted to the Congress within five years on the economic and international health impact of this Act. Includes conditions prevalent in a developing country among the criteria for orphan drugs.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2024
Includes as creditable service for purposes of civil service retirement determinations service performed before January 1, 1984, by an individual, who later becomes subject to civil service retirement provisions, in the employ of a State in a specified Federal-State cooperative program of agricultural experiment stations. Limits the amount of such creditable service to the lesser of: (1) the aggregate period of such service performed by such employee before the effective date of this Act; or (2) ten years. Requires any civil service annuity which is computed based on such creditable service to be reduced by the portion of any State annuity or social security benefits received by the individual or his or her survivor on account of such service. Provides for the recomputation of any affected annuity or survivor annuity the commencement date of which occurred before the effective date of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 August 2025
Haskell Indian College Act - Establishes a corporation to be known as the Haskell Indian College (the College) to be under the direction and control of the Board of Regents (the Board) established under this Act. (The College is currently known as Haskell Indian Junior College, in Lawrence, Kansas, and is currently under the regulation and direction of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the Department of the Interior.) Sets forth provisions relating to the appointment of members to the Board, the powers of the Board, its election of an Executive Board, and its appointment of a president of the College. Sets forth provisions relating to College personnel, and the application of specified Federal civil service code provisions to such personnel. Requires the Board to submit annual budget reports and proposals to the Congress and the Secretary of the Interior (the Secretary). Directs the Secretary to consult with the Board during a transitional period. Directs the BIA to provide the Board with necessary records, and other administrative and technical assistance. Transfers all contracts, records, and personal property held or used primarily in connection with any function formerly performed by the BIA under this Act to the Board within 30 days after the Board assumes its responsibilities. Sets forth provisions relating to the nonprofit and nonpolitical nature of the College. Exempts the College and its property, as well as any contributions, donations, or bequests to the College, from all taxation imposed by the United States, any Indian tribe, or any State or local taxing authority. Directs the Attorney General, upon the request of the Board, to represent the Board and the College in litigation, to the extent such representation is appropriate. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 29 August 2025
National Policy and Technology Foundation Act of 1985 - Establishes, as an independent agency, the National Policy and Technology Foundation to: (1) anticipate national problems and opportunities (especially with regard to world trade and labor, the environment, education, technological innovation, government, and tax and monetary policy); (2) develop cooperative public-private efforts; and (3) propose to the Congress and the President national policies for the improvement of the economic, industrial, environmental, and societal well-being of the United States (including development of the requisite knowledge base and the long-range analysis of these areas). Establishes in the Foundation, in order to facilitate its purposes: (1) a National Policy and Technology Board; (2) an Office of Director of the Foundation; (3) a National Information Office; (4) an Office of National Policy, Analysis, and Assessment; (5) an Office of National Programs; (6) an Office of the Professions; (7) an Office of Institutional and Human Resource Development; (8) an Office of Small Business; and (9) an Office of Intergovernmental Technology and Professions Delivery Systems. Transfers to the Foundation: (1) the National Bureau of Standards; (2) the Patent and Trademark Office; (3) the National Technical Information Service; (4) the Office of Small Business Research and Development; (5) the Directorate for Engineering; (6) the Division of Industrial Science and Technological Innovation (exclusive of the nonengineering programs of the industry/university cooperative research projects program element) of the National Science Foundation; (7) the Intergovernmental Programs section of the National Science Foundation; (8) the Office of Industrial Technology; (9) the Center for the Utilization of Federal Technology; and (10) the Division of Policy Research and Analysis of the National Science Foundation. Transfers to the Foundation all the functions and authorities of the National Science Foundation and the Secretary of Commerce under the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (including the provision of assistance for the establishment of Centers for Industrial Design). Requires the Foundation to: (1) create a National Design Council, to encourage excellence in technological design; and (2) establish, through the Office of Institutional and Human Resources Development, the Federal Technological and Professions Extension Service. Requires the Foundation to submit various reports and information to the President and the Congress. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986.
United States · United States Congress · 29 August 2025
United States Marshals Service Act of 1985 - Establishes the United States Marshals Service (Service) as a bureau within the Department of Justice. States that the Service shall be under the authority and direction of the Attorney General. Provides that the Service shall be headed by a Director appointed by the Attorney General. Directs the President to appoint a United States marshal for each judicial district of the United States. Specifies the powers and duties of the Service. Authorizes certain witness security expenses to be paid from appropriations available to the Service. Prescribes the schedule of fees that the Service may collect. Authorizes the Attorney General to make payments from the Support of U.S. Prisoners in Non-Federal Institutions appropriation for: (1) necessary clothing and medical care for prisoners; and (2) rewards in connection with the capture of a Federal fugitive.
United States · United States Congress · 29 August 2025
Polish Refugee Act of 1986 - Treats certain Polish citizens or nationals as refugees under the Immigration and Nationality Act for purposes of admission into the United States. Directs the Attorney General to assist such persons in applying for refugee status or asylum, as appropriate. Entitles such aliens to refugee assistance under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 2026
Fifth Emergency Extension Act of 1985-86 - Extends until March 15, 1986: (1) the increase in the excise tax on cigarettes; (2) the trade adjustment assistance program; (3) borrowing authority under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act; and (4) medicare hospital and physician payment rate provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 2026
Fifth Emergency Extension Act of 1985 - Extends until December 31, 1985: (1) the increase in the excise tax on cigarettes; (2) the trade adjustment assistance program; (3) borrowing authority under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act; and (4) Medicare hospital and physician payment rate provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 2026
Fifth Emergency Extension Act of 1985-86 - Extends until March 15, 1986: (1) the increase in the excise tax on cigarettes; (2) the trade adjustment assistance program; (3) borrowing authority under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act; and (4) Medicare hospital payment rate provisions. Extends until January 31, 1986, Medicare physician payment rate provisions. Extends certain provisions of the Social Security Act relating to prevailing charge levels for physician's services and customary charges for physician's services until December 31, 1986.
United States · United States Congress · 29 August 2025
Miscellaneous Tax Provisions Extension Act of 1985 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the income tax credit for increasing research activities from December 31, 1985, until July 31, 1986. Reduces the amount of such credit from 25 percent to 20 percent of such expenditures. Allows such credit for basic research payments to qualified organizations. Revises certain definitions and special rules related to such credit. Extends the targeted jobs income tax credit from December 31, 1985, until July 31, 1986. Reduces the amount of such credit from the sum of 50 percent of first year wages and 25 percent of second year wages to 40 percent of first year wages. Requires that an individual must be employed for at least 14 days in order to be taken into account for such credit. Extends from December 31, 1985, until August 1, 1986, the income tax exclusions for educational assistance programs and group legal plans. Extends from December 31, 1985, until July 31, 1986, provisions relating to the awarding of attorney's fees to a prevailing taxpayer in Federal tax cases. Extends the increase in the excise tax on cigarettes until August 1, 1986. Extends from December 31, 1985, until July 31, 1986, the moratorium of specified net operating loss carryover rules. Revises special rules concerning the allocation of research and experimental expenditures to income from sources within the United States. Extends such rules from August 1, 1985, until August 1, 1986. Extends until July 31, 1986, the special rules relating to the filing of tax returns and payment of taxes by spouses of individuals missing in action during the Vietnam conflict. Provides a limited tax exclusion for the value of lodging furnished by certain educational institutions to employees. Specifies that such exclusion shall be effective until August 1, 1986. Extends from December 31, 1985, until August 1, 1986, the income tax deduction for expenditures to remove architectural and transportation barriers to the handicapped and elderly. Extends until August 1, 1986, the residential energy tax credit for solar renewable energy source expenditures. Extends the energy investment tax credit for solar and geothermal property until July 31, 1986. Extends until July 31, 1986, the reduction in the excise tax on fuel used by taxicabs.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2024
Repeals provisions of the Internal Revenue Code relating to the reporting by employers of tips in the case of certain food and beverage establishments.
United States · United States Congress · 29 August 2025
Unitary Tax Repealer Act - Prohibits any State from imposing corporate income taxes on a worldwide unitary basis, unless: (1) the taxpayer fails to comply with certain Federal reporting requirements; or (2) neither the taxpayer nor the government of the relevant foreign country provides the State certain information relating to the income of the taxpayer. Limits the State taxation of dividends received by U.S. companies from foreign corporations. Sets forth certain definitions. Requires certain multistate and multinational corporations to file informational returns within 180 days of the due date of the Federal income tax return disclosing certain information relating to the State taxation of corporate income such as: (1) the corporation's income tax liability to each State in which it is liable to pay income tax; (2) its income subject to tax in each State; and (3) the method of calculation by which the reporting corporation computed and allocated its income subject to tax by each state. Imposes a $1,000 penalty for failure to file the informational return. Increases the penalty where the failure to file continues after the taxpayer has been notified of such requirement. Sets a maximum penalty for failure to file at $24,000. Permits the disclosure of certain tax information to a State tax agency under certain conditions. Sets forth certain procedures and restrictions relating to the information disclosure.
United States · United States Congress · 10 August 2026
Child Abuse Prosecution Act of 1985 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to direct the Assistant Attorney General, Office of Justice Programs, to provide for the operation of a clearinghouse known as the National Center for the Prosecution of Child Abuse. Delineates the functions of such clearinghouse, including: (1) information dissemination regarding model prosecution programs; (2) monitoring of State and Federal legislation in order to develop model legislation; (3) technical assistance and litigation support to prosecutors in child abuse cases; (4) coordination of interdisciplinary team assistance for local prosecutors in the investigation and preparation of child abuse cases; and (5) funding of assistance to support such interdisciplinary teams.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2025
Amends the Tariff Schedules of the United States to provide a duty on surimi. Provides that such surimi described in any other item of the Schedules shall be subject to the greater rate of duty set forth in such items.
United States · United States Congress · 29 August 2025
Railroad Unemployment Insurance Amendments of 1985 - Title I: Financing Provisions - Amends the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (the Act) to revise provisions relating to: the compensation base under such Act; employer contributions and experience rating; the railroad unemployment insurance account; and the railroad unemployment insurance administration account. Title II: Benefit Adjustments - Revises provisions relating to days and amounts of benefits under the Act. Sets forth a definition of "qualified employee" under the Act. Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions - Revises provisions relating to claims, appeals, judicial review, and disclosure under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 10 August 2026
Amends the copyright law to prohibit a copyright holder from conveying the right to publicly perform an audiovisual work on non-network commercial television without simultaneously conveying the right to perform in synchronization any copyrighted music which accompanies such work.
United States · United States Congress · 29 August 2025
Air Passenger Safety and Equity Act of 1985 - Prohibits the receipts and disbursements of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund from being included in: (1) the Federal budget totals submitted by the President; or (2) the congressional budget. Exempts such receipts and disbursements from any general budget limitation imposed upon Federal expenditures or budget outlays.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2025
Authorizes the President to provide military assistance to the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). Authorizes appropriations for such purpose for FY 1986.
United States · United States Congress · 29 August 2025
Recovery Act for Mortgage and Other Asset-Backed Securities - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that arrangements for the issuance of "pass-through securities" (i.e., mortgage backed securities) in one or more classes shall be taxed as grantor trusts and not as corporations. Requires that the interests in the financial instruments represented by the pass-through securities be established prior to the initial issuance of the pass-through securities and, pursuant to the terms of the pass-through securities, such interests may not be changed. Requires that the pool of assets in which the holders of pass-through securities own an interest must be fixed prior to the date of the first payment to security holders, except for a certain two-year period. Sets forth various definitions.
United States · United States Congress · 29 August 2025
Medicare Voucher Act of 1986 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to contract with health benefits organizations (HBOs) to provide private alternative coverage for Medicare beneficiaries who enroll in HBO plans. Provides for enrollments in HBOs during August and September and as prescribed by the Secretary in the case of individuals who move from the area served by one HBO to an area served by another HBO. Limits the actuarial value of the aggregate payments (excluding premiums) that Medicare enrollees in the HBO have to make, for the categories of services Medicare covers, to the actuarial value of the aggregate payments they would otherwise have had to make under Medicare. Requires HBOs to cover inpatient hospital services for at least 90 days annually, with a required payment for the day of admission of not more than the Medicare inpatient hospital deductible and not more than 25 percent of such deductible for each day remaining in the 90 day period. Permits HBOs to provide annual rebates instead of charging premiums. Requires HBOs to make efforts to provide health benefits to at least as many individuals who are not entitled to Medicare or Medicaid (title XIX of the Act) benefits as they provide to individuals who are entitled to such benefits. Sets forth provisions, required in agreements between the Secretary and HBOs, protecting beneficiaries from the HBOs' legal obligations and enhancing the Secretary's HBO oversight capacity. Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII of the Act to permit organizations that have been providing or arranging for medical or other health services for not more than a year to elect to be paid on a cost basis for 36 months for the provision of part B benefits. Requires hospitals, at the request of an HBO, to accept as payment in full, for hospital services furnished to an HBO enrollee, the amounts that would be accepted as payment in full if the enrollees had not chosen to enroll in the HBO. Sets forth effective date and transitional provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 29 August 2025
American Softwood Lumber Stabilization Act of 1985 - Amends the Tariff Schedules of the United States to increase the duty, 15 days after the enactment of this Act, on Canadian softwood lumber, wood shingles, and shakes. Decreases the duty on such items after December 31, 1986, and on or before December 31, 1988.
United States · United States Congress · 29 August 2025
National Acid Rain Control Act - Title I: Acid Deposition Control and Assistance Program - Amends the Clean Air Act to require fossil fuel fired electric utility generating plants burning coal with excessive sulfur content to clean that coal prior to combustion. Requires such plants using flue gas desulfurization units to use adipic acid treatment. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), within 18 months after the enactment of this Act, to compute a State share for each of the 48 contiguous States of a 12,000,000 ton reduction in annual emissions of sulfur dioxide by 1995 below that of 1980. Sets forth a formula for determining State shares. Permits States to reallot shares among themselves if the required total reduction in annual emissions of sulfur dioxide is still achieved. Sets deadlines and procedures for submission and approval of State plans for such State shares. Requires the owner or operator of any fossil fuel fired facility which is a major but not new stationary source to comply with an emission limitation equivalent to an average of 1.2 pounds of sulfur dioxide per million Btu's of heat input on a rolling 30 day average, if its State has not submitted or implemented an approved plan. Requires such owners or operators to submit a compliance plan to the Administrator for approval. Establishes in the Treasury the Acid Deposition Control Fund to provide funding for emissions reductions from specified appropriations. Sets forth conditions and administrative provisions for such Fund. Imposes a fee on each kilowatt hour of electric energy generated by an electric utility in the contiguous States. Exempts electricity generated by nuclear or hydroelectric power. Directs the Administrator to make grants and contracts to accelerate research for developing other advanced industrial processes to reduce levels of sulfur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen, limestone injected multistaged burner (LIMB) technology. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1991. Title II: Control of Emissions of Oxides of Nitrogen - Directs the Administrator to revise nitrogen oxides emissions standards for electric utility steam generating units which burn bituminous or subbituminous coal. Sets maximum subbituminous emissions at 0.30 pounds per million Btu's and maximum bituminous coal emissions at 0.40 pounds per million Btu's, based on a 30-day rolling average. Requires the Administrator to promulgate emissions standards for new, large fossil-fuel-fired steam generating units. Establishes oxides of nitrogen emissions standards for light duty trucks after model year 1987. Title III: Acid Deposition Damage Mitigation Program - Establishes a grants program for States with Administrator-approved plans for mitigating water quality damage caused by acid deposition. Limits such grants to 80 percent of State-expended funds for mitigation. Apportions funds among the States upon the basis of need.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2025
Amends the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 to exempt inflatable passenger boats or rafts (including whitewater rafting vessels) from any law restricting trade between points in the United States to vessels of the United States, until November 1, 1993.
United States · United States Congress · 29 August 2025
Master Teacher Education Assistance Act of 1985 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make grants to States to pay the Federal share of the costs of establishing and operating master teacher education programs for elementary and secondary school teachers. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1989 for such purpose. Sets forth provisions for program fund allotments to States. Permits grants under this Act to be used for master teacher education programs which meet specified criteria. Sets forth State application requirements. Limits the Federal share to 75 percent of the cost of such programs.
United States · United States Congress · 29 August 2025
Multiemployer Pension Plan Reform Act of 1985 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to require multiemployer pension plan actuaries to assume a specified interest rate in determining the unfunded vested benefits of a multiemployer pension plan for purposes of determining an employer's withdrawal liability under special provisions for multiemployer pension plans under ERISA provisions relating to plan termination insurance.
United States · United States Congress · 29 August 2025
Sudden and Severe Economically Depressed Cities Loan Guarantee and Loan Interest Subsidy Act - Title I: Loan Guarantees - Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, upon the request of a local government and the State governor, to guarantee the timely payment of all or part of the indebtedness of a local government that: (1) is severely economically depressed; (2) has lost a significant amount of its industry, employed population, and tax base; and (3) is in a financial crisis and is unable to meet its financial obligations or maintain vital municipal services. Directs the Secretary to provide interest subsidies to enable cities to obtain loans at below market interest rates. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Emergency Use of Community Development Block Grants for City Services in Severely Economically Depressed Cities - Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, upon the request of a local government and the State governor, to permit a local government which has lost such a significant amount of industry and taxpaying population that its tax base can no longer support its police, firefighter, ambulance, and medical services to divert portions of its community development block grant to pay for such services.