the end of the applicable period of protection (or, in the case of an employee described in the final proviso of subsection (a), until the earlier of said employee's sixtyfifth birthday or September 30, 1984), calculated on the basis of the weekly amounts of such benefits as of the date of application for severance pay.

(d) Acceptance of severance pay terminates the affected employee's period of protection and makes said employee ineligible thereafter for all other forms of terminal pay and for the protections provided in section 204, except as otherwise specifically provided in this Act. (e) Before making a severance payment to an employee, the Secretary shall obtain said employee's written agreement that, upon resumption of employment in the industry within Humboldt and Del Norte Counties and the counties adjacent thereto in the State of California prior to September 30, 1980, or such later date established by the Secretary with respect to said employee pursuant to section 203, said employee will return it in weekly installments equal to a specified percentage of the employee's earnings in the industry, which the Secretary shall set at a reasonable level. The agreement shall include authorization for the Secretary to arrange with an employer for withholding of the applicable amounts from the employee's pay.

SHORT-SERVICE EMPLOYEES

SEC. 209. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, an affected employee as defined in this title shall be ineligible for any benefit under this title except as provided in this section if:

(1) said employee will not reach age sixty before October 1, 1984; and

(2) said employee as of the date of becoming an affected employee, does not have service credit for pension purposes of at least five full years under a pension plan contributed to by industry employers. (b) An affected employee described in subsection (a) shall be paid severance pay in accordance with this section if said employee meets the requirements of section 208(a).

(c) Said employee shall be paid a severance payment equal to forty times the hourly wage rate applicable at the time of application for severance pay to the highest paid job held by said employee, other than by temporary assignment, during calendar year 1977, with the employee's last affected employer for each one hundred and seventy-three hours for which said employee performed work for affected employers.

(d) Subsection (d) of section 208 shall be applicable to employees applying for and accepting severance pay

ments pursuant to this section except that such employees shall remain eligible for allowances provided for in sections 211 and 212, and for retraining as provided for in section 210(a) and while in good faith engaged in such training shall be paid the same stipends and allowances as are generally applicable to individuals engaged in such retraining programs who are not employees as defined in this Act.

RETRAINING

SEC. 210. (a) An affected employee is eligible to apply for and the Secretary shall authorize training (including training for technical and professional occupations) at Government expense during said employee's period of protection if—

(1) the Secretary determines that there is no suitable employment available for the employee within a reasonable commuting area; and

(2) there is substantial reason to believe that the employee's employment prospects would be enhanced after successful completion of the training for which application has been filed.

(b) An affected employee engaged in training authorized by subsection (a) shall be paid layoff and vacation replacement benefits while in good faith engaged in such training and shall continue to be paid such benefits while so engaged.

SEC. 211. Upon application filed by an affected employee during said employee's period of protection, said employee shall be eligible for a job search allowance under the same terms, conditions, and amounts as provided in section 237 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2297).

SEC. 212. (a) A relocation allowance shall be paid upon application by an affected employee during the applicable period of protection if—

(1) the Secretary determines that said employee cannot reasonably be expected to obtain suitable work in the commuting area in which said employee resides; and

(2) the employee has obtained

(A) suitable employment affording a reasonable expectation of long-term duration in the area in which said employee wishes to relocate; or

(B) a bona fide offer of such employment; or (3) the employee relocated during the period beginning May 31, 1977, and ending on the date of enactment, because of acceptance of employment requiring a change in residence to a location outside the commuting area in which said employee resided immediately prior to becoming an affected employee. (b) The Secretary shall provide the same moving ex

pense benefits for the same purposes as are set forth in the Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973 (Public Law 93-236).

ADMINISTRATION

SEC. 213. (a) The Secretary shall be responsible for paying promptly all benefits and payments provided by this title.

(b) Effective October 1, 1977, there are authorized to be appropriated annually such sums as may be required to meet the obligations provided for in this title.

(c) The Secretary shall have the authority to obtain information necessary to carry out the responsibilities created under this Act in the same manner as provided by section 249 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.Č. 2321).

(d) The Secretary shall offer all reasonable cooperation and assistance to individuals who believe they may qualify for the benefits, payments, preferential hiring rights, and other protections provided for employees under this Act. Among other things, the Secretary shall—

(1) provide all covered employees with literature stating their rights and obligations in nontechnical terms; and

(2) develop and implement procedures for the filing (including filing by mail in appropriate circumstances as determined by the Secretary) of applications, appeals, and complaints relating to the rights and entitlements established for employees by this title designed to facilitate prompt determinations and prompt payment to eligible applicants. (e) The Secretary shall direct that notices, reports, applications, appeals, and information concerning the implementation of this title required to be filed with the Secretary shall be filed at the offices of the United States Employment and Training Service in Humboldt and Del Norte Counties of the State of California and that information required to facilitate employees' exercise of their rights under this title shall be kept available at such offices unless the Secretary shall designate additionally.

(f) In all cases where two or more constructions of the language of this title would be reasonable, the Secretary shall adopt and apply that construction which is most favorable to employees. The Secretary shall avoid inequities adverse to employees that otherwise would arise from an unduly literal interpretation of the language of this title.

Approved March 27, 1978.

Legislative History:

House Reports: No. 95-581 (Comm. on Interior and Insular Affairs), No. 95-581, pt. II (Comm. on Appropriations) and No. 95-931 (Comm. of Conference).

Senate Reports: No. 95-528 (Comm. on Energy and Natural Resources) and No. 95-578 (Comm. on Appropriations).

Congressional Record, Vol. 124 (1978):

Jan. 31, S. 1976 considered and passed Senate.

Feb. 9, considered and passed House.

Feb. 28, considered and passed Senate, amended, in lieu of S. 1976.

Mar. 14, House agreed to conference report.

Mar. 21, Senate agreed to conference report.

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Vol. 14, No. 13: Mar. 27, Presidential state

ment.

16. Rocky Mountain

An Act to provide for increases in appropriation ceilings and boundary changes in certain units of the National Park System, to authorize appropriations for additional costs of land acquisition for the National Park System, and for other purposes. (88 Stat. 1445) (P.L. 93-477)

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

TITLE I-ACQUISITION CEILING INCREASES

SEC. 101. The limitations on appropriations for the acquisition of lands and interests therein within units of the National Park System contained in the following Acts are amended as follows:

(9) Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado: For the acquisition of lands authorized in subsection 301(6) of this Act, there are authorized to be appropriated not more than $2,423,740 and for development of such lands there are authorized to be appropriated not more than $318,000.

TITLE III-BOUNDARY CHANGES

SEC. 301. The Secretary of Interior shall revise the boundaries of the following units of the National Park System:

*

*

*

*

*

(7) Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado: To add approximately 1,556.21 acres.

Approved October 26, 1974.