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A bill to establish priorities in the payment of claims against the People's Republic of China.

Public Law 96-445 · H.R. 6440 · 96th Congress · began in the House

Signed by Jimmy Carter (D) on Oct 13, 1980 · International Affairs

Sponsor: Rep. Tennyson Guyer (R-OH-4)

Cosponsors (1): Rep. Willis Gradison

Passage votes

  • HouseMethod not stated
  • SenateMethod not stated
Data notes

The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.

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Summary

The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.

Amends the International Claims Settlement Act to set forth the order of priority of claims to be paid by the Secretary of the Treasury from amounts deposited in a special fund to pay claims against the People's Republic of China.

Requires a deduction in the amount otherwise payable to claimants allowed a Federal income tax deduction for claimed losses.

Committees

The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.

Data notes

A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.

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Timeline

From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 11 actions.

  1. Oct 13, 1980Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
  2. PresidentPresident · Public Law 96-445.
  3. Oct 10, 1980PresidentPresident · Measure presented to President.
  4. Oct 9, 1980PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in Senate.
  5. Oct 8, 1980PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in House.
  6. Oct 1, 1980FloorFloor · Measure passed Senate.
  7. Sep 30, 1980FloorFloor · Measure passed House, amended.
  8. FloorFloor · Measure called up under motion to suspend rules and pass in House.
  9. CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Foreign Relations Committee
  10. Feb 6, 1980CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Foreign Affairs Committee
  11. IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the House
Data notes

Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.

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Official record

The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.