Year Legislation Significance
1986 Tax Reform Act Simplified the federal tax system by replacing the existing fourteen tax
brackets with two; revised the tax code by curtailing or eliminating
dozens of tax breaks.
1986 Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act Prohibited loans to and investments in South Africa; imposed a series of
economic sanctions against South Africa; enacted pursuant to override
of a veto by President Ronald Reagan.
1986 Age Discrimination in Employment
Amendments
Forbade most employers from setting mandatory retirement ages.1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act Increased penalties for drug-related crime; created new offenses;
expanded enforcement in the United States and in drug-producing
countries.
1986 Immigration Reform and Control
Act
Required that employers verify the status of all workers; made it a crime
for employers to knowingly recruit or hire illegal immigrants.1986 Superfund Amendments and
Reauthorization Act
Established a $8.5 billion fund to clean up the most dangerous
hazardous waste sites; formulated a five-year schedule for the
Environmental Protection Agency to start cleaning up the 375 worst
hazardous waste sites; created new taxes on petroleum and raw
chemicals.1986 Safe Drinking Water Act
Amendments
Renewed the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 for five years; directed the
Environmental Protection Agency to set maximum containment
standards for water supplies; created a schedule for regulating certain
toxic pollutants within three years.1986 Electronic Communications Privacy
Act
Extended privacy protection to electronic mail, cellular phones,
computer transmissions, paging devices, and private satellite
transmissions.1986 Firearms Owners Protection Act Removed the ban on interstate sale of rifles and shotguns; barred the
establishment of a firearms registration ban; restricted conditions under
which federal officials could seize firearms or ammunition.
1986 Goldwater-Nixon Act Reorganized the Department of Defense by designating the chairman of
the joint chiefs of staff as chief military adviser to the president and the
secretary of defense; authorized the chairman to assume strategic
planning and budgeting responsibilities; consolidated duplicate
functions.
1987 Water Quality Act Renewed the Federal Water Pollution Control Amendments of 1972 for
ten years; furnished construction grants for state and local sewage
treatment facilities; enacted pursuant to override of presidential veto.
1987 Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Reaffirmation Act
Increased the public debt authority from $2.1 trillion to $2.8 trillion;
established new federal budget deficit targets for 1988-1993 fiscal years.1987 Airport and Airway Safety and
Capacity Extension Act
Provided $20.1 billion for a airport renewal measures; set a target for
hiring air traffic controllers; extended taxes and fees to finance the
Airport and Airway Trust Fund.1987 McKinney Homeless Assistance Act Established the Interagency Council on the Homeless to coordinate
homeless assistance; authorized funding for two years for a broad range
of programs to help homeless persons.
1102 Legislation: Major U.S. Legislation The Eighties in America