United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999
Commends the bravery and honor of the citizens of Remy, France, for their actions with respect to the American fighter pilot Lieutenant Houston Braly during and after August 1944. Recognizes the efforts of the surviving members of the U.S. 364th Fighter Group to raise funds to restore the stained glass windows of Remy's 13th century church.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1999
Calls for the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee to recommend and the Postal Service to issue a commemorative postage stamp honoring the U.S. Submarine Force on its 100th anniversary.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 1999
Father Theodore M. Hesburgh Congressional Gold Medal Act - Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of Congress, a congressional gold medal to Father Theodore M. Hesburgh in recognition of his outstanding and enduring contributions to civil rights, higher education, the Catholic Church, the Nation, and the global community. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 1999
Home Health Access Preservation Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, subject to certain restrictions, to pay an additional amount, determined in accordance with specified guidelines, to home health agencies furnishing qualified home health services during a cost reporting period beginning on or after October 1, 1997, under the Medicare program (title XVIII of the Social Security Act). Authorizes appropriations. Prohibits the Secretary from making additional payments under this Act for all or portions of cost reporting periods beginning on or after the date of the implementation of the prospective payment system (PPS) for home health services under Medicare. Bars judicial review with regard to any action of the Secretary with respect to the determination of an additional payment under this Act. Addresses overpayments to home health agencies, giving them a repayment option over a 36-month period, and prohibiting interest accrual on the outstanding balance of the overpayment amount during such period. Prohibits home health agencies from electing to make such a repayment for all or portions of cost reporting periods beginning on or after the date of the implementation of the PPS for home health services under Medicare. Makes the repayment option effective retroactively to the enactment of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. Directs the Secretary to meet periodically with the staff of the appropriate congressional committees to provide an informal update regarding the Secretary's progress in implementing such PPS.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 1999
Bring Them Home Alive Act of 1999 - Directs the Attorney General to grant refugee status in the United States to any alien (and the parent, spouse, and child of such) who: (1) is a national of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, China, or any of the independent states of the former Soviet Union; and (2) personally delivers into U.S. custody a living American Vietnam War POW or MIA. Requires the granting of the same status to any alien (and parent, spouse, and child) who is a national of North Korea, China, or any of the independent states of the former Soviet Union and who personally delivers a living American Korean War POW or MIA. Directs the International Broadcasting Bureau to broadcast to such foreign countries information that promotes such refugee programs. Requires: (1) a minimum level of such broadcasting; and (2) the Bureau to ensure that such information is made available on the Internet. Expresses the sense of the Congress that RFE-RL, Inc., Radio Free Asia, and any other recipient of Federal grants that broadcasts to such countries should also broadcast such information.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 1999
American Inventors Protection Act of 1999 - Title I: Inventors' Rights - Inventors' Rights Act - Amends Federal patent law to oblige any invention promoter, when entering into a contract for invention promotion services, to disclose to a customer in writing: (1) whether the promoter's usual business practice is to seek more than one contract in connection with an invention, or seek to perform promotion services in one or more phases, with the performance of each phase covered in one or more subsequent contracts; and (2) a summary of the promoter's usual business practices, including the usual business terms of contracts, and the approximate amount of the usual fees or other consideration for each of the services provided. (Sec. 102) Prescribes a standard cover notice for every invention promotion services contract, including: (1) the procedure for contract cancellation; (2) the total number of inventions evaluated by the promoter for commercial potential in the past five years, including the number of positive and of negative evaluations; (3) the total number of customers who have contracted with the promoter in the past five years; (4) the total number of customers known by the promoter to have received a net financial profit as a direct result of the invention promotion services provided; (5) the total number of customers known by the invention promoter to have received license agreements for their inventions as a direct result of such services; and (6) the names and addresses of all previous invention promotion companies with which the promoter or its officers have collectively or individually been affiliated in the previous ten years. Sets forth mandatory contract terms and remedies for certain prohibited contract practices. Establishes a Federal cause of action for inventors injured by material false or fraudulent statements or representations, or any omission of material fact, by an invention promoter, or by the promoter's failure to make the required written disclosures. Sets minimum damages at $5,000, leaving the court discretion to treble actual damages, taking into account past complaints against the same invention promoter. Makes it a misdemeanor for an invention promoter to make fraudulent representations to a customer. Title II: First Inventor Defense - First Inventor Defense Act - Amends Federal patent law to declare that it shall be a defense to an infringement action with respect to any subject matter that would otherwise infringe one or more claims asserting a process or method in the patent being asserted against a person, if such person had, acting in good faith, actually reduced the subject matter to practice at least one year before the effective filing date of such patent, and commercially used the subject matter before the effective filing date of such patent. (Sec. 202) Deems a commercial use, in the case of activities performed by a nonprofit research laboratory, or nonprofit entity such as a university, research center, or hospital, any use for which the public is the intended beneficiary, except that such use: (1) may be asserted as a defense only for continued use by and in the laboratory or nonprofit entity; and (2) may not be asserted as a defense with respect to any subsequent commercialization or use outside such laboratory or nonprofit entity. States that the sale or other disposition of a useful end product produced by a patented method, by a person entitled to assert such a defense with respect to that useful end result, shall exhaust the patent owner's rights under the patent to the extent such rights would have been exhausted had such sale or other disposition been made by the patent owner. Limits the defense to inventions for processes or methods. Prohibits the defense if the subject matter on which the defense is based was derived from the patentee or persons in privity with the patentee. Declares that this defense is not a general license under all claims of the patent at issue, but extends only to the specific subject matter claimed in the patent with respect to which the person can assert a defense. Extends the defense, however, to variations in the quantity or volume of use of the claimed subject matter, and to improvements that do not infringe additional specifically claimed subject matter of the patent. Requires a person asserting the defense to establish it by clear and convincing evidence. Prohibits any person who has abandoned commercial use of subject matter from relying on activities performed before the date of abandonment in establishing a defense with respect to actions taken after such date. Limits assertion of the defense to the person who performed the acts necessary to establish it. Prohibits licensing, assignment, or transfer to any person but the patent owner of the right to assert the defense, except as an ancillary and subordinate part of a good faith assignment or transfer for other reasons of the entire enterprise or line of business to which the defense relates. Restricts the site of use of a subject matter for which the defense may be asserted if the defense has been acquired as part of such a good faith assignment or transfer. Title III: Patent Term Guarantee - Patent Term Guarantee Act of 1999 - Amends Federal patent law to extend the term of a patent one day for each day lost as a result of delay created by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) when the agency fails to: (1) make notifications within 14 months after filing of a non-provisional application about the rejection of any patent claim, or objections to or requirements for it, or of allowance of the application; (2) respond within four months to a reply to a rejection, objection, or requirement, or to an appeal of a twice-rejected claim; (3) act on an application within four months after the date of a decision by the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, or a decision by a Federal court in a case in which allowable claims remain in the application; or (4) issue a patent within four months after the date on which the issue fee was paid and all outstanding requirements were satisfied. (Sec. 302) Requires a day-for-day extension of a patent term if: (1) a patent is not issued within three years after the filing of the application; or (2) issue is delayed by interferences, secrecy orders, or appeals. Specifies limitations to such an extension, as well as grounds for its reduction. Requires the USPTO Director to prescribe regulations establishing procedures for the application for and determination of patent term extensions and adjustments. (Sec. 303) Authorizes the Commissioner of Patents to: (1) prescribe regulations for the continued examination, at the applicant's request, of a patent application notwithstanding a final rejection; and (2) establish appropriate fees for continued examination proceedings, with a mandatory 50% fee reduction for qualifying small entities. Title IV: United States Publication of Patent Applications Published Abroad - Publication of Foreign Filed Applications Act - Requires the USPTO Director to publish each patent application 18 months after the earliest filing date for which a benefit is sought, unless the applicant requests earlier publication. Makes final and unreviewable the Director's determination to release or not to release information concerning a published patent application. Prohibits publication of any application: (1) no longer pending; (2) subject to a secrecy order; (3) which is provisional; (4) for a design patent; or (5) for an invention the applicant certifies has not and will not be the subject of an application filed in another country, or under a multilateral international agreement, that requires publication of applications 18 months after filing. Requires any applicant, in the latter instance, who subsequently files, in a foreign country or under a multilateral international agreement, an application directed to the invention disclosed in the application filed in the PTO, to notify the Director. (Sec. 402) Allows an applicant to submit a redacted copy of the PTO-filed application, eliminating any part or description of the invention that is not also contained in any of the corresponding applications the applicant has filed in one or more foreign countries whose applications require a less extensive description of the invention than the application or description of the invention in the application filed in the PTO. Requires the USPTO Director to publish only the redacted copy of the application, unless it is not received within 16 months after the earliest effective filing date. Requires the USPTO Director to establish appropriate procedures to ensure that no protest or other form of pre-issuance opposition to the grant of a patent on an application may be initiated after publication of the application without the express written consent of the applicant. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to specified congressional committees on applicants who file only in the United States on or after the effective date of this subtitle. (Sec. 403) Amends Federal patent law with respect to the option of an applicant seeking patent protection in the United States to claim the filing date of an application for the same invention filed in another Convention country, provided the subsequent application is filed in the United States within 12 months of the earlier filing in the foreign country. Revises requirements for claiming such priority. Authorizes the Director to: (1) consider an applicant's failure to file a timely claim for priority to be a waiver of any such priority claim; and (2) establish procedures (including the payment of a surcharge) to accept an unintentionally delayed priority claim. (Sec. 404) Amends Federal patent law to state that a patent shall contain a (provisional) right to obtain a reasonable royalty for applicants whose applications are published under this title, or international applications designating the United States filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). Entitles the applicant to obtain a reasonable royalty from any person who between publication of the application and issuance of the patent: (1) makes, uses, offers for sale, or sells the invention in, or imports it into, the United States; or (2) if the invention claimed is a process, makes, uses, offers for sale, sells, or imports a product made by that process in the United States; and (3) had actual notice of the published application, including a translation into English if it was filed in a non-English language under the PCT designating the United States. Denies availability of such right unless the invention as claimed in the patent is substantially identical to the invention as claimed in the published application. Sets a six-year statute of limitations from the date of patent issuance in which an action for reasonable royalties must be brought. Authorizes an applicant to request issuance of a patent incorporating one or more claims the USPTO Director has indicated allowable. Permits incorporation into the patent, or issuance of a separate patent, of any subsequently allowed claims. (Sec. 405) Grants a published application prior art effect as of its earliest effective U.S. filing date against any subsequently filed U.S. applications. States that any foreign filing date to which the published application is entitled will not be the effective filing date of the U.S. published application for prior art purposes, unless it is an international application designating the United States published in English under the PCT. (Sec. 406) Requires the USPTO Director to recover the cost of early publication required by this title by charging a separate publication fee after a notice of allowance is given. Title V: Patent Litigation Reduction Act - Patent Litigation Reduction Act - Revises requirements with respect to prior art citations. Repeals the authority to exclude, on request, the prior art citator's identity from the patent file, and keep it confidential. (Sec. 503) Revises the procedure for the conduct of reexamination proceedings, adding specified procedures for a third-party requester. Transfers authority to conduct such proceedings and issue orders from the Commissioner of Patents to the USPTO Director. Requires reexamination proceedings and appeals to the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences to be conducted with special dispatch within the USPTO. Authorizes a third-party requester to: (1) appeal any final decision favorable to the patentability of any original or proposed amended or new claim of the patent; or (2) be a party to any appeal taken by the patent owner. Declares that any third-party requester whose request for a reexamination results in a reexamination order is estopped from asserting at a later time, in any civil action, the invalidity of any claim finally determined to be valid and patentable on any ground which the third-party requester raised or could have raised during the reexamination proceedings, except newly discovered prior art unavailable at the time of such proceedings. Sets forth prohibitions with respect to subsequent requests for reexamination of a patent and final decisions in civil actions. Authorizes a patent owner to obtain a stay of any pending litigation involving an issue of patentability once an order for reexamination has been issued, unless the court determines a stay would not serve the interests of justice. Requires the USPTO Director to report to Congress on whether the reexamination proceedings established under this title are inequitable to any of the parties in interest, as well as any related legislative recommendations. Title VI: Patent and Trademark Office - Patent and Trademark Office Efficiency Act - Subtitle A: United States Patent and Trademark Office - Amends Federal patent law to reorganize the Patent and Trademark Office in the Department of Commerce into a U.S. agency within the Department, called the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), subject to the general policy direction of the Secretary of Commerce but exercising independent control of its budget, personnel, procurements, and other administrative and management functions. (Sec. 613) Vests the enumerated powers and duties of the USPTO in an Under Secretary of Commerce and Director of the USPTO (currently, the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks). Requires the Director to appoint a Commissioner of Patents and a Commissioner of Trademarks. (Sec. 614) Prescribes personnel requirements, including mandatory written agreements with labor organizations. Requires the USPTO Director to establish a performance management system according to specified guidelines. Authorizes the Director to establish one or more broad-banded systems covering all or any portion of the USPTO workforce. (Sec. 615) Establishes a Patent Public Advisory Committee and a Trademark Public Advisory Committee. (Sec. 618) Revises the composition of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences to reflect the changes of this Act. Repeals the current authority (of the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks) to designate any patent examiner of the primary examiner grade or higher to serve as examiner-in-chief for a six-month period, and act as a member of the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences. Subtitle B: Effective Date; Technical Amendments - Sets forth the effective date of this title, as well as specified technical amendments to Federal patent law. Subtitle C: Miscellaneous Provisions - Sets forth specified administrative requirements with respect to the USPTO and transfers of functions under this title. Title VII: Miscellaneous Patent Provisions - Amends Federal patent law to permit the conversion, upon applicant request, of a provisional application into a non-provisional application. Repeals the requirement that a provisional application be pending on the filing date of a non-provisional application in order for the provisional application to be relied upon in any proceeding in the USPTO. (Sec. 702) Permits persons who filed an application for patent first in a World Trade Organization (WTO) member country to claim the right of priority in a subsequent patent application filed in the United States, even if such country does not yet afford similar privileges on the basis of applications filed in the United States. Provides for the right of priority in the United States on the basis of an application for a plant breeder's right first filed in a WTO member country or in a foreign member of the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV Contracting Party). (Sec. 703) Makes certain limitations on remedies for patent infringement applicable only to applications filed on or after September 30, 1996. (Sec. 704) Declares that papers filed in the USPTO may be required to be on an electronic medium. (Sec. 705) Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on the potential risks to the U.S. biotechnological industry relating to biological deposits in support of biotechnology patents. Requires the USPTO to consider the Comptroller General's recommendations when drafting regulations affecting biological deposits. (Sec. 706) Specifies that an inventor involved in a USPTO interference proceeding who establishes a date of invention is subject to certain requirements, including the one that the invention was not abandoned, suppressed, or concealed. (Sec. 707) Revises the condition of patentability that subject matter developed by another person which qualifies as prior art only in certain circumstances shall not preclude the granting of a patent on an invention with only obvious differences where the subject matter and claimed invention were, at the time the invention was made, owned by the same person or subject to an obligation of assignment to the same person. Adds to such qualifying prior art circumstances that the invention was described in another patent granted on an application filed before the applicant's date of invention. (Thus allows an applicant to receive a patent when an invention with only obvious differences from the applicant's invention was described in a patent granted on an application filed before the applicant's invention, provided the inventions are commonly owned or subject to an obligation of assignment to the same person.)
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 1999
Condemns prejudice against Asian and Pacific Islander Americans. Supports Asian and Pacific Islander American participation in the political, public, and civic affairs of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1999
Iran Nonproliferation Act of 1999 - Directs the President to report periodically to specified congressional committees on foreign persons who, on or after January 22, 1998, have transferred to Iran: (1) controlled goods, services, or technology; or (2) non-controlled goods, services, or technology that would nevertheless would be, if they were U.S. goods, services, or technology, prohibited for export to Iran because of their potential contribution to the development of nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons, or ballistic missile systems. Excludes from identification in such reports any such persons who were previously identified, or who have acted on behalf of, or in concert with, the U.S. Government. Authorizes the President, with specified exceptions, to apply to such foreign person certain measures: (1) set forth in Executive Order 12938 prohibitions; (2) prohibiting the sale to such persons of defense items on the United States Munitions List and defense articles and defense services, or design and construction services under the Arms Export Control Act; and (3) prohibiting the export to such persons of controlled goods and technology under the Export Administration Act of 1979. Prohibits any U.S. agency from making extraordinary payments to the Russian Space Agency in connection with the International Space Station, or any other organization or entity of the Government of the Russian Federation, unless the President has determined, and reported to specified congressional committees, that: (1) it is the policy of the Government of the Russian Federation to oppose the proliferation to Iran of weapons of mass destruction and missile systems capable of delivering such weapons; (2) such government is taking the necessary steps to prevent the transfer from Russia to Iran of goods, services, and technology useful in the development of such weapons and systems; and (3) neither the Russian Space Agency, nor any organization under its control, has, during the one-year period prior to the determination, made transfers to Iran of controlled goods, services, or technology or non-controlled goods, services, or technology that has potential to contribute to Iran's development of nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons, or of ballistic missile systems.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1999
Health Care Worker Needlestick Prevention Act - Directs the Secretary of Labor, acting through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), to amend the bloodborne pathogens standard to require that: (1) employers utilize needleless systems and sharps with engineered sharps injury protections in their work sites to prevent the spread of bloodborne pathogens; and (2) non-managerial direct care health care workers of employers participate in the identification and evaluation of such systems and sharps. Provides an exemption where an employer demonstrates that needleless systems and sharps: (1) do not promote employee safety, interfere with patient safety, or interfere with the success of a medical procedure under certain circumstances in the employer's work facility; or (2) are not commercially available to the employer. (Sec. 2) Includes under such revised standard requirements relating to: (1) exposure control plans; (2) sharps injury logs; and (3) worker training in the use of such systems and sharps. (Sec. 3) Requires the Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to establish and maintain a national database on existing needleless systems and sharps with engineered sharps injury protections. Requires the Director to: (1) develop a set of evaluation criteria for use by employers, employees, and other persons in evaluating and selecting such systems and sharps; (2) develop a model training curriculum to train employers, employees, and other persons in such evaluation process, and provide requested technical assistance to the extent feasible; and (3) establish a national system to collect comprehensive data on needlestick injuries to health care workers, including data on mechanisms to analyze and evaluate prevention. Authorizes NIOSH access to information recorded by employers in sharps injury logs. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 5) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to require hospitals, as a condition of their Medicare program participation, to comply with the bloodborne pathogen standard as amended under this Act with respect to hospital employees, even if they are not otherwise subject to such standard because they are exempt from OSHA regulation.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1999
Stalking Prevention and Victim Protection Act of 1999 - Rewrites stalking provisions of the Federal criminal code. Prohibits and sets penalties for stalking an individual, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, or within Indian country. Deems a person to be stalking an individual if the person, on two or more occasions: (1) engages in any conduct that results in the individual's reasonable fear of death or bodily injury to that individual or to a member of that individual's immediate family; and (2) knows or has reasonable cause to believe that such conduct results in that fear. Directs the court, at the time of sentencing for such offense, to issue an appropriate protection order designed to protect the victim from further stalking by the convicted person, which shall continue in effect until the victim communicates to the court that the order is no longer needed. Requires the judicial officer, where a stalking violation is charged and the person has a prior conviction for a crime of violence under Federal or State law, to order the detention of the person before trial, if that conviction was for an offense against the same victim as in the current charge or a member of that victim's family, or if that conviction became final less than five years before the conduct constituting the alleged stalking violation took place. Directs the United States Sentencing Commission to amend the sentencing guidelines to provide an appropriate sentence enhancement for a defendant convicted of stalking where the defendant has a prior conviction under Federal or State law of a crime of violence against the same victim as in the current offense or against a member of that victim's family.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1999
Community Forestry and Agriculture Conservation Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat a bond issued to acquire land together with any renewable resources associated with the land on land subject to a conservation restriction as a tax-exempt (qualified 501(c)(3)) bond if the revenues from are used in a manner consistent with the charitable purpose.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1999
Authorizes the Pyramid of Remembrance Foundation to establish a memorial in the District of Columbia or its environs to honor members of the U.S. armed forces who have lost their lives during peacekeeping operations, humanitarian efforts, training, terrorist attacks, or covert operations. Prohibits the use of Federal funds in establishing such memorial, except as provided by the Commemorative Works Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1999
Federal Law Enforcement Animal Protection Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit, and set penalties for, willfully harming a police animal, or attempting or conspiring to do so. (Defines a "police animal" as a dog or horse employed by a Federal agency for the principal purpose of aiding in the detection of criminal activity, enforcement of laws, or apprehension of criminal offenders.)
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1999
Nazi Benefits Termination Act of 1999 - Denies Federal public benefits to individuals who have been participants in Nazi persecution. Authorizes the Attorney General, if an individual who has applied for or is receiving a Federal public benefit may have been such a participant, to provide an opportunity for a hearing on the record with respect to the matter. Allows the Attorney General to delegate the conduct of the hearing to an immigration judge. Describes hearing procedures under this Act. Requires an immigration judge who finds that the respondent has been a participant in Nazi persecution to: (1) promptly issue an order declaring the respondent to be ineligible for any Federal public benefit and prohibiting any person from providing such a benefit to the respondent; and (2) transmit a copy of the order to any governmental entity or person known to be so providing such a benefit. Authorizes the Attorney General to review any finding or conclusion made, or order issued, and to complete the review within a specified period, or the finding, conclusion, or order shall be final. Allows any party aggrieved by a final order issued under this Act to obtain judicial review of the order by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Estuary Habitat Restoration Title II: Chesapeake Bay Program Estuary Habitat Restoration Partnership Act of 1999 - Title I: Estuary Habitat Restoration - Establishes the Estuary Habitat Restoration Council (Council), which shall: (1) develop a national strategy for estuary habitat restoration; and (2) review project applications. (Sec. 105) Establishes six Regional Councils to represent the: (1) Gulf region; (2) Middle Atlantic region; (3) Northeast region; (4) Northwest region; (5) Southeast region; and (6) Southwest region. States that such Councils shall: (1) be made up of the Governors and their appointees for each member State; (2) develop regional strategies for project prioritization and selection; and (3) evaluate and forward project applications to the Council. Directs the Secretary of the Army to coordinate technical support and provide, upon request, administrative support to the Councils. (Sec. 106) Directs the Council to develop an estuary restoration strategy within a specified time which shall provide for the integration of estuary restoration plans, programs, and partnerships. (Sec. 107) Sets forth project application and administrative provisions, including Federal cost-sharing limits. (Sec. 109) Directs the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere of the Department of Commerce to develop a project monitoring database. (Sec. 110) Authorizes appropriations for: (1) estuary restoration activities; and (2) database monitoring. Obligates administrative funds for the Council and Regional Councils. Title II: Chesapeake Bay Program - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to authorize appropriations for the Chesapeake Bay Program, with an annual limitation on funds available for the Program office in the Environmental Protection Agency.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Removal of Barriers to Housing Affordability Title II: Homeownership Through Mortgage Insurance and Loan Guarantees Title III: Section 8 Homeownership Option Title IV: Community Development Block Grants Title V: Home Investment Partnerships Program Title VI: Local Homeownership Initiatives Title VII: Manufactured Housing Improvement Title VIII: Indian Housing Homeownership Title IX: Transfer of Unoccupied and Substandard Hud-Held Housing to Local Governments and Community Development Corporations Title X: Private Mortgage Insurance Cancellation and Termination American Homeownership and Economic Opportunity Act of 1999 - Title I: Removal of Barriers to Housing Affordability - Housing Affordability Barrier Removal Act of 1999 - Requires proposed and final agency rules to analyze their impact upon affordable housing availability, including provision for interested parties to offer alternatives, which shall be incorporated into the final rule if found to accomplish required objectives with a less deleterious effect upon housing. Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to develop model housing impact analyses. (Sec. 103) Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 to authorize direct appropriations for State and local grants for regulatory barrier removal. Makes consortia of local governments eligible grantees. Requires grant use in coordination with the local comprehensive affordability strategy under the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act. (Sec. 104) Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to require jurisdictions to make good faith efforts at affordable housing barrier removal in order to qualify for community development block grants (CDBG) (without creating a private right of action). (Sec. 105) Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 to state that the regulatory barriers clearinghouse shall be established within the Office of Policy Development of HUD under the direction of the Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research. Title II: Homeownership Through Mortgage Insurance and Loan Guarantees - Directs the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study of mandatory inspection requirements under the single family housing mortgage insurance program. (Sec. 202) Amends the National Housing Act to extend the loan term for manufactured home lot purchases. (Sec. 203) Neighborhood Teachers Act - Amends the National Housing Act to establish a (temporary) discounted home purchase program for elementary and secondary teachers. Sets forth program provisions, including a three-year residential use requirement. (Sec. 204) Authorizes mortgage insurance to refinance existing home equity conversion mortgages. Title III: Section 8 Homeownership Option - Amends the United States Housing Act to provide a single grant home ownership downpayment option under the section 8 housing assistance program. Title IV: Community Development Block Grants - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to authorize appropriations for the CDBG program. Prohibits set-asides, with specified exceptions. (Sec. 403) Authorizes block grant use for: (1) qualifying municipal employee (including teachers) home ownership assistance; and (2) brownfields projects environmental cleanup and economic development. (Sec. 405) Amends the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act to authorize appropriations for the housing opportunities for persons with AIDS program. Title V: Home Investment Partnerships Program - Amends the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act to authorize appropriations for affordable housing programs. Prohibits set-asides, with specified exceptions. (Sec. 502) Makes limited equity cooperatives and mutual housing associations eligible for home investment partnerships. (Sec. 503) Permits loan pool investment of partnership funds. (Sec. 504) Authorizes the Secretary to make home investment partnerships loan guarantees. Sets forth an aggregate loan guarantee limitation. (Sec. 505) Amends the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act to make qualifying municipal employees (including teachers) eligible for home ownership assistance. Title VI: Local Homeownership Initiatives - Amends the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation Act to authorize appropriations for the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation. (Sec. 602) Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 to revise the home ownership zone grant program, including providing: (1) grant eligibility for units of general local government (currently nonprofit organizations); and (2) assistance targeting for specified low-income home buyers. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 603) Expresses the sense of Congress in favor of lease-to-own tenancies as home ownership tools. (Sec. 604) Amends the HUD Demonstration Act of 1993 to make the National Association of Housing Partnerships eligible for local capacity grants. Removes the specified amount of authorized appropriations. (Sec. 605) Amends the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act to provide for a consolidated application and planning submission under the following programs: (1) HOME investment partnerships; (2) CDBG; (3) the economic development initiative; (4) emergency shelter grants; and (5) housing opportunities for persons with AIDS. Title VII: Manufactured Housing Improvement - Manufactured Housing Improvement Act - Amends the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 to revise Federal construction and safety provisions for manufactured homes based upon a consensus standards development process. Eliminates the National Manufactured Home Advisory Council. Title VIII: Indian Housing Homeownership - Establishes the Lands Title Report Commission to facilitate home loan Mortgages on Indian trust lands. Terminates the Commission one year after its initial meeting. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 802) Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 to make permanent Indian housing loan guarantee authority. Title IX: Transfer of Unoccupied and Substandard HUD-Held Housing to Local Governments and Community Development Corporations - Amends the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997 to direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to transfer ownership of qualified HUD-held properties (substandard or unoccupied multifamily or unoccupied single family properties) to local governments and community development corporations under specified conditions. Title X: Private Mortgage Insurance Cancellation and Termination - Amends the Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 with respect to adjustable rate mortgages to: (1) revise definitions of "cancellation date" and "termination date"; (2) define "amortization schedule"; and (3) revise high risk loan provisions. (Sec. 1002) Authorizes modifications of termination, cancellation, and final termination date provisions. (Sec. 1003) Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) disclosure; and (2) balloon payments.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1999
Federal Election Law Integrity Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to revise the ban on direct or indirect contributions by a foreign national in connection with any election to a political office, or any primary election, convention, or caucus held to select candidates for such an office. Specifies donations as well as contributions under such ban. Extends the ban to cover contributions or donations (or the promise of them) to any political committee, or any organization or account created or controlled by any U.S. political party or candidate. Makes it unlawful for any person to solicit, accept, or receive any such contribution or donation. Prohibits any person organized under or created by Federal or State law from making any contribution to any candidate for political office, or to any political committee or any organization or account created or controlled by any U.S. political party, unless such contribution or donation is derived solely from funds generated from such person's own business activities in the United States. Prohibits any foreign national from directing, dictating, controlling, or directly or indirectly participating in the decisionmaking process of any person organized under or created by Federal or State law with regard to: (1) any decisionmaking concerning the administration of a political committee; (2) the making of any contributions or expenditures to or on behalf of any candidate for political office; or (3) the making of any contributions, donations, or expenditures to or on behalf of any political committee, or any organization or account created or controlled by any United States political party.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Designation of Wilderness Areas Title II: Administrative Provisions America's Red Rock Wilderness Act of 1999 - Title I: Designation of Wilderness Areas - Designates specified lands in the following areas of Utah as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System: (1) Great Basin wilderness areas; (2) Zion and Mojave Desert wilderness areas; (3) Grand Staircase-Escalante wilderness areas; (4) Moab-LaSal Canyons wilderness areas; (5) Henry Mountains wilderness areas; (6) Glen Canyon wilderness areas; (7) San Juan-Anasazi wilderness areas; (8) Canyonlands Basin wilderness areas; (9) San Rafael Swell wilderness areas; and (10) Book Cliffs and Uinta Basin wilderness areas. Title II: Administrative Provisions - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to file a map and a legal description of each designated wilderness area with appropriate congressional committees. (Sec. 203) Provides that if State-owned land is included within a designated wilderness area, then the Secretary shall offer to exchange U.S. lands in the State of approximate equal value (prohibits the transfer of associated mineral interests) in accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 and the Wilderness Act. (Sec. 204) Reserves the Federal Government's rights to a quantity of water determined by the Secretary to be sufficient for each wilderness area designated by this Act. (Sec. 205) Sets forth provisions for the measurement of setbacks for roads with wilderness. (Sec. 206) Permits authorized grazing of livestock within the designated wilderness areas to continue subject to such regulations and procedures as the Secretary considers necessary, as long as they are consistent with: (1) the Wilderness Act; and (2) the Arizona Desert Wilderness Act of 1990. (Sec. 209) Withdraws such Federal land, subject to valid rights existing on the enactment of this Act, from all forms of: (1) entry, appropriation, or disposal under public law; (2) location, entry, and patent under mining law; and (3) disposition under all laws pertaining to mineral and geothermal leasing or mineral materials. (Sec. 210) Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1999
Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize appropriations to the Department of Labor for FY 1999 through 2003 for: (1) trade adjustment assistance to displaced workers and for firms; and (2) the North American Free Trade Agreement Transitional Adjustment Assistance Program. Increases the total amount of payments for job training of displaced workers due to import competition to $30 million for the period October 1, 1998 through June 30, 1999. Provides that a certification of eligibility to apply for trade adjustment assistance shall not cover a worker whose last total or partial separation from a firm occurred more than two years (currently, one year) before the date of a petition on which such certification was granted (effectively extending the time for filing the petition for worker assistance).
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 1999
Public School Modernization Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide: (1) a limited credit for qualified public school modernization bonds; (2) for qualified school construction bonds and qualified zone academy bonds and establish limits and allocation formulas for such bonds; and (3) corporations, a limited specialized training center credit. Amends the General Education Provisions Act to provide for the application of certain labor standards to projects financed under this Act. Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to establish provisions concerning employment and training activities related to the construction or reconstruction of public school facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 1999
Expresses that the House of Representatives: (1) honors and recognizes the unique and important achievements of America's teachers; and (2) urges all Americans to take a moment to thank and pay tribute to our Nation's teachers.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Children's Environmental Protection Subtitle A: Disclosure of Industrial Releases That Present a Significant Risk to Children Subtitle B: Disclosure of High Health Risk Chemicals in Children's Consumer Products Title II: Public Right to Know About Toxic Chemical Use Children's Environmental Protection and Right to Know Act of 1999 - Title I: Children's Environmental Protection - Subtitle A: Disclosure of Industrial Releases That Present a Significant Risk to Children - Amends the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish thresholds for toxic chemicals which may present significant risks to children's health or the environment. Includes lead, mercury, dioxin, cadmium, chromium, and other specified bioaccumulative chemicals as substances subject to such thresholds. Makes dioxin and specified bioaccumulative chemicals subject to toxic chemical release form reporting requirements under such Act. Authorizes citizen suits against the Administrator for failures to establish thresholds under this Act. Subtitle B: Disclosure of High Health Risk Chemicals in Children's Consumer Products - Amends the Federal Hazardous Substances Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the National Toxicology Program, to publish a list of substances which are toxic due to carcinogenic, neurotoxic, or reproductive toxic effects. Directs the Secretary to identify those substances to which infants and young children are exposed. Requires manufacturers or importers of eligible products (defined as toys or other articles intended for use by children) which contain such substances to report specified information to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, including information supporting that a substance is not a misbranded or banned hazardous substance. Authorizes exemptions from such reporting requirements if a substance would not cause substantial personal injury or illness as a result of foreseeable handling, including ingestion by children. Permits citizen suits with respect to certain violations under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act and against the Commission for failure to perform duties under this Act. Title II: Public Right to Know About Toxic Chemical Use - Expands information to be included in toxic chemical release forms, including the number of employees and occupational exposures at reporting facilities as well as materials accounting information. Requires the Administrator to take certain actions to: (1) standardize data and obtain and integrate information regarding toxic chemicals; (2) consolidate all annual reporting requirements of Federal environmental laws for small businesses and entities subject to toxic chemical release reporting; and (3) provide the public with one point of contact for access to information gathered by EPA. Requires disclosures on the uses of toxic chemicals by reporting facilities. Permits the withholding of portions of materials accounting information reported by covered facilities for purposes of protecting trade secrets.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1999
Human Rights Information Act - Requires certain Federal agencies to identify and organize all human rights records regarding activities occurring in Guatemala and Honduras after 1944 for declassification and disclosure purposes, and to make them available to the public. Instructs the President to report to Congress regarding agency compliance. Prescribes guidelines under which the Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel shall review agency determinations to postpone public disclosure of any human rights record. Authorizes postponement of such public disclosures on specified grounds. Requires any U.S. agency, upon request by an entity created by the United Nations, the Organization of American States (or similar entity), a national truth commission (or similar entity), or from the principal justice or human rights official of a country that is investigating a pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights, to review, declassify, and publicly disclose any human pertinent rights records. Directs the Information Security Policy Advisory Council to report to Congress on declassification of human rights records relating to other countries and to make such report available to the public. Creates two additional positions in the Panel in order to implement this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1999
Cuban Food and Medicine Security Act of 1999 - Exempts from the embargo on trade with Cuba the export of food and other agricultural products (including fertilizer), medicines, medical supplies, instruments, or equipment, or any travel incident to the delivery of such items. Declares that such exemption shall not apply to certain restrictions imposed under the Export Administration Act of 1979 or the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Amends the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to study and report to specified congressional committees on existing U.S. agricultural export promotion and credit programs to determine how such programs can be carried out to promote the consumption of U.S. agricultural commodities in Cuba. Directs the President to report to Congress on: (1) the extent (expressed in volume and dollar amounts) of sales to Cuba of food and other agricultural products (including fertilizer), medicines, medical supplies, instruments, and equipment; (2) the types and end users of such items; and (3) whether there has been any indication that any medicines, medical supplies, instruments, or equipment exported to Cuba since enactment of this Act have been used for torture or other human rights abuses, were reexported, or were used in the production of any bio-technological product.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1999
Dog and Cat Protection Act of 1999 - Prohibits: (1) the importation of dog or cat fur into the United States; and (2) any person in the United States from introducing into commerce, manufacturing, selling or offering to sell, trading, advertising, or transporting or distributing in commerce, any dog or cat fur product. Subjects a person to both civil and criminal penalties for violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1999
Border Improvement and Immigration Act of 1999 - Amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 with respect to the automated entry-exit control system to exempt from required recordkeeping: (1) land border crossings and seaports; and (2) permanent resident and certain other aliens. (Sec. 3) Requires the Attorney General to report: (1) on the feasibility of implementing an automated entry-exit control system that would include land border and seaport arrivals and departures; and (2) annually on the development status of the automated entry-exit control system, and on visa overstays identified through such system. Requires integration of overstay information into Department of State and Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) databases. (Sec. 5) Authorizes appropriations for INS and United States Customs Service border control and enforcement activities. Sets forth specified set-asides. Authorizes: (1) use of equipment funds for new technologies; and (2) transfer up to ten percent of specified set-asides for other equipment uses. Sets aside specified funds for peak hours and investigative resource enhancement. Provides for increased numbers of full-time INS and Customs inspectors at U.S. land borders.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1999
Patent Fairness Act of 1999 - Amends Federal law to require, if the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks determines that certain standards are met, restoration of the term of any patent, in force on September 24, 1984, and on the filing date of a patent term restoration application under this Act, that claims: (1) a drug product; (2) a method of using a drug product; or (3) a method of manufacturing a drug product. (Sec. 2) Defines such standards as: (1) a regulatory review period from application submission to application approval exceeding 60 months; and (2) the absence of substantial evidence overcoming the rebuttable presumption that the applicant for patent term restoration for the drug product acted with due diligence. Requires subtraction from the total amount of the restoration term of any time during the regulatory review period during which the Commissioner finds that the applicant for patent term restoration did not act with due diligence. Limits a restoration period, after specified adjustments, to five years. Requires restoration term applications to be filed within 90 days after enactment of this Act. Provides for: (1) claim determination procedure; (2) interim restoration of the patent term pending final disposition; and (3) appeal of the Commissioner's determinations to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit only. Entitles to compensation by the patent owner of any person who has submitted an new drug application under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act for a drug product covered by a patent for which a patent term was restored under this Act, if such application has been found by the Food and Drug Administration on or before enactment of this Act to be sufficiently complete to permit substantive review. Sets the amount of compensation at: (1)$1 million; or (2) $500,000 for any holder of a Type II Drug Master File that has permitted a reference to its File to be made in such application. Limits a patent owner's overall liability to: (1) $5 million to persons submitting new drug applications; or (2) $2.5 million to holders of Type II Drug Master Files. Requires the Commissioner to report to Congress: (1) an evaluation of the patent term restoration review procedure established by this Act; and (2) a recommendation whether Congress should consider establishing such a patent term review procedure for patents not covered by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1999
Filipino Veterans' Benefits Improvements Act of 1999 - Authorizes payment of compensation for the service-connected disability of members of the Philippine Commonwealth Army who served with U.S. armed forces during World War II in the amount of one dollar for each dollar authorized, as long as each such individual resides in the United States and is a U.S. citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to furnish hospital and nursing home care and medical services to such veterans and new Philippine Scouts in the same manner as furnished to U.S. veterans. Directs the Secretary to furnish care and services to veterans, Commonwealth Army veterans, and new Philippine Scouts for the treatment of service-connected disabilities and non-service-connected disabilities of such veterans and scouts residing in the Republic of the Philippines on an outpatient basis at the Manila VA Outpatient Clinic. Limits to $500,000 the amount to be expended during a fiscal year for such services.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1999
Regulatory Fairness and Openness Act of 1999 - Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to conduct a transition analysis report with respect to pesticide tolerances before releasing any product safety information to the public, or making final tolerance decisions. Includes within such report's requirements a description of the extent to which specified assumptions have been used to support findings or regulatory recommendations. (Sec. 5) Sets forth interim review or reassessment procedures. (Sec. 6) Requires the Administrator to issue within one year of enactment of this Act final implementing rules for tolerances and exemptions for pesticide chemical residues. (Sec. 7) Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require the Administrator to issue guidelines specifying required data in support of tolerances and exemptions. Amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to provide for related notice and opportunity for hearing. (Sec. 8) Amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to provide for an expedited replacement product registration process. Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to authorize an expedited tolerance for an emergency exemption if no significant (food) consumer risk exists. (Sec. 9) Requires the Administrator and the Secretary of Agriculture to report with respect to related pesticide, residue, and food use priorities and resources. (Sec. 10) Requires the Secretary to develop a program to monitor the competitive international market strength of major U.S. agricultural commodity sectors. (Sec. 11) Establishes the Pesticide Advisory Committee.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1999
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to restore the link ended by the Senior Citizens' Freedom to Work Act of 1995 between the rules relating to substantial gainful activity for blind individuals and the rules relating to excess earnings under the social security earnings test for individuals who have attained retirement age (thus allowing blind individuals, once again, to earn up to the social security excess earnings threshold without being regarded as having demonstrated an ability to engage in substantial gainful activity and without losing entitlement to OASDI benefits). Makes this Act effective with respect to taxable years ending after 1995.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: General Provisions Title II: Veterans Business Development Title III: Technical Assistance Title IV: Financial Assistance Title V: Procurement Assistance Title VI: Reports and Data Collection Title VII: Miscellaneous Provisions Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act of 1999 - Title I: General Provisions - Amends the Small Business Act (the Act) to revise or add definitions. Title II: Veterans Business Development - Designates the position of Associate Administrator for Veterans Business Development. Establishes the Office of Veterans Business Development, to be administered by such Associate Administrator, who shall be responsible for the formulation, execution, and promotion of policies and programs of the Small Business Administration (SBA) that provide assistance to small businesses owned and controlled by veterans and service-disabled veterans (veteran small businesses). (Sec. 202) Establishes the National Veterans Business Development Corporation to: (1) expand the provision of and improve access to technical assistance regarding entrepreneurship for veterans; and (2) work with and organize public and private resources and the business development staffs of each Federal department and agency to assist veterans, including service-disabled veterans, with the formation and expansion of small businesses. Requires the Corporation to establish and maintain a network of information and assistance centers for use by veterans and the public. Requires an annual report from the Corporations's Board of Directors to the President and Congress describing its activities and accomplishments for the preceding year. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2003. (Sec. 203) Establishes the Advisory Committee on Veterans Business Affairs to serve as an independent source of advice and policy recommendations concerning veterans' business affairs. Requires an annual Committee report to Congress and the President on its activities and recommendations. Title III: Technical Assistance - Directs the SBA Administrator to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) for the: (1) appointment by SCORE in its national office of an individual to act as National Veterans Business Coordinator; (2) assistance of SCORE in establishing and maintaining a toll-free telephone number and Internet website to provide access for veterans to information about entrepreneurship counseling and training available through SCORE; and (3) collection of statistics concerning services provided by SCORE to veterans. (Sec. 302) Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the SBA Administrator, and the head of the association formed by small business development centers under the Act to enter into a memorandum of understanding with respect to entrepreneurial assistance to veterans through small business development centers and facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Title IV: Financial Assistance - Includes a service-disabled veteran within the definition of "handicapped individual" eligible for SBA general business loans. (Sec. 402) Authorizes the SBA to make loans to self-employed individuals or owners of small businesses who are called to active duty to assist such individuals with potential losses and disruption caused by mobilization or return to active duty. (Sec. 403) Makes veteran small business owners eligible for the SBA's Microloan program, Delta loan program, and State development company program. Title V: Procurement Assistance - Includes veteran small businesses within Federal contracting and subcontracting goals for small business owners and within goals for the participation of small businesses in Federal procurement contracts. Requires the head of each Federal agency to establish agency goals for the participation by small businesses owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans in that agency's procurement contracts. Title VI: Reports and Data Collection - Amends the Act and the Small Business Economic Policy Act of 1980 to require information concerning small businesses owned by veterans, including service-disabled veterans, to be included within certain reporting requirements. (Sec. 603) Directs the Administrator to report annually to the congressional small business committees on the needs of small businesses owned and controlled by veterans and service-disabled veterans. (Sec. 604) Requires the Administrator, for each fiscal year, to collect and make available to any small business information concerning the procurement practices and procedures of each Federal department and agency. Directs the Secretary, in each fiscal year, to identify U.S. veteran small businesses. Directs the Secretaries of Labor and Veterans Affairs and the Administrator to enter into a memorandum of understanding to provide for the coordination of vocational rehabilitation services, technical and managerial assistance, and financial assistance to veterans, including service-disabled veterans, seeking to employ themselves by forming or expanding small businesses. Title VII: Miscellaneous Provisions - Directs the Administrator to strengthen and reissue a specified SBA order relating to non-discrimination and special considerations for veterans, and to fully and vigorously implement such order. (Sec. 702) Requires the SBA's Office of Advocacy to evaluate the efforts of each Federal department and agency, and of private industry, to assist veteran small businesses, and to make appropriate recommendations to the Administrator and Congress in order to promote the establishment and growth of such businesses. (Sec. 703) Directs the Comptroller General to study whether there would exist any additional risk or cost to the United States if up to ten percent of federally-guaranteed loans were made for the acquisition or construction of fixed assets used in a trade or business rather than for the purchase or construction of residential buildings. Requires a report to the congressional veterans' and small business committees.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 1999
Children's Hospitals Education and Research Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make payment as specified to each children's hospital for each hospital cost reporting period under Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act (SSA)) for FY 2000 and 2001 for the direct and indirect expenses associated with operating approved medical residency training programs. Provides that such payments are in lieu of certain Medicare payments to hospitals for inpatient hospital services, but shall not affect the amounts otherwise payable to such hospitals under a State Medicaid (SSA title XIX) plan. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1999
Amends the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS) to direct the Secretary of Defense to ensure that health care coverage available through the TRICARE program (a Department of Defense managed health care program) is substantially similar to the health care coverage available under similar health benefits plans offered under the Federal Employees Health Benefits program. Directs the Secretary to: (1) provide for the portability of benefits under the TRICARE program; (2) minimize the certification requirements imposed upon TRICARE beneficiaries; and (3) implement, with respect to the first two contracts awarded after this Act for the provision of managed care support under the TRICARE program, redesigned procedures for the payment and processing of claims. Authorizes a military medical treatment facility under the TRICARE program to collect from third party insurers reasonable charges for health care services incurred by the facility on behalf of covered beneficiaries under the program. Requires a report from the Secretary to Congress assessing the effects of the requirements and authorities of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 1999
Trade Adjustment Assistance Reform Act of 1999 - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize appropriations to the Department of Labor for FY 1999 through 2004 for trade adjustment assistance (TAA) for workers. (Sec. 2) Repeals the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Transitional Adjustment Assistance Program (effectively eliminating TAA for workers under such program). (Sec. 3) Revises requirements for the filing of petitions for TAA for a group of workers adversely affected by imports. Authorizes employers of such workers, one-stop career centers, or State employment agencies to file on their behalf with the Governor of the State (currently, with the Secretary of Labor) a petition for certification of eligibility for such assistance. Requires the Governor to: (1) transmit the petition to the Secretary immediately; (2) ensure that rapid response assistance and basic readjustment services are made available to the workers; and (3) assist the Secretary in the review of the petition. Requires the Secretary to review such a petition for certification of eligibility within 40 days (currently, 60 days) of its filing. (Sec. 4) Adds as a factor in the Secretary's determination of the eligibility of a group of workers for TAA any shift in production by such workers' firm to a foreign country of articles like or directly competitive with articles produced by such firm. (Sec. 5) Directs the Secretary to collect and maintain certain information with respect to certifications of TAA. (Sec. 6) Revises enrollment in training requirements with respect to the payment of TAA to adversely affected workers to set forth certain time periods during which such enrollment must occur. Authorizes the Secretary to issue a statement to a worker waiving the enrollment in training requirements if it is determined that such training requirement is not feasible or appropriate for the worker, based on specified factors. (Sec. 8) Increases from 14 to 30 the number of days an adversely affected worker may have a scheduled break in a training program and still be treated as participating in the program for purposes of TAA eligibility. (Sec. 9) Increases the total annual amount of payments for worker training from $80 million to $150 million for any fiscal year. (Sec. 11) Authorizes the Secretary to secure for adversely affected workers certain employment services, including services provided through one-stop career centers. Provides for the coordination of employment services for adversely affected workers under the Job Training Partnership Act and the Workforce Investment Act of 1998. (Sec. 12) Authorizes an adversely affected worker to file an application with the Secretary for the provision of supportive services, including transportation, child and dependent care, and other similar services. Sets forth specified conditions with respect to such services. (Sec. 14) Makes unappropriated Treasury funds available in any fiscal year that TAA funds become exhausted. (Sec. 15) Authorizes appropriations to the Department of Labor for FY 1999 through 2004 for TAA for firms. (Sec. 16) Establishes the Presidential Commission on Workers and Economic Change in the New Economy to study and report to the President and the Congress on matters relating to economic dislocation and worker adjustment to such dislocations. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 1999
Iran Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Act of 1999 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to withhold U.S. voluntary contributions from programs and projects of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Iran unless the Secretary of State makes a determination in writing to certain congressional committees that such programs and projects are consistent with U.S. nuclear nonproliferation and safety goals, will not provide Iran with training or expertise relevant to nuclear programs' development, and are not being used as a cover for the acquisition of sensitive nuclear technology. Instructs the Secretary to review and report to the Congress annually for five years on all Agency programs and projects in specified countries to determine if they are consistent with U.S. nuclear nonproliferation and safety goals. Requires the Secretary to direct the U.S. representative to the Agency to oppose Agency programs determined inconsistent with U.S. nuclear nonproliferation and safety goals. Directs the Secretary to report annually to Congress for five years on specified aspects of annual Agency assistance to Iran, including nuclear materials technology transfer, and inconsistencies between Agency technical assistance programs and U.S. nuclear nonproliferation and safety goals. Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should pursue internal Agency reforms that will ensure that all programs funded under the Technical Cooperation and Assistance Fund are compatible with U.S. nuclear nonproliferation policy and international nuclear nonproliferation norms.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Affordable Health Coverage for Employees of Small Businesses Title II: Deduction for Health Insurance Costs of Self-Employed Individuals Small Business Access and Choice for Entrepreneurs Act of 1999 - Title I: Affordable Health Coverage for Employees of Small Businesses - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to establish rules governing health plans sponsored by certain associations, including requirements for: (1) certification; (2) sponsors and boards of trustees, and treatment of franchised networks and collectively bargained plans; (3) participation and coverage of employers and individuals and of previously uninsured employees; (4) plan documents, contribution rates, and benefit options; (5) maintenance of reserves, excess-stop loss insurance, and solvency indemnification for plans providing health benefits in addition to health insurance coverage; (6) applications and related reporting; (7) notice for voluntary termination; and (8) corrective actions and mandatory termination. (Sec. 101) Directs the Secretary of Labor to apply, to the appropriate Federal district court, to be appointed trustee of certain insolvent association health plans which provide health benefits in addition to health insurance coverage. Allows a State to impose a contribution tax on an association health plan that begins operations in such State after the enactment of this Act. (Sec. 102) Revises requirements for treatment of single employer arrangements. (Sec. 103) Revises requirements for certain collectively bargained arrangements. (Sec. 104) Sets forth enforcement requirements relating to association health plans. (Sec. 105) Sets forth State responsibilities, and requirements for cooperation between Federal and State authorities, with respect to association health plans. (Sec. 106) Prescribes special rules for certain existing health benefits programs. Title II: Deduction for Health Insurance Costs of Self-Employed Individuals - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the amount allowed as a tax deduction for health insurance costs of self-employed individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1999
Tax Deduction Fairness Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a taxpayer to elect, when itemizing, to deduct State and local general sales taxes in lieu of State and local income taxes. Limits such deduction to a tax imposed at one rate in respect of the sale at retail of a broad range of classes of items (including food, clothing, medical supplies, and motor vehicles).
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1999
Declares the sense of Congress that the Federal income tax deduction for interest paid on debt secured by a first or second home should not be further restricted.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 1999
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to implement the Class I milk price structure known as Option A as part of the final rule to consolidate Federal milk marketing orders.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 1999
Increases the number of authorized sites for the Medicare subvention demonstration project for certain Medicare-eligible military retirees and their dependents (a project established by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act). Provides for the future repeal of the limitation on the number of such sites (thus allowing the project to be conducted at any site designed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Defense acting jointly). Makes the project permanent, with its cap on the aggregate amount of calendar year reimbursement that may be made under the project to end after calendar year 2000. Makes further changes regarding the project, permitting payment under it to be made on a fee-for-service basis for certain project enrollees, and eliminating certain restrictive project participation policy. Applies to certain Medigap (Medicare supplemental health insurance policy) enrollees the same protections (prohibitions against issuer discrimination) as apply to enrollment (and termination of enrollment) with a Medicare+Choice organization in a Medicare+Choice plan under Medicare part C (Medicare+Choice).
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1999
Medicare Cancer Clinical Trial Coverage Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a demonstration project which provides for payment under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act of routine patient care costs for Medicare beneficiaries with cancer who are enrolled in an approved clinical trial program, while still applying the beneficiary cost sharing provisions of such program to project participants. Directs the Secretary to study and report to Congress on the impact on Medicare of covering such costs as well as the cost of extending routine patient care coverage to Medicare beneficiaries with a diagnosis other than cancer.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999
Federal Prisoner Health Care Copayment Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal criminal code to authorize the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to assess and collect a fee for health care services provided in connection with each health care visit requested by a prisoner, except for preventative health care services. Requires that each fee assessed be collected by the Director: (1) from the account of the prisoner receiving health care services; or (2) where such services are provided because of an injury inflicted by another prisoner, from the account of the prisoner who inflicted the injury. Sets a minimum fee of two dollars. Specifies that the prisoner's consent shall not be required for the collection of the fee. Specifies that nothing herein may be construed to permit refusal of treatment to a prisoner on the basis that: (1) the prisoner's account is insolvent; or (2) the prisoner is otherwise unable to pay. Requires that sums collected under this Act: (1) be used for restitution of the victims where the prisoner is subject to a restitution order; and (2) be deposited in the Crime Victims Fund (75 percent) and be available to the Attorney General for administrative expenses incurred in carrying out this Act (25 percent) where the prisoner is not subject to such an order. Sets forth reporting requirements by the Director. (Sec. 3) Amends the code to authorize a State or local government to assess and collect a reasonable fee from a Federal prisoner's trust fund account (or institutional equivalent) for health care services if the prisoner is confined in a non-Federal institution under specified circumstances.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999
Silicone Breast Implant Research and Information Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to: (1) appoint an official of the Department of Health and Human Services to serve as the NIH coordinator regarding silicone breast implant research; (2) establish either a study section or special emphasis panel for NIH to review extramural silicone breast implant research grant applications to ensure research design and quality, as well as quality intramural research; and (3) conduct or support research to expand the understanding of the health implications of silicone breast implants. Directs the Commissioner of Food and Drugs to: (1) take specified steps to make updated information about the risks of silicone breast implant available to the public, via the toll-free Consumer Information Line and other means; (2) revise the breast implant information update to clarify the procedure for reporting implant problems; (3) require manufacturers to update implant package inserts and informed consent documents regularly with accurate information; and (4) require any manufacturer conducting an adjunct study on implants to take specified measures with respect to informed consent documents, including informing women on how to obtain a Medwatch form and encouraging women who withdraw from the study, or who would like to report a problem, to submit such a form. Establishes the President's Interagency Committee on Silicone Breast Implants to ensure strategic management, communication, and oversight of Federal policy formation, research, and activities regarding silicone breast implants. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999
Internet Access Charge Prohibition Act of 1999 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit the Federal Communications Commission from imposing on any interactive computer service or other information service provider any access charge for the support of universal service that is based on a measure of the time that telecommunications services are used in the provision of such interactive computer or information service.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Brownfields Revitalization Title II: Community Participation and Human Health Subtitle A: Community Participation Subtitle B: Human Health Title III: Liability Reform Title IV: Remedy Selection Title V: General Provisions Title VI: Funding Subtitle A: Expenditures From the Hazardous Substance Superfund Subtitle B: Extension of Hazardous Substance Superfund Recycle America's Land Act of 1999 - Title I: Brownfields Revitalization - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to direct the President to establish a program to provide grants to eligible States or political subdivisions, including Indian tribes, for: (1) inventory and assessment of brownfield facilities; and (2) capitalization of revolving loan funds for remedial actions at such facilities. Defines a "brownfield facility" as real property with respect to which expansion or redevelopment is complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 103) Authorizes the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide technical and other assistance to States to establish and expand State voluntary cleanup programs. Makes limited amounts available from Superfund for FY 2000 through 2004 for such assistance. (Sec. 104) Bars the President or any person (other than a State), with respect to a facility that is not listed or proposed for listing on the National Priorities List (NPL) at which there is a release or threatened release of a hazardous substance, from taking an administrative or judicial enforcement action or bringing a civil action against any person who is conducting or has completed a response action in compliance with State law. Makes exceptions to this prohibition if the State requests the President to take action or in certain cases of emergency, risk, or migration of contamination across State lines. (Sec. 105) Requires the President to defer listing a facility on the NPL if: (1) long-term remedial action will be conducted under other Federal authorities; (2) remedial action that will provide long-term protection of human health and the environment is underway at that facility under a State response program; or (3) at a State's request, the State is attempting to obtain an agreement from a person to perform a remedial action under a State response program. Authorizes the President to place a facility described in (3) above on the NPL if, after one year, the President finds that the State is not making reasonable progress toward obtaining an agreement. Title II: Community Participation and Human Health - Subtitle A: Community Participation - Requires the President to take specified actions to provide for meaningful public participation in every significant phase of a response action at a facility listed or proposed for listing on the NPL (covered facilities). Permits affected Indian tribes and communities, local government officials, and State and local health officials to propose remedial alternatives to the President. (Sec. 202) Requires the President to make records relating to response actions at covered facilities available to the public throughout all phases of an action. Sets forth minimum requirements for documents made available to the public which describe risk to human health. (Sec. 203) Revises provisions regarding grants for technical assistance to authorize the Administrator to make such grants to affected communities with respect to: (1) covered facilities; (2) facilities at which the Administrator is undertaking a response action anticipated to exceed one year; or (3) facilities at which a specified funding limit is anticipated to be reached. (Sec. 205) Sets forth specific notice and comment requirements to provide for public participation in removal actions. (Sec. 206) Directs the Administrator to submit to Congress a community study that includes an analysis of: (1) the duration of time between the discovery and listing of a facility; (2) the timing and nature of response actions; (3) the degree to which public views are reflected in response actions; (3) future land use determinations and use of institutional controls; (4) the population, race, ethnicity, and income characteristics of communities affected by facilities listed or proposed for listing on the NPL; and (5) the risk presented by each such facility. Requires periodic updates of such study. Directs the Administrator to institute necessary improvements or modifications to address any deficiencies identified by the study. Subtitle B: Human Health - Requires the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Administrator to develop and distribute educational materials on human health effects of hazardous substances to the public. Authorizes the ATSDR Administrator to provide grant or contract assistance to individuals who may be affected by releases or threatened releases when: (1) a public health assessment is conducted at an NPL facility; or (2) a facility is being evaluated for inclusion on the NPL. Authorizes and directs the ATSDR Administrator, pursuant to such grants or contracts, to provide diagnostic services, health data registries, and preventative public health education to communities affected by such releases. (Sec. 223) Requires the President, in setting priorities for remedial action under the national hazardous substance response plan (part of the national contingency plan for the removal of oil and hazardous substances), to place highest priority on facilities with releases resulting in actual ongoing human exposures at levels of public health concern or demonstrated adverse effects. (Sec. 224) Requires the Administrator to evaluate areas such as Indian reservations or poor rural communities that warrant special attention and identify up to five facilities in each EPA region that are likely to warrant inclusion on the NPL. Accords such facilities a priority in evaluation for NPL listing and scoring. Title III: Liability Reform - Bars the President from issuing orders in connection with abatement actions to protect public health and the environment against any person who would not be liable for damages and costs described under general liability provisions. Prohibits Federal agencies with authority to use the imminent hazard, enforcement, and emergency response authorities under provisions governing abatement actions from using such authorities with respect to releases for which they are potentially responsible parties (PRPs). (Sec. 303) Absolves of liability for response costs and damages certain owners or operators, including persons who inherited the property concerned and government entities that acquired property involuntarily, or through eminent domain or the granting of a license or permit to conduct business, if such persons: (1) acquired the affected facility after the disposal or placement of the hazardous substance for which liability is alleged; (2) did not cause or contribute to the hazardous substance release; and (3) exercised appropriate care with respect to such substance. Limits liability for owners or operators who meet such conditions and received the property as a charitable donation. Exempts from liability: (1) owners or operators of rights-of-way over which hazardous substances are transported if such persons did not cause or contribute to the release concerned; (2) railroad owners or operators of spur tracks whose tracks meet specified conditions and who did not cause or contribute to the release concerned; and (3) construction contractors whose liability is based solely on construction contract activities and who did not know of the presence of hazardous substances and exercised appropriate care with respect to such substances. Grants the United States a lien for unrecovered response costs on a facility for which the owner is not liable by reason of meeting the conditions described above. Prescribes conditions for such liens. Bars liens with respect to property: (1) for which the property owner preceding the current owner is not liable or has resolved liability; or (2) where an environmental assessment gave the owner or operator no reason to know of the release of hazardous substances. Makes applicable to tribal governments an exemption from liability for States or local governments for costs or damages resulting from actions taken in response to an emergency created by a release generated by a facility owned by another person. Expands such exemption to include actions to improve water quality protection at abandoned mine sites and adjacent lands owned by others if such actions are taken in accordance with a Federal or State-approved response action. Excludes certain contiguous property owners from the definition of "owner or operator" for purposes of creating an exemption to liability. (Sec. 306) Exempts certain small business concerns from liability under provisions governing arrangement, acceptance, or transport of hazardous substances for response costs or damages at an NPL facility with respect to actions taken before March 25, 1999. Provides an additional exemption from liability under such provisions if the materials that were arranged or transported for disposal at the NPL facility consist of municipal solid waste (MSW) or sewage sludge. Absolves municipalities that participate in a qualified household hazardous waste collection program from liability under such provisions, with respect to actions taken 36 months after this Act's enactment date, for the arrangement or transport of materials consisting of MSW or sewage sludge to an NPL facility. Limits liability response costs for facilities that received MSW, were proposed for NPL listing before March 25, 1999, are owned by municipalities, and are not subject to certain criteria for solid waste landfills under the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Requires the Hazardous Substance Superfund (Superfund) to assume the liability for certain exempt parties or those subject to limited liability for releases from NPL facilities. Directs the Administrator to establish a small business Superfund assistance section within the EPA small business ombudsman office to provide assistance and information regarding CERCLA and the allocation and settlement processes. (Sec. 307) Limits the right to seek contribution from other parties where: (1) the person asserting the right has waived such right in a settlement; (2) the person from whom the contribution is sought is not liable under CERCLA; or (3) the person from whom the contribution is sought has entered into a final settlement with the United States. Makes any person who commences a contribution action liable to the person against whom the action is brought for all reasonable costs of defending against the claim if the action: (1) is barred for the reasons stated above; (2) is brought against a person who is protected from suits by reason of settlement with the United States; or (3) is brought during a specified moratorium period. (Sec. 308) Expands the exemption from liability for response action contractors to include exemption from liability under State or local law unless a State has enacted a law determining liability of such contractors. Extends certain indemnification agreements made by the President with respect to negligence of response action contractors to any claims for negligence arising under State or local law. Bars actions against contractors more than six years after the completion of work. Makes such prohibition inapplicable in cases of gross negligence or intentional misconduct or in States or political subdivisions where the State has enacted a statute determining liability for such contractors. (Sec. 309) Requires (current law authorizes) the President to offer PRPs (currently, any person) who enter into settlement agreements that are in the public interest a final covenant not to sue concerning liability to the United States for response actions or costs, provided that: (1) the settling party agrees to perform a final remedial action for the release that is the subject of the settlement; (2) the agreement has been reached prior to the commencement of litigation against the settling party; (3) the settling party waives all contribution rights against other PRPs at the facility; (4) the settling party, other than a small business, pays a premium that compensates for the risks of remedy failure, future liability, and unanticipated increases in the cost of any uncompleted action (unless the party is performing the action); (5) the remedial action does not rely on institutional controls to ensure continued health and environmental protection; and (6) the settlement is otherwise acceptable to the United States. Authorizes the President, for settlements for which covenants are unavailable, to provide any person with a covenant not to sue concerning any liability to the United States if the covenant not to sue is in the public interest. Makes PRPs who are natural persons, small businesses, or municipalities with a demonstrated limited ability to pay response costs eligible for expedited settlements. Absolves a party of liability if the President does not make a settlement offer within the later of 180 days of determining that such party is eligible for an expedited settlement or of this Act's enactment date. (Sec. 310) Absolves persons (other than owners or operators) who arranged for the recycling of recyclable material or who transported such material from general liability under CERCLA. Deems transactions involving recyclable materials that consist of scrap plastic, glass, textiles, or rubber (other than whole tires) to be arranging for recycling if the person who arranged the transaction demonstrates that the following criteria were met: (1) the recyclable material met a commercial specification grade and a market existed for the material; (2) a substantial portion of the material was made available for use as a feedstock for the manufacture of a new saleable product; (3) the material (or product made from the material) could have been a replacement for a virgin raw material; and (4) with respect to transactions occurring 90 days after this Act's enactment, the person exercised reasonable care to determine that the facility where the material would be managed by another was in compliance with Federal, State, or local environmental laws or regulations. Deems transactions involving recyclable materials that consist of scrap metal to be arranging for recycling if the person who arranged the transaction demonstrates that: (1) the criteria for scrap materials were met; (2) he or she complied with applicable standards regarding activities associated with the recycling of scrap metals; and (3) the scrap metal was not melted prior to the transaction. Deems transactions involving recyclable materials that consist of spent lead-acid, nickel-cadmium, or other batteries to be arranging for recycling if the person involved demonstrates that: (1) the criteria for scrap materials were met; and (2) he or she complied with applicable Federal environmental standards regarding such batteries. Deems transactions involving recyclable materials that consist of used oil to be arranging for recycling if the person involved did not mix such materials with a hazardous substance following the removal of the oil from service and demonstrates that: (1) the recyclable material was sent to a facility that recycled used oil by using it as a feedstock for the manufacture of a new saleable product; (2) the material (or product made from the material) could have been a replacement for a virgin raw material; (3) with respect to transactions occurring 90 days after this Act's enactment, the person exercised reasonable care to determine that the facility where the material would be managed by another was in compliance with Federal, State, or local environmental laws or regulations; and (4) he or she was in compliance with standards for the management of used oil under the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Makes the exemptions from liability inapplicable if the person: (1) had an objectively reasonable basis to believe at the time of the recycling transaction that the recyclable material would not be recycled or would be burned as fuel or for energy recovery or incineration (in the case of materials other than used oil) or that the consuming facility was not in compliance with Federal, State, or local environmental laws or regulations; (2) had reason to believe that hazardous substances had been added to the material for purposes other than processing for recycling; or (3) failed to exercise reasonable care with respect to the management of the material. (Sec. 311) Sets forth provisions regarding an allocation process to determine equitable shares of liability for costs of performing response actions. Makes an action eligible for allocation if: (1) the performance of such action is not the subject of a consent decree or an administrative order as of March 25, 1999; and (2) the President's estimate of the cost of such action exceeds $2 million. Sets forth requirements for the President in initiating the allocation process. Stays litigation of eligible actions until 150 days after the issuance of the allocator's report unless the court determines that a stay will result in manifest injustice. Grants the court jurisdiction to ensure that a neutral allocator is selected. Authorizes the President to initiate an allocation for any response action. Requires the President to provide an estimate of the aggregate Superfund share prior to selection of an allocator and to offer to contribute to a settlement of liability on the basis of such estimate. Entitles the Administrator or the Attorney General, as representatives of Superfund, and any State that may be responsible for costs, to participate in allocation proceedings. Places a moratorium on litigation seeking recovery of response costs or contributions in connection with actions for which the President has initiated allocations until 150 days after issuance of the allocator's report or of a report under this section. Stays pending actions or claims, including those under State law, until such prescribed period unless the court determines that a stay will result in manifest injustice. Sets forth procedures for the allocation of response costs to Superfund by the allocator. Divides unattributable shares pro rata among the PRPs and Superfund. Sets forth requirements for accepting settlements based on allocations. Makes such requirements inapplicable if the Administrator and the Attorney General reject the allocation report. Sets forth conditions under which parties who satisfactorily perform work under an administrative abatement action order with respect to a remedial action for which an allocation is required shall be entitled to reimbursement for the costs of work performed in excess of the share allocated. Title IV: Remedy Selection - Revises provisions regarding general rules for remedy selection. Requires exposure assessments to be consistent with the current and reasonably anticipated uses of land, water, and other resources identified by the President. Directs the President, for purposes of selecting appropriate methods of remediation for a given facility, to identify current and reasonably anticipated uses of land, water, and other resources at and around the facility and the timing of such uses. Permits land use assumptions restricting future use to be used in evaluating remedial alternatives only to the extent that institutional controls meeting specified criteria have been or will be adopted in the final remedy. Directs the President to use site-specific risk assessment to: (1) determine the nature and extent of risk to human health and the environment; (2) assist in establishing remedial objectives for the facility respecting releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances and in identifying geographic areas or exposure pathways of concern; and (3) evaluate alternative remedial actions for a facility to determine their risk reduction benefits. Lists factors to be balanced by the President in selecting an appropriate remedy. Requires the President to give preference to remedies that include a treatment component for facilities with source materials that constitute a principal threat. Directs the President to maintain a registry of restrictions on the use of land, water, or other resources through institutional controls that are included in final records of decisions as part of the basis of decision at NPL facilities. (Sec. 402) Authorizes the President, in order to respond to a release or threatened release of a hazardous substance, to acquire a hazardous substance easement which limits or controls the use of land or other natural resources. Permits easements to be used wherever institutional controls have been selected as a component of a remedial action and the national contingency plan. Makes easements enforceable in perpetuity (unless terminated pursuant to this Act) against owners of affected property and persons who acquire interest in, or rights to use, the property. Sets forth provisions regarding the President's authority to assign easements to other parties. (Sec. 403) Requires risk assessments and characterizations conducted under CERCLA to: (1) provide objective assessments, estimates, and characterizations which neither minimize nor exaggerate the nature and magnitude of health and environmental risks; (2) distinguish scientific findings from other considerations; (3) be based on the best, relevant, and current scientific and technical information; and (4) be based on an analysis of the weight of scientific evidence that supports conclusions about a problem's potential health and environmental risk. Title V: General Provisions - Expands CERCLA provisions regarding treatment of Indian tribes to afford Indian tribes the same treatment as States with respect to provisions regarding public participation and remedy selection. Deems references to State facilities under CERCLA to mean facilities on Federal Indian reservations as well. Requires the President to conduct a study of, and report to Congress on, the health impacts on Indian tribes of pollutants, contaminants, and hazardous substances released from facilities listed on or proposed for listing on the NPL. (Sec. 503) Amends the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 to require certain grants for the training and education of workers engaged in hazardous waste removal or containment or emergency response activities to be made from Superfund. Allocates at least 20 percent of funds for such purposes to the training of minority and other community-based workers who are involved in such activities. (Sec. 504) Revises provisions requiring contracts with States before remedial actions are provided to prohibit the President from providing any remedial action unless the State enters into an agreement providing assurances that it will pay ten percent of the costs of the action and ten percent of the costs of operation and maintenance. (Sec. 505) Extends certain provisions authorizing reimbursements by the President to local governments affected by releases or threatened releases to affected States as well. (Sec. 506) Sets forth provisions regarding enforcement and dispute resolution regarding remedy selection at Federal facilities for which authorities have been delegated to a State. (Sec. 507) Requires the Congressional Budget Office to conduct and submit to Congress a study of the potential costs to the Federal Government over the next 20 years from Federal liability for natural resource damages under CERCLA. (Sec. 508) Provides that CERCLA liability provisions shall not be construed to preempt any claims under State law for contribution to or recovery of costs of responding to releases of hazardous substances. Title VI: Funding - Subtitle A: Expenditures From the Hazardous Substance Superfund - Revises the list of activities for which expenditures from Superfund are authorized. Permits the President to use Superfund monies for administrative costs directly related to the costs of authorized activities. Bars the use of Superfund for response actions that are not removal actions with respect to non-NPL facilities. Repeals provisions regarding the assumption of certain liability by the Post-closure Liability Fund. (Sec. 602) Authorizes appropriations to Superfund for FY 2000 through 2004. Subtitle B: Extension of Hazardous Substance Superfund - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the environmental tax to taxable years beginning after December 31, 1999, and before January 1, 2004. Extends specified provisions regarding: (1) Superfund's financing rate; (2) limits on tax if the unobligated balance in Superfund exceeds a specified amount; and (3) the repayment deadline for advances made to Superfund. Lowers the amount of the unobligated Superfund balance required for a suspension of collection of tax on petroleum under environmental tax provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999
Emergency Resident Protection Act of 1999 - Amends the Multifamily Assisted Housing Reform and Affordability Act of 1997 to provide enhanced vouchers for residents of projects with expiring contracts under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937. Authorizes specified appropriations. Sets forth expiring contract renewal rates based upon comparable market rents. Authorizes interest reduction payments for project mortgage refinancing. Amends the National Housing Act to authorize project owners under the rental and cooperative housing program to retain excess income.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999
Millennium Digital Commerce Act - Directs the Federal Government, to the extent practicable, to observe certain principles governing the use of electronic signatures in international commercial transactions, including to: (1) remove paper-based obstacles to electronic transactions by adopting relevant principles from the Model Law on Electronic Commerce adopted in 1996 by the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL); (2) permit parties to a transaction to determine the appropriate authentication technologies for such transactions, with assurance that they will be recognized and enforced; (3) permit such parties to have the opportunity to prove in court that such authentication approaches and transactions are valid; and (4) take a nondiscriminatory approach to electronic signatures and authentication methods from other jurisdictions. Declares that an interstate contract transaction shall not be denied legal effect solely because an electronic signature or electronic record was used in its formation. Authorizes parties to an interstate transaction to establish the methods by which electronic signatures and electronic records are created, used, and are recognized as valid. Directs each Federal agency to report to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Secretary of Commerce on any provision of law administered, or regulation issued, by it that imposes a barrier to electronic transactions. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress concerning any legislation needed or Executive or Federal agency action being taken to remove such barriers.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999
Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River as a recreational river. Establishes a 15-member management commission to develop a management plan for the Hanford Reach recreational river. Excludes privately owned land from the river, including only adjacent public land. Directs the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers of the Army Corps of Engineers, to develop a comprehensive plan of improvement for the levees and other rivershore areas downstream of the Hanford Reach recreational river in the vicinity of the cities of Richland, Pasco, and Kennewick, Washington. Directs the Secretaries of the Interior and of Energy to: (1) study the consolidation of parcels of land administered by the Bureau of Land Management on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation; and (2) prepare to exchange lands on completion of documents required under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999
Energy Efficient Affordable Home Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish limited credits for energy efficiency improvements for: (1) an individual for energy efficiency improvements to an existing home; and (2) a contractor for installing energy efficient property in a new home.
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