United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1999
Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 1999 - Prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation by covered entities. Declares that a disparate impact does not establish a prima facie violation of this Act. Prohibits related retaliation and coercion. Declares that this Act does not apply to the provision of employee benefits for the benefit of an employee's domestic partner. Prohibits the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from: (1) collecting statistics on sexual orientation from covered entities; and (2) compelling covered entities to collect such statistics. Prohibits: (1) quotas and preferential treatment; and (2) an order or consent decree for a violation of this Act that includes a quota or preferential treatment. Declares that this Act does not apply to: (1) religious organizations (except regarding employment in a position the duties of which pertain solely to activities of the organization that generate unrelated business income subject to taxation under specified Internal Revenue Code provisions); (2) the relationship between the United States and members of the armed forces; or (3) laws creating special rights or preferences for veterans. Provides for enforcement. Prohibits the imposition of affirmative action for a violation of this Act. Disallows State immunity. Makes the United States or a State liable for all remedies (except punitive damages, with compensatory damages available to the extent specified in certain existing provisions of law) to the same extent as under specified provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Allows recovery of attorney's fees. Requires posting notices for employees, applicants, and members.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1999
Transition to Teaching Act - Establishes a Transition- to-Teaching program, and continues the Troops-to-Teachers program, to address the need of high-poverty school districts for highly qualified teachers in subject areas such as mathematics, science, foreign languages, bilingual education, and special education needed by those school districts. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to use funds under this Act to award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to institutions of higher education (IHEs) and public and private nonprofit entities to carry out Transition-to-Teaching programs. Requires the Secretary, before making such awards, to: (1) consult with the Secretaries of Defense and of Transportation with respect to the appropriate amount of funding necessary to continue and enhance the Troops-to-Teachers program; and (2) transfer such amount to the Department of Defense to carry out such program. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a written agreement with the Departments of Defense and of Transportation, or take other appropriate steps to ensure effective continuation of such program. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth requirements for applications for Transition-to-Teaching program assistance. Authorizes use of such funds for: (1) recruitment of program participants; (2) training stipends and other financial incentives for program participants; (3) assistance to IHEs or other teacher training providers to meet particular needs of professionals changing their careers to teaching; (4) placement activities, including identifying high-poverty local educational agencies (LEAs) with needs for particular skills and characteristics of the newly trained program participants and assisting those participants to obtain employment in those LEAs; and (5) post-placement induction or support activities for program participants. Requires program participants who complete training to teach in a high-poverty LEA for at least three years, or else repay all or a portion of their training stipend or other incentive.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1999
Safety Net Preservation Act of 1999 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to establish a new prospective payment system for federally-qualified health centers and rural health clinics.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1999
Amends titles XI and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) disregard Medicaid payments for certain Medicare (SSA title XVIII) cost-sharing and for veterans in applying provisions for fiscal year Medicaid payments to Puerto Rico and certain other territories; and (2) remove the limitation on the Federal medical assistance percentage for such cost-sharing and for veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1999
Safe Motherhood Monitoring and Prevention Research Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to: (1) establish and implement a national monitoring and surveillance program to identify and promote the investigation of deaths and severe complications that occur during pregnancy; (2) expand the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System to provide surveillance and collect data in each of the 50 States; (3) expand the Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology Program to provide technical support, financial assistance, or the time-limited assignment of senior epidemiologists to maternal and child health programs in each of the 50 States. Authorizes the Secretary, acting through the CDC, to expand research relating to: (1) encouraging preconception counseling; (2) identifying critical components of prenatal delivery and postpartum care, outreach and support services for pregnant women, and women who are at high risk for complications; (3) preventing preterm delivery, urinary tract infections, and unnecessary caesarean sections; (4) examining the higher rates of maternal mortality among African American women and the relationship between domestic violence and maternal complications and mortality; and (5) preventing substance abuse during and after pregnancy and infections that cause maternal and infant complications. Authorizes the Secretary, acting through the CDC, to carry out activities to promote safe motherhood, including public education campaigns on healthy pregnancies, education programs for health care providers, and activities to promote community support for pregnant women. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1999
Access to Contract Equity Act - States that, with respect to a contract goal by the Department of Defense, the Coast Guard, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for the award of five percent of their procurement contracts to small disadvantaged businesses and certain minority institutions, no suspension of price modifications (allowing an item's contract price to exceed fair market value) shall be issued in an industry category if the President determines that contracts for a price exceeding fair market value are necessary to remedy demonstrated discrimination in such category. Requires such determination to be published in the Federal Register, and allows any person affected by the application of such determination to seek appropriate judicial review. Amends provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1991 relating to the Mentor-Protege Pilot Program to: (1) make the program term three years, or five years in unusual circumstances as determined by the Secretary of Defense; (2) authorize (currently, requires) the Secretary to reimburse a mentor firm for the full cost of certain payments and assistance made under the program; (3) allow the Secretary to provide such reimbursement using a separate contract; (4) make determinations made in the annual performance reviews of a mentor firm's agreement a major factor in determining reimbursement amounts; and (5) limit to $1 million per fiscal year the total amount reimbursed for assistance to a protege firm, except when the Secretary determines that unusual circumstances justify reimbursement of a higher amount.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1999
Amends the Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands with respect to the composition of the Virgin Islands legislature to declare that the number of senators composing such legislature (including the number of senators needed to constitute a quorum) shall be determined by Virgin Islands law.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1999
History of the House Awareness and Preservation Act - Directs the Librarian of Congress to: (1) prepare a new and complete written history of the U.S. House of Representatives; (2) in preparing the history, consult, commission, or engage the services or participation of eminent historians and Members or former Members of the House; (3) arrange for the printing of the history and the dissemination of excerpts of the history over the Internet; (4) make the history available for sale to the public; and (5) make available, free of charge, a limited number of copies to each Member of the House of Representatives and to the Senate. Sets forth guidelines for the history. Authorizes the Librarian to solicit and accept private funding for the publication, marketing, and public distribution of the history. Directs the Librarian to accept for deposit, preserve, maintain, and make accessible, an oral history of the House as told by its Members and former Members, compiled and updated (on a voluntary or contract basis) by the U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress or other outside organization. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) orientation programs for freshman Members of the House should contain a seminar on the history of the House; and (2) the Speaker of the House should conduct a series of forums on the topic of such history.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1999
Prohibits any individual who is serving as the chairman or co-chairman chairman of, or in any other senior-level management position with, a political committee for a Presidential or Vice Presidential candidate or a national committee of a political party from being appointed or from serving as a member or staff member of the Census Monitoring Board or from entering into any contract with the Board.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1999
New Millennium Classrooms Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) expand the tax deduction for computer donations by corporations to tax-exempt schools to include donations to public libraries; (2) increase from two to three years the age of computers that can be contributed for such deduction; and (3) allow a business tax credit of 30 percent of the value of computers donated to tax-exempt schools and public libraries. Increases the amount of such credit to 50 percent for contributions to schools or public libraries in empowerment zones, enterprise communities, and Indian reservations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1999
Expresses the sense of Congress that all people in the United States should reach out across our differences in ethnicity, race, and religion to respect each other and to celebrate, in friendship and unity, one America.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1999
Consumer Fairness Act of 1999 - Amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act to provide that a written provision in any consumer transaction or consumer contract which requires binding arbitration to resolve any controversy or the failure to perform the whole or any part of the transaction or contract shall constitute a violation of such Act, shall not be enforceable, and shall be treated as an unfair and deceptive trade act or practice under Federal or State law. Specifies an exception with respect to a written agreement to determine by binding arbitration an existing controversy if the written agreement has been entered into after the controversy has arisen.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 1999
Hospital Outpatient Preservation Act of 1999 - Amends the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA '97) to limit temporarily the reductions in Federal payments under the Medicare prospective payment system (PPS) for hospital outpatient department services under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act. Provides for the retroactive effectiveness of this Act as if included in BBA '97.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 1999
Medicare Home Health Access Restoration Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to increase payment amounts to home health agencies with specified limits under the national average. Amends the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 to eliminate the 15 percent contingent reduction in payment amounts under the interim prospective payment system (PPS) for home health services. Directs: (1) the Secretary to prepare specified informational materials for assisting Medicare beneficiaries with regard to home health services; and (2) the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on certain aspects of the Medicare home health benefit, including whether it has resulted in overall lower costs to the Federal Government.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 1999
Medicare Early Access Act of 1999 - Title I: Access to Medicare Benefits for Individuals 62-to-65 Years of Age - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to add a new part D (Purchase of Medicare Benefits by Certain Individuals Age 62-to-65 Years of Age). Makes eligible to enroll in Medicare during a specified period individuals between the ages of 62 and 65 who: (1) are not eligible for coverage under group health plans or Federal health insurance; but (2) would be Medicare-eligible if age 65. Requires prior notification of each individual seeking to enroll of the deferred monthly premium amount for which the individual will be liable upon attaining age 65. (Sec. 101) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to determine rates for: (1) the base monthly premium; (2) the base annual premium for individuals age 62 or older, adjusted appropriately for each premium area; as well as the maximum amount of such premium; and (3) the deferred premium for such individuals. Directs the Secretary to provide for payment and collection of the base monthly premium. Makes the enrollee liable for the deferred monthly premium payment. Requires collection of both premiums in the same manner as for the payment of monthly premiums under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance). Creates in the Treasury the Medicare Early Access Trust Fund (Trust Fund) to hold collected premiums. Directs: (1) the Trust Fund's Board of Trustees to report annually to Congress on the need for adjustments in the new program in order to maintain its financial solvency; and (2) the Comptroller General to report periodically to Congress on the adequacy of program financing along with appropriate recommendations to accomplish such end. Requires: (1) individuals enrolled under the new part D program to be treated for Medicare purposes as though they were entitled to benefits under Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) and enrolled under Medicare part B; and (2) new part D program benefits to be payable under Medicare to such individuals in the same manner as if they were so entitled and enrolled. Provides that the new part D program shall not be treated as Medicare for purposes of the Medicaid program (SSA title XIX), including the provision of Medicare cost-sharing assistance, nor for purposes of COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985) continuation requirements of the Public Health Service Act. Title II: Access to Medicare Benefits for Displaced Workers 55-to-62 Years of Age - Amends SSA title XVIII part D to rename the newly established part D program the Purchase of Medicare Benefits by Certain Individuals Age 55-to-65 Years of Age. Provides for part D coverage for certain displaced workers and spouses between the ages of 55 and 62 under arrangements similar to those in title I. Directs the Secretary to provide for continued enrollment of displaced workers who attain 62 years of age. Title III: COBRA Protection for Early Retirees - Subtitle A: Amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to extend specified group health plan insurance continuation coverage under COBRA to qualified retirees and their dependents, in cases of substantial reduction or termination of a retiree group health plan. Sets forth a special rule for certain dependents in case of termination or substantial reduction of retiree health coverage. Permits an increased level of premiums in the case of an individual provided continuation coverage by reason of the qualifying event. Subtitle B: Amendments to the Public Health Service Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to extend specified group health plan insurance continuation coverage under COBRA to qualified retirees and their dependents, in cases of substantial reduction or termination of a retiree group health plan. Sets forth a special rule for certain dependents in case of termination or substantial reduction of retiree health coverage. Permits an increased level of premiums in the case of an individual provided continuation coverage by reason of the qualifying event. Subtitle C: Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend specified group health plan insurance continuation coverage under COBRA to qualified retirees and their dependents, in cases of substantial reduction or termination of a retiree group health plan. Sets forth a special rule for certain dependents in case of termination or substantial reduction of retiree health coverage. Permits an increased level of premiums in the case of an individual provided continuation coverage by reason of the qualifying event. Title IV: Financing - Provides that any increase in payments under SSA title XVIII resulting from enactment of this Act shall be offset by reductions in payments under such program pursuant to the anti-fraud and anti-abuse provisions enacted as part of the Medicare Fraud and Reimbursement Reform Act of 1999.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 1999
Declares that Congress recognizes: (1) the severity of the issue of colorectal cancer; (2) such disease's preventable nature; and (3) the importance of the Screen for Life Campaign. Calls on health educators, elected officials, and the people of the United States to: (1) broaden the message of the Screen for Life Campaign to reach all individuals; and (2) learn about colorectal cancer and its preventable nature and learn to recognize the risk factors and symptoms which enable early detection and treatment.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1999
Equity in Prescription Insurance and Contraceptive Coverage Act of 1999 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Public Health Service Act to prohibit a group health plan, and a health insurance issuer providing group coverage, from: (1) excluding or restricting benefits for prescription contraceptive drugs, devices, and outpatient services if the plan provides benefits for other outpatient prescription drugs, devices, or outpatient services; (2) denying eligibility based on use or potential use of such items or services; (3) providing monetary payments or rebates to a covered individual to encourage acceptance of less than the minimum protections available; (4) penalizing, reducing, or limiting a professional's reimbursement because the professional prescribed such drugs or devices or provided such services; or (5) providing incentives to a professional to induce the professional to withhold drugs, devices, or services. Amends the Public Health Service Act to apply those prohibitions to coverage offered in the individual market.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1999
Alcohol Shipment to Minors Prohibition Act - Amends the Federal criminal code to require that any package placed for shipment in interstate commerce that contains any alcoholic beverage: (1) bear a conspicuous label, in accordance with such regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe, stating that the package contains an alcoholic beverage and that the signature of a person of legal drinking age is required for delivery; and (2) be accompanied by documentation showing the full legal name and address of the person placing the package for such shipment. Requires any person who: (1) places for shipment in interstate commerce a package containing any alcoholic beverage, prior to shipment, to verify that the recipient is of legal drinking age; and (2) delivers a package shipped in interstate commerce that contains any alcoholic beverage and is labeled pursuant to this Act to obtain, upon delivery, the signature of a person of legal drinking age and to verify such person's age. Sets penalties for violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1999
Legal Amnesty Restoration Act of 1999 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to repeal, effective as if enacted in the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, the judicial review limitation on denial of status adjustment to permanent resident with respect to certain aliens.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1999
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require, for the five-year period beginning after September 30, 1999, the treasury of Puerto Rico to make a Conservation Trust Fund transfer within 30 days from the date of each cover over payment made during such period to such treasury under provisions of the Code concerning shipments to the United States. Defines terms.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1999
Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities Enhancement Act of 1999 - Amends title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) of the Social Security Act to revise additional grants requirements, providing for: (1) additional State entitlements to grants for designated qualified empowerment zones and qualified enterprise communities as well as for strategic planning communities (currently not provided for); (2) specified funding for such additional designated qualified empowerment zone State grants (according to urban or rural status) as well as for additional designated qualified enterprise community State grants and strategic planning community State grants; (3) direct grants to the governing bodies of eligible Indian tribes or Alaska Native villages or regional or village corporations, subject to certain conditions; (4) use of grant funds for revolving loan fund loans to residents, institutions, organizations, or businesses that hire disadvantaged adults and youths; and (5) environmental review to ensure that the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and other applicable Federal law are most effectively implemented in connection with the expenditure of grant funds under SSA title XX additional grants provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 1999
Judicial District of the Virgin Islands Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal judicial code to establish a Federal judicial district in the Virgin Islands, composed of two divisions, one for Saint Croix and the other for Saint Thomas and Saint John. Provides two judges for such district. Repeals provisions of the Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands regarding judicial divisions, trial by jury, and the U.S. attorney for the Virgin Islands. Vests judicial power of the Virgin Islands in trial or appellate courts established by local law. (Currently, such power is also vested in the District Court of the Virgin Islands.) Requires the local courts of the Virgin Islands to have jurisdiction over all causes of action in the Islands over which any court established by the Constitution and U.S. laws does not have exclusive jurisdiction. (Currently, the Virgin Islands legislature may vest such jurisdiction in such courts.) Replaces references to the District Court of the Virgin Islands in provisions regarding jurisdiction over income tax matters and appellate jurisdiction with references to the U.S. District Court for the District of the Virgin Islands. Removes provisions regarding judges of the District Court of the Virgin Islands. Authorizes the temporary assignment of additional judges to the U.S. District Court for the Virgin Islands. Requires all pleadings and proceedings in the U.S. District Court for the Virgin Islands to be conducted in English. Permits pending complaints or proceedings to be pursued to final determination in such court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and the Supreme Court. Deems references to the District Court of the Virgin Islands in any law to be references to the United States District Court for the Virgin Islands.
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999
Agricultural Credit Act of 1999 - Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to exclude from "debt forgiveness": (1) loan rescheduling, consolidation, deferral, or reamortization; (2) a write-down due to natural disaster or family medical condition; or (3) a write-down as part of the resolution of a discrimination complaint against the Secretary of Agriculture. (Sec. 3) Increases the number of occasions of permitted loan or loan guarantee debt forgiveness per borrower from one to two. Includes as an exception to such limitation an operating loan or loan guarantee to an individual whose payments are current under a specified reorganization plan. (Sec. 4) Eliminates capital item replacement expenses in determinations of farmer program loan guarantee eligibility. (Sec. 5) Permits excess funds obligated for socially disadvantaged farmers to be reallocated for such use in another State (currently limited to intrastate reallocation). (Sec. 6) Permits direct operating loans and loan guarantees to be made to persons in areas: (1) affected by a natural disaster or designated emergency; or (2) determined to be suffering from an economic emergency. (Sec. 7) Revises (shared appreciation arrangement) recapture percentage provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999
American Handgun Standards Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit the manufacture, transfer, or possession of a junk gun that has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce. Defines a "junk gun" as any handgun that does not meet specified criteria for authorization by the Secretary of the Treasury for importation into the United States. Makes such provision inapplicable to: (1) the possession or transfer of any junk gun otherwise lawfully possessed under Federal law on the date of this Act's enactment; (2) any firearm or replica of a firearm that has been rendered permanently inoperative; (3) the manufacture for, transfer to, or possession by the United States, a State, or a political subdivision of a State of a junk gun, or a transfer to or possession by a law enforcement officer employed by such an entity for law enforcement purposes (whether on or off duty); (4) the transfer to or possession by a rail police officer employed by a rail carrier and certified or commissioned as a police officer under the laws of a State of a junk gun for such purposes; or (5) the manufacture, transfer, or possession of a junk gun by a licensed manufacturer or licensed importer for the purposes of testing or experimentation authorized by the Secretary.
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999
Military Survivor Benefits Improvement Act of 1999 - Amends Federal provisions concerning the military Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) to adjust the basic SBP annuity amount for surviving spouses age 62 or over of former military personnel to: (1) 35 percent of the retired pay of the decedent, for months beginning on or before the enactment of this Act (current law); (2) 40 percent of such pay, for months beginning after the date of enactment of this Act until October 2004; and (3) 45 percent of such pay, for months beginning on or after October 2004. Adjusts similarly the percentage amounts of SBP supplemental annuity authorized to be provided for such surviving spouses. Directs the Secretary of Defense to ensure appropriate adjustments in the computation of retired pay reductions for such supplemental annuities made necessary by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999
States that in the case of a taxable year beginning before January 1, 1980, the determination of whether a tax deduction as a trade or business expense is allowable under the Internal Revenue Code for flight training expenses shall be made without regard to whether the taxpayer was reimbursed for any portion of such expenses through certain veterans educational assistance programs. Sets forth statute of limitations provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1999
NAFTA Impact Relief Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to, among other things: (1) provide for the designation of NAFTA-impacted communities; (2) establish an employment credit for such communities; and (3) provide for job training grants to such communities.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1999
Freedom of Passport Information Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of State to provide to the public free of charge a U.S. passport information telephone inquiry service.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1999
Broadcasters Fairness in Advertising Act of 1999 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit any person from purchasing or placing an advertisement by wire or radio communication which discriminates against any communications entity by reason of the race, color, or ethnic background of: (1) any entity owner; or (2) the group to which the communications format of the entity is predominately designed to appeal. Authorizes either a private person or the Federal Communications Commission to bring an action for appropriate relief. Prohibits the head of an executive agency from soliciting an offer from, or awarding a contract or subcontract to, any offeror or contractor who has failed to certify that they have not engaged in such prohibited activity and will not so engage during the period of the contract or subcontract.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1999
Asthma Awareness, Education and Treatment Act of 1999 - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to public and nonprofit private entities for carrying out projects to provide for individuals in low-income communities: (1) screenings and referrals regarding asthma, allergies, and related respiratory problems; (2) information and education regarding such conditions; and (3) workshops regarding such conditions for specified individuals who serve in supervisory roles of children in such communities. Outlines requirements for such projects. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2004. Authorizes the Secretary to award contracts for a national media campaign to provide to the public and health care providers information on such conditions, with priority given to the occurrence of such conditions in children. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide a tax credit, effective as of January 1, 2000, to providers of pest control or climate control services who donate such services in any public housing or low-income multifamily residential rental property. Directs the Secretary to conduct research to determine whether and to what extent there is a causal relationship between air pollutants and the occurrence of such conditions, requiring priority to be given to clinical evaluations of low-income individuals. Requires the Director of the National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute to: (1) identify all Federal programs that carry out asthma-related activities; (2) develop a Federal plan for responding to asthma; and (3) submit recommendations to Congress on strengthening the coordination of Federal asthma-related activities. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to: (1) conduct local asthma surveillance activities in order to collect asthma prevalence, severity, and management data; and (2) compile and annually publish data on the prevalence of children suffering from asthma in each State, as well as the childhood asthma mortality rate nationally and in each State.
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
Health Information Privacy Act - Title I: Protection of Health Information - Provides that use of protected health information by health information custodians (HICs) shall protect the reasonable expectation of privacy of protected individuals and shall be in accordance with fair information practices. Sets restrictions on such use and on disclosure. Requires an HIC to limit use of protected health information to the minimum amount and duration necessary to accomplish the use. Establishes the following: (1) standards for authorizations for use and disclosure; and (2) safeguards against misuse and prohibited disclosures, requiring an HIC to consider providing additional protections for mental health and other especially sensitive protected health information, as appropriate. Title II: Rights of Protected Individuals - Grants protected individuals the right to the following: (1) a reasonable opportunity to inspect and copy protected health information maintained by an HIC; (2) a reasonable opportunity to correct or amend protected health information maintained by an HIC; (3) a reasonable opportunity to review a history of the disclosures of protected health information about the individual made by an HIC: and (4) notice of the information practices of HICs and a reasonable opportunity to seek limitations on the use and disclosure of protected health information in addition to the limitations provided in such practices. Title III: Permissible Disclosures of Protected Health Information - Allows an HIC to disclose protected health information, without obtaining an authorization under title I of this Act, for the purpose of providing health care to an individual or paying for health care so provided. Prohibits HIC disclosure without such authorization to a health care payer, however, of protected health information created or received in the course of providing such care to an individual who pays for it himself or herself. (Sec. 302) Permits an HIC to disclose protected health information for the purpose of health oversight, without obtaining such an authorization. Requires the Secretary to permit an HIC to disclose protected health information to Federal, State, and local agencies (or affiliated persons) authorized by law to investigate, regulate, enforce laws relating to, or license, certify, or accredit persons engaged in, the provision of, or payment for, health care. (Sec. 303) Authorizes an HIC to disclose protected health information without obtaining such an authorization: (1) to a public health authority for public health purposes in disease or injury reporting, surveillance, or investigation or intervention; and (2) for health research. (Sec. 304) Requires the Secretary to promulgate regulations that, among other things, and at a minimum require a person conducting health research to remove or destroy personal identifiers at the earliest opportunity consistent with the purpose of the research, unless it is determined otherwise that there is a health or research justification for retention of such identifiers and that they will be protected from improper use and disclosure. (Sec. 305) Authorizes an HIC to disclose protected health information to a law enforcement official for an appropriate inquiry if such official complies with the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. (Sec. 306) Sets forth provisions on judicial or administrative proceedings and disclosure of protected health information. (Sec. 307) Authorizes other specified disclosures without authorization, such as where it is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious threat to an individual's health or safety. (Sec. 308) Authorizes an HIC who receives protected health information through a disclosure under this title to redisclose it to carry out the purposes for which the information was disclosed to the HIC. Prohibits protected health information received by an HIC through a disclosure under this title from being disclosed to any person for use in any administrative, civil, or criminal action or investigation directed against the protected individual who is the subject of the information, except under specified conditions. Title IV: Miscellaneous Provisions - Outlines various provisions pertaining to: (1) minors; (2) individuals exercising power of attorney to act for protected individuals; (3) deceased individuals; (4) obtaining or disclosing protected health information from an HIC or an affiliated person under false pretenses; (5) prohibiting on-the-job retaliation against an individual for reporting to a governmental agency conditions that may constitute a violation of this Act; and (6) mental health and other especially sensitive information (allowing the Secretary to limit an individual's access to his or her mental health information under certain conditions). (Sec. 405) Provides that nothing in this Act shall be construed to preempt, supersede, or modify the operation of the recent legally recognized psychotherapist-patient privilege. (Sec. 406) Requires the Secretary to promulgate regulations to ensure the reasonable expectation of privacy of protected individuals in protected health information is maintained when HICs cease operations. (Sec. 407) Amends the Federal Privacy Act of 1974 to generally conform with the amendments made by this Act. Title V: General Provisions - Directs the Secretary to promulgate implementing regulations for this Act, including, at the Secretary's discretion, any necessary to protect the privacy of individually identifiable health information that is not protected health information. (Sec. 501) Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) sponsor or carry out research and development activities related to the protection of the privacy of individually identifiable health information; (2) sponsor or carry out activities to inform protected individuals of their rights, or other persons of their rights or responsibilities, under this Act; and (3) hold hearings, administer oaths, and perform a variety of other specified tasks to ensure compliance with this Act or otherwise further its purposes. (Sec. 502) Outlines enforcement provisions, from allowing the Secretary to bring an action in an appropriate court to enjoin a violation of this Act, to providing for civil money and criminal penalties as well as civil actions. (Sec. 503) Provides that this Act shall not preempt, supersede, or modify the operation of: (1) any Federal, State, or local law that provides greater protection of protected health information or more rights to protected individuals regarding such information; or (2) any law that provides for the reporting of vital statistics such as birth or death information, that requires the reporting of abuse or neglect information or other information relating to violence against an individual, and other specified laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
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
Declares that Congress: (1) supports public and private entity efforts to heighten public awareness of pediatric cancer and the importance of regular medical examinations for children; and (2) encourages Federal agencies and departments to support those efforts.
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 · 20 May 1999
Empowering Minorities with Procurement Opportunities Which Expand and Revive Businesses Resolution (EMPOWER Businesses Resolution) - Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that all Federal agencies would benefit from implementing, and urges agencies to implement, specified recommendations to improve equitable access for minority-owned businesses to Federal procurement possibilities.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1999
Medically Underserved Access to Care Act of 1999 - Directs a managed care organization offering a managed care plan to establish and maintain adequate arrangements with a sufficient number, mix, and distribution of health care professionals and providers to assure that covered items and services are available and accessible to each plan enrollee in the organization's service area at a variety of sites within reasonable proximity to the enrollee, and in a reasonably prompt manner that accounts for enrollee needs and assures care continuity. Treats as meeting such requirements any managed care organization serving a medically underserved area that has similar arrangements with health care professionals and providers having a history of serving such areas. Directs the Secretary to establish a program in the Office of Minority Health of the Department of Health and Human Services to award competitive grants to enable eligible nongovernmental agencies to develop outreach programs with regard to medically underserved areas.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1999
Mother Teresa Religious Worker Act of 1999 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide permanent authority for U.S. special immigrant entry by certain religious workers.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1999
Medicare Rehabilitation Benefit Improvement Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide certain Medicare beneficiaries with an exemption to the financial limitations imposed on physical, speech-language pathology, and occupational therapy services under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance). Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct a study of specified effects of this Act for a report to Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1999
Directs the Attorney General to promulgate regulations relating to gender-based persecution, including female genital mutilation, for use in determining an alien's eligibility for asylum or withholding of deportation.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1999
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate the restriction that only aliens with preference petitions or labor certifications filed by January 14, 1998, are eligible to adjust to permanent resident status without leaving the United States if they entered without inspection or fall within one of other specified classes (including aliens accepting unauthorized employment and aliens not maintaining legal nonimmigrant status).
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1999
Access to Thermal Imaging Cameras Act - Authorizes the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to make competitive grants to fire departments for the purpose of acquiring thermal imaging cameras. Requires the non-Federal share of acquisition costs to be 33 percent. Authorizes appropriations. Declares the sense of Congress that any funds appropriated to FEMA for this purpose should be offset with corresponding reductions in funds appropriated to carry out other Federal programs.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1999
Declares that the House of Representatives: (1) recognizes the historical significance of the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision; (2) heralds that event as a significant advancement of American principles of freedom, justice, and equality under law; and (3) repudiates racial segregation and reaffirms the fundamental belief that we are all "one Nation under God, indivisible."
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1999
Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of the Congress, a congressional gold medal to Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., in recognition of his outstanding and enduring contributions to the Nation. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates.
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
Antitrust Technical Corrections Act of 1999 - Repeals: (1) the Act of March 3, 1913 (regarding depositions for use in suits in equity and proceedings open to the public); and (2) provisions of the Panama Canal Act which bar use of the Panama Canal to violators of antitrust laws. Amends the Sherman Act to prohibit as a felony, and set penalties for, monopolizing, attempting to monopolize, or combining or conspiring with others to monopolize trade or commerce among the U.S. Territories and the District of Columbia, or between any of the States and any such Territory or the District of Columbia.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1999
Access to Women's Health Care Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Internal Revenue Code to establish standards relating to patient access to unrestricted obstetric and gynecological services under group and individual health insurance coverage and group health plans.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1999
Notch Baby Health Care Relief Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a credit for premiums paid by a "notch baby" under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act. Amends such part B to eliminate the part B premium penalty for a "notch baby."
![Official portrait of Del. Christensen, Donna M. [D-VI-At Large]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/c000380_200.jpg)