United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1999
Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to: (1) prohibit the importation of large capacity ammunition feeding devices; (2) eliminate the exemption for the transfer of such devices lawfully possessed before enactment of the ban; and (3) expand the definition of such devices to include those manufactured on or before the date of enactment of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1999
Coastal States Protection Act - Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to prohibit the Secretary of the Interior from issuing a lease for mineral exploration, development, or production on submerged lands of the Outer Continental Shelf that are seaward or adjacent to lands beneath navigable waters of a coastal State whose Governor has placed a moratorium on such activities with respect to oil, gas, or other minerals.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1999
50 States Commemorative Coin Program Amendments Act of 1999- Amends the 50 States Commemorative Coin Program Act to mandate designs emblematic of the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands on quarter-dollar coins issued during the year following the ten-year period beginning in 1999.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1999
Directs the President to impose quotas, tariff surcharges, or negotiate enforceable voluntary export restraint agreements in order to ensure that the volume of imported steel products (semifinished, plates, sheets and strips, wire rods, wire and wire products, rail type products, bars, structural shapes and units, pipes and tubes, iron ore, and coke products) during any month does not exceed the average volume of imported steel for the 36-month period preceding July 1997. Directs the Secretaries of the Treasury and of Commerce to implement a program for administering and enforcing the restraints on such imports. Authorizes the Customs Service to refuse entry into the U.S. customs territory for a three year period of any steel products that exceed the allowable levels of such products. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish and implement a steel import notification and monitoring program. Requires any person who intends to import steel products into the United States to first obtain an import notification certificate. Sets forth specified import notification certificate requirements. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to publish on a weekly basis through the Internet certain information obtained from steel import notification certificate applications regarding imported steel, including country of origin, the port of entry, quantity, value of steel imported, single producer or exporter countries, and whether such imports are entered into a bonded warehouse or foreign trade zone. Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to charge reasonable fees to defray the costs of carrying out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1999
Student Health Insurance Portability Protection Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to apply health insurance portability, access, and renewability requirements to coverage offered in connection with a college-sponsored health plan as they apply to a group health plan. Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the Internal Revenue Code to include coverage under a college-sponsored plan in the definition of "creditable coverage."
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1999
Helpers Job Opportunity Act - Provides for the creation of an additional category of laborers or mechanics known as helpers under the Davis-Bacon Act. Requires a helper of a laborer or mechanic to be paid the prevailing wage of helpers of laborers or mechanics employed on similar projects in the same subdivision of the State.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1999
Y2K State and Local Government Assistance Programs Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to make up to 75 grants to States (not more than two to any State) to carry out projects that: (1) make Y2K compliant the information technology used by a State or local government to administer one or more Federal, State, or local programs; and (2) use amounts received under the grant to supplement and not to supplant the level of State and local funds that would have been expended on efforts to achieve Y2K compliance. Requires each recipient to supplement the grant amounts received with an amount of funds from sources other than this Act that is 50 percent of the grant amount received. Allows the Secretary to waive or modify such matching requirement for any State that he or she determines would suffer undue hardship. (Sec. 4) Requires the Secretary to: (1) make such grants in accordance with competitive criteria which shall include the need for and the feasibility of the proposed Y2K compliance project; and (2) give priority to projects that relate to making Y2K compliant the information technology used to administer Federal welfare programs. (Sec. 5) Sets forth grant application requirements. (Sec. 6) Requires each recipient of grant amounts to submit annually to the Secretary a report that: (1) describes the status and results of the Y2K compliance project for which the grant was made; and (2) includes an independent evaluation of such project. Requires the Secretary to submit a final report to Congress describing and evaluating the activities carried out under this Act. (Sec. 9) Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1999
Robert Stodola Homeless Veterans Assistance Act - Amends the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act to require each city, county, State, and Indian tribe which is provided assistance under the following programs to ensure that not less than 20 percent of the total amount received by such entity is used for activities benefiting homeless veterans: (1) the emergency shelter grants program; (2) the supportive housing program; (3) the safe havens for homeless individuals demonstration program; (4) a program for single room occupancy dwellings; (5) the shelter plus care program; and (6) the rural homelessness grant program. Provides for related technical assistance. Allows a waiver of such requirement in each case upon a determination that general program funds will remain unused for an unreasonable period of time unless the waiver is permitted.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1999
Authorizes the President, on behalf of Congress, to present a congressional gold medal to John Walsh in recognition of his outstanding and enduring contributions to American society in the fields of law enforcement and victims' rights. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1999
Affordable Higher Education-Through-Pell Grants Act of 1999 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to increase the maximum Federal Pell Grant award to $6,500 for academic year 2000-2001. Amends HEA to declare that there shall be available to the Secretary of Education, from funds not otherwise appropriated, sums necessary to provide funds for such grants in the maximum amounts authorized.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1999
Child Care Availability Incentive Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit (as part of the general business credit) for employers who provide qualified day care centers for the use of their employees.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1999
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the Congress must assure that the fundamental protections that social security provides for American families are available for generations to come; (2) the problems facing the social security system are manageable and can be prudently addressed by making careful and modest changes; (3) hastily conceived and radical solutions, such as utilizing social security system resources to fund individual accounts, require significant reductions in guaranteed benefits, are not necessary to assure the financial solvency of the system, and should be rejected; (4) solutions to a projected shortfall should be enacted within the existing social security structure, without compromising the guaranteed nature of benefits to individuals and families under the social security system; and (5) any solutions adopted by the Congress must be nondiscriminatory and equitable to Americans of all ages and must help insure American workers and their families against the economic risks associated with disability, the death of a parent or spouse, and retirement.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1999
Prohibits aliens from applying for asylum in Guam. Provides for: (1) detention of such aliens pending transport to another port of entry for asylum review; and (2) reimbursement of local costs.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1999
Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to limit the late enrollment penalty to a ten percent increase in the monthly part B premium due over a period equal to twice the number of years that the part B beneficiary could have been but was not enrolled under part B.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1999
Osteoporosis Early Detection and Prevention Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to require a group health plan, and an insurer offering group coverage, to include coverage for bone mass measurement for individuals who: (1) are estrogen-deficient women at clinical risk for osteoporosis; (2) have vertebral abnormalities; (3) are receiving chemotherapy or long-term gluococorticoid (steroid) therapy; (4) have primary hyperparathyroidism, hyperthyroidism, or excess thyroid replacement; or (5) are being monitored to assess the response to or efficacy of approved osteoporosis drug therapy. Regulates frequency and cost sharing. Prohibits related denial of coverage, incentives to individuals, restrictions on provider-patient communications, and provider penalties. Allows State laws providing greater detection or prevention benefits. Amends the Public Health Service Act to apply the above requirements to coverage offered in the individual market.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1999
Access to Emergency Medical Services Act of 1999 - Provides that if a group health plan or health insurance coverage offered by a health insurance issuer provides any benefits with respect to emergency services, the plan or issuer shall cover such services: (1) without the need for any prior authorization determination; (2) whether or not the health care provider furnishing such services is a participating provider with respect to such services; (3) in a manner so that if such services are provided by a nonparticipating provider, the participant, beneficiary, or enrollee is not liable for amounts that exceed the liability that would be incurred if the services were provided by a participating provider; and (4) without regard to any other term or condition of such plan or coverage (other than exclusion or coordination of benefits, a specified affiliation or waiting period, and applicable cost sharing). Requires such plans or issuers, in the case of maintenance or post-stabilization care services other than emergency services, to provide for reimbursement for services provided by nonparticipating providers in a manner consistent with specified guidelines relating to promoting efficient and timely coordination of maintenance and post-stabilization care of an enrollee under the Social Security Act or such guidelines as the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall establish. Requires information regarding coverage of emergency services to be made available annually by plans and issuers. Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the Internal Revenue Code to deem requirements of the Access to Emergency Medical Services Act of 1999 to be incorporated into such Acts and the Internal Revenue Code.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1999
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Funding Act of 1999 - Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 and 2001 for U.S. voluntary contributions to the United Nations Population Fund. Withholds from the U.S. voluntary contribution to the UNFPA amounts allocated by the UNFPA for the country program in China, unless the President certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that the UNFPA country program in China: (1) focuses on improving the delivery of voluntary family planning information and services; (2) is in conformity with the human rights principles affirmed at the International Conference on Population and Development with the support of 180 nations including the United States; (3) is implemented only in counties of China where all quotas and targets for the recruitment of program participants have been abolished and the use of coercive measures has been eliminated; (4) is carried out in consultation with and under the oversight and approval of the UNFPA executive board, including the U.S. representative; (5) is subject to regular, independent monitoring to ensure compliance with the principles of informed consent and voluntary participation; and (6) suspends operations in project counties found to be in violation of program guidelines.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1999
Converts a temporary Federal judgeship in the district of Hawaii to a permanent judgeship. Directs the President to appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, one additional district judge for the district of Hawaii. Provides permanent statutory authority for magistrate positions in the district courts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1999
Osteoporosis Federal Employee Health Benefits Standardization Act of 1999 - Amends Federal law concerning Government organization and employees to prohibit contracts from being made or plans approved under the health insurance program for Federal employees which do not include coverage of bone mass measurements of qualified individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1999
Gun Show Accountability Act - Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to prohibit any person from organizing, planning, promoting, or operating a gun show without: (1) registering with the Secretary of the Treasury and paying a registration fee; (2) notifying the Secretary, at least 30 days in advance, of the date, time, duration, and location of the show; (3) submitting to the Secretary, at least 72 hours in advance, an updated list of all show vendors planning to participate; (4) first verifying the identity of each show vendor participating by examining a valid identification document containing a photograph of the vendor; (5) first requiring each vendor to sign a ledger with identifying information and a notice advising the vendor of his or her obligations; (6) notifying each attendee of requirements under the Act; (7) submitting to the Secretary, at least five days after the end of the show, a copy of the ledger and notice; and (8) maintaining a copy of the records described above at the permanent place of business of the show promoter for such period of time and in such form as the Secretary shall require. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) responsibilities of transferors and transferees other than licensees, including criminal background check requirements; and (2) records of licensee transfers. Sets penalties for violations of this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to enter during business hours the place of business of any show promoter and any place where a show is held for purposes of examining required records and the inventory of licensees conducting business at the show, without a showing of reasonable cause or a warrant. Increases penalties for: (1) serious recordkeeping violations by licensees; and (2) violations of criminal background check requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1999
National African American Museum Act - Establishes within the Smithsonian Institution the National African American Museum, to be operated as a center for scholarship and a location for museum training, public education, exhibits, and collection and study of items and materials relating to the life, art, history, and culture of African Americans. Authorizes the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution to plan, design, reconstruct, and renovate the Arts and Industries Building to house the Museum. Establishes a Board of Trustees of the Museum in the Smithsonian Institution. Directs the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution to appoint a Director to manage the Museum. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1999
Declares that the House of Representatives: (1) recognizes the "Code Adam" child safety program; (2) commends all retail business establishments that have implemented such program to protect children from abduction; and (3) urges any establishments that have not implemented such program to consider doing so.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1999
Robin Danielson Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: (1) to establish a program to collect, analyze, and make available data on toxic shock syndrome, including data on the causes of such syndrome; and (2) in carrying out such program, to determine the national incidence and prevalence of such syndrome. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out such program directly and through grants to States and local health departments. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1999
Tampon Safety and Research Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to mandate the conduct or support of research on the extent to which additives in feminine hygiene products pose any risks to the health of women or to the children of women who use those products during or before the pregnancies involved. Requires that the research include research to confirm the data on feminine hygiene products submitted to the Commissioner of Food and Drugs by manufacturers of the products. Requires that research results be submitted to the Congress, specified governmental agencies, and the public.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1999
Senior Citizens' Freedom to Work Act of 1999 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to repeal the limitation on the amount of outside income which beneficiaries who have attained retirement age may earn (earnings test) without incurring a reduction in benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1999
Security and Freedom through Encryption (SAFE) Act - Amends the Federal criminal code to permit any person within any State and any U.S. person in a foreign country to use, and any person within any State to sell in interstate commerce, any encryption, regardless of the encryption algorithm selected, encryption key length chosen, or implementation technique or median use. Provides that neither the Federal Government nor a State may require that, or condition any approval on a requirement that, a key, access to a key, key recovery information, or any other plaintext access capability be: (1) built into computer hardware or software for any purpose; (2) given to any other person, including a Federal Government agency or an entity in the private sector that may be certified or approved by the Federal Government or any State to receive it; or (3) retained by the owner or user of an encryption key or any other person, other than for encryption products for use by the Federal Government or a State. Makes exceptions with respect to investigative or law enforcement officers and members of the intelligence community. Provides that neither the Federal Government nor a State may require the use of encryption products, standards, or services (products) for: (1) confidentiality purposes, as a condition of the use of such products for authenticity or integrity purposes; or (2) authenticity or integrity purposes, as a condition of the use of such products for confidentiality purposes. Sets penalties for the unlawful use of encryption in furtherance of a criminal act. Specifies that the use of encryption shall not be the sole basis for establishing probable cause with respect to a criminal offense or a search warrant. (Sec. 3) Amends the Export Administration Act of 1979 to grant the Secretary of Commerce exclusive authority to control exports of all computer hardware, software, computing devices, customer premises equipment, communications network equipment, and technology for information security (including encryption), except that which is specifically designed or modified for military use. Provides that after a one time, 50-day technical review by the Secretary, no export license may be required (with exceptions) for or in the export of specified computer hardware, software, computing devices, telecommunication devices, technical assistance and data, and encryption hardware, software, or computing devices. Authorizes the Secretary, after a one time, 15-day technical review, to authorize the export or reexport of computer hardware, software, or computing devices with encryption capabilities for nonmilitary and end uses in any country: (1) to which exports of computer hardware, software, or computing devices of comparable strength are permitted for use by financial institutions not controlled in fact by United States persons, unless there is substantial evidence that such computer equipment will be diverted to a military end-use or an end-use supporting international terrorism, modified for military or terrorist end-use, or reexported without authorization by the United States; or (2) if the Secretary determines that a computer hardware, software, or computing device offering comparable security is commercially available outside the United States from a foreign supplier, without effective restrictions. Directs that any encryption product not requiring an export license as of this Act's enactment date, as a result of administrative decision or rulemaking, shall not require an export license on or after such date. (Sec. 4) Directs: (1) the Attorney General to compile, and maintain in classified form, data on the instances in which encryption has interfered with, impeded, or obstructed the ability of the Department of Justice to enforce U.S. criminal laws; and (2) that such information be made available, upon request, to any Member of Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1999
Civil Rights Procedures Protection Act of 1999 - Amends specified Federal civil rights statutes (including title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, the equal pay requirement under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, and the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993) to prevent the involuntary application of arbitration to claims that arise from unlawful employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1999
Critical Infrastructure Communications Act of 1999 - Directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to adopt rules to ensure the ongoing protection and promotion of radio spectrum used by electric, gas, and water utilities and natural gas and petroleum pipelines against interference from other users of spectrum and consistent with provisions of the Communications Act of 1934. Requires the FCC, until such rules are adopted, to discontinue licensing private mobile radio facilities on: (1) any channels that were formerly allocated by the FCC to the Power (IW) Radio Service or Petroleum (IP) Radio Service on either an exclusive or shared basis; and (2) any channels less than 15khz removed from such channels. Provides exceptions in the case of a license applicant that: (1) obtains the concurrence of the designated frequency advisory committee for the IW or IP Service, or both; or (2) obtains and submits written concurrence of all IW and IP radio services licensees having a co- channel or adjacent-channel facility within 70 miles of the applicant's proposed site.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1999
Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to exempt from competitive bidding requirements licenses issued by the Federal Communications Commission for stations in the instructional television fixed service.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1999
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for the temporary visitor or student admission of certain alien spouses or children of U.S. permanent residents. States that a petition for permanent resident classification filed on behalf of such alien shall not constitute evidence of intent to abandon a foreign residence.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1999
Improved Maternal and Children's Health Coverage Act of 1999 - Amends titles XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (Children's Health Insurance Program) (CHIP) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to mandate: (1) development and use of a uniform, simplified application form for establishing eligibility for Medicaid and CHIP benefits; (2) coordinated enrollment processes; and (3) timely response to inquiries received through a national toll-free telephone number for information on children's coverage under such programs. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish such number. (Sec. 2) Provides for the expanded availability of funding for administrative costs related to certain outreach and eligibility determinations under Medicaid and CHIP with regard to children and pregnant women. Directs the Secretary to establish a procedure with regard to the participation of local and community-based public or nonprofit organizations in outreach and enrollment activities if States do not otherwise obligate the amounts made available under this Act. Sets forth a special rule for certain enrollment and outreach activities providing for use of three percent of CHIP funds at 90 percent Federal match for such activities. Amends SSA title XIX to provide for additional entities (including elementary and secondary schools, child support enforcement agencies, and child care resource and referral agencies) that are qualified to determine Medicaid presumptive eligibility for low-income children. (Sec. 3) Amends SSA title XXI to require, to the extent a State child health plan provides coverage other than through providing benefits under the State's Medicaid plan, a State child health plan to: (1) specify methods to ensure coordination of pediatric care within a family; (2) make the State and its contractors, and not beneficiaries and families, responsible for applying limitations on cost-sharing; (3) impose, at its option, a flat limit (of up to $500) on out-of-pocket expenditures for certain low-income children (as an alternative to the current five percent of family income); and (4) provide a grace period and prior notice before disenrollment for nonpayment of premiums, if the State child health plan requires the payment of a premium and such premium is not paid on a timely notice, as well as an opportunity for a hearing on the matter. Prohibits State child health plan eligibility standards from permitting the use of mandatory waiting periods, unless the Secretary finds that such a period would not be contrary to title XXI. (Sec. 4) Amends SSA title XIX to provide for, among other changes: (1) automatic reassessment of eligibility for CHIP and Medicaid benefits for children losing Medicaid or CHIP eligibility; (2) optional CHIP coverage of low-income, uninsured pregnant women; (3) State option to cover qualified alien children under the Medicaid and CHIP programs; (4) elimination of the funding offset for exercise of the presumptive eligibility option; (5) automatic enrollment of children born to targeted low-income pregnant women receiving pregnancy-related assistance under such programs; and (6) CHIP and Medicaid program coordination with the Maternal and Child Health Services program under SSA title V.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1999
National Weather Service Flexible Work Scheduling Act - Provides an overtime hourly rate of pay of one and one-half times the hourly rate of basic pay and provides that all such pay is premium pay for an employee of the National Weather Service who occupies a nonmanagerial position in GS-14 or under: (1) the duties of which are essential to the immediate daily operation of the forecast and warning responsibilities of the Service and directly affect public and aviation safety; (2) in which overtime work is usually unscheduled due to the vicissitudes of severe weather; and (3) in which overtime work is therefore unusually taxing. Exempts such an employee from the limitation on aggregate pay, including premium pay, for a pay period. Provides for a National Weather Service employee, who works during a regularly scheduled eight-hour period of service a part of which is performed on Sunday, to be paid at his or her basic pay rate, plus premium pay at a rate equal to 25 percent of his or her basic pay rate with respect to that portion of such period of service which is performed on Sunday. Directs the Office of Personnel Management to provide for the rounding of any fraction of an hour of service performed on Sunday to the next highest whole number, with offsetting rounding in non-Sunday service so that the total service for the period involved remains the same.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1999
Welcomes the Model Nuclear Weapons Convention as a discussion document intended to further negotiations on complete nuclear disarmament. Urges the President to initiate multilateral negotiations leading to the early conclusion of a nuclear weapons convention. Requests the President to inform the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) of the efforts and measures the United States has taken on the implementation of the UN General Assembly Resolution 52-38 O and nuclear disarmament.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1999
Federal Protective Service Reform Act of 1999 - Amends the Act of June 1, 1948, to redesignate special policemen of the General Services Administration (GSA) as police officers. (Sec. 3) Extends the powers of sheriffs and constables granted to such police officers upon Federal property under the GSA Administrator's control to any area within 500 feet from such property and makes such powers concurrent with State and local law enforcement authorities in the area in which the property is located. Empowers such police officers to: (1) carry firearms; (2) petition Federal courts for and execute arrest and search warrants; (3) make arrests without a warrant; and (4) conduct investigations, on and off the property of offenses on such property; and (5) coordinate with other law enforcement agencies that have intelligence gathering authority for the protection of such persons and property. Authorizes police officers to exercise any power granted in such an area if: (1) the officer reasonably believes that the action is necessary to prevent or stop a felony in progress; (2) the felony is being committed in the presence of the officer; and (3) there is a known, immediate threat. (Sec. 4) Increases the maximum penalty for violations of any rules or regulations with respect to Federal property. (Sec. 5) Empowers special agents with the same authority outside Federal property as police officers have. (Sec. 6) Directs the Administrator to establish the Federal Protective Service (FPS) as a separate operating service of GSA. Provides for the FPS to be headed by a Commissioner who: (1) shall be appointed by and report directly to the Administrator; and (2) has at least five years of professional law enforcement experience in a command or supervisory position. Requires the Commissioner to: (1) assist the Administrator; (2) serve as the principal U.S. law enforcement officer and security official with respect to the protection of Federal officers and employees in such property; (3) render assistance to other Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies upon request; and (4) coordinate his or her activities with those of the Commissioner of the Public Buildings Service. (Sec. 7) Requires FPS police officers' and criminal investigators' pay and benefits to be determined in accordance with a pay and benefits package established by the Administrator that is equivalent to the pay scale and benefits package applicable to U.S. Secret Service Uniformed Division members. (Sec. 8) Requires there to be at least 730 full-time police officers in the FPS one year after the enactment of this Act. Prohibits any reduction in such number of officers unless specifically authorized by law. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report on the feasibility of merging all building security forces of the executive branch within and under the FPS's supervision. (Sec. 9) Directs the Commissioner to prescribe standards for the contracting of security personnel for Federal property. Provides for such standards to ensure that contract personnel receive adequate training and are subject to the same background check requirements as FPS police officers.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1999
Authorizes the payment of dependency and indemnity compensation to the surviving spouse of a veteran who died while totally disabled from a service-connected disability, who was a former prisoner of war who died after September 30, 1999, and who had been diagnosed as having one of the diseases specified as being service-connected (and therefore compensable) under veterans' disability compensation or benefits provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1999
Education Flexibility Partnership Act of 1999 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to allow all States to participate in the Education Flexibility Partnership (Ed-Flex Partnership) program. (Sec. 4) Requires Ed-Flex Partnership States to: (1) have approved challenging content standards, challenging performance measures, and aligned assessments in place or have developed and implemented content standards and interim assessments and made substantial progress toward developing and implementing performance standards and final aligned assessments, and toward having local educational agencies (LEAs) in the State produce profiles; (2) hold LEAs accountable for meeting the educational goals submitted in their local applications for waivers, and for taking corrective actions if they have not met such goals; and (3) waive State educational requirements while holding LEAs or schools affected by such waivers accountable for student performance. Sets forth requirements for: (1) State educational agency (SEA) applications and approval by the Secretary; and (2) local applications and approval and monitoring by SEAs. Requires State applications to describe specific educational objectives and the process for measuring LEA progress in meeting specific goals. Requires States to submit performance data and the Secretary to review such performance. Limits Federal waivers to five years, unless the Secretary extends such period upon determining that such waiver authority has been effective in enabling such SEAs or affected LEAs or schools to carry out local reform plans. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out the Ed-Flex Partnership program for FY 2000 through 2004. Includes as statutory or regulatory requirements that may be waived under this Act those of programs under the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998, and of the following programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA): (1) title I Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards; (2) part B State and Local Activities under the title II Dwight D. Eisenhower Professional Development Program; (3) subpart 2 State and Local Programs for School Technology Resources (with specified exceptions), under part A Technology Education for All Students, of title III Technology for Education; (4) title IV Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities; (5) title VI Innovative Education Program Strategies; and (6) the part C Emergency Immigrant Education Program under title VII Bilingual Education, Language Enhancement, and Language Acquisition Programs. Prohibits waivers for specified types of requirements, including the selection of schools to participate in ESEA title I part A programs for disadvantaged children. Allows an SEA to grant waivers to allow schools to participate in such programs if the percentage of children from low-income families in the attendance area of such school or who actually attend such school is within five percentage points of the lowest percentage of such children for any school in the LEA that meets specified ESEA requirements. Provides that this Act shall not affect the authority of any SEA under the Ed-Flex Demonstration program of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act. Sets forth accountability requirements. Requires the Secretary, in deciding whether to extend the authority of an SEA to issue waivers, to review the progress of the SEA, LEA, or school affected by the waiver or authority toward the objectives and desired results described in its application.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1999
Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to extend through FY 2002 the authorization of appropriations for: (1) the Federal Council on the Aging; (2) administration; (3) grants for State and community programs on aging; (4) the availability of surplus commodities; (5) training, research, and discretionary projects and programs; (6) community service employment for older Americans; (7) grants for Native Americans; (8) allotments for Vulnerable Elder Rights Protection activities; and (9) the Native American program.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1999
Amateur Radio Spectrum Protection Act of 1999 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), after July 1, 1999, from making any reallocations of amateur radio service and amateur satellite service frequency bands, diminishing the secondary allocations of such bands or making additional allocations within such bands that would substantially reduce their utility unless at the same time the FCC provides equivalent replacement spectrum.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1999
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that the word "person," as used in this Amendment and in the fifth and 14th amendments to the Constitution, applies to all human beings regardless of age, health, function, or condition of dependency. Prohibits depriving any unborn person of life. Declares that this Amendment does not prohibit a law permitting only those medical procedures required to prevent the death of the mother.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 1999
Expresses the sense of the Congress that there should be parity between the compensation of members of the armed forces and Federal civilian employees.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1999
Guam War Restitution Act - Amends the Organic Act of Guam to set forth award and benefit eligibility requirements for living Guamanians, or the heirs or next of kin of deceased Guamanians, who suffered a compensable injury during the occupation of Guam in World War II. Defines "compensable injury" as: (1) death; (2) personal injury; or (3) forced labor, forced march, or internment. Establishes the Guam Trust Fund and the Guam Trust Fund Commission. Authorizes the Commission to make disbursements from the Fund to: (1) make awards available to Guamanians who personally received the compensable injury, or to their heirs or next of kin in claims for death; (2) make benefits (including scholarships, medical expenses, or first-time home ownership grants) available to Guamanians who are heirs or next of kin of the decedent Guamanian who received the compensable injury that is the basis for a claim if the claim is for a compensable injury other than death; (3) sponsor research and public educational activities to commemorate the events surrounding the wartime experiences and losses of the Guamanian people; and (4) pay the Commission's administrative expenses. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the President to submit to the Congress a list of recommended spending cuts or other measures that would provide, over the next five years, enough savings to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1999
Home Page Tax Repeal Act - Repeals a provision of the 1998 Supplemental Appropriations and Rescissions Act which ratified that a portion of the fee charged for registration or renewal of an Internet second-level domain name be used for the preservation and enhancement of the Internet intellectual structure under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF). Authorizes NSF to use funds appropriated for FY 1999 to meet any obligations resulting from the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1999
States that the remarriage of the surviving spouse of a veteran shall not bar the furnishing of the following benefits to such person if the remarriage has been terminated by death or divorce unless the Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines that the divorce was secured through fraud or collusion: (1) dependency and indemnity compensation; (2) medical care for survivors and dependents of certain veterans; (3) educational assistance; and (4) housing loans.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1999
Social Security Benefits Restoration Act of 1999 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to eliminate provisions that reduce primary insurance amounts for individuals receiving pensions from noncovered employment.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Outer Continental Shelf Impact Assistance Title II: State, Local, and Urban Conservation and Recreation Title III: Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Conservation and Reinvestment Act of 1999 - Title I: Outer Continental Shelf Impact Assistance - Establishes the Outer Continental Shelf Impact Assistance Fund (OCSIAF) to provide impact assistance to coastal States from a portion (27 percent) of allocable new OCS revenues (payments received by the United States as royalties, net profit share payments, and related late-payment interest from natural gas and oil leases under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act). Prohibits placement in the Fund of OCS revenues from a leased tract (or portion) located in a geographic area subject to a leasing moratorium on January 1, 1999, unless the lease was issued before the moratorium and was in production on such date. (Sec. 103) Sets forth a formula for use by the Secretary of the Interior to determine the portion of the allocable share of new revenues attributable to each coastal State and county eligible to receive impact assistance payments. Mandates that such OCS funds be expended by the eligible coastal States and counties for certain environmental projects and activities. Requires: (1) the Governor of every OCSIAF recipient State to develop (and certify to the Secretary) a State plan for the use of such funds; (2) an eligible county to submit for the Governor's approval a plan setting forth the projects and activities for which it proposes to expend OCSIA funds; and (3) the Governor of each recipient State to account to the Congress for all OCSIAF monies received for the previous fiscal year. Title II: State, Local, and Urban Conservation and Recreation - Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (LWCFA) to require an amount equal to 23 percent of specified Outer Continental Shelf revenues to be credited to a separate account in the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) in the Treasury in each fiscal year through September 30, 2015. (Sec. 202) Makes such funds available, without further appropriation, to carry out LWCFA in the next succeeding fiscal year. Provides that, if such revenues in a fiscal year exceed $900 million, such excess shall be available, without further appropriation, in the next succeeding fiscal year for obligation or expenditure as payments in lieu of taxes. Authorizes appropriations to maintain a certain minimum total annual income of the LWCF. Makes certain amounts covered into the LWCF available for expenditure without appropriation. Sets forth formulae for allocation of such funds for: (1) Federal acquisition of certain lands, waters, or interests; (2) financial assistance to the States for land acquisition, urban conservation, and recreation projects; and (3) local governments through the Urban Parks and Recreation Recovery Program of the Department of the Interior. Provides for an LWCFA allocation of funds to Indian tribes and Alaska Native Village Corporations. Requires States to make at least 50 percent of the annual State apportionment under LWCFA available as grants to local governments. Replaces, within a five-year period, LWCFA requirements for comprehensive State plans with requirements for State action agendas. Allows each State to define its own priorities and criteria for selection of outdoor recreation and conservation acquisition and development projects eligible for LWCFA grants so long as it provides for public involvement in this process and publishes an accurate and current State Action Agenda for Community Recreation and Conservation. Requires such Agendas to: (1) be strategic, originating in broad-based and long-term needs, but focused on actions that can be funded over the next four years, and be updated every four years; (2) consider all providers of recreation and conservation lands, and correlate with other State, regional and local plans for parks, recreation, open space, and wetlands conservation; (3) address wetlands as important outdoor recreation and conservation resources, and incorporate a State wetlands priority conservation plan consistent with the national plan developed under the Emergency Wetlands Resources Act; and (4) be guided in part by recovery action programs developed by urban localities under the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act. Revises LWCFA conditions for approval of conversions. (Sec. 203) Amends the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act (UPRRA) to provide (in addition to the current types of at-risk recreation grants and recovery action program grants) for matching capital grants to local governments in the form of: (1) development grants for development and construction on existing or new neighborhood recreation sites, including indoor and outdoor recreation facilities, support facilities, and landscaping, but excluding routine maintenance and upkeep activities; and (2) acquisition grants for purchasing new parkland to be permanently dedicated and made accessible for public recreation use. Revises UPRRA requirements for: (1) eligibility; (2) matching grants; (3) coordination; and (4) conversion approval. Repeals the limitation on the use of UPRRA funds for acquisition of land or interests in land. (Sec. 205) Establishes a Habitat Reserve Program (HRP) within the Department of the Interior to be administered by the Secretary of the Interior in association with the applicable State fish and wildlife department in the State where the affected land is located. Requires lands eligible for enrollment in the HRP to be privately owned and designated by the State agency as necessary to preserve the existence of one or more species listed under the Endangered Species Act, and their owners and operators to have voluntarily entered into partnership agreements with the Secretary and the State agency. Prescribes: (1) limitations on lands eligible for enrollment in the HRP; (2) HRP contract requirements; (3) HRP management plans; (4) HRP contract duration; and (5) payments to owners or operators of lands included in the HRP. Title III: Wildlife Conservation and Restoration - Amends the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (FAWRA) to require an amount equal to ten percent of specified Outer Continental Shelf revenues to be deposited in a new subaccount in the Federal aid to wildlife restoration fund (FAWRF), to be invested and to be made available without further appropriation, for apportionment in the next succeeding fiscal year for State wildlife conservation and restoration programs. Provides that all interest on such amounts shall be available without further appropriations, for obligation or expenditure for purposes of the North American Wetlands Conservation Act of 1989. (Sec. 305) Sets forth requirements for: (1) allocation of such subaccount receipts; (2) applications for approval of, and development grants for, State wildlife conservation and restoration programs; and (3) coordination. (Sec. 306) Allows certain subaccount funds for such a State wildlife conservation and restoration program to be used for law enforcement and education. (Sec. 307) Prohibits a State from receiving FAWRA matching funds if it diverts any funds from wildlife conservation purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1999
Prescription Drug Fairness for Seniors Act of 1999 - Requires each participating manufacturer of a covered outpatient drug to make available for purchase by each pharmacy such covered outpatient drug in the described amount (an amount equal to the aggregate amount of the covered outpatient drug sold or distributed by the pharmacy to Medicare beneficiaries) and at the described price (the price equal to the lower of either the lowest price paid for the drug by the Federal Government or the manufacturer's best price for the drug). Sets forth special provisions with respect to hospice programs.
![Official portrait of Del. Underwood, Robert A. [D-GU-At Large]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/u000014_200.jpg)