United States · United States Congress · 3 November 1999
National Center for Social Work Research Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish the National Center for Social Work Research as an agency of the National Institutes of Health. Authorizes the Center to establish research traineeships and fellowships, provide stipends and allowances, and make grants. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish an advisory council for the Center.
United States · United States Congress · 1 November 1999
Hunger Relief Act of 1999 - Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to remove specified restrictions on qualified aliens' eligibility for food stamp and supplemental security income benefits. Exempts food stamp provisions respecting aliens from: (1) the five-year waiting period for Federal means-tested public benefits eligibility; (2) inclusion of sponsor income and resources to an alien for State benefits eligibility; and (3) sponsor reimbursement requirements in cases of hardship. Sets forth effective dates for: (1) aliens; and (2) refugees and asylees. (Sec. 3) Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to authorize a State to use an alternative State auto valuation rather than the Federal one in order to provide a lower household resource attribution for food stamp program purposes. (Sec. 4) Increases, and indexes for inflation, the food stamp excess shelter deduction. (Sec. 5) Amends the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 to authorize additional appropriations for commodity purchases under the emergency food assistance program.
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 1999
Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to direct the U.S. Executive Directors at specified international financial institutions to use the U.S. vote to oppose the provision of assistance to Indonesia until the President reports to Congress: (1) an estimate of the amount of material damage done to public and private property in East Timor by militia forces and the Indonesian armed forces; and (2) that the Indonesian Government has contributed to the rebuilding and reconstruction of East Timor in an amount equal to the total estimated material damages there. Prohibits U.S. assistance for the Government of Indonesia until the President makes such report to Congress. Provides for waiver of such requirements for humanitarian assistance for the Indonesian people.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 1999
Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act with regard to the formula for measuring State performance for determining the bonus grant to reward high performance States to establish specified criteria measures for use in such formula. Requires States not participating in the bonus reward grant program for high performance States to report on the characteristics and well-being of former TANF recipients for six months after such assistance has ceased. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to Congress on: (1) characteristics of former and current TANF recipients based on information currently received from States; (2) criteria measures regarding subsidized child care and changes in income; and (3) domestic violence.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 1999
Condemns the use of children as soldiers by governmental and nongovernmental armed forces worldwide. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the United States should not oppose efforts to negotiate an optional international agreement to raise the international minimum age for military service to age 18; (2) the Secretary of State should address this issue in the next session of the United Nations working group relating to child soldiers before this process is abandoned by the international community; and (3) the President and the Congress should work together to enact a law that establishes a fund for the rehabilitation and reintegration into society of child soldiers.
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 1999
Providing Reliable Officers, Technology, Education, Community Prosecutors, and Training In Our Neighborhoods Act of 1999 or PROTECTION Act - Modifies provisions of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (the Act) regarding public safety and community policing ("cops on the beat" program, COPS) to authorize the Attorney General to use funding under COPS grants to: (1) increase prosecutor presence and to enhance law enforcement access to new technologies; (2) pay overtime to existing career law enforcement officers to the extent that such overtime is devoted to community policing efforts; and (3) promote higher education among in-service State and local law enforcement officers by reimbursing them for the costs associated with seeking a college or graduate school education. Includes among permitted additional grant projects: (1) specialized integrity and ethics training; (2) innovative proactive crime control and prevention programs involving school officials and religiously-affiliated organizations; (3) school-based partnerships between local law enforcement agencies and local school systems by using school resource officers who operate in and around elementary and secondary schools (current law) to serve as a law enforcement liaison with other Federal, State, and local law enforcement and regulatory agencies and to combat gang membership and criminal activity, firearms and explosives-related incidents, illegal use and possession of alcohol, and the illegal possession, use, and distribution of drugs; and (4) innovative programs that bring together a community's sheriff, police chief, and elderly residents to address the public safety concerns of older citizens. Authorizes the Attorney General to use up to five percent of appropriated funds for technical assistance and training to States, local governments, Indian tribal governments, and other public and private entities. Requires the technical assistance provided by the Attorney General to include the establishment and operation of regional community policing institutes training centers or facilities. Permits the functions of the centers or facilities to include instruction and seminars for specified individuals, including representatives of police labor and management organizations and community residents. Repeals provisions of the Act regarding: (1) termination of grants for hiring officers; and (2) preferential consideration of applications for certain grants. Allows grants to be used to assist: (1) police departments in employing specified professional, scientific, and technological advancements; and (2) State, local, or tribal prosecutors' offices in implementation of community-based prosecution programs that build on local community policing efforts. Reserves specified funds for units of local government with a population of less than 50,000. Authorizes the Attorney General to use no more than 50 percent of grant renewal funds to award grants targeted specifically for retention of police officers to grantees in good standing, with preference to those that demonstrate financial hardship or severe budget constraint that impacts the entire local budget and may result in the termination of employment for officers. Redefines: (1) "career law enforcement officer" to include sheriffs' deputies charged with supervising offenders who are released into the community but also engaged in local community policing efforts; and (2) "school resource officer" to mean a career law enforcement officer deployed in community-oriented policing and assigned to work in collaboration with schools and community-based organizations (as under current law) to engage in specified activities, including serving as a law enforcement liaison with other Federal, State, and local law enforcement and regulatory agencies to address and document crime and disorder problems, training students in conflict resolution and crime awareness, and assisting school administrators with the preparation of an annual report on the number of students expelled per year for bringing a weapon, firearm, or explosive to school. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 1999
High Performance Schools Act of 1999 - Establishes the High Performance Schools Program, in the Department of Education, to assist school districts in the production of high performance elementary and secondary school buildings that are healthful, productive, energy efficient, and environmentally sound. (Sec. 3) Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make grants, through the Program, for: (1) assisting school districts to implement this Act's purpose; (2) administering the program of assistance to school districts under this Act; and (3) promoting participation by school districts in the Program. Requires grants to assist school districts to be used to achieve energy efficiency performance not less than 30 percent beyond the levels prescribed in the 1998 International Energy Conservation Code as it is in effect for new construction and existing buildings. Requires such grants to be made to school districts that: (1) need to respond appropriately to increasing elementary and secondary school enrollments or to make major investments in renovation of school facilities; (2) do not have adequate funds to do so without such assistance; and (3) are committed to using grant funds to develop high performance school buildings in accordance with an approved plan. Requires grants for administration to be used to evaluate compliance by school districts with requirements of this Act. Allows such grants also to be used to: (1) distribute information and materials to define and promote development of high performance school buildings for new and existing facilities; (2) organize and conduct programs for school board members, school district personnel, architects, engineers, and others to advance the concepts of such buildings; (3) obtain technical services and assistance in planning and designing such buildings; and (4) collect and monitor data and information pertaining to such building projects. Allows grants to promote participation to be used for promotional and marketing activities, including facilitating private and public financing, promoting the use of energy service companies, working with school administrations, students, and communities, and coordinating public benefit programs. Allows grants under this Act to be provided only to school districts that have developed plans that the State agency designated by the Governor of the State determines to be feasible and appropriate. Requires such State agency to encourage qualifying school districts to supplement their grant funds with funds from other sources in the implementation of their plans. (Sec. 4) Requires funds appropriated for the implementation of this Act, with the exception of certain reserved funds, to be provided to the Governors of the States. Directs each Governor to determine the appropriate State agency to administer the program of assistance to school districts. Allocates such funds as follows: (1) 70 percent for grants to assist school districts; (2) 15 percent for grants for administration; and (3) 15 percent for grants to promote participation. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to retain, through the Program, a limited annual amount to assist State agencies designated by the Governor in coordinating and implementing such Program. Allows funds to be used to develop reference materials to further define the principles and criteria to achieve high performance school buildings. (Sec. 5) Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 1999
Holocaust Education Assistance Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make competitive grants to educational organizations to carry out educational programs about the Holocaust. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 18 October 1999
Amends Federal rail transportation law to prohibit a railroad carrier (including its officers and agents) from requiring a train employee who has been on duty or available for it for any portion of each of seven consecutive days to go on duty or be available for it until at least 72 consecutive hours have passed after the employee is released from duty or availability.
United States · United States Congress · 14 October 1999
Battered Immigrant Women Protection Act of 1999 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to modify procedures and provide special rules for battered spouses and children with respect to: (1) adjustment of status; (2) removal and deportation; (3) implementation of immigration provisions in the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA); (4) waivers and exceptions to inadmissibility for otherwise qualified battered immigrants; (5) calculation of physical presence in VAWA cancellation of removal proceedings and suspension of deportation proceedings; (6) VAWA immigration protections; (7) VAWA cancellation of removal and adjustment of status for certain nonpermanent residents; and (8) good moral character determinations for self- petitioning immediate relatives. (Sec. 10) Prescribes guidelines for inapplicability of public charge determinations for designated aliens. Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to redefine "qualified alien" to include certain battered aliens for purposes of welfare and public benefits eligibility. Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980 to declare restrictions on the use of assisted housing inapplicable to certain battered aliens. (Sec. 11) Amends the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 to provide that requirements and restrictions placed upon Legal Services Corporation funding shall not be construed to prohibit a recipient from providing related legal assistance to certain aliens who have been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty. Directs the Violence Against Women Grants Office in the Department of Justice to report on services for underserved populations. Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (Act) to include legal advocacy for domestic violence in immigration cases under the program of grants to encourage arrest policies. Includes alienage status within the definition of "underserved populations." Amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to include immigration-related matters under the program of rural domestic violence and child abuse enforcement grants. Amends the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act to include alienage status within the scope of underserved populations. Amends the Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 1999 to obligate funds for grants to combat violence against women, which shall include immigration-related matters. Amends the Higher Education Amendments of 1998 to include immigration-related matters under the program of campus domestic violence grants. (Sec. 12) Amends the Act to require each branch of the U.S. military to train its supervisory military officers in domestic violence dynamics in military families, and the protections available for battered immigrant women and children. Expands the purposes of training grants to combat violent crimes against women to include: (1) training immigration and asylum officers and judges; and (2) training justice system personnel on the judicial ramifications of the Violence Against Women Act, and the potential immigration consequences for perpetrators of domestic violence. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to express the intent of the Congress that statutory constraints upon the powers of immigration personnel not be construed as discouraging crime and domestic violence victims from reporting crimes to the police, from cooperating in criminal prosecutions, or from obtaining the legal relief needed for protection from ongoing violence. (Sec. 13) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish a humanitarian-material witness nonimmigrant classification. (Sec. 14) Extends access for battered spouses and children under the Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act, the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998, and Federal law relating to Cuban adjustment.
United States · United States Congress · 14 October 1999
DNA Backlog Elimination Act - Requires the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to develop a voluntary plan to assist State and local forensic laboratories in performing deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) analyses of DNA samples collected from convicted offenders and in analyzing all casework evidence for unsolved crimes in a manner that will provide for their entry into the Combined DNA Indexing System. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 1999
Gun Kingpin Penalty Act - Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to prohibit a person who does not have a Federal firearms license from shipping or transporting, or conspiring to ship or transport, five or more firearms from a State into another State during any period of 12 consecutive months, with intent to transfer all of such firearms to another unlicensed person. Subjects persons who violate this Act to a fine and imprisonment for at least: (1) three years for a first violation; (2) five years for a second or subsequent violation; (3) 15 years if the violation involves more than 50 firearms; (4) ten years if an illegally transported firearm is subsequently used by the recipient, or by any person within three years, in an offense in which a person is killed or suffers serious bodily injury; and (5) 25 years if the violation involves more than 50 firearms and one of the firearms is subsequently used in such an offense. Prohibits the court from imposing a probationary sentence or suspending the sentence of a person convicted of a violation of this Act, or from making any term of imprisonment imposed for a violation run concurrently with any other term imposed on such person by a U.S. court. Makes specified firearms-related offenses predicate offenses under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to hire and employ 200 personnel to enforce the amendments made by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1999
National Amusement Park Ride Safety Act of 1999 - Amends the Consumer Product Safety Act to include amusement rides that are permanently fixed to a site in the definition of "consumer product" (thereby giving the Consumer Product Safety Commission jurisdiction over such amusement rides). Authorizes appropriations to carry out the Act as amended by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 1999
Medicare Return To Home Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to permit a Medicare+Choice (Medicare part C) beneficiary to elect to receive covered home skilled nursing facility (SNF) services at specified SNFs that meet certain conditions if the Medicare+Choice plan covers post-hospital extended care services.
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 1999
Early Education Act of 1999 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to establish an early education program of grants to States to provide programs for at least half-day schooling during the year preceding kindergarten. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award such matching grants to not less than ten State educational agencies (SEAs) to expand the existing education system with programs that provide such early education. Requires each such assisted program to: (1) be carried out by one or more local educational agencies (LEAs), as selected by the SEA; (2) be carried out in a public school building, or in another facility by, or through a contract or agreement with, an LEA; (3) be available to all children served by the LEA carrying out the program; and (4) only involve licensed or certified instructors. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1999
Clean Power Plant Act of 1999 - Amends the Clean Air Act to require specified emissions limitations on mercury, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides (NOx) from fossil fuel-fired electric generating units with a nameplate capacity of at least 15 megawatts that use a combustion device primarily to generate electricity for sale. Requires quarterly pollutant-specific emission reports for such pollutants and for carbon dioxide (CO2) by unit owners or operators. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to publish facility-specific emission data. Requires regulations for disclosure of data concerning emissions levels. Directs the Administrator to calculate a generation performance standard for CO2 from covered fossil fuel-fired electric generating units and allocate allowances among such units. Authorizes the carryover and trading of unused allowances and requires surrender to the Administrator of a number of CO2 allowances equal to the total tonnage emitted during the calendar year. Permits the performance standard to be exceeded if the plant has sufficient emissions credits. Imposes an excess emissions penalty and requires units to offset such emissions. Requires regulations concerning transfer of hazards associated with combustion from one medium to another and release of hazardous wastes into the environment. Expresses the sense of Congress concerning crediting permanent CO2 and NOx emissions reductions to the utility sector in any enacted climate change implementation program. Authorizes appropriations for industry and community assistance and development of a carbon sequestration strategy. Requires grants to municipalities in which there are located fossil fuel-fired electric generating units that: (1) provide 20 percent or more of the municipality's annual property tax revenue in the last fiscal year ending before this Act's enactment; and (2) cease operation after this Act's enactment. Includes hazardous air pollutants from electric utility steam generating units on a list of such pollutants from major and area sources required under the Clean Air Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 1999
National Youth Technology Corps Act - Amends the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 to establish a National Youth Technology Corps (NYTC) as part of the Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program, using VISTA volunteers who are highly proficient in computer technologies. Includes under NYTC functions: (1) recruiting and organizing youth to implement and maintain computer systems for public schools, community centers, public senior centers, and libraries, and to teach students, teachers, senior citizens, and others how to use computer and other information technologies and systems; (2) promoting such youth's involvement in community services involving the use of technology; (3) promoting entrepreneurship among, and employment opportunities for, such youth in technology-related fields; and (4) providing recognition to affiliated youth and organizations for outstanding efforts and achievements. Requires assignment of such volunteers to projects and programs that meet the antipoverty criteria and provide assistance to persons who are unserved or underserved by computer education programs, according to specified priorities. Allows such programs and projects to be administered by various specified types of entities. Requires equitable distribution of such volunteers. Requires NYTC to consist of all VISTA volunteers who are working on the described projects and programs. Provides for proportionate reduction of NYTC funds for any fiscal year for which VISTA funding is reduced.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1999
Handgun Registration Act of 1999 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to provide for the reduction by 25 percent of drug control and system improvement (Byrne) grant funds available to a State that does not have in effect a law which requires: (1) each individual to whom a handgun is transferred to complete a handgun registration form that includes specified information identifying the transferee and the handgun and proof of insurance coverage for the transferee's liability to any person who, while engaged in lawful activity, suffers bodily injury or death through the misuse of that handgun resulting from the transferee's negligence; and (2) the chief law enforcement officer of the State to furnish information from handgun registration forms to Federal, State, and local law enforcement authorities upon request. Provides for redistribution of withheld funds to participating States that do have such a law in effect.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1999
Handgun Licensing Act of 1999 - Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (the Act) to prohibit the sale, delivery, or other transfer of a handgun or handgun ammunition to an individual not licensed to engage in the business of importing, manufacturing, or dealing in firearms, or importing or manufacturing ammunition, unless: (1) the transferor, or a licensed dealer, if State law so directs or allows (transferor), has examined a valid handgun license issued to the individual by the State in which the transaction takes place and an additional valid identification document containing a photograph of the individual and has contacted the chief law enforcement officer of the State (officer) and has been informed by the officer that the handgun license has not been revoked; and (2) three business days have elapsed from the date on which the transferor received such information, or the individual has presented to the transferor a written document, issued not less than ten days earlier by the appropriate officer, stating that the transferee requires access to a handgun because of a threat to the life of the transferee or any member of the transferee's household. Prohibits an unlicenced individual from receiving a handgun or handgun ammunition without possessing a valid handgun license issued to the individual by the State in which the transaction takes place. Defines "handgun license" to mean a license issued under a State law that: (1) provides for the issuance and revocation of licenses permitting persons to receive handguns and handgun ammunition; (2) provides for the reporting of losses and thefts of handguns and handgun ammunition; and (3) at a minimum, meets the requirements of this Act. Requires such State law to provide that a handgun license shall: (1) be issued by the officer; (2) contain the licensee's name, address, date of birth, and physical description, a unique license number, and a photograph of the licensee; and (3) remain valid for not more than two years unless revoked. Requires such State law to provide that, before a handgun license is issued to an applicant, the officer determine that the applicant: (1) has attained age 21; (2) is a resident of the State by examining, in addition to a valid identification document, a utility bill or lease agreement; (3) is not prohibited from possessing or receiving a handgun under Federal, State, or local law based upon name- and fingerprint-based research in all available Federal, State, and local recordkeeping systems, including the national instant criminal background check system established under the Act; and (4) has been issued a handgun safety certificate by the State (applicant requirements). Requires such State law to provide that: (1) if the officer determines that an individual is ineligible to receive a handgun license, and the individual requests in writing that the officer provide the reasons for the determination, the officer shall provide the reasons to the individual in writing within 20 business days after receipt of the request; (2) a handgun license issued by the State shall be revoked if the officer determines that the licensee no longer meets applicant requirements; (3) within ten days after a person receives notice from the State that the handgun license issued to the person has been revoked, the person shall return the license to the officer of the State in which the licensee resides; (4) within 24 hours after a handgun licensee discovers the theft of any firearm from, or the loss of any firearm by, the licensee, the licensee shall report the theft or loss to the Secretary, the officer, and appropriate local authorities; (5) any failure to make such a report shall be punishable by a civil penalty, with a maximum penalty of at least $1,000; (6) the officer shall issue the handgun safety certificate; and (7) such a certificate shall not be issued unless the officer determines that the applicant has completed a course of not less than two hours of handgun safety instruction and has passed an examination testing the applicant's knowledge of handgun safety. Amends the Act to define "handgun ammunition" to mean: (1) a center-fire cartridge or cartridge case less than 1.3 inches in length; or (2) a primer, bullet, or propellant powder designed specifically for use in a handgun. Sets penalties for violations of this Act. Directs the Attorney General to make a grant to each State to cover the initial startup costs associated with establishing a licensing system. Authorizes appropriations. Requires an applicant for a license to certify that the business is covered by an insurance policy which provides personal injury protection, to a limit of $100,000, to any person who, while engaged in lawful activity, suffers bodily injury or death through the use of a handgun obtained as a result of the applicant's negligence.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1999
Calls upon the President: (1) not to participate in any international negotiation in which antidumping or antisubsidy rules are part of the negotiating agenda; (2) to refrain from submitting for congressional approval agreements that require changes to the current antidumping and countervailing duty laws and enforcement policies of the United States; and (3) to enforce the antidumping and countervailing duty laws vigorously in all pending and future cases.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 1999
Adopted Orphans Citizenship Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for the acquisition of U.S. citizenship (as of the date of birth) by certain foreign-born children adopted by a U.S. citizen parent or parents.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 1999
East Timor Self-Determination Act of 1999 - Declares that: (1) Congress recognizes that the Government of Indonesia took a positive step by agreeing on September 12, 1999, to the deployment of an international peacekeeping force to East Timor; and (2) the purpose of this Act is to encourage such Government to take such additional steps as are necessary to create a peaceful environment in which the United Nations Assistance Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) can fulfill its mandate and implement the results of the August 30, 1999, vote on East Timor's political status. Prohibits the provision of multilateral and bilateral economic assistance (except humanitarian assistance), or military assistance, or the licensing or delivery of exports of defense articles or defense services (except in connection with the international peacekeeping force) to the Government of Indonesia or East Timor. Urges the President to continue to coordinate with other countries, particularly member states of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum, to develop a comprehensive, multilateral strategy to further the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 1999
Clean Smokestacks Act of 1999 - Amends the Clean Air Act (CAA) to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate regulations to achieve specified reductions in emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide, and mercury from powerplants (electric generation facilities with a nameplate capacity of 15 megawatts or greater that use a combustion device to generate electricity for sale) by January 1, 2005. Requires outdated powerplants, on the later of the date 30 years after the powerplant commenced operation or five years after this Act's enactment, to comply with the most recent new source performance standards under CAA provisions regarding air quality and emissions limitations and with specified requirements for modified sources. Defines an "outdated powerplant" as a powerplant that has been in operation for 30 years or more.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 1999
Senior Citizenship Act of 1999 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to exempt certain older persons from the naturalization U.S. history-government and English language requirements, and permit certain other older persons to take such history-government examination in a language other than English.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 1999
Pension Benefits Protection and Preservation Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to require the plan administrator of any large (100 or more participants) defined employee benefit plan (applicable plan) to notify each applicable individual of any adoption of plan amendments that may reduce future benefit accruals of one or more participants to a specified significant extent (plan amendments), with details on the change's possible effect on the individual's pension, at least 45 days before such a plan change becomes effective. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to enforce specified age discrimination provisions relating to pensions under the Code, without regard to the portion of the preamble to a specified Treasury Decision which relates to allocation of interest adjustments through normal retirement age under a cash balance plan. Declares that such preamble is, and has been since its adoption, without the force of law. Requires applicable plans to offer, in addition to the notice and written statement of benefit change, opportunity for applicable individual participants to elect to continue benefit accruals, without regard to such plan amendments, under the former defined benefit plan instead of under a cash benefit plan. Imposes an excise tax for the failure of any applicable pension plan to offer an opportunity to applicable participants to continue benefit accruals under the former defined benefit plan in the event of significant reductions in future plan accruals. Sets the amount of such tax at 50 percent of the excess pension assets in the plan. Makes the plan liable for such tax in the case of a multiemployer plan, and the employer liable in any other case. Prohibits pension plan amendments that reduce future accrued benefits for years of service for any participants in applicable plans (large defined benefit plans with 100 or more members). Sets forth criteria, under both the Code and ERISA, for determining when a pension plan amendment by an applicable plan shall be treated as reducing the accrued benefit of a participant.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 1999
Medical Privacy in the Age of New Technologies Act of 1999 - Defines "health information trustee" (HIT) to mean a person or entity that creates, receives, obtains, maintains, uses, or transmits protected health information (PHI) and any employee, agent, or contractor of such a person. Title I: Individuals' Rights - Subtitle A: Review of Protected Health Information by Subjects of the Information - Requires a HIT to permit an individual who is the subject of PHI to inspect and copy the information, subject to cost reimbursement and exceptions. Subtitle B: Establishment of Safeguards - Requires a HIT to maintain: (1) administrative, technical, and physical confidentiality and accuracy safeguards; and (2) a record of any PHI disclosure not related to treatment. Prohibits HIT retaliation for actions under this Act. Title II: Restrictions on Use and Disclosure - Prohibits disclosures except: (1) as allowed under this title; (2) as compatible with the purposes for which the information was obtained or for the specific purpose for which an individual authorized disclosure; and (3) in the minimum amount necessary to accomplish the disclosure's purpose. (Sec. 202) Regulates disclosure authorizations, the disclosure of nonidentifiable information, and the creation of coded information. (Sec. 205) Specifies the criteria for disclosure: (1) to an individual's next of kin; (2) regarding directory information to any person; (3) in emergencies placing the information subject or another individual at serious risk; (4) to a health oversight agency; (5) to an accrediting body; (6) by a health care provider to a public health authority; (7) by a HIT to a health researcher; (8) by specified entities in connection with certain judicial and administrative proceedings; (9) by specified entities pursuant to a subpoena; and (10) by specified entities regarding subpoenas and warrants. Title III: Sanctions - Subtitle A: Civil Sanctions - Establishes a civil penalty for material failure to comply with this Act. Provides, if the violations have occurred with such frequency as to constitute a general business practice, for a higher civil penalty or exclusion from Medicare and Medicaid (titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act) or any other federally funded health care programs. (Sec. 302) Allows an individual aggrieved by a violation of this Act to bring a civil action for preliminary and equitable relief, actual or liquidated damages, and punitive damages. Allows assessment of attorney's fees. Subtitle B: Criminal Sanctions - Provides for criminal fines, imprisonment, or exclusion from Medicare, Medicaid, or any other federally funded health care program (or some combination of those penalties) for violations of this Act or this title. Title IV: Miscellaneous - Provides for: (1) the promulgation of regulations (and establishment of a related advisory group); and (2) the relationship of this Act to other laws.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 1999
Medicare Vision Rehabilitation Coverage Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage of vision rehabilitation services under the Medicare program.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 1999
Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 1999 - Entitles domestic partners of Federal employees to benefits available to spouses of Federal employees. Specifies certifications required for benefit eligibility, filing requirements regarding partnership dissolution, and confidentiality requirements. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the tax exemption for employer contributions to accident and health plans to domestic partners under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 1999
Same Day Voter Registration Act of 1999 - Amends the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require States to permit individuals to register to vote in an election for Federal office on the date of the election.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 1999
Sexual Harassment Awareness Reporting and Posting Act of 1999 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to require institutions of higher education participating in any program under HEA title IV (Student Assistance) to distribute and post information for prospective and enrolled students describing their procedures for receiving and responding to complaints regarding sexual harassment.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 1999
Authorizes the President, on behalf of the Congress, to present congressional gold medals to astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins, in recognition of their monumental and unprecedented feat of space exploration, as well as their achievements in the advancement of science and promotion of the space program. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates. Requires receipts from such sales to be deposited in the U.S. Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
AIDS Marshall Plan Fund for Africa Act - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to establish the AIDS Marshall Plan Fund for Africa Corporation (AMPFA Corporation) which shall carry out a program to provide assistance for HIV-AIDS research, prevention, and treatment activities in Africa. Establishes the AIDS Marshall Plan Fund for Africa which shall consist of contributions from private sources and from foreign governments, including the governments of other G-8 countries (France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Italy, and Russia). Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Lyme Disease Initiative of 1999 - Directs the Secretaries of Health and Human Services, of Agriculture, of the Interior, and of Defense to: (1) establish specified detection test, improved surveillance and reporting system, and prevention goals to provide for a reduction in the incidence and prevalence of Lyme disease and related tick borne infectious diseases; and (2) establish a five-year plan of activities toward achieving those goals, and carry them out. Establishes the Lyme Disease Taskforce to advise the Secretaries with respect to achieving such goals. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Jerusalem Birthplace Act of 1999 - Requires the Secretary of State to record the place of birth as Jerusalem, Israel, for purposes of the registration of birth, certification of nationality, or issuance of a passport with respect to a U.S. citizen born in the city of Jerusalem.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Central American and Haitian Adjustment Act of 1999 - Amends the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (Act) to: (1) extend permanent resident status adjustment provisions to qualifying Salvadoran, Guatemalan, Honduran, and Haitian nationals; and (2) extend the application filing deadline. Permits certain pending applications filed by Salvadoran or Guatemalan nationals under the Act or Haitian nationals under the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998 to be converted to an application for status adjustment under the Act. Amends such Acts to: (1) authorize the Attorney General to waive certain grounds of inadmissibility; and (2) provide for issuance of immigrant visas to certain spouses and children. Provides for the limited reopening of certain orders of deportation, exclusion, or removal by certain Haitian, Cuban, or Nicaraguan nationals.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Food Stamp Program Title II: Food Stamp Information Through Tanf Program and Tax Credit Food Stamp Outreach and Research for Kids Act of 1999 - Title I: Food Stamp Program - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to (temporarily) carry out mandatory annual onsite inspections of State food stamp program agencies. (Sec. 103) Authorizes appropriations for a caseworker training demonstration program. (Sec. 104) Authorizes appropriations for Food and Nutrition Service studies to measure food stamp program impacts on nutrition policy formulation. (Sec. 105) Directs the Secretary to establish a program of grants to qualifying organizations for community partnerships and innovative outreach programs. (Sec. 106) Authorizes appropriations for the Secretary to conduct online and telephone program participation demonstration programs. (Sec. 107) Directs the Secretary to facilitate partnerships with State, local, private, and public entities to provide information on nutrition programs; and maintain a toll-free information number. Makes an entity maintaining a toll-free number eligible for a specified Internal Revenue Code business tax credit. (Sec. 108) Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study of State outreach programs Title II: Food Stamp Information Through TANF Program and Tax Credit - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop a model application for receiving benefits under a State TANF program (Social Security Act block grants to States for temporary assistance to needy families). Requires the application to provide food stamp program eligibility information, for which the Secretary shall develop a model notice. Declares that State use of the application and notice shall be voluntary unless the Secretary determines that a State is not adequately providing food stamp information. (Sec. 202) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish a business credit for establishment of the toll-free number under title I of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Calls for the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee to recommend and the U.S. Postal Service to issue a commemorative postage stamp in honor of George Thomas "Mickey" Leland.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the United States, Russia, and other nuclear powers should negotiate an agreement to take all of their nuclear weapons off of high-alert status to decrease the risk of accidental firing; (2) the United States should immediately take off of hair-trigger alert as many of its nuclear weapons as is feasible and consistent with national security, and should encourage Russia to reciprocate; (3) the Department of Defense and the State Department should study methods to increase the time needed to launch all nuclear missiles and study the effect these actions would have on nuclear deterrence, relations with other recognized nuclear powers, the international nuclear non-proliferation regime, and other aspects of national security; and (4) the President should expedite the establishment of a U.S.-Russian joint early-warning center and should facilitate the establishment of a temporary center before the end of 1999 that could address any problems which might arise due to the failure of computers to recognize the year 2000 date change.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1999
Quiet Communities Act of 1999 - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reestablish an Office of Noise Abatement and Control in EPA. Requires the Administrator, using funds made available to the Office, to carry out a study of airport noise, examining the Federal Aviation Administration's selection of noise measurement methodologies, health impact thresholds, and abatement program effectiveness. Amends the Noise Control Act of 1972 to include the establishment of training programs on the use of noise abatement equipment and the implementation of noise abatement plans in the list of purposes for which grants under the Quiet Communities Program are provided. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1999
Highly Essential Lifesaving Pharmaceuticals for Africa Act (HELP for Africa Act) - Prohibits the use of funds appropriated to any Federal department or agency: (1) for the conduct of clinical research in a sub-Saharan African country unless specified conditions are met; or (2) to seek, through negotiation or otherwise, the revocation or revision of any intellectual property or competition law or policy of a sub-Saharan African country that is designed to promote access to pharmaceuticals or other medical technologies, if such law or policy complies with the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1999
21st Century Urban Teachers Recruitment and Retention Act of 1999 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to provide grants to eligible urban local educational agencies that demonstrate a need to recruit and retain additional qualified teachers for elementary and secondary schools. Requires each such grant award to be of sufficient size for the grantee to develop incentive programs, which may include: (1) salary increases; (2) reimbursement for teacher certification expenses; (3) assistance to pay college tuition expenses; (4) assistance to pay graduate school tuition and training expenses; and (5) reimbursement for relocation expenses. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1999
Family Planning and Choice Protection Act of 1999 - Title I: Prevention - Subtitle A: Family Planning - Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to authorize appropriations for voluntary family planning projects. (Sec. 102) Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit, notwithstanding any other provision of law, any authority of the United States, in or through any health care services or information program or activity administered or assisted by that authority, from limiting any person's right to provide or receive nonfraudulent information regarding reproductive health care services. Subtitle B: Prescription Equity and Contraceptive Coverage - Equity in Prescription Insurance and Contraceptive Coverage Act of 1999 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the PHSA to prohibit a group health plan, and an insurer providing coverage in connection with a group plan, from restricting benefits for prescription contraceptive drugs, devices, or outpatient services if the plan provides benefits for other outpatient prescription drugs, devices, or services. Prohibits related denial of eligibility or enrollment, monetary payments or rebates to covered individuals, and penalties or incentives to health care professionals. Amends the PHSA to apply these prohibitions to insurers in the individual market. Declares that this paragraph does not preempt State law providing greater enrollee protections. Prohibits the use of Federal funds for a contract that includes prescription drug coverage unless the contract includes a provision for contraceptive coverage, except for plans that object to such coverage for religious reasons. Prohibits a plan from discriminating against an individual because the individual refuses, for religious reasons, to prescribe contraceptives. Subtitle C: Emergency Contraceptives - Mandates development and dissemination to the public and health care providers of information on drugs or devices designed to be used after sexual relations to prevent pregnancy. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Choice Protection - Amends the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 to repeal provisions prohibiting the expenditure of any funds appropriated by that Act and the expenditure of any funds in any trust fund to which funds are appropriated under that Act for any abortion or for health benefits coverage that includes coverage of abortion. (Sec. 202) Makes congressional findings that: (1) Federal resources are necessary to ensure safety for women and health professionals regarding reproductive health facilities and services; (2) it is necessary and appropriate to use Federal resources to combat the nationwide campaign of violence and harassment against reproductive health centers; and (3) Congress should support increasing Federal resources to fully ensure the safety of health professionals, center staff, and all women using reproductive health center services and the family members of such persons. Establishes in the Department of Justice the Task Force on Violence Against Health Care Providers to: (1) coordinate investigative, prosecutorial, and enforcement efforts of Federal, State, and local governments regarding violence at reproductive health care facilities and violence against health care providers; (2) conduct security assessments for such facilities; and (3) provide related training for local law enforcement and provide methodologies for assessing risks and promoting facility security. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Department of Justice to make grants to such facilities to enhance security and to purchase and install security devices. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 203) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) ensure that a Food and Drug Administration decision to approve the drug called Mifepristone or RU-486 is made only on the basis provided in law; and (2) assess initiatives to promote the testing, licensing, and manufacturing in the United States of the drug or other antiprogestins. (Sec. 204) Prohibits a State from restricting a woman's freedom to choose pregnancy termination before fetal viability. Allows a State to: (1) restrict that freedom after viability unless termination is necessary to preserve the woman's life or health; and (2) impose requirements on abortions if the requirements are medically necessary to protect the woman's health. (Sec. 205) Prohibits, notwithstanding any other provision of law, construing any Federal law to prohibit a health plan from offering coverage for the full range of reproductive health care services, including abortion services. (Sec. 206) Amends Federal law to allow funds available to the Department of Defense (DOD) to be used for abortions when the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest or when the abortion is medically necessary or appropriate. Replaces provisions prohibiting (with exceptions) the use of DOD facilities to perform abortions with provisions declaring that certain provisions do not limit performing abortions in a uniformed services facility outside the 48 contiguous States if the cost is fully paid by non-DOD funds, abortions are not prohibited by the facility's jurisdiction, and the abortion would otherwise be permitted under laws regarding health care for uniformed services members and former members and their dependents in that facility. (Sec. 207) Amends title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program) of the Social Security Act to remove provisions prohibiting using funds under the title for abortions or for health insurance that includes coverage of abortions. Includes (currently, includes only to save the life of the mother or in cases of rape or incest) abortion services in the definition of "child health assistance." (Sec. 208) Amends the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 to repeal provisions prohibiting using any funds appropriated in that Act to the Department of Justice from being used to pay for an abortion or to require any person to perform, or facilitate the performance of, an abortion. (Sec. 209) Amends the District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 1999 to repeal provisions prohibiting using funds appropriated by that Act for abortions. (Sec. 210) Amends the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 1999 to repeal provisions prohibiting using any funds appropriated in that Act to pay for an abortion or the administrative expenses in connection with any health plan under the Federal employees health benefit program that covers abortions.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1999
Medicare Home Health Improvement Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act and the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA '97) to eliminate the 15 percent automatic reduction in payment amounts to home health agencies furnishing home health services under the Medicare program. Allows home health agencies to elect to repay certain overpayments made by the Secretary of Health and Human Services over a 36-month no-interest grace period. Makes such an election effective as if included in BBA '97.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 1999
Recognizes the moral right of Dina Babbitt to obtain the artwork she created and recognizes her courage in the face of the evils perpetrated by the Nazi command of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp, including the atrocities committed by Dr. Josef Mengele. Urges: (1) the President to make all efforts necessary to retrieve and return to her the seven watercolor portraits she painted while suffering a year and a half long internment at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp; (2) the State Department to make diplomatic efforts to facilitate the transfer of such watercolors from the Auschwitz-Birkenau state museum to her; (3) the Government of Poland to facilitate the return of such artwork from the Auschwitz-Birkenau state museum to her; and (4) the officials of the Auschwitz-Birkenau state museum to transfer those paintings to her expeditiously.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1999
Amends the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996, with respect to the collection of tolls for the Verrazano Narrows Bridge in New York, to repeal the limitation on toll collection to motor vehicles exiting the bridge in Staten Island. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority and the Metropolitan Transit Authority should implement hi-speed EZ-Pass in the collection of tolls on the Verrazano Narrows Bridge to meet air quality standards and reduce congestion.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 1999
Child Care Safety Act of 1999 - Amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) provide to each eligible child care provider receiving funds under such Act a copy of the Consumer Product Safety Commission child care center safety standards, which such providers shall post in their child care facilities where they can be easily read; and (2) report to Congress with recommendations for encouraging compliance by such providers with such standards.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 1999
Federal Prison Industries Competition in Contracting Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal criminal code to replace provisions regarding the purchase of prison-made products by Federal departments with provisions establishing a Government-wide procurement policy relating to purchases from Federal Prison Industries (FPI). Provides that: (1) when a procurement activity of a Federal department or agency has a requirement for a specific product or service (product) that is authorized to be offered for sale by FPI and is listed in a catalog of FPI products, such activity shall solicit an offer from FPI if the purchase is expected to be in excess of the micro-purchase threshold; and (2) a contract award for such product or service shall be made using competitive procedures, except where FPI cannot expect to receive the contract award on a competitive basis and that award is necessary to maintain work opportunities to prevent circumstances expected to significantly endanger penal or correctional facility administration. Requires a contract to be awarded to FPI if the contracting officer determines that: (1) the prison-made product will meet the requirements of the procurement activity; (2) timely performance can be reasonably expected; and (3) the contract price does not exceed a current market price. Sets forth provisions regarding determinations by the Attorney General, competitive offers from FPI, performance by FPI, finality of the contracting officer's decision, reporting of purchases, and publication, maintenance, and revision of the catalog. (Sec. 3) Modifies provisions regarding: (1) FPI administration to require that a decision to authorize FPI to offer a new specific product or to expand the production of an existing product be made by its board of directors, in conformance with specified requirements; and (2) an analysis of the probable impact of a proposed expansion of inmate-work activities by FPI on private sector firms and their non-inmate workers whenever FPI proposes to authorize the sale of a new specific product or service or to expand production of a current product or service. Requires such analysis to identify and consider specified factors, such as whether: (1) the specific product is an import-sensitive product; and (2) authorizing the production of the new product or performance of a new service will provide inmates with the maximum opportunity to acquire knowledge and skill in trades and occupations that will provide them with a means of earning a livelihood upon release. Prohibits the board of directors from approving a proposal for inmates to provide a service in which an inmate worker has access to: (1) personal or financial information about individual private citizens, including information relating to such person's real property, however described, without giving prior notice to such persons; or (2) data that is classified, or that will become classified after being merged with other data. Sets forth public comment requirements. Requires that the board of directors: (1) solicit comments on the required analysis from trade associations representing vendors and labor unions representing private sector workers who could reasonably be expected to be affected by approval of the proposal; and (2) be provided copies of all comments received on the expansion proposal. Authorizes the Chief Operating Officer of FPI, based on the comments received on the initial expansion proposal, to provide the board a revised expansion proposal. Makes such revised proposal subject to public comment requirements of this Act if it provides for expansion of inmate work opportunities in an industry different from that initially proposed. (Sec. 4) Prohibits FPI from offering products or services as a subcontractor or supplier to a private for-profit business concern, notwithstanding that the product or service being furnished by such concern will ultimately be supplied to the U.S. Government, the government of the District of Columbia, an agency of a State government or any political subdivision thereof, or an eligible not-for-profit organization. (Sec. 5) Amends the Federal criminal code to require that wages earned by an inmate worker of FPI be paid in the name of such worker, and that deductions aggregating to not more than 80 percent of gross wages be taken from the wages due for: (1) applicable taxes; (2) payment of fines and restitution pursuant to court order; (3) payment of additional restitution for victims of the inmate's crimes (at a rate not less than ten percent of gross wages); (4) allocations for support of the inmate's family pursuant to statute, court order, or agreement with the inmate; (5) allocations to a fund in the inmate's name to facilitate such inmate's assimilation into society, payable at the conclusion of incarceration; and (6) such other deductions as may be specified by the Director of the Bureau of Prisons. (Sec. 6) Amends the code to require that not less than 20 percent of the gross profits of the corporation at the end of each fiscal year be allocated to fund vocational training for inmates without regard to the type of work activities to which they are assigned. (Sec. 7) Revises requirements for reporting by the board to Congress to: (1) include additional information within its annual reports, such as certain analyses of sales and purchases and of the inmate workforce, and data concerning employment obtained by released inmates; and (2) require that copies of such reports be made available to the public at a price not exceeding the cost of printing. (Sec. 9) Sets forth provisions regarding revisions to the Government-wide Federal Acquisition Regulation to implement this Act, including requirements of public participation.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1999
Act to Save America's Forests - Title I: Amendments to Existing Land Management Laws - Amends the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (National Forest System), the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (public lands), the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (National Wildlife Refuge System), and Federal law relating to forest management on military lands to: (1) provide for native biodiversity conservation; and (2) restrict and prohibit certain logging practices. Title II: Protection for Ancient Forests, Roadless Areas, Watershed Protection Areas, and Special Areas - Describes special areas as Federal forest land parcels possessing outstanding biological, scenic, recreational, or cultural values, exemplary on a regional or national level, which may not meet the definitions of Ancient Forests, Roadless Areas, or Watershed Protection Areas. Designates specified Special Areas which shall be subject to restrictions on road construction and logging in the following States: (1) Alabama; (2) Alaska; (3) Arizona; (4) Arkansas; (5) California; (6) Colorado; (7) Georgia; (8) Idaho; (9) Illinois; (10) Michigan; (11) Minnesota; (12) Missouri; (13) Montana; (14) New Mexico; (15) North Carolina; (16) Ohio; (17) Oklahoma; (18) Oregon; (19) South Carolina; (20) South Dakota; (21) Tennessee; (22) Texas; (23) Vermont; (24) Virginia; (25) West Virginia; (26) Wisconsin; and (27) Wyoming. Provides for the appointment of a committee of scientists to recommend additional Special Areas. Restricts road construction and logging in Ancient Forests, Special Areas, Roadless Areas on Federal lands, and Watershed Protection Areas.