United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2000
Congratulates: (1) the people of Taiwan for the successful conclusion of presidential elections on March 18, 2000; (2) President Lee Teng-hui for his significant contributions to freedom and democracy on Taiwan; (3) President-elect Chen Shui-bian and Vice-President-elect Annette Hsiu-lien Lu for their victory. Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the People's Republic of China should abandon its provocative threats against Taiwan and undertake steps that would lead to a substantive dialogue, including a renunciation of the use of force against Taiwan and progress toward democracy, the rule of law, and protection of human and religious rights in the People's Republic of China. Affirms the provisions of the Taiwan Relations Act as the legal standard by which U.S. policy toward Taiwan shall be determined.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2000
Clean Air and Water Preservation Act of 2000 - Amends the Clean Air Act to prohibit the use of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) as a fuel additive. Makes such prohibition effective three years after this Act's enactment date. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to require, during the period beginning on this Act's enactment and ending three years after such date, persons selling gasoline that contains MTBE at retail to label the fuel dispensing system with a notice that the gasoline contains MTBE. (Sec. 4) Amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to require the Administrator to amend certain guidelines to require State source water assessment programs to be revised to prioritize groundwater areas and aquifers that have been contaminated, or are most vulnerable to contamination, by MTBE. Directs the Administrator to develop a clear set of technical guidelines to assist States in the investigation and cleanup of MTBE in groundwater. (Sec. 5) Revises the oxygen content requirement for reformulated gasoline under the Clean Air Act to require the oxygen content to equal or exceed an average of two percent by weight (currently, equal or exceed two percent by weight). Invalidates Federal regulations that establish a per-gallon minimum oxygen content (percent, by weight). (Sec. 6) Requires the Administrator to revise regulations regarding reformulated gasoline to ensure that the ozone forming potential, taking into account all ozone precursors, of the aggregate emissions during the high ozone season from baseline vehicles when using reformulated gasoline does not exceed such potential of the emissions from such vehicles when using reformulated gasoline that complies with regulations that were in effect on January 1, 2000, and applicable to such gasoline sold in 2000 and thereafter. Limits the hydrocarbon content of reformulated gasoline to the average content of such gasoline sold in covered nonattainment areas during the year 2000. (Sec. 7) Requires the Secretary of Energy and the Administrator to report to the President and Congress on the potential for development of oxygenate alternatives to MTBE not identified in this Act and to evaluate what steps would be appropriate to foster development of such alternatives should they be found to be acceptable substitutes for MTBE. (Sec. 8) Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should promote renewable ethanol to replace MTBE and encourage oil refiners to make the transition from MTBE-blended fuel to ethanol-blended fuel as soon as possible.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2000
Helping to Improve Technology Education and Achievement Act of 2000 - Title I: Provisions Relating to Employment-Based Immigration - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to make employment-based visas available on a quarterly basis without regard to per-country limitations if unused visas are available. (Sec. 102) Directs the Secretary of Labor to take into account Internet recruiting in determining whether an employer has undertaken required efforts to recruit U.S. workers. (Sec. 103) Directs the Attorney General and the Secretary to establish an Internet-based system that will permit tracking of benefit filings required under such Act. Directs the Attorney General to conduct an on-line filing feasibility study. Directs the Attorney General and the Secretaries of Labor and Commerce to jointly establish a related Technology Advisory Committee. Title II: Provisions Relating to H-1B Nonimmigrants - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to increase available nonimmigrant H-1B specialty occupation visas for FY 2001 through 2003, with specified visa reservations for: (1) aliens with master's or higher degrees; and (2) institutions of higher education and other research organizations. Makes additional visas available for FY 1999 under specified conditions. (Sec. 202) Requires employers to file W-2 forms for H-1B employees. (Sec. 203) Provides one-year extensions of authorized H-1B stay pending specified status adjudications. Title III: Collection and Use of H-1B Nonimmigrant Fees - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to increase H-1B petition fees. (Sec. 302) Obligates specified amounts from the H-1B Nonimmigrant Petitioner Account for: (1) student loan forgiveness; (2) upward bound; and (3) regional skills training alliances. Eliminates obligations for job training. Decreases obligations for low-income scholarships. Amends the Higher Education Act to establish an educational loan forgiveness program for mathematics and science teachers. Amends the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 to direct the Secretary of Commerce to provide matching grants to: (1) eligible entities for job skills training in specific industries; and (2) States for consortia planning assistance. (Sec. 306) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to increase certain H-1B administrative fees.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2000
Long-Term Care and Retirement Security Act of 2000 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow: (1) a deduction for eligible long-term care insurance premiums for a taxpayer and the taxpayer's spouse and dependents; and (2) a credit for eligible caregivers caring for certain individuals with long-term care needs.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2000
Postmasters Fairness and Rights Act - Amends Federal law to prescribe guidelines within which the Postal Service shall propose changes in pay policies, schedules, and fringe benefit programs affecting postmasters which are to be in effect during the period covered by a collective bargaining agreement between the Postal Service and certain recognized bargaining representatives. Grants certain qualified postmasters' organizations the right to participate in program planning and development pertaining to pay policies, schedules, and fringe benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2000
Congressional Oversight and Audit of Agency Rulemaking Actions Act - Establishes a pilot project under which the Comptroller General may review a published economically significant proposed or interim rule at the request of a committee of either House of Congress with jurisdiction over the subject matter of the rule. Defines "economically significant rule" to mean any proposed, final, or interim rule: (1) that may have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or adversely affect in a material way the economy, a sector of the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public health or safety, or State, local, or tribal governments, small businesses, or communities; or (2) for which an agency has prepared an initial or final regulatory flexibility analysis. Requires that an independent audit and assessment of such a rule by the Comptroller General shall consist of: (1) an analysis of the agency's and the public's assessment of the potential benefits and costs of the rule and of alternative approaches that could achieve the agency's objectives in a more cost effective manner; (2) an analysis and assessment of any impact statement or report prepared by the agency as part of the rulemaking, including any assessment of impacts on State and local governments; and (3) a list of all analyses, groups, entities, and sources consulted in developing the analyses and assessments described above. Grants the Comptroller General discretion to develop procedures for determining the priority and number of requests for review. Requires each agency, upon request of the Comptroller General, to provide any available or existing records, information, or data upon which the agency relied in developing such a rule. Requires the Comptroller General to transmit an independent audit containing the prescribed assessments and analyses on a final rule, together with a summary of the differences between the proposed and final rule, within 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. Authorizes appropriations. Provides for the pilot project established under this Act to continue for a five-year period if specified appropriations are provided. Requires the Comptroller General to report to Congress on such project's effectiveness and on whether it should be authorized permanently.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2000
General Aviation Access Act - Prohibits the Secretaries of the Interior or of Agriculture from taking any action or inaction, including neglect, which would permanently close or render or declare as unserviceable any aircraft landing strip, unless: (1) the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the head of the aviation department of each State in which the aircraft landing strip is located have approved such action; (2) notice of the proposed action has been published in the Federal Register; (3) a 90-day public comment period on the action has been provided; and (4) any comments received during the comment period have been taken into consideration by the Secretaries, as the case may be, the FAA Administrator, and the head of the aviation department of each State in which the affected aircraft landing strip is located. Directs the Secretaries to: (1) adopt a nationwide policy in accordance with this Act for governing general aviation issues related to the management of Federal land under their jurisdiction; and (2) require regional managers to adhere to it. Declares that a policy affecting access to an aircraft landing strip located on Federal land (including any national policy required under this Act) shall not take effect unless certain conditions are met, including that the FAA has the sole authority to control aviation and airspace over the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2000
Rural Local Broadcast Signal Act - Amends the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to authorize the Administrator of the Rural Utilities Service to make loan guarantees (through a specified date) to providers of multichannel video services, including direct broadcast satellite licensees, to improve access to local television broadcasting to all households desiring such service in unserved and underserved rural areas. Requires loan guarantee approval by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Sets forth satellite carrier loan guarantee qualifications. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth conditions under which a borrower shall be obliged to carry local broadcast signals without charge.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2000
Emergency Commodity Distribution Act of 2000 - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to revise provisions relating to the level of commodity purchases under the school lunch program. Requires a specified portion of such program assistance to be in the form of commodity assistance. Prohibits the Secretary of Agriculture from using commodities provided under the authority of any other Act to meet such program requirement for the school year.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2000
Home Heating Oil Price Stability Act - Instructs the Secretary of Energy to immediately create a fuel oil reserve containing two million barrels of heating oil in leased storage facilities in the New York Harbor area and 4.7 million barrels in one of the four Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) caverns in the Gulf Coast. Permits the Secretary to fill such heating oil reserve by trading SPR crude oil for heating oil. Authorizes the President to immediately draw down the Fuel Oil Product Reserve only when domestic fuel oil prices rise sharply because of anticompetitive activity, during a fuel oil shortage, or during periods of extreme winter weather. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2000
Authorizes presentation of a gold medal on behalf of Congress to former President Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy Reagan. Authorizes specified sums to be charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund for medal costs. Mandates that sale proceeds from duplicate bronze medals be deposited into such Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2000
Requires the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury, respectively, to operate the land border port of entry at Pittsburg, New Hampshire, as a full-time immigration, border crossing, and customs port of entry.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2000
Hospital Preservation and Equity Act of 2000 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA), as amended by the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999 with regard to the one year sole community hospital payment increase, to reset the applicable percentage increase for FY 2001 and each subsequent fiscal year to the market basket percentage increase for hospitals in all areas for purposes of updating payments to prospective payment system (PPS) hospitals for inpatient hospital services.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2000
Social Security Right To Know Act - Amends the Social Security Act to require a certain annual report by the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors and Disability Insurance Trust Funds on the operation and status of such Funds to include information on: (1) the unfunded long-term projected liability of the social security system and any change in such amount from the preceding year as well as the deficit or surplus that the system will run in the last year of the long-term projection period, with any aggregate assets or liabilities held by the Trust Funds in that final projected year; and (2) the economic model and relevant data used to make such projections. Requires social security account statements to contain: (1) a comparison of the annual social security tax inflows to the amount paid in benefits annually and a statement whether the ratio will result in a cash flow deficit and what year such deficit will commence as well as the first year in which funds in the Trust Funds will cease to be sufficient to cover the deficit and the percentage of benefits due at that time that could be paid from annual tax inflows; and (2) an explanation of the average rate of return that a taxpayer can expect to receive on old- age insurance benefits as compared to the total amount of social security taxes a taxpayer expects to pay. Makes Social Security Administration Continuous Work History Sample data publicly available for statistical research purposes subject to certain limitations.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2000
Keep Our Promise to America's Military Retirees Act - Includes as an employee, for purposes of Federal provisions authorizing enrollment under the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program: (1) a member of the armed forces who began service before June 7, 1956, and retired after a minimum of 20 years of such service or by reason of a service-connected disability; and (2) the surviving widow or widower of such member. Directs the Secretary of Defense to enter into an agreement with the Office of Personnel Management to provide FEHB coverage to the following eligible beneficiaries: (1) a member or former member entitled to military retired or retainer pay; (2) an unremarried former spouse who was married to a member for at least 20 years, during which such member performed at least 20 years of retirement-creditable military service; (3) a dependent of a deceased qualifying member or former member; (4) a dependent of a living member or former member; and (5) a family member of such member. Repeals a provision prohibiting coverage under the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services for persons entitled to hospital insurance benefits under part A of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Act.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1999
Amends the Clean Air Act to authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, upon the petition of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, or the consolidated metropolitan statistical area that includes the District of Columbia (these States comprise an ozone transport region), to waive or reduce any oxygen content requirement for reformulated gasoline for such States. Requires regulations for the use of reformulated gasoline to be revised by January 1, 2001, to provide a schedule for the reduction of the use of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) in such gasoline introduced into any State described above for which a waiver or reduction is in effect. Limits the maximum content of MTBE by volume for all gasoline to five percent by January 1, 2005. Permits reductions below this amount only upon petition by such a State and subject to a finding that further reduction of MTBE use is necessary to protect human health or the environment. Prohibits fuel or fuel additive manufacturers or processors from selling or introducing into commerce any reformulated gasoline for resale in States described by this Act for which oxygen content waivers or reductions are in effect unless the reduction of aggregate emissions of toxic air pollutants from baseline vehicles when using baseline gasoline shall annually average at least 27 percent.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1999
United States Training on and Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide Resolution - Calls upon the President: (1) to provide for appropriate training and materials to all Foreign Service officers, officials of the Department of State, and any other executive branch employee involved in responding to issues related to human rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide by familiarizing them with the U.S. record relating to the Armenian Genocide and the consequences of the failure to enforce the judgments of the Turkish courts against the responsible officials; and (2) in his annual message commemorating the Armenian Genocide issued on or about April 24, to characterize the systematic and deliberate annihilation of 1.5 million Armenians as genocide and to recall the proud history of U.S. intervention in opposition to the Armenian Genocide.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 1999
Radio Broadcasting Preservation Act of 1999 - Prohibits the Federal Communications Commission from prescribing any rules authorizing the operation of new, low power FM radio stations, or establishing a low power radio service, as currently proposed. Terminates previously prescribed rules which would violate such prohibition and voids licenses issued pursuant to such rules.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1999
Authorizes the American Battle Monuments Commission to place within the Vietnam Veterans Memorial a plaque to honor those Vietnam veterans who died after service in the Vietnam War, but as a direct result of such service, and whose names are not otherwise eligible for placement on the Memorial wall.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 1999
Small Business Pension Accessibility Act of 1999 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to set the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) insurance premium rate at $5 for each individual plan participant in the case of a new single-employer defined benefit plan maintained by a small employer. Provides for reductions of additional PBGC premiums for new and small defined benefit plans.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 1999
Drug Import Fairness Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) to prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Services, with regard to a drug being imported or offered for import, from sending a notice to a person suggesting that importing the drug is, or appears to be, in violation of the FDCA unless: (1) the Secretary determines the drug is adulterated, misbranded, in violation of FDCA provisions relating to new drugs, the drug is forbidden or restricted in sale in the producing or exporting country, importation by any person other than the manufacturer violates reimportation provisions, or the importation otherwise violates Federal law; (2) the notice does not specify any provision described in the provisions of this act relating to those determinations that is not applicable to the drug's importation; and (3) the notice states the underlying reasons for the determination.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 1999
Duty to Assist Veterans Act of 1999 - Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, with respect to any veterans' benefits claim filed on or after July 14, 1999, to assist such claimant in developing information pertinent to a decision on the claim, including by informing the claimant of any medical or lay evidence needed and by providing a medical examination to determine the current disability of the veteran concerned.
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 1999
Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act - Provides authority for the identification of and worldwide sanctions against foreign narcotics traffickers whose activities threaten U.S. security, foreign policy, or the economy. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, and the Director of Central Intelligence to consult and provide information to the President, in order that he may submit an unclassified annual report to specified congressional committees: (1) publicly identifying significant foreign narcotic traffickers who are appropriate for sanctions; and (2) detailing intent to impose such sanctions. Requires an additional classified presidential report to Congress. Excludes from the report information which could jeopardize intelligence operations. Allows the President to waive sanctions if U.S. national security would be harmed. Requires congressional notification of waivers. Subjects significant foreign narcotics traffickers publicly identified in the report to the blocking of assets. Prohibits transactions by U.S. persons in property or interests of such traffickers. Imposes criminal penalties for violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 1999
Employment Security Financing Act of 1999 - Title I: Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1996 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Chapter 23 to revise Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) employer excise tax rate requirements. (Sec. 101) Repeals the 0.2 surtax for calendar years after 1999. (Ends the current FUTA employer tax rate of 6.2 percent of total employee wages after 1999, and begins a 6.0 rate in 2000). (Sec. 103) Sets forth additional requirements for approval of State laws. (Sec. 105) Revises the definition of State unemployment funds. (Sec. 106) Defines a State Employment Security Administration Account (State ESAA) as a special account within the Unemployment Trust Fund (the Fund) to provide administrative funds to pay the cost of services performed by the State agency in accordance with FUTA and the Social Security Act. (Sec. 107) Provides for collection of FUTA taxes by, as well as payment of FUTA taxes to, State agencies. (Sec. 109) Amends the IRC to repeal the prohibition against assessment of unpaid FUTA taxes. Title II: Unemployment Trust Fund Accounts - Amends title IX (Employment Security Administrative Financing) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to establish in the Fund: (1) a State Employment Security Administration Account (State ESAA) for each State; (2) a Supplemental Employment Security Administration Account (Supplemental ESAA) for the administration of employment security programs, under FUTA and SSA titles IX and III (Grants to States for Unemployment Compensation Administration), by States whose average civilian labor force populations number less than one million; and (3) the Secretary of Labor Employment Security Administration Account (Labor Secretary ESAA) for the Secretary to carry out administrative duties under such SSA and FUTA provisions. Makes appropriations to the Fund for credit to such accounts according to specified formulas. (Sec. 201) Authorizes to be made available from State ESAAs, upon State request and subject to appropriation by the legislative body of each State, in addition to amounts otherwise appropriated by the Congress, special administrative funds. (Sec. 202) Amends SSA title IX to repeal authority for the Employment Security Administration Account (the ESAA) in the Unemployment Trust Fund. (Sec. 203) Authorizes, for FY 2005 and thereafter, certain administrative expenditures from State ESAAs for: (1) State administration of unemployment compensation laws; (2) public employment services under the Wagner-Peyser Act; (3) certain veterans' programs; (4) collection of amounts due under FUTA; and (5) administration of statistical programs essential for development of estimates of the gross domestic product and other national statistical series, including those related to employment and unemployment. Provides for such expenditures upon State request, subject to appropriation by the State legislative body, in amounts up to 140 percent of the amount appropriated to the State agency from Federal employment security funds for the previous fiscal year. Authorizes $5 million out of the Supplemental ESAA for each of FYs 2005 and beyond expenditures by States whose average civilian labor force populations number less than one million for allocation by the Council of States with Lesser Populations. Establishes such Council. Authorizes, for FY 2005 and thereafter, expenditures from the Labor Secretary ESAA, in amounts up to 140 percent of that appropriated for the prior year, for the Department's performance of functions for the same administrative purposes for which expenditures from State ESAAs are authorized, plus: (1) establishment and maintenance of the employment security system under the Wagner-Peyser Act; and (2) payments of the Federal share of annual amortization costs of the unfunded liability for the State employment security agencies with independent retirement plans as determined by the Secretary. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, for FY 2005 and thereafter, to pay from the Labor Secretary ESAA into the Treasury the amount determined by the Secretary of Labor to be allocated to the Department of the Treasury to cover its costs for performing its functions under: (1) SSA titles III (Unemployment Insurance), IX (Employment Security), and XII (Advances to State Unemployment Funds), including the expenses of banks for servicing unemployment benefit payment and clearing accounts which are offset by the maintenance of balances of Treasury funds with such banks; (2) FUTA; and (3) any Federal unemployment compensation law with respect to which responsibility for administration is vested in the Secretary of Labor. (Sec. 204) Provides for transfer of amounts attributable to reduced credits to State ESAAs. (Sec. 205) Provides for advances from a revolving fund within the Federal Unemployment Account (FUA) to State ESAAs. (Sec. 206) Provides for treatment of excess amounts in State ESAAs. (Sec. 207) Requires that excess amounts in the Federal Unemployment Account (FUA) be transferred to State ESAAs according to a State allocation formula. (Sec. 208) Repeals a reporting requirement relating to transfers between FUA and the ESAA. (Sec. 209) Revises treatment of certain amounts in the Extended Unemployment Compensation Account (EUCA). Transfers, at the end of FY 2004 and each fiscal year thereafter, excess EUCA amounts to State ESAAs, as specified. (Sec. 210) Provides for treatment of amounts elected by ineligible States. (Sec. 211) Revises SSA requirements relating to State use of certain funds (known as Reed Act funds) transferred to a State unemployment benefit account. (Sec. 212) Revises SSA provisions for the Unemployment Trust Fund (the Fund). Requires deposit into: (1) the State's Unemployment Compensation Benefit Account (UCBA) of contributions and payments in lieu of contributions under the State law; (2) the State ESAA of State agency collections under FUTA and of certain other transfers or deposits under SSA and FUTA; and (3) the Transition ESA of IRS collections under FUTA after January 1, 2001. (Sec. 213) Provides as separate book accounts in the Fund: (1) the Transition ESA; (2) each State UCBA; (3) each State ESAA; (4) the Supplemental ESAA; (5) the Labor Secretary ESAA; (6) the FUA; (7) the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Account; and (8) the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Administration fund. (Sec. 214) Revises SSA provisions for the Extended Unemployment Compensation Account (EUCA) to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to use a specified formula to determine the excess in EUCA at the close of FY 2004 and each subsequent fiscal year. Sets forth the terms of transfer of such excess EUCA funds to State UCBAs. (Sec. 215) Amends SSA title IX to repeal interfund borrowing authority with respect to the ESAA, FUA, EUCA, and other Federal accounts. Title III: Grants to States for Employment Security Administration - Repeals requirements for use and payments of specified available funds to assist States in administering their unemployment compensation laws, under SSA title III (Grants to States for Unemployment Compensation Administration). (Sec. 302) Revises requirements relating to: (1) certification of State laws; (2) limitations on use of State UCBA funds; and (3) proper use of administrative funds, and replacement of such fund expended for other purposes. (Sec. 303) Provides that States shall not be required to comply with the Secretary of Labor's interpretations of methods of administration requirements under SSA title III, if such interpretations impose additional administrative burdens on them, unless the Congress enacts legislation approving such an interpretation. Title IV: Extended Unemployment Compensation - Amends the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 to: (1) eliminate certain requirements relating to State laws; and (2) provide that payments to the States go to their Unemployment Compensation Benefit Accounts (UCBAs). Title V: Federal Employment Security Service - Amends the Wagner-Peyser Act (WPA) to direct the U.S. Employment Security Service (USESS), as of October 1, 2000, to assist in coordinating public employment services throughout the country and assure that the requirements of SSA titles III and IX and of FUTA are met. (Eliminates current functions of the USESS as of such date.) (Sec. 503) Revises WPA requirements for: (1) transfer of USESS property to States; and (2) State use of public employment service funds. (Sec. 504) Repeals, as of October 1, 2004, WPA provisions for: (1) Federal appropriations authority; (2) Federal use of funds; (3) State and Federal planning, fiscal controls, and accounting procedures; (4) the Secretary's authority to make rules and establish performance standards; and (5) authorization of appropriations to the Secretary to provide funds for reimbursable agreements with the States to operate certain statistical programs for estimates of gross national product and other national statistical series, including those related to employment and unemployment. Title VI: Advances to State Unemployment Compensation Benefit Accounts - Amends SSA title XII (Advances to State Unemployment Funds) to revise requirements for: (1) transfers from the Federal Unemployment Account (FUA) to State UCBAs; (2) State use of such transferred funds; (3) determination of interest rate on such advances to States.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 1999
Know Your Caller Act of 1999 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to make it unlawful for any person making a telephone solicitation to interfere with or circumvent a caller identification service from accessing or providing the call recipient with identifying information about the call. Directs the Federal Communications Commission to prescribe regulations implementing such prohibition. Provides a cause of action for a person or entity, or a State attorney general on behalf of its residents, for violations of such prohibition or regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 14 October 1999
Medicare Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999 - Title I: Provisions Relating to Part A - Subtitle A: PPS Hospitals - Amends SSA title XVIII part D (Miscellaneous), as amended by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA '97), to provide for a one-year delay in the transition of the indirect teaching adjustment factor (under the prospective payment system (PPS) for hospital outpatient department (OPD) services) to its permanent value on or after October 1, 2001 (currently, on or after October 1, 2000) used in determining an additional payment amount for certain hospitals with indirect costs of medical education. Subtitle B: PPS Exempt Hospitals - Amends SSA title XVIII part D to: (1) limit the target amount for described hospitals that are exempt from PPS payment; and (2) direct the Secretary to provide for an appropriate wage adjustment with regard to such hospitals. (Sec. 112) Provides for increased target amounts in computing payments for long-term care and psychiatric hospitals until development of a PPS for those hospitals. (Sec. 113) Directs the Secretary to develop, implement, and report to Congress on: (1) a per discharge PPS for payment for inpatient hospital services of Medicare long-term care hospitals; and (2) develop a per diem PPS for payment for inpatient hospital services of Medicare psychiatric hospitals. Subtitle C: Adjustments to PPS Payments for Skilled Nursing Facilities - Directs the Secretary, for purposes of computing prospective payments for covered skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), to temporarily increase payments for covered skilled nursing facility services for certain high cost patients. (Sec. 122) Amends SSA title XVIII part D to revise provisions on payment to hospitals for inpatient hospital services to: (1) increase for FY 2001 the SNF unadjusted federal per diem rate; (2) permit a SNF to waive a three year transition period and elect to have the amount of payment for all covered facility costs determined pursuant to the adjusted Federal per diem rate applicable to it; (3) exclude certain additional items and services from being covered facility items and services (thus providing for Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) pass-through payment for such items and services, including certain ambulance services and chemotherapy items) while ensuring budget neutrality for FY 2001; (4) apply to facilities participating in the Nursing Home Case-Mix and Quality Demonstration Project requirements for determining base payments on a per diem basis; and (5) modify requirements for the first cost reporting period update that is used in determining facility specific per diem rates. Title II: Provisions Relating to Part B - Subtitle A: Adjustments to Physician Payment Updates - Amends SSA title XVIII part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) to modify provisions on: (1) payment for physicians' services with regard to updates to provide for new guidelines for determining updates for years beginning with 2000; and (2) sustainable growth rate with regard to publication and with regard to the data to be used in determining such updates. Subtitle B: Hospital Outpatient Services - Amends SSA title XVIII part B to revise requirements for the PPS for hospital OPD services to: (1) require the Secretary to provide for a specified outlier adjustment for covered OPD services, as well as transitional pass-through payments for additional costs of "innovative" medical devices, drugs, and biologicals, while ensuring budget neutrality; (3) include medical devices as covered OPD services; (4) allow the Secretary to elect to establish relative payment weights based on mean hospital costs for covered OPD services; (5) limit, generally, the variation of costs of covered OPD services classified within a group for purposes of comparable treatment with respect to the use of resources; (6) change the Secretary's optional periodic review of PPS components to a mandatory annual review; and (7) establish a transitional adjustment in the amount of PPS payment for covered OPD services to limit declining payments under Medicare for such services. Subtitle C: Other - Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for: (1) application of separate currently existing caps for speech-language pathology and for other outpatient physical therapy services on a per beneficiary, per facility basis; (2) optional, limited exemption of certain therapy services facilities from any applicable caps for 2000 and 2001; (3) mandatory annual increases in end stage renal disease dialysis composite rate payment amounts; and (4) revised annual covered item updates for 2001 and 2002 for certain durable medical equipment. Title III: Provisions Relating to Parts A and B - Subtitle A: Home Health Services - Provides, in the case of a home health agency that furnishes home health services to a Medicare beneficiary, that for each beneficiary furnished such services during the agency's cost reporting period beginning in FY 2000, the Secretary shall, in accordance with specified restrictions, pay the agency a specified amount out of the Medicare trust funds in addition to any other amount of payment to defray agency costs attributable to data collection and reporting requirements under the Outcome and Assessment Information (OASIS) required under BBA '97. (Sec. 302) Amends BBA '97 and Medicare with regard to the PPS for home health services to delay for one year the application of the 15 percent reduction in payment rates for home health services. Subtitle B: Direct Graduate Medical Education - Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for the use of national average per resident payment system in computing payments for direct graduate medical education (DGME) costs. Title IV: Rural Provider Provisions - Amends SSA title XVIII to permit the reclassification of certain urban hospitals as rural ones. (Sec. 402) Ties the standards applied for geographic reclassification of certain rural hospitals to the most recently available census data. (Sec. 403) Revises the critical access hospital program, permitting for-profit hospitals to qualify for designation as a critical access hospital. Provides for an all-inclusive payment option for outpatient critical access hospital services. Eliminates coinsurance payments for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests furnished by a critical access hospital on an outpatient basis. Allows certain currently excluded hospitals to be providers of extended care services. (Sec. 404) Extends for five years the Medicare-dependent, small rural hospital program. (Sec. 405) Mandates rebasing for certain sole community hospitals that elect such treatment, in accordance with specified guidelines with respect to select fiscal year discharges. (Sec. 406) Revises provisions on payments for direct and indirect graduate medical education costs to expand current graduate medical education training programs for hospitals located in rural areas, and to encourage the training of physicians in underserved rural areas. (Sec. 407) Eliminates the requirement for State certification of need and certain restrictions on a hospital with more than 49 beds that provides extended care services. (Sec. 408) Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to assist eligible small rural hospitals in meeting the costs of implementing data systems required to meet Medicare requirements established by BBA '97. (Sec. 409) Directs the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MEDPAC) to study and report to Congress on rural providers under Medicare. Title V: Provisions Relating to Part C (Medicare+Choice Program) - Subtitle A: Medicare+Choice - Amends SSA title XVIII part C (Medicare+Choice) and D (Miscellaneous) to provide for: (1) phased-in new risk adjustment methodology under provisions for payments to Medicare+Choice organizations; (2) increased monthly payments under such provisions for a limited period to encourage the offering of Medicare+Choice plans in certain areas where such a plan has either not been offered or is offered but slated for termination; (3) modification of the five-year reentry rule for Medicare+Choice organizations whose contracts have been terminated; (4) continued annual computation and publication of county-specific per capita fee-for-service expenditure information; (5) enrollment in alternative Medicare+Choice plans and Medicare supplemental health insurance policy (Medigap) coverage in case of involuntary termination of Medicare+Choice enrollment; (6) authorized variation in premium values within a service area if the annual Medicare+Choice capitation rates vary within the area; (7) a delayed deadline for submission of adjusted community rates and related information; (8) extension of Medicare reasonable cost reimbursement contracts under provisions for payments to health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and competitive medical plans; and (9) permission for religious fraternal benefit societies to offer a range of Medicare+Choice plans. (Sec. 510) Directs MEDPAC to report to Congress on specific legislative changes that should be made to make Medicare medical savings account plans a viable option under the Medicare+Choice program. Subtitle B: Social Health Maintenance Organizations (SHMOs) - Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 to: (1) extend social health maintenance organization (SHMO) demonstration project authority; and (2) replace the current limit on the number of individuals who may participate in a SHMO I or II project site with an aggregate limit for all sites.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1999
Budget Responsibility and Efficiency Act - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (CBA) to revise the Federal and congressional budget processes by establishing a two-year budgeting and appropriations cycle and timetable. Defines the budget biennium as the two consecutive fiscal years beginning on October 1 of any odd-numbered year. Sets forth a special timetable for any first session that begins in any year immediately following a leap year and during which the term of a President begins (except one who starts a second successive term). (Sec. 2) Devotes the first session of any Congress to the budget resolution and to appropriations decisions, retaining current deadlines in most cases. Changes certain deadlines to conform to the biennial scheme. Devotes each second session to authorization activity, subject to specified deadlines. (Sec. 4) Sets forth revised pay-as-you-go provisions for the Senate to conform with the biennial framework. (Sec. 5) Conforms provisions governing the President's budget to the biennial framework. (Sec. 6) Requires all Acts making regular appropriations for the support of the Government to be enacted for a biennium and to specify the amount of appropriations provided for each fiscal year in that period. (Sec. 7) Amends CBA to provide that it shall not be in order in the House or the Senate to consider any bill, joint resolution, amendment, motion, or conference report that authorizes appropriations for a period of less than two fiscal years, unless the program, project, or activity for which the appropriations are authorized will require no further appropriations and will be completed or terminated after the appropriations have been expended. (Sec. 8) Changes to a biennial basis specified requirements for certain Government strategic and performance plans, performance reports in budget submissions, and program performance reports. Requires congressional committee reviews of such plans and reports. (Sec. 9) Provides that it shall not be in order in the House or the Senate in any odd-numbered year to consider any regular bill providing new budget authority or a limitation on obligations under the jurisdiction of any Appropriations subcommittee for only the first fiscal year of a biennium unless the program, project, or activity for which such authority or limitation is provided will require no additional authority beyond one year and will be completed or terminated after the amount provided has been expended.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1999
Keep Our Promise to America's Military Retirees Act - Amends Federal employee provisions to include the following as an employee, for purposes of authorized enrollment under the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program: (1) a member of the armed forces who began service before June 7, 1956, and retired after a minimum of 20 years of such service or by reason of a service-connected disability; and (2) the surviving widow or widower of such member. Directs the Secretary of Defense to enter into an agreement with the Office of Personnel Management to provide FEHB coverage to the following eligible beneficiaries: (1) a member or former member entitled to military retired or retainer pay who is also entitled to hospital insurance benefits under part A of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act; (2) an unremarried former spouse who was married to a member for at least 20 years, during which such member performed at least 20 years of retirement-creditable military service; (3) a dependent of a deceased qualifying member or former member; (4) a dependent of a living member or former member who is entitled to Medicare hospital insurance benefits; and (5) a family member of such member. Repeals a provision prohibiting coverage under the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services for persons entitled to hospital insurance benefits under part A of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 1999
Medicare Beneficiary Prescription Drug Assistance and Stop-Loss Protection Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to add a new title XXVIII for the following purposes: (1) promoting qualified prescription drug coverage assistance for low-income Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) beneficiaries; (2) providing Medicare outpatient prescription drug stop-loss protection; and (3) providing access to prescription drug coverage under Medicare supplemental (Medigap) policies.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 1999
Urges the Department of Education, States, and local educational agencies to work together to ensure that at least 95 percent of all funds appropriated for elementary and secondary education programs administered by the Department of Education is spent to improve the academic achievement of children in classrooms.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 1999
Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site Improvement Act - Amends Federal law which established the Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site in New Hampshire to: (1) expand Site boundaries; and (2) increase the authorization of appropriations for Site activities.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Telephone Services Consumer Protection Act - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 (the Act) to require a telecommunications carrier or reseller, in order to verify a subscriber's selection of a telephone exchange (local) or toll (long-distance) service provider, to require such subscriber to: (1) affirm that the subscriber is authorized to effect such selection; (2) acknowledge the type of service to be changed; (3) affirm the subscriber's intent to select such provider; (4) acknowledge that such selection will result in a change of service provider; and (5) provide other information as considered appropriate by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for the subscriber's protection. Requires the appropriate carrier or reseller to notify the subscriber, in writing, not more than 15 days after such a change has been processed. Provides carrier or reseller penalties for unauthorized subscriber changes, including disqualification from the provision of such services (with reinstatement under certain conditions). Requires local exchange carriers to submit to the FCC quarterly reports on the number of complaints of unauthorized changes submitted by its subscribers. Directs the FCC to use such information to identify carriers or resellers that engage in a pattern and practice of unauthorized changes. Provides criminal penalties against such carriers or resellers. (Sec. 3) Prohibits any person from causing a charge to be included on a subscriber's bill for exchange or toll service unless such charge has been specifically and knowingly authorized by the subscriber or is otherwise authorized or required by law. Requires billing agents to include on such bills certain information identifying and explaining such charges. Prohibits the disruption of telephone service based on a charge dispute. Requires a toll-free number for the resolution of disputed charges. States that a subscriber who notifies a provider of charges included on his or her bill in violation of these provisions shall not be liable to such provider for such charges during the period that the entity provides such service. Requires repayment to a subscriber of payments made for such excess charges. Provides civil penalties for violations of such requirements. Requires local exchange carriers to submit to the FCC quarterly reports on the number of complaints of unauthorized bill charges. Directs the FCC to use such information to identify providers that engage in a pattern and practice of unauthorized charges. (Sec. 4) Authorizes the FCC to assess and recover any required penalty, fine, or forfeiture and to impose any other sanction required against an entity that is not a telecommunications carrier for a violation of any provisions of the Act to the extent that such entity provides billing services or other services for charges which appear on subscriber bills. (Sec. 5) Empowers the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to prevent telecommunications carriers from using unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce. (Sec. 6) Directs the FCC to provide monthly to the FTC information collected by the FCC as a result of complaints regarding telephone services fraud, to be incorporated into the FTC's Consumer Sentinel online database. (Sec. 7) Directs the FCC to study and report to Congress on the feasibility and advisability of requiring telephone service billing agents to establish and provide consumer billing controls which permit subscribers to prevent the inclusion of unauthorized charges on telephone bills.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Clean Water Infrastructure Financing Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to provide that capitalization grants to States for the establishment of water pollution control revolving funds ( revolving funds) shall be for providing assistance to accomplish the purposes of such Act. (Currently, such grants are provided for assistance for specific purposes.) Removes certain requirements for States with respect to construction of treatment works under capitalization grant agreements. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to assist states in establishing simplified procedures for small water systems to obtain assistance under the Act. Requires amounts available to revolving funds to be used only for providing assistance to activities which have as a principal benefit the improvement or protection of water quality of navigable waters. Adds activities to the list of those which may be assisted. Provides for a repayment period of the lesser of 40 years or the expected life of the project to be financed with loan proceeds with respect to loans made to disadvantaged communities from revolving funds. Requires loans made from such funds to be fully amortized upon the expiration of the loan term (currently, no later than 20 years after project completion). Requires such funds to provide: (1) loan guarantees for developing and implementing innovative technologies; and (2) technical, planning, and other specified assistance to small systems. Treats a treatment works as a publicly owned treatment works, for purposes of eligibility for construction assistance from a revolving fund, if the treatment works, without regard to ownership, would be considered a publicly owned treatment works and is principally treating municipal waste water or domestic sewage. Provides for negative interest rates of up to two percent to reduce the unpaid principal on loans from revolving funds made to disadvantaged communities. Reauthorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2004 for the revolving fund program.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Commends the veterans of service in the United States Army who fought during World War II in the German Ardennes offensive known as the Battle of the Bulge. Honors those who gave their lives during that battle. Authorizes the President to issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to honor the veterans of the Battle of the Bulge with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities. Calls upon the President to reaffirm the bonds of friendship between the United States and Belgium.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) all Americans, and above all women, should take an active role in the fight against breast cancer by using all the means available to them; (2) the role played by national and community organizations and health care providers in promoting awareness of the importance of regular clinical and self-examinations, regular mammograms, and biopsies (when appropriate), and in providing information, support, and access to services, should be recognized and applauded; and (3) the Federal Government has a responsibility, among other things, to continue to fund research so that the causes of, and improved treatment for, breast cancer may be discovered.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1999
National Law Enforcement Museum Act - Authorizes the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund to construct a National Law Enforcement Museum in the District of Columbia. Prohibits the Secretary of the Interior from permitting construction of the Museum unless sufficient amounts are available to complete construction. Provides that the United States shall pay no expense incurred in the establishment or construction of the Museum. Terminates construction authority seven years after this Act's enactment date unless construction begins before such date.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1999
Sound Scientific Practices Act - Requires the Secretary of Labor, upon determining that a standard should be promulgated under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, to appoint a panel of individuals (in lieu of an advisory committee, as currently) to review and report on: (1) the scientific and economic data which form the basis for such standard; and (2) the relevance of the data to industries and workers which would be affected by such standard. Requires such panel to: (1) be broadly representative and balanced; and (2) include persons with expertise in scientific and economic analysis and persons with expertise relevant to any industry which would be subject to such standard. Provides that persons with substantial and relevant expertise shall not be excluded from a panel merely because they represent entities which may have potential interest in a standard under consideration if that interest is fully disclosed to the Secretary. Prohibits any peer reviewer representing such entity from being included on any panel considering a standard affecting a single entity only.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Domestic Uses of Encryption Title II: Government Procurement Title III: Exports of Encryption Title IV: Liability Limitations Title V: International Agreements Title VI: Miscellaneous Provisions Encryption for the National Interest Act - Declares that it is U.S. policy to protect public computer networks through the use of strong encryption technology, promote the export of encryption products developed and manufactured in the United States, and preserve public safety and national security. Title I: Domestic Uses of Encryption - Makes it lawful for any person within any State and for any United States person to use any encryption product, regardless of encryption algorithm selected, encryption bit length chosen, or implementation technique or medium used, except as otherwise provided by this Act or by law. Defines "United States person" to mean any U.S. citizen, any other person organized under the laws of any State, and any person organized under the laws of any foreign country who is owned or controlled by such individuals. (Sec. 103) Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit, and set penalties for, knowingly using encryption in furtherance of the commission of a criminal offense for which the person may be prosecuted in a U.S. district court. Prohibits the court from placing on probation any person convicted of such a violation and prohibits the term of imprisonment imposed from running concurrently with any other term imposed for the underlying criminal offense. Specifies that the use of encryption by itself shall not establish probable cause to believe that a crime is being or has been committed. Makes it unlawful for any person to intentionally: (1) obtain or use decryption information without lawful authority for the purpose of decrypting data, including communications; (2) exceed lawful authority in decrypting data; (3) break the encryption code of another person without lawful authority for the purpose of violating the privacy or security of that person or depriving that person of any property rights; (4) impersonate another person for the purpose of obtaining decryption information of that person without lawful authority; (5) facilitate or assist in the encryption of data, knowing that such data are to be used in furtherance of a crime; or (6) disclose decryption information in violation of code provisions. Sets penalties for violations. Requires a court of competent jurisdiction to issue an order ex parte granting an investigative or law enforcement officer (officer) timely access to the plaintext of encrypted data, or requiring any person in possession of decryption information to provide such information to a duly authorized officer: (1) upon the application by a Government attorney that is made under oath and that provides a factual basis establishing the relevance of the information sought to a law enforcement, foreign counterintelligence, or international terrorism investigation; and (2) if the court finds that the information being sought is relevant to an ongoing investigation and the officer is entitled to such information. Directs that the order issued by the court: (1) be placed under seal, except that a copy may be made available to the officer authorized to obtain access to the information sought in the application; and (2) subject to notification procedures, be made available to the person responsible for providing the information to the officer. Bars disclosure of an application made or order issued under this section, except as specifically permitted by this section or another court order. Directs that there be created an electronic or similar type of record of each instance in which an officer, pursuant to an order under this section, gains access to the plaintext of otherwise encrypted information, or is provided decryption information, without the knowledge or consent of the owner of the data who is the user of the encryption product involved. Authorizes the court issuing the order to require that the record be maintained in a place and manner that is not within the officer's custody or control. Requires: (1) the record to be tendered to the court, upon notice from the court; and (2) the court to make the original and a certified copy of the record available to the Government attorney and to the attorney for, or directly to, the owner of the data who is the user of the encryption product, pursuant to specified notification procedures. Specifies that nothing herein shall be construed to enlarge or modify the circumstances or procedures under which a Government entity is entitled to intercept or obtain oral, wire, or electronic communications or information. Directs the court, within a reasonable time but not later than 90 days after the filing of an application for such an order which is granted, to cause to be served to specified parties an inventory which shall include notice of: (1) the entry of the order or application; (2) the date of the entry of the application and issuance of the order; and (3) the fact that the person's decryption information or plaintext data has been provided or accessed by an officer. Allows the court, upon the filing of a motion, to make available for inspection to that person or that person's counsel such portions of the plaintext, applications, and orders as the court determines to be in the interest of justice. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) postponement of inventory for good cause; (2) admission of encrypted information into evidence; (3) contempt; (4) motions to suppress; (5) appeal by the United States; (6) a civil action for violations; (7) a statute of limitations; (8) exclusive remedies; (9) technical assistance by a provider of encryption technology or network service; and (10) reporting requirements. Authorizes an officer to whom plaintext or decryption information is provided to use such information only for purposes of conducting a lawful criminal investigation, foreign counterintelligence, or international terrorism investigation and for purposes of preparing for and prosecuting any criminal violation of law. Bars any such information provided to an officer from being disclosed, except by court order, to any other person for use in a civil proceeding that is unrelated to a criminal investigation and prosecution for which the information is so authorized. Allows such order to issue only upon a showing by the party seeking disclosure that there is no alternative means of obtaining the information being sought where the court also finds that the interests of justice would not be served by nondisclosure. Prohibits an officer from using decryption information to determine the plaintext of any data unless it has obtained lawful authority to obtain such data under other lawful authorities. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the return of decryption information; (2) other disclosure of such information; (3) identification of material that discloses such information; and (4) responsibility of the officer to reasonably assure that inadvertent disclosure does not occur. Title II: Government Procurement - Authorizes the President to require an encryption product or service procured to provide the security service of data confidentiality for a computer system owned and operated by the Government to include recoverability features or functions that enable the timely decryption of encrypted data or timely access to plaintext by an authorized party without the knowledge or cooperation of the person using such products or services. Requires the President to ensure that all encryption products purchased or used by the Government are supportive of and consistent with: (1) all statutory obligations to protect sources and methods of intelligence collection and activities; and (2) those needs required for military operations and the conduct of foreign policy. (Sec. 202) Authorizes the President to direct that any communications network established for the purpose of conducting the business of the Government use encryption products that: (1) include features or functions that enable the timely decryption of encrypted data or timely access to plaintext by an authorized party without the knowledge or cooperation of the person using such products or services; and (2) are supportive of and consistent with all statutory obligations to protect sources and methods of intelligence collection and activities and those needs required for military operations and the conduct of foreign policy. (Sec. 203) Authorizes the President to require as a condition of any Government contract that any encryption product used by a private vendor in carrying out the contract include features or functions that enable the timely decryption of encrypted data or timely access to plaintext by an authorized party without the knowledge or cooperation of the person using such products or services. (Sec. 204) Permits an encryption product to be labeled to inform Government users that the product is authorized for sale to or for use by Government agencies or Government contractors in transactions and communications with the Government under this title. (Sec. 205) Bars the Government from requiring the use of encryption standards for the private sector, except as otherwise authorized by section 204. (Sec. 206) Makes this title inapplicable to encryption products and services used solely for access control, authentication, integrity, nonrepudiation, digital signatures, or other similar purposes. Title III: Exports of Encryption - Directs the President to control the export of all dual-use encryption products. Authorizes the President to deny the export of any encryption product on the basis that its export is contrary to national security. Provides that any decision made by the President or his designee regarding the export of encryption products under this title shall not be subject to judicial review. (Sec. 302) Makes encryption products with encryption strength of 64 bits or less eligible for export under a license exception if: (1) such encryption product is submitted for a one-time technical review, does not require licensing under otherwise applicable regulations, and is not intended for a country, end user, or end use that is by regulation ineligible to receive such product and is otherwise qualified for export; (2) the exporter, within 180 days after the export of the product, submits a certification identifying the intended end use and intended recipient of the product and provides the names and addresses of its distribution chain partners; and (3) the exporter, at the time of submission of the product for technical review, provides proof that its distribution chain partners have contractually agreed to abide by all U.S. laws and regulations concerning the export and reexport of encryption products designed or manufactured within the United States. Requires the technical review to be completed within 45 days after submission of all required information. Directs the President to specify the information that must be submitted for the one-time technical review. Prohibits the exportation of an encryption product during the technical review of that product. Provides for: (1) periodic review of the license exception eligibility level; and (2) an export license exception for an encryption product whether or not it contains a method of decrypting encrypted data. (Sec. 303) Authorizes the President to permit the export of encryption products with an encryption strength exceeding the maximum level eligible for a license exception if the export is consistent with national security. (Sec. 304) Directs the President to establish procedures for the expedited review of commodity classification requests, or export license applications, involving encryption products that are specifically approved by regulation for export. (Sec. 305) Authorizes the President to grant an export license for encryption products with an encryption strength exceeding the maximum level eligible for a license exception which are designed or manufactured within the United States (with an exception) under the following conditions: (1) there shall not be any requirement, as a basis for an export license, that a product contains a method of gaining timely access to plaintext or decryption information; and (2) the export license applicant shall submit the product for technical review, a certification under oath identifying the intended use of the product and the expected end user or class of end users of the product, proof that its distribution chain partners have contractually agreed to abide by all U.S. laws and regulations concerning the export and reexport of encryption products designed or manufactured within the United States, and the names and addresses of its distribution chain partners. Requires the technical review to be completed within 45 days after submission of all required information. Bars exportation of an encryption product during the technical review. Requires all exporters of encryption products designed or manufactured within the United States to: (1) submit a report to the Secretary of Commerce (the Secretary) at any time the exporter has reason to believe any such exported product is being diverted to a use or a user not approved at the time of export; (2) report any pirating of their technology or intellectual property to the Secretary as soon as practicable after discovery; and (3) submit to the Secretary a report specifying the particular product sold, the name and address of the ultimate end user of the product (if known), or the name and address of the next purchaser in the distribution chain, and the intended use of the product sold. Authorizes the Secretary, the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of State to exercise the authorities they have under other provisions of law to carry out this title. Grants the President specified waiver authority. (Sec. 306) Establishes an Encryption Industry and Information Security Board, which shall undertake an advisory role for the President. Sets forth provisions regarding the Board's purposes, membership, meetings, findings and recommendations, and termination. Specifies that the Board shall have no authority to review any export determination made under this title and that the consideration of foreign availability by the Board include computer software that is distributed over the Internet or advertised for sale, license, or transfer. Title IV: Liability Limitations - Provides that, except for a person who provides plaintext or decryption information to another in violation of this Act, no civil or criminal liability shall attach to anyone for disclosing or providing: (1) the plaintext of encrypted data; (2) the decryption information of such data; or (3) technical assistance for access to the plaintext of, or decryption information for, such data. (Sec. 402) Makes compliance with this Act a complete defense for any civil action for damages based upon activities covered by this Act, other than an action founded on contract. (Sec. 403) Specifies that an objectively reasonable reliance on the legal authority provided by this Act authorizing access to the plaintext of otherwise encrypted data or to decryption information that will allow the timely decryption of data that is otherwise encrypted shall be an affirmative defense to any criminal or civil action that may be brought under the laws of the United States or any State. Title V: International Agreements - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the President shall conduct negotiations with foreign governments for purposes of establishing binding export control requirements on strong non-recoverable encryption products; and (2) such agreements should safeguard the privacy of U.S. citizens, prevent economic espionage, and enhance U.S. information security needs. (Sec. 502) Authorizes the President to consider a government's refusal to negotiate such agreements when considering U.S. participation in any cooperation or assistance program with that country. (Sec. 503) Sets forth reporting requirements. Title VI: Miscellaneous Provisions - Directs the Attorney General to compile, and maintain in classified form, data on: (1) the instances in which encryption has interfered with, impeded, or obstructed the ability of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to enforce U.S. law; and (2) the instances where DOJ has been successful in overcoming any encryption encountered in an investigation. Requires that such information, including an unclassified summary, be submitted to Congress annually beginning October 1, 2000. (Sec. 603) Authorizes appropriations for the Technical Support Center of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for FY 2000-2003.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1999
Tax Relief for Responsible Encryption Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a limited tax credit for the costs of development of encryption products with plaintext access capability without the user's knowledge.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 1999
Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act to reduce quota peanut price support levels through crop year 2001 and make nonrecourse loans available to all peanut producers at 85 percent of estimated market value as of crop year 2002. Amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 to eliminate peanut quotas as of crop year 2002. Amends the National School Lunch Act to authorize the purchase at world market price of additional (excess of poundage quota) peanuts for the school lunch and other specified food and nutrition programs. States that such peanuts shall not be considered domestic edible use peanuts under the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 or the Agricultural Market Transition Act.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 1999
Requires the U.S. Postal Service to establish a special rate of postage for first-class mail that is equal to the regular rate plus a differential of not to exceed 25 percent to be offered as an alternative that patrons may use voluntarily to contribute to funding for prostate cancer research. Requires the Service to pay 70 percent of the amounts attributable to such differential to the National Institutes of Health and 30 percent to the Department of Defense. Requires the Postmaster General to include in each annual report to the Board of Governors information concerning the operation of this Act. Terminates this Act two years after the date on which such stamps are first made available to the public.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 1999
Immigration Reorganization and Improvement Act of 1999 - Establishes in the Department of Justice: (1) the Bureau of Immigration Services; and (2) the Bureau of Immigration Enforcement. Sets forth provisions respecting the transfer of functions, personnel, and appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 1999
Cardiac Arrest Survival Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) assist in providing for an improvement in the survival rates of individuals who experience cardiac arrest in Federal buildings by publishing in the Federal Register for public comment recommendations with respect to placing automatic external defibrillators in such buildings; and (2) assist Federal agencies in implementing programs for such placement. Requires the Secretary to determine criteria for: (1) the selection of the Federal public buildings in which defibrillators should be placed; (2) defibrillator maintenance; and (3) the coordination of the use of the defibrillators in public buildings with emergency medical services providers for the geographic areas in which the buildings are located. Provides that any person who provides emergency medical care through the use of a defibrillator, any person who maintained, tested, or provided training in the use of the device, any physician who provided medical oversight of the device, and the person who acquired the device (if specified conditions have been met) is immune from civil liability for any personal injury or wrongful death resulting from the provision of such care, unless the person engaged in gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct under the applicable circumstances.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1999
Internet Freedom and Broadband Deployment Act of 1999 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to define "high speed data service" as a service capable of transmitting electronic information at a rate generally not less than 384 kilobits per second in at least one direction. Prohibits the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and each State, except as expressly provided in this Act, from regulating the rates, charges, terms or conditions for, or entry into the provision of, any high speed data service or Internet access service, or to regulate the facilities used in the provision of such service. Prohibits the FCC from requiring an incumbent (established) local exchange carrier to: (1) provide unbundled access to any network elements used in the provision of any high speed data service, other than those elements described in FCC regulations; or (2) offer for resale at wholesale rates any high speed data service. States that nothing in this Act shall: (1) limit or affect the authority of any State to regulate voice telephone exchange services; (2) affect the ability of the FCC to retain or modify the exemption from interstate access charges for enhanced service providers; or (3) prohibit the FCC from modifying the regulation concerning the number of networks subject to its unbundling requirement. Requires each incumbent local exchange carrier to provide: (1) Internet users with the ability to subscribe to and have access to any Internet service provider that interconnects with such carrier's high speed data service; (2) any Internet service provider with the right to acquire necessary facilities and services to facilitate such interconnection; and (3) any Internet service provider with the ability to collocate equipment in order to achieve such interconnection. Includes high speed data service or Internet access service within the definition of "incidental interLATA services" permitted for a Bell operating company (BOC). States that, until the date a BOC is authorized to offer interLATA services originating in an in-region State, such BOC offering any high speed data service or Internet access service may not, in such State, bill or collect for interLATA voice telecommunications service obtained by means of such high speed data or Internet access service provided by such company.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1999
Directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), by December 31, 2000, to develop and implement a plan for the efficient allocation of telephone numbers. Directs the FCC, until it has fully implemented such plan and at the request of a State commission, to delegate to such commission its jurisdiction over telephone numbering with respect to States to the extent that such delegation will permit the State commission to implement measures to conserve telephone numbers.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1999
Medicare+Choice Risk Adjustment Amendments of 1999 - Amends part C (Medicare+Choice) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) require that the new risk adjustment methodology for Medicare+Choice payment rates be implemented in a budget neutral manner; and (2) eliminate any further adjustment in the national per capita Medicare+Choice growth percentage.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1999
Safety Net Preservation Act of 1999 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to establish a new prospective payment system for federally-qualified health centers and rural health clinics.
![Official portrait of Rep. Bass, Charles F. [R-NH-2]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b000220_200.jpg)