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United States · Official source
3,988 records where Rep. Boehlert, Sherwood [R-NY-24] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2000
Recognizes the 50th anniversary of the Korean War, and expresses the gratitude of the American people for the service of members of the armed forces during such War.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2000
Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of Congress, a congressional gold medal to John Cardinal O'Connor, Archbishop of New York, in recognition of his accomplishments as a priest, a soldier, and a humanitarian. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2000
Pope John Paul II Congressional Gold Medal Act - Authorizes the presentation of a gold medal to Pope John Paul II in recognition of his contributions to peace and religious understanding. Authorizes appropriations. Mandates that proceeds from duplicate bronze medal sales be deposited in the Numismatic Public Enterprise Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2000
See summary of: H.R. 3533
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2000
Commuter Tax Equity Act of 2000 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to raise the $65 transportation fringe benefit limitation (applicable to commuter highway vehicles and transit passes) to an amount ($175) that equals the amount permitted for qualified parking (thus providing for a uniform dollar limitation for all types of transportation fringe benefits).
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2000
Declares the sense of the Congress that: (1) Congress should not interfere with normal immigration proceedings by taking any legislative measures designed to delay the reunification of Elian and Juan Gonzalez; and (2) the Immigration and Naturalization Service should proceed with its original decision to return Elian Gonzalez to his father, Juan Gonzalez, in Cuba, and take all necessary steps to reunify Elian Gonzalez with his father as soon as possible.
United States · United States Congress · 22 November 1999
Chimpanzee Health Improvement, Maintenance and Protection Act - Amends title IV of the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide for the establishment and operation of a national sanctuary system for all surplus federally owned chimpanzees that are no longer needed in research conducted or supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, or other Federal agencies. Mandates that any surplus chimpanzee that is not owned by the Federal Government be accepted into the system if the owner transfers title to the chimpanzee to the sanctuary system. Provides for standards for permanent retirement of chimpanzees into the system. Requires such standards to empower the Secretary to authorize imposition of a fee (except in certain circumstances) for accepting a non-Federal chimpanzee into the system. Directs the Secretary to contract with a nonprofit private entity to establish and operate the system. Provides for funding. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants or contracts for the operation of facilities that provide for the retirement of chimpanzees in accordance with the same standards that apply to the sanctuary system.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1999
Ukrainian American Veterans Charter Act - Grants a Federal charter to the Ukrainian American Veterans, Incorporated (a nonprofit corporation organized under the laws of the State of New York).
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1999
Second Generation of Environmental Improvement Act of 1999 - Title I: Information Management - Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to designate a Chief Information Officer for EPA to carry out the authorities of the Administrator under this title. Directs the Administrator to prepare a report for Congress proposing a set of national environmental performance indicators (quantitative measures designed to provide data on the quality of the environment over time) designed to: (1) focus EPA resources on the most critical environmental problems; (2) inform the public of progress toward meeting environmental goals; and (3) evaluate the success of innovative environmental strategies. Provides for an annual State of the Environment Report to Congress analyzing the measured levels of each environmental indicator. (Sec. 103) Directs the Administrator to submit to Congress a unified plan for all of EPA's information activities. Requires the plan to provide a scientifically and technically sound foundation for EPA programs and facilitate the development of a performance-based system of environmental protection and of innovative strategy agreements pursuant to this Act. (Sec. 104) Directs the Administrator to establish an Information Management Program to provide financial assistance to States and local entities to improve the accuracy and timeliness of environmental reporting and to meet the goals of the EPA plan. Requires the Administrator, acting through the Small Business Ombudsman, to create a program to provide technical and financial assistance to small businesses to help them meet the requirements of such plan. (Sec. 105) Directs the President to include in each budget submission a comprehensive analysis of the activities in each Federal agency devoted to measuring ambient environmental conditions and trends. (Sec. 106) Requires the Administrator to establish a program to publicly recognize persons who contribute to improved environmental monitoring and other measurement methods. Directs the Administrator to report to Congress on the length of time EPA has taken over the prior ten years to approve monitoring technologies and to recommend ways to: (1) reduce that time to get reliable monitoring information to EPA and the public more quickly; and (2) increase the deployment of existing technologies. (Sec. 108) Requires the Administrator to report to Congress on whether the Administrative Procedures Act should be amended to apply to information reporting requirements and the use of existing information to create new information products. (Sec. 109) Authorizes appropriations to carry out this title. Title II: Innovative Strategies - Authorizes the Administrator to enter into innovative strategy agreements with persons or governmental entities with good records of meeting statutory environmental standards to experiment with new approaches to regulation. (Sec. 204) Permits the Administrator, under such agreements, to: (1) modify or waive applicable agency rules or requirements; (2) allow a tiered approach under which monitoring and reporting requirements are loosened initially when emissions are significantly below those allowable under the agreement, with increased requirements as environmental performance gets closer to the emission, discharge, and other limitations in the agreement; (3) extend permit terms, expedite permit review, or provide multi-media permits; (4) establish facility-wide limitations on overall allowable emissions and discharges; (5) allow third-party or self-certification in lieu of frequent inspection; and (6) employ market-based strategies. (Sec. 205) Permits termination of agreements for noncompliance with terms. Authorizes civil actions against parties in violation of such agreements. (Sec. 209) Requires the Administrator to implement an employee incentive awards program that rewards employees and organizational units that demonstrate leadership in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of innovative environmental strategies and other activities that result in better environmental performance, greater economic efficiency in the public and private sectors, and expedited delivery and improved quality of public services. (Sec. 211) Authorizes appropriations to carry out this title.
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 · 18 November 1999
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that a biennial budget process should be enacted in the second session of the 106th Congress.
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 · 17 November 1999
Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to make grants to public or nonprofit private entities for the development and operation of not more than eight centers for the conduct of multidisciplinary research on environmental factors that may be related to the etiology of breast cancer. Requires each center to: (1) conduct basic and clinical research; (2) develop protocols for training health professionals; (3) conduct training programs for such individuals; (4) develop model continuing education programs for such professionals; and (5) disseminate information to such professionals and the public. Authorizes a center to provide stipends for professionals enrolled in the program. Allows grant support for a center for up to five years, with authorized extensions. Requires an equitable geographic distribution of such centers. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2005.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 1999
Telehealth Improvement Act of 1999 - Amends the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 with regard to telehealth services to: (1) extend Medicare reimbursement for such services to all Medicare services furnished in all rural areas, including those by physical, occupational, and speech therapists; (2) revise related payment methodology; and (3) add additional congressional reporting requirements pertaining to the telehealth services program. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Office of Advancement of Telehealth, to make grants to eligible recipients for the purpose of expanding access to health care services for individuals in rural areas, frontier areas, and medically underserved areas through the use of telehealth. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Joint Working Group on Telemedicine to ensure that individuals representing the interests of rural areas and medically underserved areas are members of the Group. Establishes the mission of the Joint Working Group, among other things, as identifying, monitoring, and coordinating Federal telehealth projects and programs. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 1999
Repeals a provision of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2000 which prohibits the use of Department of Defense (DOD) funds to pay environmental fines and penalties imposed against DOD unless such payment has been specifically authorized by law.
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 · 10 November 1999
Long Island Sound Restoration Act - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to require the office established to assist the Management Conference of the Long Island Sound Study (Management Conference) to assist in efforts to establish a system for trading nitrogen credits within the process for granting watershed general permits. Authorizes States, in making assistance available for the upgrading of wastewater treatment facilities under provisions regarding the Long Island Sound, to give priority to a distressed community. Provides for negative interest rates on loans made to such communities for implementation of the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan for Long Island Sound (Plan). Extends through FY 2003 the authorization of appropriations for: (1) carrying out the Management Conference; and (2) making grants for projects and studies to implement the Plan. Increases the maximum amount available for such grants.
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 · 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
Expresses support for the goals and ideas of Italian-American Heritage Month and recognizes the significant contributions that Italian Americans have made to the United States.
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
College Student Credit Card Protection Act - Amends the Truth in Lending Act to limit the total credit extended under a credit card account to a full time, traditional-aged college student (unless the student's parent or guardian assumes joint liability) to the greater of: (1) 20 percent of the students' most recent annual gross income; or (2) the product of $500 and the number of years since the account was opened (but not more than $2,000). Provides that "traditional-aged" is to be determined by the educational institution involved. Prohibits increasing the credit limit on an account for which a parent or guardian has assumed joint liability without the parent's or guardian's approval of such increase. Prohibits a creditor from opening a credit card account for any full time, traditional-aged college student who has no annual gross income and already has a credit card account under an open end consumer credit plan. Requires that mandated disclosures in any open end consumer credit application and solicitation be in a typeface at least as large as the largest typeface otherwise used in the application or solicitation.
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 · 20 October 1999
Fair Competition in Foreign Commerce Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to report to the President and to appropriate congressional committees a plan for promoting international government procurement reforms relating to the U.S. participation in international financial institutions, including the use of third-party procurement monitoring where appropriate. Requires such plan to include an instruction by the Secretary to the U.S. Executive Director of each international financial institution to use the vote of the United States to oppose the use of funds appropriated or made available by the United States for any non-humanitarian assistance, until: (1) the institution has adopted an anticorruption plan that requires the use of independent third-party procurement monitoring services in which the country receiving such assistance lacks the necessary organization, resources, and expertise to ensure openness, efficiency, and transparency in government procurement; and (2) each recipient country institutes specific strategies for minimizing corruption and maximizing transparency in each stage of the procurement process. Prohibits the use of funds for nonhumanitarian foreign assistance programs (including Agency for International Development (AID) activities) unless each recipient country and each international financial institution has demonstrated that significant progress is being made toward institutionalizing: (1) procurement practices that are open, transparent, and free of corruption, fraud, inefficiency, and other misuse; and (2) independent third-party procurement monitoring of government procurement in countries that lack necessary organization, resources, and expertise. Specifies national security, emergency humanitarian, and other exceptions to the requirements of this Act.
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 · 12 October 1999
Seabed Protection Act - Prohibits any person from engaging in bottom trawling or use of other mobile fishing gear on the seabed in specified marine areas until: (1) the National Marine Fisheries Service has completed a study and determined the effects of those practices; (2) the Secretary of Commerce has determined that the impacts of bottom trawling and such other mobile fishing gear on biodiversity, marine habitat, and productivity of fish stocks is negligible; and (3) the Secretary has approved and implemented fishery management plans that are developed by the appropriate regional fishery management councils, that encourage the use of fishing gears that are less destructive of habitat than bottom trawling and other mobile fishing gear, and that prohibit use of bottom trawling and other mobile fishing gear practices that threaten the continued sustainability of ecosystems. Directs the Secretary to report annually to specified congressional committees regarding the recovery of such marine areas from the effects of bottom trawling and use of other mobile fishing gear on the seabed. Provides that such prohibition shall not apply to an area after the Secretary publishes a finding that there are in effect, under State law or a fishery management plan under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act measures that are at least as effective as those required under this Act in maintaining the sustainability of ecosystems in that area.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1999
Designates the U.S. Postal Service facility located at 757 Warren Road in Ithaca, New York, as the Matthew F. McHugh Post Office.
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
Elementary and Secondary School Library Media Resources, Training, and Advanced Technology Assistance Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to establish a program to provide for elementary and secondary school library media resources, including mandatory State allotments for library media resources and discretionary grants for school library access during non-school hours. Directs the Secretary of Education to make such allotments to applicant State educational agencies (SEAs) according to a specified formula. Allows the SEA and the Secretary to reserve specified amounts for certain statewide and national activities, including information dissemination. Requires SEAs to make allocations to applicant local educational agencies (LEAs) that have: (1) the greatest need for school library media improvement; and (2) the highest percentages of poverty. Sets forth authorized uses of such funds by LEAs, including: (1) acquisition of resources, including books; (2) acquisition of advanced technology; (3) resource-sharing among schools and their library media centers and public and academic libraries; (4) professional development for school library media specialists; and (5) collaboration between such specialists and teachers and administrators. Sets forth accountability requirements for continuation of funding. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to applicant LEAs to provide students with access to libraries in elementary schools and secondary schools during non-school hours, including the hours before and after school, weekends, and summer vacation periods. Requires that priority be given to LEAs that: (1) seek to provide activities that will increase reading skills and student achievement; (2) have effectively coordinated services and funding with entities involved in other Federal, State, and local efforts to provide programs and activities for students during non-school hours; and (3) have a high level of community support. Authorizes appropriations.
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 · 28 September 1999
Digital Education Act of 1999 - Amends title III (Technology for Education) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to provide for digital education partnerships. (Sec. 2) Renames and revises ESEA title III part C as Ready-to- Learn Digital Television (currently Ready-to-Learn Television). Directs the Secretary of Education to award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to eligible public telecommunications entities to: (1) develop educational programming, and related support materials and services, for preschool and elementary school children; (2) develop programming and digital content designed for nationwide distribution over public television stations' digital broadcasting channels and the Internet, containing Ready-to-Learn-based children's programming and resources for parents and caregivers; and (3) disseminate and distribute such programs to the widest possible appropriate audience by the most appropriate distribution technologies. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 3) Establishes the New Century Program for Distributed Teacher Professional Development as ESEA title III part D. (Replaces current part D provisions for a Technology Demonstration Project for Mathematics Project.) Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to a nonprofit telecommunications entity, or partnership of such entities for a national telecommunications-based program to improve teaching in core curriculum areas. Requires such program to be designed to assist elementary school and secondary school teachers in preparing all students for achieving State content standards. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 4) Establishes a Digital Education Content Collaborative as a new part F of ESEA title III. Authorizes the Secretary to award competitive matching grants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with, eligible local public television communications entities to develop, produce, and distribute educational and instructional video programming designed for use by kindergarten through grade 12 schools and based on State standards. Requires such eligible entities to enter into multiyear content development collaborative arrangements with State educational agencies, local educational agencies, institutions of higher education, businesses, or other agencies and organizations. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 1999
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the practice of removing the fins of a shark and dumping its carcass back into the ocean, commonly known as shark finning, is a wasteful and unsportsmanlike practice; (2) the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council, the State of Hawaii, and the National Marine Fisheries Service should promptly and permanently end such practice in all Federal and State waters in the Central Pacific Ocean and Western Pacific Ocean; and (3) the Secretary of State should continue to advocate for the coordinated management of sharks and the elimination of shark finning in all other waters.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1999
Home Energy Generation Act - Amends the Federal Power Act to mandate that: (1) each retail electric supplier make available an electric energy meter capable of net metering to certain retail customers that have installed an energy generation unit intended for net metering; and (2) rates, charges, and contract terms for electric energy sales to customer-generators be equal to those that would be applicable if the customer-generator did not own or operate a qualified generation unit and use a net metering system. Prescribes the manner in which such retail electric suppliers shall calculate the net energy measurement and billing for a customer using a net metering system. Sets forth public disclosure and safety and performance standards. Grants the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regulatory oversight with respect to safety standards and attendant charges. Sets a deadline for FERC to promulgate: (1) model interconnection standards between local distribution systems and qualified generation units and electric generation units; and (2) regulations ensuring simplified contracts will be used for the interconnection of electric energy by electric energy transmission or distribution systems and generating facilities with a power production capacity of 250 kilowatts or less.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1999
Intercountry Adoption Act of 1999 - Title I: United States Central Authority - Requires the Department of State through the Secretary of State to serve as the central authority of the United States with respect to implementation of the Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption done at the Hague on May 29, 1993. Outlines responsibilities of the Secretary of State, including liaison, information exchange, and other coordination activities relating to the Convention. (Sec. 103) Requires the Attorney General to be responsible for the filing of applications by prospective adoptive parents to the central authority of their country of residence. (Sec. 104) Requires annual reports from the Secretary of State to Congress describing activities of the U.S. central authority during the previous year. Title II: Provisions Relating to Accreditation and Approval -Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) to carry out functions prescribed by the Convention with respect to the accreditation of agencies and the approval of persons to provide adoption services in the United States. (Sec. 202) Prohibits a person, with specified exceptions, from offering or providing an adoption service in connection with a Convention adoption in the United States unless that person is accredited under this title, or is providing such service through or under the supervision and responsibility of an accredited person. (Sec. 203) Directs the Secretary to enter into agreements with one or more qualified entities that will provide for the accreditation of agencies, and approval of persons, to provide adoption services in the United States in cases subject to the Convention. Requires such entities to undertake related oversight, enforcement, and information collection activities. Sets forth procedures for an agency or person to reapply for accreditation as a result of an adverse action by an accrediting entity. Provides for the judicial review of such actions. Allows fees to be charged against agencies or persons seeking accreditation for Convention intercountry adoptions. Outlines accreditation standards and procedures. (Sec. 205) Directs the Secretary to: (1) monitor each entity's performance of accrediting duties and compliance with the Convention and other applicable laws and regulations; and (2) suspend or cancel the accreditation of an agency or person found to be substantially out of compliance with applicable requirements, and the accrediting entity has failed or refused to take appropriate corrective action. Authorizes the Secretary to debar an agency or person from accreditation, under certain conditions. Provides judicial review of the Secretary's decisions under this section. (Sec. 206) Authorizes appropriations, limited to the amount of fees collected by accrediting entities. Title III: Recognition of Convention Adoptions in the United States - Directs the Secretary, with respect to each Convention adoption, to issue a certificate to the adoptive citizen parent domiciled in the United States recognizing the legal effect, for purposes of emigration and adoption, of a Convention adoption, as long as the Secretary has received appropriate documentation from the central authority of the child's country of origin, and has verified that other requirements of this Act have been met with respect to adoption. Provides for U.S. recognition of adoptions finalized in other Convention countries. (Sec. 302) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to include: (1) under its definition of "child" a child adopted through the Convention; and (2) under its immigration approval procedures a child for whom the Secretary has certified that a U.S. citizen has effected final adoption under the Convention. (Sec. 303) Outlines procedures for the adoption in any other Convention country of a child residing in the United States, requiring certain duties to be performed by an accredited agency or approved person or the prospective parents acting on their own behalf (if so permitted in such country). Prohibits a State court from entering an order declaring such adoption to be final or granting custody for adoption, unless such court: (1) has received and verified that such duties have been performed, as well as evidence that other Convention requirements have been met; and (2) has determined that the adoptive placement is in the child's best interests. (Sec. 304) Prohibits a State court from vacating a final adoption decree entered pursuant to the Convention unless: (1) the decree was granted by a State court; (2) the court finds clear and convincing evidence that adoptive consent was obtained through fraud, duress, or improper inducement by compensation; (3) voiding such adoption is in the best interests of the child; and (4) the adoptive parents are afforded an opportunity to be heard in such proceedings. Recognizes another country's proceedings vacating such adoptions. States that the voiding of such an adoption does not void or prohibit the naturalization of such child as a U.S. citizen. Title IV: Administration and Enforcement - Provides for: (1) the preservation of Convention adoption records; (2) the nondisclosure of identifying information contained in such records (except to the extent necessary to administer the Convention or this Act); and (3) recognition of Convention documents of other countries. (Sec. 403) Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 404) Provides civil penalties and other enforcement procedures for violations of this Act. Title V: General Provisions - Sets forth provisions with respect to the recognition of Convention adoptions. (Sec. 502) Authorizes the Secretary of State to establish by regulation alternative procedures for the adoption of children by individuals related to them by blood or marriage in cases subject to the Convention. (Sec. 503) States that the Convention and this Act shall have no effect on: (1) State law; or (2) provisions of the Indian Child Welfare 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 · 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 · 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 · 8 September 1999
Biomass Research and Development Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretaries of Energy and Agriculture (the Secretaries) to coordinate policies and procedures that promote research, development, and demonstration on the production of biobased products for ensuring full consideration of potential feed-stock resources for energy-efficient, economically competitive, and environmentally sound biobased products and assessing the environmental, economic, and social impact of the production of such products from biomass on a large scale. Requires the Secretaries to each designate a high-level officer as a point of contact from their respective Departments and provides for such points of contact to jointly: (1) assist in arranging interlaboratory, interagency, and site-specific supplemental agreements for research, development, and demonstration projects relating to biobased products; (2) administer the Biomass Research and Development Initiative (Initiative); and (3) respond in writing to each recommendation made by the Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee. (Sec. 5) Directs the Secretaries to establish a Biomass Research and Development Board to coordinate programs within and among the departments and agencies of the Federal Government to promote the use of biobased products by maximizing the benefits deriving from Federal grants, research and development agreements, and other assistance, and bringing coherence to Federal planning. (Sec. 6) Directs the Secretaries to establish a Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee (Advisory Committee) to advise the Secretaries concerning the technical focus and direction of requests for proposals issued under the Initiative and procedures for reviewing such proposals and facilitate consultations and partnerships among Federal agencies, the research community, agricultural and forestry producers, industry, consumers, and other interested groups to carry out program activities relating to the Initiative, and evaluate and perform strategic planning on such program activities. Requires the Advisory Committee to: (1) advise the points of contact respecting the Initiative and evaluate and make written recommendations to the Board to ensure that funds appropriated for the Initiative are distributed and used consistently for grants, contracts, and other financial assistance under this Act; (2) ensure that the points of contact are funding proposals that are selected on a competitive, peer-reviewed basis, as determined by an independent panel of scientific and technical peers; and (3) ensure that activities are carried out in accordance with this Act. Provides for the Advisory Committee to coordinate its activities with other Federal advisory committees working in related areas to avoid duplication of effort. (Sec. 7) Directs the Secretaries, acting through their respective points of contact and in consultation with the Board, to establish and carry out the Initiative under which competitively awarded grants, contracts, and other financial assistance are provided to, or entered into with, eligible entities to carry out research, development, and demonstration respecting biobased products. Specifies the purposes for which such grants, contracts, and other financial assistance shall be provided. Requires Federal agencies to issue regulations establishing procedures to ensure that no class of applicants has an unfair advantage in competing for an award. Requires the points of contact, after consultation with the Board, to: (1) publish annually a joint request for proposals for such grants, contracts, and other financial assistance; (2) provide a preference in such grants, contracts, and other financial assistance to consortia involving experts from multiple institutions and academic disciplines working on cross-cutting or integrative research, development, and demonstration challenges; and (3) require that such assistance be awarded competitively after the establishment of procedures that provide for scientific peer review by an independent panel of scientific and technical peers. Requires such grants, contracts, or other financial assistance to be used to conduct: (1) research and development in technologies or processes determined by the Advisory Committee to be consistent with the purposes specified under this Act; (2) research into the sustainability and long-term environmental impacts of the technologies or processes; (3) research into the economic viability (including the cost, net energy and comparative energy uses) of the technologies or processes; or (4) pilot projects of processes and technologies that lead to a better understanding of the energy or environmental impacts or performance characteristics of a biobased product. Prohibits the provision of such financial assistance for a demonstration project unless at least an equal amount of funding is obtained for such project from non-Federal sources. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 8) Directs the Secretary of Energy to provide such administrative support and funds to the Board and the Advisory Committee as are necessary to enable them to carry out this Act. Declares that the Secretary of Agriculture and the heads of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of the Interior may, and are encouraged to, provide such support and funds to the Board and the Advisory Committee. (Sec. 9) Requires the Secretaries to transmit to Congress specified initial and final reports.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 1999
Certified Nurse Midwifery Medicare Services Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for the coverage of and payment for the following under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance): (1) certified midwife services (currently only certified nurse-midwife services are covered); and (2) freestanding birth center services. Declares that nothing precludes certified nurse-midwives and certified midwives from teaching or supervising an intern or resident-in-training.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Bipartisan Consensus Managed Care Improvement Act of 1999 - Title I: Improving Managed Care - Subtitle A: Grievances and Appeals - Requires a group health plan, and a health insurance issuer that provides health insurance coverage, to conduct utilization review activities that monitor or evaluate the use or coverage, clinical necessity, appropriateness, efficacy, or efficiency of health care services, procedures, or settings. (Sec. 102) Requires a plan and an issuer to provide appropriate notices to the participant, beneficiary, or enrollee for benefit claims it has denied that include reasons for denial and instructions for initiating specified internal appeals procedures, which must include procedures for an expedited review process in emergency situations. (Sec. 103) Outlines external appeals procedures for the timely resolution of certain denied claims through the use of qualified external appeal entities, which shall determine whether the plan's or issuer's decision is in accordance with the patient's medical needs. Declares that an external appeal entity's determination is binding on the plan and issuer involved. Provides for court-imposed civil monetary penalties and cease and desist orders against authorized officials of plan or issuers who refuse to timely follow the determination of an external appeal entity to provide a benefit. (Sec. 104) Requires a plan and an issuer to establish a system featuring specified components for the presentation and resolution of grievances brought by participants, beneficiaries, or enrollees, or health care providers or other individuals acting on behalf of an individual either with the individual's consent or without it if the individual is medically unable to provide it. Declares that grievances are not subject to appeal under this subtitle. Subtitle B: Access to Care - Provides that if an issuer offers coverage of services only if they are furnished through members of a network of health care professionals and providers contracting with the issuer, the issuer shall also offer the option of coverage of such services which are not furnished through members of such a network, unless enrollees are offered such non-network coverage through another plan or issuer in the group market. Makes the enrollee bear the cost of any additional premium the issuer charges for such option, and the amount of any additional cost sharing, unless it is paid by the health plan sponsor through agreement with the issuer. (Sec. 112) States that if a plan or an issuer requires or provides for designation of a participating primary care provider by a participant, a beneficiary, or an enrollee, then the plan or issuer shall permit each such person to designate any participating primary care provider available to accept such individual. Requires a plan and an issuer to permit each participant, beneficiary, or enrollee to receive medically necessary or appropriate speciality care, pursuant to appropriate referral procedures, from any qualified participating health care professional available to accept such individual. Waives such requirement in the case of specialty care if the plan or issuer clearly informs each participant, beneficiary, and enrollee of the limitations on choice of participating professionals with respect to such care. (Sec. 113) Requires a plan or an issuer providing any emergency hospital benefits to cover emergency services: (1) without the need for any prior authorization determination; (2) whether or not the health care provider furnishing such services is a participating health care provider; and (3) without regard to any other term or condition of such coverage (other than exclusion or coordination of benefits, or an affiliation or waiting period, permitted under the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), or the Internal Revenue Code, and other than applicable cost-sharing). Requires such coverage in a manner so that, if the emergency services are provided by a nonparticipating health care provider with or without prior authorization or by a participating provider without such authorization, the participant, beneficiary, or enrollee is not liable for amounts exceeding the liability that would be incurred if the services were provided by a participating provider with prior authorization. Prescribes the same coverage for maintenance care or post-stabilization care (subject to certain guidelines) by nonparticipating health care providers. (Sec. 114) Requires plans and issuers to refer participants, beneficiaries, or enrollees who have a serious disease or condition requiring treatment by a specialist to an appropriate specialist who is available and accessible (regardless of whether the specialist is participating or nonparticipating), provided the benefits for such treatment are covered by the plan or issuer. Sets forth rules governing referrals and specialists. (Sec. 115) Prohibits a plan or an issuer that requires or provides for designation of a participating primary care professional from requiring authorization or a referral by such primary care professional for gynecological care and pregnancy-related services provided by a participating health care professional (including a specialist). Requires the plan or issuer to treat the ordering of other obstetrical or gynecological care by such a participating professional as the authorization of the primary care professional. (Sec. 116) Requires certain plans and issuers to permit an enrollee to designate a pediatrician as a primary care provider for the enrollee's child. (Sec. 117) Prescribes requirements for continuity of care during a transition period for participants, beneficiaries, or enrollees undergoing treatment for an ongoing special condition in the event of a termination of: (1) a contract between the plan or an issuer and a health care provider; or (2) a contract between a plan and an issuer that results in the termination of coverage of services of a health care provider. Prescribes a 90-day basic transition period, with specified extensions in the case of scheduled surgery and organ transplantation, pregnancy, or terminal illness. (Sec. 118) Provides that a plan or issuer restricting prescription drug benefits to drugs included in a formulary to: (1) ensure participation of participating physicians in development of the formulary; (2) disclose to providers, and upon request to participants, beneficiaries, and enrollees, the nature of the formulary restrictions; and (3) consistent with the standards for a utilization review program, provide for exceptions from the formulary limitation when a non-formulary alternative is medically indicated. (Sec. 119) Prohibits a plan or issuer from: (1) denying individual participation in an approved clinical trial; (2) denying or limiting or imposing additional conditions on the coverage of routine patient costs for items and services furnished in connection with participation in the trial; and (3) discriminating against the individual on the basis of the enrollee's participation in such trial. Subtitle C: Access to Information - Specifies benefits, access, emergency coverage, prior authorization, grievance and appeals, and other pertinent information which plans and issuers shall provide to participants and beneficiaries at the time of initial coverage, annually, within a reasonable period before or after the date of significant changes, and upon request. Subtitle D: Protecting the Doctor-Patient Relationship - Prohibits any contract or agreement between a plan or issuer and a health care provider from prohibiting or otherwise restricting a health care professional from advising a participant, beneficiary, or enrollee who is the professional's patient about his or her health status or medical care or treatment for his or her condition or disease, regardless of whether benefits for such care or treatment are provided under the plan or coverage, if the professional is acting within the lawful scope of practice. Declares null and void any such contract or agreement provisions. (Sec. 132) Prohibits a plan or issuer from discriminating with respect to participation or indemnification as to any provider acting within the scope of the provider's license or certification, solely on the basis of such license or certification. (Sec. 133) Prohibits any plan or issuer from operating any physician incentive plan that does not meet certain requirements under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act. (Sec. 134) Requires a plan or issuer to provide for prompt payment of claims in a manner consistent with Medicare clean claims requirements. (Sec. 135) Sets forth prohibitions and requirements for protection of: (1) participants, beneficiaries, enrollees, and health care providers in their use of a utilization review or grievance process; and (2) health care professionals for good faith disclosure of information to an appropriate agency or body in the interest of quality advocacy. Subtitle E: Definitions - Sets forth definitions. Title II: Application of Quality Care Standards to Group Health Plans and Health Insurance Coverage Under The Public Health Service Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require each plan and issuer to comply with the patient protection requirements of this Act. (Sec. 202) Requires each health insurance issuer to comply with such requirements with respect to individual health insurance coverage. Title III: Amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 - Amends ERISA to: (1) require each plan and issuer to comply with the patient protection requirements of this Act; and (2) deem a plan in compliance with subtitle A of title I of this Act to be in compliance with ERISA's claim procedure requirement with respect to claims denial. (Sec. 302) Declares that nothing in ERISA shall be construed to invalidate, impair, or supersede any cause of action under State law by a participant or beneficiary (or by his or her estate) to recover damages resulting from personal injury or wrongful death against any person (except employers and other plan sponsors) in connection with the provision of insurance, administrative services, or medical services by that person to or for a group health plan, or that arises out of the arrangement by that person for the provision of insurance, administrative services, or medical services by other persons. Denies plan or issuer liability for punitive damages in any cause of action relating to an externally appealable decision when: (1) the appeal has been completed; and (2) the plan or issuer has complied with the determination of the external appeal entity. Allows an action against an employer or other plan sponsor (or an employee of one or the other acting within the scope of employment) if it is based on the employer's or sponsor's exercise of discretionary authority to decide a claim for covered benefits, and such exercise has resulted in personal injury or wrongful death. Title IV: Application to Group Health Plans Under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require a group health plan to comply with this Act. Deems the requirements of this Act to be incorporated into the Internal Revenue Code. Title V: Effective Dates; Coordination in Implementation - Sets forth effective dates for provisions of this Act. (Sec. 502) Requires the Secretaries of Labor, of Health and Human Services, and of the Treasury to ensure coordination in the implementation of this Act. Title VI: Health Care Paperwork Simplification - Establishes the Health Care Panel to Devise a Uniform Explanation of Benefits to devise a single form for use by third-party health care payers for the remittance of claims to providers.
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
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
Prohibits the United States from operating a U.S. consulate in Jerusalem unless it is under the supervision of the U.S. Ambassador to Israel. Requires any official U.S. Government document which lists countries and their capital cities to identify Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Declares that, for purposes of registration of birth, certification of nationality, or issuance of a passport of a U.S. citizen born in the city of Jerusalem, the Secretary of State shall, upon the citizen's request, record the place of birth as Israel.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Rural Education Initiative Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to establish a new part J, Rural Education Initiative (REI), under title X Programs of National Significance. (Replaces the current part J, Urban and Rural Education Assistance and its provisions for demonstration grants for, and White House Conferences on, urban and rural education.) Makes an local educational agency (LEA) eligible for REI alternative use formula grants and competitive grants if: (1) the total number of students in average daily attendance at all of the schools served by the LEA is less than 600; and (2) all of the schools served by the LEA are located in a community with a Rural-Urban Continuum Code of 6, 7, 8, or 9, as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture. Authorizes the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to waive such eligibility requirements for competitive grants. Provides, under the alternative use formula grant program, that an eligible LEA may use applicable funding that it is eligible to receive from the State educational agency (SEA) for a fiscal year, to support local or statewide education reform efforts intended to improve the achievement of elementary school and secondary school students and the quality of instruction provided for the students. Defines applicable funding as funds received under: (1) specified provisions of the Department of Education Appropriations Act, 1999; (2) ESEA title II (Dwight D. Eisenhower Professional Development Program); (3) ESEA title IV (Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities); and (4) ESEA title VI (Innovative Education Program Strategies). Requires each SEA receiving applicable funding to disburse it to LEAs for alternative uses at the same times it disburses it to LEAs that do not intend to use it for alternative uses for that fiscal year. Authorizes the Secretary to award competitive grants to eligible LEAs to support local or statewide education reform efforts intended to improve the achievement of elementary school and secondary school students and the quality of instruction provided for the students. Sets forth formulas for determining the amounts of such grants, based on numbers of children in average daily attendance at schools served by the LEAs, minus amounts received under applicable funding. Authorizes appropriations for the REI program. Sets forth accountability provisions. Requires LEAs that receive REI alternative use formula grants or competitive grants to administer tests to assess the academic achievement of students in their schools. Requires each SEA that receives applicable funding to: (1) determine, after the fifth year of an LEA's participation in either REI grant program, whether the LEA's students are performing better on such tests than after the first year of participation; (2) only permit LEAs that perform better to continue to participate for an additional five years; and (3) prohibit LEAs that did not perform better from participating for five years from the date of determination.
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 · 30 July 1999
Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is - The VA Dentists Equity Act - Increases the authorized pay levels for full-time dentists and certain dental executive positions within the Veterans Health Administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1999
Federal Employee Retirement Contributions Act of 1999 - Amends Federal retirement provisions to reduce to seven percent after December 31, 1999, the required retirement contribution by Federal employees participating under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) (such contribution currently is scheduled to be 7.4 percent for calendar year 2000, and 7.5 percent for 2001). Reduces similarly the required percentage contribution under CSRS for Members of Congress and congressional employees, law enforcement or firefighting personnel, certain judges and magistrates, and nuclear material couriers. Makes similar reductions for participants in the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS). Makes conforming reductions with respect to military and volunteer service under FERS. Amends the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 and the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to make similar employee retirement contribution reductions under the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System, the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability System, and the Foreign Service Pension System.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1999
Tax Fairness for County Fairs Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that long-term vehicle storage by tax-exempt organizations which conduct county and similar fairs shall not be treated as an unrelated trade or business.
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.