United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1999
Medicare Home Health Improvement Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act and the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA '97) to eliminate the 15 percent automatic reduction in payment amounts to home health agencies furnishing home health services under the Medicare program. Allows home health agencies to elect to repay certain overpayments made by the Secretary of Health and Human Services over a 36-month no-interest grace period. Makes such an election effective as if included in BBA '97.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 1999
Commercial Space Transportation Competitiveness Act of 1999 - Amends the Commercial Space Launch Act to increase the authorization of appropriations for FY 2000 for activities of the Office of the Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2001 and 2002 to such Office. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2002 for activities of the Office of Space Commercialization. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to report to Congress on such Office. Extends, through December 31, 2004, the Act's commercial space launch industry damage indemnification provisions. Directs the Secretary to report to Congress on the liability risk-sharing regime in the United States for commercial space transportation.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 1999
Fair Energy Competition Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal Power Act (FPA) to direct the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to calculate and publish a generation performance standard for oxides of nitrogen from covered electric generating units in designated regions. Sets forth implementation guidelines which take into account: (1) ozone episodes; (2) fine particulate matter; (3) carbon dioxide; and (4) mercury emission reductions. (Sec. 4) Instructs FERC to allocate allowances: (1) for each air pollutant for which a statutory tonnage cap has been established; and (2) each person who demonstrates achievement of an independently certified reduction in gross electric energy demand during a covered period. Provides for carryover and trading of allowances. Prescribes implementation guidelines, including: (1) a measurement and verification protocol; (2) compliance with allowance limits; and (3) excess emissions. (Sec. 5) Directs the Secretary of Energy to establish a National Electric System Public Benefits Board, which shall establish the National Electric System Public Benefits Fund to provide matching funds to States to support programs relating to renewable energy sources, universal electric service, energy conservation, and other public purposes. (Sec. 6) Prescribes guidelines for funding, distribution, and wires charges. (Sec. 7) Prescribes a minimum schedule for the total amount of electricity sold by non-hydroelectric facilities and generated by renewable energy sources. Prescribes procedural guidelines for: (1) renewable energy credits; and (2) mandatory FERC sales of renewable energy credits. (Sec. 8) Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to require each retail electric supplier to make net metering service available upon request to a retail electric consumer served or solicited by such supplier. Prescribes guidelines governing: (1) rates and charges; (2) safety and performance standards; and (3) interconnection standards among on-site generating facilities, net metering systems, and local distribution systems. (Sec. 9) Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a disclosure system to allow retail consumers knowledgeably to compare retail electric service offerings (including comparisons based on generation source portfolios, emissions data, and price terms); and (2) promulgate regulations accordingly. Requires certain seller disclosures to wholesale customers as well. Declares that failure of a retail company to provide accurate disclosure shall be treated as a deceptive act in commerce prohibited under the Federal Trade Commission Act. (Sec. 11) Declares that no electric utility shall be required after enactment of this Act to enter into a new contract or obligation to purchase electric energy from cogeneration and small power production facilities. (Sec. 12) Prohibits any person, except in accordance with State-prescribed verification procedures, from submitting or executing a change: (1) in the selection made by a retail electric supply customer ("slamming"); or (2) to the number of products or services offered ("cramming"). (Sec. 13) Prescribes privacy guidelines governing consumer proprietary information.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 1999
Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 for the construction of a U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, Israel. 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 · 14 July 1999
Credit for Voluntary Actions Act - Authorizes the President to enter into legally binding voluntary action agreements with any person under which the United States agrees to provide greenhouse gas reduction credit usable beginning in the compliance period (during which a domestic greenhouse gas regulatory statute is in effect) if such person reduces greenhouse gas emissions or sequesters carbon before the end of the credit period. Defines the credit period as: (1) the period of January 1, 1999, through the earlier of the day before the compliance period begins or the end of the ninth calendar year beginning after enactment of this Act; or (2) a different period determined under extension or adjustment provisions of this Act. (Sec. 5) Requires a participant to receive greenhouse gas reduction credit under such an agreement if such participant takes an action that: (1) reduces such emissions or sequesters carbon before the end of the credit period; and (2) will result in an addition to the U.S. quantified emission limitation during the credit period. Authorizes agreements to entitle a participant to receive credit for a reduction or sequestration that is not creditable under such requirements and is for a project accepted before December 31, 2000, under the U.S. Initiative for Joint Implementation, financing for which was provided or construction of which was commenced before such date. Limits the period in which credit may be earned to the earlier of the earliest date on which credit may be earned for a reduction, sequestration, or comparable project under a congressionally authorized domestic greenhouse gas regulatory statute or the end of the credit period. Grants a participant credit if, during the credit period, the participant's aggregate greenhouse gas emissions from domestic sources covered by the agreement are less than the sum of the participant's annual source baselines during such period. Treats the amount by which the aggregate net carbon sequestration for such period in a participant's domestic carbon reservoirs exceeds the sum of the annual reservoir baselines for such period as an emission reduction. Sets forth circumstances under which a participant is entitled to receive one ton of reduction credit for reductions or sequestration for 1991 through 1998. Authorizes an extension of the period during which credit may be earned if the Congress so permits by law. Requires the President to report the cumulative balance of emissions credits potentially earned under all agreements annually to Congress and notify Congress of a determination that such balance has reached or exceeded 365 million. Entitles participants, at the end of the credit period, to one ton of reduction credit for each creditable ton. Bars credits for the reduction of certain greenhouse gases used in automatic fire suppression systems. (Sec. 6) Establishes annual source or reservoir baselines for the years in the credit period equal to a participant's average annual greenhouse gas emissions from domestic sources or average level of carbon stocks in reservoirs during a three-year base period ending with this Act's enactment date, with specified adjustments. Provides for alternative base periods if data is unavailable or unrepresentative. Authorizes participants to elect a base period earlier than the one prescribed by this Act (excluding years earlier than 1990) to reflect voluntary reductions made before that period. Provides for adjustment of the period during which credit may be earned if an election is made for a base period earlier than 1996. (Sec. 7) Requires agreements to cover all greenhouse gas sources that a participant owns on the date on which an agreement is entered into. Permits agreements to exclude small or diverse sources where the emissions represent a de minimis percentage of the participant's total emissions. Defines a participant's annual baseline as the product of its baseline emissions, economic change factor (ratio of product output during the year and average annual output during the base period), and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) adjustment factor (difference between 100 and the percentage by which the U.S. GDP has increased since the base period). Authorizes coverage for other owned sources and reservoirs. (Sec. 8) Establishes reporting, measurement, and verification procedures and requires public availability of participants' reports. (Sec. 9) Permits the President to enter into agreements with participants that manufacture or construct for sale to end-users equipment or facilities that emit greenhouse gases and adopt end use efficiency technologies. Sets forth provisions regarding the emissions baselines and calculation of reduction credits for such participants. Authorizes participants that manufacture automobiles to enter into agreements under this section. (Sec. 10) Requires agreements to entitle participants to receive reduction credit for permanent protection of carbon stocks in mature primary forests, reforestation and afforestation, and improved forest carbon stock management in forests that have merchantable timber. Sets forth provisions for the calculation of credits under this section. Makes eligible to participate in the program established by this section: (1) private lands and lands that are transferred into permanent protection under State or Federal jurisdiction during the credit period; and (2) mature primary forests and lands on which reforestation and afforestation is initiated during the credit period. Sets forth additional requirements for eligible forests. Limits carbon stock increase credits to 20 percent of all credits allocated under this Act. Sets forth requirements for monitoring and reporting with respect to carbon stocks. (Sec. 11) Permits participants to purchase credit from and sell credit to other participants and sell credit to non-participants. Authorizes pooling arrangements under which a group of participants acts as a single participant for purposes of entering into an agreement. (Sec. 12) Requires agreements to provide that: (1) credit earned under an agreement shall be provided in addition to any otherwise available authorizations of the participant to emit greenhouse gases during the compliance period under a domestic statute; and (2) if the allocation of authorizations under such statute is based on the level of a participant's emissions in a historic period later than the participant's base period under the agreement, any credit to which the participant was entitled during such historic period shall be added back to the participant's emissions level for such period.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 1999
Open Space Preservation Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income the gain from the sale or exchange of farmland if there is a covenant prohibiting any use other than as farmland. Excludes from the gross estate the value of farmland if there is a covenant prohibiting any use other than as farmland.
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
Wartime Violation of Italian American Civil Liberties Act - Directs the Inspector General of the Department of Justice to conduct a comprehensive review of the treatment by the Federal Government of Italian Americans during World War II (between September 1, 1939, and December 31, 1945) and to report to Congress on the findings of such review. Requires the findings to include information regarding: (1) Italian Americans who were taken into custody, interned, ordered to move out of designated areas, or arrested for curfew, contraband, or other violations; (2) Federal Bureau of Investigations raids on Italian Americans homes; (3) restrictions on Italian American fishermen and railroad workers; and (4) civil liberties infringements suffered by Italian Americans during World War II as a result of Executive Order 9066. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the story of the treatment of Italian Americans during World War II needs to be told; (2) Federal agencies, including the Department of Education and the National Endowment for the Humanities, should support projects such as conferences, seminars, and lectures to heighten awareness of this unfortunate chapter in our nation's history, the refurbishment and payment of all expenses associated with the traveling exhibit "Una Storia Segreta," and documentaries allowing this issue to be presented to the American public; (3) an advisory committee should be established to assist in the compilation, research, and dissemination of information on the treatment of Italian Americans; and (4) financial support should be provided for educating the American public through the production of a documentary film suited for public broadcast. Requires the President, on behalf of the Government, to formally acknowledge that these events during World War II represented a fundamental injustice against Italian Americans.
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 · 30 June 1999
National Center for Research on Domestic Health Disparities Act - Amends title IV (National Research Institutes) of the Public Health Service Act (PHSA), as amended by the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999, to establish, as another agency of the National Institutes of Health, a National Center for Research on Domestic Health Disparities to conduct and support basic and clinical research, training, and dissemination of health information, and other programs with respect to minority health. Directs the Director of the Center to assist in the administration of certain PHSA clinical research requirements with respect to the inclusion of minority groups as clinical research subjects. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish an advisory council to assist the Director. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1999
National Discovery Trails Act of 1999 - Amends the National Trails System Act to provide for the establishment, as components of the National Trails System, of national discovery trails which shall be extended, continuous interstate trails located so as to provide for outdoor recreation and travel and to connect representative examples of America's trails and communities. Requires the appropriate Secretary for each national discovery trail to administer the trail in cooperation with a competent trailwide nonprofit organization. Prohibits a trail from being considered feasible and desirable for designation as a national discovery trail unless it: (1) links to one or more areas within the boundaries of a metropolitan area and joins with other trails, tying the National Trails System to significant recreation and resources areas; (2) is supported by a competent trailwide volunteer-based organization and has extensive local and trailwide support by the public, user groups, and affected State and local governments; and (3) extends and passes through more than one State and, at a minimum, is a continuous, walkable route. Requires the responsible Secretary, within three complete fiscal years after enactment of legislation designating a national discovery trail, to submit to specified congressional committees a comprehensive plan: (1) for the protection, management, development, and use of the Federal portions of the trail; and (2) for technical assistance to States, local governments, and private landowners, as requested, for non-Federal portions of the trail. Designates as a national discovery trail the 6,000-mile American Discovery Trail which shall extend from Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware to Point Reyes National Seashore in California, traveling northern and southern routes from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Denver, Colorado.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1999
Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 1999 - Prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation by covered entities. Declares that a disparate impact does not establish a prima facie violation of this Act. Prohibits related retaliation and coercion. Declares that this Act does not apply to the provision of employee benefits for the benefit of an employee's domestic partner. Prohibits the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from: (1) collecting statistics on sexual orientation from covered entities; and (2) compelling covered entities to collect such statistics. Prohibits: (1) quotas and preferential treatment; and (2) an order or consent decree for a violation of this Act that includes a quota or preferential treatment. Declares that this Act does not apply to: (1) religious organizations (except regarding employment in a position the duties of which pertain solely to activities of the organization that generate unrelated business income subject to taxation under specified Internal Revenue Code provisions); (2) the relationship between the United States and members of the armed forces; or (3) laws creating special rights or preferences for veterans. Provides for enforcement. Prohibits the imposition of affirmative action for a violation of this Act. Disallows State immunity. Makes the United States or a State liable for all remedies (except punitive damages, with compensatory damages available to the extent specified in certain existing provisions of law) to the same extent as under specified provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Allows recovery of attorney's fees. Requires posting notices for employees, applicants, and members.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1999
Makes the American Battle Monuments Commission and the World War II Memorial Advisory Board eligible to use nonprofit standard mail rates of postage: (1) for official mail sent to promote establishment of the Memorial and encourage private donations; or (2) for the Commission to solicit and accept such private contributions.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1999
History of the House Awareness and Preservation Act - Directs the Librarian of Congress to: (1) prepare a new and complete written history of the U.S. House of Representatives; (2) in preparing the history, consult, commission, or engage the services or participation of eminent historians and Members or former Members of the House; (3) arrange for the printing of the history and the dissemination of excerpts of the history over the Internet; (4) make the history available for sale to the public; and (5) make available, free of charge, a limited number of copies to each Member of the House of Representatives and to the Senate. Sets forth guidelines for the history. Authorizes the Librarian to solicit and accept private funding for the publication, marketing, and public distribution of the history. Directs the Librarian to accept for deposit, preserve, maintain, and make accessible, an oral history of the House as told by its Members and former Members, compiled and updated (on a voluntary or contract basis) by the U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress or other outside organization. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) orientation programs for freshman Members of the House should contain a seminar on the history of the House; and (2) the Speaker of the House should conduct a series of forums on the topic of such history.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1999
Expresses the sense of Congress that all Americans should recognize their responsibility to become trained in the life-saving technique of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and seek the opportunity to halt the devastation of cardiac arrest. Supports the efforts of the National CPR Task Force in its development of mass CPR training programs in ten States by the end of 1999, and in every State by the end of 2001. Commends the goals and ideas of the National CPR Weekend initiated by the Task Force in order to facilitate awareness of its program and the need for individuals to receive training in administering CPR.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1999
Families First Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow for penalty-free withdrawals from individual retirement plans if used to pay adoption expenses; and (2) permanently extend and increase the dollar and income limitations for employer adoption assistance programs.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1999
Willing Seller Amendments of 1999 to the National Trails System Act - Expresses the sense of Congress that, in order to address problems involving multijurisdictional authority over the national scenic and historic trails, the head of each Federal agency with jurisdiction over an individual trail should: (1) cooperate with appropriate State and local officials and private persons to pursue the trail's development; and (2) be granted sufficient authority to purchase from willing sellers lands critical to trail completion. Amends the National Trails System Act to require Federal land purchases under such Act to be only with the owner's consent. Prohibits Federal funds from being expended for the acquisition of land or land interests for specified System trails without the owner's consent.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1999
Medicare HEAL (Hospital Emergency Assistance Legislation) Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to increase certain payment amounts made under the Medicare program for prospective payment system hospitals, for indirect medical education, and for disproportionate share hospital (DSH) adjustments.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1999
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income (under the qualified scholarship provisions) certain amounts provided by an employer to the child of an employee.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1999
Alternative Fuels Promotion Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the credit for qualified electric vehicles meeting certain range requirements. Increases the deduction for the cost of installing alternative fueling stations. Establishes a credit for the retail sale of clean burning fuels as motor vehicle fuel.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 1999
Declares the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) all American men should take an active role in the fight against prostate cancer by all available means, including regular testing and medical examinations; and (2) the role played by national and community organizations and health care providers in promoting regular examinations and testing, and in providing related information, support, and access to services, should be applauded. Declares that the Federal Government has a responsibility to: (1) try to raise awareness about the importance of early detection and proper treatment; (2) continue to fund research into the causes of, and improved treatment for, such cancer; and (3) continue to consider ways to improve access to, and the quality of, health care services for detecting and treating it.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 1999
Omnibus Airline Passenger Fair Treatment Act of 1999 - Amends Federal aviation law to revise provisions prohibiting an air carrier, foreign air carrier, or ticket agent from engaging in unfair or deceptive practices or unfair methods of competition in air transportation. Extends such prohibition to any action of an air carrier or foreign air carrier that: (1) fails to provide a consumer full access to all fares for air transportation provided by them, regardless of the technology or other method the consumer uses to access the fares; (2) fails to provide an air carrier passenger with an accurate explanation of the reasons for a flight delay, cancellation, or diversion from a ticketed itinerary; and (3) prohibits a person (including a governmental entity) that purchases air transportation from only using a portion of the air transportation purchased (including using air transportation purchased only for one-way travel instead of round-trip travel), or assesses an additional fee on or charge to such person or ticket agent that sold the air transportation to such person. (Sec. 2) Prohibits an air carrier or foreign air carrier, in the case of a termination, cancellation, nonrenewal, or substantial change in the competitive circumstances of a ticket agent's appointment, from failing to provide the ticket agent with: (1) written notice, and a full statement of reasons for the action, on or before the 90th day preceding the action; and (2) at least 60 days to correct any deficiency claimed in such notice. Exempts a carrier from this requirement only in cases of insolvency, an assignment for the benefit of creditors, bankruptcy, or nonpayment of sums due under the appointment. (Sec. 3) Revises the preemption of State, local, and regional law or regulation related to a price, route, or level of service for air transportation provided by an air carrier. Limits the preemption to any such law or regulation that would directly prescribe a price, route, or level of service. (Sec. 4) Directs the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations to establish minimum Federal standards for resuscitation, emergency medical, and first-aid equipment and supplies to be carried on board an aircraft operated by an air carrier that is capable of carrying at least 30 passengers. Bars an air carrier or foreign air carrier from preventing or hindering (including by failing to assist) a passenger from exiting an aircraft if: (1) the aircraft is parked at an airport terminal gate with access to ramp or other facilities through which passengers are customarily boarded and deplaned; (2) such aircraft has remained at the gate more than one hour past its scheduled departure time; and (3) the captain of the aircraft has not been informed by air traffic control authorities that such aircraft can be cleared for departure within 15 minutes. (Sec. 5) Establishes the National Commission to Ensure Consumer Information and Choice in the Airline Industry. Requires the Commission, among other things, to study and make policy recommendations to the President and Congress on consumer access to information about the products and services of the airline industry, especially airline fares and routes.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1999
Bear Protection Act of 1999 - Prohibits any person from: (1) importing bear viscera into, or exporting it from, the United States; or (2) selling bear viscera, bartering, offering it for sale or barter, or purchasing, possessing, transporting, delivering, or receiving it in interstate or foreign commerce. Subjects persons who violate such prohibitions to specified penalties. Waives such prohibition for wildlife law enforcement purposes where a valid permit has been issued. Requires the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of State to discuss issues involving such trade with the appropriate representatives of countries that are the leading importers, exporters, or consumers of such products. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to report to Congress on the progress of efforts to end illegal trade in bear viscera.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1999
Late Term Abortion Restriction Act - Makes it unlawful, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, to knowingly perform an abortion after the fetus has become viable, unless, in the medical judgment of the attending physician, it is necessary to preserve the life of the woman or to avert serious adverse health consequences to her. Subjects a physician who violates this Act to a civil penalty of up to $10,000.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1999
Equity in Prescription Insurance and Contraceptive Coverage Act of 1999 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Public Health Service Act to prohibit a group health plan, and a health insurance issuer providing group coverage, from: (1) excluding or restricting benefits for prescription contraceptive drugs, devices, and outpatient services if the plan provides benefits for other outpatient prescription drugs, devices, or outpatient services; (2) denying eligibility based on use or potential use of such items or services; (3) providing monetary payments or rebates to a covered individual to encourage acceptance of less than the minimum protections available; (4) penalizing, reducing, or limiting a professional's reimbursement because the professional prescribed such drugs or devices or provided such services; or (5) providing incentives to a professional to induce the professional to withhold drugs, devices, or services. Amends the Public Health Service Act to apply those prohibitions to coverage offered in the individual market.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 1999
Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Act - Amends the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 to authorize appropriations for FY 2000 through 2004 for research and development activities of the following departments and agencies in connection with the High-Performance Computing Program (establishing goals and priorities for, and engaging in, Federal high-performance computing research, development, networking, and related activities): (1) the National Science Foundation (NSF); (2) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; (3) the Department of Energy; (4) the National Institute of Standards and Technology; (5) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and (6) the Environmental Protection Agency. Earmarks specified amounts of such authorized funds for: (1) long-term basic research on networking and information technology, including grants for information technology research centers; (2) grants for the development of major research equipment; and (3) information technology internship grants. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2001 and 2002 for support by such departments and agencies of the Next Generation Internet Program (research, development, and demonstration of advanced networking technologies to increase Internet capabilities and performance). Requires a previously-established advisory committee on high-performance computing to: (1) conduct periodic evaluations of high-performance computing and networking and information technology research and development programs; and (2) report at least once every two fiscal years to specified congressional committees on its findings and recommendations. Directs the NSF to study and report to Congress comparing the availability of encryption technologies in foreign countries to such technologies subject to export restrictions in the United States. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent a credit allowed for increased research activities as compared to the prior taxable year.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1999
Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to extend the wetland reserve program. Replaces the total program acreage limitation with an annual enrollment limitation through FY 2005. Includes within eligible program land non-wetland areas that would substantially contribute to North American Waterfowl Management Plan habitat objectives. Authorizes program related cooperative agreements for goods and services.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1999
Checkoff for Charity Act of 1999 - Title I: Checkoff for Charity - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit taxpayers to designate contributions to charities on their tax returns. Establishes the Checkoff for Charities Trust Fund. Title II: Checkoff for Charity Commission - Establishes in the Department of Commerce the Checkoff for Charity Commission which shall make arrangements for voluntary charitable, health, and welfare agencies that provide or support direct health and welfare services to individuals or their families to solicit contributions through designations made on individual tax returns. Requires annual reports from the Commission. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 1999
Tax Relief for Working Americans Act of 1999 - Title I: Marriage Penalty Relief - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to set the basic standard deduction for married individuals at twice the deduction for unmarried individuals. Title II: Adjustment of Social Security Earning Limit - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to increase, for any taxable year ending after 1999 and before 2001, the monthly exempt amount for individuals who have attained retirement age. Title III: Incentives for Health and Long-Term Care Coverage - Provides a limited credit for the insurance costs of health and long-term care coverage for previously uninsured individuals and individuals with COBRA continuation coverage. Phases-in a deduction for the health insurance and long-term insurance costs of employees and the self-employed. Allows a limited credit for taxpayers with long-term care needs. Title IV: Expansion of Dependent Care Credit - Increases the percentage of employment-related expenses allowed as a credit. Establishes a limited credit for certain stay-at-home parents. Title V: Alternative Minimum Tax Relief - Provides that the aggregate amount of credits allowed under subpart A (Nonrefundable Personal Credits) of part IV (Credits Against Tax) of the Code shall not exceed the sum of a taxpayer's regular tax liability and the alternative minimum tax. Provides that income averaging for farmers shall not increase alternative minimum tax liability. Title VI: Elimination of 60-Month limit on Student Loan Interest Deduction - Eliminates the 60-month limit on the student loan interest deduction. Title VII: Increase in Low-Income Housing Credit State Ceiling - Increases, and links to the cost-of-living adjustment, the State low-income housing credit ceiling. Title VIII: Farm and Ranch Risk Management Accounts - Allows an individual engaged in an eligible farming (or ranching) business a deduction (in computing adjusted gross income) for any taxable year of up to 20 percent of taxable income attributable to the eligible farming business which was paid in cash by the taxpayer to a Farm and Ranch Risk Management Account (FARRM Account). Includes distributions from a FARRM account in the taxpayer's gross income, and subjects to a special ten percent surtax any distributions not made within five years of contribution. Establishes a tax on excess contributions, but exempts the taxpayer from the tax on certain prohibited transactions. Title IX: Incentives for Urban Revitalization and Open Space - Expands the areas eligible for the expensing of environmental remediation costs from qualified contamination sites within targeted areas only to qualified contamination sites anywhere within the United States. Sets forth provisions concerning the donation of capital gain real property for qualified conservation purposes. Title X: Extension of Expiring Provisions - Permanently extends the: (1) credit for increasing research activities; (2) work opportunity credit; and (3) subpart F exemption for active income financing. Modifies the placed-in-service rules for qualified facilities producing electricity from certain renewable sources. Makes the credit allowed for such production inapplicable to electricity sold to utilities under certain contracts.
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999
Export Enhancement Act of 1999 - Sets forth policy recommendations for the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and the International Trade Administration (ITA). Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to extend through FY 2003 OPIC's authority to issue investment insurance and guarantees. Revises the purposes of the Trade and Development Agency to include, with respect to the promotion of U.S. private sector participation in development projects in developing and middle-income countries, special emphasis on economic sectors with significant U.S. export potential, such as energy, transportation, telecommunications, and environment. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes appropriations to the ITA for its Market Access and Compliance program, Trade Development program, and Commercial Service program. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to take steps to ensure the appointment of United States and Foreign Commercial Service employees in no fewer than ten sub-Saharan African countries, including the adequate appointment of personnel for South and Central America and the Caribbean, in order that U.S. businesses are made aware of existing market opportunities for goods and services. Directs the ITA to undertake the Global Diversity and Urban Export Initiative in order to increase exports from minority-owned businesses, focusing on businesses in under-served areas, including inner-city urban enterprise zones. Authorizes the ITA to advertise in newspapers, business journals, and other relevant publications and related media to inform businesses about ITA services. Revises the composition of the OPIC Board of Directors. Amends the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 to require the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC) to develop a Federal trade promotion plan that, among other things, shall: (1) ensure that all export promotion activities of the U.S. Agency for International Development are fully coordinated and consistent with those of other agencies; (2) identify the means for providing more coordinated export promotion services to small and medium-sized businesses; and (3) establish a set of priorities to promote U.S. exports to, and free market reforms in, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and other emerging markets, that are designed to stimulate job growth both in the United States and those regions and emerging markets. Requires the TPCC to: (1) report on actions taken to eliminate the areas of overlap and duplication identified among Federal export promotion activities; (2) coordinate efforts to sponsor or promote any trade show or trade fair; (3) work with all relevant State and national organizations, including the National Governors' Association, that have established trade promotion offices; and (4) report to Congress on actions taken to promote better coordination among State, Federal, and private sector export promotion activities.
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999
Medicare Community Nursing Demonstration Extension Act of 1999 - Grants an additional three-year extension for demonstration projects under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 that provide payment on a prepaid, capitated basis for community nursing and ambulatory care furnished to beneficiaries under the Medicare program under title XVIII of the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999
Civil Rights Tax Fairness Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income amounts received by a claimant on account of claims based on unlawful discrimination (as defined). Permits income averaging for backpay and frontpay awards received on account of such claims.
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999
Designates the Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic in Rome, New York, as the Donald J. Mitchell Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic.
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999
Harold Hughes-Bill Emerson Substance Abuse Treatment Parity Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the Internal Revenue Code to provide for parity in the application of treatment limitations and financial requirements to substance abuse treatment benefits under group health plans and individual health insurance coverage.
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999
Automobile Emissions Information Act of 1999 - Amends the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act to require fuel economy labels for new automobiles to contain an air pollutant emissions index number representing the composite level of controlled emissions (including the range of the air pollutant emissions index numbers of comparable automobiles of all manufacturers) for such automobile. Authorizes a State to enforce its laws or regulations on disclosure of air pollutant emissions for an automobile only if such law or regulation is identical to the Federal disclosure requirements on such emissions. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to calculate, provide to the manufacturer, and publish for each model of automobile and for each model year an air pollutant emissions index number representing the composite level of emissions for such automobile. Provides a waiver to States with respect to Federal pollutant emission disclosure requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1999
Amends the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 with respect to the farmland protection program to: (1) specify that the program shall be a matching grant program carried out through eligible entities such as State and local government, Indian tribes, and nonprofit conservation organizations; (2) eliminate acreage limits; (3) require State certification; and (4) increase the existing funding cap, revising it from a total program to a fiscal year cap.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1999
Calls for the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee to recommend and the Postal Service to issue a commemorative postage stamp in honor of the U.S.S. New Jersey and all those who served aboard her.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1999
Calls for the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee to recommend and the Postal Service to issue a commemorative postage stamp honoring the U.S. Submarine Force on its 100th anniversary.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 1999
Father Theodore M. Hesburgh Congressional Gold Medal Act - Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of Congress, a congressional gold medal to Father Theodore M. Hesburgh in recognition of his outstanding and enduring contributions to civil rights, higher education, the Catholic Church, the Nation, and the global community. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 1999
Bring Them Home Alive Act of 1999 - Directs the Attorney General to grant refugee status in the United States to any alien (and the parent, spouse, and child of such) who: (1) is a national of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, China, or any of the independent states of the former Soviet Union; and (2) personally delivers into U.S. custody a living American Vietnam War POW or MIA. Requires the granting of the same status to any alien (and parent, spouse, and child) who is a national of North Korea, China, or any of the independent states of the former Soviet Union and who personally delivers a living American Korean War POW or MIA. Directs the International Broadcasting Bureau to broadcast to such foreign countries information that promotes such refugee programs. Requires: (1) a minimum level of such broadcasting; and (2) the Bureau to ensure that such information is made available on the Internet. Expresses the sense of the Congress that RFE-RL, Inc., Radio Free Asia, and any other recipient of Federal grants that broadcasts to such countries should also broadcast such information.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 1999
Declares that Congress: (1) supports public and private entity efforts to heighten public awareness of pediatric cancer and the importance of regular medical examinations for children; and (2) encourages Federal agencies and departments to support those efforts.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1999
Iran Nonproliferation Act of 1999 - Directs the President to report periodically to specified congressional committees on foreign persons who, on or after January 22, 1998, have transferred to Iran: (1) controlled goods, services, or technology; or (2) non-controlled goods, services, or technology that would nevertheless would be, if they were U.S. goods, services, or technology, prohibited for export to Iran because of their potential contribution to the development of nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons, or ballistic missile systems. Excludes from identification in such reports any such persons who were previously identified, or who have acted on behalf of, or in concert with, the U.S. Government. Authorizes the President, with specified exceptions, to apply to such foreign person certain measures: (1) set forth in Executive Order 12938 prohibitions; (2) prohibiting the sale to such persons of defense items on the United States Munitions List and defense articles and defense services, or design and construction services under the Arms Export Control Act; and (3) prohibiting the export to such persons of controlled goods and technology under the Export Administration Act of 1979. Prohibits any U.S. agency from making extraordinary payments to the Russian Space Agency in connection with the International Space Station, or any other organization or entity of the Government of the Russian Federation, unless the President has determined, and reported to specified congressional committees, that: (1) it is the policy of the Government of the Russian Federation to oppose the proliferation to Iran of weapons of mass destruction and missile systems capable of delivering such weapons; (2) such government is taking the necessary steps to prevent the transfer from Russia to Iran of goods, services, and technology useful in the development of such weapons and systems; and (3) neither the Russian Space Agency, nor any organization under its control, has, during the one-year period prior to the determination, made transfers to Iran of controlled goods, services, or technology or non-controlled goods, services, or technology that has potential to contribute to Iran's development of nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons, or of ballistic missile systems.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1999
Health Care Worker Needlestick Prevention Act - Directs the Secretary of Labor, acting through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), to amend the bloodborne pathogens standard to require that: (1) employers utilize needleless systems and sharps with engineered sharps injury protections in their work sites to prevent the spread of bloodborne pathogens; and (2) non-managerial direct care health care workers of employers participate in the identification and evaluation of such systems and sharps. Provides an exemption where an employer demonstrates that needleless systems and sharps: (1) do not promote employee safety, interfere with patient safety, or interfere with the success of a medical procedure under certain circumstances in the employer's work facility; or (2) are not commercially available to the employer. (Sec. 2) Includes under such revised standard requirements relating to: (1) exposure control plans; (2) sharps injury logs; and (3) worker training in the use of such systems and sharps. (Sec. 3) Requires the Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to establish and maintain a national database on existing needleless systems and sharps with engineered sharps injury protections. Requires the Director to: (1) develop a set of evaluation criteria for use by employers, employees, and other persons in evaluating and selecting such systems and sharps; (2) develop a model training curriculum to train employers, employees, and other persons in such evaluation process, and provide requested technical assistance to the extent feasible; and (3) establish a national system to collect comprehensive data on needlestick injuries to health care workers, including data on mechanisms to analyze and evaluate prevention. Authorizes NIOSH access to information recorded by employers in sharps injury logs. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 5) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to require hospitals, as a condition of their Medicare program participation, to comply with the bloodborne pathogen standard as amended under this Act with respect to hospital employees, even if they are not otherwise subject to such standard because they are exempt from OSHA regulation.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1999
Volunteer Firefighter's Relief Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow, for a volunteer firefighter, an annual deduction (of up to $500) for contributions to a volunteer firefighter savings account.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1999
Lebanese Adjustment Act - Provides for the adjustment of status to permanent resident for certain Lebanese nationals (and their spouses and children) granted temporary protected status in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1999
Access to Thermal Imaging Cameras Act - Authorizes the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to make competitive grants to fire departments for the purpose of acquiring thermal imaging cameras. Requires the non-Federal share of acquisition costs to be 33 percent. Authorizes appropriations. Declares the sense of Congress that any funds appropriated to FEMA for this purpose should be offset with corresponding reductions in funds appropriated to carry out other Federal programs.
![Official portrait of Rep. Boehlert, Sherwood [R-NY-24]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b000586_200.jpg)