United States · United States Congress · 28 March 2000
America's Better Classroom Act of 2000 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish a limited credit for qualified public school modernization bonds (qualified school construction bonds and qualified zone academy bonds). Amends the General Education Provisions Act to provide for the application of certain labor standards to projects financed under this Act. Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to establish provisions concerning employment and training activities related to the construction or reconstruction of public school facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2000
Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 2000 - Amends the matching grant program for law enforcement armor vests under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to direct that the matching portion equal 50 percent if: (1) such grant is to a unit of local government with fewer than 100,000 residents; (2) the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance determines that the quantity of vests to be purchased with such grant is reasonable; and (3) such portion does not cause such grant to violate certain maximum amount requirements. Directs that: (1) funds available be awarded, without regard to specified "preferential consideration" provisions, to each qualifying unit of local government with fewer than 100,000 residents; and (2) any remaining funds available be awarded to other qualifying applicants. Provides that if an application is submitted in conjunction with a transaction for the purchase of armor vests, grant amounts may not be used to fund any portion of that purchase unless, before the application is submitted, the applicant: (1) receives clear and conspicuous notice that receipt of the grant amounts requested in the application is uncertain; and (2) expressly assumes the obligation to carry out the transaction regardless of whether such amounts are received. Redefines "armor vest" to include body armor which has been tested through a specified voluntary compliance testing program, and found to meet or exceed the requirements of NIJ Standard 0115.00, or any subsequent revision of such standard. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2000
Upper Mississippi River Basin Conservation Act of 2000 - Title I: Sediment and Nutrient Monitoring Network - Directs the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary), through the United States Geological Service, to establish a nutrient and sediment monitoring network for the Upper Mississippi River Basin, to be headquartered at the Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center in La Crosse, Wisconsin. (Sec.102) Directs the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture and other involved parties, to establish guidelines for related data collection and storage activities. (Sec. 104) Directs the Secretary to: (1) collaborate with other public and private monitoring efforts in establishing the nutrient and sediment monitoring program; and (2) target resources of the State Water Resources Research Institute Program to promote nutrient and sediment studies in the Basin. Title II: Initiative, Grant, Demonstration, and Outreach Programs - Requires the Director of the United States Geological Survey, in collaboration with the Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, to establish a computer modeling program of nutrient and sediment sources in the Basin, which shall include models of: (1) processes affecting field sediment and nutrient loss; (2) watersheds; (3) river channels; and (4) connections between sediment and nutrient yields and sources, land uses, and management practices. States that such information shall be headquartered at the Center in La Crosse, Wisconsin. (Sec. 202) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) work with public and private entities to evaluate best management practices designed to reduce nutrient and sediment loss; and (2) assess such practices' economic risks. (Sec. 203) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to administer a grant program to supplement non-Federal funds being used by public and private entities to demonstrate new best management practices to reduce nutrient and sediment loss in the Basin. (Sec. 204) Requires the Director to: (1) establish an Internet-based system to distribute information about nutrient and sediment loss reduction projects, including Basin projects, and nutrient and sediment levels in the Upper Mississippi River and its tributaries; and (2) report with respect to monitoring and modeling activities. Title III: Financial and Technical Assistance under Department of Agriculture Conservation Programs - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to increase assistance for nutrient and sediment reduction in the Basin, including new assistance to Basin subwatersheds that are nutrient and sediment sources. (Sec. 302) Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to designate the Basin as a conservation priority area. (Sec. 303) Increases enrollment authority under the conservation reserve and the wetland reserve programs. (Sec. 304) Amends the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act to increase funding for the wildlife habitat incentives program. Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to increase funding for the environmental quality incentives program. (Sec. 305) Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into cooperative agreements with public and private agencies, including agreements for goods and services (and personal services). Title IV: Protection of Personal Data - Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to provide for privacy of personal data received by the Department of Agriculture and data collection locations with respect to natural resources conservation programs. Sets forth limited disclosure exceptions. Subjects disclosure violations to specified penalty provisions of such Act. Title V: Advisory Council on the Upper Mississippi River Stewardship Initiative - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish the Advisory Council on the Upper Mississippi River Stewardship Initiative. Authorizes the Advisory Council to establish specified task groups. Title VI: Interagency Working Group on Upper Mississippi River Basin Initiative - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to establish an Interagency Working Group to coordinate Federal nutrient and sediment reduction efforts in the Basin. Title VII: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2000
Designates the U.S. Postal Service facility located at 14900 Southwest 30th Street in Miramar City, Florida, as the Vicki Coceano Post Office Building.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2000
Child Gun Safety and Gun Access Prevention Act of 2000 - Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to: (1) raise the age of handgun eligibility to 21 (currently, 18); and (2) prohibit persons under age 21 from possessing semiautomatic assault weapons or large capacity ammunition feeding devices, with exceptions. (Sec. 3) Increases penalties imposed upon: (1) a juvenile who violates Brady Act provisions for a second or subsequent violation, or for a first violation committed after an adjudication of delinquency or after a State or Federal conviction for an act that, if committed by an adult, would be a serious violent felony; and (2) a person other than a juvenile who knowingly violates such provisions if the person sold, delivered, or otherwise transferred a handgun, ammunition, semiautomatic assault weapon, or large capacity ammunition feeding device to a person who is under age 21, knowing or having reasonable cause to know that such person intended to carry, otherwise possess, discharge, or otherwise use it in the commission of a crime of violence. (Sec. 4) Prohibits any licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer from selling, transferring, or delivering a firearm to any person (other than a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer) unless the transferee is provided with a secure gun storage or safety device. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, after notice and opportunity for hearing, to suspend or revoke any license issued under the Act, or to subject the licensee to a civil penalty of up to $10,000 if the holder of such license has knowingly violated this section. (Sec. 5) Imposes penalties (with exceptions) upon any person who: (1) keeps a loaded firearm, or an unloaded firearm and ammunition for it, any one of which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce, within any premises that is under the custody or control of that person; (2) knows, or recklessly disregards the risk, that a child is capable of gaining access to the firearm; and (3) knows, or recklessly disregards the risk, that a child will use the firearm to cause death or serious bodily injury to the child or any other person, or that possession of the firearm by the child is unlawful under Federal or State law, if the child uses the firearm to cause death or serious bodily injury. (Sec. 6) Requires the parent or legal guardian of a child to ensure that, while the child is attending a gun show, the child is accompanied by an adult. Prohibits a person from conducting a gun show to which there is admitted a child who is not accompanied by an adult. Sets penalties for violations. (Sec. 7) Authorizes the Attorney General to provide grants to units of local government to enable law enforcement agencies to develop and sponsor gun safety classes for parents and their children. (Sec. 8) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) each school district should provide or participate in a firearms safety program for students in grades kindergarten through 12 and should consult with a certified firearms instructor before establishing the curriculum for the program; and (2) participation by students in a firearms safety program should not be mandatory if the district receives written notice from a parent of the student to exempt the student from the program.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2000
Organ Donation and Transplantation Improvements Act of 2000 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to modify: (1) the requirements organ procurement organizations must meet to be eligible for certain existing grants, including organization certification requirements; and (2) requirements and limitations regarding the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, including regarding organ allocation. Requires that the scientific registry of organ transplant recipients also include information respecting donors and patients in transplants involving living donors. Authorizes grants and contracts for travel and subsistence expenses of living donors. Mandates a public education program regarding organ donation (either directly by the Secretary of Health and Human Services or through grants or contracts). Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) make grants for studies and demonstration projects regarding increasing donation rates; and (2) make grants to States for public education and programs to increase the number of donors. Provides for a bronze medal for donors (or, if the donor is deceased, the donor's family).
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2000
Postmasters Fairness and Rights Act - Amends Federal law to prescribe guidelines within which the Postal Service shall propose changes in pay policies, schedules, and fringe benefit programs affecting postmasters which are to be in effect during the period covered by a collective bargaining agreement between the Postal Service and certain recognized bargaining representatives. Grants certain qualified postmasters' organizations the right to participate in program planning and development pertaining to pay policies, schedules, and fringe benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2000
Humanitarian Exports Leading to Peace Act of 2000 - Declares that certain sanctions prohibiting trade with Iraq under the Iraq Sanctions Act of 1990 or any other provision of law shall not apply with respect to the export of any food or other agricultural products (including fertilizer), medicines, medical supplies, medical instruments, or medical equipment, or with respect to travel incident to the sale or delivery of such items, with specified exceptions. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to exercise the authorities of the Export Administration Act of 1979 (as in effect pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act) to carry out this Act, except that the Secretary may not require a license for the export of humanitarian assistance, but shall require persons to notify the Secretary when exporting such assistance. Expresses the sense of Congress that the U.S. Government should take all necessary steps (including its position as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council) to end the suffering of innocent populations, primarily children and the elderly, by allowing the free flow of humanitarian aid to Iraq without threat of prosecution. Directs the President to report to Congress with respect to the export of humanitarian assistance to Iraq.
United States · United States Congress · 29 February 2000
Truthfulness, Responsibility, and Accountability in Contracting Act - Prohibits any Federal agency from making a decision to privatize, outsource, contract out, or contract for the performance of a function currently performed by such agency or to conduct a study to convert a function from Federal to contractor performance. Authorizes any agency to apply to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget for a waiver of such prohibition with respect to a particular function. Authorizes the Director to grant such waiver when: (1) necessary for the preservation of national security; (2) critical for the provision of patient care; or (3) necessary to prevent extraordinary economic harm. Requires waiver requests to be published in the Federal Register. Provides additional exceptions for functions with respect to which a labor organization is accorded exclusive recognition. (Sec. 5) Requires each agency to: (1) establish a centralized reporting system that allows it to generate periodic reports on its contracting efforts during the preceding and current fiscal years; and (2) generate and annually submit to the Director such reports. Requires each agency to report to specified congressional committees on the number of Federal employee positions and positions held by non-Federal employees under a contract between such agency and an individual or entity that has been subject to public-private competition. Requires such reports to be made available through the Internet. (Sec. 6) Requires, after the termination of the contracting prohibition, any decision by an agency to privatize, outsource, or contract out for the performance of a function to be based on the results of a public-private competition process that: (1) formally compares the costs of Federal employee performance of such function with the costs of performance by a contractor; (2) employs the most efficient organizational process; and (3) is conducted in consultation or through bargaining with the exclusive representative of the Federal employees performing the function, if applicable. (Sec. 7) Requires an agency to either conduct a new public-private competition or convert a function to performance by Federal employees if a report indicates that: (1) contracting out costs exceed costs of performance by Federal employees; or (2) contracting out fails to meet quality control standards. (Sec. 8) Directs the Secretary of Labor to conduct a survey of the wages and quantifiable benefits provided by contractors to non-Federal personnel working under contract and to report survey results to specified congressional committees. Requires the Director to review the survey and report findings. (Sec. 9) Requires the Comptroller General to report on compliance by Federal agencies with requirements of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 February 2000
Public School Repair and Renovation Act of 2000 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to establish a new title XII, Public School Repair and Renovation, which authorizes Federal financial assistance for the urgent repair and renovation of public elementary and secondary schools in high-need areas. (Replaces the current title XII, School Facilities Infrastructure Improvement, which is also known as the Education Infrastructure Act of 1994.) Requires high-need local educational agencies (LEAs) to use the title XII grants or loans they receive for repairs and renovations to reduce health and safety problems, and to improve the learning environment, with respect to: (1) roofs, electrical wiring, or plumbing repair or replacement; (2) heating, ventilation, or air conditioning systems' repair, replacement, or installation; (3) asbestos removal or abatement; (4) school compliance with fire safety codes; (5) title XII repairs and renovations compliance with specified accessibility requirements of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; and (6) other types of school repairs and renovations that the Secretary of Education may reasonably determine are urgently needed, particularly projects to correct facilities problems that endanger the health and safety of students and staff. Requires title XII grant or loan applicants to demonstrate to the Secretary's satisfaction that they lack sufficient funds from other sources to carry out the repairs or renovations for which they are requesting assistance. Provides for the following types and portions of title XII assistance: (1) a specified amount reserved for allocated grants to LEAs with high concentrations of students living on Indian lands (which may be used for new school construction if renovating an existing school would not be cost-effective); (2) ten percent of the remainder for competitive grants to high-poverty LEAs (with at least a quarter of their students being from families with incomes below the poverty line); and (3) 90 percent of such remainder for competitive grants and loans to high-need LEAs that lack the ability to fund urgent school repairs (with a limitation on the amount of the loan volume). Authorizes appropriations. Prohibits title XII assistance for repair or renovation of athletic stadiums or other structures or facilities intended primarily for athletic events for which admission is charged to the general public.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2000
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the United States-Canada Softwood Lumber Agreement of 1996 should terminate on a specified date, with no extension or further quota agreement; and (2) the President should consult with appropriate stakeholders and continue discussions with the Government of Canada to promote open trade of softwood lumber between Canada and the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2000
Designates the Federal building located at 2201 C Street, Northwest, in the District of Columbia, currently headquarters for the Department of State, as the Harry S Truman Federal Building.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2000
Accuracy in Judicial Administration Act of 2000 - Establishes a moratorium on any State or Federal authority carrying out of the death penalty. Directs the Attorney General to prescribe standards to provide overwhelming confidence that innocent parties will not suffer the death penalty, which shall include procedures to assure: (1) an effective opportunity for pretrial discovery by defendants of forensic evidence in the possession of the prosecuting authority; and (2) that each individual convicted of a capital offense has a full and fair opportunity to produce any exculpatory DNA or similar evidence which was not available to that individual at the time of trial and to obtain an effective judicial vitiation of the conviction and sentence if the reviewing court determines that evidence indicates a reasonable doubt that the individual was guilty as convicted. Ends the moratorium on the later of: (1) the date seven years after enactment of this Act; (2) for a State authority, the date a U.S. district court enters a declaratory judgment finding that the State has established procedures consistent with the standards prescribed by the Attorney General; or (3) for a Federal authority, the date the Attorney General certifies that such authority operates consistently with such standards.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2000
Emergency Commodity Distribution Act of 2000 - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to revise provisions relating to the level of commodity purchases under the school lunch program. Requires a specified portion of such program assistance to be in the form of commodity assistance. Prohibits the Secretary of Agriculture from using commodities provided under the authority of any other Act to meet such program requirement for the school year.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2000
Greater Access to Distance Education Act of 2000 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require distance education demonstration programs to provide greater access to high quality distance education programs and orientation to distance education for adults, students, and underserved persons who traditionally have had little or no computer knowledge or training.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2000
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) all Americans should find out more about mental health services in their communities and seek mental health treatment when necessary; (2) the Secretary of Education should encourage, establish, and promote a mental health campaign in elementary and secondary schools across the Nation; and (3) the Federal Government has a responsibility to endeavor to raise awareness about mental health and continue to consider ways to improve access to, and the quality of, mental health services.
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 · 16 November 1999
Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA), and the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA) to deem a food misbranded if it contains or was produced with a genetically engineered material unless its labeling contains statements meeting specified requirements. Excludes, in all three Acts, food: (1) served in restaurants; or (2) prepared primarily in a retail establishment, ready for human consumption, but not offered for sale for immediate consumption in the establishment. Excludes, for the FDCA, a medical food as defined in the Orphan Drug Act. Subjects violators to civil monetary penalties. Exempts from the penalties: (1) any person (recipient) who establishes a guaranty or undertaking signed by the person (residing in the United States) from whom the recipient in good faith received the food to the effect that the food does not contain or was not produced with a genetically engineered material; and (2) for the FDCA, an agricultural producer of a food that does not contain and was not produced with a genetically engineered material if the food becomes contaminated with a genetically engineered material (including by mingling the two), so long as the contamination was neither intentional nor negligent.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 1999
Amends the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1994 (which is part A of title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965) to establish a new subpart 2, Effective Prevention Program Implementation, providing comprehensive prevention technical assistance grants. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to provide such grants to States that meet specified requirements to implement prevention programs that meet a high scientific standard of program effectiveness. Sets forth program requirements for State plans, reservations and allocations of funds, State distribution of program funds through competitive grants to local educational agencies (LEAs), and LEA plans and use of funds for comprehensive prevention programs that meet certain requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 1999
Artists' Contribution to American Heritage Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide a fair market value (determined at time of contribution) deduction for charitable contributions of literary, musical, artistic, scholarly compositions, or the copyright created by a qualifying donor. Exempts certain non-personal letters and memorandum from such treatment. Limits such increased deduction to the donor's artistic adjusted income (as defined by this Act)..
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 1999
Health Care Fairness Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish the National Center for Research on Minority Health and Health Disparities to conduct and support basic and clinical research, training, and disseminate information regarding minority health. Directs the Administrator of the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research to conduct and support research on minority health disparities. Directs the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a comprehensive study of the Department of Health and Human Services' data collection and reporting systems and practices required under any of the programs or activities of the Department relating to the collection of data on race or ethnicity. Authorizes awards of grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to public and nonprofit private entities for the purpose of carrying out research and demonstration projects to develop curricula to reduce disparity in health care outcomes, including curricula for cultural competency in graduate medical education. Requires a national media campaign to inform the public of the programs and activities of the Office for Civil Rights, Department of Health and Human Services. Sets forth provisions concerning: (1) other minority health initiatives and programs; (2) reporting requirements; and (3) authorizations of appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 4 November 1999
William H. Gray, III, College Completion Challenge Grant Program of 1999 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish the William H. Gray, III, College Completion Challenge Grant Program to assist higher education institutions to help at-risk students stay in school and complete their four-year postsecondary academic programs. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make competitive matching grants to such institutions or consortia (which may include associate degree-granting institutions belonging to a consortium that also includes baccalaureate degree- granting institutions). Limits to two the number of such grants to any institution. Requires institutions to use grant funds to provide services or assistance to students, particularly economically disadvantaged students, at risk of leaving their programs of study without baccalaureate degrees. Requires this to be done through one or both of the following: (1) intensive summer programs for incoming first-year students (and, under certain conditions, second- or third-year students); and (2) student support service programs, targeted to students in their first two years of postsecondary education. Allows institutions, if they carry out either or both of those required programs, to use such funds also for grants to students in their first two years of postsecondary education. Allows use of such funds to serve students who have completed their first two years of postsecondary education if they are at-risk and the institution will first meet the needs of all its eligible first- and second-year students for services under this Act. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 4 November 1999
Literacy Involves Families Together Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to revise and reauthorize Even Start Family Literacy Programs (Even Start) (part B of title I provisions for Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards). (Sec. 2) Extends through FY 2004 the authorization of appropriations for such Even Start programs, and increases the amounts authorized. (Sec. 3) Requires State plans to assure that State educational agencies (SEAs) will encourage local educational agencies (LEAs) and individual schools participating in a program assisted under ESEA title I part A (Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies), to use part A funds to offer family literacy services, if the LEA or school determines that a substantial number of students they serve under part A have parents who do not have a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent or who have low levels of literacy. (Sec. 4) Directs the Secretary of Education to: (1) reserve an increased portion of part B Even Start funds for migrant programs, outlying areas, and Indian tribes, under specified conditions; (2) award a competitive demonstration grant of sufficient amount and duration for a potentially high-quality family literacy program in a prison that houses women and their preschool age children; (3) ensure coordination of family literacy programs under Even Start with similar programs operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA); and (4) reserve specified portions of Even Start excess funds for scientifically-based research on family literacy by the National Institute for Literacy. Limits the Federal share of program costs to 35 percent after the eighth year of Even Start program assistance. Authorizes States to use a portion of Even Start funds to provide technical assistance and training to subgrantees (partnerships of LEAs and eligible organizations) to improve the quality of their family literacy services, giving priority to low-quality programs, provided that such State use of funds for a fiscal year does not result in a decrease from the level of activities and services provided to program participants in the preceding year. Requires Even Start programs to use research-based techniques for helping children learn to read, as well as for helping adults where appropriate research is available. Allows an Even Start program, despite specified age limitations, to permit children eight years of age or older to participate if such program collaborates with a part A program and part A funds are used to pay the cost of providing part B Even Start services to such children. Requires an SEA, in awarding subgrants to continue an Even Start program after the first year, to review the progress of each eligible entity in meeting program goals described in the State plan (as well as, under current law, evaluating the program based on State-developed program quality indicators). Eliminates the eight-year limitation on a subgrantee's receiving Even Start funds. Sets the same limits on the Federal share of renewed subgrants as on Even Start grants. Directs the National Institute for Literacy to use certain reserved Even Start funds for scientifically-based research to determine: (1) the most effective ways of improving literacy skills of adults with reading difficulties; and (2) how family literacy services can best provide parents with knowledge and skills to support their children's literacy development. Requires such research to be carried out through an entity, including a Federal agency, with expertise in doing longitudinal studies of children's literacy skills development, and that has developed effective interventions to help children with reading difficulties. (Sec. 5) Requires State applications for Even Start grants to describe how the State will encourage programs and projects assisted under Even Start to offer family literacy services if the program or project serves a substantial number of migratory children who have parents who do not have a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent or who have low levels of literacy. (Sec. 6) Defines family literacy services under ESEA as services provided to participants on a voluntary basis that are of sufficient intensity in terms of hours, and of sufficient duration, to make sustainable changes in a family, and that integrate all of the following activities: (1) interactive literacy activities between parents and their children; (2) training for parents regarding how to be the primary teacher for their children and full partners in the education of their children; (3) parent literacy training that leads to economic self-sufficiency; and (4) an age-appropriate education to prepare children for success in school and life experiences. (Sec. 7) Amends the Education Amendments Act of 1978 to require BIA-operated family literacy programs, under the early childhood education program for Indian children or other programs, to be coordinated with Even Start family literacy programs under ESEA.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 1999
National Center for Social Work Research Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish the National Center for Social Work Research as an agency of the National Institutes of Health. Authorizes the Center to establish research traineeships and fellowships, provide stipends and allowances, and make grants. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish an advisory council for the Center.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 1999
Declares that the House of Representatives: (1) applauds and supports the work of the young people from across the United States who participated in the recent Voices Against Violence teen conference in Washington, D.C.; and (2) recognizes the importance of youth involvement in the development of national policy solutions to youth violence. Encourages: (1) the continued involvement of youth in their schools and their communities to address youth violence; (2) Members to promote efforts in their districts to end youth violence; and (3) Members to take immediate action to comprehensively address youth violence and actively involve young people in the decision-making process.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 1999
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Government of the People's Republic of China should stop persecuting FalunGong practitioners and other religious believers. Calls for the U.S. Government to use every appropriate forum, including the United Nations Human Rights Commission, to urge the Government of the People's Republic of China to: (1) release from detention all Falun Gong practitioners and put an immediate end to the practices of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment against them and other prisoners of conscience; (2) allow Falun Gong practitioners to pursue their religious beliefs in accordance with article 36 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China; and (3) abide by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
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 · 26 October 1999
Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act with regard to the formula for measuring State performance for determining the bonus grant to reward high performance States to establish specified criteria measures for use in such formula. Requires States not participating in the bonus reward grant program for high performance States to report on the characteristics and well-being of former TANF recipients for six months after such assistance has ceased. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to Congress on: (1) characteristics of former and current TANF recipients based on information currently received from States; (2) criteria measures regarding subsidized child care and changes in income; and (3) domestic violence.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 1999
Condemns the use of children as soldiers by governmental and nongovernmental armed forces worldwide. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the United States should not oppose efforts to negotiate an optional international agreement to raise the international minimum age for military service to age 18; (2) the Secretary of State should address this issue in the next session of the United Nations working group relating to child soldiers before this process is abandoned by the international community; and (3) the President and the Congress should work together to enact a law that establishes a fund for the rehabilitation and reintegration into society of child soldiers.
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 1999
Providing Reliable Officers, Technology, Education, Community Prosecutors, and Training In Our Neighborhoods Act of 1999 or PROTECTION Act - Modifies provisions of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (the Act) regarding public safety and community policing ("cops on the beat" program, COPS) to authorize the Attorney General to use funding under COPS grants to: (1) increase prosecutor presence and to enhance law enforcement access to new technologies; (2) pay overtime to existing career law enforcement officers to the extent that such overtime is devoted to community policing efforts; and (3) promote higher education among in-service State and local law enforcement officers by reimbursing them for the costs associated with seeking a college or graduate school education. Includes among permitted additional grant projects: (1) specialized integrity and ethics training; (2) innovative proactive crime control and prevention programs involving school officials and religiously-affiliated organizations; (3) school-based partnerships between local law enforcement agencies and local school systems by using school resource officers who operate in and around elementary and secondary schools (current law) to serve as a law enforcement liaison with other Federal, State, and local law enforcement and regulatory agencies and to combat gang membership and criminal activity, firearms and explosives-related incidents, illegal use and possession of alcohol, and the illegal possession, use, and distribution of drugs; and (4) innovative programs that bring together a community's sheriff, police chief, and elderly residents to address the public safety concerns of older citizens. Authorizes the Attorney General to use up to five percent of appropriated funds for technical assistance and training to States, local governments, Indian tribal governments, and other public and private entities. Requires the technical assistance provided by the Attorney General to include the establishment and operation of regional community policing institutes training centers or facilities. Permits the functions of the centers or facilities to include instruction and seminars for specified individuals, including representatives of police labor and management organizations and community residents. Repeals provisions of the Act regarding: (1) termination of grants for hiring officers; and (2) preferential consideration of applications for certain grants. Allows grants to be used to assist: (1) police departments in employing specified professional, scientific, and technological advancements; and (2) State, local, or tribal prosecutors' offices in implementation of community-based prosecution programs that build on local community policing efforts. Reserves specified funds for units of local government with a population of less than 50,000. Authorizes the Attorney General to use no more than 50 percent of grant renewal funds to award grants targeted specifically for retention of police officers to grantees in good standing, with preference to those that demonstrate financial hardship or severe budget constraint that impacts the entire local budget and may result in the termination of employment for officers. Redefines: (1) "career law enforcement officer" to include sheriffs' deputies charged with supervising offenders who are released into the community but also engaged in local community policing efforts; and (2) "school resource officer" to mean a career law enforcement officer deployed in community-oriented policing and assigned to work in collaboration with schools and community-based organizations (as under current law) to engage in specified activities, including serving as a law enforcement liaison with other Federal, State, and local law enforcement and regulatory agencies to address and document crime and disorder problems, training students in conflict resolution and crime awareness, and assisting school administrators with the preparation of an annual report on the number of students expelled per year for bringing a weapon, firearm, or explosive to school. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 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 · 6 October 1999
Redesignates the Federal building located at 935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, in Washington, DC, commonly known as the J. Edgar Hoover Federal Building, as the Frank M. Johnson Federal Building.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1999
Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish a grants program to assist States and local educational agencies (LEAs) to recruit, train, and hire 100,000 school-based resource staff to work with students to: (1) reduce the student-to-counselor ratios nationally, in grades six through 12, to an average of one such staff for every 250 students, as recommended in a 1997 report by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences relating to schools and health; (2) help address the mental, emotional, and developmental needs of public school students; and (3) support other school staff and teachers in reaching students early before problems arise, conducting behavioral interventions to improve school discipline, and developing the awareness and skills to identify early warning signs of violence and the need for mental health services. Directs the Secretary of Education to make such grants, for up to three years for each grant, to establish or expand the number of resource staff available for students' needs . Requires such grant funds to be allocated on the basis of relative State population under 18 years of age. Sets forth requirements for LEA grant applications and uses of funds. Provides that resource staff means an individual who has documented competence and training in mental health to be able to provide services to children and adolescents in a school setting and who has specified types of licensure, certification, or educational qualifications. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2004 for such program.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 1999
Partnership to Rebuild America's Schools Act of 1999 - Title I: School Construction Assistance Program - Part 1: Program Authorized - Establishes a program to provide Federal funds to help States and local school districts finance the repair, renovation, modernization, and construction of their school facilities. (Sec. 104) Makes appropriations and specifies their allocation. Part 2: Grants to States - Provides for allocation of funds for formula grants to States by the Secretary of Education, on a proportional basis similar to that for Basic Grants for disadvantaged students under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Sets forth requirements relating to: (1) eligible State agencies; (2) allowable uses of funds; (3) eligible construction projects; (4) period for project initiation; (5) selection of localities and projects; (6) State applications; (7) amount of Federal subsidy; (8) separate funds or accounts; (9) prudent investment; and (10) State reports. Part 3: Direct Grants to Local Educational Agencies - Provides for direct grants both (formula and competitive) to local educational agencies (LEAs) by the Secretary of Education. (Sec. 121) Makes eligible for grants the LEAs with the largest numbers of children aged five through 17 from families living below the poverty level. Makes LEAs for Hawaii and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ineligible for such grants. Sets forth requirements relating to: (1) grantees; (2) allowable uses of funds; (3) eligible construction projects; (4) redistribution of funds; (5) local applications; (6) formula grants; (7) competitive grants; (8) amount of Federal subsidy; (9) separate funds or accounts; (10) prudent investment; and (11) local reports. Title II: General Provisions - Sets forth requirements relating to: (1) technical employees; (2) wage rates; (3) no liability of the Federal Government; and (4) consultation with Secretary of the Treasury by the Secretary of Education.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 1999
Debt Relief and IMF Reform Act of 1999 - Amends the Bretton Woods Agreements Act to prohibit the U.S. director to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from voting for any proposal to sell gold, unless: (1) Congress has enacted a joint resolution authorizing its sale; (2) the IMF has canceled all debts owed to it by countries eligible for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative and Haiti; (3) the Secretary of the Treasury demonstrates to Congress that there is no other feasible way to finance the cancellation of such debts; (4) the most recent operational IMF budget has been published, with any information that could disrupt financial markets or affect adversely the national security of any country redacted, and other specified requirements met; (5) Congress has enacted a joint resolution certifying that the IMF is in full compliance with specified conditions imposed by title VI of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1999; (6) the proposal to sell meets certain conditions; (7) the interest accruing to the IMF on any investment of the residual sale proceeds will be used for the provision of debt relief for such countries without conditions; and (8) the U.S. Government budget displays costs of U.S. participation in the IMF, in accordance with the guidelines provided in the President's Commission on Budget Concepts. Prohibits U.S. officers, employees or agents from providing any thing of value to the IMF for the purpose of providing resources to the Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF) or other concessional lending facility of the IMF. Amends the Bretton Woods Agreements Act to require the U.S. director of the IMF to use every effort to terminate the ESAF. Prohibits appropriations for payments to the IMF until it has canceled all debts owed to it by HIPCs and Haiti. Prohibits the U.S. governor to the IMF from voting for any proposal for any quota increase for the IMF, unless, before the proposal was made, Congress received notice of the proposal and the position of the Executive Branch on it, and Congress has enacted a joint resolution of approval.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1999
Calls upon the President: (1) not to participate in any international negotiation in which antidumping or antisubsidy rules are part of the negotiating agenda; (2) to refrain from submitting for congressional approval agreements that require changes to the current antidumping and countervailing duty laws and enforcement policies of the United States; and (3) to enforce the antidumping and countervailing duty laws vigorously in all pending and future cases.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 1999
East Timor Self-Determination Act of 1999 - Declares that: (1) Congress recognizes that the Government of Indonesia took a positive step by agreeing on September 12, 1999, to the deployment of an international peacekeeping force to East Timor; and (2) the purpose of this Act is to encourage such Government to take such additional steps as are necessary to create a peaceful environment in which the United Nations Assistance Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) can fulfill its mandate and implement the results of the August 30, 1999, vote on East Timor's political status. Prohibits the provision of multilateral and bilateral economic assistance (except humanitarian assistance), or military assistance, or the licensing or delivery of exports of defense articles or defense services (except in connection with the international peacekeeping force) to the Government of Indonesia or East Timor. Urges the President to continue to coordinate with other countries, particularly member states of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum, to develop a comprehensive, multilateral strategy to further the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 1999
Pension Benefits Protection and Preservation Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to require the plan administrator of any large (100 or more participants) defined employee benefit plan (applicable plan) to notify each applicable individual of any adoption of plan amendments that may reduce future benefit accruals of one or more participants to a specified significant extent (plan amendments), with details on the change's possible effect on the individual's pension, at least 45 days before such a plan change becomes effective. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to enforce specified age discrimination provisions relating to pensions under the Code, without regard to the portion of the preamble to a specified Treasury Decision which relates to allocation of interest adjustments through normal retirement age under a cash balance plan. Declares that such preamble is, and has been since its adoption, without the force of law. Requires applicable plans to offer, in addition to the notice and written statement of benefit change, opportunity for applicable individual participants to elect to continue benefit accruals, without regard to such plan amendments, under the former defined benefit plan instead of under a cash benefit plan. Imposes an excise tax for the failure of any applicable pension plan to offer an opportunity to applicable participants to continue benefit accruals under the former defined benefit plan in the event of significant reductions in future plan accruals. Sets the amount of such tax at 50 percent of the excess pension assets in the plan. Makes the plan liable for such tax in the case of a multiemployer plan, and the employer liable in any other case. Prohibits pension plan amendments that reduce future accrued benefits for years of service for any participants in applicable plans (large defined benefit plans with 100 or more members). Sets forth criteria, under both the Code and ERISA, for determining when a pension plan amendment by an applicable plan shall be treated as reducing the accrued benefit of a participant.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 1999
Medicare Vision Rehabilitation Coverage Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage of vision rehabilitation services under the Medicare program.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 1999
Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 1999 - Entitles domestic partners of Federal employees to benefits available to spouses of Federal employees. Specifies certifications required for benefit eligibility, filing requirements regarding partnership dissolution, and confidentiality requirements. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the tax exemption for employer contributions to accident and health plans to domestic partners under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
AIDS Marshall Plan Fund for Africa Act - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to establish the AIDS Marshall Plan Fund for Africa Corporation (AMPFA Corporation) which shall carry out a program to provide assistance for HIV-AIDS research, prevention, and treatment activities in Africa. Establishes the AIDS Marshall Plan Fund for Africa which shall consist of contributions from private sources and from foreign governments, including the governments of other G-8 countries (France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Italy, and Russia). Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
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
Healthy Start Initiative Continuation Act - Amends title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) of the Social Security Act to mandate continuance of the Healthy Start Initiative of grants to reduce infant mortality. Authorizes carrying out the Initiative on a national basis. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Calls for the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee to recommend and the U.S. Postal Service to issue a commemorative postage stamp in honor of George Thomas "Mickey" Leland.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the United States, Russia, and other nuclear powers should negotiate an agreement to take all of their nuclear weapons off of high-alert status to decrease the risk of accidental firing; (2) the United States should immediately take off of hair-trigger alert as many of its nuclear weapons as is feasible and consistent with national security, and should encourage Russia to reciprocate; (3) the Department of Defense and the State Department should study methods to increase the time needed to launch all nuclear missiles and study the effect these actions would have on nuclear deterrence, relations with other recognized nuclear powers, the international nuclear non-proliferation regime, and other aspects of national security; and (4) the President should expedite the establishment of a U.S.-Russian joint early-warning center and should facilitate the establishment of a temporary center before the end of 1999 that could address any problems which might arise due to the failure of computers to recognize the year 2000 date change.
![Official portrait of Rep. Clay, William (Bill) [D-MO-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/c000488_200.jpg)