United States · United States Congress · 17 October 2000
Calls upon the President to: (1) take all appropriate action to provide relief from injury caused by steel imports; and (2) immediately request the U.S. Trade Commission to commence an expedited investigation for positive adjustment of such steel imports under section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 2000
Veterans Commemoration Act of 2000 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue a maximum of 500,000 $1 coins to commemorate the service of veterans of the United States armed forces. Mandates that the proceeds from sale surcharges be paid promptly to the Disabled American Veterans to fund the transportation of veterans to and from hospitals administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 2000
Recognizes the historical significance of the 20th anniversary of the workers' strikes in Poland that led to the creation of the independent trade union Solidarnosc. Honors the Polish leaders who risked and lost their lives attempting to restore democracy in their country.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2000
Death Tax Relief Now Act of 2000 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) reduce the estate tax rates; (2) increase (and provide a cost of living adjustment for) the exemption equivalent of the unified credit; (3) repeal the family-owned business interests deduction provisions; (4) repeal provisions providing for a credit for State death taxes and provide for the deduction from an estate's value of State death taxes paid; and (5) increase the permissible number of partners or shareholders in a closely held business for purposes of eligibility for an extension of estate tax payments.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2000
Pharmaceutical Reform Act of 2000 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to cease consideration of, and to terminate, a petition to approve an abbreviated drug application for a new drug if the Secretary determines that the person submitting the petition received valuable consideration from an entity whose financial interests are served by an order approving such application. Prohibits a patent from being considered to claim a listed drug unless, with respect to such drug, the patent claims an active ingredient. Provides the effective date of the approval of an abbreviated application for a new drug containing a certification that its patent is invalid or will not be infringed by the manufacture, use, or sale of the new drug for which the application is submitted. Prohibits any State or political subdivision from: (1) taking any action with respect to a drug approved under such Act that is different from or in addition to any listed requirement; or (2) establishing or continuing in effect a prohibition against the use of a drug as a substitute for any listed drug to which the drug is therapeutically equivalent. Expresses the sense of Congress that a specified provision of the Public Health Service Act authorizes the submission of an abbreviated application for the approval of a new drug that is a biological product.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2000
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise the definition of terminally ill with respect to hospice care to allow attending physicians to determine whether a Medicare beneficiary is eligible for hospice care under the Medicare program without regard to current law requirements that the individual's life expectancy be six months or less.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2000
Veterans' Oral History Project Act - Requires the Director of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress to establish an oral history program to collect video and audio recordings of personal histories and testimonials of American war veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2000
Medicare Billing and Education Act of 2000 - Title I: Regulatory Reform - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) with regard to: (1) the prospective-only, non-retroactive application of regulations of the Secretary of Health and Human Services that establish or change a substantive legal standard governing the scope of benefits, the payment for services, or the eligibility of individuals, entities, or organizations to furnish or to receive Medicare services or benefits; and (2) allowance of civil actions against the Secretary challenging the constitutionality of regulations or policies. Prohibits the Secretary from recovering past Medicare overpayments by offsetting future payments to a health care provider, or while a provider is appealing a determination that an overpayment has been made or the amount of such an overpayment. Title II: Appeals Process Reforms - Revises requirements for the post-payment audit process, particularly the recoupment of overpayments. Requires the Secretary to permit any health care provider to appeal any determination of the Secretary under Medicare on behalf of a deceased beneficiary where no substitute party is available. Title III: Education Components - Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for education programs for physicians, providers of services, and suppliers. Requires fiscal intermediaries and carriers to do their utmost to provide health care providers with one, straight, and correct answer regarding Medicare billing and cost reporting questions, as well as their true first and last names. Requires the Secretary to establish a process for providers to request assistance in writing (advisory opinions) from fiscal intermediaries or carriers in addressing questionable Medicare coverage, billing, documentation, coding and cost reporting procedures. Title IV: Sustainable Growth Rate Reforms - Requires the inclusion of regulatory costs in the estimate of the sustainable growth rate for all physicians' services for a fiscal year. Title V: Studies and Reports - Requires the Comptroller General to: (1) audit and report to Congress on Health Care Financing Administration compliance with statutes administered by it and with administrative procedure and other requirements under Federal civil service law; and (2) study and report to Congress on whether policies or enforcement efforts against health care providers have reduced access to care for Medicare beneficiaries.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2000
No Guns for Violent Perpetrators Act - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit the shipment, transportation, or possession of a firearm or ammunition by an individual who has committed an act of juvenile delinquency that would be a violent felony if committed by an adult.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2000
Mandatory IDEA Full Funding Act of 2000 - Amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to require specified minimum levels of Federal grant payments to States for assistance for education of all children with disabilities.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2000
Small Business Health Insurance Expansion Act of 2000 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow for the deduction of 100 percent of the health insurance costs of self-employed individuals; (2) allow, for small employers, a limited credit for the expenses of employee health insurance coverage provided under a new health plan; and (3) provide for non-profit qualified health benefit purchasing coalitions. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a State grant program to demonstrate the effectiveness of innovative ways to increase health insurance access through market reform and other innovations.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2000
Small Business Liability Relief Act - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to provide that certain small businesses shall be liable for response costs as non-owners or operators only if the total of material containing a hazardous substance that the business arranged for disposal, transport, or treatment of, or accepted for transport, was greater than 110 pounds of liquid material or 200 pounds of solid material. Makes such exemption to liability inapplicable in cases where the substance could contribute significantly to response costs or where the business has failed to comply with an administrative subpoena or request for information or has impeded a response action. Applies this exemption only to activities taking place before this Act's enactment date. Makes a person liable for response costs for municipal solid waste (MSW) as a non-owner or operator only if the person is not an owner, operator, or lessee of residential property from which all of the person's MSW was generated, or a certain small business or tax-exempt organization that generated all its MSW, with respect to the facility concerned. Provides for liability if a person has failed to comply with an administrative subpoena or request for information or has impeded a response action. Makes persons that commence a contribution action liable to the defendant for all reasonable costs of defending the action if the defendant is not liable based on the above- described exemptions. Adds to the list of parties eligible for expedited final settlements certain persons and small businesses that demonstrate an inability or limited ability to pay response costs. Revises conditions of eligibility for such settlements for de minimis parties. Establishes a moratorium on litigation under CERCLA for recovery or contribution of response costs from any person eligible for an expedited settlement within a specified time frame.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2000
Medicare Access to Digital Mammography Act of 2000 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to revise requirements for payments and standards for screening mammography that pertain to the limit for screening mammography performed in 1991 to: (1) specify the screening mammography performed in 1991 as nondigital; (2) establish a separate limit for digital screening mammography performed in 2001 and thereafter; and (3) replace the current reduction of limit provision with a provision for adjustment of limit (up or down), requiring the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make at least annual reviews (currently, reviews from time to time) on the appropriateness of such applicable limits and make adjustments accordingly.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 2000
Medicare Beneficiary Prescription Drug Assistance and Stop-Loss Protection Act of 2000 - Amends the Social Security Act (SSA) to add a new title XXII (Outpatient Prescription Drug Assistance Program) to provide funds to enable States to establish a program of assistance (separate from Medicaid under SSA title XIX) to low-income Medicare (SSA title XVIII) beneficiaries and, at State option, Medicare beneficiaries with high drug costs to obtain coverage for outpatient prescription drugs. Makes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide for a Medicare outpatient prescription drug benefit program that provides medication therapy management benefits. Allows low-income Medicare beneficiaries and Medicare beneficiaries with high drug costs to elect to suspend Medicare supplemental (Medigap) insurance.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 2000
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that Congress should support: (1) efforts to promote awareness of cancer among children; (2) increased investment in childhood cancer research; (3) policies that provide incentives to encourage medical trainees and investigators to enter the field of pediatric oncology, that provide incentives to encourage the development of pediatric cancer drugs and biologics, and that encourage participation in clinical trials; and (4) medical education curricula designed to improve pain management for cancer patients.
United States · United States Congress · 7 September 2000
National Media Campaign to Prevent Underage Drinking Act of 2000 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop, implement, and conduct a national media campaign for the purpose of reducing and preventing underage drinking in the United States. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 7 September 2000
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee of the U.S. Postal Service should recommend to the Postmaster General that a postage stamp be issued to honor the men and women of the Volunteer Fire Service.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2000
Electric Power Industry Tax Modernization Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit a governmental unit to make an irrevocable election to terminate certain tax-exempt financing for electric output facilities. Sets forth provisions concerning independent transmission companies. Provides for the exclusion from gross income as contributions to capital of certain amounts received by electric utilities. Revises the special rules concerning the tax treatment of nuclear decommissioning costs.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2000
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to increase the proportion of charges Medicare recognizes in connection with the treatment of certain mental health services of a qualified Medicare beneficiary who resides in a skilled nursing facility, a nursing facility, or a custodial care facility.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2000
Justice through Assured Knowledge and Enforcement Act - Directs the Attorney General to establish guidelines for pre-release records check programs carried out by States. Requires that such a program: (1) prohibit a law enforcement agency from releasing a person from custody, or transferring a person into the custody of another such agency, unless that agency first carries out a pre-release records check; (2) prohibit that agency from releasing or transferring a person with an unresolved warrant or charge unless that agency first notifies the law enforcement agency initiating that warrant or charge that the person is in custody, provides such agency with a reasonable opportunity to resolve that warrant or charge, and notifies the law enforcement agency to which the person is to be transferred of such warrant or charge; and (3) subject an official responsible for violating such prohibitions to administrative discipline. Prohibits a State that fails to implement such a program from receiving ten percent of the funds that would otherwise be allocated to the State under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 and requires such funds to be reallocated to States that comply.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2000
Medicare Beneficiaries' Choice Stabilization Act of 2000 - Amends part C (Medicare+Choice) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) with respect to payments to Medicare+Choice organizations to provide for: (1) establishment of a floor for Medicare+Choice payment rates after applying risk-adjustment methodology; (2) elimination of budget neutrality adjustment for 2001 and 2002; (3) an increase in national per capita Medicare+Choice growth percentage in 2001 and 2002: (4) election by a Medicare+Choice organization to apply an area- specific percentage of 50 percent and a national percentage of 50 percent for 2001 and 2002 rather than the rate currently applicable for 2002 in determining the blended capitation rate used in determining the calculation of annual Medicare+Choice capitation rates; (5) an increased update for payment areas with only one or no Medicare+Choice contracts; (6) higher negotiated rates in certain Medicare+Choice payment areas below national average; and (7) a ten year phased-in risk adjustment based on data from all settings. Delays from July to November 2000 the deadline for withdrawing the offer, or rescinding the withdrawal, of Medicare+Choice plans for 2001. Amends SSA title XVIII part C to Medicare+Choice program data collection requirements with regard to: (1) issuance of encounter data submission requirements; (2) post- stabilization guidelines; and (3) on-line enrollment. Prohibits the Secretary from making any changes in the enrollment and disenrollment instructions and related materials (including operational policy letters and evidence of coverage) under Medicare+Choice between enactment of this Act and January 1, 2002, except as may be specifically and only required to comply with a change in statute.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2000
Heating Fuel Cost Relief Act of 2000 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit equal to 20 percent of the cost (up to a credit maximum of $1,000) of converting from the use of heating oil to the use of natural gas or a renewable energy source.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2000
TMDL Regulatory Accountability Act of 2000 - Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to: (1) solicit public comment on revisions to regulations pertaining to the national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) program and the water quality planning and management program published in the Federal Register on July 13, 2000; (2) solicit State comments on the impact of such revisions on implementation and effectiveness of State programs; and (3) maintain a record of public comments and publish a response in the Federal Register. Directs the Administrator to transmit to Congress an analysis of the monitoring data needed for development and implementation of total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) which shall address data gaps identified by the Comptroller General in a March 2000 report entitled "Water Quality, Key EPA and State Decisions Limited By Inconsistent and Incomplete Data." Requires the Administrator to make arrangements with the National Academy of Sciences to study and report on the scientific bases underlying the development of TDMLs. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Administrator, with respect to the economic analysis performed on regulatory changes identified by the Comptroller General in the June 2000 report entitled "Clean Water Act: Proposed Revisions to EPA Regulations to Clean Up Polluted Waters," to prepare certain statements and analyses required under the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 with respect to: (1) significant regulatory actions that may result in expenditures by State, local, and tribal governments or the private sector of $100 million or more annually; and (2) selection of a least costly, most cost-effective, or least burdensome alternative. Requires the Administrator to conduct analyses of the effects of the revisions to the regulations pertaining to the NPDES and water quality planning and management on small entities. Directs the Administrator to review the information provided or developed under this Act and consider whether the revisions to such regulations should be changed. Requires an explanation to Congress of the decision to change or not to change such revisions.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2000
Child Safety and Home Security Act of 2000 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for a nonrefundable tax credit for the purchase of a residential safe storage device that is put into service for the securing of firearms. Prohibits the creation of a database identifying gun owners using information from tax returns on which credit under this Act is claimed.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2000
Violence Against Women Office Act - Establishes within the Department of Justice (DOJ) a Violence Against Women Office, headed by a Director. Specifies the duties of the Director, including serving as special counsel to the Attorney General on the subject of, and carrying out DOJ functions under the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 and on matters relating to, violence against women.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2000
Family Opportunity Act of 2000 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) give States the option of allowing families of disabled children to purchase Medicaid coverage for such children; and (2) provide for treatment of inpatient psychiatric hospital services for individuals under age 21 under waivers allowing for payment for part or all of the cost of home or community-based services. Authorizes a State to apply to the Secretary of Health and Human Services for approval of a demonstration project to provide Medicaid coverage to up to a specified maximum number of children with a potentially severe disability. Amends SSA title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) to make appropriations to the Secretary for special projects of regional and national significance for development and support of family-to-family health information centers. Amends SSA title XIX to provide for the restoration of Medicaid eligibility to certain SSI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSA title XVI) beneficiaries under age 21.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2000
Medicare Access to Telehealth Services Act of 2000 - Amends the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 to revise provisions on Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) reimbursement for telehealth services, among other changes: (1) providing for, in the case of any Federal telemedicine demonstration program in Alaska or Hawaii, the use of store-and-forward technology; and (2) requiring the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study and report to Congress on certain additional services appropriate for Medicare payment.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2000
Recognizes the tenth anniversary of the initial activation of National Guard and Reserve personnel for Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm and the growing importance of the National Guard and Reserve to the security of the United States. Expresses support for ensuring the readiness of the National Guard and Reserve.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2000
Children's Dental Health Preservation Act of 2000 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to States for the purpose of: (1) identifying children, eligible for Federal programs, at risk of developing dental caries and for the provision of preventative and therapeutic services in accordance with State practice acts to reduce oral disease occurrence; and (2) training of health care professionals to educate parents on oral disease prevention.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2000
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act, with regard to requirements to qualify as a disproportionate share (DSH) hospital, to waive the obstetrician requirement when it prevents DSH designation in the case of certain critical access hospitals or essential rural health care providers.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2000
Ryan White CARE Act Amendments of 2000 - Title I: Emergency Relief for Areas with Substantial Need for Services - Subtitle A: HIV Health Services Planning Councils - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require that an HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) planning council reflect the demographics of the population of individuals with HIV disease (currently, the demographics of the epidemic) in the eligible area involved. Modifies requirements regarding council composition, including requiring representatives of former prisoners. Requires that at least 33 percent of the council be people who: (1) are receiving HIV-related services pursuant to a grant under provisions relating to emergency relief for areas with a substantial need for services (substantial need grant); and (2) are not officers, employees, consultants, or representatives of any entity that receives substantial need grant amounts. (Sec. 102) Modifies council duties, including regarding: (1) determining the size, demographics, and needs of the HIV disease population; (2) council establishment of fund allocation priorities; and (3) coordination with Federal grantees that provide HIV-related services in the area. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) develop epidemiologic measures for establishing the number of individuals with HIV disease who are not receiving HIV-related health services and for carrying out council duties; and (2) provide to the chief elected official receiving a substantial need grant guidelines and materials for training council members regarding council duties. (Sec. 103) Requires that council meetings and records be open to the public, subject to exception. Subtitle B: Type and Distribution of Grants - Makes permanent provisions requiring expedited disbursement of certain substantial need grant amounts. Requires, after fiscal year 2004, that the substantial need grant amount formula use the number of cases of HIV disease in the most recent year rather than the number of cases of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the most recent ten years, but until FY 2007 conditions that change on the Secretary's determination that there is sufficiently accurate and reliable data on HIV disease cases from all eligible areas, requiring the Secretary to consider: (1) the findings of a study mandated by title V of this Act; (2) the fiscal impact of using or of not using that data; and (3) the impact of the use of that data on the organization and delivery of HIV-related services. Modifies requirements regarding increases in the amount of a substantial need grant under expedited disbursement provisions. (Sec. 112) Requires that the amount of supplemental substantial need grants be determined by the Secretary based on a weighting of specified factors, with severe need counting one-third. Includes the current HIV disease prevalence, an increasing need for services, and unmet need for services as factors the Secretary must consider in determining severe need. Directs the Secretary, in determining the required factors, to develop a mechanism to use national, quantitative incidence data by 18 months after enactment of this Act (currently, by May 20, 1998). Requires mechanism modification based on the findings of a study mandated by title V of this Act. Removes provisions basing the amount of substantial need grants on substantial need grant applications. Subtitle C: Other Provisions - Requires that substantial need grant funds be used, among other purposes, for: (1) outreach to identify individuals with HIV disease who are not receiving HIV-related services; and (2) early intervention services. Requires that substantial need grants be used to provide health and support services to infants, children, youth, and women (currently, infants, children, and women) with HIV disease in the same ratio as those groups with HIV disease bear to those groups in the general population. Requires that the chief elected official of a substantial need grant-receiving area establish a quality management program to assess whether HIV health services under the substantial need grant are consistent with the most recent Public Health Service guidelines. (Sec. 123) Requires that official to ensure that the area's planning council: (1) reviews existing, available data on expenditures by substantial need grant recipient entities from their overall budget for administrative costs; and (2) makes a determination whether the financial compensation of any of those entity's officers or employees exceeds that of the official. Title II: Care Grant Program - Subtitle A: General Grant Provisions - Requires that grants to States to improve the quality, availability and organization of health care and support services for individuals with HIV disease (care grants) be used to provide health and support services to infants, children, youth, and women (currently, infants, children, and women) with HIV disease in the same ratio as those groups with HIV disease bear to those groups in the general population. (Sec. 202) Allows care grants to be used for support services, outreach activities, early intervention, and quality management. (Sec. 203) Modifies requirements regarding grants to establish HIV care consortia. (Sec. 204) Allows a State to meet a requirement to use a portion of its care grant to provide therapeutics to treat HIV disease or prevent related health deterioration (including prevention and treatment of opportunistic infections) by paying for health insurance or plans whose coverage includes a full range of such therapeutics and primary care. (Sec. 205) Requires care grant applications to contain determinations of the size, demographics, and needs of the population of individuals with HIV disease in the State. Modifies requirements regarding the comprehensive plan. Requires the public health agency that administers care grants for a State to engage in a public advisory planning process. (Sec. 206) Doubles, subject to appropriations, the minimum care grant allotment to each State and U.S. territory. Requires, after fiscal year 2004, that the care grant amount formula use the number of cases of HIV disease in the most recent year rather than the number of cases of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the most recent ten years, but until FY 2007 conditions that change on the Secretary's determination that there is sufficiently accurate and reliable data on HIV disease cases. Provides for increases in the formula amount. Requires, if an appropriations Act provides an amount exclusively for treatment drug grants, that two percent of that exclusive amount be reserved for supplemental grants to States whose HIV population's need is greater than the quantities available under treatment drug grants from the remaining unreserved 98 percent. Adds the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Palau to the list of U.S. territories. Adds the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to the list of territories for minimum allotment provisions but keeps it in the list of States for other care grant provisions. (Sec. 207) Replaces provisions mandating coordination by specified Federal agencies of Federal HIV programs with provisions directing the Secretary to make grants to States to supplement care grants for comprehensive services for communities that have a severe need for supplemental financial assistance to combat the HIV epidemic. Provides for funding for the supplemental grants. Subtitle B: Provisions Concerning Pregnancy and Perinatal Transmission of HIV - Removes provisions prohibiting (after testing of pregnant women and newborns has become a routine practice in U.S. health care) care grants to a State unless the State meets certain requirements regarding such testing. (Sec. 212) Adds HIV disease treatment services to the uses for which the Secretary may make a grant to a State that is following the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding HIV counseling and voluntary testing for pregnant women. Authorizes appropriations. Prohibits using care grant appropriations for grants under this section. (Sec. 213) Directs the Secretary to provide for a study and report to appropriate congressional committees regarding: (1) the number of newborns with HIV born in the United States in the most recent year for which the information is available; (2) barriers that prevent or discourage an obstetrician from routinely offering pregnant women an HIV test and routinely testing newborns when the mother's HIV status is unknown; and (3) recommendations for each State for reducing perinatal HIV transmission. Requires States to make reasonable progress toward meeting the recommendations. Subtitle C: Certain Partner Notification Programs - Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States for partner counseling and referral services, provided the State meets certain requirements regarding: (1) partner notification and (for the partner and the infected individual) testing, counseling, and referral; (2) health entity reporting of positive test results to the State; (3) reporting to the CDC regarding partner notification; and (4) State cooperation with the CDC national partner notification. Prohibits grants to a State after fiscal year 2003 unless the State's reporting system for HIV cases produces sufficiently accurate and reliable data. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Early Intervention Services - Subtitle A: Formula Grants for States - Repeals provisions mandating formula grants to States for outpatient early intervention services regarding HIV disease. Subtitle B: Categorical Grants - Requires giving preference to rural or underserved areas in making currently-authorized categorical grants for outpatient early intervention services. Allows planning grants to be used, subject to limitation, to assist the recipients to expand their capacity to provide services, including early intervention services, in low income communities and affected subpopulations that are underserved. Subtitle C: General Provisions - Requires that the counseling that categorical grant recipients are required to provide to HIV-infected individuals emphasize that it is the duty of infected individuals to disclose their status to their sexual and needle-sharing partners, provide advice on how to make the disclosures and emphasize that it is the infected individual's continuing duty to avoid behaviors that expose others to HIV. (Sec. 322) Increases the percentage limit on administrative expenses. Requires recipients to establish a quality management program to assess the extent to which medical services are consistent with Public Health Service guidelines for treatment of HIV disease and related opportunistic infections. Title IV: Other Programs and Activities - Subtitle A: Certain Programs for Research, Demonstrations, or Training - Replaces a requirement that, with regard to grants for providing opportunities for women, infants, children, and youth to participate in HIV research and for providing to those groups outpatient health care and additional services, that a significant number of individuals in those groups be participating in research with a requirement that the grant applicant demonstrate linkages to research and how access to research is being offered to patients. Directs the Secretary to examine the distribution and availability of research regarding grantees to enhance and expand HIV-related research, especially in underrepresented communities. Requires grantees to implement a quality management program. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 402) Includes, as a use of currently-authorized grants and contracts for training health personnel: (1) training in prenatal and other gynecological care for women with HIV disease; and (2) developing protocols for the medical care of such women. Directs the Secretary to implement a strategy for the dissemination of HIV treatment information to care providers and patients. Adds accredited dental hygiene programs as possible recipients of currently-authorized grants with respect to oral health care to (sic) patients with HIV disease. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes grants to dental schools, post-doctoral dental education programs, and accredited dental hygiene programs that partner with community-based dentists to provide care to HIV patients in underserved areas. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes appropriations for grants and contracts to assist public and nonprofit private entities and schools and academic health science centers to train health personnel, train faculty, and develop and disseminate curricula and resource materials regarding the care of HIV patients and prevention of HIV infection among at risk individuals. Subtitle B: General Provisions in Title XXVI - Extends the authorization of appropriations for grants and contracts to evaluate programs carried out under title XXVI of the Public Health Service Act (HIV Health Care Services Program). (Sec. 412) Authorizes appropriations for collecting and providing data for program planning and evaluation under title XXVI. (Sec. 413) Adds the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Health Care Financing Administration to the list of agencies (currently, the Health Resources and Services Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) charged with coordinating the planning, funding, and implementation (currently, coordinating the planning of the funding) of Federal HIV programs to enhance continuity of care and prevention services (currently, continuity of care). Requires that State, local, or private entities receiving title XXVI funds enhance continuity of care and prevention services (currently, continuity of care). (Sec. 414) Directs the Secretary to develop and submit to Congress a plan for the medical case management of and the provision of support services to individuals who had HIV disease on their date of release from the Federal or State penal system. (Sec. 415) Authorizes the Secretary to reduce title XXVI grants to a State or political subdivision if the State or subdivision fails to prepare audits. (Sec. 416) Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop and submit to Congress a plan for coordinating the disbursement of appropriations for substantial need grants with the disbursement for care grants; (2) within two years after enactment of this Act, implement the disbursement plan, notwithstanding any title XXVI provision inconsistent with the plan; (3) determine whether administration of those grants by the Secretary and grantee compliance efficiency would be improved by requiring biennial rather than annual applications; (4) develop and submit to Congress a plan for simplifying the application process for those grants; and (5) within two years after enactment of this Act, implement the simplified application plan, notwithstanding any title XXVI provision inconsistent with the plan. (Sec. 417) Removes provisions directing the Secretary to develop and implement a method for adjusting the percentages allocated to substantial need grants and care grants to account for substantial need grants to new areas and other relevant factors. Authorizes appropriations for substantial need and care grants. Title V: General Provisions - Directs the Secretary to provide for studies, and report to the appropriate congressional committees, on: (1) whether the surveillance system of each State provides for the reporting of HIV infection cases in a way that provides information on the number and demographic characteristics of the cases that is sufficiently accurate for the formula grants under substantial need and care grant provisions and, if not, recommendations for improvements; and (2) the appropriate epidemiological measures and their relationship to the financing and delivery of primary care and health related support services for low income, uninsured, and underinsured individuals with HIV disease. (Sec. 502) Requires the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand, intensify, and coordinate research and other NIH activities regarding development of reliable and affordable HIV tests that can be rapidly administered and whose results can be rapidly obtained (rapid HIV tests). Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary: (1) to report to appropriate congressional committees on the progress made toward, and barriers to, the premarket review and commercial distribution of rapid HIV tests; and (2) promptly after rapid HIV test commercial distribution begins, to establish or update guidelines for States, hospitals, and other entities regarding the availability of those tests for administration to pregnant women in labor or late stage pregnancy and whose HIV status is unknown. (Sec. 503) Directs the Secretary, of the amounts available to the Secretary for program management at the Health Resources and Services Administration, to spend amounts necessary to ensure at least a 20 percent increase in fiscal year 2001 over fiscal year 2000 of full- time-equivalent staff of the Bureau of HIV/AIDS who administer programs under title XXVI. Title VI: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective dates for this Act and its amendments.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2000
Medicare Guaranteed and Defined Rx Benefit and Health Provider Relief Act of 2000 - Title I: Medicare Prescription Medicine Benefit Program - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to add a new part D (Prescription Medicine Benefit for the Aged and Disabled) which establishes a voluntary insurance program to provide defined prescription medicine benefits, including pharmacy services, for eligible individuals who are aged or disabled or who have end-stage renal disease, and who voluntarily elect to enroll. States that the program shall be financed from enrollee premium payments together with contributions from funds appropriated by the Federal Government. (Sec. 101) Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to submit to Congress a legislative proposal for: (1) the delivery of home infusion therapy services under Medicare; and (2) a system of payment for such a benefit that coordinates items and services furnished under Medicare parts B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) and D. Creates within the Federal Supplemental Medical Insurance Trust Fund the Prescription Medicine Insurance Account. Directs the Secretary to provide for administration of part D benefits through a private benefit administrator for certain enrolled individuals residing in each geographic service area or, where that is impossible, with a fiscal intermediary under Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) or a carrier under Medicare part B. Requires the Secretary to: (1) ensure that all beneficiaries have guaranteed access to the full range of pharmaceuticals under part D, with special attention to access, pharmacist counseling, and delivery in rural and hard-to-serve areas, including use of incentives such as bonus payments to retail pharmacists in rural areas and extra payments to the benefit administrator for the cost of rapid delivery of pharmaceuticals; and (2) develop and implement the Employer Incentive Program that encourages employers and other sponsors of employment-based health care coverage who meet specified requirements to provide adequate prescription medicine benefits to retired individuals, and maintain existing benefit programs, by subsidizing, in part, the cost of providing coverage under qualifying plans. Provides for part D enrollment for individuals whose employment-based retiree health coverage ends under certain conditions. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 102) Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid), with regard to the prescription medicine benefit for certain low-income individuals, to provide for coverage of part D premiums as medical assistance for individuals dually eligible for other SSA assistance or for other medical care. Requires State Medicaid plans to provide that, in the case of any individual whose eligibility for medical assistance is not limited to Medicare or Medicare medicine cost-sharing, and for whom the State elects to pay monthly premiums under part D, the State will purchase all prescription medicines for such individual in accordance with the provisions part D, without regard to whether the basic benefit limitation for such individual has been reached. Requires Government payment of Medicare medicine cost-sharing for qualified Medicare beneficiaries and for Medicare beneficiaries with incomes between 100 and 150 percent of the Federal poverty line. Amends SSA title XVIII part D to outline special eligibility, enrollment, and copayment rules for low-income individuals, which include options for continuation of Medicaid coverage or enrollment under such part. (Sec. 103) Provides that if the mid-summer 2000 budget estimate prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office results in a higher-than-projected level of projected on-budget surplus over the ten fiscal year period beginning with FY 2001, there shall be (beginning with FY 2003) transfers to the Prescription Medicine Insurance Account in a fiscal year to offset the costs attributable to provisions added to Medicare by this Act that relate to catastrophic benefit payments in that fiscal year. (Sec. 104) Directs the Comptroller General of the United States to analyze and report to Congress on an ongoing basis about the part D prescription medicine benefit program. Directs the Secretary to: (1) report to Congress on possible tax and trade law changes to encourage increased original research on new pharmaceutical breakthrough products designed to address disease and illness; (2) study and report to Congress on methods used by the pharmaceutical industry to advertise and sell to consumers and to educate and sell to providers; and (3) study and report to Congress on the costs of, and needs for, pharmaceutical research, and the role that the taxpayer provides in encouraging such research. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress on the retail price of major pharmaceutical products in various developed nations, compared to prices for the same or similar products in the United States. Title II: Improvement In Beneficiary Services - Subtitle A: Improvement of Medicare Coverage and Appeals Process - Amends SSA title XVIII to revise requirements with respect to Medicare determinations and appeals, including initial determinations, expedited determinations, and publication on the Internet of decisions of hearings of the Secretary. (Sec. 201) Amends SSA title XVIII part C (Medicare+Choice) to apply the limitations on liability of qualified independent contractors to certain Medicare+Choice independent contractors who conduct reconsiderations of initial determinations. (Sec. 202) Amends SSA title XVIII to limit the liability of beneficiaries for repayment with respect to Medicare claims not paid or paid incorrectly. Includes in the explanation of Medicare benefits statement lists of each item or service furnished and the amount of the individual's liability for payment, as well as the toll-free telephone number for information and questions concerning the statement, individual liability for payment, and appeal rights. (Sec. 203) Amends SSA title XI to revise the meaning of waiver of coinsurance and deductible amounts (excluded from the meaning of unlawful remuneration subject to civil monetary penalties) to include a waiver offered as part of a supplemental insurance policy or retiree health plan. Subtitle B: Establishment of Medicare Ombudsman - Establishes a Medicare Ombudsman within the Health Care Financing Administration of the HHS Department to: (1) receive complaints, grievances, and requests for information submitted by a Medicare beneficiary concerning the Medicare program; and (2) provide assistance with respect to such complaints, grievances, and requests. Title III: Medicare+Choice Reforms; Preservation of Medicare Part B Drug Benefit - Subtitle A: Medicare+Choice Reforms - Amends SSA title XVIII part C with regard to calculation of annual Medicare+Choice capitation rates to: (1) reduce the national per capita Medicare+Choice growth percentage for 2001 and 2002; (2) remove permanently application of budget neutrality beginning in 2002; (3) increase the minimum payment amount for 2002; (4) increase the update for payment areas with only one or no Medicare+Choice contracts; and (5) permit higher negotiated rates in certain Medicare+Choice payment areas below the national average. (Sec. 307) Amends SSA title XVIII part C to provide for a ten year phase-in of the risk adjustment to the capitation rate based on data from all settings. Subtitle B: Preservation of Medicare Coverage of Drugs and Biologicals - Amends SSA title XVIII to: (1) cover under Medicare part B injectable and infusable drugs and biologicals which are not usually self-administered by the patient (currently only drugs and biologicals which cannot be self-administered are covered under Medicare part B); and (2) revise Medicare coverage for immunosuppressive drugs, establishing a part D catastrophic limit on part B copayments for such drugs. Subtitle C: Improvement of Certain Preventive Benefits - Amends SSA title XVIII to allow coverage of annual screening pap smear and pelvic exams. Title IV: Adjustments to Payment Provisions of the Balanced Budget Act - Subtitle A: Payments for Inpatient Hospital Services - Amends SSA title XVIII to eliminate the reduction in the hospital market basket update for FY 2001. (Sec. 402) Eliminates specified further reductions in indirect medical education (IME) and in disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments (and freezes Medicaid DSH payments) for FY 2001. (Sec. 404) Revises the formula for the increase in base payment to certain Puerto Rico hospitals for inpatient hospital discharges. Subtitle B: Payments for Skilled Nursing Services - Amends SSA title XVIII to eliminate the reduction in the skilled nursing facility (SNF) market basket update for FY 2001. (Sec. 412) Extends through 2002 the moratorium on therapy caps. Subtitle C: Payments for Home Health Services - Amends SSA title XVIII to delay for one more year the application of the 15 percent reduction on payment limits for home health services. (Sec. 422) Applies the full market basket update for home health services for FY 2001. Subtitle D: Rural Provider Provisions - Amends SSA title XVIII to eliminate the scheduled reduction in hospital outpatient market basket increase for rural hospitals in 2001 and 2002. Subtitle E: Other Providers - Amends SSA title XVIII to increase the update in the renal dialysis composite rate. Subtitle F: Provision for Additional Adjustments - Provides for specified aggregate amounts from estimated Social Security surpluses for the five fiscal year and ten fiscal year periods beginning in FY 2001 for additional improvements to the Medicare and Medicaid programs and payments to providers.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2000
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the Federal Government has a responsibility to increase research funding to find a treatment and cure for polycystic kidney disease, to raise awareness about such disease, and to promote kidney organ donations; (2) all Americans should review their kidney health condition; and (3) organizations and health care providers should promote awareness of such disease and encourage its early detection.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2000
Missouri River Valley Improvement Act - Amends the Flood Control Act of 1944 to direct the Chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to protect, enhance, and restore fish and wildlife habitat on the Missouri River (River). (Sec. 5) Requires the Secretary of the Army to provide for activities necessary to protect and enhance fish and wildlife habitat without adversely affecting the water-related needs of the River basin and private property rights. (Sec. 6) Directs the Secretary of the Interior, in each River basin State for which the State Governor so consents, to conduct a River study to examine needs and opportunities for acquisition of land surrounding the River for inclusion in the National Wildlife Refuge System. Requires any acquisition of new land for inclusion in the System to be: (1) conducted using existing acquisition authorities; (2) from willing sellers only; and (3) preceded by an evaluation of any impact of new land on other authorized project purposes of the River main stem system. (Sec. 7) Amends provisions of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 relating to a project for the mitigation of River fish and wildlife losses to authorize appropriations for FY 2001 through 2010. (Sec. 8) Directs the Secretary of the Army to complete, and report to Congress on, a study that: (1) analyzes any adverse effects on aquatic and riparian-dependent fish and wildlife resulting from operation of the Missouri River Mainstem Reservoir Project in Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Montana; (2) recommends appropriate measures to mitigate such effects; and (3) develops baseline geologic and hydrologic data relating to aquatic and riparian habitat. Directs such Secretary to: (1) develop and administer a pilot mitigation program that involves the experimental releases of warm water from the spillways at Fort Peck Dam during the spawning periods for native fish and involves the monitoring of fish response to and the effectiveness of the preservation of native fish and wildlife habitat of the releases; and (2) complete, and report to Congress on, a study to analyze and recommend measures to avoid or reduce the loss of fish, including rainbow smelt, through Garrison Dam in North Dakota and Oahe Dam in South Dakota. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 9) Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1999 to extend, through FY 2010, the authorization of appropriations for a project to protect and enhance fish and wildlife habitat of the Missouri and middle Mississippi Rivers. (Sec. 10) Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to direct the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the Rivers and Trails Conservation Assistance Program of the National Park Service (NPS) and if requested, to work with riverside communities to develop projects to revitalize historic riverfronts in specified River communities in Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Montana as well as riverside tribal communities and other communities along the River that request a project. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 11) Directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, to complete, and report to Congress on, a study to evaluate opportunities to protect and replenish cottonwood trees in the associated riparian woodland communities along the River between Fort Benton and Fort Peck Reservoir, Montana. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 12) Directs the Secretaries of the Army and Interior to establish a program at the River Studies Center, Columbia, Missouri, to determine and monitor the geological, hydrological, biological, and chemical characteristics of the River in accordance with title I of the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to: (1) develop a program to monitor and assess the biota, habitats, and water quality of the River (requiring certain consultation); and (2) establish and make available a database on such biota, habitats, and water quality. Requires a report to Congress every three years. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 13) Directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the NPS, to establish Lewis and Clark Interpretive Centers to educate the public about the economic and environmental importance of the River and the scientific and cultural discoveries of Lewis and Clark in the vicinity of River communities. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, to provide improvements to recreation facilities and visitor centers at the Missouri River mainstem projects to provide for increased visitor use associated with the Lewis and Clark commemoration. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2000
National and Community Service Amendments Act of 2000 - Title I: Amendments to National and Community Service Act of 1990 - Amends the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (NCSA) to reauthorize and revise various programs. (Sec. 103) Revises provisions for school-based and community-based service-learning programs to: (1) include Indian tribes as qualified organizations for program participation; and (2) eliminate a requirement that the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) give priority to grant applications containing specified proposals. (Sec. 104) Revises provisions for the national service trust program to: (1) eliminate provisions authorizing CNCS to transfer funds to another Federal agency to support a national service program; (2) limit the CNCS's share of the aggregate cost of national service positions, through a formula based on a specified amount per participant; (3) eliminate Federal agency positions from eligibility for approval for national service positions or educational awards; (4) establish a State minimum for national service grant awards; (5) provide for grants to increase the participation of individuals with disabilities, and for demonstration programs of outreach to such individuals; (6) reserve certain funds to support programs reducing CNCS costs; and (7) modify provisions relating to participant performance, selection, terms of service, and living allowances. (Sec. 105) Revises provisions for the national service trust to include, as an allowable use of trust funds, national service scholarships (under the program established by this Act). Makes expenditures from the trust available for interest payments during forbearance on loan repayment and for national service scholarship awards. Provides that a prohibition against using the educational award to pay off loans made to parents also applies to loans made to parents under the direct student loan program. Allows educational awards to be used to pay off private or State loans. Permits the trust to be used to support a national service scholarship program to recognize secondary school juniors and seniors engaged in community service activities. (Sec. 106)Authorizes the Director of the Civilian Community Corps (CCC) to select individuals with prior supervisory or service experience to be team leaders. Requires team leaders to be selected without regard to a specified age limitation. Revises authorized benefits for CCC members. (Sec. 107) Repeals the authority of State commissions and any division of CNCS to enter into agreements for coordinating functions. (Sec. 108) Eliminates a provision relating to staggered terms for CNS board members. Allows appointed board members whose terms have expired to continue to serve for a specified limited period. Authorizes the chief executive officer (CEO) of CNCS to enter into agreements with other agencies to carry out activities to implement national service laws. (Sec. 109) Authorizes the CEO of CNCS to serve as an ex officio, nonvoting member of the board of directors of the Points of Light Foundation. (Sec. 110) Extends through FY 2005 the authorization of appropriations for programs under NCSA. Title II: Amendments to the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 - Amends the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (DVSA) to reauthorize and revise: (1) title I National Volunteer Antipoverty Programs, part A Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) including VISTA Literacy Corps, part B University Year for VISTA, part C Special Volunteer Programs including literacy challenge grants; and (2) title II National Senior Service Corps (currently National Senior Volunteer Corps), part A Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), part B Foster Grandparent Program (FGP), and part C Senior Companion Program (SCP). (Sec. 203) Includes as a VISTA objective the encouragement of supportive efforts by local agencies and organizations to achieve long-term sustainability of programs in the absence of Federal assistance. Encourages the VISTA Director to enter into agreements under which public agencies and private organizations pay all or part of the direct cost of supporting volunteers. Authorizes the VISTA Director to provide a stipend of a maximum of $200 per month to individuals designated as volunteer leaders. (Sec. 204) Renames the National Senior Volunteer Corps as the National Senior Service Corps (NSSC). Eliminates the priority for enrolling individuals age 60 and older (but continues to allow individuals age 55 and older to enroll). Allows individuals age 55 (currently 60) or older to enroll in FGP, but gives priority to enrolling individuals age 60 or older. Requires any stipend under FGP to be at least $2.55 per hour and be adjusted for inflation once prior September 30, 2005. Allows individuals age 55 (currently 60) or older to enroll in SCP, but gives priority to enrolling individuals age 60 or older. Requires the SCP Director spend certain amounts each year to promote SCP. Prohibits awarding national significance grants for RSVP, FGP, or SCP unless the appropriated allocation for each program exceeds the appropriated allocations for each of the two preceding years. (Sec. 206) Extends through 2005 the authorization of appropriations for programs under DVSA. Title III: Technical Amendments to Other Laws - Revises references and makes other technical and conforming amendments to various other Federal laws.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2000
Good Samaritan Volunteer Firefighter Assistance Act of 2000 - Provides that neither a person (including any corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, society, joint stock company, or any other entity) who donates re-certified fire control or fire rescue equipment nor a State or local agency that administers the distribution of such equipment shall be liable for personal injuries, property damage, or death proximately caused by a defect in such equipment. Excepts such a person or agency from such liability protection if: (1) the person's act or omission causing the injury, damage, or loss constitutes malice, gross negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct; or (2) the person is the manufacturer of such equipment.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2000
Equal Access to Medicare Home Health Care Act of 2000 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to payments made under the prospective payment system (PPS) for Medicare home health services: (1) eliminating the 15 percent reduction in payment rates under such PPS; (2) requiring repayment with interest of Medicare overpayments by home health agencies after a 36-month grace period during which no interest shall accrue; and (3) providing for ten percent additional payments under the PPS for services in rural areas and security services. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to Congress on the feasibility and advisability of including home health services furnished by telecommunications systems as a home health service for purposes of payment for such services under the PPS, and of requirements with respect to physician certification of the need for home health services.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2000
Community Economic Adjustment Act of 2000 - Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to establish in the Economic Development Administration (EDA) an Office of Community Economic Adjustment to coordinate the Federal Government's response to communities experiencing sudden economic distress caused by a loss of jobs due to plant closures, significant layoffs, or significant relocation of jobs to other communities for any reason, including shifting patterns in international trade, natural disasters, or other problems, by: (1) identifying relevant programs and resources to ensure that communities are aware of all available Federal resources that complement or support state and local resources and programs; (2) working with specified departments and agencies to ensure that communities receive Federal assistance in a targeted, integrated manner; and (3) assigning a project manager to work with an affected community. Directs such Office to: (1) provide technical assistance, planning grants, and other assistance to help communities organize themselves, develop, and carry out economic adjustment strategies for replacing industry and jobs that have been lost or are threatened by the economic downturn; and (2) help eligible applicants in completing applications for other assistance that may be useful in alleviating the economic distress in such communities. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2001 through 2005 for community adjustment assistance under the economic adjustment program of the EDA, including specified amounts for such Office and for communities successfully completing planning grants to implement their approved plans.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2000
Calls upon the Government of Japan to: (1) formally issue an apology for the war crimes committed by the Japanese military during World War II; and (2) pay reparations to the victims.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2000
Stamp Out Domestic Violence Act of 2000 - Amends Federal law to require the Postal Service to establish a special rate of postage for first class mail that is up to 25 percent higher than the regular rate as a voluntary alternative that the public may use to contribute to funding for domestic violence programs. Requires collected amounts to be paid to the Department of Justice. Expresses the sense of the Congress that nothing in this Act should: (1) cause a net decrease in total funds received by the Department or any other Federal agency below the level that would have otherwise been received but for this Act's enactment; or (2) affect first-class or other regular postage rates. Requires special postage stamps to be made available to the public. Directs the Comptroller General to report to Congress on the operation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2000
Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to require certification of a group of workers (including agricultural firm or subdivision workers) as eligible to apply for trade adjustment assistance under such Act if the Secretary of Labor determines that a significant number or proportion of them in the workers' firm (or subdivision) have become totally or partially separated (or threatened with total or partial separation), and either: (1) that the firm's (or subdivision's) sales or production, or both, have decreased absolutely, imports from the People's Republic of China of like or directly competitive articles have increased by reason of the extension of normal trade relations treatment, and such increase in imports contributed importantly to such workers' separation (or threat thereof) and to the decline in the firm's (or subdivision's) sales or production; or (2) that there has been a shift in production by the workers' firm (or subdivision) to the People's Republic of China of articles like or directly competitive with the firm's (or subdivision's) articles by reason of such extension of normal trade relations treatment.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2000
Women's Health Environmental Research Centers Act of 2000 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to make grants for the development and operation of not more than six centers to conduct multidisciplinary research on environmental factors that may be related to the development of women's health conditions. Requires each center to conduct basic and clinical research, develop training protocols, conduct training, develop model continuing education programs, and disseminate information to professionals and the public, with priority to prevention activities. Allows a center to use grant funds for stipends for health and allied health professionals in that training. Requires each center to: (1) collaborate with community organizations; and (2) use the facilities of a single institution or be formed from a consortium of institutions. Limits support to five years but allows extensions if recommended by a technical and scientific peer review group appointed by the Institute's director. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2000
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) public memorials that commemorate U.S. military conflicts and the service of individuals in the armed forces should be maintained in good condition; and (2) Federal, State, and local agencies responsible for the construction and maintenance of these memorials should cooperate in cataloging them and providing the resulting information to the Department of the Interior. Urges the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the National Park Service, to: (1) collect and maintain information on such memorials; (2) coordinate efforts at collecting and maintaining this information with similar efforts by other entities, such as Remembering Veterans Who Earned Their Stripes; and (3) make such information available to the public.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2000
Providing Annual Pap Tests to Save Women's Lives Act of 2000 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to extend coverage of screening pap smears and screening pelvic exams to annual examinations regardless of whether a woman is of childbearing age or at high-risk.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2000
Medicare and Medicaid Nursing Services Quality Improvement Act of 2000 - Grants a temporary waiver of certain nurse aid training requirements for specially trained individuals who meet other specified requirements and perform a nursing or nursing-related service for a resident of a skilled nursing facility or a nursing facility covered under titles XVIII (Medicare) or XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2000
Teacher Recruitment and Retention Act of 2000 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to revise the teacher student loan forgiveness program to: (1) require for eligibility three (rather than the current five) consecutive complete school years in a public elementary or secondary school as a teacher of mathematics, science, or foreign languages, or as a special education teacher; and (2) to increase from $5,000 to $10,000 the aggregate amount of an individual teacher's student loan obligation which may be forgiven.