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United States · Official source
950 records where Rep. Danner, Pat [D-MO-6] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2000
Amends Federal aviation transportation law to proscribe employment of certain convicted felons whom the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration determines indicate a propensity for placing contraband aboard an aircraft in return for money.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2000
Teaching Children to Save Lives Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to make grants to State departments of education to establish cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training, using nationally recognized training courses, in public schools which include students in any of grades six through 12 (targeted schools). Limits such grants to not more than $6,000 per targeted school. Requires such grants to provide funding for two-year programs in targeted schools, with a majority of the funding to be provided in the first year to pay for start-up costs, including initial teacher training in CPR instruction and purchase of printed informational or instructional materials, manikins, and other equipment. and the remainder in the second year to pay for upkeep, continued or additional teacher training, and other subsidiary cost. Requires such grants to be used to encourage and foster new and existing community partnerships with and among public and private organizations (such as local school districts, nonprofit organizations, public health organizations like the American Heart Association and the American Red Cross, emergency medical service providers, fire and police departments, and parent-teacher associations) to aid in providing CPR training in targeted schools. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2000
Water Pollution Program Improvement Act of 2000 - Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to make arrangements with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to conduct a study on the: (1) scientific basis underlying the development and implementation of total maximum daily loads for pollutants in waters for which effluent limitations under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act are not stringent enough to implement applicable water quality standards; (2) costs of implementing measures to comply with such loads; and (3) availability of alternative programs or mechanisms to reduce the discharge of pollutants from point sources and nonpoint source pollution to achieve water quality standards. Requires the NAS to report on the study to the Administrator and specified congressional committees. Provides for Federal, State, and private sector comments on such report. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Administrator, before making a final determination with respect to the Proposed Revisions to the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Program and Federal Antidegradation Policy and the Proposed Revisions to the Water Quality Planning and Management Regulations Concerning Total Maximum Daily Loads of August 1999, to: (1) review the NAS report and incorporate recommendations into the proposed revisions; and (2) publish in the Federal Register and receive public comment on incorporated recommendations and those that weren't incorporated, with an explanation why they were not incorporated. Bars the Administrator from making such final determination until the conclusion of the public notice and comment period. Prohibits the Administrator, for purposes of ensuring that States continue to have exclusive authority to regulate nonpoint sources of pollution, from: (1) taking any action to affect any definition of, or distinction made between, point and nonpoint sources of pollution contained in an EPA rule in effect on June 1, 2000; and (2) requiring approval of any measures set forth by a State to control nonpoint sources of pollution pursuant to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, except as authorized under specified provisions regarding nonpoint source management programs.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2000
Excellence in Economic Education Act of 2000 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to establish a program for excellence in economic education under title X (Programs of National Significance). (Sec. 1) Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award a grant to the National Council on Economic Education (the grantee), a nonprofit educational organization. Requires the grantee to reserve certain amounts for States that do not have designated recipients. Requires the grantee to use one-quarter of the grant amount (after such reservation) to: (1) strengthen and expand the grantee's nationwide network on economic education; (2) support and promote training of teachers who teach a grade from kindergarten through grade 12 regarding economics; (3) support research on effective teaching practices and the development of assessment instruments to document student performance; (4) develop and disseminate appropriate materials to foster economic literacy; and (5) coordinate activities assisted under this Act with activities assisted under of ESEA title II (Dwight D. Eisenhower Professional Development Program). Requires the grantee to award grants to State economic education councils, or in the case of a State that does not have a State economic education council, a center for economic education (a recipient). Requires that such a grant pay for the Federal share of the cost of enabling the recipient to work in partnership with one or more specified educational entities for one or more of the following purposes: (1) collaboratively establishing and conducting teacher training programs that use effective and innovative approaches to the teaching of economics; (2) providing resources to school districts that want to incorporate economics into the curricula of their schools; (3) evaluating the impact of economic education on students; (4) conducting economic education research; (5) creating and conducting school-based student activities to promote consumer, economic, and personal finance education, such as saving, investing, and entrepreneurial education, and to encourage awareness and student achievement in economics; (6) establishing interstate and international student and teacher exchanges to promote economic literacy; and (7) encouraging replication of best practices to encourage economic literacy. Sets forth requirements for recipients in carrying out teacher training programs under this Act. Encourages the grantee and recipients, in carrying out assisted activities under this Act, to: (1) include interactions with the local business community to the fullest extent possible, to reinforce the connection between economic education and economic development; and (2) work with private businesses to obtain matching contributions for Federal funds and assist recipients in working toward self-sufficiency. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2000
Insulin-Free World Medicare Pancreas Transplantation Coverage Act of 2000 - Requires any medically necessary pancreas transplantation procedure to be a covered benefit under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, whether or not such procedure is done in conjunction with another organ transplantation procedure that is a covered Medicare benefit.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2000
Amends Federal law to direct the Postal Service to establish a special (semipostal) postage rate for first-class mail in order to afford the public a convenient way to contribute to funding for the establishment of the World War II Memorial. Expresses the sense of Congress that nothing in this Act should: (1) directly or indirectly cause a net decrease in total funds received by the American Battle Monuments Commission below the level that would otherwise have been received but for the enactment of this section; or (2) affect regular first-class rates of postage or any other regular rates of postage.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2000
Investment in Quality School Leadership Act - Establishes a program of grants to consortia for professional development of superintendents, principals, and prospective superintendents and principals. Directs the Secretary of Education to award such competitive grants to consortia to establish programs that serve a State or region and provide superintendents, principals, and prospective superintendents and principals, particularly those serving, or intending to serve, in high-poverty, low-performing school districts and schools, with ongoing, intensive professional development opportunities to improve their capacity to serve as effective leaders and successfully implement standards-based reforms. Requires a consortium, to be eligible to apply for such a grant, to include at least: (1) one local educational agency (LEA) serving a high concentration of children living in poverty; (2) one institution of higher education; and (3) one organization that does not usually provide educational services, but has the necessary expertise to provide professional development to school administrators (expertise). Allows such consortia also to include: (1) one or more additional LEAs; (2) State educational agencies; (3) for-profit organizations with expertise; and (4) public or private nonprofit organizations with expertise. Sets forth required program activities and additional uses of grant funds. Requires grantees to provide 50 percent of the project's annual costs, in cash or in kind. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) waive such matching requirement for applicants that serve low-income areas; and (2) reserve certain funds for technical assistance, evaluation, dissemination of information on effective programs, activities to encourage the spread and adoption of successful leadership development centers, and other national activities that support the programs. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2000
Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to restore the authority of States to transfer up to ten percent of TANF funds to carry out State programs pursuant to SSA title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services). Amends SSA title XX to restore funds to States and territories for FY 2001 and each fiscal year thereafter and to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to compile the information submitted by the States and report it annually to Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2000
Prohibits the President from regulating or prohibiting, directly or indirectly, travel to or from Cuba by U.S. citizens or legal residents, or any of specified transactions incident to such travel. Declares that: (1) this prohibition does not authorize the importation into the United States of any goods for personal consumption acquired in Cuba; and (2) the restrictions on authority contained in this Act do not apply in a case in which the United States is at war with Cuba, armed hostilities between the two countries are in progress, or there is imminent danger to the public health or the physical safety of U.S. travelers.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2000
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the exclusion of gain on the sale of a principal residence to qualified farmland sold with the residence.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2000
Declares that Federal funding for diabetes research should be increased in accordance with the recommendations of the Diabetes Research Working Group so that a cure for juvenile diabetes can be found.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2000
Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Act of 2000 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to give States the option of making medical assistance for breast and cervical cancer-related treatment services available during a presumptive eligibility period to certain low-income women without creditable coverage who have already been screened for such cancers under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention breast and cervical cancer early detection program and need treatment. Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (Food and Drug Act) with regard to human papillomavirus (HPV). Outlines various surveillance (including study), prevention, and educational measures concerning HPV. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) under PHSA to require all its publicly available informational materials related to condoms or sexually transmitted diseases to specifically state the effectiveness or lack of effectiveness of condoms in preventing the transmission of HPV, herpes, and other sexually transmitted diseases. Requires under the Food and Drug Act that the labeling of condoms indicate that condoms do not effectively prevent the transmission of HPV and that such virus can cause cervical cancer.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2000
Authorizes the President to present on behalf of Congress: (1) a gold medal to the family of Andrew Jackson Higgins in recognition of his contributions to the Nation and to the Allied victory in World War II; (2) an identical medal to the D-Day Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana, for public display; and (3) a gold medal to the Museum in honor of the World War II employees of Higgins Industries and in recognition of their contributions to the Nation and to the Allied victory in World War II. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2000
Federal Employees Health Insurance Premium Conversion Act - Requires the Office of Personnel Management to make available to Federal annuitants the option to pay their Federal Employees' Health Benefits Program enrollment charges through a health insurance premium conversion arrangement beginning on the same date as when such option first becomes available to Federal employees generally, but no later than the deadline specified below. Requires: (1) each employing entity within the legislative branch to establish a plan, similar to the health insurance premium conversion arrangement, for their employees; and (2) the Secretary of Defense (or each appropriate Secretary with respect to the Coast Guard and the commissioned corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Public Health Service) to establish such a plan for members and retired members of the uniformed services. Requires that all such plans be completed so that such option shall become available no later than the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning on or after January 1, 2001.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2000
Fishable Waters Act of 2000 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (the Act) to require States, in order to be eligible for assistance under the Fishable Waters Act of 2000, to establish programs for the protection and restoration of fresh water, estuarine, and marine fisheries habitat and for the enhancement of access for fisheries uses through watershed planning and the implementation of projects and measures that meet such Act's requirements. Establishes minimum program requirements. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture (the Secretary), upon approval of a program submitted by a State, to: (1) make grants to the State for program administration; and (2) enter into a memorandum of understanding with the State under which the State may make grants to designated watershed councils for development of comprehensive fisheries habitat protection, restoration, and enhancement plans and interim recommendations that address high priority factors causing imminent adverse impacts or threats to fisheries habitat located in high priority portions of waters within a watershed. Permits States to designate watershed councils to carry out comprehensive fisheries habitat protection, restoration, and enhancement plans that meet specified minimum requirements. Sets forth council requirements. Requires States, in designating such councils, to give preference to existing councils or similar bodies organized under other authorities for purposes similar to those under this Act. Makes designated councils eligible to receive funding to carry out planning functions. Requires councils to collect and consider the best available scientific information and develop additional data and information as necessary. Provides for revisions or updates of comprehensive fisheries plans at least once every five years. Requires submission of plans or interim recommendations to the State for approval. Makes projects and measures that support or implement specific recommendations contained in a plan or interim recommendation eligible for financial support from a State's fisheries habitat account established pursuant to this Act. Authorizes States to provide funds from a fisheries habitat account to persons who enter into binding contracts for implementation of projects and measures recommended by councils pursuant to approved plans or interim recommendations. Prohibits expenditures from such accounts for the planning, engineering, design, or construction of dams or of roads on public lands. Requires States to establish a system of limits on the maximum percentage of total costs for a project that may be provided from such accounts based on a priority ranking of recommendations. Permits expenditures from such accounts for the payment of up to 15 percent of required non-Federal shares under certain Federal environmental, agriculture, forestry, wildlife, flood control, and water resources programs if recommended in a plan or interim recommendations. Authorizes, if specifically recommended in a plan or interim recommendations, increases in expenditures pursuant to Federal programs for flood damage compensation for loss of crops, livestock, or structures with respect to specifically designated lands within a watershed that would be subject to increased flooding due to certain recommended projects. Requires the baseline jurisdictional status of any agricultural lands on which wetlands may be created or expanded as a result of flooding or altered drainage pursuant to such projects to revert to their baseline jurisdictional status upon termination of any project agreement. Provides that a permit under the Act shall not be required for discharges from any wetlands created or expanded for agricultural pollution control purposes if pollutants entering such wetlands result only from normal agricultural practices such as crop production, raising of livestock, or silvicultural activities. Directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, to establish a community fisheries habitat revitalization program. Requires the Secretary of the Interior, pursuant to such program, to provide funding and technical assistance to State fish and wildlife agencies for development and construction of projects designed to improve urban watersheds and public access to the waters of such watersheds in order to restore fisheries habitat or enhance fisheries uses and to provide recreational opportunities. Describes eligible projects and project priorities. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to report annually to Congress on the program. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish a community fisheries habitat clearinghouse to support local implementation of projects under the program. Sets forth limitations on funding under the program. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to publish a report at least biennially on the progress of watershed council programs. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to publish a report at least biennially describing the state of the Nation's fishery habitats as well as the overall progress being achieved in protecting and restoring such habitats. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to compile and provide scientific information for consideration by State fish and wildlife agencies in developing fisheries-related indicators and associated habitat characteristics and for consideration by councils in characterizing waters and establishing watershed objectives pursuant to this Act. Authorizes such factors to be established by such agencies to set forth the appropriate factors, indicators, measurements, and other considerations which will be indicative of a healthy, resilient, diverse, and productive aquatic system and may distinguish among general categories of fisheries based upon natural variations. Requires the Secretary to make grants to States for fisheries programs approved under this Act. Authorizes appropriations. Requires States with approved programs to establish fisheries habitat accounts for providing financial support for projects and measures recommended by watershed councils. Authorizes appropriations for grants to States to enable States to provide funds to any person, through a fisheries habitat account, for implementation of: (1) any measures for restricting livestock access to waters within a designated watershed and for providing alternative water supplies for such livestock; and (2) approved recommendations. Requires the Secretary to provide Congress with an annual survey of projected funding needs for States with approved fisheries programs. Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to carry out responsibilities under this Act. Requires the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Directors of the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Geological Survey, to establish a national planning program for protection and restoration of fisheries habitat through improved floodplain management practices on major waterways. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to issue information describing methodologies for identifying instream flows necessary to protect fisheries habitat. Requires the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Directors of the Geological Survey and the Fish and Wildlife Service, to provide technical assistance and prepare and disseminate technical information on fisheries-related needs for instream flows to the public. Authorizes appropriations for expenditures related to support the maintenance of designated instream flows or volumes. Treats Indian tribes as States for purposes of this Act. (Sec. 4) Reauthorizes appropriations for FY 2002 through 2006 under the Act for grants for: (1) implementation of nonpoint source pollution control management programs; and (2) groundwater quality protection activities to advance States toward implementation of comprehensive nonpoint source pollution control programs. Authorizes appropriations for such years to carry out this Act as well.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2000
Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of Congress, to former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn Carter a gold medal in recognition of their service to the Nation. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2000
Reservists Tax Relief Act of 2000 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow the deduction, as a trade or business expense, of certain expenses of members of a reserve component of the U.S. Armed Forces incurred while away from home in connection with such service.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2000
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the Federal Government, including government officials outside of the United States, should not purchase any goods made by forced labor; (2) the President should instruct the Secretary of the Treasury to enforce strictly the prohibition on the importation of such goods; and (3) the President should urge each international body to which the United States belongs to adopt a policy prohibiting the purchase by that body of such goods.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2000
National Museum of the American Indian Commemorative Coin Act of 2000, or American Buffalo Coin Commemorative Coin Act of 2000 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue a maximum of 500,000 $1 dollar coins in commemoration of the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian of the Smithsonian Institution. Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States Mint Facility in Denver, Colorado, should strike such coins unless the Secretary determines that it would be technically or cost-prohibitive. Mandates that the proceeds from sales surcharges be paid promptly to the National Museum of the American Indian of the Smithsonian Institution to: (1) commemorate the opening of the Museum; and (2)supplement the Museum's endowment and educational outreach funds. Subjects the Museum to certain Federal audit requirements. Instructs the Secretary to take actions to ensure that coin minting and issuance will not result in any net cost to the Government.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2000
Working and Reacting (WAR) Against Meth Act of 2000 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act (CSIEA) to make current penalties with respect to violations involving the manufacturing, distribution, importation, and exportation of specified amounts of methamphetamine applicable to such amounts of amphetamine. (Sec. 4) Modifies CSA provisions regarding endangering human life while illegally manufacturing a controlled substance to: (1) set penalties for harm to the environment, if the controlled substance consists of methamphetamine; (2) provide for imprisonment for up to 40 years, as well as a possible fine, for violations; and (3) make any penalty under provisions regarding the establishment of controlled substance manufacturing operations in addition to any penalty under such provisions regarding harm to human life or to the environment. Specifies that in any case where the conduct at issue is, relates to, or involves the manufacture of amphetamine or methamphetamine, such conduct shall, by itself, be rebuttably presumed to constitute the creation of a substantial risk of harm to human life or to the environment. (Sec. 5) Provides that the El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC) and the Los Angeles County Regional Criminal Information Clearinghouse (LA Clearinghouse), at the direction of the Attorney General, shall jointly and in concert constitute the National Center for Methamphetamine Clandestine Laboratory Information. Requires: (1) EPIC's National Clandestine Laboratory Seizure Intelligence database to provide for the nationwide electronic reporting, capture, and retrieval of clandestine laboratory seizure information; and (2) such information to be analyzed by the LA Clearinghouse, in concert and coordination with EPIC, and disseminated to appropriate law enforcement agencies in a timely manner. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2000
Farm Income Fairness Act of 2000 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from net earnings from self-employment: (1) certain farm rental income; and (2) payments under the environmental conservation acreage reserve program.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2000
Teaching Hospital Preservation Act of 2000 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise a formula pertaining to additional payments to hospitals with indirect costs of medical education to maintain the value of a variable used in the indirect teaching adjustment factor at the FY 1999 level on or after October 1, 2000. (Current law requires a lesser value for such variable in FY 2001 and thereafter.)
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2000
Home Health Fairness Act of 2000 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to eliminate a specified 15 percent reduction in cost and per beneficiary limits with respect to payment rates for home health services under the Medicare prospective payment system. Makes this Act effective as if included in the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2000
Constitutional Amendment - Requires any legislative measure changing the internal revenue laws to require the concurrence of two-thirds of the Members of each House voting and present, unless the legislative measure is determined not to increase the internal revenue by more than a de minimis amount. States that for the purposes of determining any increase in the internal revenue, there shall be excluded any increase resulting from the lowering of an effective rate of any tax. Permits Congress to waive such requirements when: (1) a declaration of war is in effect; or (2) the United States is engaged in military conflict which causes an imminent and serious threat to national security and is so declared by an adopted joint resolution. Prohibits any increase in the internal revenue enacted under such a waiver from being effective for longer than two years.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 2000
Innocence Protection Act of 2000 - Title I: Exonerating the Innocent through DNA Testing - Amends the Federal judicial code to authorize a person in custody pursuant to the judgment of a court established by an Act of Congress, at any time after conviction, to apply to the court that entered the judgment for forensic DNA testing of any biological material that: (1) is related to the investigation or prosecution that resulted in the judgment; (2) is in the actual or constructive possession of the Government; and (3) was not previously subjected to DNA testing, or can be subjected to retesting with new DNA techniques that provide a reasonable likelihood of more accurate and probative results. Sets forth procedures regarding notice to the Government and preservation of remaining biological material. Directs the court to order DNA testing pursuant to such application upon a determination that testing may produce non-cumulative, exculpatory evidence relevant to an applicant's claim that the applicant was wrongfully convicted or sentenced. Specifies that the cost of DNA testing shall be borne by the Government or the applicant, as the court may order in the interests of justice, if it is shown that the applicant is not indigent and possesses the means to pay. Authorizes the court at any time to appoint counsel for an indigent applicant. Establishes post-testing procedures, including ordering a hearing and entering any order that serves the interests of justice, including an order setting aside the judgment or granting a new trial or re-sentencing if the results of the DNA testing are favorable to the applicant. Requires the Government to preserve any biological material secured in connection with a criminal case for such period as any person remains incarcerated in connection with that case, with exceptions. (Sec. 103) Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (Safe Streets Act) to include among the requirements for DNA identification grants, and for drug control and system improvement (Byrne) grants, that the State will: (1) preserve all biological material secured in connection with a State criminal case for not less than the period of time that biological material is required to be preserved under this Act in the case of a person incarcerated in connection with a Federal criminal case (biological material preservation requirements); and (2) make DNA testing available to any person convicted in State court to the same extent, and under the same conditions, that DNA testing is available under this Act to any person convicted in a court established by an Act of Congress. Makes DNA samples obtained by, and DNA analyses performed at, a forensic laboratory accessible for criminal defense purposes to a defendant, who shall have access to samples and analyses performed in connection with the case in which such defendant was charged or convicted. Requires applications for public safety and community policing grants, if any part of funds received from such a grant is to be used to develop or improve a DNA analysis capability in a forensic laboratory, or to obtain or analyze DNA samples for inclusion in the Combined DNA Index System, to make specified certifications including that: (1) DNA analyses performed at such laboratory will satisfy or exceed the current standards for a quality assurance program for DNA analysis issued by the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation under the DNA Identification Act of 1994; (2) DNA samples and analyses obtained and performed by such laboratory will be accessible only consistent with specified requirements; (3) the laboratory and each analyst performing DNA analyses at the laboratory will undergo, at regular intervals not exceeding 180 days, external proficiency testing by a DNA proficiency testing program that meets certain standards; and (4) the State will meet biological material preservation requirements. (Sec. 104) Prohibits a State from denying a request, made by a person in custody resulting from a State court judgment, for DNA testing of biological material that: (1) is related to the investigation or prosecution that resulted in the conviction of the person or the sentence imposed on the person; (2) is in the actual or constructive possession of the State; and (3) was not previously subjected to DNA testing, or can be subjected to retesting with new DNA techniques that provide a reasonable likelihood of more accurate and probative results. Makes an exception upon a judicial determination that testing could not produce non-cumulative evidence establishing a reasonable probability that the person was wrongfully convicted or sentenced. Bars a State from relying upon a time limit or procedural default rule to deny a person an opportunity to present non-cumulative, exculpatory DNA results in court, or in an executive or administrative forum in which a decision is made in accordance with procedural due process. Authorizes a person to enforce this section in a civil action for declaratory or injunctive relief, filed either in a State court of general jurisdiction or in U.S. district court. Specifies that no State or State executive or judicial officer shall have immunity from such actions. Title II: Ensuring Competent Legal Services in Capital Cases - Amends the Safe Streets Act (regarding Byrne grant programs) to require that State applications include, if the State prescribes, authorizes, or permits the death penalty for any offense, a certification that the State has established and maintains an effective system for providing competent legal services to indigents at every phase of a State criminal prosecution in which a death sentence is sought or has been imposed, up to and including direct appellate review and post-conviction review in State court. Requires the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts to promulgate regulations specifying the elements of an "effective system" including: (1) a centralized and independent appointing authority which shall have authority and responsibility to undertake specified activities, such as to recruit attorneys who are qualified to represent indigents in capital proceedings, draft and annually publish a roster of such attorneys, draft and annually publish qualifications and performance standards for such attorneys, and periodically review the roster, monitor attorney performance, provide a mechanism by which members of the Bar may comment on the performance of their peers, and delete the name of any attorney who fails to meet specified requirements; and (2) specified compensation and reimbursement requirements of private attorneys and public defender organizations. Requires applications for discretionary (justice system improvement) grants to include satisfying such certification requirement. Requires the Director of the National Institute of Justice to include in a report to Congress on such grants to each State a description and a comparative analysis of the systems established by each State in order to satisfy the certification requirement, including qualifications and performance standards, rates of compensation, and rates of reimbursement. (Sec. 202) Amends the judicial code to direct the court, in a proceeding instituted by an indigent applicant under sentence of death, to neither presume a finding of fact made by a State court to be correct nor decline to consider a claim on the ground that the applicant failed to raise such claim in State court at the time and in the manner prescribed by State law, unless: (1) the State provided the applicant with legal services at the stage of the State proceedings at which the State court made the finding of fact or the applicant failed to raise the claim; and (2) the legal services the State provided satisfied the regulations promulgated by the Director of the Administrative Office pursuant to the Safe Streets Act. (Sec. 203) Amends the Federal criminal code to require the Director of the Administrative Office to: (1) award grants to, or enter into contracts with, public or private nonprofit organizations for the purpose of providing defense services in capital cases; and (2) develop guidelines to ensure that defense services provided by recipients of such grants and contracts are consistent with applicable legal and ethical proscriptions governing the duties of counsel in capital cases. Title III: Compensating the Unjustly Condemned - Rewrites judicial code provisions regarding compensation for unjust imprisonment. Limits the amount of damages awarded to $50,000 for each 12-month period of incarceration, except that a plaintiff who was unjustly sentenced to death may be awarded not more than $100,000 for each 12-month period of incarceration. Directs the court, in assessing damages, to consider: (1) the circumstances surrounding the unjust conviction, including any misconduct by Federal officers or employees; (2) the length and conditions of the unjust incarceration; and (3) family circumstances, loss of wages, and pain and suffering of the plaintiff. (Sec. 302) Amends the Safe Streets Act to require applicants for criminal justice facility construction grants to provide reasonable assurance that the applicant, or the State in which it is located, does not prescribe, authorize, or permit the death penalty for any offense, or: (1) has established and maintains an effective procedure by which any person unjustly convicted of an offense against the State and sentenced to death may be awarded reasonable damages upon substantial proof that the person did not commit any of the acts with which the person was charged; and (2) the conviction of that person was reversed or set aside on the ground that the person was not guilty of the offense or offenses of which the person was convicted, the person was found not guilty of such offenses on new trial or rehearing, or the person was pardoned upon the stated ground of innocence and unjust conviction. Title IV: Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends the criminal code to prohibit the Government from seeking the death penalty in any case initially brought before a U.S. district court that sits in a State that does not prescribe, authorize, or permit the imposition of such penalty for the alleged conduct, except upon written certification of the Attorney General (or designee) that: (1) the State does not have jurisdiction or refuses to assume jurisdiction over the defendant with respect to the alleged conduct; (2) the State has requested that the Government assume jurisdiction; or (3) the offense charged is one of certain listed offenses, including destruction of aircraft or aircraft facilities, assassination, kidnapping, and assault of specified Government officials. (Sec. 402) Rewrites Controlled Substances Act provisions regarding continuing criminal enterprises to direct the court, upon a recommendation that the defendant should be sentenced to death or life imprisonment without possibility of release, to sentence the defendant accordingly (otherwise, the court shall impose any lesser sentence that is authorized by law). (Sec. 403) Rewrites provisions of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 regarding Violent Offender Incarceration and Truth-In-Sentencing Incentive Grants to require State applicants to provide assurances to the Attorney General that: (1) the State has implemented policies that provide for the recognition of the rights and needs of crime victims; and (2) in any capital case in which the jury has a role in determining the sentence imposed on the defendant, the court, at the defendant's request, shall inform the jury of all statutorily authorized sentencing options in the particular case, including applicable parole eligibility rules and terms. (Sec. 404) Requires the Attorney General, within two years and annually thereafter, to prepare and transmit to Congress a report concerning the administration of capital punishment laws by the Government and the States. Directs the Attorney General or the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, as appropriate, to ensure that the reports are: (1) distributed to national print and broadcast media; and (2) posted on an Internet website maintained by the Department of Justice. (Sec. 405) Amends the judicial code to provide that, regarding exhaustion of remedies available in State courts, if the highest court of a State has discretion to decline appellate review of a case or a claim, a petition asking that court to entertain a case or a claim is not an available State court procedure. (Sec. 406) Expresses the sense of the Senate that the death penalty is disproportionate and offends contemporary standards of decency when applied to a person who is mentally retarded or who had not attained age 18 at the time of the offense.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 2000
Underground Campaign Disclosure Act of 2000 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require a political organization to file statements of organization and contributions and disbursements, which shall be available to the public for a three-year period. Establishes penalties for failure to file such statements or to provide public inspection.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 2000
Calls upon the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee to recommend and the Postal Service to issue a commemorative postage stamp on the subject of autism awareness.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2000
Congratulates the members of the National Association of Letter Carriers for their hard work on behalf of the millions of Americans who go hungry each day. Encourages all Americans to follow their example and donate food to the hungry and to this food drive on May 13, 2000, by placing nonperishable food by their mailboxes.
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 · 23 March 2000
Amends the National Trails System Act to provide that whenever any right-of-way is subject to certain interim use provisions for railroad rights-of-way, no such right-of-way may be developed for public use as a trail unless compensation for such use has been tendered to the person to whom the right-of-way would revert upon abandonment for railroad purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 2000
Stamp Out Breast Cancer Reauthorization Act - Amends the Stamp Out Breast Cancer Act to extend until July 29, 2002, or the end of the two-year period beginning on this Act's enactment, whichever is later, the authority under which postal patrons may contribute to funding for breast cancer research through the voluntary purchase of certain specially issued U.S. postage stamps. Requires the Comptroller General to make a report to Congress on the operation of this Act, in addition to a previous mandated report.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 2000
Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to extend from 26 additional weeks to 52 additional weeks the permissible additional period for payment of trade readjustment allowances to adversely affected workers enrolled in training programs.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2000
Rosie the Riveter-World War II Home Front National Historical Park Establishment Act of 2000 - Establishes the Rosie the Riveter-World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, California, including certain sites, structures, and areas associated with the industrial, governmental, and citizen efforts that led to victory in World War II. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, in administering the Park, to enter into cooperative agreements with interested persons to assist in the interpretation of the Rosie the Riveter Memorial, Vincent Park, the Shimada Peace Memorial Park, Westshore Park, the Ford Assembly Building, Sheridan Observation Point Park, the Bay Trail-Esplanade, the intact dry docks-basin docks and five historic structures at Richmond Shipyard #3, the vessel S.S. RED OAK VICTORY (and Whirley Cranes associated with ship building in Richmond), the Kaiser Permanente Field Hospital, World War II Child Development Centers, Atchison Housing, and Fire Station 67. Authorizes the Secretary to establish a World War II Home Front Education Center in the Ford Assembly Building, including a program that allows for distance learning. Requires 50 percent matching non-Federal funds under the cooperative agreements. Requires the Secretary to submit to specified congressional committees a general management plan, which shall include a determination of whether there are additional representative sites in the United States relating to industrial, governmental, and citizen efforts during World War II that should be linked to and interpreted at the park. Authorizes appropriations (but not for the operation or maintenance of the vessel S.S. RED OAK VICTORY).
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2000
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from self-employment net income certain conservation reserve program payments. Amends the Social Security Act to exclude such payments from the definition of "net earnings from self-employment."
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2000
Long-Term Care Security Act - Amends Federal civil service provisions to direct the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to establish and administer a program through which Federal employees and annuitants, current and retired members of the uniformed services, and their qualified relatives may obtain long-term care insurance through a qualified carrier (a company licensed to issue such insurance in all States). Directs OPM, without regard to statutes requiring competitive bidding, to contract with one or more qualified carriers to provide such insurance. Sets forth contract terms and conditions, including that the carrier participate in an administrative process to settle claim disputes. Provides for seven-year contracts. Requires OPM, after a certain period, to recommend to specified congressional committees whether the insurance program should be continued. Requires each master insurance contract to include full portability of benefits. Makes insured individuals responsible for 100 percent of the charges of coverage and allows individuals to have amounts withheld from pay for their coverage and coverage for qualified relatives. Requires each carrier to maintain a separate accounting of premium amounts received. Provides that contract terms for coverage or benefits under this Act shall preempt State and local law relating to long-term care insurance or contracts. Requires qualified carriers to furnish reasonable reports and permit audits. Requires two reports from the General Accounting Office to OPM and each House of Congress evaluating the insurance program. Provides jurisdiction for disputed claims through U.S. district courts after exhausting all available administrative remedies.
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
Suspends exports of Alaskan North Slope crude oil until the President determines and reports to Congress that the U.S. economy is not experiencing a shortage of foreign crude oil or an inflationary impact due to the demand for foreign crude oil.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2000
Clean Air and Water Preservation Act of 2000 - Amends the Clean Air Act to prohibit the use of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) as a fuel additive. Makes such prohibition effective three years after this Act's enactment date. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to require, during the period beginning on this Act's enactment and ending three years after such date, persons selling gasoline that contains MTBE at retail to label the fuel dispensing system with a notice that the gasoline contains MTBE. (Sec. 4) Amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to require the Administrator to amend certain guidelines to require State source water assessment programs to be revised to prioritize groundwater areas and aquifers that have been contaminated, or are most vulnerable to contamination, by MTBE. Directs the Administrator to develop a clear set of technical guidelines to assist States in the investigation and cleanup of MTBE in groundwater. (Sec. 5) Revises the oxygen content requirement for reformulated gasoline under the Clean Air Act to require the oxygen content to equal or exceed an average of two percent by weight (currently, equal or exceed two percent by weight). Invalidates Federal regulations that establish a per-gallon minimum oxygen content (percent, by weight). (Sec. 6) Requires the Administrator to revise regulations regarding reformulated gasoline to ensure that the ozone forming potential, taking into account all ozone precursors, of the aggregate emissions during the high ozone season from baseline vehicles when using reformulated gasoline does not exceed such potential of the emissions from such vehicles when using reformulated gasoline that complies with regulations that were in effect on January 1, 2000, and applicable to such gasoline sold in 2000 and thereafter. Limits the hydrocarbon content of reformulated gasoline to the average content of such gasoline sold in covered nonattainment areas during the year 2000. (Sec. 7) Requires the Secretary of Energy and the Administrator to report to the President and Congress on the potential for development of oxygenate alternatives to MTBE not identified in this Act and to evaluate what steps would be appropriate to foster development of such alternatives should they be found to be acceptable substitutes for MTBE. (Sec. 8) Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should promote renewable ethanol to replace MTBE and encourage oil refiners to make the transition from MTBE-blended fuel to ethanol-blended fuel as soon as possible.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2000
Apples for Three Million Teachers Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) make the two percent floor on miscellaneous itemized deductions inapplicable to the qualified professional development expenses incurred by teachers; and (2) allow a credit to elementary and secondary school teachers who provide classroom materials.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2000
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United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2000
Reserve Employer Tax Credit Act of 2000 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide: (1) employers a business tax credit for a portion of compensation that was not paid with respect to members of the military reserves who were absent from work on qualified reserve duty; (2) a comparable credit for participating self-employed individuals; and (3) for the deduction of certain expenses paid or incurred by members of a Reserve component of the armed forces.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2000
Declares the "Person of the Century" for the 20th century to have been the American G.I.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2000
Declares that Congress: (1) acknowledges that there remain 605 prisoners of war imprisoned in Iraq; (2) condemns and denounces the Iraqi Government's refusal to comply with international human rights instruments to which it is a party; (3) urges Iraq to disclose the names and whereabouts of those prisoners of war who are still alive; and (4) insists that Iraq allow humanitarian organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit living prisoners and to recover the remains of those who have died in captivity. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the U.S. Government should: (1) work with the international community and the Government of Kuwait to secure the release of Kuwaiti and other prisoners of war who are still missing nine years after the end of the Gulf War; and (2) exert pressure, as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, on Iraq to bring this issue to a close, release all remaining prisoners of the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait, and rejoin the community of nations with a humane gesture of good will and decency.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2000
See summary of: H.Con.Res. 267
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 · 1 March 2000
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to suspend, through December 31, 2003, the duty on 2-Methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2000
Amends the harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to suspend, through December 31, 2003, the duty on 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, its salts and esters.
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
Medicaid Safety Net Hospital Preservation Act of 2000 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act, with respect to adjustments in payments for inpatient hospital services furnished by disproportionate share (DSH) hospitals, to require DSH allotments for FY 2002 to be equal to the State allotment for FY 2000. Sets the DSH allotment for FY 2001 and for FY 2002 at the FY 2000 level.
United States · United States Congress · 29 February 2000
High-Speed Rail Investment Act of 2000 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a limited tax credit to holders of qualified intercity passenger rail carrier bonds. Sets forth definitions, State matching requirements, and other rules.