United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999
Export Enhancement Act of 1999 - Sets forth policy recommendations for the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and the International Trade Administration (ITA). Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to extend through FY 2003 OPIC's authority to issue investment insurance and guarantees. Revises the purposes of the Trade and Development Agency to include, with respect to the promotion of U.S. private sector participation in development projects in developing and middle-income countries, special emphasis on economic sectors with significant U.S. export potential, such as energy, transportation, telecommunications, and environment. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes appropriations to the ITA for its Market Access and Compliance program, Trade Development program, and Commercial Service program. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to take steps to ensure the appointment of United States and Foreign Commercial Service employees in no fewer than ten sub-Saharan African countries, including the adequate appointment of personnel for South and Central America and the Caribbean, in order that U.S. businesses are made aware of existing market opportunities for goods and services. Directs the ITA to undertake the Global Diversity and Urban Export Initiative in order to increase exports from minority-owned businesses, focusing on businesses in under-served areas, including inner-city urban enterprise zones. Authorizes the ITA to advertise in newspapers, business journals, and other relevant publications and related media to inform businesses about ITA services. Revises the composition of the OPIC Board of Directors. Amends the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 to require the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC) to develop a Federal trade promotion plan that, among other things, shall: (1) ensure that all export promotion activities of the U.S. Agency for International Development are fully coordinated and consistent with those of other agencies; (2) identify the means for providing more coordinated export promotion services to small and medium-sized businesses; and (3) establish a set of priorities to promote U.S. exports to, and free market reforms in, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and other emerging markets, that are designed to stimulate job growth both in the United States and those regions and emerging markets. Requires the TPCC to: (1) report on actions taken to eliminate the areas of overlap and duplication identified among Federal export promotion activities; (2) coordinate efforts to sponsor or promote any trade show or trade fair; (3) work with all relevant State and national organizations, including the National Governors' Association, that have established trade promotion offices; and (4) report to Congress on actions taken to promote better coordination among State, Federal, and private sector export promotion activities.
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999
Teacher Empowerment Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to revise and rename title II as Teacher Quality (replacing the current title II Dwight D. Eisenhower Professional Development Program). (Sec. 2) Sets forth a new title II part A Teacher Empowerment program of grants to improve the quality of teaching and learning. Directs the Secretary of Education to make such formula grants to States. Requires States to distribute such grant funds as follows: (1) 95 percent for subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) according to specified formulas; (2) two-and-one-half percent for competitive subgrants to eligible partnerships; and (3) two-and-one- half percent for authorized State activities. Sets forth requirements for coordination, public accountability, and applications. Requires eligible partnerships to use such subgrants for: (1) professional development activities in core academic subjects to ensure that teachers have content knowledge in the subjects they teach; and (2) assistance to LEAs and their teachers, principals, and administrators for professional development activities. Requires LEAs to use portions of such subgrants for: (1) professional development activities in mathematics and science, in an amount at least equal to that under the current Eisenhower Program (unless given a State waiver); (2) professional development activities that give teachers, principals, and administrators the knowledge and skills to provide students with the opportunity to meet challenging State or local content standards and student performance standards; and (3) recruitment, hiring, and training of certified teachers, including teachers certified through State and local alternative routes, in order to reduce class size (unless given a State waiver), or for hiring of special education teachers regardless of whether such action reduces class size. Authorizes LEAs to use such subgrants for highly qualified teacher recruitment programs, including: (1) signing bonuses or other financial incentives for teaching in academic subject areas where there is a shortage; (2) recruiting and providing alternative routes to teacher certification for professionals from other fields; (3) providing increased opportunities for minorities, individuals with disabilities, and other individuals underrepresented in teaching; and (4) hiring policies that identify teachers certified through alternative routes and intensively screen for the most qualified applicants. Authorizes LEAs to use such subgrants also for: (1) highly qualified teacher retention programs (including master teacher mentoring of newly hired teachers, or other incentives for highly qualified teachers to remain in the classroom); (2) teacher quality improvement and professional development programs (including technology training through partnerships with institutions of higher education, delivery of professional development activities through technology and distance learning, tenure reform, merit pay, testing of teachers in the subject areas they teach, instruction in how to teach children with different learning styles, particularly those with disabilities or special learning need, and instruction in classroom discipline and identifying early and appropriate interventions); and (3) teacher opportunity payments. Requires LEAs receiving subgrants to provide parents information regarding the professional qualifications of students' classroom teachers. Prohibits the provision of professional development funds from LEA subgrants for a teacher and an activity if the activity is not: (1) directly related to the curriculum and content areas in which the teacher provides instruction; or (2) designed to enhance the teaching of such areas. Permits the use of such funds for instruction in methods of disciplining children. Authorizes LEAs to use subgrants for teacher opportunity payments to certain teachers or groups of teachers for professional development activities of their own choosing. Requires certain LEAs, if they fail to meet State teaching standards, to make such teacher opportunity payments. Requires providing notice to teachers regarding the availability of such funds. Sets forth a process for selecting teachers in the event of inadequate funds. Sets forth certain national activities under part A of title II of ESEA. Authorizes the Secretary to award competitive grants to eligible consortia for Teacher Excellence Academies, in elementary or secondary school facilities, to carry out specified activities promoting alternative routes to State teacher certification, specified model professional development activities, or all such activities. Authorizes continuation of the Troops-to-Teachers Program under specified conditions. Authorizes the Secretary to make a grant to the National Writing Project. Authorizes the Secretary to make a grant or contract to continue the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for Mathematics and Science Education. Authorizes appropriations through FY 2004 for part A (Teacher Empowerment) of title II (Teacher Quality) of ESEA. (Sec. 3) Extends through FY 2004 the authorization of appropriations for the Reading Excellence Act (REA) program. Redesignates REA as part B of title II of ESEA. (Sec. 4) Prohibits the Secretary from: (1) using Federal funds to plan, develop, implement, or administer any national teacher test or certification; or (2) withholding funds from any State or LEA that fails to adopt a specific method of teacher certification. Provides that: (1) nothing in ESEA title II shall be construed to permit, allow, encourage, or authorize any Federal control over any aspect of any private, religious, or home school, whether or not a home school is treated as a private school or home school under State law; and (2) private, religious, or home schools are not barred, by the previous provision, from participation in programs or services under ESEA title II.
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999
States that in the case of a taxable year beginning before January 1, 1980, the determination of whether a tax deduction as a trade or business expense is allowable under the Internal Revenue Code for flight training expenses shall be made without regard to whether the taxpayer was reimbursed for any portion of such expenses through certain veterans educational assistance programs. Sets forth statute of limitations provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1999
Declares it to be U.S. policy to seek the elimination of certain tariff and nontariff barriers and to achieve more open, equitable, and reciprocal market access through the negotiation of bilateral free trade agreements with eligible Pacific Rim countries. Directs the President: (1) to initiate preliminary consultations with the government of each eligible Pacific Rim country within 60 days after enactment of this Act; (2) if such consultations indicate that establishment of a free trade area between the United States and the country is feasible and desirable, to request a meeting at the ministerial level to consider the conditions for formal negotiations; and (3) to recommend establishment of a council of public and private sector officials from the respective countries to analyze and report on the existing bilateral relationship and the prospects for a successful negotiation. Directs the President to report to specified congressional committees on the feasibility of commencing formal negotiations regarding a free trade agreement with a Pacific Rim country.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1999
Calls for the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee to recommend and the Postal Service to issue a commemorative postage stamp honoring the U.S. Submarine Force on its 100th anniversary.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 1999
Citizen Legislature and Political Freedom Act - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) to terminate limitations on Federal election campaign contributions after 2000. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to terminate after December 31, 1999, the designation of income tax payments to the Presidential Election Campaign Fund. Terminates the Fund itself and the Presidential Primary Matching Payment Account after December 31, 2000, and transfers any amounts remaining in the Fund to the general fund of the Treasury. Amends FECA, in the case of a political committee of a national political party, to require reports of all funds transferred to any political committee of a State or local political party, without regard to whether or not the funds are otherwise treated as contributions or expenditures under such Act (soft money). Requires any political committee of a State or local political party to file with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) a copy of any report on disbursements it is required under a State or local law, rule, or regulation to submit to the State or local government. Directs the FEC to make electronic filing of reports mandatory. Revises current deadlines for notification of contributions by a campaign committee. Applies such deadlines to each campaign committee of a candidate, not (as currently) just the principal campaign committee. Requires each political committee to notify, in writing, the appropriate office of any contribution (currently, of $1,000 or more) received by the committee during the period which begins on the 90th day before an election (currently, after the 20th day after, but more than 48 hours before, an election) and ends at the time the polls close for such election. Requires such notification to be made within 24 hours (or, if earlier, by midnight of the day on which the contribution is deposited) (currently, within 48 hours) after receipt of the contribution. Requires the FEC to make report information available on the Internet and at FEC offices as soon as practicable after its receipt. Declares that the "best efforts" exception to noncompliance with FECA shall not apply with respect to information regarding the identification of any contributor of more than $200 in the aggregate during a calendar year (thus requiring strict observance of reporting deadlines for all such contributions).
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 1999
Parents Know Best Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to require parental notification and consent prior to enrollment of a child in a bilingual education program or a special alternative instructional program for limited English proficient students, if such program is assisted under ESEA.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 1999
American Inventors Protection Act of 1999 - Title I: Inventors' Rights - Inventors' Rights Act - Amends Federal patent law to oblige any invention promoter, when entering into a contract for invention promotion services, to disclose to a customer in writing: (1) whether the promoter's usual business practice is to seek more than one contract in connection with an invention, or seek to perform promotion services in one or more phases, with the performance of each phase covered in one or more subsequent contracts; and (2) a summary of the promoter's usual business practices, including the usual business terms of contracts, and the approximate amount of the usual fees or other consideration for each of the services provided. (Sec. 102) Prescribes a standard cover notice for every invention promotion services contract, including: (1) the procedure for contract cancellation; (2) the total number of inventions evaluated by the promoter for commercial potential in the past five years, including the number of positive and of negative evaluations; (3) the total number of customers who have contracted with the promoter in the past five years; (4) the total number of customers known by the promoter to have received a net financial profit as a direct result of the invention promotion services provided; (5) the total number of customers known by the invention promoter to have received license agreements for their inventions as a direct result of such services; and (6) the names and addresses of all previous invention promotion companies with which the promoter or its officers have collectively or individually been affiliated in the previous ten years. Sets forth mandatory contract terms and remedies for certain prohibited contract practices. Establishes a Federal cause of action for inventors injured by material false or fraudulent statements or representations, or any omission of material fact, by an invention promoter, or by the promoter's failure to make the required written disclosures. Sets minimum damages at $5,000, leaving the court discretion to treble actual damages, taking into account past complaints against the same invention promoter. Makes it a misdemeanor for an invention promoter to make fraudulent representations to a customer. Title II: First Inventor Defense - First Inventor Defense Act - Amends Federal patent law to declare that it shall be a defense to an infringement action with respect to any subject matter that would otherwise infringe one or more claims asserting a process or method in the patent being asserted against a person, if such person had, acting in good faith, actually reduced the subject matter to practice at least one year before the effective filing date of such patent, and commercially used the subject matter before the effective filing date of such patent. (Sec. 202) Deems a commercial use, in the case of activities performed by a nonprofit research laboratory, or nonprofit entity such as a university, research center, or hospital, any use for which the public is the intended beneficiary, except that such use: (1) may be asserted as a defense only for continued use by and in the laboratory or nonprofit entity; and (2) may not be asserted as a defense with respect to any subsequent commercialization or use outside such laboratory or nonprofit entity. States that the sale or other disposition of a useful end product produced by a patented method, by a person entitled to assert such a defense with respect to that useful end result, shall exhaust the patent owner's rights under the patent to the extent such rights would have been exhausted had such sale or other disposition been made by the patent owner. Limits the defense to inventions for processes or methods. Prohibits the defense if the subject matter on which the defense is based was derived from the patentee or persons in privity with the patentee. Declares that this defense is not a general license under all claims of the patent at issue, but extends only to the specific subject matter claimed in the patent with respect to which the person can assert a defense. Extends the defense, however, to variations in the quantity or volume of use of the claimed subject matter, and to improvements that do not infringe additional specifically claimed subject matter of the patent. Requires a person asserting the defense to establish it by clear and convincing evidence. Prohibits any person who has abandoned commercial use of subject matter from relying on activities performed before the date of abandonment in establishing a defense with respect to actions taken after such date. Limits assertion of the defense to the person who performed the acts necessary to establish it. Prohibits licensing, assignment, or transfer to any person but the patent owner of the right to assert the defense, except as an ancillary and subordinate part of a good faith assignment or transfer for other reasons of the entire enterprise or line of business to which the defense relates. Restricts the site of use of a subject matter for which the defense may be asserted if the defense has been acquired as part of such a good faith assignment or transfer. Title III: Patent Term Guarantee - Patent Term Guarantee Act of 1999 - Amends Federal patent law to extend the term of a patent one day for each day lost as a result of delay created by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) when the agency fails to: (1) make notifications within 14 months after filing of a non-provisional application about the rejection of any patent claim, or objections to or requirements for it, or of allowance of the application; (2) respond within four months to a reply to a rejection, objection, or requirement, or to an appeal of a twice-rejected claim; (3) act on an application within four months after the date of a decision by the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, or a decision by a Federal court in a case in which allowable claims remain in the application; or (4) issue a patent within four months after the date on which the issue fee was paid and all outstanding requirements were satisfied. (Sec. 302) Requires a day-for-day extension of a patent term if: (1) a patent is not issued within three years after the filing of the application; or (2) issue is delayed by interferences, secrecy orders, or appeals. Specifies limitations to such an extension, as well as grounds for its reduction. Requires the USPTO Director to prescribe regulations establishing procedures for the application for and determination of patent term extensions and adjustments. (Sec. 303) Authorizes the Commissioner of Patents to: (1) prescribe regulations for the continued examination, at the applicant's request, of a patent application notwithstanding a final rejection; and (2) establish appropriate fees for continued examination proceedings, with a mandatory 50% fee reduction for qualifying small entities. Title IV: United States Publication of Patent Applications Published Abroad - Publication of Foreign Filed Applications Act - Requires the USPTO Director to publish each patent application 18 months after the earliest filing date for which a benefit is sought, unless the applicant requests earlier publication. Makes final and unreviewable the Director's determination to release or not to release information concerning a published patent application. Prohibits publication of any application: (1) no longer pending; (2) subject to a secrecy order; (3) which is provisional; (4) for a design patent; or (5) for an invention the applicant certifies has not and will not be the subject of an application filed in another country, or under a multilateral international agreement, that requires publication of applications 18 months after filing. Requires any applicant, in the latter instance, who subsequently files, in a foreign country or under a multilateral international agreement, an application directed to the invention disclosed in the application filed in the PTO, to notify the Director. (Sec. 402) Allows an applicant to submit a redacted copy of the PTO-filed application, eliminating any part or description of the invention that is not also contained in any of the corresponding applications the applicant has filed in one or more foreign countries whose applications require a less extensive description of the invention than the application or description of the invention in the application filed in the PTO. Requires the USPTO Director to publish only the redacted copy of the application, unless it is not received within 16 months after the earliest effective filing date. Requires the USPTO Director to establish appropriate procedures to ensure that no protest or other form of pre-issuance opposition to the grant of a patent on an application may be initiated after publication of the application without the express written consent of the applicant. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to specified congressional committees on applicants who file only in the United States on or after the effective date of this subtitle. (Sec. 403) Amends Federal patent law with respect to the option of an applicant seeking patent protection in the United States to claim the filing date of an application for the same invention filed in another Convention country, provided the subsequent application is filed in the United States within 12 months of the earlier filing in the foreign country. Revises requirements for claiming such priority. Authorizes the Director to: (1) consider an applicant's failure to file a timely claim for priority to be a waiver of any such priority claim; and (2) establish procedures (including the payment of a surcharge) to accept an unintentionally delayed priority claim. (Sec. 404) Amends Federal patent law to state that a patent shall contain a (provisional) right to obtain a reasonable royalty for applicants whose applications are published under this title, or international applications designating the United States filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). Entitles the applicant to obtain a reasonable royalty from any person who between publication of the application and issuance of the patent: (1) makes, uses, offers for sale, or sells the invention in, or imports it into, the United States; or (2) if the invention claimed is a process, makes, uses, offers for sale, sells, or imports a product made by that process in the United States; and (3) had actual notice of the published application, including a translation into English if it was filed in a non-English language under the PCT designating the United States. Denies availability of such right unless the invention as claimed in the patent is substantially identical to the invention as claimed in the published application. Sets a six-year statute of limitations from the date of patent issuance in which an action for reasonable royalties must be brought. Authorizes an applicant to request issuance of a patent incorporating one or more claims the USPTO Director has indicated allowable. Permits incorporation into the patent, or issuance of a separate patent, of any subsequently allowed claims. (Sec. 405) Grants a published application prior art effect as of its earliest effective U.S. filing date against any subsequently filed U.S. applications. States that any foreign filing date to which the published application is entitled will not be the effective filing date of the U.S. published application for prior art purposes, unless it is an international application designating the United States published in English under the PCT. (Sec. 406) Requires the USPTO Director to recover the cost of early publication required by this title by charging a separate publication fee after a notice of allowance is given. Title V: Patent Litigation Reduction Act - Patent Litigation Reduction Act - Revises requirements with respect to prior art citations. Repeals the authority to exclude, on request, the prior art citator's identity from the patent file, and keep it confidential. (Sec. 503) Revises the procedure for the conduct of reexamination proceedings, adding specified procedures for a third-party requester. Transfers authority to conduct such proceedings and issue orders from the Commissioner of Patents to the USPTO Director. Requires reexamination proceedings and appeals to the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences to be conducted with special dispatch within the USPTO. Authorizes a third-party requester to: (1) appeal any final decision favorable to the patentability of any original or proposed amended or new claim of the patent; or (2) be a party to any appeal taken by the patent owner. Declares that any third-party requester whose request for a reexamination results in a reexamination order is estopped from asserting at a later time, in any civil action, the invalidity of any claim finally determined to be valid and patentable on any ground which the third-party requester raised or could have raised during the reexamination proceedings, except newly discovered prior art unavailable at the time of such proceedings. Sets forth prohibitions with respect to subsequent requests for reexamination of a patent and final decisions in civil actions. Authorizes a patent owner to obtain a stay of any pending litigation involving an issue of patentability once an order for reexamination has been issued, unless the court determines a stay would not serve the interests of justice. Requires the USPTO Director to report to Congress on whether the reexamination proceedings established under this title are inequitable to any of the parties in interest, as well as any related legislative recommendations. Title VI: Patent and Trademark Office - Patent and Trademark Office Efficiency Act - Subtitle A: United States Patent and Trademark Office - Amends Federal patent law to reorganize the Patent and Trademark Office in the Department of Commerce into a U.S. agency within the Department, called the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), subject to the general policy direction of the Secretary of Commerce but exercising independent control of its budget, personnel, procurements, and other administrative and management functions. (Sec. 613) Vests the enumerated powers and duties of the USPTO in an Under Secretary of Commerce and Director of the USPTO (currently, the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks). Requires the Director to appoint a Commissioner of Patents and a Commissioner of Trademarks. (Sec. 614) Prescribes personnel requirements, including mandatory written agreements with labor organizations. Requires the USPTO Director to establish a performance management system according to specified guidelines. Authorizes the Director to establish one or more broad-banded systems covering all or any portion of the USPTO workforce. (Sec. 615) Establishes a Patent Public Advisory Committee and a Trademark Public Advisory Committee. (Sec. 618) Revises the composition of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences to reflect the changes of this Act. Repeals the current authority (of the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks) to designate any patent examiner of the primary examiner grade or higher to serve as examiner-in-chief for a six-month period, and act as a member of the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences. Subtitle B: Effective Date; Technical Amendments - Sets forth the effective date of this title, as well as specified technical amendments to Federal patent law. Subtitle C: Miscellaneous Provisions - Sets forth specified administrative requirements with respect to the USPTO and transfers of functions under this title. Title VII: Miscellaneous Patent Provisions - Amends Federal patent law to permit the conversion, upon applicant request, of a provisional application into a non-provisional application. Repeals the requirement that a provisional application be pending on the filing date of a non-provisional application in order for the provisional application to be relied upon in any proceeding in the USPTO. (Sec. 702) Permits persons who filed an application for patent first in a World Trade Organization (WTO) member country to claim the right of priority in a subsequent patent application filed in the United States, even if such country does not yet afford similar privileges on the basis of applications filed in the United States. Provides for the right of priority in the United States on the basis of an application for a plant breeder's right first filed in a WTO member country or in a foreign member of the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV Contracting Party). (Sec. 703) Makes certain limitations on remedies for patent infringement applicable only to applications filed on or after September 30, 1996. (Sec. 704) Declares that papers filed in the USPTO may be required to be on an electronic medium. (Sec. 705) Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on the potential risks to the U.S. biotechnological industry relating to biological deposits in support of biotechnology patents. Requires the USPTO to consider the Comptroller General's recommendations when drafting regulations affecting biological deposits. (Sec. 706) Specifies that an inventor involved in a USPTO interference proceeding who establishes a date of invention is subject to certain requirements, including the one that the invention was not abandoned, suppressed, or concealed. (Sec. 707) Revises the condition of patentability that subject matter developed by another person which qualifies as prior art only in certain circumstances shall not preclude the granting of a patent on an invention with only obvious differences where the subject matter and claimed invention were, at the time the invention was made, owned by the same person or subject to an obligation of assignment to the same person. Adds to such qualifying prior art circumstances that the invention was described in another patent granted on an application filed before the applicant's date of invention. (Thus allows an applicant to receive a patent when an invention with only obvious differences from the applicant's invention was described in a patent granted on an application filed before the applicant's invention, provided the inventions are commonly owned or subject to an obligation of assignment to the same person.)
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1999
Iran Nonproliferation Act of 1999 - Directs the President to report periodically to specified congressional committees on foreign persons who, on or after January 22, 1998, have transferred to Iran: (1) controlled goods, services, or technology; or (2) non-controlled goods, services, or technology that would nevertheless would be, if they were U.S. goods, services, or technology, prohibited for export to Iran because of their potential contribution to the development of nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons, or ballistic missile systems. Excludes from identification in such reports any such persons who were previously identified, or who have acted on behalf of, or in concert with, the U.S. Government. Authorizes the President, with specified exceptions, to apply to such foreign person certain measures: (1) set forth in Executive Order 12938 prohibitions; (2) prohibiting the sale to such persons of defense items on the United States Munitions List and defense articles and defense services, or design and construction services under the Arms Export Control Act; and (3) prohibiting the export to such persons of controlled goods and technology under the Export Administration Act of 1979. Prohibits any U.S. agency from making extraordinary payments to the Russian Space Agency in connection with the International Space Station, or any other organization or entity of the Government of the Russian Federation, unless the President has determined, and reported to specified congressional committees, that: (1) it is the policy of the Government of the Russian Federation to oppose the proliferation to Iran of weapons of mass destruction and missile systems capable of delivering such weapons; (2) such government is taking the necessary steps to prevent the transfer from Russia to Iran of goods, services, and technology useful in the development of such weapons and systems; and (3) neither the Russian Space Agency, nor any organization under its control, has, during the one-year period prior to the determination, made transfers to Iran of controlled goods, services, or technology or non-controlled goods, services, or technology that has potential to contribute to Iran's development of nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons, or of ballistic missile systems.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1999
Interstate Class Action Jurisdiction Act of 1999 - Grants the district courts original jurisdiction of any civil action which is brought as a class action in which any member of a proposed plaintiff class is: (1) a citizen of a State different from any defendant; (2) a foreign state and any defendant is a citizen of a State; or (3) a citizen of a State and any defendant is a citizen or subject of a foreign state. Prohibits the district courts from exercising jurisdiction over such a civil action if the action is an intrastate case, a limited scope case, or a State action case. Makes such prohibition inapplicable to any claim concerning a covered security. Provides that, for purposes of a determination of diversity of citizenship, a member of a proposed class shall be deemed to be a citizen of a State different from a defendant corporation only if that member is a citizen of a State different from all States of which the defendant corporation is deemed a citizen. (Sec. 4) Allows a class action to be removed to a U.S. district court, except that such action may be removed by: (1) any defendant without the consent of all defendants; or (2) any plaintiff class member who is not a named or representative class member of the action for which removal is sought, without the consent of all members of such class. Specifies that this section shall apply to any class action before or after the entry of any order certifying a class. Makes provisions relating to a defendant removing a case applicable to a plaintiff removing a case under this section. Specifies that the requirement relating to the 30-day filing period shall be met if a plaintiff class member who is not a named or representative class member of the action for which removal is sought files notice of removal no later than 30 days after receipt by such class member of the initial written notice of the class action provided at the court's direction. Makes this section inapplicable to any claim concerning a covered security. Provides that if the case stated by the initial pleading is not removable, a notice of removal may be filed within 30 days after receipt by the defendant of a copy of an amended paper from which it may first be ascertained (current law) by exercising due diligence that the case is one which is or has become removable, with an exception. Requires the court to dismiss the action if, after removal, it determines that no aspect of an action that is subject to its jurisdiction solely under this Act may be maintained as a class action under rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Permits an action so dismissed to be filed again in a State court, but allows any such re-filed action to be removed again if it is an action of which the U.S. district courts have original jurisdiction. Specifies that in any action dismissed pursuant to this section, the period of limitations for any claim that was asserted in the action on behalf of any named or unnamed member of a proposed class shall be deemed tolled to the full extent provided under Federal law.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1999
Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act - Title I: Validity of Electronic Records and Signatures for Commerce - Prohibits any rule of law from denying the legal effect of certain instruments of electronic commerce on the ground that: (1) they are not in writing; or (2) they are not signed or affirmed by a signature if they have been signed or affirmed by electronic signature. Sets forth guidelines under which a Federal or State rule of law may alter or supersede the general rule of validity governing instruments of electronic commerce. Empowers the Secretary of Commerce to enjoin a State rule of law in violation of such guidelines. Excludes certain testamentary instruments and matters of family law from the purview of this Act. Title II: Development and Adoption of Electronic Signature Products and Services Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct and report to Congress on the results of an inquiry regarding impediments to commerce in electronic signature products and services; and (2) promote the practice of electronic signatures in interstate and foreign commerce. Title III: Use of Electronic Records and Signatures Under Federal Securities Law - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to reflect the provisions of this Act regarding the use of electronic records and signatures. Authorizes the Securities and Exchange Commission to prescribe implementing regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1999
Commends President Glafcos Clerides of Cyprus for his decision to cancel the deployment of the S-300 antiaircraft missiles in Cyprus. Urges the President of the United States to use the influence of the U.S. Government to persuade Turkey to comply with United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1217 and 1218 and to cooperate for a solution to the Cyprus problem.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 1999
National Medal of Honor Memorial Act - Designates the memorial being constructed at the Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California, to honor Medal of Honor recipients as the National Medal of Honor Memorial.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1999
United States Record on the Armenian Genocide Resolution - Calls upon the President to: (1) provide in a collection all U.S. records related to the Armenian genocide and the consequences of the failure to enforce the judgments of the Turkish courts against the responsible officials; and (2) provide such collection to the Committee on International Relations of the House of Representatives, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum library for incorporation into its holdings of official documentation on genocide and for purposes of public awareness and education, and the Armenian Genocide Museum in Yerevan, Armenia, in order to document and affirm the U.S. record of protest and recognition of this crime against humanity.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 1999
Children's Hospitals Education and Research Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make payment as specified to each children's hospital for each hospital cost reporting period under Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act (SSA)) for FY 2000 and 2001 for the direct and indirect expenses associated with operating approved medical residency training programs. Provides that such payments are in lieu of certain Medicare payments to hospitals for inpatient hospital services, but shall not affect the amounts otherwise payable to such hospitals under a State Medicaid (SSA title XIX) plan. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 1999
Sets forth the rule (closed) for the consideration of: (1) H.R. 1569 (limitation on military operations in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia); (2) H. Con. Res. 82 (removal of U.S. armed forces from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia); (3) H.J. Res. 44 (state of war between the United States and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia); and (4) S. Con. Res. 21 (military air operations and missile strikes against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro)).
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Improvement of Classroom Services and Activities Title II: Miscellaneous Provisions Dollars to the Classroom Act - Title I: Improvement of Classroom Services and Activities - Authorizes the Secretary of Education award grants to States for use by States and local educational agencies (LEAs) to improve classroom services and activities for students. (Sec. 102) Requires reservation of specified portions of title I funds for: (1) outlying areas, to be distributed on the basis of their relative need; and (2) the Secretary of the Interior for programs in schools operated or funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Sets forth a formula for distribution of title I funds to States, including a hold harmless provision with respect to amounts received in FY 1999 under current formula grant programs (which are under specified Acts and programs repealed by this Act). Requires States to distribute at least 95 percent of allotted funds to LEAs. Requires States and LEAs to use title I funds to supplement and not to supplant funds from non-Federal sources. Requires State annual reports to the Secretary and specified congressional committees to be made available to parents and the public. (Sec. 103) Requires States to consider certain factors when distributing funds within the State. Sets forth hold-harmless provisions for LEAs with respect to: (1) funds received for FY 1999 under current formula grant programs; and (2) funds the LEA is eligible to receive during FY 1999 through 2003 under multiyear awards made prior to enactment of this Act. Lists local uses of title I funds. Requires LEAs to involve parents and members of the public in planning for the use of title I funds. (Sec. 104) Provides for participation of private school children and teachers in title I activities and services. (Sec. 106) Declares that nothing in this title shall be construed to authorize any Federal officer or employee to require, direct, or control a State, LEA, or school's specific instructional content of pupil performance standards and assessments, curriculum, or program of instruction as a condition of eligibility to receive funds under this title. Prohibits the Secretary from issuing any regulation regarding the type of classroom activities or services that may be assisted under this title. Provides that LEAs shall not be required to provide services under this title through a particular instructional method or in a particular instructional setting in order to receive funding under this title. (Sec. 107) Repeals the following programs under the Goals 2000: Educate America Act: (1) State and local education systemic improvement; (2) parental assistance; and (3) international education exchange and study. Repeals the following programs under the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994: (1) school-to-work opportunities system development and implementation grants to States; (2) Federal implementation grants to local partnerships; and (3) national programs. Repeals the following programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA): (1) demonstrations of innovative practices; (2) innovative elementary school transition projects; (3) Dwight D. Eisenhower Professional Development Program, including national programs and State and local activities; (4) Technology for Education, including national programs, State and local programs for school technology resources, Star Schools, Ready-to-Learn Television, telecommunications demonstration project for mathematics, elementary mathematics and science equipment, and elementary and secondary school library media resources; (5) Magnet Schools Assistance; (6) Women's Educational Equity; (7) Innovative Education Program Strategies; (8) Native Hawaiians Education; (9) Alaska Native Education; (10) Fund for the Improvement of Education; (11) Gifted and Talented Education; (12) Arts in Education; (13) Civic Education; (14) Allen J. Ellender Fellowship Program (Close-Up programs for middle and secondary school students and teachers); (15) 21st Century Community Learning Centers; (16) Urban and Rural Education Assistance; (17) National Writing Project; (18) Extended Time for Learning and Longer School Year; (19) Comprehensive Regional Assistance Centers; and (20) Eisenhower Math and Science Regional Consortia. Repeals the Education for Homeless Children program under the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act. (Sec. 108) Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Miscellaneous Provisions - Authorizes the Secretary to waive statutory or regulatory requirements for a State educational agency (SEA), LEA, or school under certain conditions for specified programs under ESEA and the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act. (Sec. 201) Education Flexibility Partnership Demonstration Act - Authorizes the Secretary to allow all 50 States to participate in the Education Flexibility Partnership Demonstration Act program (currently under title III of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act, which is repealed by this Act). Directs the Secretary to: (1) review the progress of agencies or schools affected by waivers under title II; and (2) publish and disseminate the decision to grant, or to authorize SEAs to issue, such waivers. (Sec. 202) Amends ESEA to eliminate criteria which a school must meet in order for its LEA to use funds for schoolwide programs at that school.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1999
Fragile X Research Breakthrough Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to: (1) expand, intensify, and coordinate the Institute's activities respecting research on the disease known as fragile X; (2) make grants to, and enter into contracts with, public or nonprofit private entities for the development and operation of at least three centers to conduct research for improving the diagnosis and treatment of, and finding the cure for, fragile X. Requires each such center assisted to conduct basic and clinical research, which may include clinical trials of new or improved diagnostic methods and drugs or other treatment approaches. Allows such centers to use grant funds provided under this Act to provide fees to individuals serving as subjects in clinical trials. Requires the Director to provide for the coordination of the centers' activities, including the exchange of information. Requires each center to use the facilities of a single institution, or be formed from a consortium of cooperating institutions. Allows support to be provided to a center for a period not exceeding five years with authorized extensions. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a program under which the Federal Government enters into contracts with qualified health professionals who agree to conduct research on fragile X in consideration of the Government's agreement to repay, for each year of such service, no more than $35,000 of the principal and interest of the educational loans owed by such health professionals. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1999
Employee Ownership Act of 1999 - Declares the policy of the United States that, by the year 2010, 30 percent of all U.S. corporations shall be owned and controlled by their employees. (Sec. 3) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for tax-exempt employee-owned and employee-controlled corporation (EOECC) trusts whose primary assets consist of the employer securities of an EOECC in which: (1) more than 50 percent of the voting stock is held by a trust for the benefit of the corporation's employees; (2) in all matters requiring the vote of stock, including the election of the corporate board of directors, the trustee of such trust is obligated to vote the stock held in trust and allocated to participants in the trust in the manner in which the participants direct, on the basis of one-employee one-vote (and vote any stock not so allocated as if it were so allocated); (3) at least 25 employees of such corporation are participants in and beneficiaries of such trust; (4) a minimum of 90 percent of the employees who work at least 1,000 hours annually for such corporation are participants in such trust; and (5) the trustee administers the trust for the benefit of the corporation's employees, complying with all Code requirements for employee stock ownership plans which pertain to independent appraisal of shares not readily tradable, and distribution of those shares. Declares that: (1) there shall be no tax on the corporate income of an EOECC; and (2) the gross income of an employee owner shall not include any proceeds from the qualified sale of EOECC securities. Exempts from inclusion in gross income of property transferred in connection with performance of services any transfer (in lieu of compensation) of EOECC securities during the three years following a corporation's election to become an EOECC. Mandates nonrecognition of gain in the case of the sale or transfer of EOECC securities to an EOECC trust. Establishes a credit against the estate tax for the amount of EOECC securities considered to have been acquired from or to have passed from a decedent to an EOECC trust. (Sec. 4) Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on Federal regulations and policies affecting EOECCs. (Sec. 5) Directs the President to establish a Presidential Commission on Employee Ownership to study and report on all issues that affect ownership of businesses in the United States, with a primary focus on the issues that affect employee ownership of such businesses.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1999
Medicare Cancer Clinical Trial Coverage Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a demonstration project which provides for payment under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act of routine patient care costs for Medicare beneficiaries with cancer who are enrolled in an approved clinical trial program, while still applying the beneficiary cost sharing provisions of such program to project participants. Directs the Secretary to study and report to Congress on the impact on Medicare of covering such costs as well as the cost of extending routine patient care coverage to Medicare beneficiaries with a diagnosis other than cancer.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1999
Amends the Clean Air Act to suspend certain requirements for the use of reformulated gas and oxygenated fuels in nonattainment areas, and any such provisions under California law regarding such gas and fuels, upon a determination by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency that, during the calendar month prior to such determination, the statewide average retail price of gasoline has been more than five percent above the baseline average price for California due to costs of complying with such requirements. Terminates such suspension upon the Administrator's determination that the statewide average retail price has been more than five percent below such baseline average price. Defines "baseline average gasoline price" as a statewide average price for gasoline sold at retail, for any calendar month, that is 120 percent of the statewide average retail price within California during the three-calendar year period preceding the calendar year in which such month occurs. Bars the retail sale of gasoline refined outside, and imported into, the United States in California during any suspension period.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999
Internet Access Charge Prohibition Act of 1999 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit the Federal Communications Commission from imposing on any interactive computer service or other information service provider any access charge for the support of universal service that is based on a measure of the time that telecommunications services are used in the provision of such interactive computer or information service.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Brownfields Revitalization Title II: Community Participation and Human Health Subtitle A: Community Participation Subtitle B: Human Health Title III: Liability Reform Title IV: Remedy Selection Title V: General Provisions Title VI: Funding Subtitle A: Expenditures From the Hazardous Substance Superfund Subtitle B: Extension of Hazardous Substance Superfund Recycle America's Land Act of 1999 - Title I: Brownfields Revitalization - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to direct the President to establish a program to provide grants to eligible States or political subdivisions, including Indian tribes, for: (1) inventory and assessment of brownfield facilities; and (2) capitalization of revolving loan funds for remedial actions at such facilities. Defines a "brownfield facility" as real property with respect to which expansion or redevelopment is complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 103) Authorizes the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide technical and other assistance to States to establish and expand State voluntary cleanup programs. Makes limited amounts available from Superfund for FY 2000 through 2004 for such assistance. (Sec. 104) Bars the President or any person (other than a State), with respect to a facility that is not listed or proposed for listing on the National Priorities List (NPL) at which there is a release or threatened release of a hazardous substance, from taking an administrative or judicial enforcement action or bringing a civil action against any person who is conducting or has completed a response action in compliance with State law. Makes exceptions to this prohibition if the State requests the President to take action or in certain cases of emergency, risk, or migration of contamination across State lines. (Sec. 105) Requires the President to defer listing a facility on the NPL if: (1) long-term remedial action will be conducted under other Federal authorities; (2) remedial action that will provide long-term protection of human health and the environment is underway at that facility under a State response program; or (3) at a State's request, the State is attempting to obtain an agreement from a person to perform a remedial action under a State response program. Authorizes the President to place a facility described in (3) above on the NPL if, after one year, the President finds that the State is not making reasonable progress toward obtaining an agreement. Title II: Community Participation and Human Health - Subtitle A: Community Participation - Requires the President to take specified actions to provide for meaningful public participation in every significant phase of a response action at a facility listed or proposed for listing on the NPL (covered facilities). Permits affected Indian tribes and communities, local government officials, and State and local health officials to propose remedial alternatives to the President. (Sec. 202) Requires the President to make records relating to response actions at covered facilities available to the public throughout all phases of an action. Sets forth minimum requirements for documents made available to the public which describe risk to human health. (Sec. 203) Revises provisions regarding grants for technical assistance to authorize the Administrator to make such grants to affected communities with respect to: (1) covered facilities; (2) facilities at which the Administrator is undertaking a response action anticipated to exceed one year; or (3) facilities at which a specified funding limit is anticipated to be reached. (Sec. 205) Sets forth specific notice and comment requirements to provide for public participation in removal actions. (Sec. 206) Directs the Administrator to submit to Congress a community study that includes an analysis of: (1) the duration of time between the discovery and listing of a facility; (2) the timing and nature of response actions; (3) the degree to which public views are reflected in response actions; (3) future land use determinations and use of institutional controls; (4) the population, race, ethnicity, and income characteristics of communities affected by facilities listed or proposed for listing on the NPL; and (5) the risk presented by each such facility. Requires periodic updates of such study. Directs the Administrator to institute necessary improvements or modifications to address any deficiencies identified by the study. Subtitle B: Human Health - Requires the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Administrator to develop and distribute educational materials on human health effects of hazardous substances to the public. Authorizes the ATSDR Administrator to provide grant or contract assistance to individuals who may be affected by releases or threatened releases when: (1) a public health assessment is conducted at an NPL facility; or (2) a facility is being evaluated for inclusion on the NPL. Authorizes and directs the ATSDR Administrator, pursuant to such grants or contracts, to provide diagnostic services, health data registries, and preventative public health education to communities affected by such releases. (Sec. 223) Requires the President, in setting priorities for remedial action under the national hazardous substance response plan (part of the national contingency plan for the removal of oil and hazardous substances), to place highest priority on facilities with releases resulting in actual ongoing human exposures at levels of public health concern or demonstrated adverse effects. (Sec. 224) Requires the Administrator to evaluate areas such as Indian reservations or poor rural communities that warrant special attention and identify up to five facilities in each EPA region that are likely to warrant inclusion on the NPL. Accords such facilities a priority in evaluation for NPL listing and scoring. Title III: Liability Reform - Bars the President from issuing orders in connection with abatement actions to protect public health and the environment against any person who would not be liable for damages and costs described under general liability provisions. Prohibits Federal agencies with authority to use the imminent hazard, enforcement, and emergency response authorities under provisions governing abatement actions from using such authorities with respect to releases for which they are potentially responsible parties (PRPs). (Sec. 303) Absolves of liability for response costs and damages certain owners or operators, including persons who inherited the property concerned and government entities that acquired property involuntarily, or through eminent domain or the granting of a license or permit to conduct business, if such persons: (1) acquired the affected facility after the disposal or placement of the hazardous substance for which liability is alleged; (2) did not cause or contribute to the hazardous substance release; and (3) exercised appropriate care with respect to such substance. Limits liability for owners or operators who meet such conditions and received the property as a charitable donation. Exempts from liability: (1) owners or operators of rights-of-way over which hazardous substances are transported if such persons did not cause or contribute to the release concerned; (2) railroad owners or operators of spur tracks whose tracks meet specified conditions and who did not cause or contribute to the release concerned; and (3) construction contractors whose liability is based solely on construction contract activities and who did not know of the presence of hazardous substances and exercised appropriate care with respect to such substances. Grants the United States a lien for unrecovered response costs on a facility for which the owner is not liable by reason of meeting the conditions described above. Prescribes conditions for such liens. Bars liens with respect to property: (1) for which the property owner preceding the current owner is not liable or has resolved liability; or (2) where an environmental assessment gave the owner or operator no reason to know of the release of hazardous substances. Makes applicable to tribal governments an exemption from liability for States or local governments for costs or damages resulting from actions taken in response to an emergency created by a release generated by a facility owned by another person. Expands such exemption to include actions to improve water quality protection at abandoned mine sites and adjacent lands owned by others if such actions are taken in accordance with a Federal or State-approved response action. Excludes certain contiguous property owners from the definition of "owner or operator" for purposes of creating an exemption to liability. (Sec. 306) Exempts certain small business concerns from liability under provisions governing arrangement, acceptance, or transport of hazardous substances for response costs or damages at an NPL facility with respect to actions taken before March 25, 1999. Provides an additional exemption from liability under such provisions if the materials that were arranged or transported for disposal at the NPL facility consist of municipal solid waste (MSW) or sewage sludge. Absolves municipalities that participate in a qualified household hazardous waste collection program from liability under such provisions, with respect to actions taken 36 months after this Act's enactment date, for the arrangement or transport of materials consisting of MSW or sewage sludge to an NPL facility. Limits liability response costs for facilities that received MSW, were proposed for NPL listing before March 25, 1999, are owned by municipalities, and are not subject to certain criteria for solid waste landfills under the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Requires the Hazardous Substance Superfund (Superfund) to assume the liability for certain exempt parties or those subject to limited liability for releases from NPL facilities. Directs the Administrator to establish a small business Superfund assistance section within the EPA small business ombudsman office to provide assistance and information regarding CERCLA and the allocation and settlement processes. (Sec. 307) Limits the right to seek contribution from other parties where: (1) the person asserting the right has waived such right in a settlement; (2) the person from whom the contribution is sought is not liable under CERCLA; or (3) the person from whom the contribution is sought has entered into a final settlement with the United States. Makes any person who commences a contribution action liable to the person against whom the action is brought for all reasonable costs of defending against the claim if the action: (1) is barred for the reasons stated above; (2) is brought against a person who is protected from suits by reason of settlement with the United States; or (3) is brought during a specified moratorium period. (Sec. 308) Expands the exemption from liability for response action contractors to include exemption from liability under State or local law unless a State has enacted a law determining liability of such contractors. Extends certain indemnification agreements made by the President with respect to negligence of response action contractors to any claims for negligence arising under State or local law. Bars actions against contractors more than six years after the completion of work. Makes such prohibition inapplicable in cases of gross negligence or intentional misconduct or in States or political subdivisions where the State has enacted a statute determining liability for such contractors. (Sec. 309) Requires (current law authorizes) the President to offer PRPs (currently, any person) who enter into settlement agreements that are in the public interest a final covenant not to sue concerning liability to the United States for response actions or costs, provided that: (1) the settling party agrees to perform a final remedial action for the release that is the subject of the settlement; (2) the agreement has been reached prior to the commencement of litigation against the settling party; (3) the settling party waives all contribution rights against other PRPs at the facility; (4) the settling party, other than a small business, pays a premium that compensates for the risks of remedy failure, future liability, and unanticipated increases in the cost of any uncompleted action (unless the party is performing the action); (5) the remedial action does not rely on institutional controls to ensure continued health and environmental protection; and (6) the settlement is otherwise acceptable to the United States. Authorizes the President, for settlements for which covenants are unavailable, to provide any person with a covenant not to sue concerning any liability to the United States if the covenant not to sue is in the public interest. Makes PRPs who are natural persons, small businesses, or municipalities with a demonstrated limited ability to pay response costs eligible for expedited settlements. Absolves a party of liability if the President does not make a settlement offer within the later of 180 days of determining that such party is eligible for an expedited settlement or of this Act's enactment date. (Sec. 310) Absolves persons (other than owners or operators) who arranged for the recycling of recyclable material or who transported such material from general liability under CERCLA. Deems transactions involving recyclable materials that consist of scrap plastic, glass, textiles, or rubber (other than whole tires) to be arranging for recycling if the person who arranged the transaction demonstrates that the following criteria were met: (1) the recyclable material met a commercial specification grade and a market existed for the material; (2) a substantial portion of the material was made available for use as a feedstock for the manufacture of a new saleable product; (3) the material (or product made from the material) could have been a replacement for a virgin raw material; and (4) with respect to transactions occurring 90 days after this Act's enactment, the person exercised reasonable care to determine that the facility where the material would be managed by another was in compliance with Federal, State, or local environmental laws or regulations. Deems transactions involving recyclable materials that consist of scrap metal to be arranging for recycling if the person who arranged the transaction demonstrates that: (1) the criteria for scrap materials were met; (2) he or she complied with applicable standards regarding activities associated with the recycling of scrap metals; and (3) the scrap metal was not melted prior to the transaction. Deems transactions involving recyclable materials that consist of spent lead-acid, nickel-cadmium, or other batteries to be arranging for recycling if the person involved demonstrates that: (1) the criteria for scrap materials were met; and (2) he or she complied with applicable Federal environmental standards regarding such batteries. Deems transactions involving recyclable materials that consist of used oil to be arranging for recycling if the person involved did not mix such materials with a hazardous substance following the removal of the oil from service and demonstrates that: (1) the recyclable material was sent to a facility that recycled used oil by using it as a feedstock for the manufacture of a new saleable product; (2) the material (or product made from the material) could have been a replacement for a virgin raw material; (3) with respect to transactions occurring 90 days after this Act's enactment, the person exercised reasonable care to determine that the facility where the material would be managed by another was in compliance with Federal, State, or local environmental laws or regulations; and (4) he or she was in compliance with standards for the management of used oil under the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Makes the exemptions from liability inapplicable if the person: (1) had an objectively reasonable basis to believe at the time of the recycling transaction that the recyclable material would not be recycled or would be burned as fuel or for energy recovery or incineration (in the case of materials other than used oil) or that the consuming facility was not in compliance with Federal, State, or local environmental laws or regulations; (2) had reason to believe that hazardous substances had been added to the material for purposes other than processing for recycling; or (3) failed to exercise reasonable care with respect to the management of the material. (Sec. 311) Sets forth provisions regarding an allocation process to determine equitable shares of liability for costs of performing response actions. Makes an action eligible for allocation if: (1) the performance of such action is not the subject of a consent decree or an administrative order as of March 25, 1999; and (2) the President's estimate of the cost of such action exceeds $2 million. Sets forth requirements for the President in initiating the allocation process. Stays litigation of eligible actions until 150 days after the issuance of the allocator's report unless the court determines that a stay will result in manifest injustice. Grants the court jurisdiction to ensure that a neutral allocator is selected. Authorizes the President to initiate an allocation for any response action. Requires the President to provide an estimate of the aggregate Superfund share prior to selection of an allocator and to offer to contribute to a settlement of liability on the basis of such estimate. Entitles the Administrator or the Attorney General, as representatives of Superfund, and any State that may be responsible for costs, to participate in allocation proceedings. Places a moratorium on litigation seeking recovery of response costs or contributions in connection with actions for which the President has initiated allocations until 150 days after issuance of the allocator's report or of a report under this section. Stays pending actions or claims, including those under State law, until such prescribed period unless the court determines that a stay will result in manifest injustice. Sets forth procedures for the allocation of response costs to Superfund by the allocator. Divides unattributable shares pro rata among the PRPs and Superfund. Sets forth requirements for accepting settlements based on allocations. Makes such requirements inapplicable if the Administrator and the Attorney General reject the allocation report. Sets forth conditions under which parties who satisfactorily perform work under an administrative abatement action order with respect to a remedial action for which an allocation is required shall be entitled to reimbursement for the costs of work performed in excess of the share allocated. Title IV: Remedy Selection - Revises provisions regarding general rules for remedy selection. Requires exposure assessments to be consistent with the current and reasonably anticipated uses of land, water, and other resources identified by the President. Directs the President, for purposes of selecting appropriate methods of remediation for a given facility, to identify current and reasonably anticipated uses of land, water, and other resources at and around the facility and the timing of such uses. Permits land use assumptions restricting future use to be used in evaluating remedial alternatives only to the extent that institutional controls meeting specified criteria have been or will be adopted in the final remedy. Directs the President to use site-specific risk assessment to: (1) determine the nature and extent of risk to human health and the environment; (2) assist in establishing remedial objectives for the facility respecting releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances and in identifying geographic areas or exposure pathways of concern; and (3) evaluate alternative remedial actions for a facility to determine their risk reduction benefits. Lists factors to be balanced by the President in selecting an appropriate remedy. Requires the President to give preference to remedies that include a treatment component for facilities with source materials that constitute a principal threat. Directs the President to maintain a registry of restrictions on the use of land, water, or other resources through institutional controls that are included in final records of decisions as part of the basis of decision at NPL facilities. (Sec. 402) Authorizes the President, in order to respond to a release or threatened release of a hazardous substance, to acquire a hazardous substance easement which limits or controls the use of land or other natural resources. Permits easements to be used wherever institutional controls have been selected as a component of a remedial action and the national contingency plan. Makes easements enforceable in perpetuity (unless terminated pursuant to this Act) against owners of affected property and persons who acquire interest in, or rights to use, the property. Sets forth provisions regarding the President's authority to assign easements to other parties. (Sec. 403) Requires risk assessments and characterizations conducted under CERCLA to: (1) provide objective assessments, estimates, and characterizations which neither minimize nor exaggerate the nature and magnitude of health and environmental risks; (2) distinguish scientific findings from other considerations; (3) be based on the best, relevant, and current scientific and technical information; and (4) be based on an analysis of the weight of scientific evidence that supports conclusions about a problem's potential health and environmental risk. Title V: General Provisions - Expands CERCLA provisions regarding treatment of Indian tribes to afford Indian tribes the same treatment as States with respect to provisions regarding public participation and remedy selection. Deems references to State facilities under CERCLA to mean facilities on Federal Indian reservations as well. Requires the President to conduct a study of, and report to Congress on, the health impacts on Indian tribes of pollutants, contaminants, and hazardous substances released from facilities listed on or proposed for listing on the NPL. (Sec. 503) Amends the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 to require certain grants for the training and education of workers engaged in hazardous waste removal or containment or emergency response activities to be made from Superfund. Allocates at least 20 percent of funds for such purposes to the training of minority and other community-based workers who are involved in such activities. (Sec. 504) Revises provisions requiring contracts with States before remedial actions are provided to prohibit the President from providing any remedial action unless the State enters into an agreement providing assurances that it will pay ten percent of the costs of the action and ten percent of the costs of operation and maintenance. (Sec. 505) Extends certain provisions authorizing reimbursements by the President to local governments affected by releases or threatened releases to affected States as well. (Sec. 506) Sets forth provisions regarding enforcement and dispute resolution regarding remedy selection at Federal facilities for which authorities have been delegated to a State. (Sec. 507) Requires the Congressional Budget Office to conduct and submit to Congress a study of the potential costs to the Federal Government over the next 20 years from Federal liability for natural resource damages under CERCLA. (Sec. 508) Provides that CERCLA liability provisions shall not be construed to preempt any claims under State law for contribution to or recovery of costs of responding to releases of hazardous substances. Title VI: Funding - Subtitle A: Expenditures From the Hazardous Substance Superfund - Revises the list of activities for which expenditures from Superfund are authorized. Permits the President to use Superfund monies for administrative costs directly related to the costs of authorized activities. Bars the use of Superfund for response actions that are not removal actions with respect to non-NPL facilities. Repeals provisions regarding the assumption of certain liability by the Post-closure Liability Fund. (Sec. 602) Authorizes appropriations to Superfund for FY 2000 through 2004. Subtitle B: Extension of Hazardous Substance Superfund - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the environmental tax to taxable years beginning after December 31, 1999, and before January 1, 2004. Extends specified provisions regarding: (1) Superfund's financing rate; (2) limits on tax if the unobligated balance in Superfund exceeds a specified amount; and (3) the repayment deadline for advances made to Superfund. Lowers the amount of the unobligated Superfund balance required for a suspension of collection of tax on petroleum under environmental tax provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999
Public Services Flexibility Act - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to make permanent the cap on the percentage of community development block grant funds that may be used to provide public services to the City or County of Los Angeles, or any other unit of general local government in the County.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999
Working Americans Gainful Employment (WAGE) Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax on employees and the tax on self-employment income under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA tax), to require the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe annually a rate for the social security retirement taxes which shall apply in lieu of the otherwise applicable rate to remuneration received in the succeeding calendar year. Requires such FICA tax rate to be the rate estimated by the Secretary to reduce revenues to the United States during such year in an amount equal to the Federal budget surplus for the fiscal year ending during the preceding calendar year, subject to adjustments to the extent prior estimates were in excess of or less than the actual revenue reductions. Declares that any change in budget authority, outlays, or receipts resulting from this Act shall not be considered for purposes of calculating the deficit increase for any year under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman- Hollings Act).
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999
Small Savers Retirement Enhancement Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase from $2,000 to $5,000 the annual limits on an individual's contributions to his or her individual retirement account (IRA). Mandates annual indexing of the $2,000 deductible portion of such contributions.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999
Declares that Congress should actively oversee the Health Care Financing Administration's administration of the Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) home health benefit.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1999
Enhancement of Trade, Security, and Human Rights Through Sanctions Reform Act - Declares that it is the purpose of this Act to establish an effective framework for consideration by the legislative and executive branches of unilateral economic sanctions in order to ensure coordination of U.S. policy with respect to trade, security, and human rights. (Sec. 3) Declares that it is U.S. policy to: (1) pursue U.S. interests through vigorous and effective diplomatic, political, commercial, charitable, educational, cultural, and strategic engagement with other countries, while recognizing that U.S. national security interests may sometimes require the imposition of economic sanctions on other countries; (2) foster multilateral cooperation on vital matters of U.S. foreign policy, including promoting human rights and democracy, combating international terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and international narcotics trafficking, and ensuring adequate environmental protection; (3) promote U.S. economic growth and job creation by expanding exports of goods, services, and agricultural commodities, and by encouraging investment that supports the sale abroad of U.S. products and services; (4) maintain the reputation of U.S. businesses and farmers as reliable suppliers to international customers of quality products and services; (5) avoid the use of restrictions on exports of agricultural commodities as a foreign policy weapon; and (6) oppose policies of other countries designed to discourage economic interaction with countries friendly to the United States or with any U.S. national, and to avoid use of such measures as instruments of U.S. foreign policy. States that when economic sanctions are necessary, it is U.S. policy to: (1) target them as narrowly as possible on those foreign governments, entities, and officials that are responsible for the conduct being targeted, thereby minimizing unnecessary or disproportionate harm to individuals who are not responsible for such conduct; and (2) to the extent feasible, avoid any adverse impact of economic sanctions on the humanitarian activities of the United States and foreign nongovernmental organizations in a country against which sanctions are imposed. (Sec. 5) Expresses the sense of Congress that any bill or joint resolution imposing or authorizing the imposition of a unilateral economic sanction by the executive branch, and considered by the House of Representatives or the Senate, should: (1) state the U.S. foreign policy or national security objective; (2) terminate after two years unless specifically reauthorized; (3) provide for contract sanctity; (4) provide presidential authority to adjust or waive the sanction in the national interest; (5) target the sanction as narrowly as possible against the parties responsible for the conduct being targeted (without restricting medicine, medical equipment, or food, disaster relief or refugee assistance, or other specified foreign assistance); and (6) provide for expanded export promotion programs if sanctions are likely to target an export market for American farmers. (Sec. 6) Sets forth a procedure for congressional consideration of any bill or joint resolution that imposes, or authorizes the imposition of, any unilateral economic sanction by the executive branch. Requires specified reports: (1) from the President assessing the likelihood that the proposed unilateral economic sanction will achieve its stated objective within a reasonable period of time, as well as the impact of the proposed unilateral economic sanction on U.S. foreign policy, national security, and humanitarian activities; and (2) from the Secretary of Agriculture assessing the extent to which any country or countries proposed or likely to be sanctioned are markets that accounted for more than three percent of all U.S. agricultural export sales in the preceding calendar year, as well as the likelihood that U.S. agricultural exports will be affected by the proposed sanction or by retaliation by any country proposed or likely to be sanctioned, and specific commodities which are most likely to be affected. Considers any bill or joint resolution that imposes any unilateral economic sanction to include a Federal private sector mandate for purposes of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995. Requires the Congressional Budget Office, in its report pursuant to such Act, to assess the likely short- and long-term costs of the proposed sanction to the U.S. economy. (Sec. 7) Requires the President to publish notice in the Federal Register at least 45 days in advance of the imposition of a unilateral economic sanction of his intention to implement such sanction. Authorizes the President to waive such notice in cases where the sanction involves freezing the assets of a foreign country or entity, if it is determined that U.S. national interest would be jeopardized. Requires any executive sanction to include an assessment of whether the sanction is likely to achieve a specific U.S. foreign policy or national security objective within a reasonable and specified period of time. Requires, before imposition of a unilateral economic sanction, that the President and the Secretary of Agriculture report to appropriate congressional committees the same assessments required in connection with any bill or joint resolution imposing or authorizing the imposition of a unilateral economic sanction by the executive branch. Requires the President to request a report by the U.S. International Trade Commission on the likely short- and long-term costs of the proposed sanction to the U.S. economy, including the potential impact on U.S. competitiveness. Provides, in the case of a national emergency, for allowing the President temporarily to waive most of the requirements for executive action in order to act immediately, generally requiring the waived requirements to be met within 60 days after imposition of the sanction (which shall terminate after 90 days if such requirements are not met). Establishes within the executive branch an interagency Sanctions Review Committee to coordinate U.S. policy regarding unilateral economic sanctions and provide appropriate recommendations to the President. (Sec. 8) Authorizes the President to waive any sanction or prohibition contained in specified sections of the Arms Export Control Act, the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, or the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 for periods of six months each if it is determined that it would advance the purposes of such Acts or the national security interests of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1999
Requires the Department of State to raise the matter of Zachary Baumel (a U.S. citizen), Yehuda Katz, and Zvi Feldman with the appropriate government officials of Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, and with other governments in the region and elsewhere which in the Department's view may be helpful in locating and securing the return of these soldiers. Urges decisions with regard to U.S. economic and other forms of assistance to such countries and U.S. policy towards these governments and authorities to take into consideration their willingness to assist in locating and securing the return of such soldiers. Requires the Department to report to specified congressional committees on its consultations with the appropriate governments and any affected U.S. policies.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1999
Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage Extension Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to eliminate the time limitation on Medicare benefits for immunosuppressive drugs.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1999
Sets forth the rule (closed) for the consideration of H.R. 975 (reducing steel imports and establishing a steel import notification and monitoring program).
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Expanding Coverage Title II: Enhancing Fairness for Women and Children Title III: Increasing Portability for Participants Title IV: Strengthening Pension Security and Enforcement Title V: Reducing Regulatory Burdens Comprehensive Retirement Security and Pension Reform Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) with respect to pensions. Title I: Expanding Coverage - Restores the amounts of certain limitations formerly in effect under the Code for: (1) defined benefit plans; (2) defined contribution plans; (3) qualified trusts; (4) elective deferrals; (5) deferred compensation plans of State and local governments and tax-exempt organizations; (6) simple retirement accounts; and (7) cost-of-living adjustments. (Sec. 102) Amends the Code and ERISA to revise requirements relating to plan loans for subchapter S owners, partners, and sole proprietors. (Sec. 103) Allows employers to elect salary reduction only arrangements under Code requirements for simple plans. (Sec. 104) Revises specified top-heavy rules. Repeals family aggregation rules. Revises the definition of key employee. Provides that, at the election of the employer, any employee elective contribution to a plan shall not be taken into account for purposes of determining: (1) whether a plan is a top-heavy plan (or whether any aggregation group which includes such plan is a top-heavy group); or (2) compensation. Requires that employer matching contributions be taken into account for purposes of minimum contribution requirements. Revises requirements for qualifications. Provides for distributions during the last year before a determination date is taken into account. Excludes from the definition of top-heavy plan: (1) cash or deferred arrangements using alternative methods of meeting nondiscrimination requirements; and (2) defined contribution plans using alternative methods of meeting nondiscrimination requirements. Provides that elective deferrals will not be taken into account for purposes of a special rule where the maximum contribution is less than three percent. (Sec. 105) Provides that qualified staffing firms are to be considered employers for purposes of: (1) specified employment taxes; and (2) providing employee benefits. Provides for coverage of leased employees in employment benefit plans by: (1) applying to leased employees certain requirements concerning cash or deferred arrangements, matching contributions, and employee contributions; and (2) setting forth special rules for the leasing organization's plan. Revises safe harbor plan requirements. (Sec. 106) Provides that elective deferrals shall not be taken into account for purposes of limits on certain plan contributions. (Sec. 107) Amends ERISA to provide for a phase-in of an additional premium for new plans to pay to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). (Sec. 108) Repeals specified coordination requirements under the Code for deferred compensation plans of State and local governments and tax-exempt organizations. (Sec. 109) Eliminates user fee requirements for requests to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) concerning the status of pension plans. (Sec. 110) Sets forth an alternative method of meeting nondiscrimination requirements for automatic contribution trusts. (Sec. 111) Revises certain deduction limits for stock bonus and profit sharing trusts and for defined contribution plans. (Sec. 112) Provides for optional treatment of elective deferrals as plus contributions. (Sec. 113) Establishes a tax credit for pension plan startup costs of small employers. Title II: Enhancing Fairness for Women and Children - Allows additional salary reduction catch-up contributions for those approaching retirement under Code requirements relating to: (1) elective deferrals; (2) simple retirement accounts; and (3) deferred compensation plans of State and local governments and tax-exempt organizations. (Sec. 202) Sets forth requirements relating to equitable treatment for contributions of employees to defined contribution plans. Requires that certain contributions by church plans are not to be treated as exceeding a specified limit. (Sec. 203) Provides for faster vesting of certain employer matching contributions under the Code and ERISA. (Sec. 204) Amends Federal civil service law to revise requirements for deferred annuities for surviving spouses of Federal employees under both the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). (Sec. 205) Revises minimum distribution rules under the Code. Revises requirements for actuarial adjustment of benefit under a defined benefit plan. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) simplify and finalize the regulations relating to minimum distribution requirements; and (2) modify such regulations to reflect increases in life expectancy, and revise required distribution methods so that, under reasonable assumptions, the amount of the required minimum distribution does not decrease over a participant's life expectancy. Provides that, during the first year that such revised regulations are in effect, required distributions for future years may be redetermined, with the opportunity to choose a new designated beneficiary and to elect a new method of calculating life expectancy. Excludes specified amounts from minimum distribution requirements. Repeals a rule relating to distributions begun before death occurs. (Sec. 206) Revises requirements relating to tax treatment of division of section 457 plan benefits upon divorce. (Sec. 207) Amends Federal civil service law to eliminate certain percentage limitations on contributions to the Thrift Savings Fund (TSF) under FERS and CSRS. (Sec. 208) Allows certain contributions to TSF of eligible rollover distributions of eligible retirement plans. (Sec. 209) Eliminates certain waiting periods for purposes of contributions to TSF. Title III: Increasing Portability for Participants - Permits rollovers from and to various types of plans under the Code. (Sec. 302) Permits individual retirement plan (IRA) rollovers only if certain conditions are met. (Sec. 303) Permits rollover of after-tax contributions in an exempt trust under specified conditions. Sets forth a hardship exception to the 60-day rule. (Sec. 304) Sets forth requirements for treatment of forms of distribution available under transferor and transferee plans, under both the Code and ERISA. (Sec. 305) Revises restrictions on distributions, including the same desk exception. Repeals business sale requirements. (Sec. 306) Authorizes trustee-to-trustee transfers to purchase permissive service credit with respect to governmental defined benefit plans. (Sec. 307) Allows employers to disregard rollovers for purposes of cash-out amounts, under retirement plan provisions of the Code and ERISA. Title IV: Strengthening Pension Security and Enforcement - Amends the Code and ERISA to revise the percentage of current liability funding limit. Revises maximum contribution deduction rules and applies them to all defined benefit plan under the Code. (Sec. 402) Amends ERISA to revise requirements relating to missing participants. Direct the PBGC to prescribe rules relating to missing participants for multiemployer plans covered by the PBGC that terminate. Allows the administrator of a plan not otherwise subject to such PBGC regulation to elect to transfer a missing participant's benefits to the PBGC upon termination of the plan, under specified conditions. (Sec. 403) Amends ERISA to revise requirements for periodic pension benefits statements. (Sec. 404) Amends ERISA to make discretionary the imposition and amount of civil penalties for breach of fiduciary responsibility. Revises requirements for the applicable recovery amount and related rules. (Sec. 405) Amends the Code to allow an employer, in determining the amount of nondeductible contributions for any taxable year, to elect not to take into account any contributions to a defined benefit plan except to the extent that they exceed the full-funding limitation. (Sec. 406) Amends the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 to make specified amendments inapplicable to elective deferrals used to pay indebtedness, incurred before a certain date, on plan acquisition of employer securities or real property. (Sec. 407) Amends ERISA to revise requirements for notice of significant reductions in plan benefits. Title V: Reducing Regulatory Burdens - Amends the Code to provide intermediate sanctions for inadvertent failures. Provides for protection from disqualification upon timely correction or payment of fine under requirements for: (1) qualified pension, profit-sharing, and stock bonus plans; (2) qualified cash or deferred arrangements (section 401(k) plans); and (3) annuity contracts. Provides that, under requirements relating to taxability of the beneficiary of a nonexempt trust, income inclusion for disqualification is not applicable to nonhighly compensated employees. (Sec. 502) Repeals a multiple use test. Directs the Secretary prescribe regulations permitting appropriate aggregation of plans and contributions. (Sec. 503) Directs the Secretary to provide by regulation that a plan shall be deemed to satisfy specified requirements of the Code if it satisfies a certain facts and circumstances test, under specified conditions. (Sec. 504) Revises line of business rules to: (1) repeal a gateway test; and (2) provide a line of business exception. Directs the Secretary to modify regulations relating to special rules for separate lines of business under the Code to: (1) simplify the administrability of the rules for both the Secretary and plans; and (2) permit employees to be allocated among lines of business based on all the facts and circumstances. (Sec. 505) Grants the Secretary discretion in applying a specified coverage test to a plan. (Sec. 506) Amends the Code and ERISA to provide for an annual inflation adjustment to increase the retirement plan cash-out amount. (Sec. 507) Amends the Code and ERISA to revise requirements relating to timing of plan valuations. (Sec. 508) Makes inapplicable to certain mirror plans specified Code requirements relating to deferred compensation plans of State and local governments and tax-exempt organizations. (Sec. 509) Amends ERISA rules for substantial owners relating to plan terminations to revise: (1) the phase-in of the guarantee; and (2) the allocation of assets. (Sec. 510) Amends Code requirements for applicable dividends to allow dividends of employee stock ownership plans to be reinvested without loss of dividend deduction. (Sec. 511) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to modify the regulations regarding the exclusion allowance to render void the requirement that contributions to a defined benefit pension plan be treated as previously excluded amounts. (Sec. 512) Provides for a special limitation rule for multiemployer plans as well as governmental plans. (Sec. 513) Eliminates partial termination rules for multiemployer plans. (Sec. 514) Revises the notice and consent period regarding distributions. Directs the Secretary to modify certain regulations under the Code to provide that the description of a participant's right, if any, to defer receipt of a distribution shall also describe the consequences of failing to defer such receipt. (Sec. 515) Sets forth conforming amendments relating to election to receive taxable cash compensation in lieu of nontaxable parking benefits. (Sec. 516) Extends to international organizations the moratorium on application of certain nondiscrimination rules applicable to State and local plans. (Sec. 517) Directs the Secretary to modify certain regulations with respect to certain plan participation by employees of tax-exempt entities under the Code. (Sec. 518) Provides for permissive aggregation of collective bargaining units in specified circumstances relating to plan participation under the Code. (Sec. 519) Repeals a transition rule relating to certain highly compensated employees under the Tax Reform Act of 1986. (Sec. 520) Treats the provision of certain retirement planning services by an employer to an employee as a de minimis fringe benefit to the extent it is not treated as a working condition fringe. Prohibits including an amount in an employee's gross income solely because the employee may choose between any retirement planning fringe and compensation otherwise includible in gross income, providing such choices are available in a way that does not discriminate in favor of highly compensated employees. (Sec. 521) Revises ERISA requirements for annual report dissemination. (Sec. 522) Revises the ERISA definition of an excess benefit plan. (Sec. 523) Directs the Secretary of Labor to modify a regulation requiring a benefit suspension notification to allow such notification to: (1) be included in the summary plan description, rather than in a separate notice; and (2) not include a copy of the relevant plan provisions. (Sec. 524) Prescribes requirements for plan amendments or annuity contract amendments under the Code and ERISA. (Sec. 525) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to provide simplified annual filing requirements for: (1) one-participant (an owner and spouse) retirement plans with assets below a specified amount; or (2) retirement plans for fewer than 25 employees. (Sec. 526) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue model defined contribution and benefit plans that fit the needs of small businesses.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1999
Workplace Preservation Act - Prohibits the Secretary of Labor from promulgating, through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, any standard or guideline on ergonomics until the National Academy of Sciences completes a study and submits a report to the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: United States-Caribbean Trade Partnership Title II: Foreign Assistance For Central America and the Caribbean Subtitle A: Microcredit and Agricultural Assistance Subtitle B: Overseas Private Investment Corporation Subtitle C: Economic Support Fund Assistance Title III: Department of Defense Title IV: Immigration and Naturalization Service Title V: Debt Rescheduling and Reduction for Honduras and Nicaragua; Funding for the Central American Emergency Trust Fund of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development Subtitle A: Debt Rescheduling and Reduction for Honduras and Nicaragua Subtitle B: Authorization of Funding for the Central American Emergency Trust Fund of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development Caribbean and Central America Relief and Economic Stabilization Act - Title I: United States-Caribbean Trade Partnership - United States-Caribbean Trade Partnership Act -Amends the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA) to accord, for a specified period, the same tariff and quota treatment (duty-free or reduced duty treatment, free of any quantitative limitations) given certain textile and apparel articles (including those imported from North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) countries) to such articles from CBERA partnership countries, or beneficiary countries (other than Central American countries) planning to become parties to NAFTA, or a comparable free trade agreement. Subjects to certain penalties exporters that engage in the transshipment of such articles (preferential treatment claimed on the basis of material false information concerning the country of origin, manufacture, processing, or assembly of the article or any of its components). (Sec. 104) Directs the Commissioner of Customs to analyze and report to Congress on the extent to which partnership countries have cooperated with the United States with respect to the circumvention of existing quotas on imports of textile and apparel goods, and taken appropriate measures against circumvention violators (including exporters and importers involved in false information declarations relating to such goods). (Sec. 105) Directs the President to: (1) monitor the effects, if any, that implementation of NAFTA has on the access of beneficiary countries to the U.S. market for sugars, syrups, and molasses; and (2) in the event such implementation is adversely affecting such countries' access to the U.S. market, to take specified action to ameliorate such adverse effect. (Sec. 106) Grants duty-free treatment to rum liqueurs and spirituous beverages from Canada if certain conditions are met. (Sec. 107) Directs the President to convene a meeting with the trade ministers of the partnership countries in order to reach agreement for initiating negotiations for partnership countries to accede to the NAFTA. (Sec. 108) Directs the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to assess, and report to specified congressional committees on, the economic development efforts and market oriented reforms in each partnership country, and the ability of each country, on the basis of such efforts and reforms, to undertake the obligations of the NAFTA. Title II: Foreign Assistance for Central America and the Caribbean - Subtitle A: Microcredit and Agricultural Assistance - Directs the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID) to use credit and microcredit assistance to provide disaster assistance to rehabilitate agriculture production in the hurricane-affected areas of Central America and the Caribbean. (Sec. 203) Authorizes the Administrator of AID to utilize relevant foreign assistance programs and initiatives for the Central America and Caribbean region to support private producer-owned cooperative marketing associations there, including rural business associations owned and controlled by farmer shareholders. (Sec. 204) Directs the Administrator of AID to develop a comprehensive plan to coordinate and build on the research and extension activities of U.S. land-grant universities, international agricultural research centers, and national agricultural research and extension centers in Central America and the Caribbean. (Sec. 205) Provides assistance through the nonemergency food assistance programs of the Agriculture Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 to the hurricane-affected Central American and Caribbean areas. Subtitle B: Overseas Private Investment Corporation - Expresses the sense of Congress that the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) should foster U.S. private investment and enhance the ability of private enterprise to make its full contribution in the hurricane- affected areas of Central America and the Caribbean. Subtitle C: Economic Support Fund Assistance - Authorizes appropriations for reconstruction and disaster mitigation assistance for the areas of Central America and the Caribbean affected by Hurricane Mitch and Hurricane Georges. Earmarks specified amounts for operating expenses of AID. (Sec. 222) Authorizes appropriations to reimburse the international disaster assistance account for expenses incurred with respect to such assistance provided to the affected areas of Central America and the Caribbean. Title III: Department of Defense - Authorizes appropriations for: (1) replenishment of the Department of Defense (DOD) accounts used in providing disaster relief and reconstruction to the hurricane- affected areas of Central America and the Caribbean (earmarking amounts for replenishment of operation and maintenance and military personal accounts, the Overseas Humanitarian Disaster and Civic Aid account, and the Commanders in Chief (CINC) Initiative Fund); and (2) the New Horizons Program (earmarking amounts for expanding National Guard and Reserve exercises in Central American countries and the Dominican Republic). Title IV: Immigration and Naturalization Service - Authorizes appropriations for Enforcement and Border Affairs within the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to: (1) support increased detention requirements for Central American criminal aliens held in detention by the INS; and (2) address the expected influx of illegal immigrants from Central America. Title V: Debt Rescheduling and Reduction for Honduras and Nicaragua; Funding for Central American Emergency trust Fund of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development - Subtitle A: Debt Rescheduling and Reduction for Honduras and Nicaragua - Authorizes the President to reschedule the repayment of interest on, and (subject to specific appropriations) reduce the amount of, the indebtedness owed by the Honduran and Nicaraguan governments to the United States. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Authorization of Funding for the Central American Emergency Trust Fund of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development - Amends the Bretton Woods Agreements Act to authorize the U.S. Governor of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank), subject to specific appropriations, to contribute $25 million on behalf of the United States to the Central American Emergency Trust Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1999
Liberty Dollar Bill Act - Amends Federal law to mandate that the design of the reverse side of $1 Federal reserve notes incorporate: (1) the preamble to the Constitution; (2) a list describing the Articles of the Constitution; and (3) a list describing the Articles of Amendment. Prescribes the design format. States that such requirements do not limit the authority of the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) include other inscriptions or material on the reverse side of $1 bills; or (2) adopt other design features to deter counterfeiting of currency.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1999
San Gabriel Basin Water Quality Initiative - Establishes within the Treasury an interest bearing account to be known as the San Gabriel Basin Restoration Fund to be administered by the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, in cooperation with the San Gabriel Basin Water Quality Authority, to design, construct, operate, and maintain water quality projects administered by the Authority. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to accept and administer in cooperation with the Authority any funds which California, local government agencies, or private entities may contribute to the Fund. Authorizes the Secretary, in cooperation with State and local government agencies, to participate in studies and other investigative activities and in the planning and design of projects to offer a long- term solution to the problem of groundwater contamination caused by perchlorates. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1999
American Land Sovereignty Protection Act - Amends the National Historic Preservation Act Amendments of 1980 to prohibit the Secretary of the Interior from nominating any Federal lands for inclusion on the World Heritage List pursuant to the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage unless: (1) the Secretary publishes a finding that commercially viable uses of nominated lands and lands within ten miles of them will not be adversely affected by such inclusion; (2) the Secretary has reported to the Congress on the lands' natural resources and the impact that the inclusion would have on existing and future uses of such lands; and (3) such nomination is specifically authorized by a law. Authorizes the President to submit proposals for legislation authorizing such a nomination after publication of the Secretary's finding. Requires the Secretary to object to the inclusion of any property in the United States on the list of World Heritage in Danger (established under the Convention) unless the Secretary: (1) has reported to the Congress on the necessity for such inclusion, the natural resources associated with the property, and the impact such inclusion would have on existing and future uses of such property; and (2) is specifically authorized to assent to the inclusion by a joint resolution of the Congress enacted after the report is submitted. Directs the Secretary to submit an annual report to specified congressional committees on the management of each World Heritage Site within the United States. (Sec. 4) Prohibits any Federal official from nominating any lands in the United States for designation as a Biosphere Reserve under the Man and Biosphere Program of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Provides that any such designation before enactment of this Act shall not have any force or effect, unless the Biosphere Reserve: (1) is specifically authorized by a law enacted before December 31, 2000; (2) consists solely of federally owned lands; and (3) is subject to a management plan that specifically ensures that the use of intermixed or adjacent non-Federal property is not limited or restricted as a result of that designation. Directs the Secretary of State to report annually to specified congressional committees information on the management of each Biosphere Reserve within the United States. (Sec. 5) Prohibits any Federal official from nominating, classifying, or designating any Federal land located within the United States for a special or restricted use under any international agreement for conserving, preserving, or protecting the terrestrial or marine environment, flora, or fauna (with specified exceptions) unless specifically authorized by law, but authorizes the Secretary to submit proposals for authorizing legislation. Provides that any such nomination, classification, or designation of private or State or local lands shall have no force or effect without the owner's consent or specific authorization by State or local law, respectively.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1999
Senior Citizens' Freedom to Work Act of 1999 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to repeal the limitation on the amount of outside income which beneficiaries who have attained retirement age may earn (earnings test) without incurring a reduction in benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Budget with Force of Law Title II: Reserve Funds for Emergencies Title III: Enforcement of Budgetary Decisions Subtitle A: Application of Points of Order to Unreported Legislation Subtitle B: Compliance with Budget Resolution Subtitle C: Justification for Budget Act Waivers Subtitle D: CBO Scoring of Conference Reports Title IV: Accountability for Federal Spending Subtitle A: Prohibitions on Indefinite Spending Subtitle B: Enhanced Congressional Oversight Responsibilities Subtitle C: Strengthened Accountability Title V: Budgeting for Unfunded Liabilities and Other Long-Term Obligations Subtitle A: Budgetary Treatment of Federal Insurance Programs Subtitle B: Reports on Long-Term Budgetary Trends Title VI: Baseline, Byrd Rule, Lock-Box, and Automatic Continuing Resolution Subtitle A: The Baseline Subtitle B: The Byrd Rule Subtitle C: Spending Accountability Lock-Box Subtitle D: Automatic Continuing Resolution Title VII: Budgeting in an Era of Surpluses Comprehensive Budget Process Reform Act of 1999 - Makes this Act effective for fiscal years beginning after September 30, 2000. Title I: Budget With Force of Law - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (CBA) to require the Congress, by April 15 of each year, to complete action on a joint (currently, concurrent) resolution on the budget for the fiscal year beginning on October 1 of such year. Requires such resolution, in addition to items required under existing law, to set forth for the fiscal year and at least the four ensuing fiscal years: (1) subtotals of new budget authority and outlays for nondefense and defense discretionary spending, direct spending, and other subsets of such spending, if necessary; and (2) subtotals of new budget authority and outlays for emergencies for fiscal years to which the amendments made by title II of this Act apply. Revises matters which may be included in the budget resolution. Authorizes the resolution to change the statutory limit on the public debt if the amendment is submitted by the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives or the Senate Finance Committee to the appropriate Budget Committee. Revises required elements of the report accompanying the budget resolution. Includes within such report: (1) new budget authority and outlays for each major functional category based on allocations of total levels; (2) a measure, as a percentage of gross domestic product, of total outlays, total Federal revenues, the surplus or deficit, and new outlays for nondefense discretionary, defense, and direct spending; (3) a justification for allocating any new budget authority and outlays for any new program or activity to a committee for which such new authority and outlays would not be subject to discretionary appropriations; (4) a description of committee spending allocations; and (5) a justification for not subjecting any program or activity for which an allocation is made to an annual discretionary appropriation if the resolution includes any committee allocation (other than the Appropriations Committees) exceeding current law levels. Amends Federal provisions concerning elements of the President's required budget submission to the Congress. Requires such submission to include, for the affected fiscal year and at least each of the four ensuing fiscal years: (1) totals of new budget authority and outlays; (2) total Federal revenues and the amount by which the aggregate level of revenues should be increased or decreased by reported bills and resolutions; (3) the budget surplus or deficit; (4) subtotals of new budget authority and outlays for nondefense and defense discretionary spending and direct spending and other subsets of such spending, if necessary; (5) the public debt limit; and (6) subtotals of new budget authority and outlays for emergencies for fiscal years to which title II of this Act applies. Amends the CBA to provide a point of order against consideration of any budget resolution or related amendment or conference report that contains matter not specified in content requirements. (Sec. 104) Removes an exception which allows general appropriations bills in the House, after May 15, to be considered before the budget resolution has been agreed to. Applies a specified pay-as-you-go exception in the House to certain legislation that would not increase the deficit only after the date of enactment of the budget resolution (currently, April 15). Requires a three-fifths majority in the Senate to waive or suspend provisions requiring the budget resolution to be adopted before budget-related legislation is considered. Provides for expedited procedures upon presidential veto of the budget resolution. Authorizes the Budget Committees to introduce a concurrent or joint budget resolution upon such veto. Discharges such committees from further consideration of the resolution if such resolution is not reported within three days of referral. Deems any agreed-to concurrent resolution to be the budget resolution for the applicable fiscal years. (Sec. 105) Excludes outlays and revenues of the Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) Program under the Social Security Act from surplus or deficit totals required by this Act or other specified Federal public finance provisions. Bars receipts and disbursements of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors and Disability Insurance Trust Funds from being counted as new budget authority, outlays, receipts, or deficit or surplus for purposes of the President's budget submission, the congressional budget, or the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Makes it out of order to consider legislation in the House that would provide for specified increases in OASDI benefits or decreases in OASDI taxes. Title II: Reserve Funds for Emergencies - Repeals provisions of the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act regarding: (1) discretionary spending limits and emergency appropriations; and (2) direct spending and emergency legislation. Amends rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives to repeal a provision which prohibits a provision from being reported in appropriations legislation containing an emergency designation if such provision is not designated as an emergency, with specified exceptions. (Sec. 206) Amends the CBA to require adjustments to be made only to allocations with respect to emergencies in amounts not to exceed those in reserve funds established by this Act. Sets forth the amounts for discretionary budget authority, direct spending, and outlays to be contained in reserve funds for emergencies. Directs the chairman of the Budget Committee, in the case of legislation that provides budget authority for any emergency, to make an adjustment only to the applicable allocation if the chairman certifies that such outlays or budget authority and the resulting outlays are for an emergency meeting the definition under this Act. Sets forth procedures for the consideration of legislation that provides budget authority for an emergency exceeding the amount provided for in the budget resolution. (Sec. 207) Requires committees, when reporting legislation that provides budget authority for any emergency, to identify all provisions that provide such authority and the resulting outlays in the accompanying report or joint explanatory statement of managers. (Sec. 208) Includes: (1) up-to-date tabulations of amounts remaining in the reserve funds for emergencies in summary budget scorekeeping reports provided by the Budget Committees; and (2) the average annual enacted levels of discretionary and direct spending budget authority and the resulting outlays for emergencies for the five fiscal years preceding the fiscal year of the budget resolution in the report accompanying the resolution. (Sec. 210) Makes it out of order to consider an amendment to a budget resolution which changes the amount of budget authority and outlays set forth for emergency reserve funds. Permits limitations on the contents of the budget resolution and the point of order against changing the budget authority and outlays for emergency reserve funds to be waived or suspended only by a three-fifths majority in the Senate. (Sec. 211) Makes the amendments of this title effective only after the enactment of legislation changing or extending for any fiscal year any of the discretionary spending limits set forth in the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act. Title III: Enforcement of Budgetary Decisions - Subtitle A: Application of Points of Order to Unreported Legislation - Applies a certain point of order against the consideration of unreported legislation in the House before the adoption of the budget resolution. Subtitle B: Compliance with Budget Resolution - Amends rule XIII of the Rules of the House to require committee reports to include a budget compliance statement prepared by the chairman of the Budget Committee. Subtitle C: Justification for Budget Act Waivers - Amends rule XIII of the Rules of the House to provide a point of order against consideration of any resolution from the Committee on Rules to consider any reported legislation which waives specified provisions of the CBA unless the report contains certain information on the provision proposed for waiver. Subtitle D: CBO Scoring of Conference Reports - Amends the CBA to provide for Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis and scoring of conference reports. Requires such analysis to include, for reported legislation and conference reports, a determination of whether the measure provides indefinite spending authority. Title IV: Accountability for Federal Spending - Subtitle A: Prohibitions on Indefinite Spending - Provides a point of order in the House and the Senate against consideration of legislation that provides direct spending for a new program unless such spending is limited to a period of ten or fewer fiscal years. Removes provisions regarding points of order and legislation providing new entitlement authority. Amends rule XXI of the Rules of the House to make it out of order to consider any legislation that authorizes the appropriation of new budget authority unless such authorization is specifically provided for ten or fewer fiscal years. Amends rule XVIII of the Rules of the House to provide that, in the Committee of the Whole, an amendment to subject a new program providing direct spending to discretionary appropriations if offered by the chairman of the Budget or Appropriations Committees may be precluded from consideration only by the specific terms of a special House order. Declares that the purpose of such amendment is to hold the discretionary spending limits and allocations made to the Appropriations Committee harmless for legislation that offsets a new discretionary program with a designated reduction in direct spending. Amends the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act to require, if a provision of direct spending legislation is enacted that decreases direct spending for any fiscal year and is designated as an offset and specifically identifies an authorization of discretionary appropriations for a new program, the reductions in new budget authority and outlays resulting from such provision to be designated as an offset in specified CBO pay-as-you-go estimates. Excludes such offsets from such estimates. Requires, if an authorization Act includes provisions reducing direct spending and identifies those provisions as offsets, the adjustments to be an increase in the budget authority and outlay caps in each fiscal year equal to such authority and reductions, respectively, achieved by the specified offsets. Prohibits the adjustments for the first fiscal year in which the offsetting provisions take effect from exceeding the amount of discretionary new budget authority enacted for the new program in an Act making discretionary appropriations and the resulting outlays. Provides for: (1) adjustments to discretionary spending limits, allocations, and budgetary allocations resulting from programs for which offsets were designated and resulting outlays; and (2) reductions of committee allocations of new budget authority and outlays with respect to reported legislation containing provisions that decrease direct spending and are designated as offsets. Subtitle B: Enhanced Congressional Oversight Responsibilities - Amends rule X of the Rules of the House to require House committees, in developing oversight plans, to provide a specific timetable for review of laws, programs, or agencies within their jurisdiction and requires such timetable to demonstrate that such laws, programs, or agencies will be reauthorized at least once every ten years. Removes a provision of such rule pertaining to procedures for consideration of legislation providing new entitlement authority which exceeds the appropriate allocation of budget authority. Requires the House Appropriations Committee to report at least once each Congress (currently, from time to time) on recommendations for terminating or modifying provisions of law which provide permanent budget authority. (Sec. 422) Amends the CBA to require the joint explanatory statement accompanying a conference report on a joint budget resolution that includes an allocation to a committee (other than the Appropriations Committee) of levels exceeding current law levels to set forth a justification for not subjecting any program to annual discretionary appropriations. Makes conforming amendments to provisions regarding the presidential budget submission and to House rules regarding committee consideration of legislation. (Sec. 424) Requires the Budget Committees, during the 106th Congress, to report results of a study on budget reform proposals. Subtitle C: Strengthened Accountability - Requires certain reports on legislation providing new budget authority or increases or decreases in revenues or tax expenditures to include CBO projections of how such legislation will affect levels of budget authority, outlays, revenue, or tax expenditures for the affected fiscal year and the ensuing nine (currently, four) fiscal years. Provides for ten-year (currently, four) CBO cost estimates of reported legislation as well. Amends rule XIII of the Rules of the House to require committee reports to contain cost estimates for each of 11 fiscal years. (Sec. 432) Repeals rule XXIII (relating to the establishment of the statutory limit on the public debt) of the Rules of the House. Title V: Budgeting for Unfunded Liabilities and Other Long-Term Obligations - Subtitle A: Budgetary Treatment of Federal Insurance Programs - Amends the CBA to establish a new title known as the Federal Insurance Budgeting Act of 1999. Requires the President's budget, beginning with FY 2006, to be based on the risk-assumed cost of Federal insurance programs. Defines "risk-assumed cost" as the net present value of the estimated cash flows to and from the Government resulting from an insurance commitment or modification. Requires the program accounts for such programs to pay: (1) the risk-assumed cost borne by the taxpayer to the financing account; and (2) actual insurance program administrative costs. Requires the financing accounts to: (1) receive premiums and other income; (2) pay all claims for insurance and receive all recoveries; and (3) transfer to the program account at least annually amounts necessary to pay administrative costs. Provides that a negative risk-assumed cost shall be transferred from the financing to the program account and from the program account as a nonexpenditure transfer to the general fund. Requires all payments by or receipts of the financing accounts to be treated in the budget as a means of financing. Permits insurance commitments to be made for FY 2006 and thereafter only to the extent that new budget authority to cover the risk-assumed cost is provided in advance in an appropriations Act. Prohibits modification of an outstanding commitment in a manner that increases the risk-assumed cost unless budget authority for the additional cost has been provided in advance. Makes such requirements inapplicable to insurance programs that constitute entitlements. Provides for re-estimations of risk-assumed cost in each subsequent year. Requires agencies with responsibility for Federal insurance programs to develop models to estimate risk-assumed cost by year through the budget horizon and to submit such models, all relevant data, justifications for critical assumptions, and annual projected risk-assumed costs to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) with budget requests each year starting with the request for FY 2002. Directs OMB and CBO, after a comment period for interested persons, to revise the models, data, and major assumptions they would use to estimate the risk-assumed cost of Federal insurance programs. Requires the President's budget submissions and budgets and CBO's reports on the economic and budget outlook for FY 2003 through 2005 to estimate, for display purposes only, the risk-assumed cost of existing or proposed Federal insurance programs. Requires OMB, CBO, and the General Accounting Office to report to the Budget Committees on the advisability and appropriate implementation of this section. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2005 to OMB and each agency responsible for administering a Federal program to carry out this title. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to borrow from, receive from, lend to, or pay the insurance financing accounts appropriate amounts. Establishes a financing account for each Federal insurance program on September 30, 2005. Appropriates to such accounts the amount of the unfunded risk-assumed cost of outstanding Federal insurance commitments as of the close of September 30, 2005. Terminates this section on the last day of FY 2007. Subtitle B: Reports on Long-Term Budgetary Trends - Requires the President's budget submission to include: (1) an analysis based upon current law and one based upon the policy assumptions underlying the submission for every fifth year of the period of the 75 fiscal years beginning with the affected fiscal year of the estimated levels of total new budget authority, outlays, estimated revenues, surpluses, and deficits and, for each major Federal entitlement program, estimated levels of total new budget authority and outlays; and (2) a specification of underlying assumptions and a sensitivity analysis of factors that have a significant effect on the projections made in each analysis and a comparison of the effects of the two analyses on the economy. Establishes a conforming requirement for CBO's annual report to the Budget Committees on fiscal policy. Title VI: Baselines, Byrd Rule, and Lock-Box - Subtitle A: The Baseline - Revises required elements of the President's budget submission to include percentage changes between the current year and the fiscal year for which the budget is submitted for: (1) estimated expenditures and appropriations which are necessary to support the Government, with an exception for detailed budget estimates; (2) laws in effect when the budget is submitted and proposals in the budget to increase revenues as well as for each of the four ensuing fiscal years; and (3) certain proposed appropriations and expenditures for legislation that would establish or expand Government activities or functions, with an exception for detailed budget estimates. Includes within the submission: (1) a comparison of levels of estimated expenditures and proposed appropriations for each function and subfunction in the current fiscal year and the fiscal year for which the budget is submitted, along with the proposed increase or decrease of spending in percentage terms for each function and subfunction; and (2) a table on sources of growth in total direct spending under current law and as proposed in the submission for the budget year and the ensuing four fiscal years. (Sec. 612) Amends the CBA to require the report accompanying the budget resolution to include a comparison of levels for the current fiscal year with proposed spending and revenue levels for subsequent fiscal years along with the proposed increase or decrease of spending in percentage terms for each function. (Sec. 613) Includes similar requirements in certain CBO reports. (Sec. 614) Requires the OMB and CBO Directors, in making budgetary projections for years for which there are no discretionary spending limits, to assume discretionary spending levels at the levels for the last fiscal year for which such levels were in effect. Subtitle B: The Byrd Rule - Removes the applicability of certain procedures with respect to extraneous matter in reconciliation legislation to conference reports. Subtitle C: Spending Accountability Lock-box - Spending Accountability Lock-box Act of 1999 - Directs the chairmen of the Budget Committees to each maintain a Spending Accountability Lock-box Ledger, to be divided into entries corresponding to the subcommittees of the Appropriations Committees. Requires each entry to consist of three components: (1) the House Lock-box Balance; (2) the Senate Lock-box Balance; and (3) the Joint House-Senate Lock-box Balance. Authorizes Members of the House or the Senate, when offering an amendment to an appropriation bill to reduce new budget authority in any account, to state the portion of such reduction to be: (1) credited to the House or Senate Lock-box Balance; (2) used to offset an increase in new budget authority in any other account; or (3) allowed to remain within the Appropriations Committees' subcommittee suballocation. Credits the amount of the reduction to either Lock-box Balance, as applicable, if the amendment is agreed to and no such statement is made. Requires the Budget Committee chairmen, upon the engrossment of any appropriation bill by the House and upon the engrossment of that bill by the Senate, to credit to the applicable entry balance of that House amounts of new budget authority and outlays equal to the net amounts of reductions in new budget authority and in outlays resulting from amendments agreed to by that House to that bill. Specifies the amounts to be credited to the Joint House-Senate Lock-box Balance. Requires a running tally to be available to Members of the House, during the consideration of any appropriations bill by the House, of the amendments adopted reflecting increases and decreases of budget authority in such bill as reported. (Sec. 633) Provides for the downward adjustment, by the amounts credited to the applicable Joint House-Senate Lock-box Balance, of: (1) allocations for the House and Senate upon the engrossment of Senate amendments to any appropriation bill; and (2) suballocations, whenever a such a downward adjustment is made to an allocation. (Sec. 634) Requires the CBO Director to include an up-to-date tabulation of the amounts contained in the Deficit Reduction Lock-box Ledger and each entry in periodic reports. Requires the downward adjustment of discretionary spending limits set forth in the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act by amounts set forth in the final regular appropriation bill for the fiscal year or joint resolution making continuing appropriations through the end of such fiscal year. Subtitle D: Automatic Continuing Resolution - Amends Federal law to make appropriations, if any regular appropriation bill for a fiscal year does not become law prior to the beginning of such year or a continuing appropriations resolution is not in effect, to continue any project or activity for which funds were provided in the preceding year: (1) in the corresponding regular appropriations Act for that year; or (2) in a continuing appropriations resolution for such year if the regular bill did not become law. Makes such appropriations available: (1) at a rate of operations not to exceed the rate provided for the project in the preceding fiscal year; and (2) beginning with the first day of a lapse in appropriations and ending on the earlier of the date the regular appropriation bill, or continuing resolution, becomes law or the last day of the fiscal year. Subjects such appropriations to any conditions imposed in the preceding fiscal year or pursuant to current law. Provides that nothing in this section shall be construed to affect Government obligations mandated by other law, including obligations with respect to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Title VII: Budgeting in an Era of Surpluses - Amends the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act to revise the purpose of pay-as-you-go provisions to declare such purpose to be to assure that direct spending or receipts legislation does not increase the deficit or exceed the on-budget surplus. Reduces the amount of any sequestration for the budget year by any OMB estimate of excess receipts over outlays. Excludes outlays and receipts of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors and Disability Insurance Trust Funds, or any off-budget entity from such estimates. Defines a net deficit, for purposes of sequestration provisions, as the amount by which decreases in revenues plus increases in outlays exceed increases in revenues plus decreases in outlays. Includes within sequestration preview reports the estimated excess of receipts over outlays, if any, with specified assumptions and without taking into account the effect of direct spending and receipts legislation enacted after this Act. Requires actual levels of enacted discretionary spending limits to be used in the final pay-as-you-go report regarding information on excess receipts.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1999
Security and Freedom through Encryption (SAFE) Act - Amends the Federal criminal code to permit any person within any State and any U.S. person in a foreign country to use, and any person within any State to sell in interstate commerce, any encryption, regardless of the encryption algorithm selected, encryption key length chosen, or implementation technique or median use. Provides that neither the Federal Government nor a State may require that, or condition any approval on a requirement that, a key, access to a key, key recovery information, or any other plaintext access capability be: (1) built into computer hardware or software for any purpose; (2) given to any other person, including a Federal Government agency or an entity in the private sector that may be certified or approved by the Federal Government or any State to receive it; or (3) retained by the owner or user of an encryption key or any other person, other than for encryption products for use by the Federal Government or a State. Makes exceptions with respect to investigative or law enforcement officers and members of the intelligence community. Provides that neither the Federal Government nor a State may require the use of encryption products, standards, or services (products) for: (1) confidentiality purposes, as a condition of the use of such products for authenticity or integrity purposes; or (2) authenticity or integrity purposes, as a condition of the use of such products for confidentiality purposes. Sets penalties for the unlawful use of encryption in furtherance of a criminal act. Specifies that the use of encryption shall not be the sole basis for establishing probable cause with respect to a criminal offense or a search warrant. (Sec. 3) Amends the Export Administration Act of 1979 to grant the Secretary of Commerce exclusive authority to control exports of all computer hardware, software, computing devices, customer premises equipment, communications network equipment, and technology for information security (including encryption), except that which is specifically designed or modified for military use. Provides that after a one time, 50-day technical review by the Secretary, no export license may be required (with exceptions) for or in the export of specified computer hardware, software, computing devices, telecommunication devices, technical assistance and data, and encryption hardware, software, or computing devices. Authorizes the Secretary, after a one time, 15-day technical review, to authorize the export or reexport of computer hardware, software, or computing devices with encryption capabilities for nonmilitary and end uses in any country: (1) to which exports of computer hardware, software, or computing devices of comparable strength are permitted for use by financial institutions not controlled in fact by United States persons, unless there is substantial evidence that such computer equipment will be diverted to a military end-use or an end-use supporting international terrorism, modified for military or terrorist end-use, or reexported without authorization by the United States; or (2) if the Secretary determines that a computer hardware, software, or computing device offering comparable security is commercially available outside the United States from a foreign supplier, without effective restrictions. Directs that any encryption product not requiring an export license as of this Act's enactment date, as a result of administrative decision or rulemaking, shall not require an export license on or after such date. (Sec. 4) Directs: (1) the Attorney General to compile, and maintain in classified form, data on the instances in which encryption has interfered with, impeded, or obstructed the ability of the Department of Justice to enforce U.S. criminal laws; and (2) that such information be made available, upon request, to any Member of Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1999
State and Local Investment Opportunity Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the State ceiling on private activity bonds. Provides for inflation adjustment.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1999
Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1999 - Title I: Consumer Bankruptcy Provisions - Subtitle A: Needs Based Bankruptcy - Amends Federal bankruptcy law to revamp guidelines governing dismissal or conversion of a Chapter 7 liquidation petition (complete relief in bankruptcy), to one under Chapter 13 (Adjustment of Debts of an Individual with Regular Income). Allows a bankruptcy panel trustee and any party in interest to move for such dismissal or conversion (current law prohibits such party in interest from such motions). Lowers the "substantial abuse" standard for dismissal or conversion to one of simple abuse. Replaces the presumption in favor of granting the relief sought by the debtor with a presumption that abuse exists if the debtor's current monthly income exceeds specified formulae. Provides that the presumption of abuse may be rebutted only with detailed documentation of extraordinary circumstances requiring additional expenses or adjustment of currently monthly total income. (Sec. 102) Requires debtor's counsel to: (1) reimburse the bankruptcy trustee for legal fees in prosecuting a dismissal or conversion motion if the court finds that counsel's filing under chapter 7 was not substantially justified; and (2) pay a civil penalty for the violation of certain bankruptcy rules. (Sec. 103) Revises procedural guidelines to mandate written notice to the individual consumer debtor before commencement of a case that credit counseling services approved by the United States Trustee are available. (Sec. 104) Instructs the Director of the Executive Office for U.S. Trustees to: (1) develop a financial management training curriculum and materials to educate individual debtors on how to better manage their finances; and (2) evaluate and report to the Congress on the curriculum's efficacy. Subtitle B: Consumer Bankruptcy Petitions - Mandates specified notices and disclosures to a debtor by a debt relief counseling agency. (Sec. 107) Sets forth a debtor's bill of rights which such agency must observe. (Sec. 108) Declares invalid any waiver of debtor protections by the assisted person. Prescribes enforcement guidelines. (Sec. 109) Expresses the sense of the Congress that States should develop curricula relating to the subject of personal finance, designed for use in elementary and secondary schools. (Sec. 110) Modifies debt reaffirmation guidelines governing wholly unsecured consumer debts to mandate additional disclosures for dischargeable debt agreements. (Sec. 111) Cites circumstances under which the court may reduce by up to 20 percent a claim based upon unsecured consumer debts if the debtor can show by clear and convincing evidence that the claim was filed by a creditor who unreasonably refused to negotiate a reasonable alternative repayment schedule proposed by an approved credit counseling agency acting on the debtor's behalf. (Sec. 112) Directs the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the Board) to study and report to the Congress on: (1) whether a consumer engaging in either an open-end or closed-end credit transaction secured by the consumer's principal dwelling receives adequate information under Federal law regarding the tax deductibility of interest paid on such transaction; and (2) specifically consider whether additional disclosures are necessary in such transactions where the amount of credit extended exceeds the fair market value of the dwelling. (Sec. 113) Instructs the Board to study and publicize existing protections limiting consumer liability for unauthorized use of a debit card or similar access device. (Sec. 114) Amends the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) to prescribe disclosures regarding initial and annual minimum payments under an open-end credit plan. Instructs the Board to study and report to the Congress on whether consumers have adequate information about borrowing activities which may result in financial problems. (Sec. 115) Amends bankruptcy law to exempt from the property of the bankrupt estate specified postsecondary education accounts placed in a qualified tuition program, or in an education individual retirement account. (Sec. 116) Modifies guidelines governing the discharge of a debtor's liability, as well as the automatic stay, to entitle an individual who is injured by the willful failure of a creditor to credit payments received to bring an action for actual damages and legal fees. (Sec. 118) Modifies exceptions to a discharge in bankruptcy to prohibit discharge of a filing fee imposed by any court upon a prisoner. (Sec. 119) Terminates the automatic stay 30 days after filing of a petition if a chapter 7, 11, or 13 petition was pending and dismissed the previous year, unless the subsequent filing is in good faith. Delineates conditions under which a history of previous petitions in bankruptcy give rise to a rebuttable presumption that the case is not filed in good faith. (Sec. 120) Directs the court to grant relief from the automatic stay upon request of a party in interest with respect to certain real property actions if the court finds that filing the bankruptcy petition was part of a scheme to delay, hinder, and defraud creditors. Denies automatic stay protections regarding certain creditors' enforcement actions against real property for a specified period following a prior order in bankruptcy which forbade the debtor from being a debtor in another bankruptcy case. (Sec. 121) Modifies debtor's duties to mandate specified affirmative actions to be taken by a chapter 7 debtor, including reaffirmation of the debt, or redemption of the property within 45 days, in order to retain possession of personal property. Allows a creditor to take action with respect to such property under nonbankruptcy law if the debtor fails to act within 45 days, unless the court determines upon trustee motion that such property is consequential value or benefit to the estate. (Sec. 122) Declares that the automatic stay is terminated regarding property of the debtor's estate securing a claim or subject to an unexpired lease, if the debtor fails to complete an intended surrender of consumer debt collateral within a revised, accelerated time frame (unless the court determines upon trustee motion that such property is of consequential value or benefit to the estate). (Sec. 123) Instructs the bankruptcy court to confirm a chapter 13 plan if it provides that the holder of a secured allowed claim shall retain the attendant lien until payment or discharge of all debts. Provides that if a chapter 13 proceeding is dismissed or converted without completion of the plan, the holder shall retain such lien to the extent recognized by applicable nonbankruptcy law. (Sec. 124) Requires that the value of personal property collateral be at least equal to the outstanding balance of the purchase price, including interest and charges, where the property was acquired by the debtor within five years of filing the petition in bankruptcy. (Sec. 125) Declares that, in the case of chapter 7 and chapter 13 debtors, the personal property securing an allowed claim shall be the replacement value as of the date the petition is filed without deduction for costs of sale or marketing. (Sec. 126) Increases from 180 to 730 days the length of a debtor's location of domicile for purposes of determining which State law governs the debtor's selection of property exempt from the bankrupt estate. (Sec. 127) Revises guidelines exempting property from the bankrupt estate to reduce the value of an interest in certain property used as a residence or burial plot to the extent that such value is attributable to any portion of property disposed by the debtor during a specified period with the intent to hinder, delay, or defraud a creditor and that the debtor could not have exempted had the property been held on the petition filing date. (Sec. 128) Revises circumstances under which enforcement of rights and remedies of a secured party in either rolling stock equipment, or aircraft equipment and vessels, is subject to the automatic stay. (Sec. 129) Revamps Chapter 13 debt discharge guidelines. Prohibits discharge from a debt for restitution or damages awarded in a civil action against the debtor for willful or malicious injury that caused personal injury or death of an individual. (Sec. 130) Bankruptcy Judgeship Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal judicial code to mandate appointments for additional temporary bankruptcy judgeships in California, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia. Provides that the first vacancy occurring in such a district five years or more after a judge is appointed under this Act shall not be filled. Extends temporary bankruptcy judgeship positions authorized for the northern district of Alabama, the eastern district of Tennessee, and the districts of Delaware, Puerto Rico, and South Carolina. Directs each chief bankruptcy judge to report annually to the Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts on the travel expenses of each bankruptcy judge assigned to the applicable district. (Sec. 131) Places in the tenth order of prioritized claims against the bankrupt estate any death or personal injury claims resulting from the unlawful operation of a motor vehicle or vessel because the debtor was drug or alcohol-impaired. (Sec. 133) Revises requirements governing a stay of action against a chapter 13 codebtor who did not receive the consideration for a claim to provide a maximum 30-day automatic stay to the extent that the creditor proceeds against: (1) the individual that received the consideration; or (2) the property not in the possession of the debtor that secures that claim. States that such stay shall apply in any case in which the debtor is primarily obligated to pay under a legally binding separation or property settlement agreement or divorce or dissolution decree. (Sec. 134) Denies a debtor an automatic stay of the commencement of an investigation or action by a securities self-regulatory organization to enforce compliance with its regulations, or of the enforcement of any order or decision obtained by such an organization, other than for monetary sanctions. (Sec. 135) Reduces from $1,000 to $250 the threshold amount of luxury goods and consumer credit cash advances presumed nondischargeable in bankruptcy, if acquired within 90 days (currently 60 days) before an order for relief. (Sec. 136) Provides for a chapter 7 debtor's assumption of executory contracts and unexpired leases of personal property. Declares that in a chapter 11 case in which the debtor is an individual, and in a chapter 13 case, if the lease is not assumed in the plan, it is rejected (and no longer subject to an automatic stay) as of the plan's confirmation date. (Sec. 137) Delineates a cash payment plan for chapter 13 debtors for payments to any lessor of personal property and to any creditor holding a claim secured by personal property to the extent such claim is attributable to the debtor's purchase of such property. (Sec. 139) Precludes an automatic stay of any transfer that is not avoidable in: (1) cases where the trustee serves as lien creditor and successor to certain creditors and purchasers; and (2) postpetition transactions. Precludes an automatic stay of any eviction, unlawful detainer action, or similar proceeding by a lessor against a debtor involving residential real property in which: (1) the debtor resides and has not paid rent after the commencement and during the course of the case; (2) the rental agreement has terminated; or (3) the debtor has previously filed within the last year and failed to pay post-petition rent during the course of that case. or (4) Precludes an automatic stay of any eviction actions based on endangerment to property or person or the use of illegal drugs. (Sec. 140) Extends the period between chapter 7 discharges to eight years, and between chapter 13 discharges to five years. (Sec. 142) Revises chapter 7 priority payment guidelines to place within the first priority claim category certain claims for domestic support obligations, on the condition that funds received by a governmental unit be applied in a prescribed order. (Sec. 143) Conditions court confirmation of a chapter 11 or chapter 13 plan (and its consequent discharge of debts) upon certification of debtor's payment of domestic support obligations that are due after the petition filing date. (Sec. 144) Excepts from an automatic stay specified choses-in- action pertaining to domestic support obligations, including: (1) establishment of paternity; (2) suspension of drivers' licenses and professional licenses; (3) interception of tax refunds; and (4) enforcement of medical obligations under title IV, part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of the Social Security Act. (Sec. 146) Modifies guidelines governing property exempt from the bankruptcy estate to declare such property liable for domestic support obligations. (Sec. 147) Precludes the bankruptcy trustee from avoiding a transfer that is a bona fide payment of a debt for a domestic support obligation. (Sec. 149) Declares nondischargeable in bankruptcy: (1) debts intentionally incurred to pay a nondischargeable debt with the intent to discharge the newly-created debt; and (2) all debts incurred to pay nondischargeable debts, without regard to intent, if incurred within 90 days of the filing of the petition. Title II: Discouraging Bankruptcy Abuse - Reenacts chapter 12 (Adjustment of Debts of a Family Farmer with Regular Annual Income). (Sec. 202) Authorizes the bankruptcy court, upon request of a party in interest, to order that the U.S. trustee not convene a meeting of creditors or equity security holders if the debtor has filed a plan for which acceptances have been solicited before commencement of the case. (Sec. 203) Permits an individual debtor to exempt from the property of the bankrupt estate certain tax-exempt retirement funds that have not been obligated in connection with any extension of credit. Exempts from either an automatic stay or a discharge in bankruptcy specified income withheld from the debtor pursuant to pension or profit sharing plans sponsored by such debtor's employer to pay certain loans from such plans. (Sec. 205) Amends guidelines for rejection and surrender of executory contracts and unexpired leases. (Sec. 207) Prohibits the bankruptcy trustee from avoiding a warehouseman's lien for costs incidental to the storage and handling of certain goods. (Sec. 209) Directs the bankruptcy court to treat the compensation awarded a trustee as a commission based on the results achieved. (Sec. 210) States that acceptance or rejection of a chapter 11 plan may be solicited from a holder of a claim or interest if: (1) the solicitation complies with applicable nonbankruptcy law; and (2) it was made before commencement of the case in a manner complying with applicable nonbankruptcy law. (Sec. 211) Prohibits the bankruptcy trustee from avoiding a transfer if, in a case filed by a debtor whose debts are not primarily consumer debts, the aggregate value of all property that constitutes or is affected by such transfer is less than $5,000. (Sec. 213) Limits the extensions of time permitted for filing a chapter 11 reorganization plan. (Sec 214) Denies a discharge in bankruptcy for a debt for a fee or assessment arising from a debtor's interest in a lot in a homeowners association for as long as the debtor retains specified interests in such lot. (Sec. 215) Modifies guidelines governing cases ancillary to foreign proceedings to prohibit the court from granting relief with respect to any security required or permitted under State insurance law for the benefit of claim holders in the United States. (Sec. 215 (sic)) Revises guidelines governing assumption of executory contracts and unexpired leases by the bankruptcy trustee. Exempts from mandatory cure by such trustee certain defaults arising from nonmonetary obligations under an unexpired lease of real property (excluding executory contracts that transfer a right or an interest under a filed or issued patent, copyright, trademark, trade dress, or trade secret), if it is impossible for the trustee to cure such default by performing nonmonetary acts at or after the time of assumption. Title III: General Business Bankruptcy Provisions - Removes investment bankers from the definition of "disinterested person." (Sec. 302) Denies bankruptcy eligibility to an individual unless the individual has received specified credit counseling within 90 days before petition filing. Authorizes the court to waive such prerequisite in specified circumstances. Grants the U.S. Trustee exclusive right to move for case dismissal for debtor non-compliance. Predicates a chapter 7 or chapter 13 discharge upon debtor's completion of an instructional course concerning personal financial management. Title IV: Small Business Bankruptcy Provisions - Sets forth mandatory factors for court consideration in determining whether the disclosure statement regarding a small business reorganization plan provides adequate information. (Sec. 402) Defines a small business debtor, generally, as a person (including a debtor affiliate) with not more than $4 million in aggregate non-contingent, liquidated secured and unsecured debts as of the date of the petition or the order for relief (excluding debts owed to one or more affiliates or insiders). (Sec. 403) Directs the Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules of the Judicial Conference (Advisory Committee) to propose for adoption standardized disclosure statements and plans of reorganization for small business debtors. (Sec. 404) Sets forth uniform national reporting requirements for small business debtors. (Sec. 405) Directs the Advisory Committee to propose for adoption revisions to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure and Official Bankruptcy Forms enabling small business debtors to comply with such uniform national reporting requirements. (Sec. 406) Sets forth duties and administrative procedures in small business reorganization cases, including serial filer provisions and expanded grounds for dismissal or conversion and appointment of a trustee. (Sec. 414) Directs the Small Business Administration to study and report to the Congress on: (1) the factors that cause small businesses to become debtors in bankruptcy; and (2) how Federal bankruptcy laws can be made more efficient in assisting small businesses to retain their viability. (Sec. 415) Revises the circumstance where a debtor has commenced monthly payments to each secured interest creditor to allow the debtor, in the debtor's sole discretion, to make such payments from rents or other income generated before or after the commencement of the case by or from the property. Requires such payments in an amount equal to the interest on the value of the creditor's interest in the real estate, determined at the then-applicable contract rate of interest (currently, at the fair market rate). Title V: Municipal Bankruptcy Provisions - Makes technical amendments to requirements for a municipal bankruptcy petition. Title VI: Streamlining the Bankruptcy System - Authorizes a creditor holding a consumer debt to participate in a meeting of creditors in a chapter 7 or 13 case, either alone or in conjunction with an attorney. (Sec. 602) Requires each U.S. trustee to report to the Attorney General on audit results. Requires the Attorney General to establish random audits of individual cases. (Sec. 603) Prescribes notice procedures for chapter 7 and chapter 13 creditors. Expands debtor's duties to require filing with the bankruptcy court: (1) all tax returns; (2) evidence of payments received; (3) monthly net income projections; and (4) anticipated debt or expenditure increases. Permits a chapter 7 or chapter 13 creditor to request the debtor's petition, schedules and statement of affairs, including the debt adjustment plan filed by the debtor. Mandates debtor compliance within five days of such request. Mandates that, at the time of filing with the taxing authority, a chapter 7 or 13 debtor file with the bankruptcy court specified tax documentation pertaining to the period from case commencement until case termination. Requires a chapter 13 debtor to file with the court a statement of income and expenditures in the preceding tax year, and monthly net income, showing how calculated. Makes debtor's mandatory documentation available for inspection and copying to certain bankruptcy officers and any party in interest. Requires debtors to furnish driver's license, passport or other photograph-containing documentation establishing debtor identification. (Sec. 604) Provides for automatic dismissal if a chapter 7 debtor fails to furnish all mandatory information, or fails to timely file the requisite schedules. Requires the court to order dismissal within five days of a request by a party in interest for the debtor's failure to timely submit requisite documentation. (Sec. 605) Prohibits a Chapter 13 confirmation hearing from being held less than 20 days after the first meeting of creditors if there is an objection. Mandates filing of a chapter 13 debt readjustment plan within 90 days of the order for relief. (Sec. 606) Revises the current three-to-five-year length of a payment plan to set a maximum five year payment period under a chapter 13 plan for any individual debtor (or in a joint case, an individual and spouse combined) with a current monthly total income of not less than the highest national median household income reported for a family of equal or lesser size (or, in a household of one person, not less than the national median household income for one earner). Reserves the current three-to-five-year payment period to cases involving debtors (or in a joint case, an individual and spouse combined) with a current monthly total income less than the highest national median household income reported for a family of equal or lesser size (or, in a household of one person, less than the national median household income for one earner). Revises the maximum duration for a plan modified after confirmation. (Sec. 607) Expresses the sense of the Congress that rule 9011 of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure should include a requirement that all debtors' documents be submitted to the court only after debtors have made reasonable inquiry to verify that all information therein is well grounded in fact, and warranted by existing law or a good faith argument for extension, modification or reversal of existing law. (Sec. 608) Amends the Federal judicial code to revise the requirement that a chapter 11 debtor pay quarterly fees to the U.S. Trustee for disbursements made during a quarter. Requires debtors with disbursements of less than $300,000 to pay such fee only until the case is converted or plan confirmation is obtained, whichever occurs first. (Sec. 609) Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to the Congress and the President on the impact that credit extended to dependents enrolled in post-secondary educational institutions has upon the rate of cases filed in bankruptcy. (Sec. 610) Revises automatic stay guidelines to provide that in the case of an individual filing under chapters 7, 11, or 13, the automatic stay shall terminate 60 days after a request for its release by a party in interest, unless the court orders or the parties agree to a longer time. (Sec. 611) Revamps prescriptions governing the effects of conversion from chapter 13 to another chapter. Declares that: (1) valuations of property and of allowed secured claims in a chapter 13 case shall not apply in a case converted to chapter 7; and (2) with respect to cases converted from chapter 13, the claim of any creditor holding security as of the date of the petition shall continue to be secured by that security unless the full amount of that claim, as determined under applicable nonbankruptcy law, has been paid in full as of the date of conversion. States that a prebankruptcy default shall have the effect given under applicable nonbankruptcy law unless it has been fully cured pursuant to the plan at the time of conversion. Title VII: Bankruptcy Data - Amends the Federal judicial code to require the clerk of each district to compile bankruptcy statistics for individual debtors with primarily consumer debts seeking relief under chapters 7, 11, and 13. Directs the Administrative Office of the United States Courts (Administrative Office) to make such statistics public and to report them annually to the Congress. (Sec. 702) Instructs the Attorney General to promulgate requirements for uniform forms for: (1) final reports by trustees in cases under chapters 7, 12, and 13; and (2) periodic reports by chapter 11 debtors or trustees in possession. Prescribes report contents. (Sec. 703) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the national policy should be that: (1) all public record data held in electronic form by bankruptcy clerks should be released in electronic form in bulk to the public subject to appropriate privacy concerns and safeguards as the Judicial Conference of the United States may determine; and (2) a bankruptcy data system should be established in which a single set of data definitions are used to collect data nationwide, and in which all data for any particular bankruptcy case are aggregated in the same electronic record. Title VIII: Bankruptcy Tax Provisions - Amends the bankruptcy code to modify the treatment of certain tax liens. (Sec. 802) Requires a debtor indebted to a governmental unit to furnish specified information concerning such debt, including the underlying basis for the governmental unit's claim. Requires the Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules of the Judicial Conference to propose for adoption enhanced rules for providing notice to Federal, State, and local government units that have regulatory authority over the debtor or which may be creditors in the debtor's case. (Sec. 804) Prescribes the rate of interest to be paid on mandatory interest payments on tax claims. (Sec. 805) Revises the specifications for income tax claims receiving eighth priority (allowed unsecured claims of governmental units). Provides for tolling of the time periods covering such tax claims for stays of proceedings in a prior bankruptcy case, and the pendency or effect of offers in compromise or installment agreements. (Sec. 808) States that confirmation of a bankruptcy plan does not discharge a corporate debtor from any debt for a tax or customs duty with respect to which the debtor made a fraudulent return or willfully attempted to evade or defeat such tax. (Sec. 809) Amends the automatic stay of U.S. Tax Court proceedings concerning the debtor to restrict such stay to tax liability for a taxable period ending before the order for relief. States that the filing of a bankruptcy petition does not operate as a stay of an appeal from a judicial or administrative determination of the debtor's tax liability without regard to whether such determination was made prepetition or postpetition. (Sec. 810) Includes among the requirements for court confirmation of a chapter 11 bankruptcy plan which includes tax claims, that the debtor, at the minimum, make regular cash installment payments, but in no case with a balloon provision, and no more than three months apart, beginning no later than the effective date of the plan and ending on the earlier of five years after the petition date or the last date payments are to be made under the plan to unsecured creditors. (Sec. 811) Prohibits the avoidance of statutory tax liens by certain purchasers. (Sec. 812) Amends the Federal judicial code to require officers and agents conducting any business under court authority to pay all Federal, State and local taxes when due in the course of the business, unless it is a property tax secured by a lien against estate property which is abandoned by the bankruptcy trustee, or payment of the tax is excused under a specific bankruptcy law. Cites circumstances in which payment of such taxes may be deferred in a case pending under chapter 7 until final distribution is made. Entitles to administrative expense priority payment certain secured and postpetition unsecured taxes incurred by the bankruptcy estate, including ad valorem property taxes. Declares that a governmental unit shall not be required to file a request for the payment of administrative expenses relating to a tax liability or tax penalty. Allows a trustee to recover from property securing a claim for the payment of all ad valorem property taxes relating to such property. (Sec. 813) Requires as a condition for payment of tardily filed priority tax claims that they be filed either before the trustee commences distribution or ten days following the mailing to creditors of the summary of the trustee's final report, whichever is earlier (currently, before the trustee commences distribution of the estate). (Sec. 814) Makes nondischargeable any obligations based on income tax returns prepared by tax authorities. (Sec. 815) Declares that an estate's liability for unpaid tax is discharged upon payment of such tax according to certain requirements. (Sec. 816) Conditions court confirmation of a chapter 13 bankruptcy plan upon filing by the debtor: (1) of all prepetition tax returns; and (2) before the day on which the first meeting of the creditors is convened, of all tax returns for taxable periods ending in the three-year period that ends on the date of the filing of the petition. Authorizes the court to dismiss a plan, or to convert the case to a chapter 7 case, if a chapter 13 debtor fails to comply with such time frame. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules of the Judicial Conference should propose for adoption amended Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure pertaining to objections to tax claims and to plan confirmation. (Sec. 817) Redefines "adequate disclosure," for postpetition disclosure and solicitation purposes, to include full discussion of the potential material Federal and State tax consequences of the plan to the debtor and to a hypothetical investor domiciled in the State in which the debtor resides or has its principal place of business typical of the holders of claims or interests in the case. (Sec. 818) Denies an automatic stay, unless specified conditions are met, to the setoff of an income tax refund for a taxable period which ended before the order for relief against an income tax liability for a taxable period which also ended before the order for relief. Title III: Ancillary and Other Cross-Border Cases - Expands the scope of bankruptcy law to incorporate the Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency, and to establish a statutory mechanism for: (1) dealing with cases of cross-border insolvency; and (2) cooperation between U.S. courts, trustees, and debtors and their foreign counterparts. Prescribes guidelines for: (1) access by foreign representatives and creditors to Federal and State courts; (2) recognition of a foreign proceeding and relief; (3) cooperation and direct communication with foreign courts and representatives; and (4) concurrent proceedings and the coordination of foreign and domestic proceedings. Title X: Financial Contract Provisions - Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDIA) to redefine specified contracts, agreements, and transfers entered into with an insolvent insured depository institution before the appointment of a conservator or receiver for it. (Sec. 1002) Declares that no person shall be stayed or prohibited from exercising any right to cause the acceleration of any qualified financial contract with an insured depository institution which arises upon the appointment of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver at any time after such appointment. (Sec. 1002) Declares that no provision of law shall be construed as limiting the right or power of the FDIC, or authorizing any court or agency to limit or delay, in any manner, the FDIC's right or power to transfer, disaffirm, or repudiate any qualified financial contract of a failed institution. Prohibits enforcement of a walkaway clause in a qualified financial contract of a failed insured depository institution (a clause that either does not create a payment obligation of a party, or extinguishes it solely because of such party's status as a nondefaulting party). (Sec. 1003) Revises guidelines governing transfers of qualified financial contracts of an insolvent institution to include: (1) transfers to a foreign bank or foreign financial institution (including its branch or agency) (but only when the contractual rights of the parties to such qualified financial contracts are enforceable substantially to the same extent as permitted under such Act); and (2) transfers of contracts subject to the rules of a clearing organization. Defines financial institution to include a broker or dealer, a depository institution, a futures commission merchant, or any other institution as determined by FDIC regulation. Suspends certain termination rights of counterparties to a qualified financial contract with an insolvent insured depository institution until after the receiver's appointment, or after receipt of notice that the contract has been transferred. Declares that none of the following institutions shall be considered a financial institution for which a conservator, receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, or other legal custodian has been appointed or which is otherwise the subject of a bankruptcy or insolvency proceeding: (1) a bridge bank; or (2) an FDIC-organized depository institution for which a conservator is appointed either immediately upon organization, or at the time of a purchase and assumption transaction between such institution and the FDIC as receiver for a depository institution in default. (Sec. 1004) Prescribes guidelines for: (1) the disaffirmance or repudiation of qualified financial contracts by the conservator or receiver for a failed depository institution; and (2) the treatment of a master agreement as a single agreement and a single qualified financial contract. (Sec. 1006) Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 to make conforming amendments with respect to: (1) bilateral netting contracts; (2) security agreements; (3) clearing organization netting contracts; (4) contracts with uninsured national banks; and (5) contracts with uninsured Federal branches or agencies. (Sec. 1007) Amends the Federal Bankruptcy Code to reflect the changes made by this Act and to: (1) deny an automatic stay to set-offs under certain swap agreements and netting agreements; and (2) restrict the avoidance power of the bankruptcy trustee regarding certain master netting agreement transfers to those transfers that are fraudulent in nature. Sets forth statutory guidelines for: (1) the termination or acceleration of designated contracts and agreements; and (2) commodity broker and stockbroker liquidation with respect to the priority of unsecured claims, or customer property or distributions. (Sec. 1008) Amends the FDIA to authorize the FDIC to prescribe more detailed recordkeeping requirements for qualified financial contracts (including market valuations) by insured depository institutions. (Sec. 1009) Exempts specified collateralization agreements from the contemporaneous execution requirement that renders invalid certain agreements against FDIC interests in certain asset acquisitions. (Sec. 1010) Amends Federal bankruptcy law to specify the date for the measure of damages in connection with: (1) rejection by the bankruptcy trustee of designated contracts and agreements relating to executory contracts and unexpired leases; or (2) the liquidation, acceleration, or termination of such contracts and agreements. (Sec. 1011) Amends the Securities Investor Protection Act of 1970 to provide that neither the filing of a protective decree by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, nor any court protective order, shall operate as a stay of a creditor's contractual rights to liquidate, terminate, or accelerate designated contracts and agreements. Allows such application, order, or decree, however, to operate as a stay of foreclosure on securities collateral pledged by the debtor, whether or not with respect to one or more of such contracts, agreements, or securities sold by the debtor under a repurchase agreement. (Sec. 1012) Declares that property of the bankrupt estate does not include any eligible asset (or its proceeds) to the extent that it was transferred by the debtor before commencement of the case to an eligible entity in connection with an asset-backed securitization (except to the extent that such asset, or its proceeds or value, may be recovered through avoidance by the bankruptcy trustee). (Sec. 1013) Amends the Federal Reserve Act to increase the types of acceptances eligible to meet Federal Reserve collateral requirements. Title XI: Technical Corrections - Makes technical corrections to Federal bankruptcy, judicial, and criminal law. (Sec. 1101) Redefines single asset real estate to exclude family farms and to repeal the $4 million ceiling on the amount of noncontingent, liquidated secured debts on such property. Defines the term "transfer" to include: (1) creation of a lien; (2) retention of title as a security interest; (3) foreclosure of the debtor's equity of redemption; and (4) every mode of disposing of property or parting with an interest in property. (Sec. 1102) Requires triennial adjustment of: (1) the $5,000 value of certain implements, professional books, tools of the trade, farm animals, and crops which a debtor may exempt from the property of the estate (protecting them from creditors' liens); and (2) the national median household income calculated monthly. (Sec. 1106) Provides that a trustee or a creditors' and equity security holders' committee may pay a professional person they employ on a fixed or percentage fee basis, as well as on other bases already permitted. (Sec. 1111) Excludes from compensable professional services any expenses incurred by an individual member of a creditors' and equity security holders' committee. (Sec. 1113) Revises the prohibition against debtor avoidance of certain judicial liens in connection with a liability designated as, and actually in the nature of, alimony, maintenance, or support. (Sec. 1114) Declares nondischargeable in bankruptcy a debt for death or personal injury caused by the debtor's operation of a watercraft or aircraft while intoxicated from alcohol, a drug, or other substance. Limits the nondischargeability of fees imposed by a court to fees so imposed on a prisoner. (Sec. 1119) Revises guidelines governing preferences to provide that, if the trustee avoids a security interest given between 90 days and one year before the date of the filing of the petition, by the debtor to a non-insider for the benefit of a creditor that is an insider, then such security interest shall be considered to be avoided only with respect to the insider creditor. (Sec. 1125) Requires the U.S. trustee in a chapter 11 (Reorganization) case to file a report certifying the election of an eligible, disinterested trustee at a meeting of creditors. Declares that upon such filing: (1) the trustee elected shall be considered to have been selected and appointed; and (2) the service shall terminate of any trustee previously appointed to fill the term of specified ineligible or incapacitated trustees. (Sec. 1127) Permits the bankruptcy trustee to sell, use, or lease property in accordance with nonbankruptcy law governing the transfer of property by nonprofit charitable corporations, if doing so is not inconsistent with certain relief granted under the automatic stay. (Sec. 1128) Amends the Truth in Lending Act to prohibit a creditor under an open end consumer credit plan from terminating an account before its expiration date solely because the consumer has not incurred finance charges. (Sec. 1129) Extends from 20 to 30 days the length of time after a debtor receives possession of property for perfection of a security interest in such property created by a transfer which the trustee may not avoid. (Sec. 1130) Amends the Federal judicial code to allow a U.S. trustee whose appointment to a panel or as a standing trustee is terminated or who ceases to be assigned to cases filed under the Federal bankruptcy code to obtain judicial review of the final agency decision by commencing an action in U.S. district court for the district in which the panel member or standing trustee resides, after exhausting all available administrative remedies which, if the trustee so elects, shall also include an administrative hearing on the record. Deems the trustee to have exhausted such remedies, unless the trustee elects to have an administrative hearing on the record, if the agency fails to make a final agency decision within 90 days after the trustee requests administrative remedies. Requires the agency decision to be affirmed unless it is unreasonable and without cause based upon the administrative record before the agency. Authorizes a standing trustee to obtain judicial review of final agency action to deny a claim of actual, necessary expenses by commencing an action in U.S. district court in the district where the individual resides. Requires the agency decision to be affirmed unless it is unreasonable and without cause based upon the administrative record before the agency. Directs the Attorney General to prescribe procedures to implement such provisions. Title XII: General Effective Date; Application of Amendments - Sets forth the effective date of this Act and the application of its amendments.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1999
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to classify qualified leasehold improvement property (defined as certain improvements made to an interior portion of nonresidential real property) as ten-year property for depreciation purposes under the Accelerated Cost Recovery System.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Uniform Prelitigation Procedures for Year 2000 Actions Title II: Year 2000 Actions Involving Contracts Title III: Year 2000 Actions Involving Tort and Other Noncontractual Claims Title IV: Year 2000 Class Actions Title V: Client Protection in Connection with Year 2000 Actions Title VI: Assistance to Small Businesses for Preventing Year 2000 computer Failures Year 2000 Readiness and Responsibility Act - Makes this Act inapplicable to any claim based on personal injury. Title I: Uniform Prelitigation Procedures for Year 2000 Actions - Requires a prospective plaintiff, before filing a year 2000 action, except in an action that seeks only injunctive relief, to provide to each prospective defendant a written notice that identifies with particularity: (1) any symptoms of a material defect alleged to have caused injury; (2) the injury allegedly suffered; (3) the facts that led the prospective plaintiff to hold such person responsible for both the defect and the injury; and (4) the relief or action sought. Bars a prospective plaintiff from commencing an action in Federal or State court until the expiration of 90 days after the date on which such notice is provided. Excludes such 90-day period in the computation of any applicable statute of limitations. Sets forth provisions regarding response to notice, failure to respond, failure to provide notice, the effect of contractual waiting periods, sanctions for frivolous invocation of the stay provision, and time computations. (Sec. 102) Allows either party, at any time during the 90-day period, to request the other to use alternative dispute resolution. (Sec. 103) Requires the complaint, in any year 2000 action: (1) that seeks the award of money damages, to state with particularity the nature and amount of each element of damages and the factual basis for the damages calculation; and (2) in which the plaintiff alleges that a product or service was defective, to identify with particularity the symptoms of the material defects and to state with particularity the facts supporting the conclusion that the defects were material. Sets forth provisions regarding state of mind, motion to dismiss, stay of discovery, and preservation of evidence. (Sec. 104) Prohibits recovery in any year 2000 action on account of injury that the plaintiff could reasonably have avoided in light of any disclosure or other information of which the plaintiff was, or reasonably could have been, aware. Excludes from damages awarded in any such action any that the plaintiff reasonably could have avoided. Title II: Year 2000 Actions Involving Contracts - Makes fully enforceable in any year 2000 action all written contractual terms, including limitations or exclusions of liability or disclaimers of warranty, with exceptions. (Sec. 202) Allows the party against whom a claim of breach of contract is asserted to offer evidence that its implementation of, or its efforts to implement, the contract were reasonable in light of the circumstances for the purpose of limiting or eliminating the defendant's liability. Sets forth provisions regarding impossibility and commercial impracticability. (Sec. 203) Prohibits the court, in any year 2000 action involving a breach of contract or a claim related to the contract, from awarding any damages unless such damages are provided for by the express terms of the contract (or, if the contract is silent on such damages, by operation of the applicable Federal or State law that governed interpretation of the contract at the time the contract was entered into). Title III: Year 2000 Actions involving Tort and Other Noncontractual Claims - Makes a person against whom a final judgment is entered in a year 2000 action, except with respect to claims involving personal injury, liable solely for the portion of the judgment that corresponds to the percentage of liability of the person, as determined under this title. Directs the court to instruct the jury to answer special interrogatories or, if there's no jury, make findings, with respect to each defendant and plaintiff, and each of the other persons claimed by any of the parties to have caused or contributed to the loss incurred by the plaintiff, concerning the percentage of responsibility of the defendant, the plaintiff, and each such person, measured as a percentage of the total fault of all persons who caused or contributed to the total loss incurred by the plaintiff. (Sec. 302) Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the defendant's state of mind as to year 2000 failure, injury to plaintiff, and foreseeability; (2) a reasonable efforts defense; (3) limits on damages; and (4) liability of officers and directors. Title IV: Year 2000 Class Actions - Provides that in any year 2000 action involving a claim that a product or service is defective, the action may be maintained as a class-action in Federal or State law as to that claim only if it satisfies all other prerequisites established by applicable Federal or State law and if the court also finds that the alleged defect in the product or service was a material defect as to a majority of the members of the class. (Sec. 402) Sets forth provisions regarding notification, dismissal prior to certification, Federal jurisdiction in year 2000 class actions, and removal of class actions. Title V: Client Protection In Connection with Year 2000 Actions - Makes this title applicable to any year 2000 claim or action asserted or brought in Federal or State court. (Sec. 503) Allows a plaintiff who retains an attorney with respect to a year 2000 claim or action to elect whether to compensate the attorney's services on an hourly or contingent fee basis, with exceptions. (Sec. 504) Sets forth provisions regarding the consumer's right to up-front disclosure of information regarding fees and settlement proposals, information after the initial meeting, the consumer's right to timely updated information about settlement proposals and a detailed statement of hours and fees, class actions, and enforcement of consumer protection rules in year 2000 claims and actions. Title VI: Assistance to Small Businesses for Preventing Year 2000 Computer Failures - Small Business Year 2000 Readiness Act - Amends the Small Business Act to direct the Small Business Administration (SBA) to establish a pilot program under which it shall guarantee loans made by eligible lenders to small business concerns to allow them to address year 2000 computer failures and to notify eligible lenders of the establishment of such program. Sets forth provisions regarding the use of funds, maximum loan amounts, guarantee limits, and reporting requirements. (Sec. 604) Amends such Act to direct the SBA to notify specified committees not later than 30 days before initiating any new pilot program of any change in the pilot program that may affect the subsidy rate estimates for the loan program. Sets forth reporting requirements. (Sec. 605) Directs the Administrator of the SBA to establish one point of contact to act as a liaison between the SBA and small business concerns regarding problems arising out of year 2000 failures and compliance with Federal requirements regarding the collection of information. Prohibits any Federal agency from imposing a civil penalty on a business concern for a first-time violation, with exceptions. Allows a Federal agency to waive a civil penalty imposed if the violation is corrected within 30 days after the agency provides written notice of the violation. Sets forth standards for waiver and a congressional notification requirement. Prohibits a State from imposing on a small business concern any civil penalty inconsistent with this section.
![Official portrait of Rep. Dreier, David [R-CA-26]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/d000492_200.jpg)