United States · United States Congress · 14 October 1999
Medicare Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999 - Title I: Provisions Relating to Part A - Subtitle A: PPS Hospitals - Amends SSA title XVIII part D (Miscellaneous), as amended by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA '97), to provide for a one-year delay in the transition of the indirect teaching adjustment factor (under the prospective payment system (PPS) for hospital outpatient department (OPD) services) to its permanent value on or after October 1, 2001 (currently, on or after October 1, 2000) used in determining an additional payment amount for certain hospitals with indirect costs of medical education. Subtitle B: PPS Exempt Hospitals - Amends SSA title XVIII part D to: (1) limit the target amount for described hospitals that are exempt from PPS payment; and (2) direct the Secretary to provide for an appropriate wage adjustment with regard to such hospitals. (Sec. 112) Provides for increased target amounts in computing payments for long-term care and psychiatric hospitals until development of a PPS for those hospitals. (Sec. 113) Directs the Secretary to develop, implement, and report to Congress on: (1) a per discharge PPS for payment for inpatient hospital services of Medicare long-term care hospitals; and (2) develop a per diem PPS for payment for inpatient hospital services of Medicare psychiatric hospitals. Subtitle C: Adjustments to PPS Payments for Skilled Nursing Facilities - Directs the Secretary, for purposes of computing prospective payments for covered skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), to temporarily increase payments for covered skilled nursing facility services for certain high cost patients. (Sec. 122) Amends SSA title XVIII part D to revise provisions on payment to hospitals for inpatient hospital services to: (1) increase for FY 2001 the SNF unadjusted federal per diem rate; (2) permit a SNF to waive a three year transition period and elect to have the amount of payment for all covered facility costs determined pursuant to the adjusted Federal per diem rate applicable to it; (3) exclude certain additional items and services from being covered facility items and services (thus providing for Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) pass-through payment for such items and services, including certain ambulance services and chemotherapy items) while ensuring budget neutrality for FY 2001; (4) apply to facilities participating in the Nursing Home Case-Mix and Quality Demonstration Project requirements for determining base payments on a per diem basis; and (5) modify requirements for the first cost reporting period update that is used in determining facility specific per diem rates. Title II: Provisions Relating to Part B - Subtitle A: Adjustments to Physician Payment Updates - Amends SSA title XVIII part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) to modify provisions on: (1) payment for physicians' services with regard to updates to provide for new guidelines for determining updates for years beginning with 2000; and (2) sustainable growth rate with regard to publication and with regard to the data to be used in determining such updates. Subtitle B: Hospital Outpatient Services - Amends SSA title XVIII part B to revise requirements for the PPS for hospital OPD services to: (1) require the Secretary to provide for a specified outlier adjustment for covered OPD services, as well as transitional pass-through payments for additional costs of "innovative" medical devices, drugs, and biologicals, while ensuring budget neutrality; (3) include medical devices as covered OPD services; (4) allow the Secretary to elect to establish relative payment weights based on mean hospital costs for covered OPD services; (5) limit, generally, the variation of costs of covered OPD services classified within a group for purposes of comparable treatment with respect to the use of resources; (6) change the Secretary's optional periodic review of PPS components to a mandatory annual review; and (7) establish a transitional adjustment in the amount of PPS payment for covered OPD services to limit declining payments under Medicare for such services. Subtitle C: Other - Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for: (1) application of separate currently existing caps for speech-language pathology and for other outpatient physical therapy services on a per beneficiary, per facility basis; (2) optional, limited exemption of certain therapy services facilities from any applicable caps for 2000 and 2001; (3) mandatory annual increases in end stage renal disease dialysis composite rate payment amounts; and (4) revised annual covered item updates for 2001 and 2002 for certain durable medical equipment. Title III: Provisions Relating to Parts A and B - Subtitle A: Home Health Services - Provides, in the case of a home health agency that furnishes home health services to a Medicare beneficiary, that for each beneficiary furnished such services during the agency's cost reporting period beginning in FY 2000, the Secretary shall, in accordance with specified restrictions, pay the agency a specified amount out of the Medicare trust funds in addition to any other amount of payment to defray agency costs attributable to data collection and reporting requirements under the Outcome and Assessment Information (OASIS) required under BBA '97. (Sec. 302) Amends BBA '97 and Medicare with regard to the PPS for home health services to delay for one year the application of the 15 percent reduction in payment rates for home health services. Subtitle B: Direct Graduate Medical Education - Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for the use of national average per resident payment system in computing payments for direct graduate medical education (DGME) costs. Title IV: Rural Provider Provisions - Amends SSA title XVIII to permit the reclassification of certain urban hospitals as rural ones. (Sec. 402) Ties the standards applied for geographic reclassification of certain rural hospitals to the most recently available census data. (Sec. 403) Revises the critical access hospital program, permitting for-profit hospitals to qualify for designation as a critical access hospital. Provides for an all-inclusive payment option for outpatient critical access hospital services. Eliminates coinsurance payments for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests furnished by a critical access hospital on an outpatient basis. Allows certain currently excluded hospitals to be providers of extended care services. (Sec. 404) Extends for five years the Medicare-dependent, small rural hospital program. (Sec. 405) Mandates rebasing for certain sole community hospitals that elect such treatment, in accordance with specified guidelines with respect to select fiscal year discharges. (Sec. 406) Revises provisions on payments for direct and indirect graduate medical education costs to expand current graduate medical education training programs for hospitals located in rural areas, and to encourage the training of physicians in underserved rural areas. (Sec. 407) Eliminates the requirement for State certification of need and certain restrictions on a hospital with more than 49 beds that provides extended care services. (Sec. 408) Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to assist eligible small rural hospitals in meeting the costs of implementing data systems required to meet Medicare requirements established by BBA '97. (Sec. 409) Directs the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MEDPAC) to study and report to Congress on rural providers under Medicare. Title V: Provisions Relating to Part C (Medicare+Choice Program) - Subtitle A: Medicare+Choice - Amends SSA title XVIII part C (Medicare+Choice) and D (Miscellaneous) to provide for: (1) phased-in new risk adjustment methodology under provisions for payments to Medicare+Choice organizations; (2) increased monthly payments under such provisions for a limited period to encourage the offering of Medicare+Choice plans in certain areas where such a plan has either not been offered or is offered but slated for termination; (3) modification of the five-year reentry rule for Medicare+Choice organizations whose contracts have been terminated; (4) continued annual computation and publication of county-specific per capita fee-for-service expenditure information; (5) enrollment in alternative Medicare+Choice plans and Medicare supplemental health insurance policy (Medigap) coverage in case of involuntary termination of Medicare+Choice enrollment; (6) authorized variation in premium values within a service area if the annual Medicare+Choice capitation rates vary within the area; (7) a delayed deadline for submission of adjusted community rates and related information; (8) extension of Medicare reasonable cost reimbursement contracts under provisions for payments to health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and competitive medical plans; and (9) permission for religious fraternal benefit societies to offer a range of Medicare+Choice plans. (Sec. 510) Directs MEDPAC to report to Congress on specific legislative changes that should be made to make Medicare medical savings account plans a viable option under the Medicare+Choice program. Subtitle B: Social Health Maintenance Organizations (SHMOs) - Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 to: (1) extend social health maintenance organization (SHMO) demonstration project authority; and (2) replace the current limit on the number of individuals who may participate in a SHMO I or II project site with an aggregate limit for all sites.
United States · United States Congress · 13 October 1999
Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 - Title I: Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency and Related Provisions - Subtitle A: Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency - Amends part A (General Provisions) of title XI of the Social Security Act (SSA) to direct the Commissioner of Social Security to establish a Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program (TWSSP) under which a disabled beneficiary may use a TWSSP ticket issued by the Commissioner to obtain employment, vocational rehabilitation services, or other support services, pursuant to an appropriate individual beneficiary work plan that meets specified requirements. Includes among such requirements goals for earnings and job advancement, at the Commissioner's expense, from a participating employment network, public or private. Allows State agencies administering or supervising the administration of the State plan under title I of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to elect to participate as an employment network. Sets forth requirements applicable to agreements between State agencies and employment networks. Describes employment network payment systems. (Sec. 101) Provides that during any period for which an individual is using a TWSSP ticket, the Commissioner and any applicable State agency may not initiate a continuing disability or similar review to determine whether the individual is or is not disabled. Requires payments to employment networks: (1) out of the social security trust funds in the case of SSA title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) disability beneficiaries who return to work; or (2) from the appropriation for making Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments under SSA title XVI, in the case of SSI disability beneficiaries who return to work. Establishes within the Social Security Administration the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Advisory Panel to advise the President, the Congress, and the Commissioner with respect to TWSSP work incentive issues, and those issues under OASDI, SSI, Medicare (SSA title XVIII), and Medicaid (SSA title XIX) as well. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Elimination of Work Disincentives - Amends SSA titles II and XVI (Procedural and General Provisions) to prescribe specified measures designed to eliminate work disincentives. Prohibits review of an individual's disability status on the basis of work activity. Provides for expedited reinstatement of entitlement to OASDI or of eligibility for SSI disability benefits. Subtitle C: Work Incentives Planning, Assistance, and Outreach - Amends SSA title XI part A to direct the Commissioner to establish a community-based work incentives outreach program for disabled beneficiaries that includes technical assistance to organizations and entities designed to encourage disabled beneficiaries to return to work. (Sec. 121) Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 122) Authorizes the Commissioner to make certain minimum payments in each State to the protection and advocacy system established under the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act for the purpose of providing services to disabled beneficiaries, which may include advocacy or other services that such a beneficiary may need to secure or regain gainful employment. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Expanded Availability of Health Care Services - Amends SSA title XIX to provide for expanding State Medicaid options for workers with disabilities, including options to: (1) eliminate income, assets, and resource limitations for workers with disabilities who buy into Medicaid; and (2) provide opportunity for employed individuals with a medically improved disability to make such a buy. Provides that Federal funds paid to a State for Medicaid payments may not generally be used to supplant the level of State funds expended for a fiscal year for programs to enable working disabled individuals to work. (Sec. 202) Amends SSA title II to extend the period of Medicare coverage for OASDI disability insurance beneficiaries. Directs the Comptroller General to report to Congress on specified consequences of such extension. (Sec. 203) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) award grants to eligible States to support establishment of State infrastructures to support working disabled individuals as well as to enable State outreach campaigns on infrastructure existence; and (2) submit a recommendation to specified congressional committees on whether such grant program should be continued after FY 2010. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 204) Authorizes State demonstration projects for certain Medicaid coverage of up to a specified maximum number of workers with a potentially severe disability, coverage equal to that afforded under the State option for eliminating income, assets, and resource limitations for disabled workers buying into Medicaid. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 205) Allows disabled Medicare beneficiaries to request the suspension of Medicare supplemental policy (Medigap) insurance when covered under a group health plan. Title III: Demonstration Projects and Studies - Amends SSA title II to provide for an extension of disability insurance program demonstration project authority. Directs the Commissioner to develop and carry out experiments and demonstration projects, subject to specified guidelines which include the authority to waive compliance with benefits requirements, with regard to various alternative methods of treating the work activity of individuals entitled to OASDI disability benefits, altering other limitations and conditions applicable to such individuals, and implementing sliding scale benefit offsets. Authorizes the Commissioner to: (1) expand the scope of any such experiment or demonstration project to include any group of OASDI benefit applicants with impairments that reasonably may be presumed to be disabling for purposes of such demonstration project; and (2) limit any such demonstration project to any such group of applicants, subject to the terms of such demonstration project which shall define the extent of any such presumption. (Sec. 302) Directs the Commissioner to conduct certain demonstration projects designed to provide for specified reductions in disability insurance benefits based on earnings. Requires expenditures for such demonstration projects to come out of the social security and Medicare trust funds, as determined appropriate, to the extent provided in advance in appropriation Acts. (Sec. 303) Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to the Congress on: (1) existing tax credits and other disability-related employment incentives; (2) coordination of the OASDI disability insurance (DI) program and the SSI program as they relate to individuals entering or leaving concurrent entitlement under them; and (3) the impact of the substantial gainful activity limit on return to work. Directs the Commissioner to report to the Congress on disregards under the DI and SSI programs. Requires the Comptroller General to study and report to the Congress on the Social Security Administration's efforts to conduct disability demonstrations. Title IV: Miscellaneous and Technical Amendments - Amends the Contract with America Advancement Act of 1996 with respect to: (1) final adjudication of denied claims by drug addicts and alcoholics for SSA title II disability benefits; and (2) the effective dates of certain requirements concerning representative payees and treatment referrals for such individuals. (Sec. 402) Amends SSA title II to provide for: (1) payments to State and local prisons for monthly reports on the identities of inmates whose OASDI benefits are determined by the Commissioner not to be payable as a result of such reports; (2) a 50 percent reduction in such payments under SSA titles II and XVI in cases involving a comparable payment under the other title with respect to the same prisoner; (3) transfer from the social security trust funds of any sums necessary to enable the Commissioner to make such payments; (4) provision of inmate identification information to any agency administering a Federal or federally-assisted cash, food, or medical assistance program for eligibility purposes under such program; (5) elimination of the requirement that confinement stem only from a crime punishable by imprisonment for more than one year (thus denying OASDI benefits to individuals confined for any criminal offense); and (5) continued denial of benefits to sex offenders remaining confined to public institutions upon completion of prison term. (Sec. 403) Provides for a two-year open season for members of the clergy who wish to revoke their exemption from social security coverage. (Sec. 404) Amends SSA title XI to make a miscellaneous technical amendment relating to cooperative research or development projects under SSA titles II and XVI. (Sec. 405) Amends SSA title XI to make miscellaneous technical amendments to provisions concerning the requirements of State income and eligibility verification systems, among other changes allowing a State to permit certain employers that make returns with respect to domestic service employment taxes on a calendar year basis to instead make such reports on an annual basis. (Sec. 406) Amends SSA title II to direct the Commissioner to impose on attorneys who are owed a fee from a claimant's past-due benefits an assessment, determined according to a specified formula, for crediting to the OASDI trust funds. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 407) Amends SSA title XIX to: (1) grant State Medicaid fraud control units the authority to investigate and prosecute violations of all applicable State laws regarding any and all aspects of suspected fraud in connection with any Federal health care program if the Inspector General of the relevant Federal agency approves the unit's involvement; (2) grant an Inspector General who approves such involvement continuing authority to join the case or investigation or to replace the unit as the primary agency assigned to the matter; (3) include within the unit's authority to recoup overpayments made under the State Medicaid plan to health care facilities authority to recoup overpayments made under any Federal health care program; and (4) revise procedures for unit complaint review, among other changes allowing the unit the option of having procedures for reviewing complaints of abuse or neglect of residents in non-Medicaid board and care facilities. (Sec. 408) Amends SSA title XIX with respect to certain Medicaid payments to States with approved Medicaid plans. Requires a specified payment system approved by the Secretary for the payment of any covered expenditure by, or on behalf of, a local educational agency or school district: (1) in the case of a bundled group of individual items, services, and administrative expenses, in accordance with an actuarially sound payment methodology; or (2) in the case of payment using a fee-for-service methodology, in accordance with reasonable cost reimbursement requirements. Includes among such requirements a competitive bidding process for claims processing contracts and coordination between the local educational agency or school district and Medicaid managed care organization in order for the State to receive Medicaid reimbursement. Formulates the allowable share of the Federal financial participation amount with respect to payment for items and services furnished in a school setting. Directs the Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration to develop and implement a uniform methodology for claims for payment of Medicaid and related administrative expenses furnished by schools.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1999
AIDS Skilled Nursing Care Assistance Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to establish a payment rule for qualified acute skilled nursing facilities for the furnishing of covered skilled nursing facility services to patients at least 35 percent of whom have a primary diagnosis of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1999
Keep Our Promise to America's Military Retirees Act - Amends Federal employee provisions to include the following as an employee, for purposes of authorized enrollment under the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program: (1) a member of the armed forces who began service before June 7, 1956, and retired after a minimum of 20 years of such service or by reason of a service-connected disability; and (2) the surviving widow or widower of such member. Directs the Secretary of Defense to enter into an agreement with the Office of Personnel Management to provide FEHB coverage to the following eligible beneficiaries: (1) a member or former member entitled to military retired or retainer pay who is also entitled to hospital insurance benefits under part A of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act; (2) an unremarried former spouse who was married to a member for at least 20 years, during which such member performed at least 20 years of retirement-creditable military service; (3) a dependent of a deceased qualifying member or former member; (4) a dependent of a living member or former member who is entitled to Medicare hospital insurance benefits; and (5) a family member of such member. Repeals a provision prohibiting coverage under the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services for persons entitled to hospital insurance benefits under part A of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 1999
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow businesses a limited reclamation credit of 20 percent of the basis of each qualified reclamation property placed in service during the taxable year. Defines qualified reclamation property as, among other things, qualified recycling property or qualified remanufacturing property.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 1999
Women's Health Innovation Improvement Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to increase to at least $13 Medicare payment for pap smear laboratory tests.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 1999
Access to Innovation for Medicare Patients Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for Medicare coverage of self-injected biologicals approved by the Food and Drug Administration that are prescribed for use in the treatment of the same disease or medical condition in lieu of a drug or biological which cannot be self-administered.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 1999
Recognizes and honors the efforts of the Family Friendly Programming Forum and other entities supporting family friendly programming. Expresses support for efforts of the television network and production community to produce more quality family friendly programming, as well as the Family Friendly Programming Awards, development fund, and scholarships. Encourages the media and American advertisers to further a family friendly television environment with appropriate advertisements accompanying the programming.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 1999
Authorizes the President, on behalf of the Congress, to present congressional gold medals to astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins, in recognition of their monumental and unprecedented feat of space exploration, as well as their achievements in the advancement of science and promotion of the space program. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates. Requires receipts from such sales to be deposited in the U.S. Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 1999
Requires Congress, in addressing issues of information technology and electronic commerce policy, to: (1) focus on a broad spectrum of issues essential to the evolution and strength of the American information technology industry; (2) ensure that it plays an enabling and not inhibiting role in supporting the movement of industry and people into the Information Age; (3) incorporate a principle of minimal and predictable government regulation; and (4) refrain from actions that would enshrine or favor specific technologies or standards.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Pacific Salmon Recovery Act of 1999 - Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce, subject to appropriations, to provide financial assistance for salmon habitat restoration activities to: (1) Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and California; and (2) tribal governments or Alaska native regional corporations of Indian tribes on behalf of which lands located within, or on the border of, such States are held in trust by the United States and that the Secretary determines have economic or other interests in salmon habitat restoration. Allocates shares equally to States and treats all tribal governments collectively as a State. Provides for a memorandum of understanding regarding use of the assistance between the Secretary and a State or tribal government seeking assistance under this Act. Permits the use of assistance outside the jurisdiction of the recipient if the assisted activity will provide conservation benefits to naturally produced salmon in streams of concern to the recipient. Requires: (1) States to match grants provided under this Act; and (2) tribal governments to pay certain administrative costs. Directs States and tribal governments seeking assistance under this Act to establish citizens advisory committees or other similar fora for the public to participate in obtaining and using assistance under this Act. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Prohibits the United States from operating a U.S. consulate in Jerusalem unless it is under the supervision of the U.S. Ambassador to Israel. Requires any official U.S. Government document which lists countries and their capital cities to identify Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Declares that, for purposes of registration of birth, certification of nationality, or issuance of a passport of a U.S. citizen born in the city of Jerusalem, the Secretary of State shall, upon the citizen's request, record the place of birth as Israel.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal specified occupational taxes relating to distilled spirits, wine, and beer. Revises recordkeeping requirements for wholesale and retail liquor dealers. Makes it unlawful for any liquor dealer (except one selling beer exclusively) to purchase distilled spirits from any person other than a specified wholesale liquor dealer.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to decrease the rate of duty, over a specified period of time, on goods purchased abroad and brought back into the United States by U.S. travelers.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Clean Water Infrastructure Financing Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to provide that capitalization grants to States for the establishment of water pollution control revolving funds ( revolving funds) shall be for providing assistance to accomplish the purposes of such Act. (Currently, such grants are provided for assistance for specific purposes.) Removes certain requirements for States with respect to construction of treatment works under capitalization grant agreements. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to assist states in establishing simplified procedures for small water systems to obtain assistance under the Act. Requires amounts available to revolving funds to be used only for providing assistance to activities which have as a principal benefit the improvement or protection of water quality of navigable waters. Adds activities to the list of those which may be assisted. Provides for a repayment period of the lesser of 40 years or the expected life of the project to be financed with loan proceeds with respect to loans made to disadvantaged communities from revolving funds. Requires loans made from such funds to be fully amortized upon the expiration of the loan term (currently, no later than 20 years after project completion). Requires such funds to provide: (1) loan guarantees for developing and implementing innovative technologies; and (2) technical, planning, and other specified assistance to small systems. Treats a treatment works as a publicly owned treatment works, for purposes of eligibility for construction assistance from a revolving fund, if the treatment works, without regard to ownership, would be considered a publicly owned treatment works and is principally treating municipal waste water or domestic sewage. Provides for negative interest rates of up to two percent to reduce the unpaid principal on loans from revolving funds made to disadvantaged communities. Reauthorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2004 for the revolving fund program.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) all Americans, and above all women, should take an active role in the fight against breast cancer by using all the means available to them; (2) the role played by national and community organizations and health care providers in promoting awareness of the importance of regular clinical and self-examinations, regular mammograms, and biopsies (when appropriate), and in providing information, support, and access to services, should be recognized and applauded; and (3) the Federal Government has a responsibility, among other things, to continue to fund research so that the causes of, and improved treatment for, breast cancer may be discovered.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: H-1B Nonimmigrant Workers Title II: Elimination of Earnings Penalty on Senior Citizens New Workers for Economic Growth Act - Title I: H-1B Nonimmigrant Workers - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to increase the permitted number of H-1B temporary worker and trainee visas for FY 2000 through 2002. Excludes from such limitation aliens with: (1) specified higher degrees and salaries; and (2) at least a bachelor's degree and a job or job offer at an institution of higher education (excludes such aliens from certain labor attestation requirements). Title II: Elimination of Earnings Penalty on Senior Citizens - Amends the Social Security Act to eliminate the reduction in Social Security benefits for individuals under 70 years old whose earnings exceed specified annual limits.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1999
Urges the Administration to protect U.S. sovereignty by aggressively opposing the global "bit tax" on all data sent through the Internet, as proposed in the Human Development Report 1999 published by the United Nations Development Programme.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1999
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize spouses of intracompany transferee aliens to work in the United States if their country extends reciprocal treatment to U.S. citizens and nationals.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1999
Kosovo Burdensharing Resolution - Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) in view of the disproportionately large share of the costs of the military air operation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia that were borne by the United States, the United States should not pay more than 18 percent of the aggregate total costs associated with the military air operation, reconstruction in Kosovo and in other parts of Yugoslavia, the Kosovo peacekeeping force, and programs of the United Nations and other international organizations in Kosovo; (2) such assistance should not be made available to the Government of the Republic of Serbia, the Government of Yugoslavia (other than Montenegro), or connected individuals if either of those governments remain under the direction, command, or influence of Slobodan Milosevic, the Socialist Party of Serbia, or any political party that does not undertake effective measures to ensure true democratic government that will ensure equal rights of all Serbia's citizens and reforms intended to create a market-based economy; and (3) Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania should be priority recipients for assistance provided to the region.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1999
Taxpayer's Defense Act - Amends Federal provisions concerning discretionary congressional review of agency rules to prohibit a rule that establishes or increases a tax, however denominated, from taking effect before the enactment of a bill specifically authorizing the rule. Exempts a rule promulgated under the Internal Revenue Code. Requires an agency promulgating such a rule to submit to each House of Congress a report containing the text of the part of the rule that establishes or increases a tax, and an explanation of the rule. Outlines procedures for House and Senate consideration of the bill authorizing the rule to take effect.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 1999
Realistic Tests for Realistic Threats National Security Act of 1999 - Requires the Director of the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization of the Department of Defense to: (1) conduct, no later than September 30, 2001, at least one intercept test of the Navy Theater-Wide defense system and the Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system against target missiles with velocities of not less than the maximum velocity of the Taepo Dong I missile of North Korea; (2) take immediate steps to modify plans for managing the development of such systems to meet such deadline. Urges the Director, in order to improve the likelihood that the tests are successful, to review changes in the configuration of the systems to: (1) increase the speed of their interceptor missiles to well in excess of three kilometers-per-second; and (2) allow such missiles to receive and use targeting data provided by a variety of external sensors.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1999
American Military Health Protection Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense to make the anthrax vaccination immunization program voluntary for all members of the armed forces until the Food and Drug Administration has approved a new anthrax vaccine for humans or a new, reduced course of shots for such vaccine.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1999
Designates the Document Door of the U.S. Capitol as the Memorial Door in honor of Officer Jacob Joseph Chestnut and Detective John Michael Gibson of the U.S. Capitol Police, who gave their lives in the line of duty on July 24, 1998, near that door.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 1999
Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 for the construction of a U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, Israel. Prohibits the United States from operating a U.S. consulate in Jerusalem unless it is under the supervision of the U.S. Ambassador to Israel. Requires any official U.S. Government document which lists countries and their capital cities to identify Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Declares that, for purposes of registration of birth, certification of nationality, or issuance of a passport of a U.S. citizen born in the city of Jerusalem, the Secretary of State shall, upon the citizen's request, record the place of birth as Israel.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 1999
Folic Acid Promotion and Birth Defects Prevention Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to carry out a program, directly or through grants or contracts, for professional and public education and training, research, and epidemiological activities regarding folic acid and birth defects. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 1999
Cardiac Arrest Survival Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) assist in providing for an improvement in the survival rates of individuals who experience cardiac arrest in Federal buildings by publishing in the Federal Register for public comment recommendations with respect to placing automatic external defibrillators in such buildings; and (2) assist Federal agencies in implementing programs for such placement. Requires the Secretary to determine criteria for: (1) the selection of the Federal public buildings in which defibrillators should be placed; (2) defibrillator maintenance; and (3) the coordination of the use of the defibrillators in public buildings with emergency medical services providers for the geographic areas in which the buildings are located. Provides that any person who provides emergency medical care through the use of a defibrillator, any person who maintained, tested, or provided training in the use of the device, any physician who provided medical oversight of the device, and the person who acquired the device (if specified conditions have been met) is immune from civil liability for any personal injury or wrongful death resulting from the provision of such care, unless the person engaged in gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct under the applicable circumstances.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 1999
Congratulates the United States Women's Soccer Team on its winning championship performance in the World Cup tournament. Recognizes the important contribution of each individual team member to the United States and to the advancement of women's sports. Invites the members of the team to the U.S. Capitol to be honored and recognized by the House of Representatives for their achievements.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1999
Amends part C (Medicare+Choice) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for the inclusion of the costs of Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense military facility services furnished to Medicare-eligible beneficiaries in the calculation of Medicare+Choice payment rates.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1999
Small Business Franchise Property Recovery Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish certain franchise operations as 15-year property under the accelerated cost recovery system.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1999
Investment Competitiveness Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt interest-related dividends and short-term capital gain dividends received from a regulated investment company from the 30 percent tax on the income of nonresident aliens and foreign corporations not connected with a U.S. business, subject to exception. Revises provisions concerning: (1) the estate tax treatment of stock in certain regulated investment companies owned by a nonresident; and (2) the distribution of U.S. property by a qualified investment entity (currently, a real estate investment trust).
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1999
Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the financing of the construction of public schools, to revise provisions concerning advance refundings and the arbitrage rebate rules.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 1999
County Schools Funding Revitalization Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to determine, for a specified eligibility period, State and county full payment amounts of National Forest System shared revenues for public education and other public services. (Sec. 5) Directs the Secretary to: (1) make Forest Service payments to eligible States for affected counties for public education and transportation; and (2) make Bureau of Land Management payments to eligible counties for public education, law enforcement, and other public services. (Sec. 7) Establishes the Forest Counties Payments Committee to develop long-term methods to ensure that State and counties in which Federal lands are situated receive adequate payments for public education and other public services. Terminates the Committee three years after enactment of this Act. (Sec. 8) Expresses the sense of the Congress: (1) in favor of the Committee's mandate to develop a long-term payment solution; and (2) that the regulatory or legislative solution should be completed within two years of the Committee's report. (Sec. 9) Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 1999
Small Business Franchise Tax Relief Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish certain franchise operations as 15-year property under the accelerated cost recovery system (ACRS). Establishes certain qualified leasehold improvement property as 10-year ACRS property. Excepts certain franchises from the general rule pertaining to the capital gain treatment on the transfer of franchises, trademarks, and trade names.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 1999
Private Property Rights Implementation Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal judicial code to provide that whenever a district court exercises jurisdiction under civil rights provisions in an action in which the operative facts concern the uses of real property, it shall not abstain from exercising or relinquish its jurisdiction to a State court in an action in which no claim of a violation of a State law, right, or privilege is alleged, if a parallel proceeding in State court arising out of the same operative facts as the district court proceeding is not pending. Specifies that: (1) if the district court has jurisdiction over such an action in which the operative facts concern the uses of real property and which cannot be decided without resolution of an unsettled question of State law, it may certify the State law question to the highest appellate court of that State; and (2) after the State appellate court resolves the question certified to it, the district court shall proceed with resolving the merits. Prohibits the district court from certifying a question of State law unless such question will significantly affect the merits of the injured party's Federal claim and such question is patently unclear. Declares that any claim or action brought under provisions regarding civil actions for deprivation of rights to redress the deprivation of a property right or privilege secured by the Constitution shall be ripe for adjudication by the district courts upon a final decision rendered by any person acting under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage of any State or territory of the United States that causes actual and concrete injury to the party seeking redress. Sets forth provisions regarding what constitutes a "final decision." Specifies that: (1) the party seeking redress shall not be required to apply for an appeal or waiver if no such appeal or waiver is available, if it cannot provide the relief requested, or if the application or re-application would be futile; and (2) a final decision shall not require the party seeking redress to exhaust judicial remedies provided by any State or territory of the United States. (Sec. 3) Declares that any claim brought under provisions regarding the United States as a defendant, or under provisions regarding jurisdiction of the Court of Federal Claims, that is founded upon a property right or privilege secured by the Constitution but allegedly infringed or taken by the United States, shall be ripe for adjudication upon a final decision rendered by the United States that causes actual and concrete injury to the party seeking redress. (Sec. 5) Requires a Federal agency, whenever it takes action limiting the use of private property that may be affected by the amendments made by this Act, to give notice to the owners of that property explaining their rights and the procedures for obtaining any compensation that may be due to them under such amendments.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 1999
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to include any advance pricing agreement and any related background information within the definition of "return information" and to require an annual report with to respect to such agreements.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1999
Death Tax Inflation Adjustment Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for annual inflation adjustments to the unified credit against the estate and gift taxes.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1999
Increases from 50 to 100 percent the amount of gain excluded from the sale of certain small business stock. Reduces from five to three years the holding period applicable to such a sale. Makes such exclusion available to corporations. Makes the stock of larger businesses eligible. Repeals the minimum tax preference for the exclusion for incentive stock options.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1999
Alternative Minimum Tax Reform Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a corporation to use, as specified, long-term unused credits against the minimum tax. Allows a ten-year carryback, for purposes of the alternative tax net operating loss deduction, in the case of a corporation that has a net operating loss for three or more consecutive years.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1999
Academic Achievement for All Act (Straight A's Act) - Allows States flexibility in combining and using use specified Federal elementary and secondary education formula program funds for State education priorities and programs, in exchange for being held accountable for meeting, in a five- year period, certain performance goals which they propose. (Sec. 3) Allows a State to opt to enter into such a performance agreement with the Secretary of Education, under which provisions of law relating to specified eligible programs shall not apply to the State, with certain exceptions. Includes under the terms of such agreements requirements relating to: (1) use of such funds to improve student achievement; (2) an accountability system; (3) performance goals and measures, and student achievement data; (4) fiscal responsibilities; (5) civil rights; (6) private school student and staff participation; (7) State financial participation; and (8) annual reports. (Sec. 4) Lists such eligible programs, under various provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), the Department of Education Appropriations Act of 1999, the Goals 2000: Educate America Act, the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998, and the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act. (Sec. 5) Sets forth requirements relating to: (1) within-State distribution of funds; (2) local participation; and (3) a set-aside for State administrative expenditures. (Sec. 8) Requires performance reviews at the end of the five-year period. Requires reductions of State administrative funds for States that have made little or no progress. Allows States that have met at least 80 percent of their performance goals to apply for renewal of performance agreements for an additional five-year period. (Sec. 10) Directs the Secretary annually to set aside sufficient funds from the Fund for the Improvement of Education under ESEA to grant achievement gap reduction rewards to States. Requires a performance reward to equal at least five percent of funds allocated to the State during the first year of the performance agreement for programs included in the agreement. Makes a State eligible to receive a reward if, over the five-year term of the performance agreement, it reduces by at least 25 percent the difference between the percentage of highest and lowest performing groups of students that meet the State's definition of proficient, with such reduction occurring in at least: (1) two content areas, one of which must be mathematics or reading; and (2) one grade level.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1999
New Millennium Classrooms Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) expand the tax deduction for computer donations by corporations to tax-exempt schools to include donations to public libraries; (2) increase from two to three years the age of computers that can be contributed for such deduction; and (3) allow a business tax credit of 30 percent of the value of computers donated to tax-exempt schools and public libraries. Increases the amount of such credit to 50 percent for contributions to schools or public libraries in empowerment zones, enterprise communities, and Indian reservations.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1999
Alternative Fuels Promotion Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the credit for qualified electric vehicles meeting certain range requirements. Increases the deduction for the cost of installing alternative fueling stations. Establishes a credit for the retail sale of clean burning fuels as motor vehicle fuel.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1999
Puerto Rico Economic Activity Credit Improvement Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to modify the Puerto Rico economic activity credit and make it available to claimants other than existing claimants.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1999
Abolishment of Obsolete Agencies and Federal Sunset Act of 1999 - Establishes the Federal Agency Sunset Commission to: (1) submit to Congress a schedule for review by the Commission, at least once every 12 years, of the abolishment or reorganization of each agency; (2) review and evaluate the efficiency and public need for each agency; and (3) recommend whether each agency should be abolished or reorganized. Requires the abolishment of any agency within one year of the Commission's review, unless the agency is reauthorized by Congress. Authorizes the deadline to be extended for an additional two years if enacted by a super majority of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Sets forth criteria for such review. Directs the Comptroller General and the Director of the Congressional Budget Office, in cooperation with the Director of the Congressional Research Service, to prepare an inventory of Federal programs within each agency for the purpose of advising and assisting Congress and the Commission in carrying out the requirements of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1999
National Uniformity for Food Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) to prohibit any State or political subdivision from establishing or continuing in effect as to any food in interstate commerce any requirement for food labeling or food that is not identical to specified FDCA provisions. Prohibits any State or political subdivision from establishing or continuing in effect any notification requirement for a food that provides for a warning concerning the food's safety that is not identical to FDCA provisions. Allows a State to petition for an exemption and for a national standard regarding any requirement under the FDCA, as amended by this Act, or the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act relating to food regulation. Allows a State to establish a requirement that would otherwise violate FDCA provisions relating to national uniform nutrition labeling or this paragraph if the requirement is needed to address an imminent hazard to health that is likely to result in serious adverse health consequences and if other requirements are met.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1999
United States-Flag Merchant Marine Revitalization Act of 1999 - Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to add to the list of vessels for which a capital construction fund may be established vessels that are for operation in oceangoing domestic trade between two coastal points in the United States or in support of operations conducted on the Outer Continental Shelf. Redefines "eligible vessel" to eliminate references to being constructed or reconstructed in the United States. Revises the definition of "qualified vessel" to: (1) add references to such trade and operations; and (2) mandate an agreement with the Secretary of Commerce. (Current law mandates an agreement with the Secretary of Commerce regarding fisheries vessels and with the Secretary of Transportation regarding all other vessels.) Removes the definition of "noncontiguous trade." Removes references to containers from provisions requiring that, in order for a withdrawal for a barge or container to be a qualified withdrawal (and except to the extent provided in regulations), the barge or container must have been constructed in the United States. Adds containers and trailers that are part of an eligible vessel's complement to the definition of "vessel." Defines "foreign commerce" and "foreign trade." Adds as qualified withdrawals from such funds payments that reduce the principal amount of a qualified lease of a qualified vessel or container that is part of an eligible vessel's complement. Adds references to payments to reduce the principal amount of any qualified lease to provisions regulating the tax treatment of qualified withdrawals. Defines "qualified lease" as any lease with a term of at least five years. Adds the amount elected for deposit under specified provisions of the Tariff Act of 1930 to the list of amounts, the sum of which is the limit on deposits to a fund in any taxable year. Includes that amount in the capital account. Allows deposits in excess of the limit if a change in taxable income for a prior taxable year is such that a deposit could have been made for that prior year. Modifies: (1) the contents of the capital gain and ordinary income accounts; (2) the tax treatment of nonqualified withdrawals from the capital gain account; (3) requirements regarding the tax rate on nonqualified withdrawals; and (4) requirements regarding unqualified withdrawal interest payable under specified provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. Allows amounts in such funds to be invested in income-producing assets (including accounts receivable) approved by the Secretaries of Commerce (for fishing vessels) or Transportation (for all other vessels). Amends the Internal Revenue Code to deem withdrawals qualified if they are for payments that reduce the principal of a qualified lease of a qualified vessel or container that is part of an eligible vessel's complement. Allows, if a qualified withdrawal is made from the ordinary income or capital gain accounts and used to reduce such principal, a reduction in the basis of vessels, barges, and containers owned by the person maintaining the fund. Adds the amount elected for deposit under specified provisions of the Tariff Act of 1930 to the list of amounts, the sum of which is the limit on deposits to a fund in any taxable year. Modifies the contents of the capital account. Allows deposits in excess of the limit if a change in taxable income for a prior taxable year is such that a deposit could have been made for that prior year. Modifies: (1) the contents of the capital gain and ordinary income accounts; (2) the tax treatment of nonqualified withdrawals from the capital gain account; (3) requirements regarding the tax rate on nonqualified withdrawals; and (4) requirements regarding unqualified withdrawal interest payable under specified provisions of the Code. Allows amounts in such funds to be invested in income-producing assets (including accounts receivable) approved by the Secretaries of Commerce (for fishing vessels) or Transportation (for all other vessels). Modifies requirements regarding qualified withdrawals and containers that are part of the complement of a qualified vessel. Links definitions in related provisions of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to definitions in related provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. Removes provisions relating to marine capital construction funds from provisions regarding the determination of the alternative minimum taxable income of a corporation. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to allow the owner or master of a vessel, documented under U.S. laws to engage in foreign or coasting trade, that has purchased equipment or repairs in a foreign country to deposit the ad valorem duty on the value of the equipment or repairs in a capital construction fund rather than paying them to the Secretary of the Treasury.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1999
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the research and development tax credit to research in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and U.S. possessions.
![Official portrait of Rep. Dunn, Jennifer [R-WA-8]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/d000549_200.jpg)