United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1998
Empowering Parents to Fight Drugs Act of 1998 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make grants to State educational agencies (SEAs) to enable each local educational agency (LEA) to develop and implement a random drug testing program for students in grades seven through 12. Sets forth requirements for State and local allocations and administrative costs. Requires LEAs receiving grants to make certain certifications to SEAs. Sets forth required and optional uses of grant funds. Requires LEAs receiving such grant funds to inform parents about: (1) the random drug testing program, in detail; (2) their right to withdraw their child from such program; and (3) any positive results of a drug test of their child. Requires such LEAs to provide for confidentiality of drug test results. Requires a medical review officer provided by the LEA to: (1) receive all test results; (2) inform only the student's parents after a first positive result, and attempt to meet with them to discuss the results and available community rehabilitation and education resources and services; and (3) after two or more positive results, inform parents and school officials who shall determine appropriate action for the student based on school policy. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965 (ESEA) to require any LEA that receives ESEA funds to implement a drug testing program that meets the requirements of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1998
Amends the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to declare that moneys in the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund shall be available for reclamation and restoration purposes without further appropriation and without fiscal year limitation.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1998
Establishes the Fort Presque Isle National Historic Site in Erie, Pennsylvania. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to administer such site and submit a general management plan to specified congressional committees.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1998
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to: (1) provide a duty, through December 31, 2004, on fabrics, of carded or combed wool or fine animal hair, all the foregoing certified by the importer as "Super 70's" or "Super 80's" intended for use in making suits, suit-type jackets or trousers; and (2) grant duty-free treatment, through December 31, 2004, to fabrics, of carded or combed wool or fine animal hair, all the foregoing certified by the importer as "Super 90's" or higher grade intended for use in making suits, suit-type jackets or trousers. Treats (for tariff purposes) such suits similarly to certain other suits under the Schedule.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1998
Long-Term Care Advancement Act of 1998 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) except from the penalty tax and exclude from income amounts withdrawn from qualified retirement plans which are used to pay for premiums for qualified long-term care insurance contracts; and (2) provide a limited credit for an individual who maintains a household with a person requiring custodial care.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1998
Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to authorize appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for: (1) the Federal Council on the Aging; (2) administration; (3) grants for State and community programs on aging; (4) the availability of surplus commodities; (5) training, research, and discretionary projects and programs; (6) community service employment for older Americans; (7) grants for Native Americans; (8) allotments for vulnerable elder rights protection activities; and (9) the Native American Program. Revises guidelines governing the transfer between specified grant programs of certain Federal funds received by a State.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1998
Fallen Heroes Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt public safety officers killed in the line of duty from the income and estate and gift taxes. Excludes from gross income related retirement and survivor distributions.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1998
Urges the President to focus appropriate attention on the issue of neighborhood crime prevention, community policing, and reduction of school crime by delivering speeches, convening meetings, and directing his Administration to make reducing crime an important priority.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 1998
Transportation Tax Equity and Fairness Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the special fuel excise tax on railroads and inland waterway transportation. Subjects diesel fuel used in trains to the additional tax for the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Enhanced Source and Transit Country Coverage Title II: Enhanced Eradication and Interdiction Strategy in Source Countries Title III: Enhanced Alterative Crop Development Support in Source Zone Title IV: Enhanced International Law Enforcement Training Title V: Enhanced Drug Transit and Source Zone Law Enforcement Operations and Equipment Title VI: Relationship to Other Laws Western Hemisphere Drug Elimination Act - Declares that it is U.S. policy to: (1) reduce the supply of drugs and drug use through an enhanced drug interdiction effort in the major drug transit countries and a comprehensive supply country eradication and crop substitution program, because a commitment of increased resources in international drug interdiction efforts will create a balanced national drug control strategy among demand reduction, law enforcement, and international drug interdiction efforts; and (2) support policies and dedicate the resources necessary to reduce the flow of illegal drugs into the United States by not less than 80 percent by December 31, 2001. Title I: Enhanced Source and Transit Country Coverage - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Defense (DOD) for the enhancement of air coverage and operation for drug source and transit countries. (Sec. 102) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the Department of Transportation (DOT) for the enhancement of U.S. Coast Guard maritime coverage and operation in drug source and transit countries. (Sec. 103) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the DOD for the enhancement of radar coverage in drug source and transit countries. Title II: Enhanced Eradication and Interdiction Strategy in Source Countries - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the Department of State and the DOD for the enhancement of drug- related eradication efforts in Colombia. (Sec. 202) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for: (1) the Department of State for the establishment of a third drug interdiction site at Puerto Maldonado, Peru, to support air bridge and riverine missions for enhancement of drug-related eradication efforts there; and (2) the DOD for operation and maintenance, Defense-wide, for enhancement of drug interdiction efforts in Peru for support of multinational riverine and small boat maintenance training programs in Iquitos, Peru. Directs the Secretary of Defense to study and report to the Congress on Peruvian counternarcotics air interdiction requirements. (Sec. 203) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the Department of State for enhancement of drug-related eradication efforts in Bolivia. (Sec. 204) Directs the Secretary of State to purchase six Bell 212 high altitude helicopters designated for opium eradication programs in Mexican states of Guerrero, Jalisco, and Sinaloa, for enhancement of drug-related eradication efforts there. Makes this purchase mandate contingent on Mexico's agreement to approve full diplomatic immunity for Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) personnel serving in Mexico with privileges granted to U.S. Government officials to carry weapons necessary for the performance of their duties. Authorizes appropriations. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) all U.S. law enforcement personnel serving in Mexico should be accorded the same status as diplomatic and consular personnel serving at U.S. posts in Mexico; and (2) all Mexican narcotics law enforcement personnel serving in the United States should be accorded the same diplomatic and consular status as DEA personnel serving in Mexico. (Sec. 205) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for enhanced precursor chemical control projects. (Sec. 206) Requires any individual serving as an assistant secretary of any Federal agency or department who has primary responsibility for international narcotics control and law enforcement (including the principal deputy of any such assistant) to have substantial professional qualifications in the fields of management and Federal law enforcement, or intelligence. Declares that the DOD shall have sole responsibility in implementation and processing of counternarcotics foreign military sales requests (with the Department of State having a consultative role in such requests). (Sec. 207) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the responsiveness and effectiveness of Department of State international narcotics assistance activities have been hampered due, in part, to the lack of law enforcement expertise by responsible Department of State personnel. Requires the Director of National Drug Control Policy to report to the appropriate congressional committees on: (1) the responsiveness and effectiveness of such activities; and (2) the feasibility costs and steps needed to achieve a transfer of the Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs to the DEA. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Enhanced Alternative Crop Development Support in Source Zone - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID) for certain alternative crop development programs in Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia. Title IV: Enhanced International Law Enforcement Training - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the Department of Justice for the establishment and operation of international law enforcement academies to carry out law enforcement training activities in Latin America and the Caribbean, Thailand, and South Africa. (Sec. 401) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the DOT and the Department of the Treasury for the joint establishment, operation, and maintenance in San Juan, Puerto Rico, of a center for training law enforcement personnel of countries located in Latin America and the Caribbean in matters relating to maritime law enforcement (including customs-related ports management matters). Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the DOT for the establishment, operation, and maintenance of maritime training vessels. (Sec. 402) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the Department of Justice for: (1) substantial exchanges for Mexican judges, prosecutors, and police; and (2) enhanced support for the Brazilian Federal Police Training Center. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the DOD for operation and maintenance, Defense-wide, for locating and operating Coast Guard and Navy assets so as to strengthen the capability of the Coast Guard of Panama to patrol the Atlantic and Pacific coasts for drug enforcement and interdiction activities. Makes members of the national police of Panama eligible to receive training through the International Military Education Training (IMET) program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the DOD for operation and maintenance, Defense-wide, for support for the Venezuelan Joint National Guard and Judicial Technical Police Counterdrug Intelligence Center. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the DOT and the Department of the Treasury for the buildup of local coast guard and port control in: (1) Guayaquil and Esmeraldas, Ecuador; (2) Haiti and the Dominican Republic; and (3) Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua (Central America). (Sec. 403) Authorizes the DEA Administrator to transfer or lease a specified amount of nonlethal equipment to foreign law enforcement organizations for the purpose of establishing and carrying out cooperative illicit narcotics control activities. Title V: Enhanced Drug Transit and Source Zone Law Enforcement Operations and Equipment - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the DEA, the DOT, the DOD, and the Department of the Treasury for enhancement of counternarcotics operations in drug transit and source countries. (Sec. 501) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the Department of State for the deployment of commercial unclassified intelligence and imaging data and a Passive Coherent Location System for counternarcotics and interdiction purposes in the Western Hemisphere. (Sec. 502) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of Defense should revise the DOD's Global Military Force Policy in order to: (1) treat the international drug interdiction and counter- drug activities of the DOD as a military operation other than war (thus elevating its priority to just below that for war); and (2) allocate DOD assets to drug interdiction and counter-drug activities in accordance with such priority. Title VI: Relationship to Other Laws - Declares that funds authorized to be appropriated for any Federal department or agency for FY 1999 through 2001 are in addition to funds authorized to be appropriated for that department or agency for those fiscal years by any other provision of law.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 1998
Amends specified Federal law to provide for the appointment of the Comptroller General and the Deputy Comptroller General by a commission of Members of Congress. (Currently, they are appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.)
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 1998
Electronic Funds Transfer Account Improvement and Recipient Protection Act - Amends Federal law to mandate that the head of each Federal agency that disburses retirement or benefit payments give the recipient written notice of available consumer protections with respect to electronic funds transfer, including the right to elect whether or not to receive those payments by electronic funds transfer to an account established for the recipient by the Secretary. Prohibits the agent designated to receive a recipient's transfers from imposing a transaction fee exceeding the national average charged to all consumers for similar transactions. Requires such agent to permit five such transactions each month without charge. Treats violations of such requirements as violations of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, acting through the Financial Management Service, to report to the Congress on the implications of the year 2000 (Y2K) computer problem for implementation of Federal requirements that Federal payments be made by electronic funds transfer. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Commissioner of Social Security and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs should ensure that personnel of their agencies are fully trained to respond to telephone inquiries regarding all alternatives for receiving Federal payments by electronic funds transfer or other means.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 1998
Prompt Compensation Act of 1998 - Amends the Declaration of Taking Act to require (current law authorizes): (1) the petitioner in a proceeding in a U.S. court outside of the District of Columbia instituted for the acquisition of land for the United States for public use, to file within 90 days after filing the petition (currently, at any time before judgment) a declaration that such lands are thereby taken; (2) the petitioner, upon the filing of such declaration, to deposit with the court the amount estimated by the acquiring authority to be just compensation for the land taken as stated in such declaration; and (3) the court, upon application of the parties in interest, to order that such compensation be awarded.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1998
Directs the Secretary of State to establish a cultural and training program for disadvantaged individuals from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Declares that the purpose of such program is to provide such individuals with the experience of living and working in a multicultural society while obtaining valuable work skills and experience. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize 60-month nonimmigrant visas for an alien having a residence in Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland (which the alien has no intention of abandoning) who is coming temporarily to the United States as a participant in a United States-Northern Ireland-Republic of Ireland cultural and training program. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 1998
Recognizes the importance of children and families to the future of the United States. Expresses support for the goals of National KidsDay and National Family Month, as established by KidsPeace. Encourages the people of the United States to participate in local and national activities and celebrations recognizing National KidsDay and National Family Month.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1998
Food Safety Enforcement Enhancement Act of 1998 - Amends the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products Inspection Act to: (1) require a person, other than a household consumer, who has reason to believe meat or poultry products to be adulterated or misbranded to so notify the Secretary of Agriculture; and (2) provide the Secretary with authority for voluntary and mandatory nondistribution and recall, withdrawal of inspectors from violating facilities, and civil penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1998
Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998 - Directs the President to establish an Inter-Agency Task Force on Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia. Requires the Task Force to develop action plans on harmful algal blooms and on hypoxia. Directs the President to: (1) disestablish such Task Force after the submission of specified reports; and (2) submit a plan for reducing, mitigating, and controlling hypoxia in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of Commerce for research, education, and management activities related to prevention, reduction, and control of harmful algal blooms and hypoxia. Amends the: (1) National Sea Grant College Program Act to expand the purposes for which a specified sum may be used for competitive grants for research on Pfiesteria piscicida and other harmful algal blooms; and (2) Coastal Zone Management Act to authorize appropriations for grants for technical assistance to support State implementation and analysis of the effectiveness of measures to prevent, reduce, mitigate, or control harmful algal blooms and hypoxia.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1998
Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Promotion Act - Amends the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to utilize funds from the sale of migratory-bird hunting and conservation stamps, not to exceed $1 million in each FY from 1999 through 2003, for the promotion of additional sales of those stamps, in accordance with a Migratory Bird Conservation Commission- approved annual marketing plan. Requires the Secretary to include in each annual report of the Commission under the Migratory Bird Conservation Act a description of activities conducted under this Act in the year covered by the report.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 Subtitle A: Patient Protections Subtitle B: Patient Access to Information Subtitle C: New Procedures and Access to Courts for Grievances Arising under Group Health Plans Subtitle D: Affordable Health Coverage for Employees of Small Businesses Title II: Amendments to Public Health Service Act Subtitle A: Patient Protections and Point of Service Coverage Requirements Subtitle B: Patient Access to Information Subtitle C: HealthMarts Subtitle D: Community Health Organizations Title III: Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 Subtitle A: Patient Protections Subtitle B: Patient Access to Information Subtitle C: Medical Savings Accounts Title IV: Health Care Lawsuit Reform Subtitle A: General Provisions Subtitle B: Uniform Standards for Health Care Liability Actions Title V: Confidentiality of Health Information Title VI: Medical Savings Accounts for Federal Employees Patient Protection Act of 1998 - Title I: Amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 - Subtitle A: Patient Protections - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to prohibit a group health plan, or a health insurance issuer offering group coverage, from imposing on a health professional any prohibition on advice provided to a participant or beneficiary. Requires a plan or issuer, if it provides benefits for: (1) emergencies, to provide benefits (without preauthorization) for emergency medical screening examinations if a prudent layperson would determine them necessary; (2) routine gynecological or obstetric specialist care, to provide those benefits without authorization or referral by a primary care provider; or (3) routine pediatric specialist care, to allow designation of a pediatric specialist as the primary provider. Subtitle B: Patient Access to Information - Requires plans to include specified information in summary plan descriptions. Mandates advance notice of exclusion from a drug formulary of a drug or biological that is used in the treatment of a chronic illness or disease. Subtitle C: New Procedures and Access to Courts for Grievance Arising Under Group Health Plans - Requires group health plans to: (1) provide written notice to participants or beneficiaries and providers of adverse coverage decisions; and (2) meet specified time limits for responding to routine, urgent, and emergency benefit payment requests, coverage advance determinations, and medical necessity determinations. Provides for initial coverage decision internal and, in certain circumstances, external review. Makes a plan's fiduciary who, after an external review recommends coverage, causes a failure to provide a benefit liable to the participant or beneficiary for a civil penalty and attorney's fees and costs. Allows assessment of a civil penalty against a fiduciary for any pattern or practice of repeated adverse coverage decisions in violation of the terms of the plan or ERISA. Allows an action before exhaustion of administrative remedies. Provides for concurrent Federal-State court jurisdiction for actions relating to certain amendments made by this Act. Subtitle D: Affordable Health Coverage for Employees of Small Businesses - Small Business Affordable Health Coverage Act of 1998 - Defines "association health plan" to mean a group health plan meeting specified requirements, including being sponsored by a trade, industry, or professional association, a chamber of commerce (or a similar business association) organized and maintained for substantial purposes other than obtaining or providing medical care. Provides for association plan certification and mandates a class certification procedure. Regulates association plans' boards of trustees and sponsors. Prohibits, for plans in existence on the date of enactment of this Act, a sponsor's affiliated members from being offered coverage unless the member: (1) was affiliated on the certification date; or (2) did not maintain or contribute to a group health plan during the 12 months before the offering of coverage. Prohibits a participating employer from providing health coverage in the individual market for any employee who is eligible for plan coverage if the exclusion from plan coverage is based on health status. Prohibits excluding an employer from an association plan if the employer and plan each meet specified requirements. Prohibits contribution rates for any participating small employers from varying on the basis of claims experience or type of business. Requires, if any plan benefit option does not consist of health coverage, that the plan have at least 1,000 participants and beneficiaries. Requires, if a benefit option consisting of health coverage is offered under the plan, that State-licensed insurance agents be used to distribute to small employers coverage that is not health coverage in a manner comparable to the manner in which those agents are used to distribute health coverage. Requires that a plan consist only of health coverage or, if the plan provides any additional benefit options, that the plan meet certain reserve and excess stop loss insurance and solvency indemnification requirements regarding the additional benefit options for which risk has not yet been transferred. Requires that all plans maintain a specified surplus. Requires association plans providing additional options to make annual payments to the Association Health Plan Fund. Requires that, when there is or will be a failure to maintain such reserves, excess stop loss insurance, and indemnification, the Secretary of Labor pay amounts as necessary to maintain the excess stop loss insurance or indemnification. Establishes the Fund. Mandates advance notice to participants and beneficiaries of certified plan termination. Requires, when a plan has failed or will fail to maintain required reserves, excess stop loss insurance, and indemnification, either corrective action or plan termination. Provides for court appointment of the Secretary as trustee to administer a plan during insolvency. Allows a State to impose a contribution tax on an association plan providing additional options if the plan began operations in the State after enactment of this Act. Sets forth special rules for church plans. Declares that the provisions of this subtitle supersede certain related State laws. (Sec. 1303) Modifies the circumstances in which two or more trades or businesses must be deemed a single employer. (Sec. 1304) Excludes from the definition of "multiple employer welfare arrangement" any arrangement: (1) established or maintained under specified Federal (or similar State) labor relations provisions; or (2) meeting certain collective bargaining and other requirements. (Sec. 1305) Imposes criminal penalties for falsely representing any benefit as: (1) being a certified association plan; or (2) having been established or maintained under certain collective bargaining agreements. (Sec. 1306) Allows a State to enter into an agreement with the Secretary for delegation to the State of some or all of the Secretary's enforcement or certification authority. Title II: Amendments to Public Health Service Act - Subtitle A: Patient Protections and Point of Service Coverage Requirements - Amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit a group health plan, or a health insurance issuer offering group coverage, from imposing on a health professional any prohibition on advice provided to a participant or beneficiary. Requires a plan or issuer, if it provides benefits for: (1) emergencies, to provide benefits (without preauthorization) for emergency medical screening examinations if a prudent layperson would determine them necessary; (2) routine gynecological or obstetric specialist care benefits, to provide those benefits without an authorization or referral by a primary provider; or (3) routine pediatric specialist benefits, to allow designation of a pediatric specialist as the primary provider. (Sec. 2002) Requires health maintenance organizations (HMOs) that provide coverage under a group health plan only if services are furnished exclusively through members of a closed panel to make available to the plan sponsor an option covering services without regard to whether the providers are panel members. Requires HMOs, when a plan sponsor declines that option, to make optional supplemental coverage available in the individual market to each plan participant. Subtitle B: Patient Access to Information - Requires plans to include specified information in summary plan descriptions. Mandates advance notice of exclusion from a drug formulary of a drug or biological that is used in the treatment of a chronic illness or disease. (Sec. 2102) Requires the General Accounting Office to report to a specified congressional committee on the compliance of: (1) the Department of Justice and all U.S. Attorneys with a specified guideline relating to false claims and civil health care; and (2) the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services with specified protocols and best practice guidelines. Subtitle C: HealthMarts - Health Care Consumer Empowerment Act of 1998 - Requires that HealthMarts: (1) be nonprofit legal entities composed of small employers, employees of small employers, health care providers, and entities that underwrite or administer health benefits coverage; and (2) make available health coverage to all small employers and eligible employees at rates established by the insurance issuer on a policy or product specific basis. Deems HealthMarts group health plans for purposes of specified provisions of ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code. Requires that coverage made available to an eligible employee in a geographic area be offered to all eligible employees in the same area. Declares that the HealthMart: (1) provides coverage only through contracts with issuers and does not assume insurance risk; (2) provides administrative services for purchasers; and (3) collects and disseminates consumer information on all coverage options offered through the Healthmart. Requires that HealthMart coverage provide full portability of creditable coverage for individuals who remain members of the same HealthMart notwithstanding that they change employers. Allows HealthMart coverage to include coverage: (1) through an HMO, a preferred provider or licensed provider-sponsored organization, an insurance company, a medical savings or flexible spending account, or a community health organization; (2) that includes a point-of- service option; or (3) any combination of those coverages. Requires a HealthMart to permit any small employer to contract for coverage and prohibits varying eligibility conditions. Prohibits the purchaser from obtaining or sponsoring coverage other than through the HealthMart. Prohibits enrollment discrimination based on health. Supersedes certain related State laws. Provides for the application of: (1) certain existing ERISA and Public Health Service Act requirements; and (2) renewability requirements when the contract between a HealthMart and an issuer is terminated. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to administer this subtitle through a separate Health Care Marketplace Division. Subtitle D: Community Health Organizations - Allows a community health organization to offer health coverage in a State in spite of not being licensed in that State if the organization has received a licensure waiver from the Secretary of Health and Human Services and other requirements are met. Mandates the establishment of Federal financial solvency and capital adequacy standards. Title III: Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 - Subtitle A: Patient Protections - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit a group health plan from imposing on a health professional any prohibition on advice provided to a participant or beneficiary. Requires a plan, if it provides benefits for: (1) emergencies, to provide benefits (without preauthorization) for emergency medical screening examinations if a prudent layperson would determine the examinations necessary; or (2) routine gynecological or obstetric specialist care, to provide those benefits without an authorization or referral by a primary provider. Requires a plan or issuer, if it provides benefits for routine pediatric specialist care, to allow designation of a pediatric specialist as the primary provider. Subtitle B: Patient Access to Information - Requires plans to include specified information in summary plan descriptions. Mandates advance notice of exclusion from a drug formulary of a drug or biological that is used in the treatment of a chronic illness or disease. (Sec. 3102) Requires the General Accounting Office to report to specified congressional committees on the compliance of: (1) the Department of Justice and all U.S. Attorneys with a specified guideline relating to false claims and civil health care; and (2) the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services with specified protocols and best practice guidelines. Subtitle C: Medical Savings Accounts - Repeals provisions limiting the number of individuals having medical savings accounts. Allows all employers to offer the accounts. Modifies requirements regarding: (1) the monthly limitation on related deductions; (2) coordination with the exclusion for employer contributions; and (3) the deductible amounts that will qualify as a high deductible plan. Allows the accounts to be included in cafeteria plans. Sets forth special rules for individuals receiving immediate Federal annuities. (Sec. 3202) Allows medical savings accounts to be used by persons with incomes under a certain amount to pay for insurance offered by a community health center. Title IV: Health Care Lawsuit Reform - Subtitle A: General Provisions - Declares that this title applies to any health care liability action in any State or Federal court, except actions: (1) relating to vaccine-related injury to which title XXI (Vaccines) of the Public Health Service Act applies; or (2) under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Preempts State laws inconsistent with this title, but not that impose greater restrictions than those in this title. Excludes economic or punitive damages and attorneys' fees or costs from the determination of the amount in controversy. Subtitle B: Uniform Standards for Health Care Liability Actions - Establishes a statute of limitations for bringing a health care liability action. (Sec. 4012) Limits non-economic damages. Substitutes any different level set by a State after enactment of this Act. Makes defendants liable only for the proportion of the damages due to the defendant's fault. Allows punitive damages, to the extent permitted by State law, if the claimant establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant's conduct intended to cause harm or manifested a conscious, flagrant indifference to the rights or safety of others. Prohibits punitive damages against a manufacturer or product seller of a drug or medical device where the drug or device was subject to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) premarket approval or the drug is generally recognized as safe and effective by the FDA. Prohibits punitive damages relating to packaging or labeling of a drug that is required to have tamper-resistant packaging unless the packaging or labeling is found by clear and convincing evidence to be substantially out of compliance. Prohibits requiring lump-sum payment of future economic and non-economic damages over $50,000. Allows any defendant to introduce evidence of collateral source payments. Prohibits any collateral source payments provider from recovering any amount against the claimant, receiving any lien or credit against the recovery, or being subrogated to the claimant's rights. (Sec. 4013) Requires any alternative dispute resolution used to resolve a health care liability action or claim to contain provisions consistent with this title. Title V: Confidentiality of Health Information - Amends title XI of the Social Security Act to require health care providers, health plans, employers, health or life insurers, or educational institutions to permit an individual who is the subject of protected health information to inspect and copy the information. Requires, if the individual requests addition of a supplemental statement to the information, that those parties: (1) add the statement and make reasonable efforts to inform any person to whom the information was disclosed during the preceding year; or (2) if addition of the statement is refused, allow the individual to file a statement of disagreement. Requires health care providers, health plans, health oversight agencies, public health authorities, employers, health or life insurers, health researchers, or educational institutions to maintain safeguards to ensure the confidentiality, security, accuracy, and integrity of protected health information. Requires any person who maintains protected health information to disclose the information to a health care provider or health plan to permit the provider or plan to conduct health care operations. Preempts State law provisions that: (1) are inconsistent with certain provisions of this title under Article VI (dealing with national supremacy, among other matters) of the Constitution; or (2) relate to specified matters dealt with in this title. Imposes civil fines for substantially and materially failing to comply with the above provisions of this title. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to refuse to enter into, terminate, or refuse to renew an agreement with a physician or supplier that has violated the above provisions of this title. Requires compliance with certain provisions of this title by Medicare+Choice organizations, Medicare providers, and HMOs with risk- sharing contracts. (Sec. 5002) Requires the Comptroller General to report to the Congress on the effect of State laws on health-related research subject to review by an institutional review board or institutional review committee with regard to the protection of human subjects. (Sec. 5003) Requires the Comptroller General to submit to the Congress a compilation of State laws on the confidentiality of protected health information and an analysis of the effect of those laws on the provision of, and securing payment for, health care. (Sec. 5004) Exempts information developed by a health care provider in response to a serious, adverse, patient-related event and for specified purposes (health care response information) from any disclosure requirement, in connection with a civil or administrative proceeding under Federal or State law, to the same extent as information developed by the provider regarding peer review, utilization review, quality management or improvement, quality control, risk management, or internal review to reduce mortality, morbidity, or patient care or safety. Prohibits deeming the protection of health care response information from disclosure modified by the development of such information in connection with a request or requirement of an accrediting body or the transfer of that information to an accrediting body. Title VI: Medical Savings Accounts for Federal Employees - Amends Federal law relating to Federal employees' health insurance to entitle an employee or annuitant enrolled in a high deductible health plan to have a Government contribution made to the employee's or annuitant's medical savings account, subject to exceptions and limitations. Requires that, at the employee's or annuitant's request, an amount specified by the employee or annuitant be withheld from their pay or annuity and contributed to their medical savings account. Requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to contract for a high deductible health plan with any qualified carrier that offers such a plan and offers a plan under provisions relating to Federal employees' health insurance. Allows OMB to contract for a high deductible plan with any qualified carrier that offers such a plan but does not offer a plan under those provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1998
Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to exempt from certain child labor restrictions the employment, inside or outside of businesses where machinery is used to process wood products, of youth between ages 14 and 18 who are members of religious sects that do not permit formal education beyond the eighth grade. Permits such youth employment if: (1) there is an adult present in a supervisory capacity; and (2) the youth does not operate or assist in the operation of power-driven woodworking machines.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1998
No Second Chances for Murderers, Rapists, or Child Molesters Act of 1998 - Expresses the sense of the Congress that any individual convicted of: (1) murder should receive the death penalty or be imprisoned for life without the possibility of parole; and (2) rape or a dangerous sexual offense involving a child under age 14 should be imprisoned for life without the possibility of parole. Requires the Attorney General to transfer the following amounts from Federal law enforcement assistance funds for a State that convicted a person of a first offense of murder, rape, or a dangerous sexual offense to a State that convicts that person for a subsequent such offense: (1) up to $100,000 for transfer to each victim of the subsequent offense; and (2) the cost of incarceration, prosecution, and apprehension of such person. Sets forth provisions regarding situations where a person has a prior conviction in more than one State. Requires the United States Sentencing Commission to amend the Federal sentencing guidelines to provide that whoever is guilty of: (1) murder shall be punished by death or by life imprisonment; and (2) rape or a dangerous sexual offense shall be punished by life imprisonment. Directs the Attorney General to collect and distribute data to the President, Members of Congress, State governments, and officials of localities and penal and other institutions participating in the Uniform Crime Reports program which includes: (1) the number of murders, rapes, and dangerous sexual offenses committed by persons previously convicted of one of these offenses; and (2) the percentage of cases in which a person convicted of murder, rape, or a dangerous sexual offense in one State commits a second offense in another State.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Assistance to States in Providing Charity Tax Credits Title II: Budget Offset Title III: Bankruptcy Protections for Charitable Donations Title IV: Tort Reforms Relating to Charitable Contributions REAL Life Community Renewal Act of 1998 - Title I: Assistance to States in Providing Charity Tax Credits - Authorizes States to use certain Federal grant funds for qualifying State charity tax credits. Directs the Comptroller General of the United States to study the effects of such credit, including the types of recipient organizations and the services they provide to the poor. Title II: Budget Offset - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce the earned income credit for individuals without children. Title III: Bankruptcy Protections for Charitable Donations - Amends Federal bankruptcy law to exclude certain charitable contribution transfers from being deemed fraudulent transfers. Title IV: Tort Reforms Relating to Charitable Contributions - Exempts a business entity, under specified circumstances and with exceptions, from civil liability for injury or death resulting from: (1) the use by a nonprofit organization of donated equipment, facilities, or loan of aircraft or motor vehicles; and (2) business facility tours. Authorizes a State to make such non-liability provisions inapplicable in an action in which all parties are its citizens.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1998
Amends part D (Miscellaneous Provisions) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, as amended by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA '97), to revise reasonable cost requirements for the interim system of limited payments for services provided by home health agencies, especially with regard to per beneficiary cost limits and efficiency standards. Amends BBA '97 with regard to the establishment of a prospective payment system (PPS) for such services to provide that if the Secretary of Health and Human Services does not establish such PPS for specified applicable cost reporting periods, the Secretary shall, for such periods, apply applicable limits under Medicare's reasonable cost requirements as they would otherwise be in effect. Repeals the current requirement that, during such a period, existing limits be reduced by 15 percent.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1998
Y2K Liability and Antitrust Reform Act - Provides that an action resulting from a computer date failure which is brought in Federal or State court shall be deemed to be based solely in contract and shall only allow recovery for consequential business loss and costs of repair or replacement resulting from the failure if the plaintiff has not suffered any personal injury, excluding emotional harm, as a result and the defendant is: (1) a person who is engaged in commerce to design, develop, or manufacture a computer system, program, software, or component, has given specified notice to buyers, has made available at no charge repair or replacement of hardware and software for products sold after December 31, 1994, and has made available to the buyer a repair or replacement for a computer program or software or hardware that was introduced for sale before January 1, 1995; or (2) any other person who has made reasonable efforts to protect its system, program, or software from computer date failure, has conducted reasonable tests to prevent a computer date failure by July 1, 1999, and has notified its customers and the President's Council on the Year 2000 Conversion by August 1, 1999, of efforts to avoid such failure. (Sec. 3) Makes the antitrust laws inapplicable to conduct engaged in between the enactment date of this Act and December 31, 2001, solely for the purpose of establishing responses designed to mitigate the impact of computer date failure in a computer system, with an exception for conduct that results in a boycott.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1998
Calls for executive agencies, when formulating and implementing policies that have federalism implications, to: (1) strictly adhere to constitutional principles and closely examine the constitutional and statutory authority supporting any Federal action that would limit the policy making direction of the States; (2) take Federal action limiting the policy making discretion of the States only where constitutional authority for the action is clear and certain and the national activity is necessitated by the presence of a problem of national scope; (3) recognize the distinction between problems of national scope and problems that are merely common to the States; (4) recognize that constitutional authority for Federal action is clear and certain only when authority for the action may be found in a specific provision of the Constitution, when there is no provision in the Constitution prohibiting Federal action, and when the action does not encroach upon authority reserved to the States; (5) encourage States to develop their own policies to achieve program objectives and to work with officials in other States; (6) refrain from establishing uniform, national standards for programs and, when possible, defer to the States to establish standards; and (7) consult with officials and organizations representing the States in developing national standards when required. States that: (1) the national Government should grant the States the maximum administration discretion possible with respect to national policies administered by the States; and (2) intrusive Federal oversight of State administration is neither necessary nor desirable. Calls for observation of the following special requirements for preemption of State law: (1) agencies should construe a Federal statute to preempt only when it contains an express preemption provision, when there is some other firm and palpable evidence compelling the conclusion that the Congress intended preemption, or when the exercise of State authority directly conflicts with the exercise of Federal authority under the statute; (2) if a Federal statute does not preempt, such agencies should construe any authorization in the statute for the issuance of regulations as authorizing preemption by rule making only when the statute expressly authorizes issuance of preemptive regulations or when there is some other such evidence compelling the conclusion that the Congress intended to delegate preemption authority; (3) any regulatory preemption should be restricted to the minimum level necessary to achieve the objectives of the statute; (4) an agency that foresees the possibility of a conflict between State law and federally protected interests should consult with State officials and organizations to avoid such a conflict; and (5) an agency that proposes to act through adjudication or rule making should provide all affected States notice and an opportunity for participation in the proceedings.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 1998
Provides that Executive Order 13083, relating to the constitutional division of governmental responsibilities between the Federal Government and the States and the application of federalism principles to Federal agency actions, shall have no force or effect.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 1998
Freedom and Privacy Restoration Act of 1998 - Amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to repeal the provision relating to standards for Federal agency acceptance of birth certificates or driver's licenses for identification-related purposes. Prohibits a Federal agency from accepting an identification document for any identification purpose if another Federal agency accepts such document for any such purpose.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 1998
Veterans Benefits Restoration Act of 1998 - Repeals a Federal provision which prohibits a veteran's disability or death from being considered to have resulted from a personal injury suffered or a disease contracted in the line of duty on the basis that it resulted from the use of tobacco products during the veteran's military, naval, or air service. Provides that such repeal shall apply to any claim for compensation received by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs before or after enactment of this Act. Prohibits the Director of the Office of Management and Budget from making any estimate of changes in direct spending outlays under provisions of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) for any fiscal year resulting from the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1998
Savings and Investment Relief Act of 1998 - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 with respect to transaction fees for both exchange-traded and exchange-regulated securities and off-exchange trades of last-sale-reported securities. Directs the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to prescribe annually a fiscal year fee limitation based upon the pro rata share of the aggregate dollar amount of securities sales, so that total fee payments will not exceed specified limits. Requires each national securities exchange and national securities association to adopt implementing rules which provide fee reductions for all market participants. Directs the SEC to report annually to the Congress on the total amount of transaction fees collected by each national securities exchange and national securities association. Authorizes future appropriations Acts to increase such fee limitations in any year in which the total fees collected are insufficient for SEC budget authority provided under such Acts.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1998
State Sovereignty Act of 1998 - Directs the head of each Federal agency to ensure that each agency activity is carried out in accordance with all the provisions of Executive Order 12612 (as in effect of October 26, 1987). Provides that Executive Order 13083, issued May 14,1998, shall have no force or effect.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1998
Establishes the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site in Alabama as a unit of the National Park System. Requires the Secretary of the Interior, with the full participation of Tuskegee University, to develop and submit to specified congressional committees a general management plan for the Site. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1998
Drug Dealer Liability Act of 1998 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act to provide that any person who manufactures or distributes a controlled substance shall be liable in a civil action to any party harmed, directly or indirectly, by the use of that substance. Prohibits an individual user of a controlled substance from bringing or maintaining such an action unless the individual: (1) personally discloses to narcotic enforcement authorities all of the information known to that individual regarding all his or her sources of illegal controlled substances; (2) has not used an illegal controlled substance within 30 days before filing the action; and (3) continues to remain free of the use of an illegal controlled substance throughout the pendency of the action.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1998
Citizen's Privacy Protection Act of 1998 - Amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to repeal the provision relating to standards for Federal agency acceptance of birth certificates or driver's licenses for identification-related purposes. Prohibits Federal agencies from construing Federal law as authorizing establishment of a national identification card.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1998
Veterans Tobacco Trust Fund Act of 1998 - Establishes in the Treasury the Veterans Tobacco Trust Fund. Provides that if a law is enacted that provides for the allocation of funds received from tobacco product manufacturers for programs to reduce the use of tobacco products by minors and for health-care research, then there shall be credited to the Fund, without further appropriation, the amount of $3 billion. Makes such amount available to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for: (1) furnishing veterans' medical care and services; and (2) conducting medical, rehabilitation, and health systems research, with particular emphasis on research relating to the prevention and treatment of, and rehabilitation from, tobacco addiction and diseases associated with tobacco use.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1998
Jerusalem and Berlin Embassy Relocation Act of 1998 - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should proceed simultaneously with the design, construction, and occupancy of an embassy in Berlin, the capital of Germany, and in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel. Prohibits the expenditure of certain Department of State appropriations for the construction of chancery facilities in Berlin, Germany, unless construction of chancery facilities in Jerusalem, Israel, has either commenced or commences simultaneously in a manner to ensure comparable rates of construction and completion of the two facilities. Declares that no chancery facilities in Berlin, Germany, shall be occupied or used unless prior to or simultaneous with such occupancy and use, the United States has opened chancery facilities in Jerusalem, Israel.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Treatment of Controlled Foreign Corporations Title II: Provisions Relating to Foreign Tax Credit Title III: Other Provisions International Tax Simplification for American Competitiveness Act of 1998 - Title I: Treatment of Controlled Foreign Corporations - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe regulations which will eliminate multiple inclusion of any item in income if there is a redemption through the use of related corporations and either the acquiring or issuing corporation is a foreign corporation. (Sec. 102) Excludes from the definition of "foreign personal holding company income" income which is derived in the active conduct by a controlled foreign corporation of a banking, financing, or similar business, subject to stated conditions. (Sec. 103) Requires a study and a report on the feasibility of treating all countries in the European Union as one country under subpart F (Controlled Foreign Corporations) of part III (Income From Sources Without the United States) of subchapter N (Tax Based on Income From Sources Within or Without the United States) of chapter 1 (Normal Taxes and Surtaxes) of the IRC. Provides, with respect to subpart F, for: (1) expansion of the de minimis rule; (2) the determination of earnings and profits under generally accepted accounting rules; (3) the treatment of pipeline transportation income and income from the transmission of high voltage electricity; and (4) look-through treatment for certain sales of partnership interests. Title II: Provisions Relating to Foreign Tax Credit - Extends the period to which excess foreign taxes may be carried. (Sec. 202) Defines overall domestic loss and sets forth provisions for determining taxable income for any taxpayer sustaining such a loss. (Sec. 203) Sets forth special rules relating to financial services income. (Sec. 204) Sets forth provisions, concerning the foreign tax credit and: (1) the treatment of dividends from certain corporations; (2) the look-through rules; (3) ordering rules for foreign tax credit carryovers; and (4) the repeal of the limitation of such credit under the alternative minimum tax. Title III: Other Provisions - Applies constructive ownership rules for purposes of determining certain post-1986 undistributed U.S. earnings. (Sec. 302) Applies capitalization rules to nonresident aliens and foreign corporations. (Sec. 303) Repeals the special rule for military property with respect to exempt foreign trade income. (Sec. 304) Revises the definition of U.S. property to exclude certain assets acquired by dealers in the ordinary course of business. (Sec. 305) Exempts from the taxes on nonresident aliens and foreign corporations certain regulated investment company dividends. (Sec. 306) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, with respect to the Puerto Rico and possession tax credit, to exclude from the definition of the term "intangible property" any preliminary agreement which is not legally enforceable. (Sec. 307) Sets forth provisions concerning airline mileage awards to certain foreign persons. (Sec. 308) Repeals subpart G (Export Trade Corporations) of part III of subchapter N of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1998
Future Entrepreneurs of America Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make grants to States for entrepreneurship education and training programs for students in grades seven through 12 (programs). Allows such grants to States in any fiscal year in which appropriations under this Act equal or exceed a specified amount. Sets forth requirements for: (1) State plans; (2) grant allocations to States; (3) use of funds for local programs and for State monitoring, evaluation, and administrative costs; and (3) State reports. Authorizes the Secretary to make direct grants to local educational authorities and public schools for such programs, in any fiscal year for which appropriations do not reach the level required for grants to States. Directs the Secretary to make a competitive grant or contract for a national clearinghouse for instructional materials and information regarding exemplary entrepreneurship education and training programs and best practices. Directs the Secretary to develop performance measures and evaluate programs assisted under this Act. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1998
Senior Citizen Protection Act of 1998 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to extend the authority of State Medicaid fraud control units, upon the approval of the Inspector General of the relevant Federal agency, to investigate and prosecute: (1) fraud in connection with other Federal health care programs (if the suspected fraud or law violation is primarily related to the State Medicaid plan); and (2) at a unit's option, abuse of residents of non-Medicaid board and care facilities. Provides that overpayments collected by a State Medicaid fraud control unit shall be credited to, and be available for expenditure under, the Federal health care program that was subject to the activity that was the basis for the collection.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1998
Reforestation Tax Act of 1998 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a deduction to a taxpayer who has a qualified timber gain in an amount equal to the qualified percentage of such gain. Decreases the amortization period for reforestation expenditures.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1998
Recognizes 100 years of Guam's loyalty and service to the United States. Declares that the House of Representatives will use the centennial anniversary of the 1898 Spanish-American War to reaffirm its commitment to the U.S. citizens of Guam for increased self-government, consistent with self-determination for the people of Guam.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1998
Condemns the repressive policies of the Government of the former Soviet Union during the Ukrainian Famine of 1932-1933. Expresses the sense of the Congress: (1) in remembrance of the victims of the Famine; and (2) that any supplemental material that will assist in disseminating information about the Famine should be compiled and made available worldwide.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1998
Cardiac Arrest Survival Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act with respect to emergency medical services (EMS). Requires programs for emergency medical services and preventive, diagnostic, therapeutic, and rehabilitative approaches to include: (1) development and dissemination of a core content for a model State training program applicable to cardiac arrest for inclusion in EMS educational curricula and training programs that address lifesaving interventions, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation; (2) a limited demonstration project to provide training in such core content; (3) identification of cardiac arrest care providers; (4) identification of equipment and supplies that should be accessible to such providers to permit lifesaving interventions; (5) development of model State and Federal legislation; and (6) coordination of a national database for reporting and collecting information on the incidence of cardiac arrest and related issues. Prescribes guidelines for the core content of the model State training program. Declares that the purpose of the model legislation is to ensure: (1) access to EMS through consideration of a requirement for public placement of lifesaving equipment; and (2) good samaritan immunity for cardiac arrest care providers, those involved with the instruction of the training programs, and owners and managers of property where equipment is placed.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1998
Taxpayer's Defense Act - Amends Federal law provisions concerning discretionary congressional review of agency rules to set forth provisions mandating that a rule that establishes or increases a tax, however denominated, shall not take effect before the enactment of a bill the text of which has been submitted to each House of the Congress by the agency promulgating the rule in a report that contains the bill's text and an explanation of the bill. Exempts a rule promulgated under the Internal Revenue Code. Outlines introduction, referral, and consideration procedures for approval of the bill.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1998
Rural Enterprise Communities Act of 1998 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to authorize: (1) 33 additional rural enterprise communities (with an extended designation deadline); (2) designation of certain noncontiguous parcels as empowerment zones or enterprise communities; (3) a special designation exception for certain areas based upon emigration, underemployment, or economic adjustment; and (4) empowerment zone eligibility for Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Provides for: (1) designation priority to be given to top performing enterprise communities; and (2) additional specified grants and grant amounts for rural empowerment zones and rural enterprise communities. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to use certain community planning amounts under the Social Security Act to help communities apply for empowerment zone or enterprise community designation. Amends the Federal Agricultural Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 to authorize conveyance of Department of Agriculture excess property to support empowerment zones and enterprise communities.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1998
Drugs and Informed Consent Armed Forces Protection Act of 1998 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide that if the Secretary of Defense submits to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) a request to waive the requirement of prior informed consent with respect to the administration of a drug to members of the armed forces for investigational use, then any determination by the Secretary of Defense that obtaining such consent is not feasible or is contrary to the best interests of the members involved shall not be effective unless the President provides to the HHS Secretary a written statement concurring in that determination.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1998
Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) to direct the Secretary of Labor to revise certain regulations to: (1) provide that an employer complies with a specified standard if the employer makes information on each hazardous chemical used in the workplace readily accessible (available for retrieval immediately in the case of an emergency) to employees through electronic access or other alternatives to paper copies of Material Standard Data Sheets MSDSs; and (2) require a standard format for MSDSs, including an emergency overview which warns of health and physical hazards that require immediate attention in an emergency. Directs the Secretary to: (1) study the comprehensibility of specified OSHA required hazard warnings to the average industrial worker; and (2) make the resulting report available to chemical manufacturers and importers required to prepare MSDSs.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1998
Regulatory Fair Warning Act of 1998 - Prohibits a Federal agency or court from imposing a sanction for a violation of a rule if the agency or court finds that: (1) the rule was not printed in the Code of Federal Regulations or in the Federal Register, was not known to the person, or was not knowable to a person who has engaged in a reasonable, good faith investigation of the rules applicable to the conduct that allegedly violated the rule; (2) the rule failed to give the person fair warning of the conduct that it prohibits or requires; or (3) with respect only to a retrospective sanction, official representations to the person about what the rule prohibits or requires were misleading and were reasonably relied upon by the person.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1998
Persian Gulf War Veterans Health Act of 1998 - Presumes to be service-connected (and therefore compensable or treatable under Federal veterans' benefits provisions) an illness that: (1) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines to have a positive association with a biological, chemical, or other toxic agent or environmental or wartime hazard (agent or hazard) associated with service in the southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War; and (2) becomes manifest in a veteran who was exposed to such agent or hazard by reason of such service. Presumes such exposure unless there is conclusive evidence otherwise. Directs the Secretary to contract with an independent scientific body to establish a panel for reviewing medical and scientific literature to identify those diseases and illnesses associated with exposure of humans or animals to specified pesticides, agents, compounds, particulates, radiation, and pollutants. Requires each disease or illness identified that becomes manifest in a Gulf veteran to be presumed to be service-connected. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the updating of presumed exposures. Enumerates the pesticides, agents, compounds, particulates, radiation, and pollutants to which Gulf veterans shall be presumed to have been exposed. Directs the Secretary to submit to the Congress a plan for establishing a panel to review the statistical occurrence of both diagnosed and undiagnosed illnesses and symptoms among Gulf War veterans and their families. Directs the President to submit to the Congress a plan for the establishment of a permanent expert advisory group to advise the President and the congressional defense and intelligence committees on the adequacy of current U.S. chemical, biological, and radiological defense technologies, procurement practices, and doctrine for defending U.S. forces against both the immediate and chronic consequences of acute and subacute exposures to chemical, biological, radiological, or other genotoxic battlefield materials.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1998
Expresses the sense of the Congress with respect to the implementation of the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 and the related responsibilities of the Environmental Protection Agency.
![Official portrait of Rep. English, Phil [R-PA-3]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/e000187_200.jpg)