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United States · Official source
9,184 records where Rep. Frost, Martin [D-TX-24] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 6 September 2000
National Health Service Corps Reauthorization Act of 2000 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to extend through FY 2005 (currently terminated after FY 2000) the authorization of appropriations for certain programs for the National Health Service Corps.
United States · United States Congress · 6 September 2000
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) Taiwan and its people deserve appropriate participation in the United Nations and other international organizations such as the World Health Organization; and (2) the United States should fulfill its commitment made in the 1994 Taiwan Policy Review to support more actively Taiwan's membership in appropriate international organizations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2000
Quality Teacher Recruitment and Retention Act of 2000 - Directs the Secretary of Education to carry out a program of student loan forgiveness in exchange for the borrower's commitment to three consecutive years of full-time teaching in low-income schools or special education teaching. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2000
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to limit the disqualification from cancellation of removal for certain permanent resident aliens.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2000
Community Mental Health Center Improvement Act of 2000 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, with respect to partial hospitalization services, to revise qualifications for community mental health centers to include entities contracting to provide mental health services. Postpones until August 1, 2001, the application of the Medicare hospital outpatient prospective payment system to partial hospitalization services. Revises the formula for calculating the base payment-to-cost-ratio component of outpatient department prospective payment system transitional corridor payments to include in such formula (and so cover) hospitals that did not submit cost reports for 1996.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2000
Nazi and Japanese War Crimes Disclosure Act - Amends the Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act to: (1) extend the authority of the Nazi War Criminal Records Interagency Working Group for an additional two years; and (2) change the name of the Act to the Nazi and Japanese War Crimes of World War II Disclosure Act. Revises the term "Nazi war criminal records" to include classified records (or portions thereof) that pertain to any transaction as to which the U.S. Government, in its sole discretion, has grounds to believe involved assets taken from persecuted persons during the period beginning on January 1, 1931, and ending on December 31, 1945, by, under the direction of, on behalf of, or under authority granted by the Nazi government of Germany or any nation then allied with that government. Changes the name Nazi War Criminal Records Interagency Working Group to Nazi and Japanese War Criminal Records Interagency Working Group. Authorizes appropriations. Expresses the sense of Congress that foreign nations, and in particular Japan, should make every effort possible to cooperate with the Nazi and Japanese War Criminal Records Interagency Working Group in carrying out its duties.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2000
Violence Against Women Civil Rights Restoration Act of 2000 - Rewrites provisions of the Violence Against Women Act regarding remedies for civil rights violations. Makes a person who commits a crime of violence motivated by gender and thus deprives another of a prescribed right liable to the injured party where: (1) in connection with the offense, the defendant or the victim travels in interstate or foreign commerce, the defendant or the victim uses a facility or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce, or the defendant employs a weapon, a narcotic or drug listed under the Controlled Substances Act, or other noxious or dangerous substances that have traveled in interstate or foreign commerce; (2) the offense interferes with commercial or other economic activity in which the victim is engaged; or (3) the offense was committed with intent to interfere with the victim's commercial or other economic activity. Authorizes the Attorney General, whenever there is reasonable cause to believe that any State, political subdivision, official, employee, or agent thereof has discriminated on the basis of gender in the investigation or prosecution of gender-based crimes and that discrimination is pursuant to a pattern or practice of resistance to investigating or prosecuting gender-based crimes, to institute a civil action in U.S. district court for appropriate equitable relief.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2000
Immigration Services Consumer Protection Act of 2000 - Establishes criminal penalties for immigration consultants who handle immigration matters and do not meet specified requirements, including license and contract requirements. Exempts from such provisions: (1) attorneys; (2) certain law students and law graduates; (3) accredited representatives of qualifying organizations; (4) accredited foreign officials; and (5) persons authorized to practice before the Board of Immigration Appeals and the Immigration and Naturalization Service as of a certain date. Authorizes the Attorney General to provide State grants to educate persons respecting the requirements of this Act. Provides for confidentiality of information provided under this Act, and fines for knowing violation of such confidentiality.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2000
Affordable HIV-AIDS Medicines for Poor Countries Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to encourage developing countries (including sub-Saharan African countries) and pharmaceutical companies to make HIV-AIDS pharmaceuticals and medical technologies available to people who live in such countries without charge or at affordable prices. Sets forth certain restrictions and limitations, including that: (1) appropriated funds made available to U.S. agencies may not be obligated to seek the revocation or revision of any intellectual property or competition law or policy of a developing country (including any sub- Saharan African country) that regulates HIV-AIDS pharmaceuticals or medical technologies if such law or policy promotes access to such drugs and technologies to the country's population; and (2) the USTR may not initiate a proceeding in the World Trade Organization (WTO) challenging and law or policy of a developing country (including a sub-Saharan African country) that promotes access to HIV-AIDS pharmaceuticals or medical technologies to the population of the country. Requires the President to direct the U.S. representative to the WTO to urge the WTO and member countries to exempt developing countries (including sub-Saharan African countries) from the application of any provision of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights or any other international agreement relating to intellectual property rights that would prohibit or restrict such countries from establishing or implementing any law or policy that promotes access to HIV-AIDS pharmaceuticals or medical technologies to their population.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2000
Home Ownership Tax Credit Act of 2000 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish a home ownership tax credit which shall be allocated, through State housing finance agencies, to qualified lenders making qualified home ownership loans to certain low-income households. Sets forth the allocation formula, related rules, and definitions.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2000
National Student Dropout Prevention and Recovery Act of 2000 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to revise and rename title V part C (Assistance to Address School Dropout Prevention Problems, also currently known as the School Dropout Assistance Act) as School Dropout Prevention Programs. Requires the Director of the Office of Dropout Prevention and Program Completion (established by this Act in the Department of Education) to carry out provisions for: (1) a model school dropout prevention grant program; (2) a national school dropout prevention grant program; and (3) a national clearinghouse on effective school dropout prevention, intervention programs, and reentry programs. Authorizes appropriations for such part C programs. Amends the Department of Education Organization Act to establish an Office of Dropout Prevention and Program Completion, to be administered by a Director who shall report directly to the Under Secretary of Education. Sets forth the Director's duties and their scope.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2000
Prohibits the entry or importation into the United States of any textile or food article produced, grown, or manufactured in Iran. Authorizes the President to waive such prohibition 90 days after certifying to specified congressional committees that Iran: (1) has shown substantial progress in respecting the rights of ethnic and religious minorities and is meeting internationally recognized human rights standards, including due process under law; (2) has ceased its support for international terrorism; and (3) has terminated its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2000
Declares that Congress urges financial institutions to: (1) promote environmentally responsible dry and wet cleaning processes; and (2) work with business enterprises to provide streams of capital to protect the environment.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2000
States that the Congress supports the goals and ideas of National Take Your Kids To Vote Day.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2000
Restoration of Fairness in Immigration Law Act of 2000 - Title I: Due Process in Immigration Proceedings - Subtitle A: Judicial Review in Immigration Proceedings - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (Act) with respect to judicial review of: (1) administrative hearings and habeas corpus; (2) asylum determinations; (3) alien apprehension and detention; (4) document fraud waivers; (5) orders issued in absentia; and (6) denial of voluntary departure requests. Subtitle B: Fairness in Removal Proceedings - Amends the Act with respect to removal proceeding provisions, including: (1) burden of proof for admissibility; (2) presumption in favor of withdrawal of admission application; (3) emergency absences; and (4) reinstatement of removal orders against illegal reentry. Subtitle C: Fairness in Detention - Amends the Act with respect to specified detention provisions, including the establishment of a detention alternatives pilot program. Subtitle D: Consular Review of Visa Applications - Amends the Act to direct the Secretary of State to establish a Board of Visa Appeals. Title II: Fairness and Equity in Cases Involving Previous and Minor Misconduct - Subtitle A: Increased Fairness and Equity Concerning Removal Proceedings - Amends the Act to revise specified removal proceedings provisions. Subtitle B: Increased Fairness and Equity Concerning 5-Year Bars to Admission and Other Grounds for Exclusion - Amends the Act to authorize admission ban waivers and other restrictions on inadmissibility with respect to aliens who: (1) abuse student visa provisions; (2) fail to attend removal proceedings; (3) make false citizenship claims; and (4) have committed minor criminal offenses. Title III: Encouraging Family Reunification - Subtitle A: Reuniting Family Members - Amends the Act with respect to: (1) visas for spouses and children of permanent residents temporarily waiting for visa numbers; and (2) refugee and asylee status for unmarried sons and daughters of refugees and asylees, respectively. Establishes specified protections against processing delays for children. Subtitle B: Limited Waiver of Grounds of Admissibility - Amends the Act to provide discretionary waivers of inadmissibility with respect to: (1) family members; and (2) unusual circumstances. Subtitle C: Eliminating Unfairness and Waste in Section 245(i) Waivers - Amends the Act to eliminate the restriction that only aliens with preference petitions or labor certifications filed by January, 14, 1998, are eligible to adjust to permanent resident status without leaving the United States if they entered without inspection or fall within one of other specified classes. Subtitle D: Equitable Procedures Concerning Voluntary Departure - Amends the Act with respect to voluntary departure to make discretionary: (1) determination of period of voluntary departure; (2) determination of voluntary departure bond based on individual circumstances; and (3) related penalties. Subtitle E: Fairness in Determination of Public Charge - Amends the Act with respect to specified public charge provisions. Title IV: Fairness in Asylum and Public Refugee Proceedings - Subtitle A: Increased Fairness in Asylum Proceedings - Amends the Act to provide for gender-based refugee status. Subtitle B: Increased Fairness sand Rationality in Refugee Consultations - Amends the Act with respect to refugee admission consultations. Title V: Increased Fairness and Equity in Naturalization and Legalization Proceedings - Subtitle A: Naturalization Proceedings - Amends the Act to authorize appropriations for immigration petition processing and backlog reduction. Waives the English language requirement and provides special consideration for the civics requirement with respect to the naturalization of certain aliens who served with special guerilla units operating from Cambodia or Vietnam. Subtitle B: Parity in Treatment for Refugees from Central America and Haiti - Amends the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (Act) to: (1) extend permanent resident status adjustment provisions to qualifying Salvadoran, Guatemalan, Honduran, and Haitian nationals; and (2) extend the application filing deadline. Permits certain pending applications filed by Salvadoran or Guatemalan nationals under the Act or Haitian nationals under the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998 to be converted to an application for status adjustment under the Act. Amends such Acts to: (1) authorize the Attorney General to waive certain grounds of inadmissibility; and (2) provide for issuance of immigrant visas to certain spouses and children. Provides for the limited reopening of certain orders of deportation, exclusion, or removal by certain Haitian, Cuban, or Nicaraguan nationals. Subtitle C: Equality of Treatment for Women's Citizenship - Declares as U.S. citizens certain deceased women who lost their U.S. citizenship solely because of marriage to an alien. Subtitle D: Fairness in the Treatment for Refugees from Liberia - Provides for the permanent resident status adjustment of certain Liberian nationals. Subtitle E: Fairness in Review of Previously Granted Amnesty Rights - Amends the Act to eliminate the court jurisdiction limitation with respect to judicial review of denied status adjustment applications for certain (unlawful status) aliens. Subtitle F: Legal Amnesty Restoration - Amends the Act to extend registry benefits to aliens who entered the United States prior to January1, 1986. Subtitle G: Equality of Treatment for Asian American Visa Petitions - Amends the Act to extend preferential immigrant treatment to certain U.S.-fathered aliens born in the Philippines or Japan. Title VI: Fairness and Compassion in the Treatment of Battered Immigrants - Amends the Act to modify procedures and provide special rules for battered spouses and children with respect to: (1) adjustment of status; (2) removal and deportation; (3) implementation of immigration provisions in the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA); (4) waivers and exceptions to inadmissibility for otherwise qualified battered immigrants; (5) calculation of physical presence in VAWA cancellation of removal proceedings and suspension of deportation proceedings; (6) VAWA immigration protections; (7) VAWA cancellation of removal and adjustment of status for certain nonpermanent residents; and (8) good moral character determinations for self-petitioning immediate relatives. Prescribes guidelines for inapplicability of public charge determinations for designated aliens. Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to redefine "qualified alien" to include certain battered aliens for purposes of welfare and public benefits eligibility. Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980 to declare restrictions on the use of assisted housing inapplicable to certain battered aliens. Amends the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 to provide that requirements and restrictions placed upon Legal Services Corporation funding shall not be construed to prohibit a recipient from providing related legal assistance to certain aliens who have been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty. Directs the Violence Against Women Grants Office in the Department of Justice to report on services for underserved populations. Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (Act) to include legal advocacy for domestic violence in immigration cases under the program of grants to encourage arrest policies. Includes alienage status within the definition of "underserved populations." Amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to include immigration-related matters under the program of rural domestic violence and child abuse enforcement grants. Amends the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act to include alienage status within the scope of underserved populations. Amends the Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 1999 to obligate funds for grants to combat violence against women, which shall include immigration-related matters. Amends the Higher Education Amendments of 1998 to include immigration-related matters under the program of campus domestic violence grants. Amends the Act to require each branch of the U.S. military to train its supervisory military officers in domestic violence dynamics in military families, and the protections available for battered immigrant women and children. Expands the purposes of training grants to combat violent crimes against women to include: (1) training immigration and asylum officers and judges; and (2) training justice system personnel on the judicial ramifications of the Violence Against Women Act, and the potential immigration consequences for perpetrators of domestic violence. Amends the Act to express the intent of the Congress that statutory constraints upon the powers of immigration personnel not be construed as discouraging crime and domestic violence victims from reporting crimes to the police, from cooperating in criminal prosecutions, or from obtaining the legal relief needed for protection from ongoing violence. Amends the Act to establish a humanitarian-material witness nonimmigrant classification. Extends access for battered spouses and children under the Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act, the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998, and Federal law relating to Cuban adjustment. Title VII: Unused Employment-Based Immigrant Visas - Provides for the recapture of unused employment-based immigrant visas. Title VIII: Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends the Act with respect to: (1) the Board of Immigration Appeals; (2) asset forfeiture; (3) parole authority; (4) erroneous asylum applications; and (5) use of State personnel to carry out immigration functions. Directs the Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service to establish an Office of Border Patrol Recruitment and Retention. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes appropriations to carry out this Act. Title IX: Effective Dates - Sets forth effective dates.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2000
Voting Rights Clarification Act of 2000 - Amends the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to state that the purpose of denying or abridging the voting right is not limited to the purpose or intent to retrogress but can be any purpose or intent to discriminate.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2000
Middle East Peace Process Support Act - Prohibits U.S. assistance to any unilaterally-declared Palestinian state. Directs the President to instruct the U.S. Representative to the United Nations to oppose admission to the United Nations of a unilaterally-declared Palestinian state or formal recognition by the United Nations of such a state.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2000
Amends the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 to extend until October 27, 2005, the authority of the Black Revolutionary War Patriots Foundation to establish a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia or its environs.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2000
Rural Access to Emergency Devices Act or the Rural AED Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Rural Health Outreach Office of the Health Resources and Services Administration, to award grants to qualified community partnerships to enable such partnerships to purchase automatic external defibrillators and to provide defibrillator and basic life support training in automated external defibrillator usage. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2000
Heating Fuel Cost Relief Act of 2000 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit equal to 20 percent of the cost (up to a credit maximum of $1,000) of converting from the use of heating oil to the use of natural gas or a renewable energy source.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2000
Increases from $1,500 to $6,000 the threshold estate size of an incompetent veteran being furnished institutional care by the Department of Veterans Affairs may have before being subject to the suspension of pension, compensation, or retirement pay. Directs the Secretary to increase such threshold amount by the same percentage as any increase in benefit amounts payable under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2000
Medicare Early Access and Tax Credit Act of 2000 - Title I: Access to Medicare Benefits for Individuals 62-to-65 Years of Age - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to add a new part D (Purchase of Medicare Benefits by Certain Individuals Age 62-to-65 Years of Age) under which an enrollee is entitled to the same Medicare benefits as an individual entitled to benefits under Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) and enrolled under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance). Provides for the determination and payment of monthly premiums under the new part D program. Creates in the Treasury the Medicare Early Access Trust Fund to hold the premiums paid pursuant to this Act and savings from new fraud and abuse initiatives that are obtained pursuant to the Medicare Fraud and Reimbursement Reform Act of 1999. Provides for oversight and accountability concerning the status of the Trust Fund. Title II: Access to Medicare Benefits for Displaced Workers 55-to-62 years of Age - Amends SSA title XVIII to provide access to Medicare benefits to displaced workers (and their spouse) 55-to-62 years of age. Title III: COBRA Protection for Early Retirees - Subtitle A: Amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to provide for COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985) continuation benefits for certain retired workers who lose retiree health coverage. Subtitle B: Amendments to the Public Health Service Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to provide for COBRA continuation benefits for certain retired workers who lose retiree health coverage. Subtitle C: Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for COBRA continuation benefits for certain retired workers who lose retiree health coverage. Title IV: Financing - Provides that any increase in Medicare payments resulting from enactment of this Act shall be offset by reductions in Medicare payments pursuant to the anti-fraud and -abuse provisions of the Medicare Fraud and Reimbursement Reform Act of 1999. Title V: Credit Against Income Tax for Medicare Buy-In Premiums and for Certain COBRA Continuation Coverage Premiums - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide an individual with a tax credit for 25 percent of certain COBRA continuation coverage premiums and Medicare buy-in premiums.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2000
FamilyCare Act of 2000 - Renames the State Children's Health Insurance program (SCHIP) under title XXI of the Social Security Act (SSA) as the FamilyCare program to provide for: (1) FamilyCare coverage of parents under Medicaid (SSA title XIX) as well as new SSA title XXI; (2) optional FamilyCare coverage of parents of targeted low-income children; (3) automatic eligibility for FamilyCare coverage of children born to a parent on Family Care assistance; (4) optional coverage of legal immigrants and of children through age 20 under both Medicaid and FamilyCare; (5) application of simplified FamilyCare procedures under Medicaid; (6) increased welfare-to-work transition (from six months to 12 months) under FamilyCare; (7) elimination of the 100 hour rule and other SSA title IV part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) related eligibility restrictions under FamilyCare; (8) limitations on specified conflicts of interests under SSA titles XIX and XXI; (9) increased FamilyCare allotment for FY 2002 through 2004; and (10) authority to pay Medicaid expansion costs from the FamilyCare appropriation. Makes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a program to award demonstration grants to States to allow them to demonstrate the effectiveness of innovative ways to increase access to health insurance through market reforms and other innovative means. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to award demonstration grants to a limited number of States to conduct innovative programs designed to improve outreach to homeless individuals and families under specified programs for the homeless (including SCHIP) with respect to enrollment of such individuals and families under such programs and the provision of services under such programs. Makes appropriations. Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary to make grants to eligible entities for the purpose of assisting the development of integrated health care delivery systems to: (1) serve communities of individuals who are uninsured and individuals who are underinsured; (2) expand the scope of services provided; and (3) improve the efficiency and coordination among the providers of such services. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2000
Medicare Protection and Fairness Act of 2000 - Title I: Increase in Payments for Inpatient Hospital Services - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) with respect to payment to hospitals for inpatient hospital services to provide for: (1) elimination of reduction to market basket percentage increase in FY 2001 and 2002; (2) increase in payments for disproportionate share (DSH) hospitals in FY 2001 and 2002; and (3) elimination of reduction in payments for indirect costs of graduate medical education. Title II: Increase in Payments for Home Health Services - Amends SSA title XVIII with regard to the prospective payment system (PPS) for home health services to eliminate the 15 percent reduction in the cost limits and per beneficiary limits under such PPS. Makes such amendment effective as if included in the enactment of the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999. Title III: Increase in Payments to Medicare+Choice Organizations - Subtitle A: Modifications to Risk Adjustment Methodology - Amends SSA title XVIII part C (Medicare+Choice) with respect to payments to Medicare+Choice organizations to require that the Medicare+Choice risk adjustment methodology be implemented in a budget neutral manner. Provides for a ten year phased-in implementation of such methodology. Subtitle B: Modifications to the Blended Capitation Rate - Authorizes Medicare+Choice organizations to elect to apply blended capitation rate area-specific and national percentages for 2001 and 2002 (instead of one or the other in different years). Provides for an increase in the national per capita Medicare+Choice growth percentage in 2001 and 2002. Subtitle C: Reporting Requirements for Medicare Health Care Services Furnished in Military Treatment Facilities - Amends SSA title XVIII with respect to the Medicare subvention demonstration project for military retirees to add reporting requirements for costs incurred under the project for purposes of calculating Medicare+Choice payment rates.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2000
Amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require nursing facilities to be air conditioned as a condition for receiving Medicare or Medicaid funding.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2000
See summary of: H.Res. 270
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2000
Expresses the sense of Congress that the Supreme Court misinterpreted the First amendment to the Constitution in its decision in the 1976 case of Buckley v. Valeo because: (1) such decision failed to recognize that the unlimited spending of large amounts of money on elections has a corrosive effect on the electoral process; and (2) such decision failed to recognize other legitimate state interests which justify limiting money in campaigns.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2000
Recognizes the 210th anniversary of the establishment of the Coast Guard. Commends: (1) the Coast Guard's effectiveness in protecting the public, the environment, and U.S. economic and security interests; and (2) the men and women serving in the Coast Guard. Expresses support for the Coast Guard in its efforts to remain "Semper Paratus" Always Ready -- as it moves forward to meet the demands of the 21st century.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2000
Privacy and Identity Protection Act of 2000 - Title I: Provisions Relating to the Social Security Account Number - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) with regard to: (1) governmental use and treatment of social security account numbers, including restrictions on the sale of such account numbers by governmental agencies; and (2) prohibitions against public access to such account numbers in governmental agency possession, and against use of such account numbers on checks issued for payment by such agencies. (Sec. 101) Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to the Congress on: (1) the current usage by governmental agencies of the Social Security account numbers of individuals, and derivatives of such numbers, for identification purposes; and (2) the most effective means by which any such usage extending beyond the original purposes of the Social Security account number may be minimized. Amends SSA title II to provide for independent verification of birth records provided in support of applications for Social Security account numbers. Directs the Commissioner of Social Security and the Attorney General to report jointly to Congress on the progress of the Social Security Administration and the Immigration and Naturalization Service in implementing a process for enumeration at entry for aliens entering the United States. Amends SSA title II to prohibit: (1) the appearance of Social Security account numbers on driver's licenses or motor vehicle registrations; and (2) the display of such account numbers, or any derivative, on any card or tag provided by governmental agencies to their employees for identification purposes. (Sec. 102) Provides for the regulation and restriction of the sale and purchase of the Social Security account number in the private sector. (Sec. 103) Amends SSA title II to subject criminal penalties the sale and purchase of Social Security account numbers. (Sec. 104) Amends SSA title XI with regard to civil monetary penalty authority concerning treatment of withholding of material facts, and application of civil money penalties to elements of criminal violations. (Sec. 105) Amends SSA titles II and XVI (Supplementary Security Income) (SSI) to provide authority for judicial orders of restitution in cases of Social Security payments obtained by fraud. Amends SSA title VII (Administration) to provide for the establishment of a special fund in the Treasury for receipt of restitution payments. (Sec. 106) Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to provide for confidential treatment of credit report header information including the Social Security account number of the consumer or any derivative thereof. (Sec. 107) Amends SSA title VII to provide for law enforcement authority by special agents of the Office of the Inspector General of the Social Security Administration. Title II: Provisions Relating to Representative Payees - Amends SSA titles II and XVI to authorize reissue to beneficiaries or alternative representative payees of OASDI and SSI benefits misused by organizational representative payees. (Sec. 202) Amends SSA titles II and XVI to provide for: (1) oversight of nongovernmental organizational representative payees and disqualification from service as a representative payee upon a felony conviction; (2) fee forfeiture in case of benefit misuse by such a representative payees; (3) liability of representative payees for misused benefits; and (4) extension of civil monetary penalty authority with respect to representative payees.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2000
Native American Elders Assistance Act - Provides that any portion of the first $5,000 of income of an Indian tribe received in any calendar year by a member of the tribe who has attained 50 years of age shall not be considered income or resources in determining the eligibility of the member or the member's household for any benefit under specified means-tested public assistance programs (including Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income) or the amount or kind of any benefit provided by reason of program eligibility for so long as such portion is retained by the member.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2000
Railroad Retirement and Survivors' Improvement Act of 2000 - Title I: Amendments to the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 - Amends the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 to increase benefits to railroad employees and their beneficiaries and to revise financing of the pension part (tier II) of the railroad retirement system. (Sec. 101) Increases benefits for widows and widowers by guaranteeing to them all of the tier II annuity the employee was entitled to at the time of the death. (Sec. 102) Makes employees with 30 years of service eligible to retire at age 60 with unreduced tier I and tier II annuities. Makes spouses of such employees eligible for unreduced annuities at age 60. (Sec. 103) Reduces the vesting requirement for tier II retirement annuities from ten years to five years of service after December 1995. Makes employees with at least five years of such service, but less than ten years of total service, eligible for a tier I disability annuity if their combined railroad retirement and social security earnings credits would satisfy social security eligibility requirements. Makes spouses, divorced spouses, and survivors of employees with at least five years of such service, but less than ten years of total service, eligible for a tier I annuity if they would have been entitled to a social security benefit based on combined service. (Sec. 104) Repeals a limit on the total amount of monthly railroad retirement benefits payable to an employee and spouse at the time the employee's annuity begins. (Sec. 105) Establishes a Railroad Retirement Trust Fund (the Fund) and a Railroad Retirement Investment Trust (RRIT) to manage and invest the assets of the Fund. Declares that RRIT is not an agency, department, or instrumentality of the U.S. Government. Requires RRIT to be administered by a Board of Trustees (the Trustees) with seven members (three representing labor, three representing employers, and one representing the general public) with experience and expertise in the management of financial investments and pension plans. Requires the Trustees to be appointed by a unanimous vote of the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB). Prohibits RRB members from being Trustees. Applies specified reporting requirements and fiduciary standards to the RRIT. Requires the Trustees to diversify investments so as to minimize the risk of large losses. Authorizes the Trustees to invest Fund assets in non-Governmental assets. (Sec. 106) Abolishes the Railroad Retirement Supplemental Annuity Account and provides for transfer of its funds to the Fund. (Sec. 107) Requires the RRB, upon the establishment of the Fund, to determine the portion of the Railroad Retirement Account not needed to pay current administrative expenses and direct the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer that amount into the Fund. Requires the Fund to transfer the necessary amount of funds to pay benefits and related administrative expenses to the disbursing agent. Transfers to the Fund Social Security Equivalent Benefit account funds not needed to pay current benefits, but requires that such funds only be used to pay benefits or to invest in U.S. Government or Government-guaranteed securities. Transfers to the disbursing agent from the Dual Benefit Account the amount necessary to make dual benefit payments. Requires the Trustees to consult with the Secretary of the Treasury to develop an appropriate method for transferring or converting existing account obligations. (Sec. 108) Requires the RRB to calculate the ratio of assets to benefits to determine annual tier II tax rates for employers, employee representatives, and employees. Establishes schedules for: (1) decreasing tax rates if the average account benefits ratio, based on the ratios for the ten most recent fiscal years, is above six; and (2) increasing employer and employee representatives' tax rates if the ratio is below four. Title II: Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt the Railroad Retirement Trust Fund (the Fund) from taxation. (Sec. 203) Repeals a supplemental annuity tax that railroad employers pay to finance a benefit for long-time rail employees. (Sec. 204) Provides for adjustments to railroad employers, employee representatives, and employee tier II tax rates. Decreases such rates in 2001 and in 2002 for employers and employee representatives. Provides in the years after 2002 for tax rate schedules, based on the ten-year average account benefit ratio, for employers, employee representatives, and employees.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2000
Violence Against Women Office Act - Establishes within the Department of Justice (DOJ) a Violence Against Women Office, headed by a Director. Specifies the duties of the Director, including serving as special counsel to the Attorney General on the subject of, and carrying out DOJ functions under the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 and on matters relating to, violence against women.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2000
Recognizes the tenth anniversary of the initial activation of National Guard and Reserve personnel for Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm and the growing importance of the National Guard and Reserve to the security of the United States. Expresses support for ensuring the readiness of the National Guard and Reserve.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2000
American Communities Investment Act of 1999 - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to revise requirements for the maximum amount of outstanding loan guarantees for a single issuer in connection with community development. Mandates participation of the major stakeholders in the community in which activities funded with guaranteed obligations will be implemented. Amends the Federal Home Loan Bank Act to set forth parameters within which: (1) Federal home loan banks may make advances to a nonmember mortgagee for community lending purposes; and (2) each Federal home loan bank shall establish a Community Lending Fund to facilitate community lending by its members and nonmember mortgagees.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2000
Children's Dental Health Preservation Act of 2000 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to States for the purpose of: (1) identifying children, eligible for Federal programs, at risk of developing dental caries and for the provision of preventative and therapeutic services in accordance with State practice acts to reduce oral disease occurrence; and (2) training of health care professionals to educate parents on oral disease prevention.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2000
Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Heritage Act of 2000 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct and submit to specified congressional committees a resource study of the 600 mile route through Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Virginia, used by George Washington and General Jean Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau during the American Revolutionary War.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2000
Ryan White CARE Act Amendments of 2000 - Title I: Emergency Relief for Areas with Substantial Need for Services - Subtitle A: HIV Health Services Planning Councils - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require that an HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) planning council reflect the demographics of the population of individuals with HIV disease (currently, the demographics of the epidemic) in the eligible area involved. Modifies requirements regarding council composition, including requiring representatives of former prisoners. Requires that at least 33 percent of the council be people who: (1) are receiving HIV-related services pursuant to a grant under provisions relating to emergency relief for areas with a substantial need for services (substantial need grant); and (2) are not officers, employees, consultants, or representatives of any entity that receives substantial need grant amounts. (Sec. 102) Modifies council duties, including regarding: (1) determining the size, demographics, and needs of the HIV disease population; (2) council establishment of fund allocation priorities; and (3) coordination with Federal grantees that provide HIV-related services in the area. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) develop epidemiologic measures for establishing the number of individuals with HIV disease who are not receiving HIV-related health services and for carrying out council duties; and (2) provide to the chief elected official receiving a substantial need grant guidelines and materials for training council members regarding council duties. (Sec. 103) Requires that council meetings and records be open to the public, subject to exception. Subtitle B: Type and Distribution of Grants - Makes permanent provisions requiring expedited disbursement of certain substantial need grant amounts. Requires, after fiscal year 2004, that the substantial need grant amount formula use the number of cases of HIV disease in the most recent year rather than the number of cases of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the most recent ten years, but until FY 2007 conditions that change on the Secretary's determination that there is sufficiently accurate and reliable data on HIV disease cases from all eligible areas, requiring the Secretary to consider: (1) the findings of a study mandated by title V of this Act; (2) the fiscal impact of using or of not using that data; and (3) the impact of the use of that data on the organization and delivery of HIV-related services. Modifies requirements regarding increases in the amount of a substantial need grant under expedited disbursement provisions. (Sec. 112) Requires that the amount of supplemental substantial need grants be determined by the Secretary based on a weighting of specified factors, with severe need counting one-third. Includes the current HIV disease prevalence, an increasing need for services, and unmet need for services as factors the Secretary must consider in determining severe need. Directs the Secretary, in determining the required factors, to develop a mechanism to use national, quantitative incidence data by 18 months after enactment of this Act (currently, by May 20, 1998). Requires mechanism modification based on the findings of a study mandated by title V of this Act. Removes provisions basing the amount of substantial need grants on substantial need grant applications. Subtitle C: Other Provisions - Requires that substantial need grant funds be used, among other purposes, for: (1) outreach to identify individuals with HIV disease who are not receiving HIV-related services; and (2) early intervention services. Requires that substantial need grants be used to provide health and support services to infants, children, youth, and women (currently, infants, children, and women) with HIV disease in the same ratio as those groups with HIV disease bear to those groups in the general population. Requires that the chief elected official of a substantial need grant-receiving area establish a quality management program to assess whether HIV health services under the substantial need grant are consistent with the most recent Public Health Service guidelines. (Sec. 123) Requires that official to ensure that the area's planning council: (1) reviews existing, available data on expenditures by substantial need grant recipient entities from their overall budget for administrative costs; and (2) makes a determination whether the financial compensation of any of those entity's officers or employees exceeds that of the official. Title II: Care Grant Program - Subtitle A: General Grant Provisions - Requires that grants to States to improve the quality, availability and organization of health care and support services for individuals with HIV disease (care grants) be used to provide health and support services to infants, children, youth, and women (currently, infants, children, and women) with HIV disease in the same ratio as those groups with HIV disease bear to those groups in the general population. (Sec. 202) Allows care grants to be used for support services, outreach activities, early intervention, and quality management. (Sec. 203) Modifies requirements regarding grants to establish HIV care consortia. (Sec. 204) Allows a State to meet a requirement to use a portion of its care grant to provide therapeutics to treat HIV disease or prevent related health deterioration (including prevention and treatment of opportunistic infections) by paying for health insurance or plans whose coverage includes a full range of such therapeutics and primary care. (Sec. 205) Requires care grant applications to contain determinations of the size, demographics, and needs of the population of individuals with HIV disease in the State. Modifies requirements regarding the comprehensive plan. Requires the public health agency that administers care grants for a State to engage in a public advisory planning process. (Sec. 206) Doubles, subject to appropriations, the minimum care grant allotment to each State and U.S. territory. Requires, after fiscal year 2004, that the care grant amount formula use the number of cases of HIV disease in the most recent year rather than the number of cases of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the most recent ten years, but until FY 2007 conditions that change on the Secretary's determination that there is sufficiently accurate and reliable data on HIV disease cases. Provides for increases in the formula amount. Requires, if an appropriations Act provides an amount exclusively for treatment drug grants, that two percent of that exclusive amount be reserved for supplemental grants to States whose HIV population's need is greater than the quantities available under treatment drug grants from the remaining unreserved 98 percent. Adds the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Palau to the list of U.S. territories. Adds the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to the list of territories for minimum allotment provisions but keeps it in the list of States for other care grant provisions. (Sec. 207) Replaces provisions mandating coordination by specified Federal agencies of Federal HIV programs with provisions directing the Secretary to make grants to States to supplement care grants for comprehensive services for communities that have a severe need for supplemental financial assistance to combat the HIV epidemic. Provides for funding for the supplemental grants. Subtitle B: Provisions Concerning Pregnancy and Perinatal Transmission of HIV - Removes provisions prohibiting (after testing of pregnant women and newborns has become a routine practice in U.S. health care) care grants to a State unless the State meets certain requirements regarding such testing. (Sec. 212) Adds HIV disease treatment services to the uses for which the Secretary may make a grant to a State that is following the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding HIV counseling and voluntary testing for pregnant women. Authorizes appropriations. Prohibits using care grant appropriations for grants under this section. (Sec. 213) Directs the Secretary to provide for a study and report to appropriate congressional committees regarding: (1) the number of newborns with HIV born in the United States in the most recent year for which the information is available; (2) barriers that prevent or discourage an obstetrician from routinely offering pregnant women an HIV test and routinely testing newborns when the mother's HIV status is unknown; and (3) recommendations for each State for reducing perinatal HIV transmission. Requires States to make reasonable progress toward meeting the recommendations. Subtitle C: Certain Partner Notification Programs - Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States for partner counseling and referral services, provided the State meets certain requirements regarding: (1) partner notification and (for the partner and the infected individual) testing, counseling, and referral; (2) health entity reporting of positive test results to the State; (3) reporting to the CDC regarding partner notification; and (4) State cooperation with the CDC national partner notification. Prohibits grants to a State after fiscal year 2003 unless the State's reporting system for HIV cases produces sufficiently accurate and reliable data. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Early Intervention Services - Subtitle A: Formula Grants for States - Repeals provisions mandating formula grants to States for outpatient early intervention services regarding HIV disease. Subtitle B: Categorical Grants - Requires giving preference to rural or underserved areas in making currently-authorized categorical grants for outpatient early intervention services. Allows planning grants to be used, subject to limitation, to assist the recipients to expand their capacity to provide services, including early intervention services, in low income communities and affected subpopulations that are underserved. Subtitle C: General Provisions - Requires that the counseling that categorical grant recipients are required to provide to HIV-infected individuals emphasize that it is the duty of infected individuals to disclose their status to their sexual and needle-sharing partners, provide advice on how to make the disclosures and emphasize that it is the infected individual's continuing duty to avoid behaviors that expose others to HIV. (Sec. 322) Increases the percentage limit on administrative expenses. Requires recipients to establish a quality management program to assess the extent to which medical services are consistent with Public Health Service guidelines for treatment of HIV disease and related opportunistic infections. Title IV: Other Programs and Activities - Subtitle A: Certain Programs for Research, Demonstrations, or Training - Replaces a requirement that, with regard to grants for providing opportunities for women, infants, children, and youth to participate in HIV research and for providing to those groups outpatient health care and additional services, that a significant number of individuals in those groups be participating in research with a requirement that the grant applicant demonstrate linkages to research and how access to research is being offered to patients. Directs the Secretary to examine the distribution and availability of research regarding grantees to enhance and expand HIV-related research, especially in underrepresented communities. Requires grantees to implement a quality management program. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 402) Includes, as a use of currently-authorized grants and contracts for training health personnel: (1) training in prenatal and other gynecological care for women with HIV disease; and (2) developing protocols for the medical care of such women. Directs the Secretary to implement a strategy for the dissemination of HIV treatment information to care providers and patients. Adds accredited dental hygiene programs as possible recipients of currently-authorized grants with respect to oral health care to (sic) patients with HIV disease. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes grants to dental schools, post-doctoral dental education programs, and accredited dental hygiene programs that partner with community-based dentists to provide care to HIV patients in underserved areas. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes appropriations for grants and contracts to assist public and nonprofit private entities and schools and academic health science centers to train health personnel, train faculty, and develop and disseminate curricula and resource materials regarding the care of HIV patients and prevention of HIV infection among at risk individuals. Subtitle B: General Provisions in Title XXVI - Extends the authorization of appropriations for grants and contracts to evaluate programs carried out under title XXVI of the Public Health Service Act (HIV Health Care Services Program). (Sec. 412) Authorizes appropriations for collecting and providing data for program planning and evaluation under title XXVI. (Sec. 413) Adds the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Health Care Financing Administration to the list of agencies (currently, the Health Resources and Services Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) charged with coordinating the planning, funding, and implementation (currently, coordinating the planning of the funding) of Federal HIV programs to enhance continuity of care and prevention services (currently, continuity of care). Requires that State, local, or private entities receiving title XXVI funds enhance continuity of care and prevention services (currently, continuity of care). (Sec. 414) Directs the Secretary to develop and submit to Congress a plan for the medical case management of and the provision of support services to individuals who had HIV disease on their date of release from the Federal or State penal system. (Sec. 415) Authorizes the Secretary to reduce title XXVI grants to a State or political subdivision if the State or subdivision fails to prepare audits. (Sec. 416) Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop and submit to Congress a plan for coordinating the disbursement of appropriations for substantial need grants with the disbursement for care grants; (2) within two years after enactment of this Act, implement the disbursement plan, notwithstanding any title XXVI provision inconsistent with the plan; (3) determine whether administration of those grants by the Secretary and grantee compliance efficiency would be improved by requiring biennial rather than annual applications; (4) develop and submit to Congress a plan for simplifying the application process for those grants; and (5) within two years after enactment of this Act, implement the simplified application plan, notwithstanding any title XXVI provision inconsistent with the plan. (Sec. 417) Removes provisions directing the Secretary to develop and implement a method for adjusting the percentages allocated to substantial need grants and care grants to account for substantial need grants to new areas and other relevant factors. Authorizes appropriations for substantial need and care grants. Title V: General Provisions - Directs the Secretary to provide for studies, and report to the appropriate congressional committees, on: (1) whether the surveillance system of each State provides for the reporting of HIV infection cases in a way that provides information on the number and demographic characteristics of the cases that is sufficiently accurate for the formula grants under substantial need and care grant provisions and, if not, recommendations for improvements; and (2) the appropriate epidemiological measures and their relationship to the financing and delivery of primary care and health related support services for low income, uninsured, and underinsured individuals with HIV disease. (Sec. 502) Requires the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand, intensify, and coordinate research and other NIH activities regarding development of reliable and affordable HIV tests that can be rapidly administered and whose results can be rapidly obtained (rapid HIV tests). Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary: (1) to report to appropriate congressional committees on the progress made toward, and barriers to, the premarket review and commercial distribution of rapid HIV tests; and (2) promptly after rapid HIV test commercial distribution begins, to establish or update guidelines for States, hospitals, and other entities regarding the availability of those tests for administration to pregnant women in labor or late stage pregnancy and whose HIV status is unknown. (Sec. 503) Directs the Secretary, of the amounts available to the Secretary for program management at the Health Resources and Services Administration, to spend amounts necessary to ensure at least a 20 percent increase in fiscal year 2001 over fiscal year 2000 of full- time-equivalent staff of the Bureau of HIV/AIDS who administer programs under title XXVI. Title VI: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective dates for this Act and its amendments.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2000
Declares that: (1) the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall establish a special task force to study the history and contributions of African American slave laborers in the construction of the U.S. Capitol; and (2) such task force shall recommend an appropriate recognition for them which could be displayed in a prominent location in the U.S. Capitol.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2000
Recognizes the 60th anniversary of the U.S. nonrecognition policy of the Soviet takeover of the Baltic states and the contribution that policy made in supporting the aspirations of the people of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania to reassert their freedom and independence. Commends Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania for the reestablishment of their independence and the role they played in the disintegration of the former Soviet Union in 1990 and 1991, and for their success in implementing political and economic reforms. Expresses support for regional cooperation in Northern Europe among the Baltic and Nordic states and the Russian Federation. Calls for further cooperation in addressing common environmental, law enforcement, and public health problems, and in promoting civil society and business and trade development, and similar efforts that promote a peaceful, democratic, prosperous, and secure future for Europe, Russia and the Nordic-Baltic region.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2000
Medicare Guaranteed and Defined Rx Benefit and Health Provider Relief Act of 2000 - Title I: Medicare Prescription Medicine Benefit Program - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to add a new part D (Prescription Medicine Benefit for the Aged and Disabled) which establishes a voluntary insurance program to provide defined prescription medicine benefits, including pharmacy services, for eligible individuals who are aged or disabled or who have end-stage renal disease, and who voluntarily elect to enroll. States that the program shall be financed from enrollee premium payments together with contributions from funds appropriated by the Federal Government. (Sec. 101) Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to submit to Congress a legislative proposal for: (1) the delivery of home infusion therapy services under Medicare; and (2) a system of payment for such a benefit that coordinates items and services furnished under Medicare parts B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) and D. Creates within the Federal Supplemental Medical Insurance Trust Fund the Prescription Medicine Insurance Account. Directs the Secretary to provide for administration of part D benefits through a private benefit administrator for certain enrolled individuals residing in each geographic service area or, where that is impossible, with a fiscal intermediary under Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) or a carrier under Medicare part B. Requires the Secretary to: (1) ensure that all beneficiaries have guaranteed access to the full range of pharmaceuticals under part D, with special attention to access, pharmacist counseling, and delivery in rural and hard-to-serve areas, including use of incentives such as bonus payments to retail pharmacists in rural areas and extra payments to the benefit administrator for the cost of rapid delivery of pharmaceuticals; and (2) develop and implement the Employer Incentive Program that encourages employers and other sponsors of employment-based health care coverage who meet specified requirements to provide adequate prescription medicine benefits to retired individuals, and maintain existing benefit programs, by subsidizing, in part, the cost of providing coverage under qualifying plans. Provides for part D enrollment for individuals whose employment-based retiree health coverage ends under certain conditions. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 102) Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid), with regard to the prescription medicine benefit for certain low-income individuals, to provide for coverage of part D premiums as medical assistance for individuals dually eligible for other SSA assistance or for other medical care. Requires State Medicaid plans to provide that, in the case of any individual whose eligibility for medical assistance is not limited to Medicare or Medicare medicine cost-sharing, and for whom the State elects to pay monthly premiums under part D, the State will purchase all prescription medicines for such individual in accordance with the provisions part D, without regard to whether the basic benefit limitation for such individual has been reached. Requires Government payment of Medicare medicine cost-sharing for qualified Medicare beneficiaries and for Medicare beneficiaries with incomes between 100 and 150 percent of the Federal poverty line. Amends SSA title XVIII part D to outline special eligibility, enrollment, and copayment rules for low-income individuals, which include options for continuation of Medicaid coverage or enrollment under such part. (Sec. 103) Provides that if the mid-summer 2000 budget estimate prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office results in a higher-than-projected level of projected on-budget surplus over the ten fiscal year period beginning with FY 2001, there shall be (beginning with FY 2003) transfers to the Prescription Medicine Insurance Account in a fiscal year to offset the costs attributable to provisions added to Medicare by this Act that relate to catastrophic benefit payments in that fiscal year. (Sec. 104) Directs the Comptroller General of the United States to analyze and report to Congress on an ongoing basis about the part D prescription medicine benefit program. Directs the Secretary to: (1) report to Congress on possible tax and trade law changes to encourage increased original research on new pharmaceutical breakthrough products designed to address disease and illness; (2) study and report to Congress on methods used by the pharmaceutical industry to advertise and sell to consumers and to educate and sell to providers; and (3) study and report to Congress on the costs of, and needs for, pharmaceutical research, and the role that the taxpayer provides in encouraging such research. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress on the retail price of major pharmaceutical products in various developed nations, compared to prices for the same or similar products in the United States. Title II: Improvement In Beneficiary Services - Subtitle A: Improvement of Medicare Coverage and Appeals Process - Amends SSA title XVIII to revise requirements with respect to Medicare determinations and appeals, including initial determinations, expedited determinations, and publication on the Internet of decisions of hearings of the Secretary. (Sec. 201) Amends SSA title XVIII part C (Medicare+Choice) to apply the limitations on liability of qualified independent contractors to certain Medicare+Choice independent contractors who conduct reconsiderations of initial determinations. (Sec. 202) Amends SSA title XVIII to limit the liability of beneficiaries for repayment with respect to Medicare claims not paid or paid incorrectly. Includes in the explanation of Medicare benefits statement lists of each item or service furnished and the amount of the individual's liability for payment, as well as the toll-free telephone number for information and questions concerning the statement, individual liability for payment, and appeal rights. (Sec. 203) Amends SSA title XI to revise the meaning of waiver of coinsurance and deductible amounts (excluded from the meaning of unlawful remuneration subject to civil monetary penalties) to include a waiver offered as part of a supplemental insurance policy or retiree health plan. Subtitle B: Establishment of Medicare Ombudsman - Establishes a Medicare Ombudsman within the Health Care Financing Administration of the HHS Department to: (1) receive complaints, grievances, and requests for information submitted by a Medicare beneficiary concerning the Medicare program; and (2) provide assistance with respect to such complaints, grievances, and requests. Title III: Medicare+Choice Reforms; Preservation of Medicare Part B Drug Benefit - Subtitle A: Medicare+Choice Reforms - Amends SSA title XVIII part C with regard to calculation of annual Medicare+Choice capitation rates to: (1) reduce the national per capita Medicare+Choice growth percentage for 2001 and 2002; (2) remove permanently application of budget neutrality beginning in 2002; (3) increase the minimum payment amount for 2002; (4) increase the update for payment areas with only one or no Medicare+Choice contracts; and (5) permit higher negotiated rates in certain Medicare+Choice payment areas below the national average. (Sec. 307) Amends SSA title XVIII part C to provide for a ten year phase-in of the risk adjustment to the capitation rate based on data from all settings. Subtitle B: Preservation of Medicare Coverage of Drugs and Biologicals - Amends SSA title XVIII to: (1) cover under Medicare part B injectable and infusable drugs and biologicals which are not usually self-administered by the patient (currently only drugs and biologicals which cannot be self-administered are covered under Medicare part B); and (2) revise Medicare coverage for immunosuppressive drugs, establishing a part D catastrophic limit on part B copayments for such drugs. Subtitle C: Improvement of Certain Preventive Benefits - Amends SSA title XVIII to allow coverage of annual screening pap smear and pelvic exams. Title IV: Adjustments to Payment Provisions of the Balanced Budget Act - Subtitle A: Payments for Inpatient Hospital Services - Amends SSA title XVIII to eliminate the reduction in the hospital market basket update for FY 2001. (Sec. 402) Eliminates specified further reductions in indirect medical education (IME) and in disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments (and freezes Medicaid DSH payments) for FY 2001. (Sec. 404) Revises the formula for the increase in base payment to certain Puerto Rico hospitals for inpatient hospital discharges. Subtitle B: Payments for Skilled Nursing Services - Amends SSA title XVIII to eliminate the reduction in the skilled nursing facility (SNF) market basket update for FY 2001. (Sec. 412) Extends through 2002 the moratorium on therapy caps. Subtitle C: Payments for Home Health Services - Amends SSA title XVIII to delay for one more year the application of the 15 percent reduction on payment limits for home health services. (Sec. 422) Applies the full market basket update for home health services for FY 2001. Subtitle D: Rural Provider Provisions - Amends SSA title XVIII to eliminate the scheduled reduction in hospital outpatient market basket increase for rural hospitals in 2001 and 2002. Subtitle E: Other Providers - Amends SSA title XVIII to increase the update in the renal dialysis composite rate. Subtitle F: Provision for Additional Adjustments - Provides for specified aggregate amounts from estimated Social Security surpluses for the five fiscal year and ten fiscal year periods beginning in FY 2001 for additional improvements to the Medicare and Medicaid programs and payments to providers.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2000
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System should take appropriate action to reduce interest rates in the United States or at least to prevent further increases in such rates.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2000
Children's Day Care Health and Safety Improvement Act - Authorizes appropriations to carry out this Act. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make allotments to States and territories to enable them to establish programs to improve the health and safety of children receiving child care outside the home by preventing illnesses and injuries associated with such care and promoting the health and well-being of such children. Sets forth an allotment formula. Requires States to submit applications to the Secretary in order to be eligible for an allotment. Describes activities to be carried out by States through the use of such allotments.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2000
Veterans Cold Weather Injury Compensation Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish and maintain a registry of veterans who, while in active military service, were exposed for a significant period of time to sustained periods of extremely cold weather (seven days or more of average temperatures of 32 degrees or lower). Requires such registry to be used to determine the association, if any, between the disabilities of such veterans and the exposure to such weather. Presumes cold-weather injuries in such veterans to be service-connected and therefore compensable through veterans' disability compensation. Directs the Secretary, within 90 days, to prescribe initial regulations on injuries determined to have a positive association with sustained exposure to cold weather.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2000
Directs the Archivist of the United States to transfer to the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York, New York, the master versions of all photographic works of Griffith J. Davis which are in the possession of the National Archives and Records Administration. Requires other Federal agencies which possess such master versions to provide them to the Archivist.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2000
Wartime Parity and Justice Act of 2000 - Allows certain individuals of Japanese ancestry who were brought forcibly to the United States from countries in Latin America during World War II and interned in the United States to be provided restitution under the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. (Sec. 3) Declares that the United States apologizes to such individuals for the fundamental violations of their basic civil liberties and constitutional rights. Urges the President to transmit to each such individual a personal letter of apology on behalf of the United States. (Sec. 4) Places upon the Attorney General responsibility to identify and locate eligible individuals under this Act within 12 months. Authorizes any eligible individual to notify the Attorney General that the individual is eligible and provide documentation to that effect within six years. Directs the Attorney General to make a final determination of eligibility within one year after locating or receiving notification from an individual. Authorizes judicial review of a denial of compensation. Permits an individual covered by this Act who has accepted payment on a related claim against the United States before this Act's enactment to receive an appropriately reduced payment under this Act. (Sec. 5) Directs that: (1) individuals covered by this Act not be considered to have been present in the United States unlawfully during the evacuation, relocation, or internment period; and (2) each U.S. department or agency correct any records that indicate that such individuals were in the United States unlawfully. (Sec. 6) Directs: (1) the appropriate agencies to disclose to the public all information relating to the forcible removal of individuals from Latin America and their internment in the United States during that period; and (2) the President to share such information with other countries and to encourage those countries to make that information available to people in those countries. (Sec. 7) Reestablishes in the Treasury the Civil Liberties Public Education Fund to be available for such restitution. (Sec. 8) Establishes the Civil Liberties Public Education Fund Board of Directors which shall be responsible for making disbursements from the Fund: (1) to sponsor research and public education activities; and (2) for reasonable administrative expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2000
National and Community Service Amendments Act of 2000 - Title I: Amendments to National and Community Service Act of 1990 - Amends the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (NCSA) to reauthorize and revise various programs. (Sec. 103) Revises provisions for school-based and community-based service-learning programs to: (1) include Indian tribes as qualified organizations for program participation; and (2) eliminate a requirement that the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) give priority to grant applications containing specified proposals. (Sec. 104) Revises provisions for the national service trust program to: (1) eliminate provisions authorizing CNCS to transfer funds to another Federal agency to support a national service program; (2) limit the CNCS's share of the aggregate cost of national service positions, through a formula based on a specified amount per participant; (3) eliminate Federal agency positions from eligibility for approval for national service positions or educational awards; (4) establish a State minimum for national service grant awards; (5) provide for grants to increase the participation of individuals with disabilities, and for demonstration programs of outreach to such individuals; (6) reserve certain funds to support programs reducing CNCS costs; and (7) modify provisions relating to participant performance, selection, terms of service, and living allowances. (Sec. 105) Revises provisions for the national service trust to include, as an allowable use of trust funds, national service scholarships (under the program established by this Act). Makes expenditures from the trust available for interest payments during forbearance on loan repayment and for national service scholarship awards. Provides that a prohibition against using the educational award to pay off loans made to parents also applies to loans made to parents under the direct student loan program. Allows educational awards to be used to pay off private or State loans. Permits the trust to be used to support a national service scholarship program to recognize secondary school juniors and seniors engaged in community service activities. (Sec. 106)Authorizes the Director of the Civilian Community Corps (CCC) to select individuals with prior supervisory or service experience to be team leaders. Requires team leaders to be selected without regard to a specified age limitation. Revises authorized benefits for CCC members. (Sec. 107) Repeals the authority of State commissions and any division of CNCS to enter into agreements for coordinating functions. (Sec. 108) Eliminates a provision relating to staggered terms for CNS board members. Allows appointed board members whose terms have expired to continue to serve for a specified limited period. Authorizes the chief executive officer (CEO) of CNCS to enter into agreements with other agencies to carry out activities to implement national service laws. (Sec. 109) Authorizes the CEO of CNCS to serve as an ex officio, nonvoting member of the board of directors of the Points of Light Foundation. (Sec. 110) Extends through FY 2005 the authorization of appropriations for programs under NCSA. Title II: Amendments to the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 - Amends the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (DVSA) to reauthorize and revise: (1) title I National Volunteer Antipoverty Programs, part A Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) including VISTA Literacy Corps, part B University Year for VISTA, part C Special Volunteer Programs including literacy challenge grants; and (2) title II National Senior Service Corps (currently National Senior Volunteer Corps), part A Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), part B Foster Grandparent Program (FGP), and part C Senior Companion Program (SCP). (Sec. 203) Includes as a VISTA objective the encouragement of supportive efforts by local agencies and organizations to achieve long-term sustainability of programs in the absence of Federal assistance. Encourages the VISTA Director to enter into agreements under which public agencies and private organizations pay all or part of the direct cost of supporting volunteers. Authorizes the VISTA Director to provide a stipend of a maximum of $200 per month to individuals designated as volunteer leaders. (Sec. 204) Renames the National Senior Volunteer Corps as the National Senior Service Corps (NSSC). Eliminates the priority for enrolling individuals age 60 and older (but continues to allow individuals age 55 and older to enroll). Allows individuals age 55 (currently 60) or older to enroll in FGP, but gives priority to enrolling individuals age 60 or older. Requires any stipend under FGP to be at least $2.55 per hour and be adjusted for inflation once prior September 30, 2005. Allows individuals age 55 (currently 60) or older to enroll in SCP, but gives priority to enrolling individuals age 60 or older. Requires the SCP Director spend certain amounts each year to promote SCP. Prohibits awarding national significance grants for RSVP, FGP, or SCP unless the appropriated allocation for each program exceeds the appropriated allocations for each of the two preceding years. (Sec. 206) Extends through 2005 the authorization of appropriations for programs under DVSA. Title III: Technical Amendments to Other Laws - Revises references and makes other technical and conforming amendments to various other Federal laws.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2000
Good Samaritan Volunteer Firefighter Assistance Act of 2000 - Provides that neither a person (including any corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, society, joint stock company, or any other entity) who donates re-certified fire control or fire rescue equipment nor a State or local agency that administers the distribution of such equipment shall be liable for personal injuries, property damage, or death proximately caused by a defect in such equipment. Excepts such a person or agency from such liability protection if: (1) the person's act or omission causing the injury, damage, or loss constitutes malice, gross negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct; or (2) the person is the manufacturer of such equipment.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2000
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) each year should begin with a day of peace and sharing during which people around the world should gather with family, friends, neighbors, their faith community, or people of another culture to pledge nonviolence in the new year and to share in a celebratory new year meal; and (2) Americans who are able should match or multiply the cost of their new year meal with a timely gift to the hungry.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2000
Equal Access to Medicare Home Health Care Act of 2000 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to payments made under the prospective payment system (PPS) for Medicare home health services: (1) eliminating the 15 percent reduction in payment rates under such PPS; (2) requiring repayment with interest of Medicare overpayments by home health agencies after a 36-month grace period during which no interest shall accrue; and (3) providing for ten percent additional payments under the PPS for services in rural areas and security services. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to Congress on the feasibility and advisability of including home health services furnished by telecommunications systems as a home health service for purposes of payment for such services under the PPS, and of requirements with respect to physician certification of the need for home health services.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2000
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development, should work with foreign law enforcement and judicial agencies to enact legal system reforms to more effectively address the investigation and prosecution of so- called honor crimes, and make resources available to local organizations to provide refuge and rehabilitation for women who are victims of such crimes and their children; and (2) the Department of State, when preparing yearly Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, should include information relating to the incidence of honor violence in foreign countries, the steps taken to address such problem, and all relevant actions taken by the United States to reduce the incidence of such violence and to increase investigations and prosecutions of such crimes. Calls for: (1) the United States to communicate to the United Nations (UN) the concern over the high rate of honor-related violence toward women worldwide and request that the appropriate UN bodies propose actions to be taken to encourage these countries to end such violence; and (2) the President and the Secretary of State to communicate directly with leaders of countries where honor killings, dowry deaths, and related practices are endemic in order to convey the serious concerns over these gross violations of human rights and urge these leaders to investigate and prosecute all such acts as murder, with the appropriate penalties.