United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1999
Amends Federal law to require governmental pension plans of the U.S. possessions to be treated in the same manner as State pension plans for purposes of a specified limitation on the State income taxation of pension income.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Hmong Veterans' Naturalization Act of 1999 - Waives the English language requirement and provides special consideration for the civics requirement with respect to the naturalization of certain aliens (or their spouses or widows) who served with special guerilla units in Laos.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
National Oilheat Research Alliance Act of 1999 - Authorizes the oilheat industry to conduct a referendum through a qualified industry organization among retailers and wholesalers for the creation of a National Oilheat Research Alliance to develop programs concerning oilheat research and development, safety issues, consumer education, and training. Defines industry to include those persons involved in the production, transportation, and sale of oilheat, and in the manufacture and distribution of oilheat utilization equipment in the United States (but not the ultimate consumers of oilheat). Permits State industry trade association participation in such Alliance. Prescribes guidelines for Alliance membership and representation. Prescribes an assessment of two tenths of one cent per gallon to be collected on the sale of no. 1 and no. 2 dyed distillates by a wholesale distributor in a State participating in the Alliance and to be paid to the Alliance upon a quarterly basis. Requires the Alliance to establish a program coordinating its operation with that of any similar State, local, or regional program. Prescribes allocation guidelines governing Alliance funds made available to a qualified State association. Conditions fund availability upon the Alliance's determination that the funds will be used to directly benefit the oilheat industry. Empowers the Alliance to bring suit in Federal court to compel compliance with any assessments it levies. Mandates that Alliance-funded consumer education activities include a statement that they were supported by the Alliance. Prohibits such consumer education activities from including: (1) a reference to a private brand name; (2) a false or unwarranted claim on behalf of oilheat or related products; or (3) a reference regarding the attributes or use of any competing product. Prescribes procedural guidelines for the filing and transmittal of complaints, including judicial review in Federal court.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Medicare Common Sense Hospital Payment Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, as amended by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, to repeal a specified restriction on Medicare payment for certain hospital discharges to post-acute care.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Treatment and Assistance Act of 1999 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for a waiver of the 24-month waiting period for Medicare coverage for individuals disabled by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease. Amends SSA title XVIII (Medicare) to provide for Medicare coverage of any drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in the treatment or alleviation of ALS-related symptoms.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Amends Federal veterans' benefits provisions to require an employer to give an employee who is a member of a military reserve component an authorized leave of absence to allow participation in a military honor guard at the funeral of a veteran.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Autism Statistics, Surveillance, Research, and Epidemiology Act of 1999 (ASSURE) - Authorizes grants and contracts for the collection, analysis, and reporting of data on autism and pervasive developmental disabilities. Mandates establishment of three to five regional centers of excellence in autism and pervasive developmental disabilities epidemiology to collect and analyze information, to be established and operated through grants or cooperative agreements. Requires that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention serve as the coordinating agency for autism and pervasive developmental disabilities surveillance through the establishment of a clearinghouse for data generated from the monitoring programs created by this Act. Mandates establishment of an Advisory Committee for Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disabilities Epidemiology Research. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor Act of 1999 - Authorizes the President to award, and present in the name of the Congress, a Medal of Valor to a public safety officer who is cited by the Attorney General, on the advice of the Medal of Valor Review Board (established by this Act), for extraordinary valor above and beyond the call of duty. Establishes a permanent Medal of Valor Review Board to select candidates as recipients of the Medal from among those applications received by the National Medal Office (established by this Act). Authorizes appropriations. Establishes within the Department of Justice a National Medal Office to staff the Review Board and to establish criteria and procedures for the submission of recommendations of nominees for the Medal. Repeals provisions of the Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 establishing the President's Award for Outstanding Public Safety Service and the Secretary of Commerce's Award for Distinguished Public Safety Service. Directs the Attorney General to: (1) consult with the Institute of Heraldry within the Department of Defense regarding the design and artistry of the Medal of Valor; and (2) consider suggestions received by the Department of Justice regarding the design of the medal, including those made by persons not employed by the Department.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Homeowners' Insurance Availability Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to carry out a program under this Act to make reinsurance coverage available for purchase by: (1) eligible State programs; and (2) private insurers and reinsurers, State insurance and reinsurance programs, and other interested entities through auctions. Requires that such program shall be designed to improve the availability of homeowners' insurance for the purpose of facilitating the pooling, and spreading the risk, of catastrophic financial losses from natural disasters and to improve the solvency of homeowners' insurance markets. Directs the Secretary to offer reinsurance coverage through contracts with covered purchasers which shall: (1) not displace or compete with the private insurance, reinsurance, or capital markets; (2) minimize the administrative costs of the Federal Government; and (3) provide coverage based solely on insured losses within the State of the eligible State program purchasing the contract or within the region for which the auction for contract purchase is held. (Sec. 4) Sets forth: (1) qualified lines of coverage; and (2) covered perils. (Sec. 6) Describes requirements for eligible State programs, including that such programs: (1) be State-operated insurance programs (or reinsurance programs designed to improve private insurance markets) that offer coverage for homes and the contents of apartments based on a finding that such programs are necessary to provide for the continued availability of coverage for all residents; (2) are structured to be exempt from Federal taxation; (3) cover only a single peril; (4) require at least ten percent of net investment income to be used for programs to mitigate disaster losses, with an exception; and (5) meet specified coverage requirements. Establishes one-year contract terms. Sets forth considerations to be made by the Secretary in determining the cost of reinsurance coverage and requires the cost to consist of a risk-based price, risk load, and administrative costs. Grants purchasers whose coverage is exhausted before contract termination the option of making a single purchase for the remaining contract term. Makes State programs eligible to purchase contracts only if a State has in effect laws to prohibit price gouging, during the term of coverage, in disaster areas. (Sec. 7) Sets forth: (1) requirements for regional auctions for the purchase of reinsurance contracts; and (2) contract terms and conditions, including maximum one-year terms and prohibitions on price gouging. (Sec. 8) Requires eligible State programs to sustain an amount of retained losses from a single event of a covered peril of at least the greater of: (1) $2 billion; (2) the program's claims-paying capacity; and (3) an amount determined by the Secretary sufficient to cover eligible losses in the State during a 12-month period for all events having a likelihood of occurrence once every 100 years. Applies the requirements of (1) and (3) above to auctioned contracts as well. Establishes transitional requirements for the minimum level of retained losses applicable to certain existing and new State programs. Authorizes the Secretary to raise the minimum level of retained losses annually. Limits the maximum annual amount paid by the Secretary pursuant to claims under contracts to: (1) $25 billion, as adjusted for inflation; or (2) for any year during the four-year period beginning on the date contracts are first made available for purchase, an amount that the Secretary shall establish and revise, not exceeding $25 billion. Requires claimants to receive prorated portions of the amount available for claims in any year in which claims exceed such maximum amount. Limits contracts to 50 percent of the risk of insured losses in excess of retained losses for States or regions. (Sec. 9) Establishes, within the Treasury, the Disaster Reinsurance Fund. Specifies: (1) the amounts with which the Fund shall be credited; and (2) the uses of the amounts in the Fund. (Sec. 10) Directs the Secretary to establish the National Commission on Catastrophe Risks and Insurance Loss Costs. Requires the Commission to meet for the sole purpose of advising the Secretary regarding the estimated loss costs associated with the reinsurance contracts and carrying out this Act's functions. Authorizes appropriations. Provides for an offset amount to be obtained from purchasers of reinsurance coverage and deposited in the Fund. (Sec. 12) Terminates reinsurance coverage ten years after this Act's enactment. Provides a five-year extension of such deadline if the Secretary determines such coverage necessary because of insufficient growth of capacity in the private homeowners' insurance market. (Sec. 13) Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress on the cost and availability of homeowners' insurance for losses resulting from catastrophic natural disasters covered by the reinsurance program under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Designates the U.S. Postal Service building located at: (1) 2601 North 16th Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the Roxanne H. Jones Post Office Building; (2) 5300 West Jefferson Street in Philadelphia as the Freeman Hankins Post Office Building; and (3) 2037 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia as the Max Weiner Post Office Building.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Honesty in Sweepstakes Act of 1999 - Amends Federal postal law to prohibit delivery of any mail constituting a solicitation or offer in connection with a sales promotion for a product or service that uses any game of chance offering anything of value (including any sweepstakes) or anything resembling a negotiable instrument, unless specified notices in a specified font are printed on the envelope and enclosed material. States that nothing in this Act shall preempt any State law that regulates advertising or sales of goods and services associated with any game of chance.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Community Protection Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal criminal code to authorize qualified law enforcement officers carrying the official badge and photographic identification issued by the governmental agency for which the individual is employed as a law enforcement officer, notwithstanding State or local laws, to carry a concealed firearm that has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce. Specifies that this Act shall not be construed to supersede or limit the laws of any State that: (1) permit private persons or entities to prohibit or restrict the possession of concealed firearms on their property; or (2) prohibit or restrict the possession of firearms on any State or local government property, installation, building, base, or park. (Sec. 3) Sets forth similar provisions authorizing qualified retired law enforcement officers to carry concealed firearms notwithstanding State or local laws.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Government Shutdown Prevention Act - Provides for continuing appropriations (at 100 percent of the rate of operations provided for in FY 1999) in the absence of regular appropriations for FY 2000.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Truth in Budgeting Act - Prohibits the receipts and disbursements of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, the Inland Waterways Trust Fund, and the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund from being counted as new budget authority, outlays, receipts, or deficit or surplus for purposes of the Federal budget as submitted by the President, the congressional budget, or the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Exempts such trust funds from any general statutory budget outlays limitation. Amends Federal transportation law to require the Secretary of Transportation to estimate annually: (1) what, but for this Act, would be at the close of the next fiscal year the amount of unfunded aviation authorizations; and (2) the net aviation receipts at the close of such year.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
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 individuals 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 the individual: (1) is supervised by an adult relative or by an adult member of the same religious sect or division; (2) does not operate or assist in the operation of power-driven woodworking machines; (3) is protected from wood particles or other flying debris within the workplace by a barrier appropriate to such potential hazard or by maintaining a sufficient distance from machinery in operation; and (4) is required to use personal protective equipment to prevent exposure to excessive levels of noise and sawdust.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Bill Emerson English Language Empowerment Act of 1999 - Amends Federal law to declare English to be the official language of the U.S. Government. States that representatives of the Federal Government have an affirmative obligation to preserve and enhance the role of English as the official language of the Federal Government. Requires such representatives to conduct official business in English. Prohibits anyone from being denied Government services because he or she communicates in English. Requires that all officials conduct all naturalization ceremonies entirely in English. Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit the preservation or use of Native Alaskan or Native American languages.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Affordable Housing Opportunity Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase, and link to the cost-of-living adjustment, the State low-income housing credit ceiling.
United States · United States Congress · 10 October 1998
Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to establish guidelines for the transfer to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and deposit into a special account of any contribution or donation given to a political committee that the committee intends to return, as well as for the return of such contribution or donation after it is deposited to the person who made it. Requires: (1) the political committee to include certain information along with the transferred contribution or donation, such as a request that the FEC return the contribution or donation to the person making it; and (2) the FEC to notify the Attorney General and the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service of the receipt of such contribution or donation. Allows amounts in the special account to be applied toward the payment of any applicable fines or penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 1998
Calls upon the President to: (1) pursue enhanced enforcement of U.S. trade laws with respect to the surge of steel imports into the United States, including offsetting duties, quantitative restraints, and other authorized remedial measures; (2) pursue a more equitable sharing of the burden of accepting imports of finished steel products from Asia and the countries within the Commonwealth of Independent States; (3) establish a task force with responsibility for closely monitoring U.S. imports of steel; and (4) report to the Congress by January 5, 1999, with a comprehensive plan for responding to the import surge, including ways of limiting its deleterious effects on employment, prices, and investment in the U.S. steel industry.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 1998
Amends Federal law to require governmental pension plans of the U.S. possessions to be treated in the same manner as State pension plans for purposes of a specified limitation on the State income taxation of pension income.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 1998
Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to exempt licensed funeral directors from the minimum wage and overtime compensation requirements of such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1998
Designates certain lands in the Valley Forge National Historical Park as the Valley Forge National Cemetery. Transfers administrative jurisdiction over such lands from the Secretary of the Interior to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
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 · 27 July 1998
Medicare Home Health Beneficiary Protection Act of 1998 - Amends part D (Miscellaneous Provisions) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA), as amended by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA '97), to revise reasonable cost requirements with regard to the interim system of limited payments for services provided by home health agencies. Establishes a moratorium on implementation of per beneficiary limits and a three-year freeze on cost limits. Amends BBA '97 to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to: (1) establish a process for eliminating inappropriate utilization of home health services by reviewing claims for reimbursement of such services furnished under the Medicare program in which the number of home health visits provided to a beneficiary in a year exceeds the regional average of per beneficiary annual visits; (2) if appropriate, issue a determination denying payment for such a claim, and refer the name of the claimant-provider to the HHS Office of Inspector General for investigation; and (3) include in the annual reports to the Congress on home health cost containment any recommendations for changes to the method of payment, claims review, and scope of benefits that the Secretary determines is necessary to achieve actual outlays equal to estimated outlays under Medicare parts A (Hospital Insurance) and B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) for such services during the following fiscal year. (Sec. 4) Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for: (1) establishment of limits for calculating prospective payment rates for home health services under the payment system for such services; and (2) temporary restoration of periodic interim payment for such services.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 1998
Amends the Congressional Review Act to treat as major rules (subject to special congressional review and an expedited disapproval process) certain rules promulgated by the Internal Revenue Service that result in increases in Federal revenues.
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 · 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
Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor Act of 1998 - Authorizes the President to award, and present in the name of the Congress, a Medal of Valor to a public safety officer who is cited by the Attorney General, on the advice of the Medal of Valor Review Board (established by this Act), for extraordinary valor above and beyond the call of duty. Establishes a permanent Medal of Valor Review Board to select candidates as recipients of the Medal from among those applications received by the National Medal Office (established by this Act). Authorizes appropriations. Establishes within the Department of Justice a National Medal Office to staff the Review Board and to establish criteria and procedures for the submission of recommendations of nominees for the Medal. Repeals provisions of the Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 establishing the President's Award for Outstanding Public Safety Service and the Secretary of Commerce's Award for Distinguished Public Safety Service.
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 · 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
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.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1998
Designates the U.S. Postal Service building located at 2601 North 16th Street, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the Roxanne H. Jones Post Office Building.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1998
Designates the U.S. Postal Service building located at 5209 Greene Street, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the David P. Richardson, Jr., Post Office Building.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1998
Designates the U.S. Postal Service building located at 5300 West Jefferson Street, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the Freeman Hankins Post Office Building.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1998
Administrative Law Judge Conference of the United States Act - Establishes the Administrative Law Judge Conference of the United States to consist of all administrative law judges. Makes the chief administrative law judge the chief administrative officer and presiding judge of the Conference. Requires the chief judge to be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and to have served as an administrative law judge for at least five years before the date of appointment. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the chief judge's term of office, rate of pay, and service as an administrative law judge after expiration of that term; and (2) powers of the chief judge (including to enhance the administrative law process, develop training programs, and encourage the efficient use of administrative law judges through temporary reassignment based upon workload). Transfers all administrative law judge functions currently performed by the Office of Administrative Law Judges of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to the Conference. Directs that the chief judge assign administrative law judges to agencies for the adjudication of agency cases. Makes each agency responsible for providing all administrative law judge budget, resources, and support requirements, for maintaining administrative law judge finance records, and for appointing the chief administrative law judge for the agency. Declares that the advisory body on policy of the Conference shall be the Council of the Administrative Law Judge Conference of the United States, with the chief judge presiding over the Council. Sets forth provisions regarding Council membership, responsibilities, public member compensation, administrative law judge duties, case referrals, and application of agency policy. Directs the chief judge, upon the Council's recommendation and after providing notice and a period for comment, to adopt and issue rules of judicial conduct for administrative law judges. Prohibits an administrative law judge from being removed, suspended, reprimanded, or disciplined except for misconduct or neglect, or for physical or mental disability. Requires the rules of the chief judge to contain a Complaints Resolution Board which consists of both administrative law judges and attorneys, at a specified rate of compensation. Sets forth complaint and transition procedures. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 for the Conference.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1998
Designates the U.S. Postal Service building located at 658 63rd Street, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the Edgar C. Campbell, Sr., Post Office Building.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Asbestos Resolution Corporation Title II: Medical Eligibility Determinations Title III: Alternative Dispute Resolution Title IV: Civil Actions Title V: Rules Applicable to Arbitrations and Civil Actions Title VI: Funding Title VII: Applicability; Pending Civil Action Title VIII: Miscellaneous Provisions Fairness in Asbestos Compensation Act of 1998 - Title I: Asbestos Resolution Corporation - Establishes the Asbestos Resolution Corporation which shall: (1) have exclusive authority to adopt rules for cost recovery, physician qualifications, alternative dispute resolution, exceptional medical cases, and disease eligibility; and (2) appoint a Medical Advisory Board. Title II: Medical Eligibility Determinations - Sets forth claimant medical eligibility determination criteria for: (1) nonmalignant conditions; (2) mesothelioma; (3) lung cancer; and (4) other cancer. (Sec. 205) Sets forth procedures for Corporation determination of a claimant's certificate of medical eligibility. (Sec. 206) Directs the Corporation to establish one or more exceptional medical claims panels. Sets forth application and acceptance provisions. (Sec. 207) Provides for: (1) confidentiality; and (2) U.S. district court review of Corporation determinations of eligibility. Title III: Alternative Dispute Resolution - Directs the Board to establish procedural rules for an alternative dispute resolution process. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) motions officers; (2) respondent notification; (3) additional respondents; (4) grace period; (5) mediation and arbitration; and (6) subpoena powers. Title IV: Civil Actions - Prohibits: (1) a civil asbestos action unless the plaintiff has obtained a certificate of medical eligibility and release from mediation; and (2) a class action or other collective action without the consent of each defendant. (Sec. 404) Requires a penalty for a final offer made by a respondent in mediation if such offer is below a certain amount assigned by the jury or fact-finder. Title V: Rules Applicable to Arbitrations and Civil Actions - Sets forth arbitration and civil action rules with respect to: (1) relief; (2) timeliness defenses; (3) attorney's fees; and (4) nonpreclusion of nonmalignant claims upon subsequent malignancy claims. Title VI: Funding - Directs the Corporation to estimate its annual medical review and administrative and overhead costs and allocate proportionate cost shares among the previous year's respondents. Provides monetary penalties for noncooperation with the Corporation. (Sec. 602) Provides for mediation and arbitration costs to be charged on a per capita basis to participating respondents. (Sec. 603) Directs the Corporation to establish procedures for informal resolution of cost assessment disputes. Provides for U.S. district court review of cost assessment disputes. Title VII: Applicability; Pending Civil Actions - Makes this Act applicable to any civil asbestos action that has not resulted in a final, nonappealable judgment, with specified conditions applicable to pending civil actions. Title VIII: Miscellaneous Provisions - Defines specified terms. (Sec. 804) Makes this Act inapplicable to existing asbestos trusts, with an elective trust exception.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Designation and Evaluation of Renewal Communities Title II: Tax Incentives for Renewal Communities Title III: Additional Provisions American Community Renewal Act of 1998 - Title I: Designation and Evaluation of Renewal Communities - Renewing American Communities Act of 1998 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to designate (upon local or State nomination) up to 100 renewal communities, of which at least 20 percent shall be in rural areas. Requires for nomination purposes that: (1) the area be experiencing high rates of poverty and unemployment and general distress; and (2) State and local governments enter into written contracts with neighborhood organizations to promote specified economic growth and employment activities. Treats renewal communities as labor surplus areas for all Federal law purposes. Title II: Tax Incentives for Renewal Communities - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income capital gains on the sale or exchange of a qualified community asset (stock, business property, or partnership interest) held for more than five years. Allows a specified deduction for amounts paid into a family development account on behalf of an individual or another qualified individual who is a renewal community resident. Excludes from gross income account distributions used for qualified family development expenses (postsecondary education, first-home purchase, business capitalization, medical, and rollovers). Provides a penalty (with exceptions) in addition to inclusion as gross income for nonqualifying distributions. Provides for designation of up to 25 percent of qualifying renewal communities as matching demonstration areas eligible to receive family development account matching contributions. Authorizes: (1) designation of earned income tax credit payments for family development account deposit; (2) a commercial building revitalization tax credit; (3) increased first year expensing for renewal community businesses; (4) extension of environmental remediation cost expensing and the work opportunity credit for renewal communities; and (5) similar tax treatment of renewal communities and enterprise zones for specified youth residence requirements. (Sec. 205) Makes conforming amendments to provisions respecting: (1) tax on excess contributions and prohibited transactions; (2) trust and annuity information; (3) tax exemption applications; and (4) the commercial revitalization credit. Title III: Additional Provisions - Provides for local government transfer of unoccupied and substandard Department of Housing and Urban Development multifamily and single family housing in renewal communities, with subsequent disposition priority to be given to community development corporations. (Sec. 302) Amends the Public Health Service Act to make religious organizations eligible to administer specified substance prevention and abuse programs. Sets forth program provisions. (Sec. 303) Amends the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 to provide that a financial institution's investments in community development organizations located in renewal communities may be considered in evaluations under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1998
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish a limited credit for qualified medical innovation expenses for clinical testing research expenses attributable to academic medical centers and other qualified hospital research organizations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1998
Library of Congress Bicentennial Commemorative Coin Act of 1998 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue five-dollar gold coins and one-dollar silver coins emblematic of the Library of Congress. Authorizes the Secretary to mint and issue $10 bimetallic coins of gold and platinum in lieu of the gold coins. Requires payment of coin sale surcharges to the Library of Congress Trust Fund Board to support Library activities.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1998
Declares that the Congress is unequivocally opposed to legalizing marijuana for medicinal use. Urges the defeat of State initiatives seeking to legalize medicinal marijuana use. Directs the Attorney General to report to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, regarding specified years, on: (1) the total quantity of marijuana eradicated in the United States; and (2) the annual number of arrests and prosecutions for Federal marijuana offenses.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1998
Controlled Substances Trafficking Prohibition Act - Amends the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act to authorize individuals to bring into the United States a non-schedule I controlled substance if they: (1) enter the United States from Mexico; (2) do not possess a valid prescription or documentation which verifies such prescription; but (3) lawfully possess such substance for personal medical use, or for administration to an accompanying animal. Requires such a substance to be: (1) in an amount not more than 50 dosage units; or (2) if the individual does not lawfully reside in the United States, in an amount consistent with the individual's approximate stay in the United States. Declares that such Federal requirement does not limit any State from imposing additional requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1998
Farm and Ranch Risk Management Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow individuals engaged in eligible farming businesses to deduct from gross income for any taxable year the amount (limited to 20 percent of the individual's taxable income for the year) paid into an interest-bearing Farm and Ranch Risk Management (FARRM) Account, created for the taxpayer's exclusive benefit. Requires withdrawal of contributions within five years, upon which they are taxable as ordinary income in the year of withdrawal. Deems a distribution, subject to income tax, of any deposits not actually distributed within five years, and prescribes an additional penalty tax of ten percent of any such deemed distribution.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 1998
National Oilheat Research Alliance Act of 1998 - Authorizes the oilheat industry to conduct a referendum through a qualified industry organization among retailers and wholesalers for the creation of a National Oilheat Research Alliance to develop programs concerning oilheat research and development, safety issues, consumer education, and training. Defines industry to include those persons involved in the production, transportation, and sale of oilheat, and in the manufacture and distribution of oilheat utilization equipment, in the United States (but not the ultimate consumers of oilheat). Permits State participation in such Alliance. Prescribes guidelines for Alliance membership and representation. Requires the Alliance to: (1) establish a program coordinating its operation with that of any similar State, local, or regional program; and (2) levy and collect annual assessments on the wholesale sale of No. 1 distillate and No. 2 dyed distillate sufficient to cover Alliance plans and program costs. Empowers the Alliance to bring suit in Federal court to compel compliance with any assessments it levies.
![Official portrait of Rep. Gekas, George W. [R-PA-17]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/g000121_200.jpg)