United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Expresses the sense of the Congress that Jonathan Jay Pollard should serve his full sentence of life imprisonment and should not receive any form of executive clemency from the President.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Permits certain veterans with service-connected disabilities who are retired members of the uniformed services to receive compensation concurrently with retired pay, without deduction from either.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Congressional Pay Integrity and Accountability Act of 1999 - Amends the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 to eliminate automatic pay adjustments for Members of Congress. Requires the annual rate of pay for Members to be the rate payable as of the enactment of this Act, until such rate is adjusted under provisions of the Federal Salary Act of 1967 or other provision of law.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Collegiate Learning and Student Savings Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) permit private higher educational institutions, in addition to currently permitted State institutions, to establish qualified tuition programs; and (2) exclude from gross income such program distributions used for qualified higher education expenses. Amends the Investment Company Act of 1940 to exempt qualified tuition programs from the definition of an investment company.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Long-Term Care Advancement Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) except from the penalty tax and exclude from income amounts withdrawn from qualified retirement plans which are used to pay for premiums for qualified long-term care insurance contracts; and (2) provide a limited credit for an individual who maintains a household with a person requiring custodial care.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Freedom and Privacy Restoration Act of 1999 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit any Federal, State, or local government agency or instrumentality from using a social security account number or any derivative as the means of identifying any individual, except for specified social security and tax purposes. Amends the Privacy Act of 1974 to prohibit any Federal, State, or local government agency or instrumentality from requesting an individual to disclose his social security account number on either a mandatory or a voluntary basis. Prohibits any two Federal agencies or instrumentalities from implementing the same identifying number with respect to any individual, except as authorized under this Act. Prohibits a Federal agency from: (1) establishing or mandating a uniform standard for identification of an individual that is required to be used by any other Federal agency, a State agency, or a private person for any purpose other than the purpose of conducting the authorized activities of the Federal agency establishing or mandating the standard; or (2) conditioning receipt of any Federal grant or contract or other Federal funding on the adoption, by a State, a State agency, or a political subdivision of a State, of a uniform standard for identification of an individual. Prohibits a Federal agency from establishing or mandating a uniform standard for identification of an individual that is required to be used within the agency, or by any other Federal agency, a State agency, or a private person, for the purpose of: (1) investigating, monitoring, overseeing, or otherwise regulating a transaction to which the Federal Government is not a party; or (2) administrative simplification.
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
Uniformed Services Former Spouses Equity Act of 1999 - Requires payment from the monthly disposable retired pay of a member to his or her former spouse in compliance with court orders (division of property) to terminate upon the remarriage of that spouse, effective as of the last day of the month in which the remarriage occurs. Provides that, in the case of a member to whom a final decree of divorce, dissolution, annulment, or legal separation is issued before the member begins to receive retired pay, the disposable retired pay of such member, for purposes of such monthly payments, shall be computed based on the pay grade and length of service of the member while married. Increases such amount concurrently with retired pay increases. Requires a member's spouse or former spouse to obtain a court order for reapportionment of a member's monthly disposable retired pay by the later of the following dates: (1) two years of the date of the final decree of divorce, dissolution, annulment, or legal separation; or (2) six months after the enactment of this Act. Prohibits the court from treating as part of a member's disposable retired pay amounts which have been waived from such pay in order to receive veterans' disability compensation.
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
Military Retiree Health Care Task Force Act of 1999 - Establishes the Medicare Eligible Military Retiree Health Care Consensus Task Force to study and report to the Congress on matters relating to health care coverage of retired military personnel and their families, Federal sharing agreements relating to such care, and proposals to provide a full continuum of such coverage to Medicare-eligible military retirees and their dependents.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Amends Federal armed forces provisions to remove certain numerical and geographic restrictions on the participation by Medicare-eligible Department of Defense beneficiaries in the Federal Employees Health Benefits program. Provides open enrollment periods through the year 2002 (currently 2000) and revises enrollment terms.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Directs the Secretary of the military department concerned to pay monthly special compensation to severely disabled military retirees as follows: (1) $300 for those with disabilities rated as total; (2) $200 for those with disabilities rated at 90 percent; and (3) $100 for those with disabilities rated at 70 or 80 percent. Requires such retirees to have completed at least 20 years of retirement-creditable military service and to have a service-connected disability.
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 · 6 January 1999
Biennial Budget Act of 1999 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to revise the Federal and congressional budget processes by establishing a two-year budgeting and appropriations cycle and timetable. Revises the timetable with respect to the congressional budget process. (Sec. 4) Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act to define the budget biennium as the two consecutive fiscal years beginning on October 1 of any odd-numbered year. Makes conforming amendments to provisions regarding the congressional budget process. Revises provisions relating to the reconciliation process to: (1) raise the ceiling on debate in the Senate on any reported reconciliation measure from 20 to 100 hours; and (2) provide a point of order against consideration of reconciliation measures in the House of Representatives or the Senate which change any provision of law other than those which provide certain new budget or spending authority relating to Government corporations or gifts made to the United States, relate to revenues, or specify the amount of the public debt limit. (Sec. 5) Conforms provisions governing the President's budget to the biennial framework. (Sec. 6) Requires all Acts making regular appropriations for the support of the Government to be enacted for a biennium and to specify the amount of appropriations provided for each fiscal year in that period. (Sec. 7) Requires the heads of Federal agencies, the Comptroller General, and the heads of specified legislative branch agencies to provide requested information and assistance to the chairmen and ranking minority members of the House and Senate standing committees with respect to program administration. (Sec. 8) Makes conforming amendments regarding the biennial budget cycle to the Rules of the House of Representatives. (Sec. 9) Applies this Act to bienniums beginning after September 30, 2001.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Constitutional Amendment - Authorizes the President to disapprove any item of appropriation in any bill. Requires any item of appropriation contained in a bill approved by the President which is not disapproved to become law. Permits the Congress to reconsider any item so disapproved.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits outlays for a fiscal year (except those for repayment of debt principal) from exceeding total receipts (except those derived from borrowing) for that fiscal year unless the Congress, by a three-fifths roll call vote of each House, authorizes a specific excess of outlays over receipts. Requires a three-fifths roll call vote of each House to increase the public debt. Directs the President to submit a balanced budget to the Congress. Requires the approval of a majority of each House by roll call vote before any bill to increase revenue may become law. Authorizes the Congress to waive these provisions when: (1) a declaration of war is in effect; or (2) the United States is engaged in a military conflict which poses a threat to national security as declared by a joint resolution adopted by a majority of each House. Makes this article effective beginning with FY 2002 or with the second fiscal year beginning after its ratification, whichever is later.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Constitutional Amendment - Makes any person who has been elected for a full term: (1) two times to the Senate ineligible for election or appointment to the Senate; or (2) six times to the House ineligible for election to the House. Bars any person who has served as a: (1) Senator for more than three years of a term to which some other person was elected from being subsequently eligible for election to the Senate more than once; and (2) Representative for more than one year from being subsequently eligible for election to the House more than five times. Excludes election or service occurring before this article becomes operative when determining eligibility.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1998
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should: (1) immediately seek North Atlantic Treaty Organization agreement to take direct and decisive action against those forces attacking civilian populations in Kosovo; and (2) strongly urge the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia to pursue investigations of the assault taking place in Kosovo for prosecution as war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide.
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 · 6 August 1998
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the international agencies charged with inspections in Iraq (the International Atomic Energy Agency and the United Nations Special Commission) must continue to maintain complete inspections, including surprise inspections, within Iraq; and (2) the U.S. Representative to the United Nations should vehemently oppose any efforts to weaken the inspections regimes on Iraq as long as there is evidence that the Government of Iraq is seeking to develop or acquire weapons of mass destruction and the means of delivering them.
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 · 21 July 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Assistance for Sub-Saharan Africa Title II: Worldwide Food Assistance and Agricultural Programs Subtitle A: Nonemergency Food Assistance Programs Subtitle B: Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust Act of 1998 Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions Africa: Seeds of Hope Act of 1998 - Declares it to be U.S. policy, consistent with title XII of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act, to support governments of sub-Saharan African countries, U.S. and African nongovernmental organizations, universities, businesses, and international agencies to help ensure the availability of basic nutrition and economic opportunities for sub-Saharan individuals, through sustainable agricultural and rural development. Title I: Assistance for Sub-Saharan Africa - Directs the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID), in providing development assistance under the Africa Food Security Initiative, or any comparable or successor program, to: (1) emphasize programs and projects that improve the food security of children, women, and food-insecure households, or that improve the agricultural productivity, incomes, and marketing of the rural poor in Africa; (2) solicit and take into consideration the views and needs of intended beneficiaries and program participants during the selection, planning, implementation, and evaluation phases of projects; and (3) ensure that programs are designed and conducted in cooperation with African and U.S. organizations and institutions (such as private and voluntary organizations, cooperatives, land-grant and other appropriate universities, and local producer-owned cooperative marketing and buying associations) that have expertise in addressing the needs of the poor, small-scale farmers, entrepreneurs, and rural workers, including women. (Sec. 101) Expresses the sense of the Congress that, if there is an increase in funding for sub-Saharan programs, the Administrator of AID should proportionately increase resources to the Africa Food Security Initiative, or any comparable or successor program, for FY 2000 and subsequent fiscal years in order to meet the needs of the countries participating in such Initiative. (Sec. 102) Directs the Administrator of AID to use, through bilateral and multilateral assistance, microenterprise assistance (including credit) to improve the capacity and efficiency of agricultural production in sub-Saharan Africa of small-scale farmers and small rural entrepreneurs (specifically taking into consideration the needs of women, and using the applied research and technical assistance capabilities of U.S. land-grant universities). (Sec. 103) Authorizes the Administrator of AID to utilize foreign assistance programs and initiatives for sub-Saharan Africa to support private producer-owned cooperative marketing associations there, including rural business associations owned by farmer shareholders. (Sec. 104) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) should issue loans, guaranties, and insurance, and utilize existing equity funds and loan and insurance funds, to support private agricultural and rural development in sub-Saharan Africa (particularly intermediary organizations that directly serve the needs of small-scale farmers, small rural entrepreneurs, and rural producer-owned cooperative purchasing and marketing associations). (Sec. 105) Directs the Administrator of AID to develop a comprehensive plan to coordinate and build on the research and extension activities of U.S. land-grant universities, international agricultural research centers, and national agricultural research and extension centers in sub-Saharan Africa. Title II: Worldwide Food Assistance and Agricultural Programs - Subtitle A: Non-Emergency Food Assistance Programs - Sets forth general requirements for the administration of non-emergency assistance programs under title II of the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954. Subtitle B: Bill Emerson Humanitarian International Food Security Trust Act of 1998 - Bill Emerson Humanitarian International Food Security Trust Act of 1998 - Amends the Food Security Commodity Reserve Act of 1996 and the Food Security Wheat Reserve Act of 1980 to rename specified provisions of the Food for Development Program as the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust Act. (Sec. 212) Includes, as part of the established trust stock of wheat, rice, corn, or sorghum used to meet emergency humanitarian food needs in developing countries, certain funds for Commodity Credit Corporation programs under the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 that are available, with respect to FY 2000 and subsequent fiscal years, to acquire such eligible commodities through purchases from producers or in the market to replenish the trust. Authorizes the release of eligible commodities from the trust for emergency food assistance to developing countries, provided such release is at levels consistent with maintaining the long-term value of the trust. Makes permanent the authority for the trust. Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions - Directs the Administrator of AID to report to the Congress on AID's plans for implementing the Africa Food Security Initiative and an estimate of all amounts expended or to be expended on related activities during the current and previous four years.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1998
Applies this resolution to the investigation by the House Committee on Education and Workforce into the administration of labor laws by Government agencies, including the Departments of Labor and Justice, concerning the International Brotherhood of the Teamsters and other related matters. Considers information obtained under the authority of this resolution as taken: (1) in the District of Columbia as well as at the location actually taken; and (2) in executive session by the subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the Committee. Authorizes the Chairman of the Committee, after consultation with the ranking minority member of the Committee, to: (1) order the taking of depositions or interrogatories anywhere in the United States, under oath and pursuant to notice or subpoena; and (2) designate a member, staff, or contractor of the Committee to conduct any such proceeding.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1998
Community Services Authorization Act of 1998 - Amends the Community Services Block Grant Act (CSBGA) to reauthorize and revise its programs. (Sec. 2) Extends through FY 2003 the authorization of appropriations for community services block grants. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to reserve specified portions of annual appropriations for payments to territories, training and technical assistance and other activities, and discretionary activities. Revises or adds provisions relating to: (1) program authorization; (2) apportionment of funds to territories; (3) allotment and payment of funds to States; (4) use of funds by States for grants to eligible entities; (5) State applications and plans; (6) designation and redesignation by States of eligible entities in unserved areas of the State; (7) tripartite boards for eligible entities; (8) direct payment of funds by the Secretary to Indian tribes and tribal organizations; (9) the Secretary's carrying out certain functions of the Act through the Office of Community Services, and through grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements; (10) the Secretary's use of set-aside funds for training, technical assistance, planning, evaluation, and data collection activities; (11) State monitoring of eligible entities to determine whether such entities meet performance goals, administrative standards, financial management requirements, and other State requirements; (12) corrective action, termination and reduction of funding, in cases where a State determines that an eligible entity materially fails to comply with the terms of an agreement or the State plan, or to meet appropriate standards, goals, and other State requirements; (13) fiscal controls, audits, and withholding of Federal funds; (14) Federal and State accountability and reporting on the performance of eligible entities; (15) limitations on the use of funds; (16) participation of faith-based organizations in programs under the Act; and (17) the Secretary's use of set-aside funds for discretionary activities involving community economic development, rural community development, and neighborhood innovation projects. (Sec. 3) Extends through FY 2003 the authorization of appropriations, under CSBGA, for the Secretary to make grants for: (1) community food and nutrition programs; and (2) national or regional programs designed to provide instructional activities for low-income youth. Allows State drug testing of participants in programs, activities and services under CSBGA. Requires eligible entities to make certain paternity determinations. (Sec. 5) Repeals requirements of the Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1986 relating to: (1) interest rates payable on certain rural development loans, and assignment of loan contracts; and (2) demonstration partnership agreements addressing the needs of the poor.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 Subtitle A: Patient Protections Subtitle B: Patient Access to Information Subtitle C: New Procedures and Access to Courts for Grievances Arising under Group Health Plans Subtitle D: Affordable Health Coverage for Employees of Small Businesses Title II: Amendments to Public Health Service Act Subtitle A: Patient Protections and Point of Service Coverage Requirements Subtitle B: Patient Access to Information Subtitle C: HealthMarts Subtitle D: Community Health Organizations Title III: Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 Subtitle A: Patient Protections Subtitle B: Patient Access to Information Subtitle C: Medical Savings Accounts Title IV: Health Care Lawsuit Reform Subtitle A: General Provisions Subtitle B: Uniform Standards for Health Care Liability Actions Title V: Confidentiality of Health Information Title VI: Medical Savings Accounts for Federal Employees Patient Protection Act of 1998 - Title I: Amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 - Subtitle A: Patient Protections - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to prohibit a group health plan, or a health insurance issuer offering group coverage, from imposing on a health professional any prohibition on advice provided to a participant or beneficiary. Requires a plan or issuer, if it provides benefits for: (1) emergencies, to provide benefits (without preauthorization) for emergency medical screening examinations if a prudent layperson would determine them necessary; (2) routine gynecological or obstetric specialist care, to provide those benefits without authorization or referral by a primary care provider; or (3) routine pediatric specialist care, to allow designation of a pediatric specialist as the primary provider. Subtitle B: Patient Access to Information - Requires plans to include specified information in summary plan descriptions. Mandates advance notice of exclusion from a drug formulary of a drug or biological that is used in the treatment of a chronic illness or disease. Subtitle C: New Procedures and Access to Courts for Grievance Arising Under Group Health Plans - Requires group health plans to: (1) provide written notice to participants or beneficiaries and providers of adverse coverage decisions; and (2) meet specified time limits for responding to routine, urgent, and emergency benefit payment requests, coverage advance determinations, and medical necessity determinations. Provides for initial coverage decision internal and, in certain circumstances, external review. Makes a plan's fiduciary who, after an external review recommends coverage, causes a failure to provide a benefit liable to the participant or beneficiary for a civil penalty and attorney's fees and costs. Allows assessment of a civil penalty against a fiduciary for any pattern or practice of repeated adverse coverage decisions in violation of the terms of the plan or ERISA. Allows an action before exhaustion of administrative remedies. Provides for concurrent Federal-State court jurisdiction for actions relating to certain amendments made by this Act. Subtitle D: Affordable Health Coverage for Employees of Small Businesses - Small Business Affordable Health Coverage Act of 1998 - Defines "association health plan" to mean a group health plan meeting specified requirements, including being sponsored by a trade, industry, or professional association, a chamber of commerce (or a similar business association) organized and maintained for substantial purposes other than obtaining or providing medical care. Provides for association plan certification and mandates a class certification procedure. Regulates association plans' boards of trustees and sponsors. Prohibits, for plans in existence on the date of enactment of this Act, a sponsor's affiliated members from being offered coverage unless the member: (1) was affiliated on the certification date; or (2) did not maintain or contribute to a group health plan during the 12 months before the offering of coverage. Prohibits a participating employer from providing health coverage in the individual market for any employee who is eligible for plan coverage if the exclusion from plan coverage is based on health status. Prohibits excluding an employer from an association plan if the employer and plan each meet specified requirements. Prohibits contribution rates for any participating small employers from varying on the basis of claims experience or type of business. Requires, if any plan benefit option does not consist of health coverage, that the plan have at least 1,000 participants and beneficiaries. Requires, if a benefit option consisting of health coverage is offered under the plan, that State-licensed insurance agents be used to distribute to small employers coverage that is not health coverage in a manner comparable to the manner in which those agents are used to distribute health coverage. Requires that a plan consist only of health coverage or, if the plan provides any additional benefit options, that the plan meet certain reserve and excess stop loss insurance and solvency indemnification requirements regarding the additional benefit options for which risk has not yet been transferred. Requires that all plans maintain a specified surplus. Requires association plans providing additional options to make annual payments to the Association Health Plan Fund. Requires that, when there is or will be a failure to maintain such reserves, excess stop loss insurance, and indemnification, the Secretary of Labor pay amounts as necessary to maintain the excess stop loss insurance or indemnification. Establishes the Fund. Mandates advance notice to participants and beneficiaries of certified plan termination. Requires, when a plan has failed or will fail to maintain required reserves, excess stop loss insurance, and indemnification, either corrective action or plan termination. Provides for court appointment of the Secretary as trustee to administer a plan during insolvency. Allows a State to impose a contribution tax on an association plan providing additional options if the plan began operations in the State after enactment of this Act. Sets forth special rules for church plans. Declares that the provisions of this subtitle supersede certain related State laws. (Sec. 1303) Modifies the circumstances in which two or more trades or businesses must be deemed a single employer. (Sec. 1304) Excludes from the definition of "multiple employer welfare arrangement" any arrangement: (1) established or maintained under specified Federal (or similar State) labor relations provisions; or (2) meeting certain collective bargaining and other requirements. (Sec. 1305) Imposes criminal penalties for falsely representing any benefit as: (1) being a certified association plan; or (2) having been established or maintained under certain collective bargaining agreements. (Sec. 1306) Allows a State to enter into an agreement with the Secretary for delegation to the State of some or all of the Secretary's enforcement or certification authority. Title II: Amendments to Public Health Service Act - Subtitle A: Patient Protections and Point of Service Coverage Requirements - Amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit a group health plan, or a health insurance issuer offering group coverage, from imposing on a health professional any prohibition on advice provided to a participant or beneficiary. Requires a plan or issuer, if it provides benefits for: (1) emergencies, to provide benefits (without preauthorization) for emergency medical screening examinations if a prudent layperson would determine them necessary; (2) routine gynecological or obstetric specialist care benefits, to provide those benefits without an authorization or referral by a primary provider; or (3) routine pediatric specialist benefits, to allow designation of a pediatric specialist as the primary provider. (Sec. 2002) Requires health maintenance organizations (HMOs) that provide coverage under a group health plan only if services are furnished exclusively through members of a closed panel to make available to the plan sponsor an option covering services without regard to whether the providers are panel members. Requires HMOs, when a plan sponsor declines that option, to make optional supplemental coverage available in the individual market to each plan participant. Subtitle B: Patient Access to Information - Requires plans to include specified information in summary plan descriptions. Mandates advance notice of exclusion from a drug formulary of a drug or biological that is used in the treatment of a chronic illness or disease. (Sec. 2102) Requires the General Accounting Office to report to a specified congressional committee on the compliance of: (1) the Department of Justice and all U.S. Attorneys with a specified guideline relating to false claims and civil health care; and (2) the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services with specified protocols and best practice guidelines. Subtitle C: HealthMarts - Health Care Consumer Empowerment Act of 1998 - Requires that HealthMarts: (1) be nonprofit legal entities composed of small employers, employees of small employers, health care providers, and entities that underwrite or administer health benefits coverage; and (2) make available health coverage to all small employers and eligible employees at rates established by the insurance issuer on a policy or product specific basis. Deems HealthMarts group health plans for purposes of specified provisions of ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code. Requires that coverage made available to an eligible employee in a geographic area be offered to all eligible employees in the same area. Declares that the HealthMart: (1) provides coverage only through contracts with issuers and does not assume insurance risk; (2) provides administrative services for purchasers; and (3) collects and disseminates consumer information on all coverage options offered through the Healthmart. Requires that HealthMart coverage provide full portability of creditable coverage for individuals who remain members of the same HealthMart notwithstanding that they change employers. Allows HealthMart coverage to include coverage: (1) through an HMO, a preferred provider or licensed provider-sponsored organization, an insurance company, a medical savings or flexible spending account, or a community health organization; (2) that includes a point-of- service option; or (3) any combination of those coverages. Requires a HealthMart to permit any small employer to contract for coverage and prohibits varying eligibility conditions. Prohibits the purchaser from obtaining or sponsoring coverage other than through the HealthMart. Prohibits enrollment discrimination based on health. Supersedes certain related State laws. Provides for the application of: (1) certain existing ERISA and Public Health Service Act requirements; and (2) renewability requirements when the contract between a HealthMart and an issuer is terminated. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to administer this subtitle through a separate Health Care Marketplace Division. Subtitle D: Community Health Organizations - Allows a community health organization to offer health coverage in a State in spite of not being licensed in that State if the organization has received a licensure waiver from the Secretary of Health and Human Services and other requirements are met. Mandates the establishment of Federal financial solvency and capital adequacy standards. Title III: Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 - Subtitle A: Patient Protections - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit a group health plan from imposing on a health professional any prohibition on advice provided to a participant or beneficiary. Requires a plan, if it provides benefits for: (1) emergencies, to provide benefits (without preauthorization) for emergency medical screening examinations if a prudent layperson would determine the examinations necessary; or (2) routine gynecological or obstetric specialist care, to provide those benefits without an authorization or referral by a primary provider. Requires a plan or issuer, if it provides benefits for routine pediatric specialist care, to allow designation of a pediatric specialist as the primary provider. Subtitle B: Patient Access to Information - Requires plans to include specified information in summary plan descriptions. Mandates advance notice of exclusion from a drug formulary of a drug or biological that is used in the treatment of a chronic illness or disease. (Sec. 3102) Requires the General Accounting Office to report to specified congressional committees on the compliance of: (1) the Department of Justice and all U.S. Attorneys with a specified guideline relating to false claims and civil health care; and (2) the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services with specified protocols and best practice guidelines. Subtitle C: Medical Savings Accounts - Repeals provisions limiting the number of individuals having medical savings accounts. Allows all employers to offer the accounts. Modifies requirements regarding: (1) the monthly limitation on related deductions; (2) coordination with the exclusion for employer contributions; and (3) the deductible amounts that will qualify as a high deductible plan. Allows the accounts to be included in cafeteria plans. Sets forth special rules for individuals receiving immediate Federal annuities. (Sec. 3202) Allows medical savings accounts to be used by persons with incomes under a certain amount to pay for insurance offered by a community health center. Title IV: Health Care Lawsuit Reform - Subtitle A: General Provisions - Declares that this title applies to any health care liability action in any State or Federal court, except actions: (1) relating to vaccine-related injury to which title XXI (Vaccines) of the Public Health Service Act applies; or (2) under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Preempts State laws inconsistent with this title, but not that impose greater restrictions than those in this title. Excludes economic or punitive damages and attorneys' fees or costs from the determination of the amount in controversy. Subtitle B: Uniform Standards for Health Care Liability Actions - Establishes a statute of limitations for bringing a health care liability action. (Sec. 4012) Limits non-economic damages. Substitutes any different level set by a State after enactment of this Act. Makes defendants liable only for the proportion of the damages due to the defendant's fault. Allows punitive damages, to the extent permitted by State law, if the claimant establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant's conduct intended to cause harm or manifested a conscious, flagrant indifference to the rights or safety of others. Prohibits punitive damages against a manufacturer or product seller of a drug or medical device where the drug or device was subject to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) premarket approval or the drug is generally recognized as safe and effective by the FDA. Prohibits punitive damages relating to packaging or labeling of a drug that is required to have tamper-resistant packaging unless the packaging or labeling is found by clear and convincing evidence to be substantially out of compliance. Prohibits requiring lump-sum payment of future economic and non-economic damages over $50,000. Allows any defendant to introduce evidence of collateral source payments. Prohibits any collateral source payments provider from recovering any amount against the claimant, receiving any lien or credit against the recovery, or being subrogated to the claimant's rights. (Sec. 4013) Requires any alternative dispute resolution used to resolve a health care liability action or claim to contain provisions consistent with this title. Title V: Confidentiality of Health Information - Amends title XI of the Social Security Act to require health care providers, health plans, employers, health or life insurers, or educational institutions to permit an individual who is the subject of protected health information to inspect and copy the information. Requires, if the individual requests addition of a supplemental statement to the information, that those parties: (1) add the statement and make reasonable efforts to inform any person to whom the information was disclosed during the preceding year; or (2) if addition of the statement is refused, allow the individual to file a statement of disagreement. Requires health care providers, health plans, health oversight agencies, public health authorities, employers, health or life insurers, health researchers, or educational institutions to maintain safeguards to ensure the confidentiality, security, accuracy, and integrity of protected health information. Requires any person who maintains protected health information to disclose the information to a health care provider or health plan to permit the provider or plan to conduct health care operations. Preempts State law provisions that: (1) are inconsistent with certain provisions of this title under Article VI (dealing with national supremacy, among other matters) of the Constitution; or (2) relate to specified matters dealt with in this title. Imposes civil fines for substantially and materially failing to comply with the above provisions of this title. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to refuse to enter into, terminate, or refuse to renew an agreement with a physician or supplier that has violated the above provisions of this title. Requires compliance with certain provisions of this title by Medicare+Choice organizations, Medicare providers, and HMOs with risk- sharing contracts. (Sec. 5002) Requires the Comptroller General to report to the Congress on the effect of State laws on health-related research subject to review by an institutional review board or institutional review committee with regard to the protection of human subjects. (Sec. 5003) Requires the Comptroller General to submit to the Congress a compilation of State laws on the confidentiality of protected health information and an analysis of the effect of those laws on the provision of, and securing payment for, health care. (Sec. 5004) Exempts information developed by a health care provider in response to a serious, adverse, patient-related event and for specified purposes (health care response information) from any disclosure requirement, in connection with a civil or administrative proceeding under Federal or State law, to the same extent as information developed by the provider regarding peer review, utilization review, quality management or improvement, quality control, risk management, or internal review to reduce mortality, morbidity, or patient care or safety. Prohibits deeming the protection of health care response information from disclosure modified by the development of such information in connection with a request or requirement of an accrediting body or the transfer of that information to an accrediting body. Title VI: Medical Savings Accounts for Federal Employees - Amends Federal law relating to Federal employees' health insurance to entitle an employee or annuitant enrolled in a high deductible health plan to have a Government contribution made to the employee's or annuitant's medical savings account, subject to exceptions and limitations. Requires that, at the employee's or annuitant's request, an amount specified by the employee or annuitant be withheld from their pay or annuity and contributed to their medical savings account. Requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to contract for a high deductible health plan with any qualified carrier that offers such a plan and offers a plan under provisions relating to Federal employees' health insurance. Allows OMB to contract for a high deductible plan with any qualified carrier that offers such a plan but does not offer a plan under those provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1998
Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to exempt from certain child labor restrictions the employment, inside or outside of businesses where machinery is used to process wood products, of youth between ages 14 and 18 who are members of religious sects that do not permit formal education beyond the eighth grade. Permits such youth employment if: (1) there is an adult present in a supervisory capacity; and (2) the youth does not operate or assist in the operation of power-driven woodworking machines.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1998
Head Start Amendments of 1998 - Amends the Head Start Act to reauthorize and revise its programs. (Sec. 3) Revises the statement of purpose to promote school readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of low-income children. (Sec. 4) Revises definitions of family literacy services and of full-working-day. Adds definitions of child with a disability and of reliable and replicable research. (Sec. 5) Provides for financial assistance to Head Start programs that enable children to attain school readiness (as well as to attain their full potential). (Sec. 6) Extends through FY 2003 the authorization of appropriations for Head Start program activities. Directs the Secretary of Education to make available certain amounts for such program activities, transition activities, impact studies, other research and evaluation activities, and family literacy services. (Sec. 7) Revises requirements for allotment of funds. Allows set-aside funds to be used for: (1) activities related to correcting deficiencies and conducting proceedings to terminate the designation of Head Start agencies; and (2) research and evaluation. Revises funding for Indian and migrant and seasonal Head Start programs. Directs the Secretary to: (1) continue the administrative arrangement for meeting the needs of migrant and Indian children; and (2) assure that appropriate funds are provided to meet the needs of such children. Revises requirements relating to use of quality improvement funds for: (1) children with disabilities; (2) encouraging staff training; and (3) staff training related to promoting language skills and literacy growth of children and the acquisition of English by children from non-English-speaking backgrounds, fostering school readiness skills, and addressing children's problems, including dysfunction, violence, and substance abuse in their families and communities. Requires that each State initially receive an amount of Head Start funds equal to the amount received in FY 1998. Revises various requirements for collaboration grants. Directs the Secretary to provide supplemental funding to States that engage in other innovative collaborations, including plans for collaborative training and professional development initiatives for child care, early childhood education, and Head Start service managers, providers, and staff. Requires the Secretary to: (1) review barriers to collaboration; and (2) develop initiatives to eliminate such barriers. Increases the amount of funds set-aside for Early Head Start. Authorizes the Secretary to reduce these amounts, if necessary to avoid a reduction in Head Start services or quality, subject to certain conditions. Revises requirements relating to enrollment of children with disabilities. Directs the Secretary to consider specified factors concerning applicants in awarding expansion funds. (Sec. 8) Revises requirements relating to designation of Head Start agencies. Allows designation of for-profit organizations. Revises priority designation requirements and considerations. Directs the Secretary to designate an interim Head Start grantee until a qualified applicant from the community is designated. (Sec. 9) Requires education performance standards to ensure children's school readiness and development of a minimum level of literacy and numeracy awareness and understanding. Requires performance measures to assess the impact of the services provided to children and their families. Revises monitoring provisions to require: (1) review teams to include individuals knowledgeable about the needs of children with disabilities; (2) reviews to include a review and assessment of program effectiveness in accordance with results-based performance measures and performance standards; and (3) seeking out information from the community and the State on the program's performance and its collaboration with other entities in carrying out early childhood education and child care programs in the community. Requires Head Start agencies to: (1) correct any identified deficiencies that threaten health or safety or the integrity of Federal funds within 90 days, if the Secretary determines that 90 days is reasonable; and (2) develop and obtain approval for a quality improvement plan, if required by the Secretary. (Sec. 10) Revises powers and functions of Head Start agencies. (Sec. 11) Requires each Head Start agency to coordinate with the local education agency and schools in which participating Head Start children will enroll. (Sec. 12) Allows State Governors 60 days in which to disapprove any plan to carry out a Head Start program within the State through contract, agreement, grant, or other assistance. Prohibits the Secretary from overruling a Governor's disapproval in cases in which the disapproval is because of failure to comply with State health, safety and child care laws and regulations applicable to comparable programs within the State. (Sec. 13) Eliminates a Head Start Act requirement that all laborers and mechanics employed by contractors or subcontractors in construction or renovation of Head Start program facilities be paid at least prevailing local wages for such work in accordance with Davis-Bacon Act requirements. (Sec. 14) Revises requirements for participation in Head Start regarding continuing eligibility of children who have participated in the Head Start program and whose families have met the low-income criteria. (Sec. 15) Revises requirements for Early Head Start programs for families with infants and toddlers. Provides for infants and toddlers with disabilities. Limits eligibility to pregnant women and families with children under age three. Directs the Secretary to use a portion of Early Head Start funds for monitoring, training, technical assistance, and evaluation. (Sec. 16) Provides for certain technical assistance and training with respect to collaborative efforts toward full-day, full-year Head Start services, early childhood education, child care, and family literary services. (Sec. 17) Establishes a program of grants and other assistance for family literacy services under the Head Start Act. Directs the Secretary to make competitive grants for up to 100 Head Start agencies to initiate provision of family literacy services through collaborative partnerships with entities that provide: (1) adult education services; (2) Even Start programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965; or (3) other services deemed necessary for providing family literacy services. Authorizes the Secretary to provide: (1) training and technical assistance to Head Start agencies that already provide family literacy services; (2) financial assistance to designated mentor Head Start agencies that demonstrate effective implementation of family literacy services, in order to provide training and technical assistance to other agencies; and (3) grants or other assistance to facilitate training and technical assistance to programs for development of collaboration agreements with other service providers. (Sec. 18) Requires each Head Start classroom to have a teacher with demonstrated competency to perform certain functions. Directs the Secretary to: (1) ensure, by the end of FY 2003, that the majority of all Head Start classrooms in a center-based program are assigned one teacher who has an associate, baccalaureate, or an advanced degree in early childhood education or development; and (2) require Head Start agencies to demonstrate continuing progress each year to reach that result. Requires, in the remaining balance of such classrooms, that there be assigned one teacher who has: (1) a child development associate (CDA) credential that is appropriate to the age of the children being served in center-based programs; (2) a State-awarded certificate for preschool teachers that meets or exceeds the requirements for a CDA credential; or (3) a degree in a field related to early childhood education with experience in teaching preschool children and a State-awarded certificate to teach in a preschool program. (Sec. 19) Requires research and evaluation studies and reports on the following: (1) models for integrating family literacy services with Head Start programs; (2) comparisons of children participating in Head Start with eligible children who did not participate; (3) national Head Start impact; and (4) use of quality improvement funds. (Sec. 20) Repeals a consultation requirement. (Sec. 22) Repeals the Head Start Transition Project Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1998
Calls for executive agencies, when formulating and implementing policies that have federalism implications, to: (1) strictly adhere to constitutional principles and closely examine the constitutional and statutory authority supporting any Federal action that would limit the policy making direction of the States; (2) take Federal action limiting the policy making discretion of the States only where constitutional authority for the action is clear and certain and the national activity is necessitated by the presence of a problem of national scope; (3) recognize the distinction between problems of national scope and problems that are merely common to the States; (4) recognize that constitutional authority for Federal action is clear and certain only when authority for the action may be found in a specific provision of the Constitution, when there is no provision in the Constitution prohibiting Federal action, and when the action does not encroach upon authority reserved to the States; (5) encourage States to develop their own policies to achieve program objectives and to work with officials in other States; (6) refrain from establishing uniform, national standards for programs and, when possible, defer to the States to establish standards; and (7) consult with officials and organizations representing the States in developing national standards when required. States that: (1) the national Government should grant the States the maximum administration discretion possible with respect to national policies administered by the States; and (2) intrusive Federal oversight of State administration is neither necessary nor desirable. Calls for observation of the following special requirements for preemption of State law: (1) agencies should construe a Federal statute to preempt only when it contains an express preemption provision, when there is some other firm and palpable evidence compelling the conclusion that the Congress intended preemption, or when the exercise of State authority directly conflicts with the exercise of Federal authority under the statute; (2) if a Federal statute does not preempt, such agencies should construe any authorization in the statute for the issuance of regulations as authorizing preemption by rule making only when the statute expressly authorizes issuance of preemptive regulations or when there is some other such evidence compelling the conclusion that the Congress intended to delegate preemption authority; (3) any regulatory preemption should be restricted to the minimum level necessary to achieve the objectives of the statute; (4) an agency that foresees the possibility of a conflict between State law and federally protected interests should consult with State officials and organizations to avoid such a conflict; and (5) an agency that proposes to act through adjudication or rule making should provide all affected States notice and an opportunity for participation in the proceedings.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1998
Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to replace provisions regarding the rescission of budget authority with those authorizing the President to propose the rescission of any budget authority provided in an appropriation Act or repeal of any targeted tax benefit provided in any revenue Act. Authorizes the President to transmit a draft bill to the Congress with such a proposal that clearly identifies the budget authority proposed to be rescinded or the targeted tax benefit to be repealed. Includes within such bill a Deficit Reduction Account. Permits the President to place in the Account an amount not to exceed total rescissions in the bill. Establishes expedited procedures in the Senate and the House of Representatives for consideration of such bill. Makes any amount of budget authority proposed to be rescinded available for obligation on the day after the date either House rejects such bill. Deems any targeted tax benefit proposed for repeal to be repealed unless either House rejects such bill during a prescribed time frame.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1998
Disapproves the rule submitted by the Health Care Financing Administration, Department of Health and Human Services, on June 1, 1998, relating to surety bond requirements for home health agencies under titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1998
Drugs and Informed Consent Armed Forces Protection Act of 1998 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide that if the Secretary of Defense submits to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) a request to waive the requirement of prior informed consent with respect to the administration of a drug to members of the armed forces for investigational use, then any determination by the Secretary of Defense that obtaining such consent is not feasible or is contrary to the best interests of the members involved shall not be effective unless the President provides to the HHS Secretary a written statement concurring in that determination.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1998
Bosnia Force Realignment Act - Prohibits the use of any funds appropriated or otherwise available to the Department of Defense (DOD) for FY 1999 or any subsequent fiscal year for the deployment of any U.S. ground combat forces in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina after June 30, 1999. Provides exceptions to such prohibition to the extent necessary to support: (1) a limited number of U.S. military personnel sufficient only to protect U.S. diplomatic facilities; or (2) non-combat military personnel sufficient only to advise the commanders of the North American Treaty Organization (NATO) peacekeeping operations there. Prohibits DOD funds from being used after June 30, 1999, for: (1) the conduct of, or support for, any law enforcement activities in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, except for the training of law enforcement personnel or to prevent imminent loss of life; (2) any activity that may jeopardize the primary mission of the NATO-led force in preventing armed conflict there; (3) the transfer of refugees within the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina that has a purpose of acquiring control by one Bosnian Entity of territory allocated to another or that may expose U.S. armed forces to substantial risk; or (4) implementation of any decision to change the legal status of any territory within the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, unless expressly agreed to by all signatories to the Dayton Peace Agreement. Requires the President to report to the Congress on the progress of the withdrawal of U.S. ground combat forces from the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1998
Persian Gulf War Veterans Health Act of 1998 - Presumes to be service-connected (and therefore compensable or treatable under Federal veterans' benefits provisions) an illness that: (1) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines to have a positive association with a biological, chemical, or other toxic agent or environmental or wartime hazard (agent or hazard) associated with service in the southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War; and (2) becomes manifest in a veteran who was exposed to such agent or hazard by reason of such service. Presumes such exposure unless there is conclusive evidence otherwise. Directs the Secretary to contract with an independent scientific body to establish a panel for reviewing medical and scientific literature to identify those diseases and illnesses associated with exposure of humans or animals to specified pesticides, agents, compounds, particulates, radiation, and pollutants. Requires each disease or illness identified that becomes manifest in a Gulf veteran to be presumed to be service-connected. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the updating of presumed exposures. Enumerates the pesticides, agents, compounds, particulates, radiation, and pollutants to which Gulf veterans shall be presumed to have been exposed. Directs the Secretary to submit to the Congress a plan for establishing a panel to review the statistical occurrence of both diagnosed and undiagnosed illnesses and symptoms among Gulf War veterans and their families. Directs the President to submit to the Congress a plan for the establishment of a permanent expert advisory group to advise the President and the congressional defense and intelligence committees on the adequacy of current U.S. chemical, biological, and radiological defense technologies, procurement practices, and doctrine for defending U.S. forces against both the immediate and chronic consequences of acute and subacute exposures to chemical, biological, radiological, or other genotoxic battlefield materials.
United States · United States Congress · 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
Lethal Drug Abuse Prevention Act of 1998 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to require the Attorney General to determine that registration of an applicant to manufacture, distribute, conduct research with, or dispense specified controlled substances or listed chemicals is inconsistent with the public interest if: (1) during the five-year period immediately preceding submission of the application, the applicant's registration was revoked; or (2) the Attorney General determines, based on clear and convincing evidence, that the applicant is applying for the registration with the intention of using such registration to violate CSA provisions. Authorizes the Attorney General to suspend or revoke a registration upon a finding that the registrant has intentionally dispensed or distributed a controlled substance with a purpose of causing, or assisting in causing, the suicide or euthanasia of any individual. Directs the Attorney General to establish the Medical Review Board on Pain Relief, which, based on a hearing, shall make findings regarding whether a particular action at issue is an appropriate means to relieve pain that does not constitute a violation of such provision.
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.
![Official portrait of Rep. Goodling, William F. [R-PA-19]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/g000291_200.jpg)