United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1999
Directs the President to impose quotas, tariff surcharges, or negotiate enforceable voluntary export restraint agreements in order to ensure that the volume of imported steel products (semifinished, plates, sheets and strips, wire rods, wire and wire products, rail type products, bars, structural shapes and units, pipes and tubes, iron ore, and coke products) during any month does not exceed the average volume of imported steel for the 36-month period preceding July 1997. Directs the Secretaries of the Treasury and of Commerce to implement a program for administering and enforcing the restraints on such imports. Authorizes the Customs Service to refuse entry into the U.S. customs territory for a three year period of any steel products that exceed the allowable levels of such products.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1999
Community Broadcasters Protection Act of 1999 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to direct the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to prescribe regulations to establish a class A license for qualifying low-power television (LPT) stations. Requires notification of LPT licensees of the requirements for class A designation. Requires requesting licensees to submit to the FCC a certification of eligibility based on the requirements of this Act. Requires the FCC to: (1) grant such certification absent a material deficiency; and (2) act to preserve the contours of LPT stations pending final resolution of such applications. Allows an LPT station to submit an application for class A designation only within 30 days after final regulations are adopted. Defines as a qualifying LPT station one which, during the 90 days preceding the date of enactment of this Act: (1) broadcast for at least 18 hours per day; (2) broadcast an average of at least three hours per week of programming that was produced within the market area served by such station or the market area served by a group of commonly controlled stations that carry common local or specialized programming not otherwise available to their communities; and (3) complied with other requirements applicable to LPT stations and, after the date of its license application, complies with the FCC's operating rules for full power television stations. Allows the FCC to treat non-qualifying stations as LPT stations under this Act if public interest, convenience, and necessity would be so served. Provides that: (1) the FCC is not required to issue any additional licenses for advanced television services to the licensees of class A television stations; and (2) the FCC shall approve such license applications proposing facilities that will not cause interference to any other broadcast facility authorized on the date of the filing of the class A advanced television application. States that nothing in this Act shall preempt Federal provisions concerning the allocation and assignment of new public safety services licenses and commercial licenses. Prohibits the FCC from granting a class A license to an LPT station operating between 698 and 806 megahertz, but requires the FCC to provide to LPT stations assigned to and temporarily operating within such bandwidth the opportunity to meet the licensing requirements. Prohibits the FCC from granting a class A license to an LPT station operating on a channel that includes any one of the 175 additional channels referenced within a certain FCC Memorandum of Opinion and Order of Reconsideration. Directs the FCC to identify such channels within 18 months after the enactment of this Act. Prohibits the FCC from granting a class A license unless the applicant or licensee shows that the station for which such license or modification is sought will not cause interference within the protected contour of: (1) other television stations, including licensed or authorized LPT stations; or (2) 80 miles from the geographic center of certain listed areas, including the 482-488 megahertz band in New York. States that competitive bidding authority shall not apply to licenses or construction contracts issued by the FCC for LPT and TV translator stations where one or more of the mutually exclusive applicants is a qualified class A licensee or a translator rebroadcasting the signal of a primary service station within its designated market area, with exceptions.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1999
Makes veterans who have been awarded the Purple Heart eligible for veterans' hospital care and medical services. Provides such veterans with a priority in the veterans' system of annual patient enrollment.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1999
Congratulates: (1) the Tennessee Volunteers for winning the undisputed national championship in college football; and (2) Coach Phillip Fulmer for being honored as Coach of the Year.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Violence Against Women Act of 1999- Title I: Continuing the Commitment of the Violence Against Women Act - Subtitle A: Law Enforcement and Prosecution Grants to Combat Violence Against Women - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (the Act) to authorize appropriations for grants to combat violent crimes against women. (Sec. 102) Revises grant allocation guidelines governing prosecution grants, victims' services and State court systems. Expands grant purposes to include training that addresses sexual assault, domestic violence, and stalking for State, local, and tribal judicial personnel, as well as training of sexual assault forensic nurse examiners, and supporting the development of sexual assault response teams. Directs the Attorney General to deny State grant applications that fail to provide documentation of collaborative efforts with other agencies or organizations. Redefines "victims' services" to include advocacy and assistance for victims seeking legal, social, and health care services. Includes as a prerequisite for Federal reimbursement of forensic medical exams of victims of sexual assault that the participating governmental entity notify all victims that such reimbursement is neither contingent upon the victim's report to law enforcement officials nor upon the victim's cooperation in the prosecution of the assault. (Sec. 103) Directs the Attorney General to make grants to State domestic violence and sexual assault coalitions for purposes of coordinating with: (1) victim services activities; and (2) Federal, State, and local entities engaged in violence-against-women activities. Subtitle B: National Domestic Violence Hotline - Amends the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) to authorize increased appropriations for the national domestic violence hotline grant. Requires grantees to submit a grant evaluation report to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the HHS Secretary) for publication and public comment as a prerequisite to a grant award or renewal. Subtitle C: Battered Women's Shelters and Services - Battered Women's Shelters and Services Act - Amends the FVPSA to authorize appropriations for State grants. Modifies guidelines governing: (1) allotment of appropriations; (2) grants for information and technical assistance centers; and (3) authorization of appropriations. (Sec. 123) Instructs the HHS Secretary to award grants for: (1) State domestic violence coalitions and local domestic violence programs providing shelter or related assistance, in order to develop model strategies to address domestic violence in underserved populations; (2) each State domestic violence coalition for an emergency assistance fund for domestic violence victims; (3) technical assistance and training for State and local domestic violence programs; and (4) private, nonprofit, tribal domestic violence coalitions with representatives from a majority of the programs for victims of domestic violence operating within Indian reservations, and programs whose primary focus is the populations of such Indian country. Subtitle D: Community Initiatives - Authorizes appropriations for demonstration grants for community initiatives. Subtitle E: Education and Training for Judges and Court Personnel - Amends the Equal Justice for Women in the Courts Act of 1994 to permit training grants for judges and court personnel to include: (1) child custody, visitation, and safety issues raised by domestic violence and child sexual assault; and (2) the extent to which addressing domestic violence and victim safety contributes to the efficient administration of justice. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle F: Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies - Amends the Act to reauthorize appropriations to implement the functions of the Bureau of Justice Statistics. (Sec. 153) Mandates that at least five percent of appropriated funds be used for grants to Indian tribal governments to treat domestic violence as a serious violation of criminal law. Subtitle G: Rural Domestic Violence and Child Abuse Enforcement - Amends the Safe Homes for Women Act of 1994 to authorize appropriations for rural domestic violence and child abuse enforcement. Mandates that five percent of such funds be used for grants to Indian tribal governments. Subtitle H: National Stalker and Domestic Violence Reduction - Amends the Safe Homes for Women Act of 1994 to authorize appropriations for grants to enter stalking and domestic violence data into crime information databases. Subtitle I: Federal Victims' Counselors - Amends the Safe Streets for Women Act of 1994 to authorize appropriations for the United States Attorneys to appoint Victim-Witness counselors for the prosecution of domestic violence and sexual assault crimes. Subtitle J: Education and Prevention Grants to Reduce Sexual Abuse of Runaway, Homeless, and Street Youth - Amends the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act to authorize appropriations for street-based outreach and education to prevent sexual abuse and exploitation. Subtitle K: Victims of Child Abuse Programs - Amends the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 to authorize appropriations for: (1) the court-appointed special advocate program; and (2) child abuse training programs for judicial personnel and practitioners. (Sec. 195) Amends the Act to authorize appropriations for grants for closed-circuit televising of testimony of child abuse victims. Title II: Limiting the Effects of Violence on Children - Subtitle A: Safe Havens for Children - Authorizes the Attorney General to award grants to public or private nonprofit nongovernmental entities to establish and operate supervised visitation centers. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Violence Against Women Prevention in Schools - Authorizes appropriations for the Secretary of Education to provide grants to State, local, or tribal school systems to implement programs for elementary, middle, and secondary schools which address domestic violence, assault and stalking. Subtitle C: Family Safety - Family Safety Act - Amends the Parental Kidnaping Prevention Act of 1980 to include among its purposes: (1) the promotion of cooperation between State and tribal courts to protect parents and children from domestic violence or sexual assault; (2) the promotion of realistic and protective standards for interstate relocation when parents dispute custody; (3) the avoidance of jurisdictional conflicts between State courts in matters of child custody and visitation consistent with not endangering or inappropriately punishing parents who are victims of domestic violence, or children who are victims of sexual assault. (Sec. 233) Amends the Federal criminal code (the code) to provide as a defense to prosecution of either a criminal custodial interference or parental abduction charge, or criminal contempt of court relating to an underlying child custody or visitation determination, that the defendant was fleeing an incident or pattern of domestic violence or sexual assault of the child, or would otherwise have a defense under the Parental Kidnaping Prevention Act. Directs the Attorney General to issue guidelines to assist U.S. Attorneys and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to determine whether to initiate or terminate an action due to the potential availability of such defense. (Sec. 234) Amends the Federal judicial code to: (1) provide that no State shall be required to enforce any order obtained in a proceeding which would violate the constitution of the enforcing State if the proceeding were conducted in the enforcing State; and (2) declare that the intent of full faith and credit doctrine in child custody determinations is to preempt inconsistent State law. Declares that a protection order regarding custody and visitation of a minor child that is consistent with this Act shall be given full faith and credit by the courts of any State where the party who sought the order seeks enforcement. Modifies State court jurisdiction guidelines governing: (1) relocation of the child due to domestic violence or sexual assault; and (2) court authority to decline to exercise jurisdiction on behalf of parents engaged in specified conduct. Subtitle D: Domestic Violence and Children - Expresses the sense of the Congress that for purposes of determining child custody: (1) it is in the best interest of children to have a presumption that their main physical residence should be with their primary caretaker parent unless such parent is unfit; (2) child abuse and sexual abuse allegations shall be fully investigated regardless of when raised, or whether the child has withdrawn the allegation; (3) States shall not order specified measures if they may endanger either parent or child; and (4) States shall provide training to all relevant professionals on how domestic violence and sexual assault affects determinations of custody, child support, and visitation. Subtitle E: Child Welfare Worker Training on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault - Directs the Attorney General to make grants in consultation with the HHS Secretary to enable child welfare service agencies to train their staffs and modify their policies, procedures, programs, and practices in order to make them consistent with specified principles and goals. Sets forth grantee eligibility criteria. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle F: Child Abuse Accountability - Child Abuse Accountability Act - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permit the assignment or alienation of any pension benefit payable to a participant pursuant to a qualified child abuse order. Exempts qualified child abuse orders from preemption by ERISA. Title III: Sexual Assault Prevention - Subtitle A: Rape Prevention Education - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the use of certain State funds exclusively for rape prevention and education programs conducted by rape crisis centers and private nonprofit nongovernmental State and tribal sexual assault coalitions for specified programs. Instructs the HHS Secretary to establish a National Resource Center on Sexual Assault when appropriations reach a specified minimum level. Mandates that State grantors ensure that at least 25 percent of the funds are devoted to educational programs targeted for middle school, junior high, and high school aged students. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Standards, Practice, and Training for Sexual Assault Examinations - Standards, Practice, and Training for Sexual Assault Forensic Examinations Act - Directs the Attorney General, in conjunction with the HHS Secretary, to: (1) evaluate standards of training and practice for licensed health care professionals performing sexual assault forensic examinations, and develop a national recommended training standard; (2) recommend sexual assault examination training for health care students to improve recognition of injuries suggestive of rape and sexual assault; and (3) establish a mechanism for nationwide dissemination of a national protocol on sexual assault for forensic examinations. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Violence Against Women Training for Health Professions - Violence Against Women Training for Health Professions Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the HHS Secretary, when making health care grants for rural areas, to give preference to a health professions entity that requires, as a condition of receiving a degree or certificate, each student to have had significant training in identification, examination, treatment, and referral of victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. Subtitle: D: Prevention of Custodial Sexual Assault by Correctional Staff - Prevention of Custodial Sexual Assault by Correctional Staff Act - Directs the Attorney General to establish and disseminate to the States certain guidelines regarding the prevention of custodial sexual misconduct by correctional staff. Requires withholding of specified correctional facilities funds from any State that fails to implement: (1) such guidelines; or (2) criminal penalties explicitly prohibiting custodial sexual misconduct by correctional staff against prisoners. (Sec. 345) Directs the Attorney General to create a national, confidential, toll-free telephone hotline to collect data, and to provide information and assistance to prisoners who have experienced custodial sexual misconduct by corrections staff. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle E: Hate Crimes Prevention - Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 1999 - Amends the code to establish criminal penalties for willfully causing bodily injury because of a person's race, color, religion, or national origin. (Sec. 355) Directs the United States Sentencing Commission to study the issue of adult recruitment of juveniles to commit hate crimes, and, where appropriate, to amend Federal sentencing guidelines to provide sentencing enhancements for adult defendants who do such recruiting. (Sec. 356) Directs the Administrator of the Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to make grants to State and local programs to combat hate crimes committed by juveniles. (Sec. 357) Authorizes appropriations for the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Justice (including the Community Relations Service), to increase the number of personnel to prevent and respond to such hate crimes. Subtitle F: Rescheduling and Classification of Date-Rape Drugs - Directs the Attorney General to: (1) transfer flunitrazepam from schedule IV to schedule I; and (2) add ketamine hydrochloride to schedule III and, by order, add Gamma Hydroxy Butyric Acid to schedule I. Subtitle G: Access to Safety and Advocacy for Victims of Sexual Assault - Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to designated grantees and services to improve legal assistance to victims of sexual violence through access to the justice system, legal advocacy, and representation. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Domestic Violence Prevention - Subtitle A: Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Victims' Housing - Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Victims Housing Act - Authorizes increased appropriations under the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act exclusively for qualified, nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations, and solely to provide supportive housing andtenant-based rental and financial assistance for persons leaving a residence due to victimization by domestic violence, stalking, or adult or child sexual assault. Subtitle B: Full Faith and Credit for Protection Orders - Amends the code to: (1) grant a tribal court civil and criminal jurisdiction over any person who violates a protection order within its jurisdiction, subject to Federal habeas corpus review, and after tribal court remedies are exhausted; and (2) require the Attorney General to reduce the amount of certain grants to any State that fails to comply with Federal full faith and credit requirements for protection orders. (Sec. 412) Authorizes the Attorney General to provide grants to assist governmental entities to develop and strengthen law enforcement and recordkeeping strategies to enforce protective orders issued by other governmental entities. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Victims of Abuse Insurance Protection - Victims of Abuse Insurance Protection Act - Prohibits an insurer from denying or restricting insurance coverage on the basis that the applicant or insured (or any employee or associated person) is, has been, or may be the subject of abuse or has incurred or may incur abuse-related claims. Confers enforcement jurisdiction upon the Federal Trade Commission. Authorizes a private cause of action by an applicant or insured adversely affected by a violation of this Act. Subtitle D: National Summit on Sports and Violence - Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) a national summit should be promptly convened to develop a multifaceted action plan to deter acts of violence, especially domestic violence and sexual assault; (2) the members of such summit should include sports, community, political, and media leaders, as well as Members of Congress and other governmental and community leaders with relevant expertise; and (3) summit members should assume leadership roles deterring acts of domestic violence and sexual assault. Subtitle E: Keeping Firearms from Intoxicated Persons - Amends the code to declare unlawful the transfer of a firearm or ammunition to any person reasonably believed to be intoxicated. Subtitle F: Access to Safety and Advocacy - Access to Safety and Advocacy Act - Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to designated grantees and services to improve legal assistance to victims of domestic violence through access to the justice system, legal advocacy, and representation. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle G: Strengthening Enforcement to Reduce Violence Against Women - Amends the code to revise guidelines governing persons who travel in interstate and foreign commerce and engage in domestic violence and stalking, or who violate protection orders. Subtitle H: Disclosure Protections - Amends the Social Security Act , Title IV part D, to modify disclosure protections in connection with the Federal Parent Locator Service and State plan requirements for child and spousal support. Title V: Violence Against Women in the Military System - Subtitle A: Civilian Jurisdiction for Crimes of Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence - Amends the code to declare that domestic violence and sexual assault offenses committed by persons formerly serving with, or presently employed by or accompanying the armed forces outside of the United States shall be subject to prosecution in the Federal District Court of the jurisdiction of origin of the person arrested. Provides for concurrent jurisdiction with other military tribunals and foreign governments. (Sec. 502) Amends Federal law governing separation from the armed forces to mandate that: (1) a copy of records of any penal action taken against the departing member of the armed forces be transmitted to the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); and (2) any member convicted by court-martial of an offense of a sexual nature provide whatever specimen is necessary to conduct DNA analysis for inclusion in the Combined DNA Identification System of the FBI. Subtitle B: Transitional Compensation for Abused Dependents of Members of the Armed Forces - Revises Federal guidelines governing transitional compensation for abused dependents of former members of the armed forces. Subtitle C: Confidentiality of Records - Prescribes guidelines under which the Secretary of Defense is directed to: (1) study procedures of military departments for protecting the confidentiality of communications between military dependents involved in sexual or intrafamily abuse and the professionals from whom they seek services in connection with the effects of such abuse; and (2) issue regulations to provide the maximum protections for the confidentiality of such communications; and (3) report to the Congress on results of such study and implementation of the regulations. Title VI: Preventing Violence Against Women in Traditionally Underserved Communities - Subtitle A: Older Women's Protection From Violence - Older Women's Protection From Violence Act of 1999 - Chapter 1: Violence Against Women Act of 1994 - Amends the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 to direct the Attorney General to: (1) make grants to law school clinical programs to fund the inclusion of cases addressing issues of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, including domestic violence, and sexual assault against older individuals; and (2) develop curricula and provide for training programs in those issues for law enforcement officers and prosecutors (including tribal authorities). Authorizes appropriations. Chapter 2: Family Violence Prevention and Services Act - Amends the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act to require federally-funded State domestic violence coalitions to include programs and providers of direct services targeted to older individuals. 606) Authorizes entities eligible for a community initiatives demonstration grant to include representatives of adult protective services entities. Chapter 3: Older Americans Act of 1965 - Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to direct the Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Aging to consider the importance of research about the sexual assault of older women when establishing research priorities for grants or contracts for research and demonstration projects on elder abuse. (Sec. 609) Authorizes appropriations without fiscal year limitation for grants to implement a State long-term care ombudsman program. (Sec. 610) Directs such Assistant Secretary to update and improve curricula and implement continuing education training programs to improve the ability of designated health care and social services providers to recognize and address instances of elder abuse, including domestic violence and sexual assault. (Sec.611) Directs the Assistant Secretary, when making grants and contracts, to give special consideration to projects designed to: (1) expand access to domestic violence shelters and programs for older individuals and encourage the use of certain facilities as emergency short-term shelters; and (2) promote research on legal, organizational, or training impediments to providing services to older individuals through shelters and programs. (Sec. 612) Authorizes appropriations for the ombudsman and the elder abuse prevention program. (Sec. 613) Directs the Assistant HHS Secretary to make grants to: (1) nonprofit private or tribal organizations to support projects in local communities to coordinate activities for intervention in and prevention of elder abuse, including domestic violence and sexual assault; and (2) develop outreach programs for assisting elder abuse victims, including some for assisting individuals in certain senior housing facilities. Authorizes appropriations. Chapter 4: Public Health Service Act - Elder Abuse Identification and Referral Act of 1999 - Amends the Health Service Act to instruct the HHS Secretary, when awarding grants or contracts, to give preferences to health professions schools or programs that condition the awarding of their degrees or certificates upon significant student training in specified areas of elder abuse identification and treatment. (Sec. 616) Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize: (1) area health education centers to include training in domestic violence, sexual assault, and elder abuse screening and referral protocols; and (2) Federal grants to geriatric education centers for training and retraining of faculty to provide instruction regarding elder abuse situations. Subtitle B: Protections Against Violence and Abuse for Women with Disabilities - Protections Against Violence and Abuse for Women with Disabilities Act - Makes the protection of women with disabilities eligible for grants and research under the following Acts: (1) the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968; (2) Family Violence Prevention and Services Act; (3) Safe Homes for Women Act of 1994; and (4) Equal Justice for Women in the Courts Act of 1994. (Sec. 625) Authorizes the HHS Secretary to: (1) develop curricula and implement training programs to improve the ability of social service and health providers to recognize and address domestic violence directed against women with disabilities; and (2) make grants and enter into contracts for such training programs for health professionals. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 627) Directs the HHS Secretary to consider the importance of research about the sexual assault of, and violence against, women with disabilities in establishing certain research priorities. (Sec. 628 ) Directs the Attorney General to establish a grants program for States, nongovernmental private entities, and tribal organizations to provide education and technical assistance for information dissemination on abuse and violence against women with disabilities. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Battered Immigrant Women -. VAWA Restoration Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to modify procedures and provide special rules for battered spouses and children with respect to: (1) adjustment of status; (2) removal and deportation; (3) implementation of immigration provisions in the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA); (4) waivers and exceptions to inadmissibility for otherwise qualified battered immigrants; (5) calculation of physical presence in VAWA cancellation of removal proceedings and suspension of deportation proceedings; (6) VAWA immigration protections; (7) VAWA cancellation of removal and adjustment of status for certain nonpermanent residents; and (8) good moral character determinations for self-petitioning immediate relatives. (Sec. 638) Prescribes guidelines for: (1) discretionary first time offender waivers for aliens making child support payments; (2) misrepresentation waivers for battered spouses of United States citizens and lawful permanent residents; (3) waiver of deportability; (4) inapplicability of public charge determinations for designated aliens; and (5) access to naturalization for divorced victims of abuse. Authorizes the Attorney General to grant certain battered applicants documentation signifying authorization of employment during the pendency of certain application procedures.. Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to redefine "qualified alien" to include certain battered aliens for purposes of welfare and public benefits eligibility. Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980 to declare restrictions on the use of assisted housing inapplicable to certain battered aliens. (Sec. 639) Amends the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 to provide that requirements and restrictions placed upon Legal Services Corporation funding shall not be construed to prohibit a recipient from providing related legal assistance to certain aliens who have been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty. (Sec. 640) Amends the Act to require each branch of the U.S. military to train its supervisory military officers in domestic violence dynamics in military families, and the protections available for battered immigrant women and children. Expands the purposes of training grants to combat violent crimes against women to include: (1) training immigration and asylum officers and judges; and (2) training justice system personnel on the judicial ramifications of the Violence Against Women Act, and the potential immigration consequences for perpetrators of domestic violence. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to express the intent of the Congress that statutory constraints upon the powers of immigration personnel not be construed as discouraging crime and domestic violence victims from reporting crimes to the police, from cooperating in criminal prosecutions, or from obtaining the legal relief needed for protection from ongoing violence. Subtitle D: Conforming Amendments to the Violence Against Women Act - Amends the Act to make technical and conforming amendments to law enforcement and prosecution grants. Title VII: Violence Against Women and the Workplace - Subtitle A: National Clearinghouse on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault and the Workplace Grant - Authorizes the Attorney General to award a grant to a private non-profit entity, including a tribal organization, to provide for establishment of a national clearinghouse and resource center to disseminate information and assistance to employers and labor organizations responding to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Victims' Employment Rights - Victim s' Employment Rights Act - Prohibits an employer from taking any discriminatory employment action towards an individual for reasons pertaining to sexual or domestic violence, or stalking.. Prohibits any adverse job action for an employee's participation in related judicial proceedings requiring absence from work. Prescribes enforcement guidelines, including civil action by an affected employee for actual and treble punitive damages. (Sec. 726) Sets forth defenses to such an action, including extraordinary threats to workplace safety, and undue hardship. Subtitle C: Workplace Violence Against Women Prevention Tax Credit - Workplace Violence Against Women Prevention Tax Credit Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an employer a workplace safety program tax credit for 40 percent of the costs of implementing workplace safety and education programs to combat violence against women. Subtitle D: Battered Women's Employment Protection - Battered Women's Employment Protection Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for unemployment compensation for separation from employment as a direct result of an employee's experience of domestic violence. (Sec. 743) Amends the Social Security Act to provide for the training of claims reviewers and hearing personnel in the nature and dynamics of domestic violence, and in methods of ascertaining and keeping confidential information about domestic violence experiences so that employment separations stemming from such violence are identified and adjudicated while full confidentiality is provided for the employee's claim and submitted evidence. (Sec. 744) Amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to establish an entitlement for leave resulting from certain domestic violence situations for both Federal and non-Federal employees. Prescribes confidentiality guidelines for an employee's situation of domestic violence. Requires that employees, under State law, be permitted to use existing leave for domestic violence situations. Empowers the Secretary of Labor to enforce the entitlement for leave due to an employee's domestic violence situation. Subtitle E: Education and Training Grants to Promote Responses to Violence Against Women - Authorizes the Attorney General to award grants to public and private nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations for the education and training of individuals who, as a result of their employment responsibilities, are likely to come into contact with victims of domestic violence or sexual assault. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle F: Workers' Compensation - Expresses the sense of the Congress that State workers' compensation laws should: (1) provide benefits to eligible female victims of workplace violence, including full compensation for physical and nonphysical injuries; and (2) permit the employee to pursue an action at law (other than statutory workers' compensation benefits) against an employer's role in the act of workplace violence. Title VIII : - Violence Against Women Intervention, Prevention, and Education Research - Amends the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 to direct the HHS Secretary and the Attorney General to establish a multi-agency task force coordinating research on violence against women. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 901) Directs the Department of Health and Human Services to make grants to entities to: (1) support research to further the understanding of the causes of violent behavior against women; and (2) evaluate education, prevention, and intervention programs. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Departments of Health and Human Services and of Justice to make grants to domestic violence and sexual assault organizations, research organizations and academic institutions to expand knowledge about violence against women, with a particular emphasis on exploring such issues as they affect underserved communities. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the United States Sentencing Commission to study and report to the Congress on specified aspects of domestic violence. Directs the Secretary to award grants to designated entities to gather data on the experiences of women and girls who become pregnant as a result of sexual assault within State and tribal health care, judicial, and social services systems. Authorizes appropriations. Instructs the Attorney General to conduct a national study and report to the Congress on the status, implementation and efficacy of Federal, State, and tribal laws regarding rape and sexual assault offenses and their effectiveness in addressing those crimes and protecting the victims. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary and the Attorney General to establish three research centers to: (1) support the development of research and training programs that focus on violence against women; (2) provide collaboration mechanisms between researchers and practitioners; and (3) provide technical assistance for integrating research into the provision of services. Authorizes appropriations.
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
Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act of 1999 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended by the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999, and the Public Health Service Act, as amended by the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999, to require certain group health plans, and health insurance issuers providing coverage under a group plan, to ensure specified minimum coverage regarding: (1) breast cancer mastectomies, lumpectomies, and lymph node dissections; and (2) secondary consultations by specialists. Prohibits: (1) changing coverage terms and conditions based on a participant's or beneficiary's decision to request less than the minimum coverage; and (2) certain penalties or incentives to providers or specialists. Amends: (1) the Public Health Service Act to apply the same requirements to health insurance issuers in the individual market; and (2) the Internal Revenue Code to apply those requirements to group health plans.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Health Insurance Bill of Rights Subtitle A: Access to Care Subtitle B: Quality Assurance Subtitle C: Patient Information Subtitle D: Grievance and Appeals Procedures Subtitle E: Protecting the Doctor-Patient Relationship Subtitle F: Promoting Good Medical Practice Subtitle G: Definitions Title II: Application of Patient Protection Standards to Group Health Plans and Health Insurance Coverage Under Public Health Service Act Title III: Amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 Title IV: Application to Group Health Plans Under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 Title V: Effective Dates; Coordination in Implementation Patients' Bill of Rights Act of 1999 - Title I: Health Insurance Bill of Rights - Subtitle A: Access to Care - Requires any group health plan, or health insurance coverage offered by a health insurance issuer, providing emergency services benefits to cover emergency services furnished: (1) without the need for any prior authorization determination; (2) whether or not the health care provider furnishing such services is a participating health care provider; and (3) without regard to any other term or condition of such coverage (other than exclusion or coordination of benefits, or an affiliation or waiting period, permitted under the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), or the Internal Revenue Code, and other than applicable cost-sharing). Requires such coverage in a manner so that, if the emergency services are provided by a nonparticipating health care provider the participant, beneficiary, or enrollee is not liable for amounts exceeding the liability that would be incurred if the services were provided by a participating provider with prior authorization. Prescribes the same coverage for maintenance care or post-stabilization care (subject to certain guidelines) by nonparticipating health care providers. (Sec. 102) Requires a plan or coverage that provides benefits only through participating providers to offer a participant the option to purchase point-of-service coverage for benefits provided by a nonparticipating provider, unless the plan offers the participant: (1) a choice of health insurance coverage through more than one issuer; or (2) two or more coverage options that differ significantly regarding the use of participating providers or the networks of such providers that are used. (Sec. 103) Requires any plan and any health insurance issuer to permit each participant, beneficiary, and enrollee to receive: (1) primary care from any participating primary care provider available to accept such individual; and (2) (unless the plan or issuer clearly declares choice limitations) medically necessary or appropriate specialty care, pursuant to appropriate referral procedures, from any qualified participating provider available to accept such individual for such care. (Sec. 104) Requires any plan or issuer that requires or provides for designation of a participating primary care provider to permit: (1) a female participant, beneficiary, or enrollee to designate a participating physician who specializes in obstetrics and gynecology as the individual's primary care provider; and (2) designation of a pediatrician as a child's primary provider. Prohibits the plan or issuer, in the absence of such a designation, from requiring authorization or a referral by the individual's primary care provider or otherwise for coverage of routine gynecological care (such as preventive women's health examinations) and pregnancy-related services provided by a participating specialist in obstetrics and gynecology to the extent such care is otherwise covered. Permits a plan or issuer to treat the ordering of other gynecological care by such a participating health professional as the primary care provider's authorization of such care. Requires the plan or issuer to refer to an available and accessible specialist any participant, beneficiary, or enrollee with a condition or disease of sufficient seriousness and complexity to require treatment by a specialist, and benefits for such treatment are covered. Requires a plan or issuer to refer an individual to a nonparticipating specialist: (1) only if a participating specialist is not available and accessible; and (2) only at no additional cost to the individual. Requires a plan or issuer to have a procedure by which an individual with an ongoing special condition (life-threatening, degenerative, or disabling) may be referred to a specialist who shall be responsible for and capable of providing and coordinating the individual's primary and specialty care, without referral from the individual's primary care provider. Requires standing referrals to a specialist for any condition requiring ongoing specialist care. (Sec. 105) Prescribes requirements for continuity of care for participants, beneficiaries, or enrollees in the event of a termination of a health care provider or of the contract between a plan and an issuer. (Sec. 106) Prescribes requirements for participation in approved clinical trials of individuals with life-threatening or serious illnesses for which no standard treatment is effective. Prohibits denial of participation in such trials, or discrimination against participants. Limits plan or issuer payments to routine patient costs. (Sec. 107) Requires any plan or issuer that provides prescription drug benefits limited to drugs included in a formulary to: (1) ensure participation of participating physicians and pharmacists in the development of the formulary; (2) disclose to providers, and upon request to participants, beneficiaries, and enrollees, the nature of the formulary restrictions; and (3) consistent with the standards for a utilization review program, provide for exceptions from the formulary limitation when a non-formulary alternative is medically indicated. Prohibits a plan or issuer from denying coverage of such a drug or device on the basis that the use is investigational, if certain labeling requirements are met. (Sec. 108) Requires each plan and issuer to have (in relation to the coverage) a sufficient number, distribution, and variety of qualified participating providers to ensure that all covered health care services, including specialty services, will be available and accessible in a timely manner to all participants, beneficiaries, and enrollees. Permits inclusion among such providers of federally qualified health centers, rural health clinics, migrant health centers, and other essential community providers located in the service area. Requires inclusion of such providers if necessary to meet such number, distribution, and variety requirements. (Sec. 109) Prescribes nondiscrimination requirements. Subtitle B: Quality Assurance - Directs each plan and issuer to establish an ongoing, internal quality assurance and continuous quality improvement program meeting specified requirements. (Sec. 112) Requires each plan and issuer to: (1) collect uniform quality data, including a minimum uniform data set specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services; (2) have a written process for the selection of participating health care professionals, including minimum professional requirements; and (3) establish and maintain, as part of any internal quality assurance and continuous quality improvement program including prescription drug benefits, a drug utilization program which encourages appropriate drug use and takes appropriate action to reduce the incidence of improper drug use and adverse drug reactions and interactions. (Sec. 115) Requires each plan and issuer to conduct (or arrange for qualified outside agents to conduct) benefit utilization review activities only in accordance with a utilization review program that meets certain requirements. Prohibits a program from permitting or providing contingent compensation arrangements with its employees, agents, or contractors in a manner that: (1) provides incentives, direct or indirect, for such persons to make inappropriate review decisions; or (2) is based, directly or indirectly, on the quantity or type of adverse determinations rendered. Requires a utilization review program to make determinations and notifications concerning: (1) prior authorization services within three business days after receiving any necessary information; (2) authorization for continued or extended health care services within one business day after receipt of such information; and (3) retrospective review of services previously provided, within 30 days of such receipt. (Sec. 116) Directs the President to establish an advisory board to provide information to Congress and the administration on issues relating to quality monitoring and improvement in the health care provided under group health plans and health insurance coverage. Subtitle C: Patient Information - Specifies benefits, access, emergency coverage, prior authorization, grievance and appeals, and other pertinent information which plans and issuers shall provide to participants and beneficiaries at the time of initial coverage, annually, within a reasonable period before or after the date of significant changes, and upon request. (Sec. 122) Requires plans and issuers to establish procedures to: (1) safeguard the privacy of any individually identifiable enrollee information; (2) maintain records and information in an accurate and timely manner; and (3) assure individuals timely access to such records and information. (Sec. 123) Provides for grants to States for creation and operation of a Health Insurance Ombudsman. Requires any State receiving such a grant to contract for such an Ombudsman with a not-for-profit organization that operates independent of group health plans and health insurance issuers. Requires the Secretary to provide through such a contract for an Ombudsman in any State that does not provide for one. Makes such an Ombudsman responsible to: (1) assist consumers in choosing among health insurance coverage or among coverage options offered within group health plans; and (2) provide counseling and assistance to enrollees dissatisfied with their treatment by issuers and plans, and with respect to grievances and appeals of coverage or plan determinations. Subtitle D: Grievances and Appeals Procedures - Requires each plan and issuer to establish a system for the presentation and resolution of oral and written grievances brought by participants, beneficiaries, or enrollees, or health care providers or other individuals acting on behalf of an individual and with the individual's consent. Requires the system to include grievances regarding access to and availability of services, quality of care, choice and accessibility of providers, network adequacy, and compliance with the requirements of this title. (Sec. 132) Requires each plan and issuer to establish an internal appeals process, and provide for an external appeals process, which meet certain requirements. Specifies the appeal rights of participants, beneficiaries, and their representatives, as well as the kinds of decisions which are appealable. Subtitle E: Protecting the Doctor-Patient Relationship - Prohibits any contract or agreement between a plan or issuer and a health care provider from: (1) prohibiting or restricting the provider from engaging in medical communications with the provider's patient; or (2) containing any provision purporting to transfer to the health care provider by indemnification or otherwise any liability relating to activities, actions, or omissions of the plan, issuer, or agent (as opposed to the provider). Declares null and void any such contract or agreement provisions. (Sec. 142) Prohibits any plan or issuer from operating any physician incentive plan that does not meet certain requirements under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act. (Sec. 143) Requires any plan or issuer to establish reasonable procedures relating to the participation of health care professionals, including notice of participation rules, written notice of adverse participation decisions, and a process for appealing adverse decisions. (Sec. 144) Prohibits a plan or an issuer from retaliating against a participant, beneficiary, enrollee, or health care provider based on use of, or participation in, a utilization review or a grievance process. Prohibits a plan or an issuer from retaliating or discriminating against a protected health care professional because the professional in good faith: (1) discloses information relating to the care, services, or conditions affecting one or more participants, beneficiaries, or enrollees to an appropriate public regulatory agency, private accreditation body, or management personnel of the plan or issuer; or (2) initiates, cooperates, or otherwise participates in an investigation or proceeding by such an agency with respect to such care, services, or conditions. Defines good faith action. Subtitle F: Promoting Good Medical Practice - Prohibits a plan or issuer from arbitrarily interfering with or altering the decision of the treating physician regarding the manner or setting in which particular covered services are delivered (including the number of days in a hospital) if they are medically necessary or appropriate for treatment or diagnosis. Allows a plan or issuer to limit the delivery of services to one or more providers within a network. (Sec. 152) Prohibits a plan or issuer from restricting benefits for any hospital length of stay: (1) in connection with a mastectomy to less than 48 hours; or (2) in connection with a lymph node dissection for the treatment of breast cancer to less than 24 hours. Permits a discharge before expiration of the minimum length of stay otherwise required, if the decision is made by the attending provider in consultation with the woman involved, or in a case involving a partial mastectomy without lymph node dissection. Prohibits a plan or issuer from: (1) denying to a woman eligibility to enroll or renew coverage solely for the purpose of avoiding the requirements of this title; (2) providing monetary payments or rebates to encourage women to accept less than the minimum protections available under this title; (3) penalizing or otherwise reducing or limiting reimbursement because an attending provider gave care to a participant or beneficiary in accordance with this title; (4) providing incentives (monetary or otherwise) to induce an attending provider to provide care to a participant or beneficiary in a manner inconsistent with this title; or (5) restricting benefits (other than imposing deductibles, coinsurance, or other cost-sharing) for any portion of a period within a required hospital length of stay in a manner less favorable than the benefits provided for any preceding portion of such stay. Subtitle G: Definitions - Sets forth definitions. Title II: Application of Patient Protection Standards to Group Health Plans and Health Insurance Coverage Under Public Health Service Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require each plan and issuer to comply with the patient protection requirements of this Act. (Sec. 202) Requires each health insurance issuer to comply with such requirements with respect to individual health insurance coverage. Title III: Amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 - Amends ERISA to require each plan and issuer to comply with the patient protection requirements of this Act. (Sec. 302) Provides that nothing in ERISA shall be construed to invalidate, impair, or supersede any cause of action under State law to recover damages resulting from personal injury or wrongful death against any person (except employers and other plan sponsors): (1) in connection with the provision of insurance, administrative services, or medical services by that person to or for a group health plan; or (2) that arises out of the arrangement by that person for the provision of insurance, administrative services, or medical services by other persons. Allows such an action against an employer or other plan sponsor (or against an employee of such an employer or sponsor acting within the scope of employment) only if it is based on the employer's or sponsor's exercise of discretionary authority to decide a claim for covered benefits, and such exercise resulted in personal injury or wrongful death. Title IV: Application to Group Health Plans Under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require a group health plan to comply with this Act. Deems this Act to be incorporated into the Internal Revenue Code. Title V: Effective Dates; Coordination in Implementation - Sets forth effective dates for provisions of this Act. (Sec. 502) Amends the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 to provide for coordination in the implementation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Fair Minimum Wage Act of 1999 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to increase the Federal minimum wage (currently $5.15 per hour) to: (1) $5.65 an hour during the year beginning on September 1, 1999; and (2) $6.15 an hour beginning on September 1, 2000. Makes Federal minimum requirements applicable to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Authorizes the President to award, on behalf of the Congress, a gold medal honoring Wilma G. Rudolph in recognition of her outstanding and enduring contributions to humanity and women's athletics in the United States and the world. Declares the medals to be national medals. Authorizes funding for the cost of the medals and requires deposit of sale proceeds in the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Military Survivors Equity Act of 1999 - Repeals the social security offset applicable to certain annuities paid to surviving spouses under the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) for retired members of the armed forces, to the extent that such offset is due to integration with social security benefits when the surviving spouse reaches 62 years of age. Repeals the required reduction in such annuity when such person reaches age 62. Directs the Secretary of Defense to recompute the existing annuities of certain individuals under the SBP to reflect the changes made by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to prohibit any Medicaid-related funds recovered or paid to a State as part of a settlement or judgment reached in litigation the State initiated or pursued against one or more tobacco companies from being treated as an overpayment.
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 · 19 January 1999
Public Pension Parity Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) exclude from gross income any amount received by an individual as a qualified governmental pension which does not exceed the maximum excludable social security benefits of the taxpayer for such year reduced by the social security benefits received during such year which were excluded from gross income; and (2) prohibit applying clause (1) to any qualified governmental pension received during the taxable year unless the taxpayer (or the spouse or former spouse of the taxpayer) performed the service giving rise to such pension. Defines the term "maximum excludable social security benefits."
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to set forth provisions for: (1) a small employer (100 or fewer employees) retirement plan; (2) a credit for the expenses of establishing such a plan; and (3) a model small employer retirement plan.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Employee Educational Assistance Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) permanently extend the exclusion from gross income of employer-provided educational assistance; and (2) restore the exclusion for such assistance on the graduate level.
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
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
John Glenn Congressional Gold Medal Act - Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of the Congress, a congressional gold medal to Senator John Herschel Glenn, Jr., in recognition of his significant contributions to American society for more than 50 years. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates.
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
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
Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1999 - Revises the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to instruct the Secretary of Energy (the Secretary) to: (1) develop and operate a repository for the permanent geologic disposal of spent nuclear fuel and fuel and high-level radioactive waste; (2) accept spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste by no later than January 31, 2003 (3) provide for the transportation of such wastes; and (4) pursue expeditiously the development of each component of the integrated management system. Requires intermodal transfer (rail-to-heavy-haul-truck) of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste pending direct rail access to the interim storage facility site. Authorizes the Secretary use rail transportation to meet the requirements of this Act if direct rail access becomes available to the interim storage facility site. Sets a deadline for the Secretary to develop the capability to commence rail to truck intermodal transfer at Caliente, Nevada. Provides for heavy-haul transportation route and truck transportation. Requires the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Caliente and Lincoln County, Nevada, to provide advice to the Commission regarding intermodal transfer and to facilitate on-site representation. Provides that reasonable expenses of such representation shall be paid by the Secretary. Prescribes requirements in the following areas in order to ensure that the Secretary is able to accept spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste by January 31, 2003: (1) transportation planning and readiness; (2) package certification; (3) technical assistance and funds to jurisdictional entities for training public safety officials, nonprofit employee organizations, voluntary emergency response organizations, and joint labor-management organizations experienced in worker health and safety training; (4) employee protection and training standards applicable to workers directly involved in the removal and transportation of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste; and (5) interim storage facility, permanent disposal, and land withdrawal. Requires the Secretary, after analyzing each specific reactor facility in the order of priority established in the acceptance schedule, to develop a logistical plan to assure the Secretary's ability to transport spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste using routes that minimize transportation through populated areas to the maximum practical extent and consistent with Federal requirements for transportation of hazardous materials. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to establish preferred rail route selection procedures for such transportation to the interim storage site and the repository site. Mandates that training standards ensure the ability of emergency response personnel to protect nearby persons, property or the environment from the effects of accidents involving spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. Instructs the Secretary to: (1) offer Nye County, Nevada, an opportunity to designate an on-site oversight representative; and (2) offer to enter into separate benefits agreements with Lincoln and Nye Counties concerning the integrated management system. Requires the Secretary to make certain initial land conveyances to Nye County. Authorizes the Secretary to grant payments in lieu of taxes to any affected Indian or local jurisdiction until the termination of the integrated management system activities. Authorizes the Secretary to contract with any person generating or holding title to spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste of domestic origin for the acceptance of title, and possession, transportation, interim storage, and disposal. Sets forth a statutory fee payment schedule for: (1) electricity generated and sold by civilian nuclear power reactors; (2) an adjustable cap placed upon nuclear waste offsetting collection fees, and upon a nuclear waste mandatory fee; and (3) a one-time fee for spent nuclear fuel or solidified high-level radioactive waste derived from spent nuclear fuel which had been used to generate electricity in specified civilian nuclear power reactors. Requires the NRC to suspend the license of any licensee who fails or refuses to pay such one-time fee. Provides that payment of the one-time fee relieves the responsible party from further financial obligation to the Federal Government for its long-term storage or permanent disposal. Authorizes the NRC to require prior agreement with the Secretary for spent fuel and waste disposal as a precondition to the issuance or renewal of a license. Continues the Nuclear Waste Fund and the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management. Directs the Secretary to: (1) issue a final rule establishing the appropriate portion of the costs of managing spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste allocable to the interim storage or permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel, high-level radioactive waste from atomic energy defense activities, and spent nuclear fuel from foreign research reactors; and (2) advise the Congress annually of the amount of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel from atomic energy defense activities requiring management in the integrated spent nuclear fuel management system. Grants the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 and this Act preeminence in the event of a conflict or duplication of laws. Precludes this Act from being construed as: (1) constituting either an express or implied Federal reservation of water rights for any purpose arising under it; (2) authorizing the Federal use of eminent domain to acquire water rights; or (3) limiting the exercise of water rights as provided under Nevada State laws. Grants the U.S. courts of appeals original and exclusive jurisdiction over civil actions under this Act. Prescribes guidelines for NRC licensing hearings. Prohibits the Secretary from conducting site-specific activities for a second repository unless the Congress has specifically authorized and appropriated funds for them. Requires the NRC to promulgate regulatory guidelines for: (1) financial assurances for low-level radioactive waste site closures; and (2) training and qualification of civilian nuclear powerplant personnel. Delineates an acceptance schedule for contract holders' spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. Prohibits: (1) subseabed or ocean water disposal of spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste; and (2) any obligation of funds for any such related activity. Expresses the sense of the Congress that to the greatest extent practicable all equipment and products purchased with funds made available under this Act should be American-made. Requires each Federal agency to give notice of this policy to any entity to which it provides financial assistance or contracts. Prohibits contracts with persons falsely labeling products as "Made in America." Continues the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to take necessary action to improve the management of the civilian radioactive waste management program to ensure that it is operated to the maximum extent like a private business. Directs the Secretary to employ, on an on-going basis, integrated performance modeling regarding site characterization.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Federal Employees Group Long-Term Care Insurance Act of 1999 - Sets forth provisions for the establishment of a program under which long-term care insurance is made available to Federal employees and annuitants. Authorizes the Office of Personnel Management to purchase group long-term care insurance policies from, and design benefits packages and negotiate final offerings with, qualified carriers. Provides that policy coverage and benefits shall be guaranteed to be renewable and may not be canceled except for nonpayment of premiums. Requires provided benefits to be compliant with standards recommended by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Requires premium payments to be withheld from the pay or annuities of enrollees. Sets forth provisions governing the filing of claims, the administrative resolution of claims disputes, and the jurisdiction of U.S. district courts over related suits. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Arlington National Cemetery Burial Eligibility Act - Allows the remains of the following persons to be interred at Arlington National Cemetery: (1) any member of the armed forces who dies while on active duty; (2) any retired member and any person who served on active duty and at the time of death was entitled to retired pay (or would have been so entitled but for his or her age); (3) any former member who was separated for physical disability before October 1, 1949, who served on active duty, and who would have been eligible for disability retirement if such provisions had been in effect on such date; (4) any former member whose last active military service was terminated honorably and who has been awarded one of a number of specified military decorations; (5) any former prisoner of war who dies on or after November 30, 1993; (6) the President or any former President; (7) the spouse, surviving spouse, minor child, and, in the discretion of the Cemetery's Superintendent, unmarried adult child of an interred member (but only if buried in the same gravesite); (8) the spouse, minor child, and unmarried adult child (discretionary) of a member on active duty if such person dies while the member is on active duty; (9) the individual whose spouse, minor child, and unmarried adult child (discretionary) is eligible under (8), above, but only if buried in the same gravesite; (10) the parents of a minor child or unmarried adult child whose remains, based on the parent's eligibility, are already buried in the Cemetery, but only if buried in the same gravesite; (11) the surviving spouse, minor child, and unmarried adult child (discretionary) of a member who was lost, buried at sea, or officially determined to be permanently absent in a status of missing or missing in action; and (12) the surviving spouse, minor child, and unmarried adult child (discretionary) of a member buried in a cemetery under the jurisdiction of the American Battle Monuments Commission.
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
Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group health insurance coverage, with regard to hospital stays in connection with breast cancer treatment, from: (1) covering less than 48 hours after mastectomies or less than 24 hours after lymph node dissections; or (2) requiring plan or issuer authorization for prescribing any length of stay. Prohibits: (1) denying eligibility, enrollment, or renewal to avoid these requirements; (2) providing payments or rebates to women; or (3) penalizing or providing incentives to providers. Applies the same requirements to issuers in the individual market.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Military Retirement Equity Act of 1999 - Permits retired members of the armed forces to be paid retirement pay concurrently with compensation for any service-connected disability if the person's entitlement to retired pay is based solely on age, length of service (at least 20 years), or both. Reduces the retirement pay of individuals receiving both types of pay by a specified percentage of the disability compensation which decreases as the disability rating increases. Prohibits any reduction in the retirement pay of a disabled person when the disability rating is total.
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
Notch Fairness Act of 1999 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to revise the formula for the computation of minimum Old Age Insurance benefits for individuals who reached age 65 in or after 1979 and to whom applies the 15-year transition period for the changes in benefit computation rules enacted in the Social Security Amendments of 1977. Sets forth a schedule of additional benefit increases for such beneficiaries (and related beneficiaries), with percentages declining from 55 percent to five percent and keyed to the year an individual became eligible for such benefits between 1979 and 1988. Allows such beneficiaries, in the alternative, to receive lump sum payments over four years totaling $5,000. Specifies offsetting nondefense and discretionary spending reductions the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall make over a four-year period for the increase in direct spending estimated to result from this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Amends Federal law to exclude the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund from the Federal and congressional budgets, and exempt it from any general budget limitation imposed by statute on U.S. budget outlays and from certain orders issued under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act).
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
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit penalty-free distributions from an individual retirement account (IRA) for long- term care services and to pay certain medical expenses of certain lineal descendants and ancestors. Excludes from gross income certain distributions which are repaid. Expands penalty-free withdrawals for the unemployed for health insurance premiums. Increases deductible IRA contribution amounts, and provides for inflation indexing. Eliminates the phase-out for individuals who are not active participants in defined contribution plans, and increases applicable dollar amounts for taxpayers other than those married filing separately. Increases 401(k) plan contribution limits. Establishes an alternative method for satisfying nondiscrimination requirements. Excludes inherited IRAs and certain 401(k) plans from a decedent's gross estate. Allows a designated beneficiary of an inherited IRA to hold such IRA free of immediate distribution provisions. Allows inherited 401(k) amounts as nondeductible contributions to a beneficiary's IRA, and excludes such amounts from income if so contributed.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Businesses Undergoing the Glitch (BUG) Act - Allows a capped deduction from gross income for the business costs of making computers and computer software year 2000 compliant.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income any benefit administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. (Current law excludes from gross income only qualified military benefits.)
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Capital Gains Tax Reduction Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce the maximum capital gains tax rates for both individuals and corporations. Provides for the indexing of assets for determining gain or loss.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the current Federal income tax deduction for interest paid on debt secured by a first or second home should not be further restricted.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1998
Prohibits any Federal department, agency, or instrumentality from studying, undertaking any plan regarding, or commencing negotiations for the sale of the Southeastern Power Administration, including any of its facilities used in connection with electric energy generation it markets.
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 1998
Year 2000 Act - Requires the head of each Federal agency to: (1) take actions necessary to ensure that all systems and hardware administered by the agency are Year 2000 compliant to the extent necessary to ensure that no significant disruption of the agency's operations or data exchange partners occurs; and (2) convene, at least quarterly, and report to the Congress on, meetings with representatives of the agency's data exchange partners to assess implementation progress. Directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology, in conjunction with the Small Business Administration, to develop a Year 2000 compliance outreach program to assist the Nation's small and medium-sized businesses to ensure that such businesses are prepared to meet the Year 2000 computer problem (Y2K problem) challenge. Requires the Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology: (1) in conjunction with other relevant Federal agencies, to transmit to the Congress a report assessing the international implications of the Year 2000 computer problem; and (2) to develop a Year 2000 consumer awareness program to assist the public in becoming aware of the implications of such problem.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Provisions Primarily Affecting Individuals and Families Subtitle A: General Provisions Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Education Subtitle C: Provisions Relating to Social Security Title II: Provisions Primarily Affecting Farming and Other Businesses Subtitle A: Increase in Expense Treatment for Small Businesses Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Farmers Subtitle C: Increase in Volume Cap on Private Activity Bonds Title III: Extension and Modification of Certain Expiring Provisions Subtitle A: Tax Provisions Subtitle B: Generalized System of Preferences Title IV: Revenue Offset Title V: Technical Corrections Title VI: American Community Renewal Act of 1998 Subtitle A: Designation and Evaluation of Renewal Subtitle B: Tax Incentives for Renewal Communities Title VII: Tax Reductions Contingent On Saving Social Security Taxpayer Relief Act of 1998 - Title I: Provisions Affecting Individuals and Families - Subtitle A: General Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to: (1) make the basic standard deduction on a joint return equal to twice the deduction of a single return; (2) make the aged or blind additional deduction amounts the same for married and unmarried individuals; (3) as a general rule, exclude from gross income up to $200 ($400 in the case of a joint return) of dividends and interest received by an individual; (4) revise provisions concerning the aggregate amount of nonrefundable personal credits allowed to provide that the aggregate amount of such credits shall not exceed the sum of the taxpayer's regular tax liability and the alternative minimum tax; (5) allow for the deduction of 100 percent of the health insurance costs of self-employed individuals; (6) set forth a special rule for members of the uniformed services and foreign service in determining the exclusion of gain from the sale of a principal residence; and (7) accelerate the $1 million exemption from the estate and gift taxes. Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Education - Permits private educational institutions to maintain qualified tuition programs which are comparable to qualified State tuition programs. Modifies arbitrage rebate rules applicable to public school construction bonds. Subtitle C: Provisions Relating to Social Security - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to: (1) increase the limit on earnings before there is a reduction in benefits for individuals who have attained retirement age but who are under age 70; and (2) provide for the recomputation of benefits resulting from earnings after reaching retirement age. Title II: Provisions Primarily Affecting Farming and Other Businesses - Subtitle A: Increase in Expense Treatment for Small Businesses - Amends the IRC to accelerate the increase in the dollar limitation on the cost of property which may be expensed by businesses as depreciable assets. Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Farmers - Amends the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 to permanently extend income averaging for farmers. Amends the IRC to provide a five-year carryback period for farming losses. Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act to disregard the payment option provided by the Emergency Farm Financial Relief Act. Subtitle C: Increase in Volume Cap on Private Activity Bonds - Amends IRC provisions concerning State private activity bond volume limits to repeal the adjustment for years after 1987. Title III: Extension and Modification of Certain Expiring Provisions - Subtitle A: Tax Provisions - Extends, for a limited period, the: (1) credit for increasing research activities; (2) work opportunity credit; and (3) welfare-to-work credit. Extends permanently the special rule for contributions of stock for which market quotations are readily available. Establishes rules for the public inspection of the returns of private foundations. Revises provisions concerning the special rule for income derived in the active conduct of banking, financing, or similar businesses to provide, as general rule, that foreign personal holding company income shall not include qualified banking or financing income of an eligible controlled foreign corporation. Revises the definition of insurance income and provides that, as a general rule, foreign personal holding company income shall not include qualified insurance income of a qualifying insurance company. Subtitle B: Generalized System of Preferences - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to extend the Generalized System of Preferences through February 29, 2000. Provides for the retroactive application of certain liquidations and reliquidations. Title IV: Revenue Offset - Amends IRC provisions concerning the complete liquidations of subsidiaries to provide that if a corporation receives a distribution form a regulated investment company or a real estate investment trust which is considered as being in complete liquidation of such company or trust, then such corporation shall treat as a dividend from such trust or company an amount equal to the deduction for dividends paid allowable to such company or trust by reason of such distribution. Title V: Technical Corrections - Revises provisions of the IRC, the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, the Tax Reform Act of 1984, and the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century. Title VI: American Community Renewal Act of 1998 - American Community Renewal Act of 1998 - Subtitle A: Designation and Evaluation of Renewal Communities - Renewing American Communities Act of 1998 - Amends the IRC to authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to designate (upon local or State nomination) up to 20 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 community organizations to promote specified economic growth and employment activities. Treats renewal communities as labor surplus areas for all Federal law purposes. Subtitle B: Tax Incentives for Renewal Communities - Excludes 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. Permits a deduction for contributions to a family development account whether or not a taxpayer itemizes. 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 VII: Tax Reductions Contingent On Saving Social Security - Prohibits any provision of this Act from taking effect before the first January 1 after the date of enactment of this Act that follows a calendar year for which there is a social security solvency certification, except for specified provisions. States that there is a social security solvency certification for a calendar year if there is a certification that the social security trust funds are in actuarial balance for the 75-year period utilized in the most recent annual report of the Board of Trustees of the Social Security Trust Funds. Provides for the reservation of any social security surpluses for the sole use of the social security system.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1998
Year 2000 Information Disclosure Act - Provides that, in any covered civil action based on an allegedly false, inaccurate, or misleading statement concerning Year 2000 computer compliance information (Y2K problem), the maker of such statement shall not be liable unless the claimant establishes that the statement: (1) was material; (2) where not a republication, was made with knowledge that it was false, inaccurate, or misleading, with an intent to mislead or deceive, or with a grossly negligent failure to determine or verify its accuracy; and (3) where it was a republication of a statement regarding a third party, was made with knowledge that it was false, inaccurate, or misleading and without disclosure that it was based on information supplied by another and that the maker has not verified the statement. Provides that, in any covered action in which the adequacy of notice about Year 2000 processing is at issue and no clearly more effective method of notice is practicable, the posting of notice by the entity purporting to have provided such notice on that entity's Year 2000 Internet website shall be presumed to be an adequate mechanism for providing such notice. Provides that, in any covered action arising under any Federal or State defamation law or law relating to trade disparagement or a similar claim, to the extent such action is based on an allegedly false Year 2000 statement, the maker shall not be liable unless the claimant establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the statement was made with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of its truth. Prohibits in any covered action a Year 2000 statement from being interpreted or construed as an amendment to or alteration of a written contract or warranty, whether entered into by a public or private party (with exceptions). Authorizes a Federal entity, agency, or authority to expressly designate requests for the voluntary provision of information relating to Year 2000 processing as "Special Year 2000 Data Gathering Requests," thereby protecting information received from such requests from: (1) disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act; and (2) use by any Federal entity, agency, or authority in any civil action arising under any Federal or State law (with an exception). Provides exclusions from this Act. Makes this Act applicable to any Year 2000 statement made on or after July 14, 1998, through July 14, 2001.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1998
Urges the President to focus appropriate attention on the issue of neighborhood crime prevention, community policing, and reduction of school crime by delivering speeches, convening meetings, and directing his Administration to make reducing crime an important priority.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Public Works and Economic Development Programs Subtitle A: Reauthorizations Subtitle B: Innovative Financing Pilot Programs Title II: Appalachian Regional Development Economic Development Partnership Act of 1998 - Title I: Public Works and Economic Development Programs - Subtitle A: Reauthorizations - Amends the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (the Act, for purposes of this title) to direct the Secretary of Commerce to cooperate with States and other entities to assure that Federal economic development programs are compatible with and further the objectives of State, regional, and local economic development plans and comprehensive economic development strategies. Directs the Secretary to: (1) provide appropriate technical assistance to such entities in order to alleviate economic distress, encourage partnerships for economic development strategies, and stimulate modernization and technological advances in the generation and commercialization of goods and services; and (2) issue regulations for intergovernmental review of proposed economic development projects. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into appropriate economic development agreements with two or more adjoining States. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to eligible recipients (defined later under this Act) for acquisition or development of land improvements for public works, public service, or development facility usage, as well as the acquisition, design and engineering, construction, rehabilitation, alteration, expansion, or improvement of such facilities. Provides assistance conditions relating to the establishment of industrial or commercial plants and the increase of employment in the area. Prohibits more than 15 percent of the appropriations made for such assistance from being expended in any one State. Allows grants to be increased due to construction cost increases, with limitations. Authorizes the Secretary to make direct grants for economic development planning and related administrative expenses. Requires such planning to be a continuous process and to be prepared as part of a comprehensive economic development strategy for the area involved. Requires State certification of an economic development plan's consistency with local and economic development district plans. Provides a Federal cost-share limit of 50 percent of project costs. Authorizes the Secretary to make supplementary grants for a project for which the applicant is eligible but cannot supply the required matching share. Provides supplementary grant conditions and requirements, authorizing the Secretary to reduce or waive the required non-Federal share in such cases. Authorizes the Secretary to make direct grants for training, research, and technical assistance for alleviating or preventing conditions of excessive unemployment or underemployment. Allows such grants to include amounts for relocation assistance. Authorizes the Secretary to make direct grants for public facilities, public services, business development, planning, technical assistance, training and other assistance which demonstrably furthers the economic adjustment objectives of the Act. Allows such grant to be used in either direct expenditures by the recipient or through redistribution to other public and private entities, but prohibits any such redistribution to a private profit-making entity. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) approve the use of grant funds for projects the scope or purpose for which changes after the grant has been made; (2) use funds for projects constructed for less than the projected costs to improve such projects; and (3) make assistance available for projects to be carried out at a military or Department of Energy installation. Prohibits any assistance under the Act which would produce unfair commercial competition. Authorizes the sale of financial instruments in revolving loan funds to further the purposes of the Act. Requires reports from grant and assistance recipients. Defines as an eligible recipient for purposes of this Act an area that: (1) has a per capita income of 80 percent or less of the national average or an unemployment rate one percent above such average; (2) has experienced or is about to experience a special need to meet an expected rise in unemployment; or (3) is determined by the Secretary to be a pocket of poverty or high unemployment within a larger community of less economic distress and that has demonstrated a resistance to economic recovery without assistance under the Act. Requires from recipients: (1) documentation of the presence of any such criteria; and (2) a comprehensive economic development strategy which identifies the economic problems to be addressed through such assistance, as well as related information. Authorizes the Secretary, in order to plan and carry out economic development projects of broader geographic significance, to designate appropriate economic development districts and economic development centers within such districts. Provides geographic, population, and other requirements with respect to each such designation. Directs the Secretary to prescribe standards for the termination of such districts and centers. Authorizes the Secretary to increase by up to ten percent of project costs the amount of grant assistance otherwise provided in the Act for projects within designated districts. Requires each designated district to provide to the Appalachian Regional Commission a copy of such district's comprehensive economic development strategy. Authorizes the Secretary to provide assistance to a district area which does not meet the requirements of an eligible recipient under the Act when such assistance will be of substantial direct benefit to a qualifying area in such district. Directs the Secretary to administer this Act with the assistance of an Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. Directs the Secretary to establish in the Economic Development Administration (EDA) an Office of Economic Development Information to serve as a central information clearinghouse on all matters relating to economic development programs and activities of Federal and State governments, to help applicants for such assistance, and to develop electronic links or other connections to other information databases to assist such entities in identifying and applying for assistance and resources under such programs. Requires public access to Office information and data services. Requires appropriate consultation with other persons and agencies. Authorizes the Secretary to furnish procurement divisions of the Federal Government with a list of business firms located in distressed areas which desire Government supplies and services contracts. Directs the Secretary to: (1) notify specified congressional committees of any EDA reorganization of its offices, programs, or activities at least 30 days before such reorganization; (2) conduct an evaluation at least every three years of each university center and economic development district receiving assistance to assess its performance and contribution toward job retention and creation; (3) establish a Federal Coordinating Council for Economic Development to coordinate with Federal, State, and other districts and organizations its activities relating to comprehensive economic development strategies and grants; and (4) establish an Economic Development Revolving Loan Fund Task Force to review and make recommendations concerning the financial management and related standards and requirements of revolving loan funds from which financial instruments are sold in order to further the purposes of this Act. Imposes penalties upon persons who: (1) make false statements in order to obtain assistance under the Act; and (2) embezzle or commit other fraud-related crimes while connected in any capacity with the Secretary in the administration of the Act. Sets forth: (1) conflict-of-interest provisions; and (2) recordkeeping requirements for the Secretary and recipients regarding assistance under this Act. Provides that assistance under the Act shall supplement and not supplant other Federal assistance. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2003. Authorizes additional appropriations for administrative expenses and defense conversion activities. Subtitle B: Innovative Financing Pilot Programs - Authorizes the Secretary to guarantee a loan made by a private lending institution to a State, political subdivision, Indian tribe, or organization or association for any purpose for which the Secretary can make a direct grant under title I of this Act. Provides funding. (Sec. 122) Directs the Secretary, acting through the Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, to carry out a program to demonstrate the effectiveness of encouraging economic development by making grants for reducing interest rates on loans for economic development activities. Outlines grant requirements, terms, and conditions. (Sec. 123) Directs the Secretary to convey to the city of Two Harbors, Minnesota, the J and J Casting Site in Lake County, Minnesota, together with a road easement. (Sec. 124) Directs the Secretary, by September 30 of each of FY 1999 through 2003, to report to the Congress an evaluation of the effectiveness of the loan guarantees and grants under this Subtitle. (Sec. 125) Prohibits funds made available under this Act from being expended in violation of the Buy American Act. Title II: Appalachian Regional Development - Amends the Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965 (the Act, for purposes of this title) to: (1) require the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) to meet at least once a year and allow the ARC to conduct additional meetings by electronic means as considered advisable; (2) require the ARC to obtain a quorum of State members before reaching certain decisions; (3) extend permanently the authorization of appropriations for ARC administrative expenses; (4) revise compensation levels for ARC employees; (5) extend ARC administrative authority through FY 2003; and (6) reduce from 100 to 50 percent of program costs the Federal cost-sharing requirement with respect to demonstration health projects in the Appalachian region under this Act, with an exception of 80 percent of such costs for counties designated as distressed. (Sec. 208) Repeals the following programs and provisions under the Act: (1) the land stabilization, conservation, and erosion control program; (2) the timber development program; (3) the mining area restoration program; (4) the water resource development and utilization survey; (5) the Appalachian airport safety improvements program; (6) the sewage treatment works program; and (7) amendments to the Housing Act of 1954. (Sec. 214) Reduces from 100 to 50 percent of program costs the Federal cost-sharing requirement with respect to Appalachian vocational education and education demonstration projects, with an exception of 80 percent of such costs for counties designated as distressed. Makes an identical reduction with respect to Federal costs for Federal grant-in-aid programs in the Appalachian region. (Sec. 218) Adds specified criteria and measurements to be considered when determining programs and projects to be given assistance under the Act. (Sec. 219) Directs the ARC to designate as: (1) distressed counties those counties that are the most severely and persistently distressed; (2) competitive counties those counties which are approaching economic parity with the rest of the country; and (3) attainment counties those counties which have attained or exceeded such economic parity. Requires the ARC to give special consideration to counties designated as distressed. Limits to 30 percent of project costs the authorized assistance for a county designated as competitive and prohibits assistance for a county designated as attainment. Provides exceptions and an authorized waiver by the ARC. (Sec. 220) Empowers the ARC (currently, the President) to make grants for administrative expenses and ARC research and development projects under the Act. Reduces from 75 to 50 percent of program costs the Federal share of such projects, with an exception of 80 percent for counties designated as distressed. Repeals provisions concerning such projects which: (1) require certain ARC studies and reports; (2) authorize appropriations through June 30, 1969; and (3) ensure public availability of all information obtained from such projects. (Sec. 221) Extends through FY 2003 the authorization of appropriations and termination date under the Act.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 1998
Veterans Benefits Restoration Act of 1998 - Repeals a Federal provision which prohibits a veteran's disability or death from being considered to have resulted from a personal injury suffered or a disease contracted in the line of duty on the basis that it resulted from the use of tobacco products during the veteran's military, naval, or air service. Provides that such repeal shall apply to any claim for compensation received by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs before or after enactment of this Act. Prohibits the Director of the Office of Management and Budget from making any estimate of changes in direct spending outlays under provisions of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) for any fiscal year resulting from the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Pension Access and Coverage Subtitle A: Improved Access to Individual Retirement Savings Subtitle B: Secure Money Annuity or Retirement (SMART) Trusts Subtitle C: Improved Fairness in Retirement Plan Benefits Title II: Security Subtitle A: General Provisions Subtitle B: ERISA Enforcement Subtitle C: Increase in Excise Tax on Employer Reversions Title III: Portability Title IV: Comprehensive Women's Pension Protection Subtitle A: Pension Reform Subtitle B: Protection of Rights of Former Spouses to Pension Benefits Under Certain Government and Government-Sponsored Retirement Programs Subtitle C: Modifications of Joint and Survivor Annuity Requirements Title V: Date for Adoption of Plan Amendments Retirement Accessibility, Security, and Portability Act of 1998 - Title I: Pension Access and Coverage - Subtitle A: Improved Access to Individual Retirement Savings - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to allow a tax credit for up to a maximum $500 of the qualified start-up costs of eligible small employers in establishing a qualified pension plan or qualified employer payroll deduction system. (Sec. 102) Provides for an exclusion from an employee's gross income of payroll deduction contributions to individual retirement accounts (IRAs). (Sec. 103) Provides for a nonrefundable tax credit for contributions to individual retirement plans. (Sec. 104) Allows the use without penalty of distributions from certain plans during periods of unemployment. Subtitle B: Secure Money Annuity or Retirement (SMART) Trusts - Establishes a defined benefit plan option for small businesses, to be known as secure money annuity or retirement (SMART) trusts. Subtitle C: Improved Fairness in Retirement Plan Benefits - Amends the IRC to require a specified minimum employer contribution to SIMPLE retirement accounts. Provides for an employer option to suspend contributions with 30-days' notice. Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) with respect to fiduciary duties in the case of such accounts. (Sec. 122) Amends the IRC to set forth various nondiscrimination rules for qualified cash or deferred arrangements and matching contributions. (Sec. 123) Increases from $75,000 to $80,000 per year specified compensation criteria for a highly compensated employee. Excludes specified categories of employees with respect to age, short length of service, and part-time service from the meaning of highly compensated employee. (Sec. 124) Includes multiemployer plans, as well as governmental plans, under specified provisions of IRC for: (1) special limitation rules relating to compensation limits; and (2) exemptions for survivor and disability benefits. (Sec. 125) Declares that compensation deferred under a mirror plan shall not be taken into account in applying certain limits (with respect to deferred compensation plans of State and local governments and tax-exempt organizations) to compensation deferred under any other deferred compensation plan. (Sec. 126) Amends specified Federal law relating to Federal employees to allow immediate participation in the Thrift Savings Plan for Federal employees by eliminating certain waiting periods. (Sec. 127) Amends IRC and ERISA to set a full funding limitation for multiemployer plans. (Sec. 128) Eliminates IRC partial termination rules for multiemployer plans. (Sec. 129) Replaces the 150 percent of current liability factor in the calculation of the full-funding limit with an incremental scale from 155 percent in 1998 to 170 percent in 2001, followed by zero in 2002 and succeeding years. Title II: Security - Subtitle A: General Provisions - Amends ERISA to revise requirements for periodic pension benefits statements. (Sec. 202) Applies an ERISA requirement for annual, detailed investment reports to certain IRC section 401(k) plans. (Sec. 203) Directs the Secretary of Labor, in prescribing regulations for required information in such reports, to consider including specified types of information. (Sec. 204) Directs the Secretary to study and report to the Congress on: (1) the extent to which pension plans invest in collectibles; and (2) whether such investments present a risk to the pension security of the participants and beneficiaries of such plans. (Sec. 205) Amends IRC to prohibit qualified employer plans from making loans through credit cards and other intermediaries. (Sec. 206) Increases the amounts of multiemployer plan benefits guaranteed under ERISA. (Sec. 207) Increases the maximum amount of the civil penalty which may be assessed administratively for certain prohibited transactions. (Sec. 208) Amends ERISA with respect to substantial owner benefits to revise the phase-in of guarantee and the allocation of assets. (Sec. 209) Directs the Secretary to report annually to the President and the Congress on plans from which residual assets were distributed to employers (reversion report). Subtitle B: ERISA Enforcement - Amends ERISA enforcement provisions to change from mandatory to discretionary the Secretary's authority to impose certain civil penalties for breach of fiduciary responsibilities. (Sec. 212) Revises reporting and enforcement requirements for employee benefit plans. Requires plan administrators and accountants to notify the Secretary: (1) of specified irregularities; and (2) upon termination of the accountant. Authorizes the Secretary to impose civil penalties for failure to make such notifications. (Sec. 213) Sets forth additional ERISA requirements for qualified public accountants. (Sec. 214) Directs the Inspector General of the Department of Labor to study, and report to the Congress and the Secretary on, the need for regulatory standards and procedures to authorize the Secretary, in appropriate cases, to prohibit persons from serving as qualified accountants for purposes of specified annual reports. Subtitle C: Increase in Excise Tax on Employer Reversions - Amends the IRC to increase the excise tax on reversions of qualified employee benefit plan assets to employers. Title III: Portability - Amends ERISA and the IRC to provide for faster vesting of employer matching contributions. (Sec. 302) Revises certain restrictions on distributions from IRC section 401(k) plans. (Sec. 303) Amends ERISA and the IRC with respect to an accrued benefit not to be decreased by plan amendment to revise the treatment of transfers between defined contribution plans. (Sec. 304) Amends ERISA rules requiring transfer of benefits of missing participants to direct the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to prescribe similar rules for multiemployer plans that terminate. Requires transfer of missing participants' plan benefits to the PBGC by certain plans not otherwise subject to ERISA enforcement provisions. (Sec. 305) Allows rollovers from and to the IRC section 403(b) plans. (Sec. 306) Amends the IRC to set forth requirements relating to rollover contributions from deferred compensation plans of State and local governments. (Sec. 307) Extends the IRC 60-day rollover period in the case of presidentially declared disasters and service in combat zones. (Sec. 308) Excludes from gross income, for certain IRC purposes, amounts involved in a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer to a defined benefit governmental plan, if such transfer is for: (1) purchase of service credit under such plan; or (2) a specified type of repayment. Title IV: Comprehensive Women's Pension Protection - Subtitle A: Pension Reform - Amends the IRC and ERISA to provide for the spouse's right to know specified distribution information relating to survivor annuities. Provides for the employee's right to know of the opportunity for elective contributions under IRC section 401(k) plans. (Sec. 402) Directs the Secretary of Labor to contract with an independent organization to create a women's pension toll-free phone number and contact. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 403) Amends the Social Security Act to modify the government pension offset with respect to certain insurance benefits for wives, husbands, widows, widowers, and mothers and fathers. (Sec. 404) Amends the IRC and ERISA to treat periods of family and medical leave, under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, as hours of service for purposes of pension participation and vesting. (Sec. 405) Amends the IRC to: (1) disallow integration for simplified employee pensions; and (2) provide for eventual repeal of certain pension integration rules. (Sec. 406) Amends the IRC and ERISA with respect to division of pension benefits upon divorce, at the former spouse's election, to deem any State divorce decree to be a domestic relations order specifying that half of the marital share of the participant's accrued benefit is to be provided to such former spouse. (Sec. 407) Amends the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (RRA) to entitle divorced spouses to railroad retirement annuities independent of the employee's actual entitlement. Subtitle B: Protection of Rights of Former Spouses to Pension Benefits Under Certain Government and Government-Sponsored Retirement Programs - Amends RRA to extend Tier II railroad retirement benefits to surviving former spouses pursuant to divorce agreements. (Sec. 412) Amends Federal civil service law with respect to survivor annuities for widows, widowers, and former spouses of Federal employees who die before attaining the age for deferred annuity under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). (Sec. 413) Amends Federal civil service law with respect to payment of lump-sum benefits to former spouses of Federal employees under CSRS and the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS). Subtitle C: Modifications of Joint and Survivor Annuity Requirements - Modifies ERISA and IRC requirements for joint and survivor annuities to provide for an alternative joint and two-thirds survivor annuity payable while both the participant and the spouse are alive. (Sec. 422) Requires spousal consent for distributions from the IRC section 401(k) plans. Title V: Date for Adoption of Plan Amendments - Sets forth dates for adoption of plan amendments.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1998
Imported Food Safety Act of 1998 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require the prior approval of the Secretary of Health and Human Services for commercial distribution of food imported into the United States. Cites factors for mandatory consideration by the Secretary when determining whether to grant such approval. Requires the Secretary to: (1) deny approval of foreign food for import if the foreign system for food inspection does not provide at least the same level of protection as domestic laws, or if the foreign country does not permit the Secretary to conduct food inspections within its borders; and (2) give high priority to increasing significantly the number of inspections, including port-of-entry testing for pesticide and microbial contamination. Sets forth criminal penalties for noncompliance. Deems certain foods to be misbranded if the country-of-origin labeling is not provided at the time they are offered for retail sale. Instructs the Secretary to prioritize research on port-of-entry food safety testing techniques whose results are available within 60 minutes after test administration. Directs the Secretary to impose user fees on imported food in order to defray increased expenses needed to implement this Act. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1998 through 2003.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1998
Rural Enterprise Communities Act of 1998 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to authorize: (1) 33 additional rural enterprise communities (with an extended designation deadline); (2) designation of certain noncontiguous parcels as empowerment zones or enterprise communities; (3) a special designation exception for certain areas based upon emigration, underemployment, or economic adjustment; and (4) empowerment zone eligibility for Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Provides for: (1) designation priority to be given to top performing enterprise communities; and (2) additional specified grants and grant amounts for rural empowerment zones and rural enterprise communities. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to use certain community planning amounts under the Social Security Act to help communities apply for empowerment zone or enterprise community designation. Amends the Federal Agricultural Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 to authorize conveyance of Department of Agriculture excess property to support empowerment zones and enterprise communities.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1998
Repeals a Federal provision which prohibits a veteran's disability or death from being considered to have resulted from a personal injury suffered or a disease contracted in the line of duty on the basis that it resulted from the use of tobacco products during the veteran's military, naval, or air service. Prohibits the Director of the Office of Management and Budget from making any estimate of changes in direct spending outlays under provisions of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) for any fiscal year resulting from the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 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.
![Official portrait of Rep. Gordon, Bart [D-TN-6]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/g000309_200.jpg)