United States · United States Congress · 1 November 2000
Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Beneficiary Protection Act of 2000 - Title I: Medicare Beneficiary Improvements - Subtitle A: Improved Preventive Benefits - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for: (1) coverage of biennial screening pap smear and pelvic exams; (2) coverage of screening for glaucoma; (3) coverage of screening colonoscopy for average risk individuals; (4) revision of payments and standards for screening mammography; (5) coverage of medical nutrition therapy services for beneficiaries with diabetes or a renal disease; and (6) extension of Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) coverage for workers with disabilities. Subtitle B: Other Beneficiary Improvements - Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for: (1) acceleration of reduction of beneficiary copayment for hospital outpatient department (OPD) services; (2) preservation of coverage of drugs and biologicals under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance); (3) elimination of time limitation on Medicare benefits for immunosuppressive drugs; (4) imposition of billing limits on drugs; and (5) availability of application forms for medical assistance for Medicare cost-sharing. (Sec. 116) Amends SSA title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) to provide for a waiver of 24-month waiting period for Medicare coverage of individuals disabled with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Subtitle C: Demonstration Projects and Studies - Outlines: (1) a Health and Human Services (HHS) demonstration project for disease management for severely chronically ill Medicare beneficiaries; (2) HHS demonstration projects for cancer prevention and treatment for ethnic and racial minorities; (3) a National Academy of Sciences study on the addition of coverage of routine thyroid screening using a thyroid stimulating hormone test as a preventive benefit provided to Medicare beneficiaries; (4) a Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MEDPAC) study on consumer coalitions in marking Medicare+Choice (SSA title XVIII part C) plans; (5) an HHS study on the effect of limitations on State payment for Medicare cost-sharing on access to services for qualified Medicare beneficiaries; (6) HHS studies on preventive interventions in primary care for older Americans; and (7) a MEDPAC study on Medicare coverage of cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation therapy services. Title II: Rural Health Care Improvements - Subtitle A: Critical Access Hospital Provisions - Amends SSA title XVII to: (1) prohibit beneficiary cost-sharing for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests furnished by critical access hospitals; (2) increase the amount a critical access hospital may elect to be paid for outpatient critical access hospital (OCAH) services with respect to the fee schedule payment for OCAH professional services; (3) exempt critical access hospital swing beds from the skilled nursing facility (SNF) prospective payment system (PPS); (4) provide for payment in critical access hospitals for emergency room on-call physicians; and (5) provide for the treatment of ambulance services furnished by certain critical access hospitals. (Sec. 206) Requires the General Accounting Office (GAO) to conduct a study on certain eligibility requirements for critical access hospitals. Subtitle B: Other Rural Hospitals Provisions - Amends SSA title XVIII with regard to payment to hospitals for inpatient hospital services to provide for: (1) application of a uniform threshold for urban and rural hospitals to be classified as disproportionate share hospitals (DSHs) for discharges occurring on or after October 1, 2001; (2) adjustment of payment formulas for various specified hospitals, including hospitals that are both sole community hospitals and rural referral centers for discharges occurring during such period; (3) an option to base eligibility for the Medicare dependent, small rural hospital program on discharges during two of the three most recently audited cost reporting periods; and (4) extension of the option to use rebased target amounts to all sole community hospitals. (Sec. 214) Directs MEDPAC, in its study and report to Congress on rural providers under the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999, to analyze the impact of volume on the per unit cost of rural hospitals with psychiatric units, and recommend whether special treatment for such hospitals may be warranted. Subtitle C: Other Rural Provisions - Amends SSA title XVIII with regard to special payment rules for particular items and services to provide transitional assistance for providers of ambulance services in rural areas. (Sec. 222) Amends SSA title XVIII part B with regard to the use of carriers for administration of benefits concerning payment for certain physician assistant services. (Sec. 223) Amends BBA'97 to: (1) set a time limit for Medicare reimbursement for telehealth services; and (2) provide for an expansion of Medicare payment for such services. (Sec. 224) Amends SSA title XVIII part B to provide for expanding access to rural health clinics. (Sec. 225) Directs MEDPAC to study the effect of low patient and procedure volume on the financial status of low-volume, isolated rural health care providers participating in Medicare. Title III: Provisions Relating to Part A - Subtitle A: Inpatient Hospital Services - Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for elimination of the reduction in the PPS hospital payment update. (Sec. 301) Directs the Secretary, when rebasing and revising the hospital market basket index, to consider the prices of blood and blood products purchased by hospitals and to determine whether those prices are adequately reflected in such index. Amends SSA title XVIII with respect to payment to hospitals for inpatient hospital services and updating previous standardized amounts to provide for: (1) an adjustment for inpatient case mix changes; (2) modification of the transition for indirect medical education percentage adjustment for DSHs; and (3) decreases in reductions for DSH payments. (Sec. 304) Provides for a three-year effective period for any decision of the Medicare Geographic Classification Review Board to reclassify a DSH for purposes of adjusting the diagnosis-related group (DRG) prospective payment rate for hospital wage level area differences for FY 2001 or any fiscal year thereafter. Requires the Secretary to establish procedures under which a DSH hospital may elect to terminate such reclassification before the end of such period. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a process under which an appropriate statewide entity may apply to have all the geographic areas in a State treated as a single geographic area for purposes of computing and applying the area wage index; and (2) provide for the collection of data every three years on occupational mix for employees of each DSH in the provision of inpatient hospital services in order to construct an occupational mix adjustment in the applicable hospital area wage index. (Sec. 305) Amends SSA title XVIII with respect to prospective payment for inpatient rehabilitation hospital services and: (1) assistance with administrative costs associated with completion of patient assessment; as well as (2) a rehabilitation facility election to apply full prospective payment rate without phase-in. (Sec. 306) Provides that, with respect to the inpatient services of psychiatric hospitals and certain psychiatric units, in making incentive payments to such hospitals for cost reporting periods from October 1, 2000, through October 1, 2001, the Secretary shall increase the percent of the target amount used in determining such payments. (Sec. 307) Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for: (1) increased target amounts and caps for long-term care hospitals before implementation of the PPS required under the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999 for payment for inpatient hospital services provided in long-term care hospitals; (2) alternative implementation of such PPS by the Secretary based on the use of existing hospital DRGs that have been modified; and (3) increase in the base payment for Puerto Rico DSH hospitals. Subtitle B: Adjustments to PPS Payments for Skilled Nursing Facilities - Amends SSA title XVIII with respect to payment to SNFs for routine service costs to revise updating requirements, among other changes eliminating the reduction in the skilled nursing facility market basket update in 2001. (Sec. 311) Directs the Comptroller General to report to Congress on the adequacy of Medicare payment rates to SNFs and the extent to which Medicare contributes to the financial viability of such facilities. (Sec. 312) Directs the Secretary to increase the nursing component of the case-mix adjusted Federal prospective payment rate specified in the final rule published in the Federal Register by the Health Care Financing Administration on July 31, 2000, effective for services furnished on or after April 1, 2001, and before October 1, 2002. Requires the Comptroller General to conduct an audit for Congress of nursing staffing ratios in a representative sample of Medicare SNFs. (Sec. 313) Amends SSA title XVIII to limit application of the SNF consolidated billing requirement to a period during which the resident is provided Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) covered post-hospital extended care services. Requires the Secretary to monitor payments made under Medicare part B for items and services furnished to SNF residents during a time in which they are not being provided Medicare covered post-hospital extended care services, in order to ensure that there is not duplicate billing for services or excessive services provided. (Sec. 314) Provides that, for purposes of computing payments for certain covered SNF services, the Secretary shall increase the adjusted Federal per diem rate for covered SNF services for specified RUG-III (resource utilization group) rehabilitation groups furnished to an individual during the period in which such individual is classified in such a RUG-III category. Directs the HHS Inspector General to review the Medicare payment structure for services classified within RUGs and report to Congress on whether payment incentives exist for the delivery of inadequate care. (Sec. 315) Authorizes the Secretary to establish a procedure for the geographic reclassification of a SNF for purposes of payment for covered SNF services under the PPS for SNFs for routine service costs. Subtitle C: Hospice Care - Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for a full market basket increase for hospice care for FY 2001 and 2002. (Sec. 322) Requires that the certification regarding an individual's terminal illness be based on the physician's or medical director's clinical judgment regarding the normal course of the illness. (Sec. 323) Directs MEDPAC to conduct a study on the factors affecting the use of hospice benefits under Medicare program and differences in such use between urban and rural hospice programs and based upon the presenting condition of the patient. Subtitle D: Other Provisions - Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for a reduction in Medicare part A late enrollment premium increases (penalty) for a qualified State or local government retiree group in the case where a State, a local government, or an agency or instrumentality of a State or local government, determines to pay, for the life of each individual in such a group, the monthly premiums due. (Sec. 332) Outlines provisions for hospital geographic reclassification for labor costs applicable to other PPS systems and for grants to States for improvements in nursing home staffing and quality. Title IV: Provisions Relating to Part B - Subtitle A: Hospital Outpatient Services - Amends SSA title XVIII with respect to the PPS for hospital OPD services to provide for: (1) a full market basket increase for such services for 2001; (2) adjustment for service mix changes; (3) use of categories in determining eligibility of a device for pass-through payments; (4) application of OPD PPS transitional corridor payments to certain hospitals that did not submit a 1996 cost report; (5) treatment of children's hospitals under the PPS; (6) inclusion of temperature monitored cryoablation in transitional pass-through for certain medical devices, drugs, and biologicals under the PPS; and (7) the Secretary to create additional groups of covered OPD services that classify separately those procedures that utilize contrast media from those that do not. (Sec. 404) Provides that, for purposes of making determinations of provider-based status under Medicare on or after October 1, 2000, any facility or organization that is treated as provider-based in relation to a hospital or critical access hospital under Medicare as of October 1, 2000: (1) shall continue to be treated as provider-based in relation to such hospital or critical access hospital under Medicare during the two year period beginning on October 1, 2000; and (2) the requirements, limitations, and exclusions specified in appropriate Federal regulations detailing requirements for a determination that a facility or an organization has provider-based status shall not apply to such facility or organization in relation to such hospital or critical access hospital until after the end of such two- year period. Prohibits a facility or organization for which a determination of provider-based status in relation to a hospital or critical access hospital is requested during FY 2001 or 2002 from being treated as not having such status in relation to such a hospital for any period before a determination is made with respect to such status pursuant to such request and in making a determination with respect to such status for any facility or organization in relationship to such a hospital on or after October 1, 2000, the facility or organization shall be treated as satisfying any requirements and standards for geographic location in relation to such a hospital if the facility or organization: (1) satisfies appropriate Federal regulations pertaining to location in immediate vicinity or is located not more than 35 miles from the main campus of the hospital or critical access hospital; and (2) is owned and operated by a hospital or critical access hospital that meets specified criteria. Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Physicians' Services - Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study on: (1) the appropriateness of furnishing in physicians' offices specialist physicians' services which are ordinarily furnished in hospital outpatient departments; and (2) the refinements to the practice expense relative value units during the transition to a resource-based practice expense system for physician payments under Medicare. (Sec. 412) Amends SSA title XVIII to require the Secretary to conduct demonstration projects to test and, if proven effective, expand the use of incentives to health care groups participating in Medicare that: (1) encourage coordination of the care furnished to individuals under Medicare parts A and B by institutional and other providers, practitioners, and suppliers of health care items and services; (2) encourage investment in administrative structures and processes to ensure efficient service delivery; and (3) reward physicians for improving health outcomes. (Sec. 413) Directs the Comptroller General to study the current Medicare enrollment process for groups that retain independent contractor physicians with particular emphasis on hospital-based physicians. Subtitle C: Other Services - Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for a one-year extension of the moratorium on certain physical therapy services caps. (Sec. 421) Directs the Secretary to study the implications: (1) of eliminating the "in the room" supervision requirement for Medicare payment for services of physical therapy assistants supervised by physical therapists; and (2) of such requirement on the cap imposed under Medicare on physical therapy services. (Sec. 422) Amends SSA title XVIII with respect to Medicare coverage for end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients to increase the update for dialysis services furnished on or after January 1, 2001. Directs the Secretary to: (1) collect data and develop an ESRD market basket whereby the Secretary can estimate, before the beginning of a year, the percentage by which the costs for the year of the mix of labor and nonlabor goods and services included in the ESRD composite rate will exceed the costs of such mix for the preceding year; and (2) develop a system which includes in such composite rate, to the maximum extent feasible, payment for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests and drugs that are routinely used in furnishing dialysis services to Medicare beneficiaries, but which are currently separately billable by renal dialysis facilities. (Sec. 423) Amends SSA title XVIII with respect to payment for ambulance services to provide for: (1) restoration of the full consumer price index (CPI) increase for 2001; and (2) continued phase-in of the application of the payment rates under the ambulance services fee schedule in an efficient and fair manner; except that when the Secretary implements such fee schedule, such phase-in shall provide for full payment of any national mileage rate for ambulance services provided by suppliers that are paid by carriers in any of the 50 States where payment by a carrier for such services for all such suppliers in such State, before the fee schedule's implementation, did not include a separate amount for all mileage within the county from which the beneficiary is transported. (Sec. 424) Prohibits the Secretary from implementing a revised PPS for services of ambulatory surgical facilities before January 1, 2002. Amends the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999 with respect to the phase-in of the PPS for ambulatory surgical centers to: (1) extend the phase-in to four years; and (2) direct the Secretary, by January 1, 2003, to incorporate data from a 1999 Medicare cost survey or a subsequent cost survey for purposes of implementing or revising such PPS. (Sec. 425) Amends SSA title XVIII, with respect to special payment rules for particular items and services, to provide for: (1) the full update for durable medical equipment, orthotics, and prosthetics in 2001; and (2) addition of special payment provisions and requirements for prosthetics and certain custom fabricated orthotic items. (Sec. 428) Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for the replacement of, and payment for, prosthetic devices and parts. (Sec. 429) Directs the Comptroller General to study the reimbursement for drugs and biologicals under the current Medicare payment methodology and for related services under Medicare part B, with recommendations for revised payment methodologies. Directs the Secretary to revise such payment methodology based on such recommendations. (Sec. 430) Amends SSA title XVIII part D (Miscellaneous) to revise the qualifications for community mental health centers under provisions defining partial hospitalization services. (Sec. 431) Makes a hospital or a free-standing ambulatory care clinic, whether operated by the Indian Health Service or by an Indian tribe or tribal organization, eligible for payments for services for which payment is made under Medicare part B for physicians' services if and for so long as it meets all of the requirements which are applicable generally to such payments, services, hospitals, and clinics. (Sec. 432) Directs the Comptroller General to study the effect on Medicare and on Medicare beneficiaries of coverage of surgical first assisting services of certified registered nurse first assistants. (Sec. 433) Directs MEDPAC to study the appropriateness of: (1) the current Medicare payment rates for services provided by a certified nurse-midwife, a physician assistant, a nurse practitioner, and a clinical nurse specialist; and (2) Medicare coverage for services provided by a surgical technologist, a marriage counselor, a marriage and family therapist, a pastoral care counselor, and a licensed professional counselor of mental health. (Sec. 435) Directs the Comptroller General to study: (1) the costs of providing emergency and medical transportation services across the range of acuity levels of conditions for which such transportation services are provided; (2) the post-payment audit process under Medicare as such process applies to physicians; and (3) the aggregate effects of regulatory, audit, oversight, and paperwork burdens on physicians and other health care providers participating in Medicare. (Sec. 437) Directs MEDPAC to study the barriers to coverage and payment for outpatient interventional pain medicine procedures under Medicare. Title V: Provisions Relating to Parts A and B - Subtitle A: Home Health Services - Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for a two-year additional delay in the application of the 15 percent reduction on payment limits for home health services. (Sec. 501) Amends the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999 to delay for an additional year the 15 percent reduction in payment rates for home health services after implementation of the PPS. Requires the Comptroller General, instead of the Secretary (as currently required), to report to Congress an analysis of the need for such a reduction. Amends SSA title XVIII with regard to the PPS for home health services concerning the annual update to provide for an adjustment for case mix changes. (Sec. 502) Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for restoration of the full home health market basket update for home health services for FY 2001. Establishes a special rule for payment under the PPS for home health services for FY 2001 based on adjusted prospective payment amounts. (Sec. 503) Provides for a temporary two-month extension of periodic interim payments under BBA '97 in the case of a home health agency receiving periodic interim payments as of September 30, 2000. (Sec. 504) Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for the use of telehealth in the delivery of home health services. (Sec. 505) Directs the Comptroller General to study variations in prices paid by home health agencies furnishing home health services under Medicare in purchasing nonroutine medical supplies and volumes if such supplies used determine the effect (if any) of variations on prices and volumes in the provision of such services. (Sec. 506) Provides that, in determining for Medicare purposes whether an office of a home health agency constitutes a branch office or a separate home health agency, neither the time nor distance between a parent office of the home health agency and a branch office shall be the sole determinant of a home health agency's branch office status. (Sec. 507) Amends SSA title XVIII with regard to the Medicare home health benefit to declare that absences from home to receive medical treatment shall not disqualify an individual from such benefit. (Sec. 508) Provides for a temporary payment increase for home health services furnished in a rural area for2001 and 2002. Subtitle B: Direct Graduate Medical Education - Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for an increase in the floor for direct graduate medical education payments for FY 2002. (Sec. 512) Changes the distribution formula for Medicare+Choice-related nursing and allied health education costs. Subtitle C: Changes in Medicare Coverage and Appeals Process - Amends SSA title XVIII to revise the Medicare appeals process. Provides for initial determinations of entitlement and benefits by the Secretary, by a utilization and quality control peer review organization, or by an independent contractor. Provides for redeterminations of denied benefit claims. Specifies appeal rights, including the right of an individual to request a medically exigent review from the contractor who made the initial determination. (Sec. 522) Provides for the review of coverage determinations under the Medicare appeals process. Amends SSA title XI to require any advisory committee on certain Medicare coverage exclusions to: (1) assure the full participation of a nonvoting member in its deliberations; and (2) provide such nonvoting member access to all information and data (with certain exceptions) made available to the committee's voting members. Provides that, if such committee organizes into panels of experts according to types of items or services, any such panel may report directly to the Secretary without prior approval. Subtitle D: Improving Access to New Technologies - Amends SSA title XVIII to establish a new payment rule for any clinical diagnostic laboratory test performed on or after January 1, 2001, that is a new test for which no limitation amount has previously been established. (Sec. 531) Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish procedures for coding and payment determinations for the categories of new clinical diagnostic laboratory tests and new durable medical equipment under Medicare part B that permit public consultation in a manner consistent with the procedures established for implementing coding modifications for ICD-9-CM; and (2) report to Congress on the specific procedures used under Medicare part B to adjust payments for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests and durable medical equipment which are classified to existing codes where, because of a technology advance, there has been a significant increase or decrease in the resources used in the test or in the manufacture of the equipment, and a significant improvement in test or equipment performance. (Sec. 532) Directs the Secretary to: (1) maintain and continue through December 31, 2003, the use of level III codes of the HCPCS (Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) Common Procedure Coding System) coding system (as such system was in effect on August 16, 2000); and (2) make such codes publicly available. (Sec. 533) Directs the Secretary to: (1) report to Congress on methods of expeditiously incorporating new medical services and technologies into the clinical coding system used with respect to Medicare payment for inpatient hospital services, together with a detailed description of the Secretary's preferred methods to achieve this purpose; and (2) implement such preferred methods. Amends SSA title XVIII to direct the Secretary to establish a mechanism to recognize the costs of new medical services and technologies with respect to inpatient hospital services under the hospital reimbursement control system. Subtitle E: Other Provisions - Amends SSA title XVIII to reduce from 45 percent to 30 percent the reduction in the amount of bad debts otherwise treated as allowable costs attributable to the deductibles and coinsurance amounts under Medicare for FY 2001 and subsequent fiscal years in determining the reasonable costs of outpatient hospital services (thus increasing by 15 percent the amount that may be reimbursed). (Sec. 542) Provides for the treatment of certain physician pathology services under Medicare. (Sec. 543) Amends SSA title XI to make permanent the authority for the Secretary to issue written advisory opinions under provisions for guidance regarding application of health care fraud and abuse sanctions. (Sec. 544) Amends SSA title XVIII to make various specified changes in annual MEDPAC reporting with regard to revision of deadlines for submission of reports and on the record votes on recommendations. (Sec. 545) Directs the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees on the development of standard instruments for the assessment of the health and functional status of patients, for whom specified items and services are furnished. (Sec. 546) Directs the Comptroller General to report to specified congressional committees on the effect of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act on hospitals, emergency physicians, and physicians covering emergency department call throughout the United States. (Sec. 547) Amends SSA title XVIII with respect to agreements with providers of services to provide for the application of the bloodborne pathogen standard to certain hospitals. Title VI: Provisions Relating to Part C (Medicare+Choice Program) and Other Medicare Managed Care Provisions - Subtitle A: Medicare+Choice Payment Reforms - Amends SSA title XVIII part C with regard to payments to Medicare+Choice organizations to: (1) increase the payment amount for 2001 through 2003 for accountable Medicare+Choice coordinated care plans; and (2) provide for a ten-year phase-in of risk adjustment. (Sec. 603) Provides for a transition to revised Medicare+Choice payment rates. (Sec. 604) Amends SSA title XVIII part C to provide for revision of payment rates for ESRD patients enrolled in Medicare+Choice plans. (Sec. 605) Amends SSA title XVIII part C with regard to premiums to permit Medicare part B premium reductions as additional benefits under Medicare+Choice plans. (Sec. 606) Amends SSA title XVIII part C with regard to payments to Medicare+Choice organizations to: (1) ensure full implementation of risk adjustment methodology for congestive heart failure enrollees for 2001; and (2) provide for the expansion of the application of Medicare+Choice's new entry bonus. (Sec. 608) Directs the Secretary to report to Congress on a method to phase-in the costs of military facility services furnished by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and those furnished by the Department of Defense, to Medicare-eligible beneficiaries in the calculation of an area's Medicare+Choice capitation payment. Subtitle B: Other Medicare+Choice Reforms - Amends SSA title XVIII part C to provide for payment of additional amounts for new Medicare+Choice benefits covered during a contract term. (Sec. 612) Prohibits the Secretary from implementing, other than at the beginning of a calendar year, regulations that impose significant regulatory requirements on a Medicare+Choice organization or plan. (Sec. 613) Provides for timely approval of marketing material that follows model marketing language, and for avoiding duplicative regulation with respect to plan requirements. (Sec. 615) Provides that, in the case of a Medicare+Choice organization that offers a Medicare+Choice plan in an area in which more than one local coverage policy is applied with respect to different parts of the area, the organization may elect to have the local coverage policy for the part of the area that is most beneficial to Medicare+Choice enrollees apply with respect to all Medicare+Choice enrollees enrolled in the plan. (Sec. 616) Requires: (1) the quality assurance program under the Medicare+Choice program to include a separate focus on racial and ethnic minorities; and (2) the Secretary to submit to Congress a report regarding how such quality assurance programs focus on racial and ethnic minorities. (Sec. 617) Authorizes the Secretary to waive or to modify requirements that hinder the design of, the offering of, or enrollment in Medicare+Choice plans under contracts between Medicare+Choice organizations and employers, labor organizations, or the trustees of a fund established by one or more employers or labor organizations (or combination thereof) to furnish benefits to the entity's employees, former employees (or combination thereof) or to members or former members (or combination thereof) of the labor organizations. (Sec. 618) Amends SSA title XVIII part D with regard to special Medicare supplemental health insurance enrollment anti-discrimination provision for certain beneficiaries. (Sec. 619) Amends SSA title XVIII part C to restore the effective date of elections and changes of elections of Medicare+Choice plans. (Sec. 620) Permits ESRD beneficiaries to enroll in another Medicare+Choice plan if the plan in which they are enrolled is terminated. (Sec. 621) Provides that, in covering post-hospital extended care services, a Medicare+Choice plan shall provide for such coverage through a home SNF if: (1) the enrollee elects to receive such coverage through such SNF; and (2) the SNF has a contract with the Medicare+Choice organization for the provision of such services, or the SNF agrees to accept substantially similar payment under the same terms and conditions that apply to similarly situated SNFs under contract with the Medicare+Choice organization through which the enrollee would otherwise receive such services. (Sec. 622) Directs HCFA's Chief Actuary to review the actuarial assumptions and data used by the Medicare+Choice organization with respect to such rates, amounts, and values to determine the appropriateness of such assumptions and data. (Sec. 623) Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for civil monetary penalties for contract default by a Medicare+Choice organization. Subtitle C: Other Managed Care Reforms - Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 to provide for a one-year extension of the social health maintenance organization demonstration project authority. (Sec. 632) Amends the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999 to provide for revised terms and conditions for extension of Medicare community nursing organization demonstration project. (Sec. 633) Amends the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 to provide for a two-year extension of Medicare municipal health services demonstration projects. (Sec. 634) Amends SSA title XVIII part D with regard to payments to health maintenance organizations and competitive medical plans and service area expansion for Medicare cost contracts during transition period. Title VII: Medicaid - Amends SSA title XIX with respect to DSH payments and: (1) continuation of Medicaid DSH allotments at FY 2000 levels for FY 2001 and 2002; and (2) a special rule for Medicaid DSH allotment for extremely low DSH States. (Sec. 701) Outlines provisions for: (1) assuring identification of Medicaid managed care patients for purposes of making DSH payments; (2) application of the Medicaid DSH transition rule to public hospitals in all States; (3) assistance for certain public hospitals; and (4) DSH payment accountability standards. (Sec. 702) Amends SSA title XIX to create a new PPS for Federally-qualified health centers and rural health clinics. (Sec. 703) Amends SSA XI to establish an approval process for a State's application for an extension of any State-wide comprehensive demonstration project for which a waiver of compliance with Medicaid requirements is granted. (Sec. 704) Amends the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 with respect to Medicaid county-organized health systems. (Sec. 705) Directs the Secretary to issue a final regulation based on the proposed rule announced on October 5, 2000, that: (1) modifies the upper payment limit test applied to State Medicaid spending for inpatient hospital services, outpatient hospital services, nursing facility services, intermediate care facility services for the mentally retarded, and clinic services by applying an aggregate upper payment limit to payments made to government facilities that are not State-owned or operated facilities; and (2) provides for a specified transition period. (Sec. 706) Prescribes a formula for the Federal medical assistance percentage for Alaska for purposes of SSA titles XIX and XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program) (SCHIP), which shall apply only for FY 2001 through 2005. (Sec. 707) Amends SSA title XIX to provide for optional coverage of legal immigrants under Medicaid. (Sec. 708) Makes additional entities qualified to determine Medicaid presumptive eligibility for low-income children. (Sec. 709) Provides for a one year extension of provisions on eligibility for medical assistance under Medicaid. (Sec. 710) Includes as Medicaid medical assistance any services furnished by a physician assistant which the assistant is legally authorized to perform under State law and with the supervision of a physician. (Sec. 711) Gives States the option of allowing families of disabled children to purchase Medicaid coverage for such children. Title VIII: State Children's Health Insurance Program - Amends SSA title XXI to: (1) establish a rule for redistribution and extended availability of unused FY 1998 and 1999 SCHIP allotments; (2) provide authority to pay Medicaid expansion SCHIP costs from SCHIP appropriations; (3) eliminate requirement to reduce a SCHIP allotment by Medicaid expansion SCHIP costs; (4) provide authority to transfer SCHIP appropriations to the Medicaid appropriation account as reimbursement for Medicaid expenditures for Medicaid expansion SCHIP services; and (5) provide optional coverage of certain legal immigrants under SCHIP. Title IX: Other Provisions - Subtitle A: PACE Program - Amends BBA '97 with respect to programs of all-inclusive care for the elderly (PACE programs) to provide for an extension of transition for the current PACE demonstration project waiver authority. (Sec. 902) Amends SSA title XVIII with respect to payments to, and coverage of benefits under, PACE programs, and regulations and use of PACE protocol to provide for the continuation of modifications or waivers of operational requirements under demonstration status. (Sec. 903) Directs the Secretary to approve or deny a request for a modification or a waiver of provisions of the PACE protocol not later than 90 days after the Secretary receives the request, in order to provide flexibility in exercising waiver authority. Permits the Secretary to exercise authority to modify or to waive such provisions in a manner that responds promptly to the needs of PACE programs relating to areas of employment and the use of community-based primary care physicians in order to provide flexibility in exercising waiver authority. Subtitle B: Outreach to Eligible Low-Income Medicare Beneficiaries - Amends SSA title XI to direct the Commissioner of Social Security to: (1) conduct outreach efforts to identify individuals entitled to Medicare benefits who may be eligible for medical assistance for payment of the cost of Medicare cost-sharing under Medicaid; and (2) notify such individuals of the availability of such medical assistance. (Sec. 911) Directs the Comptroller General to study the impact of such outreach efforts on the enrollment of individuals for Medicare cost-sharing under Medicaid. Subtitle C: Maternal and Child Health Block Grant - Amends SSA title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) to increase the authorization of appropriations for the Maternal and Child Health Services block grant for FY 2001 and each fiscal year thereafter. Subtitle D: Diabetes - Amends the Public Health Service Act to increase FY 2001 through 2003 appropriations for special diabetes programs for children with type I diabetes and for special diabetes programs for Indians. (Sec. 931) Amends BBA '97 to extend the final report on diabetes grant programs. (Sec. 932) Amends the Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund Act of 1998 to make appropriations to the Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund for FY 2001.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 2000
Energy Independence Act of 2000 - Directs the Secretary of Energy to: (1) develop and transmit to Congress a strategic plan to ensure that the United States is energy self-sufficient by the year 2010; and (2) develop a program for the acquisition of certain commercially available fuel cell power plants and power generated therefrom for use at federally owned or operated facilities. Directs the President, in coordination with designated Secretaries, to establish: (1) a demonstration program for fuel cell proton exchange membrane technology for commercial, residential, and transportation applications (including buses) within the Secretaries' respective areas; and (2) a comprehensive proton exchange membrane fuel cell bus demonstration program to address hydrogen production, storage, and use in transit bus applications. Mandates that each Federal agency that maintains a motor vehicle fleet develop a plan for fleet transition to vehicles powered by fuel cell technology. Directs the Secretary of Energy to establish a fuel cell technology grant program for State or local government to meet their energy requirements, including such technology as a motor vehicle power source. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 2000
Surviving Spouses and Dependents Outreach Enhancement and Veterans Casework Improvement Act - Encourages all elements within the Department of Veterans Affairs, public and private sector entities, and veterans' widows and surviving spouses and their organizations to work cooperatively to fully inform veterans' surviving spouses and dependents regarding their eligibility for veterans' benefits and health care services. Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to assign appropriate Department employees to conduct outreach programs and provide outreach services for eligible spouses and dependents.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 2000
Military Decoration Preservation Act - Requires that, if any unclaimed military decoration is escheated to a State, the person having custody shall deliver the decoration to the Secretary of the military department concerned, instead of to an official of such State. Requires such Secretary to maintain such custody, and authorizes such Secretary to provide for the display of such decoration in any museum or exhibition, including State and military museums. Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to provide an exemption in the case of a State which has in effect: (1) a requirement that an appropriate State official maintain beneficial ownership of such property; and (2) a prohibition on the sale of such decoration. Allows persons claiming an interest in such a decoration to file a claim with the Secretary concerned. Excludes such decorations from estates for purposes of the bankruptcy laws.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 2000
Prohibits U.S. assistance (except humanitarian assistance) to the Palestinian Authority (or to any successor or related entity) or for programs, projects, and activities to the West Bank or Gaza unless the President determines and certifies to specified congressional committees that: (1) the leadership of the Palestinian Authority has publicly renounced violence as a means of political expression and has taken all actions to bring an end to the violence which commenced in early October 2000 in the West Bank and Gaza; and (2) the violence in the West Bank and Gaza has subsided.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 2000
Calls upon the President to: (1) take all appropriate action to provide relief from injury caused by steel imports; and (2) immediately request the U.S. Trade Commission to commence an expedited investigation for positive adjustment of such steel imports under section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 2000
Safer Guns for Safer Communities Act - Authorizes the Attorney General to provide up to 50 grants to eligible States and units of local government for up to three years for the purchase of firearms from a licensed importer or manufacturer which is in compliance with certain handgun standards outlined under this Act, including that such handguns: (1) have certain lock and safety devices; (2) have passed certain performance tests; (3) do not accept large capacity ammunition feeding devices; (4) contain certain packaging warnings; (5) are part of an inventory tracking plan; (6) are included in quarterly reporting of handgun sales to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF); and (7) are not marketed to minors under 18 years of age. Prohibits a law enforcement agency from disposing of a firearm except by destroying it or transferring it to another law enforcement agency. Requires the disposing agency to notify the ATF with certain handgun identifying information. Directs the National Institute of Justice to evaluate the effect of the grant program in reducing gun-related crime in participating jurisdictions.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 2000
Bring Our Children Home Act - Amends the Federal judicial code to provide that a contestant may bring an action in district court to determine which of conflicting State court child custody determinations shall prevail. Directs the Attorney General (AG) to establish a registry for all custody orders entered by State courts. Authorizes law enforcement officers of a State or local government to hold, for no more than 24 hours, any child listed as missing for proper disposition under the latest valid custody determination. Requires the Secretary of State to prepare a report on progress made by the United States in negotiating and entering into bilateral treaties relating to international child abduction with countries that are not contracting parties under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require information on each country's efforts to prohibit international child abduction. Requires the AG to prepare a report describing the status of each case involving a request for extradition in cases involving international kidnaping by parents.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 2000
Expresses the solidarity of Congress with the state and people of Israel at this time of crisis. Condemns the Palestinian leadership for encouraging the violence and doing so little for so long to stop it. Calls upon the Palestinian leadership to: (1) refrain from exhortations to public incitement; and (2) vigorously use its security forces to act immediately to stop all violence, to show respect for all holy sites, and to settle all grievances through negotiations. Commends successive Administrations on their continuing efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East. Calls upon: (1) the current Administration to use its veto power at the United Nations Security Council to ensure that the Security Council does not again adopt unbalanced resolutions addressing the uncontrolled violence in the areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority; and (2) all involved parties to make all possible efforts to reinvigorate the peace process.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 2000
Veterans Commemoration Act of 2000 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue a maximum of 500,000 $1 coins to commemorate the service of veterans of the United States armed forces. Mandates that the proceeds from sale surcharges be paid promptly to the Disabled American Veterans to fund the transportation of veterans to and from hospitals administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 2000
Recognizes the historical significance of the 20th anniversary of the workers' strikes in Poland that led to the creation of the independent trade union Solidarnosc. Honors the Polish leaders who risked and lost their lives attempting to restore democracy in their country.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2000
Death Tax Relief Now Act of 2000 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) reduce the estate tax rates; (2) increase (and provide a cost of living adjustment for) the exemption equivalent of the unified credit; (3) repeal the family-owned business interests deduction provisions; (4) repeal provisions providing for a credit for State death taxes and provide for the deduction from an estate's value of State death taxes paid; and (5) increase the permissible number of partners or shareholders in a closely held business for purposes of eligibility for an extension of estate tax payments.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2000
Beneficiary Improvement and Protection Act of 2000 - Title I: Beneficiary Improvements - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for: (1) availability of and assistance in completing qualified Medicare beneficiary and specified low-income Medicare beneficiary application forms; (2) election of colonoscopy instead of a screening sigmoidoscopy, but only once every 119 months; (3) elimination of time limitation on Medicare benefits for immunosuppressive drugs; and (4) preservation of coverage of drugs and biologicals (even if occasionally, but not usually, self-administered) under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance). (Sec. 102) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to study and report to Congress on whether limitations on State payment for Medicare cost-sharing have affected access to services for qualified Medicare beneficiaries. (Sec. 104) Amends SSA title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) to provide for Medicare coverage of individuals disabled with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), without a 24-month waiting period. (Sec. 107) Directs the Secretary to conduct a demonstration project on Medicare coverage of medical nutrition therapy services. Title II: Other Medicare Part B Provisions - Subtitle A: Access to Technology - Directs the Secretary to report to Congress (for publication on the HHS Medicare Internet site) a detailed compilation of the actual time periods necessary to complete and fully implement any national coverage determinations that were made in the previous fiscal year for items, services, or medical devices not previously covered as a Medicare benefit. (Sec. 202) Amends SSA title XVIII part B with regard to the payment of benefits to: (1) make the national limitation amount for clinical diagnostic laboratory test fee schedules equal to 100 percent of national median for new clinical laboratory test technologies; (2) require the Secretary to establish a fee schedule for new clinical laboratory tests in a specified manner; and (3) require the Secretary to establish the use of categories in determining eligibility of a device for pass-through payments under the hospital outpatient prospective payment system (PPS). (Sec. 204) Amends SSA title XVIII part B to provide for an increase in the payment limit for new technologies applied to screening mammography performed beginning in 2001 and determined by the Secretary to enhance the detection of breast cancer. Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Physicians Services - Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on the appropriateness of furnishing gastrointestinal endoscopic physicians services in physicians offices. (Sec. 212) Provides for payment to a laboratory instead of to a hospital for certain physician pathology services. (Sec. 213) Amends SSA title XVIII to mandate demonstration projects to test and, if proven effective, expand the use of incentives to participating health care groups that: (1) encourage coordination of the care furnished to individuals under Medicare parts A (Hospital Insurance) and B by institutional and other providers, practitioners, and suppliers of health care items and services; (2) encourage investment in administrative structures and processes to ensure efficient service delivery; and (3) reward physicians for improving health outcomes. (Sec. 214) Directs the Secretary to provide for designation of interventional pain management physicians as a separate category of physician specialists. (Sec. 215) Directs the Secretary to evaluate and report to Congress on the current Medicare enrollment process for medical groups that retain independent contractor physicians with particular emphasis on hospital-based physicians (such as emergency department staffing groups). Subtitle C: Other Services - Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for a three-year moratorium on application of certain skilled nursing facility (SNF) Medicare part B consolidated billing requirements. (Sec. 222) Prohibits the Secretary from implementing a revised PPS for services of ambulatory surgical facilities before January 1, 2002. Amends the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999 to revise provisions on contrast enhanced diagnostic procedures under the hospital PPS, including with regard to the deadline for use of 1999 or later cost surveys. (Sec. 223) Amends SSA title XVIII with respect to the payment of benefits to provide for a one year extension of the moratorium on certain physical therapy caps. (Sec. 224) Amends the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA '97) to revise requirements for Medicare reimbursement for telehealth services. (Sec. 225) Amends SSA title XVIII with respect to payment for ambulance services to eliminate certain reductions for 2001 and 2002 enacted under BBA '97. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on costs of providing ambulance services covered under the Medicare program across the range of service levels for which such services are provided. (Sec. 226) Amends SSA title XVIII with respect to PPS hospital outpatient department (OPD) services system requirements to direct the Secretary to create additional groups of covered OPD services that classify separately those procedures that utilize contrast media from those that do not. (Sec. 227) Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for a ten-year phased in increase from 55 percent to 80 percent in the proportion of hospital bad debt recognized. (Sec. 228) Amends SSA title XVIII with regard to State accreditation of diabetes self-management training programs. (Sec. 229) Amends SSA title XVIII with regard to Medicare coverage for end stage renal disease patients to provide for an increase in the update for renal dialysis composite rate for dialysis services furnished on or after January 1, 2001. Directs the Secretary to report to Congress on a literature review of studies on the impact of oral self-administered prescription non-calcium phosphate binding drugs in reducing the incidence of hospitalization under the Medicare program for Medicare beneficiaries with end stage renal disease. Title III: Medicare Part A and B Provisions - Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for a one year delay in the 15 percent reduction in payment rates under the Medicare PPS for home health services. (Sec. 302) Amends SSA title XI with regard to guidance on application of health care fraud and abuse sanctions to make permanent existing advisory opinion authority, among other changes. (Sec. 303) Provides for: (1) hospital geographic reclassification for labor costs applicable to other PPS systems; and (2) reclassification of a certain Ohio metropolitan statistical area for purposes of Medicare reimbursement. (Sec. 305) Amends SSA title XVIII to: (1) make the Medicare dependent, small rural hospital program permanent; and (2) include as a Medicare dependent, small rural disproportionate share (DSH) hospital one with discharges during any of the three most recent audited cost reporting periods. (Sec. 307) Amends SSA title XI to require a peer review organization to assist providers, practitioners, and Medicare+Choice organizations in identifying and developing strategies to reduce the incidence of actual and potential errors and problems related to patient safety affecting individuals entitled to Medicare benefits. (Sec. 308) Directs the Comptroller General to submit a report to Congress on the effect of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act on hospitals, emergency physicians, and physicians covering emergency department call, focusing on those in Arizona (including Phoenix) and California (including Los Angeles). Title IV: Medicare+Choice Program Stabilization and Improvements - Subtitle A: Payment Reforms - Amends part C (Medicare+Choice) of SSA title XVIII with regard to calculation of annual Medicare+Choice capitation rates increasing the minimum payment amount and the minimum percentage update for 2001. (Sec. 403) Provides for a ten-year phase-in of risk adjustment methodology for payments to Medicare+Choice organizations based on data from all settings. (Sec. 404) Provides for transition to revised Medicare+Choice payment rates. Subtitle B: Administrative Reforms - Amends part C (Medicare+Choice) of SSA title XVIII with regard to: (1) eligibility, election, and enrollment effectiveness of elections and changes of elections; (2) Medicare+Choice program compatibility with employer or union group health plans; and (3) uniform premium and benefits. Title V: Medicaid - Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid), as amended by the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999, with regard to DSH payments to, among other changes, provide for: (1) continuation of Medicaid DSH allotments at FY 2000 levels for fiscal years 2001 and 2002; (2) higher rate of increase in the Medicaid DSH allotment for extremely low DSH States; and (3) assuring identification of Medicaid managed care patients for purposes of making DSH payments. (Sec. 502) Amends SSA title XIX to establish a PPS for Federally-qualified health centers and rural health clinics. Directs the Comptroller General to provide for a study and report to Congress on the need for, and how to, rebase or refine costs for making Medicaid payment for services provided by such centers and clinics. (Sec. 503) Authorizes a State to elect to provide Medicaid assistance to children and pregnant women who are aliens lawfully residing in the United States for at least two years and otherwise eligible for such assistance. (Sec. 504) Amends SSA title XIX to provide for additional entities qualified to determine Medicaid presumptive eligibility for low-income children. (Sec. 505) Amends SSA title XIX to: (1) extend for one year provisions on eligibility for medical assistance; (2) give States the option to waive administrative reporting requirements for an additional six month extension; and (3) give States the option to exempt themselves from such provisions on eligibility for medical assistance if the State provides Medicaid coverage to needy families with incomes of up to 185 percent of the official poverty line. (Sec. 506) Amends the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 to increase from ten percent to 14 percent the percentage of all Medicaid beneficiaries in certain California counties a county-organized health insuring organization in such a county may enroll and remain exempt from specified Federal requirements for Medicaid health maintenance organization contracts. (Sec. 507) Amends SSA title XIX to provide for Medicaid recognition for services of physician assistants. Title VI: State Children's Health Insurance Program - Amends SSA title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program) with regard to allotments to: (1) add a rule for extended availability and redistribution of FY 1998 and 1999 allotments; and (2) provide for State coverage of children who are aliens lawfully residing in the United States and otherwise eligible for such assistance, but only if the State has elected to do so. Title VII: Extension of Special Diabetes Grant Programs - Amends the Public Health Service Act to extend the funding for juvenile and Indian diabetes grant programs.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2000
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Education Act - Authorizes the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc., to construct a temporary education center for educating people about the Memorial. Requires the center to remain for ten years, after which Congress may reevaluate the continuing need for the center. Requires the Fund, in designing the center, to consult with the Commission on Fine Arts.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2000
East Timor Transition to Independence Act of 2000 - Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should support democracy and economic recovery in East Timor, strengthen its security, and promote its ability to play a positive role in the Asia-Pacific region and in international organizations. Sets forth requirements with respect to the provision to East Timor of bilateral assistance, multilateral assistance, Peace Corps assistance, certain trade and investment assistance, scholarships for East Timorese students, and security assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2000
Designates the U.S. Postal Service facility located at 200 South George Street in York, Pennsylvania, as the George Atlee Goodling Post Office Building.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2000
Veterans' Oral History Project Act - Requires the Director of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress to establish an oral history program to collect video and audio recordings of personal histories and testimonials of American war veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2000
Calls for: (1) Congress and the executive branch to communicate directly with elected and appointed top Taiwanese officials; and (2) the United States to revise, with a view toward reducing, restrictions on high-level visits by Taiwanese officials to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2000
Community Character Act of 2000 - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish a program to provide grants to States to assist in the development or revision of land use planning legislation and the creation or revision of State comprehensive land use plans or plan elements. Requires grant funds to be used to obtain technical assistance in: (1) drafting such legislation; (2) research and development for land use planning programs and requirements relating to the development of State guide plans; (3) conducting workshops, educating and consulting policy makers, and involving citizens in the planning process; and (4) integrating State and regional concerns and land use plans with such Federal plans. Requires each Federal land management agency to designate, provide information to, and participate in community events as requested by, a coordinator to work with State planning directors on funded projects.
United States · United States Congress · 7 September 2000
National Media Campaign to Prevent Underage Drinking Act of 2000 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop, implement, and conduct a national media campaign for the purpose of reducing and preventing underage drinking in the United States. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2000
Farmland Protection and Sprawl Reduction Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income gain on the sale or exchange of qualified conservation easements.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2000
Restoration of Fairness in Immigration Law Act of 2000 - Title I: Due Process in Immigration Proceedings - Subtitle A: Judicial Review in Immigration Proceedings - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (Act) with respect to judicial review of: (1) administrative hearings and habeas corpus; (2) asylum determinations; (3) alien apprehension and detention; (4) document fraud waivers; (5) orders issued in absentia; and (6) denial of voluntary departure requests. Subtitle B: Fairness in Removal Proceedings - Amends the Act with respect to removal proceeding provisions, including: (1) burden of proof for admissibility; (2) presumption in favor of withdrawal of admission application; (3) emergency absences; and (4) reinstatement of removal orders against illegal reentry. Subtitle C: Fairness in Detention - Amends the Act with respect to specified detention provisions, including the establishment of a detention alternatives pilot program. Subtitle D: Consular Review of Visa Applications - Amends the Act to direct the Secretary of State to establish a Board of Visa Appeals. Title II: Fairness and Equity in Cases Involving Previous and Minor Misconduct - Subtitle A: Increased Fairness and Equity Concerning Removal Proceedings - Amends the Act to revise specified removal proceedings provisions. Subtitle B: Increased Fairness and Equity Concerning 5-Year Bars to Admission and Other Grounds for Exclusion - Amends the Act to authorize admission ban waivers and other restrictions on inadmissibility with respect to aliens who: (1) abuse student visa provisions; (2) fail to attend removal proceedings; (3) make false citizenship claims; and (4) have committed minor criminal offenses. Title III: Encouraging Family Reunification - Subtitle A: Reuniting Family Members - Amends the Act with respect to: (1) visas for spouses and children of permanent residents temporarily waiting for visa numbers; and (2) refugee and asylee status for unmarried sons and daughters of refugees and asylees, respectively. Establishes specified protections against processing delays for children. Subtitle B: Limited Waiver of Grounds of Admissibility - Amends the Act to provide discretionary waivers of inadmissibility with respect to: (1) family members; and (2) unusual circumstances. Subtitle C: Eliminating Unfairness and Waste in Section 245(i) Waivers - Amends the Act to eliminate the restriction that only aliens with preference petitions or labor certifications filed by January, 14, 1998, are eligible to adjust to permanent resident status without leaving the United States if they entered without inspection or fall within one of other specified classes. Subtitle D: Equitable Procedures Concerning Voluntary Departure - Amends the Act with respect to voluntary departure to make discretionary: (1) determination of period of voluntary departure; (2) determination of voluntary departure bond based on individual circumstances; and (3) related penalties. Subtitle E: Fairness in Determination of Public Charge - Amends the Act with respect to specified public charge provisions. Title IV: Fairness in Asylum and Public Refugee Proceedings - Subtitle A: Increased Fairness in Asylum Proceedings - Amends the Act to provide for gender-based refugee status. Subtitle B: Increased Fairness sand Rationality in Refugee Consultations - Amends the Act with respect to refugee admission consultations. Title V: Increased Fairness and Equity in Naturalization and Legalization Proceedings - Subtitle A: Naturalization Proceedings - Amends the Act to authorize appropriations for immigration petition processing and backlog reduction. Waives the English language requirement and provides special consideration for the civics requirement with respect to the naturalization of certain aliens who served with special guerilla units operating from Cambodia or Vietnam. Subtitle B: Parity in Treatment for Refugees from Central America and Haiti - Amends the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (Act) to: (1) extend permanent resident status adjustment provisions to qualifying Salvadoran, Guatemalan, Honduran, and Haitian nationals; and (2) extend the application filing deadline. Permits certain pending applications filed by Salvadoran or Guatemalan nationals under the Act or Haitian nationals under the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998 to be converted to an application for status adjustment under the Act. Amends such Acts to: (1) authorize the Attorney General to waive certain grounds of inadmissibility; and (2) provide for issuance of immigrant visas to certain spouses and children. Provides for the limited reopening of certain orders of deportation, exclusion, or removal by certain Haitian, Cuban, or Nicaraguan nationals. Subtitle C: Equality of Treatment for Women's Citizenship - Declares as U.S. citizens certain deceased women who lost their U.S. citizenship solely because of marriage to an alien. Subtitle D: Fairness in the Treatment for Refugees from Liberia - Provides for the permanent resident status adjustment of certain Liberian nationals. Subtitle E: Fairness in Review of Previously Granted Amnesty Rights - Amends the Act to eliminate the court jurisdiction limitation with respect to judicial review of denied status adjustment applications for certain (unlawful status) aliens. Subtitle F: Legal Amnesty Restoration - Amends the Act to extend registry benefits to aliens who entered the United States prior to January1, 1986. Subtitle G: Equality of Treatment for Asian American Visa Petitions - Amends the Act to extend preferential immigrant treatment to certain U.S.-fathered aliens born in the Philippines or Japan. Title VI: Fairness and Compassion in the Treatment of Battered Immigrants - Amends the Act to modify procedures and provide special rules for battered spouses and children with respect to: (1) adjustment of status; (2) removal and deportation; (3) implementation of immigration provisions in the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA); (4) waivers and exceptions to inadmissibility for otherwise qualified battered immigrants; (5) calculation of physical presence in VAWA cancellation of removal proceedings and suspension of deportation proceedings; (6) VAWA immigration protections; (7) VAWA cancellation of removal and adjustment of status for certain nonpermanent residents; and (8) good moral character determinations for self-petitioning immediate relatives. Prescribes guidelines for inapplicability of public charge determinations for designated aliens. Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to redefine "qualified alien" to include certain battered aliens for purposes of welfare and public benefits eligibility. Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980 to declare restrictions on the use of assisted housing inapplicable to certain battered aliens. Amends the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 to provide that requirements and restrictions placed upon Legal Services Corporation funding shall not be construed to prohibit a recipient from providing related legal assistance to certain aliens who have been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty. Directs the Violence Against Women Grants Office in the Department of Justice to report on services for underserved populations. Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (Act) to include legal advocacy for domestic violence in immigration cases under the program of grants to encourage arrest policies. Includes alienage status within the definition of "underserved populations." Amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to include immigration-related matters under the program of rural domestic violence and child abuse enforcement grants. Amends the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act to include alienage status within the scope of underserved populations. Amends the Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 1999 to obligate funds for grants to combat violence against women, which shall include immigration-related matters. Amends the Higher Education Amendments of 1998 to include immigration-related matters under the program of campus domestic violence grants. Amends the Act to require each branch of the U.S. military to train its supervisory military officers in domestic violence dynamics in military families, and the protections available for battered immigrant women and children. Expands the purposes of training grants to combat violent crimes against women to include: (1) training immigration and asylum officers and judges; and (2) training justice system personnel on the judicial ramifications of the Violence Against Women Act, and the potential immigration consequences for perpetrators of domestic violence. Amends the Act to express the intent of the Congress that statutory constraints upon the powers of immigration personnel not be construed as discouraging crime and domestic violence victims from reporting crimes to the police, from cooperating in criminal prosecutions, or from obtaining the legal relief needed for protection from ongoing violence. Amends the Act to establish a humanitarian-material witness nonimmigrant classification. Extends access for battered spouses and children under the Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act, the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998, and Federal law relating to Cuban adjustment. Title VII: Unused Employment-Based Immigrant Visas - Provides for the recapture of unused employment-based immigrant visas. Title VIII: Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends the Act with respect to: (1) the Board of Immigration Appeals; (2) asset forfeiture; (3) parole authority; (4) erroneous asylum applications; and (5) use of State personnel to carry out immigration functions. Directs the Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service to establish an Office of Border Patrol Recruitment and Retention. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes appropriations to carry out this Act. Title IX: Effective Dates - Sets forth effective dates.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2000
Middle East Peace Process Support Act - Prohibits U.S. assistance to any unilaterally-declared Palestinian state. Directs the President to instruct the U.S. Representative to the United Nations to oppose admission to the United Nations of a unilaterally-declared Palestinian state or formal recognition by the United Nations of such a state.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2000
FamilyCare Act of 2000 - Renames the State Children's Health Insurance program (SCHIP) under title XXI of the Social Security Act (SSA) as the FamilyCare program to provide for: (1) FamilyCare coverage of parents under Medicaid (SSA title XIX) as well as new SSA title XXI; (2) optional FamilyCare coverage of parents of targeted low-income children; (3) automatic eligibility for FamilyCare coverage of children born to a parent on Family Care assistance; (4) optional coverage of legal immigrants and of children through age 20 under both Medicaid and FamilyCare; (5) application of simplified FamilyCare procedures under Medicaid; (6) increased welfare-to-work transition (from six months to 12 months) under FamilyCare; (7) elimination of the 100 hour rule and other SSA title IV part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) related eligibility restrictions under FamilyCare; (8) limitations on specified conflicts of interests under SSA titles XIX and XXI; (9) increased FamilyCare allotment for FY 2002 through 2004; and (10) authority to pay Medicaid expansion costs from the FamilyCare appropriation. Makes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a program to award demonstration grants to States to allow them to demonstrate the effectiveness of innovative ways to increase access to health insurance through market reforms and other innovative means. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to award demonstration grants to a limited number of States to conduct innovative programs designed to improve outreach to homeless individuals and families under specified programs for the homeless (including SCHIP) with respect to enrollment of such individuals and families under such programs and the provision of services under such programs. Makes appropriations. Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary to make grants to eligible entities for the purpose of assisting the development of integrated health care delivery systems to: (1) serve communities of individuals who are uninsured and individuals who are underinsured; (2) expand the scope of services provided; and (3) improve the efficiency and coordination among the providers of such services. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2000
Handgun Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2000 - Title I: Licensing - Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to prohibit persons other than a licensed importer, manufacturer, dealer, or collector (licensee) from possessing a handgun unless such person has been issued a handgun license under this Act or pursuant to a certified State handgun licensing and record of sale system. Title II: Record of Sale or Transfer - Provides criminal penalties for the unauthorized sale or transfer of a handgun. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish and maintain a Federal handgun record of sale system. Title III: Additional Prohibitions - Provides additional prohibitions on the: (1) unauthorized sale, delivery, or transfer of a handgun to any person other than a licensee, with an exception; (2) failure to maintain or permit inspection of records; (3) failure to report loss or theft of a firearm; and (4) failure to provide notice of a licensee change of address. Outlines provisions for the prevention of child access to firearms and their ammunition. Title IV: Enforcement - Provides criminal penalties for violations of requirements under this Act. Title V: Firearm Injury Information and Research - Requires the Secretary to establish and maintain a firearm injury information clearinghouse, conduct continuing studies and investigations of firearms-related deaths and injuries, and collect and maintain current production and sales figures for each licensed firearm manufacturer. Title VI: Effect on State Law - Authorizes the Secretary to certify State handgun licensing and record of sale systems. Title VII: Relationship to Other Law - Subordinates provisions of this Act to provisions of the Arms Export Control Act. Title VIII: Inapplicability - Makes this Act inapplicable to official conduct of Federal or State governmental authorities. Title IX: Effective Date - Makes this Act effective one year after enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2000
Railroad Retirement and Survivors' Improvement Act of 2000 - Title I: Amendments to the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 - Amends the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 to increase benefits to railroad employees and their beneficiaries and to revise financing of the pension part (tier II) of the railroad retirement system. (Sec. 101) Increases benefits for widows and widowers by guaranteeing to them all of the tier II annuity the employee was entitled to at the time of the death. (Sec. 102) Makes employees with 30 years of service eligible to retire at age 60 with unreduced tier I and tier II annuities. Makes spouses of such employees eligible for unreduced annuities at age 60. (Sec. 103) Reduces the vesting requirement for tier II retirement annuities from ten years to five years of service after December 1995. Makes employees with at least five years of such service, but less than ten years of total service, eligible for a tier I disability annuity if their combined railroad retirement and social security earnings credits would satisfy social security eligibility requirements. Makes spouses, divorced spouses, and survivors of employees with at least five years of such service, but less than ten years of total service, eligible for a tier I annuity if they would have been entitled to a social security benefit based on combined service. (Sec. 104) Repeals a limit on the total amount of monthly railroad retirement benefits payable to an employee and spouse at the time the employee's annuity begins. (Sec. 105) Establishes a Railroad Retirement Trust Fund (the Fund) and a Railroad Retirement Investment Trust (RRIT) to manage and invest the assets of the Fund. Declares that RRIT is not an agency, department, or instrumentality of the U.S. Government. Requires RRIT to be administered by a Board of Trustees (the Trustees) with seven members (three representing labor, three representing employers, and one representing the general public) with experience and expertise in the management of financial investments and pension plans. Requires the Trustees to be appointed by a unanimous vote of the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB). Prohibits RRB members from being Trustees. Applies specified reporting requirements and fiduciary standards to the RRIT. Requires the Trustees to diversify investments so as to minimize the risk of large losses. Authorizes the Trustees to invest Fund assets in non-Governmental assets. (Sec. 106) Abolishes the Railroad Retirement Supplemental Annuity Account and provides for transfer of its funds to the Fund. (Sec. 107) Requires the RRB, upon the establishment of the Fund, to determine the portion of the Railroad Retirement Account not needed to pay current administrative expenses and direct the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer that amount into the Fund. Requires the Fund to transfer the necessary amount of funds to pay benefits and related administrative expenses to the disbursing agent. Transfers to the Fund Social Security Equivalent Benefit account funds not needed to pay current benefits, but requires that such funds only be used to pay benefits or to invest in U.S. Government or Government-guaranteed securities. Transfers to the disbursing agent from the Dual Benefit Account the amount necessary to make dual benefit payments. Requires the Trustees to consult with the Secretary of the Treasury to develop an appropriate method for transferring or converting existing account obligations. (Sec. 108) Requires the RRB to calculate the ratio of assets to benefits to determine annual tier II tax rates for employers, employee representatives, and employees. Establishes schedules for: (1) decreasing tax rates if the average account benefits ratio, based on the ratios for the ten most recent fiscal years, is above six; and (2) increasing employer and employee representatives' tax rates if the ratio is below four. Title II: Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt the Railroad Retirement Trust Fund (the Fund) from taxation. (Sec. 203) Repeals a supplemental annuity tax that railroad employers pay to finance a benefit for long-time rail employees. (Sec. 204) Provides for adjustments to railroad employers, employee representatives, and employee tier II tax rates. Decreases such rates in 2001 and in 2002 for employers and employee representatives. Provides in the years after 2002 for tax rate schedules, based on the ten-year average account benefit ratio, for employers, employee representatives, and employees.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2000
Violence Against Women Office Act - Establishes within the Department of Justice (DOJ) a Violence Against Women Office, headed by a Director. Specifies the duties of the Director, including serving as special counsel to the Attorney General on the subject of, and carrying out DOJ functions under the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 and on matters relating to, violence against women.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2000
Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Heritage Act of 2000 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct and submit to specified congressional committees a resource study of the 600 mile route through Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Virginia, used by George Washington and General Jean Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau during the American Revolutionary War.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2000
Ryan White CARE Act Amendments of 2000 - Title I: Emergency Relief for Areas with Substantial Need for Services - Subtitle A: HIV Health Services Planning Councils - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require that an HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) planning council reflect the demographics of the population of individuals with HIV disease (currently, the demographics of the epidemic) in the eligible area involved. Modifies requirements regarding council composition, including requiring representatives of former prisoners. Requires that at least 33 percent of the council be people who: (1) are receiving HIV-related services pursuant to a grant under provisions relating to emergency relief for areas with a substantial need for services (substantial need grant); and (2) are not officers, employees, consultants, or representatives of any entity that receives substantial need grant amounts. (Sec. 102) Modifies council duties, including regarding: (1) determining the size, demographics, and needs of the HIV disease population; (2) council establishment of fund allocation priorities; and (3) coordination with Federal grantees that provide HIV-related services in the area. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) develop epidemiologic measures for establishing the number of individuals with HIV disease who are not receiving HIV-related health services and for carrying out council duties; and (2) provide to the chief elected official receiving a substantial need grant guidelines and materials for training council members regarding council duties. (Sec. 103) Requires that council meetings and records be open to the public, subject to exception. Subtitle B: Type and Distribution of Grants - Makes permanent provisions requiring expedited disbursement of certain substantial need grant amounts. Requires, after fiscal year 2004, that the substantial need grant amount formula use the number of cases of HIV disease in the most recent year rather than the number of cases of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the most recent ten years, but until FY 2007 conditions that change on the Secretary's determination that there is sufficiently accurate and reliable data on HIV disease cases from all eligible areas, requiring the Secretary to consider: (1) the findings of a study mandated by title V of this Act; (2) the fiscal impact of using or of not using that data; and (3) the impact of the use of that data on the organization and delivery of HIV-related services. Modifies requirements regarding increases in the amount of a substantial need grant under expedited disbursement provisions. (Sec. 112) Requires that the amount of supplemental substantial need grants be determined by the Secretary based on a weighting of specified factors, with severe need counting one-third. Includes the current HIV disease prevalence, an increasing need for services, and unmet need for services as factors the Secretary must consider in determining severe need. Directs the Secretary, in determining the required factors, to develop a mechanism to use national, quantitative incidence data by 18 months after enactment of this Act (currently, by May 20, 1998). Requires mechanism modification based on the findings of a study mandated by title V of this Act. Removes provisions basing the amount of substantial need grants on substantial need grant applications. Subtitle C: Other Provisions - Requires that substantial need grant funds be used, among other purposes, for: (1) outreach to identify individuals with HIV disease who are not receiving HIV-related services; and (2) early intervention services. Requires that substantial need grants be used to provide health and support services to infants, children, youth, and women (currently, infants, children, and women) with HIV disease in the same ratio as those groups with HIV disease bear to those groups in the general population. Requires that the chief elected official of a substantial need grant-receiving area establish a quality management program to assess whether HIV health services under the substantial need grant are consistent with the most recent Public Health Service guidelines. (Sec. 123) Requires that official to ensure that the area's planning council: (1) reviews existing, available data on expenditures by substantial need grant recipient entities from their overall budget for administrative costs; and (2) makes a determination whether the financial compensation of any of those entity's officers or employees exceeds that of the official. Title II: Care Grant Program - Subtitle A: General Grant Provisions - Requires that grants to States to improve the quality, availability and organization of health care and support services for individuals with HIV disease (care grants) be used to provide health and support services to infants, children, youth, and women (currently, infants, children, and women) with HIV disease in the same ratio as those groups with HIV disease bear to those groups in the general population. (Sec. 202) Allows care grants to be used for support services, outreach activities, early intervention, and quality management. (Sec. 203) Modifies requirements regarding grants to establish HIV care consortia. (Sec. 204) Allows a State to meet a requirement to use a portion of its care grant to provide therapeutics to treat HIV disease or prevent related health deterioration (including prevention and treatment of opportunistic infections) by paying for health insurance or plans whose coverage includes a full range of such therapeutics and primary care. (Sec. 205) Requires care grant applications to contain determinations of the size, demographics, and needs of the population of individuals with HIV disease in the State. Modifies requirements regarding the comprehensive plan. Requires the public health agency that administers care grants for a State to engage in a public advisory planning process. (Sec. 206) Doubles, subject to appropriations, the minimum care grant allotment to each State and U.S. territory. Requires, after fiscal year 2004, that the care grant amount formula use the number of cases of HIV disease in the most recent year rather than the number of cases of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the most recent ten years, but until FY 2007 conditions that change on the Secretary's determination that there is sufficiently accurate and reliable data on HIV disease cases. Provides for increases in the formula amount. Requires, if an appropriations Act provides an amount exclusively for treatment drug grants, that two percent of that exclusive amount be reserved for supplemental grants to States whose HIV population's need is greater than the quantities available under treatment drug grants from the remaining unreserved 98 percent. Adds the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Palau to the list of U.S. territories. Adds the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to the list of territories for minimum allotment provisions but keeps it in the list of States for other care grant provisions. (Sec. 207) Replaces provisions mandating coordination by specified Federal agencies of Federal HIV programs with provisions directing the Secretary to make grants to States to supplement care grants for comprehensive services for communities that have a severe need for supplemental financial assistance to combat the HIV epidemic. Provides for funding for the supplemental grants. Subtitle B: Provisions Concerning Pregnancy and Perinatal Transmission of HIV - Removes provisions prohibiting (after testing of pregnant women and newborns has become a routine practice in U.S. health care) care grants to a State unless the State meets certain requirements regarding such testing. (Sec. 212) Adds HIV disease treatment services to the uses for which the Secretary may make a grant to a State that is following the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding HIV counseling and voluntary testing for pregnant women. Authorizes appropriations. Prohibits using care grant appropriations for grants under this section. (Sec. 213) Directs the Secretary to provide for a study and report to appropriate congressional committees regarding: (1) the number of newborns with HIV born in the United States in the most recent year for which the information is available; (2) barriers that prevent or discourage an obstetrician from routinely offering pregnant women an HIV test and routinely testing newborns when the mother's HIV status is unknown; and (3) recommendations for each State for reducing perinatal HIV transmission. Requires States to make reasonable progress toward meeting the recommendations. Subtitle C: Certain Partner Notification Programs - Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States for partner counseling and referral services, provided the State meets certain requirements regarding: (1) partner notification and (for the partner and the infected individual) testing, counseling, and referral; (2) health entity reporting of positive test results to the State; (3) reporting to the CDC regarding partner notification; and (4) State cooperation with the CDC national partner notification. Prohibits grants to a State after fiscal year 2003 unless the State's reporting system for HIV cases produces sufficiently accurate and reliable data. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Early Intervention Services - Subtitle A: Formula Grants for States - Repeals provisions mandating formula grants to States for outpatient early intervention services regarding HIV disease. Subtitle B: Categorical Grants - Requires giving preference to rural or underserved areas in making currently-authorized categorical grants for outpatient early intervention services. Allows planning grants to be used, subject to limitation, to assist the recipients to expand their capacity to provide services, including early intervention services, in low income communities and affected subpopulations that are underserved. Subtitle C: General Provisions - Requires that the counseling that categorical grant recipients are required to provide to HIV-infected individuals emphasize that it is the duty of infected individuals to disclose their status to their sexual and needle-sharing partners, provide advice on how to make the disclosures and emphasize that it is the infected individual's continuing duty to avoid behaviors that expose others to HIV. (Sec. 322) Increases the percentage limit on administrative expenses. Requires recipients to establish a quality management program to assess the extent to which medical services are consistent with Public Health Service guidelines for treatment of HIV disease and related opportunistic infections. Title IV: Other Programs and Activities - Subtitle A: Certain Programs for Research, Demonstrations, or Training - Replaces a requirement that, with regard to grants for providing opportunities for women, infants, children, and youth to participate in HIV research and for providing to those groups outpatient health care and additional services, that a significant number of individuals in those groups be participating in research with a requirement that the grant applicant demonstrate linkages to research and how access to research is being offered to patients. Directs the Secretary to examine the distribution and availability of research regarding grantees to enhance and expand HIV-related research, especially in underrepresented communities. Requires grantees to implement a quality management program. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 402) Includes, as a use of currently-authorized grants and contracts for training health personnel: (1) training in prenatal and other gynecological care for women with HIV disease; and (2) developing protocols for the medical care of such women. Directs the Secretary to implement a strategy for the dissemination of HIV treatment information to care providers and patients. Adds accredited dental hygiene programs as possible recipients of currently-authorized grants with respect to oral health care to (sic) patients with HIV disease. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes grants to dental schools, post-doctoral dental education programs, and accredited dental hygiene programs that partner with community-based dentists to provide care to HIV patients in underserved areas. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes appropriations for grants and contracts to assist public and nonprofit private entities and schools and academic health science centers to train health personnel, train faculty, and develop and disseminate curricula and resource materials regarding the care of HIV patients and prevention of HIV infection among at risk individuals. Subtitle B: General Provisions in Title XXVI - Extends the authorization of appropriations for grants and contracts to evaluate programs carried out under title XXVI of the Public Health Service Act (HIV Health Care Services Program). (Sec. 412) Authorizes appropriations for collecting and providing data for program planning and evaluation under title XXVI. (Sec. 413) Adds the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Health Care Financing Administration to the list of agencies (currently, the Health Resources and Services Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) charged with coordinating the planning, funding, and implementation (currently, coordinating the planning of the funding) of Federal HIV programs to enhance continuity of care and prevention services (currently, continuity of care). Requires that State, local, or private entities receiving title XXVI funds enhance continuity of care and prevention services (currently, continuity of care). (Sec. 414) Directs the Secretary to develop and submit to Congress a plan for the medical case management of and the provision of support services to individuals who had HIV disease on their date of release from the Federal or State penal system. (Sec. 415) Authorizes the Secretary to reduce title XXVI grants to a State or political subdivision if the State or subdivision fails to prepare audits. (Sec. 416) Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop and submit to Congress a plan for coordinating the disbursement of appropriations for substantial need grants with the disbursement for care grants; (2) within two years after enactment of this Act, implement the disbursement plan, notwithstanding any title XXVI provision inconsistent with the plan; (3) determine whether administration of those grants by the Secretary and grantee compliance efficiency would be improved by requiring biennial rather than annual applications; (4) develop and submit to Congress a plan for simplifying the application process for those grants; and (5) within two years after enactment of this Act, implement the simplified application plan, notwithstanding any title XXVI provision inconsistent with the plan. (Sec. 417) Removes provisions directing the Secretary to develop and implement a method for adjusting the percentages allocated to substantial need grants and care grants to account for substantial need grants to new areas and other relevant factors. Authorizes appropriations for substantial need and care grants. Title V: General Provisions - Directs the Secretary to provide for studies, and report to the appropriate congressional committees, on: (1) whether the surveillance system of each State provides for the reporting of HIV infection cases in a way that provides information on the number and demographic characteristics of the cases that is sufficiently accurate for the formula grants under substantial need and care grant provisions and, if not, recommendations for improvements; and (2) the appropriate epidemiological measures and their relationship to the financing and delivery of primary care and health related support services for low income, uninsured, and underinsured individuals with HIV disease. (Sec. 502) Requires the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand, intensify, and coordinate research and other NIH activities regarding development of reliable and affordable HIV tests that can be rapidly administered and whose results can be rapidly obtained (rapid HIV tests). Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary: (1) to report to appropriate congressional committees on the progress made toward, and barriers to, the premarket review and commercial distribution of rapid HIV tests; and (2) promptly after rapid HIV test commercial distribution begins, to establish or update guidelines for States, hospitals, and other entities regarding the availability of those tests for administration to pregnant women in labor or late stage pregnancy and whose HIV status is unknown. (Sec. 503) Directs the Secretary, of the amounts available to the Secretary for program management at the Health Resources and Services Administration, to spend amounts necessary to ensure at least a 20 percent increase in fiscal year 2001 over fiscal year 2000 of full- time-equivalent staff of the Bureau of HIV/AIDS who administer programs under title XXVI. Title VI: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective dates for this Act and its amendments.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2000
Medicare Guaranteed and Defined Rx Benefit and Health Provider Relief Act of 2000 - Title I: Medicare Prescription Medicine Benefit Program - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to add a new part D (Prescription Medicine Benefit for the Aged and Disabled) which establishes a voluntary insurance program to provide defined prescription medicine benefits, including pharmacy services, for eligible individuals who are aged or disabled or who have end-stage renal disease, and who voluntarily elect to enroll. States that the program shall be financed from enrollee premium payments together with contributions from funds appropriated by the Federal Government. (Sec. 101) Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to submit to Congress a legislative proposal for: (1) the delivery of home infusion therapy services under Medicare; and (2) a system of payment for such a benefit that coordinates items and services furnished under Medicare parts B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) and D. Creates within the Federal Supplemental Medical Insurance Trust Fund the Prescription Medicine Insurance Account. Directs the Secretary to provide for administration of part D benefits through a private benefit administrator for certain enrolled individuals residing in each geographic service area or, where that is impossible, with a fiscal intermediary under Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) or a carrier under Medicare part B. Requires the Secretary to: (1) ensure that all beneficiaries have guaranteed access to the full range of pharmaceuticals under part D, with special attention to access, pharmacist counseling, and delivery in rural and hard-to-serve areas, including use of incentives such as bonus payments to retail pharmacists in rural areas and extra payments to the benefit administrator for the cost of rapid delivery of pharmaceuticals; and (2) develop and implement the Employer Incentive Program that encourages employers and other sponsors of employment-based health care coverage who meet specified requirements to provide adequate prescription medicine benefits to retired individuals, and maintain existing benefit programs, by subsidizing, in part, the cost of providing coverage under qualifying plans. Provides for part D enrollment for individuals whose employment-based retiree health coverage ends under certain conditions. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 102) Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid), with regard to the prescription medicine benefit for certain low-income individuals, to provide for coverage of part D premiums as medical assistance for individuals dually eligible for other SSA assistance or for other medical care. Requires State Medicaid plans to provide that, in the case of any individual whose eligibility for medical assistance is not limited to Medicare or Medicare medicine cost-sharing, and for whom the State elects to pay monthly premiums under part D, the State will purchase all prescription medicines for such individual in accordance with the provisions part D, without regard to whether the basic benefit limitation for such individual has been reached. Requires Government payment of Medicare medicine cost-sharing for qualified Medicare beneficiaries and for Medicare beneficiaries with incomes between 100 and 150 percent of the Federal poverty line. Amends SSA title XVIII part D to outline special eligibility, enrollment, and copayment rules for low-income individuals, which include options for continuation of Medicaid coverage or enrollment under such part. (Sec. 103) Provides that if the mid-summer 2000 budget estimate prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office results in a higher-than-projected level of projected on-budget surplus over the ten fiscal year period beginning with FY 2001, there shall be (beginning with FY 2003) transfers to the Prescription Medicine Insurance Account in a fiscal year to offset the costs attributable to provisions added to Medicare by this Act that relate to catastrophic benefit payments in that fiscal year. (Sec. 104) Directs the Comptroller General of the United States to analyze and report to Congress on an ongoing basis about the part D prescription medicine benefit program. Directs the Secretary to: (1) report to Congress on possible tax and trade law changes to encourage increased original research on new pharmaceutical breakthrough products designed to address disease and illness; (2) study and report to Congress on methods used by the pharmaceutical industry to advertise and sell to consumers and to educate and sell to providers; and (3) study and report to Congress on the costs of, and needs for, pharmaceutical research, and the role that the taxpayer provides in encouraging such research. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress on the retail price of major pharmaceutical products in various developed nations, compared to prices for the same or similar products in the United States. Title II: Improvement In Beneficiary Services - Subtitle A: Improvement of Medicare Coverage and Appeals Process - Amends SSA title XVIII to revise requirements with respect to Medicare determinations and appeals, including initial determinations, expedited determinations, and publication on the Internet of decisions of hearings of the Secretary. (Sec. 201) Amends SSA title XVIII part C (Medicare+Choice) to apply the limitations on liability of qualified independent contractors to certain Medicare+Choice independent contractors who conduct reconsiderations of initial determinations. (Sec. 202) Amends SSA title XVIII to limit the liability of beneficiaries for repayment with respect to Medicare claims not paid or paid incorrectly. Includes in the explanation of Medicare benefits statement lists of each item or service furnished and the amount of the individual's liability for payment, as well as the toll-free telephone number for information and questions concerning the statement, individual liability for payment, and appeal rights. (Sec. 203) Amends SSA title XI to revise the meaning of waiver of coinsurance and deductible amounts (excluded from the meaning of unlawful remuneration subject to civil monetary penalties) to include a waiver offered as part of a supplemental insurance policy or retiree health plan. Subtitle B: Establishment of Medicare Ombudsman - Establishes a Medicare Ombudsman within the Health Care Financing Administration of the HHS Department to: (1) receive complaints, grievances, and requests for information submitted by a Medicare beneficiary concerning the Medicare program; and (2) provide assistance with respect to such complaints, grievances, and requests. Title III: Medicare+Choice Reforms; Preservation of Medicare Part B Drug Benefit - Subtitle A: Medicare+Choice Reforms - Amends SSA title XVIII part C with regard to calculation of annual Medicare+Choice capitation rates to: (1) reduce the national per capita Medicare+Choice growth percentage for 2001 and 2002; (2) remove permanently application of budget neutrality beginning in 2002; (3) increase the minimum payment amount for 2002; (4) increase the update for payment areas with only one or no Medicare+Choice contracts; and (5) permit higher negotiated rates in certain Medicare+Choice payment areas below the national average. (Sec. 307) Amends SSA title XVIII part C to provide for a ten year phase-in of the risk adjustment to the capitation rate based on data from all settings. Subtitle B: Preservation of Medicare Coverage of Drugs and Biologicals - Amends SSA title XVIII to: (1) cover under Medicare part B injectable and infusable drugs and biologicals which are not usually self-administered by the patient (currently only drugs and biologicals which cannot be self-administered are covered under Medicare part B); and (2) revise Medicare coverage for immunosuppressive drugs, establishing a part D catastrophic limit on part B copayments for such drugs. Subtitle C: Improvement of Certain Preventive Benefits - Amends SSA title XVIII to allow coverage of annual screening pap smear and pelvic exams. Title IV: Adjustments to Payment Provisions of the Balanced Budget Act - Subtitle A: Payments for Inpatient Hospital Services - Amends SSA title XVIII to eliminate the reduction in the hospital market basket update for FY 2001. (Sec. 402) Eliminates specified further reductions in indirect medical education (IME) and in disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments (and freezes Medicaid DSH payments) for FY 2001. (Sec. 404) Revises the formula for the increase in base payment to certain Puerto Rico hospitals for inpatient hospital discharges. Subtitle B: Payments for Skilled Nursing Services - Amends SSA title XVIII to eliminate the reduction in the skilled nursing facility (SNF) market basket update for FY 2001. (Sec. 412) Extends through 2002 the moratorium on therapy caps. Subtitle C: Payments for Home Health Services - Amends SSA title XVIII to delay for one more year the application of the 15 percent reduction on payment limits for home health services. (Sec. 422) Applies the full market basket update for home health services for FY 2001. Subtitle D: Rural Provider Provisions - Amends SSA title XVIII to eliminate the scheduled reduction in hospital outpatient market basket increase for rural hospitals in 2001 and 2002. Subtitle E: Other Providers - Amends SSA title XVIII to increase the update in the renal dialysis composite rate. Subtitle F: Provision for Additional Adjustments - Provides for specified aggregate amounts from estimated Social Security surpluses for the five fiscal year and ten fiscal year periods beginning in FY 2001 for additional improvements to the Medicare and Medicaid programs and payments to providers.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2000
Children's Day Care Health and Safety Improvement Act - Authorizes appropriations to carry out this Act. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make allotments to States and territories to enable them to establish programs to improve the health and safety of children receiving child care outside the home by preventing illnesses and injuries associated with such care and promoting the health and well-being of such children. Sets forth an allotment formula. Requires States to submit applications to the Secretary in order to be eligible for an allotment. Describes activities to be carried out by States through the use of such allotments.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2000
National and Community Service Amendments Act of 2000 - Title I: Amendments to National and Community Service Act of 1990 - Amends the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (NCSA) to reauthorize and revise various programs. (Sec. 103) Revises provisions for school-based and community-based service-learning programs to: (1) include Indian tribes as qualified organizations for program participation; and (2) eliminate a requirement that the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) give priority to grant applications containing specified proposals. (Sec. 104) Revises provisions for the national service trust program to: (1) eliminate provisions authorizing CNCS to transfer funds to another Federal agency to support a national service program; (2) limit the CNCS's share of the aggregate cost of national service positions, through a formula based on a specified amount per participant; (3) eliminate Federal agency positions from eligibility for approval for national service positions or educational awards; (4) establish a State minimum for national service grant awards; (5) provide for grants to increase the participation of individuals with disabilities, and for demonstration programs of outreach to such individuals; (6) reserve certain funds to support programs reducing CNCS costs; and (7) modify provisions relating to participant performance, selection, terms of service, and living allowances. (Sec. 105) Revises provisions for the national service trust to include, as an allowable use of trust funds, national service scholarships (under the program established by this Act). Makes expenditures from the trust available for interest payments during forbearance on loan repayment and for national service scholarship awards. Provides that a prohibition against using the educational award to pay off loans made to parents also applies to loans made to parents under the direct student loan program. Allows educational awards to be used to pay off private or State loans. Permits the trust to be used to support a national service scholarship program to recognize secondary school juniors and seniors engaged in community service activities. (Sec. 106)Authorizes the Director of the Civilian Community Corps (CCC) to select individuals with prior supervisory or service experience to be team leaders. Requires team leaders to be selected without regard to a specified age limitation. Revises authorized benefits for CCC members. (Sec. 107) Repeals the authority of State commissions and any division of CNCS to enter into agreements for coordinating functions. (Sec. 108) Eliminates a provision relating to staggered terms for CNS board members. Allows appointed board members whose terms have expired to continue to serve for a specified limited period. Authorizes the chief executive officer (CEO) of CNCS to enter into agreements with other agencies to carry out activities to implement national service laws. (Sec. 109) Authorizes the CEO of CNCS to serve as an ex officio, nonvoting member of the board of directors of the Points of Light Foundation. (Sec. 110) Extends through FY 2005 the authorization of appropriations for programs under NCSA. Title II: Amendments to the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 - Amends the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (DVSA) to reauthorize and revise: (1) title I National Volunteer Antipoverty Programs, part A Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) including VISTA Literacy Corps, part B University Year for VISTA, part C Special Volunteer Programs including literacy challenge grants; and (2) title II National Senior Service Corps (currently National Senior Volunteer Corps), part A Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), part B Foster Grandparent Program (FGP), and part C Senior Companion Program (SCP). (Sec. 203) Includes as a VISTA objective the encouragement of supportive efforts by local agencies and organizations to achieve long-term sustainability of programs in the absence of Federal assistance. Encourages the VISTA Director to enter into agreements under which public agencies and private organizations pay all or part of the direct cost of supporting volunteers. Authorizes the VISTA Director to provide a stipend of a maximum of $200 per month to individuals designated as volunteer leaders. (Sec. 204) Renames the National Senior Volunteer Corps as the National Senior Service Corps (NSSC). Eliminates the priority for enrolling individuals age 60 and older (but continues to allow individuals age 55 and older to enroll). Allows individuals age 55 (currently 60) or older to enroll in FGP, but gives priority to enrolling individuals age 60 or older. Requires any stipend under FGP to be at least $2.55 per hour and be adjusted for inflation once prior September 30, 2005. Allows individuals age 55 (currently 60) or older to enroll in SCP, but gives priority to enrolling individuals age 60 or older. Requires the SCP Director spend certain amounts each year to promote SCP. Prohibits awarding national significance grants for RSVP, FGP, or SCP unless the appropriated allocation for each program exceeds the appropriated allocations for each of the two preceding years. (Sec. 206) Extends through 2005 the authorization of appropriations for programs under DVSA. Title III: Technical Amendments to Other Laws - Revises references and makes other technical and conforming amendments to various other Federal laws.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2000
Community Economic Adjustment Act of 2000 - Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to establish in the Economic Development Administration (EDA) an Office of Community Economic Adjustment to coordinate the Federal Government's response to communities experiencing sudden economic distress caused by a loss of jobs due to plant closures, significant layoffs, or significant relocation of jobs to other communities for any reason, including shifting patterns in international trade, natural disasters, or other problems, by: (1) identifying relevant programs and resources to ensure that communities are aware of all available Federal resources that complement or support state and local resources and programs; (2) working with specified departments and agencies to ensure that communities receive Federal assistance in a targeted, integrated manner; and (3) assigning a project manager to work with an affected community. Directs such Office to: (1) provide technical assistance, planning grants, and other assistance to help communities organize themselves, develop, and carry out economic adjustment strategies for replacing industry and jobs that have been lost or are threatened by the economic downturn; and (2) help eligible applicants in completing applications for other assistance that may be useful in alleviating the economic distress in such communities. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2001 through 2005 for community adjustment assistance under the economic adjustment program of the EDA, including specified amounts for such Office and for communities successfully completing planning grants to implement their approved plans.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2000
Nursing Staff Accountability and Training Improvement Act of 2000 - Title I: Information on Nursing Staff in Nursing Facilities - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to require a skilled nursing facility (SNF) to submit to the Secretary of Health and Human Services nursing staff level data for purposes of determining whether adjusted payment amounts for inadequate staffing should be made to the facility. Require SNF standard surveys to include a review of the sufficiency and distribution of staffing in the SNF to meet the needs of residents. (Sec. 101) Require a SNF to submit to the Secretary cost reports using a standard, uniform cost reporting form developed to enable the Secretary to: (1) assess amounts of direct patient care furnished by the SNF nursing staff; and (2) determine whether payments made for such care are appropriate. Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to require a State to carry out periodic audits of cost reports submitted by a nursing facility operating in the State. Directs the Secretary to study the feasibility of developing and administering a standardized, uniform cost reporting form for all nursing facilities furnishing services for which Medicaid payment is made. Establishes similar survey requirements with regard to nursing staffing levels. (Sec. 102) Amends SSA titles XVIII and XIX with regard to information on nurse staffing, requiring the Secretary to provide for Internet publication of certain survey information on nursing staff levels. Mandates penalties for failure to post required information. (Sec. 103) Amends SSA title XVIII to direct the Secretary to pay expenses incurred in the administration of State agency determination of service provider compliance with conditions of Medicare participation from funds in the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund, in such amounts from each of such trust funds as the Secretary deems fair and equitable. (Sec. 104) Directs the Secretary to report to Congress on training of certified nurse aides. Title II: Grants to Improve Quality of Nursing Home and Long-Term Care - Directs the Secretary to award grants to a qualified entity to establish education and training programs for individuals who furnish direct resident care services in nursing facilities, including registered professional nurses, licensed practical nurses, and certified nurse aides. Authorizes grants to existing training programs. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 202) Requires the Secretary to award grants to qualified entities to provide for additional or advanced education and training of certified nursing aides who furnish services in the facility. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 203) Directs the Secretary to award grants to nursing facilities to establish programs to retain individuals who furnish direct resident care services in nursing facilities located in medically underserved areas, including registered professional nurses, licensed practical nurses, and certified nurse aides. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 204) Requires the Secretary to award grants to nursing facilities to establish model workplace safety programs. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 205) Directs the Secretary to provide for a demonstration project of grants to a limited number of States to implement innovative quality improvement models to improve the quality of care furnished to residents of nursing facilities. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2000
Redesignates the United States Postal Service facility known as the Kensington Station, at 1602 Frankford Avenue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the Joseph F. Smith Post Office Building.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2000
Civil Rights Tax Fairness Act of 2000 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income amounts received by a claimant on account of claims based on unlawful discrimination (as defined). Permits income averaging for backpay and frontpay awards received on account of such claims.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2000
Education Reinvestment Act- Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to revise, and reauthorize through FY 2005, various ESEA programs. (Sec. 3) Declares U.S. national educational priorities addressed by this Act. Title I: Student Performance - Revises and renames ESEA title I as Student Performance (currently Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards). (Sec. 102) Declares it to be U.S. policy to ensure that all students receive a high-quality education by: (1) holding States, LEAs, and schools accountable for increased student academic performance results; and (2) facilitating improved classroom instruction. (Sec. 103) Extends the authorization of appropriations for the following title I programs under: (1) part A, LEA grants; (2) part B, Even Start; (3) part C, education of migratory children; (4) part D, prevention and intervention programs for youth who are neglected, delinquent, or at-risk of dropping out; (5) provisions for capital expenses; and (6) part E, Federal evaluations, demonstrations, and transition projects. (Sec. 104) Requires SEAs to reserve a specified portion of their title I part A (I-A) funds to: (1) make at least 80 percent of such reserved funds available directly to LEAs; and (2) carry out SEA responsibilities for school improvement, including SEA statewide system of technical assistance and support for LEAs. Part A: Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies - Revises ESEA title I part A (Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies) (I-A) with respect to formulas for distributing funds to schools with the highest concentrations of poverty. (Sec. 105) Revises State plan requirements with respect to implementing challenging content and student performance standards (standards), yearly student assessments (assessments), and accountability. Requires State standards to: (1) be applied to all schools and children within the State; and (2) include at least the subjects of mathematics, science, and English language arts. Requires a State, if it allows LEAs to adopt more rigorous standards than the State, to allow LEAs to implement such standards. Requires each State plan to demonstrate what constitutes adequate yearly progress (AYP) of the State itself (as well as its schools and LEAs, as under current law) in enabling all children in all schools receiving I-A assistance to meet the State's challenging performance standards. Revises requirements for State definition of AYP. Adds requirements relating to: (1) accountability for AYP; (2) annual improvement by States, LEAs, and schools; and (3) public notice and comment. Requires assessments to be used, starting no later than the 2000-2001 school year, as the primary means of determining the yearly performance of each LEA and school in enabling all children to meet State standards (but does not require States to meet requirements for science standards or assessments until the beginning of the 2005-2006 school year). Requires State plans to provide that students who have attended school in the United States for at least three consecutive years are to be assessed in the English language, with certain exceptions. Requires State plans to describe what reasonable steps the State is taking to assist and encourage LEAs to: (1) measure literacy skills of first graders in schools receiving I-A funds by providing assessments that are developmentally appropriate, aligned with State standards, and scientifically research-based; and (2) identify and take developmentally appropriate and effective interventions in any school served under I-A in which a substantial number of first graders have not demonstrated grade-level literacy proficiency by the end of the school year. Requires State plans to describe how SEAs will: (1) assist each affected LEA and school to develop the capacity to comply with requirements for schoolwide programs, targeted assistance, and assessment and improvement; (2) hold each affected LEA accountable for improved student performance, including a procedure for identifying and assisting LEAs and schools in need of improvement, and for corrective action if assistance is not effective; (3) provide low-performing students additional academic instruction, such as before- and after-school programs and summer academic programs; (4) ensure that all teachers in both schoolwide programs and targeted assistance programs are fully qualified not later than December 31, 2005, and low-income students and minority students are not taught at higher rates than other students by inexperienced, uncertified, or out-of-field teachers; and (5) evaluate and publicly report the State's progress in improving the quality of instruction in the schools served by the SEA and LEAs receiving ESEA funding. Requires State plans to assure that SEAs will: (1) use the disaggregated results of required student assessments, and other available measures or indicators, to review annually the progress of each LEA and school served under I-A to determine whether each one is making the annual progress necessary to ensure that all students will meet the proficient level of performance on such assessments within ten years of the enactment of this Act; (2) modify or eliminate State fiscal and accounting barriers so that elementary and secondary schools can easily consolidate funds from other Federal, State, and local sources for schoolwide programs under specified provisions; and (3) inform LEAs of LEA authority to obtain waivers under title VIII of ESEA and, if the State is an Ed-Flex Partnership State, under the Education Flexibility Partnership Act of 1999. Penalizes States for failing to meet statutory deadlines for demonstrating that they have in place standards, assessments, a system for measuring and monitoring AYP, and a statewide system for holding schools and LEAs accountable for making AYP with specified groups of students. Makes such States ineligible to receive any administrative funds under title I that exceed the amount received for such purposes in the previous year. Directs the Secretary of Education to withhold additional administrative funds in an amount determined appropriate based on the extent of the State's failure. Requires the Secretary, for each additional year that the State fails to comply with such requirements, to withhold at least one-fifth of the amount the State receives for such administrative expenses. Allows a State to request a one-time, one-year waiver to meet such requirements. (Sec. 106) Requires LEA plans to include descriptions of how they will: (1) assist low-performing schools, including those identified as in need of improvement; and (2) promote the use of alternative instructional methods, and extended learning time, such as an extended school year, before- and after-school programs, and summer programs. Requires various LEA assurances with respect to school accountability, improvement, and assessment. Requires LEAs to ensure that all teachers in both schoolwide programs and targeted assistance programs are fully qualified not later than December 31, 2005, and low-income students and minority students are not taught at higher rates than other students by inexperienced, uncertified, or out-of-field teachers. Requires LEAs to reserve at least ten percent of the I-A funds they receive for high quality professional development for professional instructional staff. Sets forth requirements for parental notification and consent for English language instruction. (Sec. 107) Revises school eligibility criteria for school-wide programs. Allows an LEA to use I-A funds for a school-wide programs at schools that serve eligible school attendance areas in which: (1) not less than 40 percent of the children are from low-income families; or (2) not less than 40 percent of the children enrolled in the school are from such families. (Sec. 108) Revises requirements for public school choice plans to allow limited amounts of I-A funds to be used for transportation services. (Sec. 109) Revises requirements for assessment and LEA and school improvement. Requires the provision of public school choice for families of students attending I-A schools deemed to be in need of corrective action. (Sec. 110) Revises requirements for State assistance for school support and improvement. Requires SEAs to provide such assistance according to the following order of priorities: (1) LEAs and schools in need of improvement; (2) LEAs subject to corrective action, and to individual schools for which an LEA has failed to carry out certain responsibilities; and (3) LEAs and schools at risk of being identified as being in need of improvement within the next academic year. Directs SEAs to use for such State assistance certain funds available for technical assistance and support. Authorizes SEAs also to use for such State assistance certain State administrative funds. (Sec. 111) Revises requirements for parental involvement. (Sec. 112) Sets forth required qualifications and duties for teachers and paraprofessionals in I-A schools. (Sec. 113) Revises requirements for professional development activities. Includes among required activities any strategies for identifying and eliminating gender and racial bias in instructional materials, methods, and practices. Includes among optional activities instruction in ways teachers, principals, and guidance counselors can work with parents and students from groups, such as females and minorities, that are underrepresented in careers in mathematics, science, engineering, and technology, to encourage and maintain student interest in such careers. (Sec. 115) Includes among coordination requirements for LEAs the linking of LEA educational services with those provided in local Head Start agencies. (Sec. 116) Revises requirements for reservation and allocation of funds for grants for the outlying areas and the Secretary of the Interior. (Sec. 117) Sets forth revised formulas for allocating amounts for basic grants, concentration grants, and targeted grants. (Sec. 118) Revises requirements for basic, concentration, and targeted grants to LEAs. (Sec. 121) Revises special allocation procedures. Part B: Even Start Family Literacy Programs - Revises ESEA title I part B (Even Start Family Literacy Programs) (Even Start). Directs the Secretary (currently the National Institute for Literacy) to disseminate, or designate another entity to disseminate, the results of certain research to States and recipients of Even Start subgrants. Part C: Education of Migratory Children - Revises ESEA title I part C (Education of Migratory Children) to refer to language instruction programs under the new ESEA title III provided by this Act (current law refers to bilingual education). Part D: Prevention and Intervention Programs for Children and Youth Who Are Neglected, Delinquent, or At Risk of Dropping Out - Revises ESEA title I part D (Prevention and Intervention Programs for Children and Youth Who Are Neglected, Delinquent, or At Risk of Dropping Out). Part E: Federal Evaluations, Demonstrations, and Transition Projects - Revises title I part E (Federal Evaluations, Demonstrations, and Transition Projects) to set new deadlines for certain interim and final reports on the National Assessment of educational Progress (NAEP). (Sec. 152) Establishes a Comprehensive School Reform program. (Replaces part E provisions for demonstrations of innovative practices.) Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to SEAs to provide subgrants to LEAs to provide financial incentives for schools to develop comprehensive school reforms, based upon scientifically-based research and effective practices that include an emphasis on basic academics and parental involvement so that all children can meet challenging State content and performance standards. Allows reservation of specified amounts for schools supported by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), schools in U.S. territories, and national evaluation activities. Sets forth requirements for State awards, local awards, evaluation, and reporting. Authorizes appropriations. Part F: Rural Education Development Initiative - Establishes a Rural Education Development Initiative as a new title I part F. Directs the Secretary to make grants to States for elementary and secondary education development by LEAs that are eligible because they serve: (1) a school-age population of whom 15 percent or more are from families with incomes below the poverty line; and (2) a school district in a rural locality, or a school-age population of 800 or fewer. Reserves a specified portion of grant funds for schools operated by the BIA. Sets forth an allotment formula for grants to SEAs to make grants to eligible LEAs. Authorizes the Secretary to make direct competitive grants to specially qualified eligible rural LEAs in nonparticipating States. Requires LEAs or their schools to use grant funds for: (1) educational technology, including software and hardware; (2) professional development; (3) technical assistance; (4) teacher, and principal, recruitment and retention; (5) parental involvement activities; or (6) academic enrichment programs or other education programs. Requires SEAs to award grants on a formula basis. Requires that at least 99 percent of such funds be awarded to eligible LEAs in the first year, and 99.5 in the second and in each succeeding year that an SEA receives such a grant. Directs the Secretary, at the end of the third year an SEA participates in the program, to permit continued participation only if the SEA has met its performance goals and objectives for two consecutive years. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on this part F program's impact on student achievement. Authorizes appropriations. Part G: General Provisions - Transfers title I general provisions to a new part G (currently part F). Revises a deadline for the Secretary's issuance of final regulations for title I. Eliminates a provision for State reservation of certain amounts for administrative costs. Title II: Teacher and Principal Quality, Professional Development, and Class Size - Revises and renames ESEA title II as Teacher and Principal Quality, Professional Development, and Class Size (currently Dwight D. Eisenhower Professional Development Program). (Sec. 201) Sets forth a part A, Teacher and Principal Quality, Professional Development (II-A). Directs the Secretary to make grants to States to raise the quality of, and provide professional development for, public school teachers, principals, and administrators. Provides for: (1) reservations, State allotments, and within-State allocations; (2) State and local plans; (3) performance objectives; (4) optional activities; (5) State administrative expenses; (6) local activities; (7) professional development for teachers; (8) parents' right to know; (9) State reports and a study by the Comptroller General, and (10) educator partnership grants. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth a part B, Class Size Reduction. Directs the Secretary to make grants to States to help them and LEAs recruit, train, and hire 100,000 additional teachers to: (1) reduce nationally class size in grades one through three to an average of 18 students per regular classroom; and (2) improve teaching in the early elementary school grades so that all students can learn to read independently and well by the end of the third grade. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Language Minority Students and Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native Education - Establishes a new ESEA title III, Language Minority Students and Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native Education, which combines and revises provisions of the current title VII (Bilingual Education, Language Enhancement, and Language Acquisition Programs) and of the current title IX (Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native Education). Redesignates, reauthorizes, and revises the current title III as title X Technology for Education. (Sec. 301) Repeals the current ESEA title III part A, Technology for Education of All Students. Sets forth a new title III subtitle A, Language Minority Students (which also replaces the current title VII) Bilingual Education, Language Enhancement, and Language Acquisition Programs). Declares it to be U.S. policy that, in order to ensure equal educational opportunity for all children and youth, and to promote educational excellence, the Federal Government should: (1) assist SEAs, LEAs, and community-based organizations to build their capacity to establish, implement, and sustain programs of instruction and English language development for children and youth of limited English proficiency (LEP); (2) hold SEAs and LEAs accountable for increases in English proficiency and core content knowledge among LEP students; and (3) promote parental and community participation in LEP programs. Directs the Secretary to make grants to States to help LEP students become proficient in English. Prohibits the Secretary from mandating or precluding a particular curricular or pedagogical approach to educating LEP students. Requires LEAs to certify to SEAs that all teachers in any language instruction program for LEP students funded under this subtitle are fluent in English. Requires LEAs to notify parents of students participating in language instruction educational program of: (1) the student's level of English proficiency and academic achievement, and certain implications of the student's strengths and needs; (2) various available programs; (3) instructional goals of such program; and (4) the parental option to decline the student's enrollment in such program. (Sec. 302) Repeals the current ESEA title III parts: (1) B, Star Schools Program; (2) C, Ready-to-Learn Television; (3) D, Telecommunications Demonstration Project for Mathematics; and (4) E, Elementary Mathematics and Science Equipment Program. Eliminates current title VII part B provisions for the Foreign Language Assistance Program. Transfers to a new title III subtitle B the Emergency Immigration Education Program (currently part C of title VII). Extends through FY 2005 the authorization of appropriations for such program. (Sec. 303) Transfers to a new title III subtitle C provisions for Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native Education (currently title XIX). Extends the authorization of appropriations for various programs of Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native Education. Title IV: Public School Choice - Establishes a new ESEA title IV, Public School Choice, and authorizes a new public school choice program. Transfers certain parts and provisions of the current title V to such new title IV. Redesignates, reauthorizes and revises the current title IV as title XI, Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities. (Sec. 401) Extends the authorization of appropriations for: (1) Magnet Schools Assistance; and (2) Public Charter Schools. Requires SEAs that receive grants for charter schools assistance to hold assisted charter schools accountable for AYP for improving student performance under title I and as established in the school's charter, including the use of the same standards and assessments as established under title I. Declares it to be U.S. policy to: (1) support and stimulate improved public school performance through increased public school competition and increased Federal financial assistance; and (2) provide parents with more choices among public school options. (Sec. 402) Establishes a new title IV part C, Development of Public School Choice Programs (PSC programs). Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) make competitive grants to LEAs to develop such PSC programs; (2) reserve specified program funds for technical assistance, information dissemination, and evaluations; and (3) a priority to partnership projects. Requires the Secretary to give a priority to applications that would serve high-poverty LEAs. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth a new title IV part D, Report Cards. Directs the Secretary to make grants to States, if they have State report cards on education which meet specified requirements, to publish such report cards for each elementary and secondary school receiving ESEA funding. Authorizes appropriations. Requires States, if they receive assistance under ESEA, to prepare and disseminate (or publicly report through other public means) annual report cards, in easily understandable language, on all elementary and secondary schools receiving funds under ESEA I-A or II-A. Requires such State report cards on LEAs and schools to contain specified information regarding indicators of school performance and quality. Title V: Impact Aid - Transfers ESEA Impact Aid provisions to a new title V (currently title VIII). Eliminates the current title V, Promoting Equity, including part B, Women's Educational Equity, and part C, Assistance to Address School Dropout Problems (but transfers the current part A of title V to part A of title IV). (Sec. 501) Extends the authorization of appropriations for various impact aid programs. Title VI: High Performance and Quality Education Initiatives - Establishes a new title VI, High Performance and Quality Education Initiatives. Eliminates the current title VI, Innovative Education Program Strategies. (Sec. 601) Declares it to be U.S. policy to: (1) facilitate significant innovation in elementary and secondary school education programs; (2) enrich the learning environment of students; (3) provide a safe learning environment for all students; (4) ensure that all students are technologically literate; and (5) assist SEAs and LEAs in building their capacity to establish, implement, and sustain innovative programs for public school students. Directs the Secretary to make grants to SEAs with approved plans to award grants to LEAs. Requires States to allocate grant funds among LEAs according to both their I-A population and their entire school-age population. Requires LEAs to use grant funds for programs designed to achieve each of the goals described in the following category areas: (1) school improvement; (2) 21st Century Opportunities programs; (3) safe learning environments; and (4) New Economy Technology Schools. Allows LEAs that meet or exceed AYP requirements to reallocate, at their own discretion, specified portions of grant funds among the four categories. Allows LEAs identified as in need of improvement to reallocate for school improvement activities a certain portion of funds from the other three categories. Authorizes appropriations. Title VII: Accountability - Establishes a new ESEA title VII, Accountability, with sanctions and rewards based on meeting performance objectives. Eliminates the current title VII, Bilingual Education, Language Enhancement, and Language Acquisition Programs (but sets forth some provisions for language minority students under the new title III). (Sec. 701) Requires certain sanctions if performance objectives established under a covered provision have not been met by a State receiving grant funds under such provision. Directs the Secretary to reduce the amount the State is entitled to receive by specified percentages if such objectives have not been met by the end of the third fiscal year or the end of the fourth fiscal year. Requires such reductions to continue for each subsequent fiscal year until the State demonstrates that it has met such objectives. Directs the Secretary to provide technical assistance, if sought, to a State subjected to such sanctions. Requires each State receiving assistance under ESEA titles I, II, III, or VI to develop a system, including sanctions, to hold LEAs accountable for meeting performance objectives and AYP requirements. Directs the Secretary to make awards to States that either ensure that all teachers teaching in their public schools are fully qualified by FY 2003, or for three consecutive years have: (1) exceeded their performance objectives; (2) exceeded their AYP levels; (3) significantly narrowed the gaps between minority and non-minority students, and between economically disadvantaged and non-economically disadvantaged students; (4) raised all students to the proficient standard level within ten years; or (5) significantly increased the percentage of core classes being taught by fully qualified teachers teaching in schools receiving funds under part A of title I. Requires States to: (1) distribute 80 percent of such award funds to LEAs that have been consistently high-performing and achieving in specified ways; and (2) use the remainder to establish demonstration sites with respect to high-performing schools in order to help low-performing schools, and to improve the level of performance of all elementary and secondary school students in the State. Requires LEAs to use such award funds to: (1) reward individual schools that demonstrate high performance with respect to specified criteria; (2) reward collaborative teams of teachers, or teams of teachers and principals, who significantly increase the annual performance of low-performing students or significantly improve in a fiscal year the English proficiency of LEP students; (3) reward principals who successfully raise the performance of a substantial number of low-performing students to high academic levels; (4) develop or implement school district-wide programs or policies to increase the level of student performance on State assessments aligned with State content standards; and (5) reward schools for consistently high achievement in another area that the LEA deems appropriate to reward. Authorizes appropriations for such awards. Authorizes the Secretary to use certain amounts not reserved for other specified activities to: (1) support activities of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards; (2) study and disseminate information regarding model programs assisted under ESEA; (3) provide training and technical assistance to recipients of ESEA funds in administering and implementing ESEA-assisted activities; (4) support activities to promote systemic education reform at State and local levels; (5) award grants or contracts to public or private nonprofit entities to develop and disseminate exemplary reading, mathematics, science, and technology educational practices, and instructional materials to States, LEAs, and schools; (6) disseminate information on models of value-added assessments; (7) award a grant or contract to a public or private nonprofit entity or consortium to develop and disseminate exemplary programs and curricula for accelerated and advanced learning for all students, including gifted and talented students; (8) award a grant or contract with Reading Is Fundamental, Inc., and other public or private nonprofit entities to support and promote programs which include distribution of inexpensive books to students and literacy activities that motivate children to read; and (9) develop English language development standards and assessments, and native language tests for LEP students that States may use to assess student achievement in reading, science, and mathematics. Authorizes appropriations. Title VIII: General Provisions and Repeals - Requires SEAs and LEAs to use ESEA funds to supplement, and not supplant, State or local funds. (Sec. 802) Repeals the Goals 2000: Educate America Act and the following ESEA titles: (1) V, Promoting Equity; (2) X, Programs of National Significance; (3) XI, Coordinated Services; (4) XII, School Facilities Infrastructure Improvement; and (5) XIII, Support and Assistive Programs to Improve Education. Title IX: Technology for Education - Technology for Education Act of 2000 - Redesignates, reauthorizes, and revises the current title III as title X, Technology for Education. (Sec. 901) Extends the authorization of appropriations for: (1) part A, Technology for Education of All Students, including National Programs for Technology in Education, State and Local Programs for School Technology Resources, Regional Technical Support and Professional Development, and Product Development; (2) part B, Star Schools Program (also known as the Star Schools Act); (3) part C, Ready-to-Learn Television; (4) part D, Telecommunications Demonstration Project for Mathematics; and (5) part E, Elementary Mathematics and Science Equipment Program (also known as the Elementary Mathematics and Science Equipment Act). Title X: Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities - Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 2000 - Redesignates, reauthorizes and revises the current title IV as title XI, Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities. (Sec. 1001) Extends the authorization of appropriations for: (1) part A, subpart 1, State Grants for Drug and Violence Prevention Programs; and (2) subpart 2, National Programs, including hate crime prevention. Title XI: Programs of National Significance - Redesignates, reauthorizes and revises the current title X as title XII, Programs of National Significance. (Sec. 1101) Extends the authorization of appropriations for part A, the Fund for the Improvement of Education, which includes provisions for the following programs: (1) elementary school counseling demonstration; (2) partnerships in character education pilot project; (3) promoting scholar-athlete competitions; (4) smaller learning communities; (5) national student and parent mock election; and (6) model projects. Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act of 2000 - Extends the authorization of appropriations for part B, Gifted and Talented Children programs. Extends the authorizations of appropriations for part D, Arts in Education, including programs of: (1) support for arts education; and (2) cultural partnerships for at-risk children and youth. Extends the authorization of appropriations for part E, the Inexpensive Book Distribution Program, including provisions for the contract with the Reading Is Fundamental organization for an inexpensive book distribution program for reading motivation. Extends the authorization of appropriations for part F, Civic Education, including programs for instruction: (1) on the history and principles of democracy in the United States; and (2) in civics, government, and the law. Extends the authorization of appropriations for part G, the Allen J. Ellender Fellowship Program, including programs for: (1) middle and secondary school students; (2) middle and secondary school teachers; and (3) recent immigrants, students of migrant parents and older Americans. 21st Century Community Learning Centers Act - Extends the authorization of appropriations for part H, 21st Century Community Learning Centers. Extends the authorization of appropriations for part I, Urban and Rural Education Assistance, including: (1) demonstration grants for urban schools; (2) demonstration grants for rural schools; (3) grants for higher education institutions, alone, in consortia, or in partnership with rural LEAs, to help with rural school improvement; and (4) White House Conferences on Urban Education and on Rural Education. Extends the authorization of appropriations for part J, the National Writing Project.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2000
Honoring the Navajo Code Talkers Act - Authorizes the President to: (1) present to each of the original twenty-nine Navajo Code Talkers or a surviving family member, on behalf of Congress, a gold medal honoring the Navajo Code Talkers; and (2) award to each man who qualified as a Navajo Code Talker (MOS 642) or a surviving family member a silver medal. Provides that such medals are to express recognition by the United States and its citizens in honoring the Navajo Code Talkers who distinguished themselves in performing a unique, highly successful communications operation that greatly assisted in saving countless lives and in hastening the end of World War II in the Pacific. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2000
Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to restore the authority of States to transfer up to ten percent of TANF funds to carry out State programs pursuant to SSA title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services). Amends SSA title XX to restore funds to States and territories for FY 2001 and each fiscal year thereafter and to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to compile the information submitted by the States and report it annually to Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2000
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Adjustment Act - Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to prescribe a formula for periodic adjustments to the maximum amount of deposit insurance coverage ($100,000), including an inflation adjustment.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2000
Honors the service and sacrifice during periods of war by members of the U.S. merchant marine. Recognizes the critical role played by vessels of the U.S. merchant marine fleet, such as the S.S. LANE VICTORY, in transporting equipment, supplies, and personnel necessary to support war efforts. Calls for ceremonies and activities to recognize and commemorate the U.S. merchant marine.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 2000
Expresses support for: (1) the objectives of the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons and for measures to strengthen the Treaty and to attain its objectives; (2) strengthening the international verification system operated by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); (3) a budget for IAEA that is adequate to fulfill its international security responsibilities; and (4) early ratification by all Treaty parties of the new additional safeguards protocol. Calls on all parties participating in the Sixth Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference to make a good faith effort to: (1) ensure the success of such Conference; (2) affirm their commitment to the obligations of the Treaty; and (3) recognize the indispensable value of the Treaty to the peace and security of all nations.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2000
Medicaid Community Attendant Services and Supports Act of 2000 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to provide for Medicaid coverage of community attendant services and supports for eligible individuals with disabilities. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to eligible States which have established a Consumer Task Force to assist the State in its development of real choice systems change initiatives with regard to consumer-responsive long-term services to eligible individuals. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the National Council on Disability to review and report to Congress on: (1) certain Medicaid regulations on home health and personal care services; and (2) how excessive use of medical services can be reduced by using community attendant services and supports. Directs the Secretary to establish a task force to examine appropriate methods for financing long-term services and supports.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2000
Authorizes the President to present on behalf of Congress: (1) a gold medal to the family of Andrew Jackson Higgins in recognition of his contributions to the Nation and to the Allied victory in World War II; (2) an identical medal to the D-Day Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana, for public display; and (3) a gold medal to the Museum in honor of the World War II employees of Higgins Industries and in recognition of their contributions to the Nation and to the Allied victory in World War II. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2000
Consumer Financial Privacy Act - Amends the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act to provide that the customer's affirmative consent is a prerequisite to financial institution disclosure to affiliates of customer nonpublic personal information, including information about personal spending habits (currently such consent is only required for financial institution disclosure to nonaffiliated third parties). (Sec. 4) Emphasizes that this Act neither modifies, limits, nor supersedes standards established under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 with respect to the privacy and security of individually identifiable health information. (Sec. 5) Sets forth limits upon redisclosure and reuse of nonpublic consumer personal information received by an affiliated or nonaffiliated third party from a financial institution. (Sec. 6) Prescribes guidelines for: (1) consumer rights to access and correct information; and (2) Federal and State enforcement powers under this Act. (Sec. 8) Revises requirements for the timing of a financial institution's disclosure to consumers of its privacy policies and practices, including a new requirement that the disclosure first occur before a customer relationship is established (currently, when it is established). (Sec. 9) Prohibits a financial institution from disclosing to either an affiliate or nonaffiliated third party its customer's account number or comparable access number or code. (Sec. 10) Permits financial institution disclosure of nonpublic personal information: (1) in connection with performing services or functions solely on such institution's behalf regarding its own customers, including marketing of the institution's own products or services to its customers; and (2) in order to facilitate certain customer services. (Sec. 12) Directs specified Federal agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission, to prescribe implementing regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 2000
Federal Living Wage Responsibility Act - Requires any employer under a Federal contract or subcontract exceeding $10,000 to pay each employee working on or hired in conjunction with such contract or subcontract the greater of: (1) $8.20 an hour; or (2) an hourly wage necessary for such employee to earn, while working 40 hours a week on a full-time basis, the amount of the Federal poverty level for a family of four. Exempts employers that are: (1) small business concerns; or (2) nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations, if the ratio of the total compensation of the chief executive officer to that of the full-time equivalent of their lowest-paid employee is not greater than 25 to 1. Makes ineligible for such required living wage level any employee participating in: (1) an apprenticeship program; or (2) any other training program, which is not longer than six months and is offered to an employee while employed in productive work, that provides training, technical and other related skills, and personal skills essential to full and adequate job performance. Prohibits employers from avoiding paying the required living wage by laying off or otherwise terminating an employee with the intention of replacing that employee with one not eligible for such wage because of participation in an apprenticeship or training program. Requires all Federal contracts and subcontracts to require such living wage payment. Requires Federal contract and subcontract suspension and a five-year ineligibility period for employers who violate such requirement. Makes such employers liable for unpaid wages and an equal amount of liquidated damages. Directs the Secretary of Labor to pay the employees who were not paid such living wage the amount recovered from their employers.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 2000
East Timor Repatriation and Security Act of 2000 - Declares the sense of Congress that the U.S. Government should utilize all diplomatic and economic means to press for: (1) the safe repatriation to East Timor of all East Timorese in West Timor and elsewhere who wish to return; (2) an end to border incidents, infiltration of militias, and to any other violent actions by militias and the armed forces of the Republic of Indonesia against the people or territory of East Timor; (3) processes and prosecutions leading to justice for the victims of the 1999 violence in East Timor; (4) rapid reconstruction of East Timor, including maximum consultation with and inclusion of local personnel; and (5) a significant increase in employment for East Timorese in all internationally-sponsored reconstruction and United Nations efforts relating to East Timor. Prohibits resumption of U.S. military relations with, and military assistance for, the armed forces of the Republic of Indonesia suspended by the President on September 9, 1999, until the President certifies to Congress that the Government and armed forces of Indonesia provide for: (1) the territorial integrity of East Timor; (2) the security and safe return of refugees; and (3) have brought to justice those individuals who have committed murder, rape, torture, and other crimes against humanity in East Timor and elsewhere. Recognizes and salutes those members of the U.S. Armed Forces who have assisted the international peacekeeping operation in East Timor.
![Official portrait of Rep. Hoeffel, Joseph M. [D-PA-13]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/h001031_200.jpg)