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United States · Official source
4,380 records where Rep. Kucinich, Dennis J. [D-OH-10] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2000
Calls upon the Government of Japan to: (1) formally issue an apology for the war crimes committed by the Japanese military during World War II; and (2) pay reparations to the victims.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2000
Provides for: (1) the identification and discipline (which may include civil money penalties and loss of annuity or retirement pay in addition to current removal authority) of members and employees of county and area agricultural committees who discriminate against other persons in administering agricultural programs; and (2) due process requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2000
USDA Accountability and Equity Act of 2000 - Title I: Improved Accountability of County and Area Committees and Their Employees - Amends the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act to increase the size of the county committees by two members who shall be: (1) appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture; and (2) demographically representative of local producers. (Sec. 102) Directs the Secretary to prescribe uniform guidelines for conducting county and area committee elections. (Sec. 103) Provides for the conversion of permanent and temporary county committee employees to Federal civil service status. Title II: Improved Program Equity - Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 respecting the environmental quality incentives program to: (1) increase program funding; (2) reduce the livestock set-aside; and (3) give priority to, establish set-asides, and waive cost-share requirements for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. (Sec. 202) Amends the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 to make permanent appropriations for 1890 land grant college grants. (Sec. 203) Amends the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to make permanent appropriations for: (1) outreach and technical assistance programs for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers; and (2) Indian reservation extension education programs. (Sec. 205) Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to make permanent appropriations for farm operating and ownership loans.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2000
Quality Cheese Act of 2000 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to prohibit the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration from: (1) using Federal funds to amend specified regulations to include dry ultra-filtered milk or casein in the definition of "milk" or "nonfat milk" as specified in the domestic natural standards for cheese and cheese products; and (2) amending such regulations and definitions to include wet ultra-filtered milk until 60 days after submission of the study required by this Act. Directs the Commissioner, in conjunction with the Secretary of Agriculture, to study the impact of wet ultra-filtered milk's use on dairy farmers.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2000
Recognizes that the Birmingham Pledge has made a significant contribution in fostering racial harmony and reconciliation in the United States and around the world. Commends the people involved with the Pledge's creation and signatories to it for the steps they are taking to make the Nation and the world a better place for all people. Expresses the sense of Congress that a National Birmingham Pledge Week should be established.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2000
Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to require certification of a group of workers (including agricultural firm or subdivision workers) as eligible to apply for trade adjustment assistance under such Act if the Secretary of Labor determines that a significant number or proportion of them in the workers' firm (or subdivision) have become totally or partially separated (or threatened with total or partial separation), and either: (1) that the firm's (or subdivision's) sales or production, or both, have decreased absolutely, imports from the People's Republic of China of like or directly competitive articles have increased by reason of the extension of normal trade relations treatment, and such increase in imports contributed importantly to such workers' separation (or threat thereof) and to the decline in the firm's (or subdivision's) sales or production; or (2) that there has been a shift in production by the workers' firm (or subdivision) to the People's Republic of China of articles like or directly competitive with the firm's (or subdivision's) articles by reason of such extension of normal trade relations treatment.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2000
Human Research Subject Protections Act of 2000 - Title I: Human Subject Protections - Amends the Public Health Service Act to apply the common rule and vulnerable-populations rules of subparts A and B through D, respectively, of part 46 of title 45, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) (rules requiring informed consent, with an emphasis on certain vulnerable populations) to all human-subject research. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to permit any Federal agency involved in such research to establish additional protections for human subjects. Requires the Secretary to promulgate regulations to enhance the protection of people with diminished decision making capacity with respect to their participation in clinical research. Title II: Informed Consent - Prohibits any investigator from involving a living human being in research unless such investigator has obtained the legally effective informed consent of such individual or his or her authorized representative. Title III: Institutional Review Boards - Prohibits such research from being conducted unless an accredited Institutional Review Board has approved the proposal for such research in light of the common rule and vulnerable-populations rules. Title IV: Federal Oversight - Establishes the Office for Protection of Research Subjects. Prohibits the Secretary from entering into research grants, cooperative agreements, or contracts unless the receiving entity or institution has a comprehensive and ongoing program to educate investigators and Board members on the protection of human subjects in research. Establishes the National Bioethics Advisory Commission to provide advice and recommendations on bioethical issues arising from the delivery of health care, research on human biology and behavior, and the applications of such research.
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 · 8 June 2000
Declares that Congress strongly encourages the Mexican Government to facilitate the presence of foreign human rights observers in Mexico without restrictions that prevent them from effectively carrying out human rights observation. Urges: (1) the Department of State and the U.S. Embassy in Mexico to clarify with Mexican authorities current law concerning such observers, entrance requirements, and restrictions on those observers' activities and movements; (2) the Mexican Government to respect internationally established norms for freedom of transit and of association for foreigners visiting Mexico; and (3) the Mexican Government to review all of the expulsions of human rights workers since 1994 for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and resolution of outstanding cases.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2000
National Employment Dispute Resolution Act of 2000 (NEDRA) - Amends title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to require the pertinent agency or entity to: (1) provide counseling services regarding, and endeavor to address and resolve, claims of unlawful discrimination using certified contract mediators; and (2) disseminate information regarding such services to employees and members. Mandates that any Federal agency or court (or business enterprise receiving $20,000 or more in Federal funds, or having 20 or more employees): (1) establish an internal dispute resolution mechanism that provides, as a voluntary option, employee-disputant access to external third-party certified mediators; and (2) participate in mediation in specified circumstances. Prescribes mediation guidelines. States that attorneys and consultants are legally obligated to advise their clients of the mediation alternative and their obligations to participate in "good faith".
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2000
Corporate Code of Conduct Act - Requires any national of the United States that employs more than 20 persons in a foreign country, either directly or through subsidiaries, subcontractors, affiliates, joint ventures, partners, or licensees (including any security forces), to take the necessary steps to implement the Corporate Code of Conduct specified by this Act with respect to the employment of those persons. (Sec. 3) States that such Corporate Code of Conduct requires that a U.S. national: (1) provide a safe and healthy workplace; (2) ensure fair employment, including prohibition of the use of child and forced labor, prohibition of discrimination based upon race, gender, national origin, or religious beliefs, respect for freedom of association and the right to organize independently and bargain collectively, and the payment of a living wage to all workers; (3) prohibit mandatory overtime work by employees under age 18; (4) prohibit the practice of pregnancy testing of employees, including forced usage of birth control, and the dismissal or discrimination of employees based on pregnancy; (5) prohibit retaliation against any employee who conveys information relating to a violation or alleged violation of any fair employment requirement of this Code; (6) promote specified good governance and good business practices; (7) maintain a corporate culture that respects free expression consistent with legitimate business concerns, does not condone political coercion in the workplace, encourages good corporate citizenship, makes a positive contribution to the communities in which the U.S. national operates, and promotes ethical conduct by all employees; (8) comply with internationally recognized worker rights and core labor standards; (9) uphold responsible environmental protection and environmental practices; (10) comply with minimum international human rights standards; (11) require partners, suppliers, and subcontractors of the U.S. national (including any security forces) to adopt and adhere to these principles; (12) require full public disclosure of specified information; and (13) implement and monitor compliance with these principles through a self-financing program internal to the business that meets certain requirements. (Sec. 4) Requires: (1) Federal agency heads to give preference in the award of contracts to entities adopting and enforcing such Code; (2) the Secretary of Commerce to give preference to such entities that are also U.S. exporters with introduction to contacts in foreign countries, and in coordinating trade missions; (3) the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and the Trade and Development Agency to give such entities preference in providing financing and issuing investment insurance, reinsurance, and guaranties under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961; and (4) the Export-Import Bank to give such entities preference in providing guarantees, insurance, and credit, and in participating in extensions of credit. (Sec. 5) Establishes a private right of action to petition the appropriate Federal official to investigate alleged Code compliance violations. (Sec. 6) Requires the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of State, or the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, upon a determination of Code noncompliance, to terminate a contract entered into with the noncomplying entity, and withdraw, suspend, or limit the entity's preference under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2000
Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act of 2000 - Amends Federal Civil Service provisions to require that, of the 12 weeks of leave available to a Federal employee during any 12-month period based on the birth of a child or the placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care, up to one-half of that time (as the employee may designate) shall be with pay, in addition to any annual or sick leave which the employee may otherwise elect to use as part of the same12-week period.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2000
Providing Annual Pap Tests to Save Women's Lives Act of 2000 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to extend coverage of screening pap smears and screening pelvic exams to annual examinations regardless of whether a woman is of childbearing age or at high-risk.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2000
Steel and Metal Consumers Radioactivity Protection Act - Directs the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to establish a standard that controls the free release of radioactively contaminated scrap metal from the Department of Energy or nuclear fuel cycle facilities. Prohibits the NRC and agreement States from taking any action to facilitate, implement, promulgate, or issue any administrative guidance that would allow the free release into commerce of radioactively contaminated scrap metal until such standard has been established. Mandates that: (1) radioactively contaminated equipment, devices, commodities, and other materials approved for release to persons exempt from NRC licensing requirements be released only pursuant to regulations governing the release of byproduct and source material under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954; and (2) the Departments of Defense and of Energy and all other agencies that oversee or control the release of radioactively contaminated metals adopt standards no less stringent than those established by the NRC. Directs the U.S. Customs Service to monitor and enforce such standards at U.S. borders. Instructs the Secretary of State to work with international standard-writing bodies to adopt standards consistent with those of the NRC. Sets forth interim certification guidelines governing scrap metal imported into the United States. Sets forth civil penalties for violations of this Act. Instructs the Secretary of Commerce to present an annual violations list to Congress.
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
Recognizes that individuals who abuse animals are more likely to commit more serious violent crimes against humans. Urges: (1) social workers, teachers, mental health professionals, and others to be aware of the connection between animal cruelty and human violence and to evaluate carefully and monitor closely individuals who have a history of abusing animals; (2) appropriate Federal agencies to encourage and support research to increase the understanding of the connection between cruelty to animals and violence against humans; (3) Federal agencies which are undertaking research on violent crime and its causes to incorporate examination of the link between violence against animals and violence against humans; and (4) local law enforcement officials to treat cases of animal cruelty seriously. Commends the work of local animal control officials and humane investigators who enforce laws against animal abuse. Urges them to work more closely with local law enforcement personnel to identify and prevent potential violence against humans.
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 · 22 May 2000
Rail Merger Reform and Customer Protection Act - Amends Federal transportation law to condition the Surface Transportation Board's approval of any rail carrier consolidation, merger, or acquisition of control upon a finding that the transaction: (1) will increase competition among rail carriers; (2) will not reduce transportation alternatives available to current railroad customers; (3) will provide additional transportation alternative options for railroad customers; (4) will improve service to customers; and (5) is in conformity with the antitrust laws. Declares that rail carriers and rail transportation subject to the jurisdiction of the Board shall also be subject to the antitrust laws. Repeals the exemption of rate agreements from the Sherman Act, the Clayton Act, the Federal Trade Commission Act and specified parts of the Wilson Tariff Act (thus subjecting such agreements to Federal antitrust laws). Repeals the mandate that the Federal Trade Commission report to the Board periodically on possible anticompetitive features of approved rate agreements, or agreements submitted for approval, and any organization operating under such agreements. Prohibits a person proceeding against a rail carrier in a complaint before the Board from proceeding against the same rail carrier pursuant to other Federal or State law, and vice versa. Amends the Clayton Act to conform with this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2000
Transit Rail Access Improvement and Needs Act for the 21st Century - Amends Federal transportation law to provide that if, after negotiation, a mass transportation authority cannot reach agreement with a rail carrier to use the carrier's trackage, and have related services provided, for fixed guideway transportation purposes, the Surface Transportation Board shall, upon the authority's or the carrier's application, and if necessary or useful: (1) order that the trackage be made available and the related services provided to the authority; and (2) prescribe reasonable terms and compensation, based upon the carrier's incremental cost of providing such trackage and services. Authorizes the mass transportation authority or the rail carrier to apply to the Board for an order establishing reasonable terms for the operation of additional trains by or for the authority over a rail line of the carrier, when the carrier and the authority cannot agree to terms. Authorizes a mass transportation authority, after notice to the rail carrier and a sufficient period for maintenance improvements, to apply to the Board for an order requiring the carrier to provide increased or improved maintenance on the trackage if the authority believes that maintenance on trackage operated by or for the authority has fallen below a safe or necessary level. Authorizes a mass transportation authority to apply to the Board for an order requiring the rail carrier to allow accelerated speeds and related improvements if the rail carrier refuses to allow them. Declares that, except in an emergency, fixed guideway transportation provided by or for a mass transportation authority pursuant to an order issued under this Act has preference over freight transportation in using a rail line, junction, or crossing, unless the Board orders otherwise. Declares that if, after negotiation, a mass transportation authority cannot reach agreement with a rail carrier to acquire an interest in a railroad right-of-way for the construction and operation of a segregated fixed guideway facility, the authority may apply to the Board for an order requiring the carrier to convey an interest to the authority.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2000
Amends Federal law to direct the Postal Service to establish a special (semipostal) postage rate for first-class mail in order to afford the public a convenient way to contribute to funding for the establishment of the World War II Memorial. Expresses the sense of Congress that nothing in this Act should: (1) directly or indirectly cause a net decrease in total funds received by the American Battle Monuments Commission below the level that would otherwise have been received but for the enactment of this section; or (2) affect regular first-class rates of postage or any other regular rates of postage.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2000
Investment in Quality School Leadership Act - Establishes a program of grants to consortia for professional development of superintendents, principals, and prospective superintendents and principals. Directs the Secretary of Education to award such competitive grants to consortia to establish programs that serve a State or region and provide superintendents, principals, and prospective superintendents and principals, particularly those serving, or intending to serve, in high-poverty, low-performing school districts and schools, with ongoing, intensive professional development opportunities to improve their capacity to serve as effective leaders and successfully implement standards-based reforms. Requires a consortium, to be eligible to apply for such a grant, to include at least: (1) one local educational agency (LEA) serving a high concentration of children living in poverty; (2) one institution of higher education; and (3) one organization that does not usually provide educational services, but has the necessary expertise to provide professional development to school administrators (expertise). Allows such consortia also to include: (1) one or more additional LEAs; (2) State educational agencies; (3) for-profit organizations with expertise; and (4) public or private nonprofit organizations with expertise. Sets forth required program activities and additional uses of grant funds. Requires grantees to provide 50 percent of the project's annual costs, in cash or in kind. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) waive such matching requirement for applicants that serve low-income areas; and (2) reserve certain funds for technical assistance, evaluation, dissemination of information on effective programs, activities to encourage the spread and adoption of successful leadership development centers, and other national activities that support the programs. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2000
Prohibits the President from regulating or prohibiting, directly or indirectly, travel to or from Cuba by U.S. citizens or legal residents, or any of specified transactions incident to such travel. Declares that: (1) this prohibition does not authorize the importation into the United States of any goods for personal consumption acquired in Cuba; and (2) the restrictions on authority contained in this Act do not apply in a case in which the United States is at war with Cuba, armed hostilities between the two countries are in progress, or there is imminent danger to the public health or the physical safety of U.S. travelers.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2000
Expresses the sense of the Congress that U.S. policy should: (1) support the restoration of democracy in Burma, including implementation of the results of the 1990 elections; (2) continue to call upon the military regime in Burma known as the State Peace and Development Council to guarantee freedoms of assembly, movement, speech, and the press for all Burmese citizens, to accept a political dialogue with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the National League for Democracy, and ethnic leaders to advance peace, to release all detained Members elected to the 1990 parliament and other political prisoners, and to uphold the terms and conditions of all human rights and related resolutions passed by the United Nations General Assembly, the Commission on Human Rights, the International Labor Organization, and the European Union; and (3) sustain current economic and political sanctions against Burma as the appropriate means of securing the restoration of democracy, human rights, and civil liberties and of supporting U.S. national security counternarcotics interests.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 2000
Declares that the Congress joins the international community in supporting peace and democracy in the Republic of Sierra Leone. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the President should direct the U.S. representative to the United Nations (UN) to work to bring before the UN Security Council a resolution imposing comprehensive sanctions against the sale of diamonds by rebels in Sierra Leone; (2) rebels in Sierra Leone should be condemned by the UN and the international community for murdering Kenyan troops serving as UN peacekeepers and for inflicting suffering on Sierra Leonean civilians; (3) U.S. diplomats should be dispatched to Sierra Leone to remind the rebel leaders that the peace agreement provides no amnesty for any war crimes committed since its signing; (4) because international law does not provide amnesty for war criminals, the United States should initiate actions to bring any individual who has committed war crimes during Sierra Leone's civil war to justice; and (5) U.S. authorities should not grant a visa to any individual who committed such war crimes or to members of the individual's family and should turn over any such individual found in the United States to the International War Crimes Tribunal for prosecution.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2000
MediKids Health Insurance Act of 2000 - Amends the Social Security Act to add a new title XXII (MediKids Program) under which an eligible individual born after December 31, 2001, who has not attained age 23 may enroll in the MediKids Program for entitlement to benefits specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Includes among such benefits the following: (1) at least the same benefits available under Medicare parts A (Hospital Insurance) and B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) under SSA title XVIII; (2) early and periodic screening, diagnostic services, and treatment services under Medicaid (SSA title XIX); and (3) prescription drugs and biologicals. Provides for cost-sharing, a payment schedule for covered benefits, and a monthly MediKids premium and the means for payment of it. Provides for a reduction in premium for certain low-income families. (Sec. 2) Creates in the Treasury the MediKids Trust Fund (Trust Fund) for collected premiums, appropriated amounts, and other revenues for use in funding the coverage provided under the MediKids Program and maintaining its financial solvency. Authorizes the Secretary to implement a care coordination services program including specified elements under which eligible individuals may elect to have health care services covered under new SSA title XXII managed and coordinated by a designated care coordinator. Sets forth administration and miscellaneous provisions applicable to new SSA title XXII, including provisions for coordination with Medicaid and SSA title XXI (Children's Health Insurance) and the maintenance of Medicaid eligibility and benefits for children. Amends SSA title XVIII to increase the membership of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission from 17 to 19 members, with the initial terms of additional members staggered. (Sec. 3) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) impose a MediKids premium tax in the case of any taxpayer required to pay a premium under the MediKids Program for an eligible individual; and (2) provide for a refundable tax credit for cost-sharing expenses under the MediKids Program. (Sec. 5) Mandates deposit in the Treasury of any amounts: (1) recovered by the United States in the civil action brought on September 22, 1999, under the Medical Care Recovery Act and other specified provisions of Federal law in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the tobacco industry and associated parties; and (2) attributable to expenditures of HHS for tobacco-related illnesses. (Sec. 6) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to propose a gradual schedule of progressive tax changes to fund the MediKids program as the number of enrollees grows in the out-years.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2000
Amends Federal shipping law to provide that nothing, including Federal regulation, shall preempt the authority of a State to adopt additional standards regarding the maintenance, operation, equipping, personnel qualification, or manning of vessels.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2000
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the decision of a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit striking down the Ohio State motto, "With God All Things Are Possible," is a misinterpretation and misapplication of the U.S. Constitution. Expresses the support of the House of Representatives for such motto and other State mottoes making reference to a divine power and for the decision of the Governor and the Attorney General of the State of Ohio to appeal the ruling.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2000
Congratulates Latvia on the tenth anniversary of the reestablishment of its independence and the role it played in the disintegration of the former Soviet Union. Commends Latvia for its success in implementing political and economic reforms that may speed its integration into European and Western institutions.
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.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 2000
Senior Health Insurance Pull Out Prevention Act of 2000 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) extend to three years the initial Medicare+Choice contract period; (2) require one year advance notice of termination of such contract; (3) set forth a mandatory period for timely notice of physician terminations; (4) set forth a restriction upon termination of Medicare+Choice plans in selected areas within a metropolitan statistical area; and (5) mandate continuity of patient care in cases of involuntary termination.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 2000
Safe and Successful Schools Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to reauthorize through FY 2005, and revise or establish requirements for, assistance for various programs, including: (1) reading and literacy; (2) technology for education; (3) safe and drug-free schools and communities; (4) class size reduction through hiring more teachers; (5) higher standards and higher pay for teachers and principals in public schools of low-income local educational agencies (LEAs); (6) the Fund for the Improvement of Education; (7) public charter schools; (8) arts in education; (9) civic education; (10) Ellender fellowships; (11) early learning; (12) Holocaust education; (13) 21st Century Learning Centers for after-school programs; (14) parental information and resource centers; (15) urban educational assistance; (16) coordinated services, including child opportunity zone family centers; (17) public school repair and renovation; and (18) support and assistance programs to improve education and establish America's educational goals. (Sec. 1) Prohibits any services under ESEA from being provided through voucher or certificate. (Sec. 2) Revises ESEA title I (Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards) part A (Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies) (IA) to require State plans to describe: (1) specific steps the State educational agency (SEA) will take to assist schools and local educational agencies (LEAs) that receive IA funds (IA LEAs) to ensure that all their students reach a minimum proficient level of performance; (2) actions the State will take to ensure that critical education services and resources are available in IA LEAs to the extent that they are available in non-IA LEAs; and (3) annual measures and reports comparing IA LEAs and non-IA LEAs in terms of services, teachers, curricula, and instructional materials and resources. Requires each IA LEA to obtain SEA approval of a comprehensive plan to ensure comparability in use of State and local funds and educational services among its IA schools and its other schools with respect to: (1) teacher experience and qualifications; (2) curriculum range and opportunity to take rigorous courses, including advanced placement; and (3) quality and availability of instructional materials and resources including technology. Requires IA LEAs to update annually records relating to compliance with such comparability requirements. (Sec. 3) Extends the authorization of appropriations for the Reading and Literacy Grants program (part C of ESEA title II Dwight D. Eisenhower Professional Development Program). (Sec. 4) Revises, redesignates, and reauthorizes certain programs under ESEA title III (Technology for Education). Revises and renames part A as National Long-Range Technology Plans and Activities. Eliminates programs of: (1) national challenge grants for technology in education (but establishes a similar program, the Next-Generation Technology Innovation Awards program, as the new subpart 2 of part B); and (2) regional technical support and development (but establishes a similar program, Regional Technology in Education Consortium, as the new subpart 1 of part F). Redesignates as part B State and Local Programs for School Technology Resources (currently subpart 2 of part A). Eliminates the current part B Star Schools Program. Establishes the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund as a new subpart 1 of part B. Provides for grants to support State and local activities relating to education technology to improve student achievement, particularly in high-poverty, low-performing schools, and teachers' ability to integrate technology into the curriculum. Establishes the Next-Generation Technology Innovation Awards program as a new subpart 2 of part B. Authorizes the Secretary, through OET, to award competitive grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements for up to 50 percent of costs to eligible applicants, which are consortia that include: (1) at least one SEA or LEA; and (2) at least one institution of higher education (IHE), for-profit entity, museum, library, other public or private entity with appropriate expertise. Establishes a new part C, Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology. Authorizes the Secretary, through OET, to award competitive grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to develop or redesign teacher preparation programs to enable prospective teachers to use technology effectively in their classrooms. Requires applicants to be consortia that include at least one IHE that offers a baccalaureate degree and prepares teachers for their initial entry into teaching, at least one SEA or LEA, and at least one other of specified types of entities with the capacity to contribute to the technology-related reform of teacher preparation programs. Establishes a new part D, Getting Our Girls Ready for the 21st Century Act (Go Girl). Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to, and contracts and cooperative agreements with, LEAs to provide subgrants to elementary and secondary schools for services that: (1) encourage the ongoing interest of girls in science, mathematics, and technology; and (2) prepare girls to pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees and careers in those fields. Establishes a new part E, Library Resources. Eliminates the current part E Elementary Mathematics and Science Equipment program. Directs the Secretary, under a part E subpart 1 Library Media Resources program, to make allotments to States for library media resources and discretionary grants for school library access during non-school hours. Requires SEAs to make allocations to applicant LEAs that have: (1) the greatest need for school library media improvement; and (2) the highest percentages of poverty. Authorizes the Secretary, under a part E subpart 2 School Library Access Program, to make grants to applicant LEAs to provide students with access to libraries in elementary schools and secondary schools during non-school hours, including the hours before and after school, weekends, and summer vacation periods. Requires that priority be given to LEAs that: (1) seek to provide activities that will increase reading skills and student achievement; (2) have effectively coordinated services and funding with entities involved in other Federal, State, and local efforts to provide programs and activities for students during non-school hours; and (3) have a high level of community support. Sets forth a new part F, Special Projects of National Significance, with a subpart 1 Regional Technology in Education Consortium which revises and replaces a similar regional technical support and development program currently under subpart 3 of part A. Establishes a program for Community Technology Centers, as subpart 2 of part F. Authorizes the Secretary, through OET, to award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to eligible applicants to create or expand community technology centers that expand access to information technology and related training for disadvantaged residents of distressed urban or rural communities or to provide technical assistance and support to such centers. Redesignates and renames as subpart 3 of part F, Ready-to-Learn-Digital-Television (currently part C, Ready-To-Learn Television), including provisions for Special Projects of National Significance. Redesignates and renames as subpart 4 part F, Telecommunications Project for Mathematics (currently part D, Telecommunications Demonstration Project for Mathematics). Establishes a program for Future Math and Science Teacher Recruitment, as subpart 5 of part F. Makes available 500 scholarship grants and stipends to outstanding students enrolled in nationally accredited teacher training graduate programs who are committed to pursuing teaching careers in secondary school mathematics and science teaching. Authorizes the Secretary to award funds for such National Math and Science Teacher Scholarships on a competitive basis to qualifying IHEs with graduate programs in teacher training. Makes an institution eligible for such funds only if it is ranked by the Secretary in the top 25 percent of schools in its State with the highest percentage of graduates passing the State teacher qualification assessment for new teachers. Directs the Secretary to give priority to eligible IHEs that have one or more of these: (1) a year-long internship program in a professional development school; (2) mentoring programs for novice teachers in their first three years; (3) a history of placing graduates in rural and urban schools; and (4) a high retention rate of teachers that the institution places in teaching positions. Requires scholarship recipients to agree to teach in an urban or rural public secondary school for at least three full academic years, or (with specified exceptions) repay the pro rata amount of awards received, plus interest, for any failure to fulfill such obligation. (Sec. 5) Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act - Revises ESEA title IV to change the short title (currently, Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1994). Extends the authorization of appropriations for title IV Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities (SDFSC) programs. Eliminates provisions relating to a National Trust for Drug-Free Youth. Sets forth title IV part A subpart 1 provisions for State grants for drug and violence prevention programs. Establishes principles of effectiveness to be applied to title IV programs. Sets forth title IV part A subpart 2 provisions for National Programs. Directs the Secretary to carry out national programs to promote: (1) drug-free, safe, and orderly learning environments for students at all educational levels, from preschool through postsecondary; and (2) lifelong physical activity for such students. Requires the Secretary to reserve a specified amount of national program funds to make competitive grants to LEAS and community organizations for hate crime prevention activities. Establishes a title IV part B Technical Assistance program of comprehensive prevention technical assistance grants. Authorizes the Secretary to provide such grants to SEAs that meet specified requirements to implement prevention programs that meet a high scientific standard of program effectiveness. Establishes a title IV part C Alternative Education program to assist SEAs and LEAs in providing: (1) sound and equitable policies that ensure a safe, orderly, and drug-free learning environment for all children, while reducing the need to suspend or expel students and the number of such suspensions and expulsions; and (2) educational supports, services, and programs, using trained and qualified staff, for children aged five through 21 who have been suspended or expelled, so such children make continuing progress toward meeting the State's challenging academic standards. Establishes a title IV part D Resource Staff for Students program of establish a grants program to assist States and local educational agencies (LEAs) to recruit, train, and hire 100,000 school-based resource staff to work with students to: (1) reduce the student-to-counselor ratios nationally, in grades six through 12, to an average of one such staff for every 250 students; (2) help address the mental, emotional, and developmental needs of public school students; and (3) support other school staff and teachers in reaching students early before problems arise, conducting behavioral interventions to improve school discipline, and developing the awareness and skills to identify early warning signs of violence and the need for mental health services. Directs the Secretary to make such grants, for up to three years for each grant, to establish or expand the number of resource staff available for students' needs. Provides that resource staff means an individual with a specified kind of licensure, certification, or educational qualifications who has documented competence and training in mental health to be able to provide services to children and adolescents in a school setting. Establishes a title IV part E program, Project SERV (School Emergency Response to Violence) under which the Secretary to carry out Project SERV directly, or through contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements shall provide education-related services to LEAs in which the learning environment has been disrupted due to a violent or traumatic crisis, such as a shooting or major accident. Requires the establishment of a Federal Coordinating Committee on school crises, to coordinate Federal responses to crises that occur in schools or directly affect the learning environment in schools. Gun-Free Schools Act - Revises and transfers to title IV part F the provisions of the Gun-Free Schools Act (currently under title XIV part F). Requires each State receiving Federal funds under ESEA to have in effect a State law that: (1) requires LEAs to expel from school, for at least one year, any student determined to have possessed a firearm at school under the jurisdiction of the LEA in that State; and (2) allows the chief administering officer of that LEA to modify the expulsion requirement for a student on a case-by-case basis. Prohibits awarding ESEA funds to any LEA unless it has a policy ensuring that: (1) any student who possesses a firearm at a school served by such agency is referred to the criminal justice or juvenile delinquency system; (2) students who possess a firearm at school are referred to mental health professionals for assessment as to whether they pose an imminent threat of harm to themselves or others; and (2) any student determined to pose such a threat receives appropriate mental health services, in addition to other services, before being permitted to return to school. Requires each SEA and LEA that receives title IV funds to have a policy that prohibits cigarette vending machines, and the illegal possession or use of drugs and alcohol, in any form, at any time, and by any person, in school buildings, on school grounds, or at any school-sponsored event. (Sec. 6) Revises and reauthorizes ESEA title VI, Innovative Educational Strategies. Extends the authorization of appropriations for: (1) title VI programs; and (2) additional allotments to States of funds for LEAs demonstrating adequate yearly progress. Establishes, as a new part E under title VI, a Class Size Reduction program. Authorizes appropriations. Establishes, as a new part F of title VI, a Higher Standards, Higher Pay program. Authorizes the Secretary to make competitive grants to high-poverty LEAs to attract and retain fully qualified teachers and high-quality principals through better pay and benefits. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 7) Revises ESEA title X Programs of National Significance. Revises and reauthorizes title X part A (Fund for the Improvement of Education) (FIE). Includes among authorized uses of assistance: (1) senior mentoring of at-risk students; (2) student community service programs; (3) assisting all students to meet challenging State standards; (4) cultural education centers; (5) museum-operated Indian education programs in public schools; (6) improving academic achievement through innovative partnerships between LEAs and teachers unions; and (7) hiring and supporting school nurses. Extends the authorization of appropriations for FIE. Revises part A provisions for character education. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out programs of: (1) grants for State and local character education; and (2) grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements for character education research, dissemination, and evaluation. Authorizes appropriations. Extends the authorization of appropriations for the Smaller Learning Communities grants program under part A. Includes among authorized uses of such funds design and construction of improvements to the learning environment, including daylighting, energy conservation technologies, and renewable energy. Eliminates part A provisions for: (1) elementary school counseling demonstration programs; (2) Promoting Scholar Athlete Competitions; (3) National Student and Parent Mock Election; and (4) Model Projects. (Sec. 8) Extends the authorization of appropriations for title X part C, Public Charter Schools. (Sec. 9) Extends the authorization of appropriations for title X part D, Arts in Education, including: (1) Arts Education; and (2) Cultural Partnerships for At- Risk Children and Youth. Includes, among authorized uses of Arts Education funds, supporting model programs and projects in the performing arts for children and youth through arrangements with the Division of Cultural History of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. (Sec. 9 (sic)) Education for Democracy Act - Revises ESEA title X, part F, Civic Education to provide for grants or contracts for the Center for Civic Education (CCE) to carry out civic education activities under: (1) (as under current law) (the We the People...) The Citizen and the Constitution program; and (2) (the We the People...) The Project Citizen program. Includes among program requirements: (1) civic education materials and services to address specific problems such as prevention of school violence and drug and alcohol abuse; and (2) optional simulated hearings of Congress (Citizen and Constitution) and State legislatures (Project Citizen). Extends the authorization of appropriations. (Sec. 10) Reauthorizes ESEA title X part G, the Allen J. Ellender Fellowship Program (which is administered by the Close Up Foundation, provides financial aid to enable economically disadvantaged middle and secondary students, their teachers, economically disadvantaged older Americans, recent immigrants, and students of migrant parents to come to Washington, D.C., to study the operations of the Federal Government). Extends the authorization of appropriations. (Sec. 11) Establishes a new ESEA title X part H, Early Learning Program to improve educational opportunities for young children, from birth through age five. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth allowable program activities under categories of promoting: (1) children's learning at home, through parenting education; (2) quality teaching in child care settings; and (3) quality child care. (Sec. 12) Holocaust Education Assistance Act - Establishes a new ESEA title X part L, Holocaust Education. Authorizes the Secretary to make competitive grants to LEAs to carry out educational programs about the Holocaust. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 13) Revises ESEA title X part H, 21st Century Learning Centers program (known as the 21st Century Learning Centers Act) for program grants to SEAs for after-school center projects addressing educational, health, social service, cultural, and recreational needs of inner and small cities and rural and disadvantaged suburban communities. Extends the authorization of appropriations. (Sec. 14) Establishes a new ESEA title X part M for grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements for Parental Information and Resource Centers. Authorizes appropriations. Eliminating Educational Disparities and Promoting Learning for Urban Students Act of 1999 (sic) - Establishes a new ESEA title X part N, Urban Education Assistance, for urban school grants to eligible LEAs serving urban areas (or to SEAs which are LEAs) for activities to assist schools with high concentrations of students from racial and language minority groups to improve schoolwide academic achievement. Requires particular attention to be given to narrowing or overcoming disparities in achievement scores and school completion: (1) between minority and nonminority group students; and (2) between urban and nonurban public school students. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 15) Revises ESEA title XI, Coordinated Services, to: (1) continue certain coordinated services provisions; and (2) provide for coordinated services through child opportunity zone family centers (school-based or school-linked community service centers that provide and link children and their families with comprehensive information, support, services, and activities to improve the children's and families' education, health, mental health, safety, and economic well-being). Authorizes the Secretary to award competitive grants to eligible partnerships for the Federal share of costs of establishing and expanding such child opportunity zone family centers. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 15 (sic)) Establishes a new ESEA title XII, Public School Repair and Renovation, which authorizes Federal financial assistance for the urgent repair and renovation of public elementary and secondary schools in high-need areas. (Replaces the current title XII, School Facilities Infrastructure Improvement, which is also known as the Education Infrastructure Act of 1994.) Requires high-need LEAs to use the title XII grants or loans they receive for repairs and renovations to reduce health and safety problems, and to improve the learning environment. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 16) Revises and renames ESEA title XIII as Support and Assistance Programs to Improve Education and Establish America's Educational Goals (currently Support and Assistance Programs to Improve Education). Extends the authorization of appropriations for: (1) part A, Comprehensive Regional Assistance Centers; and (2) part B (currently part C), Eisenhower Regional Mathematics and Science Education Consortia. Eliminates the current part B, National Diffusion Network, and part D, Technology-Based Technical Assistance. Establishes a new part C, America's Educational Goals Panel and America's Educational Goals. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 17) Revises ESEA title XIV, General Provisions, to revise part E, Uniform Provisions, to prohibit any services under ESEA from being provided through voucher or certificate. Requires all SEAs that receive ESEA funds to have plans in place to have all teachers fully qualified by September 30, 2003. Prohibits any funds authorized under ESEA from being used to allow a third party to monitor, receive, gather, or obtain information intended for commercial purposes from any student under age 18 without prior, written, informed consent of the student's parent. Requires a school, LEA, or SEA, before entering into a contract with a third party, to inquire as to: (1) whether the third party intends to gather, collect, or store information on students; (2) the nature of the information to be gathered; (3) how the information will be used; (4) whether the information will be sold, distributed, or transferred to other parties; and (5) the amount of class time that will be consumed by such activity. Authorizes one-time grants to ESEA funds recipients to develop their data systems to help them make continuous program improvement. Authorizes the Secretary: (1) establish performance measures for each program under ESEA and subtitle B of title VII of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act; and (2) require applicants for funds under such Acts to include information on how they will use such measures, and report data relating to such measures. Requires collaboration with SEAs, LEAs, and other ESEA funds recipients in establishing such measures. Revises part G, Sense of Congress, to eliminate provisions expressing the sense of Congress with respect to increasing the total share of Federal spending on education.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2000
ICCVAM Authorization Act of 2000 - States that the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM) shall be sustained as a permanent standing committee administered by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Sets forth ICCVAM objectives, including: (1) increasing the efficiency of Federal test method review; and (2) reducing animal testing. Directs the Institute to establish a Scientific Advisory Committee. Requires each Federal agency to: (1) identify and forward to ICCVAM those guidelines or regulations it follows requiring or recommending animal testing; (2) promote valid alternatives to animal testing; and (3) adopt ICCVAM recommendations unless such recommendations are inadequate or unsatisfactory.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2000
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3695 Green Road in Beachwood, Ohio, as the Larry Small Post Office Building.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2000
National Science Education Act - Amends the National Science Foundation Act of 1950 (NSFA) to establish and expand programs relating to science, mathematics, engineering, and technology education. (Sec. 3) Provides that nothing in this Act may be construed to authorize any Federal department, agency, officer, or employee to exercise any direction, supervision, or control over the curriculum, program of instruction, administration, or personnel of any educational institution or school system. (Sec. 4) Requires the NSF Director to make grants to State or local educational agencies (SEAs or LEAs) or private elementary or middle schools to hire master teachers. Requires grant applicants to describe their requirements for master teachers and how professional development will be integrated with their mathematics or science program. Requires such master teachers to: (1) provide support for not more than ten teachers at public and private schools in mathematics, science, engineering, or technology programs for students in kindergarten through the eighth grade; and (2) be responsible for in-classroom assistance and oversight of hands-on inquiry materials, equipment, and supplies, including supplying and repairing such materials. Requires such grants to be made out of funds available for the NSF for Education and Human Resources Activities. (Sec. 5) Authorizes the Director to make competitive grants to secondary school and college students working with university faculty, software developers, and experts in educational technology, or to such faculty, developers, and experts working with such students, to develop high-quality educational software and Internet web sites. Requires the Director to: (1) designate official judges to recognize outstanding educational software and Internet web sites, developed with such assistance, that focus on core curriculum areas; (2) issue a certificate signed by the President and Director to each student and faculty member who develops such recognized software and sites; and (3) give priority to awarding grants to develop such software or sites in the areas of mathematics, science, engineering, and technology. (Sec. 6) Establishes in NSF a working group to review and coordinate regular and supplemental curricula in kindergarten through the 12th grade for science, mathematics, engineering, and technology. (Sec. 7) Requires the Director, subject to appropriations, to make demonstration project grants to eligible LEAS, which may use such funds to: (1) develop an information technology program that builds or expands mathematics, science, and information technology curricula; (2) purchase equipment necessary to establish such program; and (3) provide professional development in such fields. Requires such LEAs to enter into conditional agreements with representatives of the private sector which will participate by providing services and funds, including: (1) donating computer hardware and software; (2) establishing internship and mentoring opportunities for student participants in such program; and (3) donating higher education scholarship funds for eligible students who have participated in such program. Sets forth requirements for program applications, guidelines, assessment, study, and report. Authorizes appropriations to NSF for such program. Limits the maximum amount of such a grant award to any eligible LEA. (Sec. 8) Requires the Director, with the Secretary of Education, to compile and disseminate information on: (1) standard prerequisites for middle school and high school students who seek to enter a course of study at an institution of higher education in science, mathematics, engineering, or technology education for purposes of teaching in an elementary or secondary school; and (2) the licensing requirements in each State for science, mathematics, engineering, or technology elementary or secondary school teachers. (Sec. 9) Requires the Director to enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) for NAS to compile and evaluate studies on the effectiveness of technology in the classroom on learning and student performance, as measured by State standardized tests. Authorizes appropriations to NSF for such study-evaluation. (Sec. 10) Requires the Director to establish a grant program under which grants may be made for instruction of teachers for grades kindergarten through the 12th grade in the use of technology in the classroom. (Sec. 11) Authorizes the Director to award grants to assist States in reaching the goal of making all middle school graduates technology-literate. Requires such grants to be used for teacher training in technology, with an emphasis on programs that prepare one or more teachers in each middle school in the State to become technology leaders who then serve as experts and train other teachers. Requires States to encourage schools that receive such assistance to provide matching funds. (Sec. 12) Requires the Director to convene, as the National Science Education Forum, a conference of representatives from Federal, State, and local governments, private industries, professional organizations, educators, science, mathematics, engineering, and technology educational resource providers, students, and other stakeholders. (Sec. 13) Authorizes the Director to make grants to SEAs or LEAs or private elementary, middle, or secondary schools, under any grant program administered by the Director using funds appropriated for the NSF for Education and Human Resources Activities, for activities in which distance learning is integrated into the education process in kindergarten through the 12th grade. (Sec. 14) Requires the Director to make available through the Internet at no cost a complete field-test version of any curricular program for which the NSF provided development funds. (Sec. 15) Directs the President, acting through the NSF, to provide scholarships to teachers at public and private schools in kindergarten through the 12th grade to participate in Federal, State, or private research programs. Requires the Director to establish an Internet web site which may be used by students and teachers participating in such program to incorporate research knowledge and techniques into the educational process.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2000
Antitrust Enforcement Improvement Act of 2000 - Amends the Sherman Act to include trade or commerce of sellers, wholesale purchasers, or of both among illegal trade restraints of trade or commerce. Increases related fines. (Sec. 3) Amends the Clayton Act to state that covered competition may include competition among sellers, wholesale purchasers, or of both with respect to anticompetitive acquisitions. Extends certain premerger notification (additional information) extension periods. Establishes and sets forth related filing fee schedules. Sets forth provisions respecting recovery of overcharges by "injured" indirect purchasers in the chain of manufacture, production, or distribution. (Sec. 4) Amends the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 to define "undue or unreasonable preference or advantage" and "public market based on a competitive bidding process." States that covered commerce may include trade or commerce of sellers, wholesale purchasers, or of both. (Sec. 5) Establishes the Agriculture Concentration and Market Power Review Commission, which shall: (1) study concentration and vertical integration in the agricultural economy; and (2) recommend antitrust law changes in order to maintain a competitive market for family and other small and medium producers. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 6) Directs the Attorney General to establish in the Department of Justice an Office of Special Counsel for Agriculture.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2000
National Science Education Incentive Act of 2000 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) permit an eligible science, engineering, math, or technology teacher a limited credit for undergraduate tuition; and (2) permit an elementary and secondary science, mathematics, engineering, and technology credit (SMET) credit for qualified contributions of property or service to qualified elementary and secondary schools.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2000
Federal Employees Health Insurance Premium Conversion Act - Requires the Office of Personnel Management to make available to Federal annuitants the option to pay their Federal Employees' Health Benefits Program enrollment charges through a health insurance premium conversion arrangement beginning on the same date as when such option first becomes available to Federal employees generally, but no later than the deadline specified below. Requires: (1) each employing entity within the legislative branch to establish a plan, similar to the health insurance premium conversion arrangement, for their employees; and (2) the Secretary of Defense (or each appropriate Secretary with respect to the Coast Guard and the commissioned corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Public Health Service) to establish such a plan for members and retired members of the uniformed services. Requires that all such plans be completed so that such option shall become available no later than the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning on or after January 1, 2001.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2000
Identity Theft Prevention Act of 2000 - Amends the Truth In Lending Act to prescribe obligations of a credit card issuer with respect to: (1) confirmation of cardholder change of address; and (2) notification to the cardholder of a request for additional cards. (Sec. 3) Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to require a consumer reporting agency to submit notification of potential fraud to each creditor using a consumer report whenever the agency learns of a card application bearing a different address for the consumer than the one in the consumer's file. States that compliance with this Act shall be enforced by the following agencies with respect to entities under their jurisdiction that are also issuers of credit cards: (1) the Federal Trade Commission (FTC); (2) the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency; (3) the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Board; (4) the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; (5) the Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision; and (6) the Administrator of the National Credit Union Administration. (Sec. 4) Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to require a consumer reporting agency and users of consumer credit information to comply with certain fraud alert procedures. Sets forth penalties for noncompliance. (Sec. 5) Directs the FTC to promulgate regulations to require each consumer reporting agency to investigate discrepancies between certain information contained in its files with information supplied by the user of the consumer report. (Sec. 6) Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to mandate, upon request, one free annual disclosure to a consumer by a consumer reporting agency. (Sec. 8) Requires an individual reference services provider to disclose, upon request and proper identification of the consumer, all information contained in its files pertaining to such consumer. (Sec. 9) Directs the FTC to develop model forms and standard procedures for consumers to inform creditors and credit reporting agencies of identity fraud.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2000
Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of Congress, to former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn Carter a gold medal in recognition of their service to the Nation. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2000
Reservists Tax Relief Act of 2000 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow the deduction, as a trade or business expense, of certain expenses of members of a reserve component of the U.S. Armed Forces incurred while away from home in connection with such service.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2000
Prohibition on United States Government Liability for Nuclear Accidents in North Korea Act of 2000 - Amends the North Korea Threat Reduction Act of 1999 to prohibit the President and any Federal department, agency, or instrumentality, in supporting the provision of nuclear reactors to North Korea pursuant to the Agreed Framework, from entering into any international agreement, contract, or other arrangement, the purpose or effect of which is to impose liability on the U.S. Government, or otherwise require financial indemnity by it, for nuclear accidents that may occur at nuclear reactors provided to North Korea pursuant to the Agreed Framework. Exempts from this prohibition any treaty subject to approval by the Senate under the U.S. Constitution.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2000
National Science Education Enhancement Act - Provides that nothing in this Act may be construed to authorize any Federal department, agency, officer, or employee to exercise any direction, supervision, or control over the curriculum, program of instruction, administration, or personnel of any educational institution or school system. Title I: Amendments to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 - Revises the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) with respect to teacher professional development activities to include support for mentoring activities for science, mathematics, engineering, and technology teachers. (Sec. 101) Includes information on model science, mathematics, engineering, and technology teacher mentoring programs among the information which the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for Mathematics and Science Education (Clearinghouse) is required to disseminate. Requires States, in their plans in applications for teacher professional development grants, to describe how they will: (1) administer a mentoring system to ensure consistent implementation of mentoring programs for science, mathematics, engineering, and technology teachers; (2) provide a structure for local mentoring program evaluation; (3) provide technical assistance to local mentoring programs; (4) ensure compliance by local mentoring programs with State teacher training requirements; and (5) provide incentives for local educational agencies (LEAs) to take mentoring into consideration in assessing instructional staff hiring needs. Requires local activities under the teacher professional development program to include mentoring programs for novice teachers of science, mathematics, engineering, and technology. Requires States to include, in their accountability reports under the teacher professional development program, the impact of State and local mentoring programs on teaching quality and teacher retention rates. (Sec. 102) Revises ESEA provisions for the allocation and use of funds for the Clearinghouse. Requires such funds to be used to: (1) solicit and gather qualitative and evaluative materials and programs, review their evaluation, rank their effectiveness, and distribute results of reviews, as well as excerpts of materials and links to Internet sites and information on on-line communities of users to teachers; and (2) establish an Internet site offering a search mechanism to assist site visitors in identifying information on science, mathematics, engineering, and technology education instructional materials and programs, including electronic links to information on classroom demonstrations and experiments, teachers who have used materials or participated in programs, vendors, curricula, and textbooks. Directs the Clearinghouse to give particular attention to the effective use of materials and technology in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology education. Directs the National Academy of Sciences to study and report on the Clearinghouse. (Sec. 103) Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make competitive grants, from specified ESEA funds, for summer professional development institutes for teachers. Provides for such grants to be awarded to State agencies for higher education, working in conjunction with the State educational agency (if such agencies are separate). Requires the grantees to: (1) make subgrants to or cooperative agreements with various entities working in conjunction with an LEA or consortium of LEAs; and (2) give priority to applicants assuring use of a curriculum recognized by the working group established under specified provisions of the National Science Foundation Act of 1950. Sets forth requirements relating to such institutes and their activities and curricula. Requires peer review of grant applications under a process established by the Director of the National Science Foundation. Requires participants in such institutes to earn credit toward State continuing education requirements for teachers or a post-baccalaureate degree program at an institution of higher education. Revises provisions for allocation of certain appropriated amounts. Reserves specified funds for the summer institute program. (Sec. 104) Includes providing technology training software and instructional materials to teachers among local uses of ESEA school technology resource grants. (Sec. 105) Requires grant applicants, under the ESEA 21st Century Community Learning Centers program, to assure that they will use at least five percent of the grant amount to provide after-school day care services that focus on science activities. (Sec. 106) Includes after-school day care services that focus on science activities for children in kindergarten through sixth grade among uses of grants under the ESEA 21st Century Community Learning Centers program. Title II: Other Provisions - Revises the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to treat technology training, tutoring teachers in the uses of classroom technology, as community service by college students under the work-study program. Increases funding for such program and reserves the amount of such increase to compensate students employed in technology training or tutoring teachers in the uses of classroom technology. (Sec. 202) Directs the Secretary of Commerce to study: (1) the feasibility and effectiveness of various incentives, including tax credits, for businesses to provide personnel with regular compensation for time spent as volunteers engaged in the technological training of teachers and facilities for such training; (2) alternative methods of providing financial support, through income tax credits, loan forgiveness, or otherwise, to individuals seeking training or retraining in mathematics, science, and technology education; (3) the effectiveness of higher education institutions in training teachers who can use technology and integrate it into lesson plans, curricula, and distance learning; (4) methods to coordinate working alliances at various levels of government between the business and academic community; and (5) other means of improving the efficiency of the technological training of teachers. (Sec. 203) Directs the Secretary of Commerce to report to Congress on such study, including proposals for a comprehensive approach to providing technologically competent teachers to the Nation's schools.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2000
Global Sustainable Development Resolution - Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States and the people of the United States, and the people and governments of the other Nations of the world, should take actions to establish democratic control over the global economy. (Sec. 3) Makes findings with respect to unregulated economic globalization and deleterious consequences that it tends to generate, including destructive competition (in which nations are forced to cut labor, social, and environmental costs in order to attract mobile capital), economic inequality, and degradation of democracy. (Sec. 4) Expresses the sense of the House that the United States should adopt specified policies with respect to: (1) global economic goals (reconstructing the global economy to achieve democracy, human rights, environmental sustainability, and economic advancement for the most oppressed and exploited parts of the population); (2) a democratic multilevel global economy; (3) reduction of financial volatility; (4) sustainable development; and (5) democracy. (Sec. 5) Expresses the sense of the House that, to develop the broadest possible dialog by the people of the United States among themselves and with the other peoples of the world regarding the future of the global economy, the United States should establish a United States Commission on the Global Economy which shall: (1) hold hearings to investigate the effect of globalization on the workers, industry, and environment of the United States; and (2) establish a Global Economy Truth Commission. (Sec. 6) Expresses the sense of the House that the United States should enter into negotiations with other members of the United Nations to develop and implement a sustainable development strategy aimed at restructuring the international financial system to avoid global recessions, protect the environment, ensure full employment, reverse the polarization of wealth and poverty, and support the efforts of polities at all levels to mobilize and coordinate their economic resources. Declares that the United States should: (1) work with other Nations to achieve specified goals such as encouraging economic policies based on domestic economic growth and development, not domestic austerity in the interest of export-led growth, and encouraging a return to more stable exchange rates in order to achieve the original purposes of the Bretton Woods agreement; (2) in cooperation with other Nations, establish levies on all foreign currency transactions and establish the mechanisms for implementing such levies on such transactions for specified purposes, establish one or more public international investment funds, develop international institutions to perform functions of monetary regulation that are performed inadequately by national central banks, and establish, for highly indebted nations, an insolvency or bankruptcy mechanism; and (3) take specified actions with respect to debt cancellation. (Sec. 7) Expresses the sense of the House that the United States should impose on any U.S. funding of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), or any other international financial institution specified conditions with respect to worker rights, environmental conditions, social conditions, democracy and human rights conditions, international financial institution governance, participation by certain sectors of civil society, and IMF missions. (Sec. 8) Expresses the sense of the House that, to help establish public control and citizen sovereignty over global corporations and reduce the ability of such corporations to evade local and national law: (1) the United States should enter into negotiations with other countries to establish a binding Code of Conduct for Transnational Corporations, which should impose on each corporation that operates in more than one country requirements regarding toxic substance emissions, facilities, and hazardous materials disclosures, worker rights, environmental standards, termination of operations, unions, financial disclosures, investment, education and job training, and social and environmental standards; (2) there should be established a mechanism of adjudication and sanctions to enforce the code of conduct which allows both governments and citizens to initiate complaints of noncompliance by global corporations and which operates in a transparent manner; (3) Governments should not be subject to trade or other reprisals for efforts to enforce the code of conduct; (4) corporations based in the United States should immediately follow certain standards in their overseas operations, pending the implementation of the code of conduct; and (5) U.S. laws should be amended such that corporations incorporated or operating in the United States are held liable for harms caused abroad and that persons aggrieved by such harms can pursue actions for relief in the U.S. courts. (Sec. 9) Expresses the sense of the House that the President should begin the process of renegotiating all agreements regulating international trade, including the World Trade Organization, the North American Free Trade Agreement, and bilateral investment treaties, with objectives of: (1) reorienting trade and investment to be means of carrying out just and sustainable development; (2) removing labor and environmental rights and conditions and social protections as factors of competition; and (3) incorporating in market prices the long-term costs of industrial production, including resource depletion, waste, and disposal or recycling of final product. Sets forth provisions regarding reporting requirements, withdrawal provisions, and trade agreement negotiating authority.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2000
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the Federal Government, including government officials outside of the United States, should not purchase any goods made by forced labor; (2) the President should instruct the Secretary of the Treasury to enforce strictly the prohibition on the importation of such goods; and (3) the President should urge each international body to which the United States belongs to adopt a policy prohibiting the purchase by that body of such goods.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2000
Congressional Oversight of Nuclear Transfers to North Korea Act of 2000 - Amends the North Korea Threat Reduction Act of 1999 with respect to the prohibition against any agreement for cooperation between the United States and North Korea, or issuance of a license for the export, or approval for the transfer or retransfer, to North Korea of any nuclear material, facilities, goods, services, or technology that would be subject to such agreement, until the President reports to specified congressional committees that: (1) North Korea has come into full compliance with the Agreed Framework and other specified nuclear nonproliferation agreements; (2) has permitted the International Atomic Energy Agency full access to certain nuclear sites and material; (3) does not have uranium enrichment or nuclear reprocessing facilities; and (4) does not have nuclear weapons and is making no effort to acquire them. Prohibits any such agreement, export license, or transfer of any such items unless Congress approves the President's report by enactment of a joint resolution. Subjects to the same prohibition and approval requirements any export license for, or transfer or retransfer to North Korea of, any nuclear material, facilities, goods, services, or technology controlled under the Export Trigger List of the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2000
Condemns violations of human rights by President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's regime in the Republic of Belarus, especially the conviction and sentencing of Andrei Klimov, Vasiliy Leonov, and Vladimir Koudinov on politically motivated charges. Urges their release. Expresses grave concern about the disappearances of Viktor Gonchar, Anatoly Krasovsky, and Yuri Zakharenka. Calls on the Lukashenka regime to ensure a full and timely investigation of these cases. Calls for immediate dialogue between the Lukashenka regime and the opposition and the restoration of a democratically elected government in Belarus. Urges the Lukashenka regime to: (1) respect and ensure the human rights of all Belarusian citizens, including members of the opposition currently being illegally detained in violation of their constitutional rights; (2) respect the rule of law and an independent judiciary; and (3) hold legitimate, free and fair parliamentary elections. Supports the appeal by the Consultative Council of Belarusian opposition parties to the Government of the Russian Federation, the State Duma, and the Federation Council calling for a cessation of support for the Lukashenka regime. Calls on the international community to support the opposition in Belarus by continuing to meet with the legitimately elected parliament. Supports Belarus's sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity, as well as its market democratic transformation and integration among the broader trans-Atlantic community of nations. Calls on the President of the United States to: (1) ensure assistance to and cooperation with Belarusian opposition figures; (2) ensure that adequate resources are made available on an urgent basis to support those programs aimed at strengthening independent media, human rights, civil society, independent trade unions, and the democratic opposition in Belarus; (3) support the free flow of information into Belarus; (4) raise the issue of financial support provided by the Russian Federation to the Lukashenka regime at the highest levels of the Russian Federation Government; and (5) urge the Government of the Russian Federation, in accordance with its international commitments, to fully respect the sovereignty of Belarus, particularly in light of the illegitimate nature of the Lukashenka regime. Calls on the President to report to Congress on: (1) the human rights situation, democratic process, elections, independence of the media, and the Lukashenka regime's control of the economy in Belarus; (2) steps undertaken to persuade the Russian Federation Government to end support to the Lukashenka regime; and (3) the status of Russian Federation-Belarus military integration.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2000
Safe Highways Resolution - Expresses the sense of Congress that certain statutory proscriptions and restrictions: (1) on longer combination vehicles should not be amended so as to weaken the current "freeze" on those vehicles or result in any less restrictive prohibition or restrictions upon them; and (2) should not be amended so as to permit operation of commercial motor vehicles with a gross vehicle weight greater than that currently allowed under Federal law.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2000
Congressional Oversight of Nuclear Transfers to North Korea Act of 2000 - Amends the North Korea Threat Reduction Act of 1999 with respect to the prohibition against any agreement for cooperation between the United States and North Korea, or issuance of a license for the export, or approval for the transfer or retransfer, to North Korea of any nuclear material, facilities, goods, services, or technology that would be subject to such agreement, until the President reports to specified congressional committees that: (1) North Korea has come into full compliance with the Agreed Framework and other specified nuclear nonproliferation agreements; (2) has permitted the International Atomic Energy Agency full access to certain nuclear sites and material; (3) does not have uranium enrichment or nuclear reprocessing facilities; and (4) does not have nuclear weapons and is making no effort to acquire them. Prohibits any such agreement, export license, or transfer of any such items unless Congress approves the President's report by enactment of a joint resolution. Extends the prohibition against export, or approval for transfer or retransfer, to North Korea of any nuclear material, facilities, goods, services, or technology to any such item controlled under the Export Trigger List of the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2000
FDA Tobacco Authority Amendments Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to, among other things: (1) include "nicotine in a tobacco product" in the definition of the term "drug" and to include "a tobacco product" in the definition of the term "device;" and (2) set forth provisions for tobacco products concerning special standards for such products, warnings regarding such products, and a rule of construction regarding farmers and related entities.