United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Community Protection Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal criminal code to authorize qualified law enforcement officers carrying the official badge and photographic identification issued by the governmental agency for which the individual is employed as a law enforcement officer, notwithstanding State or local laws, to carry a concealed firearm that has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce. Specifies that this Act shall not be construed to supersede or limit the laws of any State that: (1) permit private persons or entities to prohibit or restrict the possession of concealed firearms on their property; or (2) prohibit or restrict the possession of firearms on any State or local government property, installation, building, base, or park. (Sec. 3) Sets forth similar provisions authorizing qualified retired law enforcement officers to carry concealed firearms notwithstanding State or local laws.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Arlington National Cemetery Burial Eligibility Act - Allows the remains of the following persons to be interred at Arlington National Cemetery: (1) any member of the armed forces who dies while on active duty; (2) any retired member and any person who served on active duty and at the time of death was entitled to retired pay (or would have been so entitled but for his or her age); (3) any former member who was separated for physical disability before October 1, 1949, who served on active duty, and who would have been eligible for disability retirement if such provisions had been in effect on such date; (4) any former member whose last active military service was terminated honorably and who has been awarded one of a number of specified military decorations; (5) any former prisoner of war who dies on or after November 30, 1993; (6) the President or any former President; (7) the spouse, surviving spouse, minor child, and, in the discretion of the Cemetery's Superintendent, unmarried adult child of an interred member (but only if buried in the same gravesite); (8) the spouse, minor child, and unmarried adult child (discretionary) of a member on active duty if such person dies while the member is on active duty; (9) the individual whose spouse, minor child, and unmarried adult child (discretionary) is eligible under (8), above, but only if buried in the same gravesite; (10) the parents of a minor child or unmarried adult child whose remains, based on the parent's eligibility, are already buried in the Cemetery, but only if buried in the same gravesite; (11) the surviving spouse, minor child, and unmarried adult child (discretionary) of a member who was lost, buried at sea, or officially determined to be permanently absent in a status of missing or missing in action; and (12) the surviving spouse, minor child, and unmarried adult child (discretionary) of a member buried in a cemetery under the jurisdiction of the American Battle Monuments Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group health insurance coverage, with regard to hospital stays in connection with breast cancer treatment, from: (1) covering less than 48 hours after mastectomies or less than 24 hours after lymph node dissections; or (2) requiring plan or issuer authorization for prescribing any length of stay. Prohibits: (1) denying eligibility, enrollment, or renewal to avoid these requirements; (2) providing payments or rebates to women; or (3) penalizing or providing incentives to providers. Applies the same requirements to issuers in the individual market.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Military Retirement Equity Act of 1999 - Permits retired members of the armed forces to be paid retirement pay concurrently with compensation for any service-connected disability if the person's entitlement to retired pay is based solely on age, length of service (at least 20 years), or both. Reduces the retirement pay of individuals receiving both types of pay by a specified percentage of the disability compensation which decreases as the disability rating increases. Prohibits any reduction in the retirement pay of a disabled person when the disability rating is total.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Directs the Secretary of the military department concerned to pay monthly special compensation to severely disabled military retirees as follows: (1) $300 for those with disabilities rated as total; (2) $200 for those with disabilities rated at 90 percent; and (3) $100 for those with disabilities rated at 70 or 80 percent. Requires such retirees to have completed at least 20 years of retirement-creditable military service and to have a service-connected disability.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Medicare HMO Improvement Act of 1999 - Amends part C (Medicare+Choice) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with regard to contracts with Medicare+Choice organizations to: (1) provide for extension of the initial Medicare+Choice contract period from one year to three years; and (2) require termination of any contract with an organization that terminates coverage for any part of a metropolitan statistical area (or a New England County Metropolitan Area). Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to delay the effectiveness of a Medicare+Choice organization's termination of its plan with respect to all individuals in an area, if: (1) the termination would cause an imminent and serious health risk to enrollees; (2) the termination would result in a significant reduction in the Medicare+Choice plans available in the area affected; or (3) the chief executive officer of the State in which the termination occurs requests such a delay. Provides for continuity of care, for a limited period, in certain cases of involuntary termination (other than for cause) of an individual's enrollment with a Medicare+Choice plan.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Acid Deposition and Ozone Control Act - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a Nitrogen Oxide Allowance Program under which the contiguous States and the District of Columbia will be allocated allowances, beginning in the year 2002, to emit limited monthly amounts of nitrogen oxides. Allocates such allowances in proportion to a State's share of total electric power generated in the contiguous States. Sets forth requirements for the intrastate distribution of allowances among affected facilities (facilities with combustion units that serve an electricity generator with a minimum capacity of 25 megawatts) by a State or the Administrator. Requires the Administrator to promulgate regulations: (1) authorizing allowances to be transferred among affected facilities or persons; and (2) for issuing and tracking the use and transfer of allowances. Permits unused allowances to be carried forward for subsequent years. Requires the Administrator, for States for which the Administrator distributes allowances, to place ten percent of the total allowances in a new source reserve. Provides for the auctioning and sale of undistributed allowances in such reserve during 2000 through 2005. Distributes auction proceeds to affected sources in proportion to the number of allowances that would have been received but for the auction. Authorizes the Administrator to terminate or limit allowances. Makes it unlawful, after January 1, 2000, for: (1) the owner or operator of an affected facility to emit nitrogen oxides exceeding the amount permitted by allowances held by such facility; or (2) any person to hold, use, or transfer such allowances, except as provided under this Act. Repeals the nitrogen oxides emission reduction program under the Clean Air Act. Bars the use of an allowance before the calendar year for which the allowance is allocated. (Sec. 5) Amends the Clean Air Act to require owners or operators of industrial facilities with a minimum capacity of 100 million British thermal units (mmBtus) per hour to install and operate continuous emission monitoring systems on affected units and quality assure data for sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, opacity, and volumetric flow. (Sec. 6) Imposes penalties for emissions in excess of allowances. Requires offsets of allowances in the calendar year following the one in which excess emissions occurred. (Sec. 7) Decreases the amount of sulfur dioxide authorized to be emitted under an existing allowance program for 2005 and subsequent years. (Sec. 8) Requires the Administrator to report to the Congress on objectives for scientifically credible environmental indicators, including acid neutralizing capacity, sufficient to protect sensitive ecosystems of the Adirondack, Mid-Appalachian, Rocky, and Blue Ridge Mountains and the Great Lakes, Lake Champlain, Long Island Sound, and the Chesapeake Bay. Directs the Administrator, by December 31, 2008, to determine whether emissions reductions under this Act are sufficient to achieve such objectives and, if not, to promulgate regulations necessary to protect such ecosystems. (Sec. 10) Requires the Administrator to study and report to the Congress on the practicality of monitoring mercury emissions from all combustion units with a minimum capacity of 250 mmBtus per hour. Provides for regulations to: (1) require reporting of mercury emissions from such units; and (2) control electric utility and industrial source mercury emissions. (Sec. 11) Directs the Administrator to establish a competitive grant program to fund research related to the effects of nitrogen deposition on sensitive watersheds and coastal estuaries in the eastern United States. Requires the Administrator to report to specified congressional committees on the health and chemistry of certain Adirondack lakes and streams that were subjects of a specified report required under the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Amends Federal law to exclude the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund from the Federal and congressional budgets, and exempt it from any general budget limitation imposed by statute on U.S. budget outlays and from certain orders issued under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act).
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Affordable Housing Opportunity Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase, and link to the cost-of-living adjustment, the State low-income housing credit ceiling.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1999
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that all Federal agencies would benefit from reviewing specified recommendations for the purpose of improving equitable access for women-owned businesses to the Federal procurement market.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 1998
Veterans' Hepatitis C Act of 1998 - Considers hepatitis C becoming manifest in a veteran to be service-connected, and therefore compensable under veterans' disability provisions, notwithstanding that there is no record of evidence of such illness during the period of such service, as long as it is shown that during such service the veteran experienced: (1) a blood transfusion before December 31, 1992; (2) blood exposure on or through skin or mucous membrane; (3) hemodialysis; (4) a tattoo, body piercing, or acupuncture; (5) unexplained liver disease or abnormal liver function tests; or (6) working in a health care occupation.
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 1998
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow, when certain conditions are met, vendor refunds of Federal excise taxes on kerosene used in unvented heaters for home heating purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1998
Keep Kids Safe at Schools Act - Amends the National Child Protection Act of 1993 to include elementary and secondary schools as qualified entities that are subject to such Act's requirements for a national system of child abuse crime information and background checks.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1998
Medicare HMO Improvement Act of 1998 - Amends part C (Medicare+Choice) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with regard to contracts with Medicare+Choice organizations to: (1) provide for extension of the initial Medicare+Choice contract period from one year to three years; and (2) require termination of any contract with an organization that terminates coverage for any part of a metropolitan statistical area (or a New England County Metropolitan Area). Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to delay the effectiveness of a Medicare+Choice organization's termination of its plan with respect to all individuals in an area, if: (1) the termination would cause an imminent and serious health risk to enrollees; (2) the termination would result in a significant reduction in the Medicare+Choice plans available in the area affected; or (3) the chief executive officer of the State in which the termination occurs requests such a delay. Provides for continuity of care, for a limited period, in certain cases of involuntary termination (other than for cause) of an individual's enrollment with a Medicare+Choice plan.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 1998
Prescription Drug Fairness Act - Allows any qualified pharmacy to enter into an agreement with the Secretary of Health and Human Services to enable the pharmacy to sell covered outpatient drugs to Medicare beneficiaries (under title XVIII of the Social Security Act) at a reduced price. Requires such an agreement to: (1) entitle the participating pharmacy to purchase any covered outpatient drug listed on the Federal Supply Schedule of the General Services Administration at the participating pharmacy discount price for that drug; and (2) permit the participating pharmacy to purchase under this Act as much of a covered outpatient drug as it sells to Medicare beneficiaries. Sets forth guidelines for determining the participating pharmacy discount price and a special rule for Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in a hospice program. Directs the Secretary to: (1) administer this Act in a manner that uses existing methods of obtaining and distributing drugs to the maximum extent possible, consistent with efficiency and cost effectiveness; and (2) report to the Congress annually regarding the effectiveness of this Act in protecting Medicare beneficiaries from discriminatory pricing by drug manufacturers, along with any appropriate legislative recommendations to further reduce the cost of covered outpatient drugs to such beneficiaries.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 1998
Calls upon the President to: (1) pursue enhanced enforcement of U.S. trade laws with respect to the surge of steel imports into the United States, including offsetting duties, quantitative restraints, and other authorized remedial measures; (2) pursue a more equitable sharing of the burden of accepting imports of finished steel products from Asia and the countries within the Commonwealth of Independent States; (3) establish a task force with responsibility for closely monitoring U.S. imports of steel; and (4) report to the Congress by January 5, 1999, with a comprehensive plan for responding to the import surge, including ways of limiting its deleterious effects on employment, prices, and investment in the U.S. steel industry.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 1998
Medicare Home Health Care Interim Payment System Refinement Act of 1998 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, as amended by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA'97), to: (1) increase per beneficiary and per visit payment limits under the interim system of limited payments for services provided by home health agencies; and (2) provide for the exclusion of certain additional Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) costs from determination of the Medicare part B monthly premium. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to the Congress on research paid for by the Secretary on the development of a prospective payment system (PPS) for Medicare home health services, including one or more alternative means to provide for savings equivalent to the savings estimated to be made by the mandatory 15 percent reduction in payment limits for such services for FY 2000. Directs the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission to: (1) report to the Congress its analysis of the Secretary's report, including any recommendations with respect to the matters contained in it; and (2) include in its annual report to the Congress for June 1999 an analysis of whether changes in law made by BBA'97 and this Act with respect to payments for Medicare home health services impede access to them by Medicare beneficiaries. Directs the Comptroller General of the United States to audit the sums obligated or expended by the Health Care Financing Administration for PPS research and the information provided by it.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Provides for a temporary increase in the number of immigrant visas available for spouses and children of lawful permanent resident aliens based upon a specified priority order.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Open Space Protection Act of 1998 - Amends the Land and Water Conservation Act of 1965 to appropriate from the Land and Water Conservation Fund $900 million for every fiscal year from FY 1999 through 2015, with specified portions available for: (1) Federal purposes (Federal share); (2) financial assistance to the States for State and local natural areas, open space, parklands, or recreational areas; (3) grants to local governments through the Urban Parks and Recreation Recovery Program; (4) grants (through FY 2004) for land acquisition in connection with the American Battlefield Protection Program; and (5) grants (for FY 2004 through 2014) for the restoration and acquisition of historical and cultural sites found within the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management and the National Forest Service. (Sec. 3) Requires the President to: (1) require the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to prepare Federal priority lists for expenditure of the Federal share; and (2) name in the annual budget submission the specific purposes for which the Secretaries shall use such funds, unless Congress specifies otherwise. (Sec. 4) Requires Indian-Alaska Native Village Corporations to be treated as one State for allocation purposes. Authorizes the Secretary to approve conversion of property improved or developed with Federal assistance to other than public recreation uses only if the State demonstrates no prudent or feasible alternative exists (with the exception of those properties that are no longer viable as an outdoor conservation and recreation facility due to changes in demographics, or that must be abandoned because of environmental contamination endangering public health and safety). Requires any conversion to satisfy any conditions the Secretary deems necessary to assure the substitution of other conservation and recreation properties which are: (1) of at least equal market value and reasonably equivalent usefulness and location; and (2) in accord with the existing State Plan for Conservation and Recreation. Declares that wetland areas and interests identified in the action agenda, and proposed for acquisition as suitable replacement property (acceptable to the Secretary) within that same State, shall be considered to be of reasonably equivalent usefulness with the property proposed for conversion. (Sec. 5) Amends the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act to include in the list of local governments eligible to compete for Federal assistance grants for the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Program: (1) all political subdivisions included in Metropolitan, Primary, or Consolidated Statistical Areas; (2) any other city or town within a Metropolitan Area with a total population of 50,000 or more in the 1970, 1980, 1990, or subsequent census; and (3) any other political subdivision, county, parish, or township with a total of 250,000 or more in the 1970, 1980, 1990, or subsequent census. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to make to local governments matching capital: (1) development grants to cover costs of development and construction on existing or new neighborhood recreation sites, including indoor and outdoor recreation facilities, support facilities, and landscaping (but not routine maintenance and upkeep activities); and (2) acquisition grants to cover the direct and incidental costs of purchasing new parkland to be permanently dedicated and made accessible for public conservation and recreation. Authorizes the Secretary to approve conversion of property improved or developed with Federal assistance to other than public recreation uses only if the grantee demonstrates no prudent or feasible alternative exists (with the exception of those properties that are no longer a viable recreation facility due to changes in demographics or that must be abandoned because of environmental contamination endangering public health and safety). Requires any conversion to satisfy any conditions the Secretary deems necessary to assure the substitution of other conservation and recreation properties which are: (1) of at least equal market value and reasonably equivalent usefulness and location; and (2) in accord with the current conservation and recreation recovery action program. Repeals the prohibition against using funds under such Act to acquire land or interests in land.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Urges the Government of Germany to take necessary action to protect the right of freedom of religion or belief guaranteed to everyone in Germany by international human rights covenants. Declares that the Congress continues to hold the Government of Germany responsible for protecting the right of freedom of religion or belief of U.S. citizens, and for not barring such citizens from living, performing, doing business, or traveling in Germany because of their religious beliefs. Calls upon the President to assert the concern of the U.S. Government to the Government of Germany regarding government discrimination in Germany based on religion or belief.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1998
Health Care Benefits Financial Protection Act of 1998 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish a limited credit for an eligible employer for costs incurred in maintaining an employee group health plan.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1998
Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to authorize appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for: (1) the Federal Council on the Aging; (2) administration; (3) grants for State and community programs on aging; (4) the availability of surplus commodities; (5) training, research, and discretionary projects and programs; (6) community service employment for older Americans; (7) grants for Native Americans; (8) allotments for vulnerable elder rights protection activities; and (9) the Native American Program. Revises guidelines governing the transfer between specified grant programs of certain Federal funds received by a State.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1998
Medicare Home Health Beneficiary Protection Act of 1998 - Amends part D (Miscellaneous Provisions) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA), as amended by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA '97), to revise reasonable cost requirements with regard to the interim system of limited payments for services provided by home health agencies. Establishes a moratorium on implementation of per beneficiary limits and a three-year freeze on cost limits. Amends BBA '97 to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to: (1) establish a process for eliminating inappropriate utilization of home health services by reviewing claims for reimbursement of such services furnished under the Medicare program in which the number of home health visits provided to a beneficiary in a year exceeds the regional average of per beneficiary annual visits; (2) if appropriate, issue a determination denying payment for such a claim, and refer the name of the claimant-provider to the HHS Office of Inspector General for investigation; and (3) include in the annual reports to the Congress on home health cost containment any recommendations for changes to the method of payment, claims review, and scope of benefits that the Secretary determines is necessary to achieve actual outlays equal to estimated outlays under Medicare parts A (Hospital Insurance) and B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) for such services during the following fiscal year. (Sec. 4) Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for: (1) establishment of limits for calculating prospective payment rates for home health services under the payment system for such services; and (2) temporary restoration of periodic interim payment for such services.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1998
Directs the Secretary of State to establish a cultural and training program for disadvantaged individuals from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Declares that the purpose of such program is to provide such individuals with the experience of living and working in a multicultural society while obtaining valuable work skills and experience. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize 60-month nonimmigrant visas for an alien having a residence in Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland (which the alien has no intention of abandoning) who is coming temporarily to the United States as a participant in a United States-Northern Ireland-Republic of Ireland cultural and training program. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1998
VAWA Restoration Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to modify procedures and provide special rules for battered spouses and children with respect to: (1) adjustment of status; and (2) removal and deportation.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 1998
Recognizes the importance of children and families to the future of the United States. Expresses support for the goals of National KidsDay and National Family Month, as established by KidsPeace. Encourages the people of the United States to participate in local and national activities and celebrations recognizing National KidsDay and National Family Month.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1998
Small Business Employee Retirement Protection Act of 1998 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to establish requirements, for pension plans covering less than 100 participants, relating to holders of plan assets and to annual asset statements.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1998
Kate Mullany National Historic Site Act - Establishes the Kate Mullany National Historic Site in New York State. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to develop and submit to specified congressional committees a general management plan for the Site. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1998
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the Congress must assure that the fundamental protections that social security provides for American families are available for generations to come; (2) the problems facing the social security system are manageable and can be prudently addressed by making careful and modest changes; (3) hastily conceived and radical solutions, such as utilizing social security system resources to fund individual accounts, require significant reductions in guaranteed benefits, are not necessary to assure the financial solvency of the system, and should be rejected; (4) solutions to a projected shortfall should be enacted within the existing social security structure, without compromising the guaranteed nature of benefits to individuals and families under the social security system; and (5) any solutions adopted by the Congress must be nondiscriminatory and equitable to Americans of all ages and must help insure American workers and their families against the economic risks associated with disability, the death of a parent or spouse, and retirement.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1998
Hospital Stay Protection Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to require group health plans and individual health insurance coverage to establish hospital lengths of stay based on a determination by an appropriate physician in consultation with the patient. Amends the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 to require related and coordinated regulations under PHSA, ERISA, and the Internal Revenue Code.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1998
Investment in Women's Health Act of 1998 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to increase to $14.60 the payment for diagnostic or screening pap smear laboratory tests.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1998
Higher Education Family Opportunity Act of 1998 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit a deduction for qualified tuition and related expenses in lieu of the Hope and Lifetime Learning credits. Sets the deductible limit at $5,000 for 1999 and increases such limit by $500 annually until it reaches $10,000 for years 2009 and thereafter.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1998
Disapproves the rule submitted by the Health Care Financing Administration, Department of Health and Human Services, on June 1, 1998, relating to surety bond requirements for home health agencies under titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1998
Drugs and Informed Consent Armed Forces Protection Act of 1998 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide that if the Secretary of Defense submits to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) a request to waive the requirement of prior informed consent with respect to the administration of a drug to members of the armed forces for investigational use, then any determination by the Secretary of Defense that obtaining such consent is not feasible or is contrary to the best interests of the members involved shall not be effective unless the President provides to the HHS Secretary a written statement concurring in that determination.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1998
Persian Gulf War Veterans Health Act of 1998 - Presumes to be service-connected (and therefore compensable or treatable under Federal veterans' benefits provisions) an illness that: (1) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines to have a positive association with a biological, chemical, or other toxic agent or environmental or wartime hazard (agent or hazard) associated with service in the southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War; and (2) becomes manifest in a veteran who was exposed to such agent or hazard by reason of such service. Presumes such exposure unless there is conclusive evidence otherwise. Directs the Secretary to contract with an independent scientific body to establish a panel for reviewing medical and scientific literature to identify those diseases and illnesses associated with exposure of humans or animals to specified pesticides, agents, compounds, particulates, radiation, and pollutants. Requires each disease or illness identified that becomes manifest in a Gulf veteran to be presumed to be service-connected. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the updating of presumed exposures. Enumerates the pesticides, agents, compounds, particulates, radiation, and pollutants to which Gulf veterans shall be presumed to have been exposed. Directs the Secretary to submit to the Congress a plan for establishing a panel to review the statistical occurrence of both diagnosed and undiagnosed illnesses and symptoms among Gulf War veterans and their families. Directs the President to submit to the Congress a plan for the establishment of a permanent expert advisory group to advise the President and the congressional defense and intelligence committees on the adequacy of current U.S. chemical, biological, and radiological defense technologies, procurement practices, and doctrine for defending U.S. forces against both the immediate and chronic consequences of acute and subacute exposures to chemical, biological, radiological, or other genotoxic battlefield materials.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1998
Silicone Breast Implant Research and Information Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to: (1) appoint an official of the Department of Health and Human Services to serve as the NIH coordinator regarding silicone breast implant research; (2) establish either a study section or special emphasis panel for NIH to review extramural silicone breast implant research grant applications to ensure research design and quality, as well as quality intramural research; and (3) conduct or support research to expand the understanding of the health implications of silicone breast implants. Directs the Commissioner of Food and Drugs to: (1) take specified steps to make updated information about the risks of silicone breast implant available to the public, via the toll-free Consumer Information Line and other means; (2) revise the breast implant information update to clarify the procedure for reporting implant problems; (3) require manufacturers to update implant package inserts and informed consent documents regularly with accurate information; and (4) require any manufacturer conducting an adjunct study on implants to take specified measures with respect to informed consent documents, including informing women on how to obtain a Medwatch form and encouraging women who withdraw from the study, or who would like to report a problem, to submit such a form. Establishes the President's Interagency Committee on Silicone Breast Implants to ensure strategic management, communication, and oversight of Federal policy formation, research, and activities regarding silicone breast implants. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1998
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to restore and make permanent the exclusion from gross income for amounts received under qualified group legal services plans.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1998
Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to permit grants for public safety and community policing to be used to establish school-based partnerships between local law enforcement agencies and local school systems by using school resource officers who operate in and around elementary and secondary schools to combat school-related crime and disorder problems, gangs, and drug activities. Defines "school resource officer" to mean a career law enforcement officer, with sworn authority, deployed in community-oriented policing, assigned by the employing police department or agency to work in collaboration with schools and community-based organizations to: (1) address crime and disorder problems, gangs, and drug activities affecting or occurring in or around an elementary or secondary school; (2) develop or expand crime prevention efforts for students; (3) educate likely school-age victims in crime prevention and safety; (4) develop or expand community justice initiatives for students; (5) train students in conflict resolution, restorative justice, and crime awareness; (6) assist in the identification of physical changes in the environment that may reduce crime in or around the school; and (7) assist in developing school policy that addresses crime and recommend procedural changes.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1998
Authorizes appropriations for the International Child Pornography Investigation and Coordination Center of the United States Customs Service for FY 1999 through 2002.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1998
ICCVAM Authorization Act of 1998 - 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 · 22 May 1998
Entitles to veterans' disability compensation a veteran whose disease or injury is attributable in whole or part to the use of tobacco products. Authorizes an additional $1 billion for FY 1999 for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1998
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to set forth provisions for: (1) a small employer (100 or fewer employees) retirement plan; (2) a credit for the expenses of establishing such a plan; and (3) a model small employer retirement plan.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1998
Children's Hospitals Education and Research Act of 1998 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make payment as specified to each children's hospital for each hospital cost reporting period beginning during FY 1999 or 2000 for the direct and indirect expenses associated with operating approved medical residency training programs. States that such payments are in lieu of certain Medicare payments to hospitals for inpatient hospital services, but shall not affect the amounts otherwise payable to such hospitals under a State Medicaid plan. Makes appropriations for such payments for such fiscal years.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1998
Reinstatement of the Medicare Rehabilitation Benefit Act of 1998 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to repeal the financial limitation on rehabilitation services under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of the Medicare program. Provides that for outpatient physical therapy services, outpatient occupational therapy services, and outpatient speech-language pathology services covered under Medicare and furnished on or after January 1, 2000, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall implement a new payment methodology based on the classification of individuals by diagnostic category, functional status, and prior use of services in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Requires that such payment methodology be designed so that, taking into account the increased expenditures resulting from this Act, it does not result in any increase or decrease in the expenditures under Medicare on a fiscal year basis.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1998
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish a limited credit for qualified medical innovation expenses for clinical testing research expenses attributable to academic medical centers and other qualified hospital research organizations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1998
Library of Congress Bicentennial Commemorative Coin Act of 1998 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue five-dollar gold coins and one-dollar silver coins emblematic of the Library of Congress. Authorizes the Secretary to mint and issue $10 bimetallic coins of gold and platinum in lieu of the gold coins. Requires payment of coin sale surcharges to the Library of Congress Trust Fund Board to support Library activities.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1998
Lyme Disease Initiative Act of 1998 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Director of the National Institute of Health and the Secretary of Defense to collaborate in: (1) establishing specified public health goals relating to activities providing for a reduction in the incidence and prevalence of Lyme disease; and (2) carrying out activities toward achieving the goals directly or through grant awards or contracts to public or nonprofit private entities. Requires the Secretaries to establish a five-year plan for carrying out such activities and coordinating the programs and activities conducted or supported by the Government. Lists as goals, in priority order: (1) developing a test to determine whether an individual has been bitten by a tick that has Lyme disease and a test for determining whether a patient has been cured; (2) reviewing the U.S. system for Lyme disease surveillance and reporting; (3) determining the average number of doctor visits before the disease is diagnosed; and (4) significantly increasing the number of physicians who have appropriate knowledge regarding the disease. (Sec. 4) Establishes the Lyme Disease Task Force to provide advice to the Secretaries on achieving the goals. (Sec. 5) Requires the submission of annual reports by the Secretaries to the Congress until the goals are met. (Sec. 7) Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 8) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Food and Drug Administration should conduct a rapid and thorough review of new drug applications for drugs to immunize individuals against Lyme disease.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1998
Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Act of 1998 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to give States the option of making medical assistance for breast and cervical cancer-related treatment services available to certain low-income women without creditable coverage during a presumptive eligibility period. Provides for an enhanced match with regard to such treatment services.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1998
Iran Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Act of 1998 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to withhold U.S. voluntary contributions from programs and projects of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Iran. Instructs the Secretary of State to review and report annually to the Congress on all Agency programs and projects in specified countries to determine if they are consistent with U.S. nuclear nonproliferation and safety goals. Requires the Secretary to direct the U.S. representative to the Agency to oppose: (1) Agency programs determined inconsistent with U.S. nuclear nonproliferation and safety goals; (2) technical assistance programs or projects designed to develop or complete the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran; and (3) any other Agency program or project which transfers nuclear materials or technology to Iran. Directs the Secretary to report annually to the Congress for five years on specified aspects of annual Agency assistance to Iran, including nuclear materials technology transfer, and inconsistencies between Agency technical assistance programs and U.S. nuclear nonproliferation and safety goals. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should pursue internal Agency reforms that will ensure that all programs funded under its technical cooperation program are compatible with U.S. nuclear nonproliferation policy.
![Official portrait of Rep. Maloney, James H. [D-CT-5]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/m000090_200.jpg)