United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1999
Designates the facilities of the U.S. Postal Service located in Chicago, Illinois, at: (1) 433 West Harrison Street as the Cardiss Collins Post Office Building; (2) 2302 South Pulaski Street as the Otis Grant Collins Post Office Building; (3) 4222 West Madison Street as the Mary Alice (Ma) Henry Post Office Building; and (4) 50001 West Division Street as the Robert LeFlore, Jr. Post Office Building.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1999
Fastener Quality Act Amendments Act of 1999 - Amends the Fastener Quality Act to define "consensus standard" to mean the provisions of a document that describes fastener characteristics published by a consensus standards organization or a Federal agency, and does not include a proprietary standard. (Sec. 3) Revises the definition of "fastener" to apply to fasteners only, not to components or products which can contain fasteners. Excludes from the definition (and coverage of the Act) any items: (1) sold in packages containing no more than 100 of any one screw, nut, bolt, stud, or washer; (2) produced to proprietary standards developed by private companies that use fasteners in the manufacture, assembly, or service of their products, and develop fastener standards under the company's name; (3) specifically manufactured for use on an aircraft if the quality and suitability of those fasteners for that use has been approved by the Federal Aviation Administration or by a foreign airworthiness authority; or (4) manufactured in accordance with a fastener quality assurance system meeting International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Standard 9000 and other specified criteria. (Sec. 4) Makes it unlawful for a manufacturer or distributor, in conjunction with a sale or offer for sale of a fastener, to knowingly misrepresent or falsify: (1) the record of conformance for the lot of fasteners; (2) the identification, characteristics, properties, mechanical or performance marks, chemistry, or strength of the lot of such fasteners; or (3) the manufacturer's insignia. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to provide a program for the voluntary accreditation of testing laboratories and make information about them available to the public. Repeals certain requirements for testing and certification of fasteners. (Sec. 5) Revises requirements for manufacturers' insignia on certain fasteners to require manufacturers to comply with insignia recordation requirements, unless the specifications provide otherwise. (Sec. 6) Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to arbitrate civil penalties before a case is referred to the Attorney General. Repeals criminal penalties for negligent failure to maintain required fastener records. Directs the Secretary to establish a hotline system to facilitate the reporting of alleged violations of this Act and to investigate credible allegations reported through such system. (Sec. 7) Requires fastener manufacturers to retain the record of conformance for fasteners for five years, on paper or in photographic or electronic format. Repeals the requirement that importers, private label distributors, and persons who make significant alterations to fasteners, as well as manufacturers, also retain all inspection, testing, and certification records for five years. (Sec. 10) Authorizes any person publishing a document setting forth guidance or requirements for the certification of manufacturing systems (including fastener manufacturing systems) by an accredited third party, or for the approval of accreditation bodies to accredit such third parties, to petition the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology to approve the document, if it provides equal or greater rigor and reliability as compared to ISO-IEC Guide 62 or 61, as appropriate.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1999
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that the exclusion of State or local government foster care payments from the gross income of foster care providers shall also apply to payments by qualifying placement agencies.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1999
Expresses the sense of Congress that : (1) treatment by means of manual manipulation of the spine to correct a subluxation is a unique chiropractic service which Congress recognizes as a Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act (SSA)) part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) benefit; (2) it is the unequivocal intent of Congress to ensure that every Medicare+Choice beneficiary under SSA title XVIII part C has access to all services covered under the original Medicare part B fee-for-service program; and (3) as a covered Medicare part B service, such treatment provided by a doctor of chiropractic is a guaranteed service for Medicare+Choice beneficiaries.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1999
Printed Circuit Investment Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to classify as three-year depreciable property any printed wiring board or printed wiring assembly equipment.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Expanding Coverage Title II: Enhancing Fairness for Women and Children Title III: Increasing Portability for Participants Title IV: Strengthening Pension Security and Enforcement Title V: Reducing Regulatory Burdens Comprehensive Retirement Security and Pension Reform Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) with respect to pensions. Title I: Expanding Coverage - Restores the amounts of certain limitations formerly in effect under the Code for: (1) defined benefit plans; (2) defined contribution plans; (3) qualified trusts; (4) elective deferrals; (5) deferred compensation plans of State and local governments and tax-exempt organizations; (6) simple retirement accounts; and (7) cost-of-living adjustments. (Sec. 102) Amends the Code and ERISA to revise requirements relating to plan loans for subchapter S owners, partners, and sole proprietors. (Sec. 103) Allows employers to elect salary reduction only arrangements under Code requirements for simple plans. (Sec. 104) Revises specified top-heavy rules. Repeals family aggregation rules. Revises the definition of key employee. Provides that, at the election of the employer, any employee elective contribution to a plan shall not be taken into account for purposes of determining: (1) whether a plan is a top-heavy plan (or whether any aggregation group which includes such plan is a top-heavy group); or (2) compensation. Requires that employer matching contributions be taken into account for purposes of minimum contribution requirements. Revises requirements for qualifications. Provides for distributions during the last year before a determination date is taken into account. Excludes from the definition of top-heavy plan: (1) cash or deferred arrangements using alternative methods of meeting nondiscrimination requirements; and (2) defined contribution plans using alternative methods of meeting nondiscrimination requirements. Provides that elective deferrals will not be taken into account for purposes of a special rule where the maximum contribution is less than three percent. (Sec. 105) Provides that qualified staffing firms are to be considered employers for purposes of: (1) specified employment taxes; and (2) providing employee benefits. Provides for coverage of leased employees in employment benefit plans by: (1) applying to leased employees certain requirements concerning cash or deferred arrangements, matching contributions, and employee contributions; and (2) setting forth special rules for the leasing organization's plan. Revises safe harbor plan requirements. (Sec. 106) Provides that elective deferrals shall not be taken into account for purposes of limits on certain plan contributions. (Sec. 107) Amends ERISA to provide for a phase-in of an additional premium for new plans to pay to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). (Sec. 108) Repeals specified coordination requirements under the Code for deferred compensation plans of State and local governments and tax-exempt organizations. (Sec. 109) Eliminates user fee requirements for requests to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) concerning the status of pension plans. (Sec. 110) Sets forth an alternative method of meeting nondiscrimination requirements for automatic contribution trusts. (Sec. 111) Revises certain deduction limits for stock bonus and profit sharing trusts and for defined contribution plans. (Sec. 112) Provides for optional treatment of elective deferrals as plus contributions. (Sec. 113) Establishes a tax credit for pension plan startup costs of small employers. Title II: Enhancing Fairness for Women and Children - Allows additional salary reduction catch-up contributions for those approaching retirement under Code requirements relating to: (1) elective deferrals; (2) simple retirement accounts; and (3) deferred compensation plans of State and local governments and tax-exempt organizations. (Sec. 202) Sets forth requirements relating to equitable treatment for contributions of employees to defined contribution plans. Requires that certain contributions by church plans are not to be treated as exceeding a specified limit. (Sec. 203) Provides for faster vesting of certain employer matching contributions under the Code and ERISA. (Sec. 204) Amends Federal civil service law to revise requirements for deferred annuities for surviving spouses of Federal employees under both the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). (Sec. 205) Revises minimum distribution rules under the Code. Revises requirements for actuarial adjustment of benefit under a defined benefit plan. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) simplify and finalize the regulations relating to minimum distribution requirements; and (2) modify such regulations to reflect increases in life expectancy, and revise required distribution methods so that, under reasonable assumptions, the amount of the required minimum distribution does not decrease over a participant's life expectancy. Provides that, during the first year that such revised regulations are in effect, required distributions for future years may be redetermined, with the opportunity to choose a new designated beneficiary and to elect a new method of calculating life expectancy. Excludes specified amounts from minimum distribution requirements. Repeals a rule relating to distributions begun before death occurs. (Sec. 206) Revises requirements relating to tax treatment of division of section 457 plan benefits upon divorce. (Sec. 207) Amends Federal civil service law to eliminate certain percentage limitations on contributions to the Thrift Savings Fund (TSF) under FERS and CSRS. (Sec. 208) Allows certain contributions to TSF of eligible rollover distributions of eligible retirement plans. (Sec. 209) Eliminates certain waiting periods for purposes of contributions to TSF. Title III: Increasing Portability for Participants - Permits rollovers from and to various types of plans under the Code. (Sec. 302) Permits individual retirement plan (IRA) rollovers only if certain conditions are met. (Sec. 303) Permits rollover of after-tax contributions in an exempt trust under specified conditions. Sets forth a hardship exception to the 60-day rule. (Sec. 304) Sets forth requirements for treatment of forms of distribution available under transferor and transferee plans, under both the Code and ERISA. (Sec. 305) Revises restrictions on distributions, including the same desk exception. Repeals business sale requirements. (Sec. 306) Authorizes trustee-to-trustee transfers to purchase permissive service credit with respect to governmental defined benefit plans. (Sec. 307) Allows employers to disregard rollovers for purposes of cash-out amounts, under retirement plan provisions of the Code and ERISA. Title IV: Strengthening Pension Security and Enforcement - Amends the Code and ERISA to revise the percentage of current liability funding limit. Revises maximum contribution deduction rules and applies them to all defined benefit plan under the Code. (Sec. 402) Amends ERISA to revise requirements relating to missing participants. Direct the PBGC to prescribe rules relating to missing participants for multiemployer plans covered by the PBGC that terminate. Allows the administrator of a plan not otherwise subject to such PBGC regulation to elect to transfer a missing participant's benefits to the PBGC upon termination of the plan, under specified conditions. (Sec. 403) Amends ERISA to revise requirements for periodic pension benefits statements. (Sec. 404) Amends ERISA to make discretionary the imposition and amount of civil penalties for breach of fiduciary responsibility. Revises requirements for the applicable recovery amount and related rules. (Sec. 405) Amends the Code to allow an employer, in determining the amount of nondeductible contributions for any taxable year, to elect not to take into account any contributions to a defined benefit plan except to the extent that they exceed the full-funding limitation. (Sec. 406) Amends the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 to make specified amendments inapplicable to elective deferrals used to pay indebtedness, incurred before a certain date, on plan acquisition of employer securities or real property. (Sec. 407) Amends ERISA to revise requirements for notice of significant reductions in plan benefits. Title V: Reducing Regulatory Burdens - Amends the Code to provide intermediate sanctions for inadvertent failures. Provides for protection from disqualification upon timely correction or payment of fine under requirements for: (1) qualified pension, profit-sharing, and stock bonus plans; (2) qualified cash or deferred arrangements (section 401(k) plans); and (3) annuity contracts. Provides that, under requirements relating to taxability of the beneficiary of a nonexempt trust, income inclusion for disqualification is not applicable to nonhighly compensated employees. (Sec. 502) Repeals a multiple use test. Directs the Secretary prescribe regulations permitting appropriate aggregation of plans and contributions. (Sec. 503) Directs the Secretary to provide by regulation that a plan shall be deemed to satisfy specified requirements of the Code if it satisfies a certain facts and circumstances test, under specified conditions. (Sec. 504) Revises line of business rules to: (1) repeal a gateway test; and (2) provide a line of business exception. Directs the Secretary to modify regulations relating to special rules for separate lines of business under the Code to: (1) simplify the administrability of the rules for both the Secretary and plans; and (2) permit employees to be allocated among lines of business based on all the facts and circumstances. (Sec. 505) Grants the Secretary discretion in applying a specified coverage test to a plan. (Sec. 506) Amends the Code and ERISA to provide for an annual inflation adjustment to increase the retirement plan cash-out amount. (Sec. 507) Amends the Code and ERISA to revise requirements relating to timing of plan valuations. (Sec. 508) Makes inapplicable to certain mirror plans specified Code requirements relating to deferred compensation plans of State and local governments and tax-exempt organizations. (Sec. 509) Amends ERISA rules for substantial owners relating to plan terminations to revise: (1) the phase-in of the guarantee; and (2) the allocation of assets. (Sec. 510) Amends Code requirements for applicable dividends to allow dividends of employee stock ownership plans to be reinvested without loss of dividend deduction. (Sec. 511) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to modify the regulations regarding the exclusion allowance to render void the requirement that contributions to a defined benefit pension plan be treated as previously excluded amounts. (Sec. 512) Provides for a special limitation rule for multiemployer plans as well as governmental plans. (Sec. 513) Eliminates partial termination rules for multiemployer plans. (Sec. 514) Revises the notice and consent period regarding distributions. Directs the Secretary to modify certain regulations under the Code to provide that the description of a participant's right, if any, to defer receipt of a distribution shall also describe the consequences of failing to defer such receipt. (Sec. 515) Sets forth conforming amendments relating to election to receive taxable cash compensation in lieu of nontaxable parking benefits. (Sec. 516) Extends to international organizations the moratorium on application of certain nondiscrimination rules applicable to State and local plans. (Sec. 517) Directs the Secretary to modify certain regulations with respect to certain plan participation by employees of tax-exempt entities under the Code. (Sec. 518) Provides for permissive aggregation of collective bargaining units in specified circumstances relating to plan participation under the Code. (Sec. 519) Repeals a transition rule relating to certain highly compensated employees under the Tax Reform Act of 1986. (Sec. 520) Treats the provision of certain retirement planning services by an employer to an employee as a de minimis fringe benefit to the extent it is not treated as a working condition fringe. Prohibits including an amount in an employee's gross income solely because the employee may choose between any retirement planning fringe and compensation otherwise includible in gross income, providing such choices are available in a way that does not discriminate in favor of highly compensated employees. (Sec. 521) Revises ERISA requirements for annual report dissemination. (Sec. 522) Revises the ERISA definition of an excess benefit plan. (Sec. 523) Directs the Secretary of Labor to modify a regulation requiring a benefit suspension notification to allow such notification to: (1) be included in the summary plan description, rather than in a separate notice; and (2) not include a copy of the relevant plan provisions. (Sec. 524) Prescribes requirements for plan amendments or annuity contract amendments under the Code and ERISA. (Sec. 525) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to provide simplified annual filing requirements for: (1) one-participant (an owner and spouse) retirement plans with assets below a specified amount; or (2) retirement plans for fewer than 25 employees. (Sec. 526) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue model defined contribution and benefit plans that fit the needs of small businesses.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1999
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 during a presumptive eligibility period to certain low-income women without creditable coverage who have already been screened for such cancers under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention breast and cervical cancer early detection program and need treatment. Provides for an enhanced match with regard to such Medicaid treatment services.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1999
Regulatory Right-to-Know Act of 1999 - Directs the President, acting through the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, to submit annually to the Congress an accounting statement and associated report containing: (1) an estimate of the total annual costs and benefits of Federal regulatory programs in the aggregate; by agency, agency program, and program component; and by major rule; (2) an analysis of direct and indirect impacts of Federal rules and paperwork on Federal, State, local, and tribal government, the private sector, small business, wages, consumer prices, productivity, economic growth, and distributional effects; (3) an identification and analysis of overlaps, duplications, and potential inconsistencies among such programs; and (4) recommendations to reform inefficient or ineffective regulatory programs or program components. Requires the Director, in estimates contained in any submission, to quantify the net benefits or net costs of each program component, each major rule, and each option for which costs and benefits were included in any regulatory impact analysis issued for any major rule. Requires the Director to include in each submission a table stating the number of major and nonmajor rules issued by each agency in the preceding fiscal year. Requires the accounting statement, at a minimum, to: (1) cover expected costs and benefits for the fiscal year for which the statement is submitted and the four following fiscal years; (2) cover previously expected costs and benefits for the two preceding fiscal years, or the most recent revision of such costs and benefits; and (3) with respect to each major rule, include the estimates of costs and benefits for each of the fiscal years referred to that were included in the regulatory impact analysis that was prepared for such major rule. Requires the Director to: (1) issue guidelines to agencies to standardize most plausible measures of costs and benefits and the format of information provided for accounting statements; and (2) review agency submissions for consistency with such guidelines. Requires the Director: (1) before submitting the statement and report and before preparing final guidelines, to provide public notice and an opportunity to comment and to consult with the Director of the Congressional Budget Office; and (2) to include an appendix to the report or guidelines addressing public and peer review comments. Directs the Director to arrange for two or more organizations that are independent of the Government and that have nationally recognized expertise in regulatory analysis and regulatory accounting to provide peer review of each accounting statement and associated report and the guidelines before such statement, report, or guidelines are final.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1999
Constitutional Amendment - Requires that any bill, resolution, or other legislative measure changing the internal revenue laws shall require for final adoption in each House the concurrence of two-thirds of the Members of that House voting and present, unless the bill is determined at the time of adoption, in a reasonable manner prescribed by law, not to increase the internal revenue by more than a de minimis amount. States that for purposes of determining any increase, there shall be excluded any increase resulting from the lowering of an effective rate of any tax. Requires journal entry of any vote. Permits the waiver of such requirement, for up to two years, if there is a declaration of war or if the United States is engaged in a military conflict which causes an imminent and serious threat to national security and is so declared by a joint resolution which becomes law.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1999
Date Certain Tax Code Replacement Act - Prohibits the imposition of any tax by the Internal Revenue Code: (1) for any taxable year beginning after December 31, 2002; and (2) in the case of any tax not imposed on the basis of a taxable year, on any taxable event or for any period after December 31, 2002. Excepts the: (1) tax on self-employment income (chapter 2 of the Code); (2) Federal Insurance Contributions Act (chapter 21 of the Code); and (3) Railroad Retirement Tax Act (chapter 22 of the Code). Declares that any new Federal tax system should be: (1) a simple and fair system; and (2) approved by the Congress in its final form no later than July 4, 2002.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1999
Farm Independence Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code and title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to exclude net earnings from a lease agreement (currently, an arrangement) from income with respect to farmland.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1999
Workplace Preservation Act - Prohibits the Secretary of Labor from promulgating, through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, any standard or guideline on ergonomics until the National Academy of Sciences completes a study and submits a report to the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1999
Accounting Fairness for Dentists and Physicians Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit a physician or dentist to use the cash basis of accounting.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1999
Self-employed Health Insurance Fairness Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a deduction for 100 percent of a self-employed individual's health insurance costs for himself or herself, spouse, and dependents, unless such individual participates in an employer-maintained health plan. (Current law provides for a phased-in 100 percent deduction and disallowance upon participation eligibility.)
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1999
Farm and Ranch Risk Management Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual engaged in an eligible farming business to deduct a limited amount from gross income for amounts paid into an interest-bearing Farm and Ranch Risk Management (FARRM) Account, created for the taxpayer's exclusive benefit. Requires withdrawal of contributions within five years, upon which they are taxable as ordinary income in the year of withdrawal. Prescribes penalties on amounts not distributed within five years.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1999
Liberty Dollar Bill Act - Amends Federal law to mandate that the design of the reverse side of $1 Federal reserve notes incorporate: (1) the preamble to the Constitution; (2) a list describing the Articles of the Constitution; and (3) a list describing the Articles of Amendment. Prescribes the design format. States that such requirements do not limit the authority of the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) include other inscriptions or material on the reverse side of $1 bills; or (2) adopt other design features to deter counterfeiting of currency.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1999
Education IRA Plus Act of 1999 - Amends the education individual retirement account provisions of the Internal Revenue Code to define the "contribution limit" as: (1) $1,000 beginning in taxable year 2000; (2) $1,500 beginning in taxable year 2001; and (3) $2,000 beginning in taxable year 2001.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1999
Regulatory Fair Warning Act of 1999 - Prohibits a Federal agency or court from imposing a sanction for a violation of a rule if the agency or court finds any one of the following: (1) the rule was not printed in the Code of Federal Regulations or in the Federal Register, was not known to the person, or was not knowable to a person who has engaged in a reasonable, good faith investigation of the rules applicable to the conduct that allegedly violated the rule; (2) the rule failed to give the person fair warning of the conduct that it prohibits or requires; or (3) with respect only to a retrospective sanction, the person acted in reasonable reliance upon written representations about what the rule prohibits or requires which were issued by the agency or an official with actual or apparent authority to interpret, administer, or enforce the rule.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1999
American Land Sovereignty Protection Act - Amends the National Historic Preservation Act Amendments of 1980 to prohibit the Secretary of the Interior from nominating any Federal lands for inclusion on the World Heritage List pursuant to the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage unless: (1) the Secretary publishes a finding that commercially viable uses of nominated lands and lands within ten miles of them will not be adversely affected by such inclusion; (2) the Secretary has reported to the Congress on the lands' natural resources and the impact that the inclusion would have on existing and future uses of such lands; and (3) such nomination is specifically authorized by a law. Authorizes the President to submit proposals for legislation authorizing such a nomination after publication of the Secretary's finding. Requires the Secretary to object to the inclusion of any property in the United States on the list of World Heritage in Danger (established under the Convention) unless the Secretary: (1) has reported to the Congress on the necessity for such inclusion, the natural resources associated with the property, and the impact such inclusion would have on existing and future uses of such property; and (2) is specifically authorized to assent to the inclusion by a joint resolution of the Congress enacted after the report is submitted. Directs the Secretary to submit an annual report to specified congressional committees on the management of each World Heritage Site within the United States. (Sec. 4) Prohibits any Federal official from nominating any lands in the United States for designation as a Biosphere Reserve under the Man and Biosphere Program of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Provides that any such designation before enactment of this Act shall not have any force or effect, unless the Biosphere Reserve: (1) is specifically authorized by a law enacted before December 31, 2000; (2) consists solely of federally owned lands; and (3) is subject to a management plan that specifically ensures that the use of intermixed or adjacent non-Federal property is not limited or restricted as a result of that designation. Directs the Secretary of State to report annually to specified congressional committees information on the management of each Biosphere Reserve within the United States. (Sec. 5) Prohibits any Federal official from nominating, classifying, or designating any Federal land located within the United States for a special or restricted use under any international agreement for conserving, preserving, or protecting the terrestrial or marine environment, flora, or fauna (with specified exceptions) unless specifically authorized by law, but authorizes the Secretary to submit proposals for authorizing legislation. Provides that any such nomination, classification, or designation of private or State or local lands shall have no force or effect without the owner's consent or specific authorization by State or local law, respectively.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1999
Senior Citizens' Freedom to Work Act of 1999 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to repeal the limitation on the amount of outside income which beneficiaries who have attained retirement age may earn (earnings test) without incurring a reduction in benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1999
Security and Freedom through Encryption (SAFE) Act - Amends the Federal criminal code to permit any person within any State and any U.S. person in a foreign country to use, and any person within any State to sell in interstate commerce, any encryption, regardless of the encryption algorithm selected, encryption key length chosen, or implementation technique or median use. Provides that neither the Federal Government nor a State may require that, or condition any approval on a requirement that, a key, access to a key, key recovery information, or any other plaintext access capability be: (1) built into computer hardware or software for any purpose; (2) given to any other person, including a Federal Government agency or an entity in the private sector that may be certified or approved by the Federal Government or any State to receive it; or (3) retained by the owner or user of an encryption key or any other person, other than for encryption products for use by the Federal Government or a State. Makes exceptions with respect to investigative or law enforcement officers and members of the intelligence community. Provides that neither the Federal Government nor a State may require the use of encryption products, standards, or services (products) for: (1) confidentiality purposes, as a condition of the use of such products for authenticity or integrity purposes; or (2) authenticity or integrity purposes, as a condition of the use of such products for confidentiality purposes. Sets penalties for the unlawful use of encryption in furtherance of a criminal act. Specifies that the use of encryption shall not be the sole basis for establishing probable cause with respect to a criminal offense or a search warrant. (Sec. 3) Amends the Export Administration Act of 1979 to grant the Secretary of Commerce exclusive authority to control exports of all computer hardware, software, computing devices, customer premises equipment, communications network equipment, and technology for information security (including encryption), except that which is specifically designed or modified for military use. Provides that after a one time, 50-day technical review by the Secretary, no export license may be required (with exceptions) for or in the export of specified computer hardware, software, computing devices, telecommunication devices, technical assistance and data, and encryption hardware, software, or computing devices. Authorizes the Secretary, after a one time, 15-day technical review, to authorize the export or reexport of computer hardware, software, or computing devices with encryption capabilities for nonmilitary and end uses in any country: (1) to which exports of computer hardware, software, or computing devices of comparable strength are permitted for use by financial institutions not controlled in fact by United States persons, unless there is substantial evidence that such computer equipment will be diverted to a military end-use or an end-use supporting international terrorism, modified for military or terrorist end-use, or reexported without authorization by the United States; or (2) if the Secretary determines that a computer hardware, software, or computing device offering comparable security is commercially available outside the United States from a foreign supplier, without effective restrictions. Directs that any encryption product not requiring an export license as of this Act's enactment date, as a result of administrative decision or rulemaking, shall not require an export license on or after such date. (Sec. 4) Directs: (1) the Attorney General to compile, and maintain in classified form, data on the instances in which encryption has interfered with, impeded, or obstructed the ability of the Department of Justice to enforce U.S. criminal laws; and (2) that such information be made available, upon request, to any Member of Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1999
Americorps Program Elimination Act - Amends the National and Community Service Act of 1990 to repeal the National Service Trust Program (Americorps) under which certain persons who perform national or community service receive stipends and educational awards for such service.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1999
State and Local Investment Opportunity Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the State ceiling on private activity bonds. Provides for inflation adjustment.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1999
United States Agricultural Trade Act of 1999 - Expresses the sense of Congress that the principal agricultural trade negotiating objectives of the United States for future multilateral and bilateral trade negotiations, including the World trade Organization (WTO), shall be to achieve, on an expedited basis, and to the maximum extent feasible, more open and fair conditions for trade in agricultural commodities by: (1) developing, strengthening, and clarifying rules for agricultural trade, including disciplines on restrictive or trade-distorting import and export practices; (2) increasing U.S. agricultural exports by eliminating barriers to trade (including transparent and nontransparent barriers) and other constraints to fair and more open markets access in foreign markets, such as export subsidies, quotas, and other non-tariff import barriers; (3) developing, strengthening, and clarifying rules that address practices that unfairly limit U.S. market access opportunities or distort agricultural markets to the detriment of the United States; (4) ensuring that there are reliable suppliers of agricultural commodities international commerce by encouraging countries to treat foreign buyers no less favorably than domestic buyers of the commodity involved; and (5) eliminating barriers for meeting the food needs of the world through the use of biotechnology by ensuring access to U.S. commodities derived from biotechnology that is scientifically defensible, opposing the establishment of protectionist trade measures disguised as health standards, and protecting continual delays by other countries in their approval processes which constitute nontariff trade barriers. (Sec. 4) Authorizes the President, if it is determined that the exemption of certain agricultural food programs should not apply to unilateral economic sanctions for reasons of foreign policy or national security, to include such programs in such sanctions. Requires the President to report to specified congressional committees if it is determined that such programs are not exempt from such sanctions. (Sec. 5) Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to establish a Congressional Oversight Group for Agricultural Negotiations that shall provide oversight and guidance with respect to agricultural trade policy and negotiation of agricultural trade issues. (Sec. 6) Expresses the sense of Congress that a certain amendment made to the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 was intended to allow the sale or barter of U.S. agricultural commodities included in U.S. food assistance only within the recipient country or countries adjacent to the recipient country, unless it: (1) is not practicable; and (2) will not disrupt commercial markets for the agricultural commodity involved. (Sec. 7) Directs the United States Trade Representative (USTR), not later than 30 days after the submission of the National Trade Estimate report, to identify those foreign countries that: (1) engage in unfair trade practices with respect to U.S. agricultural commodities, or unreasonably delay or preclude implementation of a report of a dispute panel of the World Trade Organization (WTO); or (2) are determined by the USTR to be priority foreign countries. Sets forth special rules with respect to such identification. Directs the USTR to report annually to specified congressional committees on actions taken under this Act to achieve fair and equitable market access for U.S. agricultural commodities. Authorizes the USTR with respect to those identified countries to: (1) take specified trade action; and (2) request that the secretary of Agriculture target the use of existing U.S. export programs that are administered within the Department of Agriculture to the commodity that is subject to the unfair trade practice by the priority foreign country. (Sec. 8) Amends the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 to declare that the Department of Agriculture shall be the lead agency for sanitary and phytosanitary issues that affect agricultural exports. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to identify sanitary and phytosanitary measures currently negatively affecting agricultural exports, by country and commodity, noting: (1) whether such measures are consistent with the WTO sanitary and phytosanitary agreement; and (2) whether issues arising from such measures are being addressed and resolved. Directs the Secretary to report the findings to Congress not later than July 31, 1999.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1999
United States-Macau Policy Act of 1999 - Title I: Policy - Expresses the sense of Congress with respect to U.S. policy toward Macau. Title II: The Status of Macau in United States Law - Declares that U.S. laws (including treaties and international agreements and export controls the President determines is in the national security interest of the United States) shall continue to apply to Macau on or after December 20, 1999, unless otherwise expressly provided by law or by Executive order. (Sec. 202) Authorizes the President, whenever it is determined that Macau is not sufficiently autonomous to justify treatment under a particular U.S. law different from that accorded China, to issue an Executive order suspending the application of U.S. law. (Sec. 204) Directs the President to consult with Congress in carrying out this title. Title III: Reporting Provisions - Directs the Secretary of State to report to specified congressional committees on conditions in Macau of interest to the United States, including: (1) significant developments in U.S. relations with Macau (including the change in the exercise of sovereignty over it affecting U.S. interests there or the U.S. relations with Macau and China; (2) any significant problems or other developments arising with respect to the application of U.S. export controls to Macau; (3) the suspension (or termination of such suspension) with respect to the application of U.S. laws to Macau; (4) the application of treaties and other international agreements to Macau; (5) the development of democratic institutions in Macau; and (6) compliance by China and Portugal with their obligations under the Joint Declaration of the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Portugal on the Question of Macau, dated April 13, 1987.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1999
Continued Dumping or Subsidy Offset Act of 1999 - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to declare that, whenever continued dumping or subsidization is found to exist by the administering authority or by operation of law, any duties assessed shall be distributed as continued dumping or subsidy offsets to the affected domestic producers for qualifying expenditures on an annual basis. Limits qualifying expenditures to expenditures incurred since the issuance of the antidumping duty finding or order or countervailing duty order in any or all of the categories of plant, equipment, research and development, personnel training, acquisition of technology, employer-paid employee health care and pension benefits, environmental equipment, training or technology, acquisition of raw materials and other inputs, and borrowed working capital or other funds needed to maintain production. Directs the Commissioner of the U.S. Customs Service to prescribe offset disbursement procedures. Sets forth general procedures for notification of eligible parties. Requires the Commissioner to establish a special account in the Treasury to receive all antidumping or countervailing duties, including interest, for distribution according to this Act, within 14 days after an antidumping or countervailing duty order takes effect.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1999
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to classify qualified leasehold improvement property (defined as certain improvements made to an interior portion of nonresidential real property) as ten-year property for depreciation purposes under the Accelerated Cost Recovery System.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1999
National Right-to-Work Act - Amends the National Labor Relations Act and the Railway Labor Act to repeal those provisions that permit employers, pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement (union security agreement), to require employees to join a union as a condition of employment (including provisions permitting railroad carriers to require, pursuant to such an agreement, payroll deduction of union dues or fees as a condition of employment).
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1999
Amateur Radio Spectrum Protection Act of 1999 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), after July 1, 1999, from making any reallocations of amateur radio service and amateur satellite service frequency bands, diminishing the secondary allocations of such bands or making additional allocations within such bands that would substantially reduce their utility unless at the same time the FCC provides equivalent replacement spectrum.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1999
Rescinds congressional consent to the Northeast Interstate Dairy Compact (entered into by Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont).
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1999
Family Friendly Tax Relief Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase, to $1,000, the tax credit for children under the age of five; and (2) allow such credit against the alternative minimum tax.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1999
Constitutional Amendment - Provides that: (1) two-thirds of the legislatures of the several States may propose an amendment to the Constitution by enacting identical legislation; and (2) the legislature first proposing the amendment shall submit it to the Congress. Deems such proposed amendment to be submitted to the several States for their consideration if, before the date of the second adjournment of the Congress sine die occurring after the amendment is submitted to the Congress, two-thirds of each House: (1) vote against legislation expressly disapproving the amendment; or (2) have not voted for legislation expressly disapproving the amendment.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1999
Beryllium Exposure Compensation Act - Provides jurisdiction and procedures for affording relief for injuries arising out of exposure to hazards involved in the mining and processing of beryllium. (Sec. 3) Establishes the Beryllium Exposure Compensation Trust Fund in the Treasury. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to administer the Fund. Requires amounts in the Fund to be: (1) invested in accordance with specified law; and (2) available only for disbursement by the Attorney General (AG) under this Act. Terminates the Fund after 30 years. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 4) Requires an eligible beryllium worker to receive $100,000 if the AG determines that the claim filed by or on behalf of that individual meets certain requirements for payment. Makes individuals eligible if they: (1) were employed at a beryllium industry site; (2) were exposed to significant beryllium hazards in the course of such employment; and (3) after such exposure developed a condition known to be related to beryllium exposure. (Sec. 5) Directs the AG to establish: (1) procedures for claims submission and payment, including documentation of individual employment and exposure, as well as written medical documentation of the development of a related condition; and (2) guidelines for claims determination, in consultation with other specified Federal officials. Sets forth claims payment requirements, including provisions for: (1) payments to, and claims by, survivors; and (2) treatment of payments under other laws. Requires the AG to complete each claim determination within 12 months after the claim is filed. (Sec. 11) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to Congress by the end of FY 2003 on the incidence of beryllium-related illness among workers employed at beryllium industry sites. (Sec. 12) Provides for budget Act compliance.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1999
Post Office Community Partnership Act of 1999 - Modifies Federal postal law to revise requirements for the closing or consolidation of a post office and apply them, as well, to its relocation or construction. Requires a 60-day notice before an office's relocation, closing, consolidation, or construction. Requires such notice to be: (1) hand delivered or delivered by mail; and (2) published in one or more newspapers of general circulation within the zip codes served by such post office. Sets forth provisions which: (1) allow any person served by the post office to offer an alternative relocation, closing, consolidation, or construction proposal within such 60-day period; and (2) require the Postal Service to conduct a hearing, if requested by such person, to allow the individual to present oral or written testimony. Revises the factors to be considered in deciding whether or not to relocate, close, consolidate, or construct a post office to include: (1) the extent to which the post office is part of a core downtown business area; (2) the sentiment of the community; (3) the adequacy of the existing post office; and (4) whether all reasonable alternatives to relocation, closing, consolidation, or construction have been explored. Requires the Postal Service to respond in a consolidated report to all of the alternative proposals offered within the 60-day notification period by persons served by the post office in question. Requires the Postal Service to follow a community's public participation procedures to address the relocation, closing, consolidation, or construction of buildings in the community if such procedures are more stringent than those provided in this Act. Provides that nothing in this Act shall be construed to apply to a temporary customer service facility used for less than 60 days. Allows for a one-time suspension of this Act with respect to a single emergency for any specific post office for a maximum 180-day period.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Eligible Shareholders of an S Corporation Title II: Qualification and Eligibility Requirements of S Corporations Title III: Taxation of S Corporation Shareholders Title IV: Effective Date Subchapter S Revision Act of 1999 - Title I: Eligible Shareholders of an S Corporation - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow certain members of a family to be treated as one shareholder of an S corporation (electing small business corporation). Permits nonresident aliens to be S corporation shareholders if the corporation is engaged in a U.S. trade or business. Subjects such aliens' effectively-connected U.S. income to withholding tax. Title II: Qualification and Eligibility Requirements of S Corporations - Prohibits, with respect to S corporations, treating: (1) qualified preferred stock as a second class of stock; and (2) a person as a shareholder by reason of holding such stock. (Sec. 202) Permits financial institutions to hold convertible (safe harbor) debt. (Sec. 203) Repeals: (1) the characterization of excessive passive investment income as a termination event; and (2) the passive income capital gain category. (Sec. 205) Permits: (1) an S corporation to make charitable contributions of inventory and scientific property; and (2) S corporation shareholders to increase the basis of their stock by the excess of the charitable contribution over the property's basis. (Sec. 206) Makes other-than health insurance fringe benefits nontaxable for S corporation two-percent shareholders. Title III: Taxation of S Corporation Shareholders - States that a loss recognized by a shareholder in a complete liquidation of an S corporation shall be treated as an ordinary loss to the extent the shareholder's stock basis is attributable to ordinary income from such liquidation. Title IV: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective date for provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1999
Marriage Tax Elimination Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise standard deduction amounts and individual income tax rate bracket amounts, including providing that amounts for married filing jointly categories shall be twice that of amounts for single filers.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1999
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should: (1) introduce and make all efforts necessary to pass a resolution criticizing the People's Republic of China for its human rights abuses in China and Tibet at the annual meeting of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights; and (2) urge other governments to cosponsor and support such resolution.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1999
Safe Seniors Assurance Study Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to conduct a study for a report to Congress on the mortality and adverse outcomes rates of Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act (SSA)) patients by providers of anesthesia services (service providers). Provides that if the HHS Secretary determines that lack of physician supervision of service providers results in an adverse impact on outcome rates of Medicare patients, then such providers under Medicare or Medicaid (SSA title XIX) shall be supervised by a physician in the same manner as they are supervised under HHS regulations in effect on January 1, 1999.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1999
Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to repeal restrictions on certain plumbing products and appliances, including showerheads, faucets, water closets, and urinals.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Education Title II: Employment and Training Title III: Health Care Title IV: Economic Equity Title V: Organizational Restructuring Servicemembers and Veterans Transition Services Improvement Act of 1999 - Title I: Education - Amends Federal provisions relating to the veterans' educational assistance program (VEAP) to: (1) increase its monthly rates of educational assistance; (2) require the Secretary of Defense to notify a member of the armed forces of the availability of VEAP benefits and eligibility requirements within 90 days after such individual enters on active duty; (3) repeal a provision allowing individuals to elect not to receive VEAP assistance; (4) revise provisions concerning VEAP enrollment; and (5) authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Secretary) to make accelerated payments of VEAP basic educational assistance. Provides an enhanced educational assistance entitlement under VEAP to each individual who: (1) after September 30, 1999, first enters on active duty, or reenlists or extends such duty, for at least four years; (2) serves on active duty and is discharged for reasons other than willful misconduct or inappropriate discharge of duty, or is discharged involuntarily for the convenience of the Government as a result of a reduction in force; (3) completed the requirements of a secondary school diploma within their period of active duty; and (4) after completing the required period of active duty, continues on active duty, is discharged honorably, is released honorably and is placed on an inactive status list, or is released for further service in a reserve component after honorable active-duty service. Provides definitions, exceptions, and conditions. Allows such qualifying individuals up to 36 months of educational assistance. Authorizes the transfer of such entitlement to a spouse or child, or combination thereof, under certain conditions. Provides for the payment of additional educational expenses (books and supplies). Provides educational assistance amounts, with amounts for fiscal years after 2000 based on increases in the Consumer Price Index. Allows qualifying individuals to also receive tutorial assistance, with a maximum of $1,200 in such assistance per individual. (Sec. 102) Requires each State veterans education development agency (currently, each State approving agency) to: (1) actively promote the development of on-job training programs for veterans; and (2) give priority to programs that provide training to veterans with disabilities. Requires (currently authorizes) such agency to approve educational courses offered for participation in VEAP. Title II: Education and Training - Makes eligible for veterans' job counseling, training, and placement services veterans with existing employment barriers and recently separated veterans. Designates veterans' case managers and veterans' employment facilitators for service under such programs. Replaces program references to the Job Training and Partnership Act and the Veterans' Job Training Act with references to the Workforce Investment Act of 1998. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants or contract with entities which agree to provide employment and training services for veterans, requiring such grants or contracts to be awarded on a competitive basis. Outlines requirements for entities providing services under the program. Provides grant terms, conditions, and limitations. Directs the Secretary to make available necessary funds to support the veterans' case managers and veterans' employment facilitators designated above. Outlines veterans' services required to be performed by such managers and facilitators. Includes within a study to be conducted by the Secretary concerning unemployment among certain veterans those veterans who served on active duty after the Vietnam era who did or did not serve in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized. Directs the Secretary of Labor to resolve certain discrepancies regarding the number of veterans who use State employment services, and to report to the appropriate congressional committees. (Sec. 202) Directs the Secretary to require that performance measurements for the veterans' vocational rehabilitation program focus on specified outcome measures, including those who actually enter employment. Requires all case management and employment services under such program to be provided exclusively by Department of Veterans Affairs (Department) personnel or by a veterans' case manager. Makes this section effective on October 1, 2000. (Sec. 203) Authorizes appropriations to the Department of Defense (DOD) for a program under which the Secretary of Labor furnishes counseling and other employment and training assistance to military personnel being separated from active duty, and the spouses of such members. Requires appropriations increases for FY 2000 and each succeeding fiscal year based on Consumer Price Index increases. (Sec. 204) Provides deadlines for the commencement of preseparation counseling for military personnel prior to their retirement, discharge, or release from duty. Requires a member to be considered involuntarily separated, for purposes of such benefits, if the member is being discharged or released as the result of a force- management reduction. (Sec. 206) Requires appropriate support from the Secretary to the Secretary of Labor with respect to employment, training, and other transitional assistance provided to separated military personnel. (Sec. 207) Provides a priority in the provision of veterans' employment, training, or related services for disabled veterans, veterans with employment barriers, and veterans separated from active duty for less than four years. (Sec. 208) Establishes within the executive branch the Veterans' Employment Network to: (1) raise employer awareness of the advantages of hiring separating and recently separated servicemembers and veterans; (2) facilitate the employment of such individuals through national electronic labor exchanges; and (3) foster, and facilitate the coordination of, Federal, State, and local governmental programs marketing the employment of such individuals. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 and thereafter. (Sec. 209) Directs the Secretary of Labor to design, establish, and maintain on the Internet an electronic site to be known as the Veterans and Servicemembers Internet Site which shall match veterans and servicemembers with prospective employers. Requires the site to be publicized to prospective employers, veterans, and military and veterans' associations. (Sec. 210) Amends Federal employment provisions to: (1) eliminate the reduction in retired pay for officers who become federally employed after such retirement, in the case of officers who become eligible to begin receiving such retired pay after December 31, 1999; (2) repeal a provision limiting post-retirement employment of retired military personnel within DOD; (3) provide that, for purposes of maximum age entry limitations for Federal fire fighters and law enforcement officers, a veteran's actual age shall be considered decreased by the period of active military duty served; and (4) authorize the accrual of annual leave with pay for Federal employees who are Vietnam era veterans. (Sec. 214) Requires any solicitation issued by the Departments of Defense, Labor, or Veterans Affairs for the procurement of real or personal property or nonpersonal services to require each offeror to include: (1) a description of the offeror's program for hiring and promoting qualified eligible veterans; and (2) an affirmative commitment to hire eligible veterans as a specific percentage of the workforce. Title III: Health Care - Amends the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS) to: (1) revise the fees charged for the provision of transitional health care coverage for certain former military personnel; (2) provide that such coverage shall be secondary to any other private health care plan or insurance; and (3) direct the Secretary of Defense to timely notify all persons eligible for such revised benefits. (Sec. 302) Directs the Secretaries of Defense and Veterans Affairs (the Secretaries) to: (1) jointly establish policies for the unified procurement within their respective departments of pharmaceuticals, medical and surgical supplies, and medical equipment; and (2) enter into a memorandum of understanding for implementing such policies. Provides funding. (Sec. 303) Directs the Secretaries to develop and maintain a clinically-based medications formulary for use by their respective departments. Allows the Secretaries to procure items listed on the formulary without seeking competition. (Sec. 304) Prohibits, after one year after the enactment of this Act, any medical or surgical product from being procured for either department's health care system unless the product bears a universal product number, or unless such product has been excepted from such requirement by considerations of health and safety. (Sec. 305) Directs the Secretaries to jointly: (1) establish a single solicitation for the replacement of the existing legacy medical information management systems within their departments with integrated and interoperable systems; (2) develop policies to ensure that commercially available technology is used to enhance or replace parts of such system; and (3) develop and maintain a common set of technical and data standards to facilitate data exchange between such systems. (Sec. 306) Directs the Secretaries to undertake a program to ensure public awareness of the benefits of the health-care research that their departments conduct, requiring a financial return on such research programs. (Sec. 307) Directs the Secretaries to conduct a pilot program during FY 2000 and 2001 under which hospital care and medical services authorized to be furnished by contract are furnished by contractors under contracts entered into under the TRICARE Program (a DOD managed health care program). (Sec. 308) Directs the Secretaries and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to jointly review the various forms of Federal support provided to teaching hospitals and medical schools. Directs the Secretaries to jointly review the extent and nature of the collaboration between the graduate medical programs of their departments and to take necessary action to achieve opportunities for greater collaboration. (Sec. 309) Amends the Homeless Veterans Comprehensive Service Programs Act of 1992 to authorize appropriations for FY 2000 for the Department's program for homeless veterans. Requires the Secretary to direct that a significant portion of the savings achieved by the Veterans Health Administration through the closure of acute care beds is redirected to the furnishing of community-based residential treatment to homeless veterans. Directs the Secretary to utilize current authority to enter into enhanced-use leases to provide support for such care. Amends the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act to extend through FY 2001 the authorization of appropriations for the homeless veterans reintegration project. Title IV: Economic Equity - Part A: Home Loan Guaranty Program - Revises the loan limits for Department-guaranteed loans made to veterans for the purchase or construction of homes. (Sec. 402) Makes permanent (currently terminates on October 27, 1999) a program providing Department-guaranteed housing loans to members and former members of the Selected Reserve. Directs the Secretary of Defense to develop and implement a system for issuing certificates to such members representing their eligibility for such loans after completion of their required duty period. (Sec. 403) Exempts from Department-guaranteed loan fee requirements a veteran who first entered active duty after the date of enactment of this Act. (Sec. 404) Directs the Secretary to conduct in selected test sites a pilot program of revised procedures in cases of veterans' defaults of Department-guaranteed loans. Prohibits conveyance to the Secretary of the property that secured such loan. Directs the Secretary to publish proposed rules for notice and comment regarding the procedures for liquidating loans and paying guaranty claims under the program. Terminates the pilot program after five years. Part B: Other Programs - Authorizes members of the armed forces serving on active duty to participate in the Thrift Savings Plan, limiting member contribution to five percent of basic pay plus any reenlistment bonus. Prohibits matching Federal contributions on behalf of such members. (Sec. 412) Establishes in the Office of the Secretary the Office of Veterans Business Assistance to provide veterans with: (1) access to information regarding services and assistance available to veterans who wish to operate small businesses and other subjects of use to such veterans; (2) assistance in gaining access to business capital; (3) management assistance; and (4) assistance in gaining access to markets for their products or services. Requires the Office to create and maintain an information clearinghouse through an Internet electronic site regarding Federal, State, local, and private sector programs of assistance to veterans and others. Amends the Small Business Act to: (1) provide a target of $10 million per fiscal year for loans to veterans' small businesses; (2) include disabled veterans' small businesses within certain Federal subcontracting goals; and (3) include veterans' and disabled veterans' small businesses within certain Federal procurement goals. Provides preliminary goals for the Departments of Defense, Labor, and Veterans Affairs for participation by veterans' small businesses in Federal prime contract and subcontract awards. Directs the Secretary, the Secretary of Labor, and the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to jointly develop and submit to the President a program of comprehensive outreach to assist veteran entrepreneurs. (Sec. 413) Terminates the Persian Gulf War period on February 28, 1993, for purposes of eligibility for veterans' benefits and assistance. Title V: Organizational Structure - Directs the Department's Under Secretary for Health and DOD's Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs to establish a unified, joint policy staff responsible for: (1) identifying opportunities to increase joint, cooperative, and coordinated operations of the health care systems of such departments and the sharing of health care resources; and (2) initiating, facilitating, and monitoring efforts to utilize such opportunities. (Sec. 502) Requires any person who is an eligible health care beneficiary of either the Department or DOD to be eligible to receive from the other department the same health care services that such beneficiary is eligible to receive from the department of which the person is a primary beneficiary. Directs the Secretaries to jointly establish policies and procedures for their respective departments to furnish health care to beneficiaries of the other department. (Sec. 503) Directs the Secretaries to jointly enter into an agreement with an independent entity for the study of the physical infrastructure, the organizational structures, and the operations of the health care systems of the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs. (Sec. 504) Directs the Secretaries to: (1) review the geographic boundaries of the administrative structures of the field operations of their respective health care systems; and (2) take such action to make such boundaries congruent, except where doing so would interfere with the efficient furnishing of quality health care services. (Sec. 505) Directs the Secretary of Defense, at the time of the award or extension of TRICARE contracts, to recognize as military treatment facility equivalents within the geographic areas covered under such contracts Department of Veterans Affairs health care facilities that: (1) agree to furnish health care services to DOD beneficiaries at or below the prices than non-government facilities would charge; (2) are capable of furnishing care of acceptable quality; and (3) certify that they are able to provide such services without detriment to the furnishing of care to veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1999
China Market Access and Export Opportunities Act of 1999 - Directs the President to increase the rate of duty with respect to one or more products of China if it is determined that China is not: (1) according adequate trade benefits to the United States; or (2) taking adequate steps or making significant progress to become a World Trade Organization (WTO) member. Grants, upon China's accession to the WTO, nondiscriminatory treatment (most-favored-nation) treatment to Chinese products.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1999
Declares that: (1) the final political status of the territory controlled by the Palestinian Authority can only be determined through negotiations and agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority; (2) any attempt to establish Palestinian statehood outside the negotiating process will invoke the strongest congressional opposition; and (3) the President should unequivocally assert U.S. opposition to the unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1999
Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act Amendments of 1999 - Exempts a physician clinical office laboratory from Public Health Service Act certification requirements, except when such laboratory performs a pap smear (Papanicolaou Smear) analysis.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1999
'Know Your Customer' Sunset Act - Ends the effectiveness of, and prohibits the Secretary of the Treasury or any Federal banking agency from prescribing, any regulation that has the effect of requiring a depository institution or any other private entity to: (1) monitor customer accounts; or (2) obtain information concerning any person in connection with a financial transaction (including the source of any funds involved in the transaction).
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1999
African Growth and Opportunity Act - Declares the support of the Congress for the economic self-reliance of sub-Saharan African countries committed to economic and political reform, market incentives and private sector growth, eradication of poverty, and the importance of women to economic growth and development. (Sec. 4) Makes a sub-Saharan African country eligible to participate in programs, projects, or activities, or receive assistance or other benefits under this Act if the President determines, according to specified evidence, that it does not engage in gross violations of internationally recognized human rights, and has established, or is making continual progress toward establishing, a market-based economy. Directs the President to monitor and review the progress of sub-Saharan African countries to determine their current or potential eligibility under the requirements of this Act. Makes ineligible to participate in programs or receive assistance or other benefits under this Act any countries that have not made progress in meeting such requirements. (Sec. 5) Directs the President to convene annual high-level meetings between U.S. Government officials and officials of the governments of sub-Saharan African countries to foster close economic ties between them. Directs the President to establish a United States-Sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum, which shall, among other things, encourage joint ventures between small and large businesses. Directs the United States Information Agency (USIA), in order to assist the Forum, to disseminate economic information in support of the free market economic reforms contained in this Act. Authorizes appropriations (but with a bar on the use of funds to create or support any nongovernmental organization whose aim is to facilitate trade between the United States and sub-Saharan Africa). (Sec. 6) Directs the President to develop a plan meeting certain requirements to enter into one or more trade agreements with certain eligible sub-Saharan African countries to establish a United States-Sub-Saharan Africa Free Trade Area. (Sec. 7) Expresses the sense of the Congress that reform of trade policies in sub-Saharan Africa that removes structural impediments to trade, consistent with the World Trade Organization (WTO), can lay the groundwork for sustained growth there in both textile and apparel exports. Directs the United States, pursuant to the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, to eliminate the existing quotas on textile and apparel exports to the United States from Kenya and Mauritius, provided they adopt a visa system to guard against the unlawful transshipment of such goods and the use of counterfeit documents. Directs the President to: (1) continue the existing no quota policy for sub-Saharan African countries; and (2) report to the Congress on the growth in textiles and apparel exports to the United States from such countries in order to protect U.S. consumers, workers, and textile manufacturers from economic injury on account of the no quota policy. Sets forth enforcement procedures (including penalties) for violations of the requirements contained in this Act. (Sec. 8) Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize the President to provide duty-free treatment of any non-import-sensitive article that is the growth, product, or manufacture of an eligible sub-Saharan African beneficiary developing country. Waives the competitive need limitation with respect to eligible countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Extends duty-free treatment to sub-Saharan African beneficiary developing countries through June 30, 2009. (Sec. 9) Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the Secretary of the Treasury should instruct the U.S. Executive Directors of specified international financial institutions to use their votes to encourage their institutions to develop enhanced mechanisms which further economic and trade reforms and deep debt reduction under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt initiative in eligible sub-Saharan African countries; and (2) relief provided to such countries under the HIPC debt initiative should primarily be made through grants rather than through extended-term debt, with interim financing for eligible countries that establish a strong record of macroeconomic reform. (Sec. 10) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the stated policy of the executive branch in the 1997 Partnership for Growth and Opportunity in Africa initiative is a step toward the establishment of a comprehensive trade and development policy for sub-Saharan Africa and is a companion to the policy goals set forth in this Act. Directs the President, in addition to continuing bilateral and multilateral economic and development assistance, to target technical assistance toward: (1) developing relationships between U.S. firms and firms in sub-Saharan Africa; (2) providing assistance to sub-Saharan African countries to liberalize trade and promote exports, bring their regimes into compliance with WTO standards, make financial and fiscal reforms, and promote greater agribusiness linkages; (3) addressing critical agricultural policy issues as market liberalization, agricultural export development, and agribusiness investment in processing and transporting agricultural commodities; (4) increasing the number of reverse trade missions to growth-oriented sub-Saharan African countries; (5) increasing trade in services; and (6) encouraging greater sub-Saharan participation in future WTO negotiations on services and making further commitments in their schedules to the General Agreement on Trade in Services in order to encourage the removal of tariff and nontariff barriers. (Sec. 11) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) should exercise its authorities to initiate, in addition to any existing fund, an equity fund or funds in support of projects in sub-Saharan African countries, particularly projects that expand opportunities for women entrepreneurs and employment for the poor. (Sec. 12) Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to direct the Board of Directors of OPIC to increase financial assistance in sub-Saharan Africa. Amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to make similar changes with respect to the Export-Import Bank of the United States. (Sec. 13) Directs the President to establish the position of Assistant United States Trade Representative for African Affairs within the Office of the United States Trade Representative to direct and coordinate interagency activities on U.S.-Africa trade policy and investment matters. (Sec. 14) Directs the Secretary of Commerce, subject to the availability of appropriations, to take steps to ensure that at least 20 full-time U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service employees are stationed in sub-Saharan Africa, including that full-time Service employees are stationed in not less than ten different sub-Saharan African countries. Directs the Service to take specified action to encourage the export of U.S. goods and services to sub-Saharan African countries. (Sec. 16) Expresses the sense of the Congress that, to the extent appropriate, the U.S. Government should make every effort to donate to governments of eligible sub-Saharan African countries air traffic control equipment that is no longer in use, including appropriate related reimbursable technical assistance for such equipment.
![Official portrait of Rep. Manzullo, Donald A. [R-IL-16]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/m001138_200.jpg)