United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1999
Health Care Worker Needlestick Prevention Act - Directs the Secretary of Labor, acting through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), to amend the bloodborne pathogens standard to require that: (1) employers utilize needleless systems and sharps with engineered sharps injury protections in their work sites to prevent the spread of bloodborne pathogens; and (2) non-managerial direct care health care workers of employers participate in the identification and evaluation of such systems and sharps. Provides an exemption where an employer demonstrates that needleless systems and sharps: (1) do not promote employee safety, interfere with patient safety, or interfere with the success of a medical procedure under certain circumstances in the employer's work facility; or (2) are not commercially available to the employer. (Sec. 2) Includes under such revised standard requirements relating to: (1) exposure control plans; (2) sharps injury logs; and (3) worker training in the use of such systems and sharps. (Sec. 3) Requires the Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to establish and maintain a national database on existing needleless systems and sharps with engineered sharps injury protections. Requires the Director to: (1) develop a set of evaluation criteria for use by employers, employees, and other persons in evaluating and selecting such systems and sharps; (2) develop a model training curriculum to train employers, employees, and other persons in such evaluation process, and provide requested technical assistance to the extent feasible; and (3) establish a national system to collect comprehensive data on needlestick injuries to health care workers, including data on mechanisms to analyze and evaluate prevention. Authorizes NIOSH access to information recorded by employers in sharps injury logs. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 5) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to require hospitals, as a condition of their Medicare program participation, to comply with the bloodborne pathogen standard as amended under this Act with respect to hospital employees, even if they are not otherwise subject to such standard because they are exempt from OSHA regulation.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1999
Community Forestry and Agriculture Conservation Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat a bond issued to acquire land together with any renewable resources associated with the land on land subject to a conservation restriction as a tax-exempt (qualified 501(c)(3)) bond if the revenues from are used in a manner consistent with the charitable purpose.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1999
Living Organ Donation Incentives Act of 1999 - Amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 and Federal civil service law to allow unpaid leave for living organ donations for civilian and Federal employees. Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants or contracts to States, transplant centers, qualified organ procurement organizations, or other public and private entities to provide for payment of travel and related organ donation expenses. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to direct the Secretary to increase by 2.9 percent each composite rate payment for Medical renal dialysis services. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1999
Commends the people of Israel for reaffirming, in the May 17 election, Israel's dedication to democratic ideals. Congratulates Ehud Barak on his election as Prime Minister of Israel. Pledges that Congress will work with the President of the United States and the new Israeli Government to strengthen the bonds between the United States and Israel and to advance the cause of peace in the Middle East.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1999
Working Uninsured Tax Equity Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual a refundable tax credit equal to 30 percent of the amount paid during the taxable year for insurance which constitutes medical care for the taxpayer, the taxpayer's spouse, and dependents. Disallows such a credit for: (1) any taxpayer eligible to participate in his or her employer's (or spouse's employer's) subsidized health plan; or (2) Medicare or Medicare supplemental policy payments. Limits the full credit to individuals whose adjusted gross income is under $30,000 ($50,000 if filing a joint return). Disallows any credit to a married individual filing a separate return, but treats married individuals living apart and filing separate returns as not married (thus qualifying them for the credit). Prescribes a formula for phase-out of the credit for taxpayers with an adjusted gross income exceeding $30,000 ($50,000 for a joint return) by less than $10,000. Allows self-employed individuals to elect such credit or the deduction for medical expenses, but not both. States that such credit does not apply to long- term health care insurance.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1999
FEC Reform and Authorization Act of 1999 - Title I: Promoting Disclosure of Campaign Information - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) to direct the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to promulgate a regulation requiring the electronic filing (accessible by computers) of any required designation, statement, or report, if the person required to file the designation, statement, or report has, or has reason to expect to have, aggregate contributions or expenditures in excess of an FEC-determined threshold amount. Requires the regulation to allow an electronic or alternative filing by any person not required to make such filing. Requires the FEC to make any filing accessible to the public on the Internet within 24 hours after receipt. (Sec. 102) Requires election cycle reporting in the case of an authorized committee of a candidate for Federal office. (Sec. 103) Grants the FEC authority to waive reporting requirements or modify deadlines if it determines that such an action is consistent with the purposes of this title. Requires the FEC to publish, during each calendar quarter, a list of each waiver granted during the previous quarter. (Sec. 104) Establishes the FEC as the sole point of entry for reports. (Sec. 105) Prohibits fraudulent misrepresentation in solicitation of contributions for or on behalf of any candidate or political party; or knowing and willful participation in or conspiracy to participate in any plan, scheme, or design to violate this prohibition. (Sec. 106) Subjects to regulation under the Act: (1) as a contribution any gift, subscription, loan, advance, or deposit of money or anything of value made by any person for the purpose of influencing any clearly identified individual to seek nomination or election to Federal office; and (2) as an expenditure any purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit, or gift of money or anything of value made by any person for the purpose of influencing any clearly identified individual to seek such nomination or election. Applies this regulation to corporations and labor organizations. (Sec. 107) Permits the principal campaign committees of candidates for the House of Representatives or the Senate to file their reports on a monthly basis instead of quarterly or semiannually, as otherwise required. Requires monthly filers also to file: (1) a pre-primary election report (although the FEC may waive it if the primary occurs within the first 20 days of a month); and (2) (in lieu of monthly reports due in November and December of such year) pre-general election, post-general election, and year-end reports (Sec. 108) Sets uniform 15-day deadlines for semiannual, year-end, and monthly reports. (Sec. 109) Requires electronic filings accessible by computers (as required by Sec. 101 of this Act) to be accessible by facsimile (FAX) machines or electronic mail in the case of any report required to be filed within 24 hours after the transaction reported has occurred. (Sec. 110) Deems the actual receipt of certain independent expenditure reports within 24 hours by the appropriate recipient to be the time of filing (thus requiring actual receipt of such reports within 24 hours). (Sec. 111) Requires PACs to file monthly reports in presidential election years. Title II: Contributions and Expenditures - Repeals the current requirement that contributions to a candidate in a non-election year be considered as made during the election year. (Thus allows an individual to make up to $25,000 in contributions during a non-election year as well as in an election year.) (Sec. 202) Revises the prohibition against direct or indirect campaign contributions by foreign nationals to specify donations and expenditures as prohibited. (Sec. 203) Excludes from the meaning of contribution any lines of credit obtained by candidates (including brokerage accounts, credit cards, and home equity lines of credit) if they constitute commercially reasonable loans. (Sec. 204) Prohibits the separate segregated political fund established by a corporation, labor organization, or other specified entity from causing another person to make a contribution or expenditure by physical force, job discrimination, financial reprisals, or the threat of force, job discrimination, or financial reprisal. (Sec. 205) Repeals the requirement that the annual estimate by the Secretary of Commerce of the U.S. voting age population specify such population by congressional district. Postpones the deadline: (1) for the annual voting age population estimate from the first week of each January to February 15; and (2) for the Secretary of Labor's annual estimate of the change in the consumer price index from the beginning of each calendar year to February 15. (Sec. 206) Repeals the exclusion from the meaning of contribution (thus including as a contribution) any unreimbursed payment for travel expenses (honorarium) made by any individual on behalf of any candidate or any political committee of a political party, regardless of the cumulative value of such activity. (Sec. 207) Prohibits any candidate or political committee from accepting any contributions of U.S. currency or the currency of any foreign country from any person which, in the aggregate, exceed $100. Title III: Promoting Enforcement of Campaign Finance Laws - Amends the Federal criminal code to authorize the FEC to issue orders granting immunity to witnesses in criminal cases who refuse to testify on the grounds of possible self-incrimination. (Sec. 302) Authorizes the FEC, in the case of a violation of any requirement for the reporting of receipts or disbursements, to: (1) find (after written notice and an opportunity for a hearing on the record) that a person committed such a violation on the basis of information obtained pursuant to specified current procedures; and (2) based on such finding, require the person to pay a civil money penalty in an amount determined under a schedule of penalties the FEC establishes and publishes, which takes into account the amount of the violation involved, the existence of previous violations by the person, and such other factors as the Commission considers appropriate. Provides for judicial review of any adverse determination in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. (Sec. 303) Extends from six months to 12 months after an election the period for audits for cause of a candidate's authorized committee. (Sec. 304) Revises the standard for initiation of actions to replace "reason to believe a person has committed, or is about to commit," a violation of the Act or specified tax law with "reason to investigate a possible violation" of such Act or tax law that has occurred or is about to occur. (Sec. 305) Confers on any member of the FEC (currently, only the chairman or vice-chairman) the authority to sign subpoenas and reason-to-believe (alleged violation) notifications. Title IV: Public Financing of Presidential Election Campaigns - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase from 20 to 30 the number of States in each of which a presidential candidate must raise from residents more than $5,000 in contributions in order to be eligible for matching payments from the Presidential Primary Matching Payment Account. (Sec. 402) Amends FECA to repeal the aggregate State expenditure limits for presidential primary candidates. (Sec. 403) Repeals the separate limit on expenditures for fundraising for primary candidates. Restricts to the general election the current exclusion from the meaning of expenditure of any costs incurred for fundraising on behalf of a presidential candidate (currently the exclusion applies to both primary and general elections). Increases from $10 million to $12 million the limit on expenditures in a campaign for nomination for President. (Sec. 404) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make ineligible for payments from the Presidential Election Campaign Fund or the Presidential Primary Matching Payment Account any candidate who: (1) has been convicted of willfully violating any provision of the Code with respect to the Fund or the Account; (2) has failed to make any required repayment; or (3) would not be eligible to serve as President if elected. (Sec. 405) Requires the deposit of repayments into the Presidential Election Campaign Fund instead of (as currently) the general fund of the Treasury. (Sec. 406) Amends FECA to prohibit contributions (except in accordance with specified restrictions) to presidential candidates certified to receive public financing. Title V: Other Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends FECA to authorize appropriations to the FEC for FY 2000. (Sec. 502) Directs the FEC (directly or by contract) to: (1) update the current national voting systems standards and conduct ongoing analyses of the technological advances to the equipment; and (2) publish such updated standards. (Sec. 503) Abolishes the ex officio membership on the FEC of the Clerk of House of Representatives and the Secretary of Senate. Title VI: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective date of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1999
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Engineering Establishment Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to provide for the establishment of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Engineering. Requires the Director of the Institute to establish a National Biomedical Imaging and Engineering Program which shall include research and related technology assessments and development in biomedical imaging and engineering. Requires the Director, with respect to such Program, to prepare and transmit to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) a plan to initiate, expand, intensify, and coordinate Institute biomedical imaging and engineering activities. Requires: (1) the consolidation and coordination of Institute biomedical imaging and engineering research and related activities with those of the NIH and other Federal agencies; and (2) the establishment of an Institute advisory council. Authorizes: (1) appropriations for the Institute for FY 2000 through 2002; and (2) the transfer of appropriate NIH personnel and research facilities for Institute activities.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1999
Eliminate Colorectal Cancer Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to require coverage of colorectal cancer screening according to certain guidelines by a group health plan, a health insurance issuer offering group health insurance coverage, and a health insurance issuer in the individual market. Directs the Secretaries of Labor and of Health and Human Services (HHS) to ensure coordination in the implementation and enforcement of this Act. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) all Americans should be educated about the risks, prevention, screening, and treatment of colorectal cancer; and (2) the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and HHS should track the impact of their coordinated education campaign on colorectal cancer and make information on its progress available to Members of Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Estuary Habitat Restoration Title II: Chesapeake Bay Program Estuary Habitat Restoration Partnership Act of 1999 - Title I: Estuary Habitat Restoration - Establishes the Estuary Habitat Restoration Council (Council), which shall: (1) develop a national strategy for estuary habitat restoration; and (2) review project applications. (Sec. 105) Establishes six Regional Councils to represent the: (1) Gulf region; (2) Middle Atlantic region; (3) Northeast region; (4) Northwest region; (5) Southeast region; and (6) Southwest region. States that such Councils shall: (1) be made up of the Governors and their appointees for each member State; (2) develop regional strategies for project prioritization and selection; and (3) evaluate and forward project applications to the Council. Directs the Secretary of the Army to coordinate technical support and provide, upon request, administrative support to the Councils. (Sec. 106) Directs the Council to develop an estuary restoration strategy within a specified time which shall provide for the integration of estuary restoration plans, programs, and partnerships. (Sec. 107) Sets forth project application and administrative provisions, including Federal cost-sharing limits. (Sec. 109) Directs the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere of the Department of Commerce to develop a project monitoring database. (Sec. 110) Authorizes appropriations for: (1) estuary restoration activities; and (2) database monitoring. Obligates administrative funds for the Council and Regional Councils. Title II: Chesapeake Bay Program - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to authorize appropriations for the Chesapeake Bay Program, with an annual limitation on funds available for the Program office in the Environmental Protection Agency.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Brownfield Remediation and Environmental Cleanup Title II: Innocent Landowner, Prospective Purchaser, and Contiguous Property Owner Liability Title III: Seller Liability Relief and State Voluntary Response Programs Community Revitalization and Brownfield Cleanup Act of 1999 - Title I: Brownfield Remediation and Environmental Cleanup - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a program to provide grants to local governments to inventory and conduct site assessments of brownfield sites. Defines a "brownfield site" as a parcel of land that contains or contained abandoned, idled, or under-used commercial or industrial facilities, the expansion or redevelopment of which is complicated by the presence or potential presence of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants. (Sec. 103) Directs the Administrator to establish a program of grants to local governments for capitalization of loan programs for brownfield site cleanup by the locality or owner or developer. (Sec. 104) Imposes funding limitations, including a restriction on use of funds to meet Federal cost-sharing requirements and a prohibition on the use of grants to pay fines or penalties. (Sec. 105) Requires reports to specified congressional committees regarding the site assessment and loan capitalization programs. (Sec. 108) Authorizes appropriations to carry out the site assessment and loan capitalization programs and State voluntary response programs described under title III of this Act. Title II: Innocent Landowner, Prospective Purchaser, and Contiguous Property Owner Liability - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), with respect to defenses to liability of an owner of property acquired after April 15, 1994, to deem a person to have made appropriate inquiry into the property's previous ownership and uses only if the person establishes that an environmental site assessment was conducted which meets specified requirements (compliance with an American Society for Testing and Materials standard or with standards issued by the Administrator) and the person fulfills certain responsibilities concerning information compilation, exercise of appropriate care with respect to hazardous substances at the facility, and cooperation with those conducting response actions. (Sec. 202) Absolves from liability for response actions bona fide prospective purchasers or operators of a facility owned by such a purchaser to the extent liability for a release or threat thereof is based solely on ownership or operation of a facility and such persons meet other specified conditions, including notice requirements, exercise of appropriate care concerning the hazardous substances, cooperation with those conducting response actions, and lack of affiliation with liable parties. Gives a lien upon a facility to the United States for unrecovered response costs not inconsistent with the National Contingency Plan in any case in which there are such unrecovered costs for which the owner is not liable by reason of being a prospective purchaser and the action increases the fair market value of the facility. (Sec. 203) Adds CERCLA provisions governing owner-operator status of persons owning or operating property contiguous to a release site. Title III: Seller Liability Relief and State Voluntary Response Programs - Amends CERCLA to add provisions requiring the Administrator to provide technical and other assistance to States to establish and enhance qualifying State voluntary response programs, comprised of elements including public participation opportunities, oversight and enforcement authorities, and certification mechanisms.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1999
Biomass Energy Equity Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to change the definition of "qualified energy resources" (currently, wind and closed-loop biomass) to wind and biomass. Defines terms. Extends the July 1, 1999, placed-in-service date for such facilities to July 1, 2009.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1999
Medicare Rehabilitation Benefit Equity Act of 1999 - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) exempt certain beneficiaries from the financial limitations on physical, speech-language pathology, and occupational therapy services under Medicare part B; and (2) establish a system of variable durational limitations for such beneficiaries based on their classification according to diagnostic category and severity of diagnosis.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Designation of Wilderness Areas Title II: Administrative Provisions America's Red Rock Wilderness Act of 1999 - Title I: Designation of Wilderness Areas - Designates specified lands in the following areas of Utah as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System: (1) Great Basin wilderness areas; (2) Zion and Mojave Desert wilderness areas; (3) Grand Staircase-Escalante wilderness areas; (4) Moab-LaSal Canyons wilderness areas; (5) Henry Mountains wilderness areas; (6) Glen Canyon wilderness areas; (7) San Juan-Anasazi wilderness areas; (8) Canyonlands Basin wilderness areas; (9) San Rafael Swell wilderness areas; and (10) Book Cliffs and Uinta Basin wilderness areas. Title II: Administrative Provisions - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to file a map and a legal description of each designated wilderness area with appropriate congressional committees. (Sec. 203) Provides that if State-owned land is included within a designated wilderness area, then the Secretary shall offer to exchange U.S. lands in the State of approximate equal value (prohibits the transfer of associated mineral interests) in accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 and the Wilderness Act. (Sec. 204) Reserves the Federal Government's rights to a quantity of water determined by the Secretary to be sufficient for each wilderness area designated by this Act. (Sec. 205) Sets forth provisions for the measurement of setbacks for roads with wilderness. (Sec. 206) Permits authorized grazing of livestock within the designated wilderness areas to continue subject to such regulations and procedures as the Secretary considers necessary, as long as they are consistent with: (1) the Wilderness Act; and (2) the Arizona Desert Wilderness Act of 1990. (Sec. 209) Withdraws such Federal land, subject to valid rights existing on the enactment of this Act, from all forms of: (1) entry, appropriation, or disposal under public law; (2) location, entry, and patent under mining law; and (3) disposition under all laws pertaining to mineral and geothermal leasing or mineral materials. (Sec. 210) Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1999
Commends President Glafcos Clerides of Cyprus for his decision to cancel the deployment of the S-300 antiaircraft missiles in Cyprus. Urges the President of the United States to use the influence of the U.S. Government to persuade Turkey to comply with United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1217 and 1218 and to cooperate for a solution to the Cyprus problem.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1999
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat a gain as a short-term capital gain to the extent such gain exceeds the net underlying long-term capital gain where the taxpayer has gain from a constructive ownership transaction with respect to any financial position and such gain otherwise would be treated as a long-term capital gain. Provides that, to the extent such gain is treated as a long-term capital gain after the application of the previous sentence, the determination of the applicable capital gain rate (or rates) shall be determined on the basis of the respective rate (or rates) that would have been applicable to the net underlying long-term capital gain rate. Sets forth definitions and exceptions.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1999
Mortgage Cancellation Relief Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from individual gross income the discharge of qualified residential indebtedness in excess of the outstanding principal of such indebtedness (prior to discharge) over the sum of any sales proceeds and any other outstanding principal indebtedness secured by the property.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 1999
National Medal of Honor Memorial Act - Designates the memorial being constructed at the Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California, to honor Medal of Honor recipients as the National Medal of Honor Memorial.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 1999
Anti "Kiddie-Pack" Act - Prohibits offering cigarettes for sale in packages containing fewer than 15 cigarettes and offered for sale to the consumer at less than $2. Considers a violation to be a violation of provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act relating to prohibited acts.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 1999
Public School Modernization Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide: (1) a limited credit for qualified public school modernization bonds; (2) for qualified school construction bonds and qualified zone academy bonds and establish limits and allocation formulas for such bonds; and (3) corporations, a limited specialized training center credit. Amends the General Education Provisions Act to provide for the application of certain labor standards to projects financed under this Act. Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to establish provisions concerning employment and training activities related to the construction or reconstruction of public school facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Children's Environmental Protection Subtitle A: Disclosure of Industrial Releases That Present a Significant Risk to Children Subtitle B: Disclosure of High Health Risk Chemicals in Children's Consumer Products Title II: Public Right to Know About Toxic Chemical Use Children's Environmental Protection and Right to Know Act of 1999 - Title I: Children's Environmental Protection - Subtitle A: Disclosure of Industrial Releases That Present a Significant Risk to Children - Amends the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish thresholds for toxic chemicals which may present significant risks to children's health or the environment. Includes lead, mercury, dioxin, cadmium, chromium, and other specified bioaccumulative chemicals as substances subject to such thresholds. Makes dioxin and specified bioaccumulative chemicals subject to toxic chemical release form reporting requirements under such Act. Authorizes citizen suits against the Administrator for failures to establish thresholds under this Act. Subtitle B: Disclosure of High Health Risk Chemicals in Children's Consumer Products - Amends the Federal Hazardous Substances Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the National Toxicology Program, to publish a list of substances which are toxic due to carcinogenic, neurotoxic, or reproductive toxic effects. Directs the Secretary to identify those substances to which infants and young children are exposed. Requires manufacturers or importers of eligible products (defined as toys or other articles intended for use by children) which contain such substances to report specified information to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, including information supporting that a substance is not a misbranded or banned hazardous substance. Authorizes exemptions from such reporting requirements if a substance would not cause substantial personal injury or illness as a result of foreseeable handling, including ingestion by children. Permits citizen suits with respect to certain violations under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act and against the Commission for failure to perform duties under this Act. Title II: Public Right to Know About Toxic Chemical Use - Expands information to be included in toxic chemical release forms, including the number of employees and occupational exposures at reporting facilities as well as materials accounting information. Requires the Administrator to take certain actions to: (1) standardize data and obtain and integrate information regarding toxic chemicals; (2) consolidate all annual reporting requirements of Federal environmental laws for small businesses and entities subject to toxic chemical release reporting; and (3) provide the public with one point of contact for access to information gathered by EPA. Requires disclosures on the uses of toxic chemicals by reporting facilities. Permits the withholding of portions of materials accounting information reported by covered facilities for purposes of protecting trade secrets.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1999
Human Rights Information Act - Requires certain Federal agencies to identify and organize all human rights records regarding activities occurring in Guatemala and Honduras after 1944 for declassification and disclosure purposes, and to make them available to the public. Instructs the President to report to Congress regarding agency compliance. Prescribes guidelines under which the Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel shall review agency determinations to postpone public disclosure of any human rights record. Authorizes postponement of such public disclosures on specified grounds. Requires any U.S. agency, upon request by an entity created by the United Nations, the Organization of American States (or similar entity), a national truth commission (or similar entity), or from the principal justice or human rights official of a country that is investigating a pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights, to review, declassify, and publicly disclose any human pertinent rights records. Directs the Information Security Policy Advisory Council to report to Congress on declassification of human rights records relating to other countries and to make such report available to the public. Creates two additional positions in the Panel in order to implement this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1999
Cuban Food and Medicine Security Act of 1999 - Exempts from the embargo on trade with Cuba the export of food and other agricultural products (including fertilizer), medicines, medical supplies, instruments, or equipment, or any travel incident to the delivery of such items. Declares that such exemption shall not apply to certain restrictions imposed under the Export Administration Act of 1979 or the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Amends the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to study and report to specified congressional committees on existing U.S. agricultural export promotion and credit programs to determine how such programs can be carried out to promote the consumption of U.S. agricultural commodities in Cuba. Directs the President to report to Congress on: (1) the extent (expressed in volume and dollar amounts) of sales to Cuba of food and other agricultural products (including fertilizer), medicines, medical supplies, instruments, and equipment; (2) the types and end users of such items; and (3) whether there has been any indication that any medicines, medical supplies, instruments, or equipment exported to Cuba since enactment of this Act have been used for torture or other human rights abuses, were reexported, or were used in the production of any bio-technological product.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1999
Medicare Critical Need GME Protection Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for full payment to hospitals for costs of direct graduate medical education of residents for training in what the Secretary of Health and Human Services designates as a critical need specialty or subspecialty training program. States that such training shall be treated as part of the initial residency period, but shall not be counted against any limitation on the initial residency period.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1999
Border Improvement and Immigration Act of 1999 - Amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 with respect to the automated entry-exit control system to exempt from required recordkeeping: (1) land border crossings and seaports; and (2) permanent resident and certain other aliens. (Sec. 3) Requires the Attorney General to report: (1) on the feasibility of implementing an automated entry-exit control system that would include land border and seaport arrivals and departures; and (2) annually on the development status of the automated entry-exit control system, and on visa overstays identified through such system. Requires integration of overstay information into Department of State and Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) databases. (Sec. 5) Authorizes appropriations for INS and United States Customs Service border control and enforcement activities. Sets forth specified set-asides. Authorizes: (1) use of equipment funds for new technologies; and (2) transfer up to ten percent of specified set-asides for other equipment uses. Sets aside specified funds for peak hours and investigative resource enhancement. Provides for increased numbers of full-time INS and Customs inspectors at U.S. land borders.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1999
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 · 28 April 1999
Patent Fairness Act of 1999 - Amends Federal law to require, if the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks determines that certain standards are met, restoration of the term of any patent, in force on September 24, 1984, and on the filing date of a patent term restoration application under this Act, that claims: (1) a drug product; (2) a method of using a drug product; or (3) a method of manufacturing a drug product. (Sec. 2) Defines such standards as: (1) a regulatory review period from application submission to application approval exceeding 60 months; and (2) the absence of substantial evidence overcoming the rebuttable presumption that the applicant for patent term restoration for the drug product acted with due diligence. Requires subtraction from the total amount of the restoration term of any time during the regulatory review period during which the Commissioner finds that the applicant for patent term restoration did not act with due diligence. Limits a restoration period, after specified adjustments, to five years. Requires restoration term applications to be filed within 90 days after enactment of this Act. Provides for: (1) claim determination procedure; (2) interim restoration of the patent term pending final disposition; and (3) appeal of the Commissioner's determinations to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit only. Entitles to compensation by the patent owner of any person who has submitted an new drug application under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act for a drug product covered by a patent for which a patent term was restored under this Act, if such application has been found by the Food and Drug Administration on or before enactment of this Act to be sufficiently complete to permit substantive review. Sets the amount of compensation at: (1)$1 million; or (2) $500,000 for any holder of a Type II Drug Master File that has permitted a reference to its File to be made in such application. Limits a patent owner's overall liability to: (1) $5 million to persons submitting new drug applications; or (2) $2.5 million to holders of Type II Drug Master Files. Requires the Commissioner to report to Congress: (1) an evaluation of the patent term restoration review procedure established by this Act; and (2) a recommendation whether Congress should consider establishing such a patent term review procedure for patents not covered by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1999
Regulatory Fairness and Openness Act of 1999 - Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to conduct a transition analysis report with respect to pesticide tolerances before releasing any product safety information to the public, or making final tolerance decisions. Includes within such report's requirements a description of the extent to which specified assumptions have been used to support findings or regulatory recommendations. (Sec. 5) Sets forth interim review or reassessment procedures. (Sec. 6) Requires the Administrator to issue within one year of enactment of this Act final implementing rules for tolerances and exemptions for pesticide chemical residues. (Sec. 7) Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require the Administrator to issue guidelines specifying required data in support of tolerances and exemptions. Amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to provide for related notice and opportunity for hearing. (Sec. 8) Amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to provide for an expedited replacement product registration process. Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to authorize an expedited tolerance for an emergency exemption if no significant (food) consumer risk exists. (Sec. 9) Requires the Administrator and the Secretary of Agriculture to report with respect to related pesticide, residue, and food use priorities and resources. (Sec. 10) Requires the Secretary to develop a program to monitor the competitive international market strength of major U.S. agricultural commodity sectors. (Sec. 11) Establishes the Pesticide Advisory Committee.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1999
Early Treatment for HIV Act of 1999 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to give States the option of providing Medicaid coverage for certain low-income HIV-infected individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1999
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to restore the link ended by the Senior Citizens' Freedom to Work Act of 1995 between the rules relating to substantial gainful activity for blind individuals and the rules relating to excess earnings under the social security earnings test for individuals who have attained retirement age (thus allowing blind individuals, once again, to earn up to the social security excess earnings threshold without being regarded as having demonstrated an ability to engage in substantial gainful activity and without losing entitlement to OASDI benefits). Makes this Act effective with respect to taxable years ending after 1995.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1999
United States Record on the Armenian Genocide Resolution - Calls upon the President to: (1) provide in a collection all U.S. records related to the Armenian genocide and the consequences of the failure to enforce the judgments of the Turkish courts against the responsible officials; and (2) provide such collection to the Committee on International Relations of the House of Representatives, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum library for incorporation into its holdings of official documentation on genocide and for purposes of public awareness and education, and the Armenian Genocide Museum in Yerevan, Armenia, in order to document and affirm the U.S. record of protest and recognition of this crime against humanity.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 1999
Children's Hospitals Education and Research Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make payment as specified to each children's hospital for each hospital cost reporting period under Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act (SSA)) for FY 2000 and 2001 for the direct and indirect expenses associated with operating approved medical residency training programs. Provides 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 (SSA title XIX) plan. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1999
CHIP Data and Evaluation Improvement Act of 1999 - Amends title XXI (Children's Health Insurance) (CHIP) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for the following: (1) adjustment to the annual Current Population Survey conducted by the Bureau of the Census in order to produce State-by-State annual data on the number of low-income children without health insurance coverage; (2) collection of certain data for providing State-by-State annual information on the health care access and utilization of children in low-income households, among other things; (3) independent Federal evaluation of a limited number of State CHIP plans through the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), with evaluation results to be submitted to Congress; (4) standardized reporting requirements for annual reports to the Secretary; (5) an HHS Inspector General audit and General Accounting Office report to Congress with regard to certain enrollees under State CHIP plans who are eligible for Medicaid; and (6) coordination of data collection under CHIP with data requirements under the Maternal and Child Health Services program under SSA title V. Directs the Secretary to establish a clearinghouse for the consolidation and coordination of all Federal data bases and reports regarding children's health. Makes necessary appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1999
Smokeless Tobacco Warning Label Act - Amends the Comprehensive Smokeless Tobacco Health Education Act of 1986 to revise smokeless tobacco product warning label requirements. Includes among alternative warning statements: (1) "Smokeless Tobacco Is Addictive"; and (2) "This Product Contains Cancer Causing Chemicals." States that the Secretary of Health and Human Services may revise by a rulemaking such required statements.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1999
National Clean Water Trust Fund Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to establish a National Clean Water Trust Fund to be composed of monies obtained through enforcement actions. Makes the Fund available for projects to restore waters from damages resulting from violations of such Act and from the discharge of pollutants. Authorizes the use of civil penalties obtained under such Act for mitigation projects.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1999
Independent Contractor Clarification Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to employment taxes, to replace the current 20 point test for determining an independent contractor (for whom an employer need not pay or withhold the appropriate employment taxes) with a three-point test, including: (1) the employer's lack of control of the manner in which the individual service provider completes his or her assigned tasks; (2) the individual service provider is not precluded by the employer from soliciting and undertaking other business opportunities involving substantially similar services for others; and (3) the individual service provider encounters entrepreneurial risk, including the ability to generate a profit or bear the risk of financial loss. Sets forth restrictions on retroactive employment tax reclassifications, including safe harbor requirements. Provides that the statute of limitations on assessment of employment taxes shall run beginning on the date certain information returns (specifying payments to an individual for services performed where the payments are not taken into account in determining such taxes) are filed.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 1999
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Parity Amendments of 1999 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Internal Revenue Code, and the Public Health Service Act to prohibit group and individual health plans from imposing treatment limitations or financial requirements on the coverage of mental health benefits, or substance abuse and chemical dependency benefits, if similar limitations or requirements are not imposed on medical and surgical benefits. Amends the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1986 to provide for coordination in implementation of such amendments.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 1999
Medicare Nursing and Paramedical Education Act of 1999 - Amends part C (Medicare+Choice) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to exclude nursing and paramedical education costs from the calculation of payment adjustments to the annual area-specific Medicare+Choice capitation rate for each Medicare+Choice payment area. Provides that, in determining the payment of reasonable costs for approved nursing and paramedical education programs to a hospital for portions of cost reporting periods occurring on or after January 1, 2000, individuals who are enrolled with a Medicare+Choice organization shall be treated as if they were not so enrolled.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 1999
Trade Adjustment Assistance Reform Act of 1999 - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize appropriations to the Department of Labor for FY 1999 through 2004 for trade adjustment assistance (TAA) for workers. (Sec. 2) Repeals the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Transitional Adjustment Assistance Program (effectively eliminating TAA for workers under such program). (Sec. 3) Revises requirements for the filing of petitions for TAA for a group of workers adversely affected by imports. Authorizes employers of such workers, one-stop career centers, or State employment agencies to file on their behalf with the Governor of the State (currently, with the Secretary of Labor) a petition for certification of eligibility for such assistance. Requires the Governor to: (1) transmit the petition to the Secretary immediately; (2) ensure that rapid response assistance and basic readjustment services are made available to the workers; and (3) assist the Secretary in the review of the petition. Requires the Secretary to review such a petition for certification of eligibility within 40 days (currently, 60 days) of its filing. (Sec. 4) Adds as a factor in the Secretary's determination of the eligibility of a group of workers for TAA any shift in production by such workers' firm to a foreign country of articles like or directly competitive with articles produced by such firm. (Sec. 5) Directs the Secretary to collect and maintain certain information with respect to certifications of TAA. (Sec. 6) Revises enrollment in training requirements with respect to the payment of TAA to adversely affected workers to set forth certain time periods during which such enrollment must occur. Authorizes the Secretary to issue a statement to a worker waiving the enrollment in training requirements if it is determined that such training requirement is not feasible or appropriate for the worker, based on specified factors. (Sec. 8) Increases from 14 to 30 the number of days an adversely affected worker may have a scheduled break in a training program and still be treated as participating in the program for purposes of TAA eligibility. (Sec. 9) Increases the total annual amount of payments for worker training from $80 million to $150 million for any fiscal year. (Sec. 11) Authorizes the Secretary to secure for adversely affected workers certain employment services, including services provided through one-stop career centers. Provides for the coordination of employment services for adversely affected workers under the Job Training Partnership Act and the Workforce Investment Act of 1998. (Sec. 12) Authorizes an adversely affected worker to file an application with the Secretary for the provision of supportive services, including transportation, child and dependent care, and other similar services. Sets forth specified conditions with respect to such services. (Sec. 14) Makes unappropriated Treasury funds available in any fiscal year that TAA funds become exhausted. (Sec. 15) Authorizes appropriations to the Department of Labor for FY 1999 through 2004 for TAA for firms. (Sec. 16) Establishes the Presidential Commission on Workers and Economic Change in the New Economy to study and report to the President and the Congress on matters relating to economic dislocation and worker adjustment to such dislocations. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 1999
Family Reunification Act of 1999 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to revise the conditions under which the Attorney General may cancel the removal of certain aliens from the United States, including cancellation of removal for humanitarian or public benefit reasons for certain aliens convicted of aggravated felonies. Subjects such judgments to judicial review. Directs the Attorney General to establish processes for discretionary waiver of inadmissibility or deportation for certain aliens who would otherwise be subject to exclusion or deportation. Subjects such judgments to judicial review.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 1999
Welfare-to-Work Amendments of 1999 - Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act to revise requirements for welfare-to-work grants for welfare-to-work States. Includes among such revisions the following major changes: (1) extending and reauthorizing the Welfare-to-Work (WtW) program through FY 2000 at reduced levels; (2) changing State mandates to options to expend funds for hard-to-employ recipients and noncustodial parents for whom separate expanded categories of eligibility criteria for WtW services have been created; (3) authorizing WtW services for children aging out of the foster care system; (4) establishing a new minimum level of State expenditures for noncustodial parents for FY 2000; (5) requiring additional specified elements for the State's plan for consideration of the State as a WtW State; (6) replacing requirements for the reversion of unallotted formula funds to the General Fund of the Treasury with requirements for the transfer of unallotted formula funds for use in FY 2000 or 2001 for awarding competitive grants; (7) adding requirements for eligible service providers; (8) modifying requirements for performance bonuses, including set-aside provisions; (9) increasing the reserve for WtW grants for Indian tribes for FY 2000; (10) establishing a reserve for funding technical assistance for entities carrying out WtW projects and modifying the current funding reserves for WtW and abstinence education evaluations; and (11) including job skills training, vocational educational training, and basic education as allowable WtW activities to move individuals into and keep them in lasting unsubsidized employment. Revises requirements for reports to Congress on evaluation of WtW programs. Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish reporting requirements for the collection and maintenance of financial and WtW program participant information.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 1999
Fairness for Legal Immigrants Act of 1999 - Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 with respect to lawful resident aliens and their eligibility for Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) (titles XIX and XVI of the Social Security Act (SSA)) and other Federal assistance. Provides States with the option of extending Medicaid-eligibility to certain lawful resident alien pregnant women and children, as well as the option of extending CHIP-eligibility (SSA title XXI (Children's Health Insurance (CHIP)) to such children. Provides States with the option of extending Medicaid-eligibility to certain blind or disabled or other specified medically needy aliens, such as those who are residents of a nursing facility. Mandates SSI eligibility for certain lawful resident aliens who are aged, blind, or disabled. Exempts certain blind or disabled aliens from the five-year general limitation on the eligibility for qualified aliens for Federal means-tested public benefits that was imposed by such Act. Mandates food stamp program eligibility under the Food Stamp Act of 1977 for certain aliens lawfully residing in the United State on August 22, 1996, who would otherwise be subject to the same five-year general limitation. Exempts certain battered aliens (which under such Act are treated as lawful resident aliens) from disqualification (thereby making them SSI- and food stamp program-eligible). Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for waiver of affidavit of support requirements for benefits provided through such State elections to extend such optional Medicaid and other described optional public program eligibility to certain lawful resident aliens.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 1999
Capital Gains Tax Simplification Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that, if for any taxable year a non-corporate taxpayer has a net capital gain, 38 percent of such gain shall be a deduction from gross income regardless of whether or not the taxpayer itemizes other deductions. Makes such deduction inapplicable to the alternative minimum tax. Revises provisions concerning the maximum and the regular tax on net capital gain for purposes of the alternative minimum tax. Repeals the tax preference for exclusion for gains on the sale of certain small business stock. Treats, as a general rule, any gain or loss from the sale or exchange of a collectible as a short-term gain or loss without regard to the period the asset was held. Amends the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, with respect to maximum capital gains rates for individuals, to repeal the allowance of an election to recognize gain on assets held on January 1, 2001.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 1999
Individual Tax Simplification Act of 1999 - Title I: Simplification Relating to Nonrefundable Personal Credits - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the interaction of the alternative minimum tax with the partially refundable child care tax credit. (Sec. 102) Replaces the current three ranges for phaseout of the adoption, child, and Hope and Lifetime Learning tax credits with a single, uniform phaseout of such credits. Title II: Simplification of Capital Gains Tax - Mandates a deduction from gross income of 38 percent of a net capital gain for any taxable year for a taxpayer other than a corporation. Title III: Repeal of Certain Hidden Marginal Rate Increases; Repeal of Individual Minimum Tax - Subtitle A: Repeals - Repeals the overall limitation on itemized deductions, the phaseout of personal exemptions, and the alternative minimum tax on individuals. Subtitle B: Revenue Offsets - Establishes an additional income tax on a sliding scale from: (1) one percent for adjusted gross incomes in excess of $120,000 on a joint return; up to (2) 2.08 percent for income greater than $150,000 (where the minimum tax exemption begins to phase out under this Act). (Sec. 312) Increases the floor on miscellaneous itemized deductions from two percent to four percent for adjusted gross incomes greater than $100,000.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1999
Medicare Cancer Clinical Trial Coverage Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a demonstration project which provides for payment under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act of routine patient care costs for Medicare beneficiaries with cancer who are enrolled in an approved clinical trial program, while still applying the beneficiary cost sharing provisions of such program to project participants. Directs the Secretary to study and report to Congress on the impact on Medicare of covering such costs as well as the cost of extending routine patient care coverage to Medicare beneficiaries with a diagnosis other than cancer.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1999
Extends the tax benefits available under the Internal Revenue Code for services performed in a combat zone to members of the Armed Forces of the United States for services performed in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia-Montenegro), Albania, the Adriatic Sea, and the northern Ionian Sea.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1999
Higher Education Reporting Relief Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the requirement that educational institutions and certain other trades and businesses file returns reporting information about recipients of Hope Scholarship and Lifetime Learning Credits. Requires taxpayers taking such credits to include on their returns the name, address, and taxpayer identification number of the eligible educational institution concerned.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 1999
Urges the U.S. Government to: (1) commend the three U.S. soldiers abducted from Macedonian territory by Serb forces on March 31, 1999, for their exemplary service, bravery, duty to their country, and part in helping to ensure a peaceful multiethnic democratic Kosovo on the basis of the Rambouillet Accords; (2) continue to forcefully press the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and President Milosevic for their unconditional release; (3) condemn any move on the part of such Government to put them on trial; (4) hold such Government and President Milosevic personally responsible for their welfare; (5) continue to condemn the atrocities committed by the Yugoslav army or paramilitary forces against civilians in Kosovo, particularly crimes associated with "ethnic cleansing"; and (6) support the prosecution under the Geneva Convention of all commanders of such army or forces taking part in acts of ethnic cleansing against civilians.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999
Quality Health-Care Coalition Act of 1999 - Entitles any health care professionals negotiating with a health plan regarding contract terms under which they provide health care items or services for which plan benefits are provided to the same treatment under antitrust laws as that accorded to a collective bargaining unit recognized under the National Labor Relations Act.
![Official portrait of Rep. Matsui, Robert T. [D-CA-5]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/m000249_200.jpg)