United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2000
Amends the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 to extend until October 27, 2005, the authority of the Black Revolutionary War Patriots Foundation to establish a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia or its environs.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2000
Increases from $1,500 to $6,000 the threshold estate size of an incompetent veteran being furnished institutional care by the Department of Veterans Affairs may have before being subject to the suspension of pension, compensation, or retirement pay. Directs the Secretary to increase such threshold amount by the same percentage as any increase in benefit amounts payable under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2000
Requires the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate to make arrangements for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal to Tiger Woods in recognition of his service to the Nation in promoting excellence and good sportsmanship, and in breaking barriers with grace and dignity by showing that golf is a sport for all people. Authorizes funding.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2000
Equity in Contracting for Women Act of 2000 - Amends the Small Business Act to authorize a Federal contracting officer to set aside to be awarded only to a small business owned and controlled by women any contract for the procurement of goods or services by the Federal Government if: (1) such business is a responsible contractor with respect to performance; (2) the contracting officer expects that two or more of such businesses will submit contract offers; (3) the contract is for the procurement of goods or services with respect to industries in which women- owned small businesses are under-represented in Federal procurement contracting; (4) the anticipated award does not exceed $3 million (with a $5 million exception); (5) the contract award can be made at a fair and reasonable price; and (6) the business is certified as a small business owned and controlled by women or the business certifies to the contracting officer that it is so and provides adequate documentation. Provides for the verification of eligibility requirements, including authorized random investigations by the Administrator of the Small Business Administration. Provides penalties for small businesses misrepresenting such status.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2000
Community Reinvestment Modernization Act of 2000 - Title I: Modernization of Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 and Community Service Obligations - Amends the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 to subject to the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 (CRA) in the same manner as regulated financial institutions all nonbank affiliates of bank holding companies that engage in lending or offer banking products or services. (Sec. 101) Mandates that: (1) the Federal regulatory agency with jurisdiction over the affiliate's bank holding company take into account the record of any such affiliate in meeting community credit, investment, and consumer needs; (2) the Federal financial supervisory agency perform separate evaluations of a depository institution's State, metropolitan, and community service areas; and (3) the CRA rating of a regulated financial institution be reduced to reflect predatory or negative credit practices. (Sec. 104) Places upon each securities company, mortgage bank, and insurance company the affirmative obligation to meet the need for their respective services in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods as regards each community constituting an assessment area of such entities. (Sec. 105) Sets forth a statutory framework within which the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), respectively, shall develop a program to ensure that such financial entities meet their obligations. (Sec. 106) Authorizes the Secretary of HUD to impose specified limitations upon mortgage and insurance companies that engage in practices with negative impacts upon their respective assessment areas. (Sec. 107) Requires all bank holding company affiliates of securities, mortgage, and insurance companies to maintain satisfactory CRA ratings. Title II: Data Disclosure Requirements - Subtitle A: Disclosure of Insurance Availability and Insurer Investment Information - Insurance Disclosure Act - Directs the Secretary of HUD to establish data reporting requirements incumbent upon insurers, rural, and small business insurers in order to ascertain the availability and affordability of insurance by type and coverage in connection with: (1) census tract; (2) low- and moderate-income neighborhoods; (3) race and gender of policyholders; and (4) location of principal place of agents and their termination by race. (Sec. 206) Requires the Financial Institutions Examination Council to determine annually the extent to which each private mortgage insurer makes private mortgage insurance information available to the public and to the appropriate agency in the same manner as mortgage insurance information is required to be reported under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975 (HMDA). (Sec. 207) Directs the Secretary of HUD to require each insurer that makes an investment in a property or business to submit annually data detailing direct loans and loan purchases in connection with: (1) commercial real estate loans; (2) single-family mortgages; (3) commercial and industrial loans; and (4) other investments. Sets forth civil penalties for violations of such insurance data disclosures. Subtitle B: Improvements in Other Data Disclosure Requirements - Amends the CRA to declare that it may not be construed as authorizing any Federal agency to exempt a depository institution from data disclosure requirements pertaining to farm and small business loans (except an institution that is not an affiliate of a either a bank holding company or savings and loan company). (Sec. 221) Requires regulated financial institutions to collect data regarding farm and small business loan applications that details: (1) applicant race and gender; (2) minority-owned and women-owned enterprises; (3) the revenue of such applicants; and (4) the actual census tract of the applicants' locale. Title III: Regulatory and Structural Reforms - Sets forth antiredlining requirements for financial holding companies. Amends certain bank regulatory Acts to require notice and public comment prior to establishing a financial holding company or transacting bank acquisitions, consolidations, or mergers if regulatory authorities believe there will be a substantial public impact. (Sec. 304) Amends the CRA to reduce the small banks examination schedule by one year. (Sec. 306) Requires the appropriate Federal banking agency to prohibit a financial holding company or insured depository institution from continued engagement in expanded financial activities if any subsidiary or affiliate of such entities has received in a CRA rating of less than "satisfactory record of meeting community credit needs" in its most recent examination. (Sec. 307) Amends the HMDA to prohibit a Federal regulatory agency from exempting a depository institution from HMDA reporting requirements. Mandates expanded data disclosure from depository institutions regarding: (1) prime and subprime mortgage loans; (2) loan pricing and terms; and (3) manufactured home loans that are not treated as real estate loans by depository institutions. Subjects HMDA depository institutions to specified Federal Deposit Insurance Act requirements. Grants the Secretary of HUD enforcement powers regarding compliance with such requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2000
Expresses the sense of Congress that any presidential candidate should be permitted to participate in debates among candidates if: (1) at least five percent of all respondents in national public opinion polls of all eligible voters support the candidate's election for President; or (2) a majority of respondents in such polls support the candidate's participation in such debates.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2000
Railroad Retirement and Survivors' Improvement Act of 2000 - Title I: Amendments to the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 - Amends the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 to increase benefits to railroad employees and their beneficiaries and to revise financing of the pension part (tier II) of the railroad retirement system. (Sec. 101) Increases benefits for widows and widowers by guaranteeing to them all of the tier II annuity the employee was entitled to at the time of the death. (Sec. 102) Makes employees with 30 years of service eligible to retire at age 60 with unreduced tier I and tier II annuities. Makes spouses of such employees eligible for unreduced annuities at age 60. (Sec. 103) Reduces the vesting requirement for tier II retirement annuities from ten years to five years of service after December 1995. Makes employees with at least five years of such service, but less than ten years of total service, eligible for a tier I disability annuity if their combined railroad retirement and social security earnings credits would satisfy social security eligibility requirements. Makes spouses, divorced spouses, and survivors of employees with at least five years of such service, but less than ten years of total service, eligible for a tier I annuity if they would have been entitled to a social security benefit based on combined service. (Sec. 104) Repeals a limit on the total amount of monthly railroad retirement benefits payable to an employee and spouse at the time the employee's annuity begins. (Sec. 105) Establishes a Railroad Retirement Trust Fund (the Fund) and a Railroad Retirement Investment Trust (RRIT) to manage and invest the assets of the Fund. Declares that RRIT is not an agency, department, or instrumentality of the U.S. Government. Requires RRIT to be administered by a Board of Trustees (the Trustees) with seven members (three representing labor, three representing employers, and one representing the general public) with experience and expertise in the management of financial investments and pension plans. Requires the Trustees to be appointed by a unanimous vote of the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB). Prohibits RRB members from being Trustees. Applies specified reporting requirements and fiduciary standards to the RRIT. Requires the Trustees to diversify investments so as to minimize the risk of large losses. Authorizes the Trustees to invest Fund assets in non-Governmental assets. (Sec. 106) Abolishes the Railroad Retirement Supplemental Annuity Account and provides for transfer of its funds to the Fund. (Sec. 107) Requires the RRB, upon the establishment of the Fund, to determine the portion of the Railroad Retirement Account not needed to pay current administrative expenses and direct the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer that amount into the Fund. Requires the Fund to transfer the necessary amount of funds to pay benefits and related administrative expenses to the disbursing agent. Transfers to the Fund Social Security Equivalent Benefit account funds not needed to pay current benefits, but requires that such funds only be used to pay benefits or to invest in U.S. Government or Government-guaranteed securities. Transfers to the disbursing agent from the Dual Benefit Account the amount necessary to make dual benefit payments. Requires the Trustees to consult with the Secretary of the Treasury to develop an appropriate method for transferring or converting existing account obligations. (Sec. 108) Requires the RRB to calculate the ratio of assets to benefits to determine annual tier II tax rates for employers, employee representatives, and employees. Establishes schedules for: (1) decreasing tax rates if the average account benefits ratio, based on the ratios for the ten most recent fiscal years, is above six; and (2) increasing employer and employee representatives' tax rates if the ratio is below four. Title II: Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt the Railroad Retirement Trust Fund (the Fund) from taxation. (Sec. 203) Repeals a supplemental annuity tax that railroad employers pay to finance a benefit for long-time rail employees. (Sec. 204) Provides for adjustments to railroad employers, employee representatives, and employee tier II tax rates. Decreases such rates in 2001 and in 2002 for employers and employee representatives. Provides in the years after 2002 for tax rate schedules, based on the ten-year average account benefit ratio, for employers, employee representatives, and employees.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2000
Violence Against Women Office Act - Establishes within the Department of Justice (DOJ) a Violence Against Women Office, headed by a Director. Specifies the duties of the Director, including serving as special counsel to the Attorney General on the subject of, and carrying out DOJ functions under the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 and on matters relating to, violence against women.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2000
China Nonproliferation Act - Directs the President to report annually to specified congressional committees on every person (with certain exceptions) with respect to whom there is credible information indicating that such person, on or after January 1, 2000, transferred, retransferred, sold, misused, or diverted from, or within, the People's Republic of China to a foreign person or Chinese national involved in the development or acquisition of nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons or ballistic or cruise missiles any goods, services, or technology: (1) listed on the Nuclear Suppliers Group Guidelines for the Export of Nuclear Material, Equipment and Technology and Guidelines for Transfers of Nuclear-Related Dual-Use Equipment, Material, and Related Technology (both published by the International Atomic Energy Agency), the Missile Technology Control Regime Equipment and Technology Annex of June 11, 1996, the lists of items and substances relating to biological and chemical weapons the export of which is controlled by the Australia Group, the Schedules of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction, or the Wassenaar Arrangement list of Dual Use Goods and Technologies and Munitions list of July 12, 1996; or (2) not identified on any of these lists, but would be if they were U.S. goods, services, or technology prohibited or controlled for export to China (or any tier IV countries as defined by the Bureau of Export Administration of the Department of Commerce), and have the potential to contribute to the development, improvement, or production of nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons, or of ballistic or cruise missile systems, or advanced conventional weapons or munitions. (Sec. 3) Requires the President to include in the report information: (1) on any action taken by a person identified in a prior annual report that establishes that the person has discontinued, rectified, or mitigated a prior proliferation activity identified under this Act; (2) on measures taken against such persons or against China in response to proliferation activities; and (3) other specified information. Requires submission of such reports in unclassified form, with classified annexes as necessary. (Sec. 4) Directs the President to apply certain measures for at least 12 months to each person identified in the annual report. Includes among such measures: (1) those set forth Executive Order No. 12938; (2) prohibition of U.S. Government transfers or sales to such person of any item on the U.S. Munitions List, and termination of all sales and after-sale servicing to such person of any defense articles, defense services, or design and construction services under the Arms Export Control Act; (3) denial of licenses, suspension of existing licenses, and termination of all transfers or sales and after-sale servicing for the transfer to such person of any item the export of which is controlled under the Export Administration Act of 1979 or the Export Administration regulations; (4) prohibition of U.S. Government procurement of any goods or services from such person; (5) prohibition of U.S. assistance to such person in the form of grants, loans, credits, guarantees, or otherwise; (6) immediate suspension of any agreements or efforts for the co-development or co-production with such person of any item on the U.S. Munitions List. Sets conditions for the lifting of such measures. (Sec. 5) Requires the President to apply additional specified tier 1, tier 2, and tier 3 measures against China if certain circumstances exist. Requires one or more tier 2 measures if a person's proliferation activities are not rectified, or a person has engaged in additional proliferation activities, one year after imposition of section (4) measures, and one or more tier 3 measures if similar circumstances exist two years after imposition of section (4) measures. (Sec. 6) Sets forth procedures for congressional review of any presidential decision not to impose sanctions under this Act, or to exempt a person or China from such sanctions. Mandates imposition of such sanctions if Congress disapproves by joint resolution the President's decision. (Sec. 7) Requires transmittal to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the President's annual report under this Act. Requires the SEC to promulgate regulations to: (1) ensure that securities investors are notified of the identity of any person in the report the securities of which are listed, or authorized for listing, on a registered national securities exchange (or tier or segment) or by a registered national securities association; and (2) require each person included in such a report to provide notice of such inclusion in each written report, registration statement, or other filing or notice required from that person under the securities laws.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2000
Recognizes the tenth anniversary of the initial activation of National Guard and Reserve personnel for Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm and the growing importance of the National Guard and Reserve to the security of the United States. Expresses support for ensuring the readiness of the National Guard and Reserve.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2000
American Communities Investment Act of 1999 - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to revise requirements for the maximum amount of outstanding loan guarantees for a single issuer in connection with community development. Mandates participation of the major stakeholders in the community in which activities funded with guaranteed obligations will be implemented. Amends the Federal Home Loan Bank Act to set forth parameters within which: (1) Federal home loan banks may make advances to a nonmember mortgagee for community lending purposes; and (2) each Federal home loan bank shall establish a Community Lending Fund to facilitate community lending by its members and nonmember mortgagees.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2000
Ryan White CARE Act Amendments of 2000 - Title I: Emergency Relief for Areas with Substantial Need for Services - Subtitle A: HIV Health Services Planning Councils - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require that an HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) planning council reflect the demographics of the population of individuals with HIV disease (currently, the demographics of the epidemic) in the eligible area involved. Modifies requirements regarding council composition, including requiring representatives of former prisoners. Requires that at least 33 percent of the council be people who: (1) are receiving HIV-related services pursuant to a grant under provisions relating to emergency relief for areas with a substantial need for services (substantial need grant); and (2) are not officers, employees, consultants, or representatives of any entity that receives substantial need grant amounts. (Sec. 102) Modifies council duties, including regarding: (1) determining the size, demographics, and needs of the HIV disease population; (2) council establishment of fund allocation priorities; and (3) coordination with Federal grantees that provide HIV-related services in the area. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) develop epidemiologic measures for establishing the number of individuals with HIV disease who are not receiving HIV-related health services and for carrying out council duties; and (2) provide to the chief elected official receiving a substantial need grant guidelines and materials for training council members regarding council duties. (Sec. 103) Requires that council meetings and records be open to the public, subject to exception. Subtitle B: Type and Distribution of Grants - Makes permanent provisions requiring expedited disbursement of certain substantial need grant amounts. Requires, after fiscal year 2004, that the substantial need grant amount formula use the number of cases of HIV disease in the most recent year rather than the number of cases of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the most recent ten years, but until FY 2007 conditions that change on the Secretary's determination that there is sufficiently accurate and reliable data on HIV disease cases from all eligible areas, requiring the Secretary to consider: (1) the findings of a study mandated by title V of this Act; (2) the fiscal impact of using or of not using that data; and (3) the impact of the use of that data on the organization and delivery of HIV-related services. Modifies requirements regarding increases in the amount of a substantial need grant under expedited disbursement provisions. (Sec. 112) Requires that the amount of supplemental substantial need grants be determined by the Secretary based on a weighting of specified factors, with severe need counting one-third. Includes the current HIV disease prevalence, an increasing need for services, and unmet need for services as factors the Secretary must consider in determining severe need. Directs the Secretary, in determining the required factors, to develop a mechanism to use national, quantitative incidence data by 18 months after enactment of this Act (currently, by May 20, 1998). Requires mechanism modification based on the findings of a study mandated by title V of this Act. Removes provisions basing the amount of substantial need grants on substantial need grant applications. Subtitle C: Other Provisions - Requires that substantial need grant funds be used, among other purposes, for: (1) outreach to identify individuals with HIV disease who are not receiving HIV-related services; and (2) early intervention services. Requires that substantial need grants be used to provide health and support services to infants, children, youth, and women (currently, infants, children, and women) with HIV disease in the same ratio as those groups with HIV disease bear to those groups in the general population. Requires that the chief elected official of a substantial need grant-receiving area establish a quality management program to assess whether HIV health services under the substantial need grant are consistent with the most recent Public Health Service guidelines. (Sec. 123) Requires that official to ensure that the area's planning council: (1) reviews existing, available data on expenditures by substantial need grant recipient entities from their overall budget for administrative costs; and (2) makes a determination whether the financial compensation of any of those entity's officers or employees exceeds that of the official. Title II: Care Grant Program - Subtitle A: General Grant Provisions - Requires that grants to States to improve the quality, availability and organization of health care and support services for individuals with HIV disease (care grants) be used to provide health and support services to infants, children, youth, and women (currently, infants, children, and women) with HIV disease in the same ratio as those groups with HIV disease bear to those groups in the general population. (Sec. 202) Allows care grants to be used for support services, outreach activities, early intervention, and quality management. (Sec. 203) Modifies requirements regarding grants to establish HIV care consortia. (Sec. 204) Allows a State to meet a requirement to use a portion of its care grant to provide therapeutics to treat HIV disease or prevent related health deterioration (including prevention and treatment of opportunistic infections) by paying for health insurance or plans whose coverage includes a full range of such therapeutics and primary care. (Sec. 205) Requires care grant applications to contain determinations of the size, demographics, and needs of the population of individuals with HIV disease in the State. Modifies requirements regarding the comprehensive plan. Requires the public health agency that administers care grants for a State to engage in a public advisory planning process. (Sec. 206) Doubles, subject to appropriations, the minimum care grant allotment to each State and U.S. territory. Requires, after fiscal year 2004, that the care grant amount formula use the number of cases of HIV disease in the most recent year rather than the number of cases of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the most recent ten years, but until FY 2007 conditions that change on the Secretary's determination that there is sufficiently accurate and reliable data on HIV disease cases. Provides for increases in the formula amount. Requires, if an appropriations Act provides an amount exclusively for treatment drug grants, that two percent of that exclusive amount be reserved for supplemental grants to States whose HIV population's need is greater than the quantities available under treatment drug grants from the remaining unreserved 98 percent. Adds the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Palau to the list of U.S. territories. Adds the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to the list of territories for minimum allotment provisions but keeps it in the list of States for other care grant provisions. (Sec. 207) Replaces provisions mandating coordination by specified Federal agencies of Federal HIV programs with provisions directing the Secretary to make grants to States to supplement care grants for comprehensive services for communities that have a severe need for supplemental financial assistance to combat the HIV epidemic. Provides for funding for the supplemental grants. Subtitle B: Provisions Concerning Pregnancy and Perinatal Transmission of HIV - Removes provisions prohibiting (after testing of pregnant women and newborns has become a routine practice in U.S. health care) care grants to a State unless the State meets certain requirements regarding such testing. (Sec. 212) Adds HIV disease treatment services to the uses for which the Secretary may make a grant to a State that is following the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding HIV counseling and voluntary testing for pregnant women. Authorizes appropriations. Prohibits using care grant appropriations for grants under this section. (Sec. 213) Directs the Secretary to provide for a study and report to appropriate congressional committees regarding: (1) the number of newborns with HIV born in the United States in the most recent year for which the information is available; (2) barriers that prevent or discourage an obstetrician from routinely offering pregnant women an HIV test and routinely testing newborns when the mother's HIV status is unknown; and (3) recommendations for each State for reducing perinatal HIV transmission. Requires States to make reasonable progress toward meeting the recommendations. Subtitle C: Certain Partner Notification Programs - Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States for partner counseling and referral services, provided the State meets certain requirements regarding: (1) partner notification and (for the partner and the infected individual) testing, counseling, and referral; (2) health entity reporting of positive test results to the State; (3) reporting to the CDC regarding partner notification; and (4) State cooperation with the CDC national partner notification. Prohibits grants to a State after fiscal year 2003 unless the State's reporting system for HIV cases produces sufficiently accurate and reliable data. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Early Intervention Services - Subtitle A: Formula Grants for States - Repeals provisions mandating formula grants to States for outpatient early intervention services regarding HIV disease. Subtitle B: Categorical Grants - Requires giving preference to rural or underserved areas in making currently-authorized categorical grants for outpatient early intervention services. Allows planning grants to be used, subject to limitation, to assist the recipients to expand their capacity to provide services, including early intervention services, in low income communities and affected subpopulations that are underserved. Subtitle C: General Provisions - Requires that the counseling that categorical grant recipients are required to provide to HIV-infected individuals emphasize that it is the duty of infected individuals to disclose their status to their sexual and needle-sharing partners, provide advice on how to make the disclosures and emphasize that it is the infected individual's continuing duty to avoid behaviors that expose others to HIV. (Sec. 322) Increases the percentage limit on administrative expenses. Requires recipients to establish a quality management program to assess the extent to which medical services are consistent with Public Health Service guidelines for treatment of HIV disease and related opportunistic infections. Title IV: Other Programs and Activities - Subtitle A: Certain Programs for Research, Demonstrations, or Training - Replaces a requirement that, with regard to grants for providing opportunities for women, infants, children, and youth to participate in HIV research and for providing to those groups outpatient health care and additional services, that a significant number of individuals in those groups be participating in research with a requirement that the grant applicant demonstrate linkages to research and how access to research is being offered to patients. Directs the Secretary to examine the distribution and availability of research regarding grantees to enhance and expand HIV-related research, especially in underrepresented communities. Requires grantees to implement a quality management program. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 402) Includes, as a use of currently-authorized grants and contracts for training health personnel: (1) training in prenatal and other gynecological care for women with HIV disease; and (2) developing protocols for the medical care of such women. Directs the Secretary to implement a strategy for the dissemination of HIV treatment information to care providers and patients. Adds accredited dental hygiene programs as possible recipients of currently-authorized grants with respect to oral health care to (sic) patients with HIV disease. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes grants to dental schools, post-doctoral dental education programs, and accredited dental hygiene programs that partner with community-based dentists to provide care to HIV patients in underserved areas. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes appropriations for grants and contracts to assist public and nonprofit private entities and schools and academic health science centers to train health personnel, train faculty, and develop and disseminate curricula and resource materials regarding the care of HIV patients and prevention of HIV infection among at risk individuals. Subtitle B: General Provisions in Title XXVI - Extends the authorization of appropriations for grants and contracts to evaluate programs carried out under title XXVI of the Public Health Service Act (HIV Health Care Services Program). (Sec. 412) Authorizes appropriations for collecting and providing data for program planning and evaluation under title XXVI. (Sec. 413) Adds the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Health Care Financing Administration to the list of agencies (currently, the Health Resources and Services Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) charged with coordinating the planning, funding, and implementation (currently, coordinating the planning of the funding) of Federal HIV programs to enhance continuity of care and prevention services (currently, continuity of care). Requires that State, local, or private entities receiving title XXVI funds enhance continuity of care and prevention services (currently, continuity of care). (Sec. 414) Directs the Secretary to develop and submit to Congress a plan for the medical case management of and the provision of support services to individuals who had HIV disease on their date of release from the Federal or State penal system. (Sec. 415) Authorizes the Secretary to reduce title XXVI grants to a State or political subdivision if the State or subdivision fails to prepare audits. (Sec. 416) Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop and submit to Congress a plan for coordinating the disbursement of appropriations for substantial need grants with the disbursement for care grants; (2) within two years after enactment of this Act, implement the disbursement plan, notwithstanding any title XXVI provision inconsistent with the plan; (3) determine whether administration of those grants by the Secretary and grantee compliance efficiency would be improved by requiring biennial rather than annual applications; (4) develop and submit to Congress a plan for simplifying the application process for those grants; and (5) within two years after enactment of this Act, implement the simplified application plan, notwithstanding any title XXVI provision inconsistent with the plan. (Sec. 417) Removes provisions directing the Secretary to develop and implement a method for adjusting the percentages allocated to substantial need grants and care grants to account for substantial need grants to new areas and other relevant factors. Authorizes appropriations for substantial need and care grants. Title V: General Provisions - Directs the Secretary to provide for studies, and report to the appropriate congressional committees, on: (1) whether the surveillance system of each State provides for the reporting of HIV infection cases in a way that provides information on the number and demographic characteristics of the cases that is sufficiently accurate for the formula grants under substantial need and care grant provisions and, if not, recommendations for improvements; and (2) the appropriate epidemiological measures and their relationship to the financing and delivery of primary care and health related support services for low income, uninsured, and underinsured individuals with HIV disease. (Sec. 502) Requires the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand, intensify, and coordinate research and other NIH activities regarding development of reliable and affordable HIV tests that can be rapidly administered and whose results can be rapidly obtained (rapid HIV tests). Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary: (1) to report to appropriate congressional committees on the progress made toward, and barriers to, the premarket review and commercial distribution of rapid HIV tests; and (2) promptly after rapid HIV test commercial distribution begins, to establish or update guidelines for States, hospitals, and other entities regarding the availability of those tests for administration to pregnant women in labor or late stage pregnancy and whose HIV status is unknown. (Sec. 503) Directs the Secretary, of the amounts available to the Secretary for program management at the Health Resources and Services Administration, to spend amounts necessary to ensure at least a 20 percent increase in fiscal year 2001 over fiscal year 2000 of full- time-equivalent staff of the Bureau of HIV/AIDS who administer programs under title XXVI. Title VI: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective dates for this Act and its amendments.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2000
Children's Day Care Health and Safety Improvement Act - Authorizes appropriations to carry out this Act. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make allotments to States and territories to enable them to establish programs to improve the health and safety of children receiving child care outside the home by preventing illnesses and injuries associated with such care and promoting the health and well-being of such children. Sets forth an allotment formula. Requires States to submit applications to the Secretary in order to be eligible for an allotment. Describes activities to be carried out by States through the use of such allotments.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2000
Lower Gasoline Prices through Technology Access Act of 2000 - Amends the Clean Air Act to authorize the licensing of patents in cases where a right to a patent is necessary to comply with provisions regarding the regulation of fuels.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2000
National and Community Service Amendments Act of 2000 - Title I: Amendments to National and Community Service Act of 1990 - Amends the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (NCSA) to reauthorize and revise various programs. (Sec. 103) Revises provisions for school-based and community-based service-learning programs to: (1) include Indian tribes as qualified organizations for program participation; and (2) eliminate a requirement that the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) give priority to grant applications containing specified proposals. (Sec. 104) Revises provisions for the national service trust program to: (1) eliminate provisions authorizing CNCS to transfer funds to another Federal agency to support a national service program; (2) limit the CNCS's share of the aggregate cost of national service positions, through a formula based on a specified amount per participant; (3) eliminate Federal agency positions from eligibility for approval for national service positions or educational awards; (4) establish a State minimum for national service grant awards; (5) provide for grants to increase the participation of individuals with disabilities, and for demonstration programs of outreach to such individuals; (6) reserve certain funds to support programs reducing CNCS costs; and (7) modify provisions relating to participant performance, selection, terms of service, and living allowances. (Sec. 105) Revises provisions for the national service trust to include, as an allowable use of trust funds, national service scholarships (under the program established by this Act). Makes expenditures from the trust available for interest payments during forbearance on loan repayment and for national service scholarship awards. Provides that a prohibition against using the educational award to pay off loans made to parents also applies to loans made to parents under the direct student loan program. Allows educational awards to be used to pay off private or State loans. Permits the trust to be used to support a national service scholarship program to recognize secondary school juniors and seniors engaged in community service activities. (Sec. 106)Authorizes the Director of the Civilian Community Corps (CCC) to select individuals with prior supervisory or service experience to be team leaders. Requires team leaders to be selected without regard to a specified age limitation. Revises authorized benefits for CCC members. (Sec. 107) Repeals the authority of State commissions and any division of CNCS to enter into agreements for coordinating functions. (Sec. 108) Eliminates a provision relating to staggered terms for CNS board members. Allows appointed board members whose terms have expired to continue to serve for a specified limited period. Authorizes the chief executive officer (CEO) of CNCS to enter into agreements with other agencies to carry out activities to implement national service laws. (Sec. 109) Authorizes the CEO of CNCS to serve as an ex officio, nonvoting member of the board of directors of the Points of Light Foundation. (Sec. 110) Extends through FY 2005 the authorization of appropriations for programs under NCSA. Title II: Amendments to the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 - Amends the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (DVSA) to reauthorize and revise: (1) title I National Volunteer Antipoverty Programs, part A Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) including VISTA Literacy Corps, part B University Year for VISTA, part C Special Volunteer Programs including literacy challenge grants; and (2) title II National Senior Service Corps (currently National Senior Volunteer Corps), part A Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), part B Foster Grandparent Program (FGP), and part C Senior Companion Program (SCP). (Sec. 203) Includes as a VISTA objective the encouragement of supportive efforts by local agencies and organizations to achieve long-term sustainability of programs in the absence of Federal assistance. Encourages the VISTA Director to enter into agreements under which public agencies and private organizations pay all or part of the direct cost of supporting volunteers. Authorizes the VISTA Director to provide a stipend of a maximum of $200 per month to individuals designated as volunteer leaders. (Sec. 204) Renames the National Senior Volunteer Corps as the National Senior Service Corps (NSSC). Eliminates the priority for enrolling individuals age 60 and older (but continues to allow individuals age 55 and older to enroll). Allows individuals age 55 (currently 60) or older to enroll in FGP, but gives priority to enrolling individuals age 60 or older. Requires any stipend under FGP to be at least $2.55 per hour and be adjusted for inflation once prior September 30, 2005. Allows individuals age 55 (currently 60) or older to enroll in SCP, but gives priority to enrolling individuals age 60 or older. Requires the SCP Director spend certain amounts each year to promote SCP. Prohibits awarding national significance grants for RSVP, FGP, or SCP unless the appropriated allocation for each program exceeds the appropriated allocations for each of the two preceding years. (Sec. 206) Extends through 2005 the authorization of appropriations for programs under DVSA. Title III: Technical Amendments to Other Laws - Revises references and makes other technical and conforming amendments to various other Federal laws.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2000
Lower Muscogee-Creek Indian Tribe of Georgia Recognition Act - Extends Federal recognition to the Lower Muscogee-Creek Indian Tribe of Georgia. Makes the Tribe eligible for all Federal benefits and services furnished to federally recognized Indian tribes without regard to the existence of a reservation. Makes the provisions of the Indian Reorganization Act applicable to the Tribe and its members. Directs the Secretary, if the Tribe transfers interests in land within the boundaries of the State of Georgia to the Secretary, to take such interests in land into trust for the benefit of the Tribe. Makes such land the Tribe's initial reservation land. Prohibits gaming on such land. Requires the Tribe to submit a membership roll. Provides for no provision of this Act to be construed to constitute an amendment, modification, or interpretation of any treaty to which the Tribe is a party nor to any right secured to the Tribe or to any other tribe by any treaty.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2000
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) each year should begin with a day of peace and sharing during which people around the world should gather with family, friends, neighbors, their faith community, or people of another culture to pledge nonviolence in the new year and to share in a celebratory new year meal; and (2) Americans who are able should match or multiply the cost of their new year meal with a timely gift to the hungry.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2000
Equal Access to Medicare Home Health Care Act of 2000 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to payments made under the prospective payment system (PPS) for Medicare home health services: (1) eliminating the 15 percent reduction in payment rates under such PPS; (2) requiring repayment with interest of Medicare overpayments by home health agencies after a 36-month grace period during which no interest shall accrue; and (3) providing for ten percent additional payments under the PPS for services in rural areas and security services. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to Congress on the feasibility and advisability of including home health services furnished by telecommunications systems as a home health service for purposes of payment for such services under the PPS, and of requirements with respect to physician certification of the need for home health services.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2000
Legal Immigrant Children's Health Improvement Act of 2000 - Amends titles XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (Children's Health Insurance) (CHIP) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to grant States the option of covering certain categories of eligible women and child resident aliens under the Medicaid and CHIP programs.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2000
International Anti-Corruption and Good Governance Act of 2000 - Revises U.S. policy with respect to the provision of development assistance to foreign countries to require the President in assessing the commitment and progress of a country to use such assistance to help satisfy basic human needs of its poor to utilize certain criteria, including but not limited to, progress in combating corruption and improving transparency and accountability in the public and private sector. Requires technical assistance provided by a certain program to foreign governments and foreign central banks of developing or transitional countries also to include elements designed to combat anti-competitive, unethical, and corrupt activities, including protection against actions that may distort or inhibit transparency in market mechanisms and, to the extent applicable, privatization procedures. Authorizes the President to establish programs that combat corruption, improve transparency and accountability, and promote other forms of good governance in developing countries or countries eligible to receive assistance under the Support for East European Democracy (SEED) Act of 1989. Requires the President to give priority to establishing programs in countries that received a significant amount of U.S. foreign assistance for the prior fiscal year, or in which the United States has a significant economic interest, and that continue to have the most persistent problems with public and private corruption. Requires the President to report to specified congressional committees with respect to such programs. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2000
Declares that Congress: (1) acknowledges the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery in the United States and the 13 American colonies; (2) apologizes to African-Americans; (3) condemns and repudiates the gross and wanton excesses perpetrated against African-Americans during slavery; (4) recognizes the Nation's need to redress these events; (5) commends reconciliation efforts and calls for a national racial reconciliation initiative; and (6) commits to rectifying misdeeds during slavery and to discouraging future human rights violations. Declares that Congress supports establishment of: (1) a commission to examine the institution of slavery and subsequent racial and economic discrimination against African- Americans, including the impact of that discrimination on living African-Americans, issue a standardized historical public school curriculum on slavery, and explore the possibility of establishing a scholarship and research fund; and (2) a national museum and memorial regarding slavery and other significant African-American history.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2000
Provides for: (1) the identification and discipline (which may include civil money penalties and loss of annuity or retirement pay in addition to current removal authority) of members and employees of county and area agricultural committees who discriminate against other persons in administering agricultural programs; and (2) due process requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2000
USDA Accountability and Equity Act of 2000 - Title I: Improved Accountability of County and Area Committees and Their Employees - Amends the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act to increase the size of the county committees by two members who shall be: (1) appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture; and (2) demographically representative of local producers. (Sec. 102) Directs the Secretary to prescribe uniform guidelines for conducting county and area committee elections. (Sec. 103) Provides for the conversion of permanent and temporary county committee employees to Federal civil service status. Title II: Improved Program Equity - Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 respecting the environmental quality incentives program to: (1) increase program funding; (2) reduce the livestock set-aside; and (3) give priority to, establish set-asides, and waive cost-share requirements for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. (Sec. 202) Amends the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 to make permanent appropriations for 1890 land grant college grants. (Sec. 203) Amends the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to make permanent appropriations for: (1) outreach and technical assistance programs for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers; and (2) Indian reservation extension education programs. (Sec. 205) Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to make permanent appropriations for farm operating and ownership loans.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2000
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the Secretary of State, in cooperation with the Secretary of Defense, should work with the Government of the Philippines and with appropriate nongovernmental organizations in the United States and the Philippines to fully identify and share all relevant information concerning environmental contamination and health effects emanating from former U.S. military facilities in the Philippines following the departure of U.S. military forces; and (2) the United States should work with the Philippine Government to help ameliorate such environmental contamination and health effects.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2000
Stamp Out Domestic Violence Act of 2000 - Amends Federal law to require the Postal Service to establish a special rate of postage for first class mail that is up to 25 percent higher than the regular rate as a voluntary alternative that the public may use to contribute to funding for domestic violence programs. Requires collected amounts to be paid to the Department of Justice. Expresses the sense of the Congress that nothing in this Act should: (1) cause a net decrease in total funds received by the Department or any other Federal agency below the level that would have otherwise been received but for this Act's enactment; or (2) affect first-class or other regular postage rates. Requires special postage stamps to be made available to the public. Directs the Comptroller General to report to Congress on the operation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2000
Directs the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to, through the LIFE Initiative program, establish and carry out pilot programs for sub-Saharan Africa and India to prevent mother-to-child HIV/AIDS transmission through effective partnerships with nongovernmental organizations and university-based research facilities. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2000
Recognizes that the Birmingham Pledge has made a significant contribution in fostering racial harmony and reconciliation in the United States and around the world. Commends the people involved with the Pledge's creation and signatories to it for the steps they are taking to make the Nation and the world a better place for all people. Expresses the sense of Congress that a National Birmingham Pledge Week should be established.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2000
Expresses the sense of Congress that a national summit of sports, political, community, and media leaders should be convened promptly to develop a multifaceted action plan to deter acts of violence, especially domestic violence and sexual assault.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2000
Directs the Comptroller General to: (1) conduct a comprehensive fraud audit of the Department of Defense; and (2) report on the results to the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2000
Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to require certification of a group of workers (including agricultural firm or subdivision workers) as eligible to apply for trade adjustment assistance under such Act if the Secretary of Labor determines that a significant number or proportion of them in the workers' firm (or subdivision) have become totally or partially separated (or threatened with total or partial separation), and either: (1) that the firm's (or subdivision's) sales or production, or both, have decreased absolutely, imports from the People's Republic of China of like or directly competitive articles have increased by reason of the extension of normal trade relations treatment, and such increase in imports contributed importantly to such workers' separation (or threat thereof) and to the decline in the firm's (or subdivision's) sales or production; or (2) that there has been a shift in production by the workers' firm (or subdivision) to the People's Republic of China of articles like or directly competitive with the firm's (or subdivision's) articles by reason of such extension of normal trade relations treatment.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2000
Declares that Congress strongly encourages the Mexican Government to facilitate the presence of foreign human rights observers in Mexico without restrictions that prevent them from effectively carrying out human rights observation. Urges: (1) the Department of State and the U.S. Embassy in Mexico to clarify with Mexican authorities current law concerning such observers, entrance requirements, and restrictions on those observers' activities and movements; (2) the Mexican Government to respect internationally established norms for freedom of transit and of association for foreigners visiting Mexico; and (3) the Mexican Government to review all of the expulsions of human rights workers since 1994 for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and resolution of outstanding cases.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2000
National Employment Dispute Resolution Act of 2000 (NEDRA) - Amends title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to require the pertinent agency or entity to: (1) provide counseling services regarding, and endeavor to address and resolve, claims of unlawful discrimination using certified contract mediators; and (2) disseminate information regarding such services to employees and members. Mandates that any Federal agency or court (or business enterprise receiving $20,000 or more in Federal funds, or having 20 or more employees): (1) establish an internal dispute resolution mechanism that provides, as a voluntary option, employee-disputant access to external third-party certified mediators; and (2) participate in mediation in specified circumstances. Prescribes mediation guidelines. States that attorneys and consultants are legally obligated to advise their clients of the mediation alternative and their obligations to participate in "good faith".
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2000
Corporate Code of Conduct Act - Requires any national of the United States that employs more than 20 persons in a foreign country, either directly or through subsidiaries, subcontractors, affiliates, joint ventures, partners, or licensees (including any security forces), to take the necessary steps to implement the Corporate Code of Conduct specified by this Act with respect to the employment of those persons. (Sec. 3) States that such Corporate Code of Conduct requires that a U.S. national: (1) provide a safe and healthy workplace; (2) ensure fair employment, including prohibition of the use of child and forced labor, prohibition of discrimination based upon race, gender, national origin, or religious beliefs, respect for freedom of association and the right to organize independently and bargain collectively, and the payment of a living wage to all workers; (3) prohibit mandatory overtime work by employees under age 18; (4) prohibit the practice of pregnancy testing of employees, including forced usage of birth control, and the dismissal or discrimination of employees based on pregnancy; (5) prohibit retaliation against any employee who conveys information relating to a violation or alleged violation of any fair employment requirement of this Code; (6) promote specified good governance and good business practices; (7) maintain a corporate culture that respects free expression consistent with legitimate business concerns, does not condone political coercion in the workplace, encourages good corporate citizenship, makes a positive contribution to the communities in which the U.S. national operates, and promotes ethical conduct by all employees; (8) comply with internationally recognized worker rights and core labor standards; (9) uphold responsible environmental protection and environmental practices; (10) comply with minimum international human rights standards; (11) require partners, suppliers, and subcontractors of the U.S. national (including any security forces) to adopt and adhere to these principles; (12) require full public disclosure of specified information; and (13) implement and monitor compliance with these principles through a self-financing program internal to the business that meets certain requirements. (Sec. 4) Requires: (1) Federal agency heads to give preference in the award of contracts to entities adopting and enforcing such Code; (2) the Secretary of Commerce to give preference to such entities that are also U.S. exporters with introduction to contacts in foreign countries, and in coordinating trade missions; (3) the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and the Trade and Development Agency to give such entities preference in providing financing and issuing investment insurance, reinsurance, and guaranties under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961; and (4) the Export-Import Bank to give such entities preference in providing guarantees, insurance, and credit, and in participating in extensions of credit. (Sec. 5) Establishes a private right of action to petition the appropriate Federal official to investigate alleged Code compliance violations. (Sec. 6) Requires the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of State, or the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, upon a determination of Code noncompliance, to terminate a contract entered into with the noncomplying entity, and withdraw, suspend, or limit the entity's preference under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2000
Declares that Congress: (1) needs to pass legislation that amends the Federal criminal code to set penalties for persons who commit acts of violence against other persons because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability of any person; (2) condemns the culture of hate and the hate groups that foster such violent acts; (3) commends the communities throughout our Nation that are united in condemning such acts of hate in their neighborhoods, and the efforts of Federal, state, and local law enforcement officials; (4) reaffirms its commitment to a society that fully respects and protects all people.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2000
Declares that Congress: (1) condemns the use of children as soldiers by governmental and nongovernmental armed forces worldwide; (2) welcomes the optional protocol on the use of child soldiers as a critical first step in ending such use; and (3) applauds the decision by the U.S. Government to support such protocol. Calls on: (1) President Clinton to sign such protocol and the Senate to ratify it as quickly as possible; (2) the President and Congress to work together to enact a law that establishes a fund for the rehabilitation and reintegration into society of child soldiers; and (3) the Departments of State and Defense to undertake all possible efforts to persuade and encourage other governments to ratify and endorse such protocol.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2000
Authorizes the Broadcasting Board of Governors to make available to the Institute for Media Development, at the Institute's request, and in accordance with an agreement meeting specified requirements, previously broadcast audio and video materials produced by the Africa Division of the Voice of America, for academic and research purposes only. Permits deposit of such materials with the University of California, Los Angeles, or another appropriate institution of higher education.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2000
Authorizes the Homeward Bound Foundation to establish a Middle Passage National Monument on Federal land in the District of Columbia or environs to honor the millions of Africans who died in the Middle Passage en route to the Americas and at the hands of transatlantic slave traders between the 15th and 19th centuries. Makes the Foundation solely responsible for accepting contributions for, and paying the expenses of, the establishment of the monument. Prohibits the use of Federal funds for such monument.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2000
Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act of 2000 - Amends Federal Civil Service provisions to require that, of the 12 weeks of leave available to a Federal employee during any 12-month period based on the birth of a child or the placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care, up to one-half of that time (as the employee may designate) shall be with pay, in addition to any annual or sick leave which the employee may otherwise elect to use as part of the same12-week period.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2000
Insulin-Free World Medicare Pancreas Transplantation Coverage Act of 2000 - Requires any medically necessary pancreas transplantation procedure to be a covered benefit under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, whether or not such procedure is done in conjunction with another organ transplantation procedure that is a covered Medicare benefit.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2000
Women's Health Office Act of 2000 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish: (1) within the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services an Office on Women's Health (2) within the Office of the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention an office to be known as the Office of Women's Health; and (3) establish within the Office of the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality an office to be known as the Office of Women's Health. Amends the Social Security Act to establish within the Office of the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration an office to be known as the Office of Women's Health. Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to establish within the Office of the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration an office to be known as the Office of Women's Health. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2000
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to promulgate a national coverage determination under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act in order to mandate Medicare coverage of augmentative communication devices (also known as alternative communication devices) for individuals with a severe speech disability.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2000
Prohibits the President from regulating or prohibiting, directly or indirectly, travel to or from Cuba by U.S. citizens or legal residents, or any of specified transactions incident to such travel. Declares that: (1) this prohibition does not authorize the importation into the United States of any goods for personal consumption acquired in Cuba; and (2) the restrictions on authority contained in this Act do not apply in a case in which the United States is at war with Cuba, armed hostilities between the two countries are in progress, or there is imminent danger to the public health or the physical safety of U.S. travelers.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2000
Honors the service and sacrifice during periods of war by members of the U.S. merchant marine. Recognizes the critical role played by vessels of the U.S. merchant marine fleet, such as the S.S. LANE VICTORY, in transporting equipment, supplies, and personnel necessary to support war efforts. Calls for ceremonies and activities to recognize and commemorate the U.S. merchant marine.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2000
United Nations Rapid Deployment Police and Security Force Act of 2000 - (Note: Bill text contains no section 3.) Requires the President to direct the U.S. representative to the United Nations (UN) to use the voice, vote, and influence of the United States to urge the UN to: (1) establish a United Nations Rapid Deployment Police and Security Force under the authority of the Security Council that is trained to standardized objectives; (2) recruit Force personnel; and (3) provide equitable and reliable funding. Declares that the Force should have a mission statement that: (1) specifies when it will engage in operations, including when the Security Council determines that an imminent threat to the peace requires a preventive deployment or that ongoing gross violations of human rights or breaches of the peace require rapid intervention; (2) provides that the Force will consist of not more than 6,000 volunteers from UN member nations who will be deployed only by Security Council resolution; (3) provides that the Force will be organized as a sub-department within the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations or under the control of the UN's Military Staff Committee; (4) limits Force deployment to a maximum of six months; and (5) requires its basing and infrastructure service to be leased from existing member nations' institutions.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 2000
Declares that the Congress joins the international community in supporting peace and democracy in the Republic of Sierra Leone. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the President should direct the U.S. representative to the United Nations (UN) to work to bring before the UN Security Council a resolution imposing comprehensive sanctions against the sale of diamonds by rebels in Sierra Leone; (2) rebels in Sierra Leone should be condemned by the UN and the international community for murdering Kenyan troops serving as UN peacekeepers and for inflicting suffering on Sierra Leonean civilians; (3) U.S. diplomats should be dispatched to Sierra Leone to remind the rebel leaders that the peace agreement provides no amnesty for any war crimes committed since its signing; (4) because international law does not provide amnesty for war criminals, the United States should initiate actions to bring any individual who has committed war crimes during Sierra Leone's civil war to justice; and (5) U.S. authorities should not grant a visa to any individual who committed such war crimes or to members of the individual's family and should turn over any such individual found in the United States to the International War Crimes Tribunal for prosecution.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2000
Declares that Federal funding for diabetes research should be increased in accordance with the recommendations of the Diabetes Research Working Group so that a cure for juvenile diabetes can be found.
![Official portrait of Rep. McKinney, Cynthia A. [D-GA-4]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/m000523_200.jpg)