United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2000
Violence Against Women Civil Rights Restoration Act of 2000 - Rewrites provisions of the Violence Against Women Act regarding remedies for civil rights violations. Makes a person who commits a crime of violence motivated by gender and thus deprives another of a prescribed right liable to the injured party where: (1) in connection with the offense, the defendant or the victim travels in interstate or foreign commerce, the defendant or the victim uses a facility or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce, or the defendant employs a weapon, a narcotic or drug listed under the Controlled Substances Act, or other noxious or dangerous substances that have traveled in interstate or foreign commerce; (2) the offense interferes with commercial or other economic activity in which the victim is engaged; or (3) the offense was committed with intent to interfere with the victim's commercial or other economic activity. Authorizes the Attorney General, whenever there is reasonable cause to believe that any State, political subdivision, official, employee, or agent thereof has discriminated on the basis of gender in the investigation or prosecution of gender-based crimes and that discrimination is pursuant to a pattern or practice of resistance to investigating or prosecuting gender-based crimes, to institute a civil action in U.S. district court for appropriate equitable relief.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2000
Declares that Congress urges financial institutions to: (1) promote environmentally responsible dry and wet cleaning processes; and (2) work with business enterprises to provide streams of capital to protect the environment.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2000
Electric Power Industry Tax Modernization Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit a governmental unit to make an irrevocable election to terminate certain tax-exempt financing for electric output facilities. Sets forth provisions concerning independent transmission companies. Provides for the exclusion from gross income as contributions to capital of certain amounts received by electric utilities. Revises the special rules concerning the tax treatment of nuclear decommissioning costs.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2000
Restoration of Fairness in Immigration Law Act of 2000 - Title I: Due Process in Immigration Proceedings - Subtitle A: Judicial Review in Immigration Proceedings - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (Act) with respect to judicial review of: (1) administrative hearings and habeas corpus; (2) asylum determinations; (3) alien apprehension and detention; (4) document fraud waivers; (5) orders issued in absentia; and (6) denial of voluntary departure requests. Subtitle B: Fairness in Removal Proceedings - Amends the Act with respect to removal proceeding provisions, including: (1) burden of proof for admissibility; (2) presumption in favor of withdrawal of admission application; (3) emergency absences; and (4) reinstatement of removal orders against illegal reentry. Subtitle C: Fairness in Detention - Amends the Act with respect to specified detention provisions, including the establishment of a detention alternatives pilot program. Subtitle D: Consular Review of Visa Applications - Amends the Act to direct the Secretary of State to establish a Board of Visa Appeals. Title II: Fairness and Equity in Cases Involving Previous and Minor Misconduct - Subtitle A: Increased Fairness and Equity Concerning Removal Proceedings - Amends the Act to revise specified removal proceedings provisions. Subtitle B: Increased Fairness and Equity Concerning 5-Year Bars to Admission and Other Grounds for Exclusion - Amends the Act to authorize admission ban waivers and other restrictions on inadmissibility with respect to aliens who: (1) abuse student visa provisions; (2) fail to attend removal proceedings; (3) make false citizenship claims; and (4) have committed minor criminal offenses. Title III: Encouraging Family Reunification - Subtitle A: Reuniting Family Members - Amends the Act with respect to: (1) visas for spouses and children of permanent residents temporarily waiting for visa numbers; and (2) refugee and asylee status for unmarried sons and daughters of refugees and asylees, respectively. Establishes specified protections against processing delays for children. Subtitle B: Limited Waiver of Grounds of Admissibility - Amends the Act to provide discretionary waivers of inadmissibility with respect to: (1) family members; and (2) unusual circumstances. Subtitle C: Eliminating Unfairness and Waste in Section 245(i) Waivers - Amends the Act to eliminate the restriction that only aliens with preference petitions or labor certifications filed by January, 14, 1998, are eligible to adjust to permanent resident status without leaving the United States if they entered without inspection or fall within one of other specified classes. Subtitle D: Equitable Procedures Concerning Voluntary Departure - Amends the Act with respect to voluntary departure to make discretionary: (1) determination of period of voluntary departure; (2) determination of voluntary departure bond based on individual circumstances; and (3) related penalties. Subtitle E: Fairness in Determination of Public Charge - Amends the Act with respect to specified public charge provisions. Title IV: Fairness in Asylum and Public Refugee Proceedings - Subtitle A: Increased Fairness in Asylum Proceedings - Amends the Act to provide for gender-based refugee status. Subtitle B: Increased Fairness sand Rationality in Refugee Consultations - Amends the Act with respect to refugee admission consultations. Title V: Increased Fairness and Equity in Naturalization and Legalization Proceedings - Subtitle A: Naturalization Proceedings - Amends the Act to authorize appropriations for immigration petition processing and backlog reduction. Waives the English language requirement and provides special consideration for the civics requirement with respect to the naturalization of certain aliens who served with special guerilla units operating from Cambodia or Vietnam. Subtitle B: Parity in Treatment for Refugees from Central America and Haiti - Amends the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (Act) to: (1) extend permanent resident status adjustment provisions to qualifying Salvadoran, Guatemalan, Honduran, and Haitian nationals; and (2) extend the application filing deadline. Permits certain pending applications filed by Salvadoran or Guatemalan nationals under the Act or Haitian nationals under the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998 to be converted to an application for status adjustment under the Act. Amends such Acts to: (1) authorize the Attorney General to waive certain grounds of inadmissibility; and (2) provide for issuance of immigrant visas to certain spouses and children. Provides for the limited reopening of certain orders of deportation, exclusion, or removal by certain Haitian, Cuban, or Nicaraguan nationals. Subtitle C: Equality of Treatment for Women's Citizenship - Declares as U.S. citizens certain deceased women who lost their U.S. citizenship solely because of marriage to an alien. Subtitle D: Fairness in the Treatment for Refugees from Liberia - Provides for the permanent resident status adjustment of certain Liberian nationals. Subtitle E: Fairness in Review of Previously Granted Amnesty Rights - Amends the Act to eliminate the court jurisdiction limitation with respect to judicial review of denied status adjustment applications for certain (unlawful status) aliens. Subtitle F: Legal Amnesty Restoration - Amends the Act to extend registry benefits to aliens who entered the United States prior to January1, 1986. Subtitle G: Equality of Treatment for Asian American Visa Petitions - Amends the Act to extend preferential immigrant treatment to certain U.S.-fathered aliens born in the Philippines or Japan. Title VI: Fairness and Compassion in the Treatment of Battered Immigrants - Amends the Act to modify procedures and provide special rules for battered spouses and children with respect to: (1) adjustment of status; (2) removal and deportation; (3) implementation of immigration provisions in the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA); (4) waivers and exceptions to inadmissibility for otherwise qualified battered immigrants; (5) calculation of physical presence in VAWA cancellation of removal proceedings and suspension of deportation proceedings; (6) VAWA immigration protections; (7) VAWA cancellation of removal and adjustment of status for certain nonpermanent residents; and (8) good moral character determinations for self-petitioning immediate relatives. Prescribes guidelines for inapplicability of public charge determinations for designated aliens. Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to redefine "qualified alien" to include certain battered aliens for purposes of welfare and public benefits eligibility. Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980 to declare restrictions on the use of assisted housing inapplicable to certain battered aliens. Amends the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 to provide that requirements and restrictions placed upon Legal Services Corporation funding shall not be construed to prohibit a recipient from providing related legal assistance to certain aliens who have been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty. Directs the Violence Against Women Grants Office in the Department of Justice to report on services for underserved populations. Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (Act) to include legal advocacy for domestic violence in immigration cases under the program of grants to encourage arrest policies. Includes alienage status within the definition of "underserved populations." Amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to include immigration-related matters under the program of rural domestic violence and child abuse enforcement grants. Amends the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act to include alienage status within the scope of underserved populations. Amends the Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 1999 to obligate funds for grants to combat violence against women, which shall include immigration-related matters. Amends the Higher Education Amendments of 1998 to include immigration-related matters under the program of campus domestic violence grants. Amends the Act to require each branch of the U.S. military to train its supervisory military officers in domestic violence dynamics in military families, and the protections available for battered immigrant women and children. Expands the purposes of training grants to combat violent crimes against women to include: (1) training immigration and asylum officers and judges; and (2) training justice system personnel on the judicial ramifications of the Violence Against Women Act, and the potential immigration consequences for perpetrators of domestic violence. Amends the Act to express the intent of the Congress that statutory constraints upon the powers of immigration personnel not be construed as discouraging crime and domestic violence victims from reporting crimes to the police, from cooperating in criminal prosecutions, or from obtaining the legal relief needed for protection from ongoing violence. Amends the Act to establish a humanitarian-material witness nonimmigrant classification. Extends access for battered spouses and children under the Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act, the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998, and Federal law relating to Cuban adjustment. Title VII: Unused Employment-Based Immigrant Visas - Provides for the recapture of unused employment-based immigrant visas. Title VIII: Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends the Act with respect to: (1) the Board of Immigration Appeals; (2) asset forfeiture; (3) parole authority; (4) erroneous asylum applications; and (5) use of State personnel to carry out immigration functions. Directs the Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service to establish an Office of Border Patrol Recruitment and Retention. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes appropriations to carry out this Act. Title IX: Effective Dates - Sets forth effective dates.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2000
Voting Rights Clarification Act of 2000 - Amends the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to state that the purpose of denying or abridging the voting right is not limited to the purpose or intent to retrogress but can be any purpose or intent to discriminate.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2000
Community Environmental Equity Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to define "covered substance" to mean hazardous contaminants, chemicals, materials, wastes, and substances listed, identified, or defined in specified laws or designated by the President. Prohibits any entity that handles, manages, treats, releases, disposes, stores, transports, or delivers covered substances from disproportionately exposing any individual or community, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, to any covered substance. Authorizes enforcement: (1) by denial or termination of authorization to handle, manage, treat, release, discharge, dispose, store, transport, remove, move, or deliver covered substances; (2) by any other means authorized by law; and (3) for entities receiving Federal financial assistance, through specified compliance provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
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
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
Recognizes the importance of youth to the future of the United States. Supports the goals and ideas of American Youth Day. Encourages the people of the United States to participate in local and national activities that seek to fulfill the Five Promises to America's youth, as established by America's Promise--The Alliance for Youth.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2000
Recognizes the 210th anniversary of the establishment of the Coast Guard. Commends: (1) the Coast Guard's effectiveness in protecting the public, the environment, and U.S. economic and security interests; and (2) the men and women serving in the Coast Guard. Expresses support for the Coast Guard in its efforts to remain "Semper Paratus" Always Ready -- as it moves forward to meet the demands of the 21st century.
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 · 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 · 11 July 2000
Children's Dental Health Preservation Act of 2000 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to States for the purpose of: (1) identifying children, eligible for Federal programs, at risk of developing dental caries and for the provision of preventative and therapeutic services in accordance with State practice acts to reduce oral disease occurrence; and (2) training of health care professionals to educate parents on oral disease prevention.
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
Directs the Archivist of the United States to transfer to the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York, New York, the master versions of all photographic works of Griffith J. Davis which are in the possession of the National Archives and Records Administration. Requires other Federal agencies which possess such master versions to provide them to the Archivist.
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 · 22 June 2000
Broadband Internet Access Act of 2000 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish the broadband credit which shall be the sum of: (1) the current generation broadband credit; plus; (2) the next generation broadband credit. Defines terms. Requires a study and report.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2000
Community Economic Adjustment Act of 2000 - Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to establish in the Economic Development Administration (EDA) an Office of Community Economic Adjustment to coordinate the Federal Government's response to communities experiencing sudden economic distress caused by a loss of jobs due to plant closures, significant layoffs, or significant relocation of jobs to other communities for any reason, including shifting patterns in international trade, natural disasters, or other problems, by: (1) identifying relevant programs and resources to ensure that communities are aware of all available Federal resources that complement or support state and local resources and programs; (2) working with specified departments and agencies to ensure that communities receive Federal assistance in a targeted, integrated manner; and (3) assigning a project manager to work with an affected community. Directs such Office to: (1) provide technical assistance, planning grants, and other assistance to help communities organize themselves, develop, and carry out economic adjustment strategies for replacing industry and jobs that have been lost or are threatened by the economic downturn; and (2) help eligible applicants in completing applications for other assistance that may be useful in alleviating the economic distress in such communities. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2001 through 2005 for community adjustment assistance under the economic adjustment program of the EDA, including specified amounts for such Office and for communities successfully completing planning grants to implement their approved plans.
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
Elderly Housing Plus Health Support Demonstration Act - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to carry out an elderly housing plus health support demonstration program to provide elderly and disabled families in public housing with supportive and congregate services, and housing rehabilitation. Sets forth public housing authority (PHA) selection provisions. Authorizes appropriations for capital improvements Directs the Secretary to provide PHA grants under the Housing Act of 1937 for service coordinator and congregate services. 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
Fair Credit Reporting Act Amendments of 2000 - Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to mandate that, upon consumer request, a consumer reporting agency: (1) furnish an annual credit report free of charge; and (2) disclose credit risk scores or other predictors contained in the consumer's file, including the factors and relative weights taken into account, and the extent to which such factors raise or lower the score or predictor. (Currently such disclosures are prohibited). Prohibits the inclusion of certain small debts in a consumer report under specified circumstances. Directs the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Trade Commission to: (1) monitor and review the extent to which consumer reporting agencies and purveyors of information to such agencies comply with FCRA requirements for the prompt investigation of matters in dispute and the prompt correction of inaccurate or incomplete information, or information that cannot be verified; and (2) present a progress report to Congress.
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
Gray Market Cigarettes Abolition Act of 2000 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to cigarettes manufactured for export, but which nevertheless are sold domestically. Sets additional restrictions on tobacco products labeled for export. Requires imported cigarettes to meet specified requirements of the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act, as well as other specified requirements. Establishes additional civil penalties for, and requires the forfeiture of, cigarettes sold for domestic consumption without the precise warnings required by the Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act.
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 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 · 24 May 2000
Cuban Internal Opposition Assistance Act of 2000 - Instructs the President to: (1) use specified funds to implement assistance for victims of the most extreme political repression and to assist independent nongovernmental opposition organizations inside Cuba; (2) ensure adequate verification and monitoring of such funds' destination; and (3) authorize issuance of licenses to independent nongovernmental organizations to send monetary remittances to independent nongovernmental opposition organizations to implement specified activities under the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act of 1996.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2000
Physical Education for Progress Act - Amends title X (Programs of National Significance) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to authorize the Secretary of Education to award grants to, and enter into contracts with, local educational agencies (LEAs) to initiate, expand, and improve physical education programs for all kindergarten through 12th grade students. Requires such grants and contracts to be used for: (1) providing equipment and support to enable students to actively participate in physical education activities; (2) developing or enhancing physical education curricula to meet national goals developed by the Secretary; and (3) providing funds for staff and teacher training and education. Requires LEA assistance applications for such assistance to contain plans for helping school physical education programs make progress toward meeting State standards for physical education or specified goals. Prohibits extracurricular activities such as team sports and Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program activities from consideration as part of the curriculum of a physical education program assisted under this Act. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2000
Women Vietnam Veterans' Children's Birth Defects Benefits Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide a child of a woman Vietnam veteran who is suffering from a covered birth defect (birth defects other than spina bifida and those resulting from a familial disorder, birth-related injury, or fetal or neonatal infirmity with well-established causes) with necessary health care to address the defect and any associated disability. Authorizes the Secretary to provide vocational training to such a child if the achievement of a vocational goal is reasonably feasible. Directs the Secretary to pay a monthly allowance, based on the degree of disability, to any child of a woman Vietnam veteran who suffers from a disability resulting from a covered birth defect which results in permanent impairment of a physical or mental function. Prohibits such allowance from affecting the right to receive other veterans' benefits or compensation.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2000
Amends Federal law to direct the Postal Service to establish a special (semipostal) postage rate for first-class mail in order to afford the public a convenient way to contribute to funding for the establishment of the World War II Memorial. Expresses the sense of Congress that nothing in this Act should: (1) directly or indirectly cause a net decrease in total funds received by the American Battle Monuments Commission below the level that would otherwise have been received but for the enactment of this section; or (2) affect regular first-class rates of postage or any other regular rates of postage.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2000
Digital Bridge Trust Fund Act - Amends the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act to establish in the Treasury the Digital Bridge Trust Fund. Appropriates to the Fund 100 percent of the amounts received by the Treasury after FY 2000 as taxes on communications required under the Internal Revenue Code. Establishes in the Department of Commerce the Board of Trustees of the Digital Bridge Trust Fund to make decisions with respect to allocations authorized under this Act. Requires the Board to submit annual reports to the President and Congress regarding its activities. Requires the Board to ensure that assistance provided herein is: (1) made available for the benefit of rural and urban areas and Native Americans in a manner that targets such assistance for areas, communities, and populations that are underserved with respect to information technology needs, employment, and education; and (2) appropriately allocated. Directs the Board to make such assistance available for FY 2001 through 2010 for: (1) teacher training; (2) community technology centers; (3) neighborhood network learning centers; (4) the Technology Development Fund; (5) the Technology Opportunity Program; (6) rural, urban, and Native American technology training; (7) broadband network deployment; (8) the Home Internet Access Program; and (9) the Falling Through the Net survey (to determine the extent to which Americans have access to telephones, computers, and the Internet). Allows excess amounts to be allocated at the Board's discretion. Authorizes the Board, in any of fiscal years 2006 through 2010, to reduce the amounts of assistance provided during the first five years. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2001 through 2010. Repeals this Act on October 1, 2010. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce from 3 to 1.5 percent, as of October 1, 2000, the excise tax on telephone and other communications services. Expresses the sense of Congress that providers of communications services should not increase service rates based upon such reduction.
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 · 17 May 2000
Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to restore the authority of States to transfer up to ten percent of TANF funds to carry out State programs pursuant to SSA title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services). Amends SSA title XX to restore funds to States and territories for FY 2001 and each fiscal year thereafter and to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to compile the information submitted by the States and report it annually to Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2000
Dual Degree Achievement Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish a Dual Degree Achievement program of assistance for partnerships between minority-serving institutions (MSIs) and other institutions of higher education (IHEs) that enable students attending MSIs to earn dual degrees and enter fields in which students from MSIs are underrepresented. Directs the Secretary of Education to make five-year grants to eligible partnerships to carry out the program activities. Requires such partnerships to include one or more MSIs that award baccalaureate degrees and one or more partner IHEs that offer baccalaureate or post-baccalaureate degrees not awarded by the MSIs with which they are partnered. Allows such partnerships also to include other public and private entities, including MSIs (such as community colleges) that do not award baccalaureate degrees, community-based organizations, and businesses. Sets forth application requirements, including assurances that each participating student: (1) is enrolled in an academic program that leads to a five-year baccalaureate or post-baccalaureate degree not awarded by the MSI; and (2) upon successful completion of the program, will be awarded a baccalaureate degree from the MSI and a baccalaureate degree or a master's degree from the partner IHE that the student attends. Directs the Secretary to publish an annual list of baccalaureate and post-baccalaureate degree fields of study associated with professions in which students attending MSIs are underrepresented. Requires grants to be used for: (1) support services for participating students, including tutoring, mentoring, academic and personal counseling, and transition services; (2) scholarships to students in their fourth and fifth years in the program; (3) reimbursement to MSIs for the amount of tuition that they would have received had participating students attended those MSIs during their fourth year of the program instead of the partner IHE; and (4) academic program enhancements at the MSI that increase program quality and the number of student participants in the dual degree program. Requires that such scholarships: (1) reflect any additional amount of tuition and fees charged the participating student by the partner IHE compared to that charged by the MSI during the student's third year in the program; and (2) not be considered for the purposes of awarding Federal Pell Grants. Requires a majority of funds received under this program to be expended for such scholarships to students and such reimbursement to MSIs. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2000
Small Business Trade Protection Act - Exempts certain small business importers, subject to specified limitations, from increased tariffs or import restrictions imposed upon European Union (EU) goods in response to the EU's banana regime and its ban on imports of U.S. beef treated with scientifically proven safe hormones. Cites eligibility criteria for rebate of additional tariffs paid by certain small business owners.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2000
Empowerment Zones Enhancement Act of 2000 - Amends: (1) Internal Revenue Code empowerment zone employment credit provisions to permit additional empowerment zones; and (2) title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) of the Social Security Act to provide funding for additional empowerment zones and enterprise communities.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2000
Computers in Our Community Act - Amends the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act to establish a Computers in Our Community Program. (Sec. 3) Directs the Secretary of Commerce (the Secretary), acting through the Assistant Secretary, to make grants to participating SEAs for allocation among local educational agencies (LEAs). Allows such funds to be used for: (1) purchase of computers that meet a minimum standard as determined by the Secretary; (2) the electrical wiring that schools may require to connect computers to each other and to the Internet; and (3) hiring technological assistants to ensure that each school has access to a trained computer professional to provide technology training for teachers and perform maintenance of computer systems. Allows the use of such funds to pay a maximum of one technological assistant per: (1) five elementary schools; (2) three middle schools; and (3) two high schools. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Assistant Secretary, to award competitive grants to the following entities for the following programs: (1) nonprofit organizations, to establish job training programs for preparing low-income individuals for computer and technology related jobs (digital divide workforce training initiative); (2) community centers and libraries, to provide greater access to, instruction on, and assistance with computers and the Internet (technology access); (3) institutions of higher education (IHEs) that create successful partnerships between their education and computer departments to create software or Internet applications to train teachers in using computers, and using computers to teach students or to use in the classroom to teach students (computer curriculum partnership). Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Education to develop a clearinghouse to make available to other schools throughout the Nation information derived from activities of IHE recipients of curriculum partnership grants. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 4) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish the Computers in Our Communities Trust Fund. Transfers to such Fund amounts equivalent to certain taxes on communications. Makes amounts in such fund available for appropriations to carry out the Computers in Our Communities Program. (Sec. 5) Reduces an excise tax on telephone and other communications services.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 2000
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that ancestors and lineal descendants of past or present members of the Armed Forces shall be taken into account in determining whether a veterans' organization is exempt from tax.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2000
Medicaid Community Attendant Services and Supports Act of 2000 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to provide for Medicaid coverage of community attendant services and supports for eligible individuals with disabilities. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to eligible States which have established a Consumer Task Force to assist the State in its development of real choice systems change initiatives with regard to consumer-responsive long-term services to eligible individuals. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the National Council on Disability to review and report to Congress on: (1) certain Medicaid regulations on home health and personal care services; and (2) how excessive use of medical services can be reduced by using community attendant services and supports. Directs the Secretary to establish a task force to examine appropriate methods for financing long-term services and supports.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2000
Designates the U.S. Postal Service facility located at 440 South Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando, Florida, as the Arthur "Pappy" Kennedy Post Office Building.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2000
State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) Preservation Act of 2000 - Requires amounts allotted to a State under title XXI (Children's Health Insurance) of the Social Security Act for FY 1998 and 1999 to remain available through FY 2002, notwithstanding a specified time limitation on the availability of such amounts.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2000
MediKids Health Insurance Act of 2000 - Amends the Social Security Act to add a new title XXII (MediKids Program) under which an eligible individual born after December 31, 2001, who has not attained age 23 may enroll in the MediKids Program for entitlement to benefits specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Includes among such benefits the following: (1) at least the same benefits available under Medicare parts A (Hospital Insurance) and B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) under SSA title XVIII; (2) early and periodic screening, diagnostic services, and treatment services under Medicaid (SSA title XIX); and (3) prescription drugs and biologicals. Provides for cost-sharing, a payment schedule for covered benefits, and a monthly MediKids premium and the means for payment of it. Provides for a reduction in premium for certain low-income families. (Sec. 2) Creates in the Treasury the MediKids Trust Fund (Trust Fund) for collected premiums, appropriated amounts, and other revenues for use in funding the coverage provided under the MediKids Program and maintaining its financial solvency. Authorizes the Secretary to implement a care coordination services program including specified elements under which eligible individuals may elect to have health care services covered under new SSA title XXII managed and coordinated by a designated care coordinator. Sets forth administration and miscellaneous provisions applicable to new SSA title XXII, including provisions for coordination with Medicaid and SSA title XXI (Children's Health Insurance) and the maintenance of Medicaid eligibility and benefits for children. Amends SSA title XVIII to increase the membership of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission from 17 to 19 members, with the initial terms of additional members staggered. (Sec. 3) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) impose a MediKids premium tax in the case of any taxpayer required to pay a premium under the MediKids Program for an eligible individual; and (2) provide for a refundable tax credit for cost-sharing expenses under the MediKids Program. (Sec. 5) Mandates deposit in the Treasury of any amounts: (1) recovered by the United States in the civil action brought on September 22, 1999, under the Medical Care Recovery Act and other specified provisions of Federal law in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the tobacco industry and associated parties; and (2) attributable to expenditures of HHS for tobacco-related illnesses. (Sec. 6) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to propose a gradual schedule of progressive tax changes to fund the MediKids program as the number of enrollees grows in the out-years.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2000
Farmers for Africa Act of 2000 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish the Farmers for Africa Program to provide grants for exchange programs with African-American farmers and other agricultural specialists and (sub-Saharan) African farmers. Authorizes appropriations.
![Official portrait of Rep. Meek, Carrie P. [D-FL-17]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/m000628_200.jpg)