United States · United States Congress · 17 May 1999
Government Waste Corrections Act of 1999 - Requires each Federal executive agency to: (1) conduct recovery audits with respect to each payment activity of the agency that expends $10 million or more annually (permits an agency to conduct such audits for any other payment activity); (2) give priority to the most recent payments; and (3) implement such recovery audit requirement in a manner ensuring the greatest financial benefit to the Government. Permits agencies to conduct such audits directly, by procuring performance of such audits by contract, or by any combination thereof. Sets forth agency authorities with respect to recovery audits procured by contract. Provides for agencies to include in such contracts a requirement that the contractor: (1) provide reports on conditions giving rise to overpayments and recommendations on how to mitigate such conditions; and (2) notify the agency of any overpayments. Allows the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to exempt any agency payment activity if conducting recovery audits for that activity would not be practical or cost-effective. Requires the Director to designate no fewer than five recovery audit model programs for the purpose of stimulating and enhancing recovery audits in the Federal Government by developing best practices and otherwise identifying ways to make recovery audits more effective, ensuring that such programs complement, and in no way preempt or delay, other Federal recovery audit activities. Requires such programs to: (1) reflect a representative range of executive agencies, program activities, and payment practices; and (2) continue for at least one year. Sets forth provisions for the disposition of amounts collected by agencies through recovery audits. Directs each agency to conduct a management improvement program consistent with rules prescribed by the Director. Requires the agency, as the first priority of the program, to address problems that contribute directly to agency overpayments. Permits the agency to seek to reduce errors and waste in other executive programs and operations by improving its staff capacity, information technology, and financial management. Permits an agency to pay cash awards to the agency's career employees who have made extraordinary contributions to improving the agency's operations in a way that reduces waste and error. Requires the Director to coordinate and oversee the implementation of this Act, issue rules, provide support to agencies in implementing this Act, and submit three annual reports on this Act's implementation to the President, the House Committee on Government Reform, the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, and the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. Requires the Comptroller General, after the issuance of each such report, to report on this Act's implementation to such Government officials.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1999
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Engineering Establishment Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to provide for the establishment of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Engineering. Requires the Director of the Institute to establish a National Biomedical Imaging and Engineering Program which shall include research and related technology assessments and development in biomedical imaging and engineering. Requires the Director, with respect to such Program, to prepare and transmit to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) a plan to initiate, expand, intensify, and coordinate Institute biomedical imaging and engineering activities. Requires: (1) the consolidation and coordination of Institute biomedical imaging and engineering research and related activities with those of the NIH and other Federal agencies; and (2) the establishment of an Institute advisory council. Authorizes: (1) appropriations for the Institute for FY 2000 through 2002; and (2) the transfer of appropriate NIH personnel and research facilities for Institute activities.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1999
Authorizes the Pyramid of Remembrance Foundation to establish a memorial in the District of Columbia or its environs to honor members of the U.S. armed forces who have lost their lives during peacekeeping operations, humanitarian efforts, training, terrorist attacks, or covert operations. Prohibits the use of Federal funds in establishing such memorial, except as provided by the Commemorative Works Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1999
Provides that, among Indian tribes competing for Federal grants, priority shall be given to Indian tribes that certify, through a process established by the Secretary of the Interior, that retail establishments operating on trust lands within a tribes's jurisdiction are collecting and paying all qualified State retail taxes. Sets forth procedures and penalties (including removal of tribal lands from trust status) regarding failure of Indians or Indian tribes to pay qualified State retail taxes on goods sold to nontribal members on tribal lands.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1999
Nazi Benefits Termination Act of 1999 - Denies Federal public benefits to individuals who have been participants in Nazi persecution. Authorizes the Attorney General, if an individual who has applied for or is receiving a Federal public benefit may have been such a participant, to provide an opportunity for a hearing on the record with respect to the matter. Allows the Attorney General to delegate the conduct of the hearing to an immigration judge. Describes hearing procedures under this Act. Requires an immigration judge who finds that the respondent has been a participant in Nazi persecution to: (1) promptly issue an order declaring the respondent to be ineligible for any Federal public benefit and prohibiting any person from providing such a benefit to the respondent; and (2) transmit a copy of the order to any governmental entity or person known to be so providing such a benefit. Authorizes the Attorney General to review any finding or conclusion made, or order issued, and to complete the review within a specified period, or the finding, conclusion, or order shall be final. Allows any party aggrieved by a final order issued under this Act to obtain judicial review of the order by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Removal of Barriers to Housing Affordability Title II: Homeownership Through Mortgage Insurance and Loan Guarantees Title III: Section 8 Homeownership Option Title IV: Community Development Block Grants Title V: Home Investment Partnerships Program Title VI: Local Homeownership Initiatives Title VII: Manufactured Housing Improvement Title VIII: Indian Housing Homeownership Title IX: Transfer of Unoccupied and Substandard Hud-Held Housing to Local Governments and Community Development Corporations Title X: Private Mortgage Insurance Cancellation and Termination American Homeownership and Economic Opportunity Act of 1999 - Title I: Removal of Barriers to Housing Affordability - Housing Affordability Barrier Removal Act of 1999 - Requires proposed and final agency rules to analyze their impact upon affordable housing availability, including provision for interested parties to offer alternatives, which shall be incorporated into the final rule if found to accomplish required objectives with a less deleterious effect upon housing. Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to develop model housing impact analyses. (Sec. 103) Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 to authorize direct appropriations for State and local grants for regulatory barrier removal. Makes consortia of local governments eligible grantees. Requires grant use in coordination with the local comprehensive affordability strategy under the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act. (Sec. 104) Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to require jurisdictions to make good faith efforts at affordable housing barrier removal in order to qualify for community development block grants (CDBG) (without creating a private right of action). (Sec. 105) Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 to state that the regulatory barriers clearinghouse shall be established within the Office of Policy Development of HUD under the direction of the Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research. Title II: Homeownership Through Mortgage Insurance and Loan Guarantees - Directs the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study of mandatory inspection requirements under the single family housing mortgage insurance program. (Sec. 202) Amends the National Housing Act to extend the loan term for manufactured home lot purchases. (Sec. 203) Neighborhood Teachers Act - Amends the National Housing Act to establish a (temporary) discounted home purchase program for elementary and secondary teachers. Sets forth program provisions, including a three-year residential use requirement. (Sec. 204) Authorizes mortgage insurance to refinance existing home equity conversion mortgages. Title III: Section 8 Homeownership Option - Amends the United States Housing Act to provide a single grant home ownership downpayment option under the section 8 housing assistance program. Title IV: Community Development Block Grants - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to authorize appropriations for the CDBG program. Prohibits set-asides, with specified exceptions. (Sec. 403) Authorizes block grant use for: (1) qualifying municipal employee (including teachers) home ownership assistance; and (2) brownfields projects environmental cleanup and economic development. (Sec. 405) Amends the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act to authorize appropriations for the housing opportunities for persons with AIDS program. Title V: Home Investment Partnerships Program - Amends the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act to authorize appropriations for affordable housing programs. Prohibits set-asides, with specified exceptions. (Sec. 502) Makes limited equity cooperatives and mutual housing associations eligible for home investment partnerships. (Sec. 503) Permits loan pool investment of partnership funds. (Sec. 504) Authorizes the Secretary to make home investment partnerships loan guarantees. Sets forth an aggregate loan guarantee limitation. (Sec. 505) Amends the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act to make qualifying municipal employees (including teachers) eligible for home ownership assistance. Title VI: Local Homeownership Initiatives - Amends the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation Act to authorize appropriations for the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation. (Sec. 602) Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 to revise the home ownership zone grant program, including providing: (1) grant eligibility for units of general local government (currently nonprofit organizations); and (2) assistance targeting for specified low-income home buyers. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 603) Expresses the sense of Congress in favor of lease-to-own tenancies as home ownership tools. (Sec. 604) Amends the HUD Demonstration Act of 1993 to make the National Association of Housing Partnerships eligible for local capacity grants. Removes the specified amount of authorized appropriations. (Sec. 605) Amends the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act to provide for a consolidated application and planning submission under the following programs: (1) HOME investment partnerships; (2) CDBG; (3) the economic development initiative; (4) emergency shelter grants; and (5) housing opportunities for persons with AIDS. Title VII: Manufactured Housing Improvement - Manufactured Housing Improvement Act - Amends the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 to revise Federal construction and safety provisions for manufactured homes based upon a consensus standards development process. Eliminates the National Manufactured Home Advisory Council. Title VIII: Indian Housing Homeownership - Establishes the Lands Title Report Commission to facilitate home loan Mortgages on Indian trust lands. Terminates the Commission one year after its initial meeting. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 802) Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 to make permanent Indian housing loan guarantee authority. Title IX: Transfer of Unoccupied and Substandard HUD-Held Housing to Local Governments and Community Development Corporations - Amends the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997 to direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to transfer ownership of qualified HUD-held properties (substandard or unoccupied multifamily or unoccupied single family properties) to local governments and community development corporations under specified conditions. Title X: Private Mortgage Insurance Cancellation and Termination - Amends the Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 with respect to adjustable rate mortgages to: (1) revise definitions of "cancellation date" and "termination date"; (2) define "amortization schedule"; and (3) revise high risk loan provisions. (Sec. 1002) Authorizes modifications of termination, cancellation, and final termination date provisions. (Sec. 1003) Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) disclosure; and (2) balloon payments.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1999
Notch Baby Act of 1999 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act with respect to the benefit computation formula for individuals who reached age 65 after 1981 and before 1992 and to whom applies the period of transition to the changes in benefit computation rules enacted in the Social Security Amendments of 1977. Sets forth a schedule of additional benefit increases for such beneficiaries (and related beneficiaries), with percentages declining from 60 percent to ten percent keyed to a specified two year period during which an individual became eligible for such benefits between 1979 and the end of 1988.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1999
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits outlays for a fiscal year (except those for repayment of debt principal) from exceeding total receipts (except those derived from borrowing or from any surplus within the Federal Old-Age and Survivors and Disability Insurance Trust Funds) for that fiscal year unless the Congress, by a three- fifths roll call vote of each House, authorizes a specific excess of outlays over receipts. Requires a three-fifths roll call vote of each House to increase the public debt. Directs the President to submit a budget which conforms to this article's requirements to the Congress. Requires the approval of a majority of each House by roll call vote before any bill to increase revenue may become law. Authorizes Congress to waive these provisions, solely to the extent necessary for additional military funding, when: (1) a declaration of war is in effect; or (2) the United States is engaged in a military conflict which poses a threat to national security as declared by a joint resolution adopted by a majority of each House. Makes this article effective the first fiscal year beginning after its ratification.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1999
Expresses the sense of Congress that it: (1) rejects and condemns suggestions in a study recently published by the American Psychological Association that sexual relationships between adults and children might be positive for children; (2) urges the President to likewise reject and condemn any such suggestion; and (3) encourages competent investigations to continue to research the effects of child sexual abuse using the best methodology, so that the public and public policymakers may act upon accurate information.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 1999
Conduit Contribution Prevention Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to increase civil money and criminal penalties for knowing and willful violations of the prohibition against making or accepting contributions in the name of another. Sets both civil and criminal fines at not less than 300 percent of the amount involved in the violation and not more than the greater of $50,000 or 1,000 percent of such amount. Mandates a criminal fine or two years' imprisonment, or both. Limits criminal penalties to violations involving an amount aggregating $1,000 or more during a calendar year. Changes from discretionary to mandatory the authority of the Federal Election Commission to refer to the Attorney General any instance of probable cause that a violation of such prohibition has occurred. Revises the current ban on contributions by foreign nationals to encompass all disbursements by foreign nationals, including any disbursement to a political committee of a political party and any disbursement for an independent expenditure.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1999
Commends President Glafcos Clerides of Cyprus for his decision to cancel the deployment of the S-300 antiaircraft missiles in Cyprus. Urges the President of the United States to use the influence of the U.S. Government to persuade Turkey to comply with United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1217 and 1218 and to cooperate for a solution to the Cyprus problem.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: HealthMarts Title II: Health Care Access and Choice Through Individual Membership Associations (IMAs) Title III: Federal Matching Funding for State Insurance Expenditures Title IV: Small Business Access and Choice for Entrepreneurs Act of 1999 Title V: Improvement to Access and Choice of Health Care Title VI: Patient Access to Information Patients' Health Care Choice Act of 1999 - Title I: HealthMarts - Amends the Public Health Service Act to create a new title on HealthMarts. Requires that HealthMarts: (1) be nonprofit entities composed of employers, employees, other individuals eligible to participate in the HealthMart, health care providers, and entities that underwrite or administer health benefits coverage; and (2) make available health coverage to all employers, eligible employees, and individuals at rates established by the insurance issuer on a policy or product specific basis. Deems HealthMarts group health plans for purposes of specified provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code. Requires that coverage made available to an eligible employee or individual in a geographic area be offered to all eligible employees or individuals in the same area. Declares that the HealthMart: (1) provides coverage only through contracts with issuers and does not assume insurance risk; (2) provides administrative services for purchasers; and (3) collects and disseminates consumer information on all offered coverage options. Requires that HealthMart coverage provide full portability of creditable coverage for individuals who remain members of the same HealthMart, notwithstanding that they change employers, and notwithstanding that they terminate the employment, if the HealthMart permits individual enrollment. Allows HealthMart coverage to include coverage through a health maintenance organization (HMO), a preferred provider or licensed provider-sponsored organization, an insurance company, a medical savings or flexible spending account, a point-of-service option, or any combination of those coverages. Requires a HealthMart to permit any employer or individual to contract for coverage, and prohibits varying eligibility conditions. Prohibits the purchaser from obtaining or sponsoring coverage other than through the HealthMart. Prohibits enrollment discrimination based on health. Requires HealthMarts to make at least two coverage options available, at least one of which is a non-network option. Supersedes certain related State laws. Provides for the application of: (1) certain existing ERISA and Public Health Service Act requirements; and (2) renewability requirements when the contract between a HealthMart and an issuer is terminated. Title II: Health Care Access and Choice Through Individual Membership Associations (IMAs) - Creates a new Public Health Service Act title on Individual Membership Associations (IMAs), defining IMA to mean an entity that: (1) has been in existence for at least five years for purposes other than obtaining insurance; (2) does not condition membership an health factors; (3) makes health coverage available to all IMA members and their dependents through an HMO, a preferred provider or licensed provider-sponsored organization, an insurance company, a medical savings or flexible spending account, a point-of-service option, or any combination of those coverages; and (4) does not make coverage available other than in connection with an IMA member. Supersedes certain related State laws. Title III: Federal Matching Funding for State Insurance Expenditures - Requires that each State receive from the Secretary of Health and Human Services an amount equal to 50 percent of the funds expended by the State for a health benefits high risk pool, reinsurance pool, or other risk adjustment mechanism to subsidize the purchase of private health insurance. Title IV: Affordable Health Coverage for Employees of Small Businesses - Small Business Access and Choice for Entrepreneurs Act of 1999 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to establish rules governing health plans sponsored by certain associations, including requirements for: (1) certification; (2) sponsors and boards of trustees, and treatment of franchised networks and collectively bargained plans; (3) participation and coverage of employers and individuals and of previously uninsured employees; (4) plan documents, contribution rates, and benefit options; (5) maintenance of reserves, excess-stop loss insurance, and solvency indemnification for plans providing health benefits in addition to health insurance coverage; (6) applications and related reporting; (7) notice for voluntary termination; and (8) corrective actions and mandatory termination. (Sec. 402) Directs the Secretary of Labor to apply, to the appropriate Federal district court, to be appointed trustee of certain insolvent association health plans which provide health benefits in addition to health insurance coverage. Allows a State to impose a contribution tax on an association health plan that begins operations in such State after the enactment of this Act. (Sec. 403) Revises requirements for treatment of single employer arrangements. (Sec. 404) Revises requirements for certain collectively bargained arrangements. (Sec. 405) Sets forth enforcement requirements relating to association health plans. (Sec. 406) Sets forth State responsibilities, and requirements for cooperation between Federal and State authorities, with respect to association health plans. (Sec. 407) Prescribes special rules for certain existing health benefits programs. Title V: Improvement to Access and Choice of Health Care - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude any compensating coverage employer payment from the gross income of an eligible employee who elects not to participate in an employer-subsidized health plan. (Sec. 501) Defines compensating coverage payment as: (1) any payment made by the employer for qualified health insurance specified by the employee which covers all of the individuals who, but for such election, would be covered under the employer's subsidized health plan; and (2) any payment made by the employer to any medical savings account (MSA) of such employee or spouse. Defines employer health plan contribution as the applicable premium for the employee reduced by the employee's share of such premium, as determined by the employer on an actuarial basis taking into account the employee's age, sex, and geography and similarly situated beneficiaries. Specifies conditions on employer participation in a compensating coverage payment program. Excludes from such a program: (1) any employee covered under a subsidized health plan of another employer or of an employer of the employee's spouse; (2) any employee who normally works less than 25 hours per week; (3) any employee who normally works during not more than six months during any year; (4) any employee under age 21; and (5) any employee covered by a collective bargaining agreement. Requires an employer to report health plan contributions on an employee's W-2 form. (Sec. 502) Allows a tax credit to an individual for a portion of the amount paid during the taxable year for qualified health insurance for coverage of the taxpayer, his spouse, and dependents. Specifies a formula for determination of such credit. Disallows the credit for: (1) any amounts paid for coverage under any subsidized health plan maintained by any employer of the taxpayer or of the taxpayer's spouse; or (2) any taxable year for which any compensating coverage payment is excluded from the taxpayer's gross income. Sets forth requirements for qualified health insurance, including no exclusion from, or limitation on, coverage for any preexisting medical condition of certain applicants. Terminates such credit as of December 31, 2002. (Sec. 503) - Medical Savings Account Effectiveness Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal: (1) the limitations on the number of taxpayers having MSAs; and (2) the limitation of MSAs to small employers (thus permitting all employers to offer them). Revises the amount of deduction allowed for contributions to MSAs to set the monthly limitation at one-12th of the annual deductible of the individual's coverage under the high deductible health plan. Revises the denial of an employee's MSA contribution deduction if an employer makes income-excludible contributions to the employee's MSA. Reduces the limitation on such a deduction by the amount of an employer's contribution (thus allowing both employers and employees to contribute to the employee's MSA). Reduces the minimum deductibles under a high deductible health plan: (1) from $1,500 to $1,000 for self-only coverage; and (2) from $3,000 to $2,000 for family coverage. Allows MSAs to be offered under cafeteria plans. (Sec. 504) Increases the maximum deductibles under a high deductible health plan: (1) from $2,250 to $5,000 for self-only coverage; and (2) from $4,500 to $10,000 for family coverage. Title VI: Patient Access to Information - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require each health insurance issuer offering coverage in connection with a group plan to provide: (1) the plan's Administrator with specified information on plan benefits, a participant's financial responsibilities, legal recourse options available for participants and beneficiaries, and a summary of information available on request; (2) to a participant or to an employee eligible to participate, in certain circumstances, the summary plan description (if requested, in an electronic format); and (3) prior notice to participants of exclusion of a specific drug or biological from any drug formulary that is used in the treatment of a chronic illness or disease.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1999
Urges the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the majority leader of the Senate, and the Administration to support the efforts and recommendations of the U.S. Congress-Russian Duma meeting in Vienna, Austria, held April 30 to May 1, 1999, to bring about a fair, equitable, and peaceful settlement between warring factions in Yugoslavia. Urges that focus be provided on the following three tasks (without regard to sequence) to achieve such a settlement: (1) the termination of bombing by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; (2) the withdrawal of Serbian armed forces from Kosovo; and (3) the cessation of the military activities of the Kosovo Liberation Army. Calls for such tasks to be accomplished through a specified series of confidence-building measures, including: (1) the release of all prisoners of war; (2) the repatriation of all refugees; and (3) an agreement on the composition of the international forces which would administer Kosovo after the Serbian withdrawal.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 1999
Recognizes the unique opportunity that the dawn of a millennium presents to the people of this Nation to humble and reconcile themselves with God and with one another. Urges all Americans to unite in seeking God through humble prayer and fasting. Recommends that the leaders in national, State, and local governments, in business, and in the clergy appoint, and call the people they serve to observe, a day of solemn prayer, fasting, and humiliation before God.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Abolishment of Department of Energy Title II: Energy Laboratory Facilities Title III: Privatization of Federal Power Marketing Administrations Title IV: Transfer and Disposal of Reserves Title V: National Security and Environmental Management Programs Subtitle A: Defense Nuclear Programs Administration Subtitle B: Environmental Restoration Activities at Defense Nuclear Facilities Title VI: Disposition of Miscellaneous Particular Programs, Functions, and Agencies of Department Title VII: Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Title VIII: Miscellaneous Provisions Department of Energy Abolishment Act - Title I: Abolishment of Department of Energy - Redesignates the Department of Energy (DOE) as the Energy Programs Resolution Agency (the Agency), headed by an Administrator to perform the previous functions of the Department of Energy. Provides for the continuation of service of the Secretary of Energy as the interim Administrator. (Sec. 105) Authorizes the Administrator to establish, consolidate, alter, or discontinue in the Energy Programs Resolution Agency any organizational entities that were entities of DOE. Sunsets the Agency three years after enactment of this Act. Directs the Comptroller General to report to the Congress on the most efficient way to accomplish the complete abolishment of DOE and the transfer or termination of its functions. Title II: Energy Laboratory Facilities - Establishes an independent Energy Laboratory Facilities Commission to privatize and reduce energy laboratories and programs. Prescribes procedural guidelines. (Sec. 205) Establishes the Energy Laboratory Facility Closure Account to fund implementation of such guidelines. Title III: Privatization of Federal Power Marketing Administrations - Federal Power Asset Privatization Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of Energy to sell, at the highest possible price, all Federal electric power generation and transmission facilities supervised by, or coordinated with, the Federal Power Marketing Administrations (except the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA)). Restricts such sales to domestic entities or U.S. citizens. Requires the Secretary to terminate Federal Power Marketing Administration operations (except BPA operations) upon completion of the sales. Directs the Secretary to retain a private sector firm through a competitive bidding process to serve as financial advisor with respect to such sales. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the purchaser of any such facilities should offer to employ former Federal Power Marketing Administration personnel. Mandates that sale proceeds be deposited into the Treasury. Sets forth a sales completion deadline for each Power Marketing Administration concerned. (Sec. 305) Mandates that the pertinent sales agreements require each purchaser providing electric power to customers within any region to insure that the price of electric power does not increase above the baseline price at a rate greater than ten percent annually. (Sec. 306) Directs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to issue to the purchaser of a hydroelectric generation facility a ten-year original license under the Federal Power Act to insure that the project will continue operations under the same conditions as were applicable prior to the sale. Grants FERC Federal Power Act jurisdiction over any such facility sold. (Sec. 307) Amends the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act of 1993 to repeal the prohibition against the use of appropriated funds for studies regarding a changeover from an "at cost" to a "market rate" or other noncost-based methodology for pricing hydroelectric power. (Sec. 308) Transfers to the Secretary of the Interior all DOE functions affecting the BPA. Instructs the Secretary to study and report to the Congress on the most cost-effective option of disposing of the BPA. Title IV: Transfer and Disposal of Reserves - Transfers to the Secretary of the Interior all former DOE functions affecting the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Instructs the Secretary to: (1) sell the reserves held at Weeks Island, Louisiana; and (2) appoint an advisory board to monitor the sale of such reserves and report to the Congress on whether the United States should maintain or dispose of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. (Sec. 402) Transfers to the Administrator of the Energy Programs Resolution Agency all functions performed with respect to the naval petroleum reserves, except Naval Petroleum Reserve Numbered 1 (Elk Hills). Instructs the Administrator to: (1) obtain the highest possible price for the naval petroleum reserves; and (2) develop a joint plan with the Secretary of the Interior for disposal of the naval petroleum reserves within a specified timeframe. Title V: National Security and Environmental Management Programs - Subtitle A: Defense Nuclear Programs Agency - Establishes the Defense Nuclear Programs Administration (the Administration) in the Department of Defense (DOD), headed by the Under Secretary for Defense Nuclear Programs, who shall be responsible for the exercise of all Administration powers and duties. (Sec. 503) Transfers to the Under Secretary all: (1) DOD national security functions (except the DOE naval nuclear propulsion program); (2) supervisory functions previously performed by DOE over Sandia, Los Alamos, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories; (3) functions of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency of DOD relating to nuclear weapons systems; and (4) functions of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to transfer other nuclear weapons-related functions to the Under Secretary. (Sec. 504) Restricts the transfer of funds by the Administration. (Sec. 508) Requires the Energy Laboratory Facilities Commission to transmit recommendations to the Congress for a civilian entity to perform the functions previously performed by DOE relating to the naval nuclear propulsion program. Precludes Commission consideration of the Defense Nuclear Programs Administration or any other entity within DOD. Subtitle B: Environmental Restoration Activities at Defense Nuclear Facilities - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to require the Under Secretary to review ongoing and planned remediation activities consistent with this Act. (Sec. 521) Sets forth guidelines for site-specific risk assessment, including a cost-benefit analysis of risk reduction, before the selection of a remedial action at a defense nuclear facility. (Sec. 523) Instructs the Under Secretary to renegotiate the terms of any compliance agreement entered into with the Secretary of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the relevant State in order to have it reflect this Act. Title VI: Disposition of Miscellaneous Particular Programs, Functions, and Agencies of Department - Limits authorizations for enumerated energy research and development programs through FY 2002. (Sec. 601) Directs the Energy Laboratory Facilities Commission to identify for the Congress all DOE research and development activities carried out at energy laboratories or institutions of higher education that perform a critical research function important to the long-term economic well-being of the United States. Directs the Secretary of Energy to terminate all DOE clean coal technology research and development activities. Authorizes appropriations for DOE fossil energy and energy conservation research and development activities. Terminates such activities at the end of FY 2002. Transfers from DOE to DOD specified weapons and defense activities. (Sec. 602) Transfers to the Department of the Treasury all functions performed by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Authorizes appropriations for the EIA. Transfers to the Attorney General all functions performed by the Energy Regulatory Administration. Title VII: Civilian Radioactive Waste Management - Amends the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to terminate the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management and to transfer its authority and assets regarding a repository for radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel to the Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps). Requires: (1) the Corps to assume all obligations of the Office affecting the Yucca Mountain site; and (2) reissuance of Nevada State permits for the Corps. Prescribes procedural guidelines for Corps preparation and implementation of a Yucca Mountain site characterization plan. (Sec. 702) Amends the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to reaffirm that the obligation of the Secretary of Energy to accept high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel beginning by January 31, 1998, is absolute and is not dependent on commencement of operation of a repository or a monitored retrievable storage facility. States that such obligation shall be neither voided nor delayed for any reason. Repeals: (1) the site selection limitation placed upon the siting of a monitored retrievable storage facility; and (2) the licensing conditions placed upon such facility. (Sec. 703) Prescribes procedural guidelines for the licensing and expansion of an initial uranium storage facility. Title VIII: Miscellaneous Provisions - Authorizes the Office of Management and Budget to make any determination regarding functions transferred under this Act and incidental transfers.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1999
Amends the National Labor Relations Act to provide for inflation adjustments to the mandatory jurisdiction thresholds of the National Labor Relations Board.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1999
Made in USA Label Defense Act of 1999 - Amends Federal law to prohibit the affixation of the "Made in the USA" label to a product of the Northern Mariana Islands. Prohibits such products from being imported into the United States free of duty or quotas.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Northeast Interstate Dairy Compact Title II: Southern Dairy Compact Dairy Consumers and Producers Protection Act - Title I: Northeast Interstate Dairy Compact - Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act to include Maryland, New Jersey, and New York within the Northeast Interstate Dairy Compact. Includes Ohio among the additional States that may join such Compact, and eliminates Virginia from such group. Eliminates and revises specified provisions regarding Compact implementation, duration, restricting authority, and Commodity Credit Corporation compensation. Title II: Southern Dairy Compact - States that Congress consents to the Southern Dairy Compact entered into by Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. Includes Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas as additional States that may join such Compact. Limits price regulatory authority to Class I fluid milk unless otherwise consented to by Congress. Provides for Commodity Credit Corporation compensation. Sets forth the Southern Dairy Compact.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1999
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to restore the link ended by the Senior Citizens' Freedom to Work Act of 1995 between the rules relating to substantial gainful activity for blind individuals and the rules relating to excess earnings under the social security earnings test for individuals who have attained retirement age (thus allowing blind individuals, once again, to earn up to the social security excess earnings threshold without being regarded as having demonstrated an ability to engage in substantial gainful activity and without losing entitlement to OASDI benefits). Makes this Act effective with respect to taxable years ending after 1995.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1999
Charity Empowerment Act of 1999 - Title I: Assistance to States in Providing Charity Tax Credits - Authorizes States with a charity tax credit under State law to allocate certain Federal grant funds for specified purposes. Requires any charity receiving creditable donations primarily to assist poor individuals. (Sec. 103) Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on the effects of the charity tax credit under this title. Title II: Budget Offset - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce the earned income credit for individuals without children. Title III: Tort Reforms Relating to Charitable Contributions - Relieves business entities of civil liability (except in cases of gross negligence or intentional misconduct) relating to any injury or death: (1) resulting from use of equipment the entity donates, or from the operation (outside the scope of business of the entity) of aircraft or a motor vehicle loaned, to a nonprofit organization; (2) occurring at a facility of the entity used by a nonprofit organization (outside the scope of business of the entity), or during a tour of the facility (in an area otherwise not accessible to the general public). Preempts State liability law in this matter, but allows a State to elect not to allow this title to apply. Title IV: Charitable Choice Expansion Act - Charitable Choice Expansion Act of 1999 - Amends the Revised Statutes to prohibit the Federal Government and State or local governments receiving Federal funds for any assistance program (except certain education and child care programs) from discriminating against an organization providing assistance under, or applying to provide assistance under, such a program, on the basis that the organization has a religious character. Title V: Tax-free Distributions from Individual Retirement Accounts for Charitable Purposes - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from an individual's gross income any qualified distributions from individual retirement accounts to tax-exempt charitable organizations, charitable remainder trusts, pooled income funds, and charitable gift annuities.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: General Provisions Title II: Veterans Business Development Title III: Technical Assistance Title IV: Financial Assistance Title V: Procurement Assistance Title VI: Reports and Data Collection Title VII: Miscellaneous Provisions Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act of 1999 - Title I: General Provisions - Amends the Small Business Act (the Act) to revise or add definitions. Title II: Veterans Business Development - Designates the position of Associate Administrator for Veterans Business Development. Establishes the Office of Veterans Business Development, to be administered by such Associate Administrator, who shall be responsible for the formulation, execution, and promotion of policies and programs of the Small Business Administration (SBA) that provide assistance to small businesses owned and controlled by veterans and service-disabled veterans (veteran small businesses). (Sec. 202) Establishes the National Veterans Business Development Corporation to: (1) expand the provision of and improve access to technical assistance regarding entrepreneurship for veterans; and (2) work with and organize public and private resources and the business development staffs of each Federal department and agency to assist veterans, including service-disabled veterans, with the formation and expansion of small businesses. Requires the Corporation to establish and maintain a network of information and assistance centers for use by veterans and the public. Requires an annual report from the Corporations's Board of Directors to the President and Congress describing its activities and accomplishments for the preceding year. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2003. (Sec. 203) Establishes the Advisory Committee on Veterans Business Affairs to serve as an independent source of advice and policy recommendations concerning veterans' business affairs. Requires an annual Committee report to Congress and the President on its activities and recommendations. Title III: Technical Assistance - Directs the SBA Administrator to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) for the: (1) appointment by SCORE in its national office of an individual to act as National Veterans Business Coordinator; (2) assistance of SCORE in establishing and maintaining a toll-free telephone number and Internet website to provide access for veterans to information about entrepreneurship counseling and training available through SCORE; and (3) collection of statistics concerning services provided by SCORE to veterans. (Sec. 302) Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the SBA Administrator, and the head of the association formed by small business development centers under the Act to enter into a memorandum of understanding with respect to entrepreneurial assistance to veterans through small business development centers and facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Title IV: Financial Assistance - Includes a service-disabled veteran within the definition of "handicapped individual" eligible for SBA general business loans. (Sec. 402) Authorizes the SBA to make loans to self-employed individuals or owners of small businesses who are called to active duty to assist such individuals with potential losses and disruption caused by mobilization or return to active duty. (Sec. 403) Makes veteran small business owners eligible for the SBA's Microloan program, Delta loan program, and State development company program. Title V: Procurement Assistance - Includes veteran small businesses within Federal contracting and subcontracting goals for small business owners and within goals for the participation of small businesses in Federal procurement contracts. Requires the head of each Federal agency to establish agency goals for the participation by small businesses owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans in that agency's procurement contracts. Title VI: Reports and Data Collection - Amends the Act and the Small Business Economic Policy Act of 1980 to require information concerning small businesses owned by veterans, including service-disabled veterans, to be included within certain reporting requirements. (Sec. 603) Directs the Administrator to report annually to the congressional small business committees on the needs of small businesses owned and controlled by veterans and service-disabled veterans. (Sec. 604) Requires the Administrator, for each fiscal year, to collect and make available to any small business information concerning the procurement practices and procedures of each Federal department and agency. Directs the Secretary, in each fiscal year, to identify U.S. veteran small businesses. Directs the Secretaries of Labor and Veterans Affairs and the Administrator to enter into a memorandum of understanding to provide for the coordination of vocational rehabilitation services, technical and managerial assistance, and financial assistance to veterans, including service-disabled veterans, seeking to employ themselves by forming or expanding small businesses. Title VII: Miscellaneous Provisions - Directs the Administrator to strengthen and reissue a specified SBA order relating to non-discrimination and special considerations for veterans, and to fully and vigorously implement such order. (Sec. 702) Requires the SBA's Office of Advocacy to evaluate the efforts of each Federal department and agency, and of private industry, to assist veteran small businesses, and to make appropriate recommendations to the Administrator and Congress in order to promote the establishment and growth of such businesses. (Sec. 703) Directs the Comptroller General to study whether there would exist any additional risk or cost to the United States if up to ten percent of federally-guaranteed loans were made for the acquisition or construction of fixed assets used in a trade or business rather than for the purchase or construction of residential buildings. Requires a report to the congressional veterans' and small business committees.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1999
Educational Opportunities Act of 1999 - Title I: HELP Scholarships - Helping Empower Low-Income Parents (HELP) Scholarships Amendments of 1999 - Amends title VI (Innovative Education Program Strategies) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to allow any State that has enacted or will enact a law establishing a voluntary public and private school parental choice scholarship program in compliance with specified ESEA requirements to reserve an additional 15 percent from its annual title IV allotment for use exclusively for such parental choice programs. Requires State educational agencies (SEAs), except in the case of such programs, to distribute 90 percent (currently 85 percent) of title VI funds to local educational agencies (LEAs). (Sec. 105) Includes such parental choice programs among State and local uses of title VI funds. Requires such parental choice programs to be located in an area designated as an empowerment zone or enterprise community. (Sec. 106) Directs the Comptroller General to make contracts for annual evaluation of each parental choice program. Requires the Secretary of Education to reserve certain funds for such evaluations. Provides that title VI funds to establish a parental choice program shall be considered assistance to the student and shall not be considered as assistance to any school that chooses to participate in such program. Prohibits the Secretary from exercising any direction, supervision, or control over curricula, program of instruction, administration, or personnel of any school that chooses to participate in a parental choice program. Title II: Education Tax Credit - Children's Education Tax Credit Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish a tax credit (of up to $1,000) for the qualified educational expenses (tuition, attendance fees, books, supplies, equipment, but excluding meals and lodging) paid by a taxpayer for the education at an eligible zone educational institution of each individual with respect to whom the taxpayer is allowed a deduction as a dependent. (Sec. 202) Provides for: (1) the inclusion of certain home schooling expenses; and (2) adjustments for certain scholarships. Defines "eligible zone educational institution" as a secondary school, an elementary school, or any private, parochial, religious, or home school that: (1) provides elementary or secondary education; and (2) is located in an area designated as an empowerment zone or enterprise community.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 1999
Authorizes the Disabled Veterans' LIFE Memorial Foundation to establish a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia or its environs to honor veterans who became disabled while serving in the U.S. armed forces. Prohibits Federal funds from being used to pay any expense of the establishment of the memorial.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Improvement of Classroom Services and Activities Title II: Miscellaneous Provisions Dollars to the Classroom Act - Title I: Improvement of Classroom Services and Activities - Authorizes the Secretary of Education award grants to States for use by States and local educational agencies (LEAs) to improve classroom services and activities for students. (Sec. 102) Requires reservation of specified portions of title I funds for: (1) outlying areas, to be distributed on the basis of their relative need; and (2) the Secretary of the Interior for programs in schools operated or funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Sets forth a formula for distribution of title I funds to States, including a hold harmless provision with respect to amounts received in FY 1999 under current formula grant programs (which are under specified Acts and programs repealed by this Act). Requires States to distribute at least 95 percent of allotted funds to LEAs. Requires States and LEAs to use title I funds to supplement and not to supplant funds from non-Federal sources. Requires State annual reports to the Secretary and specified congressional committees to be made available to parents and the public. (Sec. 103) Requires States to consider certain factors when distributing funds within the State. Sets forth hold-harmless provisions for LEAs with respect to: (1) funds received for FY 1999 under current formula grant programs; and (2) funds the LEA is eligible to receive during FY 1999 through 2003 under multiyear awards made prior to enactment of this Act. Lists local uses of title I funds. Requires LEAs to involve parents and members of the public in planning for the use of title I funds. (Sec. 104) Provides for participation of private school children and teachers in title I activities and services. (Sec. 106) Declares that nothing in this title shall be construed to authorize any Federal officer or employee to require, direct, or control a State, LEA, or school's specific instructional content of pupil performance standards and assessments, curriculum, or program of instruction as a condition of eligibility to receive funds under this title. Prohibits the Secretary from issuing any regulation regarding the type of classroom activities or services that may be assisted under this title. Provides that LEAs shall not be required to provide services under this title through a particular instructional method or in a particular instructional setting in order to receive funding under this title. (Sec. 107) Repeals the following programs under the Goals 2000: Educate America Act: (1) State and local education systemic improvement; (2) parental assistance; and (3) international education exchange and study. Repeals the following programs under the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994: (1) school-to-work opportunities system development and implementation grants to States; (2) Federal implementation grants to local partnerships; and (3) national programs. Repeals the following programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA): (1) demonstrations of innovative practices; (2) innovative elementary school transition projects; (3) Dwight D. Eisenhower Professional Development Program, including national programs and State and local activities; (4) Technology for Education, including national programs, State and local programs for school technology resources, Star Schools, Ready-to-Learn Television, telecommunications demonstration project for mathematics, elementary mathematics and science equipment, and elementary and secondary school library media resources; (5) Magnet Schools Assistance; (6) Women's Educational Equity; (7) Innovative Education Program Strategies; (8) Native Hawaiians Education; (9) Alaska Native Education; (10) Fund for the Improvement of Education; (11) Gifted and Talented Education; (12) Arts in Education; (13) Civic Education; (14) Allen J. Ellender Fellowship Program (Close-Up programs for middle and secondary school students and teachers); (15) 21st Century Community Learning Centers; (16) Urban and Rural Education Assistance; (17) National Writing Project; (18) Extended Time for Learning and Longer School Year; (19) Comprehensive Regional Assistance Centers; and (20) Eisenhower Math and Science Regional Consortia. Repeals the Education for Homeless Children program under the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act. (Sec. 108) Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Miscellaneous Provisions - Authorizes the Secretary to waive statutory or regulatory requirements for a State educational agency (SEA), LEA, or school under certain conditions for specified programs under ESEA and the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act. (Sec. 201) Education Flexibility Partnership Demonstration Act - Authorizes the Secretary to allow all 50 States to participate in the Education Flexibility Partnership Demonstration Act program (currently under title III of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act, which is repealed by this Act). Directs the Secretary to: (1) review the progress of agencies or schools affected by waivers under title II; and (2) publish and disseminate the decision to grant, or to authorize SEAs to issue, such waivers. (Sec. 202) Amends ESEA to eliminate criteria which a school must meet in order for its LEA to use funds for schoolwide programs at that school.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Affordable Health Coverage for Employees of Small Businesses Title II: Deduction for Health Insurance Costs of Self-Employed Individuals Small Business Access and Choice for Entrepreneurs Act of 1999 - Title I: Affordable Health Coverage for Employees of Small Businesses - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to establish rules governing health plans sponsored by certain associations, including requirements for: (1) certification; (2) sponsors and boards of trustees, and treatment of franchised networks and collectively bargained plans; (3) participation and coverage of employers and individuals and of previously uninsured employees; (4) plan documents, contribution rates, and benefit options; (5) maintenance of reserves, excess-stop loss insurance, and solvency indemnification for plans providing health benefits in addition to health insurance coverage; (6) applications and related reporting; (7) notice for voluntary termination; and (8) corrective actions and mandatory termination. (Sec. 101) Directs the Secretary of Labor to apply, to the appropriate Federal district court, to be appointed trustee of certain insolvent association health plans which provide health benefits in addition to health insurance coverage. Allows a State to impose a contribution tax on an association health plan that begins operations in such State after the enactment of this Act. (Sec. 102) Revises requirements for treatment of single employer arrangements. (Sec. 103) Revises requirements for certain collectively bargained arrangements. (Sec. 104) Sets forth enforcement requirements relating to association health plans. (Sec. 105) Sets forth State responsibilities, and requirements for cooperation between Federal and State authorities, with respect to association health plans. (Sec. 106) Prescribes special rules for certain existing health benefits programs. Title II: Deduction for Health Insurance Costs of Self-Employed Individuals - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the amount allowed as a tax deduction for health insurance costs of self-employed individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1999
Truth in Employment Act of 1999 - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to provide that nothing in specified prohibitions against unfair labor practices by employers shall be construed as requiring an employer to employ any person who is not a bona fide employee applicant, in that such person seeks or has sought employment with the employer with the primary purpose of furthering another employment or agency status.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1999
National Retail Sales Tax Act of 1999 - Repeals the income, estate, gift, and certain excise tax provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. (Sec. 4) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a 15 percent tax on the use, consumption or enjoyment in the U.S. of any property or service produced or rendered within or without of the United States. Prohibits, subject to exception, imposing a tax on any property or service purchased for: (1) a business purpose in an active trade or business; or (2) export from the United States for use or consumption outside of the United States, provided that the purchaser provided the seller with either an intermediate sales certificate or an export sales certificate. Defines "purchased for a business purpose in an active trade or business" as property or services: (1) purchased for resale; (2) purchased to produce property or services; or (3) purchased in furtherance of other bona fide business purposes. Sets forth rules relating to the obligation of governmental units and not-for-profit organizations to collect, remit, and pay taxes. Sets forth provisions concerning credits and refunds. Allows for general credits against the tax, including: (1) a used property credit; (2) a business use conversion credit; (3) an administration credit; (4) a compliance equipment cost credit; (5) a bad debt credit; (6) an insurance proceeds credit; and (7) a transition inventory credit. Provides for installment payments of the tax on the purchase of a principal residence. Allows an eligible family unit to receive a sales tax rebate. Requires that a family member, to be counted for the purposes of determining family unit size, must: (1) if over two years old, have a bona fide social security number; and (2) be a lawful resident. Declares that no individual shall be considered part of more than one family unit. Sets forth definitions and special rules concerning such things as: (1) foreign financial intermediation services; (2) financing leases; and (3) installment sales. Imposes a 15 percent tax on gaming services. Directs an administering State to administer, collect, and remit to the Treasury the tax on gross payments for the use, consumption or enjoyment of taxable property or services within the State. Defines an administering State as one which maintains a specified conforming sales tax and enters into a specified cooperative agreement with the Secretary. Provides for administrative support for States. Sets forth provisions concerning, among other things: (1) monthly reports and payments; (2) records; (3) penalties; (4) appeals; (5) accounting; and (6) hobby activities. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to establish an Office of Revenue Allocation to arbitrate any claims or disputes among States. (Sec. 5) Prohibits the authorizing of any appropriations for the Internal Revenue Service after FY 2003. Establishes in the Treasury: (1) an Excise Tax Bureau to administer any excise taxes not repealed by this Act; and (2) a Sales Tax Bureau to administer the national sales tax. (Sec. 6) Authorizes the Social Security Administration to collect and administer self-employment income and employment taxes beginning in 2001. (Sec. 7) Sets forth provisions concerning: (1) the self-employment tax; (2) the indexing of social security benefits; (3) compensating payments to individuals on fixed incomes; and (4) the interest rate on tax underpayments and overpayments. (Sec. 11) Requires a supermajority in the House of Representatives or the Senate to raise rates.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 1999
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to implement the Class I milk price structure known as Option A as part of the final rule to consolidate Federal milk marketing orders.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 1999
Amends the Federal judicial code to eliminate a vacant judgeship in the eastern district, and establish a new judgeship in the western district, of North Carolina.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 1999
Constitutional Amendment - Provides that three years after ratification of this amendment: (1) the 16th amendment to the U.S. Constitution is repealed; and (2) the Congress shall have no power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, except in time of war declared by the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 1999
Sets forth the rule (closed) for the consideration of H.R. 1376 (extending the tax benefits available with respect to services performed in a combat zone to services performed in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia-Montenegro) and certain other areas).
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1999
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to furnish one appropriate Government headstone or marker, other than for replacement, to mark the graves of veterans. (Currently, such a headstone or marker is required only for unmarked graves of veterans.) Makes such provision effective with respect to applications received by the Secretary for individuals dying on or after November 1, 1990.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1999
Working Families Flexibility Act of 1999 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide for compensatory time for all employees. Allows an employee to receive, in lieu of monetary overtime compensation, compensatory time off at a rate not less than one and one-half hours for each hour of employment for which overtime compensation is required under the Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1999
Higher Education Reporting Relief Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the requirement that educational institutions and certain other trades and businesses file returns reporting information about recipients of Hope Scholarship and Lifetime Learning Credits. Requires taxpayers taking such credits to include on their returns the name, address, and taxpayer identification number of the eligible educational institution concerned.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1999
Urges the Congress and the President, working within the constraints of the balanced budget agreement, to give programs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) the highest priority among Federal elementary and secondary education programs by meeting the commitment to fund the maximum State grant allocation for educating children with disabilities under such Act, prior to authorizing or appropriating funds for any new education initiative, while retaining the commitment to fund existing Federal education programs that increase student achievement.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999
Federal Prisoner Health Care Copayment Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal criminal code to authorize the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to assess and collect a fee for health care services provided in connection with each health care visit requested by a prisoner, except for preventative health care services. Requires that each fee assessed be collected by the Director: (1) from the account of the prisoner receiving health care services; or (2) where such services are provided because of an injury inflicted by another prisoner, from the account of the prisoner who inflicted the injury. Sets a minimum fee of two dollars. Specifies that the prisoner's consent shall not be required for the collection of the fee. Specifies that nothing herein may be construed to permit refusal of treatment to a prisoner on the basis that: (1) the prisoner's account is insolvent; or (2) the prisoner is otherwise unable to pay. Requires that sums collected under this Act: (1) be used for restitution of the victims where the prisoner is subject to a restitution order; and (2) be deposited in the Crime Victims Fund (75 percent) and be available to the Attorney General for administrative expenses incurred in carrying out this Act (25 percent) where the prisoner is not subject to such an order. Sets forth reporting requirements by the Director. (Sec. 3) Amends the code to authorize a State or local government to assess and collect a reasonable fee from a Federal prisoner's trust fund account (or institutional equivalent) for health care services if the prisoner is confined in a non-Federal institution under specified circumstances.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999
Fairness in Asbestos Compensation Act of 1999 - Title I: Asbestos Resolution Corporation - Establishes the Asbestos Resolution Corporation which shall: (1) have exclusive authority to adopt rules for cost recovery, physician qualifications, alternative dispute resolution, exceptional medical cases, and disease eligibility; and (2) appoint a Medical Advisory Board. Title II: Medical Eligibility Determinations - Sets forth claimant medical eligibility determination criteria for: (1) nonmalignant conditions; (2) mesothelioma; (3) lung cancer; and (4) other cancer. (Sec. 205) Sets forth procedures for Corporation determination of a claimant's certificate of medical eligibility. (Sec. 206) Directs the Corporation to establish one or more exceptional medical claims panels. Sets forth application and acceptance provisions. (Sec. 207) Provides for: (1) confidentiality; and (2) U.S. district court review, following exhaustion of administrative remedies, of Corporation determinations that a claimant fails to meet medical criteria or that a claim does not qualify as an exceptional medical claim. Title III: Alternative Dispute Resolution - Directs the Board to establish procedural rules for an alternative dispute resolution process. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) motions officers; (2) respondent notification; (3) additional respondents; (4) grace period; (5) mediation and arbitration; and (6) subpoena powers. Title IV: Civil Actions - Prohibits: (1) a civil asbestos action unless the plaintiff has obtained a certificate of medical eligibility and release from mediation; and (2) a class action or other collective action without the consent of each defendant. (Sec. 404) Requires a penalty for a final offer made by a respondent in mediation if such offer is below a certain amount assigned by the jury or fact-finder. Title V: Rules Applicable to Arbitrations and Civil Actions - Sets forth arbitration and civil action rules with respect to: (1) relief; (2) timeliness defenses; (3) attorney's fees; and (4) nonpreclusion of nonmalignant claims upon subsequent malignancy claims. Title VI: Funding - Directs the Corporation to estimate its annual medical review and administrative and overhead costs and allocate proportionate cost shares among the previous year's respondents. Provides monetary penalties for noncooperation with the Corporation. (Sec. 602) Provides for mediation and arbitration costs to be charged on a per capita basis to participating respondents. (Sec. 603) Directs the Corporation to establish procedures for informal resolution of cost assessment disputes. Provides for U.S. district court review of cost assessment disputes. Title VII: Applicability; Pending Civil Actions - Makes this Act applicable to any civil asbestos action that has not resulted in a final, nonappealable judgment, with specified conditions applicable to pending civil actions. Title VIII: Miscellaneous Provisions - Defines specified terms. (Sec. 804) Makes this Act inapplicable to: (1) existing asbestos trusts, with an elective trust exception; and (2) any settlement agreement or related agreement concerning asbestos claims entered into by claimants, defendants, or their counsel.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999
Dry Cleaning Environmental Tax Credit Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish a dry cleaning equipment credit for any taxable year equivalent to 20 percent of the basis of each qualified dry cleaning property placed in service during the year which is designed primarily to dry clean clothing and other fabric if: (1) such equipment does not use any hazardous solvent (a chlorinated or petroleum-based solvent, or any other hazardous or regulated substance) as the primary process solvent; (2) the original use of such property commences with the taxpayer; and (3) with respect to which depreciation (or amortization in lieu of depreciation) is allowable. Excludes from the meaning of hazardous solvent any solvent: (1) not more than ten percent of which consists of petroleum or petroleum derivatives; and (2) which does not contain any substance determined by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the Director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences' National Toxicology Program, or the director of any other appropriate Federal agency to possess carcinogenic potential in humans, or bioaccumulative properties.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999
Freedom From Sexual Trafficking Act of 1999 - Declares that the purpose of this Act is to eliminate international sexual trafficking in which women and children are brought across international boundaries by means of force or fraud for purposes of forced prostitution, sexual slavery, and similar practices. (Sec. 4) Sets forth minimum international standards for the elimination of sexual trafficking. (Sec. 5) Establishes in the Office of the Secretary of State an Office for the Protection of Victims of Trafficking, to be administered by a director appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require the Secretary to include in a certain human rights report, among other things, information on sexual trafficking and the efforts of a country to prevent it. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress on the status of international sexual trafficking, including a list of any countries that do not meet the minimum international standards for the elimination of such trafficking. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 6) Authorizes appropriations for assistance administered through nongovernmental organizations: (1) to foreign countries in programs and activities designed to meet the minimum international standards for the elimination of sexual trafficking, including drafting of legislation to prohibit and punish acts of sexual trafficking, investigation and prosecution of sexual trafficking, and facilities, programs, and activities for the protection of victims; and (2) for programs and activities to assist victims of sexual trafficking in the United States. (Sec. 7) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish a nonimmigrant visa category for an alien (including spouse, married and unmarried sons and daughters, and parents of such alien) who the Attorney General determines: (1) is physically present in the United States; (2) is or has been a victim of sexual trafficking; (3) has not unreasonably refused to assist in the investigation or prosecution of acts of sexual trafficking (or has not attained age 14); and (4) would face a significant possibility of retribution or other hardship if removed from the United States. Denies such person eligibility for admission to the United States if there is substantial reason to believe that the person has committed an act of sexual trafficking. Directs the Attorney General to determine whether a ground for inadmissibility exists with respect to such nonimmigrant alien. Authorizes the Attorney General to waive the requirements of this Act if it is in the national interest. Authorizes the Attorney General to adjust the status of the nonimmigrant alien (and spouse, married and unmarried sons and daughters, and parents of such alien) to that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States (provided such alien was not a participant in Nazi persecutions or genocide) if such nonimmigrant alien: (1) has been physically present in the United States for a continuous period of at least three years; (2) has, throughout such period, been a person of good moral character; (3) has not, during such period, unreasonably refused to provide assistance in the investigation or prosecution of acts of sexual trafficking; and (4) would face a significant possibility of retribution or other hardship if removed from the United States. (Sec. 8) Declares it to be U.S. policy not to provide nonhumanitarian foreign assistance to countries which do not meet minimum standards for the elimination of sexual trafficking. (Sec. 9) Amends Federal criminal law to subject to both civil (including forfeiture) and criminal penalties anyone who, whether inside or outside the United States, for the purpose of causing a person under age 18 (by fraud, force, or coercion) to engage in a commercial sexual act, knowingly does or attempts or conspires to: (1) transport the person across an international border; (2) recruit, entice, harbor, or engage in the purchase or sale of the person, who will then be or has been transported across an international border; or (3) own, manage, operate, or share in the proceeds of an enterprise in which the person has been transported across an international border.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999
Amends the Clean Air Act to prohibit the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from listing liquefied petroleum gas under provisions regarding the accidental release of regulated substances (substances known to cause or which may reasonably be anticipated to cause death, injury, or serious adverse effects to human health or the environment) into the ambient air from a stationary source.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999
FQPA Implementation Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to prohibit the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, upon determining that there may be grounds for modifying, suspending, or revoking a tolerance or exemption for a pesticide chemical residue in or on food, from taking any such action until considering any additional data submitted to support the continuation of a tolerance or exemption. Makes certain requirements for the Administrator's review of tolerances and exemptions for pesticide chemical residues in effect before the enactment of the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA) that relate to periods of time applicable only to the extent determined by the Administrator to be in the public interest. (Current law requires specified percentages of such tolerances and exemptions to be reviewed by certain dates.) Authorizes the Administrator to issue a tolerance or exemption associated with an emergency exemption without regard to other tolerances or exemptions for the pesticide chemical residue and before reassessing such tolerances and exemptions if the Administrator determines that any incremental exposure that may result from the tolerance or exemption associated with the emergency exemption alone will not pose any significant dietary risk. Directs the Administrator to report to Congress on financial resources needed for FY 2001 through 2005 to carry out the amendments made by the FQPA to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to report to Congress the financial resources needed for such fiscal years in order to carry out responsibilities under the FQPA. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a program to monitor continuously the competitive strength of major U.S. agricultural commodity sectors in the international marketplace; (2) examine factors pertinent to assessing, by sector, the sustainability and competitive strength in the international marketplace and the relationship of such factors to regulatory decisions issued under the amendments made by the FQPA; and (3) submit periodic reports on such requirements and factors to Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999
Department of Energy Foreign Visitors Program Moratorium Act of 1999 - Prohibits the Secretary of Energy from admitting to any Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory facility any individual who is a citizen of a country named on the current DOE sensitive countries list. Authorizes the Secretary to waive such prohibition on a case-by-case basis when considered necessary for national security, but requires prior notification to the congressional defense committees, followed by a ten-day waiting period . Directs the Secretary to establish a counterintelligence program at each of the national laboratories which shall include a plan to investigate any prior breaches of security discovered after the date of enactment of this Act. Requires background checks on all foreign citizens before entry into a national laboratory. Requires the Secretary to report to the defense committees on the status of counterintelligence activities at each national laboratory.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999
Patient Freedom from Restraint Act of 1999 - Amends part D (Peer Review) of title XI of the Social Security Act (SSA) to specify Medicare and Medicaid (SSA titles XVIII and XIX) program beneficiaries' rights to freedom from restraint and other abuse while in a psychiatric hospital or other care facility or treatment center. Requires a covered facility to report sentinel events (when a program beneficiary under psychiatric or other specified care dies unexpectedly or suffers injury unrelated to his or her illness or underlying condition) to the appropriate protection and advocacy agency. Allows the imposition of restraints only: (1) to ensure physical safety of the individual or others in the provider's care; and (2) upon the written order of a physician specifying the duration (but no more than two hours) and circumstances under which restraints and seclusion are to be used (except in emergency circumstances specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services until such an order could reasonably be obtained). Prohibits their simultaneous use. Requires the covered facility to provide for annual staff training on the proper use of restraints and seclusion, to make available to each resident or patient (or guardian) a statement of their rights with regard to such mechanisms along with identifying information on the appropriate protection and advocacy agencies, such information to be posted in the facility where the patients or residents can see and read it. Imposes certain recordkeeping and other reporting requirements with regard to uses of restraints and seclusion, including making available applicable medical record information to the appropriate protection and advocacy agencies for inspection and periodic reporting to the Secretary on the overall use of restraints and seclusion. Requires the Secretary to compile and publish annually a comprehensive summary of the reports on sentinel events. Mandates sanctions for failure to report, which includes a civil money penalty for failure to file sentinel reports, and other specified violations, including those involving staff training.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999
Small Savers Retirement Enhancement Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase from $2,000 to $5,000 the annual limits on an individual's contributions to his or her individual retirement account (IRA). Mandates annual indexing of the $2,000 deductible portion of such contributions.
![Official portrait of Rep. Myrick, Sue Wilkins [R-NC-9]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/m001134_200.jpg)