United States · United States Congress · 8 November 1999
Health Care Fairness Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish the National Center for Research on Minority Health and Health Disparities to conduct and support basic and clinical research, training, and disseminate information regarding minority health. Directs the Administrator of the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research to conduct and support research on minority health disparities. Directs the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a comprehensive study of the Department of Health and Human Services' data collection and reporting systems and practices required under any of the programs or activities of the Department relating to the collection of data on race or ethnicity. Authorizes awards of grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to public and nonprofit private entities for the purpose of carrying out research and demonstration projects to develop curricula to reduce disparity in health care outcomes, including curricula for cultural competency in graduate medical education. Requires a national media campaign to inform the public of the programs and activities of the Office for Civil Rights, Department of Health and Human Services. Sets forth provisions concerning: (1) other minority health initiatives and programs; (2) reporting requirements; and (3) authorizations of appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 1999
National Police Athletic League Youth Enrichment Act of 1999 - Directs the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs of the Department of Justice, for each of FY 2000 through 2004, to award a grant to the Police Athletic League (PAL) for the purposes of establishing PAL chapters to serve public housing projects and other distressed areas and expanding existing chapters to serve additional youths. Requires PAL, in order to be eligible to receive a grant, to submit to the Assistant Attorney General an application which shall include: (1) a long-term strategy to establish 250 additional chapters and a detailed summary of those areas in which new chapters will be established, or in which existing chapters will be expanded to serve additional youths, during the next fiscal year; (2) a plan to ensure that there are a total of not less than 570 chapters in operation before January 1, 2003; (3) a certification that there will be appropriate coordination with those communities where new chapters will be located; and (4) an explanation of the manner in which new chapters will operate without additional, direct Federal financial assistance once assistance under this Act is discontinued. Directs the Assistant Attorney General to review, and take action on, an application within 120 days after the date of submission. (Sec. 6) Directs that amounts made available under a grant awarded under this Act be used by the PAL to provide funding for the establishment of PAL chapters serving public housing projects and other distressed areas, or the expansion of existing PAL chapters. Requires that each new or expanded PAL chapter assisted carry out not less than four programs during non-school hours, of which: (1) not less than two programs shall provide mentoring assistance, academic assistance, recreational and athletic activities, or technology training; and (2) any remaining programs shall provide drug, alcohol, and gang prevention activities; health and nutrition counseling; cultural and social programs; conflict resolution training, anger management, and peer pressure training; job skill preparation activities; or Youth Police Athletic League Conferences or Youth Forums. (Sec. 7) Sets forth reporting requirements. (Sec. 8) Authorizes appropriations. Sets aside specified percentages of grant sums for research and evaluation, technical assistance, and management and administration.
United States · United States Congress · 4 November 1999
William H. Gray, III, College Completion Challenge Grant Program of 1999 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish the William H. Gray, III, College Completion Challenge Grant Program to assist higher education institutions to help at-risk students stay in school and complete their four-year postsecondary academic programs. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make competitive matching grants to such institutions or consortia (which may include associate degree-granting institutions belonging to a consortium that also includes baccalaureate degree- granting institutions). Limits to two the number of such grants to any institution. Requires institutions to use grant funds to provide services or assistance to students, particularly economically disadvantaged students, at risk of leaving their programs of study without baccalaureate degrees. Requires this to be done through one or both of the following: (1) intensive summer programs for incoming first-year students (and, under certain conditions, second- or third-year students); and (2) student support service programs, targeted to students in their first two years of postsecondary education. Allows institutions, if they carry out either or both of those required programs, to use such funds also for grants to students in their first two years of postsecondary education. Allows use of such funds to serve students who have completed their first two years of postsecondary education if they are at-risk and the institution will first meet the needs of all its eligible first- and second-year students for services under this Act. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 1999
Declares that the House of Representatives: (1) applauds and supports the work of the young people from across the United States who participated in the recent Voices Against Violence teen conference in Washington, D.C.; and (2) recognizes the importance of youth involvement in the development of national policy solutions to youth violence. Encourages: (1) the continued involvement of youth in their schools and their communities to address youth violence; (2) Members to promote efforts in their districts to end youth violence; and (3) Members to take immediate action to comprehensively address youth violence and actively involve young people in the decision-making process.
United States · United States Congress · 1 November 1999
Hunger Relief Act of 1999 - Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to remove specified restrictions on qualified aliens' eligibility for food stamp and supplemental security income benefits. Exempts food stamp provisions respecting aliens from: (1) the five-year waiting period for Federal means-tested public benefits eligibility; (2) inclusion of sponsor income and resources to an alien for State benefits eligibility; and (3) sponsor reimbursement requirements in cases of hardship. Sets forth effective dates for: (1) aliens; and (2) refugees and asylees. (Sec. 3) Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to authorize a State to use an alternative State auto valuation rather than the Federal one in order to provide a lower household resource attribution for food stamp program purposes. (Sec. 4) Increases, and indexes for inflation, the food stamp excess shelter deduction. (Sec. 5) Amends the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 to authorize additional appropriations for commodity purchases under the emergency food assistance program.
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 1999
Strengthening Social Security and Medicare Act of 1999 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to make additional appropriations, in amounts prescribed by a specified formula, and allocated between the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund (Trust Funds), through FY 2016 to assure that the interest savings on the public debt achieved as a result of Social Security surpluses from 2000 to 2015 are dedicated to Social Security solvency. Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to make it out of order in Congress to consider any budget resolution that would: (1) set forth an on-budget deficit for any fiscal year; or (2) decrease the on-budget surplus below a level of Medicare surplus reserve determined according to a certain formula, except for any portion of such reserve appropriated in new amounts for Medicare prescription drug benefits, or to the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm- Rudman-Hollings Act) to extend: (1) discretionary spending limits in specified amounts; (2) the pay-as-you-go requirement; (3) the Act itself; and (4) the Social Security firewall. Declares that any legislation that would reduce, reverse, or repeal the transfers to the Trust Funds made by this Act shall not be counted on the pay-as-you-go scorecard and shall not be included in any pay- as-you-go estimates of the Congressional Budget Office or the Office of Management and Budget under the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 1999
Declares that Congress: (1) deplores the slaying of the Prime Minister of Armenia, Vazgen Sargsian, the Chairman of the Armenian Parliament, Karen Demirchian, the Deputy Chairman of the Armenian Parliament, Yuri Bakhshian, the Minister of Operative Issues, Leonard Petrossian, and other members of the Armenian Government; (2) strongly shares the determination of the Armenian people that the perpetrators will be swiftly brought to justice so that Armenia may demonstrate its resolute opposition to acts of terror; (3) commends the efforts of the late Prime Minister and the Armenian Government for their commitment to democracy and the rule of law and for supporting free market movements internationally; and (4) continues to cherish the strong alliance between Armenia and the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 1999
Legal Amnesty Restoration Act of 1999 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to repeal the judicial review limitation on denial of status adjustment to permanent resident with respect to certain aliens (effective as if enacted in the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986). Extends the admission registry date for permanent residence, including a further extension in a case involving an unlawful act by an Immigration and Naturalization Service employee or officer, for certain aliens.
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 1999
Children's Gasoline Burn Prevention Act - Authorizes the Consumer Product Safety Commission to establish a standard for special packaging of portable gasoline containers under specified provisions of the Poison Prevention Packaging Act.
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 1999
Providing Reliable Officers, Technology, Education, Community Prosecutors, and Training In Our Neighborhoods Act of 1999 or PROTECTION Act - Modifies provisions of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (the Act) regarding public safety and community policing ("cops on the beat" program, COPS) to authorize the Attorney General to use funding under COPS grants to: (1) increase prosecutor presence and to enhance law enforcement access to new technologies; (2) pay overtime to existing career law enforcement officers to the extent that such overtime is devoted to community policing efforts; and (3) promote higher education among in-service State and local law enforcement officers by reimbursing them for the costs associated with seeking a college or graduate school education. Includes among permitted additional grant projects: (1) specialized integrity and ethics training; (2) innovative proactive crime control and prevention programs involving school officials and religiously-affiliated organizations; (3) school-based partnerships between local law enforcement agencies and local school systems by using school resource officers who operate in and around elementary and secondary schools (current law) to serve as a law enforcement liaison with other Federal, State, and local law enforcement and regulatory agencies and to combat gang membership and criminal activity, firearms and explosives-related incidents, illegal use and possession of alcohol, and the illegal possession, use, and distribution of drugs; and (4) innovative programs that bring together a community's sheriff, police chief, and elderly residents to address the public safety concerns of older citizens. Authorizes the Attorney General to use up to five percent of appropriated funds for technical assistance and training to States, local governments, Indian tribal governments, and other public and private entities. Requires the technical assistance provided by the Attorney General to include the establishment and operation of regional community policing institutes training centers or facilities. Permits the functions of the centers or facilities to include instruction and seminars for specified individuals, including representatives of police labor and management organizations and community residents. Repeals provisions of the Act regarding: (1) termination of grants for hiring officers; and (2) preferential consideration of applications for certain grants. Allows grants to be used to assist: (1) police departments in employing specified professional, scientific, and technological advancements; and (2) State, local, or tribal prosecutors' offices in implementation of community-based prosecution programs that build on local community policing efforts. Reserves specified funds for units of local government with a population of less than 50,000. Authorizes the Attorney General to use no more than 50 percent of grant renewal funds to award grants targeted specifically for retention of police officers to grantees in good standing, with preference to those that demonstrate financial hardship or severe budget constraint that impacts the entire local budget and may result in the termination of employment for officers. Redefines: (1) "career law enforcement officer" to include sheriffs' deputies charged with supervising offenders who are released into the community but also engaged in local community policing efforts; and (2) "school resource officer" to mean a career law enforcement officer deployed in community-oriented policing and assigned to work in collaboration with schools and community-based organizations (as under current law) to engage in specified activities, including serving as a law enforcement liaison with other Federal, State, and local law enforcement and regulatory agencies to address and document crime and disorder problems, training students in conflict resolution and crime awareness, and assisting school administrators with the preparation of an annual report on the number of students expelled per year for bringing a weapon, firearm, or explosive to school. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 1999
Young Witness Assistance Act of 1999 - Authorizes the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance to make grants to State and local prosecutors and law enforcement agencies in support of juvenile (17 years of age or younger) and young adult (between 18 and 21 years of age) witness assistance programs. Authorizes grant funds to be used, among other things, for: (1) counseling services to young witnesses of a violent crime; and (2) protective services for young witnesses and their families when a serious threat of harm is made from perpetrators or their associates. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2001 through 2003.
United States · United States Congress · 18 October 1999
Amends Federal rail transportation law to prohibit a railroad carrier (including its officers and agents) from requiring a train employee who has been on duty or available for it for any portion of each of seven consecutive days to go on duty or be available for it until at least 72 consecutive hours have passed after the employee is released from duty or availability.
United States · United States Congress · 14 October 1999
Battered Immigrant Women Protection Act of 1999 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality 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. (Sec. 10) 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. (Sec. 11) 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. (Sec. 12) 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 Immigration and Nationality 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. (Sec. 13) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish a humanitarian-material witness nonimmigrant classification. (Sec. 14) 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.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1999
Clean Power Plant Act of 1999 - Amends the Clean Air Act to require specified emissions limitations on mercury, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides (NOx) from fossil fuel-fired electric generating units with a nameplate capacity of at least 15 megawatts that use a combustion device primarily to generate electricity for sale. Requires quarterly pollutant-specific emission reports for such pollutants and for carbon dioxide (CO2) by unit owners or operators. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to publish facility-specific emission data. Requires regulations for disclosure of data concerning emissions levels. Directs the Administrator to calculate a generation performance standard for CO2 from covered fossil fuel-fired electric generating units and allocate allowances among such units. Authorizes the carryover and trading of unused allowances and requires surrender to the Administrator of a number of CO2 allowances equal to the total tonnage emitted during the calendar year. Permits the performance standard to be exceeded if the plant has sufficient emissions credits. Imposes an excess emissions penalty and requires units to offset such emissions. Requires regulations concerning transfer of hazards associated with combustion from one medium to another and release of hazardous wastes into the environment. Expresses the sense of Congress concerning crediting permanent CO2 and NOx emissions reductions to the utility sector in any enacted climate change implementation program. Authorizes appropriations for industry and community assistance and development of a carbon sequestration strategy. Requires grants to municipalities in which there are located fossil fuel-fired electric generating units that: (1) provide 20 percent or more of the municipality's annual property tax revenue in the last fiscal year ending before this Act's enactment; and (2) cease operation after this Act's enactment. Includes hazardous air pollutants from electric utility steam generating units on a list of such pollutants from major and area sources required under the Clean Air Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1999
Hass Avocado Promotion, Research, and Information Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to issue a marketing order, subject to producer and importer referendum approval, providing for research and promotion of Hass avocados. Sets forth marketing order terms and related provisions, including establishment of a Hass Avocado Board. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1999
Keep Our Promise to America's Military Retirees Act - Amends Federal employee provisions to include the following as an employee, for purposes of authorized enrollment under the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program: (1) a member of the armed forces who began service before June 7, 1956, and retired after a minimum of 20 years of such service or by reason of a service-connected disability; and (2) the surviving widow or widower of such member. Directs the Secretary of Defense to enter into an agreement with the Office of Personnel Management to provide FEHB coverage to the following eligible beneficiaries: (1) a member or former member entitled to military retired or retainer pay who is also entitled to hospital insurance benefits under part A of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act; (2) an unremarried former spouse who was married to a member for at least 20 years, during which such member performed at least 20 years of retirement-creditable military service; (3) a dependent of a deceased qualifying member or former member; (4) a dependent of a living member or former member who is entitled to Medicare hospital insurance benefits; and (5) a family member of such member. Repeals a provision prohibiting coverage under the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services for persons entitled to hospital insurance benefits under part A of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Act.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1999
Home Energy Generation Act - Amends the Federal Power Act to mandate that: (1) each retail electric supplier make available an electric energy meter capable of net metering to certain retail customers that have installed an energy generation unit intended for net metering; and (2) rates, charges, and contract terms for electric energy sales to customer-generators be equal to those that would be applicable if the customer-generator did not own or operate a qualified generation unit and use a net metering system. Prescribes the manner in which such retail electric suppliers shall calculate the net energy measurement and billing for a customer using a net metering system. Sets forth public disclosure and safety and performance standards. Grants the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regulatory oversight with respect to safety standards and attendant charges. Sets a deadline for FERC to promulgate: (1) model interconnection standards between local distribution systems and qualified generation units and electric generation units; and (2) regulations ensuring simplified contracts will be used for the interconnection of electric energy by electric energy transmission or distribution systems and generating facilities with a power production capacity of 250 kilowatts or less.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 1999
Clean Smokestacks Act of 1999 - Amends the Clean Air Act (CAA) to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate regulations to achieve specified reductions in emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide, and mercury from powerplants (electric generation facilities with a nameplate capacity of 15 megawatts or greater that use a combustion device to generate electricity for sale) by January 1, 2005. Requires outdated powerplants, on the later of the date 30 years after the powerplant commenced operation or five years after this Act's enactment, to comply with the most recent new source performance standards under CAA provisions regarding air quality and emissions limitations and with specified requirements for modified sources. Defines an "outdated powerplant" as a powerplant that has been in operation for 30 years or more.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 1999
Medicare Vision Rehabilitation Coverage Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage of vision rehabilitation services under the Medicare program.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 1999
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to prohibit Medicaid payments to States with approved State Medicaid plans for amounts expended for medical transportation services (other than emergency services) where the contractor has failed to assure the Secretary of Health and Human Services that it has satisfactory arrangements to assure that: (1) any driver providing such services has undergone a criminal background check; and (2) any individual convicted of a felony involving violence or the use, distribution, or manufacture of alcohol or drugs is not an eligible provider.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 1999
Authorizes the President, on behalf of the Congress, to present congressional gold medals to astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins, in recognition of their monumental and unprecedented feat of space exploration, as well as their achievements in the advancement of science and promotion of the space program. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates. Requires receipts from such sales to be deposited in the U.S. Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 1999
Biomass Research and Development Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretaries of Energy and Agriculture (the Secretaries) to coordinate policies and procedures that promote research, development, and demonstration on the production of biobased products for ensuring full consideration of potential feed-stock resources for energy-efficient, economically competitive, and environmentally sound biobased products and assessing the environmental, economic, and social impact of the production of such products from biomass on a large scale. Requires the Secretaries to each designate a high-level officer as a point of contact from their respective Departments and provides for such points of contact to jointly: (1) assist in arranging interlaboratory, interagency, and site-specific supplemental agreements for research, development, and demonstration projects relating to biobased products; (2) administer the Biomass Research and Development Initiative (Initiative); and (3) respond in writing to each recommendation made by the Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee. (Sec. 5) Directs the Secretaries to establish a Biomass Research and Development Board to coordinate programs within and among the departments and agencies of the Federal Government to promote the use of biobased products by maximizing the benefits deriving from Federal grants, research and development agreements, and other assistance, and bringing coherence to Federal planning. (Sec. 6) Directs the Secretaries to establish a Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee (Advisory Committee) to advise the Secretaries concerning the technical focus and direction of requests for proposals issued under the Initiative and procedures for reviewing such proposals and facilitate consultations and partnerships among Federal agencies, the research community, agricultural and forestry producers, industry, consumers, and other interested groups to carry out program activities relating to the Initiative, and evaluate and perform strategic planning on such program activities. Requires the Advisory Committee to: (1) advise the points of contact respecting the Initiative and evaluate and make written recommendations to the Board to ensure that funds appropriated for the Initiative are distributed and used consistently for grants, contracts, and other financial assistance under this Act; (2) ensure that the points of contact are funding proposals that are selected on a competitive, peer-reviewed basis, as determined by an independent panel of scientific and technical peers; and (3) ensure that activities are carried out in accordance with this Act. Provides for the Advisory Committee to coordinate its activities with other Federal advisory committees working in related areas to avoid duplication of effort. (Sec. 7) Directs the Secretaries, acting through their respective points of contact and in consultation with the Board, to establish and carry out the Initiative under which competitively awarded grants, contracts, and other financial assistance are provided to, or entered into with, eligible entities to carry out research, development, and demonstration respecting biobased products. Specifies the purposes for which such grants, contracts, and other financial assistance shall be provided. Requires Federal agencies to issue regulations establishing procedures to ensure that no class of applicants has an unfair advantage in competing for an award. Requires the points of contact, after consultation with the Board, to: (1) publish annually a joint request for proposals for such grants, contracts, and other financial assistance; (2) provide a preference in such grants, contracts, and other financial assistance to consortia involving experts from multiple institutions and academic disciplines working on cross-cutting or integrative research, development, and demonstration challenges; and (3) require that such assistance be awarded competitively after the establishment of procedures that provide for scientific peer review by an independent panel of scientific and technical peers. Requires such grants, contracts, or other financial assistance to be used to conduct: (1) research and development in technologies or processes determined by the Advisory Committee to be consistent with the purposes specified under this Act; (2) research into the sustainability and long-term environmental impacts of the technologies or processes; (3) research into the economic viability (including the cost, net energy and comparative energy uses) of the technologies or processes; or (4) pilot projects of processes and technologies that lead to a better understanding of the energy or environmental impacts or performance characteristics of a biobased product. Prohibits the provision of such financial assistance for a demonstration project unless at least an equal amount of funding is obtained for such project from non-Federal sources. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 8) Directs the Secretary of Energy to provide such administrative support and funds to the Board and the Advisory Committee as are necessary to enable them to carry out this Act. Declares that the Secretary of Agriculture and the heads of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of the Interior may, and are encouraged to, provide such support and funds to the Board and the Advisory Committee. (Sec. 9) Requires the Secretaries to transmit to Congress specified initial and final reports.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 1999
Wildland Firefighters Pay Equity Act of 1999 - Amends Federal Civil Service provisions regarding the computation of overtime pay to provide that: (1) the overtime hourly rate of pay for U.S. Forest Service employees in the Departments of Agriculture and Interior engaged in emergency wildland fire suppression is an amount equal to one and one-half times the hourly rate of such employees' basic pay, whether such pay falls below, equals, or exceeds the minimum rate of basic pay for GS-10; and (2) all that amount is premium pay.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Pacific Salmon Recovery Act of 1999 - Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce, subject to appropriations, to provide financial assistance for salmon habitat restoration activities to: (1) Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and California; and (2) tribal governments or Alaska native regional corporations of Indian tribes on behalf of which lands located within, or on the border of, such States are held in trust by the United States and that the Secretary determines have economic or other interests in salmon habitat restoration. Allocates shares equally to States and treats all tribal governments collectively as a State. Provides for a memorandum of understanding regarding use of the assistance between the Secretary and a State or tribal government seeking assistance under this Act. Permits the use of assistance outside the jurisdiction of the recipient if the assisted activity will provide conservation benefits to naturally produced salmon in streams of concern to the recipient. Requires: (1) States to match grants provided under this Act; and (2) tribal governments to pay certain administrative costs. Directs States and tribal governments seeking assistance under this Act to establish citizens advisory committees or other similar fora for the public to participate in obtaining and using assistance under this Act. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Andean Adjustment Act of 1999 - Provides for the adjustment to permanent resident status of certain U.S.-resident Colombian and Peruvian nationals (and spouses, children, and certain unmarried sons or daughters)..
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Access to Excellence in Education for the 21st Century Act - Title I: Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards - Subtitle A: Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to extend through FY 2005 the authorization of appropriations under ESEA title I (Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards) for: (1) local educational agency (LEA) grants under part A; (2) education of migratory children under part C; and (3) certain Federal activities under provisions for coordination of Federal, State, and local administration. (Sec. 104) Revises ESEA title I provisions for State and Federal reservations of funds for accountability and evaluation (currently reservation and allocation for school improvement). (Sec. 105) Revises ESEA title I part A (Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies) requirements for: (1) State plans; (2) LEA plans; (3) eligible school attendance areas; (4) schoolwide programs; (5) targeted assistance schools; (6) school choice; (7) assessment and LEA and school improvement; (8) State assistance for school support and improvement; (9) parental involvement; (10) parent training and information centers (currently parental information and resource centers); and (11) participation of children enrolled in private schools. (Sec. 115) Revises requirements for professional development activities under part A. Adds teacher qualification requirements. Requires each LEA receiving assistance under part A to: (1) hire qualified instructional staff; (2) provide high-quality professional development that will improve teaching and learning in core content areas; and (3) use at least five percent of its allocation under part A for FY 2001 and 2002, and ten percent of that allocation for subsequent fiscal years, for that professional development. Requires each LEA to ensure, in programs supported with part A funds, that: (1) all new teachers either are certified in the field in which they will teach or have a bachelors degree and are enrolled in a program through which they will obtain such certification within three years; and (2) all paraprofessionals meet specified educational requirements and perform only certain duties. (Sec. 117) Authorizes an LEA to use part A funds to provide certain preschool services: (1) directly to eligible preschool children in all or part of its jurisdiction; (2) through any school participating in the LEA's part A program; or (3) through a contract with a local Head Start agency, a partnership operating an Even Start program, a State-funded preschool program, or a comparable public early-childhood development program. Allows such preschool programs to be operated and funded jointly with Even Start programs (under ESEA title I part B), Head Start programs, or State-funded preschool programs. Requires all preschool programs funded under part A to: (1) focus on developmental needs of participating children and use research-based approaches that build on competencies, particularly in language, literacy development, and reading; and (2) ensure that participating children, at a minimum, understand and use language and an increasingly complex and varied vocabulary, and develop an appreciation of books and phonemic, print, and numeracy awareness. (Sec. 118) Revises the formula for determining minimum and maximum amounts of basic grants to LEAs and to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. (Sec. 119) Requires each State receiving part A assistance to report annually to the Secretary of Education with respect to its progress in meeting specified program indicators for participating schools and LEAs, and to use such indicators to improve its program performance. Subtitle B: Education of Migratory Children - Amends ESEA title I part C (Education of Migratory Children) to repeal provisions for consortium arrangement grants. (Sec. 132) Revises provisions for shared student incentive grants to improve interstate coordination among programs for migratory children who attend school in more than one State. (Sec. 133) Revises part C provisions relating to: (1) parental involvement; (2) consolidated plans; (3) schoolwide programs; and (4) data collection. (Sec. 137) Establishes a National Parent Advisory Council to advise the Secretary on the implementation of part C programs and coordination with other programs serving migratory children and families. (Sec. 138) Sets forth part C requirements for regulations and negotiated rulemaking. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 139) Directs the Secretary to spend a specified minimum amount annually, from ESEA title I appropriations, to establish and maintain a technical assistance center to provide assistance to ESEA title I part C programs and to special programs for students whose families are engaged in migrant and seasonal farmwork under the Higher Education Act of 1965. Subtitle C: Federal Evaluations - Revises provisions for evaluations of ESEA title I programs. Sets forth requirements relating to a national assessment of such programs, studies and data collection, and an ongoing national longitudinal study of schools. Title II: Bilingual Education - Revises part A (Bilingual Education) of title VII (Bilingual Education, Language Enhancement, and Language Acquisition Programs) of ESEA. (Sec. 202) Adds to the declaration of U.S. policy with respect to bilingual education programs: (1) ensuring limited English proficient children also meet challenging State standards in the core content areas, including the ability to understand, speak, read and write English at the same level as native English speakers; (2) developing fully bilingual-biliterate skills; and (3) developing the English and native language skills of such children and youth. (Sec. 203) Authorizes appropriations for part A. (Sec. 204) Establishes accountability requirements for programs funded under part A subpart 1 (Bilingual Education Capacity and Demonstration Grants). Requires such programs to assess annually the English proficiency of all limited English proficient students they serve. Requires such students to be: (1) included in State assessments of academic performance; and (2) assessed, to the extent practicable, in the language and form most likely to yield accurate and reliable information on what those students know, and can do, in content areas other than English. Provides that tests written in Spanish shall be deemed practicable when administered to Spanish-speaking students with limited English proficiency if such tests are more likely than tests written in English to yield accurate and reliable information on what those students know and can do in content areas other than English. Requires such students who have been in U.S. schools (not including Puerto Rico) for five consecutive years or more to be tested in reading and language arts using tests written in English. Authorizes a State or school district, based upon the scores of a student on the tests, to determine that a student is sufficiently proficient to be tested in reading and language arts using tests written in English, prior to the completion of five years in U.S. schools. Prohibits removal of any student from a program of bilingual education or English as a second language based upon performance on the test. (Sec. 205) Provides for multilingual education by requiring promotion of proficiency both in English and in their native language for limited English proficient students served under various grant programs of financial assistance for bilingual education, including program development and implementation grants. Revises application and evaluation provisions to reflect such requirement. Includes among criteria for priority funding the establishment of programs for dual language proficiency in English and students' native languages. (Sec. 206) Provides for three-year grants for program development and enhancement. (Replaces current provisions for two-year grants for program enhancement projects with a required activity involving inservice training for educational personnel, as well as other specified authorized activities.) Requires such program development and enhancement grants to be used for: (1) developing and implementing comprehensive, preschool, elementary, or secondary education programs for children and youth with limited English proficiency, that are aligned with standards-based State and local school reform efforts and coordinated with other relevant programs and services to meet the full range of educational needs of such children and youth; (2) providing high-quality professional development to classroom teachers, administrators, and other school or community-based organization personnel to improve the instruction and assessment of limited English proficient students; and (3) annually assessing the English proficiency of all limited English proficient students served by the program. Sets forth authorized uses of such grants. (Sec. 207) Revises provisions for comprehensive school grants to establish certain required uses of funds and to revise additional authorized uses. Prohibits a grant recipient from: (1) using funds for planning purposes for more than 90 days; or (2) carrying out a program for more than two schools for each such grant it receives. (Sec. 208) Revises provisions for systemwide improvement grants to establish certain required uses of funds and to revise additional authorized uses. Makes any entity not receiving a satisfactory evaluation of a grant ineligible to apply for another such grant for at least three years. (Sec. 209) Revises requirements for documentation, content, and other aspects of applications for awards under subpart 1. Limits to a maximum of 25 percent that portion of a grant or total funding under subpart 1 which may be used for programs that do not use students' native language. Transfers and retains certain provisions authorizing grant recipients to intensify instruction for limited English proficient students by expanding education services. (Sec. 210) Revises evaluation components under subpart 1. Requires such evaluations to be annual. Directs the Secretary to establish certain performance measures. (Sec. 211) Revises provisions for research under subpart 2 (Research, Evaluation, and Dissemination). (Sec. 212) Revises subpart 2 provisions for the State grant program to add to required uses of funds SEA assistance to LEAs in developing data collection and accountability systems for limited English proficient students that are aligned with State reform efforts. (Sec. 213) Directs the Secretary to establish and support a National Clearinghouse on Education of Children and Youth with Limited English proficiency. (Replaces provisions for the National Clearinghouse on Bilingual Education.) (Sec. 214) Revises subpart 2 provisions for instructional materials development to authorize grants for development, publication, and dissemination of instructional materials: (1) in other low-incidence languages (as well as in Native American, Hawaiian, Pacific islanders and other natives of outlying areas, as in current grant provisions) in the United States for which instruction materials are not readily available; and (2) on standards and assessments, and instructional programs related to the education of children and youth with limited English proficiency, for dissemination to parents of such children and youth. (Sec. 215) Revises subpart 3 (Professional Development) to eliminate a reference to dissemination of information on appropriate instructional practices. (Sec. 216) Revises the subpart 3 training for all teachers program to direct its professional development services to those educational personnel with baccalaureate degrees to improve their provision of services to limited English proficient students or to become certified as a bilingual or English as a second language teacher. Authorizes such program grants to LEAs or to LEAs in consortium with SEAs, higher education institutions, or nonprofit organizations. Limits grant duration to three years (currently five). Sets forth specified required and authorized uses of funds. (Sec. 217) Revises provisions for grants for preservice professional development of bilingual education teachers and personnel. Authorizes such grants to higher education institutions. Requires recipients to coordinate their grant programs with other appropriate programs. Sets forth specified required and authorized uses of funds. (Sec. 218) Revises the bilingual education career ladder program to require grant recipient consortia to coordinate with other relevant programs and use all existing sources of student financial aid before using grant funds to pay tuition and stipends for participating students. Requires special consideration for grant applications of programs that provide training in English as a second language, including developing proficiency in the instructional use of English and, as appropriate, a second language in classroom contexts. (Sec. 219) Revises provisions for graduate fellowships in bilingual education program to eliminate post-doctoral fellowships. (Sec. 220) Revises requirements for applications for awards under subpart 3. (Sec. 221) Revises provisions for program evaluations under subpart 3. (Sec. 222) Establishes a new subpart 4, Model Programs for Parent Involvement Applications. Directs the Secretary to make competitive grants to LEAs for model programs to: (1) assist parents of limited English proficient students in making informed educational decisions for their children; and (2) assist such parents in meeting their own educational needs. Includes as eligible to apply for such grants consortia consisting of at least one LEA and one community-based organization, and other entities. Sets forth separate requirements for such grant programs that provide information to such parents in making decisions about their children's education and those that assist such parents with their own educational needs. Requires that total funds for such grants be divided equally between those two purposes. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 223) Sets forth new subpart 5 transition provisions for part A of title VII of ESEA. (Sec. 224) Adds certain findings with respect to the Emergency Immigrant Education Program (EIEP) under part C of title VII of ESEA. (Sec. 225) Revises provisions for State administrative costs under EIEP. (Sec. 226) Defines reclassification rate as the annual percentage of limited English proficient students who have met the State criteria for no longer being considered limited English proficient. (Sec. 227) Revises title VII provisions for regulations, parental notification, and use of paraprofessionals. (Sec. 229) Repeals ESEA title VII part A current provisions for: (1) program development and implementation grants; (2) intensified instruction; (3) funding priorities; and (4) coordination with other programs. Repeals the Foreign Language Assistance Program (the entire current part B of title VII of ESEA). Title III: High School Reform - Revises ESEA title X (Programs of National Significance) to establish a new part H, High School Reform. (Sec. 302) Authorizes the Secretary to make competitive grants to LEAs for high school reform activities. Limits each such grant to a maximum of three years. Prohibits assistance to any high school under more than one such grant. Sets forth required principles and components of educational reforms by grantees. Requires each grantee to: (1) provide for equitable participation of private school personnel in professional development activities it carries out with grant funds; and (2) make available to private schools, at their request, information about curricular materials developed using grant funds. Directs the Secretary to reserve some part H funds for: (1) incentive awards; (2) recognition, dissemination, networks, and peer review; and (3) evaluation. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Dropout Prevention and State Responsibilities - Revises ESEA title V part C Assistance to Address School Dropout Problems. (Replaces current part C provisions known as the School Dropout Assistance Act). (Sec. 402) Establishes: (1) a subpart 1 coordinated national strategy; and (2) a national school dropout prevention initiative. Sets forth the subpart 1 coordinated national strategy. Makes it a national priority, for the five-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, to lower the school dropout rate, and increase school completion, for middle school and secondary school students in accordance with Federal law. Requires all Federal agencies that carry out activities that serve students at risk of dropping out of school or that are intended to help address the school dropout problem to make school dropout prevention a top priority in the agencies' funding priorities during such five-year period. Directs the Secretary to collect systematic data on the participation of different racial and ethnic groups (including migrant and limited English proficient students) in all Federal programs. Requires, as part of the national school dropout prevention strategy, the Director of the Office of Dropout Prevention and Program Completion to develop, implement, and monitor an interagency plan to assess the coordination, use of resources, and availability of funding under Federal law that can be used to address school dropout prevention, or middle school or secondary school reentry. Requires the plan to address: (1) program coordination, targeting of existing Federal services, and cost-effectiveness of various programs and approaches; (2) ways in which State and local agencies can implement effective school dropout prevention programs using funds from a variety of Federal programs; and (3) all Federal programs with school dropout prevention or school reentry elements or objectives. Requires the Director to establish, through a competitive grant or contract, a national clearinghouse on effective school dropout prevention, intervention and reentry programs. Requires the clearinghouse to: (1) disseminate such data by an electronically accessible database, a Worldwide Web site, and a national journal; and (2) provide technical assistance regarding securing resources for programs. Requires the Director to carry out a national recognition program that recognizes schools that have made extraordinary progress in lowering school dropout rates, under which a public middle school or secondary school from each State will be recognized, using uniform national guidelines and school nominations submitted by SEAs. Authorizes monetary awards to recognized schools, for dissemination activities within the school district or nationally. Sets forth the subpart 2 National School Dropout Prevention Initiative. Directs the Secretary to make State allotments for such program based on relative amounts received under ESEA title I. Authorizes SEAs to use allotments to award grants to public middle schools or secondary schools that have school dropout rates which are in the highest one-third of all school dropout rates in the State, for only the startup and implementation costs of effective, sustainable, coordinated, and whole school dropout prevention programs. Includes among authorized program activities: (1) professional development; (2) obtaining curricular materials; (3) release time for professional staff; (4) planning and research; (5) remedial education; (6) reduction in pupil-to-teacher ratios; (7) efforts to meet State student achievement standards; and (8) counseling for at-risk students. Expresses the intent of Congress that such activities shall be continued with funding provided under part A of title I of ESEA. Sets forth determining factors and limits relating to grant amounts and duration. Requires the Director to increase the amount awarded to a school under the initiative grant program by ten percent if the school creates smaller learning communities within the school and the creation is certified by the SEA. Requires each school receiving such a grant to implement research based, sustainable, and widely replicated, strategies for school dropout prevention and reentry that address the needs of an entire school population rather than a subset of students. Allows such strategies to include: (1) specific strategies for targeted purposes; and (2) approaches such as breaking larger schools down into smaller learning communities, and other comprehensive reform approaches, developing clear linkages to career skills and employment, and addressing specific gatekeeper hurdles that often limit student retention and academic success. Requires the Director to: (1) annually establish and publish the principles, criteria, models, and other parameters regarding the types of effective, proven program models that are allowed to be used under the initiative program, based on existing research; (2) conduct a capacity building and design initiative in order to increase the types of proven strategies for dropout prevention on a schoolwide level (through a limited contract with a non-Federal entity); (3) support eligible entities to provide training, materials, development, and staff assistance to schools assisted under the initiative program. Sets forth initiative program requirements relating to: (1) selection of schools; (2) dissemination activities; (3) progress incentives; (4) school dropout rate calculation; (5) reporting and accountability; and (6) a prohibition on tracking. Authorizes appropriations for the ESEA part C: (1) subpart 1 coordinated national strategy; and (2) subpart 2 national school dropout prevention initiative. (Sec. 403) Amends the Department of Education Organization Act to establish in the Department of Education an Office of Dropout Prevention and Program Completion, to be administered by the Director. Requires the Director, through the Office, to: (1) help coordinate Federal, State, and local efforts to lower school dropout rates and increase program completion by middle school, secondary school, and college students; (2) recommend Federal policies, objectives, and priorities to lower school dropout rates and increase program completion; (3) oversee the implementation of subpart 2 of part C of title V of ESEA; (4) develop and implement the National School Dropout Prevention Strategy under ESEA; (5) submit to Congress and the Secretary annual national reports describing efforts and recommended actions regarding school dropout prevention and program completion; (6) recommend action to the Secretary and the President, as appropriate, regarding school dropout prevention and program completion; and (7) consult with and assist State and local governments regarding school dropout prevention and program completion. Includes under the scope of the Director's duties examination of all Federal and non-Federal efforts related to: (1) promotion of program completion for children attending middle school or secondary school; (2) programs to obtain a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent (including general equivalency diploma (GED) programs), or college degree programs; and (3) reentry programs for individuals aged 12 to 24 who are out of school. (Sec. 404) Revises ESEA title XIV (General Provisions) to add a new part I, Dropout Prevention. Requires SEAs, in order to receive any assistance under ESEA, to comply with specified provisions regarding school dropouts, including requirements relating to: (1) uniform data collection; (2) attendance neutral funding policies; and (3) suspension and expulsion policies.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Central American and Haitian Adjustment Act of 1999 - 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.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1999
Medicare Puerto Rico Hospital Payment Parity Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise the formula for determining the amount of Medicare payment with respect to the operating costs of inpatient hospital services of certain Puerto Rico hospitals, gradually increasing the national payment rate to 100 percent by FY 2002.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1999
Omnibus Mercury Emissions Reduction Act of 1999 - Amends the Clean Air Act to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to promulgate regulations to establish standards for mercury and mercury compound emissions applicable to: (1) electric utility steam generating units; (2) coal- and oil-fired commercial and industrial boiler units that have a maximum design heat input capacity of ten mmBtu (millions of British thermal units) per hour or greater; (3) chlor-alkali plants that use the mercury cell production process; and (4) dust from Portland cement plants. Requires such units and plants to have permits no later than two years after this Act's enactment. Prescribes a minimum required emission reduction, such that a unit or plant reduce annual poundage of mercury emitted below its mercury emission baseline by at least 95 percent. Authorizes emission trading among electric utility or coal- and oil-fired units contained at a single site if the aggregate annual reduction from all units is at least 95 percent. Requires the Administrator to authorize methods of control of mercury emissions. Sets forth permit requirements, including requirements for monitoring and analysis, inspection, entry, compliance certification, and reporting. Establishes specific mercury emission baselines for classes of electric utility and coal- and oil-fired boiler units, including those in operation before January 1, 1996, and those beginning operation after this Act's enactment. Requires the regulations to ensure that mercury that is captured or recovered is disposed of in a manner that ensures that: (1) the mercury hazards are not transferred from one environmental medium to another; and (2) there is no release of mercury into the environment. Directs the Administrator to establish a program of long-term research to develop and disseminate information on methods such as separating, solidifying, recycling, and encapsulating mercury-bearing waste so that the mercury does not volatize, migrate to groundwater or surface water, or contaminate the soil. Requires the Administrator to make emission data for each unit and plant available annually to the public. (Sec. 5) Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to direct the Administrator to publish a list of mercury-containing items to be separated and removed from the waste streams that feed solid waste management facilities. Requires manufacturers of listed items to label items (or, in the case of button cell batteries, packages) to indicate that a product contains mercury. Requires persons that transfer solid waste that may contain a mercury-containing item listed by the Administrator under this Act to submit plans for: (1) separating and removing listed mercury-containing items from waste streams that feed such facilities; (2) transferring separated waste to a recycling facility or treatment, storage, or disposal facility permitted under hazardous waste management provisions of the Solid Waste Disposal Act; (3) monitoring and reporting on plan compliance; and (4) achieving full compliance with the plan within 18 months of plan approval. Directs the Administrator or a State to develop and enforce plans for facilities without approved plans. Amends the Clean Air Act to direct the Administrator to promulgate regulations prescribing procedures for monitoring and analysis for mercury emissions from solid waste combustion flue gases and determining compliance with such requirements. Requires permits for solid waste incineration units to specify inspection, entry, monitoring, compliance certification, and reporting requirements. Directs the Administrator to require incineration units that exceed the maximum mercury emission rate to install control equipment and techniques that will result, within three years, in an emission rate below the specified maximum. Directs the Administrator to make mercury emission data for each unit available annually to the public. Prohibits, three years after this Act's enactment, the sale of mercury-containing products by manufacturers unless the manufacturer has been granted an exemption by the Administrator. Permits an exemption if the Administrator determines that: (1) the product has an essential use; (2) there is no comparable product that does not contain mercury and that is available in the marketplace at a reasonable cost; and (3) through submitted documentation, the manufacturer has established a program to take back, after consumer use, all products subject to the exemption that are manufactured after the date of approval of the exemption application. Provides for maximum three-year exemptions and for renewals. (Sec. 8) Requires the Administrator to report to Congress on the extent to which the annual poundage of mercury and mercury compound emissions from medical waste incinerators and hazardous waste combustors in the United States has been reduced below specific baselines. (Sec. 10) Directs the Secretary of Defense to report to Congress on the use of mercury and mercury compounds by the Department of Defense. (Sec. 11) Requires the Administrator to report to Congress on the sources and extent of mercury emissions in North America. (Sec. 12) Directs the Administrator to establish: (1) a program to characterize and quantify the potential mercury-related health effects on high-risk populations; and (2) a mercury public awareness and prevention program targeted at populations most at risk from exposure to mercury. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Administrator to establish an advisory committee to report on the progress made by the Federal Government, State and local governments, industry, and other regulated entities in complying with the mercury-related amendments to the Clean Air Act made by this Act. Directs the Administrator to submit to Congress a report that characterizes mercury and mercury-compound sedimentation trends in Lake Champlain, the Chesapeake Bay, the Great Lakes, the finger lakes region of upstate New York, Tampa Bay, and other water bodies of concern. Requires the Administrator to evaluate: (1) data collected by EPA and each State concerning mercury contamination of fish; and (2) advisories to warn the public about the consumption of mercury-contaminated fish. Directs the Administrator to: (1) implement any changes necessary to improve the quality and ensure consistency from State to State of Federal and State data collection, reporting, characterization of mercury contamination, and thresholds above which advisories will be issued; and (2) make biennial reports available to the public concerning mercury levels in fish and any consumption advisories that have been issued.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1999
Federal Employee Retirement Contributions Act of 1999 - Amends Federal retirement provisions to reduce to seven percent after December 31, 1999, the required retirement contribution by Federal employees participating under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) (such contribution currently is scheduled to be 7.4 percent for calendar year 2000, and 7.5 percent for 2001). Reduces similarly the required percentage contribution under CSRS for Members of Congress and congressional employees, law enforcement or firefighting personnel, certain judges and magistrates, and nuclear material couriers. Makes similar reductions for participants in the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS). Makes conforming reductions with respect to military and volunteer service under FERS. Amends the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 and the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to make similar employee retirement contribution reductions under the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System, the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability System, and the Foreign Service Pension System.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1999
Certified Development Company Program Improvements Act of 1999 - Amends provisions of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 relating to the certified development company (CDC) program (a program providing loans to State or local development companies for assisting small businesses) to: (1) include within program goals the expansion of women-owned business development; (2) increase to $1 million the authorized amount of a loan from the development company to an identifiable small business; (3) terminate on or after October 1, 2003, the authority of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to charge a fee for such loans; (4) repeal the certified lenders program; and (5) provide for the sale of certain defaulted loans under the CDC program, requiring prior notice of the sale of such a loan to any CDC which has a contingent liability for such loan. Authorizes the SBA to delegate to any qualified State or local development company the authority to foreclose and liquidate defaulted loans that are guaranteed with the proceeds of debentures guaranteed by the SBA. Outlines delegation eligibility requirements and the scope of such delegation authority (all necessary liquidation and foreclosure as well as required litigation). Requires each eligible development company, before carrying out such liquidation and foreclosure, to submit a proposed liquidation plan to the SBA for approval. Provides administrative procedures with respect to the submission and approval of such plan. Authorizes the SBA to suspend or revoke any delegation authority granted for failure to comply with delegation requirements. Requires an annual report from the SBA to the congressional small business committees on the results of the delegation of authority under this section. Terminates on the effective date of final regulations implementing this section the current loan liquidation pilot program.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1999
Amends the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act to increase the authorization of appropriations for measures to carry out the control of salinity upstream of Imperial Dam.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1999
Amends the Small Business Act to authorize the Small Business Administration (SBA) to guarantee a general business loan made by a bank or other financial institution to a small business in the amount of: (1) 75 percent of the outstanding balance of such loan, if such balance exceeds $150,000 (currently $100,000); and (2) 80 percent of the outstanding balance of less than $150,000 (also currently $100,000). Prohibits any such loan from being made to a borrower if the total amount outstanding and committed to the borrower from the business loan and SBA investment funds would exceed $1 million (currently $750,000). Makes current provisions requiring the payment of accrued interest on defaulted guaranteed loans inapplicable to loans made on or after October 1, 1999. Requires a borrower who prepays any loan guaranteed by the SBA to remit to the SBA a subsidy recoupment (calculated under this Act) if: (1) the loan is for a period of less than 15 years; (2) the prepayment is voluntary; (3) the amount of prepayment in any calendar year is more than 25 percent of the outstanding loan balance; and (4) the prepayment is made within the first three years after disbursement of the loan proceeds. Revises loan guarantee fee amounts. Authorizes lenders participating in an SBA program to retain no more than 25 percent of such fee with respect to any loan not exceeding $150,000. Authorizes a borrower to permanently lease to one or more tenants not more than 20 percent of any property constructed using guaranteed loan proceeds, as long as the borrower permanently occupies and uses not less than 60 percent of the total business space in the property.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 1999
Recognizes the moral right of Dina Babbitt to obtain the artwork she created and recognizes her courage in the face of the evils perpetrated by the Nazi command of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp, including the atrocities committed by Dr. Josef Mengele. Urges: (1) the President to make all efforts necessary to retrieve and return to her the seven watercolor portraits she painted while suffering a year and a half long internment at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp; (2) the State Department to make diplomatic efforts to facilitate the transfer of such watercolors from the Auschwitz-Birkenau state museum to her; (3) the Government of Poland to facilitate the return of such artwork from the Auschwitz-Birkenau state museum to her; and (4) the officials of the Auschwitz-Birkenau state museum to transfer those paintings to her expeditiously.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 1999
Fair Energy Competition Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal Power Act (FPA) to direct the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to calculate and publish a generation performance standard for oxides of nitrogen from covered electric generating units in designated regions. Sets forth implementation guidelines which take into account: (1) ozone episodes; (2) fine particulate matter; (3) carbon dioxide; and (4) mercury emission reductions. (Sec. 4) Instructs FERC to allocate allowances: (1) for each air pollutant for which a statutory tonnage cap has been established; and (2) each person who demonstrates achievement of an independently certified reduction in gross electric energy demand during a covered period. Provides for carryover and trading of allowances. Prescribes implementation guidelines, including: (1) a measurement and verification protocol; (2) compliance with allowance limits; and (3) excess emissions. (Sec. 5) Directs the Secretary of Energy to establish a National Electric System Public Benefits Board, which shall establish the National Electric System Public Benefits Fund to provide matching funds to States to support programs relating to renewable energy sources, universal electric service, energy conservation, and other public purposes. (Sec. 6) Prescribes guidelines for funding, distribution, and wires charges. (Sec. 7) Prescribes a minimum schedule for the total amount of electricity sold by non-hydroelectric facilities and generated by renewable energy sources. Prescribes procedural guidelines for: (1) renewable energy credits; and (2) mandatory FERC sales of renewable energy credits. (Sec. 8) Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to require each retail electric supplier to make net metering service available upon request to a retail electric consumer served or solicited by such supplier. Prescribes guidelines governing: (1) rates and charges; (2) safety and performance standards; and (3) interconnection standards among on-site generating facilities, net metering systems, and local distribution systems. (Sec. 9) Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a disclosure system to allow retail consumers knowledgeably to compare retail electric service offerings (including comparisons based on generation source portfolios, emissions data, and price terms); and (2) promulgate regulations accordingly. Requires certain seller disclosures to wholesale customers as well. Declares that failure of a retail company to provide accurate disclosure shall be treated as a deceptive act in commerce prohibited under the Federal Trade Commission Act. (Sec. 11) Declares that no electric utility shall be required after enactment of this Act to enter into a new contract or obligation to purchase electric energy from cogeneration and small power production facilities. (Sec. 12) Prohibits any person, except in accordance with State-prescribed verification procedures, from submitting or executing a change: (1) in the selection made by a retail electric supply customer ("slamming"); or (2) to the number of products or services offered ("cramming"). (Sec. 13) Prescribes privacy guidelines governing consumer proprietary information.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 1999
Pro-Family, Pro-Growth, Pro-Reform Tax Reduction Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish, extend, or modify income tax deductions, exclusions, and credits in a number of areas, including: (1) education; (2) employment; (3) energy; (4) environment; (5) estate tax; (6) health care; (7) housing; (8) research; and (9) retirement income. Establishes the National Commission on Tax Simplification and Reform. Reserves 77 percent of the combined on- and off-budget surpluses for the purposes of ensuring Social Security and Medicare solvency and longevity.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 1999
Immigration Reorganization and Improvement Act of 1999 - Establishes in the Department of Justice: (1) the Bureau of Immigration Services; and (2) the Bureau of Immigration Enforcement. Sets forth provisions respecting the transfer of functions, personnel, and appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 1999
Folic Acid Promotion and Birth Defects Prevention Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to carry out a program, directly or through grants or contracts, for professional and public education and training, research, and epidemiological activities regarding folic acid and birth defects. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 1999
Designates the U.S. Post Office building located at 3101 West Sunflower Avenue in Santa Ana, California, as the Hector G. Godinez Post Office Building.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1999
Act to Save America's Forests - Title I: Amendments to Existing Land Management Laws - Amends the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (National Forest System), the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (public lands), the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (National Wildlife Refuge System), and Federal law relating to forest management on military lands to: (1) provide for native biodiversity conservation; and (2) restrict and prohibit certain logging practices. Title II: Protection for Ancient Forests, Roadless Areas, Watershed Protection Areas, and Special Areas - Describes special areas as Federal forest land parcels possessing outstanding biological, scenic, recreational, or cultural values, exemplary on a regional or national level, which may not meet the definitions of Ancient Forests, Roadless Areas, or Watershed Protection Areas. Designates specified Special Areas which shall be subject to restrictions on road construction and logging in the following States: (1) Alabama; (2) Alaska; (3) Arizona; (4) Arkansas; (5) California; (6) Colorado; (7) Georgia; (8) Idaho; (9) Illinois; (10) Michigan; (11) Minnesota; (12) Missouri; (13) Montana; (14) New Mexico; (15) North Carolina; (16) Ohio; (17) Oklahoma; (18) Oregon; (19) South Carolina; (20) South Dakota; (21) Tennessee; (22) Texas; (23) Vermont; (24) Virginia; (25) West Virginia; (26) Wisconsin; and (27) Wyoming. Provides for the appointment of a committee of scientists to recommend additional Special Areas. Restricts road construction and logging in Ancient Forests, Special Areas, Roadless Areas on Federal lands, and Watershed Protection Areas.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 1999
Cardiac Arrest Survival Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) assist in providing for an improvement in the survival rates of individuals who experience cardiac arrest in Federal buildings by publishing in the Federal Register for public comment recommendations with respect to placing automatic external defibrillators in such buildings; and (2) assist Federal agencies in implementing programs for such placement. Requires the Secretary to determine criteria for: (1) the selection of the Federal public buildings in which defibrillators should be placed; (2) defibrillator maintenance; and (3) the coordination of the use of the defibrillators in public buildings with emergency medical services providers for the geographic areas in which the buildings are located. Provides that any person who provides emergency medical care through the use of a defibrillator, any person who maintained, tested, or provided training in the use of the device, any physician who provided medical oversight of the device, and the person who acquired the device (if specified conditions have been met) is immune from civil liability for any personal injury or wrongful death resulting from the provision of such care, unless the person engaged in gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct under the applicable circumstances.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1999
Genetic Nondiscrimination in Health Insurance and Employment Act of 1999 - Title I: Prohibition of Health Insurance Discrimination on the Basis of Predictive Genetic Information - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) (regarding a group health plan, and a health insurance issuer offering group insurance through a group plan), the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) (regarding such a plan or issuer, and with regard to an issuer offering health insurance in the individual market), the Internal Revenue code (IRC) (regarding a group health plan), and title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) (regarding Medicare supplemental policies) to prohibit, with respect to genetic information: (1) discriminating in individual enrollment; (2) discriminating in group eligibility or group premium or contribution rates; (3) requesting or requiring test performance; and (4) requesting, requiring, collecting, purchasing, or disclosing information, unless authorized by the individual. Allows a plan or issuer: (1) regarding payment for genetic services, to request evidence that the services were performed; and (2) regarding payment for other benefits, to request predictive genetic information in certain circumstances. Allows a court, for violations, to award any appropriate legal or equitable relief, attorney's fees and costs, and expert witness costs. Allows civil monetary penalties. Applies the requirements of this paragraph to plans that have fewer than two participants who are current employees. Amends ERISA and the PHSA to: (1) declare that the provisions of paragraph above do not preempt any provision of State law that protects genetic information confidentiality or privacy, or prohibits genetic discrimination, more completely than ERISA's and the PHSA's group health plan provisions; and (2) apply the requirements of the paragraph above to Medicare supplemental health insurance and similar supplemental coverage, if provided under a separate policy, certificate, or contract of insurance. Amends the IRC to apply the requirements of this title to apply the requirements of this title to any governmental plan. Title II: Prohibition of Employment Discrimination on the Basis of Predictive Genetic Information - Makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer, employment agency, labor organization, or training program to discriminate because of predictive genetic information, including making it unlawful to request, require, collect, or purchase such information. Allows an employer to request, require, collect, or purchase such information: (1) where used for genetic monitoring of biological effects of workplace toxic substances; or (2) with consent of the employee, if results are received only by the employee (or the employee's family). (Sec. 206) Requires employers possessing such information to treat and maintain the information as part of the employee's confidential medical records. Prohibits disclosure, subject to exception. (Sec. 207) Empowers one or more employees, labor organization members, or training participants to bring an action in Federal or State court for violations. Applies to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), for enforcement of this title, the powers, remedies, and procedures under specified provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Allows a court to award any appropriate legal or equitable relief, attorney's fees and costs, and costs of experts. (Sec. 209) Authorizes appropriations to carry out this title.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1999
Internet Freedom and Broadband Deployment Act of 1999 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to define "high speed data service" as a service capable of transmitting electronic information at a rate generally not less than 384 kilobits per second in at least one direction. Prohibits the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and each State, except as expressly provided in this Act, from regulating the rates, charges, terms or conditions for, or entry into the provision of, any high speed data service or Internet access service, or to regulate the facilities used in the provision of such service. Prohibits the FCC from requiring an incumbent (established) local exchange carrier to: (1) provide unbundled access to any network elements used in the provision of any high speed data service, other than those elements described in FCC regulations; or (2) offer for resale at wholesale rates any high speed data service. States that nothing in this Act shall: (1) limit or affect the authority of any State to regulate voice telephone exchange services; (2) affect the ability of the FCC to retain or modify the exemption from interstate access charges for enhanced service providers; or (3) prohibit the FCC from modifying the regulation concerning the number of networks subject to its unbundling requirement. Requires each incumbent local exchange carrier to provide: (1) Internet users with the ability to subscribe to and have access to any Internet service provider that interconnects with such carrier's high speed data service; (2) any Internet service provider with the right to acquire necessary facilities and services to facilitate such interconnection; and (3) any Internet service provider with the ability to collocate equipment in order to achieve such interconnection. Includes high speed data service or Internet access service within the definition of "incidental interLATA services" permitted for a Bell operating company (BOC). States that, until the date a BOC is authorized to offer interLATA services originating in an in-region State, such BOC offering any high speed data service or Internet access service may not, in such State, bill or collect for interLATA voice telecommunications service obtained by means of such high speed data or Internet access service provided by such company.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1999
Oceans Act of 1999 - Directs the President: (1) to develop and maintain a coordinated, comprehensive, and long-range national policy, consistent with U.S. international obligations, on ocean and coastal activities; (2) with regard to Federal agencies and departments, to review ocean and coastal activities, plan and implement an integrated and cost-effective program of ocean and coastal activities, designate responsibility for funding and conducting ocean and coastal activities, and ensure cooperation and resolve differences arising from laws and regulations applicable to ocean and coastal activities; and (3) transmit to Congress biennially a report that includes a detailed listing of all existing Federal programs relating to ocean and coastal activities, including a description of each program, the current funding for the program, and a projection of the funding level for the program for the following five fiscal years. Requires each agency or department involved in ocean and coastal activities to include with its annual request for appropriations a report identifying significant elements of the proposed agency or department budget relating to ocean and coastal activities. (Sec. 4) Directs the President to establish the National Ocean Council to assist the Commission on Ocean Policy in completing its report, to serve as the forum for developing an implementation plan for a national ocean and coastal policy and program, and to improve coordination and cooperation among Federal agencies on ocean and coastal activities. Terminates the Council one year after the Commission submits its final report. (Sec. 5) Establishes the Commission on Ocean Policy which shall report to the President and the Congress on U.S. ocean policy, including: (1) recommendations for the responsible use and stewardship of ocean and coastal resources; and (2) comments from the Governor of any coastal State to which such recommendations apply. Requires the Commission, before submitting its final report, to: (1) publish a notice in the Federal Register that a draft report is available for public review; and (2) provide a copy of the draft report to the Governor of each coastal State and to specified congressional committees. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1999
Targeted Gun Dealer Enforcement Act of 1999 - Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to prohibit, and set penalties for, making certain false or fictitious statements with respect to the identity of the person purchasing or attempting to purchase a firearm or ammunition. Prohibits a licensed dealer from transferring a firearm without notifying the transferee whether applicable State law requires persons to be licensed to carry concealed firearms in the State or prohibits the carrying of concealed firearms in the State. Rewrites Brady Act provisions to allow the Secretary of the Treasury to suspend or revoke a license and to assess and collect a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation, subject to specified requirements and procedures. Directs the Secretary to designate a licensed dealer as a "high-volume crime gun dealer": (1) upon determining that the dealer sold, delivered, or otherwise transferred to one or more unlicensed persons at least 25 firearms that, during the preceding calendar year, were used during the commission or attempted commission of a criminal offense under, or were possessed in violation of, Federal, State, or local law; or (2) immediately upon the expiration date of a suspension of that dealer's license for a willful violation that involved one or more firearms that were subsequently used during the commission or attempted commission of a criminal offense under Federal, State, or local law. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the effective period of such designation; (2) requirements for designation notification by the Secretary to the appropriate U.S. attorney's office, appropriate State and local law enforcement agencies, and State and local agencies responsible for issuing business licenses in the jurisdiction; (3) dealer reporting and record keeping requirements regarding the transfer of a handgun; (4) inspection of such dealer at any time without a showing of reasonable cause or a warrant for purposes of determining compliance with requirements of this Act; (5) handgun transfer record keeping requirements for local police departments; (6) time requirements for license renewal decisions; and (7) suspension of the license of a high-volume crime gun dealer for violations. Sets penalties for failure to comply with requirements of this Act. (Sec. 3) Amends the Brady Act to authorize a successor licensee to retain the records of a discontinued firearms or ammunition business or submit them to the Secretary. Authorizes the Secretary to receive and centralize any information or records submitted and to maintain such information or records in whatever manner will enable their most efficient use in law enforcement investigations. Directs the Secretary to retain a record of each firearms trace conducted by the Secretary unless the Secretary determines that there is a valid law enforcement reason not to retain the record. Requires a licensed importer, manufacturer, and dealer to submit to the Secretary a monthly report of each firearm received from an unlicensed person, excluding any identifying information relating to the transferor or any subsequent purchaser. (Sec. 4) Prohibits, and sets penalties for, knowingly transferring a firearm having reasonable cause to believe that it will be used to commit a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime. Increases penalties for trafficking in firearms with obliterated serial numbers. (Sec. 5) Directs the United States Sentencing Commission to amend the Federal sentencing guidelines to reflect the amendments made by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1999
Better America Bonds Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a limited income tax credit to a holder of a Better America Bond. Requires the proceeds of such bonds to be used for specified purposes, including: (1) the acquisition of land for use as open space, wetlands, public parks, or greenways, and the provision of visitor facilities for land so used; (2) the remediation of land so acquired to enhance water quality; and (3) the environmental assessment and remediation of real property owned by a State or local government.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 1999
National Center for Research on Domestic Health Disparities Act - Amends title IV (National Research Institutes) of the Public Health Service Act (PHSA), as amended by the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999, to establish, as another agency of the National Institutes of Health, a National Center for Research on Domestic Health Disparities to conduct and support basic and clinical research, training, and dissemination of health information, and other programs with respect to minority health. Directs the Director of the Center to assist in the administration of certain PHSA clinical research requirements with respect to the inclusion of minority groups as clinical research subjects. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish an advisory council to assist the Director. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1999
Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 1999 - Prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation by covered entities. Declares that a disparate impact does not establish a prima facie violation of this Act. Prohibits related retaliation and coercion. Declares that this Act does not apply to the provision of employee benefits for the benefit of an employee's domestic partner. Prohibits the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from: (1) collecting statistics on sexual orientation from covered entities; and (2) compelling covered entities to collect such statistics. Prohibits: (1) quotas and preferential treatment; and (2) an order or consent decree for a violation of this Act that includes a quota or preferential treatment. Declares that this Act does not apply to: (1) religious organizations (except regarding employment in a position the duties of which pertain solely to activities of the organization that generate unrelated business income subject to taxation under specified Internal Revenue Code provisions); (2) the relationship between the United States and members of the armed forces; or (3) laws creating special rights or preferences for veterans. Provides for enforcement. Prohibits the imposition of affirmative action for a violation of this Act. Disallows State immunity. Makes the United States or a State liable for all remedies (except punitive damages, with compensatory damages available to the extent specified in certain existing provisions of law) to the same extent as under specified provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Allows recovery of attorney's fees. Requires posting notices for employees, applicants, and members.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1999
Safety Net Preservation Act of 1999 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to establish a new prospective payment system for federally-qualified health centers and rural health clinics.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1999
Amends titles XI and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) disregard Medicaid payments for certain Medicare (SSA title XVIII) cost-sharing and for veterans in applying provisions for fiscal year Medicaid payments to Puerto Rico and certain other territories; and (2) remove the limitation on the Federal medical assistance percentage for such cost-sharing and for veterans.
![Official portrait of Rep. Napolitano, Grace F. [D-CA-32]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/116_rp_ca_32_napolitano_grace_200.jpg)