United States · United States Congress · 22 July 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Enhanced Source and Transit Country Coverage Title II: Enhanced Eradication and Interdiction Strategy in Source Countries Title III: Enhanced Alterative Crop Development Support in Source Zone Title IV: Enhanced International Law Enforcement Training Title V: Enhanced Drug Transit and Source Zone Law Enforcement Operations and Equipment Title VI: Relationship to Other Laws Western Hemisphere Drug Elimination Act - Declares that it is U.S. policy to: (1) reduce the supply of drugs and drug use through an enhanced drug interdiction effort in the major drug transit countries and a comprehensive supply country eradication and crop substitution program, because a commitment of increased resources in international drug interdiction efforts will create a balanced national drug control strategy among demand reduction, law enforcement, and international drug interdiction efforts; and (2) support policies and dedicate the resources necessary to reduce the flow of illegal drugs into the United States by not less than 80 percent by December 31, 2001. Title I: Enhanced Source and Transit Country Coverage - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Defense (DOD) for the enhancement of air coverage and operation for drug source and transit countries. (Sec. 102) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the Department of Transportation (DOT) for the enhancement of U.S. Coast Guard maritime coverage and operation in drug source and transit countries. (Sec. 103) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the DOD for the enhancement of radar coverage in drug source and transit countries. Title II: Enhanced Eradication and Interdiction Strategy in Source Countries - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the Department of State and the DOD for the enhancement of drug- related eradication efforts in Colombia. (Sec. 202) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for: (1) the Department of State for the establishment of a third drug interdiction site at Puerto Maldonado, Peru, to support air bridge and riverine missions for enhancement of drug-related eradication efforts there; and (2) the DOD for operation and maintenance, Defense-wide, for enhancement of drug interdiction efforts in Peru for support of multinational riverine and small boat maintenance training programs in Iquitos, Peru. Directs the Secretary of Defense to study and report to the Congress on Peruvian counternarcotics air interdiction requirements. (Sec. 203) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the Department of State for enhancement of drug-related eradication efforts in Bolivia. (Sec. 204) Directs the Secretary of State to purchase six Bell 212 high altitude helicopters designated for opium eradication programs in Mexican states of Guerrero, Jalisco, and Sinaloa, for enhancement of drug-related eradication efforts there. Makes this purchase mandate contingent on Mexico's agreement to approve full diplomatic immunity for Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) personnel serving in Mexico with privileges granted to U.S. Government officials to carry weapons necessary for the performance of their duties. Authorizes appropriations. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) all U.S. law enforcement personnel serving in Mexico should be accorded the same status as diplomatic and consular personnel serving at U.S. posts in Mexico; and (2) all Mexican narcotics law enforcement personnel serving in the United States should be accorded the same diplomatic and consular status as DEA personnel serving in Mexico. (Sec. 205) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for enhanced precursor chemical control projects. (Sec. 206) Requires any individual serving as an assistant secretary of any Federal agency or department who has primary responsibility for international narcotics control and law enforcement (including the principal deputy of any such assistant) to have substantial professional qualifications in the fields of management and Federal law enforcement, or intelligence. Declares that the DOD shall have sole responsibility in implementation and processing of counternarcotics foreign military sales requests (with the Department of State having a consultative role in such requests). (Sec. 207) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the responsiveness and effectiveness of Department of State international narcotics assistance activities have been hampered due, in part, to the lack of law enforcement expertise by responsible Department of State personnel. Requires the Director of National Drug Control Policy to report to the appropriate congressional committees on: (1) the responsiveness and effectiveness of such activities; and (2) the feasibility costs and steps needed to achieve a transfer of the Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs to the DEA. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Enhanced Alternative Crop Development Support in Source Zone - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID) for certain alternative crop development programs in Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia. Title IV: Enhanced International Law Enforcement Training - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the Department of Justice for the establishment and operation of international law enforcement academies to carry out law enforcement training activities in Latin America and the Caribbean, Thailand, and South Africa. (Sec. 401) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the DOT and the Department of the Treasury for the joint establishment, operation, and maintenance in San Juan, Puerto Rico, of a center for training law enforcement personnel of countries located in Latin America and the Caribbean in matters relating to maritime law enforcement (including customs-related ports management matters). Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the DOT for the establishment, operation, and maintenance of maritime training vessels. (Sec. 402) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the Department of Justice for: (1) substantial exchanges for Mexican judges, prosecutors, and police; and (2) enhanced support for the Brazilian Federal Police Training Center. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the DOD for operation and maintenance, Defense-wide, for locating and operating Coast Guard and Navy assets so as to strengthen the capability of the Coast Guard of Panama to patrol the Atlantic and Pacific coasts for drug enforcement and interdiction activities. Makes members of the national police of Panama eligible to receive training through the International Military Education Training (IMET) program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the DOD for operation and maintenance, Defense-wide, for support for the Venezuelan Joint National Guard and Judicial Technical Police Counterdrug Intelligence Center. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the DOT and the Department of the Treasury for the buildup of local coast guard and port control in: (1) Guayaquil and Esmeraldas, Ecuador; (2) Haiti and the Dominican Republic; and (3) Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua (Central America). (Sec. 403) Authorizes the DEA Administrator to transfer or lease a specified amount of nonlethal equipment to foreign law enforcement organizations for the purpose of establishing and carrying out cooperative illicit narcotics control activities. Title V: Enhanced Drug Transit and Source Zone Law Enforcement Operations and Equipment - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the DEA, the DOT, the DOD, and the Department of the Treasury for enhancement of counternarcotics operations in drug transit and source countries. (Sec. 501) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the Department of State for the deployment of commercial unclassified intelligence and imaging data and a Passive Coherent Location System for counternarcotics and interdiction purposes in the Western Hemisphere. (Sec. 502) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of Defense should revise the DOD's Global Military Force Policy in order to: (1) treat the international drug interdiction and counter- drug activities of the DOD as a military operation other than war (thus elevating its priority to just below that for war); and (2) allocate DOD assets to drug interdiction and counter-drug activities in accordance with such priority. Title VI: Relationship to Other Laws - Declares that funds authorized to be appropriated for any Federal department or agency for FY 1999 through 2001 are in addition to funds authorized to be appropriated for that department or agency for those fiscal years by any other provision of law.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 1998
Prompt Compensation Act of 1998 - Amends the Declaration of Taking Act to require (current law authorizes): (1) the petitioner in a proceeding in a U.S. court outside of the District of Columbia instituted for the acquisition of land for the United States for public use, to file within 90 days after filing the petition (currently, at any time before judgment) a declaration that such lands are thereby taken; (2) the petitioner, upon the filing of such declaration, to deposit with the court the amount estimated by the acquiring authority to be just compensation for the land taken as stated in such declaration; and (3) the court, upon application of the parties in interest, to order that such compensation be awarded.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1998
Emergency Farm Financial Relief Act - Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act to provide that FY 1999 production flexibility contract payments shall be paid at such time or times as the owner or producer so requests as long as payment is completed by such fiscal year's end.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1998
Declares that the Congress affirms: (1) its longstanding commitment to Taiwan in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act; (2) its expectation that the future status of Taiwan will be determined by peaceful means, that the people of both sides of the Taiwan Strait should determine their own future, and that it considers any effort to determine or influence Taiwan's future status by other than peaceful means a threat to the peace and security of the Western Pacific region and of grave concern to the United States; (3) its commitment to make available to Taiwan such defense articles and services, including appropriate ballistic missile defenses, as may be necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability; (4) that only the President and Congress shall determine the nature and quantity of defense articles and services needed by Taiwan; and (5) its strong support of appropriate membership for Taiwan in international financial institutions and other international organizations. Urges the President to seek a public renunciation by the People's Republic of China of any use of force, or threat to use force, against the free people of Taiwan.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 1998
Provides that Executive Order 13083, relating to the constitutional division of governmental responsibilities between the Federal Government and the States and the application of federalism principles to Federal agency actions, shall have no force or effect.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1998
Drug Dealer Liability Act of 1998 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act to provide that any person who manufactures or distributes a controlled substance shall be liable in a civil action to any party harmed, directly or indirectly, by the use of that substance. Prohibits an individual user of a controlled substance from bringing or maintaining such an action unless the individual: (1) personally discloses to narcotic enforcement authorities all of the information known to that individual regarding all his or her sources of illegal controlled substances; (2) has not used an illegal controlled substance within 30 days before filing the action; and (3) continues to remain free of the use of an illegal controlled substance throughout the pendency of the action.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1998
Agriculture Export Relief Act of 1998 - Amends the Arms Export Control Act to exempt, through September 30, 1999, Department of Agriculture assistance for the purchase or other provision of food or other agricultural commodities (including fertilizer, medicines, and medical equipment) from the prohibition against extensions of U.S. Government credit, credit guarantees, or other financial assistance to countries involved in the transfer or use of nuclear explosive devices.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1998
Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act of 1998 - Amends the Federal criminal code to make it unlawful for anyone, knowingly and unlawfully, to: (1) obtain, possess, or transfer five or more means of identification; or (2) use one or more means of identification. Defines "means of identification" as any name or number that may be used to assume the identity of another. Prescribes criminal penalties for first and subsequent offenses involving fraud and related activity in connection with identification documents (identity fraud), including for such offenses committed in connection with other specified crimes. Subjects to the same penalties any person who attempts or conspires to commit such an offense. Provides for mandatory restitution for identity fraud victims which may include payment for any costs, including attorney's fees, incurred: (1) in clearing a credit history or rating; or (2) in connection with any civil or administrative proceeding to satisfy any debt, lien, or other obligation arising as a result of the defendant's actions. Directs the United States Sentencing Commission to review and amend the Federal sentencing guidelines to provide an appropriate penalty for such offenses, taking into account specified factors. Directs the Federal Trade Commission to establish procedures to: (1) log and acknowledge the receipt of complaints by individuals having reason to believe that one or more of their means of identification have been assumed, stolen, or otherwise unlawfully acquired; (2) provide informational materials to such individuals; and (3) refer such complaints to the appropriate entities, including national consumer reporting agencies and law enforcement agencies.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1998
Reforestation Tax Act of 1998 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a deduction to a taxpayer who has a qualified timber gain in an amount equal to the qualified percentage of such gain. Decreases the amortization period for reforestation expenditures.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1998
Calls for the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee to recommend and the Postal Service to issue a postage stamp to raise public awareness of diabetes and to promote public support for diabetes research.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1998
Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) to direct the Secretary of Labor to revise certain regulations to: (1) provide that an employer complies with a specified standard if the employer makes information on each hazardous chemical used in the workplace readily accessible (available for retrieval immediately in the case of an emergency) to employees through electronic access or other alternatives to paper copies of Material Standard Data Sheets MSDSs; and (2) require a standard format for MSDSs, including an emergency overview which warns of health and physical hazards that require immediate attention in an emergency. Directs the Secretary to: (1) study the comprehensibility of specified OSHA required hazard warnings to the average industrial worker; and (2) make the resulting report available to chemical manufacturers and importers required to prepare MSDSs.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1998
Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize not less than ten percent of the total amount made available to a State for residential substance abuse treatment for State prisoners to be used for grants to local correctional facilities in the State to assist jail-based substance abuse treatment programs. Limits the Federal share to 75 percent of the total program cost. Sets forth provisions regarding application requirements, review, and approval. Grants preference to applications that provide for certain aftercare services and periodic substance abuse testing. Requires States making grants to implement a statewide communications network with the capacity to track participants. Sets forth reporting and performance review requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1998
Expresses the sense of the Congress with respect to the implementation of the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 and the related responsibilities of the Environmental Protection Agency.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 1998
Amends the Arms Export Control Act to exempt Department of Agriculture assistance for the purchase or other provision of food or other agricultural commodities from the prohibition against extensions of U.S. Government credit, credit guarantees, or other financial assistance to countries involved in the transfer or use of nuclear explosive devices.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 1998
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) undercover law enforcement investigations, including sting operations, are necessary to counter increasingly sophisticated money laundering schemes that involve financial institutions in this country and other countries, including Mexico; and (2) the United States should not agree to extradite to Mexico U.S. law enforcement agents involved in Operation Casablanca for actions taken within the scope of such Operation.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1998
Lethal Drug Abuse Prevention Act of 1998 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to require the Attorney General to determine that registration of an applicant to manufacture, distribute, conduct research with, or dispense specified controlled substances or listed chemicals is inconsistent with the public interest if: (1) during the five-year period immediately preceding submission of the application, the applicant's registration was revoked; or (2) the Attorney General determines, based on clear and convincing evidence, that the applicant is applying for the registration with the intention of using such registration to violate CSA provisions. Authorizes the Attorney General to suspend or revoke a registration upon a finding that the registrant has intentionally dispensed or distributed a controlled substance with a purpose of causing, or assisting in causing, the suicide or euthanasia of any individual. Directs the Attorney General to establish the Medical Review Board on Pain Relief, which, based on a hearing, shall make findings regarding whether a particular action at issue is an appropriate means to relieve pain that does not constitute a violation of such provision.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1998
Federal Surplus Property Improvement Act of 1998 - Requires that nonlethal excess supplies of the Department of Defense be made available to a State or a local government upon request before such supplies are made available for humanitarian relief purposes. Permits the President to make such supplies available for humanitarian purposes before they are made available to a State or local government in response to a natural disaster emergency. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, with respect to the transfer of property for environmental protection in foreign countries, to prohibit such transfers unless the Administrator of General Services (GSA Administrator) determines that there are no Federal or State use requirements for the property under any other provision of law. Amends the Small Business Act to: (1) repeal the requirement permitting the transfer of U.S.-owned technology or surplus property to participants in the small business and capital ownership development program on a priority basis; and (2) subject to the oversight of the GSA Administrator, in consultation with State agencies responsible for surplus property distribution, the transfer of such technology or surplus property to program participants. Repeals the authority of the Secretary of Energy to transfer surplus equipment to an educational institution with which it has a partnership agreement. Requires the Administrator of General Services to report to the Congress on the effectiveness of surplus personal property donation and disposal programs (except for any program that grants access to personal property by local communities affected by the closure of a military base), along with recommendations for consolidating such programs under a single Federal authority.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1998
Urges the Board of Governors of the U.S. Postal Service to reject the recommended decision issued by the Postal Rate Commission on May 11, 1998, to the extent that it provides for any increase in postage rates.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1998
No Gun Tax Act of 1998 - Amends the Federal judicial code to prohibit a Federal officer, employee, or agent, including a State or local employee or officer acting on behalf of the United States (officer), from charging or collecting any fee in connection with a background check required in connection with the transfer of a firearm. Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit and set penalties for the unlawful retention, or transfer to another person, of firearms background check information by such officer or by a Federal contractor or consultant after: (1) the 24-hour period beginning with the receipt of such information on an individual who is determined not to be prohibited from receiving a firearm; and (2) the five-year period beginning with the receipt of such information on an individual who is prohibited from receiving a firearm.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1998
Consumer's Choice Protection Act of 1998 - Declares the purposes of this Act, including to make it clear that firearms imports may not be subject to discriminatory treatment, and that citizens should retain the choice to own and use such firearms for all lawful purposes, including hunting, self-defense, collecting, competitive shooting, or plinking. Amends the Federal criminal code with respect to mandatory authorization of the importation or bringing into the United States of certain firearms or ammunition. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to authorize importation of any such weapon or ammunition within 30 days after receiving the application for an import permit. Excludes from such importation mandate any firearm subject to the ban on semiautomatic assault weapons. Requires the Secretary also to authorize within 30 days of receiving an application the conditional importation or bringing in of any weapon or ammunition for examination and testing to determine whether regular importation or bringing in shall be allowed.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1998
Save Our Children Act of 1998 - Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to amend or promulgate sentencing guidelines to provide that certain drug offenses committed in the presence of a child receive a penalty enhancement of the greater of: (1) two offense levels or one year, for the first such offense; or (2) four offense levels or two years, for the second such offense.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1998
Speed Trafficking Life in Prison Act of 1998 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act and the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act to decrease the quantities of methamphetamine necessary to trigger specified trafficking penalties (to correspond to amounts triggering penalties for trafficking in crack cocaine).
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1998
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) any missile defense program to protect the United States against a ballistic missile attack should be designed to protect Alaska, Hawaii, and the U.S. territories and commonwealths on an equal basis with the contiguous States; and (2) any National Intelligence Estimate prepared with respect to intercontinental ballistic missile capabilities of foreign countries should include assessment of the threat to Alaska, Hawaii, and the U.S. territories and commonwealths.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Designation and Evaluation of Renewal Communities Title II: Tax Incentives for Renewal Communities Title III: Additional Provisions American Community Renewal Act of 1998 - Title I: Designation and Evaluation of Renewal Communities - Renewing American Communities Act of 1998 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to designate (upon local or State nomination) up to 100 renewal communities, of which at least 20 percent shall be in rural areas. Requires for nomination purposes that: (1) the area be experiencing high rates of poverty and unemployment and general distress; and (2) State and local governments enter into written contracts with neighborhood organizations to promote specified economic growth and employment activities. Treats renewal communities as labor surplus areas for all Federal law purposes. Title II: Tax Incentives for Renewal Communities - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income capital gains on the sale or exchange of a qualified community asset (stock, business property, or partnership interest) held for more than five years. Allows a specified deduction for amounts paid into a family development account on behalf of an individual or another qualified individual who is a renewal community resident. Excludes from gross income account distributions used for qualified family development expenses (postsecondary education, first-home purchase, business capitalization, medical, and rollovers). Provides a penalty (with exceptions) in addition to inclusion as gross income for nonqualifying distributions. Provides for designation of up to 25 percent of qualifying renewal communities as matching demonstration areas eligible to receive family development account matching contributions. Authorizes: (1) designation of earned income tax credit payments for family development account deposit; (2) a commercial building revitalization tax credit; (3) increased first year expensing for renewal community businesses; (4) extension of environmental remediation cost expensing and the work opportunity credit for renewal communities; and (5) similar tax treatment of renewal communities and enterprise zones for specified youth residence requirements. (Sec. 205) Makes conforming amendments to provisions respecting: (1) tax on excess contributions and prohibited transactions; (2) trust and annuity information; (3) tax exemption applications; and (4) the commercial revitalization credit. Title III: Additional Provisions - Provides for local government transfer of unoccupied and substandard Department of Housing and Urban Development multifamily and single family housing in renewal communities, with subsequent disposition priority to be given to community development corporations. (Sec. 302) Amends the Public Health Service Act to make religious organizations eligible to administer specified substance prevention and abuse programs. Sets forth program provisions. (Sec. 303) Amends the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 to provide that a financial institution's investments in community development organizations located in renewal communities may be considered in evaluations under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1998
Border Protection and Infrastructure Act of 1998 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit and set penalties for committing (or attempting to commit) a crime of violence during and in relation to: (1) eluding customs, immigration, or agriculture inspection or failing to stop at the command of an officer of customs, immigration, or animal and plant and health inspection services; or (2) an intentional violation of specified arrival, reporting, entry, or clearance requirements (provides for imposition of a death sentence if death results). Specifies that if two or more persons conspire to commit such an offense, and one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each shall be punishable as a principal, except that the death sentence may not be imposed. (Sec. 3) Increases the penalty for entry of goods by means of false statements. (Sec. 4) Prohibits the master, operator, or person in charge of a vessel of, or subject to the jurisdiction of, the United States from failing to obey an order to heave to that vessel upon being ordered to do so by an authorized Federal law enforcement officer. Prohibits any person on board from knowingly or willfully: (1) failing to comply with an order of such an officer in connection with the boarding of the vessel; (2) impeding or obstructing a boarding, arrest, or other law enforcement action authorized by Federal law; or (3) providing false information to such an officer during a boarding regarding the vessel's destination, origin, ownership, registration, nationality, cargo, or crew. Prohibits the pilot, operator, or person in charge of an aircraft which has crossed the U.S. border, or an aircraft subject to U.S. jurisdiction operating outside the United States, from knowingly failing to obey an order to land by such an officer who is enforcing U.S. laws relating to controlled substances or money laundering. Directs the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to prescribe regulations governing the means by, and circumstances under which, such an officer may communicate an order to land. Authorizes a foreign nation to consent or waive objection to such enforcement of U.S. law by the United States by international agreement or, on a case-by-case basis, by radio, telephone, or similar oral or electronic means. Sets penalties for intentional violations. Authorizes seizure and forfeiture to the United States of an aircraft or vessel used in violations. (Sec. 5) Establishes civil penalties for failure to comply with vessel boarding. (Sec. 6) Directs the Attorney General to increase the number of positions for full-time, active-duty border patrol agents within the Immigration and Naturalization Service to achieve a level of 20,000 positions by FY 2003. (Sec. 7) Prohibits a U.S. Border Patrol agent, within ten miles of the U.S. international border, from ceasing pursuit of an alien suspecting of unlawfully entering the United States, or of an individual suspected of unlawfully importing a narcotic into the United States, until State or local law enforcement authorities are in pursuit of the alien or individual and have the alien or individual in their visual range. (Sec. 8) Authorizes: (1) the Border Patrol to interdict the importation of narcotics; and (2) the Attorney General to install multi-layered barriers and roads in the U.S. border vicinity to deter drug trafficking in high drug trafficking areas. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1998
Veterans Medicare Access Improvement Act of 1998 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a program under which the former Secretary shall reimburse the latter Secretary out of the Medicare trust funds for Medicare health care services furnished to certain Medicare-eligible veterans whose closest Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical center is geographically remote or inaccessible. Authorizes the Secretaries to establish a demonstration project similar to such program for Medicare-eligible veterans whose closest VA medical center is not geographically remote or inaccessible. Amends the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 to repeal the requirement for an implementation plan for veterans subvention. Prohibits payments from the Medicare trust funds for items or services furnished under the program or demonstration project established under this Act before the Director of the Office of Management and Budget determines that: (1) certain legislation restricting entitlement to service-connected compensation for a tobacco-related disability has been enacted; and (2) the net amount of the reductions in expenditures achieved by reason of such legislation during the five fiscal year period beginning with FY 1999, that is available to offset the net aggregate increase in outlays (if any) under the Medicare program, is not less than the estimated net aggregate increase during such period.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1998
Medicare Insulin Pump Coverage Act of 1998 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to cover insulin infusion pumps as items of durable medical equipment.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1998
American Economy Protection Act - Prohibits the use of Federal funds to implement the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, unless or until the Senate has given its advice and consent to ratification of the Protocol. Prohibits Federal agencies from having authority to promulgate regulations to limit the emissions of carbon dioxide, unless a law is enacted specifically granting such authority.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1998
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the contributions made by law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty should be honored, their dedication and sacrifice recognized, and their unselfish service to the Nation remembered.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1998
Declares the commitment of the House of Representatives to create a drug-free America. Urges House Members to work personally to mobilize kids, parents, faith-based and community organizations, educators, local officials, law enforcement officers, coaches, and athletes to wage a winning war on drugs. Pledges to pass legislation that provides the weapons and tools necessary to protect children and communities from the dangers of drug addiction and violence. Declares that the United States will fight this war on three major battlefronts: deterring demand; stopping supply; and increasing accountability.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1998
Library of Congress Bicentennial Commemorative Coin Act of 1998 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue five-dollar gold coins and one-dollar silver coins emblematic of the Library of Congress. Authorizes the Secretary to mint and issue $10 bimetallic coins of gold and platinum in lieu of the gold coins. Requires payment of coin sale surcharges to the Library of Congress Trust Fund Board to support Library activities.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1998
Child Online Protection Act - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require anyone who, in interstate or foreign commerce, is engaged in the business of selling or transferring, by means of the World Wide Web, material that is harmful to minors to restrict access to such materials by persons under 17 years of age. Provides civil and criminal penalties for violations of such requirement, as well as an affirmative defense. Directs the Federal Communications Commission to post on its Internet website a definition of material that is harmful to minors.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1998
Amends the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS) to require each physician under the jurisdiction of a military department to possess a current unrestricted license for his or her medical specialty before providing health care within such department. Directs the Secretary of Defense to establish a system for ensuring that each such physician completes applicable Continuing Medical Education requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1998
Amends the Bretton Woods Agreements Act to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to present to the IMF's Executive Board, and work for the adoption of, a proposal to amend the IMF's bylaws to disallow it from issuing a tax allowance to the Governors, the Executive Directors, their alternates, the Managing Director, or any other IMF employee.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1998
Rescue and Emergency Services Prepared for Our Nation's Defense Act - Establishes the Commission to Assess Weapons of Mass Destruction Domestic Response Capabilities to: (1) assess Federal agency efforts to enhance domestic preparedness for incidents involving weapons of mass destruction and Federal training programs for local emergency responses to such incidents; (2) recommend strategies for the coordination of response efforts; (3) assess the appropriate role of State and local governments in funding local response capabilities; and (4) report to the Congress within six months after its first meeting.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1998
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to disregard certain Native American housing assistance in determining whether a building is federally subsidized for low-income housing credit purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1998
Food for Peace Amendment Act of 1998 - Amends the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 (commonly called Public Law 480) to prohibit the Secretary of Agriculture and the Commodity Credit Corporation from imposing any penalty on, or assessing any damages against, a private person under an agreement to supply agricultural commodities to a developing country or private entity, if through no fault of the private person such commodities are not timely delivered.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1998
Marriage Tax Penalty Elimination Act of 1998 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise standard deduction amounts and individual income tax rate bracket amounts, including providing that amounts for married filing jointly categories shall be twice that of amounts for single filers.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1998
Selective Agricultural Embargoes Act of 1998 - Amends the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 to direct the President, if he or she takes action to embargo the export under an export sales contract of an agricultural commodity to a country that is not part of an embargo on all exports to the country, to report to the Congress, not later than five days after imposing the embargo, on the reasons for such embargo and its proposed duration. Sets forth congressional procedures for termination of the embargo. Directs exporters of certain agricultural commodities (including plant nutrient materials) to report on a weekly basis to the Secretary of Agriculture certain information regarding their export under an export sales contract.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1998
Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to limitations on benefits and contributions under qualified plans to apply to multiemployer plans the same treatment in the adjustment to the $90,000 limit on benefits, where the benefit begins before the Social Security retirement age, as is accorded to plans maintained by governments and tax-exempt organizations. Exempts multiemployer plans from the alternative benefit limit of 100 percent of the participant's average compensation for his or her high three years.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1998
Small Business Common Sense and Fairness Act of 1998 - Directs the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to review the size standards of industries with the Standard Industrial Classification Codes of 15, 16, and 17 which were excluded in the 1994 SBA inflationary adjustment and to adjust such standards for inflation for the purpose of deeming an enterprise in any such industry as a small business. Requires the Administrator, at least once every five years, to: (1) review and adjust for inflation such size standard for an enterprise deemed a small business for purposes of competing for Federal contracting opportunities based solely on annual revenues; and (2) report to the Congress and the President on findings and conclusions reached upon such review.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1998
Farm and Ranch Risk Management Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow individuals engaged in eligible farming businesses to deduct from gross income for any taxable year the amount (limited to 20 percent of the individual's taxable income for the year) paid into an interest-bearing Farm and Ranch Risk Management (FARRM) Account, created for the taxpayer's exclusive benefit. Requires withdrawal of contributions within five years, upon which they are taxable as ordinary income in the year of withdrawal. Deems a distribution, subject to income tax, of any deposits not actually distributed within five years, and prescribes an additional penalty tax of ten percent of any such deemed distribution.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 1998
National Oilheat Research Alliance Act of 1998 - Authorizes the oilheat industry to conduct a referendum through a qualified industry organization among retailers and wholesalers for the creation of a National Oilheat Research Alliance to develop programs concerning oilheat research and development, safety issues, consumer education, and training. Defines industry to include those persons involved in the production, transportation, and sale of oilheat, and in the manufacture and distribution of oilheat utilization equipment, in the United States (but not the ultimate consumers of oilheat). Permits State participation in such Alliance. Prescribes guidelines for Alliance membership and representation. Requires the Alliance to: (1) establish a program coordinating its operation with that of any similar State, local, or regional program; and (2) levy and collect annual assessments on the wholesale sale of No. 1 distillate and No. 2 dyed distillate sufficient to cover Alliance plans and program costs. Empowers the Alliance to bring suit in Federal court to compel compliance with any assessments it levies.
United States · United States Congress · 30 March 1998
Prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services, during the year following enactment of this Act, from modifying regulations in effect as of enactment of this Act with respect to the operation of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network under the Public Health Service Act, including regulations concerning the Network under the Social Security Act. Declares that, during such one-year period, a specified final rule published in the Federal Register has no legal effect.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 1998
Amateur Radio Spectrum Protection Act of 1998 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), after July 1, 1998, from making any reallocations of amateur radio service (ARS) frequency bands, diminishing the secondary allocations of such bands to ARS, or making additional allocations within such bands that would substantially reduce their utility to ARS, unless at the same time the FCC provides equivalent replacement spectrum to ARS.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 1998
Medicare Home Health Equity Act of 1998 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for: (1) restoration of the per visit cost limit to 112 percent of the mean of costs with regard to payments to home health agencies under Medicare; and (2) revision of the interim payment system for home health services.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 1998
Urges the Congress and the President to give programs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) the highest priority among Federal education programs by working to fund the maximum State grant allocation for educating children with disabilities under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1998
Mandates Information Act of 1998 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require a congressional committee report on any bill or joint resolution that includes any Federal private sector mandate to contain information concerning the impact of such mandate on consumers, workers, and small businesses, including any disproportionate impact in particular regions or industries. Revises provisions concerning legislation subject to a point of order to: (1) define the point of order for a determination by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office that it is not feasible to determine the economic impact of a Federal mandate; and (2) replace certain references to Federal intergovernmental mandates with references to Federal mandates with respect to legislation reported by the Appropriations Committees. Provides a point of order against consideration of legislation that would increase the direct costs of Federal private sector mandates by an amount that causes the stated threshold of $100 million per fiscal year to be exceeded. Requires the Director, at the request of a Senator, to prepare an estimate of the direct costs of a Federal mandate (currently, Federal intergovernmental mandate) contained in such Senator's amendment.
![Official portrait of Rep. Nethercutt, George R., Jr. [R-WA-5]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/n000051_200.jpg)