United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2000
Keep Our Promise to America's Military Retirees Act - Includes as an employee, for purposes of Federal provisions authorizing 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; (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; 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 · 1 February 2000
Truth in Budgeting Act - Prohibits the receipts and disbursements of the Inland Waterways Trust Fund and the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund from being counted as new budget authority, outlays, receipts, or deficit or surplus for purposes of the Federal budget as submitted by the President, the congressional budget, or the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Exempts such trust funds from any general statutory budget outlays limitation. Requires the Secretary of the Army to estimate annually: (1) what, but for this Act, would be at the close of the next fiscal year the amount of unfunded inland waterways and harbor maintenance authorizations; and (2) the net inland waterways and harbor maintenance receipts at the close of such year.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2000
Recognizes the 50th anniversary of the Korean War, and expresses the gratitude of the American people for the service of members of the armed forces during such War.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2000
Pope John Paul II Congressional Gold Medal Act - Authorizes the presentation of a gold medal to Pope John Paul II in recognition of his contributions to peace and religious understanding. Authorizes appropriations. Mandates that proceeds from duplicate bronze medal sales be deposited in the Numismatic Public Enterprise Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2000
Declares the sense of the Congress that: (1) Congress should not interfere with normal immigration proceedings by taking any legislative measures designed to delay the reunification of Elian and Juan Gonzalez; and (2) the Immigration and Naturalization Service should proceed with its original decision to return Elian Gonzalez to his father, Juan Gonzalez, in Cuba, and take all necessary steps to reunify Elian Gonzalez with his father as soon as possible.
United States · United States Congress · 22 November 1999
Chimpanzee Health Improvement, Maintenance and Protection Act - Amends title IV of the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide for the establishment and operation of a national sanctuary system for all surplus federally owned chimpanzees that are no longer needed in research conducted or supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, or other Federal agencies. Mandates that any surplus chimpanzee that is not owned by the Federal Government be accepted into the system if the owner transfers title to the chimpanzee to the sanctuary system. Provides for standards for permanent retirement of chimpanzees into the system. Requires such standards to empower the Secretary to authorize imposition of a fee (except in certain circumstances) for accepting a non-Federal chimpanzee into the system. Directs the Secretary to contract with a nonprofit private entity to establish and operate the system. Provides for funding. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants or contracts for the operation of facilities that provide for the retirement of chimpanzees in accordance with the same standards that apply to the sanctuary system.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1999
Surface Transportation Board Reform Act of 1999 - Title I: Railroad Competition - Amends Federal transportation law to declare as primary objectives for U.S. rail transportation policy: (1) ensuring effective competition among rail carriers at origin and destination; (2) maintaining reasonable rates in the absence of such competition; (3) maintaining consistent and efficient rail transportation service to shippers, including the timely provision of railcars requested by them; and (4) ensuring that smaller carload and intermodal shippers are not precluded from accessing rail systems due to volume requirements. (Sec. 102) Requires a rail carrier, upon a shipper's request, to establish a rail transportation rate and provide service requested by the shipper between any two points on the carrier's system where traffic originates, terminates, or may reasonably be interchanged. Authorizes the shipper to challenge the reasonableness of the rate established. Requires the Surface Transportation Board to then determine the reasonableness of the rate so challenged without regard to whether: (1) the rate established is for only part of a movement between an origin and a destination; (2) the shipper has made arrangements for transportation for any other part of such movement; or (3) the shipper currently has a contract with a rail carrier for any part of the rail traffic at issue, provided that the rate prescribed by the Board shall not apply to transportation covered by such contract. (Sec. 103) Prohibits the Board from imposing fees in excess of $1,000 for certain administrative services collected from an eligible facility in connection with rail maximum rate complaints. Prohibits a rail carrier from charging a rate for shipments from or to an eligible facility which results in a revenue-to-variable cost percentage (using system average costs) for transportation service to which the rate applies that is greater than 180 percent. Requires a rail carrier to accept all requests for grain service from an eligible facility up to a maximum of 110 percent of the grain carloads shipped from or to the facility in the preceding calendar year. Authorizes an eligible facility to request that an alternative rail carrier provide such service using the tracks of the original carrier if such carrier does not initiate service within a specified time. Requires the alternative carrier to compensate the other carrier for use of its tracks. (Sec. 104) Changes from discretionary to mandatory the authority of the Board to require terminal facilities (including main-line tracks for a reasonable distance outside of a terminal) owned by a rail carrier providing rail transportation to be used by another rail carrier if the Board finds that use to be practicable and in the public interest without substantially impairing the carrier's ability to handle its own business. Declares that the Board, in making such determination, shall not require evidence of anticompetitive conduct by the rail carrier from which access is being sought. Makes similar changes to require rail carriers to enter into reciprocal switching agreements where such agreements are necessary to provide competitive rail service. (Sec. 105) Prohibits the Board from considering evidence of product or geographic competition when making market dominance determinations in rail rate proceedings. (Sec. 106) Amends U.S. rail transportation policy to repeal the mandate that the Board determine adequate revenues for rail carriers. (Sec. 107) Directs the Secretary of Transportation to require, by regulation, each rail carrier to submit a monthly report containing certain information, including its on-time performance, car availability deadline performance, average train speed, average terminal dwell time, the number of its cars loaded (by major commodity group), and other aspects of its performance as a rail carrier. Requires the Secretary to make such report available to the Board, Congress, and to the public. Title II: Protection of Collective Bargaining Agreements - Declares that a rail carrier, corporation, or person participating in the consolidation, acquisition of control, or merger of another rail carrier is exempt from the antitrust laws and from State and local laws governing such consolidations, mergers, and acquisitions of control of rail carriers to the extent necessary to let such rail carrier, corporation, or person carry out such transaction. Subjects, after such transaction is completed, the activities of a rail carrier participating in or resulting from such transaction to State and Federal law to the same extent as any other similarly situated rail carrier that has not participated in or resulted from such transaction. (Sec. 202) Revises certain requirements regarding the approval of the consolidation or merger of two or more rail carriers (including arrangements for the protection of the interests of rail carrier employees) by the Surface Transportation Board. Title III: Miscellaneous - Requires the Board in a proceeding involving the approval of the merger or control of at least two Class I railroads to consider at least, among other things, the: (1) safety and environmental effects of the proposed transaction, including the effect on local communities, and the public interest in enforcing Federal, State, and local safety and environmental laws; and (2) effect of such transaction on rail passenger transportation. Requires the Board to impose conditions with respect to such transaction to mitigate its effect on local communities when such conditions are in the public interest. (Sec. 302) Authorizes a commuter authority to make an agreement with a rail carrier or regional transportation authority to use facilities of, and have services provided by, the carrier or authority in the same manner and under the same conditions as may Amtrak. Requires the Board to ensure that commuter authorities are able to provide commuter rail passenger transportation that develops the potential of modern rail transportation to meet the commuter rail passenger transportation needs of the United States. (Sec. 303) Repeals provisions authorizing a rail carrier, without the approval of the Board, to enter into arrangements for the joint ownership or joint use of spur, industrial, team switching, or side tracks. (Sec. 304) Requires water carriers to make their tariffs containing the rates established for their transportation or service available electronically to any person, without time, quantity, or other limitation, through appropriate access from remote locations. Authorizes the assessment of a reasonable charge for such access (except no charge for such access may be assessed to a Federal agency). Title IV: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1999
Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary of State should: (1) take effective measures to ensure that U.S. assistance and exports of equipment to Mexican security forces are used primarily for counter-narcotics purposes and are not provided to units that have been implicated in human rights violations, unless the Government of Mexico (the Government) is taking effective measures to bring the individuals responsible to justice; (2) encourage the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) and the Government to take steps to create conditions for good faith negotiations that address the social, economic, and political causes of the conflict in Chiapas, to achieve a peaceful and lasting resolution of the conflict, and to vigorously pursue such negotiations; (3) commend the Government for its renewed commitment to negotiations and for establishing a date for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit Mexico to discuss human rights concerns; (4) give a higher priority in discussions with the Government to criminal justice reforms that protect human rights; and (5) urge the Government to implement the recommendations of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 1999
Radio Broadcasting Preservation Act of 1999 - Prohibits the Federal Communications Commission from prescribing any rules authorizing the operation of new, low power FM radio stations, or establishing a low power radio service, as currently proposed. Terminates previously prescribed rules which would violate such prohibition and voids licenses issued pursuant to such rules.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 1999
Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999 - Title I: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration - Establishes the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration within the Department of Transportation (DOT), to be headed by an Administrator (with professional experience in motor carrier safety) appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. (Sec. 101) Decreases the amount the Secretary of Transportation can deduct from Federal-aid highway funds for administrative expenses related to carrying out various Federal transportation projects. Sets forth a specified percentage of such funds for administrative expenses related to administering motor carrier safety programs and motor carrier safety research. Declares that the number of personnel positions at the Office of Motor Carrier Safety (the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration beginning January 1, 2000) shall not be increased above the level transferred from the Federal Highway Administration to the Office of Motor Carrier Safety. (Sec. 102) Amends Federal aid highway law to provide, based on a specified formula pursuant to the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act), for proportionate reductions in appropriated funds from the Highway Trust Fund to carry out the motor carrier safety grant program. (Sec. 103) Authorizes additional appropriations out of the Highway Trust Fund for the motor carrier safety grant program for FY 2001 through 2003. Amends the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century to increase authorizations of appropriations for the motor carrier safety grant program for FY 2001 through 2003. Prohibits the Secretary from making such grants to a State unless the State enters into an agreement that provides that the total State expenditure for the development or implementation of programs for improving motor carrier safety and enforcement of U.S. orders on commercial motor vehicle safety, hazardous materials transportation safety, and compatible State regulations will be maintained at a level at least equal to FY 1997, 1998, and 1999 levels. Authorizes the Secretary to make emergency commercial driver license grants out of certain Highway Trust Fund amounts to States whose commercial driver's license programs do not meet certain Federal commercial driver license requirements. Requires the Secretary to withhold amounts allocated for motor carrier safety from States that are not in compliance with certain commercial driver license requirements. Provides for the reallocation of such funds if a State is not in compliance with such requirements by June 30 of the fiscal year in which the funds are withheld. (Sec. 104) Directs the Secretary to develop a long-term strategy (including an annual plan and schedule for achieving, at a minimum, specified goals) for improving commercial motor vehicle, operator, and carrier safety. (Sec. 105) Authorizes the Secretary to establish a motor carrier safety advisory committee. Title II: Commercial Motor Vehicle and Driver Safety - Amends Federal transportation law to disqualify from operating a commercial motor vehicle for at least one year any individual: (1) committing a first violation of driving a commercial motor vehicle with a revoked, suspended, or canceled commercial driver's license; or (2) convicted of causing a fatality through negligent or criminal operation of a commercial motor vehicle. Disqualifies an individual from operating a commercial motor vehicle for life for committing more than one violation of operating such vehicle with a revoked, suspended, or canceled commercial driver's license or being convicted of more than one offense of causing a fatality through negligent or criminal operation of such vehicle. (Sec. 201) Requires the Secretary to disqualify an individual from operating a commercial motor vehicle on an emergency basis for up to 30 days if allowing such individual to continue to operate such vehicle would create an imminent hazard. Directs the Secretary to issue regulations disqualifying an individual from operating a commercial motor vehicle who has been convicted of a serious offense that has resulted in the revocation, cancellation, or suspension of the individual's license or a drug or alcohol related offense involving a noncommercial motor vehicle. Defines "serious traffic violation" to mean, among other things, driving a commercial motor vehicle when the individual: (1) has not obtained a commercial driver's license; (2) does not have in his or her possession a commercial driver's license unless the individual held a valid commercial driver's license on the date of the citation; and (3) has not met certain minimum testing standards with respect to the class of vehicle the individual is operating or type of cargo the vehicle is carrying. (Sec. 202) Requires a State, in order to avoid the withholding of its apportionment of Federal-aid highway funds, to comply with certain commercial driver's license requirements, including to: (1) request from any other State that has issued a driver's license to an individual information concerning their driving record before renewing the individual's commercial license; (2) record any violation that has resulted in the disqualification, revocation, suspension, or cancellation of an individual's commercial driver's license; (3) notify State officials of the State in which an individual has committed a (non-parking) violation of a State or local motor vehicle control traffic law and has a commercial driver's license that has been issued by another State or is operating a commercial vehicle without a commercial driver's license and has a driver's license issued by another State; (4) prohibit the issuance of a special license or permit (including a provisional or temporary license) to an individual who holds a commercial driver's license that permits the individual to drive a commercial motor vehicle during a period in which the individual is disqualified from operating a commercial motor vehicle or the individual's driver license is revoked, suspended, or canceled; (5) maintain, as part of its driver information system, a record of each (non-parking) violation of a State or local motor vehicle traffic control law while operating for each individual who holds a commercial driver's license; and (6) record and make available to authorized persons and entities such violations (including those that involve a motor vehicle and a commercial motor vehicle) in the driving record of the individual who has a commercial driver's license. (Sec. 203) Requires the Secretary, if a State is in substantial noncompliance with specified Federal commercial driver's license requirements, to prohibit such State from carrying out commercial driver licensing procedures and issuing any more commercial driver's licenses. (Sec. 204) Directs a State, before issuing or renewing an individual's motor vehicle operator's license, to request information on the individual's driving record from the National Driver Register and the commercial driver's license information system. (Sec. 205) Amends Federal transportation law to subject to specified civil penalties (in addition to any other penalties) motor carriers that fail to register their operations or that operate beyond the scope of their registrations. (Sec. 206) Authorizes the Secretary to suspend, amend, or revoke any part of the registration of a motor carrier, broker, or freight forwarder for failure to pay certain civil penalties imposed with respect to violation of certain Federal commercial motor vehicle safety regulations or failure to arrange and abide by an acceptable payment plan for such penalties. Prohibits an owner or operator of a commercial motor vehicle from operating in interstate commerce if such owner or operator fails to pay (or to arrange and abide by an acceptable plan for paying) a civil penalty for violation of certain Federal commercial motor vehicle safety regulations. (Sec. 207) Requires the Secretary to approve a State's plan to adopt and assume responsibility for enforcing Federal and State regulations on commercial motor vehicle safety if the Secretary decides the plan is adequate to promote specified objectives and, among other things, ensures that the State will cooperate in the enforcement of registration requirements and financial responsibility requirements with respect to motor carriers (including motor carriers for passengers and property), brokers, and freight forwarders. (Sec. 208) Redefines "imminent hazard", for which a commercial motor vehicle may be ordered out of service, to mean any condition of vehicle, employee, or commercial motor vehicle operations which substantially increases the likelihood of serious injury or death if not discontinued immediately. (Sec. 209) Excludes from the Board's jurisdiction over transportation of household goods any property moving from a factory or store unless the householder has purchased it with the intent to use in his or her dwelling, has requested the transportation, and has paid the carrier for it. Increases from $1,000 to $5,000 the threshold amount of a claim requiring binding arbitration of a dispute between a motor carrier, water carrier, or freight forwarder and a shipper of household goods. Directs the Comptroller General to study the effectiveness of DOT's enforcement of household goods consumer protection rules. (Sec. 210) Directs the Secretary to require, by regulation, each commercial motor vehicle owner and operator granted new operating authority to undergo a safety review. Directs the Secretary to initiate a rulemaking to establish minimum requirements for applicant motor carriers (including foreign motor carriers) seeking Federal interstate operating authority to ensure that they are knowledgeable about applicable Federal motor carrier safety standards. (Sec. 211) Directs the Secretary to complete a rulemaking to improve training and provide for the certification of motor carrier safety auditors, including private contractors, to conduct safety inspection audits and reviews. (Sec. 212) Directs the Secretary to complete DOT's rulemaking, Docket No. FHWA-99-5710, to amend Federal motor carrier safety regulations to determine which motor carriers operating commercial motor vehicles designed or used to transport between nine and 15 passengers (including the driver) for compensation shall be covered. (Sec. 213) Amends the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century with respect to the nationwide toll-free telephone system for drivers of commercial motor vehicles and others to report violations of Federal motor carrier safety regulations. Requires such system to be staffed 24 hours a day seven days a week by individuals knowledgeable about Federal motor carrier safety regulations and procedures. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 214) Directs the Secretary to conduct a rulemaking to establish a special commercial driver's license endorsement for drivers of school buses. (Sec. 215) Directs the Secretary to initiate a rulemaking to provide for a Federal medical qualification certificate to be made a part of commercial driver's licenses. (Sec. 216) Directs the Secretary to implement the safety improvement recommendations provided for in the DOT Inspector General's Report TR-1999-091. (Sec. 217) Directs the Secretary to amend section 385.21 of DOT's regulations (49 C.F.R. 385.21) to require periodic updating, not more frequently than once every two years, of the motor carrier identification report, form MCS-150, filed by each motor carrier conducting operations in interstate or foreign commerce. (Sec. 218) Directs the Secretary to develop and implement appropriate staffing standards for Federal and State motor carrier safety inspectors in international border areas. Directs the Secretary to allocate five percent of specified funds for border commercial motor vehicle safety programs and enforcement activities and projects. (Sec. 219) Declares that any foreign motor carrier or foreign motor private carrier that operates without authority, before implementation of the land transportation provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), outside the boundaries of a commercial zone along the U.S.-Mexico border: (1) shall be liable to the United States for specified civil penalties; and (2) shall be disqualified from operating a commercial motor vehicle anywhere in the United States. (Sec. 220) Authorizes the Secretary to carry out a program to develop innovative methods of improving motor carrier compliance with traffic laws. (Sec. 221) Directs the Secretary to develop a uniform system to support the electronic transmission of data State-to-State on convictions for all motor vehicle traffic control law violations by individuals possessing a commercial drivers' licenses. (Sec. 222) Urges the Secretary to ensure that motor carriers operate safely by imposing civil penalties at a level calculated to ensure prompt and sustained compliance with Federal motor carrier safety and commercial driver's license laws. (Sec. 224) Directs the Secretary to study and report to Congress on the causes of, and factors contributing to, crashes that involve commercial motor vehicles. Requires the study to yield information that will help DOT and States identify activities and other measures likely to lead to significant reductions in the frequency, severity, and rate per mile traveled of crashes involving commercial motor vehicles. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 225) Directs the Secretary to carry out a program to improve the collection and analysis of data on crashes, including crash causation, involving commercial motor vehicles. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 226) Directs the Secretary to study and report to Congress on the feasibility and merits of requiring: (1) medical review officers to report all verified positive controlled substances test results on any driver, including the identity of such driver and such substance, to the State that issued the driver's commercial driver's license; and (2) all prospective employers, before hiring any driver, to query the license-issuing State on whether the State has on record any verified positive controlled substances test on such driver. (Sec. 227) Sets forth provisions with respect to the periodic review of Surface Transportation Board approvals of motor carrier rate agreements.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 1999
Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to make grants to public or nonprofit private entities for the development and operation of not more than eight centers for the conduct of multidisciplinary research on environmental factors that may be related to the etiology of breast cancer. Requires each center to: (1) conduct basic and clinical research; (2) develop protocols for training health professionals; (3) conduct training programs for such individuals; (4) develop model continuing education programs for such professionals; and (5) disseminate information to such professionals and the public. Authorizes a center to provide stipends for professionals enrolled in the program. Allows grant support for a center for up to five years, with authorized extensions. Requires an equitable geographic distribution of such centers. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2005.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 1999
Indian Health Care Improvement Act Amendments of 2000 - Amends the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (the Act) to require funding authorized for programs under title I (Indian health, human resources, and development) of the Act to be allocated by service area under a formula developed in consultation with Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations. Empowers the Director of the Indian Health Service (IHS) with the administration of Indian health professions scholarships. Requires all recipients of such scholarships awarded after 2001 to meet the active duty service obligation (service with the IHS or related service for Indians) within the service area from which the scholarship was awarded. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make funds available to Indian tribes and tribal organizations to assist such entities in educating Indians to serve as health professionals in Indian communities, as long as such Indians are enrolled or accepted for enrollment in a course of study in one of the health professions contemplated by the Act. Requires a written contractual agreement from such recipients to provide service in an Indian health program in the same service area where the entity providing the scholarship is located. Provides Indian health scholarship recipients a preference for IHS employment or authorizes employment by a program of an Indian tribe, tribal organization, or urban Indian organization, or other HHS agencies, as available. Adds Indian tribes and tribal organizations as participants in the Community Health Representative Program under the Act, which provides for the training and use of Indians as community health representatives (currently, as community health paraprofessionals). Allows participants completing a term of education under the Indian Health Service Loan Repayment Program to be employed within an Indian urban organization. Discontinues the annual authorization of appropriations for the Indian Health Scholarship and Loan Repayment Recovery Fund. Authorizes the Secretary to reimburse health professionals seeking positions with Indian tribes, tribal organizations, or urban Indian organizations (currently, only those seeking employment with the IHS) for certain recruitment evaluation expenses. Limits to three years demonstration programs to enable Indian tribes, tribal organizations (current law), and urban Indian organizations to recruit, place, and retain Indian health professionals. Requires health professionals from urban Indian organizations to be given an equal opportunity to participate in a demonstration program to enable Indian health professionals to pursue advanced training or research in needed areas of study. Discontinues the annual authorization of appropriations for the Indian Nursing Program. Requires the Secretary to award grants to community colleges for programs which provide education in a health profession for individuals who desire to practice such profession in the IHS or a tribal health program (currently, only on an Indian reservation or tribal clinic). Provides a funding priority for tribally controlled colleges in service areas where they exist. Authorizes the Secretary to pay a retention bonus to any health professional (currently, physician or nurse) employed by or assigned to, and serving in, Indian tribes, tribal organizations, or urban Indian organizations (currently, only in the IHS) who meet specified requirements. Directs the Secretary to develop and operate a National Community Health Aide Program based on the current Community Health Aide Program for Alaska. Authorizes the Secretary to fund pilot programs for tribes and tribal organizations to address the chronic shortages of health professionals. Deems scholarships provided under title I of the Act as "qualified scholarships" and therefore excluded from gross income for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code. Makes a certain prohibition on the Secretary removing a member of the National Health Service Corps from an Indian health program applicable to health programs operated by urban Indian organizations as well. Requires all service areas served by programs operated by the IHS, tribes, tribal organizations, or urban Indian organizations to be designated as Health Professional Shortage areas under the Public Health Service Act. Authorizes appropriations through FY 2012 to carry out title I of the Act. Provides additional authorized uses for funds appropriated under the authority of provisions regarding the Indian Health Care Improvement Fund. Authorizes such funds to be allocated to Indian tribes or tribal organizations. Requires funds provided through the Indian Catastrophic Health Emergency Fund to be administered by service area offices based upon priorities determined by the Indian tribes and tribal organizations within each area. Increases the cost level required to qualify for payments from the Fund. Requires the Secretary to continue to fund through FY 2012 each model diabetes project in existence on the date of enactment of this Act. Directs the Secretary to include funding to establish dialysis programs. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into arrangements with Indian tribes or tribal organizations for the delivery of long-term care and similar services to Indians on a shared- services basis. Directs the Secretary to make funding available for research to further the performance of the health service responsibilities of the IHS, Indian tribes, and tribal organizations and to coordinate the activities of other agencies within HHS to address such research needs. Directs the Secretary to provide mammography and other cancer screening through Indian tribes or tribal organizations (currently, only through the IHS). Requires the Secretary to pay certain patient travel costs through Indian tribes and tribal organizations (currently, only through the IHS). Revises provisions regarding epidemiology centers. Directs the Secretary to provide funding to Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations (currently, Indian tribes) to develop comprehensive school health education programs for children from preschool through grade 12 in schools (currently, schools on reservations) for the benefit of Indian and urban Indian children. Includes urban Indian preadolescent and adolescent youth within a program for innovative mental and physical disease prevention and health promotion and treatment. Authorizes the Secretary to make funding available to Indian tribes and tribal organizations for the prevention, control, and elimination of communicable and infectious diseases. Authorizes the Secretary, acting through the IHS, Indian tribes, and tribal organizations, to provide funding for other health care services and programs not otherwise described in the Act, including hospice care and assisted living, long-term health care, home- and community-based services, public health functions, and traditional health care practices. Directs the Secretary, acting through the IHS, Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations, to provide funding to monitor and improve the quality of health care for Indian women of all ages through the planning and delivery of programs administered by the IHS. (Currently, an Office of Indian Women's Health Care has such monitoring duty.) Revises provisions regarding nuclear resource development health hazards to direct the Secretary and the IHS to conduct studies and ongoing monitoring programs to determine trends in health hazards to Indian miners and to Indians on or near Indian reservations and in Indian communities as a result of environmental hazards which may result in chronic or life-threatening health problems. Extends through FY 2012 the designation of Arizona as a contract health service delivery area for purposes of providing health care services to members of federally recognized Arizona Indian tribes. Authorizes the Secretary to fund a program using the California Rural Indian Health Board as a contract care intermediary to improve the accessibility of health services to California Indians. Allows certain counties in California that are currently excluded from the contract health services delivery area to be included in such area if funding is provided by the IHS for such services in those counties. Requires the IHS to provide funds for health care programs and facilities operated by Indian tribes and tribal organizations under funding agreements entered into under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEA) on the same basis as such funds are provided to programs and facilities operated directly by the IHS. Exempts from State licensing requirements health care professionals employed by Indian tribes and tribal organizations to carry out the above funding agreements if such individuals are licensed in any other State. Allows elderly or disabled Indians receiving emergency medical care or services from a non-IHS provider or in a non-IHS facility 30 days to notify the IHS of such treatment or admission. Extends through FY 2012 the authorization of appropriations for title II (health services) of the Act. Prohibits the closure of any hospital, outpatient health care, inpatient service, or special care facility operated by the IHS if the Secretary has not submitted to Congress at least one year prior to such proposed closure an evaluation of the impact of such closure. Directs the Secretary to establish a health care facility priority system. Directs the Secretary, beginning in the year 2000, to annually transmit to the President a report setting forth the needs of the IHS and all Indian tribes and tribal organizations for inpatient, outpatient, and specialized care facilities. Directs the Secretary to consult and cooperate with Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations in developing innovative approaches to address unmet needs for the construction of health facilities. Provides authority for the Secretary to use specified appropriated funds for providing sanitation facilities and related services to Indian tribes and tribal organizations. Requires the Secretary to: (1) enter into inter-agency agreements with appropriate Federal agencies to provide financial assistance for safe water supply and sanitary sewage disposal facilities under the Act; and (2) establish standards applicable to the planning, design, and construction of water supply and sanitary sewage and solid waste disposal facilities funded under the Act. Makes the Indian family, community, or tribe primarily responsible for establishing, collecting, and using reasonable user fees for operating and maintaining sanitation facilities. Revises the defined water sanitation deficiency levels for facilities serving an Indian individual or community. Exempts construction or renovation of facilities constructed or renovated by funds made available under title III (facilities) of the Act from the Davis-Bacon Act. Authorizes the Secretary to accept any major expansion (currently, only renovation or modernization) by an Indian tribe of any IHS facility or any other Indian health facility operated pursuant to a funding agreement entered into under ISDEA.Revises grant eligibility requirements with respect to the construction, expansion, or modernization of ambulatory care facilities. Authorizes all Federal agencies to transfer land and improvements to the IHS at no cost for the provision of health care services. Makes certain provisions that authorize leases with Indian tribes applicable to tribal organizations as well. Considers such leases as operating leases for purposes of scoring under the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990. Establishes in the Treasury the Health Care Facilities Loan Fund to provide Indian tribes and tribal organizations direct loans, or guarantees for loans, for construction of health care facilities and related facilities and staff quarters. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes Indian tribes and tribal organizations (currently, only Indian tribes) providing health care services pursuant to a funding agreement under the ISDEA to lease permanent structures for providing health care services without obtaining advance approval in appropriations Acts. Directs the Secretary to establish joint venture demonstration projects under which an Indian tribe or tribal organization shall expend tribal, private, or other available funds for the acquisition or construction of a health care facility for a minimum of ten years under a no-cost lease, in exchange for agreement by the IHS to provide the equipment, supplies, and staffing for such facility. Makes an Indian tribe or tribal organization liable for noncompletion of such a project. Adds Alaska Native lands to the definition of "Indian lands" for purposes of giving priority to locating Bureau of Indian Affairs and IHS facilities on such lands. Requires an annual report from the Secretary to the President identifying the backlog of maintenance and repair work required at both IHS and tribal health care facilities. Authorizes an Indian tribe or tribal organization which operates a hospital or other health care facility and the federally owned quarters associated therewith pursuant to a funding agreement under the ISDEA to establish the rental rates charged, and to notify the Secretary of its election to exercise such authority. Requires rental occupants to be notified at least 60 days in advance of a change in rental rates by an Indian tribe or tribal organization. Authorizes such tribe or organization to collect rents directly from Federal employees occupying such quarters, under specified conditions and procedures. Authorizes the Secretary to accept from any source funds for the construction of Indian health care facilities, and to enter into funding agreements with other Federal entities for such purposes. Extends through FY 2012 the authorization of appropriations for title III of the Act. Requires the Secretary, in making payments to IHS service units for services rendered to Indians eligible for benefits under title XIX (Medicaid), to ensure that each such unit receives 100 (currently 80) percent of the amounts to which such facilities are entitled under the Medicaid provisions.Directs the Secretary to make grants to, or enter into funding agreements with, Indian tribes (currently, only tribal organizations) for establishing and administering programs on or near Indian reservations and trust areas and Alaska Native villages to assist Indians to enroll and apply for Medicare, Medicaid, and child health assistance under XXI (Children's Health Insurance) of the Social Security Act. Requires the Secretary to make grants or enter into contracts with urban Indian organizations for the provision of such assistance to urban Indians. Makes permanent (currently a demonstration project) a program under which an Indian tribe or tribal organization may directly bill and receive reimbursement for health care services provided for which payment is made under Medicare, Medicaid, a State's children's insurance health plan approved under title XXI (Children's Health Insurance) of the Social Security Act, or from any other third-party payor. Applies to urban Indian organizations a certain right to recovery of expenses incurred by the United States, Indian tribes, or tribal organizations in providing health services. Provides for the enforcement of such right of recovery. Authorizes tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations to use funding from the Secretary under this Act to purchase managed care coverage for IHS beneficiaries. Directs the Secretary to examine, and report to Congress on, the feasibility of entering into or expanding existing arrangements for the sharing of medical facilities and services between the IHS and the Department of Veterans Affairs and other appropriate Federal agencies. Authorizes the IHS Director to enter into agreements with other Federal agencies to assist in achieving parity in health services for Indians. Makes the IHS and programs operated by Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations the payor of last resort for services provided to persons eligible for services from these programs, notwithstanding contradicting Federal, State, or local law, unless such law explicitly provides otherwise. Makes such entities eligible to receive payment or reimbursement for services provided by such entities from any federally funded health care program, unless there is an explicit prohibition on such payments in the applicable authorizing statute. Authorizes the IHS service unit in Tuba City, Arizona, to enter into a demonstration project with Arizona under which the IHS would provide certain Medicaid services to IHS/Medicaid eligibles in return for payment from the State. Entitles an Indian tribe or tribal organization carrying out programs under the ISDEA, or an urban Indian organization carrying out programs under title V of the Act, to purchase Federal health and life insurance for the employees of such tribe or organization. Requires certain consultation with Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations prior to the adoption of any policy or regulation by the Health Care Financing Administration. Authorizes the IHS, an Indian tribe, or tribal organization to apply for a waiver of certain Medicare, Medicaid, or Children's Health Insurance sanctions. Excludes from the definition of "remuneration," for purposes of specified provisions of the Social Security Act, certain exchanges of value between or among the IHS, Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations related to the provision of health care services. Prohibits any Indian eligible for services under Medicare, Medicaid, or Children's Health Insurance of the Social Security Act from being charged a deductible or other payment for any service provided by or through the IHS, an Indian tribe, tribal organization, or urban Indian organization. Excludes certain income and property from the estate, for purposes of eligibility for services or implementing estate recovery rights under Medicare, Medicaid, or Children's Health Insurance. Prohibits a parent from being responsible for reimbursing the Federal Government or a State for the cost of medical services provided to a child through the IHS, an Indian tribe, tribal organization, or urban Indian organization. Provides such entities with a right of recovery from all private and public health plans for the reasonable costs of delivering health services to Indians entitled to receive services. Requires States entering into agreements with one or more managed care organizations to provide services under Medicaid or Children's Health Insurance to enter into such an agreement with the IHS, an Indian tribe, tribal organization, or urban Indian organization that can provide services to Indians who may be eligible or required to enroll in such a managed care plan. Authorizes the Secretary to treat the Navajo Nation as a State, for purposes of Medicaid, to provide services to Indians living within the boundaries of the Navajo Nation. Directs the Health Care Financing Administration to establish and fund a National Indian Technical Advisory Group and an Indian Medicaid Advisory Committee. Extends through FY 2012 the authorization of appropriations for title IV (access to health services) of the Act. Authorizes the Secretary, through the IHS, to contract with, or make grants to, an urban Indian organization that provides or arranges for the provision of health care services to urban Indians in more than one urban center. Changes from quarterly to semiannually certain reporting requirements of urban Indian organizations receiving or expending funds pursuant to a grant or contract with respect to health care services provided to urban Indians. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to contractors or other recipients for the lease, purchase, renovation, construction, or expansion of facilities in order to assist them in complying with licensure or certification requirements. Authorizes the Secretary, acting through the IHS or the Health Resources and Services Administration, to provide loans to such entities from the Urban Indian Health Care Facilities Revolving Loan Fund (established herein) for the construction, renovation, expansion, or purchase of health care facilities. Redesignates the Branch of Urban Health Programs as the Office of Urban Indian Health. Includes among office responsibilities the provision of technical assistance to urban Indian organizations. Treats the Tulsa Clinic demonstration project as a permanent program within the IHS direct care program and as a service unit in the allocation of resources and coordination of Indian health care. Requires grants or contracts made or entered into by the Secretary for the administration of urban Indian alcohol programs to become effective no later than September 30, 2001.Directs the Secretary to ensure that the IHS, the Health Care Financing Administration, and other operating and staff divisions of HHS consult with urban Indian organizations prior to taking any action, or approving Federal financial assistance for any action, that may affect urban Indians or urban Indian organizations. Deems an urban Indian organization that has entered into a contract or received a grant pursuant to title V (health services for urban Indians) of the Act to be part of the Public Health Service while carrying out such contract or grant for purposes of coverage under the Federal Tort Claims Act. Directs the Secretary to make payments for the construction and operation of at least two residential alcohol treatment centers in each State where there reside urban Indian youth with a need for alcohol and substance abuse treatment services and at which there is a significant shortage of such services. Directs the Secretary to permit an urban Indian organization that has entered into a contract or received a grant under title V of the Act to use existing facilities and equipment and other personal property owned by the Federal Government, including that determined to be excess to the needs of the IHS or the General Services Administration. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to those urban Indian organizations that have entered into a contract or grant under title V of the Act for the provision of services for the prevention, treatment, and control of complications resulting from, diabetes among urban Indians. Authorizes the Secretary, through the IHS, to enter into contracts with, and make grants to, urban Indian organizations for the use of Indians trained as health service providers through the Community Health Representatives Program in the provision of health care, health promotion, and disease prevention services to urban Indians. Extends through FY 2012 the authorization of appropriations for title V and VI (organizational improvements) of the Act. Directs the Secretary, acting through the IHS, Indian tribes, and tribal and urban Indian organizations, to encourage Indian tribes and tribal organizations to participate in developing area-wide plans for Indian Behavioral Health Services, including plans for treating substance abuse, mental illness, and dysfunctional and self-destructive behavior (suicide, child abuse, and family violence) among Indians. Requires the establishment of a national clearinghouse for such plans and related information. Authorizes technical assistance to Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations to develop community behavioral health plans. Directs the Secretary, acting through the IHS and Indian tribes and tribal organizations, to provide a program of comprehensive behavioral health, prevention, treatment, and aftercare for Indian tribes. Requires the development of criteria for the certification of behavioral health service providers and accreditation of service facilities providing such care. Directs (currently, authorizes) the Secretary to make funds available to urban Indian organizations to develop and implement a comprehensive behavioral health program (currently, an alcohol and substance abuse program) of prevention, intervention, treatment, and relapse prevention services that specifically address the spiritual, cultural, historical, social, and child care needs of Indian women, regardless of age. (Currently, such funding is available only to Indian tribes and tribal organizations.) Includes behavioral health services within a current program for acute detoxification and treatment for Indian youth. Authorizes the Secretary to provide specified intermediate behavioral health services to Indian children and adolescents. Requires Indian tribes or tribal organizations (currently, only the Secretary) to develop and implement within each IHS service unit community- based rehabilitation and follow-up services for Indian youth who are having significant behavioral health problems and require long-term treatment, community reintegration, and monitoring after their return to their home community. Provides for the inclusion of family members of such youth in their treatment. Directs the Secretary, acting through the IHS, Indian tribes, and tribal and urban Indian organizations, to provide programs and services to prevent and treat the abuse of multiple forms of substances, including alcohol, drugs, inhalants, and tobacco, among Indian youth residing in Indian communities, on Indian reservations, and in urban areas and to provide appropriate mental health services to address the incidence of mental illness among such youth. Directs the Secretary, acting through the IHS and Indian tribes and tribal organizations, to provide, in each IHS service area, not less than one inpatient mental health care facility for Indians with behavioral health problems. Requires the Secretary to develop and implement (or provide funding to enable Indian tribes and tribal organizations to implement) programs of behavioral health (currently, alcohol and substance abuse) community leadership training and education. Directs the Secretary, acting through Indian tribes and tribal and urban Indian organizations, to establish and operate fetal alcohol disorders programs in order to meet specified health status objectives. (Currently, the Secretary is authorized to make grants to Indian tribes and tribal organizations to establish such programs.) Redesignates a task force established for such purposes as the Fetal Alcohol Disorders Task Force. Includes urban Indian organizations as entities eligible for funding from the Secretary for such programs. Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the IHS, Indian tribes, and tribal organizations, to establish programs involving treatment for both victims and perpetrators of child sexual abuse. Directs the Secretary to provide funding to Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations, or make appropriate contracts or grants, for research on the incidence and prevalence of behavioral health problems among Indians served by the IHS or such tribes or organizations. Extends through FY 2012 the authorization of appropriations for title VII (behavioral health programs) of the Act. Requires the President to include in required annual reports to Congress reports on various programs established under this Act. Requires regulations implementing amendments to the Act to be negotiated by a rulemaking committee made up of representatives of the Federal Government, Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations. Directs the Secretary to prepare and submit to Congress a plan explaining the manner and schedule by which the Secretary will implement provisions of the Act, as amended by this Act. Directs the Secretary to provide services and benefits for Indians in Montana in a manner consistent with the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in McNabb for McNabb v. Bowen. Directs the IHS to provide health care services during a moratorium period in which certain service eligibility criteria are being developed. Establishes the National Bipartisan Indian Health Care Entitlement Commission to: (1) establish a Study Committee to study the extent of Indian health services needs; (2) review and analyze the Study Committee's report; and (3) make recommendations to Congress for providing health services for Indians as an entitlement. Authorizes appropriations for the Commission. Extends through FY 2012 the authorization of appropriations under title VIII (miscellaneous) of the Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 1999
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should immediately transmit to Congress a report containing: (1) the President's certification as to whether the U.S. Government has ever requested the Government of Russia to provide information on the specific sites in the United States at which either the Russian or Soviet Government placed weapons or military equipment for use in a possible conflict with the United States; and (2) depending on such certification, either a full accounting of why such a request has not been made or detailed information on when and to whom each such request was transmitted and what information was provided by Russia in response. Calls for the President to provide to Congress a report describing in detail the President's plan to find and remove any military equipment or bombs (such as those identified in the so-called Mitrokhin files) that have been placed by the Russian or Soviet Government on U.S. territory.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1999
Authorizes the American Battle Monuments Commission to place within the Vietnam Veterans Memorial a plaque to honor those Vietnam veterans who died after service in the Vietnam War, but as a direct result of such service, and whose names are not otherwise eligible for placement on the Memorial wall.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1999
CT-43A Federal Employee Settlement Act - Directs the Secretary of the Air Force to pay $2 million to the specified beneficiary of each of the 14 Federal civilian officers and employees killed in the crash of a United States Air Force CT-43A aircraft on April 3, 1996, near Dubrovnik, Croatia. Provides that acceptance of such payment constitutes full settlement of all claims by that person against the United States arising from the death. Prohibits any representative of a beneficiary from receiving more than ten percent of a payment for services rendered in connection with the beneficiary's claim.
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 1999
Directs the Secretary of the Navy to terminate operation of the Extremely Low Frequency Communication System while maintaining the infrastructure necessary for its resumption.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 1999
Drug Import Fairness Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) to prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Services, with regard to a drug being imported or offered for import, from sending a notice to a person suggesting that importing the drug is, or appears to be, in violation of the FDCA unless: (1) the Secretary determines the drug is adulterated, misbranded, in violation of FDCA provisions relating to new drugs, the drug is forbidden or restricted in sale in the producing or exporting country, importation by any person other than the manufacturer violates reimportation provisions, or the importation otherwise violates Federal law; (2) the notice does not specify any provision described in the provisions of this act relating to those determinations that is not applicable to the drug's importation; and (3) the notice states the underlying reasons for the determination.
United States · United States Congress · 4 November 1999
Women's Health and Cancer Rights Conforming Amendments of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require group health plans to provide coverage for post-mastectomy reconstructive surgery.
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 · 2 November 1999
Duty to Assist Veterans Act of 1999 - Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, with respect to any veterans' benefits claim filed on or after July 14, 1999, to assist such claimant in developing information pertinent to a decision on the claim, including by informing the claimant of any medical or lay evidence needed and by providing a medical examination to determine the current disability of the veteran concerned.
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
Telemarketing Victims Protection Act - Amends the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act to require the Federal Trade Commission to include in rules respecting abusive telemarketing acts or practices requirements that telemarketers: (1) notify consumers who are called that they have the right to be placed on either the Direct Marketing Association's or the appropriate State's do-not-call list; (2) notify the Association or State if a consumer elects to be placed on such a list; (3) obtain and reconcile such lists on a regular basis; (4) not make any calls during the hours of 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM; and (5) not block the identity of the telephone from which they are making a telemarketing call. Directs the Commission to study and report to Congress on the violations of the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act, especially of repeated violations by a single telemarketer and of the provisions for penalizing telemarketers for such violations, including new provisions which would allow appropriate Federal action against telemarketers.
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 1999
Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 1999 - Amends Federal transportation law to authorize appropriations for Surface Transportation Board activities for FY 2001. (Sec. 2) Authorizes the Board to collect fees in each fiscal year in amounts equal to all the costs incurred by the Board in that fiscal year. (Sec. 3) Directs the Board to use the simplified and expedited method for: (1) determining the rate reasonableness in non-coal rail transportation rate guideline proceedings in considering a challenged rate if the shipper challenging the rate has incurred shipping costs of not more than $500,000 under that rate for the 12-month period immediately preceding the date on which a rate challenge is filed with the Board; and (2) any other rate challenge as it deems appropriate. (Sec. 4) Amends U.S. rail transportation policy to repeal the mandate that the Board determine adequate revenues for rail carriers. (Sec. 5) Requires rail transportation rate agreements that are approved by the Board and are currently in effect to terminate on the termination date originally established by the Board or two years after enactment of this Act, whichever occurs first. (Sec. 6) Changes from discretionary to mandatory the authority of the Board to require rail carriers to enter into reciprocal switching agreements, where it finds such agreements to be practicable and in the public interest, or where such agreements are necessary to provide competitive rail service. Declares that the Board, in making such determination, shall not require evidence of anticompetitive conduct by the rail carrier from which access is being sought. Requires the Board, through an arbitration process, to establish reasonable conditions and compensation which will facilitate the use of such agreements provided the rail carriers cannot agree upon such conditions and compensation within a reasonable time. (Sec. 7) Authorizes the Board to extend the effective period of time (not more than 335 days beyond the initial 30-day period) it may direct the handling, routing, and movement of rail carrier traffic during emergency situations involving congestion of traffic, unauthorized cessation of operations, or other failure of traffic movement. (Sec. 8) Declares that transactions of a rail carrier or corporation are not exempt from Federal labor, safety, health, and antitrust laws, or from State and local laws that are not otherwise preempted under Federal law and that deal with labor, employment, employee safety, or railroad safety. Declares that the Board shall not have the authority to break, modify, or alter any provisions in any collective bargaining agreements or implementing agreements made between a rail carrier and authorized representatives of its employees under the Railway Labor Act or to provide such authority to any other person, carrier, or corporation. Repeals the requirement that, in order to approve it, the Board must find that an agreement or combination of rail carriers to pool or divide traffic or services or any part of their earnings will not unreasonably restrain competition. (Sec. 9) Revises certain requirements regarding the approval of the consolidation or merger of two or more rail carriers (including arrangements for the protection of the interests of rail carrier employees) by the Board. (Sec. 10) Repeals provisions exempting certain collective motor carrier activities from U.S. antitrust laws. (Sec. 11) Subjects certain transactions involving the consolidation or merger of two or more motor carriers to U.S. antitrust laws. (Sec. 12) Authorizes appropriations to conduct a study of the rail industry since enactment of the Staggers Rail Act of 1980 and the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) Termination Act of 1995. (Sec. 13) Makes technical corrections to various laws, substituting the Surface Transportation Board for the ICC.
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 1999
Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to direct the U.S. Executive Directors at specified international financial institutions to use the U.S. vote to oppose the provision of assistance to Indonesia until the President reports to Congress: (1) an estimate of the amount of material damage done to public and private property in East Timor by militia forces and the Indonesian armed forces; and (2) that the Indonesian Government has contributed to the rebuilding and reconstruction of East Timor in an amount equal to the total estimated material damages there. Prohibits U.S. assistance for the Government of Indonesia until the President makes such report to Congress. Provides for waiver of such requirements for humanitarian assistance for the Indonesian people.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 1999
Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act with regard to the formula for measuring State performance for determining the bonus grant to reward high performance States to establish specified criteria measures for use in such formula. Requires States not participating in the bonus reward grant program for high performance States to report on the characteristics and well-being of former TANF recipients for six months after such assistance has ceased. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to Congress on: (1) characteristics of former and current TANF recipients based on information currently received from States; (2) criteria measures regarding subsidized child care and changes in income; and (3) domestic violence.
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 · 19 October 1999
Medicaid Safety Net Hospital Preservation Act of 1999 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to: (1) freeze Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) allotments for FY 2001 and 2002 at FY 2000 levels; and (2) increase the FY 2000 DSH allotments for the District of Columbia, Minnesota, New Mexico, and Wyoming.
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
Directs the Secretary of Transportation to revoke immediately all slots and exemptions to the High Density Slot Rule held by British air carriers at O'Hare International Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport until the Governments of the United Kingdom and the United States have signed an agreement that provides: (1) for approval of all U.S. air carrier applications for air routes from the United States to the United Kingdom pending on October 14, 1999; and (2) slots at Heathrow International Airport to U.S. air carriers that do not have any slots there, without affecting any slots held by other U.S. air carriers at such airport. Directs the Secretary of State to file immediately a notice to terminate the Agreement Between the United States of America and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Concerning Air Services if the Government of the United Kingdom and the United States have not signed an open skies agreement (according to Department of Transportation Order 92-8-13) by December 31, 2000.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 1999
Seabed Protection Act - Prohibits any person from engaging in bottom trawling or use of other mobile fishing gear on the seabed in specified marine areas until: (1) the National Marine Fisheries Service has completed a study and determined the effects of those practices; (2) the Secretary of Commerce has determined that the impacts of bottom trawling and such other mobile fishing gear on biodiversity, marine habitat, and productivity of fish stocks is negligible; and (3) the Secretary has approved and implemented fishery management plans that are developed by the appropriate regional fishery management councils, that encourage the use of fishing gears that are less destructive of habitat than bottom trawling and other mobile fishing gear, and that prohibit use of bottom trawling and other mobile fishing gear practices that threaten the continued sustainability of ecosystems. Directs the Secretary to report annually to specified congressional committees regarding the recovery of such marine areas from the effects of bottom trawling and use of other mobile fishing gear on the seabed. Provides that such prohibition shall not apply to an area after the Secretary publishes a finding that there are in effect, under State law or a fishery management plan under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act measures that are at least as effective as those required under this Act in maintaining the sustainability of ecosystems in that area.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1999
Provides that all motor carrier functions vested in the Secretary of Transportation or the Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) and carried out by the FHA as of September 30, 1999, shall be administered by the FHA Administrator until enactment of authorizing legislation to transfer such functions to a separate agency within the Department of Transportation.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1999
Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to provide that if the United States initiates a retaliation list (list of products of a foreign country that has failed to comply with the report of the panel or Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization (WTO)), or the United States Trade Representative (USTR) takes specified trade action against the goods of a foreign country because of its failure to implement the recommendation made pursuant to a dispute settlement proceeding under the WTO, the USTR shall periodically revise the list or action to affect the other goods of the country. Declares that the USTR is not required to revise the retaliation list or the action with respect to a country, if: (1) the USTR determines that implementation of the recommendation by the country is imminent; or (2) the USTR together with the petitioner involved in the initial unfair trade investigation (or if no petition was filed, the affected U.S. industry) agree that it is unnecessary to revise the retaliation list.
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
Seniors Mental Health Access Improvement Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of marriage and family therapist services generally, and particularly such services provided in rural health clinics and in hospice programs. Authorizes marriage and family therapists to develop discharge plans for post-hospital services. Amends Medicare part C (Miscellaneous) to provide for the exclusion of such services from the skilled nursing facility prospective payment system.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 1999
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend provisions: (1) permitting personal tax credits to be fully allowed against regular tax liability; and (2) subjecting the child tax credit for three or more children to reduction by the alternative minimum tax.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1999
Intercountry Adoption Act of 1999 - Title I: United States Central Authority - Requires the Department of State through the Secretary of State to serve as the central authority of the United States with respect to implementation of the Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption done at the Hague on May 29, 1993. Outlines responsibilities of the Secretary of State, including liaison, information exchange, and other coordination activities relating to the Convention. (Sec. 103) Requires the Attorney General to be responsible for the filing of applications by prospective adoptive parents to the central authority of their country of residence. (Sec. 104) Requires annual reports from the Secretary of State to Congress describing activities of the U.S. central authority during the previous year. Title II: Provisions Relating to Accreditation and Approval -Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) to carry out functions prescribed by the Convention with respect to the accreditation of agencies and the approval of persons to provide adoption services in the United States. (Sec. 202) Prohibits a person, with specified exceptions, from offering or providing an adoption service in connection with a Convention adoption in the United States unless that person is accredited under this title, or is providing such service through or under the supervision and responsibility of an accredited person. (Sec. 203) Directs the Secretary to enter into agreements with one or more qualified entities that will provide for the accreditation of agencies, and approval of persons, to provide adoption services in the United States in cases subject to the Convention. Requires such entities to undertake related oversight, enforcement, and information collection activities. Sets forth procedures for an agency or person to reapply for accreditation as a result of an adverse action by an accrediting entity. Provides for the judicial review of such actions. Allows fees to be charged against agencies or persons seeking accreditation for Convention intercountry adoptions. Outlines accreditation standards and procedures. (Sec. 205) Directs the Secretary to: (1) monitor each entity's performance of accrediting duties and compliance with the Convention and other applicable laws and regulations; and (2) suspend or cancel the accreditation of an agency or person found to be substantially out of compliance with applicable requirements, and the accrediting entity has failed or refused to take appropriate corrective action. Authorizes the Secretary to debar an agency or person from accreditation, under certain conditions. Provides judicial review of the Secretary's decisions under this section. (Sec. 206) Authorizes appropriations, limited to the amount of fees collected by accrediting entities. Title III: Recognition of Convention Adoptions in the United States - Directs the Secretary, with respect to each Convention adoption, to issue a certificate to the adoptive citizen parent domiciled in the United States recognizing the legal effect, for purposes of emigration and adoption, of a Convention adoption, as long as the Secretary has received appropriate documentation from the central authority of the child's country of origin, and has verified that other requirements of this Act have been met with respect to adoption. Provides for U.S. recognition of adoptions finalized in other Convention countries. (Sec. 302) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to include: (1) under its definition of "child" a child adopted through the Convention; and (2) under its immigration approval procedures a child for whom the Secretary has certified that a U.S. citizen has effected final adoption under the Convention. (Sec. 303) Outlines procedures for the adoption in any other Convention country of a child residing in the United States, requiring certain duties to be performed by an accredited agency or approved person or the prospective parents acting on their own behalf (if so permitted in such country). Prohibits a State court from entering an order declaring such adoption to be final or granting custody for adoption, unless such court: (1) has received and verified that such duties have been performed, as well as evidence that other Convention requirements have been met; and (2) has determined that the adoptive placement is in the child's best interests. (Sec. 304) Prohibits a State court from vacating a final adoption decree entered pursuant to the Convention unless: (1) the decree was granted by a State court; (2) the court finds clear and convincing evidence that adoptive consent was obtained through fraud, duress, or improper inducement by compensation; (3) voiding such adoption is in the best interests of the child; and (4) the adoptive parents are afforded an opportunity to be heard in such proceedings. Recognizes another country's proceedings vacating such adoptions. States that the voiding of such an adoption does not void or prohibit the naturalization of such child as a U.S. citizen. Title IV: Administration and Enforcement - Provides for: (1) the preservation of Convention adoption records; (2) the nondisclosure of identifying information contained in such records (except to the extent necessary to administer the Convention or this Act); and (3) recognition of Convention documents of other countries. (Sec. 403) Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 404) Provides civil penalties and other enforcement procedures for violations of this Act. Title V: General Provisions - Sets forth provisions with respect to the recognition of Convention adoptions. (Sec. 502) Authorizes the Secretary of State to establish by regulation alternative procedures for the adoption of children by individuals related to them by blood or marriage in cases subject to the Convention. (Sec. 503) States that the Convention and this Act shall have no effect on: (1) State law; or (2) provisions of the Indian Child Welfare Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1999
National Transportation Safety Board Amendments Act of 1999 - Amends Federal transportation law to define the term "accident" to include damage to or destruction of vehicles in surface or air transportation or pipelines, regardless of whether the initiating event is accidental or not. (Sec. 3) Grants the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) authority to: (1) negotiate and enter into agreements with private entities, Federal, State, and local governments, and foreign governments for the provision of technical services or training in accident investigation theory and technique; and (2) require that such entities provide appropriate consideration for the reasonable costs of any goods, services, or training provided by the NTSB. (Sec. 4) Authorizes the NTSB to pay an employee with basic pay at a rate of GS-10 or above an overtime hourly rate of time-and-a-half for work performed at an accident scene (including travel to or from the scene) and other work critical to an accident investigation. Specifies limits on total NTSB overtime payments in a calendar year. (Sec. 5) Prohibits the NTSB from disclosing publicly any part of a surface vehicle video recorder recording or transcript of oral communications by or among drivers, train employees, or other operating employees responsible for the movement and direction of the vehicle or vessel, or between such operating employees and company communication centers, regarding an accident investigated by the NTSB. Requires the NTSB to make public any part of a transcript or any written depiction of visual information relevant to an accident, provided certain conditions are met. Subjects surface vehicle recordings (voice or video recorder) and transcripts of accidents (written depiction of visual information obtained from a video recorder) to specified requirements for discovery and use in a judicial proceeding. Prescribes requirements for installation and use of recording devices on surface vehicles. (Sec. 6) Requires the NTSB to relinquish investigative priority to the Federal Bureau of Investigation with respect to an accident if the Attorney General determines that circumstances reasonably indicate that such accident may have been caused by an intentional criminal act. (Sec. 8) Limits the Federal law compliance review authority of the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation with respect to the NTSB to its financial management and business operations (including internal accounting and administration control systems). (Sec. 9) Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 10) Directs the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, if it would enhance aviation safety, to install a Terminal Doppler Weather Radar at the site of the former U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Brooklyn at Floyd Bennett Field in King's County, New York.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1999
Calls upon the President: (1) not to participate in any international negotiation in which antidumping or antisubsidy rules are part of the negotiating agenda; (2) to refrain from submitting for congressional approval agreements that require changes to the current antidumping and countervailing duty laws and enforcement policies of the United States; and (3) to enforce the antidumping and countervailing duty laws vigorously in all pending and future cases.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1999
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) if European Council Regulation No. 925-1999 (banning certain aircraft from flying in Europe) is not rescinded by the European Council at the earliest possible date, the Secretary of Transportation should take all appropriate actions to ensure that a petition regarding the regulation is filed with the International Civil Aviation Organization under Article 84 of the Chicago Convention; and (2) the Secretaries of Commerce, State, and Transportation and other appropriate parties should use all reasonable means available to ensure that such regulation is rescinded.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 1999
Pension Benefits Protection and Preservation Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to require the plan administrator of any large (100 or more participants) defined employee benefit plan (applicable plan) to notify each applicable individual of any adoption of plan amendments that may reduce future benefit accruals of one or more participants to a specified significant extent (plan amendments), with details on the change's possible effect on the individual's pension, at least 45 days before such a plan change becomes effective. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to enforce specified age discrimination provisions relating to pensions under the Code, without regard to the portion of the preamble to a specified Treasury Decision which relates to allocation of interest adjustments through normal retirement age under a cash balance plan. Declares that such preamble is, and has been since its adoption, without the force of law. Requires applicable plans to offer, in addition to the notice and written statement of benefit change, opportunity for applicable individual participants to elect to continue benefit accruals, without regard to such plan amendments, under the former defined benefit plan instead of under a cash benefit plan. Imposes an excise tax for the failure of any applicable pension plan to offer an opportunity to applicable participants to continue benefit accruals under the former defined benefit plan in the event of significant reductions in future plan accruals. Sets the amount of such tax at 50 percent of the excess pension assets in the plan. Makes the plan liable for such tax in the case of a multiemployer plan, and the employer liable in any other case. Prohibits pension plan amendments that reduce future accrued benefits for years of service for any participants in applicable plans (large defined benefit plans with 100 or more members). Sets forth criteria, under both the Code and ERISA, for determining when a pension plan amendment by an applicable plan shall be treated as reducing the accrued benefit of a participant.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 1999
Same Day Voter Registration Act of 1999 - Amends the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require States to permit individuals to register to vote in an election for Federal office on the date of the election.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 1999
Emergency Medical Services Efficiency Act of 1999 - Title I: Medicare Coverage of Certain Ambulance Services - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to ensure Medicare reimbursement for ambulance services rendered because of the sudden onset of a medical condition manifested by symptoms believed to be serious but whose ultimate diagnosis results in the conclusion that the ambulance services were not necessary. Title II: State Emergency Medical Services Agency Participation in Certain Federal Programs - Amends the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to include State emergency medical services agencies among the entities eligible for financial assistance with regard to telemedicine and distance learning services in rural areas. Amends the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 to allow a State emergency medical services agency to participate in the Informatics, Telemedicine, and Education Demonstration Project as part of an eligible health care provider telemedicine network (consortium). Title III: Federal Commission for Emergency Ambulance Services - Establishes the Federal Commission for Emergency Ambulance Services to study and report to the President and Congress on all matters relating to emergency ambulance services, including any existing or proposed Federal department or agency rules that impact such services, together with recommendations for improving such matters. Provides for Commission funding. Title IV: Study and Report Regarding Consolidation of Federal Authority Over Emergency Medical Services - Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to the President and Congress on the consolidation of Federal authority over emergency medical services in a single Federal agency, together with appropriate recommendations.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 1999
Community Development Venture Capital Assistance Act of 1999 - Amends the Small Business Act to authorize the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to: (1) enter into contracts with one or more development organizations specializing in community development in low-income communities to carry out training and research activities to enhance the professional skills of individuals within community development venture capital organizations operating in such communities; and (2) make grants to development organizations for such activities and to intermediary organizations to provide training and assistance to community development venture capital organizations operating in such communities. Requires matching non-Federal funds. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2003.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
United States Cadet Nurse Corps Equity Act of 1999 - Deems service of a person as a member of the United States Cadet Nurse Corps between July 1, 1943, and December 15, 1945 (qualified service), to be active military service for purposes of all laws administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Requires: (1) the Secretary of Defense to issue an honorable discharge to each person whose qualified service warrants one; and (2) the discharge to be issued before the end of the one-year period beginning on the enactment of this Act. Prohibits benefits from being paid to persons as a result of such enactment for any period before the enactment date.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Lyme Disease Initiative of 1999 - Directs the Secretaries of Health and Human Services, of Agriculture, of the Interior, and of Defense to: (1) establish specified detection test, improved surveillance and reporting system, and prevention goals to provide for a reduction in the incidence and prevalence of Lyme disease and related tick borne infectious diseases; and (2) establish a five-year plan of activities toward achieving those goals, and carry them out. Establishes the Lyme Disease Taskforce to advise the Secretaries with respect to achieving such goals. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Federal Employees Adoption Assistance Act - Directs the head of each executive agency and the Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to carry out a program under which an agency employee may be reimbursed for up to $2,000 of qualifying expenses incurred with the adoption of any one child (including if both adopting parents are employees). Makes such adoption expenses reimbursement provisions applicable to the U.S. Postal Service and the Postal Rate Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Veterans' Emergency Telephone Service Act of 1999 - Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to award a grant to a private, nonprofit entity for the operation of a national, toll-free telephone hotline providing information and assistance to veterans and their families, including crisis intervention counseling, general veterans' benefits information, emergency shelter and food, substance abuse rehabilitation, employment training and related opportunities, and small business assistance programs. Limits such grant to a two-year period, subject to annual approval by the Secretary. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 and 2001.
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 · 5 August 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Food Stamp Program Title II: Food Stamp Information Through Tanf Program and Tax Credit Food Stamp Outreach and Research for Kids Act of 1999 - Title I: Food Stamp Program - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to (temporarily) carry out mandatory annual onsite inspections of State food stamp program agencies. (Sec. 103) Authorizes appropriations for a caseworker training demonstration program. (Sec. 104) Authorizes appropriations for Food and Nutrition Service studies to measure food stamp program impacts on nutrition policy formulation. (Sec. 105) Directs the Secretary to establish a program of grants to qualifying organizations for community partnerships and innovative outreach programs. (Sec. 106) Authorizes appropriations for the Secretary to conduct online and telephone program participation demonstration programs. (Sec. 107) Directs the Secretary to facilitate partnerships with State, local, private, and public entities to provide information on nutrition programs; and maintain a toll-free information number. Makes an entity maintaining a toll-free number eligible for a specified Internal Revenue Code business tax credit. (Sec. 108) Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study of State outreach programs Title II: Food Stamp Information Through TANF Program and Tax Credit - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop a model application for receiving benefits under a State TANF program (Social Security Act block grants to States for temporary assistance to needy families). Requires the application to provide food stamp program eligibility information, for which the Secretary shall develop a model notice. Declares that State use of the application and notice shall be voluntary unless the Secretary determines that a State is not adequately providing food stamp information. (Sec. 202) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish a business credit for establishment of the toll-free number under title I of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) all Americans, and above all women, should take an active role in the fight against breast cancer by using all the means available to them; (2) the role played by national and community organizations and health care providers in promoting awareness of the importance of regular clinical and self-examinations, regular mammograms, and biopsies (when appropriate), and in providing information, support, and access to services, should be recognized and applauded; and (3) the Federal Government has a responsibility, among other things, to continue to fund research so that the causes of, and improved treatment for, breast cancer may be discovered.
![Official portrait of Rep. Oberstar, James L. [D-MN-8]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/o000006_200.jpg)