United States · United States Congress · 15 June 1999
Medicare Early Access Act of 1999 - Title I: Access to Medicare Benefits for Individuals 62-to-65 Years of Age - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to add a new part D (Purchase of Medicare Benefits by Certain Individuals Age 62-to-65 Years of Age). Makes eligible to enroll in Medicare during a specified period individuals between the ages of 62 and 65 who: (1) are not eligible for coverage under group health plans or Federal health insurance; but (2) would be Medicare-eligible if age 65. Requires prior notification of each individual seeking to enroll of the deferred monthly premium amount for which the individual will be liable upon attaining age 65. (Sec. 101) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to determine rates for: (1) the base monthly premium; (2) the base annual premium for individuals age 62 or older, adjusted appropriately for each premium area; as well as the maximum amount of such premium; and (3) the deferred premium for such individuals. Directs the Secretary to provide for payment and collection of the base monthly premium. Makes the enrollee liable for the deferred monthly premium payment. Requires collection of both premiums in the same manner as for the payment of monthly premiums under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance). Creates in the Treasury the Medicare Early Access Trust Fund (Trust Fund) to hold collected premiums. Directs: (1) the Trust Fund's Board of Trustees to report annually to Congress on the need for adjustments in the new program in order to maintain its financial solvency; and (2) the Comptroller General to report periodically to Congress on the adequacy of program financing along with appropriate recommendations to accomplish such end. Requires: (1) individuals enrolled under the new part D program to be treated for Medicare purposes as though they were entitled to benefits under Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) and enrolled under Medicare part B; and (2) new part D program benefits to be payable under Medicare to such individuals in the same manner as if they were so entitled and enrolled. Provides that the new part D program shall not be treated as Medicare for purposes of the Medicaid program (SSA title XIX), including the provision of Medicare cost-sharing assistance, nor for purposes of COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985) continuation requirements of the Public Health Service Act. Title II: Access to Medicare Benefits for Displaced Workers 55-to-62 Years of Age - Amends SSA title XVIII part D to rename the newly established part D program the Purchase of Medicare Benefits by Certain Individuals Age 55-to-65 Years of Age. Provides for part D coverage for certain displaced workers and spouses between the ages of 55 and 62 under arrangements similar to those in title I. Directs the Secretary to provide for continued enrollment of displaced workers who attain 62 years of age. Title III: COBRA Protection for Early Retirees - Subtitle A: Amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to extend specified group health plan insurance continuation coverage under COBRA to qualified retirees and their dependents, in cases of substantial reduction or termination of a retiree group health plan. Sets forth a special rule for certain dependents in case of termination or substantial reduction of retiree health coverage. Permits an increased level of premiums in the case of an individual provided continuation coverage by reason of the qualifying event. Subtitle B: Amendments to the Public Health Service Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to extend specified group health plan insurance continuation coverage under COBRA to qualified retirees and their dependents, in cases of substantial reduction or termination of a retiree group health plan. Sets forth a special rule for certain dependents in case of termination or substantial reduction of retiree health coverage. Permits an increased level of premiums in the case of an individual provided continuation coverage by reason of the qualifying event. Subtitle C: Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend specified group health plan insurance continuation coverage under COBRA to qualified retirees and their dependents, in cases of substantial reduction or termination of a retiree group health plan. Sets forth a special rule for certain dependents in case of termination or substantial reduction of retiree health coverage. Permits an increased level of premiums in the case of an individual provided continuation coverage by reason of the qualifying event. Title IV: Financing - Provides that any increase in payments under SSA title XVIII resulting from enactment of this Act shall be offset by reductions in payments under such program pursuant to the anti-fraud and anti-abuse provisions enacted as part of the Medicare Fraud and Reimbursement Reform Act of 1999.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1999
Late Term Abortion Restriction Act - Makes it unlawful, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, to knowingly perform an abortion after the fetus has become viable, unless, in the medical judgment of the attending physician, it is necessary to preserve the life of the woman or to avert serious adverse health consequences to her. Subjects a physician who violates this Act to a civil penalty of up to $10,000.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1999
Equity in Prescription Insurance and Contraceptive Coverage Act of 1999 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Public Health Service Act to prohibit a group health plan, and a health insurance issuer providing group coverage, from: (1) excluding or restricting benefits for prescription contraceptive drugs, devices, and outpatient services if the plan provides benefits for other outpatient prescription drugs, devices, or outpatient services; (2) denying eligibility based on use or potential use of such items or services; (3) providing monetary payments or rebates to a covered individual to encourage acceptance of less than the minimum protections available; (4) penalizing, reducing, or limiting a professional's reimbursement because the professional prescribed such drugs or devices or provided such services; or (5) providing incentives to a professional to induce the professional to withhold drugs, devices, or services. Amends the Public Health Service Act to apply those prohibitions to coverage offered in the individual market.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1999
Requires any amounts appropriated for a representational allowance for a Member of the House of Representatives which remain after all payments are made under such allowance to be deposited in the Treasury and used for deficit reduction or, in fiscal years for which there is no Federal budget deficit, to reduce the Federal debt.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1999
Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities Enhancement Act of 1999 - Amends title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) of the Social Security Act to revise additional grants requirements, providing for: (1) additional State entitlements to grants for designated qualified empowerment zones and qualified enterprise communities as well as for strategic planning communities (currently not provided for); (2) specified funding for such additional designated qualified empowerment zone State grants (according to urban or rural status) as well as for additional designated qualified enterprise community State grants and strategic planning community State grants; (3) direct grants to the governing bodies of eligible Indian tribes or Alaska Native villages or regional or village corporations, subject to certain conditions; (4) use of grant funds for revolving loan fund loans to residents, institutions, organizations, or businesses that hire disadvantaged adults and youths; and (5) environmental review to ensure that the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and other applicable Federal law are most effectively implemented in connection with the expenditure of grant funds under SSA title XX additional grants provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1999
Timber Tax Simplification Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the application of capital gain treatment to outright sales of timber whether or not the owner retains economic interest.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1999
ESOP Promotion Act of 1999 - Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to deductions for dividends paid on certain employer securities to allow dividends of employee stock ownership plans (ESOP) to be reinvested without loss of the dividend deduction. Allows ESOP closely-held corporate sponsors to pay estate tax if an estate transferred the stock of the corporation to an ESOP. Excludes from gross income transfers of qualified securities in connection with the performance of services if such securities are sold to an ESOP within 60 days of the taxable event. Permits, without payment of the ten-percent additional tax on early distributions from qualified retirement plans and under specified conditions, early distributions from employee stock ownership plans for qualified higher education expenses and qualified first-time homebuyer purchases.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 1999
Long-Term Care and Retirement Security Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a deduction for premiums on qualified long-term care insurance contracts. Expands the child care credit and renames it the family care credit. Amends title XI of the Social Security Act to require annual social security account statements to include information concerning the limitation on Medicare and Medicaid long-term care benefits. Authorizes appropriations. Amends Medicaid (title XIX) provisions of the Social Security Act to expand State long-term care partnerships by exempting 75 percent of partnership assets from Medicaid estate recovery.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 1999
Work Opportunity Tax Credit Reform and Improvement Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to modify and permanently extend the work opportunity credit. Provides that the amount equal to the work opportunity credit amount with respect to any wages paid by an eligible tax-exempt employer shall be treated as a payment by such employer of such employer's employment tax liability.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1999
Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to extend the retroactive eligibility dates for financial assistance for higher education for spouses and dependent children of law enforcement officers who are killed in the line of duty.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1999
Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to extend the wetland reserve program. Replaces the total program acreage limitation with an annual enrollment limitation through FY 2005. Includes within eligible program land non-wetland areas that would substantially contribute to North American Waterfowl Management Plan habitat objectives. Authorizes program related cooperative agreements for goods and services.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1999
Nuclear Decommissioning Funds Clarification Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise provisions concerning, among other things: (1) the limitation on the amounts which may be paid into the Nuclear Decommissioning Reserve Fund; and (2) the deduction allowed for nuclear decommissioning costs.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1999
Expresses: (1) the sense of the House of Representatives that the artwork displayed in the Capitol and the House office buildings should also represent the contributions of women to American society; and (2) full support of the House for the efforts of the House Fine Arts Board, the Joint Committee on the Library, and the Architect of the Capitol to incorporate into their regular plan for the Capitol and the House office buildings a selection of displayed artwork that is more fully representative of such contributions.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1999
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Clinton administration should: (1) be commended for supporting United Nations Commission on Human Rights Resolution 1999-13 (concerning continued discrimination against religious minorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran), and should continue to work through the United Nations to assure that Iran implements that resolution's recommendations; (2) condemn the recent arrest of members of Iran's Jewish minority and urge their immediate release; (3) urge all nations having relations with Iran to condemn the treatment of religious minorities in Iran and call for the release of all prisoners held on the basis of their religious beliefs; and (4) maintain the current U.S. policy toward Iran unless and until that country moderates its treatment of religious minorities.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 1999
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that the unearned income of children attributable to personal injury awards shall not be taxed at the marginal rate of the parents.
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999
Agricultural Credit Act of 1999 - Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to exclude from "debt forgiveness": (1) loan rescheduling, consolidation, deferral, or reamortization; (2) a write-down due to natural disaster or family medical condition; or (3) a write-down as part of the resolution of a discrimination complaint against the Secretary of Agriculture. (Sec. 3) Increases the number of occasions of permitted loan or loan guarantee debt forgiveness per borrower from one to two. Includes as an exception to such limitation an operating loan or loan guarantee to an individual whose payments are current under a specified reorganization plan. (Sec. 4) Eliminates capital item replacement expenses in determinations of farmer program loan guarantee eligibility. (Sec. 5) Permits excess funds obligated for socially disadvantaged farmers to be reallocated for such use in another State (currently limited to intrastate reallocation). (Sec. 6) Permits direct operating loans and loan guarantees to be made to persons in areas: (1) affected by a natural disaster or designated emergency; or (2) determined to be suffering from an economic emergency. (Sec. 7) Revises (shared appreciation arrangement) recapture percentage provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999
Civil Rights Tax Fairness Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income amounts received by a claimant on account of claims based on unlawful discrimination (as defined). Permits income averaging for backpay and frontpay awards received on account of such claims.
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999
Harold Hughes-Bill Emerson Substance Abuse Treatment Parity Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the Internal Revenue Code to provide for parity in the application of treatment limitations and financial requirements to substance abuse treatment benefits under group health plans and individual health insurance coverage.
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999
Anesthesia Outcomes Study Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study and report to Congress on mortality and adverse outcome rates of Medicare patients with respect to anesthesia services by providers of such services.
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999
Elderly Protection Act - Title I: Federal Prohibition of Violence Against the Elderly and Additional Assistance for Programs to Combat That Violence - Amends the Federal criminal code to establish criminal penalties, including ten years' imprisonment, for willful bodily or psychological injury (or its attempt) to a senior (age 62 or older) because of the individual's age. Prescribes up to life imprisonment in the case of kidnaping, aggravated sexual abuse, or homicide. (Sec. 101) Authorizes appropriations for additional enforcement personnel and resources. Title II: Domestic Violence Prevention - Increases the authorization of appropriations for assistance under the United States Housing Act of 1937. (Sec. 202) Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make such amounts available only to public housing agencies and qualified nonprofit organizations only for use for providing tenant-based rental assistance on behalf of families victimized by domestic violence who have left or are leaving a residence as a result of the domestic violence. (Sec. 203) Revises Federal law with respect to payment of monthly transitional compensation to dependents or former dependents of armed forces members convicted of a dependent-abuse offense. Allows resumption, on a case-by-case basis, of any such payments terminated, after execution of a punitive or adverse action, because the convicted former member again resides in the same household as the spouse or former spouse receiving such payments, if the former member subsequently ceases such residence, and it is determined there was ongoing abuse. (Sec. 204) Adds mental health services to the medical care to which the abused dependent receiving such transitional compensation is entitled. (Sec. 205) Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to require the Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Aging, in making demonstration project grants and contracts, to give special consideration to projects designed to: (1) expand access to domestic violence shelters and programs for older individuals; and (2) promote research on legal, organizational, or training impediments to providing services to older individuals through such shelters, especially impediments to provision of services in coordination with delivery of health care or senior services. (Sec. 206) Makes permanent the authorization of appropriations for the ombudsman program and the elder abuse prevention program, without fiscal year limitation. (Sec. 207) Directs the Secretary to make grants to: (1) nonprofit private organizations to support community initiatives to coordinate activities concerning intervention in and prevention of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, including domestic violence, and sexual assault, against older individuals; and (2) develop and implement outreach programs directed toward assisting older individuals who are victims of such abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 208) Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 and the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary, in making awards of grants or contracts under this title, to give preference to any qualified health professions school or training program that requires, as a condition of receiving a degree or certificate, each student to have had significant training in identifying, examining, treating, and referring to service providers any victims of elder abuse and neglect, including domestic violence, and sexual assault. Title III: Elderly and Disabled Protection - Elderly and Disabled Protection Act of 1999 - Declares that a nursing facility (including a skilled nursing facility), home health agency, or hospice program (covered facility) under the Medicare and Medicaid programs of titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act may not: (1) employ an individual as a direct care employee unless the facility has requested from the State direct care employee registry a background check (including a criminal as well as an abusive work history background check); or (2) continue to employ such an individual if the background check report reveals a conviction of a disqualifying crime. Requires the covered facility to report to such registry documented findings of patient abuse by a direct care employee. Imposes civil penalties upon covered facilities that violate such requirements. (Sec. 303) Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish methods by which State direct care registries can pool and share criminal background check summaries and documented findings of patient abuse (national registry coordination system). Requires each State to expand its direct care employee registry in order to carry out such background checks and other related functions, including reporting of summary information to the national registry coordination system. Sets forth procedures for criminal and abusive work history background checks. (Sec. 304) Defines "direct care employee" as a paid, nonvolunteer nurse aide, home health care aide, personal care assistant, private duty nurse aide, day attendant, housekeeper, library attendant, laundry assistant, or similar worker who performs nursing or related tasks involving direct patient care in a covered facility.
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999
Military Survivor Benefits Improvement Act of 1999 - Amends Federal provisions concerning the military Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) to adjust the basic SBP annuity amount for surviving spouses age 62 or over of former military personnel to: (1) 35 percent of the retired pay of the decedent, for months beginning on or before the enactment of this Act (current law); (2) 40 percent of such pay, for months beginning after the date of enactment of this Act until October 2004; and (3) 45 percent of such pay, for months beginning on or after October 2004. Adjusts similarly the percentage amounts of SBP supplemental annuity authorized to be provided for such surviving spouses. Directs the Secretary of Defense to ensure appropriate adjustments in the computation of retired pay reductions for such supplemental annuities made necessary by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999
Commends the bravery and honor of the citizens of Remy, France, for their actions with respect to the American fighter pilot Lieutenant Houston Braly during and after August 1944. Recognizes the efforts of the surviving members of the U.S. 364th Fighter Group to raise funds to restore the stained glass windows of Remy's 13th century church.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1999
NAFTA Impact Relief Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to, among other things: (1) provide for the designation of NAFTA-impacted communities; (2) establish an employment credit for such communities; and (3) provide for job training grants to such communities.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1999
Asthma Awareness, Education and Treatment Act of 1999 - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to public and nonprofit private entities for carrying out projects to provide for individuals in low-income communities: (1) screenings and referrals regarding asthma, allergies, and related respiratory problems; (2) information and education regarding such conditions; and (3) workshops regarding such conditions for specified individuals who serve in supervisory roles of children in such communities. Outlines requirements for such projects. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2004. Authorizes the Secretary to award contracts for a national media campaign to provide to the public and health care providers information on such conditions, with priority given to the occurrence of such conditions in children. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide a tax credit, effective as of January 1, 2000, to providers of pest control or climate control services who donate such services in any public housing or low-income multifamily residential rental property. Directs the Secretary to conduct research to determine whether and to what extent there is a causal relationship between air pollutants and the occurrence of such conditions, requiring priority to be given to clinical evaluations of low-income individuals. Requires the Director of the National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute to: (1) identify all Federal programs that carry out asthma-related activities; (2) develop a Federal plan for responding to asthma; and (3) submit recommendations to Congress on strengthening the coordination of Federal asthma-related activities. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to: (1) conduct local asthma surveillance activities in order to collect asthma prevalence, severity, and management data; and (2) compile and annually publish data on the prevalence of children suffering from asthma in each State, as well as the childhood asthma mortality rate nationally and in each State.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1999
Calls for the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee to recommend and the Postal Service to issue a commemorative postage stamp honoring the U.S. Submarine Force on its 100th anniversary.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 1999
Father Theodore M. Hesburgh Congressional Gold Medal Act - Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of Congress, a congressional gold medal to Father Theodore M. Hesburgh in recognition of his outstanding and enduring contributions to civil rights, higher education, the Catholic Church, the Nation, and the global community. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 1999
Bring Them Home Alive Act of 1999 - Directs the Attorney General to grant refugee status in the United States to any alien (and the parent, spouse, and child of such) who: (1) is a national of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, China, or any of the independent states of the former Soviet Union; and (2) personally delivers into U.S. custody a living American Vietnam War POW or MIA. Requires the granting of the same status to any alien (and parent, spouse, and child) who is a national of North Korea, China, or any of the independent states of the former Soviet Union and who personally delivers a living American Korean War POW or MIA. Directs the International Broadcasting Bureau to broadcast to such foreign countries information that promotes such refugee programs. Requires: (1) a minimum level of such broadcasting; and (2) the Bureau to ensure that such information is made available on the Internet. Expresses the sense of the Congress that RFE-RL, Inc., Radio Free Asia, and any other recipient of Federal grants that broadcasts to such countries should also broadcast such information.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 1999
Amends Federal law to require the Postal Service to establish a special rate of postage for first class mail that is up to 25 percent higher than the regular rate as a voluntary alternative that the public may use to contribute to funding for Alzheimer's disease research. Requires payment of collected amounts to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Expresses the sense of Congress that nothing in this Act should: (1) cause a net decrease in total funds received by NIH below the level that would have otherwise been received but for this Act's enactment; or (2) affect first-class or other regular postage rates.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 1999
Expresses the commitment of Congress to American farmers and the need for future appropriations to address the existing emergency in American agriculture.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 1999
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that the patronage dividends of cooperatives shall not be reduced by stock dividends to the extent the stock dividends are in addition to amounts otherwise payable.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1999
International Prescription Drug Parity Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require manufacturers of certain drugs manufactured and domestically approved and then exported, or domestically approved and manufactured in a registered foreign establishment, to: (1) maintain specified shipment compliance and labeling records; and (2) make such records available to U.S. importers. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish related criteria to facilitate the U.S. importation of such drugs.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1999
Iran Nonproliferation Act of 1999 - Directs the President to report periodically to specified congressional committees on foreign persons who, on or after January 22, 1998, have transferred to Iran: (1) controlled goods, services, or technology; or (2) non-controlled goods, services, or technology that would nevertheless would be, if they were U.S. goods, services, or technology, prohibited for export to Iran because of their potential contribution to the development of nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons, or ballistic missile systems. Excludes from identification in such reports any such persons who were previously identified, or who have acted on behalf of, or in concert with, the U.S. Government. Authorizes the President, with specified exceptions, to apply to such foreign person certain measures: (1) set forth in Executive Order 12938 prohibitions; (2) prohibiting the sale to such persons of defense items on the United States Munitions List and defense articles and defense services, or design and construction services under the Arms Export Control Act; and (3) prohibiting the export to such persons of controlled goods and technology under the Export Administration Act of 1979. Prohibits any U.S. agency from making extraordinary payments to the Russian Space Agency in connection with the International Space Station, or any other organization or entity of the Government of the Russian Federation, unless the President has determined, and reported to specified congressional committees, that: (1) it is the policy of the Government of the Russian Federation to oppose the proliferation to Iran of weapons of mass destruction and missile systems capable of delivering such weapons; (2) such government is taking the necessary steps to prevent the transfer from Russia to Iran of goods, services, and technology useful in the development of such weapons and systems; and (3) neither the Russian Space Agency, nor any organization under its control, has, during the one-year period prior to the determination, made transfers to Iran of controlled goods, services, or technology or non-controlled goods, services, or technology that has potential to contribute to Iran's development of nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons, or of ballistic missile systems.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1999
MSPA Clarification Act of 1999 - Amends the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act to enlarge the scope of the family business exemption. (Sec. 3) Excludes from the definition of "farm labor contracting activity" a migrant or seasonal agricultural worker in a carpool arrangement. (Sec. 4) Prohibits an investigatory entry into a place of agricultural employment without prior and subsequent conferences with the person being investigated. (Sec. 5) States that an agricultural employer, association, or farm labor contractor that corrects a violation for which there is no prior adjudication of guilt shall not be subject to a civil money penalty or a private right of action. (Sec. 6) Exempts: (1) Federal or State approved farm worker housing from regulation under such Act; and (2) owners or operators of migrant agricultural housing from liability for housing conditions caused by or the responsibility of such workers. (Sec. 7) Sets forth joint employment criteria. (Sec. 8) Exempts an agricultural employer or association from confirming the registration of a farm labor contractor who supplies only worker transportation services unless the employer or association had actual knowledge that the transportation was not a worker carpooling arrangement. (Sec. 9) Excludes from the definitions of "migrant agricultural worker" and "seasonal agricultural worker" an individual employed on a year-round basis by a specific employer or association. (Sec. 10) Subjects motor vehicle safety insurance provisions to State, rather than specified Federal, requirements. (Sec. 11) Establishes a two-year statute of limitations for violations under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1999
Health Care Worker Needlestick Prevention Act - Directs the Secretary of Labor, acting through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), to amend the bloodborne pathogens standard to require that: (1) employers utilize needleless systems and sharps with engineered sharps injury protections in their work sites to prevent the spread of bloodborne pathogens; and (2) non-managerial direct care health care workers of employers participate in the identification and evaluation of such systems and sharps. Provides an exemption where an employer demonstrates that needleless systems and sharps: (1) do not promote employee safety, interfere with patient safety, or interfere with the success of a medical procedure under certain circumstances in the employer's work facility; or (2) are not commercially available to the employer. (Sec. 2) Includes under such revised standard requirements relating to: (1) exposure control plans; (2) sharps injury logs; and (3) worker training in the use of such systems and sharps. (Sec. 3) Requires the Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to establish and maintain a national database on existing needleless systems and sharps with engineered sharps injury protections. Requires the Director to: (1) develop a set of evaluation criteria for use by employers, employees, and other persons in evaluating and selecting such systems and sharps; (2) develop a model training curriculum to train employers, employees, and other persons in such evaluation process, and provide requested technical assistance to the extent feasible; and (3) establish a national system to collect comprehensive data on needlestick injuries to health care workers, including data on mechanisms to analyze and evaluate prevention. Authorizes NIOSH access to information recorded by employers in sharps injury logs. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 5) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to require hospitals, as a condition of their Medicare program participation, to comply with the bloodborne pathogen standard as amended under this Act with respect to hospital employees, even if they are not otherwise subject to such standard because they are exempt from OSHA regulation.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1999
School Anti-Violence Empowerment Act - Title I: School Safety Programs - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award competitive grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) for: (1) crisis intervention programs, including the hiring of school counselors; and (2) school safety programs for students, staff, and school facilities. Requires reservation of 50 percent of funds under this title for grants to hire school counselors, and the other 50 percent for grants for school safety programs. Requires awards to be based on one or more of the following factors: (1) quality of existing or proposed violence prevention program; (2) greatest need for crisis intervention counseling services; and (3) documented financial need based on number of students served under part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Increased COPS Funding - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to extend through FY 2004 the authorization of appropriations for certain grant programs for Community Policing and "Cops on the Beat" (COPS program). Requires 50 percent of such funds to be used for cooperative partnerships between schools and State and local police departments to provide for the use of police officers in schools. Eliminates provisions for decreasing Federal matching funds and for terminating grant program authority (thus making the authority permanent). Title III: 21st Century Learning - Amends ESEA to extend through FY 2004 the authorization of appropriations for after-school and life skills programs for at-risk youth. Title IV: Model Program and Clearinghouse - Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop a model violence prevention program to be made available to LEAs; and (2) establish and maintain a national clearinghouse to provide LEAs with information on alternative violence prevention programs, and technical assistance to establish and to operate such programs.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1999
National Information Disclosure Month Act - Expresses the sense of the Congress that all Federal agencies that have responsibilities with respect to health, safety, payments to individuals, delivery of services to consumers, and national defense issues shall participate, and all State, local, or private agencies or organizations having responsibilities with respect to those issues shall be encouraged to participate, in a National Summer of Community Conversation which will take place across the country in June, July, and August of 1999 to provide information to the public about their Y2K readiness. Requires that all such Federal agencies and all such State, local, or private agencies or organizations be encouraged to participate in a National Y2K Disclosure Month during July 1999, to disclose the readiness of mission critical computer systems in those areas for January 1, 2000, and to disclose contingency planning efforts associated with those systems and advance notice of problems that may occur on such day with such computer systems, with the interoperation of such computer systems, or both.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1999
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide a tax deduction (for individual loss) and tax exceptions to homeowners and small businesses for the repair of Formosan termite damage.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1999
Stalking Prevention and Victim Protection Act of 1999 - Rewrites stalking provisions of the Federal criminal code. Prohibits and sets penalties for stalking an individual, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, or within Indian country. Deems a person to be stalking an individual if the person, on two or more occasions: (1) engages in any conduct that results in the individual's reasonable fear of death or bodily injury to that individual or to a member of that individual's immediate family; and (2) knows or has reasonable cause to believe that such conduct results in that fear. Directs the court, at the time of sentencing for such offense, to issue an appropriate protection order designed to protect the victim from further stalking by the convicted person, which shall continue in effect until the victim communicates to the court that the order is no longer needed. Requires the judicial officer, where a stalking violation is charged and the person has a prior conviction for a crime of violence under Federal or State law, to order the detention of the person before trial, if that conviction was for an offense against the same victim as in the current charge or a member of that victim's family, or if that conviction became final less than five years before the conduct constituting the alleged stalking violation took place. Directs the United States Sentencing Commission to amend the sentencing guidelines to provide an appropriate sentence enhancement for a defendant convicted of stalking where the defendant has a prior conviction under Federal or State law of a crime of violence against the same victim as in the current offense or against a member of that victim's family.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1999
Rural Education Development Initiative for the 21st Century Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to make grants to States for elementary and secondary education development by local educational agencies (LEAs) that are eligible because they serve: (1) a school-age population of whom 20 percent or more are from families with incomes below the poverty line; and (2) a school district in a rural locality, or a school-age population of 800 or fewer. Reserves a specified portion of grant funds for schools operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Sets forth an allotment formula for grants to State educational agencies (SEAs) to make grants to eligible LEAs. Authorizes the Secretary to make direct competitive grants to specially qualified eligible rural LEAs in nonparticipating States. Requires LEAs or their schools to use grant funds for: (1) educational technology, including software and hardware; (2) professional development; (3) technical assistance; (4) teacher recruitment and retention; (5) parental involvement activities; or (6) academic enrichment programs. Requires SEAs to award grants on a competitive or formula basis. Requires that at least 90 percent of such funds be awarded to eligible LEAs. Allows specified portions of the remainder to be used for: (1) assistance to schools that meet certain eligibility criteria, even though they are in noneligible LEAs; and (2) State activities and administrative costs related to the grant program. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1999
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to grant duty-free treatment, through December 31, 2002, to the personal effects of, and other equipment imported and used by, participants, their families and associated members, and officials involved in the 1999 International Special Olympics and the 1999 Women's World Cup Soccer. Declares that such articles shall be: (1) free of applicable taxes and fees; but (2) not exempt from routine customs inspections.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1999
Volunteer Firefighter's Relief Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow, for a volunteer firefighter, an annual deduction (of up to $500) for contributions to a volunteer firefighter savings account.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1999
Mothers and Newborns Health Insurance Act of 1999 - Amends title XXI (Children's Health Insurance) (CHIP) of the Social Security Act to give States, subject to specified guidelines, the option of providing for: (1) coverage of pregnancy-related assistance for targeted low-income pregnant women under the State's CHIP plan; and (2) automatic eligibility for child health assistance under the State's CHIP plan for children born to targeted low-income pregnant women receiving such pregnancy-related assistance when the child is born.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1999
Living Organ Donation Incentives Act of 1999 - Amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 and Federal civil service law to allow unpaid leave for living organ donations for civilian and Federal employees. Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants or contracts to States, transplant centers, qualified organ procurement organizations, or other public and private entities to provide for payment of travel and related organ donation expenses. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to direct the Secretary to increase by 2.9 percent each composite rate payment for Medical renal dialysis services. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1999
Directs the Attorney General to promulgate regulations relating to gender-based persecution, including female genital mutilation, for use in determining an alien's eligibility for asylum or withholding of deportation.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1999
Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of the Congress, a congressional gold medal to Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., in recognition of his outstanding and enduring contributions to the Nation. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1999
Working Uninsured Tax Equity Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual a refundable tax credit equal to 30 percent of the amount paid during the taxable year for insurance which constitutes medical care for the taxpayer, the taxpayer's spouse, and dependents. Disallows such a credit for: (1) any taxpayer eligible to participate in his or her employer's (or spouse's employer's) subsidized health plan; or (2) Medicare or Medicare supplemental policy payments. Limits the full credit to individuals whose adjusted gross income is under $30,000 ($50,000 if filing a joint return). Disallows any credit to a married individual filing a separate return, but treats married individuals living apart and filing separate returns as not married (thus qualifying them for the credit). Prescribes a formula for phase-out of the credit for taxpayers with an adjusted gross income exceeding $30,000 ($50,000 for a joint return) by less than $10,000. Allows self-employed individuals to elect such credit or the deduction for medical expenses, but not both. States that such credit does not apply to long- term health care insurance.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1999
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Engineering Establishment Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to provide for the establishment of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Engineering. Requires the Director of the Institute to establish a National Biomedical Imaging and Engineering Program which shall include research and related technology assessments and development in biomedical imaging and engineering. Requires the Director, with respect to such Program, to prepare and transmit to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) a plan to initiate, expand, intensify, and coordinate Institute biomedical imaging and engineering activities. Requires: (1) the consolidation and coordination of Institute biomedical imaging and engineering research and related activities with those of the NIH and other Federal agencies; and (2) the establishment of an Institute advisory council. Authorizes: (1) appropriations for the Institute for FY 2000 through 2002; and (2) the transfer of appropriate NIH personnel and research facilities for Institute activities.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1999
Clinical Research Enhancement Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to: (1) support and expand the NIH's involvement in clinical research; (2) support and expand the resources available for the clinical research community; and (3) establish peer review mechanisms. (Sec. 4) Mandates grants to: (1) establish general clinical research centers to provide the infrastructure for clinical research, including clinical research training and career enhancement; (2) support individual careers in clinical research at general clinical research centers or other institutions (to be known as Mentor Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Awards); (3) support individual clinical research projects at general clinical research centers or other institutions (to be known as Mid-Career Investigator Awards in Patient-Oriented Research); and (4) support individuals pursuing master's or doctoral degrees in clinical investigation (to be known as graduate training in clinical investigation awards). Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 5) Increases the limit on the aggregate number of scholarship (regarding professions needed by the NIH) and loan repayment (regarding clinical researchers from disadvantaged backgrounds) contracts under specified provisions. Modifies the loan repayment program to: (1) remove current references to disadvantaged backgrounds; and (2) require a period of service in a general clinical research center, in clinical NIH research, or as a physician receiving a clinical research career enhancement award or a graduate training in clinical investigation award (currently, a period of service as an NIH employee). Requires that at least 50 percent of the loan repayment contracts involve individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. Authorizes appropriations to carry out the loan repayment provisions. (Sec. 7) Directs the Comptroller General to report to Congress on the extent to which the NIH has complied with requirements of this Act.
![Official portrait of Rep. Thurman, Karen L. [D-FL-5]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/t000253_200.jpg)