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United States · Official source
2,400 records where Rep. Watt, Melvin L. [D-NC-12] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1999
Advocates sound and unbiased law enforcement practices. Commends those police officers who risk their lives in service of all individuals. Condemns acts of brutality and the use of excessive force by police officers.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1999
Expresses the sense of Congress that : (1) treatment by means of manual manipulation of the spine to correct a subluxation is a unique chiropractic service which Congress recognizes as a Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act (SSA)) part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) benefit; (2) it is the unequivocal intent of Congress to ensure that every Medicare+Choice beneficiary under SSA title XVIII part C has access to all services covered under the original Medicare part B fee-for-service program; and (3) as a covered Medicare part B service, such treatment provided by a doctor of chiropractic is a guaranteed service for Medicare+Choice beneficiaries.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 1999
Firefighter Investment and Response Enhancement (FIRE) Act - Authorizes the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to make grants on a competitive basis to a variety of fire departments for any of a number of specified purposes, including: (1) hiring additional firefighting personnel; (2) training them; (3) funding creation of rapid intervention teams to protect firefighting personnel at the scenes of fires and other emergencies; (4) certifying fire inspectors; (5) establishing wellness and fitness programs for firefighting personnel; (6) funding emergency medical services; (7) acquiring additional firefighting vehicles and equipment, including personal protective equipment required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; (8) modifying fire stations, fire training facilities, and other facilities; (9) enforcing fire codes; (10) funding fire prevention programs; and (11) educating the public about arson prevention and detection. Requires the FEMA Director to establish an office to set specific criteria for the selection of grant recipients and administer the grants. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 1999
States' Choice of Voting Systems Act - Amends Federal redistricting law to give States, other than States with single-Member districts, the right to choose one of two specified redistricting systems for determining congressional districts.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1999
Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage Extension Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to eliminate the time limitation on Medicare benefits for immunosuppressive drugs.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1999
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to give States the option of making medical assistance for breast and cervical cancer-related treatment services available during a presumptive eligibility period to certain low-income women without creditable coverage who have already been screened for such cancers under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention breast and cervical cancer early detection program and need treatment. Provides for an enhanced match with regard to such Medicaid treatment services.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1999
Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 1999 - Provides collective bargaining rights for public safety officers employed by States or local governments. Directs the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) to determine whether State law provides specified rights and responsibilities for public safety officers, including: (1) granting public safety employees the right to form and join a labor organization which excludes management and supervisory employees, and which is, or seeks to be, recognized as the exclusive bargaining agent for such employees; and (2) requiring public safety employers to recognize and agree to bargain with the employees' labor organization. (Sec. 5) Requires the FLRA to issue regulations establishing collective bargaining procedures for public safety employers and employees in States that do not substantially provide for such public safety employee rights and responsibilities. Directs the FLRA, in such cases, to: (1) determine the appropriateness of units for labor organization representation; (2) supervise or conduct elections to determine whether a labor organization has been selected as an exclusive representative by a majority of the employees in an appropriate unit; (3) resolve issues relating to the duty to bargain in good faith; (4) conduct hearings and resolve complaints of unfair labor practices; and (5) resolve exceptions to arbitrator's awards. Grants a public safety employer, employee, or labor organization the right to seek enforcement of such FLRA regulations and authority through appropriate State courts. (Sec. 6) Prohibits public safety employers, employees, and labor organizations from engaging in lockouts or strikes. (Sec. 7) Provides that existing collective bargaining units and agreements shall not be invalidated by this Act. (Sec. 9) Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1999
Debt Relief for Poverty Reduction Act of 1999 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to direct the President, subject to authorization of appropriations, to cancel or reduce all amounts owed to the United States by heavily indebted poor countries (HIPCs) as a result of concessional and nonconcessional loans made, guarantees issued, or credits extended prior to January 1, 1996, under any provision of law. Sets forth eligibility requirements for cancellation or reduction of debt for HIPCs. Directs the President, in canceling or reducing debt, to give priority to HIPCs that have demonstrated a sustained commitment to poverty alleviation or have recently suffered a major natural disaster. (Sec. 2) Provides that cancellation or reduction of debt shall not be considered to be assistance for purposes of any law limiting assistance to a country. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth certain procedures for the making of new loans, extending new credits, or issuing new guarantees to the governments of developing countries. (Sec. 3) Amends the International Financial Institutions Act to urge the President, in order to accelerate multilateral debt relief and promote economic and human development and poverty alleviation in HIPCs, to commence diplomatic efforts within the Paris Club of Official Creditors, as well as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and other appropriate multilateral development institutions to make certain modifications in the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, including: (1) the placing of a limit on maximum waiting period before a country receives debt relief; (2) the incorporation of poverty reduction and environmental protection as conditions for HIPC debt relief; (3) the revision of country eligibility requirements under the HIPC Initiative; (4) the adoption of a human development action plan and fund by HIPCs; (5) limits on the amount of debt reduction; (6) transparency and participation by HIPCs in HIPC decision making; and (7) the provision of HIPC review. Authorizes appropriations for the HIPC Trust Fund. Declares the sense of Congress that the amounts that would otherwise be provided by the United States for development aid or other debt relief should not be reduced on account of any such appropriations. Directs the President to work with the member countries of international financial institutions to ensure transparency and public participation in decisions to make new loans (including terms and conditions of such loans) to developing countries.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1999
Montgomery GI Bill Improvements Act of 1999 - Amends Federal basic educational assistance provisions (the Montgomery GI Bill) to authorize enhanced educational assistance to a member of the armed forces who, after September 30, 1999: (1) first enters on active duty; (2) reenlists or continues to serve on active duty; (3) serves a continuous period of active duty of four years; or (4) serves and is discharged or released for a service-connected disability, at the convenience of the Government (after serving at least 42 months of such duty), or due to a reduction in force. Limits to 36 months the period for such enhanced assistance, with a special rule for certain early separations. Requires the payment of educational expenses under such program, including tuition and fees, books, and other supplies. Provides: (1) a monthly stipend for approved programs of education, with different rates for programs pursued on a full-time, three quarter-time, or half-time basis; and (2) tutorial assistance. (Sec. 3) Increases the monthly rates of basic educational assistance. (Sec. 4) Repeals, with respect to such assistance: (1) a required monthly reduction in pay for individuals who do not elect to participate in such assistance program; (2) a provision authorizing individuals to elect not to receive such assistance; (3) the requirement that participants complete the requirements of a high school diploma or equivalency certificate prior to the end of their initial obligated period of service in order to be eligible to receive such assistance; and (4) provisions limiting an individual's opportunity to withdraw an election not to enroll in such assistance program. (Sec. 5) Authorizes an individual entitled to basic educational assistance to receive an accelerated payment of such allowance, beginning on March 1, 2000, under certain conditions. (Sec. 6) Authorizes the use of basic educational assistance for: (1) the payment of vocational or professional licensing or certification tests required under Federal, State, or local law; (2) preparatory courses for college and graduate school entrance exams; and (3) training for technological occupations offered by entities other than educational institutions. (Sec. 9) Authorizes enrollment in the basic educational assistance program for individuals who: (1) before October 10, 1996, were enrolled in the veterans' educational assistance program (VEAP); (2) had continuously served on active duty since October 9, 1996; and (3) if discharged or released from active duty after the date on which the individual elects to participate in the basic educational assistance program, were discharged or released with an honorable discharge. Discontinues, after the enactment of this Act, the required reduction in basic pay for VEAP participants.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Individuals' Rights Subtitle A: Access to Protected Health Information by Subjects of the Information Subtitle B: Establishment of Safeguards Title II: Restrictions on Use and Disclosure Title III: Office of Health Information Privacy of the Department of Health and Human Services Subtitle A: Designation Subtitle B: Enforcement Title IV: Miscellaneous Medical Information Privacy and Security Act - Title I: Individuals' Rights - Subtitle A: Access to Protected Health Information by Subjects of the Information - Requires specified parties to permit an individual who is the subject of protected health information to inspect and copy the information. (The list of specified parties varies throughout this Act and includes such individuals and entities as health care providers, health plans, health oversight agencies, public health authorities, employers, health researchers, law enforcement officials, health or life insurers, schools, universities, emergency medical personnel, and their agents.) Sets forth provisions concerning: (1) supplements to protected information; and (2) the provision of notice of privacy practices. Subtitle B: Establishment of Safeguards - Requires specified parties to establish safeguards to ensure the confidentiality, security, accuracy, and integrity of protected health information. Mandates development of model safeguard guidelines. Requires specified parties to establish a record of disclosures not related to payment or treatment. Title II: Restrictions on Use and Disclosure - Prohibits specified parties from disclosing protected health information, except as authorized under this title. Allows disclosure if authorized by the information subject. Mandates model written authorizations and model limitations. Provides for segregation of files on request, authorization revocation, and records of authorizations and revocations. (Sec. 203) Sets forth rules governing authorizations for disclosure of protected information for purposes other than for treatment or payment. Mandates model authorizations. (Sec. 204) Allows any person to disclose protected health information: (1) in order to allay or remedy a threat of imminent physical or mental harm to an information subject; and (2) if there is an identifiable threat of serious injury or death to an identifiable individual or group and other requirements are met. (Sec. 205) Authorizes disclosure to: (1) a public health authority; (2) certain protection and advocacy agencies if an individual is vulnerable to abuse or neglect by an agency providing health or social services; (3) a health oversight agency, under specified circumstances; and (4) on court order, a law enforcement authority. (Sec. 209) Regulates disclosure: (1) to next of kin; and (2) in directories of individuals admitted to a facility. (Sec. 210) Applies the requirements and protections of specified parts of the Code of Federal Regulations to research conducted by all research facilities using personally identifiable health information. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to the Congress whether written informed consent should be required and, if so, under what circumstances, before personally identifiable data can be used for medical research. (Sec. 211) Allows specified parties to disclose for certain judicial and administrative purposes. (Sec. 212) Sets forth a sequence regulating who may exercise an individual's rights under this Act when the individual cannot knowingly or effectively do so, designating first a person named in a health care power of attorney, then an individual authorized by law or by an instrument recognized under law to act as the individual's representative, then next of kin, and last the health care provider, in each case moving to the next level if the person cannot be contacted after a reasonable effort. Sets forth provisions concerning: (1) the rights of minors; and (2) deceased individuals. (Sec. 213) Prohibits retaliation for the exercise of rights under this Act or disclosure of information regarding a possible violation of this Act. Title III: Office of Health Information Privacy of the Department of Health and Human Services - Subtitle A: Designation - Establishes the Office of Health Information Privacy, including in its duties receiving and investigating violation complaints and providing for the conduct of audits. Subtitle B: Enforcement - Chapter 1: Criminal Provisions - Amends the Federal criminal code to impose criminal penalties for knowingly and intentionally obtaining or disclosing protected health information in violation of title II of this Act. (Sec. 312) Mandates regulations and procedures to permit the debarment of specified parties from receiving benefits under any Federal health programs if the managers or officers are found guilty of such obtaining or disclosing. Authorizes the Attorney General to provide advice, technical assistance, and guidance to reduce improper disclosure. Chapter 2: Civil Sanctions - Imposes civil monetary penalties on specified parties if the Office determines a party has substantially and materially failed to comply with this Act. (Sec. 323) Allows any individual whose rights under this Act have been knowingly or negligently violated to bring a civil action to recover preliminary and equitable relief, compensatory (or specified liquidated) damages, punitive damages (for knowing violations), and attorney's fees. Sets a time limit for the commencement of actions. Title IV: Miscellaneous - Amends the Privacy Act of 1974 to require an agency that receives protected health information to promulgate rules to exempt a system of records within the agency from all but specified provisions of that Act.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1999
Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to repeal provisions which make persons convicted of drug offenses ineligible to receive student financial assistance for a certain period.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1999
Judicial Branch Employment Nondiscrimination Act of 1999 - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit employment discrimination in the judicial branch of the Government (currently, in the units of the judicial branch of the Government having positions in the competitive service) based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1999
Directs the President to impose quotas, tariff surcharges, or negotiate enforceable voluntary export restraint agreements in order to ensure that the volume of imported steel products (semifinished, plates, sheets and strips, wire rods, wire and wire products, rail type products, bars, structural shapes and units, pipes and tubes, iron ore, and coke products) during any month does not exceed the average volume of imported steel for the 36-month period preceding July 1997. Directs the Secretaries of the Treasury and of Commerce to implement a program for administering and enforcing the restraints on such imports. Authorizes the Customs Service to refuse entry into the U.S. customs territory for a three year period of any steel products that exceed the allowable levels of such products. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish and implement a steel import notification and monitoring program. Requires any person who intends to import steel products into the United States to first obtain an import notification certificate. Sets forth specified import notification certificate requirements. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to publish on a weekly basis through the Internet certain information obtained from steel import notification certificate applications regarding imported steel, including country of origin, the port of entry, quantity, value of steel imported, single producer or exporter countries, and whether such imports are entered into a bonded warehouse or foreign trade zone. Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to charge reasonable fees to defray the costs of carrying out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1999
Public Safety Act - Provides that the recipient of a grant under the violent offender incarceration and truth-in-sentencing incentive grant program may not contract with a private contractor or vendor to provide services related to the operation of a correctional facility or the incarceration of inmates. Amends the Federal criminal code to require the Bureau of Prisons to provide that: (1) any penal or correctional facility or institution (except for community correctional confinement such as halfway houses) confining any person convicted of offenses against the United States shall be under the direction of the Director of the Bureau and shall be managed and maintained by U.S. employees; and (2) the housing, safeguarding, care, subsistence, protection, instructing, and disciplining of any person charged with or convicted of any offense against the United States (with that exception) shall be conducted and carried out by U.S. employees.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1999
School Construction Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow a limited tax credit to holders of qualified public school construction bonds as an incentive for public school construction; (2) include in gross income the amount of such credit, which shall be treated as interest income; and (3) establish a national qualified school construction bond limitation for each calendar year, to be allocated among the States with projected enrollment increases.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1999
Aviation Safety Protection Act - Amends Federal transportation law to establish a whistleblower protection program for airline employees providing air safety information. Prohibits air carriers, contractors, and subcontractors from discharging or otherwise discriminating against an employee as to pay, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because the employee: (1) is about to provide or has provided to the Federal Government information relating to any violation of a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) order, regulation, or standard, or any other Federal law relating to air carrier safety; or (2) is about to file or has filed a proceeding, or testified, or otherwise participated in a proceeding relating to such violations. Sets forth a Department of Labor complaint procedure for persons who believe they have been discharged or discriminated against in violation of this Act. Specifies civil penalties for violation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1999
Designates the Federal building located at 290 Broadway in New York, New York, as the Ronald H. Brown Federal Building.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1999
Civic Participation and Rehabilitation Act of 1999 - Declares that the right of a U.S. citizen to vote in any election for Federal office shall not be denied or abridged because that individual has been convicted of a criminal offense, unless the individual is serving a felony sentence in a correctional institution or facility at the time of the election. Authorizes the Attorney General, in a civil action, to obtain such declaratory or injunctive relief as is necessary to remedy a violation of this Act. Creates a private right of action, subject to specified requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1999
Terry Sanford Commemoration Act of 1999 - Designates the Federal building located at 310 New Bern Avenue in Raleigh, North Carolina, as the Terry Sanford Federal Building.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1999
Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to limit the late enrollment penalty to a ten percent increase in the monthly part B premium due over a period equal to twice the number of years that the part B beneficiary could have been but was not enrolled under part B.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1999
Crack-Cocaine Equitable Sentencing Act of 1999 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act and the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act to eliminate specified mandatory minimum penalties relating to the trafficking in, and possession, importation, or distribution of, crack cocaine.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1999
Liberian Refugee Immigration Protection Act of 1999 - Provides for the permanent resident status adjustment of certain Liberian nationals who were granted, or are eligible to apply for, temporary protected status as of a specified date.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1999
National African American Museum Act - Establishes within the Smithsonian Institution the National African American Museum, to be operated as a center for scholarship and a location for museum training, public education, exhibits, and collection and study of items and materials relating to the life, art, history, and culture of African Americans. Authorizes the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution to plan, design, reconstruct, and renovate the Arts and Industries Building to house the Museum. Establishes a Board of Trustees of the Museum in the Smithsonian Institution. Directs the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution to appoint a Director to manage the Museum. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1999
Biomedical Revitalization Resolution of 1999 - Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that funding for the National Institutes of Health should be increased by $2 billion in FY 2000.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1999
Tampon Safety and Research Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to mandate the conduct or support of research on the extent to which additives in feminine hygiene products pose any risks to the health of women or to the children of women who use those products during or before the pregnancies involved. Requires that the research include research to confirm the data on feminine hygiene products submitted to the Commissioner of Food and Drugs by manufacturers of the products. Requires that research results be submitted to the Congress, specified governmental agencies, and the public.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1999
Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct a study for a report to Congress on establishment of an outpatient prescription drug benefit under Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act (SSA)) that provides for full outpatient prescription drug coverage for Medicare beneficiaries. Amends SSA title XVIII to: (1) provide for the transfer of Federal estate tax revenues to the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund under Medicare in order to offset the costs of the prescription drug benefit above; and (2) establish the Outpatient Prescription Drug Account in the Trust Fund in order to receive such Federal estate tax revenues and to pay for outpatient prescription drugs furnished under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1999
Security and Freedom through Encryption (SAFE) Act - Amends the Federal criminal code to permit any person within any State and any U.S. person in a foreign country to use, and any person within any State to sell in interstate commerce, any encryption, regardless of the encryption algorithm selected, encryption key length chosen, or implementation technique or median use. Provides that neither the Federal Government nor a State may require that, or condition any approval on a requirement that, a key, access to a key, key recovery information, or any other plaintext access capability be: (1) built into computer hardware or software for any purpose; (2) given to any other person, including a Federal Government agency or an entity in the private sector that may be certified or approved by the Federal Government or any State to receive it; or (3) retained by the owner or user of an encryption key or any other person, other than for encryption products for use by the Federal Government or a State. Makes exceptions with respect to investigative or law enforcement officers and members of the intelligence community. Provides that neither the Federal Government nor a State may require the use of encryption products, standards, or services (products) for: (1) confidentiality purposes, as a condition of the use of such products for authenticity or integrity purposes; or (2) authenticity or integrity purposes, as a condition of the use of such products for confidentiality purposes. Sets penalties for the unlawful use of encryption in furtherance of a criminal act. Specifies that the use of encryption shall not be the sole basis for establishing probable cause with respect to a criminal offense or a search warrant. (Sec. 3) Amends the Export Administration Act of 1979 to grant the Secretary of Commerce exclusive authority to control exports of all computer hardware, software, computing devices, customer premises equipment, communications network equipment, and technology for information security (including encryption), except that which is specifically designed or modified for military use. Provides that after a one time, 50-day technical review by the Secretary, no export license may be required (with exceptions) for or in the export of specified computer hardware, software, computing devices, telecommunication devices, technical assistance and data, and encryption hardware, software, or computing devices. Authorizes the Secretary, after a one time, 15-day technical review, to authorize the export or reexport of computer hardware, software, or computing devices with encryption capabilities for nonmilitary and end uses in any country: (1) to which exports of computer hardware, software, or computing devices of comparable strength are permitted for use by financial institutions not controlled in fact by United States persons, unless there is substantial evidence that such computer equipment will be diverted to a military end-use or an end-use supporting international terrorism, modified for military or terrorist end-use, or reexported without authorization by the United States; or (2) if the Secretary determines that a computer hardware, software, or computing device offering comparable security is commercially available outside the United States from a foreign supplier, without effective restrictions. Directs that any encryption product not requiring an export license as of this Act's enactment date, as a result of administrative decision or rulemaking, shall not require an export license on or after such date. (Sec. 4) Directs: (1) the Attorney General to compile, and maintain in classified form, data on the instances in which encryption has interfered with, impeded, or obstructed the ability of the Department of Justice to enforce U.S. criminal laws; and (2) that such information be made available, upon request, to any Member of Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1999
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to: (1) restrict the application of the windfall elimination provision to individuals whose combined monthly income from the individual's primary insurance amount under such title and the portion of the monthly periodic payment attributable to noncovered service performed after 1956 exceeds $2,000; and (2) provide for a graduated implementation of such provision by specified percentages with respect to incremental amounts above such threshold, up to 100 percent for combined amounts over $3,000.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1999
State and Local Investment Opportunity Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the State ceiling on private activity bonds. Provides for inflation adjustment.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1999
Declares that it is the sense of the Congress that: (1) a commemorative postage stamp should be issued by the U.S. Postal Service honoring Paul Leroy Robeson; and (2) the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee should recommend such a stamp to the Postmaster General.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1999
Mental Health Juvenile Justice Act - Amends the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 to direct the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to make grants to State and local juvenile justice agencies in collaboration with State and local mental health agencies for training the officers and employees of the State juvenile justice system regarding appropriate access to mental health and substance abuse treatment programs and services in the State for juveniles who come into contact with the State juvenile justice system who have mental health or substance abuse problems. Authorizes a State or local juvenile justice agency that receives such a grant to use it for providing: (1) cross-training, jointly with the public mental health system, for State juvenile court judges, public defenders, and mental health and substance abuse agency representatives regarding the appropriate use of effective, community-based alternatives to juvenile justice or mental health system institutional placements; or (2) training for State juvenile probation officers and community mental health and substance abuse program representatives on appropriate linkages between probation programs and mental health community programs. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 3) Amends the Act to direct the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to partnerships between State and local or county juvenile justice agencies and State and local mental health authorities for the establishment and implementation of programs that address the service needs of juveniles who come into contact with the justice system and who have mental health or substance abuse problems. Sets forth requirements regarding appropriate diversion from incarceration, screening and assessment, treatment of such juveniles, correctional facility policies and procedures (and staff training and annual certification) on suicide prevention, classification of juveniles, confidentiality of records, State recordkeeping and mandatory State reporting to the Department of Justice regarding mental health and substance abuse disorders, staff ratios for correctional facilities, guidelines on the use of force, and requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) make grants to systems established under the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act to monitor the mental health and special education services provided by grantees to juveniles and to advocate on behalf of juveniles; and (2) reserve no less than three percent of appropriated funds for such purposes. Authorizes appropriations. Allocates 35 percent for diversion programs and 65 percent for treatment programs. Directs the Attorney General and the Secretary to give preference in treatment to partnerships that integrate treatment programs to serve juveniles with co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders. Authorizes waivers of treatment requirements. Sets forth grant application requirements. (Sec. 4) Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Attorney General and the Secretary to award competitive grants to eligible entities for programs that address the service needs of juveniles, and juveniles with serious mental illnesses, by requiring the State or local juvenile justice system, the mental health system, and the substance abuse treatment system to work collaboratively to ensure: (1) the appropriate diversion of such juveniles and juveniles from incarceration; (2) the provision of appropriate mental health and substance abuse services as an alternative to incarceration and for those juveniles on probation or parole; and (3) the provision of followup services for juveniles who are discharged from the juvenile justice system. Sets forth requirements regarding eligibility of entities, use of funds, and areas served by projects. Makes specified funds available. (Sec. 5) Directs the Secretary to award grants and contracts for the establishment of four research, training, and technical assistance centers. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 6) Establishes a Federal Coordinating Council on Criminalization of Juveniles With Mental Disorders. (Sec. 7) Amends: (1) the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to require a State, to be eligible for funds under the violent offender incarceration and truth-in-sentencing grants program, to have (by January 1, 2001) a program of mental health screening and treatment for appropriate categories of juvenile and other offenders during periods of incarceration and juvenile and criminal justice supervision, that is consistent with guidelines issued by the Attorney General; and (2) make Federal criminal code provisions regarding appropriate remedies with respect to prison conditions applicable to a civil action that seeks to remedy conditions which pose a threat to the health of individuals who are under age 16 or mentally ill.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1999
Improved Maternal and Children's Health Coverage Act of 1999 - Amends titles XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (Children's Health Insurance Program) (CHIP) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to mandate: (1) development and use of a uniform, simplified application form for establishing eligibility for Medicaid and CHIP benefits; (2) coordinated enrollment processes; and (3) timely response to inquiries received through a national toll-free telephone number for information on children's coverage under such programs. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish such number. (Sec. 2) Provides for the expanded availability of funding for administrative costs related to certain outreach and eligibility determinations under Medicaid and CHIP with regard to children and pregnant women. Directs the Secretary to establish a procedure with regard to the participation of local and community-based public or nonprofit organizations in outreach and enrollment activities if States do not otherwise obligate the amounts made available under this Act. Sets forth a special rule for certain enrollment and outreach activities providing for use of three percent of CHIP funds at 90 percent Federal match for such activities. Amends SSA title XIX to provide for additional entities (including elementary and secondary schools, child support enforcement agencies, and child care resource and referral agencies) that are qualified to determine Medicaid presumptive eligibility for low-income children. (Sec. 3) Amends SSA title XXI to require, to the extent a State child health plan provides coverage other than through providing benefits under the State's Medicaid plan, a State child health plan to: (1) specify methods to ensure coordination of pediatric care within a family; (2) make the State and its contractors, and not beneficiaries and families, responsible for applying limitations on cost-sharing; (3) impose, at its option, a flat limit (of up to $500) on out-of-pocket expenditures for certain low-income children (as an alternative to the current five percent of family income); and (4) provide a grace period and prior notice before disenrollment for nonpayment of premiums, if the State child health plan requires the payment of a premium and such premium is not paid on a timely notice, as well as an opportunity for a hearing on the matter. Prohibits State child health plan eligibility standards from permitting the use of mandatory waiting periods, unless the Secretary finds that such a period would not be contrary to title XXI. (Sec. 4) Amends SSA title XIX to provide for, among other changes: (1) automatic reassessment of eligibility for CHIP and Medicaid benefits for children losing Medicaid or CHIP eligibility; (2) optional CHIP coverage of low-income, uninsured pregnant women; (3) State option to cover qualified alien children under the Medicaid and CHIP programs; (4) elimination of the funding offset for exercise of the presumptive eligibility option; (5) automatic enrollment of children born to targeted low-income pregnant women receiving pregnancy-related assistance under such programs; and (6) CHIP and Medicaid program coordination with the Maternal and Child Health Services program under SSA title V.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1999
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to classify qualified leasehold improvement property (defined as certain improvements made to an interior portion of nonresidential real property) as ten-year property for depreciation purposes under the Accelerated Cost Recovery System.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1999
Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to extend through FY 2002 the authorization of appropriations for: (1) the Federal Council on the Aging; (2) administration; (3) grants for State and community programs on aging; (4) the availability of surplus commodities; (5) training, research, and discretionary projects and programs; (6) community service employment for older Americans; (7) grants for Native Americans; (8) allotments for Vulnerable Elder Rights Protection activities; and (9) the Native American program.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1999
Human Rights, Opportunity, Partnership, and Empowerment for Africa Act (or the Hope for Africa Act) - Declares the policy of Congress toward sub-Saharan African countries. Title I: Cancellation of Debt Owed By Sub-Saharan African Countries - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to direct the President to cancel all concessional and nonconcessional loans made, guarantees issued, or credits extended by the United States to sub-Saharan African countries. Directs the President to report annually to the appropriate congressional committees concerning the cancellation of debt. (Sec. 102) Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 103) Directs the Secretary of State to notify foreign governments that have provided loans, guarantees, or credits to the government of a sub-Saharan African country that it is U.S. policy to forgive all such debts and that such foreign governments should do the same. (Sec. 104) Amends the International Financial Institutions Act to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the United States Executive Directors at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) to use the U.S. vote to advocate that such financial institutions: (1) unconditionally cancel all debts owed by a sub-Saharan African country to such institution; (2) encourage each country benefitting from such debt cancellation to allocate 20 percent of the country's national budget (including savings from such debt cancellation) to basic services, as the country has committed to do under the United Nations 20- 20 Initiative; and (3) after canceling such debt, require that any future loans not be used to finance in whole or part the implementation of any agreement which requires the country to pay more than five percent of its annual export earnings toward the servicing of foreign loans. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to report to specified congressional committees with respect to the response by foreign governments to the policies advocated by this section. (Sec. 105) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) report to Congress on the amount of debt owed to any U.S. person by any country in sub-Saharan Africa; and (2) acquire and cancel each debt obligation owed to each U.S. person. (Sec. 106) Amends the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1999 to include as an additional duty of the International Financial Institution Advisory Commission that it advise the Secretary of the Treasury and report to Congress on the viability and desirability of having each indebted sub-Saharan African country repay foreign loans in their currency. (Sec. 107) Directs the Secretary of State to encourage the government of each sub-Saharan African country to allocate 20 percent of its national budget (including the savings from cancellation of debt owed by it to the United States) to other foreign countries, to the IMF and the World Bank, and to U.S. persons for the provision of basic services to individuals in their respective country, as provided for in the United Nations 20-20 Initiative. (Sec. 108) Expresses the sense of Congress that, prior to the cancellation of debt owed by sub-Saharan African countries, each such country should not pay in any calendar year an aggregate amount greater than five percent of the export earnings of the country for the prior calendar year. Title II: Trade Provisions Relating to Sub-Saharan Africa - Directs the United States, pursuant to the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, to eliminate existing quotas on textile and apparel exports to the United States from Kenya and Mauritius not later than 30 days after each country demonstrates that it: (1) does not engage in significant violations of internationally recognized human rights; (2) provides for the enforcement of certain internationally recognized worker rights; and (3) takes adequate measures to prevent illegal transshipment of goods. Directs the President to continue the no quota policy for each of the other sub-Saharan African countries that are in compliance with such requirements. (Sec. 201) Provides that, when the quota for either Kenya or Mauritius is first eliminated, the quota for textile and apparel products from China for each calendar year shall be reduced by an amount equal to the volume of imports of all textile and apparel products from all sub-Saharan African countries into the United States in the preceding calendar year, plus five percent of that amount. Requires the Secretary of Labor to determine, and report annually to Congress on, whether or not each sub-Saharan African country is providing for effective enforcement of internationally recognized worker rights. Directs the President to report annually to Congress on the growth in textiles and apparel exports to the United States from countries in sub-Saharan Africa in order to inform U.S. consumers, workers, and textile manufacturers about the effects of the no quota policy. Directs the President to provide an additional benefit of 50 percent tariff reduction for any textile and apparel product of a sub-Saharan African country that meets the requirements (relating to human rights, workers rights, and illegal transshipments) and that is imported directly into the United States from such country if the business enterprise, or a subcontractor of the enterprise, producing the product is in compliance with specified conditions. Sets forth specified conditions for the import of textile and apparel goods into the United States, including such goods from a sub-Saharan African country. Sets forth penalties for violations committed under this Act. Directs the U.S. Customs Service to monitor and the Commissioner of Customs to report annually on measures taken by sub-Saharan African countries which export textiles or apparel goods to the United States to prevent unlawful transshipment of such goods and circumvention of this Act or any agreement regulating trade in such goods between such country and the United States. (Sec. 202) Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize the President to provide duty-free treatment for certain import-sensitive articles, or articles set forth in the product list of the Lome Treaty, that are the product of a beneficiary developing sub-Saharan African country and that are in compliance with certain human rights requirements with respect to such articles if the President determines that such articles are not import-sensitive in the context of imports from such countries. Sets forth certain rules of origin for purposes of duty-free treatment of products from beneficiary developing sub-Saharan African countries. Extends duty-free treatment to: (1) products from beneficiary developing sub-Saharan African countries through June 30, 2005; and (2) products of other beneficiary developing countries through June 30, 1999. (Sec. 203) Grants a U.S. citizen a cause of action in the U.S. district court to seek compliance of sub-Saharan African countries with the requirements of this Act. Title III: Development Assistance for sub-Saharan African Countries - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to revise congressional findings with respect to long-term development assistance for sub-Saharan Africa to declare that the HIV- AIDS epidemic, along with other conditions, have caused countless deaths and untold suffering among the people of sub-Saharan Africa. (Sec. 302) Directs the Agency for International Development (AID) to provide capacity building assistance through participatory planning to private and voluntary organizations that are involved in providing assistance for sub-Saharan Africa. (Sec. 303) Prohibits military assistance to sub-Saharan African countries. (Sec. 304) Revises critical sectoral priorities provisions to give priority to: (1) increasing food security by promoting agriculture policies in sub-Saharan African countries; (2) improving health conditions in such countries by emphasizing, among other things, HIV-AIDS prevention and treatment programs; (3) providing increased access to voluntary family planning services, including access to prenatal healthcare; (4) improving education and vocational education, with particular emphasis on primary education and vocational education for women; and (5) developing income-generating opportunities, including development of manufacturing and processing industries and microcredit projects. (Sec. 305) Increases the minimum amount of long-term development assistance that should be targeted to certain critical sectors with respect to sub-Saharan African countries. (Sec. 306) Directs the Administrator of AID to report semiannually to Congress on: (1) how, and to what extent, AID has consulted with nongovernmental organizations in sub-Saharan Africa regarding the use of long-term development assistance to sub-Saharan African countries; (2) the extent to which such assistance has been successful in capacity building among local nongovernmental organizations and in increasing food security and access to health and education services among the people of sub-Saharan Africa; and (3) how, and to what extent, such assistance has furthered the goals of sustainable economic and agricultural development, gender equity, environmental protection, and respect for workers' rights there. (Sec. 307) Authorizes appropriations for the Development Fund for Africa. Title IV: Sub-Saharan Africa Equity and Infrastructure Funds - Directs the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) to initiate one or more equity funds in support of infrastructure projects in sub-Saharan Africa, including basic health services (including AIDS prevention and treatment), hospitals, potable water, sanitation, schools, electrification of rural areas, and publicly-accessible transportation. Title V: Overseas Private Investment Corporation and Export-Import Bank Initiatives - Directs the Board of Directors of OPIC to establish and work with an advisory committee to assist it in developing and implementing policies, programs, and financial instruments with respect to sub-Saharan Africa, including with respect to equity and infrastructure funds established under this Act. Sets forth requirements with respect to the composition and administration of the advisory committee. (Sec. 502) Amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to revise provisions establishing an advisory committee to require such committee to assist the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States in developing, among other things, financial instruments with respect to sub-Saharan African countries. Sets forth requirements with respect to the composition and administration of the advisory committee. Title VI: Miscellaneous Provisions - Prohibits the use of appropriated funds to any Federal agency to be used to seek the revocation or revisions of any sub-Saharan African intellectual property or competition law or policy that is designed to promote access to pharmaceuticals or other medical technologies. (Sec. 603) Directs the President to: (1) provide notice and opportunity to the public for comments on the success or failure of the implementation of this Act; and (2) report such comments to Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Research on Lupus Title II: Delivery of Services Regarding Lupus Lupus Research and Care Amendments of 1999 - Title I: Research on Lupus - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases to expand and intensify research and related activities of the Institute regarding lupus. Requires the Director to: (1) coordinate such activities with similar activities conducted by other national research institutes and agencies of the National Institutes of Health; and (2) conduct or support research to expand the understanding of the causes of, and to find a cure for, lupus, including research to determine the reasons underlying the elevated prevalence of the disease among African-American and other women. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Delivery of Services Regarding Lupus - Mandates grants for the establishment, operation, and coordination of effective and cost-efficient systems for the delivery of essential services to individuals with lupus and their families. Regulates charges (whether they are characterized as enrollment fees, premiums, deductibles, cost sharing, copayments, coinsurance, or other charges) imposed by grantees on service recipients. Authorizes technical assistance. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 1999
Child Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Act - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance to make grants to: (1) provide child protective workers and child welfare workers access to criminal conviction information and protection orders based on a claim of domestic or child abuse; or (2) improve law enforcement access to certain judicial orders (including custody, visitation, and protection orders). Modifies grant application guidelines to reflect such use of the grants. Prescribes grant eligibility guidelines for closed circuit televising of testimony of children who are victims of abuse. Allows drug control and system improvement (Byrne) grants to be used to enforce child abuse and neglect laws and programs designed to prevent child abuse and neglect. Amends the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 to increase the set aside for child abuse victims.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1999
Medicare Substitute Adult Day Care Services Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage of substitute adult day care services. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to monitor Medicare expenditures for home health services for a fiscal year, including substitute adult day care services, and compare them to expenditures that the Secretary estimates would have been made for home health services for that fiscal year if there had been no coverage of substitute adult day care services. Requires the Secretary, if home health service expenditures exceed such estimates, to adjust the rate of payment to adult day care facilities so that total expenditures do not exceed such estimates.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1999
Retirement Account Portability Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit rollovers from State and tax-exempt instrumentalities and from and to public school retirement plans. (Sec. 3) Permits individual retirement plan (IRA) rollovers only if the entire amount is deposited into another defined contribution retirement plan and certain other conditions are met. (Sec. 4) Provides for faster vesting of employer matching contributions. (Sec. 5) Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to extend single employer missing participant provisions to multiemployer plans. Authorizes transfer of a missing participant's benefits to a corporation upon termination of certain pension plans. (Sec. 6) Removes certain restrictions on the rollover of after-tax contributions. Provides a hardship exception to the 60-day transfer requirement. (Sec. 7) Permits distributions upon severance from employment (currently upon separation from employment). (Sec. 8) States that a transferee defined contribution plan shall not be treated as having failed to meet certain requirements because it does not provide for some or all of the distribution options available under a transferor defined contribution plan. (Sec. 9) Authorizes employers to disregard rollovers for purposes of employee cash-out amounts under the Code and ERISA. (Sec. 10) Authorizes trustee-to-trustee transfers to purchase permissive service credit with respect to Federal or public school and State and tax-exempt instrumentality pension plans.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1999
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend, for five years, the credit for producing energy from wind.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1999
Directs the Secretary of the Army to close the military education and training facility known as the United States Army School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Georgia. Repeals current statutory authority for the School. Expresses the sense of the Congress that, in each training activity undertaken by the United States with foreign security forces, the Secretary of Defense should: (1) substantially increase emphasis upon respect for human rights, the proper role of a military within a democratic society, and appropriate management of defense and security policy; and (2) implement Department of Defense regulations regarding the screening of foreign candidates for inclusion in the training activity to ensure that the United States does not train individuals implicated in human rights abuses, illegal drug trafficking, or corruption.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1999
Calls for the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee to recommend and the U.S. Postal Service to issue a postage stamp in honor of Zora Neale Hurston.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Outer Continental Shelf Impact Assistance Title II: State, Local, and Urban Conservation and Recreation Title III: Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Conservation and Reinvestment Act of 1999 - Title I: Outer Continental Shelf Impact Assistance - Establishes the Outer Continental Shelf Impact Assistance Fund (OCSIAF) to provide impact assistance to coastal States from a portion (27 percent) of allocable new OCS revenues (payments received by the United States as royalties, net profit share payments, and related late-payment interest from natural gas and oil leases under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act). Prohibits placement in the Fund of OCS revenues from a leased tract (or portion) located in a geographic area subject to a leasing moratorium on January 1, 1999, unless the lease was issued before the moratorium and was in production on such date. (Sec. 103) Sets forth a formula for use by the Secretary of the Interior to determine the portion of the allocable share of new revenues attributable to each coastal State and county eligible to receive impact assistance payments. Mandates that such OCS funds be expended by the eligible coastal States and counties for certain environmental projects and activities. Requires: (1) the Governor of every OCSIAF recipient State to develop (and certify to the Secretary) a State plan for the use of such funds; (2) an eligible county to submit for the Governor's approval a plan setting forth the projects and activities for which it proposes to expend OCSIA funds; and (3) the Governor of each recipient State to account to the Congress for all OCSIAF monies received for the previous fiscal year. Title II: State, Local, and Urban Conservation and Recreation - Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (LWCFA) to require an amount equal to 23 percent of specified Outer Continental Shelf revenues to be credited to a separate account in the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) in the Treasury in each fiscal year through September 30, 2015. (Sec. 202) Makes such funds available, without further appropriation, to carry out LWCFA in the next succeeding fiscal year. Provides that, if such revenues in a fiscal year exceed $900 million, such excess shall be available, without further appropriation, in the next succeeding fiscal year for obligation or expenditure as payments in lieu of taxes. Authorizes appropriations to maintain a certain minimum total annual income of the LWCF. Makes certain amounts covered into the LWCF available for expenditure without appropriation. Sets forth formulae for allocation of such funds for: (1) Federal acquisition of certain lands, waters, or interests; (2) financial assistance to the States for land acquisition, urban conservation, and recreation projects; and (3) local governments through the Urban Parks and Recreation Recovery Program of the Department of the Interior. Provides for an LWCFA allocation of funds to Indian tribes and Alaska Native Village Corporations. Requires States to make at least 50 percent of the annual State apportionment under LWCFA available as grants to local governments. Replaces, within a five-year period, LWCFA requirements for comprehensive State plans with requirements for State action agendas. Allows each State to define its own priorities and criteria for selection of outdoor recreation and conservation acquisition and development projects eligible for LWCFA grants so long as it provides for public involvement in this process and publishes an accurate and current State Action Agenda for Community Recreation and Conservation. Requires such Agendas to: (1) be strategic, originating in broad-based and long-term needs, but focused on actions that can be funded over the next four years, and be updated every four years; (2) consider all providers of recreation and conservation lands, and correlate with other State, regional and local plans for parks, recreation, open space, and wetlands conservation; (3) address wetlands as important outdoor recreation and conservation resources, and incorporate a State wetlands priority conservation plan consistent with the national plan developed under the Emergency Wetlands Resources Act; and (4) be guided in part by recovery action programs developed by urban localities under the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act. Revises LWCFA conditions for approval of conversions. (Sec. 203) Amends the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act (UPRRA) to provide (in addition to the current types of at-risk recreation grants and recovery action program grants) for matching capital grants to local governments in the form of: (1) development grants for development and construction on existing or new neighborhood recreation sites, including indoor and outdoor recreation facilities, support facilities, and landscaping, but excluding routine maintenance and upkeep activities; and (2) acquisition grants for purchasing new parkland to be permanently dedicated and made accessible for public recreation use. Revises UPRRA requirements for: (1) eligibility; (2) matching grants; (3) coordination; and (4) conversion approval. Repeals the limitation on the use of UPRRA funds for acquisition of land or interests in land. (Sec. 205) Establishes a Habitat Reserve Program (HRP) within the Department of the Interior to be administered by the Secretary of the Interior in association with the applicable State fish and wildlife department in the State where the affected land is located. Requires lands eligible for enrollment in the HRP to be privately owned and designated by the State agency as necessary to preserve the existence of one or more species listed under the Endangered Species Act, and their owners and operators to have voluntarily entered into partnership agreements with the Secretary and the State agency. Prescribes: (1) limitations on lands eligible for enrollment in the HRP; (2) HRP contract requirements; (3) HRP management plans; (4) HRP contract duration; and (5) payments to owners or operators of lands included in the HRP. Title III: Wildlife Conservation and Restoration - Amends the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (FAWRA) to require an amount equal to ten percent of specified Outer Continental Shelf revenues to be deposited in a new subaccount in the Federal aid to wildlife restoration fund (FAWRF), to be invested and to be made available without further appropriation, for apportionment in the next succeeding fiscal year for State wildlife conservation and restoration programs. Provides that all interest on such amounts shall be available without further appropriations, for obligation or expenditure for purposes of the North American Wetlands Conservation Act of 1989. (Sec. 305) Sets forth requirements for: (1) allocation of such subaccount receipts; (2) applications for approval of, and development grants for, State wildlife conservation and restoration programs; and (3) coordination. (Sec. 306) Allows certain subaccount funds for such a State wildlife conservation and restoration program to be used for law enforcement and education. (Sec. 307) Prohibits a State from receiving FAWRA matching funds if it diverts any funds from wildlife conservation purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1999
Requires the Capitol Police Board to: (1) designate or establish a flag pole upon which the U.S. flag shall be flown at half-staff for one day whenever a Federal, State, local, or territorial law enforcement officer is slain in the line of duty; (2) post, in close proximity to the flag, public notice of the name, tenure of service, and jurisdiction of the officer being honored; and (3) present such flag to the officer's family.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1999
Safe Seniors Assurance Study Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to conduct a study for a report to Congress on the mortality and adverse outcomes rates of Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act (SSA)) patients by providers of anesthesia services (service providers). Provides that if the HHS Secretary determines that lack of physician supervision of service providers results in an adverse impact on outcome rates of Medicare patients, then such providers under Medicare or Medicaid (SSA title XIX) shall be supervised by a physician in the same manner as they are supervised under HHS regulations in effect on January 1, 1999.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1999
Amends Federal law to add Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday (the third Monday in January) to the list of days on which the U.S. flag should especially be displayed.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1999
Authorizes the President, on behalf of the Congress, to award a gold medal to Rosa Parks, in recognition of her contributions to the Nation.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1999
Faces of AIDS Stamp Act of 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 Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) research and education. Requires 50 percent of collected amounts to be paid to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the remainder to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for AIDS awareness education grant programs. Expresses the sense of the Congress that nothing in this Act should: (1) cause a net decrease in total funds received by NIH, HHS, or any other Federal agency or instrumentality 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. Requires special postage stamps to be made available to the public.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1999
Fairness and Voluntary Arbitration Act - Requires each party to a sales and service contract that provides for the use of arbitration in resolving controversies to have the option to reject arbitration as the means of settling a controversy. Requires the arbitrator, whenever arbitration is elected to settle a dispute under such a contract, to provide the parties with a written explanation of the factual and legal basis for the award.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1999
Stand Down Authorization Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs: (1) to carry out Stand Down events (events to provide veterans who are without a home, unemployed, experiencing health or social adjustment challenges, or otherwise in need with one to three days of safety and security and access to food, shelter, clothing, benefits certification, health care, or any other appropriate form of assistance); and (2) in connection with such events, to provide outreach services, use Department of Veterans Affairs personal property, and provide any other appropriate benefit or service. Directs the Secretary to establish and implement a pilot program under which the Secretary shall carry out a single Stand Down event in each State in each calendar year, beginning in 2000. Requires an annual report to the Congress on pilot program implementation and recommendations for legislation.