United States · United States Congress · 16 November 1999
Indian Health Care Improvement Act Amendments of 2000 - Amends the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (the Act) to require funding authorized for programs under title I (Indian health, human resources, and development) of the Act to be allocated by service area under a formula developed in consultation with Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations. Empowers the Director of the Indian Health Service (IHS) with the administration of Indian health professions scholarships. Requires all recipients of such scholarships awarded after 2001 to meet the active duty service obligation (service with the IHS or related service for Indians) within the service area from which the scholarship was awarded. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make funds available to Indian tribes and tribal organizations to assist such entities in educating Indians to serve as health professionals in Indian communities, as long as such Indians are enrolled or accepted for enrollment in a course of study in one of the health professions contemplated by the Act. Requires a written contractual agreement from such recipients to provide service in an Indian health program in the same service area where the entity providing the scholarship is located. Provides Indian health scholarship recipients a preference for IHS employment or authorizes employment by a program of an Indian tribe, tribal organization, or urban Indian organization, or other HHS agencies, as available. Adds Indian tribes and tribal organizations as participants in the Community Health Representative Program under the Act, which provides for the training and use of Indians as community health representatives (currently, as community health paraprofessionals). Allows participants completing a term of education under the Indian Health Service Loan Repayment Program to be employed within an Indian urban organization. Discontinues the annual authorization of appropriations for the Indian Health Scholarship and Loan Repayment Recovery Fund. Authorizes the Secretary to reimburse health professionals seeking positions with Indian tribes, tribal organizations, or urban Indian organizations (currently, only those seeking employment with the IHS) for certain recruitment evaluation expenses. Limits to three years demonstration programs to enable Indian tribes, tribal organizations (current law), and urban Indian organizations to recruit, place, and retain Indian health professionals. Requires health professionals from urban Indian organizations to be given an equal opportunity to participate in a demonstration program to enable Indian health professionals to pursue advanced training or research in needed areas of study. Discontinues the annual authorization of appropriations for the Indian Nursing Program. Requires the Secretary to award grants to community colleges for programs which provide education in a health profession for individuals who desire to practice such profession in the IHS or a tribal health program (currently, only on an Indian reservation or tribal clinic). Provides a funding priority for tribally controlled colleges in service areas where they exist. Authorizes the Secretary to pay a retention bonus to any health professional (currently, physician or nurse) employed by or assigned to, and serving in, Indian tribes, tribal organizations, or urban Indian organizations (currently, only in the IHS) who meet specified requirements. Directs the Secretary to develop and operate a National Community Health Aide Program based on the current Community Health Aide Program for Alaska. Authorizes the Secretary to fund pilot programs for tribes and tribal organizations to address the chronic shortages of health professionals. Deems scholarships provided under title I of the Act as "qualified scholarships" and therefore excluded from gross income for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code. Makes a certain prohibition on the Secretary removing a member of the National Health Service Corps from an Indian health program applicable to health programs operated by urban Indian organizations as well. Requires all service areas served by programs operated by the IHS, tribes, tribal organizations, or urban Indian organizations to be designated as Health Professional Shortage areas under the Public Health Service Act. Authorizes appropriations through FY 2012 to carry out title I of the Act. Provides additional authorized uses for funds appropriated under the authority of provisions regarding the Indian Health Care Improvement Fund. Authorizes such funds to be allocated to Indian tribes or tribal organizations. Requires funds provided through the Indian Catastrophic Health Emergency Fund to be administered by service area offices based upon priorities determined by the Indian tribes and tribal organizations within each area. Increases the cost level required to qualify for payments from the Fund. Requires the Secretary to continue to fund through FY 2012 each model diabetes project in existence on the date of enactment of this Act. Directs the Secretary to include funding to establish dialysis programs. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into arrangements with Indian tribes or tribal organizations for the delivery of long-term care and similar services to Indians on a shared- services basis. Directs the Secretary to make funding available for research to further the performance of the health service responsibilities of the IHS, Indian tribes, and tribal organizations and to coordinate the activities of other agencies within HHS to address such research needs. Directs the Secretary to provide mammography and other cancer screening through Indian tribes or tribal organizations (currently, only through the IHS). Requires the Secretary to pay certain patient travel costs through Indian tribes and tribal organizations (currently, only through the IHS). Revises provisions regarding epidemiology centers. Directs the Secretary to provide funding to Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations (currently, Indian tribes) to develop comprehensive school health education programs for children from preschool through grade 12 in schools (currently, schools on reservations) for the benefit of Indian and urban Indian children. Includes urban Indian preadolescent and adolescent youth within a program for innovative mental and physical disease prevention and health promotion and treatment. Authorizes the Secretary to make funding available to Indian tribes and tribal organizations for the prevention, control, and elimination of communicable and infectious diseases. Authorizes the Secretary, acting through the IHS, Indian tribes, and tribal organizations, to provide funding for other health care services and programs not otherwise described in the Act, including hospice care and assisted living, long-term health care, home- and community-based services, public health functions, and traditional health care practices. Directs the Secretary, acting through the IHS, Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations, to provide funding to monitor and improve the quality of health care for Indian women of all ages through the planning and delivery of programs administered by the IHS. (Currently, an Office of Indian Women's Health Care has such monitoring duty.) Revises provisions regarding nuclear resource development health hazards to direct the Secretary and the IHS to conduct studies and ongoing monitoring programs to determine trends in health hazards to Indian miners and to Indians on or near Indian reservations and in Indian communities as a result of environmental hazards which may result in chronic or life-threatening health problems. Extends through FY 2012 the designation of Arizona as a contract health service delivery area for purposes of providing health care services to members of federally recognized Arizona Indian tribes. Authorizes the Secretary to fund a program using the California Rural Indian Health Board as a contract care intermediary to improve the accessibility of health services to California Indians. Allows certain counties in California that are currently excluded from the contract health services delivery area to be included in such area if funding is provided by the IHS for such services in those counties. Requires the IHS to provide funds for health care programs and facilities operated by Indian tribes and tribal organizations under funding agreements entered into under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEA) on the same basis as such funds are provided to programs and facilities operated directly by the IHS. Exempts from State licensing requirements health care professionals employed by Indian tribes and tribal organizations to carry out the above funding agreements if such individuals are licensed in any other State. Allows elderly or disabled Indians receiving emergency medical care or services from a non-IHS provider or in a non-IHS facility 30 days to notify the IHS of such treatment or admission. Extends through FY 2012 the authorization of appropriations for title II (health services) of the Act. Prohibits the closure of any hospital, outpatient health care, inpatient service, or special care facility operated by the IHS if the Secretary has not submitted to Congress at least one year prior to such proposed closure an evaluation of the impact of such closure. Directs the Secretary to establish a health care facility priority system. Directs the Secretary, beginning in the year 2000, to annually transmit to the President a report setting forth the needs of the IHS and all Indian tribes and tribal organizations for inpatient, outpatient, and specialized care facilities. Directs the Secretary to consult and cooperate with Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations in developing innovative approaches to address unmet needs for the construction of health facilities. Provides authority for the Secretary to use specified appropriated funds for providing sanitation facilities and related services to Indian tribes and tribal organizations. Requires the Secretary to: (1) enter into inter-agency agreements with appropriate Federal agencies to provide financial assistance for safe water supply and sanitary sewage disposal facilities under the Act; and (2) establish standards applicable to the planning, design, and construction of water supply and sanitary sewage and solid waste disposal facilities funded under the Act. Makes the Indian family, community, or tribe primarily responsible for establishing, collecting, and using reasonable user fees for operating and maintaining sanitation facilities. Revises the defined water sanitation deficiency levels for facilities serving an Indian individual or community. Exempts construction or renovation of facilities constructed or renovated by funds made available under title III (facilities) of the Act from the Davis-Bacon Act. Authorizes the Secretary to accept any major expansion (currently, only renovation or modernization) by an Indian tribe of any IHS facility or any other Indian health facility operated pursuant to a funding agreement entered into under ISDEA.Revises grant eligibility requirements with respect to the construction, expansion, or modernization of ambulatory care facilities. Authorizes all Federal agencies to transfer land and improvements to the IHS at no cost for the provision of health care services. Makes certain provisions that authorize leases with Indian tribes applicable to tribal organizations as well. Considers such leases as operating leases for purposes of scoring under the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990. Establishes in the Treasury the Health Care Facilities Loan Fund to provide Indian tribes and tribal organizations direct loans, or guarantees for loans, for construction of health care facilities and related facilities and staff quarters. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes Indian tribes and tribal organizations (currently, only Indian tribes) providing health care services pursuant to a funding agreement under the ISDEA to lease permanent structures for providing health care services without obtaining advance approval in appropriations Acts. Directs the Secretary to establish joint venture demonstration projects under which an Indian tribe or tribal organization shall expend tribal, private, or other available funds for the acquisition or construction of a health care facility for a minimum of ten years under a no-cost lease, in exchange for agreement by the IHS to provide the equipment, supplies, and staffing for such facility. Makes an Indian tribe or tribal organization liable for noncompletion of such a project. Adds Alaska Native lands to the definition of "Indian lands" for purposes of giving priority to locating Bureau of Indian Affairs and IHS facilities on such lands. Requires an annual report from the Secretary to the President identifying the backlog of maintenance and repair work required at both IHS and tribal health care facilities. Authorizes an Indian tribe or tribal organization which operates a hospital or other health care facility and the federally owned quarters associated therewith pursuant to a funding agreement under the ISDEA to establish the rental rates charged, and to notify the Secretary of its election to exercise such authority. Requires rental occupants to be notified at least 60 days in advance of a change in rental rates by an Indian tribe or tribal organization. Authorizes such tribe or organization to collect rents directly from Federal employees occupying such quarters, under specified conditions and procedures. Authorizes the Secretary to accept from any source funds for the construction of Indian health care facilities, and to enter into funding agreements with other Federal entities for such purposes. Extends through FY 2012 the authorization of appropriations for title III of the Act. Requires the Secretary, in making payments to IHS service units for services rendered to Indians eligible for benefits under title XIX (Medicaid), to ensure that each such unit receives 100 (currently 80) percent of the amounts to which such facilities are entitled under the Medicaid provisions.Directs the Secretary to make grants to, or enter into funding agreements with, Indian tribes (currently, only tribal organizations) for establishing and administering programs on or near Indian reservations and trust areas and Alaska Native villages to assist Indians to enroll and apply for Medicare, Medicaid, and child health assistance under XXI (Children's Health Insurance) of the Social Security Act. Requires the Secretary to make grants or enter into contracts with urban Indian organizations for the provision of such assistance to urban Indians. Makes permanent (currently a demonstration project) a program under which an Indian tribe or tribal organization may directly bill and receive reimbursement for health care services provided for which payment is made under Medicare, Medicaid, a State's children's insurance health plan approved under title XXI (Children's Health Insurance) of the Social Security Act, or from any other third-party payor. Applies to urban Indian organizations a certain right to recovery of expenses incurred by the United States, Indian tribes, or tribal organizations in providing health services. Provides for the enforcement of such right of recovery. Authorizes tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations to use funding from the Secretary under this Act to purchase managed care coverage for IHS beneficiaries. Directs the Secretary to examine, and report to Congress on, the feasibility of entering into or expanding existing arrangements for the sharing of medical facilities and services between the IHS and the Department of Veterans Affairs and other appropriate Federal agencies. Authorizes the IHS Director to enter into agreements with other Federal agencies to assist in achieving parity in health services for Indians. Makes the IHS and programs operated by Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations the payor of last resort for services provided to persons eligible for services from these programs, notwithstanding contradicting Federal, State, or local law, unless such law explicitly provides otherwise. Makes such entities eligible to receive payment or reimbursement for services provided by such entities from any federally funded health care program, unless there is an explicit prohibition on such payments in the applicable authorizing statute. Authorizes the IHS service unit in Tuba City, Arizona, to enter into a demonstration project with Arizona under which the IHS would provide certain Medicaid services to IHS/Medicaid eligibles in return for payment from the State. Entitles an Indian tribe or tribal organization carrying out programs under the ISDEA, or an urban Indian organization carrying out programs under title V of the Act, to purchase Federal health and life insurance for the employees of such tribe or organization. Requires certain consultation with Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations prior to the adoption of any policy or regulation by the Health Care Financing Administration. Authorizes the IHS, an Indian tribe, or tribal organization to apply for a waiver of certain Medicare, Medicaid, or Children's Health Insurance sanctions. Excludes from the definition of "remuneration," for purposes of specified provisions of the Social Security Act, certain exchanges of value between or among the IHS, Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations related to the provision of health care services. Prohibits any Indian eligible for services under Medicare, Medicaid, or Children's Health Insurance of the Social Security Act from being charged a deductible or other payment for any service provided by or through the IHS, an Indian tribe, tribal organization, or urban Indian organization. Excludes certain income and property from the estate, for purposes of eligibility for services or implementing estate recovery rights under Medicare, Medicaid, or Children's Health Insurance. Prohibits a parent from being responsible for reimbursing the Federal Government or a State for the cost of medical services provided to a child through the IHS, an Indian tribe, tribal organization, or urban Indian organization. Provides such entities with a right of recovery from all private and public health plans for the reasonable costs of delivering health services to Indians entitled to receive services. Requires States entering into agreements with one or more managed care organizations to provide services under Medicaid or Children's Health Insurance to enter into such an agreement with the IHS, an Indian tribe, tribal organization, or urban Indian organization that can provide services to Indians who may be eligible or required to enroll in such a managed care plan. Authorizes the Secretary to treat the Navajo Nation as a State, for purposes of Medicaid, to provide services to Indians living within the boundaries of the Navajo Nation. Directs the Health Care Financing Administration to establish and fund a National Indian Technical Advisory Group and an Indian Medicaid Advisory Committee. Extends through FY 2012 the authorization of appropriations for title IV (access to health services) of the Act. Authorizes the Secretary, through the IHS, to contract with, or make grants to, an urban Indian organization that provides or arranges for the provision of health care services to urban Indians in more than one urban center. Changes from quarterly to semiannually certain reporting requirements of urban Indian organizations receiving or expending funds pursuant to a grant or contract with respect to health care services provided to urban Indians. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to contractors or other recipients for the lease, purchase, renovation, construction, or expansion of facilities in order to assist them in complying with licensure or certification requirements. Authorizes the Secretary, acting through the IHS or the Health Resources and Services Administration, to provide loans to such entities from the Urban Indian Health Care Facilities Revolving Loan Fund (established herein) for the construction, renovation, expansion, or purchase of health care facilities. Redesignates the Branch of Urban Health Programs as the Office of Urban Indian Health. Includes among office responsibilities the provision of technical assistance to urban Indian organizations. Treats the Tulsa Clinic demonstration project as a permanent program within the IHS direct care program and as a service unit in the allocation of resources and coordination of Indian health care. Requires grants or contracts made or entered into by the Secretary for the administration of urban Indian alcohol programs to become effective no later than September 30, 2001.Directs the Secretary to ensure that the IHS, the Health Care Financing Administration, and other operating and staff divisions of HHS consult with urban Indian organizations prior to taking any action, or approving Federal financial assistance for any action, that may affect urban Indians or urban Indian organizations. Deems an urban Indian organization that has entered into a contract or received a grant pursuant to title V (health services for urban Indians) of the Act to be part of the Public Health Service while carrying out such contract or grant for purposes of coverage under the Federal Tort Claims Act. Directs the Secretary to make payments for the construction and operation of at least two residential alcohol treatment centers in each State where there reside urban Indian youth with a need for alcohol and substance abuse treatment services and at which there is a significant shortage of such services. Directs the Secretary to permit an urban Indian organization that has entered into a contract or received a grant under title V of the Act to use existing facilities and equipment and other personal property owned by the Federal Government, including that determined to be excess to the needs of the IHS or the General Services Administration. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to those urban Indian organizations that have entered into a contract or grant under title V of the Act for the provision of services for the prevention, treatment, and control of complications resulting from, diabetes among urban Indians. Authorizes the Secretary, through the IHS, to enter into contracts with, and make grants to, urban Indian organizations for the use of Indians trained as health service providers through the Community Health Representatives Program in the provision of health care, health promotion, and disease prevention services to urban Indians. Extends through FY 2012 the authorization of appropriations for title V and VI (organizational improvements) of the Act. Directs the Secretary, acting through the IHS, Indian tribes, and tribal and urban Indian organizations, to encourage Indian tribes and tribal organizations to participate in developing area-wide plans for Indian Behavioral Health Services, including plans for treating substance abuse, mental illness, and dysfunctional and self-destructive behavior (suicide, child abuse, and family violence) among Indians. Requires the establishment of a national clearinghouse for such plans and related information. Authorizes technical assistance to Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations to develop community behavioral health plans. Directs the Secretary, acting through the IHS and Indian tribes and tribal organizations, to provide a program of comprehensive behavioral health, prevention, treatment, and aftercare for Indian tribes. Requires the development of criteria for the certification of behavioral health service providers and accreditation of service facilities providing such care. Directs (currently, authorizes) the Secretary to make funds available to urban Indian organizations to develop and implement a comprehensive behavioral health program (currently, an alcohol and substance abuse program) of prevention, intervention, treatment, and relapse prevention services that specifically address the spiritual, cultural, historical, social, and child care needs of Indian women, regardless of age. (Currently, such funding is available only to Indian tribes and tribal organizations.) Includes behavioral health services within a current program for acute detoxification and treatment for Indian youth. Authorizes the Secretary to provide specified intermediate behavioral health services to Indian children and adolescents. Requires Indian tribes or tribal organizations (currently, only the Secretary) to develop and implement within each IHS service unit community- based rehabilitation and follow-up services for Indian youth who are having significant behavioral health problems and require long-term treatment, community reintegration, and monitoring after their return to their home community. Provides for the inclusion of family members of such youth in their treatment. Directs the Secretary, acting through the IHS, Indian tribes, and tribal and urban Indian organizations, to provide programs and services to prevent and treat the abuse of multiple forms of substances, including alcohol, drugs, inhalants, and tobacco, among Indian youth residing in Indian communities, on Indian reservations, and in urban areas and to provide appropriate mental health services to address the incidence of mental illness among such youth. Directs the Secretary, acting through the IHS and Indian tribes and tribal organizations, to provide, in each IHS service area, not less than one inpatient mental health care facility for Indians with behavioral health problems. Requires the Secretary to develop and implement (or provide funding to enable Indian tribes and tribal organizations to implement) programs of behavioral health (currently, alcohol and substance abuse) community leadership training and education. Directs the Secretary, acting through Indian tribes and tribal and urban Indian organizations, to establish and operate fetal alcohol disorders programs in order to meet specified health status objectives. (Currently, the Secretary is authorized to make grants to Indian tribes and tribal organizations to establish such programs.) Redesignates a task force established for such purposes as the Fetal Alcohol Disorders Task Force. Includes urban Indian organizations as entities eligible for funding from the Secretary for such programs. Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the IHS, Indian tribes, and tribal organizations, to establish programs involving treatment for both victims and perpetrators of child sexual abuse. Directs the Secretary to provide funding to Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations, or make appropriate contracts or grants, for research on the incidence and prevalence of behavioral health problems among Indians served by the IHS or such tribes or organizations. Extends through FY 2012 the authorization of appropriations for title VII (behavioral health programs) of the Act. Requires the President to include in required annual reports to Congress reports on various programs established under this Act. Requires regulations implementing amendments to the Act to be negotiated by a rulemaking committee made up of representatives of the Federal Government, Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations. Directs the Secretary to prepare and submit to Congress a plan explaining the manner and schedule by which the Secretary will implement provisions of the Act, as amended by this Act. Directs the Secretary to provide services and benefits for Indians in Montana in a manner consistent with the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in McNabb for McNabb v. Bowen. Directs the IHS to provide health care services during a moratorium period in which certain service eligibility criteria are being developed. Establishes the National Bipartisan Indian Health Care Entitlement Commission to: (1) establish a Study Committee to study the extent of Indian health services needs; (2) review and analyze the Study Committee's report; and (3) make recommendations to Congress for providing health services for Indians as an entitlement. Authorizes appropriations for the Commission. Extends through FY 2012 the authorization of appropriations under title VIII (miscellaneous) of the Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 1999
Repeals a provision of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2000 which prohibits the use of Department of Defense (DOD) funds to pay environmental fines and penalties imposed against DOD unless such payment has been specifically authorized by law.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 1999
Amends the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1994 (which is part A of title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965) to establish a new subpart 2, Effective Prevention Program Implementation, providing comprehensive prevention technical assistance grants. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to provide such grants to States that meet specified requirements to implement prevention programs that meet a high scientific standard of program effectiveness. Sets forth program requirements for State plans, reservations and allocations of funds, State distribution of program funds through competitive grants to local educational agencies (LEAs), and LEA plans and use of funds for comprehensive prevention programs that meet certain requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 1999
Access Aid Act of 1999 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to establish under ESEA title X (Programs of National Significance) a new part L, Access Aid Act. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to establish an Access Aid demonstration program to assist nonprofit organizations (organizations) working with local school districts to establish programs (programs) that identify and mentor college-eligible students and their families. Requires program counseling services to: (1) focus on college selection, admissions, and funding; (2) involve the students' parents or legal guardians and be conducted on an individual and confidential basis; and (3) enable students to evaluate and select a college based on the student's interest level and qualifications, not on cost. Allows programs to provide participating students small grants to underwrite the costs of college visits or to purchase books and equipment required by, but not included in, the student budget of the college. Allows emergency grants to be used when a student's demonstrated need is not fully funded by the postsecondary institution. Requires organizations to provide outreach support to each participating school's guidance or career counseling staff and provide workshops relating to college admissions, college funding, and financial aid form completion to the general population of each participating school or other interested schools. Requires an organization to provide, at each project site, at least workshops in participating and surrounding school districts. Requires the students selected for program assistance to be nominated by the staffs of the participating high schools. Bases selection primarily on their being college-eligible, first- generation, low-income students. Makes ineligible for program assistance students served by TRIO or GEAR UP programs. Requires students in each State to be selected for program assistance. Requires individual services to begin not later than the end of the tenth grade and continue until completion of college. Requires an applicant organization, in order to qualify for a part L grant, to: (1) be a tax-exempt not-for-profit organization, not affiliated with a public or private educational institution, and not a seller of any kind of financial product; (2) demonstrate experience in the college admissions and college funding arenas, familiarity with Federal outreach programs, prior experience with the public secondary school sector, and a demand by schools and school districts for its program; and (3) provide plans for orderly shift of the funding component from the public to the private sector, for public awareness of the program, the participants, and the outcomes, for counseling services for participants from entry into the program until completion of college, for quantifiable evaluation, and for program implementation. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1999
Authorizes the American Battle Monuments Commission to place within the Vietnam Veterans Memorial a plaque to honor those Vietnam veterans who died after service in the Vietnam War, but as a direct result of such service, and whose names are not otherwise eligible for placement on the Memorial wall.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1999
Consumer's Right to Financial Privacy Act - Amends the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act to revamp financial institution obligations regarding disclosures of personal information sharing. Prohibits such institutions from either disclosing, or making unrelated use, of nonpublic personal information collected in a consumer transaction unless the institution has notified the consumer in accordance with prescribed regulations. (Currently such disclosure or unrelated use is permitted with institutional affiliates without prior notice to consumers.) Requires the consumer's affirmative consent (opt-in) to any such information sharing between a financial institution, its affiliates, or any other person that is neither an employee or agent of such institution. (Current law permits nonpublic personal consumer information sharing by a financial institution with nonaffiliated third parties for marketing and other purposes, unless the consumer opts out in writing.) Mandates that designated regulatory agencies promulgate regulations that: (1) require affirmative consumer consent as a prerequisite to any information sharing by a financial institution; (2) prohibit a financial institution from denying a product or service to a consumer who has denied consent to such information transfer; and (3) require consumer access and opportunity to dispute nonpublic personal information made available by the institution to persons other than its own personnel. Prohibits a financial institution from disclosing a consumer's access number or code to both an affiliated or nonaffiliated third party for use in telemarketing, direct mail marketing, or other marketing through electronic mail to the consumer. (Current law permits such disclosure to affiliates). Restricts nonpublic personal information received from a financial institution by an affiliate or nonaffiliated third party from being further disclosed to another affiliate or nonaffiliated third party of both the financial institution and such recipient. Requires designated regulatory agencies to promulgate proscriptions against unfair and deceptive practices in connection with either the disclosure of nonpublic personal information, or with making unrelated uses of that information. Prescribes regulation contents, including a requirement that a financial institution disclose to the consumer: (1) the categories of nonpublic personal information the institution collects; and (2) its practices and policies with respect to disclosing or making unrelated uses of it. Authorizes the States to enjoin violations of this Act. Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to direct the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to prescribe implementing regulations with respect to this Act. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to promulgate procedural guidelines governing State election to participate in the enforcement of this Act. Provides that protection under State law that is greater than the protection accorded under this Act (as determined by either the FTC or a Federal functional regulator) shall not be deemed inconsistent with this Act. Repeals the exemption granting permission to State-licensed private investigators acting under court authorization to obtain customer information of a financial institution for purposes of collecting child support from a person adjudged delinquent. Confers enforcement authority upon the States with respect to violations pertaining to fraudulent access to financial information under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1999
Children's Health Research and Prevention Amendments of 1999 - Title I: Revision and Extension of Programs - Subtitle A: Pediatric Research Initiative - Pediatric Research Initiative Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act (the Act) to mandate establishment, in the National Institutes of Health (NIH), of a Pediatric Research Initiative. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) (Secretary) to make available within the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development enhanced support for extramural activities relating to the training and career development of pediatric researchers. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Other Programs - Extends through FY 2003 programs under the Act for: (1) immunizations; (2) screenings, referrals, and education regarding lead poisoning; and (3) the prevention and control of injuries, including traumatic brain injury. Title II: Children's Health Research and Prevention Activities - Subtitle A: Early Detection, Diagnosis, and Treatment Regarding Hearing Loss in Infants - Newborn and Infant Hearing Screening and Intervention Act of 1999 - Mandates grants or cooperative agreements to: (1) develop statewide newborn and infant hearing screening, evaluation, and intervention programs and systems; and (2) provide technical assistance to State agencies to complement an intramural program and to conduct applied research related to newborn and infant hearing screening, evaluation, and intervention programs and systems. Requires NIH to continue a program of research and development on the efficacy of new screening techniques and technology. Mandates Federal coordination and collaboration with State and local agencies, consumer groups, national medical, health, and education specialty organizations, deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals and their families, qualified professional personnel, and related commercial industries. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Autism - Chapter 1: Surveillance and Research Regarding Prevalence and Pattern of Autism - Autism Statistics, Surveillance, Research, and Epidemiology Act of 1999 (ASSURE) - Authorizes grants and cooperative agreements for the collection, analysis, and reporting of data on autism and pervasive developmental disabilities. Mandates establishment, through grants or cooperative agreements, of three to five centers of excellence in autism and pervasive developmental disabilities epidemiology to collect and analyze autism information. Requires that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) serve as the coordinating agency for autism and pervasive development disabilities surveillance through the establishment of a clearinghouse for data generated from the monitoring programs created under this chapter. Mandates establishment of an Advisory Committee for Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disabilities Epidemiology Research. Authorizes appropriations. Chapter 2: Expansion, Intensification, and Coordination of Activities of Department of Health and Human Services With Respect to Autism - Advancement in Pediatric Autism Research Act of 1999 - Directs the NIH Director to expand, intensify, and coordinate the activities of NIH with respect to autism. Requires such Director, among other things, to make awards of grants or contracts to public or nonprofit entities for centers of excellence regarding research on autism. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to make awards of grants and cooperative agreements for the collection, analysis, and reporting of data on autism and pervasive developmental disabilities. Directs the Secretary to establish no less than three regional centers of excellence in autism and pervasive developmental disabilities epidemiology to collect and analyze information on the number, incidence, correlates, and causes of autism and related developmental disabilities. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a clearinghouse within the CDCP for the collection and storage of such data; and (2) coordinate the Federal response to requests for assistance regarding potential or alleged autism or developmental disability clusters. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to establish a program to provide information and education on autism to health professionals and the general public. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to establish an Autism Coordinating Committee to coordinate HHS efforts concerning autism. Subtitle C: Poison Control Center Enhancement and Awareness - Poison Control Center Enhancement and Awareness Act - Directs the Secretary to provide coordination and assistance to regional poison control centers for the establishment of a nationwide toll-free telephone number to be used to access such centers. Authorizes appropriations. Mandates a national media campaign to educate the public about poison prevention and the availability of local poison control resources and to conduct advertising campaigns concerning the nationwide toll-free number. Authorizes appropriations. Mandates grants for certified regional poison control centers to achieve financial stability and to prevent, and provide treatment recommendations for, poisoning. Mandates other grant uses. Sets forth center certification requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle D: Birth Defects Prevention Activities - Chapter 1: Folic Acid - Folic Acid Promotion and Birth Defects Prevention Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary to carry out a program, directly or through grants or contracts, for professional and public education and training, research, and epidemiological activities regarding folic acid and birth defects. Authorizes appropriations. Chapter 2: National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities - Establishes a National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities to: (1) collect, analyze, and make available date on birth defects; (2) conduct applied epidemiological research on prevention of such defects; and (3) provide birth defect prevention information and education to the public. Transfers to such Center all activities, budgets, and personnel of the National Center for Environmental Health that relate to birth defects, folic acid, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, child development, newborn screening, autism, fragile X syndrome, fetal alcohol syndrome, pediatric genetics, and disability prevention. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle E: Safe Motherhood Monitoring and Prevention Research - Safe Motherhood Monitoring and Prevention Research Act - Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) establish a national monitoring and surveillance program to identify and promote the investigation of deaths and severe complications that occur during pregnancy; (2) expand the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System to provide surveillance and collect data in each State; and (3) expand the Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology Program to provide technical support, financial assistance, or the time-limited assignment of senior epidemiologists to maternal and child health programs in each State. Authorizes appropriations. Permits the Secretary to carry out specified activities to promote safe motherhood. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle F: Pregnant Mothers and Infants Health Promotion - Pregnant Mothers and Infants Health Protection Act - Requires the Secretary to: (1) collect, analyze, and make available data on prenatal smoking and alcohol and illegal drug usage; (2) conduct applied epidemiological research on the prevention of prenatal and postnatal smoking and alcohol and illegal drug usage; (3) support, conduct, and evaluate the effectiveness of educational and cessation programs; and (4) provide information and education to the public on the prevention and implications of prenatal and postnatal smoking and alcohol and illegal drug usage. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle G: Utilization of Preventive Health Services - Directs the Secretary to make grants to public or nonprofit entities to establish and operate regional centers for identifying particular populations of patients and to facilitate the appropriate utilization of preventive health services by such patients. Requires the Secretary to give priority to various populations of infants, young children, and their mothers. Requires the evaluation of strategies developed through grant funding. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle H: Research and Development Regarding Fragile X - Fragile X Research Breakthrough Act of 1999 - Requires the Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to: (1) expand, intensify, and coordinate the Institute's activities respecting research on the mental retardation disease known as fragile X; and (2) make grants to, and enter into contracts with, public or private nonprofit entities for the development and operation of at least three centers for fragile X research. Requires each center to conduct basic and clinical research, which may include clinical trials of new or improved diagnostic methods and drugs or other treatment approaches. Allows such centers to use grant funds to provide fees to individuals serving as subjects in clinical trials. Requires the Director to provide for the coordination of the centers' activities, including the exchange of information. Requires each center to use the facilities of a single institution, or be formed from a consortium of cooperating institutions. Allows support to be provided to a center for up to five years, with authorized extensions. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to enter into contracts with qualified health professionals who agree to conduct fragile X research in return for repayment (up to $35,000 for each year of service) of such health professionals' educational loans. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle I: Children and Epilepsy - Directs the Secretary, through grants to or contracts with public or nonprofit private entities, to develop and implement public health surveillance, education, research, and intervention strategies to improve the lives of persons with epilepsy, with a particular emphasis on children. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to State and local governments for carrying out demonstration projects to improve access to health and other services regarding seizures to encourage early detection and treatment in children and others residing in medically underserved areas. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle J: Asthma Treatment Services for Children - Children's Asthma Relief Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary to award grants to eligible entities to establish an asthma treatment grants program providing comprehensive asthma services for children and other individuals. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to encourage States to implement plans to carry out activities to assist children with asthma in accordance with the guidelines of the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (Institute). Provides that if a State child health plan under title XXI (Children's Health Insurance) of the Social Security Act provides for such activities to the Secretary's satisfaction, the Secretary shall make a grant to assist the State in carrying them out. Sets forth certain matching funds requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Act to include, within the preventive health and health services block grant, any system for reducing asthma and asthma-related illnesses, especially with regard to children, through urban cockroach pest management in public facilities through a combination of biological, cultural, physical, and chemical tools that minimizes economic, health, and environmental risks. Requires the Institute Director to: (1) identify all Federal programs carrying out asthma-related activities; (2) develop a Federal plan for responding to asthma; and (3) submit recommendations to Congress on ways to strengthen and improve Federal coordination of such activities. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the CDCP Director to: (1) conduct local asthma surveillance activities to collect data on the prevalence and severity of asthma and the quality of asthma management; and (2) compile and publish annually data on the prevalence of children suffering from asthma in each State and the childhood mortality rate associated with asthma nationally and in each State. Subtitle K: Juvenile Arthritis and Related Conditions - Requires the Directors of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases and the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases to expand and intensify their respective programs of research and related activities concerning juvenile arthritis and related conditions. Requires the NIH Director, through a grant, cooperative agreement, or contract, to establish an information resource center on arthritis and related conditions. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle L: Childhood Skeletal Malignancies - Directs the Secretary to: (1) study environmental and other risk factors for childhood skeletal cancers; (2) carry out projects to improve outcomes among children with such cancers and related secondary conditions; and (3) ensure that such activities are coordinated with other Public Health Service activities focused on childhood cancers and limb loss. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle M: Reducing Burden of Diabetes Among Children and Youth - Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop a system to collect data on juvenile diabetes, including its incidence and prevalence, and to establish a national database for such data; (2) conduct or support long-term epidemiological studies concerning juvenile diabetes; (3) implement a national public health effort to address type 2 diabetes in youth; (4) support regional clinical centers for the cure of juvenile diabetes; and (5) implement a national effort to develop a vaccine for type 1 diabetes. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle N: Miscellaneous Provisions - Requires the NIH Director to report to Congress concerning research activities with respect to rare diseases in children.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1999
CT-43A Federal Employee Settlement Act - Directs the Secretary of the Air Force to pay $2 million to the specified beneficiary of each of the 14 Federal civilian officers and employees killed in the crash of a United States Air Force CT-43A aircraft on April 3, 1996, near Dubrovnik, Croatia. Provides that acceptance of such payment constitutes full settlement of all claims by that person against the United States arising from the death. Prohibits any representative of a beneficiary from receiving more than ten percent of a payment for services rendered in connection with the beneficiary's claim.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1999
Veterans Health Fairness Resolution - Expresses the sense of Congress that the President's budget for Department of Veterans Affairs health care for FY 2001 and thereafter should include amounts necessary to ensure that all veterans, including those in priority group 7, are able to benefit from the broad array of Department health care services, including preventive care, primary care, and inpatient and outpatient services.
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 1999
Preservation of Essential Antibiotics for Human Diseases Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to prohibit the subtherapeutic use of essential antibiotic drugs in livestock feed unless the Secretary of Health and Human Services determines there is reasonable certainty of no human health threat due to the development of antimicrobial resistance from such use.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 1999
Artists' Contribution to American Heritage Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide a fair market value (determined at time of contribution) deduction for charitable contributions of literary, musical, artistic, scholarly compositions, or the copyright created by a qualifying donor. Exempts certain non-personal letters and memorandum from such treatment. Limits such increased deduction to the donor's artistic adjusted income (as defined by this Act)..
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 1999
Health Care Fairness Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish the National Center for Research on Minority Health and Health Disparities to conduct and support basic and clinical research, training, and disseminate information regarding minority health. Directs the Administrator of the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research to conduct and support research on minority health disparities. Directs the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a comprehensive study of the Department of Health and Human Services' data collection and reporting systems and practices required under any of the programs or activities of the Department relating to the collection of data on race or ethnicity. Authorizes awards of grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to public and nonprofit private entities for the purpose of carrying out research and demonstration projects to develop curricula to reduce disparity in health care outcomes, including curricula for cultural competency in graduate medical education. Requires a national media campaign to inform the public of the programs and activities of the Office for Civil Rights, Department of Health and Human Services. Sets forth provisions concerning: (1) other minority health initiatives and programs; (2) reporting requirements; and (3) authorizations of appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 1999
Veterans' Right to Know Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to: (1) provide information concerning eligibility for Department benefits and health care services and application requirements when a veteran or his or her dependent first applies for any such benefit; and (2) prepare an annual plan for the conduct of outreach activities to provide such veterans and dependents with such information.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 1999
National Police Athletic League Youth Enrichment Act of 1999 - Directs the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs of the Department of Justice, for each of FY 2000 through 2004, to award a grant to the Police Athletic League (PAL) for the purposes of establishing PAL chapters to serve public housing projects and other distressed areas and expanding existing chapters to serve additional youths. Requires PAL, in order to be eligible to receive a grant, to submit to the Assistant Attorney General an application which shall include: (1) a long-term strategy to establish 250 additional chapters and a detailed summary of those areas in which new chapters will be established, or in which existing chapters will be expanded to serve additional youths, during the next fiscal year; (2) a plan to ensure that there are a total of not less than 570 chapters in operation before January 1, 2003; (3) a certification that there will be appropriate coordination with those communities where new chapters will be located; and (4) an explanation of the manner in which new chapters will operate without additional, direct Federal financial assistance once assistance under this Act is discontinued. Directs the Assistant Attorney General to review, and take action on, an application within 120 days after the date of submission. (Sec. 6) Directs that amounts made available under a grant awarded under this Act be used by the PAL to provide funding for the establishment of PAL chapters serving public housing projects and other distressed areas, or the expansion of existing PAL chapters. Requires that each new or expanded PAL chapter assisted carry out not less than four programs during non-school hours, of which: (1) not less than two programs shall provide mentoring assistance, academic assistance, recreational and athletic activities, or technology training; and (2) any remaining programs shall provide drug, alcohol, and gang prevention activities; health and nutrition counseling; cultural and social programs; conflict resolution training, anger management, and peer pressure training; job skill preparation activities; or Youth Police Athletic League Conferences or Youth Forums. (Sec. 7) Sets forth reporting requirements. (Sec. 8) Authorizes appropriations. Sets aside specified percentages of grant sums for research and evaluation, technical assistance, and management and administration.
United States · United States Congress · 4 November 1999
Corporate Welfare Reform Commission Act of 1999 - Establishes the independent Corporate Welfare Reform Commission, which shall identify programs and tax laws that provide inequitable Federal programs and payments.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 1999
Daniel Keysar Memorial and Childhood Consumer Product Safety Act of 1999 - Amends the Consumer Product Safety Act (the Act) to require the Consumer Product Safety Commission to establish a comprehensive list of all children's products subject to recall or corrective action over the last 15 years and to make such list widely available to the public, State and local governments, and the secondary market (including retail stores and child care facilities) through its toll free telephone hotline, electronic mail, and web site listings. Requires Commission recall announcements to: (1) state clearly the nature and extent of the product hazard and potential injury risk; and (2) include the number of known deaths, injuries, and incidents associated with the product being corrected. Directs the Commission to: (1) establish a pilot program to work with manufacturers and retailers to obtain the identity of consumers who purchase specified children's products so that such consumers can be notified in the event of a product recall; and (2) report to Congress annually on the effectiveness of recalls for each specific product and to determine the percentage of recalled products which are actually repaired or corrected. Increases and extends through FY 2003 the authorization of appropriations under the Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 1999
National Center for Social Work Research Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish the National Center for Social Work Research as an agency of the National Institutes of Health. Authorizes the Center to establish research traineeships and fellowships, provide stipends and allowances, and make grants. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish an advisory council for the Center.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 1999
Declares that the House of Representatives: (1) applauds and supports the work of the young people from across the United States who participated in the recent Voices Against Violence teen conference in Washington, D.C.; and (2) recognizes the importance of youth involvement in the development of national policy solutions to youth violence. Encourages: (1) the continued involvement of youth in their schools and their communities to address youth violence; (2) Members to promote efforts in their districts to end youth violence; and (3) Members to take immediate action to comprehensively address youth violence and actively involve young people in the decision-making process.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 1999
Duty to Assist Veterans Act of 1999 - Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, with respect to any veterans' benefits claim filed on or after July 14, 1999, to assist such claimant in developing information pertinent to a decision on the claim, including by informing the claimant of any medical or lay evidence needed and by providing a medical examination to determine the current disability of the veteran concerned.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 1999
Education for Democracy Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to revise provisions for Civic Education, under part F of title X (Programs of National Significance). (Sec. 2) Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make grants to or contracts with: (1) the Center for Civic Education (CCE) to carry out civic education activities under the We the People... The Citizen and the Constitution program and The Project Citizen program, and under Cooperative Educational Exchange programs; and (2) the National Council on Economic Education (NCEE) to carry out economic education activities under Cooperative Educational Exchange programs. Revises requirements for CCE implementation of the We the People... The Citizen and the Constitution program and The Project Citizen program. Sets forth requirements for the Cooperative Educational Exchange programs of civic education by CCE and economic education by NCEE. Makes eligible for such programs Central European countries, an Eastern European country, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and the independent states of the former Soviet Union. Allows such program eligibility also for the Republic of Ireland, the province of Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom, and any developing country as defined under the Education for the Deaf Act. Authorizes appropriations through FY 2004 for: (1) the We the People... The Citizen and the Constitution program and The Project Citizen program; and (2) the Cooperative Educational Exchange programs. (Sec. 3) Repeals title VI (International Education Program) of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 1999
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to set forth special rules concerning the contribution for charitable purposes of drugs to be administered outside the United States and drugs with short lives.
United States · United States Congress · 1 November 1999
Hunger Relief Act of 1999 - Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to remove specified restrictions on qualified aliens' eligibility for food stamp and supplemental security income benefits. Exempts food stamp provisions respecting aliens from: (1) the five-year waiting period for Federal means-tested public benefits eligibility; (2) inclusion of sponsor income and resources to an alien for State benefits eligibility; and (3) sponsor reimbursement requirements in cases of hardship. Sets forth effective dates for: (1) aliens; and (2) refugees and asylees. (Sec. 3) Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to authorize a State to use an alternative State auto valuation rather than the Federal one in order to provide a lower household resource attribution for food stamp program purposes. (Sec. 4) Increases, and indexes for inflation, the food stamp excess shelter deduction. (Sec. 5) Amends the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 to authorize additional appropriations for commodity purchases under the emergency food assistance program.
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 1999
Declares a named individual to be eligible for issuance of an immigrant visa or for adjustment of status to that of an alien lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 1999
Strengthening Social Security and Medicare Act of 1999 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to make additional appropriations, in amounts prescribed by a specified formula, and allocated between the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund (Trust Funds), through FY 2016 to assure that the interest savings on the public debt achieved as a result of Social Security surpluses from 2000 to 2015 are dedicated to Social Security solvency. Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to make it out of order in Congress to consider any budget resolution that would: (1) set forth an on-budget deficit for any fiscal year; or (2) decrease the on-budget surplus below a level of Medicare surplus reserve determined according to a certain formula, except for any portion of such reserve appropriated in new amounts for Medicare prescription drug benefits, or to the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm- Rudman-Hollings Act) to extend: (1) discretionary spending limits in specified amounts; (2) the pay-as-you-go requirement; (3) the Act itself; and (4) the Social Security firewall. Declares that any legislation that would reduce, reverse, or repeal the transfers to the Trust Funds made by this Act shall not be counted on the pay-as-you-go scorecard and shall not be included in any pay- as-you-go estimates of the Congressional Budget Office or the Office of Management and Budget under the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 1999
Expresses support for the goals and ideas of Italian-American Heritage Month and recognizes the significant contributions that Italian Americans have made to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 1999
Declares that Congress: (1) deplores the slaying of the Prime Minister of Armenia, Vazgen Sargsian, the Chairman of the Armenian Parliament, Karen Demirchian, the Deputy Chairman of the Armenian Parliament, Yuri Bakhshian, the Minister of Operative Issues, Leonard Petrossian, and other members of the Armenian Government; (2) strongly shares the determination of the Armenian people that the perpetrators will be swiftly brought to justice so that Armenia may demonstrate its resolute opposition to acts of terror; (3) commends the efforts of the late Prime Minister and the Armenian Government for their commitment to democracy and the rule of law and for supporting free market movements internationally; and (4) continues to cherish the strong alliance between Armenia and the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 1999
Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act with regard to the formula for measuring State performance for determining the bonus grant to reward high performance States to establish specified criteria measures for use in such formula. Requires States not participating in the bonus reward grant program for high performance States to report on the characteristics and well-being of former TANF recipients for six months after such assistance has ceased. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to Congress on: (1) characteristics of former and current TANF recipients based on information currently received from States; (2) criteria measures regarding subsidized child care and changes in income; and (3) domestic violence.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 1999
Condemns the use of children as soldiers by governmental and nongovernmental armed forces worldwide. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the United States should not oppose efforts to negotiate an optional international agreement to raise the international minimum age for military service to age 18; (2) the Secretary of State should address this issue in the next session of the United Nations working group relating to child soldiers before this process is abandoned by the international community; and (3) the President and the Congress should work together to enact a law that establishes a fund for the rehabilitation and reintegration into society of child soldiers.
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 1999
Gun Excise Tax Funds to Prevention Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase: (1) from ten to 15 percent the excise tax charged for the manufacture, production, or import of pistols or revolvers; and (2) from 11 to 16 percent the excise tax charged for other firearms, shells, and cartridges. Continues the current tax rate for gun sales to the United States, a State, or a political subdivision. Establishes in the Treasury the Delinquency Prevention Trust Fund and appropriates into such Fund half of the net revenues realized from such tax increase. Requires Fund amounts to be used for incentive grants for local delinquency prevention programs under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974. Establishes in the Treasury the Emergency Medical Services for Children Trust Fund and appropriates into such Fund the other half of the net revenues realized from such tax increase. Requires Fund amounts to be used for carrying out the Emergency Medical Services for Children program administered by the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 1999
Providing Reliable Officers, Technology, Education, Community Prosecutors, and Training In Our Neighborhoods Act of 1999 or PROTECTION Act - Modifies provisions of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (the Act) regarding public safety and community policing ("cops on the beat" program, COPS) to authorize the Attorney General to use funding under COPS grants to: (1) increase prosecutor presence and to enhance law enforcement access to new technologies; (2) pay overtime to existing career law enforcement officers to the extent that such overtime is devoted to community policing efforts; and (3) promote higher education among in-service State and local law enforcement officers by reimbursing them for the costs associated with seeking a college or graduate school education. Includes among permitted additional grant projects: (1) specialized integrity and ethics training; (2) innovative proactive crime control and prevention programs involving school officials and religiously-affiliated organizations; (3) school-based partnerships between local law enforcement agencies and local school systems by using school resource officers who operate in and around elementary and secondary schools (current law) to serve as a law enforcement liaison with other Federal, State, and local law enforcement and regulatory agencies and to combat gang membership and criminal activity, firearms and explosives-related incidents, illegal use and possession of alcohol, and the illegal possession, use, and distribution of drugs; and (4) innovative programs that bring together a community's sheriff, police chief, and elderly residents to address the public safety concerns of older citizens. Authorizes the Attorney General to use up to five percent of appropriated funds for technical assistance and training to States, local governments, Indian tribal governments, and other public and private entities. Requires the technical assistance provided by the Attorney General to include the establishment and operation of regional community policing institutes training centers or facilities. Permits the functions of the centers or facilities to include instruction and seminars for specified individuals, including representatives of police labor and management organizations and community residents. Repeals provisions of the Act regarding: (1) termination of grants for hiring officers; and (2) preferential consideration of applications for certain grants. Allows grants to be used to assist: (1) police departments in employing specified professional, scientific, and technological advancements; and (2) State, local, or tribal prosecutors' offices in implementation of community-based prosecution programs that build on local community policing efforts. Reserves specified funds for units of local government with a population of less than 50,000. Authorizes the Attorney General to use no more than 50 percent of grant renewal funds to award grants targeted specifically for retention of police officers to grantees in good standing, with preference to those that demonstrate financial hardship or severe budget constraint that impacts the entire local budget and may result in the termination of employment for officers. Redefines: (1) "career law enforcement officer" to include sheriffs' deputies charged with supervising offenders who are released into the community but also engaged in local community policing efforts; and (2) "school resource officer" to mean a career law enforcement officer deployed in community-oriented policing and assigned to work in collaboration with schools and community-based organizations (as under current law) to engage in specified activities, including serving as a law enforcement liaison with other Federal, State, and local law enforcement and regulatory agencies to address and document crime and disorder problems, training students in conflict resolution and crime awareness, and assisting school administrators with the preparation of an annual report on the number of students expelled per year for bringing a weapon, firearm, or explosive to school. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 1999
Recognizes and honors the crew of the Air National's Guard's 109th Airlift Wing for its heroic efforts in rescuing Dr. Jerri Nielsen from the South Pole.
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 1999
Young Witness Assistance Act of 1999 - Authorizes the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance to make grants to State and local prosecutors and law enforcement agencies in support of juvenile (17 years of age or younger) and young adult (between 18 and 21 years of age) witness assistance programs. Authorizes grant funds to be used, among other things, for: (1) counseling services to young witnesses of a violent crime; and (2) protective services for young witnesses and their families when a serious threat of harm is made from perpetrators or their associates. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2001 through 2003.
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 1999
Expresses support for the efforts of King Abdullah of Jordan to further the Middle East peace process and condemns efforts within Jordan to oppose normalization of ties with Israel by ostracizing and boycotting those individuals who have had any contact with Israel or Israeli citizens.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 1999
Medicaid Safety Net Hospital Preservation Act of 1999 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to: (1) freeze Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) allotments for FY 2001 and 2002 at FY 2000 levels; and (2) increase the FY 2000 DSH allotments for the District of Columbia, Minnesota, New Mexico, and Wyoming.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 1999
Holocaust Education Assistance Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make competitive grants to educational organizations to carry out educational programs about the Holocaust. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 18 October 1999
Amends Federal rail transportation law to prohibit a railroad carrier (including its officers and agents) from requiring a train employee who has been on duty or available for it for any portion of each of seven consecutive days to go on duty or be available for it until at least 72 consecutive hours have passed after the employee is released from duty or availability.
United States · United States Congress · 14 October 1999
Battered Immigrant Women Protection Act of 1999 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to modify procedures and provide special rules for battered spouses and children with respect to: (1) adjustment of status; (2) removal and deportation; (3) implementation of immigration provisions in the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA); (4) waivers and exceptions to inadmissibility for otherwise qualified battered immigrants; (5) calculation of physical presence in VAWA cancellation of removal proceedings and suspension of deportation proceedings; (6) VAWA immigration protections; (7) VAWA cancellation of removal and adjustment of status for certain nonpermanent residents; and (8) good moral character determinations for self- petitioning immediate relatives. (Sec. 10) Prescribes guidelines for inapplicability of public charge determinations for designated aliens. Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to redefine "qualified alien" to include certain battered aliens for purposes of welfare and public benefits eligibility. Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980 to declare restrictions on the use of assisted housing inapplicable to certain battered aliens. (Sec. 11) Amends the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 to provide that requirements and restrictions placed upon Legal Services Corporation funding shall not be construed to prohibit a recipient from providing related legal assistance to certain aliens who have been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty. Directs the Violence Against Women Grants Office in the Department of Justice to report on services for underserved populations. Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (Act) to include legal advocacy for domestic violence in immigration cases under the program of grants to encourage arrest policies. Includes alienage status within the definition of "underserved populations." Amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to include immigration-related matters under the program of rural domestic violence and child abuse enforcement grants. Amends the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act to include alienage status within the scope of underserved populations. Amends the Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 1999 to obligate funds for grants to combat violence against women, which shall include immigration-related matters. Amends the Higher Education Amendments of 1998 to include immigration-related matters under the program of campus domestic violence grants. (Sec. 12) Amends the Act to require each branch of the U.S. military to train its supervisory military officers in domestic violence dynamics in military families, and the protections available for battered immigrant women and children. Expands the purposes of training grants to combat violent crimes against women to include: (1) training immigration and asylum officers and judges; and (2) training justice system personnel on the judicial ramifications of the Violence Against Women Act, and the potential immigration consequences for perpetrators of domestic violence. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to express the intent of the Congress that statutory constraints upon the powers of immigration personnel not be construed as discouraging crime and domestic violence victims from reporting crimes to the police, from cooperating in criminal prosecutions, or from obtaining the legal relief needed for protection from ongoing violence. (Sec. 13) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish a humanitarian-material witness nonimmigrant classification. (Sec. 14) Extends access for battered spouses and children under the Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act, the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998, and Federal law relating to Cuban adjustment.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 1999
Anti-Atrocity Alien Deportation Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for the inadmissibility and removability of aliens who have committed acts of torture abroad. Directs the Attorney General to establish within the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice an Office of Special Investigations to investigate and remove, denaturalize, or prosecute alien participants of Nazi persecutions, genocide, or torture abroad. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1999
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the Federal Government has a responsibility to continue to increase diabetes research funding, endeavor to raise awareness of the importance of the early detection and proper treatment, and consider ways to improve access to, and the quality of, health care services for diagnosing and treating diabetes; (2) all Americans should take an active role in fighting diabetes by using all the means available; and (3) national and community organizations and health care providers should endeavor to promote awareness of diabetes and its complications, and encourage early detection.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1999
National Amusement Park Ride Safety Act of 1999 - Amends the Consumer Product Safety Act to include amusement rides that are permanently fixed to a site in the definition of "consumer product" (thereby giving the Consumer Product Safety Commission jurisdiction over such amusement rides). Authorizes appropriations to carry out the Act as amended by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1999
Redesignates the Federal building located at 935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, in Washington, DC, commonly known as the J. Edgar Hoover Federal Building, as the Frank M. Johnson Federal Building.
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 1999
Medicare Return To Home Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to permit a Medicare+Choice (Medicare part C) beneficiary to elect to receive covered home skilled nursing facility (SNF) services at specified SNFs that meet certain conditions if the Medicare+Choice plan covers post-hospital extended care services.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1999
Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish a grants program to assist States and local educational agencies (LEAs) to recruit, train, and hire 100,000 school-based resource staff to work with students to: (1) reduce the student-to-counselor ratios nationally, in grades six through 12, to an average of one such staff for every 250 students, as recommended in a 1997 report by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences relating to schools and health; (2) help address the mental, emotional, and developmental needs of public school students; and (3) support other school staff and teachers in reaching students early before problems arise, conducting behavioral interventions to improve school discipline, and developing the awareness and skills to identify early warning signs of violence and the need for mental health services. Directs the Secretary of Education to make such grants, for up to three years for each grant, to establish or expand the number of resource staff available for students' needs . Requires such grant funds to be allocated on the basis of relative State population under 18 years of age. Sets forth requirements for LEA grant applications and uses of funds. Provides that resource staff means an individual who has documented competence and training in mental health to be able to provide services to children and adolescents in a school setting and who has specified types of licensure, certification, or educational qualifications. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2004 for such program.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 1999
Amends title XXI (Children's Health Insurance) (CHIP) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to permit children covered under a State CHIP plan to continue to be eligible for benefits under State pediatric vaccine distribution programs (Vaccine for Children program) under Medicaid (SSA title XIX).
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1999
Hass Avocado Promotion, Research, and Information Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to issue a marketing order, subject to producer and importer referendum approval, providing for research and promotion of Hass avocados. Sets forth marketing order terms and related provisions, including establishment of a Hass Avocado Board. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 1999
Children's Protection and Community Cleanup Act of 1999 - Title I: Remedy - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to revise general rules for the selection of remedial cleanup actions. Removes a provision requiring the President to specifically address the long-term effectiveness of various alternative treatment or resource recovery technologies. Requires remedial actions to: (1) make contaminated property available for beneficial use to the maximum extent practicable; and (2) protect uncontaminated groundwater and surface water, wherever technically feasible, and restore such water to beneficial uses in a reasonable time period given the circumstances of the release of the hazardous substance concerned. Lists minimum factors to be taken into account by the President in assessing alternative remedial actions and selecting remedial actions. Requires selected remedial actions, unless the President determines that a risk-based standard for a contaminant is based on data and assumptions adequate to assure protection of children's health, to reduce contamination to background levels (where more stringent) with respect to such contaminant, to the maximum extent technically feasible. Prohibits the selection of an action that allows hazardous substances to remain on site above levels that would be protective for unrestricted use unless institutional controls are incorporated into the action to achieve protection of human health and the environment during and after completion of the action. Requires remedial actions for hazardous substances that remain on site to comply with any more stringent and legally applicable tribal standard. Directs the President to ensure that a remedial action attains standards of control protective of human health and the environment in cases where: (1) no Federal, State, or tribal standard has been established for the specific hazardous substance present at the facility where the action is being undertaken; or (2) there are multiple hazardous substances present and the remedial action is not protective even though applicable requirements would be attained. Removes a provision which requires the President to conform a remedial action to a State standard in cases where a State has initiated a law suit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prior to May 1, 1986. Eliminates a provision which allows the President to select a remedial action that does not attain a standard equivalent to a legally applicable standard if compliance with requirements is technically impracticable from an engineering perspective. Sets forth minimum requirements for remedies for contaminated groundwater or surface water in cases where a legally applicable standard for a hazardous substance is waived. Authorizes the President to use institutional controls as a supplement to, but not as a substitute for, other response measures under CERCLA. Lists requirements for actions that rely on institutional controls. Provides for funds to be established for facilities for which the selected remedy is containment or at which hazardous substances remain on site above levels that would allow for unrestricted use of the facility. Requires such funds to be sufficient to guarantee successful performance of a remedy and, to the extent technically feasible, future beneficial reuse. Directs the EPA Administrator (Administrator) to report annually to Congress, for each record of decision signed during the previous fiscal year, on the type of institutional controls and media affected and the institution designated to monitor, enforce, and ensure compliance with such controls. Makes procedural requirements of State laws inapplicable to the portion of any removal or remedial action conducted entirely on site, except for recordkeeping and reporting. (Sec. 102) Sets forth criteria for institutional control instruments. Requires the President, if such an instrument is adopted, to record a notice of property use restriction in the public land records for the jurisdiction in which the affected property is located. Makes such instruments enforceable in perpetuity (unless terminated and released) against holders of interest in an affected property and all persons who subsequently acquire such interest. Directs the President to maintain a registry of all property at which institutional controls have been established in connection with response actions. Describes types of institutional control instruments, including easements. Authorizes the President, in order to respond to a release or threatened release of a hazardous substance, to acquire an easement to limit or control the use of land or other natural resources. Permits easements to be used wherever institutional controls have been selected as a component of a response action. Sets forth provisions regarding the President's authority to assign easements to other parties, issue orders imposing restrictions on land or natural resources, and include State institutional controls in response actions. (Sec. 103) Requires the President to ensure that a removal action is not undertaken in lieu of a long-term remedial action. Title II: Community Participation and Human Health - Subtitle A: Community Participation - Revises provisions regarding grants for technical assistance to make such grants available to Community Advisory Groups or affected communities (defined as two or more individuals affected by the release or threatened release of a hazardous substance at a covered facility). Defines a "covered facility" as a facility: (1) that has been listed or proposed for listing on the National Priorities List (NPL); (2) at which the Administrator is undertaking an action anticipated to exceed one year or a specified funding limit; or (3) with respect to which the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Administrator has accepted a petition requesting a health assessment or related health activity. Expands the list of authorized grant activities and increases the maximum amount of such grants. Requires the President to take specified actions to provide for meaningful public participation in every significant phase of response activities under CERCLA. Permits Community Advisory Groups, affected Indian tribes and communities, and local government and health officials to propose remedial alternatives to the President. Requires the President to make records relating to response actions at a covered facility available to the public throughout all phases of an action. Sets forth additional requirements with respect to public notice of certain removal actions. (Sec. 203) Requires States or Indian tribes with covered facilities to establish Community Information and Access Offices. Provides funding for such Offices. Directs the Administrator to establish Offices for States or tribes that fail to do so. (Sec. 204) Requires the President to provide the opportunity for the establishment of a Community Advisory Group, a representative public forum, to achieve direct, regular, and meaningful consultation with all interested parties throughout all stages of a response action whenever: (1) the President determines such a group will be helpful; or (2) ten individuals residing in the area in which the covered facility is located, or ten percent of the population of a locality in which the covered facility is located, whichever is fewer, petition for a Group to be established. Directs the President to adopt any consensus recommendation of a Group on land use as part of the remedy selected for the facility, with exceptions. Authorizes the President to provide administrative support for such groups. Directs the Administrator to submit to Congress a community study that includes an analysis of: (1) the speed of listing; (2) the speed and nature of response actions; (3) the degree to which public views are reflected in response actions; (3) use of institutional controls; and (4) the population, race, ethnicity, and income characteristics of communities affected by facilities listed or proposed for listing on the NPL. Requires periodic updates of such study. Directs the Administrator to institute necessary improvements or modifications to address any deficiencies identified by the study. (Sec. 206) Requires the Administrator to conduct a program to assist in the recruitment and training of individuals in affected communities for employment in response activities. Subtitle B: Human Health - Directs the President to notify State and local public health authorities and tribal health officials whenever there is reason to believe that a release (or threat of release) of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant has occurred, is occurring, or is about to occur. Requires the ATSDR Administrator to perform a health assessment for each facility listed, or proposed for listing, on the NPL, including Federal facilities. Permits related health activities to be performed in lieu of assessments for facilities that are so listed or proposed for ecological reasons only. Requires the ATSDR Administrator to develop and distribute educational materials on human health effects of hazardous substances to the public. (Sec. 213) Provides for research on exposure or tolerance limits for hazardous substances found commonly at NPL facilities in cases where adequate information on health effects of a substance is not available. Expands the duties of the ATSDR Administrator to require the Administrator to establish an inventory of exposure or tolerance limits for such substances. (Sec. 215) Directs the President, in any case in which a person is relocated in order to reduce exposure and eliminate health risks from hazardous substances, to provide to the individual the replacement value of the individual's residence. (Sec. 216) Authorizes and directs the ATSDR Administrator, pursuant to specified grants and contracts, to provide health services to communities affected by the release of hazardous substances. Makes funds available for such services for FY 2002 through 2006. (Sec. 217) Provides for cooperation with Indian tribes with respect to certain ATSDR activities. Requires the ATSDR Administrator to include in a biennial report on ATSDR activities the health impacts on Indian tribes of hazardous substances from covered facilities. Subtitle C: General Provisions - Sets forth effective dates for provisions of this title. Title III: Right to Know - Requires the annual disclosure of certain information by potentially responsible parties at NPL facilities and owners or operators of facilities subject to toxic chemical release reporting requirements under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 (EPCRA). Includes within such required disclosures information on quantities of certain hazardous substances and potential exposure of facility employees. Directs the Administrator to consolidate all annual reporting pursuant to title I of CERCLA and other Federal environmental laws to the extent not prohibited by such laws. Prescribes penalties for noncompliance with disclosure requirements. Amends EPCRA to permit the withholding of portions of information required to be disclosed under CERCLA for purposes of protecting trade secrets. (Sec. 302) Requires owners or operators of facilities subject to EPCRA reporting requirements to submit to the Administrator and State officials annual unstudied chemical release forms for each chemical subject to this section that was manufactured, processed, or used in quantities exceeding thresholds during the preceding year at the facility. Permits the Administrator to: (1) apply such requirements to other facilities that use unstudied chemicals, as appropriate; and (2) exclude a class of facilities in a Standard Industrial Classification Code that is required to report under EPCRA if unstudied chemicals will not cause certain adverse human health or environmental effects. Makes subject to the requirements of this section an unstudied chemical: (1) for which the information needed to complete a preliminary assessment of potential toxicity is not available; and (2) that is a compound containing at least carbon, hydrogen, and one or more of the elements chlorine, fluorine, or bromine or is a compound included on the 1990 High Production Volume List issued pursuant to the Toxic Substances Control Act. Authorizes the addition of chemicals subject to such requirements based on health or environmental effects or presence in human tissues, food stuffs, or drinking water. Excludes from reporting requirements chemicals: (1) that are listed under EPCRA; (2) that are high molecular weight polymers; or (3) for which information is publicly available. Sets forth provisions regarding information needed for preliminary assessment of potential toxicity of unstudied chemicals. Establishes threshold amounts of unstudied chemicals which trigger reporting requirements. Makes release form information publicly available. Authorizes petitions to the Administrator to compel certain actions under this title, including the exemption from reporting, addition of chemicals subject to reporting, and revision of thresholds. Requires the Administrator to establish a national unstudied chemicals inventory based on submitted data. Makes violations of this title subject to civil and administrative penalties under EPCRA. Provides trade secret protection for information disclosed under this title in the same manner as provided under EPCRA. Title IV: Environmental Justice - Directs the President, acting through the Secretary of Commerce, to publish a list of special priority areas which shall be geographic areas in which residents face a high degree of economic distress or social disenfranchisement. Provides for updates to such list no later than two years after each official census count on social and economic characteristics. Describes areas to be included on such list. Requires the President to advertise the right of petition for assessment of a hazardous substance release in such areas. Directs the President to publish a list of special priority facilities which shall be those facilities located in special priority areas that are: (1) listed in the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System; (2) the subject of a petition; or (3) those the President considers appropriate. Establishes deadlines for completing preliminary assessments, site inspections, and hazard ranking of such facilities and for listing them on the NPL. Requires the President to ensure that a remedial action for any such facility on the NPL is completed within three years of placement on the NPL. Provides exceptions from placing such facilities on the NPL. Title V: Children's Environmental Health - Requires the ATSDR Administrator and the Administrator to create a scientifically peer-reviewed list of environmental pollutants commonly found at facilities listed or proposed for listing on the NPL with known or suspected health risks to which fetuses and children are especially susceptible. Provides for a toxicological profile for each listed substance. Directs the Administrator or the Secretary of Health and Human Services, as appropriate, to review and revise, where necessary, environmental and public health regulations, risk assessment policies and procedures, and guidance documents issued under CERCLA to determine whether they consider and fully protect fetal and children's health. Incorporates fetal and children's health concerns into all health research initiatives under CERCLA. Requires the ATSDR Administrator to develop: (1) guidelines for addressing fetal and children's health issues in health studies and research programs; and (2) criteria for determining when and what type of child-specific health study shall be conducted based on the results of a health assessment. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the costs of such research programs should be borne by the manufacturers and processors of the hazardous substance in question. Directs the ATSDR Administrator to: (1) establish an exposure registry for all children exposed to hazardous substances as the result of a release at an NPL facility where levels of exposure are significant for children's health; and (2) implement specified children's environmental health education and training programs. Requires all lists, profiles, studies, and research results conducted under this title to be reported or adopted only after appropriate peer review. Sets forth requirements for peer reviews. Title VI: Brownfield Remediation and Environmental Cleanup - Subtitle A: Brownfields - Directs the Administrator to establish a program to award grants to local governments to inventory and conduct site assessments of brownfield sites and provide training in the cleanup of such sites. Defines a "brownfield site" as land that contains or contained abandoned or under-used commercial or industrial facilities, the expansion or redevelopment of which may be complicated by the presence of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants. Sets forth grant application requirements and grant conditions. Requires States to submit information to the Administrator on brownfield sites. Directs the Administrator to compile a National Brownfields Registry. Directs the Administrator to establish a program to award grants to be used by local governments to capitalize revolving loan funds for the cleanup of brownfield sites, including associated rivers and streams. Authorizes local governments to provide such loans to finance cleanups by such governments or by owners or prospective purchasers of affected brownfield sites. Sets forth grant application and agreement requirements. Requires grant recipients to report to the Administrator on the extent of local citizen involvement in funded projects. Authorizes the Administrator to award a grant to a State if necessary to facilitate the receipt of funds by local governments that do not have the capabilities to manage grants. Makes certain facilities ineligible for the grant program, including facilities that are the subject of response actions and Federal facilities. Authorizes the President to make exceptions for excluded facilities and allow grants on a facility-by-facility basis. Makes amounts available from the Hazardous Substance Superfund (Superfund) to carry out the grant programs. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2001 through 2005. (Sec. 602) Authorizes the Administrator to award grants to, and enter into cooperative agreements with, States, Indian tribes, municipalities, and other specified agencies and organizations for training, technology transfer, and information dissemination programs to strengthen environmental response activities. (Sec. 603) Requires the Administrator to provide grants and other forms of assistance for brownfields workforce training programs in communities that contain brownfield sites. Subtitle B: Innocent Landowners and Prospective Purchaser Liability - Amends CERCLA, with respect to defenses to liability of an owner of after-acquired property, to deem a person to have made (under current law, "undertaken") appropriate inquiry into the property's previous ownership and uses if the person establishes that an environmental site assessment was conducted which meets specified requirements (compliance with an American Society for Testing and Materials standard or with standards issued by the President) and the person fulfills certain responsibilities concerning information compilation, exercise of appropriate care with respect to hazardous substances at the facility, and cooperation with those conducting response actions. (Sec. 622) Absolves from liability for response actions bona fide prospective purchasers to the extent liability at a facility for a release or threat thereof is based solely on ownership or operation of a facility. Gives a lien upon a facility to the United States for unrecovered response costs in any case in which there are such unrecovered costs for which the owner is not liable by reason of this section and the facility's fair market value has increased above that which existed 180 days before the action was taken. (Sec. 623) Exempts certain contiguous property owners from liability. Subtitle C: Department of Housing and Urban Development Brownfield Grants - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make grants, in connection with the authority to guarantee obligations to finance certain community development activities, to eligible public entities for projects and activities for economic redevelopment of brownfield sites. Authorizes appropriations for such grants for FY 2001 through 2005. Title VII: Natural Resource Damages - Adds the reasonable costs of recovering natural resource damages to the list of recoverable damages for which liable parties are responsible under CERCLA. (Sec. 703) Eliminates the damage assessment rebuttable presumption and prescribes revised procedures for natural resource damage assessments. (Sec. 704) Authorizes a trustee for natural resources to establish an administrative record on which the trustee will base the selection of a plan for restoration of the resource. Provides for participation of interested persons in the development of an administrative record. (Sec. 705) Provides that the presence of hazardous substances in sediments of U.S. waters above background or reference levels shall be sufficient to establish injury to natural resources for purposes of determining liability. Directs the Administrator and the appropriate natural resource trustees to report to Congress on how response, remedial, and restoration actions are restoring and protecting natural resources affected by the facilities of: (1) Hudson River, New York; (2) Newark and New York Bays, New York and New Jersey; (3) Housatonic River, Connecticut and Massachusetts; (4) New Bedford Harbor, Massachusetts; (5) Clark Fork River, Montana; (6) Lavaca Bay, Texas; (7) Palos Verdes, California; (8) Fox River, Wisconsin; (9) Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; and (10) Hanford, Washington. (Sec. 706) Requires natural resource trustees to conduct a program to assist in the recruitment and training of individuals in affected communities for employment in restoration activities. (Sec. 707) Revises provisions regarding the statute of limitations on natural resource damage actions. (Sec. 708) Adds archaeological resources to the definition of "natural resources" under CERCLA. (Sec. 709) Authorizes citizen suits to recover natural resources damages. Title VIII: Federal Facilities - Revises provisions regarding the applicability of CERCLA to the U.S. Government. Makes Federal agencies subject to all Federal, State, interstate, and local requirements regarding response actions and damages related to, or management of, hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants in the same manner as any nongovernmental entity. Waives immunity of the United States with respect to the enforcement of injunctive relief. Makes Federal employees subject to criminal sanctions under State or Federal response laws. Authorizes the Administrator to issue an abatement order to a Federal agency and requires initiation of an administrative enforcement action in the same manner as action would be initiated against any other person. Requires all funds collected by a State from the Federal Government from penalties imposed under this section to be used only for projects to improve or protect the environment or to defray costs of environmental protection or enforcement unless a State law requires such funds to be used differently. Requires Federal agencies to notify States and the Administrator of removal actions. Sets forth additional conditions under which a Federal property may be transferred to any other person without a covenant warranting that all remedial action has been taken on the property. Establishes additional assurances to be contained in deeds governing such transfers with regard to hazardous substances releases for which a Federal agency is potentially responsible. Title IX: Liability - Provides exemptions to liability (including liability for contribution) for response costs for pre-July 1997 acts if liability is based solely on arranging for disposal, treatment, or transport of, or accepting, a specified limited amount of hazardous substances. Absolves certain small parties of liability based on arrangement or acceptance provisions if the substance involved was municipal solid waste or sewage sludge. Removes a provision which excludes petroleum from the definition of "hazardous substance" under CERCLA. Provides that persons liable for willful releases of hazardous substances or threats thereof may be liable to the United States for punitive damages in an amount of up to two times the costs incurred by Superfund as a result of such a release. Title X: Funding - Extends the authorization of appropriations to carry out specified Superfund authorities through FY 2005. (Sec. 1007) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the environmental income tax to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2000, and before January 1, 2006. Extends specified provisions regarding: (1) Superfund's financing rate; (2) limits on tax if the unobligated balance in Superfund exceeds a specified amount; and (3) the repayment deadline for advances made to Superfund. Title XI: Miscellaneous - Increases the ceiling on certain penalties under CERCLA. Prescribes penalties for specified additional violations. (Sec. 1103) Considers a remedial action that attains applicable requirements to be protective of human health and the environment unless the President determines otherwise. Directs the President to establish additional requirements to ensure such protection, as necessary. Provides that the decontamination regulations for site termination issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on July 21, 1997, shall not be considered sufficiently protective. Revises the definition of "federally permitted release" under CERCLA with respect to releases of source, special nuclear, or byproduct material in compliance with licenses, permits, regulations, or orders pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to apply such definition only if such licenses, permits, regulations, or orders adequately protect groundwater. Applies requirements of this Act pertaining to Federal facilities to facilities subject to licenses or decontamination regulations for license termination issued by the NRC. Amends environmental excise tax provisions to treat uranium dioxide as a taxable chemical only if it is used as a fuel in a nuclear reactor.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 1999
Captive Elephant Accident Prevention Act of 1999 - Prohibits, and sets penalties for, knowingly making available an elephant for use in a traveling show or circus, or for the purpose of allowing individuals to ride that elephant.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1999
Intercountry Adoption Act of 1999 - Title I: United States Central Authority - Requires the Department of State through the Secretary of State to serve as the central authority of the United States with respect to implementation of the Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption done at the Hague on May 29, 1993. Outlines responsibilities of the Secretary of State, including liaison, information exchange, and other coordination activities relating to the Convention. (Sec. 103) Requires the Attorney General to be responsible for the filing of applications by prospective adoptive parents to the central authority of their country of residence. (Sec. 104) Requires annual reports from the Secretary of State to Congress describing activities of the U.S. central authority during the previous year. Title II: Provisions Relating to Accreditation and Approval -Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) to carry out functions prescribed by the Convention with respect to the accreditation of agencies and the approval of persons to provide adoption services in the United States. (Sec. 202) Prohibits a person, with specified exceptions, from offering or providing an adoption service in connection with a Convention adoption in the United States unless that person is accredited under this title, or is providing such service through or under the supervision and responsibility of an accredited person. (Sec. 203) Directs the Secretary to enter into agreements with one or more qualified entities that will provide for the accreditation of agencies, and approval of persons, to provide adoption services in the United States in cases subject to the Convention. Requires such entities to undertake related oversight, enforcement, and information collection activities. Sets forth procedures for an agency or person to reapply for accreditation as a result of an adverse action by an accrediting entity. Provides for the judicial review of such actions. Allows fees to be charged against agencies or persons seeking accreditation for Convention intercountry adoptions. Outlines accreditation standards and procedures. (Sec. 205) Directs the Secretary to: (1) monitor each entity's performance of accrediting duties and compliance with the Convention and other applicable laws and regulations; and (2) suspend or cancel the accreditation of an agency or person found to be substantially out of compliance with applicable requirements, and the accrediting entity has failed or refused to take appropriate corrective action. Authorizes the Secretary to debar an agency or person from accreditation, under certain conditions. Provides judicial review of the Secretary's decisions under this section. (Sec. 206) Authorizes appropriations, limited to the amount of fees collected by accrediting entities. Title III: Recognition of Convention Adoptions in the United States - Directs the Secretary, with respect to each Convention adoption, to issue a certificate to the adoptive citizen parent domiciled in the United States recognizing the legal effect, for purposes of emigration and adoption, of a Convention adoption, as long as the Secretary has received appropriate documentation from the central authority of the child's country of origin, and has verified that other requirements of this Act have been met with respect to adoption. Provides for U.S. recognition of adoptions finalized in other Convention countries. (Sec. 302) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to include: (1) under its definition of "child" a child adopted through the Convention; and (2) under its immigration approval procedures a child for whom the Secretary has certified that a U.S. citizen has effected final adoption under the Convention. (Sec. 303) Outlines procedures for the adoption in any other Convention country of a child residing in the United States, requiring certain duties to be performed by an accredited agency or approved person or the prospective parents acting on their own behalf (if so permitted in such country). Prohibits a State court from entering an order declaring such adoption to be final or granting custody for adoption, unless such court: (1) has received and verified that such duties have been performed, as well as evidence that other Convention requirements have been met; and (2) has determined that the adoptive placement is in the child's best interests. (Sec. 304) Prohibits a State court from vacating a final adoption decree entered pursuant to the Convention unless: (1) the decree was granted by a State court; (2) the court finds clear and convincing evidence that adoptive consent was obtained through fraud, duress, or improper inducement by compensation; (3) voiding such adoption is in the best interests of the child; and (4) the adoptive parents are afforded an opportunity to be heard in such proceedings. Recognizes another country's proceedings vacating such adoptions. States that the voiding of such an adoption does not void or prohibit the naturalization of such child as a U.S. citizen. Title IV: Administration and Enforcement - Provides for: (1) the preservation of Convention adoption records; (2) the nondisclosure of identifying information contained in such records (except to the extent necessary to administer the Convention or this Act); and (3) recognition of Convention documents of other countries. (Sec. 403) Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 404) Provides civil penalties and other enforcement procedures for violations of this Act. Title V: General Provisions - Sets forth provisions with respect to the recognition of Convention adoptions. (Sec. 502) Authorizes the Secretary of State to establish by regulation alternative procedures for the adoption of children by individuals related to them by blood or marriage in cases subject to the Convention. (Sec. 503) States that the Convention and this Act shall have no effect on: (1) State law; or (2) provisions of the Indian Child Welfare Act.
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