United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1999
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to: (1) restrict the application of the windfall elimination provision to individuals whose combined monthly income from the individual's primary insurance amount under such title and the portion of the monthly periodic payment attributable to noncovered service performed after 1956 exceeds $2,000; and (2) provide for a graduated implementation of such provision by specified percentages with respect to incremental amounts above such threshold, up to 100 percent for combined amounts over $3,000.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1999
Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary Assistance Act of 1999 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to require a State plan to provide for making medical assistance with respect to Medicare (SSA title XVIII) cost-sharing covered under the State plan available to a low-income individual on the date the low-income individual becomes entitled to benefits under part A (Hospital Insurance) of title XVIII during a presumptive eligibility period.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1999
State and Local Investment Opportunity Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the State ceiling on private activity bonds. Provides for inflation adjustment.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1999
Declares that it is the sense of the Congress that: (1) a commemorative postage stamp should be issued by the U.S. Postal Service honoring Paul Leroy Robeson; and (2) the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee should recommend such a stamp to the Postmaster General.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1999
Colorado Wilderness Act of 1999 - Designates additional specified lands in the State of Colorado as wilderness and as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Provides for the reservation and protection of U.S. water rights for such areas.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1999
Beneficiary Health Coverage Notification Rights Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to require a health insurance issuer to notify all participants and beneficiaries of an intention to terminate coverage or allow a policy to lapse because a group health plan failed to pay premiums necessary to maintain coverage. Amends such Acts and the Internal Revenue Code to deem any participant or beneficiary notified of a group health plan termination or lapse only after the fact to have been covered during the deeming period between the effective date of the termination or lapse and the date of notification. Limits the application of the deeming period to certain purposes, including reduction of pre-existing condition exclusion periods and avoidance of a significant break in coverage. Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed as entitling any individual to any plan or coverage benefits during such deeming period.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1999
Improved Maternal and Children's Health Coverage Act of 1999 - Amends titles XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (Children's Health Insurance Program) (CHIP) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to mandate: (1) development and use of a uniform, simplified application form for establishing eligibility for Medicaid and CHIP benefits; (2) coordinated enrollment processes; and (3) timely response to inquiries received through a national toll-free telephone number for information on children's coverage under such programs. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish such number. (Sec. 2) Provides for the expanded availability of funding for administrative costs related to certain outreach and eligibility determinations under Medicaid and CHIP with regard to children and pregnant women. Directs the Secretary to establish a procedure with regard to the participation of local and community-based public or nonprofit organizations in outreach and enrollment activities if States do not otherwise obligate the amounts made available under this Act. Sets forth a special rule for certain enrollment and outreach activities providing for use of three percent of CHIP funds at 90 percent Federal match for such activities. Amends SSA title XIX to provide for additional entities (including elementary and secondary schools, child support enforcement agencies, and child care resource and referral agencies) that are qualified to determine Medicaid presumptive eligibility for low-income children. (Sec. 3) Amends SSA title XXI to require, to the extent a State child health plan provides coverage other than through providing benefits under the State's Medicaid plan, a State child health plan to: (1) specify methods to ensure coordination of pediatric care within a family; (2) make the State and its contractors, and not beneficiaries and families, responsible for applying limitations on cost-sharing; (3) impose, at its option, a flat limit (of up to $500) on out-of-pocket expenditures for certain low-income children (as an alternative to the current five percent of family income); and (4) provide a grace period and prior notice before disenrollment for nonpayment of premiums, if the State child health plan requires the payment of a premium and such premium is not paid on a timely notice, as well as an opportunity for a hearing on the matter. Prohibits State child health plan eligibility standards from permitting the use of mandatory waiting periods, unless the Secretary finds that such a period would not be contrary to title XXI. (Sec. 4) Amends SSA title XIX to provide for, among other changes: (1) automatic reassessment of eligibility for CHIP and Medicaid benefits for children losing Medicaid or CHIP eligibility; (2) optional CHIP coverage of low-income, uninsured pregnant women; (3) State option to cover qualified alien children under the Medicaid and CHIP programs; (4) elimination of the funding offset for exercise of the presumptive eligibility option; (5) automatic enrollment of children born to targeted low-income pregnant women receiving pregnancy-related assistance under such programs; and (6) CHIP and Medicaid program coordination with the Maternal and Child Health Services program under SSA title V.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1999
Imported Food Safety Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require the prior approval of the Secretary of Health and Human Services for commercial distribution of food imported into the United States. Cites factors for mandatory consideration by the Secretary when determining whether to grant such approval. Requires the Secretary to: (1) deny approval of foreign food for import if the foreign system for food inspection does not provide at least the same level of protection as domestic laws, or if the foreign country does not permit the Secretary to conduct food inspections within its borders; and (2) give high priority to increasing significantly the number of inspections, including port-of-entry testing for pesticide and microbial contamination. Sets forth criminal penalties for noncompliance. Deems certain foods to be misbranded if the country-of-origin labeling is not provided at the time they are offered for retail sale. Instructs the Secretary to prioritize research on port-of-entry food safety testing techniques whose results are available within 60 minutes after test administration. Directs the Secretary to impose user fees on imported food in order to defray increased expenses needed to implement this Act. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1999
Welcomes the Model Nuclear Weapons Convention as a discussion document intended to further negotiations on complete nuclear disarmament. Urges the President to initiate multilateral negotiations leading to the early conclusion of a nuclear weapons convention. Requests the President to inform the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) of the efforts and measures the United States has taken on the implementation of the UN General Assembly Resolution 52-38 O and nuclear disarmament.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1999
Condemns anti-Semitic statements made by members of the Russian Duma. Commends: (1) actions taken by members of the Duma to condemn such statements made by other Duma members; and (2) President Yeltsin and other members of the Russian Government for condemning such statements. Declares that peace and justice cannot be achieved as long as governments and legislatures promote policies based upon anti-Semitism, racism, and xenophobia.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1999
Federal Reserve Board Retirement Portability Act - Includes as creditable service for purposes of provisions governing the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) a period of service of an employee or Member of Congress (other than any service already creditable under FERS, any military service, and any service performed in the employ of a Federal Reserve Bank) that was creditable under the Bank Plan (the benefit structure in which employees of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System appointed on or after January 1, 1984, participate), if the employee waives credit for such service under the Bank Plan and makes a payment to the Thrift Savings Fund equal to the amount that would have been deducted from pay had the employee been subject to FERS during such period of service (together with interest on such amount computed). Excludes from the applicability of FERS provisions any employee or Member who has separated from civilian service after having been subject to the benefit structure for employees of the Board appointed before January 1, 1984, and having at least five years of civilian service (other than any service performed in the employ of a Federal Reserve Bank) creditable under such benefit structure, with specified exceptions for such persons who subsequently become subject to the Bank Plan and FERS provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1999
Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to extend through FY 2002 the authorization of appropriations for: (1) the Federal Council on the Aging; (2) administration; (3) grants for State and community programs on aging; (4) the availability of surplus commodities; (5) training, research, and discretionary projects and programs; (6) community service employment for older Americans; (7) grants for Native Americans; (8) allotments for Vulnerable Elder Rights Protection activities; and (9) the Native American program.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1999
Fairness for State and Local Workers Act - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to provide for coverage under that Act of State and local government workers.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1999
Generic Drugs Access Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to new drug applications to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to include in an application approval a finding about whether the approved (generic) drug is the therapeutic equivalent of the listed drug involved. Prohibits a State or its political subdivision from establishing or continuing any requirement that does not conform to the therapeutic equivalence requirement of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1999
Resources 2000 Act - Reduces according to a specified formula the amount of qualified Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) revenues that shall be deposited for a limited fiscal year into the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the Historic Preservation Fund, or any other fund or account established by this Act. (Sec. 6) Limits the amount available for administrative expenses to two percent. (Sec. 7) Requires off-budget treatment of the receipts and disbursements of funds under this Act. Title I: Land and Water Conservation Fund Revitalization - Amends the Land and Water Conservation Act of 1965 to extend indefinitely the period for: (1) depositing amounts into the Land and Water Conservation Fund (currently, such period ends September 30, 2015); and (2) under specified conditions, annual authorization of appropriations to the Fund in certain amounts for FY 1977 through 1978 and each succeeding fiscal year. (Sec. 103) Makes $900 million available each fiscal year for obligation or expenditure without further appropriation, to be allocated as follows: (1) 50 percent for Federal purposes; and (2) 50 percent for State grants. (Sec. 105) Removes the "outdoor recreation" limitation on the use of financial assistance to States to carry out planning, land acquisition, and development projects for land and water conservation purposes. (Sec. 106) Revises the formula used to allocate amounts made available for State purposes from the Fund each fiscal year, including distributing one-third of such funds among the several States under a competitive grant program. (Sec. 107) Revises the requirement that a State have a comprehensive statewide outdoor recreation plan as a prerequisite to consideration by the Secretary of the Interior of financial assistance for acquisition or development projects. Allows a State, in order to reduce costly repetitive planning efforts, to use for such a plan a current State comprehensive outdoor recreation plan, a State recreation plan, or a State action agenda under criteria developed by the Secretary. (Sec. 108) Removes the restriction on providing financial assistance to States for incidental costs relating to land and water acquisition. Permits local funding and a limited percentage of the amount of State allocated funds in any one year to be used for sheltered facilities for swimming pools and ice skating rinks in areas where the Secretary determines a need to enhance public safety. (Sec. 109) Requires the Secretary to approve, subject to certain conditions, the conversion of property (other than for public outdoor recreation use) acquired or developed with assistance under the Act only if the State demonstrates that no prudent or feasible alternative exists. Exempts from such requirement conversion of property that is no longer viable as an outdoor conservation or recreation facility due to changes in demographics, or that must be abandoned because of environmental contamination which endangers public health and safety. Title II: Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Program Amendments - Amends the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act of 1978 to provide for the development of new recreation areas and facilities (including the acquisition of lands for such development) under the urban park and recreation recovery program. (Sec. 205) Revises requirements for: (1) Federal assistance grant eligibility; (2) matching grants to local governments for rehabilitation, development, and innovation purposes; (3) local park and recreation recovery action programs; (4) State action incentives; and (5) conversion of recreation property for any other purpose other than public recreation purposes. (Sec. 210) Establishes in the Treasury the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Fund. Specifies the amount to be deposited into the Fund each fiscal year out of qualified OCS revenues, which shall be available, without further appropriation, until expended. Sets forth limitations on annual State grants under this Act and grant and program administration. (Sec. 211) Repeals sunset provisions and congressional reporting requirements with respect to: (1) the impact of the urban park and recreation recovery program; and (2) the annual achievements of the innovation grant program. Title III: Historic Preservation Fund - Amends the National Historic Preservation Act to specify the amount to be deposited into the Historic Preservation Fund each fiscal year after FY 1998 out of qualified OCS revenues, which shall remain available, without further appropriation, and until expended, only to carry out the purposes of such Act. (Sec. 301) Requires at least one half of the funds obligated or expended each fiscal year under this Act to be used for preservation projects on historic properties (giving priority to the preservation of endangered historic properties). Title IV: Farmland, Ranchland, Open Space, and Forestland Protection - Establishes in the Treasury the Farmland, Ranchland, Open Space, and Forestland Protection Fund. (Sec. 403) Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to use specified amounts from the Fund for the farmland protection and forest legacy programs. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to use specified amounts from the Fund for the ranchland protection program. (Sec. 404) Amends the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 with respect to the farmland protection program to: (1) specify that the program shall be a matching grant program carried out through eligible entities such as State and local government, Indian tribes, and nonprofit conservation organizations; (2) eliminate acreage limitations; and (3) increase the existing funding cap, revising it from a total program cap to a fiscal year cap. (Sec. 405) Directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish a ranchland protection program similar to the farmland protection program. Title V: Federal and Indian Lands Restoration Fund - Establishes the Federal and Indians Lands Restoration Fund which shall be used as a dedicated source of funding for a coordinated program on Federal and Indian lands to restore degraded lands, protect resources that are threatened with degradation, and protect public health and safety. Deposits $250 million of qualified Outer Continental Shelf revenues received by the United States each fiscal year into the Fund and allocates: (1) 60 percent to the Secretary of the Interior for lands within the National Park System, National Wildlife Refuge System, and public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management; (2) 30 percent to the Secretary of Agriculture for lands within the National Forest System; and (3) ten percent to the Secretary of the Interior for competitive grants to Indian tribes under this Act. Requires the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) each establish priority lists for the use of funds which give priority to projects based upon the protection of significant resources, the severity of damages or threats to resources, and the protection of public health or safety; and (2) jointly establish a coordinated program for tracking the progress of activities carried out and determining the extent to which demonstrable results are being achieved. Title VI: Living Marine Resources Conservation, Restoration, and Management Assistance - Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to use amounts from the Living Marine Resources Conservation Fund for allocation to a coastal State with a Living Marine Resources Conservation Plan to reimburse the State for the costs of developing, implementing, and revising such a plan. Sets forth plan requirements. Establishes the Living Marine Resources Conservation Fund. Provides for the deposit in such fund of specified amounts received by the United States as qualified Outer Continental Shelf revenues. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants from such fund for the conservation, restoration, or management of living marine resources. Sets forth criteria for grant approval. Defines "living marine resources" as indigenous fin fish, anadromous fish, mollusks, crustaceans, and all other forms of marine animal and plant life, including marine mammals and birds, that inhabit marine or brackish waters of the United States during all or part of their life cycle. Title VII: Funding for State Native Fish and Wildlife Conservation and Restoration - Amends the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act of 1980 to revise the purposes and applicability of such Act so as to: (1) provide for promoting conservation of native (currently, nongame) fish and wildlife; and (2) preserving biological diversity by maintaining natural assemblages of native fish and wildlife. Replaces the definition of "fish and wildlife" and "nongame fish and wildlife" with a definition of "native fish and wildlife" as a fish, animal, or plant species that: (1) historically occurred or occurs in an ecosystem, other than as a result of an introduction, and lives in an unconfined state; and (2) does not include any population of a domesticated species that has reverted to a feral existence. (Sec. 703) Requires State conservation plans to promote balanced and diverse assemblages of native fish and wildlife. (Sec. 704) Repeals the provision specifying that conservation actions set forth in a conservation plan approved by the Secretary of the Interior shall be eligible for reimbursement as fish and wildlife projects. (Sec. 705) Makes amendments relating to the reimbursement of State costs for the development, revision, and implementation of conservation plans to: (1) extend eligibility for reimbursement of costs incurred by States for developing conservation plans through FY 2010, and for implementing conservation plans through FY 2005; (2) repeal specified reimbursement requirements; (3) prohibit paying reimbursement to any State for any cost incurred in implementing an approved conservation plan or action to the extent that more than 50 (currently ten) percent of such costs in any such year are accounted for by inkind contributions; and (4) prohibit the amount of reimbursement paid to any State for any fiscal year after FY 2010 from exceeding 75 percent of the cost of implementing and revising the plan during the fiscal year. (Sec. 706) Establishes the Native Fish and Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Fund into which the following amounts received as qualified Outer Continental Shelf revenues shall be deposited: (1) $100 million for each of FY 2000 and 2001; (2) $200 million for each of FY 2002 through 2004; and (3) $350 million for FY 2005 and each proceeding fiscal year. Makes up to the amount stated for a fiscal year available to the Secretary of the Interior for that fiscal year to reimburse States for conservation plans and actions. Title VIII: Endangered and Threatened Species Recovery - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Commerce to use amounts in the Endangered and Threatened Species Recovery Fund to provide financial assistance to persons for development and implementation of Endangered and Threatened Species Recovery Agreements. Requires either Secretary to give priority to the development and implementation of Agreements that: (1) implement actions identified under recovery plans approved by the Secretary; (2) have the greatest potential for contributing to the recovery of an endangered or threatened species; and (3) require use of the assistance on land owned by a small landowner or on a family farm by the owner or operator. Prohibits the Secretary from providing financial assistance for any action that is required by a permit issued under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 or that is otherwise required under Federal law. (Sec. 803) Authorizes the Secretary to enter into such Agreements and sets forth Agreement requirements, including: (1) requiring activities not otherwise mandated by law that contribute to species recovery; and (2) specifying species recovery goals. Requires the Secretary to review Agreements for compliance with such requirements, propose necessary revisions, approve Agreements in compliance, periodically monitor the implementation of each Agreement, and disburse financial assistance to implement the Agreement. (Sec. 804) Establishes the Endangered and Threatened Species Recovery Fund in the Treasury and requires $100 million to be deposited into the Fund each fiscal year from amounts received as qualified Outer Continental Shelf revenues.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1999
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to exempt disabled individuals from required enrollment with a managed care entity under the Medicaid program.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Research on Lupus Title II: Delivery of Services Regarding Lupus Lupus Research and Care Amendments of 1999 - Title I: Research on Lupus - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases to expand and intensify research and related activities of the Institute regarding lupus. Requires the Director to: (1) coordinate such activities with similar activities conducted by other national research institutes and agencies of the National Institutes of Health; and (2) conduct or support research to expand the understanding of the causes of, and to find a cure for, lupus, including research to determine the reasons underlying the elevated prevalence of the disease among African-American and other women. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Delivery of Services Regarding Lupus - Mandates grants for the establishment, operation, and coordination of effective and cost-efficient systems for the delivery of essential services to individuals with lupus and their families. Regulates charges (whether they are characterized as enrollment fees, premiums, deductibles, cost sharing, copayments, coinsurance, or other charges) imposed by grantees on service recipients. Authorizes technical assistance. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 1999
Expresses the sense of the Congress that there should be parity between the compensation of members of the armed forces and Federal civilian employees.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1999
Medicare Substitute Adult Day Care Services Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage of substitute adult day care services. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to monitor Medicare expenditures for home health services for a fiscal year, including substitute adult day care services, and compare them to expenditures that the Secretary estimates would have been made for home health services for that fiscal year if there had been no coverage of substitute adult day care services. Requires the Secretary, if home health service expenditures exceed such estimates, to adjust the rate of payment to adult day care facilities so that total expenditures do not exceed such estimates.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1999
Directs the Secretary of the Army to close the military education and training facility known as the United States Army School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Georgia. Repeals current statutory authority for the School. Expresses the sense of the Congress that, in each training activity undertaken by the United States with foreign security forces, the Secretary of Defense should: (1) substantially increase emphasis upon respect for human rights, the proper role of a military within a democratic society, and appropriate management of defense and security policy; and (2) implement Department of Defense regulations regarding the screening of foreign candidates for inclusion in the training activity to ensure that the United States does not train individuals implicated in human rights abuses, illegal drug trafficking, or corruption.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1999
United States-Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Human Dignity Act - Amends Federal law to prohibit the affixation of the "Made in the USA" label to a textile fiber product from the Northern Mariana Islands unless: (1) each worker producing such product was paid a minimum wage equal to or greater than a specified amount; (2) the product was manufactured in compliance with all Federal labor laws, including, but not limited to, the National Labor Relations Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938; (3) the factory or other business producing the product has full-time employees in nonmanagerial positions who are U.S. citizens or nationals, aliens lawfully admitted into the United States for permanent residence, citizens of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, or the Federated States of Micronesia, aliens admitted into the United States as refugees, or aliens granted asylum in the United States, in specified percentages; and (4) the factory or other business producing the product does not employ individuals under conditions of indentured servitude. (Sec. 3) Applies to the Northern Mariana Islands: (1) the minimum wage provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as modified by this Act (requires a minimum wage through December 31, 1999, of $3.55 per hour, adjusted semiannually thereafter in $.50 increments until it equals the minimum wage required by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938); and (2) the Immigration and Nationality Act. Prohibits any product of the Northern Mariana Islands from entering the customs territory of the United States duty-free or not subject to quota as a product of an insular possession unless specified requirements relating to fair labor practices and country of origin are met. Requires the President, for a two-year period, to deny an exporter duty-free and quota-free treatment if it is determined that such exporter has willfully falsified information regarding the country of origin of a product of the Northern Mariana Islands for which such treatment is claimed. (Sec. 4) Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to authorize the inspection by the Customs Service of any vessel from a foreign port or from a place in any U.S. territory or possession arriving at a port or place in the Northern Mariana Islands (currently, the United States or the Virgin Islands) (Sec. 5) Requires a study of the extent of human and labor rights violations in the Northern Mariana Islands, including any efforts being taken by the united States or the Government of the Northern Mariana Islands to address or prohibit such violations. Requires a report on the results of the study to specified congressional committees. (Sec. 8) Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1999
Helicopter Noise Control and Safety Act - Requires the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration upon determining independently, or after review of a study submitted by a requester, that helicopter operations pose a public noise and safety risk in a county or municipality with a greater than 500,000 population, to develop and implement a plan, in accordance with specified requirements, to reduce that risk. Authorizes any city, State, local government, agency, or instrumentality, or any person responsible for the operation of a heliport, to submit to the Administrator: (1) a study demonstrating that noise or safety conditions, or both, resulting from helicopter operations pose a risk to the public health and welfare of such a county or municipality; and (2) a plan to reduce the risk. Requires the Administrator to review such a plan and, upon determining that helicopter operations pose such a risk, to make any modifications necessary to conform with this Act. Specifies procedures for public comment and implementation of a plan developed in either manner.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1999
Income Equity Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to deny employers a deduction for payments of excessive compensation (more than 25 times the lowest compensation paid any other employee).
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Outer Continental Shelf Impact Assistance Title II: State, Local, and Urban Conservation and Recreation Title III: Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Conservation and Reinvestment Act of 1999 - Title I: Outer Continental Shelf Impact Assistance - Establishes the Outer Continental Shelf Impact Assistance Fund (OCSIAF) to provide impact assistance to coastal States from a portion (27 percent) of allocable new OCS revenues (payments received by the United States as royalties, net profit share payments, and related late-payment interest from natural gas and oil leases under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act). Prohibits placement in the Fund of OCS revenues from a leased tract (or portion) located in a geographic area subject to a leasing moratorium on January 1, 1999, unless the lease was issued before the moratorium and was in production on such date. (Sec. 103) Sets forth a formula for use by the Secretary of the Interior to determine the portion of the allocable share of new revenues attributable to each coastal State and county eligible to receive impact assistance payments. Mandates that such OCS funds be expended by the eligible coastal States and counties for certain environmental projects and activities. Requires: (1) the Governor of every OCSIAF recipient State to develop (and certify to the Secretary) a State plan for the use of such funds; (2) an eligible county to submit for the Governor's approval a plan setting forth the projects and activities for which it proposes to expend OCSIA funds; and (3) the Governor of each recipient State to account to the Congress for all OCSIAF monies received for the previous fiscal year. Title II: State, Local, and Urban Conservation and Recreation - Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (LWCFA) to require an amount equal to 23 percent of specified Outer Continental Shelf revenues to be credited to a separate account in the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) in the Treasury in each fiscal year through September 30, 2015. (Sec. 202) Makes such funds available, without further appropriation, to carry out LWCFA in the next succeeding fiscal year. Provides that, if such revenues in a fiscal year exceed $900 million, such excess shall be available, without further appropriation, in the next succeeding fiscal year for obligation or expenditure as payments in lieu of taxes. Authorizes appropriations to maintain a certain minimum total annual income of the LWCF. Makes certain amounts covered into the LWCF available for expenditure without appropriation. Sets forth formulae for allocation of such funds for: (1) Federal acquisition of certain lands, waters, or interests; (2) financial assistance to the States for land acquisition, urban conservation, and recreation projects; and (3) local governments through the Urban Parks and Recreation Recovery Program of the Department of the Interior. Provides for an LWCFA allocation of funds to Indian tribes and Alaska Native Village Corporations. Requires States to make at least 50 percent of the annual State apportionment under LWCFA available as grants to local governments. Replaces, within a five-year period, LWCFA requirements for comprehensive State plans with requirements for State action agendas. Allows each State to define its own priorities and criteria for selection of outdoor recreation and conservation acquisition and development projects eligible for LWCFA grants so long as it provides for public involvement in this process and publishes an accurate and current State Action Agenda for Community Recreation and Conservation. Requires such Agendas to: (1) be strategic, originating in broad-based and long-term needs, but focused on actions that can be funded over the next four years, and be updated every four years; (2) consider all providers of recreation and conservation lands, and correlate with other State, regional and local plans for parks, recreation, open space, and wetlands conservation; (3) address wetlands as important outdoor recreation and conservation resources, and incorporate a State wetlands priority conservation plan consistent with the national plan developed under the Emergency Wetlands Resources Act; and (4) be guided in part by recovery action programs developed by urban localities under the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act. Revises LWCFA conditions for approval of conversions. (Sec. 203) Amends the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act (UPRRA) to provide (in addition to the current types of at-risk recreation grants and recovery action program grants) for matching capital grants to local governments in the form of: (1) development grants for development and construction on existing or new neighborhood recreation sites, including indoor and outdoor recreation facilities, support facilities, and landscaping, but excluding routine maintenance and upkeep activities; and (2) acquisition grants for purchasing new parkland to be permanently dedicated and made accessible for public recreation use. Revises UPRRA requirements for: (1) eligibility; (2) matching grants; (3) coordination; and (4) conversion approval. Repeals the limitation on the use of UPRRA funds for acquisition of land or interests in land. (Sec. 205) Establishes a Habitat Reserve Program (HRP) within the Department of the Interior to be administered by the Secretary of the Interior in association with the applicable State fish and wildlife department in the State where the affected land is located. Requires lands eligible for enrollment in the HRP to be privately owned and designated by the State agency as necessary to preserve the existence of one or more species listed under the Endangered Species Act, and their owners and operators to have voluntarily entered into partnership agreements with the Secretary and the State agency. Prescribes: (1) limitations on lands eligible for enrollment in the HRP; (2) HRP contract requirements; (3) HRP management plans; (4) HRP contract duration; and (5) payments to owners or operators of lands included in the HRP. Title III: Wildlife Conservation and Restoration - Amends the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (FAWRA) to require an amount equal to ten percent of specified Outer Continental Shelf revenues to be deposited in a new subaccount in the Federal aid to wildlife restoration fund (FAWRF), to be invested and to be made available without further appropriation, for apportionment in the next succeeding fiscal year for State wildlife conservation and restoration programs. Provides that all interest on such amounts shall be available without further appropriations, for obligation or expenditure for purposes of the North American Wetlands Conservation Act of 1989. (Sec. 305) Sets forth requirements for: (1) allocation of such subaccount receipts; (2) applications for approval of, and development grants for, State wildlife conservation and restoration programs; and (3) coordination. (Sec. 306) Allows certain subaccount funds for such a State wildlife conservation and restoration program to be used for law enforcement and education. (Sec. 307) Prohibits a State from receiving FAWRA matching funds if it diverts any funds from wildlife conservation purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1999
Prescription Drug Fairness for Seniors Act of 1999 - Requires each participating manufacturer of a covered outpatient drug to make available for purchase by each pharmacy such covered outpatient drug in the described amount (an amount equal to the aggregate amount of the covered outpatient drug sold or distributed by the pharmacy to Medicare beneficiaries) and at the described price (the price equal to the lower of either the lowest price paid for the drug by the Federal Government or the manufacturer's best price for the drug). Sets forth special provisions with respect to hospice programs.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1999
Post Office Community Partnership Act of 1999 - Modifies Federal postal law to revise requirements for the closing or consolidation of a post office and apply them, as well, to its relocation or construction. Requires a 60-day notice before an office's relocation, closing, consolidation, or construction. Requires such notice to be: (1) hand delivered or delivered by mail; and (2) published in one or more newspapers of general circulation within the zip codes served by such post office. Sets forth provisions which: (1) allow any person served by the post office to offer an alternative relocation, closing, consolidation, or construction proposal within such 60-day period; and (2) require the Postal Service to conduct a hearing, if requested by such person, to allow the individual to present oral or written testimony. Revises the factors to be considered in deciding whether or not to relocate, close, consolidate, or construct a post office to include: (1) the extent to which the post office is part of a core downtown business area; (2) the sentiment of the community; (3) the adequacy of the existing post office; and (4) whether all reasonable alternatives to relocation, closing, consolidation, or construction have been explored. Requires the Postal Service to respond in a consolidated report to all of the alternative proposals offered within the 60-day notification period by persons served by the post office in question. Requires the Postal Service to follow a community's public participation procedures to address the relocation, closing, consolidation, or construction of buildings in the community if such procedures are more stringent than those provided in this Act. Provides that nothing in this Act shall be construed to apply to a temporary customer service facility used for less than 60 days. Allows for a one-time suspension of this Act with respect to a single emergency for any specific post office for a maximum 180-day period.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1999
Requires the Capitol Police Board to: (1) designate or establish a flag pole upon which the U.S. flag shall be flown at half-staff for one day whenever a Federal, State, local, or territorial law enforcement officer is slain in the line of duty; (2) post, in close proximity to the flag, public notice of the name, tenure of service, and jurisdiction of the officer being honored; and (3) present such flag to the officer's family.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1999
Designates the Federal building located at 10301 South Compton Avenue in Los Angeles, California, known as the Watts Finance Office as the Augustus F. Hawkins Post Office Building.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1999
Redesignates the Federal building located at 701 South Santa Fe Avenue in Compton, California, known as the Compton Main Post Office as the Mervyn Malcolm Dymally Post Office Building.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1999
Medicare Social Work Equity Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to exclude clinical social worker services from coverage under the Medicare skilled nursing facility prospective payment system.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1999
Health Care Research and Development and Taxpayer Protection Act - Requires a Federal agency or nonprofit entity undertaking federally funded health care research and development not to convey or provide to a person a patent or other exclusive right to use such research and development for a drug or other health care technology until: (1) the person enters a reasonable pricing agreement with the Secretary of Health and Human Services; or (2) the Secretary determines that the public interest is served by a waiver of such pricing agreement. Requires the Government, in conveying or licensing exclusive rights to federally funded research, to give consideration to mechanisms for determining reasonable prices based upon a competitive bidding process where bidders compete: (1) based on the lowest prices that will be charged to consumers; (2) based on the least sales revenues before prices are adjusted in accordance with a cost-based reasonable pricing formula; (3) based on the least period of time before prices are adjusted in accordance with such a formula; (4) based on the shortest period of exclusivity; or (5) under other competitive bidding systems. Permits such competitive bidding process to incorporate requirements for minimum levels of expenditures on research, marketing, maximum price, or other factors.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1999
Amends Federal law to add Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday (the third Monday in January) to the list of days on which the U.S. flag should especially be displayed.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Protection Against Scams on Seniors Title II: Telemarketing Fraud Over the Internet Title I: Protection Against Scams on Seniors - Protection Against Scams on Seniors Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Assistant Secretary for Aging, to publicly disseminate by specified means in each State certain information designed to educate senior citizens and raise awareness about the dangers of telemarketing fraud. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Telemarketing Fraud Over the Internet - Amends the Federal criminal code to include within its criminal fraud protections transmissions made over the Internet. Directs the Federal Trade Commission to initiate a rulemaking proceeding to set forth the application of the Federal Trade Commission Act to deceptive acts or practices in U.S. commerce in connection with the promotion, advertisement, sale offer, or sale of goods or services through the use of the Internet, including the initiation, transmission, and receipt of unsolicited commercial electronic mail.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1999
Honoring American Military Women for Their Service in World War II Resolution - Honors the women who served the United States in military capacities during World War II. Recognizes that these women contributed vitally to the victory of the United States and the Allies in the war.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1999
Declares that: (1) the final political status of the territory controlled by the Palestinian Authority can only be determined through negotiations and agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority; (2) any attempt to establish Palestinian statehood outside the negotiating process will invoke the strongest congressional opposition; and (3) the President should unequivocally assert U.S. opposition to the unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1999
Child Handgun Injury Prevention Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe such regulations governing the design, manufacture, and performance of, and commerce in, handgun discharge protection products as are necessary to reduce or prevent unreasonable risk of injury to children from the unintentional discharge of handguns. Requires that such regulations, at a minimum, set forth a minimum safety standard that such a product must meet in order to be manufactured, sold, transferred, or delivered consistent with this Act. Directs the Secretary, in developing the standard, to: (1) give appropriate consideration to products that are not detachable, but are permanently installed and incorporated into the design of a handgun; and (2) consider using test protocols relating to poison prevention packaging standards. Requires the standard to ensure that any product that meets the standard is of adequate quality and construction to prevent children from operating a handgun, and that such product cannot be removed except through the use of a key, combination, or other method of access made possible by the manufacturer. (Sec. 4) Authorizes the Secretary to issue an order: (1) prohibiting the manufacture, sale, transfer, or delivery of a product which the Secretary finds has been designed, or has been or is intended to be manufactured, transferred, or distributed, in violation of this Act; and (2) requiring the manufacturer of, and any dealer in, a product which the Secretary finds to violate such provision to provide notice of the risks associated with the product; to bring the product into conformity with regulations prescribed by this Act; to repair, replace, refund the purchase price of, or recall, the product; or to submit to the Secretary a satisfactory plan for implementation of any such action. Authorizes the Secretary, at reasonable times in order to ascertain compliance, to: (1) enter any place in which products are manufactured, stored, or held, for distribution in commerce, and inspect those areas; and (2) enter and inspect any conveyance being used to transport a product for commercial purposes. (Sec. 5) Prohibits: (1) a licensed manufacturer or importer from selling, transferring, or delivering to any person any handgun without a product that meets the standard; and (2) a licensed dealer from selling, transferring, or delivering to any person any handgun without the product supplied to the dealer by the licensed manufacturer or importer. Makes exceptions for Federal, state, and local governments. (Sec. 6) Prohibits a licensed manufacturer, importer, or dealer from selling, transferring, or delivering a handgun: (1) with accompanying packaging or other descriptive materials without a specified warning label regarding the consequences of child operation of, child access to, and storage of, handguns; and (2) without accompanying packaging or other descriptive materials unless the label described is affixed to the handgun by a method to be prescribed by the Secretary. (Sec. 7) Sets forth reporting requirements. (Sec. 8) Authorizes the Secretary to assess civil penalties, and to revoke a Federal firearms license, under specified circumstances. Creates a private right of action for damages by persons aggrieved by a violation of this Act. Sets forth criminal penalties for violations. (Sec. 9) Allows State law to afford greater protection to children regarding handguns than is afforded by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1999
Nursing Home Resident Protection Amendments of 1999 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to prohibit transfers or discharges of residents of nursing facilities because of a facility's voluntary withdrawal from participation in Medicaid as long as such residents resided in the facility before the withdrawal. Requires a withdrawn facility to provide specified notice to new residents who begin residence after the withdrawal that the facility: (1) is not participating in Medicaid with respect to that resident; and (2) may transfer or discharge the resident from the facility when the resident is unable to pay facility charges, even though the resident may have become eligible for Medicaid's nursing facility services.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1999
Stand Down Authorization Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs: (1) to carry out Stand Down events (events to provide veterans who are without a home, unemployed, experiencing health or social adjustment challenges, or otherwise in need with one to three days of safety and security and access to food, shelter, clothing, benefits certification, health care, or any other appropriate form of assistance); and (2) in connection with such events, to provide outreach services, use Department of Veterans Affairs personal property, and provide any other appropriate benefit or service. Directs the Secretary to establish and implement a pilot program under which the Secretary shall carry out a single Stand Down event in each State in each calendar year, beginning in 2000. Requires an annual report to the Congress on pilot program implementation and recommendations for legislation.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1999
Paycheck Fairness Act - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to revise remedies for and enforcement of prohibitions against sex discrimination in the payment of wages (such FLSA prohibitions are also known as the Equal Pay Act). (Sec. 3) Amends FLSA to provide for enhanced enforcement of equal pay requirements, adding a nonretaliation requirement. Increases penalties for such violations. Provides for the Secretary of Labor to seek additional compensatory or punitive damages in such cases. (Sec. 4) Requires the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to train EEOC employees and affected individuals and entities on matters involving wage discrimination. (Sec. 5) Directs the Secretary to conduct studies and provide information to employers, labor organizations, and the general public concerning the means available to eliminate pay disparities between men and women, including convening a national summit and carrying out other specified activities. (Sec. 6) Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop guidelines for employer evaluations of job categories based on objective criteria, to be used voluntarily by employers to compare wages for different jobs to determine if pay scales adequately and fairly reflect each job's educational and skill requirements, independence, working conditions, and responsibility, in order to eliminate unfair pay disparities between occupations traditionally dominated by men or women; and (2) establish a program to recognize employers who use such guidelines to ensure that women are paid fairly in comparison to men without lowering men's wages. Authorizes the Secretary to provide technical assistance for employers to carry out such evaluations. (Sec. 7) Establishes the Robert Reich National Award for Pay Equity in the Workplace, which shall be evidenced by a medal. Sets forth criteria for specified types of entities to receive such an award. (Sec. 8) Expresses the sense of the Senate that the President should: (1) take appropriate steps to increase the amount of information available with respect to wage disparities; and (2) consider ways to collect such information that maximize its utility, protect individual privacy, and minimize reporting burdens. (Sec. 9) Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1999
Defense of the Environment Act of 1999 - Requires any report of a congressional committee or committee of conference accompanying a public bill or joint resolution that includes any provision that reduces environmental protection to contain: (1) an identification and description of the provision; (2) an assessment of the extent of such reduction; (3) a description of any actions to avoid such reduction; and (4) any statement received from the Comptroller General, upon request of the committee or a majority of either the minority or majority members of the committee, assessing the reduction. Deems a provision to reduce environmental protection if it may: (1) allow increased pollution; (2) adversely affect the environmental quality of public lands or diminish protection of species that may be endangered; (3) increase children's exposure to environmental contaminants and other environmental risks; or (4) have the effect of shielding environmental law violators or limiting judicial review of agency action under authority of any environmental law. Provides for consultation and assistance of the Comptroller General at the request of any committee. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to ensure that each Federal agency: (1) collects and catalogs available information that would assist in assessing whether any bill, joint resolution, amendment, or conference report provision would reduce environmental protection; (2) facilitates the availability of such information for Congress' use; and (3) makes such information readily available to the Comptroller General for purposes of fulfilling the assessment and consultation duties described above. Requires such information to be made publicly available. Makes out of order in the House of Representatives and the Senate the consideration of any reported bill or joint resolution, or conference report, unless the committee has complied with the identification and assessment provisions of this Act. Makes any rule waiving these provisions out of order in the House. Amends the Rules of the House of Representatives with respect to the striking of, and points of order against, provisions reducing environmental protection within the meaning of this Act. Provides Senate procedures for the striking of such provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1999
Amends provisions relating to the census to eliminate the exception that prevents the use of sampling in determining the population for purposes of the apportionment of Representatives in the Congress among the several States.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1999
Aircraft Noise Reduction Act of 1999 - Amends Federal aviation law to prohibit a person from operating any civil subsonic turbojet that fails to comply with stage three noise levels to or from an airport located in any of the 20 most populated U.S. metropolitan areas, as determined by the Secretary of Transportation.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1999
Hope for Children Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase the amount allowable for qualified adoption expenses; (2) permanently extend the credit for adoption expenses; and (3) adjust the limitations on such credit for inflation.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1999
Prohibits payment of any amount from the reserve fund for unanticipated expenses of committees of the House of Representatives without the approval of the House.
![Official portrait of Rep. Waxman, Henry A. [D-CA-33]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/w000215_200.jpg)