United States · United States Congress · 9 November 1999
Congratulates the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, its staff, and volunteers for their commitment to our national defense, for their contribution of time and talent, and for maintaining the much needed support of employers and communities for the National Guard and Reserve.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 1999
Entitles to an annuity under either the Civil Service Retirement System or the Federal Employee Retirement System a military reserve technician who is separated from service as a technician after either: (1) becoming 50 years of age and completing 20 years of such service; or (2) completing 25 years of such service.
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 · 29 October 1999
Energy Security Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide tax credits, tax deductions, taxable income limits, tax credit extensions, elections to expense, and other tax incentives concerning: (1) the use of energy efficient property in business; (2) nonbusiness energy efficient systems (residential and automotive); (3) alternative fuel (alcohol); (4) electric automobiles; (5) clean coal technologies; (6) methane recovery; (7) oil and gas production; (8) renewable power generation; (9) energy-efficient steelmaking; and (10) agricultural conservation.
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 1999
Veterans Claims and Appeals Procedures Clarification and Improvement Act - Amends Federal veterans' benefits provisions to: (1) emphasize that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs must assist a veteran in developing all facts pertinent to a veterans' claim for compensation or benefits; (2) make the current veterans' claims adjudication and hearing procedures exclusive with respect to hearings, investigations, and other proceedings in connection with the consideration of a claim; (3) preclude the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims from entertaining any allegation of error by the Secretary in a decision which was not raised by the appellant or the Court; and (4) require such Court to set aside a previous finding of material fact not reasonably supported by a preponderance of the evidence (currently, when clearly erroneous).
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 1999
Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to pay a gratuity of $20,000 to veterans (or their surviving spouse) who: (1) served at Bataan or Corregidor in the Philippines during World War II; (2) were captured and held as prisoners of war by Japan during such service; and (3) were required by Japan to perform slave labor in Japan during such War.
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 1999
American Inventors Protection Act of 1999 - Title I: Inventors' Rights - Inventors' Rights Act of 1999 - Amends Federal patent law to oblige any invention promoter, before entering into a contract for invention promotion services, to disclose to a customer in writing: (1) the total number of inventions evaluated by the promoter for commercial potential in the past five years, including the number of positive and of negative evaluations; (2) the total number of customers who have contracted with the promoter in the past five years; (3) the total number of customers known by the promoter to have received a net financial profit as a direct result of the invention promotion services provided; (4) the total number of customers known by the invention promoter to have received license agreements for their inventions as a direct result of such services; and (5) the names and addresses of all previous invention promotion companies with which the promoter or its officers have collectively or individually been affiliated in the previous ten years. (Sec. 102) Establishes a Federal cause of action for inventors injured by material false or fraudulent statements or representations, or any omission of material fact, by an invention promoter, or by the promoter's failure to make the required written disclosures. Sets statutory damages (if elected by a customer before judgment is rendered) at a maximum of $5,000. Requires the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks (Commissioner) to make publicly available any complaints received involving invention promoters, along with the response, if any, from the promoters. Title II: Patent and Trademark Fee Fairness - Patent and Trademark Fee Fairness Act of 1999 - Amends Federal patent law to reduce: (1) from $760 to $690 original filing and reissue fees, as well as the national fee for certain international applications; and (2) from $940 to $830 the three-and-a-half year maintenance fee. (Sec. 203) Authorizes the Commissioner to adjust trademark fees in FY 2000 without regard to fluctuations in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) during the preceding 12 months. (Sec. 204) Directs the Commissioner to study and report to specified congressional committees on alternative fee structures that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) could adopt to encourage maximum participation by the inventor community in the United States. (Sec. 205) Changes from discretionary to mandatory the Commissioner's authority to make all trademark fees available only for the processing of trademark registrations and trademark-related activities, services, and materials. Title III: First Inventor Defense - First Inventor Defense Act of 1999 - Amends Federal patent law to declare that it shall be a defense to an infringement action with respect to any subject matter that would otherwise infringe one or more claims for a method in the patent being asserted against a person, if such person had, acting in good faith, actually reduced the subject matter to practice at least one year before the effective filing date of such patent, and commercially used the subject matter before the effective filing date of such patent. (Sec. 302) Deems a commercial use, in the case of activities performed by a nonprofit research laboratory, or nonprofit entity such as a university, research center, or hospital, any use for which the public is the intended beneficiary, except that such use: (1) may be asserted as a defense only for continued use by and in the laboratory or nonprofit entity; and (2) may not be asserted as a defense with respect to any subsequent commercialization or use outside such laboratory or nonprofit entity. States that the sale or other disposition of a useful end product produced by a patented method, by a person entitled to assert such a defense with respect to that useful end result, shall exhaust the patent owner's rights under the patent to the extent such rights would have been exhausted had such sale or other disposition been made by the patent owner. Limits the defense to inventions for methods. Prohibits the defense if the subject matter on which the defense is based was derived from the patentee or persons in privity with the patentee. Declares that this defense is not a general license under all claims of the patent at issue, but extends only to the specific subject matter claimed in the patent with respect to which the person can assert a defense. Extends the defense, however, to variations in the quantity or volume of use of the claimed subject matter, and to improvements that do not infringe additional specifically claimed subject matter of the patent. Requires a person asserting the defense to establish it by clear and convincing evidence. Prohibits any person who has abandoned commercial use of subject matter from relying on activities performed before the date of abandonment in establishing a defense with respect to actions taken after such date. Limits assertion of the defense to the person who performed the acts necessary to establish it. Prohibits licensing, assignment, or transfer to any person but the patent owner of the right to assert the defense, except as an ancillary and subordinate part of a good faith assignment or transfer for other reasons of the entire enterprise or line of business to which the defense relates. Restricts the site of use of a subject matter for which the defense may be asserted if the defense has been acquired as part of such a good faith assignment or transfer. (Sec. 303) Directs the General Accounting Office (GAO) to study and report to specified congressional committees on the effect on innovation, competition (foreign and domestic), and American businesses (including electronic commerce) of the quality of patents being issued on business methods by the PTO. Title IV: Patent Term Guarantee - Patent Term Guarantee Act of 1999 - Amends Federal patent law to extend the term of a patent one day for each day lost as a result of delay created by the PTO when the agency fails to: (1) make notifications within 14 months after filing of a non-provisional application about the rejection of any patent claim, or objections to or requirements for it, or of allowance of the application; (2) respond within four months to a reply to a rejection, objection, or requirement, or to an appeal of a twice-rejected claim; (3) act on an application within four months after the date of a decision by the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, or a decision by a Federal court in a case in which allowable claims remain in the application; or (4) issue a patent within four months after the date on which the issue fee was paid and all outstanding requirements were satisfied. (Sec. 402) Requires a day-for-day extension of a patent term if: (1) a patent is not issued within three years after the filing of the application; or (2) issue is delayed by interferences, secrecy orders, or appeals. Specifies limitations to such an extension, as well as grounds for its reduction. Requires the Commissioner to prescribe regulations establishing procedures for the application for and determination of patent term extensions and adjustments. (Sec. 403) Authorizes the Commissioner to: (1) prescribe regulations for the continued examination, at the applicant's request, of a patent application notwithstanding a final rejection; and (2) establish appropriate fees for continued examination proceedings, with a mandatory 50% fee reduction for qualifying small entities. Title V: Domestic Publication of Patent Applications Published Abroad - Domestic Publication of Foreign Filed Patent Applications Act of 1999 - Requires the Commissioner to publish each patent application 18 months after the earliest filing date for which a benefit is sought, unless the applicant requests earlier publication. Makes final and unreviewable the Director's determination to release or not to release information concerning a published patent application. Prohibits publication of any application: (1) no longer pending; (2) subject to a secrecy order; (3) which is provisional; (4) for a design patent; or (5) for an invention the applicant certifies has not and will not be the subject of an application filed in another country, or under a multilateral international agreement, that requires publication of applications 18 months after filing. Requires any applicant, in the latter instance, who subsequently files, in a foreign country or under a multilateral international agreement, an application directed to the invention disclosed in the application filed in the PTO, to notify the Commissioner. (Sec. 502) Allows an applicant to submit a redacted copy of the PTO-filed application, eliminating any part or description of the invention that is not also contained in any of the corresponding applications the applicant has filed in one or more foreign countries whose applications require a less extensive description of the invention than the application or description of the invention in the application filed in the PTO. Requires the Commissioner to publish only the redacted copy of the application, unless it is not received within 16 months after the earliest effective filing date. Requires the Commissioner to establish appropriate procedures to ensure that no protest or other form of pre-issuance opposition to the grant of a patent on an application may be initiated after publication of the application without the express written consent of the applicant. Prohibits publication or disclosure of the application of any invention whose publication or disclosure would be detrimental to the national security. Directs the GAO to study and report to specified congressional committees on applicants who file only in the United States on or after the effective date of this subtitle. (Sec. 503) Amends Federal patent law with respect to the option of an applicant seeking patent protection in the United States to claim the filing date of an application for the same invention filed in another Convention country, provided the subsequent application is filed in the United States within 12 months of the earlier filing in the foreign country. Revises requirements for claiming such priority. Authorizes the Commissioner to: (1) consider an applicant's failure to file a timely claim for priority to be a waiver of any such priority claim; and (2) establish procedures (including the payment of a surcharge) to accept an unintentionally delayed priority claim. (Sec. 504) Amends Federal patent law to state that a patent shall contain a (provisional) right to obtain a reasonable royalty for applicants whose applications are published under this title, or international applications designating the United States filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). Entitles the applicant to obtain a reasonable royalty from any person who between publication of the application and issuance of the patent: (1) makes, uses, offers for sale, or sells the invention in, or imports it into, the United States; or (2) if the invention claimed is a process, makes, uses, offers for sale, sells, or imports a product made by that process in the United States; and (3) had actual notice of the published application, including a translation into English if it was filed in a non-English language under the PCT designating the United States. Denies availability of such right unless the invention as claimed in the patent is substantially identical to the invention as claimed in the published application. Sets a six-year statute of limitations from the date of patent issuance in which an action for reasonable royalties must be brought. (Sec. 505) Grants a published application prior art effect as of its earliest effective U.S. filing date against any subsequently filed U.S. applications. States that any foreign filing date to which the published application is entitled will not be the effective filing date of the U.S. published application for prior art purposes, unless it is an international application designating the United States published in English under the PCT. (Sec. 506) Requires the Commissioner to recover the cost of early publication required by this title by charging a separate publication fee after a notice of allowance is given. Title VI: Optional Inter Partes Reexamination Procedure - Optional Inter Partes Reexamination Procedure Act of 1999 - Amends Federal patent law to allow a third party to request inter partes reexamination by the PTO of a patent on the basis of any prior art, as long as the real party in interest is identified. (Sec. 604) Requires the Commissioner to: (1) make a determination (which shall be final and non-appealable) of whether a substantial new question of patentability affecting any claim of the patent concerned is raised by the request, with or without consideration of other patents or printed publications; and (2) order an inter partes reexamination of the patent for resolution of any substantial new question determined. Prescribes procedures for an inter partes reexamination. Entitles the third-party requester to: (1) submit one written comment addressing issues raised by the action of the Office or the patent owner's response each time the patent owner files a response to the PTO; and (2) appeal to the PTO Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (but not the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit) from an examiner's determination that the reexamined patent is valid. Entitles the patent owner to appeal to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit any decision adverse to a claim's patentability. Estops any third-party requesters who participate in an inter partes reexamination proceeding from raising in a subsequent civil action or inter partes reexamination any issue of patent validity that they raised or could have raised during such inter partes reexamination. Permits a subsequent assertion of patent invalidity, however, based on newly discovered prior art unavailable to the third-party requester and the PTO at the time of the inter partes reexamination proceedings. Requires the Commissioner, upon expiration of the time for appeal or termination of any appeal proceeding with regard to an inter partes reexamination, to cancel any patent claim finally determined unpatentable, confirm any claim determined patentable, or incorporate in the patent any proposed amended or new claim determined patentable. Prescribes circumstances in which an inter partes reexamination is prohibited. (Sec. 606) Directs the Commissioner to evaluate for Congress whether the inter partes reexamination proceedings established under this title are inequitable to any of the parties in interest and, if so, recommend suitable changes. (Sec. 607) Estops an inter partes reexamination requester from challenging at a later time, in any civil action, any fact determined during the process of such reexamination, except with respect to a fact determination later proved to be erroneous based on information unavailable at the time of the inter partes reexamination decision. Title VII: Miscellaneous Patent Provisions - Amends Federal patent law to permit the conversion, upon applicant request, of a provisional application into a non-provisional application. Repeals the requirement that a provisional application be pending on the filing date of a non-provisional application in order for the provisional application to be relied upon in any proceeding in the PTO. (Sec. 702) Permits persons who filed an application for patent first in a World Trade Organization (WTO) member country to claim the right of priority in a subsequent patent application filed in the United States, even if such country does not yet afford similar privileges on the basis of applications filed in the United States. Provides for the right of priority in the United States on the basis of an application for a plant breeder's right first filed in a WTO member country or in a foreign member of the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV Contracting Party). (Sec. 703) Makes certain limitations on remedies for patent infringement applicable only to applications filed on or after September 30, 1996. (Sec. 704) Authorizes the PTO to receive, publish, disseminate, and maintain information in electronic form. Prohibits the Commissioner from ceasing to maintain paper or microform collections of U.S. patents, foreign patent documents, and U.S. trademark registrations, except pursuant to notice and opportunity for public comment. Requires the Commissioner to report to Congress the details of any proposal to cease maintaining paper or microform collections, certifying that its implementation will not negatively impact the public. (Sec. 705) Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on the potential risks to the U.S. biotechnological industry regarding biological deposits in support of biotechnology patents. Requires the PTO to consider the Comptroller General's recommendations when drafting regulations affecting biological deposits. (Sec. 706) Specifies that an inventor involved in a PTO interference proceeding who establishes a date of invention is subject to certain requirements, including the one that the invention was not abandoned, suppressed, or concealed. (Sec. 707) Revises the condition of patentability that subject matter developed by another person which qualifies as prior art only in certain circumstances shall not preclude the granting of a patent on an invention with only obvious differences where the subject matter and claimed invention were, at the time the invention was made, owned by the same person or subject to an obligation of assignment to the same person. Adds to such qualifying prior art circumstances that the invention was described in another patent granted on an application filed before the applicant's date of invention. (Thus allows an applicant to receive a patent when an invention with only obvious differences from the applicant's invention was described in a patent granted on an application filed before the applicant's invention, provided the inventions are commonly owned or subject to an obligation of assignment to the same person.) (Sec. 708) Prohibits the Commissioner from entering into an agreement to provide copies of specifications and drawings of U.S. patents and applications to a foreign country, other than a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) country or a WTO member country, without the express authorization of the Secretary of Commerce. (Sec. 709) Directs the Commissioner to maintain a program for identifying national security positions and providing for appropriate security clearances, in order to maintain the secrecy of certain inventions and to prevent disclosure of sensitive and strategic information in the interest of national security.
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 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 · 27 October 1999
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the June 30, 1999, termination date for the research tax credit. Increases by one percent the alternative incremental tax credit for qualified research. Extends such credit to qualified research performed after December 31, 1999, in Puerto Rico or any other U.S. possession.
United States · United States Congress · 22 October 1999
Food and Medicine for the World Act - Prohibits the President from imposing a unilateral agricultural sanction or unilateral medical sanction against a foreign country, except in specified circumstances, unless: (1) not less than 60 days before the sanction is proposed to be imposed, the President makes a specified report to Congress; and (2) Congress enacts a joint resolution approving the report.
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 1999
Small Watershed Rehabilitation Act of 1999 - Amends the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to provide financial assistance to an eligible local organization to cover a portion of the total costs incurred for the rehabilitation of structural measures originally constructed as part of a covered water resource project (except that the local organization shall be responsible for securing all land, easements, or rights-of-ways necessary for the project). Limits the amount of Federal funds that may be made available to such an organization for construction of a particular rehabilitation project to 65 percent of the total rehabilitation costs, but not exceed 100 percent of actual construction costs incurred, and makes the local organization responsible for resource rights costs and all Federal, State, and local permits. Authorizes the Secretary, acting through the Natural Resources Conservation Service, to provide technical assistance to a requesting organization in planning, designing, and implementing rehabilitation projects. Prohibits any assistance authorized under this Act from being used to perform operation and maintenance activities. Outlines assistance application requirements. Directs the Secretary to establish a system of approving rehabilitation assistance requests from eligible organizations equitably. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2009 to provide financial and technical assistance. Earmarks funds authorized for the first two fiscal years for an assessment by the Secretary of the rehabilitation needs of covered projects. Requires: (1) the Secretary to maintain a database to track the benefits derived from rehabilitation projects and expenditures and report annually to the Congress on the status of activities conducted; and (2) eligible local organizations that received assistance to report to the Secretary on the status of rehabilitation efforts undertaken using financial assistance after the completion of the specific projects for which assistance was provided.
United States · United States Congress · 21 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 · 20 October 1999
National Laboratories Partnership Improvement Act of 1999 - Instructs the Secretary of Energy to: (1) establish a Regional Technology Infrastructure Program to improve the ability of the National Laboratories to support department missions; (2) authorize the Director of each National Laboratory to implement such Program pursuant to prescribed program requirements; (3) require the Director of each multiprogram National Laboratory to establish a small business advocacy function and a small business assistance program; and (4) require such Director to appoint a technology partnership ombudsman for complaint resolution. Instructs the Secretary to ensure that each contractor operating a National Laboratory has policies and procedures, including an employee benefits program, that do not create disincentives to the transfer of scientific and technical personnel among contractor-operated National Laboratories. Amends the Department of Energy Organization Act to authorize the Secretary to enter into transactions with public agencies and private organizations in furtherance of functions including research, development, or demonstration projects. Amends the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to reflect the provisions of this Act with respect to strategic plans, Federal waivers, and time required for approval.
United States · United States Congress · 15 October 1999
Amends the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 to make it unlawful for a packer to own, feed, or control livestock intended for slaughter, with exceptions for: (1) a cooperative whose majority membership owns, feeds, or controls the livestock that the cooperative slaughters; or (2) a packer, owned or controlled by producers of a type of livestock, that slaughters less than two percent of such livestock slaughtered annually in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 15 October 1999
Calls for the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee to recommend and the Postal Service to issue a commemorative postage stamp in honor of the U.S.S. Wisconsin and those who served on that vessel.
United States · United States Congress · 14 October 1999
Palace of the Governors Expansion Act - Requires the Secretary of the Interior, subject to the availability of appropriations, to award a grant to New Mexico to pay the Federal share of costs of the final design, construction, furnishing, and equipping of the Palace of the Governors Expansion Annex in Santa Fe. Conditions receipt of the grant on New Mexico, acting through the Office of Cultural Affairs: (1) submitting Annex architectural blueprints to the Secretary; (2) exercising due diligence to obtain an appropriation of at least $8 million from the New Mexico State Legislature; and (3) expeditiously executing a memorandum of understanding recognizing that time is of the essence for construction because 2010 marks the 400th anniversary of continuous use of the Palace. Sets the Federal share of costs at 50 percent. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 14 October 1999
Indian Tribal Government Unemployment Compensation Act Tax Relief Amendments of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat employment by federally recognized tribal governments, for unemployment compensation tax purposes, in the same manner as employment by State or local units of government or nonprofit organizations.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 1999
Leif Ericson Millennium Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue one-dollar silver coins, in conjunction with the simultaneous minting and issuance of commemorative coins by the Republic of Iceland, in commemoration of the millennium of the discovery of the New World by Leif Ericson. Mandates that all coin surcharges be paid to the Leifur Eirikson Foundation for the purpose of funding student exchanges between the United States and Iceland.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: State Criminal Alien Assistance Program II Title II: Reimbursement of States and Localities for Emergency Health Services to Undocumented Aliens State Criminal Alien Assistance Program II and Local Medical Emergency Reimbursement Act - Title I: State Criminal Alien Assistance Program II - State Criminal Alien Assistance Program II Act of 1999 - Amends the Immigration and Reform and Control Act of 1986 to provide for the reimbursement of States for indirect costs of incarcerating illegal aliens. Defines such costs as: (1) court costs, county attorney costs, and non-trial criminal proceedings; (2) indigent defense; and (3) unsupervised probation costs. Authorizes appropriations. Provides for the reimbursement of States for costs of incarcerating juvenile aliens. Provides that reimbursement of States for incarcerating illegal aliens and certain Cuban nationals shall be allocated to give special consideration for any State that: (1) shares a border with Mexico or Canada; or (2) has a large number of undocumented aliens. Title II: Reimbursement of States and Localities for Emergency Health Services to Undocumented Aliens - Authorizes appropriations for allotments to States to be paid to local governments, hospitals, and other providers for emergency health services provided to undocumented aliens. Provides special consideration for providers: (1) in a border county with Mexico or Canada; or (2) in an area with a large number of undocumented aliens. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1999
Title I: America's Education Goals - Sets forth a declaration of America's Education Goals, using the categories of: (1) school readiness; (2) school completion; (3) student achievement and citizenship; (4) teacher education and professional development; (5) mathematics and science; (6) adult literacy and lifelong learning; (7) safe, disciplined, and alcohol- and drug-free schools; and (8) parental participation. Title II: America's Education Goals Panel - Establishes an America's Education Goals Panel in the executive branch, to advise the President, the Secretary of Education, and Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1999
Access to High Standards Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to award grants to State or local educational agencies to: (1) carry out specified activities under three-year demonstration programs to expand access for low-income individuals to advanced placement (AP) incentive programs; and (2) provide students with on-line AP courses. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to make AP programs a priority for Javits Gifted and Talented Students, Upward Bound, Eisenhower professional development, Star Schools, and education technology grants. Requires each institution of higher learning receiving HEA assistance to distribute to secondary school counselors or AP coordinators in the State information on academic credit given to students at the institution for AP test scores.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1999
Medicare Beneficiary Access to Care Act of 1999 - Title I: Hospitals - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) with respect to: (1) multiyear transition to prospective payment system (PPS) for hospital outpatient department services and a special rule for rural and cancer hospitals; (2) limitation in reduction of payments to disproportionate share (DSH) hospitals; (3) revision of criteria for designation as a critical access hospital; and (4) sole community and Medicare-dependent, small rural hospitals and the applicable percentage increase for FY 2000 and each subsequent fiscal year. (Sec. 103) Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to increase DSH hospital allotments for Minnesota, New Mexico, and Wyoming. Amends the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA '97) to make the Medicaid DSH transition rule permanent. Title II: Graduate Medical Education - Amends SSA title XVIII with respect to revision of multiyear reduction of indirect graduate medical education (GME) payments. (Sec. 202) Amends SSA title XVIII parts D (Miscellaneous) and C (Medicare+Choice) with respect to acceleration of payment to hospitals of indirect and direct GME costs for Medicare+Choice enrollees. (Sec. 203) Amends SSA title XVIII part C with respect to the exclusion of nursing and allied health education costs in calculating the Medicare+Choice payment rate. Amends SSA title XVIII with respect to: (1) payment to hospitals of nursing and allied health education program costs for Medicare+Choice enrollees; and (2) adjustments to limitations on the number of interns and residents and GME payments for certain interns and residents. Title III: Hospice Care - Amends SSA title XVIII to increase payments for routine home care and other services included in hospice care for a fiscal year after FY 1999. Title IV: Skilled Nursing Facilities - Provides that, for purposes of applying any formula under the PPS for covered skilled nursing facility services (SNFs) for services provided between April 1, 2000, and the end of FY 2001, the Secretary shall increase, by a specified applicable payment add-on, the adjusted Federal per diem rate otherwise determined for services provided to any individual during the period in which such individual is in a RUG III case mix category. (Sec. 402) Amends SSA title XVIII to exclude clinical social worker services and services performed under a contract with a rural health clinic or a Federally-qualified health center from the PPS for SNFs, as well as certain ambulance services, chemotherapy administration services, and other specified items, services, and devices, including swing beds in critical access hospitals. Title V: Outpatient Rehabilitation Services - Amends title XVIII to repeal for three years a specified financial limitation on outpatient physical therapy services, outpatient occupational therapy services, and outpatient speech-language pathology services covered under Medicare and furnished on or after January 1, 2000. Directs the Secretary to implement by January 1, 2003, a payment system for such services that takes into account the needs of Medicare beneficiaries for differing amounts of therapy based on certain factors. Title VI: Physicians' Services - Amends SSA title XVIII with respect to payment for physicians' services to revise the formula for determining the update adjustment factor and the formula for determining the sustainable growth rate for all physicians' services. (Sec. 602) Directs the Secretary to publish in the Federal Register an estimate of the single conversion factor to be used in the next calendar year for reimbursement of physicians' services, and data on which such estimate is based. Directs the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MEDPac) to review annually and report to the Secretary and specified congressional committees on such estimates and data. Title VII: Home Health - Amends BBA '97 and SSA title XVIII to delay application of the 15 percent reduction in payment rates for home health services until one year after implementation of the PPS for home health services. (Sec. 702) Amends SSA title XVIII to increase the FY 2000 per visit limit for home health agencies furnishing home health services, but in such a way that has no effect on the PPS for home health services. (Sec. 703) Requires the Secretary to pay such excess reasonable cost to a home health services provider that furnishes services appropriate to an individual's condition at a reasonable cost which significantly exceeds the applicable per beneficiary limit because of unusual variations in the type or amount of medically necessary care required. (Sec. 704) Eliminates the 15-minute billing requirement for the payment of claims for home health services furnished on or after October 1, 1998. (Sec. 705) Provides that, in the case of an overpayment by the Secretary to a home health agency for services furnished during a cost reporting period beginning on or after October 1, 1997, as a result of certain payment limitations, the home health agency may elect to repay the amount of such overpayment ratably over a 36-month period beginning on the overpayment notification date. (Sec. 706) Amends SSA title XVIII to include medical supplies (but not durable medical equipment) as home health services for purposes of home health consolidated billing. Title VIII: Medicare+Choice - Amends Medicare part C to delay the submission of proposed premiums, adjusted community rates, and related information each Medicare+Choice organization is required to submit to the Secretary for each Medicare+Choice plan for the service area in which it is intended to be offered in the following year. (Sec. 802) Reduces from five years to three years the general exclusion period for Medicare+Choice organizations whose contract has been terminated. (Sec. 803) Authorizes enrollment in alternative Medicare+Choice plans and Medigap coverage in the event of an involuntary termination of Medicare+Choice enrollment. Guarantees access for certain Medicare beneficiaries to Medigap policies in case of such an involuntary termination. (Sec. 804) Removes certain age-related restrictions with respect to Medigap protection against medical condition or pre-existing condition discrimination. Permits an individual who develops end-stage renal disease while enrolled in a Medicare+Choice plan and remains so enrolled to elect to continue enrollment in another Medicare+Choice plan if the original enrollment is discontinued. (Sec. 805) Extends the Medicare+Choice disenrollment window for certain involuntarily terminated enrollees. (Sec. 806) Provides under the Medicare+Choice program for continuation of any State law that requires the comprehensive coverage of prescription drugs, or any regulation that carries out such a law if: (1) the State has a waiver in effect with respect to requiring such coverage under Medigap policies; or (2) the Secretary provides for a waiver for the State to impose such a requirement. (Sec. 807) Exempts certain frail elderly Medicare+Choice beneficiaries from the risk-adjustment system if they are enrolled in a specialized program for the frail elderly. Sets forth special rules for frail elderly Medicare+Choice beneficiaries enrolled in such specialized programs. Provides for continuous open enrollment for certain such beneficiaries. Directs the Secretary to develop and implement a program to measure the quality of care provided in specialized programs for the frail elderly in order to reflect their unique health aspects and needs. (Sec. 808) Extends for an additional three years Medicare community nursing and ambulatory care demonstration projects under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987. Title IX: Clinics - Amends SSA title XIX to establish a new PPS for Federally-qualified health centers and rural health clinics under which the State Medicaid plan may provide for payment in any fiscal year to such a center or clinic for certain services in an amount exceeding the amount otherwise required to be paid under the PPS.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1999
National Dropout Prevention Act of 1999 - Title I: Dropout Prevention - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) title V (Promoting Equity) to revise part C Assistance to Address School Dropout Problems. (Replaces current part C provisions known as the School Dropout Assistance Act.) (Sec. 101) Establishes: (1) a subpart 1 Coordinated National Strategy; and (2) a subpart 2 National School Dropout Prevention Initiative. Sets forth the Coordinated National Strategy. Makes it a national priority, for the five-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, to lower the school dropout rate, and increase school completion, for middle school and secondary school students in accordance with Federal law. Requires all Federal agencies that carry out activities that serve students at risk of dropping out of school, or that are intended to help address the school dropout problem, to make school dropout prevention a top priority in the agencies' funding priorities during such five-year period. Directs the Secretary to collect systematic data on the participation of different racial and ethnic groups (including migrant and limited English proficient students) in all Federal programs. Requires, as part of the national school dropout prevention strategy, the Director of the Office of Dropout Prevention and Program Completion to develop, implement, and monitor an interagency plan to assess the coordination, use of resources, and availability of funding under Federal law that can be used to address school dropout prevention, or middle school or secondary school reentry. Requires the plan to address: (1) program coordination, targeting of existing Federal services, and cost-effectiveness of various programs and approaches; (2) ways in which State and local agencies can implement effective school dropout prevention programs using funds from a variety of Federal programs; and (3) all Federal programs with school dropout prevention or school reentry elements or objectives. Requires the Director to establish, through a competitive grant or contract, a national clearinghouse on effective school dropout prevention, intervention and reentry programs. Requires the clearinghouse to: (1) disseminate such data by an electronically accessible database, a Worldwide Web site, and a national journal; and (2) provide technical assistance regarding securing resources for programs. Requires the Director to carry out a national recognition program that recognizes schools that have made extraordinary progress in lowering school dropout rates, under which a public middle school or secondary school from each State will be recognized, using uniform national guidelines and school nominations submitted by SEAs. Authorizes monetary awards to recognized schools for dissemination activities within the school district or nationally. Sets forth the National School Dropout Prevention Initiative. Directs the Secretary to make State allotments for such program based on relative amounts received under ESEA title I. Authorizes SEAs to use allotments to award grants to public middle schools or secondary schools with school dropout rates in the highest one-third of all school dropout rates in the State, for only the startup and implementation costs of effective, sustainable, coordinated, and whole school dropout prevention programs. Includes among authorized program activities: (1) professional development; (2) obtaining curricular materials; (3) release time for professional staff; (4) planning and research; (5) remedial education; (6) reduction in pupil-to-teacher ratios; (7) efforts to meet State student achievement standards; and (8) counseling for at-risk students. Expresses the intent of Congress that such activities shall be continued with funding provided under part A of title I of ESEA. Sets forth determining factors and limits relating to grant amounts and duration. Requires the Director to increase the amount awarded to a school under the initiative grant program by ten percent if the school creates smaller learning communities within the school and the creation is certified by the SEA. Requires each school receiving such a grant to implement research based, sustainable, and widely replicated strategies for school dropout prevention and reentry that address the needs of an entire school population rather than a subset of students. Allows such strategies to include: (1) specific strategies for targeted purposes; and (2) approaches such as breaking larger schools down into smaller learning communities, and other comprehensive reform approaches, developing clear linkages to career skills and employment, and addressing specific gatekeeper hurdles that often limit student retention and academic success. Requires the Director to: (1) establish and publish annually the principles, criteria, models, and other parameters regarding the types of effective, proven program models allowed to be used under the initiative program, based on existing research; (2) conduct a capacity building and design initiative in order to increase the types of proven strategies for dropout prevention on a schoolwide level (through a limited contract with a non-Federal entity); and (3) support eligible entities to provide training, materials, development, and staff assistance to schools assisted under the initiative program. Sets forth initiative program requirements relating to: (1) selection of schools; (2) dissemination activities; (3) progress incentives; (4) school dropout rate calculation; (5) reporting and accountability; and (6) a prohibition on tracking. Authorizes appropriations for the coordinated national strategy and the national school dropout prevention initiative. (Sec. 102) Amends the Department of Education Organization Act to establish in the Department of Education an Office of Dropout Prevention and Program Completion, to be administered by the Director. Requires the Director, through the Office, to: (1) help coordinate Federal, State, and local efforts to lower school dropout rates and increase program completion by middle school, secondary school, and college students; (2) recommend Federal policies, objectives, and priorities to lower school dropout rates and increase program completion; (3) oversee the implementation of subpart 2 of part C of title V of ESEA; (4) develop and implement the National School Dropout Prevention Strategy under ESEA; and (5) recommend action to the Secretary and the President, as appropriate, regarding school dropout prevention and program completion. Includes under the scope of the Director's duties examination of all Federal and non-Federal efforts related to: (1) promotion of program completion for children attending middle school or secondary school; (2) programs to obtain a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent (including general equivalency diploma (GED) programs), or college degree programs; and (3) reentry programs for individuals aged 12 to 24 who are out of school. Title II: State Responsibilities - Revises ESEA title XIV (General Provisions) to add a new part I, Dropout Prevention. Requires SEAs, in order to receive any assistance under ESEA, to comply with specified provisions regarding school dropouts, including requirements relating to: (1) uniform data collection; (2) attendance neutral funding policies; and (3) suspension and expulsion policies.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1999
School Improvement Accountability Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to revise title I (Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards) part A (Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies) to: (1) include certain yearly progress accountability standards under State plan provisions; and (2) require use of such standards in State and local review assessments and in local corrective actions for school improvement.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1999
Small, Safe Schools Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish a new part L, Small Schools and Smaller Learning Communities, under title X (Programs of National Significance). Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award to local educational agencies, elementary or secondary schools, and schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs: (1) grants for certain activities relating to smaller learning communities; (2) technical assistance in creating smaller learning communities in schools; and (3) grants for construction or renovation of elementary, middle, and secondary schools with specified maximum student capacities. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1999
Agricultural Trade Fairness Act of 1999 - Amends the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to take specified measures to protect the interests of producers of U.S. agricultural commodities and ensure the international competitiveness of U.S. agriculture if the European Union (EU) does not: (1) by January 1, 2002, reduce agricultural export subsidies by at least 50 percent of the level of such subsidies provided as of October 1, 1999; or (2) by January 1, 2003, enter into an agricultural trade agreement under which it agrees to eliminate such subsidies.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1999
Agricultural Trade Fairness Act of 1999 - Amends the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to take specified measures to protect the interests of producers of U.S. agricultural commodities and ensure the international competitiveness of U.S. agriculture if the European Union (EU) does not: (1) by January 1, 2002, reduce agricultural export subsidies by at least 50 percent; or (2) by January 1, 2003, enter into an agricultural trade agreement under which it agrees to eliminate such subsidies.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1999
National Medal of Honor Memorial Act - Recognizes the following sites to honor recipients of the Medal of Honor as National Medal of Honor sites: (1) the memorial under construction at the Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California, to be dedicated on November 5, 1999; (2) the memorial at the White River State Park in Indianapolis, Indiana, dedicated on May 28, 1999; and (3) the Congressional Medal of Honor Museum at Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, currently situated on the U.S.S. Yorktown.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Parental Rights Title II: Teacher Quality Title III: Academic Achievement Awards Program Quality Teachers for All Act - Title I: Parental Rights - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to require any public elementary or secondary school that receives funds under ESEA to provide to the parents of each student enrolled in the school information regarding: (1) the professional qualifications of each of the student's teachers, both generally and with respect to the subject area in which the teacher provides instruction; and (2) the minimum professional qualifications required by the State for teacher certification or licensure. Title II: Teacher Quality - Revises requirements for State plans under ESEA title I (Helping Disadvantaged Students Meet High Standards) part A (Improving Basic Programs Operated by State and Local Educational Agencies) to add teacher quality requirements. (Sec. 201) Requires State plans to assure, with respect to schools served under part A, that: (1) no student will be taught for more than one year by an elementary school teacher, or for more than two consecutive years in the same subject by a secondary school teacher, who has not demonstrated the subject matter knowledge, teaching knowledge, and teaching skill necessary to teach effectively in the subject in which the teacher provides instruction; (2) the State provides incentives for teachers in those schools to pursue and achieve advanced teaching and subject area content standards; (3) the State has mechanisms to ensure that local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools served under part A can recruit fully qualified teachers, reward financially those teachers and principals whose students have made significant progress toward high academic performance (such as through performance-based compensation systems and access to ongoing professional development opportunities), and remove expeditiously incompetent or unqualified teachers; (4) the State aggressively helps those schools, particularly in high need areas, recruit and retain fully qualified teachers; (5) during the four years after enactment of this Act, elementary and secondary school teachers in those schools will be at least as well qualified, in terms of experience and credentials, as the instructional staff in schools served by the same local educational agency (LEA) that are not schools served under part A; and (6) any teacher who meets the standards set by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards will be considered fully qualified to teach in those schools in any school district or community in the State. Requires State plans to assure that, within four years after enactment of this Act: (1) all instructional staff who provide services to students, under part A schoolwide programs or targeted assistance schools programs, have demonstrated the subject matter knowledge, teaching knowledge, and teaching skill necessary to teach effectively in the content area or areas in which they provide instruction, according to specified criteria; and (2) part A funds will not be used to support instructional staff who provide such program services to students and for whom State qualification or licensing requirements have been waived or who are teaching under an emergency or other provisional credential. Requires each such member of the instructional staff who teaches elementary school students, at a minimum, to have: (1) State certification (which may be by alternative means) or a State license to teach; and (2) a bachelor's degree and demonstrated subject matter knowledge, teaching knowledge, and teaching skill required to teach effectively in reading, writing, mathematics, social studies, science, and other elements of a liberal arts education. Requires each such member of the instructional staff who teaches in middle and secondary schools to have, at a minimum, such State certification or license, and a bachelor's or higher degree, and demonstrate a high level of competence in all subject areas in which the staff member teaches through: (1) achievement of a high level of performance on rigorous academic subject area tests; (2) completion of an academic major (or courses totaling an equivalent number of credit hours) in each of the subject areas in which the staff member provides instruction; or (3) achievement of a high level of performance in relevant subject areas through other professional employment experience. Prohibits use of part A funds to employ teacher aides or other paraprofessionals who do not meet such requirements in elementary or secondary schools, unless such staff: (1) provide instruction only when under the direct and immediate supervision, and in the immediate presence, of instructional staff who meet such requirements; and (2) possess particular skills necessary to assist instructional staff in providing services to students served under ESEA. Requires State plans to assure that no school served under part A will use funds received under ESEA to hire instructional staff who do not fully meet all such criteria for instructional staff. Defines instructional staff to include anyone with responsibility for providing any student or group of students with instruction in any of the core academic subject areas, including reading, writing, language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. Requires State plans to describe how State educational agencies (SEAs) will help LEAs and schools to develop the capacity to comply with teacher quality requirements. Requires SEAs to take specified corrective actions against LEAs that do not make sufficient effort to comply with such requirements. Directs the Secretary to withhold certain amounts from States that fail to take such corrective actions. Eliminates certain part A professional development requirements with respect to instructional aides. (Sec. 202) Establishes an ESEA title I part A program of grants to provide a Fully Qualified Teacher in Every Classroom. Authorizes the Secretary of Education, under such program, to make such competitive grants to States or LEAs to carry out specified activities to assist schools that receive part A assistance to meet the goal of ensuring that all their instructional staff have the necessary subject matter knowledge, teaching knowledge, and teaching skill. Allows States to use such funds for: (1) collaboration with programs that recruit, place, and train fully qualified teachers; (2) the necessary education and training, including establishing continuing education programs and paying college tuition and other student fees, to help teachers or other school personnel to meet necessary qualifications and licensing requirements; (3) alternative means of State certification of teachers for highly qualified individuals with a minimum of a baccalaureate degree; (4) projects to increase portability of teacher pensions or credited years of experience or to promote reciprocity of teacher certification or licensure between or among States; or (5) induction programs to support, and promote retention of, new teachers in schools served under part A. Allows LEAs to use such funds to recruit fully qualified teachers, including through the use of signing bonuses or other financial incentives, and also to: (1) collaborate with programs that recruit, place, and train qualified teachers; (3) provide the necessary education and training, including college tuition and student fees, to help current teachers or other school personnel meet qualifications and licensing requirements; and (4) carry on induction programs for support and retention of new teachers in part A schools. Requires an individual, in order to qualify for such for such State or LEA payments for college tuition, to: (1) be within two years of completing an undergraduate degree; and (2) agree to teach for at least two subsequent years after receiving such degree in a school where, in that academic year, more than one-half of the enrollment may be counted for purposes of concentration grants to LEAs, and its LEA is eligible for ESEA title I assistance. Authorizes appropriations for such grants program. Authorizes States and LEAs, in order to meet such ESEA title I part A goal of a qualified teacher in every classroom, to carry out such specified activities by also using funds received under: (1) ESEA title II (Dwight D. Eisenhower Professional Development Program); (2) ESEA title VI (Innovative Education Program Strategies); (3) title II (Teacher Quality Enhancement Grants for States and Partnerships) of the Higher Education Act of 1965; or (5) the Goals 2000: Educate America Act. Establishes a certification grants program. Authorizes the Secretary to make such grants to SEAs, LEAs, or schools that receive part A assistance, to pay for one-half of the cost of providing financial assistance to teachers in such schools who obtain certification from the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards. Authorizes appropriations for such certification grants. (Sec. 203) Prohibits the use of any ESEA funds for any professional development services for a teacher that are not directly related to the curriculum and content areas in which the teacher provides instruction. Title III: Academic Achievement Awards Program - Requires each State receiving an ESEA title I grant to establish an Academic Achievement Awards Program to recognize and reward: (1) LEAs and schools that operate schoolwide programs or targeted schools programs and demonstrate outstanding yearly progress for two or more consecutive years; and (2) teachers who provide instruction in such programs. Requires such States to reserve certain funds for such awards programs. Authorizes appropriations to supplement funds for such awards programs.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 1999
Technology for Teaching Act - Title I: Structure - Amends title III (Technology for Education) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to repeal subpart 4 (Product Development) and other specified provisions. (Sec. 101) Renames part A as Federal Leadership and National Activities. Directs the Secretary of Education to carry out a national evaluation of educational technology, including specified authorized activities. Authorizes appropriations for ESEA title III. Title II: Special Projects - Repeals part B (Star Schools Program) and part E (Elementary Mathematics and Science Equipment Program) of title III of ESEA. (Sec. 201) Redesignates part C (Ready-to-Learn Television) as subpart 2 and part D (Telecommunication Demonstration Project for Mathematics) as subparts 2 and 3 of part B of title III of ESEA. Establishes Special Projects as a new part B of title III of ESEA. Authorizes the Secretary of Education, through the Office of Educational Technology (OET), to make competitive awards of grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements to eligible applicants for authorized activities according to certain priorities under programs for: (1) Next-Generation Technology Innovation Awards (new subpart 1); and (2) Community Technology Centers (subpart 4). Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Technology Training for Teachers - Establishes a new part C, Technology Training for Teachers. (Sec. 301) Sets forth a subpart 1 Educational Technology Training for New Teachers program, and a subpart 2 Educational Technology Training for Inservice Teachers program. Includes, under both programs, provisions for: (1) technical assistance and evaluation; (2) State educational agency grants; (3) State use of funds; (4) State applications, and review criteria; (5) grants to schools of education; (6) local applications, and review criteria; (7) maintenance of effort, and supplementation; and (8) administration. Includes, under the subpart 2 program for Inservice Teachers, provisions for: (1) grants to local educational agencies (LEAs); (2) local applications, and review criteria; and (3) participation of private school teachers. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 302) Amends various provisions of ESEA title I (Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards) and title II (Dwight D. Eisenhower Professional Development Program) to add provisions relating to teacher technology training. Title IV: Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends ESEA title III to establish a part D Regional, State, and Local Educational Technology Resources, with a subpart 1 Technology Literacy Challenge Fund to help States and LEAs improve student achievement, particularly that of students in high-poverty, low-performing schools, through various efforts involving education technology and teacher technology training. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 1999
Community Development and Venture Capital Act of 1999 - Title I: New Markets Venture Capital Program - Amends the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to establish a New Markets Venture Capital Program under which the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) is authorized to make grants to new market venture capital companies (NMVCs) and guarantee debentures issued by NMVCs. Makes eligible as participating companies in the Program those companies which submit an approved business plan for: (1) making venture capital investments in small enterprises; and (2) providing marketing, management, and technical assistance to such enterprises. Requires applicants to be experienced in making venture capital investments in small enterprises. Provides additional application requirements and SBA selection criteria. Outlines conditions to be met by each company before final approval as an NMVC, including: (1) a capital investment requirement of at least $5 million from investors who meet SBA-established criteria; and (2) cash or binding commitments with non-SBA sources for Program marketing, management, and technical assistance. Authorizes the Administrator to: (1) make grants to each approved NMVC to provide marketing, management, and technical assistance for the benefit of small enterprises financed by the NMVC; (2) guarantee the timely payment of principal and interest on debentures issued by NMVCs, not to exceed 150 percent of the contributed capital of the NMVC; (3) issue trust certificates representing ownership of all or a fractional part of SBA-guaranteed debentures under this Act; and (4) charge fees with respect to any guarantee issued or grant awarded. Authorizes any national bank, member bank of the Federal Reserve System, and any other bank which is insured to the extent permitted under applicable State law to invest in any NMVC, or in any entity established to invest solely in NMVCs. Limits such investment to five percent of such bank's capital and surplus. Requires each NMVC to provide the SBA with any required information. Subjects each NMVC to examinations made at the direction of the Investment Division of the SBA. Authorizes the Administrator to obtain injunctions and other relief against companies violating requirements of this Act, which shall include a breach of fiduciary duty in unlawful acts and omissions by company officers, directors, employees, or agents. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2005 to carry out this title. (Sec. 102) Exempts an NMVC from debtor status under Federal bankruptcy law. (Sec. 103) Amends the Home Owners' Loan Act to authorize a Federal savings association to invest in NMVC securities, with an investment limit of five percent of the association's capital and surplus. Title II: Community Development Venture Capital Assistance - Community Development Venture Capital Capacity Building and Professional Development Act of 1999 - Amends the Small Business Act to authorize the Administrator to: (1) contract with one or more community development organizations to carry out training and research activities for individuals in community development venture capital organizations (privately-controlled organizations which promote community development in low-income communities through investment in private businesses); and (2) make grants to community development organizations for the cost of such training and research activities and to intermediary organizations to provide intense marketing, management, and technical assistance and training to community development venture capital organizations. Outlines authorized training and research activities. Directs the Administrator to require, as a condition to a grant to an intermediary organization, a matching contribution from non-Federal sources. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2003 to carry out this title. Title III: Business Linc - Authorizes the Administrator to make grants to, and enter into cooperative agreements with, any coalition of private or public sector participants that: (1) expand business-to-business relationships between large and small businesses; and (2) provide businesses with on-line information and a database of companies interested in mentor-protege programs or community-based, Statewide, or local business development programs. Provides a matching funds requirement, with an authorized waiver in the best interests of the program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2003 to carry out this title.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 1999
Indian Land Consolidation Act Amendments of 1999 - Amends the Indian Land Consolidation Act to revise certain Indian land consolidation provisions. Sets forth provisions concerning, among other things: (1) the acquisition of fractional interests in Indian trust or restricted lands; (2) the required approval of the Secretary of the Interior for trust or restricted land sales, except with respect to an Indian tribe that has a Secretary-approved land consolidation plan; (3) the required approval by the Secretary of any adopted Indian tribal probate code governing the descent and distribution of trust or restricted lands (outlines approval procedures and provides life estates for non-Indian spouses and children who would otherwise be precluded from inheriting by reason of the adopted code); (4) the descent and distribution of interests in trust or restricted lands, including fractional interests; (5) the escheat to an Indian tribe of trust or restricted lands when no individual is eligible to inherit such interest; (6) the descent and distribution of trust or restricted lands located outside of a reservation; (7) the authority of the Secretary to acquire fractional interests in trust or restricted lands, with owner consent and at fair market value; (8) Indian tribe administration of acquired fractional interests and the disposition of proceeds from leases, resource sales, rights-of-way, or other transactions affecting interests in trust or restricted lands; (9) the authority of the Secretary to develop a reservation-wide system for establishing the fair market value of various types of lands and improvements of interests in trust or restricted lands; (10) the establishment of an Acquisition Fund; (11) the determination of tribal jurisdiction with respect to land within an Indian reservation or otherwise subject to tribal jurisdiction; (12) the sale or other exchange of interests in trust or restricted lands; (13) required annual reports from the Secretary to Congress on fractional interests in trusts or restricted lands acquired and the impact on Bureau of Indian Affairs financial and record keeping systems; (14) approval by the Secretary of leases, rights-of-way, and sales of natural resources, or other transactions affecting individually owned trust or restricted lands; and (15) real estate transactions involving interests in nontrust lands. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 1999
Surface Transportation Board Improvement Act of 1999 - Amends Federal transportation law to require a rail carrier or corporation that is involved in a purchase and sale, a lease, or a corporate consolidation or merger transaction that has been approved or exempted by the Surface Transportation Board, and which is exempt from State regulation, to obtain, before such transaction can be carried out, the assent of a majority (or the number required under applicable State law) of the votes of the holders of the capital stock of such corporation. Revises certain requirements to subject employee protective arrangements to specified conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 1999
Risk Management for the 21st Century Act - Title I: Crop Insurance Coverage - Amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to provide that the Commodity Credit Corporation, with respect to prevented planting crop insurance, shall: (1) provide equal coverage levels for all covered commodities; (2) require area-wide conditions for payment; and (3) permit (noninsurable) substitute plantings. (Sec. 102) Directs the Corporation to develop alternative rates and methodologies for rating insurance plans, which shall take into account nonparticipating producers and producers participating only in catastrophic risk protection. Grants priority to commodities with the largest acreage and the lowest percentage of participating producers. (Sec. 103) Directs the Corporation to offer optional quality adjustment policies. (Sec. 104) Directs the Office of Risk Management to rewrite catastrophic risk protection rates. (Sec. 105) Revises payment price levels (expected market price) for each insured commodity. Provides for mandatory and discretionary partial premium payments by the Corporation. (Sec. 106) Directs the Corporation to provide premium discounts for qualifying risk-reducing production practices. (Sec. 107) Directs the Corporation to assign yields with respect to: (1) farmers who have not farmed the insured crop for more than two years; (2) new land; and (3) new crops. (Sec. 108) Defines "producer that has suffered a multiyear disaster." Permits such a producer to eliminate certain years from actual production history calculation. Requires the Corporation in such circumstances to pay specified premium portions. Terminates such exclusion authority when insurance is available to cover multiple crop year disaster losses. (Sec. 109) Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act with respect to the noninsured crop disaster assistance program to: (1) authorize combining of crop types or varieties into a single eligible crop; (2) require producers to report annually; (3) eliminate area loss requirements; (4) set forth new eligible crop provisions; and (5) establish a service fee for each eligible crop, to be used for program administrative and operating costs. Title II: Pilot Programs - Amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to provide that: (1) the Specialty Crops Coordinator shall administer the gross revenue pilot programs for specialty crops; and (2) such programs shall be expanded to additional counties in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, and other States as the Coordinator determines. (Sec. 202) Directs the Corporation to carry out a low-risk producer pilot program. (Sec. 203) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out a revenue insurance pilot program for hog and cattle producers in specified Iowa counties. Obligates funds for such program. (Sec. 204) Directs the Secretary to carry out a pilot program for coverage of specialty crops and uninsured commodities and livestock through whole farm revenue insurance. (Sec. 205) Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act to include hog and cattle producers in the options pilot program. (Sec. 206) Amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to obligate funds for pilot programs (other than the revenue insurance pilot program for hog and cattle producers ). Title III: Administration - Amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to revise the membership of the Corporation's Board of Directors. (Sec. 302) Amends the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to place the Office of Risk Management under the Board. Authorizes the Office of Risk Management to enter into private and public entity partnerships to increase availability of risk management tools for specialty crop producers. Obligates funds for such activities. (Sec. 303) Amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to direct the Secretary to establish an Office of Private Sector Partnership to provide specified Board-private sector liaison functions. Obligates funding for such activities. (Sec. 304) Increases monetary penalties for intentionally providing false insurance information. Authorizes disbarment from Department of Agriculture programs for such violations. (Sec. 306) Directs the Corporation to establish a crop insurance compliance monitoring program. (Sec. 307) Authorizes the Coordinator to make grants and enter into contracts for research and development activities for new or revised insurance policies for specialty crops. Directs the Corporation and the Coordinator to conduct a study of new insurance policies for specialty crops. (Sec. 308) Directs the Board to review insurance plans for adequacy of coverage, and recommend that the Office of Risk Management develop plans for inadequately covered commodities. (Sec. 309) Prohibits purchasing insurance for more than one crop per year on the same acreage unless the producer or the acreage has a previous history of double-cropping. (Sec. 310) Provides for State consultation concerning such policies of insurance offered in the State. (Sec. 311) Authorizes specified insurance plan fees. (Sec. 312) Requires reinsurance agreements to provide for risk sharing between the Corporation and the reinsured company. Title IV: Miscellaneous - Amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to define "program crop" and "specialty crop."
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 1999
Extends permanently (currently ends on September 30, 2003) the eligibility of certain former members of the Selected Reserve for veterans' housing loans.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Older Americans Act Amendments of 1999 - Title I: Amendment to Title I of the Older Americans Act of 1965 - Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to add certain definitions. Title II: Amendments to Title II of the Older Americans Act of 1965 - Revises the duties of the Administration on Aging. Provides for a set of performance outcome measures to be used for planning, managing, and evaluating activities performed and services provided under the Act. Reauthorizes appropriations for the Administration on Aging. Title III: Amendments to Title III of the Older Americans Act of 1965 - Authorizes appropriations indefinitely for making grants relating to: (1) supportive services, (2) senior centers; (3) congregate nutrition services, (4) home delivered nutrition services; (5) in-home services; and (6) special needs. Authorizes appropriations for a nutrition services incentive program. Authorizes a State to require or permit cost sharing by recipients for all direct services, with specified exceptions, provided for in the Act. Expands the list of supportive services for which grants to States are provided. Establishes grant programs for support services for family caregivers, education and training related to programs for older individuals, and pension counseling projects. Title IV: Amendments to Title IV of the Older Americans Act of 1965 - Repeals provisions regarding training, research, and discretionary projects Title V: Amendments to Title V of the Older Americans Act of 1965 - Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to establish projects to place community service employment program participants in unsubsidized employment in both the public and private sectors. Reauthorizes the community service employment for older Americans program. Title VI: Amendments to Title VI of the Older Americans Act of 1965 - Makes the authorization of appropriations for title VI of the Act indefinite, with exceptions. Establishes programs for grants to carry out vulnerable elder rights protection activities and for a Native American caregiver support program. Title VII: Amendments to Title VII of the Older Americans Act of 1965 - Revises provisions regarding the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program. Title VIII: Technical and Conforming Amendments - Makes technical and conforming amendments.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 1999 - Amends the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to revise eligibility requirements for claims relating to: (1) atmospheric nuclear testing and leukemia; (2) uranium mining as it pertains to individuals employed in the transport of uranium ore or vanadium-uranium ore and additional designated eligible State sites; (3) written documentation of pertinent diagnoses; (4) determination and payment of claims; (5) application of Native American law and Native American considerations to claims; (6) resubmittal of previously denied claims; and (7) reduction of attorney's fees. Directs the General Accounting Office to submit detailed, periodic status reports to Congress. Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish a program of grants (including grants through the Indian Health Service) to certain Federal, State, or local medical centers, or nonprofit organizations for education, prevention, and early detection of radiogenic cancers and diseases. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Medicare Beneficiary Access to Quality Nursing Home Care Act of 1999 - Modifies the case-mix categories for the formula for determination of the payment to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), under the prospective payment system (PPS), for routine service costs. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to increase the adjusted Federal per diem rate otherwise determined for services provided to any individual during the period in which such individual is in a Nursing Home Case-Mix and Quality Demonstration resource utilization group (RUGS III) category of care, by the applicable payment add-on (updated for FY 2001 by the applicable SNF market basket percentage change), according to a specified table of such categories (especially for high-acuity and medically complex patients). Limits the application of this Act to services provided on or after October 1, 1999, and before the earlier of October 1, 2001, or the date on which the Secretary implements a case-mix methodology that takes into account adjustments for the provision of non-therapy ancillary services and supplies such as drugs and respiratory therapy. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise the formula for facility specific per diem rates with respect to the market basket update (inflation adjuster) to repeal the mandatory annualized one percent reduction in basket amount.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Superfund Recycling Equity Act of 1999 - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to absolve persons (other than owners or operators) who arranged for the recycling of recyclable material from liability for environmental response actions. Deems transactions involving scrap paper, plastic, glass, textiles, or rubber (other than whole tires) to be arranging for recycling if the person who arranged the transaction demonstrates that the following criteria were met: (1) the recyclable material met a commercial specification grade and a market existed for the material; (2) a substantial portion of the material was made available for use as a feedstock for the manufacture of a new saleable product; (3) the material (or product to be made from the material) could have been a replacement for a virgin raw material; and (4) with respect to transactions occurring 90 days after this Act's enactment, the person exercised reasonable care to determine that the facility where the material would be managed by another was in compliance with Federal, State, or local environmental laws or regulations. Deems transactions involving scrap metal to be arranging for recycling if the person who arranged the transaction demonstrates that: (1) the criteria for scrap materials were met; (2) he or she complied with applicable standards regarding activities associated with the recycling of scrap metals; and (3) the scrap metal was not melted prior to the transaction. Deems transactions involving spent lead-acid, nickel-cadmium, or other batteries to be arranging for recycling if the person involved demonstrates that: (1) the criteria for scrap materials were met; and (2) he or she complied with applicable Federal environmental regulations or standards regarding such batteries. Makes the exemptions from liability under this Act inapplicable if the person: (1) had an objectively reasonable basis to believe at the time of the recycling transaction that the recyclable material would not be recycled or would be burned as fuel or for energy recovery or incineration or that the consuming facility was not in compliance with Federal, State, or local environmental laws or regulations; (2) had reason to believe that hazardous substances had been added to the material for purposes other than processing for recycling; or (3) failed to exercise reasonable care with respect to the management of the material. Makes such exemptions inapplicable if the recyclable material contained polychlorinated biphenyls in excess of 50 parts per million or any new Federal standard.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Child Care Facilities Financing Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award competitive grants to eligible intermediaries to deposit into child care revolving funds for technical and financial assistance to eligible recipients to pay the Federal matching share of costs of acquisition, construction, or improvement of center-based or home-based child care facilities or equipment, or for the improvement of related management and business practices. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
America's Private Investment Companies Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to license America's Private Investment Companies (APICs) (for-profit investment companies formed to make equity and credit investments for large-scale business development in low-income communities). Authorizes the Secretary to impose fees and charges for administrative costs and to collect fees for loan guarantee commitments and loans made under this Act. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2003 for loan guarantee commitments and for administrative expenses. (Sec. 105) Directs the Secretary to select APICs for licensing on the basis of competitions announced through the Federal Register. Outlines application and licensee selection requirements and criteria, including that each such entity have available at least $25 million in equity capital. (Sec. 106) Requires substantially all investments made by selected APICs to be qualified low-income community investments if such investments are financed by the Secretary under this Act. Outlines investment limits and borrowing and repayment conditions. (Sec. 107) Authorizes the Secretary, consistent with the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990, to make commitments to guarantee the timely payment of principal and interest on debentures issued by APICs, to issue trust certificates representing ownership of all or a fractional part of such debentures, and to guarantee the payment of principal and interest on such certificates. (Sec. 108) Authorizes an APIC to request that the Secretary guarantee a debenture that the APIC intends to issue under this Act. Outlines special requirements for: (1) requests which would include funding for initial expenditures for a project or activity; and (2) certification by a State or unit of general local government of responsibility for environmental reviews in connection with authorized projects or activities. (Sec. 109) Directs the Secretary to examine and monitor the operations and activities of APICs for compliance with sound financial management practices and satisfaction of the program and procedural goals of this and related Acts. (Sec. 110) Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) increase the credit subsidy allocated to an APIC as an award for high performance in carrying out its investment strategy and public purpose goals; and (2) penalize APICs for fraud, mismanagement, or noncompliance (allowing for notice and opportunity to respond prior to such penalties).
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Parental Accountability, Recruitment, and Education National Training Act of 1999 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to increase parental involvement requirements under various programs. (Sec .4) Revises ESEA title I (Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards) part A (Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Educational agencies) to require State plans to demonstrate that the State has identified or developed effective research-based best practices designed to foster meaningful parental involvement. Requires such best practices to: (1) be disseminated to all schools and local educational agencies (LEAs) in the State; (2) be implemented in all schools in the State; and (3) address the full range of specified parental involvement activities. Sets forth related revisions to requirements for LEA plans, schoolwide programs, targeted assistance, assessments, State assistance, current parental involvement requirements, and State review. Requires States to collect and disseminate effective parental involvement practices to LEAs and schools. Requires such practices to be: (1) based on the most current research on effective parental involvement that fosters achievement to high standards for all children; (2) geared toward lowering barriers to greater participation in school planning, review, and improvement experienced by parents; and (3) implemented by the State in LEAs and schools requesting such assistance from the State. Requires State educational agencies (SEAs) to review LEAs' parental involvement policies and practices to determine if they are meaningful and targeted to improve home and school communication, student achievement, and parental involvement in school planning, review, and improvement. (Sec. 5) Revises ESEA title II (Dwight D. Eisenhower Professional Development Program) to include among authorized Federal activities developing and disseminating model programs that teach teachers and administrators how best to work with parents and how to encourage the parent's involvement in the full range of specified parental involvement activities. Requires SEA allotment applications to describe how the State will train teachers to foster relationships with parents and encourage parents to become collaborators with schools in their children's education. Includes among authorized State-level program activities providing professional development programs that enable teachers, administrators, and pupil services personnel to communicate effectively with and involve parents in the education process to support school planning, review, improvement, and classroom instruction, and to work effectively with parent volunteers. Requires LEA subgrant plans and applications to describe the specific professional development strategies that will be implemented to improve parental involvement in education and how the LEA will be held accountable for implementing such strategies. Authorizes LEAs and schools to engage in professional development activities to enable teachers, administrators, and pupil services personnel to communicate with parents regarding student achievement on assessments. (Sec. 6) Revises ESEA title III (Technology for Education) to require the national long-range technology plan to describe how the Secretary of Education will promote increased parental involvement in schools through the use of technology. Authorizes the Secretary to use certain funds to develop, demonstrate, and evaluate model technology programs designed to improve parental involvement. Includes among authorized LEA uses of title III funds: (1) using technology to develop or expand efforts to connect schools and teachers with parents to promote meaningful parental involvement and foster increased communication about curriculum, assignments, and assessments; and (2) providing ongoing training and support for parents to help them learn and use the technology being applied in their children's education, so as to equip them to reinforce and support their children's learning. Requires local applications for such funds to describe how such activities will be carried out. Requires the Secretary to give priority in awarding national challenge grants for technology in education to consortia which demonstrate that the project will enhance parental involvement by providing parents the means and the skills needed to more fully participate in their child's learning. (Sec. 7) Revises ESEA title IV (Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities) to require State applications for allotments to describe how the SEA will receive input from parents regarding its use of title IV funds, its review of LEA applications for such funds, and the use of such funds for Governor's programs. Requires SEA and LEA reports to describe how parents were informed of and participated in violence and drug prevention efforts. (Sec. 8) Revises ESEA title VI (Innovative Education Program Strategies) to include as a factor in identifying effective schools a climate that promotes meaningful parental involvement in the classroom and in site-based activities. Requires State applications for title VI State program assistance to provide information on the parental involvement policies and practices promoted by the State. Includes programs to promote the meaningful involvement of parents among the innovative assistance programs which are targeted for LEA use of title VI funds. (Sec. 9) Revises ESEA title XIV (General Provisions) to require SEAs, as a condition for receiving Federal funding for any ESEA program and as part of a consolidated application, or other State plan or application submitted under ESEA, to submit to the Secretary descriptions of: (1) their parental involvement policies, with details on how Federal funds will be used to implement such policies and successful research-based practices in schools throughout the State; and (2) how such policies will be evaluated with respect to increased parental involvement in the schools throughout the State. Requires SEAs, prior to application submission, to involve parents in the development and review of such policies through notice and opportunity to make comments. Directs SEAs and LEAs that are required to establish a parental involvement plan or policy under a program assisted under ESEA to make available, to the parents of children eligible to participate in the program, the plan or policy in the language most familiar to the parents and in an easily understandable manner.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Early Education Act of 1999 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish an early education program of grants to States to provide programs for at least half-day schooling during the year preceding kindergarten. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award such matching grants to not less than ten State educational agencies (SEAs) to expand the existing education system with programs that provide such early education. Requires each such assisted program to: (1) be carried out by one or more local educational agencies (LEAs), as selected by the SEA; (2) be carried out in a public school building, or in another facility by, or through a contract or agreement with, an LEA; (3) be available to all children served by the LEA carrying out the program; and (4) only involve licensed or certified instructors. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Reclamation, to undertake capital projects for the Recovery Implementation Program for Endangered Fish Species in the Upper Colorado River Basin and the San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program. Terminates the authority of the Secretary to implement such projects for such Programs in in FY 2005 and 2007, respectively. Limits to $100 million the total costs of such projects. Authorizes: (1) the Secretary to accept contributed funds from Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, or political subdivisions or organizations thereof, pursuant to agreements that provide for the contributions to be used for capital project costs;(2) the Secretary and the Secretary of Energy, acting through the Western Area Power Administration, to utilize for such projects power revenues collected pursuant to the Colorado River Storage Project Act; and (3) the Secretary to utilize such power revenues for the annual base funding contributions to the programs by the Bureau for a specified period. Requires the Secretary to report to the appropriate congressional committees on the utilization of such power revenues. Authorizes the retention of unexpended appropriated funds for projects under this Act for use in future fiscal years. States that nothing in this Act shall restrict the Secretary from funding activities or capital projects in accordance with the Federal Government's Indian trust responsibility.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Condemns prejudice against individuals of Asian and Pacific Island ancestry in the United States. Supports their participation in U.S. political, public, and civic affairs. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) no Member of Congress or any other individual in the United States should stereotype or generalize the actions of an individual to an entire group of people; (2) individuals of Asian and Pacific Island ancestry in the United States are entitled to all rights and privileges afforded to all individuals in the United States; and (3) the Attorney General, the Secretary of Energy, and the Commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission should, within their respective jurisdictions, investigate all allegations of discrimination in public or private workplaces and vigorously enforce the security of U.S. national laboratories, without discriminating against such individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1999
Cardiac Arrest Survival Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) assist in providing for an improvement in the survival rates of individuals who experience cardiac arrest in Federal buildings by publishing in the Federal Register for public comment recommendations with respect to placing automatic external defibrillators in such buildings; and (2) assist Federal agencies in implementing programs for such placement. Requires the Secretary to determine criteria for: (1) the selection of the Federal public buildings in which defibrillators should be placed; (2) defibrillator maintenance; and (3) the coordination of the use of the defibrillators in public buildings with emergency medical services providers for the geographic areas in which the buildings are located. Provides that any person who provides emergency medical care through the use of a defibrillator, any person who maintained, tested, or provided training in the use of the device, any physician who provided medical oversight of the device, and the person who acquired the device (if specified conditions have been met) is immune from civil liability for any personal injury or wrongful death resulting from the provision of such care, unless the person engaged in gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct under the applicable circumstances.
![Official portrait of Sen. Bingaman, Jeff [D-NM]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b000468_200.jpg)