United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2000
Authorizes the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to extend for three consecutive two-year periods the time period during which the licensees of specified hydroelectric projects in the State of West Virginia are required to commence construction. Provides for reinstatement of expired licenses.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 2000
Energy Security Tax and Policy Act of 2000 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, the National Energy Conservation Policy Act, and other Federal laws to establish and revise programs and tax credits and deductions concerning both business and nonbusiness energy uses (as well as programs for Indian tribes), including those involving: (1) alternative fuels; (2) transportation; (3) clean coal technologies; (4) oil and gas production; (5) methane recovery; (6) renewable power generation; (7) energy efficiency; (8) steelmaking; (9) electricity; and (10) energy emergencies.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2000
Declares that: (1) the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall establish a special task force to study the history and contributions of African American slave laborers in the construction of the U.S. Capitol; and (2) such task force shall recommend an appropriate recognition for them which could be displayed in a prominent location in the U.S. Capitol.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 2000
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the historical illiteracy of U.S. college and university graduates is a serious problem that should be addressed by the higher education community; (2) boards of trustees and administrators at institutions of higher education in the United States should review their curricula and add requirements in U.S. history; (3) State officials responsible for higher education should review public college and university curricula and promote requirements in U.S. history; (4) parents should encourage their children to select institutions of higher education with substantial history requirements and students should take courses in U.S. history, whether required or not; and (5) history teachers and educators at all levels should redouble their efforts to bolster the knowledge of U.S. history among students of all ages and to restore the vitality of U.S. civic memory.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2000
Authorizes the President, on behalf of Congress, to present a gold medal to General Wesley K. Clark, in recognition of his outstanding leadership and service as Supreme Allied Commander in Europe during the military operations against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro). Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2000
Foreign Government Investment Act of 2000 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit any broadcast license, permit, or operating authority from being granted to or held by a corporation, joint venture, partnership, other business organization, or trust controlled by a foreign government or its representatives. Prohibits the Federal Communications Commission from waiving the application of such prohibition. Provides for an entity to be considered to be controlled by a foreign government or its representatives if more than 25 percent of the ownership, voting rights, capital stock, or other pecuniary interest in that entity is owned, held, or controlled by such a government or its representatives.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2000
Violence Against Women Act of 2000 - Title I: Strengthening Law Enforcement to Reduce Violence Against Women - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the Attorney General (AG) to make grants to provide technical assistance and equipment to police departments, prosecutors, courts, and tribal jurisdictions to facilitate the widespread enforcement of protection orders. Revises provisions of the Federal criminal code governing the full faith and credit of protection orders. Designates State, local, and Indian tribal courts as eligible grantees under the program to combat violent crimes against women. Reauthorizes through FY 2005 various programs which address violence against women, including domestic violence and stalking offenses. Title II: Strengthening Services to Victims of Violence - Authorizes the AG to award grants to increase the availability of legal assistance to victims of domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault. Reauthorizes through FY 2005 various grants and programs under the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act. Title III: Limiting the Effects of Violence on Children - Authorizes the AG to make grants to States, local governments, and Indian tribal governments for the provision of supervised visitation and safe visitation exchange of children by and between parents in situations involving domestic violence, child abuse, or sexual assault. Reauthorizes through FY 2005 runaway and homeless youth grants and programs for victims of child abuse. Title IV: Strengthening Education and Training to Combat Violence Against Women - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants for model programs of education and training in appropriate responses to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. Title V: Battered Immigrant Women - Battered Immigrant Women Protection Act of 2000 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide certain protections to battered immigrant women. Title VI: Extension of Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund - Extends through FY 2005 the Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2000
Establishes the National Commission on Nuclear Security to review the efficacy of the organization of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), and the organization and management of the nuclear weapons programs of the United States, under the current Presidential Administration and the Presidential Administration commencing in 2001, including: (1) whether the requirements and objectives of the National Nuclear Security Administration Act are being fully implemented by the Secretary of Energy and NNSA Administrator; (2) the feasibility and advisability of various means of improving the security and counterintelligence posture of NNSA programs; (3) the feasibility and advisability of various modifications of existing management and operating contracts for the laboratories under NNSA's jurisdiction; and (4) whether the national security functions of the Department of Energy, including NNSA, should be transferred to the Department of Defense, established as a semiautonomous agency within the Defense Department, established as an independent agency, or remain as a semiautonomous agency within the Energy Department. Requires the Commission to report its findings and recommendations to Congress and the Secretaries of Energy and Defense, including any recommendations for legislation and administrative action. Restricts the amount of certain previously authorized appropriations that shall be available for activities of the Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2000
Health Care Access and Rural Equality Act of 2000 - Title I: Increase in Market Basket Percentage Adjustment for Rural Hospitals - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for an increase in the market basket percentage adjustment for rural hospitals. Title II: Capital Relief for Rural Health Care Infrastructure - Amends part A (Determination of Benefits) of SSA title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) to establish a Capital Infrastructure Revolving Loan Program under which the Secretary of Health and Human Services may make loans up to a specified amount from the loan and loan guarantee fund to any rural entity for projects for capital improvements. Title III: Refinement of the Medicare Dependent, Small Rural Hospital Program - Amends SSA title XVIII to make the Medicare-dependent, small rural hospital program permanent and to give any hospital under such program the option of basing eligibility for payment on discharges during any of the three most recent audited cost reporting periods in lieu of the current basing of eligibility for payment on discharges during the cost reporting period beginning in FY 1987. Title IV: Exemption for Medicare Swing Bed Hospitals - Amends SSA title XVIII to exempt Medicare swing bed hospitals from the prospective payment system for skilled nursing facilities. Amends the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999 to make January 1, 2001, the effective date of the elimination of certain restrictions with respect to the hospital swing bed program. Title V: Treatment of Physician Pathology Services - Provides for the treatment of certain physician pathology services under Medicare. Title VI: Technical Corrections to the Balanced Budget Refinement Act - Amends SSA title XVIII with regard to: (1) payments to critical access hospitals for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests; (2) the all-inclusive payment option for outpatient critical access hospital services; and (3) the option to use rebased target amounts to all sole community hospitals. Makes technical corrections to the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999 with regard to clinical diagnostic laboratory services furnished by a critical access hospital and other specified matters. Amends Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) to authorize the Secretary to make grants of up to a specified amount to applicant hospitals to assist eligible small rural hospitals in meeting the costs of establish data systems required to meet requirements established under Medicare pursuant to the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2000
Brownfields Revitalization and Environmental Restoration Act of 2000 - Title I: Brownfields Revitalization Funding - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish programs to provide grants to eligible entities (including local government units, redevelopment agencies, States, and Indian tribes) for: (1) inventorying, characterizing, assessing, and conducting planning related to brownfield sites; and (2) remediating brownfield sites through loans. Defines a "brownfield site," with exceptions, as real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which is complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance or pollutant. Includes within such definition a site contaminated by a controlled substance or mine-scarred land. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Brownfields Liability Clarifications - Exempts from liability under CERCLA certain owners of real property contiguous to property on which there has been a hazardous substance release or threatened release that is not owned by such persons. (Sec. 202) Absolves from liability for response actions bona fide prospective purchasers to the extent liability at a facility for a release or threat thereof is based solely on ownership or operation of a facility. Gives a lien upon a facility to the United States for unrecovered response costs in any casefor which the owner is not liable by reason of this section and the facility's fair market value has increased above that which existed before the action was taken. (Sec. 203) Deems a person, with respect to defenses to liability of an owner of after-acquired property, to have undertaken appropriate inquiry into the property's previous ownership and uses if the person demonstrates that inquiries were undertaken in accordance with specified requirements (for property purchased after May 31, 1997, compliance with an American Society for Testing and Materials standard until standards are issued by the Administrator). Deems the appropriate inquiry requirements to be satisfied by a facility inspection and title search that reveal no basis for further investigation in the case of property for residential or similar use purchased by a nongovernmental or noncommercial entity. Title III: State Response Programs - Adds CERCLA provisions authorizing the Administrator to provide grants to States or Indian tribes to establish or enhance response programs comprised of elements including survey and inventory of brownfield sites, public participation opportunities, oversight and enforcement authorities, and certification mechanisms. Authorizes appropriations. Restricts authority to take enforcement actions under CERCLA in cases of hazardous substance releases addressed by a State response plan. Authorizes the President to bring enforcement actions in certain instances, including cases where a State requests assistance, there is migration of contamination across State lines or onto Federal property, or there is an imminent and substantial endangerment to public health or welfare or the environment and additional response actions are likely to be necessary. Makes restrictions on the President's authority to take such actions applicable only at sites in States that maintain, update at least annually, and make publicly available a record of sites at which response actions have been completed in the previous year and are planned to be addressed under the State response program in the upcoming year. Applies enforcement action requirements only to response actions conducted after June 8, 2000. (Sec. 302) Requires the President to defer final listing of an eligible response site on the National Priorities List if the State is conducting a response action in compliance with a State response program that will provide long-term health and environmental protection or is actively pursuing an agreement to perform such an action with a capable person. Requires reasonable progress toward completion of actions for deferral of listing. Permits the President to decline to defer, or discontinue a deferral if: (1) deferral would be inappropriate because the State, as an owner, operator, or significant contributor is a potentially responsible party; (2) the criteria under the National Contingency Plan for issuance of a health advisory have been met; or (3) the other conditions under this section for deferral are no longer being met.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2000
China Nonproliferation Act - Directs the President to report annually to specified congressional committees on every person (with certain exceptions) with respect to whom there is credible information indicating that such person, on or after January 1, 2000, transferred, retransferred, sold, misused, or diverted from, or within, the People's Republic of China to a foreign person or Chinese national involved in the development or acquisition of nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons or ballistic or cruise missiles any goods, services, or technology: (1) listed on the Nuclear Suppliers Group Guidelines for the Export of Nuclear Material, Equipment and Technology and Guidelines for Transfers of Nuclear-Related Dual-Use Equipment, Material, and Related Technology (both published by the International Atomic Energy Agency), the Missile Technology Control Regime Equipment and Technology Annex of June 11, 1996, the lists of items and substances relating to biological and chemical weapons the export of which is controlled by the Australia Group, the Schedules of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction, or the Wassenaar Arrangement list of Dual Use Goods and Technologies and Munitions list of July 12, 1996; or (2) not identified on any of these lists, but would be if they were U.S. goods, services, or technology prohibited or controlled for export to China (or any tier IV countries as defined by the Bureau of Export Administration of the Department of Commerce), and have the potential to contribute to the development, improvement, or production of nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons, or of ballistic or cruise missile systems, or advanced conventional weapons or munitions. (Sec. 3) Requires the President to include in the report information: (1) on any action taken by a person identified in a prior annual report that establishes that the person has discontinued, rectified, or mitigated a prior proliferation activity identified under this Act; (2) on measures taken against such persons or against China in response to proliferation activities; and (3) other specified information. Requires submission of such reports in unclassified form, with classified annexes as necessary. (Sec. 4) Directs the President to apply certain measures for at least 12 months to each person identified in the annual report. Includes among such measures: (1) those set forth Executive Order No. 12938; (2) prohibition of U.S. Government transfers or sales to such person of any item on the U.S. Munitions List, and termination of all sales and after-sale servicing to such person of any defense articles, defense services, or design and construction services under the Arms Export Control Act; (3) denial of licenses, suspension of existing licenses, and termination of all transfers or sales and after-sale servicing for the transfer to such person of any item the export of which is controlled under the Export Administration Act of 1979 or the Export Administration regulations; (4) prohibition of U.S. Government procurement of any goods or services from such person; (5) prohibition of U.S. assistance to such person in the form of grants, loans, credits, guarantees, or otherwise; (6) immediate suspension of any agreements or efforts for the co-development or co-production with such person of any item on the U.S. Munitions List. Sets conditions for the lifting of such measures. (Sec. 5) Requires the President to apply additional specified tier 1, tier 2, and tier 3 measures against China if certain circumstances exist. Requires one or more tier 2 measures if a person's proliferation activities are not rectified, or a person has engaged in additional proliferation activities, one year after imposition of section (4) measures, and one or more tier 3 measures if similar circumstances exist two years after imposition of section (4) measures. (Sec. 6) Sets forth procedures for congressional review of any presidential decision not to impose sanctions under this Act, or to exempt a person or China from such sanctions. Mandates imposition of such sanctions if Congress disapproves by joint resolution the President's decision. (Sec. 7) Requires transmittal to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the President's annual report under this Act. Requires the SEC to promulgate regulations to: (1) ensure that securities investors are notified of the identity of any person in the report the securities of which are listed, or authorized for listing, on a registered national securities exchange (or tier or segment) or by a registered national securities association; and (2) require each person included in such a report to provide notice of such inclusion in each written report, registration statement, or other filing or notice required from that person under the securities laws.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2000
Access to Innovation for Medicare Patients Act of 2000 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for Medicare coverage of self-injected biologicals approved by the Food and Drug Administration that are prescribed as a complete replacement for a drug or a biological that otherwise cannot be self-administered.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2000
Consumer Privacy Protection Act - States that this Act preempts State laws and regulations inconsistent with its contents. Title I: Online Privacy - Sets forth operating parameters applicable to Internet service providers, online service providers, and commercial website operators with respect to the user of such service or website and: (1) the collection or disclosure of personally identifiable information; and (2) notice, consent, access and security requirements. Permits disclosure to law enforcement agencies and pursuant to court orders. Title II: Privacy Protection for Consumers of Books, Recorded Music, and Videos - Replaces Federal criminal code prohibition of the wrongful disclosure of video tape rental or sale records with prohibition of the wrongful disclosure of information about video, book, or recorded music rental, sale or delivery. Sets forth liability parameters for a video provider, book dealer, or recorded music dealer who knowingly discloses personally identifiable information concerning a consumer. Title III: Enforcement and Remedies - Vests the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) with enforcement authority for violations of this Act. Identifies additional agencies with enforcement authority for violations of online privacy under this Act. Grants a private right of action to persons aggrieved by such violations. Authorizes civil actions by States whose residents have been aggrieved by such violations. (Sec. 305) Sets forth whistleblower protections. Directs the FTC to establish an Office of Online Privacy to study privacy issues associated with electronic commerce and the Internet, the operation of this Act and the efficacy of its privacy protections. Title IV: Communications Technology Privacy Protections - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to extend its privacy protection parameters to subscribers of satellite television services for private home viewing. (Sec. 402) Requires a customer's express prior authorization for access or disclosure by a telecommunications carrier of the customer's proprietary network information. Title V: Rulemaking and Studies - Directs the Federal Trade Commission to study consumer privacy issues in the traditional, offline marketplace according to prescribed guidelines and report to Congress its recommendations regarding rights and remedies. (Sec. 502) Instructs the Federal Communications Commission to initiate a prescribed rulemaking proceeding to establish uniform consumer privacy rules for all communications providers. (Sec. 503) Instructs the Secretary of Labor to study and report to Congress on whether employer practices that monitor employee activities by electronic or other remote means both at and away from the workplace constitute an inappropriate violation of employee privacy. Title VI: Protection of Personally Identifiable Information in Bankruptcy - Amends the Federal Bankruptcy Code to exclude certain personally identifiable information from consideration as an asset in bankruptcy. Title VII: Internet Security Initiatives - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish a Computer Security Partnership Council to: (1) increase public awareness of information security (including threats to information security and the responses to such threats); and (2) publish a report which evaluates and describes of areas of computer security research and development that are inadequately developed or funded. (Sec. 703) Amends the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act to direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology (Institute) to establish a program of matching grants for research and development of protection technologies to address issues that are not addressed by market-driven, private-sector information security research. Sets forth a matching grant framework. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 704) Instructs the Secretary of Commerce to establish computer security training programs authorized to be supported by forms of financial aid to students at domestic institutions of higher education. Authorizes scholarships, but makes service as a Federal employee after graduation a condition of acceptance. (Sec. 705) Authorizes the Institute, as part of its computer standards program, to: (1) assist Federal agencies in the protection of interconnected computer systems and to coordinate Federal response efforts regarding unauthorized access to Federal computer systems; and (2) establish an award program for the recognition of excellence in Federal computer system security practices. (Sec. 707) Directs the Institute to support development of computer software that would: (1) reflect the user's preferences for protecting sensitive, privacy-related information; and (2) automatically execute the program, once activated, without requiring user intervention. Title VIII: Congressional Information Security Standards - Instructs the Sergeant at Arms of the Senate to develop regulations following prescribed principles of privacy that set forth an information security and electronic privacy policy governing Internet use by Senate officers and employees. Title IX: Definitions - Defines terms used in this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2000
Coal Accountability and Retired Employee Act for the 21st Century - Mandates that interest credited to the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund, and which has not been transferred to the United Mine Workers of America Combined Fund before enactment of this Act, shall be transferred to such Combined Fund to pay the amount of any shortfall in any premium account for any plan year under the Combined Fund. Amends the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to repeal limitations placed upon aggregate amount transfers.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2000
Medicare Expansion for Needed Drugs (MEND) Act of 2000 - Title I: Prescription Drug Benefit Program - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to add a new part D (Prescription Drug Benefit for the Aged and Disabled) outlining the following program components: (1) establishment of a voluntary insurance program to provide prescription drug benefits for individuals who are aged or disabled or have end-stage renal disease and who elect to enroll under such program, to be financed from enrollee premium payments together with contributions from Federal appropriations; (2) scope of benefits; (3) payment of benefits and benefit limits; (4) eligibility and enrollment; (5) monthly premium rates; (6) creation within the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of the Prescription Drug Insurance Account for payments; (7) administration of benefits through private entities; (8) authorization for the Employer Incentive Program to encourage employers to provide adequate prescription drug benefits to retired individuals and to maintain such existing benefit programs by subsidizing, in part, the sponsor's cost of providing coverage under qualifying plans; and (9) authorization of appropriations to the Account to cover Government contributions. (Sec. 101) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study and report on the feasibility and advisability of establishing an annual open enrollment period under the new part D program. (Sec. 102) Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to: (1) provide for coverage for certain low-income individuals of part D premiums; (2) require State Medicaid plans to provide that in the case of any individual whose eligibility for medical assistance is not limited to Medicare or Medicare drug cost-sharing, and for whom the State elects to pay monthly premiums under part D, the State will purchase all prescription drugs, without regard to whether the benefit limit for such individual has been reached; (3) require Government payment of Medicare drug cost-sharing for qualified Medicare beneficiaries and for Medicare-eligible individuals with incomes between 100 and 150 percent of the Federal poverty line; and (4) make provisions on payment for covered outpatient drugs inapplicable to prescription drugs purchased under part D pursuant to an agreement with the Secretary under the special eligibility, enrollment, and copayment rules below for low-income individuals. Amends SSA title XVIII part D to outline special eligibility, enrollment, and copayment rules for low-income individuals, which include options for continuation of Medicaid coverage or enrollment under such part. Amends SSA title XIX to remove the sunset date for cost-sharing in Medicare part B premiums for certain qualifying individuals. Repeals provisions on State coverage of Medicare cost-sharing for additional low-income Medicare beneficiaries. (Sec. 103) Directs the Secretary to submit to Congress recommendations on structuring a catastrophic drug benefit for Medicare beneficiaries. Establishes the Catastrophic Prescription Drug Coverage Reserve Fund and makes appropriations to it. (Sec. 104) Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for comprehensive immunosuppressive drug Medicare coverage for organ transplant patients. (Sec. 105) Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on the prescription drug benefit program under part D. (Sec. 106) Directs the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MEDPAC) to take similar action, including an analysis of such program's impact on the pharmaceutical market, franchise, independent, and rural pharmacies, and beneficiary access to prescription drugs. Title II: Enhanced Medicare Prevention Program - Amends SSA title XVIII to direct MEDPAC to report annually to Congress on the actuarial equivalence of Medicare and private sector benefit packages. (Sec. 202) Requires the Director of the National Institute on Aging to conduct studies on improving the quality of life for the elderly, developing better ways to prevent or delay the onset of age-related functional decline and disease among the elderly, and developing means of assessing the long-term development of cost-effective and cost-saving benefits for health promotion and disease among the elderly. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 203) Requires the Secretary to contract with the Institute of Medicine to study and report to the President along with appropriate legislative recommendations for Congress with respect to current literature and best practices in the field of health promotion and disease prevention among Medicare beneficiaries. Provides for fast-track consideration by Congress of such presidential report and accompanying recommendations.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2000
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) the Secretary of Education should work with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Veterans Day National Committee, and veterans service organizations to encourage, prepare, and disseminate educational materials and activities for elementary and secondary school students aimed at increasing awareness of the contributions of veterans; and (2) the week that includes Veterans Day should be designated as National Veterans Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2000
Designates the Federal building located at 2201 C Street, Northwest, in the District of Columbia, which serves as headquarters for the Department of State, as the Harry S. Truman Federal Building.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2000
State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) Preservation Act of 2000 - Requires amounts allotted to a State under title XXI (Children's Health Insurance) of the Social Security Act for FY 1998 and 1999 to remain available through FY 2002, notwithstanding a specified time limitation on the availability of such amounts.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2000
2002 Winter Olympic Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue five dollar gold coins and one dollar silver coins emblematic of the participation of American athletes in the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. Mandates that coin design be selected by the Secretary after consultation with: (1) the Commission of Fine Arts; (2) the United States Olympic Committee; and (3) Olympic Properties of the United States-Salt Lake 2002 (created and owned by the Salt Lake Organizing Committee). States that all surcharges from the coin sales ($35 for a $5 coin and $10 for a $1 coin) shall be distributed by the Secretary to: (1) Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the Olympic Winter Games of 2002; and (2) the United States Olympic Committee.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2000
Family Opportunity Act of 2000 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) give States the option of allowing families of disabled children to purchase Medicaid coverage for such children; and (2) provide for treatment of inpatient psychiatric hospital services for individuals under age 21 under waivers allowing for payment for part or all of the cost of home or community-based services. Authorizes a State to apply to the Secretary of Health and Human Services for approval of a demonstration project to provide Medicaid coverage to up to a specified maximum number of children with a potentially severe disability. Amends SSA title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) to make appropriations to the Secretary for special projects of regional and national significance for development and support of family-to-family health information centers.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2000
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the conferees on H.R. 1501, the Violent and Repeat Juvenile Offender Accountability and Rehabilitation Act, should complete and submit the conference report before April 20, 2000, and include in such conference report the amendments passed by the Senate seeking to limit access to firearms by juveniles, convicted felons, and other persons prohibited by law from purchasing or possessing firearms.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2000
Wheeling National Heritage Area Act of 2000 - Establishes the Wheeling National Heritage Area in Wheeling, West Virginia. Makes the Wheeling National Heritage Area Corporation the management entity for the Area, which shall implement and coordinate the recommendations contained in the Wheeling National Heritage Area Plan dated August, 1992. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 29 February 2000
Congratulates and thanks Chairman Robert F. Bennett and Vice Chairman Christopher J. Dodd for: (1) presiding over the Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem which did its work in a bipartisan and fair manner; and (2) helping the Government and the Nation minimize the Y2K computer problem.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 2000
Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of Congress, a gold medal to John Cardinal O'Connor, Archbishop of New York, in recognition of his accomplishments as a priest, a soldier, and a humanitarian. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2000
Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of Congress, a congressional gold medal to Charles M. Schulz in recognition of his lasting artistic contributions to the Nation and the world. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2000
American Hospital Preservation Act of 2000 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA), as amended by the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999 with regard to provisions on the one year sole community hospital payment increase, to reset the applicable percentage increase for FY 2001 and each subsequent fiscal year to the market basket percentage increase for hospitals in all areas for purposes of updating payments to prospective payment system (PPS) hospitals for inpatient hospital services.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 2000
Rural Education Development Initiative for the 21st Century Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to make grants to States for elementary and secondary education development by local educational agencies (LEAs) that are eligible because they serve: (1) a school-age population of whom 15 percent or more are from families with incomes below the poverty line; and (2) a school district in a rural locality, or a school-age population of 800 or fewer. Reserves a specified portion of grant funds for schools operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Sets forth an allotment formula for grants to State educational agencies (SEAs) to make grants to eligible LEAs. Authorizes the Secretary to make direct competitive grants to specially qualified eligible rural LEAs in nonparticipating States. Requires LEAs or their schools to use grant funds for: (1) educational technology, including software and hardware; (2) professional development; (3) technical assistance; (4) teacher recruitment and retention; (5) parental involvement activities; or (6) academic enrichment programs or other education programs. Requires SEAs to award grants on a formula basis. Requires that at least 99 percent of such funds be awarded to eligible LEAs in the first year, and 99.5 in the second and in each succeeding year that an SEA receives such a grant. Allows the remainder to be used for State activities and administrative costs related to the grant program. Requires reports by SEAs, LEAs, and the Secretary. Directs the Secretary, at the end of the third year an SEA participates in the program, to permit continued participation only if the SEA has met its performance goals and objectives for two consecutive years. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on this Act's impact on student achievement. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 2000
Recognizes May 15, 2000, as Peace Officers Memorial Day, in honor of Federal, State, and local law enforcement officers killed or disabled in the line of duty.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 1999
Firefighter Investment and Response Enhancement (FIRE) Act - Amends the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to authorize the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to: (1) make grants on a competitive basis for protecting the health and safety of the public and firefighting personnel against fire and fire-related hazards; and (2) provide assistance for specified fire prevention programs (requiring at least ten percent of grant funds to be used for such programs). Provides a program priority for organizations that focus on prevention of injuries to children from fire. Requires: (1) ten percent non-Federal matching funds; (2) each grantee to report to the Director on grant uses; and (3) grants to be made to a variety of recipients, including paid and volunteer firefighters and urban, suburban, and rural. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2005.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 1999
Vietnam Veterans Recognition Act of 1999 - Authorizes the American Battle Monuments Commission to place within the Vietnam Veterans Memorial a plaque to honor Vietnam veterans who died after service in the Vietnam War, but as a direct result of such service, and whose names are not otherwise eligible for placement on the Memorial wall.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1999
High-Speed Rail Investment Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a limited tax credit to holders of a qualified Amtrak bond. Sets forth definitions, State matching requirements, and other rules.
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 · 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 · 15 October 1999
Fair Trade Law Enhancement Act of 1999 - Title I: Safeguard Amendments - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to repeal the requirement that the cause of serious injury (or threat of it) be substantial to the domestic industry producing an article like or directly competitive with an article that is being imported into the United States in such increased quantities that the President must take action to facilitate industry efforts to make a positive adjustment to the import competition. (Thus allows a finding by the U.S. Trade Representative of less than substantial injury to activate the President's mandate.) (Sec. 101) Declares that imports shall be considered to be a "cause of serious injury, or threat thereof," when a causal link is established between imports and injury to the domestic industry. Revises certain factors the International Trade Commission (ITC) must consider when investigating whether an article is being imported into the United States in such increased quantities as to be a substantial cause of serious injury (or threat of it) to the domestic industry producing an article like or directly competitive with the imported article. Repeals, similarly, the requirement that such injury be substantial. (Sec. 102) Requires the ITC, for purposes of an investigation, to focus on the merchant market when determining the domestic industry's market share in producing an article like or directly competitive with the imported article in cases in which domestic producers transfer internally (including related parties) significant production of the like or directly competitive article for the production of a downstream article and sell significant production of such article in the merchant market (captive production). (Sec. 103) Directs the ITC to find that a rebuttable presumption that a domestic industry is threatened with serious injury, or a rebuttable presumption of critical circumstances, exists because of such imports if it finds there has been a rapid decline in domestic prices for the like or directly competitive article, and a rapid increase in the imported articles. Requires the ITC in any case in which such presumptions do not apply, or in which they apply but are rebutted, to conduct a threat of serious injury or of critical circumstances analysis as if no such presumption applied. Title II: Amendments to Title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930 - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to make similar changes with respect to its countervailing duty and antidumping duty provisions. (Sec. 207) Prohibits the administering authority (Secretary of Commerce), for purposes of suspending an antidumping duty or countervailing duty investigation, from accepting an agreement with another country to eliminate or offset a countervailable subsidy placed by such country on an export to the United States or an agreement to cease such exports to, or eliminate their injurious effect on, the United States unless, among other things, such agreement is supported by domestic producers or workers accounting for more than 50 percent of the total production of the domestic like product. Sets forth certain requirements with respect to industry support determinations by the administering authority. (Sec. 209) Revises the method for calculating the constructed export price of subject merchandise by reducing such price, among other things, by an amount equal to the dumping margin or the net countervailable subsidy unless the producer or exporter is able to demonstrate that the importer of such merchandise was in no way reimbursed for any antidumping duties paid on such merchandise. (Sec. 211) Requires the ITC, for purposes of an antidumping duty or countervailing duty investigation, to treat the producers of an agricultural product that has a short shelf life (perishable product) in a defined period or season as the domestic industry. Sets forth certain factors that the ITC can, cannot, or shall consider when making material injury determinations with respect to such products for the seasonal period. (Sec. 212) Requires the ITC, when making a determination of whether a countervailable subsidy exists in a country where transactions do not reflect market conditions due to government action associated with provision of the subject good or service or purchase of such goods, to make such determination through comparison with the most comparable market price elsewhere in the world. Title III: Steel Import Notification - Directs the Secretary to establish and implement a steel import notification and monitoring program. Requires: (1) a person to have a steel import notification certificate before he or she can import certain steel products into the United States; and (2) the Secretary to issue such certificate to any person who files an application that meets specified requirements. Requires the Secretary to compile and publish certain information with respect to such imported steel.
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.
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