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Official portrait of Sen. Byrd, Robert C. [D-WV]

Sen. Byrd, Robert C. [D-WV]

United States · Official source

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3,342 records where Sen. Byrd, Robert C. [D-WV] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years

Resolution· SRESS.Res. 198 (106th)passed

Expressing sympathy for those killed and injured in the recent earthquakes in Turkey and Greece and commending Turkey and Greece for their recent efforts in opening a national dialogue and taking steps to further bilateral relations.

United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1999

Expresses sympathy for those killed and injured in the recent earthquakes in Greece and Turkey. Commends, encourages, and supports recent efforts by Greece and Turkey to improve bilateral relations.

Bill· SS. 1678 (106th)open

Medicare Beneficiary Access to Care Act of 1999

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.

Bill· SS. 1680 (106th)referred

Veterans Benefits Administration Improvement Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1999

Veterans Benefits Administration Improvement Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to the congressional veterans' committees, the Senate Majority Leader, and the Speaker of the House (the entities) a comprehensive plan for the improvement of the processing of claims for veterans' compensation and pension. Requires such plan to include the training of claims adjudicators and the enhancement of accountability standards to improve the timeliness and accuracy of such claims processing. Directs the Secretary to implement the plan within 60 days after its submission. Allows for plan modifications, but requires prior notification to the entities followed by a 30-day waiting period. Requires biannual reports from the Secretary to the entities assessing plan implementation.

Bill· SS. 1600 (106th)referred

Older Workers Pension Protection Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 16 September 1999

Older Workers Pension Protection Act of 1999 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to prohibit plan amendments that reduce future accrued benefits for years of service for participants in defined benefit plans with 100 or more members.

Bill· SS. 1536 (106th)open

Older Americans Act Amendments of 2000

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.

Bill· SS. 1468 (106th)referred

United States Capitol Visitor Center Commemorative Coin Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1999

United States Capitol Visitor Center Commemorative Coin Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue ten-dollar bimetallic coins, one-dollar silver coins, half-dollar clad coins, and if the Secretary determines that the minting and issuance of bimetallic coins is not feasible, five-dollar gold coins emblematic of the first meeting of the United States Congress in the U.S. Capitol Building. Mandates that all surcharges received from the coin sales be deposited in the Capitol Preservation Fund and made available to the U.S. Capitol Preservation Commission to aid in the construction, maintenance, and preservation of a Capitol Visitor Center.

Bill· SS. 1445 (106th)referred

Patient Abuse Prevention Act

United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1999

Patient Abuse Prevention Act - Amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to establish programs to prevent abuse of recipients of long-term care services in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) under the Medicare and Medicaid programs, including background checks on workers and a hiring ban on abusive workers. Prescribes criminal and civil penalties for violation of this Act. Requires State Medicare and Medicaid registries to collect information about nursing facility employees other than nurse aides. Amends SSA title XI to include abusive long-term care facility employees in the national health care fraud and abuse data collection program database. Includes SNFs, certain other nursing facilities, home health agencies, hospices, and intermediate care facilities for the mentally retarded as long-term care facilities. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a demonstration program to provide grants to develop information on best practices in patient abuse prevention training for managers and staff of hospital and health care facilities. Authorizes appropriations.

Resolution· SCONRESS.Con.Res. 46 (106th)referred

A concurrent resolution expressing the sense of Congress that the July 20, 1999, 30th anniversary of the first lunar landing should be a day of celebration and reflection on the Apollo-11 mission to the Moon and the accomplishments of the Apollo program throughout the 1960's and 1970's.

United States · United States Congress · 20 July 1999

Expresses the sense of Congress that the 30th Anniversary of the first lunar landing should be a day of celebration and reflection on the Apollo-11 mission to the moon and the accomplishments of the Apollo program throughout the 1960's and 1970's.

Resolution· SCONRESS.Con.Res. 45 (106th)open

A concurrent resolution expressing the sense of Congress that the July 20, 1999, 30th anniversary of the first lunar landing should be a day of celebration and reflection on the Apollo-11 mission to the Moon and the accomplishments of the Apollo program throughout the 1960's and 1970's.

United States · United States Congress · 20 July 1999

Expresses the sense of Congress that the 30th Anniversary of the first lunar landing should be a day of celebration and reflection on the Apollo-11 mission to the moon and the accomplishments of the Apollo program throughout the 1960's and 1970's.

Bill· SS. 1332 (106th)referred

Father Theodore M. Hesburgh Congressional Gold Medal Act

United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1999

Father Theodore M. Hesburgh Congressional Gold Medal Act - Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of the Congress, a gold medal to Father Theodore M. Hesburgh in recognition of his outstanding and enduring contributions to civil rights, higher education, the Catholic Church, the Nation, and the global community. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates. Authorizes appropriations.

Bill· SS. 1310 (106th)open

Home Health Equity Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 30 June 1999

Home Health Equity Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act and the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 to eliminate the 15 percent home health services payment reduction which would occur if the Secretary of Health and Human Services did not establish a prospective payment system (PPS) for such services as provided for in such Act. Provides for: (1) outlier payments to home health agencies (agencies) in spite of applicable per beneficiary payment limits when a provider demonstrates to the Secretary that an individual was furnished appropriate home health services at a reasonable cost that significantly exceeded such applicable per beneficiary limit because of certain conditions; and (2) recoupment of overpayments by the Secretary to agencies over a 36-month period as specified. Makes various Medicare amendments under reasonable cost provisions with regard to an increase in payment amounts to agencies with limits under the national average and an increase in the per visit limit for cost reporting periods beginning on or after October 1, 1999, with regard to the amount of payments that may be made under Medicare for services furnished by agencies. Eliminates timekeeping requirements under the prospective payment system for home health services. Provides for periodic interim payment for certain agencies under Medicare provisions regarding payment to service providers. Revises surety bond requirements for agencies. Excludes additional Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) costs from determination of the Medicare part B premium.

Resolution· SRESS.Res. 131 (106th)passed

A resolution relating to the retirement of Ron Kavulick

United States · United States Congress · 30 June 1999

Expresses deep appreciation and gratitude to Ron Kavulick for his years of faithful service to his country and to the United States Senate.

Bill· SS. 1252 (106th)referred

Standardized School Report Card Act

United States · United States Congress · 21 June 1999

Standardized School Report Card Act - Requires annual State and school report cards with respect to elementary and secondary education, in easily understandable language. Requires each State educational agency (SEA) receiving assistance under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to produce and widely disseminate a State report card for parents, the general public, teachers and the Secretary of Education. Requires each school receiving assistance under ESEA, or the local educational agency (LEA) serving that school, to produce and widely disseminate a school report card for parents, the general public, teachers and the SEA, in easily understandable language, with respect to elementary or secondary education in the school. Requires such State and school report cards to contain, as appropriate, specified information regarding indicators of school performance and quality, including: (1) student performance in language arts and mathematics, and other assessed subject areas, including comparisons with students elsewhere; (2) attendance and graduation rates; (3) professional qualifications of teachers, and numbers teaching out-of-field or with emergency certification; (4) average class size; (5) school safety; (6) parental involvement; (7) annual school dropout rate; and (8) student access to technology, including computers and the Internet. Directs the Secretary to use Office of Educational Research and Improvement funds to develop a model school report card for dissemination, upon request, to a school, LEA, or SEA. Requires a certain disaggregation of student performance data in State and school report cards.

Resolution· SCONRESS.Con.Res. 40 (106th)referred

A concurrent resolution commending the President and the Armed Forces for the success of Operation Allied Force.

United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1999

Commends the armed forces, President Clinton, specified military and administration officials, and the NATO forces on the success of Operation Allied Force. Demands from Slobodan Milosevic the withdrawal of all Yugoslav and Serb forces from Kosovo, a permanent end to hostilities there, the return of Kosovo citizens to their homes, and unimpeded access to Kosovo for humanitarian relief operations. Urges the leadership of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) to ensure KLA compliance with ceasefire and demilitarization obligations. Calls for full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and assistance in bringing indicted war criminals, including Milosevic and other Serb military and political leaders, to justice.

Bill· SS. 1215 (106th)open

A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to furnish headstones or markers for marked graves of, or to otherwise commemorate, certain individuals.

United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1999

Makes marked (currently, only unmarked) graves of certain veterans eligible for the provision of a headstone or marker through the Department of Veterans Affairs. Allows such headstone or marker to be placed at another area appropriate for commemorating the individual.

Resolution· SCONRESS.Con.Res. 34 (106th)referred

A concurrent resolution relating to the observance of "In Memory" Day.

United States · United States Congress · 25 May 1999

Expresses the sense of Congress that In Memory Day should be observed on the third Monday in April each year, the day on which Patriots Day is also observed, in honor of the men and women of the United States whose deaths had a basis in their service in Vietnam during the Vietnam War and who are thereby true examples to the Nation of patriotism and sacrifice.

Bill· SS. 1001 (106th)referred

National Youth Violence Commission Act

United States · United States Congress · 11 May 1999

National Youth Violence Commission Act - Establishes a National Youth Violence Commission to: (1) conduct a comprehensive study of incidents of youth violence to determine the root causes of such violence; and (2) report to the President and Congress recommendations to address the causes of, and reduce incidences of, youth violence. Authorizes appropriations.

Bill· SS. 980 (106th)referred

Promoting Health in Rural Areas Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1999

Promoting Health in Rural Areas Act of 1999 - Title I: Promoting Access to Health Care Services in Rural Areas Under the Medicare Program - Subtitle A: Hospital-Related Provisions - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) with regard to hospital-related provisions to: (1) revise payment and geographic reclassification requirements for sole community hospitals; (2) modify the criteria for designation of a critical access hospital; (3) make certain technical amendments with regard to adjustments for graduate medical education, both indirect and direct; (4) make permanent the payment provision for the Medicare-dependent, small rural hospital program, and provide an option to base program eligibility on discharges during any of the three most recent audited cost reporting periods; and (5) provide for an all-inclusive payment rate option for outpatient critical access hospital services. (Sec. 106) Provides for: (1) exclusion of swing beds in critical access hospitals from the prospective payment system (PPS) for skilled nursing facilities; (2) exclusion of small rural providers from the PPS for hospital outpatient department services; (3) modification of disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payment adjustment requirements; (4) application of hospital geographic reclassification for inpatient services (labor costs) to all PPS-reimbursed items and services; and (5) mandatory standardization of wage levels for hospitals with respect to occupational mix before adjusting payment rates. Directs the Secretary of Labor to study and report to Congress on the feasibility and costs of having the Bureau of Labor Statistics collect data on wages that would assist the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) in determining average wage levels, at the metropolitan statistical area, statewide, and rural level by sector and the proportion of the workforce in each occupational category within each sector. Subtitle B: General Provisions - Amends Medicare part C (Medicare+Choice) to make certain adjustments to the calculation of annual capitation rates used in determining payments to Medicare+Choice organizations. (Sec. 122) Amends the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to convert into a permanently authorized program the current demonstration program for direct billing of Medicare, Medicaid (SSA title XIX), and other third party payors by Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Alaska Native health organizations. (Sec. 123) Amends SSA title XVIII (Medicare) to: (1) provide for rural representation on the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MEDPAC) as well as additional specified duties for MEDPAC; (2) require MEDPAC to review the impact of PPS's for skilled nursing facility services, home health services, and hospital outpatient department services on access to services in rural areas, as well as review the operating margins for hospitals in rural or frontier areas; and (3) provide for Medicare coverage of qualified mental health professional services. (Sec. 125) Directs the Secretary to study and report to Congress on the barriers that Medicare beneficiaries residing in rural areas face in obtaining quality mental health services, and on ways to reduce or eliminate such barriers. (Sec. 126) Directs the Secretary to establish a waiver process in which entities and individuals under Medicare that are located in an urban or large urban area for purposes of Medicare reimbursement may apply to be considered as located in a rural area for such purposes if the entity or individual is located in a rural area: (1) within a metropolitan county; or (2) as determined by using a census tract definition adopted by the Office of Rural Health Policy in awarding grants. (Sec. 127) Revises per-visit payment limits for rural health clinic services under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance). (Sec. 128) Amends Medicare part B to: (1) extend to physician assistant or nurse practitioner services additional payments for services furnished in health professional shortage areas; (2) provide authority for the Secretary to establish a PPS for rural health clinic (RHC) services in a rural hospital with 50 beds or more; (3) establish separate wage indexes for making adjustments to payments under the PPS's for skilled nursing facilities and home health agencies; and (4) require consideration of rural issues in establishing an ambulance service fee schedule. Title II: Additional Provisions to Address Shortages of Health Professionals in Rural Areas - Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to direct the Secretary to define "frontier area" for inclusion among health professional shortage areas. Requires the Secretary to consider any pending retirements or resignations of available physicians when determining whether to designate an area as a health professional shortage area. Prohibits the Secretary from implementing any regulation establishing a new methodology for designating a health professional shortage area unless such methodology: (1) is not detrimental to underserved rural or frontier communities, including that the methodology does not result in the provision of fewer services in such communities; and (2) includes consideration of the percentage of the population over age 65 residing in an area. (Sec. 202) Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to exclude from an individual's gross income certain amounts received under the National Health Service Corps Scholarship Program under PHSA. (Sec. 203) Amends Federal civil service law to provide for the designation of underserved areas under health care contracts administered by the Office of Personnel Management. (Sec. 204) Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to mandate a new PPS for federally-qualified health centers and rural health clinics under the Medicaid program. (Sec. 205) Amends the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 to revise requirements for Medicare reimbursement of telehealth services, including store-and-forward technologies among the telecommunications systems used in providing telehealth services. (Sec. 206) Directs the Secretary to conduct a specified study on telehealth licensure for a report to the Congress. (Sec. 207) Redesignates the Joint Working Group on Telemedicine as the Joint Working Group on Telehealth, with the chairperson being designated by the Director of the Office for the Advancement on Telehealth. Establishes the mission of the Joint Working Group, among other things, as identifying, monitoring, and coordinating Federal telehealth projects and programs. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Development of Telehealth Networks - Subtitle A: Development of Telehealth Networks - Directs the Secretary to provide specified financial assistance to eligible telehealth networks for the purpose of expanding access to health care services for individuals in rural and frontier areas through the use of such networks. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Rural Health Outreach and Network Development Grant Program - Amends PHSA to rename the Rural Health Outreach, Network Development, and Telemedicine Grant Program as the Rural Health Outreach and Network Development Grant Program, and to modify the renamed program. Title IV: Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends the IRC with regard to the non-deductible interest expense of financial institutions allocable to tax-exempt income, and the limited exception from such non-deductibility for interest expense on certain tax-exempt small issuer obligations. Allows a small issuer, the proceeds of whose obligations are to be used to make or finance eligible loans for health care or educational purposes, to elect to apply specified current limitations on the amount of obligations by treating each borrower as the issuer of a separate issue. (Sec. 402) Requires the heads of the National Center for Health Statistics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, and the Bureau of the Census to negotiate and enter into interagency agreements with HHS agencies and offices under which they will be provided access to data sets for the intramural and extramural research they conduct or support.

Resolution· SRESS.Res. 94 (106th)passed

A resolution commending the efforts of the Reverend Jesse Jackson to secure the release of the soldiers held by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

United States · United States Congress · 4 May 1999

Commends the Reverend Jesse Jackson for securing the release of Sergeant Andrew A. Ramirez, Sergeant Christopher J. Stone, and Specialist Steven M. Gonzales, who were taken prisoner by the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia while on patrol along the Macedonia- Yugoslav border.

Bill· SS. 931 (106th)referred

Flag Protection Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1999

Flag Protection Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal criminal code to revise provisions regarding desecration of the flag to set penalties with respect to persons who: (1) destroy or damage a U.S. flag with the primary purpose and intent to incite or produce imminent violence or a breach of the peace under circumstances in which the person knows that it is reasonably likely to produce imminent violence or a breach of the peace; (2) steal or knowingly convert to their use, or the use of another, a U.S. flag belonging to the United States and intentionally destroy or damage that flag; and (3) within any lands reserved for the use of the United States, or under the exclusive or concurrent jurisdiction thereof, steal or knowingly convert to their use, or the use of another, a U.S. flag belonging to another person and intentionally destroy or damage that flag.

Bill· SS. 914 (106th)open

Combined Sewer Overflow Control and Partnership Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1999

Combined Sewer Overflow Control and Partnership Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to require each permit, order, or decree issued under such Act for a discharge from a combined storm and sanitary sewer to conform to the Combined Sewer Overflow Control Policy signed by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency on April 11, 1994. Authorizes the Administrator, notwithstanding specified compliance schedules and permit limitations, to issue or execute a permit, order, or decree for discharges from such sewers that includes a schedule for compliance with a long-term control plan for a term of up to 15 years. Provides for extensions of such term, as appropriate. Declares that no permit, order, or decree issued under the Act should require compliance with water quality based requirements contained in a long-term control plan under the Control Policy unless the Administrator has completed the water quality standards-designated use review process called for in the Control Policy. Authorizes the Administrator to make grants to municipalities for planning, design, and construction of facilities to intercept, transport, control, or treat combined storm and sanitary sewer flows. Directs the Administrator to report biennially to Congress on recommended funding levels for the two fiscal years following the date of a report on activities relating to combined storm and sanitary sewer flows. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2004.

Bill· SS. 922 (106th)referred

Made in USA Label Defense Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1999

Made in USA Label Defense Act of 1999 - Amends Federal law to prohibit the affixation of the "Made in the USA" label to a product of the Northern Mariana Islands. Prohibits such products from being imported into the United States free of duty or quotas.

Bill· SS. 882 (106th)open

Energy and Climate Policy Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 27 April 1999

Energy and Climate Policy Act of 1999 - Amends the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to replace provisions establishing a Director of Climate Protection with those establishing an Office of Global Climate Change in the Department of Energy. Requires the Office to serve as a focal point for coordinating for the Secretary of Energy and Congress all departmental issues and policies regarding climate change and related matters and to be headed by a Director, appointed by the Secretary. (Sec. 4) Directs the Secretary to establish a program of giving annual public recognition to all persons and entities voluntarily reporting information on sources of greenhouse gases who demonstrate voluntarily achieved greenhouse gas reductions, including information reported prior to this Act's enactment. Requires the Secretary, through the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration, to conduct and submit to specified congressional committees a review of what changes should be made to guidelines for accuracy and reliability of voluntarily reported information on greenhouse gas reductions. Provides for incorporation into such guidelines of changes found to be beneficial and cost effective in improving the accuracy and reliability of reported information. (Sec. 5) Requires the Secretary to establish a long-term Climate Technology Research, Development, and Demonstration Program to foster development of: (1) new technologies and the enhancement of existing technologies that reduce or avoid anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases and improve energy efficiency; (2) new technologies that are able to remove and sequester greenhouse gases from emissions streams; and (3) new technologies and practices to remove and sequester such gases from the atmosphere. Requires submission of a ten-year plan to guide such activities to Congress. Directs the Secretary to solicit proposals for conducting such activities. Describes applicant qualifications, proposal requirements, and criteria for proposal selection. Requires the Director of the Office of Science and Technology to report annually to Congress: (1) a certification that the program objectives are adequately focused, peer- and merit-reviewed, and not unnecessarily duplicative with other Federal science and technology research; and (2) whether the program addresses an adequate breadth and range of technologies and solutions to address anthropogenic climate change. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 6) Amends the Federal Nonnuclear Energy Research and Development Act of 1974 to require a specified energy research, development, and demonstration plan to include solutions to the effective management of greenhouse gas emissions in the long term by the development of technologies and practices designed to reduce or avoid anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases and remove and sequester greenhouse gases from emissions streams and the atmosphere. Includes within program elements and activities research, development, and demonstration designed to pursue a long-term climate technology strategy to demonstrate a variety of technologies by which stabilization of greenhouse gases might be best achieved.

Bill· SJRESS.J.Res. 22 (106th)open

A joint resolution to reauthorize, and modify the conditions for, the consent of Congress to the Northeast Interstate Dairy Compact and to grant the consent of Congress to the Southern Dairy Compact

United States · United States Congress · 27 April 1999

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Northeast Interstate Dairy Compact Title II: Southern Dairy Compact Title I: Northeast Interstate Dairy Compact - Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act to include Maryland, New Jersey, and New York within the Northeast Interstate Dairy Compact. Includes Ohio among the additional States that may join such Compact, and eliminates Virginia from such group. Eliminates and revises specified provisions regarding Compact implementation, duration, restricting authority, and Commodity Credit Corporation compensation. Title II: Southern Dairy Compact - States that the Congress consents to the Southern Dairy Compact entered into by Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. Includes Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas as additional States that may join such Compact. Limits price regulatory authority to Class I fluid milk unless otherwise consented to by the Congress. Provides for Commodity Credit Corporation compensation. Sets forth the Southern Dairy Compact.

Bill· SS. 876 (106th)reported

Children's Protection from Violent Programming Act

United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1999

Children's Protection from Violent Programming Act - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to make it unlawful for any person to distribute to the public any violent video programming during hours when children are reasonably likely to comprise a substantial portion of the audience. Requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to promulgate regulations to implement this Act. Authorizes the FCC, as part of its rulemaking proceeding, to exempt programming (including news programs and sporting events) whose distribution does not conflict with the objective of protecting children from the negative influences of violent video programming. Exempts premium and pay-per-view cable programming. Requires the FCC to immediately revoke the license of any person who repeatedly violates this Act and to consider, in its review of an application for a renewal of a license, whether the licensee has complied with this Act.

Bill· SS. 864 (106th)open

Earth Day Act

United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1999

Earth Day Act - Amends Federal law to designate April 22 as Earth Day.

Bill· SS. 817 (106th)referred

After School Education and Anti-Crime Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1999

After School Education and Anti-Crime Act of 1999 - Revises the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Act to: (1) authorize the Secretary of Education to award grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) for the support of public elementary or secondary schools, including middle schools, that serve communities with substantial needs for expanded learning opportunities for children and youth in the communities, to enable the schools to establish or expand projects that benefit specified community needs; (2) direct the Secretary, in awarding grants, to assure an equitable distribution of assistance among the States and among urban and rural areas of the United States; and (3) direct the Secretary to award such grants for a period not to exceed five years. (Sec. 6) Requires an LEA, to be eligible to receive a grant, to submit an application as specified. Requires that such application include: (1) information demonstrating that the LEA will provide not less than 35 percent of the annual cost of the activities assisted under the project from sources other than funds provided under the Act, which may be provided in cash or in kind, fairly evaluated, and provide not more than 25 percent of the annual cost of the activities assisted under the project from funds provided by the Secretary under other Federal programs that permit the use of those other funds for activities assisted under the project; and (2) an assurance that the LEA, in each year of the project, will maintain the agency's fiscal effort, from non-Federal sources, from the preceding fiscal year for the activities that the LEA provides with funds made available under the Act. (Sec. 7) Allows the use of grant funds to establish or expand community learning centers. Allows such centers to provide one or more of specified listed activities, including after school programs that: (1) include at least two of the following: mentoring programs, academic assistance, recreational activities, or technology training; and (2) may include drug, alcohol, and gang prevention activities, health and nutrition counseling, and job skills preparation activities. Limits the amount of appropriated funds that may be used for after school programs. (Sec. 8) Directs an LEA to: (1) request volunteers from business and academic communities, and law enforcement organizations, to serve as mentors or to assist in other ways; (2) ensure that youth in the local community participate in designing the after school activities; (3) develop creative methods of conducting outreach to youth in the community; (4) request donations of computer equipment and other materials and equipment; and (5) work with State and local park and recreation agencies so that activities carried out by the agencies prior to this Act's enactment are not duplicated. (Sec. 10) Authorizes appropriations through FY 2004.

Bill· SS. 796 (106th)open

Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 14 April 1999

Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 1999 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Public Health Service Act to prohibit certain employee group health plans or related insurance coverages providing both medical-surgical and health benefits from imposing, in the absence of comparable medical-surgical limits: (1) mental health inpatient and outpatient benefit limits; and (2) limits on benefits for severe biologically based mental illnesses.

Bill· SS. 751 (106th)open

Seniors Safety Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Strategies for Preventing Crimes Against Seniors Title II: Combating Crimes Against Seniors Title III: Preventing Telemarketing Fraud Title IV: Preventing Health Care Fraud Title V: Protecting Residents of Nursing Homes Title VI: Protecting the Rights of Elderly Crime Victims Seniors Safety Act of 1999 - Title I: Strategies for Preventing Crimes Against Seniors - Directs the Attorney General (AG) to study and report to the congressional judiciary committees on crimes against seniors (over 55 years of age) in order to prevent and otherwise reduce the incidence of those crimes, which include telemarketing fraud, elder abuse, and health care fraud. (Sec. 102) Requires certain statistics concerning crimes against seniors to be included by the AG within each annual National Crime Victimization Survey. Title II: Combating Crimes Against Seniors - Directs the United States Sentencing Commission to review and, if appropriate, amend Federal sentencing guidelines to include the age of a crime victim as one of the criteria for determining whether a sentencing enhancement is appropriate. Requires a Commission report to Congress on issues relating to the age of crime victims. (Sec. 202) Directs the Commission to review and, if appropriate, amend sentencing guidelines and Commission policy statements to include persons convicted of offenses involving fraud in connection with a health care benefit program. (Sec. 203) Amends the Federal criminal code to provide increased penalties for fraud which results in serious injury or death. (Sec. 204) Provides civil and criminal penalties for any person who executes, or attempts to execute, a scheme or artifice to: (1) defraud any retirement arrangement or any person in connection with the establishment or maintenance of such an arrangement; or (2) falsely or fraudulently obtain any of the money or property owned by, or under the custody or control of, any retirement arrangement or other person in connection with such an arrangement. (Sec. 205) Authorizes the AG to bring a civil action to enforce penalties for defrauding pension plans. (Sec. 206) Revises criminal code provisions concerning the illegal influencing of operations of employee benefit plans to: (1) add certain definitions; and (2) include under such provisions bribery and graft committed by an applicable person (an employee benefit plan administrator, officer, counsel, agent, employee, or other person having influence with respect to such plan). Title III: Preventing Telemarketing Fraud - Directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to establish procedures to: (1) log and acknowledge the receipt of complaints by individuals who reasonably believe that they have been the victim of fraud in connection with telemarketing; (2) provide to such individuals and any others information on telemarketing fraud; and (3) refer such complaints to appropriate entities, including State consumer protection and law enforcement agencies, for potential law enforcement action. Requires the AG to establish and maintain a computer database containing information on corporations and companies convicted of Federal or State telemarketing fraud. Requires such database to be made available to the FTC. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 302) Includes a wire communications facility (facility) utilizing a telephone service within the scope of telemarketing fraud subject to enhanced criminal penalties under the criminal code. Provides that if a common carrier is notified by the AG that a facility furnished by such carrier is being or will be used by a subscriber to transmit or receive a wire communication in interstate or foreign commerce to execute any scheme or artifice to defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent representations, in connection with telemarketing, then the carrier shall discontinue or refuse to lease, furnish, or maintain the facility to such subscriber after reasonable notice to the subscriber. Title IV: Preventing Health Care Fraud - Includes within Federal injunctive authority against fraudulent actions certain offenses under the Social Security Act relating to false claims and illegal kickback schemes involving Federal health care programs. Amends the Social Security Act to authorize the AG to bring an action to enforce such authority. (Sec. 402) Includes within the AG's authority to subpoena information involving a Federal health care offense any allegation of fraud or false claims (whether criminal or civil) in connection with a Federal health care program as defined under the Social Security Act. Prohibits, during the production of such information, any record that contains personally identifiable information from being disclosed to any person, with exceptions for certain attorneys and government personnel as part of their official functions. Requires court ordered disclosures to be undertaken so as to preserve the confidentiality and privacy of individuals, unless such disclosure is required by the nature of such proceedings. Requires such records to be destroyed within 90 days after their production. (Sec. 403) Amends the Social Security Act to extend certain antifraud safeguards to the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. (Sec. 404) Authorizes grand jury disclosure of matters occurring during an investigation of a Federal health care offense for use in any investigation or civil proceeding relating to fraud or false claims in connection with a Federal health care program. (Sec. 405) Delegates to the Deputy or an Assistant Attorney General the AG authority to issue civil investigative demands for the production of information relevant to a false claims law investigation. Allows disclosure of such information only upon a showing that such disclosure would assist the Department of Justice in carrying out its statutory responsibilities. Title V: Protecting Residents of Nursing Homes - Nursing Home Resident Protection Act of 1999 - Provides civil penalties against anyone who knowingly and willfully engages in a pattern of violations that affects the health, safety, or care of individuals in a residential health care facility, and results in significant physical or mental harm to one or more of such individuals, except that any organization shall be fined not more than $2 million per facility. Authorizes the AG to bring an enforcement action. Lists maximum penalty amounts. Authorizes other relief, including equitable and declaratory relief to eliminate a pattern of violations. Prohibits retaliation against any person reporting a condition that may constitute grounds for civil action. Includes information as to such violations within Federal investigative demand procedures. Title VI: Protecting the Rights of Elderly Crime Victims - Amends Federal civil forfeiture provisions to authorize the AG to retain or transfer forfeited property as restoration to any victim of the offense giving rise to the forfeiture, including a money laundering offense or any offense constituting the underlying specified unlawful activity. (Sec. 602) Amends provisions of the Controlled Substances Act relating to criminal forfeitures to state that a defendant may not use property subject to forfeiture to satisfy an order of restitution, except when the defendant has no assets other than the property subject to forfeiture. Directs the Government to restore the forfeited property to the victims. (Sec. 603) Prohibits the use of bankruptcy proceedings to shield illegal gains from false claims brought against the Government. Prohibits the debt arising from such illegal gains from being discharged in bankruptcy proceedings. (Sec. 604) Authorizes a criminal or civil court, in imposing a sentence on a person convicted of a retirement offense (an offense involving fraudulent gains from another's retirement arrangement), to order such person to forfeit property that constitutes or is derived from proceeds traceable to the commission of such offense.

Bill· SS. 662 (106th)open

Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Act of 2000

United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1999

Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to give States the option of making medical assistance for breast and cervical cancer-related treatment services available during a presumptive eligibility period to certain low-income women without creditable coverage who have already been screened for such cancers under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention breast and cervical cancer early detection program and need treatment. Provides for an enhanced match with regard to such Medicaid treatment services.

Bill· SS. 631 (106th)referred

Immunosuppressive Drugs Coverage Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1999

Immunosuppressive Drugs Coverage Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) eliminate the time limitation on Medicare benefits for immunosuppressive drugs under the Medicare program; (2) continue the entitlement of certain individuals to payments for such drugs after Medicare benefits end; and (3) extend without time limitation certain Medicare secondary payer requirements with regard to such drugs for individuals with end stage renal disease.

Bill· SS. 577 (106th)open

Twenty-First Amendment Enforcement Act

United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1999

Twenty-First Amendment Enforcement Act - Amends the Webb-Kenyon Act to authorize a State attorney general (State AG) who has reasonable cause to believe that a person is engaging in any act that would constitute a violation of State law regulating the importation or transportation of any intoxicating liquor to bring a civil action for injunctive relief to: (1) restrain the person from engaging in the violation; and (2) enforce compliance with State law. Grants U.S. district courts jurisdiction over any such action. Directs the court, in such action and upon a proper showing by the State AG, to issue a preliminary or permanent injunction or other order without requiring the posting of a bond. Prohibits such issuance without notice to the adverse party. Sets forth provisions regarding the form and scope of the order. Authorizes the court to order the trial of the action on the merits to be advanced and consolidated with the hearing on the application. Specifies that such an action shall be tried before the court.

Bill· SS. 579 (106th)open

Silk Road Strategy Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1999

Silk Road Strategy Act of 1999 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize specified assistance, including humanitarian, economic, migration and refugee, development, border control, and democracy building assistance to the South Caucasus and Central Asia countries to: (1) promote sovereignty, independence with democratic government, and respect for human rights; (2) assist in the resolution of regional conflicts and facilitate the removal of impediments to cross-border commerce; (3) promote economic cooperation and market-oriented principles; (4) assist in the development of infrastructure necessary for communications, transportation, education, health, and energy and trade on an East-West axis in order to build strong relations and commerce between those countries and the democratic, market-oriented countries of the Euro-Atlantic community; and (5) support U.S. business interests and investments in the region. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should use all diplomatic means to press for an equitable, fair, and permanent resolution to the conflicts in the South Caucasus and Central Asia. Prohibits, with specified exceptions, assistance to the governments of the South Caucasus and Central Asia if the President determines and certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that they: (1) are engaged in a consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights; (2) have knowingly transferred controlled missiles or missile technology to another country, or any equipment or technology that would contribute to the ability of such country to manufacture weapons of mass destruction (including nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons); (3) have repeatedly supported acts of international terrorism; or (4) are prohibited from receiving such assistance by specified Acts. Amends the Freedom Support Act to waive the restriction on assistance to Azerbaijan if the President certifies to Congress that such restriction would not be in the national interest of the United States.