United States · United States Congress · 12 February 1999
Declares that the Senate censures President William Jefferson Clinton and condemns his conduct. Urges that future Congresses recognize the importance of allowing this statement of censure and condemnation to remain intact for all time. Resolves that the Senate now move on to other matters, reconcile differences between and within the branches of government, and work together for the benefit of the American people.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1999
Designates the week beginning April 30, 1999, as National Youth Fitness Week. Urges parents, families, caregivers, and teachers to encourage and help youth to participate in athletic activities and to teach adolescents to engage in healthy lifestyles.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1999
Alaska Native and American Indian Direct Reimbursement Act of 1999 - Amends the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to make permanent the demonstration program under which Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Alaska Native health organizations that contract or compact for the operation of a hospital or clinic of the Indian Health Service may directly bill for, and receive payment for, health care services provided by such hospital or clinic for which payment is made under Medicare or Medicaid or from any other third party payor. Requires participating hospitals and clinics to submit to the Secretary of Health and Human Services quarterly reports on the program during the first two years of participation and annual reports thereafter. Provides for: (1) application to the Secretary by an Indian tribe, tribal organization, or Alaska Native health organization for participation of a Service facility in the program (the demonstration program was limited to four facilities); (2) the ongoing examination and implementation of necessary administrative changes to facilitate direct billing and reimbursement under the program; and (3) withdrawal from participation in the program.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1999
Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act Amendments of 1999 - Makes amendments to the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (NAHASDA), including: (1) setting forth a requirement for assistance to Indian families that are not low-income; (2) eliminating separate Indian housing plan requirements for small Indian tribes; (3) expanding the authority of the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to review Indian housing plans; (4) revising provisions regarding review and audit by the Secretary; (5) prescribing an allocation formula with respect to certain Indian tribes; (6) excepting from the hearing requirement certain actions by the Secretary affecting grant amounts if the Secretary makes a determination that the failure of a recipient of assistance to comply substantially with any material provision of the Act is resulting, and would continue to result, in a continuing unauthorized expenditure of Federal funds; and (7) revising requirements regarding noncompliance by recipients because of technical incapacity to permit the provision of technical assistance if the recipient enters into a performance agreement with the Secretary (limits the period of such an agreement to one year). (Sec. 10) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat block grants and guarantees provided under the HOME Investment Partnerships Act or NAHASDA not as Federal subsidies, under specified circumstances, for the purposes of determining eligibility for the low-income housing CREDIT. (Sec. 11) Amends NAHASDA to repeal the requirement regarding the certification of compliance with subsidy layering requirements with respect to housing assisted with grant amounts provided under the Act.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1999
Native American Business Development, Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 1999 - Establishes the Office of Native American Business Development within the Department of Commerce, to be headed by a Director of Native American Business Development. Provides for: (1) financial and technical assistance and administrative services for business development and legal and regulatory compliance to Indian tribes, organizations, and businesses (eligible entities); and (2) other assistance to enhance the economies of Indian tribes. Bars assistance for activities related to gaming activities on Indian lands. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director, to carry out a Native American export and trade promotion program. Provides for technical assistance and administrative services to eligible entities for: (1) identifying and entering appropriate markets for Indian goods and services; (2) complying with foreign or domestic laws and practices with respect to financial institutions with respect to exports and imports of such goods and services; and (3) entering into financial arrangements to provide for such exporting and importing. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director, to conduct a Native American tourism program to facilitate tourism demonstration projects by Indian tribes on a tribal, intertribal, or regional basis. Authorizes grants to, or other arrangements with, Indian tribes and organizations to carry out such program. Requires a demonstration project to be conducted for: (1) Indians of the Four Corners area between Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico; (2) Indians of the area known as the Great Northwest; (3) the Oklahoma Indians in Oklahoma; and (4) Indians of the Great Plains area. Provides for financial and technical assistance and administrative services for feasibility studies, market analyses, participation in tourism and trade missions, and related activities to participants selected to carry out tourism development projects. Provides for: (1) priority consideration and expediting of processing of applications involving the establishment of foreign-trade zones on Indian lands or the establishment of ports of entry necessary to permit the establishment of such zones; and (2) approval of such applications, to the maximum extent practicable.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1999
Indian Gaming Regulatory Improvement Act of 1999 - Amends the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act to revise definitions and to repeal: (1) provisions regarding the review of tribal gaming ordinances and management contracts; and (2) provisions requiring the Secretary of the Interior to continue to exercise authorities relating to the supervision of Indian gaming. Requires Indian tribes, with respect to class II gaming, and tribes or States (or both), with respect to class III gaming, in a manner that meets or exceeds the minimum Federal standards established under this Act, to: (1) monitor and regulate that gaming; (2) conduct background investigations; and (3) establish and regulate internal control systems. Directs the National Indian Gaming Commission to promulgate regulations for such minimum Federal standards. Revises tribal gaming ordinance provisions to require the approval of any tribal ordinance or resolution concerning the conduct or regulation of class II gaming on the Indian lands within a tribe's jurisdiction if such ordinance or resolution provides that: (1) all contracts for certain supplies, services, or concessions for a contract amount in excess of $100,000 (currently $25,000) annually relating to such gaming shall be subject to annual outside independent audits; and (2) there is an adequate system which includes the issuance of a separate license by the tribe for each place, facility, or location on Indian lands at which such gaming is conducted. Repeals the requirement permitting certain tribes which operate a class II gaming activity to petition the Commission for a certificate of self-regulation and replaces it with a requirement permitting any tribe that operates a class III gaming activity directly or with a management contract to petition the Commission for a fee reduction if the Commission determines that the tribe has complied with specified conditions, including meeting minimum Federal standards. Requires the Commission to establish a schedule of fees to be paid to the Commission annually by each gaming operation that conducts a class II or class III gaming activity.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1999
Buffalo Coin Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue half-dollar coins based on the original five-cent coin designed by James Earle Fraser and minted from 1913 to 1938. Mandates that: (1) each coin have a profile representation of a Native American on the obverse side and a representation of a buffalo on the reverse side; (2) coin design be selected by the Secretary and reviewed by the Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory Committee; and (3) a $3 sales surcharge be imposed per coin and distributed to the National Museum of the American Indian to commemorate its tenth anniversary and to supplement its endowment and educational outreach funds.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1999
Children's Hospitals Education and Research Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make payment as specified to each children's hospital for each hospital cost reporting period under Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act (SSA)) from FY 2000 through FY 2003 for the direct and indirect expenses associated with operating approved medical residency training programs. Provides that such payments are in lieu of certain Medicare payments to hospitals for inpatient hospital services, but shall not affect the amounts otherwise payable to such hospitals under a State Medicaid (SSA title XIX) plan. Makes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1999
Expresses: (1) condolences to the family of King Hussein and to all the people of Jordan; (2) admiration for King Hussein's enlightened leadership and gratitude for his support for peace throughout the Middle East; and (3) support and best wishes for the new government of Jordan under King Abdullah. Reaffirms the U.S. commitment to strengthening the vital relationship between our two governments and peoples.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1999
Bond Fairness and Protection Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to tax-exempt bond financing of certain electric facilities, to exclude a permitted open access transaction (as defined by this Act) from the definition of private business use. Permits, as specified, termination of tax-exempt bond financing for certain electric output facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1999
Biloxi Tricentennial Commemorative Coin Act - Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue the following coins emblematic of the landing of Pierre LeMoyne Sieur D'Iberville on the shores of present day Biloxi, Mississippi, on February 13, 1699: (1) ten-dollar gold coins; (2) one-dollar silver coins; and (3) half dollar clad coins. Mandates payment of surcharges collected from coin sales to: (1) the Biloxi Tricentennial Commission, Inc., for planning and implementing the 1999 Tricentennial Celebration in Biloxi, Mississippi; and (2) Biloxi First, Inc., upon Commission dissolution, for educational projects directly related to local history instruction for Biloxi public school students.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1999
Declares that: (1) the final political status of the territory controlled by the Palestinian Authority can only be determined through negotiations and agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority; (2) any attempt to establish Palestinian statehood outside the negotiating process will invoke the strongest congressional opposition; and (3) the President should unequivocally assert U.S. opposition to the unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1999
Amends the Animal Welfare Act to eliminate the provision permitting interstate movement of live fighting birds if the fighting venture is to take place in a State allowing such fights.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1999
Deceptive Mail Prevention and Enforcement Act - Amends Federal postal law to prohibit the use of any reference to the Postmaster General, a citation to Federal statute, or implication that nonmailable matter is afforded any special protections or status by the Federal Government if such matter constitutes a solicitation by a non-governmental entity for: (1) the purchase of or payment for products or services and containing a seal, insignia, trade or brand name, or any other term or symbol which reasonably could be interpreted or construed as implying Federal Government connection, approval, or endorsement; or (2) information or the contribution of funds or membership fees and containing such terms or symbols which could reasonably be interpreted or construed in the same manner. Allows the mailing of such matter if it does not contain a statement that implies that Federal Government benefits or services will be affected by any purchase, nonpurchase, response, or non-response to such matter. (Sec. 2) Declares that matter otherwise legally acceptable in the mails is nonmailable matter, shall not be carried or delivered by mail, and shall be disposed of as the Postal Service directs if such matter constitutes a solicitation for the purchase of any products that is federally produced, may be obtained without cost from the Federal Government, and does not contain a statement giving notice of such information. Requires the Postal Service to regulate the manner in which such statement should be displayed. (Sec. 3) Prohibits matter otherwise legally acceptable in the mails that relates to a sweepstakes, prize promotion, or award that does not meet specified Postal Service requirements from being carried or delivered by mail. Allows it to be disposed of as the Postal Service directs. Requires persons who: (1) use the mails for any matter that contains sweepstakes entry materials to adopt reasonable practices and procedures to prevent the mailing of such materials to persons who submit written requests that such materials should not be mailed to them; and (2) mail such solicitation materials to maintain or cause to be maintained records of all such requests that permit the suppression of the names of such requesters for a five-year period beginning on the date of the written requests. (Sec. 4) Makes postal law sanctions involving false representations and lotteries applicable to deceptive mailings under this Act. (Sec. 5) Allows the Postal Service to apply for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunctions in the preparation for or during the pendency of proceedings concerning deceptive mailings. (Sec. 6) Increases civil penalties for violation of current postal law sanctions and establishes civil penalties for violation of this Act. (Sec. 7) Authorizes the use of administrative subpoenas by the Postmaster General in any investigation involving nonmailable matter.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1999
Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to permit the use of Department of the Interior lands for the production of motion pictures, television, soundtracks, advertisements, or any similar commercial project, except when such use is not appropriate or will impair the value or resources of the land or facility. Directs the Secretary to establish a schedule of, and assess, reimbursement fees and special use fees for such use which shall be allocated for units where the fees were collected and units in the same region.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1999
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to prohibit any Medicaid-related funds recovered or paid to a State as part of a settlement or judgment reached in litigation the State initiated or pursued against one or more tobacco companies from being treated as an overpayment. Permits a State to use amounts recovered or paid to it as part of such a settlement or judgment for any appropriate expenditures, except with respect to any expenditure for administrative expenses incurred in initiating or pursuing tobacco litigation.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1999
Amends Federal law to add Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday (the third Monday in January) to the list of days on which the U.S. flag should especially be displayed.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Expanded Availability of Health Care Services Title II: Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency and Related Provisions Subtitle A: Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Subtitle B: Elimination of Work Disincentives Subtitle C: Work Incentives Planning, Assistance, and Outreach Title III: Demonstration Projects and Studies Title IV: Technical Amendments Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 - Title I: Expanded Availability of Health Care Services - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for expanding State options under Medicaid for workers with disabilities, namely by creating State options to eliminate income, assets, and resource limitations for workers with disabilities who buy into Medicaid and to expand opportunities for such workers to make such a buy. Provides that Federal funds paid to a State for medical assistance provided to certain working disabled individuals must be used to supplement but not supplant the level of State funds expended as of FY 1999 for programs to enable working disabled individuals to work. (Sec. 102) Provides for certain continuation of Medicare coverage for working individuals with disabilities. (Sec. 103) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) award grants to eligible States to support establishment of State infrastructures to support the working disabled as well as to enable State outreach campaigns on infrastructure existence; and (2) submit a recommendation to specified congressional committees on whether such grant program should be continued after FY 2010. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 104) Authorizes State demonstration projects for certain Medicaid coverage of up to a specified maximum number of workers with a potentially severe disability, coverage equal to that afforded under the State option provided for above for eliminating income, assets, and resource limitations for disabled workers buying into Medicaid. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency and Related Provisions - Subtitle A: Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency - Amends part A (General Provisions) of SSA title XI to direct the Commissioner to establish a Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program (TWSSP) under which a disabled beneficiary may use a TWSSP ticket issued by the Commissioner under a described system, designed to ensure quality assurance, to obtain employment, vocational rehabilitation services, or other support services, pursuant to an appropriate individual beneficiary work plan that meets specified requirements, at the Commission's expense, from a participating employment network, public or private, which: (1) meets specified qualifications and is under an agreement with the Commissioner who must select a program manager to assist in administering TWSSP; (2) is chosen by the beneficiary, and (3) is willing to accept assignment of the beneficiary's TWSSP ticket. Allows State agencies administering or supervising the administration of the State plan under title I of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to elect to participate as an employment network. Sets forth special requirements applicable to cross-referral to certain State agencies and requirements relating to provision of services. Describes employment network payment systems. Provides that during any period for which an individual is using a TWSSP ticket, the Commissioner and any applicable State agency may not initiate a continuing disability or similar review with regards to whether the individual is or is not disabled. Requires payments to employment networks to be made out of the social security trust funds in the case of ticketed SSA title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) disability beneficiaries who return to work, or from the appropriation made available for making Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments under SSA title XVI, in the case of SSI disability beneficiaries who return to work. Provides for allocation of other costs. (Sec. 202) Establishes within the Social Security Administration the Work Incentives Advisory Panel to advise the Commissioner with respect to TWSSP, and other Federal officials on related issues. Provides that the costs for carrying out this paragraph shall be paid from amounts available for the administration of SSA titles II and XVI, and shall be allocated among those amounts as appropriate. Subtitle B: Elimination of Work Disincentives - Amends SSA title II to set forth a number of measures designed to eliminate work disincentives, namely prohibiting work activity as a basis for review of an individual's disability status and providing for expedited eligibility determinations for applications for disability benefits of former certain long-term disability beneficiaries that engaged in substantial gainful activity during a certain extended period following the end of a rehabilitation services trial work period. Subtitle C: Work Incentives Planning, Assistance, and Outreach - Amends SSA title XI part A (General Provisions) to direct the Commissioner to establish a community-based work incentives outreach program for disabled beneficiaries that includes the provision of technical assistance to organizations and entities that are designed to encourage disabled beneficiaries to return to work. Provides that the costs of carrying out this subtitle shall be paid from amounts made available for administration of SSA titles II and XVI, and shall be allocated among such amounts as appropriate. (Sec. 222) Amends SSA title XI to authorize the Commissioner to make certain minimum payments in each State to the protection and advocacy system established under the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act for the purpose of providing services to disabled beneficiaries, services which may include advocacy or other services that such a beneficiary may need to secure or regain gainful employment. Provides for funding similar to that in he paragraph above. Title III: Demonstration Projects and Studies - Amends the Social Security Disability Amendments of 1980 to provide for an extension of disability insurance program demonstration project authority to include any group of applicants for benefits under such program with impairments that may reasonably be presumed to be disabling for purposes of such demonstration project. (Sec. 302) Directs the Commissioner to conduct certain demonstration projects designed to provide for specified reductions in disability insurance benefits based on earnings. Requires expenditures for such demonstration projects to come out of the social security and Medicare trust funds to the extent provided in advance in appropriation acts. (Sec. 303) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Commissioner of Social Security and the Secretary of Health and Human Services should establish additional demonstration projects to assist individuals with disabilities to engage in work. (Sec. 304) Directs the Comptroller General to conduct and report to the Congress on various described studies concerning existing disability-related employment incentives and coordination of the OASDI disability insurance program and the SSI program as they relate to individuals entering or leaving concurrent entitlement under such programs, as well as on a study concerning the impact of the substantial gainful activity limit on return to work. Title IV: Technical Amendments - Amends the Contract with America Advancement Act of 1996 with respect to: (1) final adjudication of denied claims by drug addicts and alcoholics for SSA title II disability benefits; and (2) the effective dates of certain requirements concerning representative payees and treatment referrals for such individuals. (Sec. 402) Amends SSA title II to: (1) provide for payments to State and local prisons for monthly reports on the identities of inmates whose OASDI benefits are determined by the Commissioner not to be payable as a result of such reports; (2) provide for a 50 percent reduction in such payments under SSA titles II and XVI in cases involving a comparable payment under the other title with respect to the same prisoner; (3) exempt from the Privacy Act of 1974 any agreements with State and local prisons to supply such information; (4) transfer from the OASDI trust funds any sums necessary to enable the Commissioner to make such payments; (5) eliminate the requirement that confinement stem only from a crime punishable by imprisonment for more than one year (thus denying OASDI benefits to individuals confined for any criminal offense); and (6) provide for continued denial of benefits to sex offenders remaining confined to public institutions upon completion of prison term. (Sec. 403) Provides for a two-year open season for members of the clergy who wish to revoke their exemption from social security coverage. (Sec. 404) Amends SSA title XI to make a miscellaneous technical amendment relating to cooperative research or development projects under SSA titles II and XVI. (Sec. 405) Amends SSA title XI to make miscellaneous technical amendments to provisions concerning the requirements of State income and eligibility verification systems, among other changes allowing a State to permit certain employers that make returns with respect to domestic service employment taxes on a calendar year basis to instead make such reports on an annual basis.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1999
Black Canyon National Park and Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area Act of 1999 - Establishes the Black Canyon National Park in Colorado. Terminates the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument and incorporates all land and interests therein as part of the Park. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to permit grazing within the Park if grazing is permitted on the enactment of this Act. Directs the Secretary to prepare a grazing management plan to administer such grazing activities. (Sec. 5) Provides for: (1) additional land acquisition for the Park; (2) revision of the Park's boundary to include such land; (3) an official boundary survey of the Park by the Secretary; (4) hunting on privately owned land added to the Park, subject to limitations, conditions, or regulations prescribed by the Secretary; and (5) termination of such hunting on the date the Secretary acquires fee ownership of the privately owned land. (Sec. 6) Expands the Black Canyon of the Gunnison Wilderness to include a specified parcel of land to be administered as a component of the Park. (Sec. 7) Establishes the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area to be managed by the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management. Withdraws all Federal land and interests within the Conservation Area from all forms of appropriations under the public land, mining, mineral and geothermal leasing laws. Requires the Secretary to permit hunting, trapping, and fishing within the Conservation Area, under certain conditions and with the exception of issuing regulations designating zones where and establishing periods when no hunting or trapping shall be permitted for reasons concerning public safety, administration, or public use and enjoyment. Sets forth provisions allowing the use of motorized vehicles in the Conservation Area. Requires the Secretary to develop a comprehensive plan for the long-range protection and management of the Conservation Area and to transmit the plan to specified congressional committees. Allows revision of the Conservation Area's boundary following acquisition of land necessary to accomplish the purposes for which such Area was designated. (Sec. 8) Designates the Gunnison Gorge Wilderness, within the Conservation Area, as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System. (Sec. 9) Withdraws certain land identified as tract B on the map entitled "Black Canyon National Park and Gunnison Gorge NCA - 1-22-99" from all forms of appropriations under the public land, mining, mineral and geothermal leasing laws. (Sec. 10) Provides that nothing in this Act shall: (1) constitute an express or implied reservation of water for any purpose; or (2) affect any private or U.S. water rights in existence before enactment of this Act. Requires any new water rights to be established in accordance with the procedural and substantive requirements of Colorado laws. (Sec. 11) Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the National Park Service, to study and report to Congress on land protection and open space within and adjacent to the Curecanti National Recreation Area. Provides for the acquisition of specified private land or interests in land to be added to the Recreation Area. (Sec. 12) Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1999
Honesty in Sweepstakes Act of 1999 - Amends Federal postal law to prohibit, unless specified notices in a specified font are printed on the envelope, enclosed material, or face of the order entry device, delivery of any mail constituting a solicitation, offer, or sweepstakes in connection with a sales promotion for a product or service: (1) that includes the chance or opportunity to win anything of value if such mail contains words or symbols that suggest that the recipient has received or will receive anything of value if the recipient has in fact not won that thing of value; (2) that states that the recipient is likely to receive anything of value if statistically the recipient is not likely to receive anything of value; or (3) resembling a negotiable instrument. Prescribes civil penalties for any person who, through the use of the mail, sends any matter which is nonmailable under Federal postal law. Deposits such penalties into the Postal Service Fund (currently, the Treasury). Expresses the sense of the Congress that civil penalties collected through the enforcement of this Act should be allocated by the Postal Service to increase consumer awareness of misleading solicitations received through the mail, including releasing an annual listing of the top ten offenders of this Act. States that nothing in this Act shall preempt any State law that regulates advertising or sales of goods and services associated with any game of chance.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1999
Patients' Bill of Rights Act - Title I: Patients' Bill of Rights - Subtitle A: Right to Advice and Care - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to require a group health plan covering emergency medical care to provide coverage, without requiring preauthorization, for appropriate emergency medical screening examinations to the extent that a prudent layperson, possessing an average knowledge of health and medicine, would determine such examinations to be necessary to determine whether emergency medical care is necessary. (Sec. 101) Requires a plan to cover additional emergency medical services to stabilize an emergency medical condition following such an examination to the extent that a prudent emergency medical professional would determine such services to be necessary to avoid specified serious consequences. Requires a plan (other than a fully insured group health plan) providing benefit coverage only through a defined set of participating health care professionals to offer the option of point-of-service coverage (of the same benefits provided by a nonparticipating health care professional), unless the plan offers multiple issuer or coverage options. Exempts from this requirement any group health plan (other than a fully insured plan) of a small employer. Requires any plan offering gynecological, obstetric, or pediatric care not to require prior authorization from a participant's primary care provider if such provider is not a gynecologist, obstetrician, or pediatrician. Requires a plan to permit a participant or beneficiary undergoing a course of treatment to continue such treatment for a period of time even though the contract between the plan (other than a fully insured plan) and a health care provider is terminated, or the schedule of benefits or coverage is terminated by a change in the terms of the provider's participation in the plan. Specifies a 90-day continuation of coverage generally, and other transitional periods for institutionalization (until discharge), pregnancy (through post-partum care), and terminal illness (remainder of life). Declares that a plan shall not prohibit a health care professional from advising a patient about the patient's health status, medical care, or treatment for the patient's condition or disease, regardless of whether coverage for such care or treatment is provided under the contract, if the professional is acting within the lawful scope of the practice. Defines "fully insured group health plan" as a plan where benefits are provided pursuant to the terms of an arrangement between a group health plan and a health insurance issuer and are guaranteed by the health insurance issuer under a contract or policy of insurance. Subtitle B: Right to Information about Plans and Providers - Amends ERISA, as amended by the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999, to require plans and group health insurance issuers to disclose specified plan information to enrollees and (upon request) potential enrollees. (Sec. 112) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to contract with the Institute of Medicine for a study and report to the appropriate congressional committees on: (1) health care professionals information currently available to patients, consumers, States, and professional societies, nationally and on a State-by-State basis; (2) the legal and other barriers to the sharing of information about health care professionals; and (3) recommendations for disclosure of such information on health care professionals, including their competencies and professional qualifications, to better facilitate patient choice, quality improvement, and market competition. Subtitle C: Right to Hold Health Plans Accountable - Revises requirements for plan provision of a procedure for appealing denied claims. (Sec. 121) Requires a plan or health insurance issuer conducting utilization review to have: (1) specified procedures in place for coverage determinations, including expedited determinations; (2) written procedures for addressing grievances between a plan and enrollees; (3) an internal procedure for coverage determination appeals; and (4) an external review procedure for enrollee appeals, involving specified entities and independent medical experts, whose determination shall be binding. Prescribes external review standards. Directs the General Accounting Office to study and report to the appropriate congressional committees on a statistically appropriate sample of completed external reviews. Subtitle D: Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to deem the requirements of subtitle B of this Act to be incorporated into the Code. Title II: Individual Rights with Respect to Personal Medical Information - Personal Medical Information Access Act - Subtitle A: Access to Medical Records - Requires any health care provider, health plan, employer, health or life insurer, school, or university, except in specified circumstances, to: (1) permit an individual who is the subject of protected health information (or the individual's designee) to inspect and copy protected health information concerning the individual; (2) amend such information upon the individual's request; and (3) make reasonable efforts to inform any person to whom the unamended portion of the information was previously disclosed of any nontechnical amendment that has been made. (Sec. 212) Prescribes procedures for: (1) an entity's denial of a request to amend such information; and (2) an individual's filing of a statement of disagreement with such denial, which shall accompany any subsequent disclosure of the disputed portion of the information. (Sec. 213) Requires any health care provider, health plan, employer, health or life insurer, school, or university to post notice of the entity's confidentiality practices, including specified information. Requires the Secretary to develop and disseminate model notices of confidentiality practices. Subtitle B: Establishment of Safeguards - Requires any health care provider, health plan, employer, health or life insurer, school, or university to establish and maintain appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect the confidentiality, security, accuracy, and integrity of protected health information the entity creates, receives, obtains, maintains, uses, transmits, or disposes of. Subtitle C: Enforcement; Definitions - Prescribes civil money penalties for substantial and material failure to comply with this Act. (Sec. 232) Sets forth definitions. Title III: Genetic Information and Services - Genetic Information Nondiscrimination in Health Insurance Act of 1999 - Amends ERISA, the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) (as amended by the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999), and the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit a health care plan or health insurance issuer from restricting enrollment or adjusting premium or contribution amounts for a group on the basis of predictive genetic information concerning an individual in the group or a family member of the individual (including information about a request for or receipt of genetic services). (Sec. 302) Prohibits a plan or issuer from requesting or requiring predictive genetic information concerning an individual or a family member of the individual (including information about a request for or receipt of genetic services). Permits a plan or issuer to request, but not require, such information for diagnosis, treatment, or payment purposes only. Title IV: Healthcare Research and Quality - Healthcare Research and Quality Act of 1999 - Amends PHSA to establish within the Public Health Service (PHS) an Agency for Healthcare Quality Research to replace the current Agency for Health Care Policy and Research. (Sec. 402) Directs the Agency to identify and disseminate methods or systems used to assess healthcare research results, particularly to rate the strength of the scientific evidence behind healthcare practice and technology recommendations in the research. Requires the Agency to employ research strategies and mechanisms that will link research directly with clinical practice in geographically diverse locations throughout the United States, including: (1) Healthcare Improvement Research Centers that combine demonstrated multidisciplinary expertise in outcomes or quality improvement research with linkages to relevant sites of care; (2) Provider-based Research Networks, including plan, facility, or delivery system sites of care (especially primary care), that can evaluate and promote quality improvement; and (3) other innovative mechanisms or strategies. Directs the Agency to: (1) award grants to enable eligible entities at geographically diverse locations throughout the United States to carry out research training programs dedicated to health services research training at the doctoral, post-doctoral, and junior faculty levels; and (2) provide specified scientific and technical support for private and public efforts to improve healthcare quality, including accrediting organizations. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Agency Director, to establish a program of grants for one or more centers to conduct: (1) state-of-the-art clinical research on drugs, biological products, and devices; (2) research on the comparative effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and safety of drugs, biological products, and devices; and (3) other appropriate activities (excluding the review of new drugs). Requires the Agency Director to: (1) collect certain data on the cost and quality of healthcare; (2) support research on and initiatives to advance the use of information systems for the study of healthcare quality; and (3) provide ongoing administrative, research, and technical support for the Preventive Services Task Force, which shall review scientific evidence on the effectiveness, appropriateness, and cost-effectiveness of clinical preventive services regarding their usefulness in daily clinical practice. Establishes within the Agency a Center for Primary Care Delivery Research to serve as the principal funding source for HHS primary care delivery research and demonstrations with respect to the first contact when illness or health concerns arise, the diagnosis, treatment or referral to specialty care, preventive care, and the relationship between the clinician and the patient in the context of the family and community. Requires the Agency Director by specified activities to promote innovation in evidence-based clinical practice and healthcare technologies. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director, to coordinate all research, evaluations, and demonstrations related to health services research and quality measurement and improvement activities undertaken and supported by the Federal Government. Requires the Secretary to contract with the Institute of Medicine to: (1) describe and evaluate current quality improvement research and monitoring processes; and (2) recommend options to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of such processes, and optimize public-private sector accreditation bodies. Establishes an Advisory Council for Healthcare Quality Research to replace the current Advisory Council for Health Care Policy, Research, and Evaluation. Requires the Agency Director to establish technical and scientific peer review groups to review each application for a grant, cooperative agreement, or contract under this title. Repeals the mandates for: (1) a demonstration program regarding centers for education and research on therapeutics; and (2) the Office of the Forum for Quality and Effectiveness in Health Care. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 404) Requires the Secretary, within 30 days after enactment of any Act providing for a qualifying health care benefit, to evaluate scientifically and report to the appropriate congressional committees on: (1) the safety, efficacy, cost, benefits and value of such benefit; (2) alternative approaches in improving care compared with such benefit; and (3) the benefit's overall impact on health care as measured through research. Title V: Enhanced Access to Health Insurance Coverage - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a full deduction from gross income of the health insurance costs of self-employed individuals. (Sec. 502) Repeals the limitation of the availability of medical savings accounts (MSAs) to employees of small employers and the self-employed. Reduces from $1,500 to $1,000 (self-only coverage) and from $3,000 to $2,000 (family coverage) the minimum annual deductible of a high deductible health plan. Revises the formula for the monthly limitation on the allowable deduction for MSAs to increase the contribution limit to 100 percent of the annual deductible under a high deductible health plan. Waives the additional tax on MSA distributions not used for qualified medical expenses to the extent any payment or distribution does not reduce the fair market value of the MSA assets to an amount less than the annual deductible for the account holder's high deductible health plan. (Sec. 503) Allows the annual carryover of up to $500 of unused benefits from cafeteria plans, flexible spending arrangements, and health flexible spending accounts. (Sec. 504) Authorizes the Office of Personnel Management to contract for or approve catastrophic FEHBP plans, whose covered expenses exceed $500. Amends Federal civil service law, with respect to Government contributions under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), to require an additional Government contribution, according to a certain formula, to an individual's MSA with respect to a catastrophic plan. Deems subscription charges for MSAs to be the amount of Government contributions.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Meat Labeling Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal Meat Inspection Act to deem misbranded beef, lamb, and pork that does not bear certain country of origin labeling. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to promulgate regulations for such labeling. Authorizes the Secretary to require that any person that prepares, stores, handles, or distributes such meat for retail sale maintain a verifiable recordkeeping audit trail in order to verify compliance with such regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Conservation and Reinvestment Act of 1999 - Title I: Coastal Impact Assistance - Coastal Conservation and Impact Assistance Act of 1998 (sic) - Establishes the Outer Continental Shelf Impact Assistance Fund (OCSIAF) to provide impact assistance to coastal States from a portion (27 percent) of allocable new OCS revenues (payments received by the United States as royalties, net profit share payments, and related late-payment interest from natural gas and oil leases under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act). Sets forth a formula for use by the Secretary of the Interior to determine the portion of the allocable share of new revenues attributable to each coastal State (with an adjustment for oil-, condensate-, or natural gas-producing States) and county eligible to receive impact assistance payments. Mandates that such OCSIA funds be expended by the eligible coastal States and counties for certain environmental projects and activities. Requires: (1) an eligible county to submit for the Governor's approval a plan setting forth the projects and activities for which it proposes to expend OCSIA funds; and (2) the Governor of each recipient State to account to the Congress for all OCSIA monies received for the previous fiscal year, to develop a State plan for the use of such monies, and to certify the plan to the Secretary. Title II: Land and Water Conservation Fund Reform - Land and Water Conservation Fund Reform Act of 1998 (sic) - Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (LWCFA) to require an amount equal to 16 percent of specified Outer Continental Shelf revenues to be deposited in the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) in the Treasury. (Sec. 203) Makes such funds available, without further appropriation, to carry out LWCFA for each fiscal year through FY 2015. Authorizes appropriations to maintain a certain minimum total annual income of the LWCF. Makes certain amounts covered into the LWCF available for expenditure without appropriation. Sets forth formulae for allocation of such funds for: (1) Federal acquisition of certain lands, waters, or interests; (2) financial assistance to the States for land acquisition, urban conservation, and recreation projects; and (3) local governments through the Urban Parks and Recreation Recovery Program of the Department of the Interior. Provides for LWCFA allocation of funds to: (1) States for rehabilitation of outdoor recreation facilities; and (2) Indian tribes and Alaska Native Village Corporations. Requires States to make at least 50 percent of the annual State apportionment under LWCFA available as grants to local governments. Replaces, within a five-year period, LWCFA requirements for comprehensive State plans with requirements for State action agendas. Allows each State to define its own priorities and criteria for selection of outdoor recreation and conservation acquisition and development projects eligible for LWCFA grants so long as it provides for public involvement in this process and publishes an accurate and current State Action Agenda for Community Recreation and Conservation. Requires such Agendas to: (1) be strategic, originating in broad-based and long-term needs, but focused on actions that can be funded over the next four years, and be updated every four years; (2) consider all providers of recreation and conservation lands, and correlate with other State, regional and local plans for parks, recreation, open space, and wetlands conservation; (3) address wetlands as important outdoor recreation and conservation resources, and incorporate a State wetlands priority conservation plan consistent with the national plan developed under the Emergency Wetlands Resources Act; and (4) be guided in part by recovery action programs developed by urban localities under the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act. Revises LWCFA conditions for approval of conversions. Sets the maximum Federal cost for LWCFA land acquisition unless acquisition funds are specifically reported and approved by a resolution adopted by certain congressional committees. (Sec. 204) Amends the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act (UPRRA) to provide (in addition to the current types of at-risk recreation grants and recovery action program grants) for matching capital grants to local governments in the form of: (1) development grants for development and construction on existing or new neighborhood recreation sites, including indoor and outdoor recreation facilities, support facilities, and landscaping, but excluding routine maintenance and upkeep activities; and (2) acquisition grants for purchasing new parkland to be permanently dedicated and made accessible for public recreation use. Revises UPRRA requirements for: (1) eligibility; (2) matching grants; (3) coordination; and (4) conversion approval. Repeals the limitation on the use of UPRRA funds for acquisition of land or interests in land. Title III: Wildlife Conservation and Restoration - Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Act of 1998 (sic) - Amends the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (FAWRA) to require an amount equal to seven percent of specified Outer Continental Shelf revenues to be deposited in a new subaccount in the Federal aid to wildlife restoration fund (FAWRF), to be invested and to be made available without further appropriation, for apportionment in FY 2000 and thereafter for State wildlife conservation and restoration programs. (Sec. 306) Sets forth requirements for: (1) allocation of such subaccount receipts; (2) applications for approval of, and development grants for, State wildlife conservation and restoration programs; and (3) coordination. (Sec. 307) Allows certain subaccount funds for such a State wildlife conservation and restoration program to be used for law enforcement and public relations. (Sec. 308) Prohibits a State from receiving FAWRA matching funds if it diverts any funds from wildlife conservation purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Constitutional Amendment - Grants victims of crimes of violence the following rights: (1) to reasonable notice of, and to not be excluded from, any public proceedings relating to the crime; (2) to be heard, if present, and to submit a statement at all public proceedings to determine a conditional release from custody, an acceptance of a negotiated plea, or a sentence and at a non-public parole proceeding to the extent such rights are afforded to the convicted offender; (3) to reasonable notice of a release or escape from custody relating to the crime; (4) to consideration of the interest of the victim that any trial be free from unreasonable delay; (5) to an order of restitution from the convicted offender; (6) to consideration for the safety of the victim in determining any conditional release from custody relating to the crime; and (7) to reasonable notice of the rights established by this amendment. (Sec. 2) Grants the victim or the victim's lawful representative standing to assert such rights. Provides that nothing in this amendment shall: (1) provide grounds to stay or continue any trial, reopen any proceeding, or invalidate any ruling, except with respect to conditional release or restitution or to provide rights guaranteed by this amendment in future proceedings, without staying or continuing a trial; and (2) give rise to or authorize the creation of a claim for damages against the United States, a State, a political subdivision, or a public officer or employee. (Sec. 3) Empowers the Congress to enforce this amendment by appropriate legislation. Allows exceptions to the rights established by this amendment only when necessary to achieve a compelling interest. (Sec. 4) Makes: (1) the right to a restitution order established by this amendment inapplicable to crimes committed before its effective date; and (2) the rights and immunities established by this amendment applicable in Federal and State proceedings, including military proceedings to the extent that the Congress may provide by law, juvenile justice proceedings, and proceedings in the District of Columbia and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Four Corners Interpretive Center Act - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to establish the Four Corners Interpretive Center within the boundaries of the Four Corners Monument Tribal Park using land designated and made available by the Navajo Nation or the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. Authorizes the Secretary, under specified conditions, to award a Federal grant to a recipient (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, or Utah, or any consortium of two or more of these States) for up to 50 percent of the cost to construct the Center. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Public Safety Medal of Valor Act- Authorizes the President to award, and present in the name of the Congress, a Medal of Valor to a public safety officer who is cited by the Attorney General, upon the recommendation of the Medal of Valor Review Board, for extraordinary valor above and beyond the call of duty. States that the Public Safety Medal of Valor is the highest national award for valor by a public safety officer. Establishes a Medal of Valor Review Board to select candidates as recipients of the Medal from among applications received by the National Medal Office. Establishes within the Department of Justice a National Medal Office to support the Board and, with the Board's concurrence, to establish criteria and procedures for the submission of recommendations of nominees for the Medal. Authorizes appropriations. Repeals provisions of the Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 establishing the President's Award for Outstanding Public Safety Service and the Secretary of Commerce's Award for Distinguished Public Safety Service. Directs the Attorney General to: (1) consult with the Institute of Heraldry within the Department of Defense regarding the design and artistry of the Medal of Valor; and (2) consider suggestions received by the Department of Justice regarding the design of the medal, including those made by persons not employed by the Department.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 1999 - Authorizes appropriations for the Surface Transportation Board for FY 1999 through 2002. Requires Senate confirmation of the Chairman of the Board.
United States · United States Congress · 20 October 1998
Federal Agency Compliance Act - Requires a Federal agency and its officers and employees, in administering a statute, rule, regulation, program, or policy (statute) within a judicial circuit, to adhere to the existing precedent respecting the interpretation and application of such statute, as established by the decisions of the U.S. court of appeals for that circuit, with exceptions. Allows an agency to take a position, either in administration or litigation, that is at variance with such precedent if: (1) it is uncertain whether the administration of the statute will be subject to review by the appeals court that established that precedent or a court of appeals for another circuit; (2) the Government did not seek further review of the case in which that precedent was first established in that appeals court or the U.S. Supreme Court because neither the United States nor any agency or officer thereof was a party to the case or the decision establishing that precedent was otherwise substantially favorable to the Government; or (3) it is reasonable to question the continued validity of that precedent in light of a subsequent decision of that appeals court or the U.S. Supreme Court, a subsequent change in any pertinent statute or regulation, or any other subsequent change in the public policy or circumstances on which that precedent was based.
United States · United States Congress · 31 August 1998
Amends the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 to extend, until October 27, 2000, the authority of the Black Revolutionary War Patriots Foundation to establish a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia or its environs.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 1998
Economic Development Administration Reform Act of 1998 - Amends the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (the Act) to replace titles I through VI of such Act with the provisions of this Act. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to cooperate with States and other entities to ensure that Federal economic development programs are compatible with and further the objectives of State, regional, and local economic development plans and comprehensive economic development strategies. Authorizes the Secretary to provide appropriate technical assistance to such entities in order to alleviate economic distress, encourage partnerships for economic development strategies, and promote investment in infrastructure and technological capacity to keep pace with the changing global economy. Directs the Secretary to promulgate regulations for intergovernmental review of proposed economic development projects. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into economic development cooperation agreements with two or more adjoining States. Defines an "eligible recipient," for purposes of this Act, as: (1) an area with a per capita income of 80 percent or less of the national average or an unemployment rate at least one percent greater than the national average or one which has experienced or is about to experience actual or threatened severe unemployment or economic adjustment problems; (2) an economic development district; (3) an Indian tribe; (4) a State; (5) a political subdivision; (6) an institution of higher education; or (7) a nonprofit organization acting in cooperation with local officials. Sets forth provisions similar to existing provisions of law authorizing grants to eligible recipients for acquisition or development of public works and development facilities. Retains a limitation that prohibits more than 15 percent of the amounts made available for such assistance from being expended in any one State. Authorizes assistance for public works and economic development to be available for a project to be carried out on a military or Department of Energy installation that is closed or scheduled for closure or realignment without requiring an eligible recipient to have title to the property or a leasehold interest for any specified term. Sets forth provisions similar to those under existing law authorizing grants for economic planning. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants for related administrative expenses as well. Provides a Federal cost-share limit of 50 percent of project costs. Authorizes the Secretary to make supplementary grants for a project for which the recipient is eligible but for which the recipient cannot provide the required non-Federal share. Provides supplementary grant conditions and requirements, authorizing the Secretary to reduce or waive the required non-Federal share in certain cases. Sets forth provisions similar to those under existing law that authorize technical assistance useful in alleviating or preventing conditions of excessive unemployment or underemployment. Authorizes grants for training and research for such purposes as well. Permits the Secretary to reduce or waive the non-Federal share of a project so assisted if the project is not feasible without, and merits, such a reduction or waiver. Retains an existing provision of law regarding the prevention of unfair competition. Sets forth provisions similar to those under existing law which authorize grants for economic adjustment to alleviate long-term economic deterioration and sudden economic dislocation. Revises criteria for such assistance. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) approve the use of grant funds for projects the scope or purpose for which has been modified after the grant has been made; and (2) use funds for projects constructed for less than the projected costs to improve such projects. Bars assistance for public works and economic development from being used for attorney's or consultants' fees incurred in connection with obtaining grants and contracts. Requires areas to have per capita incomes of 80 percent or less of the national average or unemployment rates at least one percent greater than the national average or to have experienced or be about to experience actual or threatened severe unemployment or economic adjustment problems in order to be eligible for grants for public works and economic development or economic adjustment. Requires from such applicants: (1) documentation of meeting such criteria; and (2) evidence of a comprehensive economic development strategy which identifies the economic problems to be addressed through such assistance, as well as related information. Revises conditions under which areas may be designated as economic development districts by the Secretary. Retains: (1) existing incentives for increasing grant assistance in districts where participants are actively participating in economic development activities and the project is consistent with the district's comprehensive economic development strategy; and (2) provisions authorizing assistance to parts of districts not in eligible areas. Directs the Secretary to carry out this Act through an Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development who shall serve as the Administrator of the Economic Development Administration. Directs the Secretary to maintain an information clearinghouse on all matters relating to economic development and adjustment, disaster recovery, defense conversion, and trade adjustment programs and activities of Federal and State governments and to assist applicants for such assistance. Authorizes the Secretary to furnish procurement divisions of the Federal Government with a list of business firms located in distressed areas that desire Federal contracts. Requires the Secretary to conduct reviews of university centers that receive grant assistance under this Act to assess their performance and contribution toward retention and creation of employment. Provides for penalty, administrative, and recordkeeping provisions similar to those under existing law. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2003. Authorizes additional appropriations for defense conversion activities and disaster economic recovery activities. Repeals provisions of the Act regarding economic recovery for disaster areas, special economic development and adjustment assistance, and the job opportunities program.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 1998
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to disregard certain Native American housing assistance in determining whether a building is federally subsidized for low-income housing credit purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 1998
Renames the Document Door of the U.S. Capitol, located on the first floor of the East Front, as the Chestnut-Gibson Memorial Door in honor of Officer Jacob Joseph Chestnut and Detective John Michael Gibson.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Service Connection for Gulf War Illnesses Title II: Extension and Enhancement of Gulf War Health Care Authorities Title III: Miscellaneous Persian Gulf War Veterans Act of 1998 - Title I: Service Connection for Gulf War Illnesses - Presumes to be service-connected (and therefore compensable or treatable under Federal veterans' benefits provisions) any illness that: (1) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines to warrant such a presumption based upon a positive association with exposure to a biological, chemical, or toxic agent, an environmental or wartime hazard, or preventive medicine or vaccine associated with service in the southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War; and (2) becomes manifest in a Gulf War veteran within a period to be prescribed by the Secretary. Requires such presumption even though there is no record of evidence of such illness in the veteran during the period of service. Requires the Secretary to make such determinations based on sound medical and scientific evidence and to take into account reports submitted by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) as required under this Act. Requires the Secretary to make determinations regarding presumptions of service connection for covered illnesses within 60 days after receipt of an NAS report. (Sec. 102) Directs the Secretary to enter into an agreement with NAS under which NAS shall identify: (1) the agents, hazards, or medicines to which Gulf War veterans may have been exposed; and (2) the illnesses that are manifest in such members. Requires NAS, in making such identification, to consider certain pesticides, nerve agents, repellents, compounds, ionizing radiation, particulates, endemic diseases, and vaccines. Requires NAS to submit to the congressional veterans and defense committees (designated committees) a report specifying all agents, hazards, or medicines considered. Directs NAS, after such identification, to determine whether a statistical association exists between exposure to such agent, hazard, or medicine and the illness. Requires NAS to separately review potential treatment models for such illnesses, make recommendations for additional studies, and perform subsequent reviews of available evidence and data. Requires periodic reports from NAS to the Secretary, the Secretary of Defense, and the designated committees concerning NAS activities. Terminates requirements and activities under this Act ten years after NAS submits its first report. Requires the Secretary to enter into an agreement with an alternative scientific organization if agreement cannot be reached with NAS. (Sec. 103) Directs the Secretary to develop and implement a plan for the establishment and operation of a single computerized information database for the collection, storage, and analysis of information on illnesses and health care utilization patterns of Gulf War veterans. Requires such plan to be submitted to the Secretary of Defense, NAS, and the designated committees. Directs NAS to evaluate and report on such plan. Requires a joint annual report by the Secretary and the Secretary of Defense concerning data compiled and the types, incidences, and prevalence of the illnesses identified, with explanations, as well as information analysis and the implementation of appropriate treatment models in the health care systems of their respective departments. (Sec. 104) Requires such Secretaries and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to the designated committees on any recommendations received from NAS for additional scientific studies. (Sec. 105) Directs the Secretaries of Veterans Affairs and Defense to carry out an ongoing program to provide Gulf War veterans with information relating to any health risks determined to be associated with such service, together with services or benefits available. Title II: Extension and Enhancement of Gulf War Health Care Authorities - Extends through December 31, 2001, the authority of the Secretary to provide hospital and nursing care and medical services to Persian Gulf War veterans for any disability. (Sec. 202) Amends the Persian Gulf War Veterans' Benefits Act to extend a program for evaluating the health status of spouses and children of Persian Gulf War veterans until either the date on which all funds for the program are expended or December 31, 2001, whichever is earlier. (Currently such program is authorized until December 31, 1998.) Repeals certain testing and evaluation requirements under such program. Provides additional program outreach requirements. Authorizes the Secretary, in order to increase the number of diagnostic tests and medical examinations under such program: (1) to reimburse primary care physicians of such spouses and children for the costs of such tests or examinations; (2) to conduct such tests and examinations in Department medical facilities; and (3) in the event travel is required for the conduct of such tests or examinations by contract entities, to reimburse the spouses and children for the costs of such travel and related lodging. Requires the Secretary to provide for monthly reports to the Department's Central Office on activities conducted under the program. Title III: Miscellaneous - Requires the Secretary to seek to enter into an agreement with NAS or other appropriate independent organization under which NAS assesses the need for and feasibility of establishing an independent entity to: (1) evaluate and monitor the post-deployment health concerns of military personnel; (2) evaluate the health care provided both before and after deployment; and (3) take certain related actions with respect to the monitoring, evaluation, and improvement of post-deployment health care. Requires a report from NAS to the designated committees on assessment results.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1998
Declares that the Congress honors the memory of Detective John Michael Gibson and Private First Class Jacob Joseph Chestnut of the U.S. Capitol Police for the selfless acts of heroism they displayed on July 24, 1998, in sacrificing their lives in the line of duty so that others might live. Provides that, when the Senate and the House of Representatives adjourn on this date, they shall do so out of respect for the memory of Officers Gibson and Chestnut.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1998
Authorizes the use of the rotunda of the Capitol for a memorial service for Detective John Michael Gibson and Private First Class Jacob Joseph Chestnut of the U.S. Capitol Police. Directs the Architect of the Capitol to place a plaque in honor of the memory of Officers Gibson and Chestnut at an appropriate site in the U.S. Capitol, with the approval of the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. Directs the Sergeant at Arms of the House of Representatives to make arrangements for funeral services for Officers Gibson and Chestnut, including payments for travel expenses of immediate family members, and for expenses incurred by Members of the House of Representatives in attending such services. Directs the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives to pay survivor's gratuities to the widows of Officers Gibson and Chestnut. Expresses the sense of the Congress that there should be established under law a U.S. Capitol Police Memorial Fund for the surviving spouses and children of members of the U.S. Capitol Police who are slain in the line of duty.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 1998
Expresses the sense of the Senate that October 15, 1998, should be designated as National Inhalant Abuse Awareness Day, to be observed with appropriate activities. Requests the President to issue a proclamation designating such Day.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Patients' Bill of Rights Subtitle A: Right to Advice and Care Subtitle B: Right to Information about Plans and Providers Subtitle C: Right to Hold Health Plans Accountable Title II: Individual Rights with Respect to Personal Medical Information Subtitle A: Access to Medical Records Subtitle B: Establishment of Safeguards Subtitle C: Enforcement; Definitions Title III: Genetic Information and Services Title IV: Healthcare Quality Research Title V: Women's Health Research and Prevention Subtitle A: Provisions Relating to Women's Health Research at the National Institutes of Health Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Women's Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Subtitle C: Women's Health and Cancer Rights Title VI: Enhanced Access to Health Insurance Coverage Patients' Bill of Rights Act - Title I: Patients' Bill of Rights - Subtitle A: Right to Advice and Care - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to require a group health plan covering emergency medical care to provide coverage, without requiring preauthorization, for appropriate emergency medical screening examinations to the extent that a prudent layperson, possessing an average knowledge of health and medicine, would determine such examinations to be necessary to determine whether emergency medical care is necessary. (Sec. 101) Requires a plan to cover additional emergency medical services following such an examination to the extent that a prudent emergency medical professional would determine such services to be necessary to avoid specified serious consequences. Requires a plan (other than a small employer's plan) providing benefit coverage only through a defined set of participating health care professionals to offer the option of point-of-service coverage (of the same benefits provided by a nonparticipating health care professional), unless the plan offers multiple issuer or coverage options. Requires any plan offering gynecological, obstetric, or pediatric care not to require prior authorization from a participant's primary care provider if such provider is not a gynecologist, obstetrician, or pediatrician. Requires a plan to permit a participant or beneficiary undergoing a course of treatment to continue such treatment for a period of time even though the contract between the plan and a health care provider is terminated, or the schedule of benefits or coverage is terminated by a change in the terms of the provider's participation in the plan. Specifies a 90-day continuation of coverage generally, and other transitional periods for institutionalization (until discharge), pregnancy (through post-partum care), and terminal illness (remainder of life). Declares that a plan shall not prohibit a health care professional from advising a patient about the patient's health status, medical care, or treatment for the patient's condition or disease, regardless of whether coverage for such care or treatment is provided under the contract, if the professional is acting within the lawful scope of the practice. Applies the requirements of this subtitle to group health plans, but not to a health insurance issuer licensed by a State and subject to State insurance regulation while engaged in the business of insurance in such State. Subtitle B: Right to Information about Plans and Providers - Requires plans and group health insurance issuers to disclose specified plan information to enrollees and (upon request) potential enrollees. (Sec. 112) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to contract with the Institute of Medicine for a study and report to the appropriate congressional committees on: (1) health care professionals information currently available to patients, consumers, States, and professional societies, nationally and on a State-by-State basis; (2) the legal and other barriers to the sharing of information about health care professionals; and (3) recommendations for disclosure of such information on health care professionals, including their competencies and professional qualifications, to better facilitate patient choice, quality improvement, and market competition. Subtitle C: Right to Hold Health Plans Accountable - Revises requirements for plan provision of a procedure for appealing denied claims. (Sec. 121) Requires a plan or health insurance issuer conducting utilization review to have: (1) specified procedures in place for coverage determinations, including expedited determinations; (2) written procedures for addressing grievances between a plan and enrollees; (3) an internal procedure for coverage determination appeals; and (4) an external review procedure for enrollee appeals, involving specified entities and independent medical experts, whose determination shall be binding. Prescribes external review standards. Directs the General Accounting Office to study and report to the appropriate congressional committees on a statistically appropriate sample of completed external reviews. Title II: Individual Rights with Respect to Personal Medical Information - Personal Medical Information Access Act - Subtitle A: Access to Medical Records - Amends ERISA to require any health care provider, health plan, employer, health or life insurer, school, or university, except in specified circumstances, to: (1) permit an individual who is the subject of protected health information (or the individual's designee) to inspect and copy protected health information concerning the individual; (2) amend such information upon the individual's request; and (3) make reasonable efforts to inform any person to whom the unamended portion of the information was previously disclosed of any nontechnical amendment that has been made. (Sec. 212) Prescribes procedures for: (1) an entity's denial of a request to amend such information; and (2) an individual's filing of a statement of disagreement with such denial, which shall accompany any subsequent disclosure of the disputed portion of the information. (Sec. 213) Requires any health care provider, health plan, employer, health or life insurer, school, or university to post notice of the entity's confidentiality practices, including specified information. Requires the Secretary to develop and disseminate model notices of confidentiality practices. Subtitle B: Establishment of Safeguards - Requires any health care provider, health plan, employer, health or life insurer, school, or university to establish and maintain appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect the confidentiality, security, accuracy, and integrity of protected health information the entity creates, receives, obtains, maintains, uses, transmits, or disposes of. Subtitle C: Enforcement; Definitions - Prescribes civil money penalties for substantial and material failure to comply with this Act. (Sec. 232) Sets forth definitions. Title III: Genetic Information and Services - Genetic Information Nondiscrimination in Health Insurance Act of 1998 - Amends ERISA, the Public Health Service Act (PHSA), and the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit a health care plan or health insurance issuer from restricting enrollment or adjusting premium or contribution amounts for a group on the basis of predictive genetic information concerning an individual in the group or a family member of the individual (including information about a request for or receipt of genetic services). (Sec. 302) Prohibits a plan or issuer from requesting or requiring predictive genetic information concerning an individual or a family member of the individual (including information about a request for or receipt of genetic services). Permits a plan or issuer to request, but not require, such information for diagnosis, treatment, or payment purposes only. Title IV: Healthcare Quality Research - Healthcare Quality Research Act of 1998 - Amends PHSA to establish within the Public Health Service (PHS) an Agency for Healthcare Quality Research to replace the current Agency for Health Care Policy and Research. (Sec. 402) Directs the Agency to identify and disseminate methods or systems used to assess healthcare research results, particularly to rate the strength of the scientific evidence behind healthcare practice and technology recommendations in the research. Requires the Agency to employ research strategies and mechanisms that will link research directly with clinical practice in geographically diverse locations throughout the United States, including: (1) Healthcare Improvement Research Centers that combine demonstrated multidisciplinary expertise in outcomes or quality improvement research with linkages to relevant sites of care; (2) Practice-based Research Networks, including plan, facility, or delivery system sites of care (especially primary care), that can evaluate and promote quality improvement; and (3) other innovative mechanisms or strategies. Directs the Agency to: (1) award grants to enable eligible entities at geographically diverse locations throughout the United States to carry out research training programs dedicated to health services research training at the doctoral, post-doctoral, and junior faculty levels; and (2) provide specified scientific and technical support for private and public efforts to improve healthcare quality, including accrediting organizations. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Agency Director, to establish a demonstration program of grants for one or more centers to conduct: (1) state-of-the-art clinical research on drugs, biological products, and devices; (2) research on the comparative effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and safety of drugs, biological products, and devices; and (3) other appropriate activities (excluding the review of new drugs). Requires the Agency Director to: (1) collect certain data on the cost and quality of healthcare; (2) support research on and initiatives to advance the use of information systems for the study of healthcare quality; and (3) provide ongoing administrative, research, and technical support for the Preventive Services Task Force, which shall review scientific evidence on the effectiveness, appropriateness, and cost-effectiveness of clinical preventive services regarding their usefulness in daily clinical practice. Establishes within the Agency a Center for Primary Care Delivery Research to serve as the principal funding source for HHS primary care delivery research and demonstrations with respect to the first contact when illness or health concerns arise, the diagnosis, treatment or referral to specialty care, preventive care, and the relationship between the clinician and the patient in the context of the family and community. Requires the Agency Director by specified activities to promote innovation in evidence-based clinical practice and healthcare technologies. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director, to coordinate all research, evaluations, and demonstrations related to health services research and quality measurement and improvement activities undertaken and supported by the Federal Government. Requires the Secretary to contract with the Institute of Medicine to: (1) describe and evaluate current quality improvement research and monitoring processes; and (2) recommend options to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of such processes, and optimize public- private sector accreditation bodies. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director, to establish a nonprofit, nongovernmental Foundation for Healthcare Research, which shall: (1) support the Agency and foster public-private partnerships to support Agency programs and activities; (2) advance collaboration with healthcare researchers from universities, industry, and nonprofit organizations; and (4) develop linkages with users of healthcare and quality research. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Agency Director, to make grants each fiscal year to support the Foundation. Establishes an Advisory Council for Healthcare Quality Research to replace the current Advisory Council for Health Care Policy, Research, and Evaluation. Requires the Agency Director to establish technical and scientific peer review groups to review each application for a grant, cooperative agreement, or contract under this title. Repeals the mandates for: (1) a demonstration program regarding centers for education and research on therapeutics; and (2) the Office of the Forum for Quality and Effectiveness in Health Care. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 404) Requires the Secretary, within 30 days after enactment of any Act providing for a qualifying health care benefit, to evaluate scientifically and report to the appropriate congressional committees on: (1) the safety, efficacy, cost, benefits and value of such benefit; (2) alternative approaches in improving care compared with such benefit; and (3) the benefit's overall impact on health care as measured through research. Title V: Women's Health Research and Prevention - Women's Health Research and Prevention Amendments of 1998 - Subtitle A: Provisions Relating to Women's Health Research at the National Institutes of Health - Amends PHSA to extend the authorization of appropriations for research on the drug diethylstilbestrol (commonly known as DES). Directs the Secretary, acting through PHS agency heads, to carry out a national program to educate health professionals and the public about DES. (Sec. 512) Extends the authorization of appropriations for research on: (1) osteoporosis, Paget's disease, and related bone disorders; (2) breast and ovarian cancers; and (3) aging processes relating to women. (Sec. 514) Requires the Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to expand, intensify, and coordinate research and related activities with respect to heart attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases in women. (Sec. 516) Requires the Director of the National Institutes of Health (currently, the Director of the Office of Research on Women's Health) to appoint members of the Advisory Committee on Research on Women's Health. Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Women's Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Amends PHSA to extend the authorization of appropriations for: (1) the National Center for Health Statistics; (2) the National Program of Cancer Registries; (3) the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program; (4) Centers for Research and Demonstration of Health Promotion; and (5) community programs on domestic violence. (Sec. 523) Authorizes a State receiving a Federal grant to make grants to or contract with for-profit private entities to carry out programs of preventive health measures for breast and cervical cancers. Subtitle C: Women's Health and Cancer Rights - Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act of 1998 - Amends ERISA, PHSA, and the Internal Revenue Code to require certain group health plans and health insurance issuers to ensure specified minimum coverage regarding: (1) breast cancer mastectomies, lumpectomies, and lymph node dissections; (2) post-mastectomy breast reconstruction on both breasts; and (3) the costs of prostheses and complications of mastectomy, including lymphedemas. Prohibits: (1) denial of eligibility to a patient, and other related practices, solely to avoid the requirements of this subtitle; (2) incentives or rebates to encourage individuals to accept less than the minimum coverage; and (2) certain penalties or incentives to providers to evade application of this subtitle. (Sec. 535) Amends PHSA to apply the same requirements to health insurance issuers in the individual market. (Sec. 537) Directs the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research to study and report to the appropriate congressional committees on the scientific issues relating to prevention and treatment of breast cancer. Title VI: Enhanced Access to Health Insurance Coverage - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow the annual carryover of up to $500 of unused benefits from cafeteria plans, flexible spending arrangements, and health flexible spending accounts; (2) allow a full deduction from gross income of the health insurance costs of self-employed individuals; and (3) repeal the limitation of the availability of medical savings accounts (MSAs) to employees of small employers and the self-employed. (Sec. 603) Reduces from $1,500 to $1,000 (self-only coverage) and from $3,000 to $2,000 (family coverage) the minimum annual deductible of a high deductible health plan. Revises the formula for the monthly limitation on the allowable deduction for MSAs to increase the contribution limit to 100 percent of the annual deductible under a high deductible health plan. Waives the additional tax on MSA distributions not used for qualified medical expenses to the extent any payment or distribution does not reduce the fair market value of the MSA assets to an amount less than the annual deductible for the account holder's high deductible health plan. (Sec. 604) Authorizes the Office of Personnel Management to contract for or approve catastrophic FEHBP plans, whose covered expenses exceed $500. Amends Federal civil service law, with respect to Government contributions under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), to require an additional Government contribution, according to a certain formula, to an individual's MSA with respect to a catastrophic plan. Increases the Government's biweekly contribution to an employee's or annuitant's FEHBP catastrophic plan from 75 percent to 100 percent of the subscription charge.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Department of the Treasury Title II: Postal Service Title III: Executive Office of the President and Funds Appropriated to the President Title IV: Independent Agencies Title V: General Provisions Title VI: General Provisions Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for FY 1999 for the Treasury Department, the U.S. Postal Service, the Executive Office of the President, and certain independent agencies. Title I: Department of the Treasury - Treasury Department Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for the Department of the Treasury for: (1) departmental offices; (2) automation enhancement; (3) the Office of Inspector General; (4) repair and restoration of the Treasury building and annex; (5) the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network; (6) violent crime reduction programs; (7) the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, including amounts for acquisition of additional real property and facilities and maintenance and facility improvements; (8) interagency law enforcement with respect to organized crime drug trafficking; (9) the Financial Management Service; (10) the Debt Collection Improvement Account; (11) the Federal Financing Bank; (12) the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; (13) the U.S. Customs Service, including amounts for operations and maintenance of marine vessels and aircraft and collection of the Harbor Maintenance Fee; (14) the Bureau of the Public Debt; (15) the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), including amounts for tax law enforcement, earned income tax credit compliance and error reduction initiatives, information systems, and information technology investments; and (16) the Secret Service, including an amount for construction and improvement of facilities. (Sec. 117) Amends the Federal judicial code to provide that any property with respect to which certain financial transactions are prohibited or regulated under specified provisions of the Trading with the Enemy Act and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, provisions of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 prohibiting assistance to Cuba, or any order, regulation, or license issued pursuant thereto shall be subject to execution or attachment in aid of execution of any judgment relating to a claim for which a foreign state claiming such property is not immune from the jurisdiction of U.S. courts in cases where damages are sought against the state for injury or death caused by torture, extrajudicial killing, aircraft sabotage, hostage taking, or support for such acts. Makes such requirement inapplicable if, at the time the property is expropriated or seized by the foreign state, the property has been held in title by a natural person or held in trust for the benefit of a natural person. Requires the Secretaries of the Treasury and State, at the request of any party in whose favor a judgment has been issued with respect to a claim for which the foreign state is not immune, to assist any judgment creditor or court in identifying, locating, and executing against the property of such state. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds made available under this title. Title II: Postal Service - Postal Service Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for payments to the Postal Service Fund for revenue foregone on free and reduced rate mail. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. Title III: Executive Office of the President and Funds Appropriated to the President - Executive Office Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for: (1) compensation of the President and the White House office; (2) operating, maintenance, and reimbursable expenses of the Executive Residence at the White House; (3) special assistance to the President and the official residence of the Vice President; (4) the Council of Economic Advisers; (5) the Office of Policy Development; (6) the National Security Council; (7) the Office of Administration; (8) the Office of Management and Budget (OMB); (9) the Office of National Drug Control Policy; (10) Federal drug control programs, including amounts for the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program and for a national anti-drug campaign for youth; and (11) emergency expenses related to year 2000 conversion of Federal information technology systems. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. Title IV: Independent Agencies - Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for the: (1) Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled; (2) Federal Election Commission; (3) Federal Labor Relations Authority; and (4) General Services Administration (GSA), including amounts for the Federal Buildings Fund, Government-wide policy and operations, Office of Inspector General, and allowances and office staff for former Presidents. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. (Sec. 409) Authorizes the GSA Administrator to convey without consideration to the city of Racine, Wisconsin, certain excess real property containing the Army Reserve Center. Makes appropriations for: (1) the Merit Systems Protection Board; (2) the National Archives and Records Administration, including amounts for repairs and restoration of archives; (3) the National Historical Publications and Records Commission; (4) the Office of Government Ethics; (5) the Office of Personnel Management, including an amount for the Office of Inspector General; (6) Government contributions for health and life insurance benefits for annuitants; (7) the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund; (8) the Office of Special Counsel; and (9) the U.S. Tax Court. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. Title V: General Provisions - Sets forth prohibited uses of funds made available under this Act. Title VI: General Provisions - Sets forth authorized and prohibited uses of funds appropriated for Federal departments, agencies, and corporations. (Sec. 625) Requires the OMB Director to report to the Congress: (1) estimates of costs and benefits of Federal regulatory programs and of each rule likely to have a gross annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more in increased costs; (2) impacts of Federal rules on the private sector and all levels of government; and (3) recommendations for reform or elimination of inefficient regulatory programs. (Sec. 632) Bars the use of funds made available for the Customs Service in this Act to allow the importation of any good produced or manufactured by forced or indentured child labor. (Sec. 634) Requires the Director of the U.S. Marshals Service to conduct a quarterly threat assessment on the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. (Sec. 641) Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, upon submission of proper documentation, to reimburse importers of large capacity military magazine rifles for which authority was granted to import such firearms into the United States on or before November 14, 1997, and which were released under bond to the importer by the Customs Service on or before February 10, 1998, provided that such an importer abandons title to the firearms to the United States. (Sec. 642) Bars the heads of executive agencies from acquiring items that appear on lists required to be prepared by the Secretary of Labor of items that might have been mined, produced, or manufactured by forced or indentured child labor. Requires the heads of executive agencies to include in solicitations of offers for procurement contracts of items included on such lists certain requirements for: (1) contractor certifications regarding good faith efforts to determine whether child labor was used with respect to such items and that the contractor is unaware of the use of child labor; and (2) full cooperation by the contractor for access to records or premises if requested by U.S. officials. Applies such requirement to acquisitions in excess of the micro-purchase threshold, as defined in the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act. Authorizes termination of contracts for violation of such requirements. Permits debarment or suspension of a contractor from eligibility for Federal contracts for a period of three years if the contractor furnished items involving, or used, child labor. Revises the Federal Acquisition Regulation to provide for the implementation of this section. Makes this section inapplicable to a contract: (1) for the procurement of any article from a foreign country that is a party to the Agreement on Government Procurement annexed to the World Trade Organization Agreement or to the North American Free Trade Agreement; and (2) that is of a value equal to or greater than the U.S. threshold specified in either of such agreements. (Sec. 643) Provides for a 3.6 percent increase in rates of basic pay for Federal employees for FY 1999.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1998
Defense Jobs and Trade Promotion Act of 1998 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the limitation on the amount of receipts attributable to military property which may be treated as exempt foreign trade income.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 1998
Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to extend through FY 2001 the authorization of appropriations for: (1) the Federal Council on the Aging; (2) administration; (3) grants for State and community programs on aging; (4) the availability of surplus commodities; (5) training, research, and discretionary projects and programs; (6) community service employment for older Americans; (7) grants for Native Americans; (8) allotments for Vulnerable Elder Rights Protection activities; and (9) the Native American program.
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