United States · United States Congress · 22 October 1999
Food and Medicine for the World Act - Prohibits the President from imposing a unilateral agricultural sanction or unilateral medical sanction against a foreign country, except in specified circumstances, unless: (1) not less than 60 days before the sanction is proposed to be imposed, the President makes a specified report to Congress; and (2) Congress enacts a joint resolution approving the report.
United States · United States Congress · 20 October 1999
Coastal Barrier Resources Reauthorization Act of 1999 - Amends the Coastal Barrier Resources Act to revise the definition of "undeveloped coastal barrier." Removes from the definition of "financial assistance" provisions that included flood insurance described in specified provisions of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968. (Sec. 3) Allows the Secretary of the Interior to add a parcel of real property to the Coastal Barrier Resources System if the parcel's owner so requests and the parcel is an undeveloped coastal barrier. (Sec. 5) Authorizes appropriations to carry out the Act. (Sec. 6) Mandates a pilot project and report to specified congressional committees on the feasibility and cost of creating digital versions of System maps. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 7) Requires a report to specified congressional committees containing an economic assessment of the System.
United States · United States Congress · 18 October 1999
Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to continue a required annual report from the Secretary of the Interior to Congress concerning a cost analysis of endangered or threatened species conservation efforts, notwithstanding a provision of the Federal Reports Elimination and Sunset Act of 1995 which terminates on December 31, 1999, all reporting requirements contained on a list prepared by the Clerk of the House of Representatives for the first session of the 103rd Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 14 October 1999
Amends the Clean Air Act to require the submission of a certain report on atmospheric deposition of hazardous pollutants on the Great Lakes, the Chesapeake Bay, Lake Champlain, and coastal waters to Congress, notwithstanding a Federal law which eliminates such reporting requirement.
United States · United States Congress · 14 October 1999
Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to require the submission of certain reports regarding water quality and cost estimates of carrying out such Act to Congress, notwithstanding a Federal law which eliminates such reporting requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1999
Commends the past and present personnel of the submarine force of the U.S. Navy for their technical excellence, accomplishments, professionalism, and sacrifices. Congratulates them for the 100 years of exemplary service that they have provided the United States. Expresses the sense of the Senate that, in the next millennium, the submarine force should continue to constitute an integral part of the Navy, and to carry out missions that are key to maintaining the Nation's freedom and security as the superior submarine force in the world.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 1999
Congratulates the people of East Timor for their heroic vote on August 30, 1999. Recognizes the overwhelming expression of such people in favor of independence. Commends: (1) the United Nations (UN) Security Council for passing a resolution authorizing a multinational force to address the security situation in East Timor; (2) Australia for its readiness to lead the multinational force for East Timor (and welcomes the participation of other nations); and (3) UN Mission in East Timor personnel. Expresses: (1) support for a rapid and effective deployment throughout East Timor by the multinational force; and (2) approval for the United States to assist in this effort. Condemns the violent efforts of the East Timor militias and elements of the Indonesian military to overturn the results of the vote. Notes the failure of the Indonesian Government to guarantee the security of the people of East Timor and such Government's responsibility to restrain such elements and paramilitary forces. Calls upon the Government of Indonesia to: (1) recognize its responsibilities as a member of the UN and a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to cooperate with appropriate UN authorities in the restoration of order in East Timor; (2) allow unrestricted access to refugees and displaced persons in West Timor by relief agencies; (3) hold accountable those responsible for the violence, human rights abuses, and atrocities; and (4) cooperate with the international community in establishing an international commission of inquiry to investigate human rights abuses in East Timor.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1999
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act Amendments of 1999 - Amends the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act (the Act) to expand the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's authority to accept and administer private gifts within the Departments of Commerce and the Interior. (Sec. 3) Increases the Foundation's Board of Directors from 15 to 25 members, including the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere. (Sec. 4) Authorizes the Foundation to have its principal offices in Washington, D.C. (as currently provided), or in the bordering counties of Maryland or Virginia. Sets forth conditions for the Foundation to: (1) acquire and convey property, including agency approval; and (2) invest and deposit Federal funds. Revises provisions relating to agency approval of acquisitions of property and of conveyances and grants. Sets forth limitations relating to the Foundation's: (1) reconveyance of real property; and (2) expenditures for printing services or capital equipment. (Sec. 5) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2004 for the Departments of Commerce and the Interior to carry out activities under the Act (conservation or management of fish, wildlife, plants, and other natural resources). Authorizes the Foundation to accept funds from a Federal agency under any other Federal law to further its conservation and management activities. Sets forth matching funds requirements. Prohibits Foundation grants from being used for litigation expenses or for lobbying Congress. Declares that nothing in this Act authorizes the Foundation to perform any function for which authority is provided to the National Park Foundation by specified Federal law.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1999
Designates the Old Executive Office Building located at 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, in Washington, D.C., as the Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1999
Medicare Wellness Act of 1999 - Title I: Healthy Seniors Promotion Program - Establishes within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) a Healthy Seniors Working Group to establish policies and criteria for the HHS Secretary to make grants to approved applicants to study specified approaches to further health promotion and disease prevention among the elderly. (Sec. 101) Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 102) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) encourage inclusion of preventive health measures in all Medicare treatments; (2) HCFA expand the study of the most promising behavioral modification of risk factors associated with health promotion and disease prevention for all Medicare beneficiaries; and (3) the National Library of Medicine establish a Medicare health promotion and disease prevention intervention clearinghouse. Title II: Medicare Coverage of Preventive Services - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to outline Medicare coverage of various specified preventive services, including: (1) counseling for cessation of tobacco use; (2) screening for hypertension; (3) counseling for hormone replacement therapy; (4) screening for glaucoma and for diminished visual acuity; and (5) screening and counseling for osteoporosis. (Sec. 209) Waives coinsurance and deductibles for certain preventive services, such as: (1) diabetes outpatient self-management training services; (2) colorectal and prostate cancer screening tests; and (3) bone mass measurement. (Sec. 210) Directs the Secretary to conduct a national falls prevention and awareness campaign to reduce fall-related injuries among Medicare beneficiaries and to integrate specified preventive benefits added by this Act with existing program integrity measures. Title III: Medicare Health Education and Risk Appraisal Program - Amends SSA title XVIII to direct the HHS Secretary to: (1) establish a health education and risk appraisal program to inform certain target individuals, including Medicare beneficiaries, of described major behavioral risk factors through self-assessment; and (2) conduct periodic followups. Title IV: Disease Self-Management Demonstration Projects - Establishes in HHS a Disease Self-Management Working Group. Directs the HHS Secretary to conduct demonstration projects to promote disease self-management for conditions identified by the Group for described target individuals. Provides funding. Title V: Studies and Reports Advancing Original Research in the Field of Disease Prevention and the Elderly - Amends SSA title XVIII to revise reporting requirements for the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission. (Sec. 502) Directs the Director of the National Institutes on Aging to conduct one or more studies, for associated reports to the HHS Secretary and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, that focus on ways to: (1) improve quality of life for the elderly; (2) develop better ways to prevent or delay the onset of age-related functional decline and disease and disability among the elderly; and (3) develop means of assessing the long-term development of cost-effective benefits and cost-saving benefits for health promotion and disease prevention among the elderly. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 503) Directs the HHS Secretary to contract with the Institute to study and report to the President and Congress on health promotion and disease prevention among Medicare beneficiaries. (Sec. 504) Provides for fast-track consideration of prevention benefit legislation in the House of Representatives and in the Senate.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 1999
Fairness in Medicare Home Health Access Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) with respect to the reasonable cost of services furnished by home health agencies to: (1) require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, under specified conditions, to pay the provider of such services additional, limited payments notwithstanding per beneficiary limits for outliers; and (2) increase the per visit cost limit. Amends the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 to eliminate the 15 percent home health services payment reduction in interim payments which would occur if the Secretary did not establish a prospective payment system (PPS) for such services as provided for in such Act. Amends SSA title XVIII with regard to the PPS for home health services to reduce the current 15 percent reduction in cost and per beneficiary limits to ten percent, establishing a special rule beginning in FY 2004 that restores the reduction back to its original 15 percent. Increases the per visit cost limit to 112 percent of the national median. Provides that in the case of home health services furnished to an individual who (at the time of furnishing) is under a home health agency plan of care, payment for an item of durable medical equipment shall be made to the agency separately from payment for other items and services furnished. Eliminates timekeeping requirements under the PPS for home health agencies. Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Secretary should establish a nationally uniform process that ensures that fiscal intermediaries and carriers under Medicare have the training and ability necessary to provide timely, accurate, and consistent coverage and payment information to each home health agency and to each individual eligible to have payment made under Medicare.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 1999
Declares that the Senate: (1) congratulates the people of East Timor for their heroic vote for independence on August 30, 1999; (2) condemns the violence of the militias in East Timor and the inaction by the Government of Indonesia to end the violence; and (3) calls on such Government to end all violence in accordance with the May 5, 1999, agreement. Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) the President should instruct the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations to immediately seek the United Nations Security Council authorization for the deployment of an international force to address the security situation in East Timor; and (2) the United States should assist in this effort.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 1999
Natural Resources Reinvestment Act of 1999 - Establishes the Land and Water Resources Stewardship Council to oversee grants for State land and water conservation programs. Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to appropriate funds for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, to be used for outdoor conservation, recreation, and open space resource activities. Amends the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act of 1978 to provide grants for the acquisition or development of new park land or neighborhood recreation sites. Extends permanently the Historic Preservation Fund. Establishes in the Land and Water Conservation Fund a special account for grants for the conservation of State land or water of national or regional significance. State Conservation Assistance Grants Act of 1999 - Establishes the Environmental Stewardship Fund, to be apportioned to: (1) historically oil and gas productive coastal States for Continental Shelf environmental remediation and administrative expenses; and (2) other States for clean air, water, habitat and wildlife, parks and recreation, and other conservation activities. Amends the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act of 1980 to require States receiving apportionments from the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Fund (established herein) to develop and implement programs for the conservation of fish and wildlife species that are not hunted, trapped, or fished. Provides funds for the acquisition or restoration of watershed wetland, adjacent land, or buffer strips. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to establish and carry out a grant program for protecting farmland topsoil by limiting nonagricultural uses.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Superfund Recycling Equity Act of 1999 - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to absolve persons (other than owners or operators) who arranged for the recycling of recyclable material from liability for environmental response actions. Deems transactions involving scrap paper, plastic, glass, textiles, or rubber (other than whole tires) to be arranging for recycling if the person who arranged the transaction demonstrates that the following criteria were met: (1) the recyclable material met a commercial specification grade and a market existed for the material; (2) a substantial portion of the material was made available for use as a feedstock for the manufacture of a new saleable product; (3) the material (or product to be made from the material) could have been a replacement for a virgin raw material; and (4) with respect to transactions occurring 90 days after this Act's enactment, the person exercised reasonable care to determine that the facility where the material would be managed by another was in compliance with Federal, State, or local environmental laws or regulations. Deems transactions involving scrap metal to be arranging for recycling if the person who arranged the transaction demonstrates that: (1) the criteria for scrap materials were met; (2) he or she complied with applicable standards regarding activities associated with the recycling of scrap metals; and (3) the scrap metal was not melted prior to the transaction. Deems transactions involving spent lead-acid, nickel-cadmium, or other batteries to be arranging for recycling if the person involved demonstrates that: (1) the criteria for scrap materials were met; and (2) he or she complied with applicable Federal environmental regulations or standards regarding such batteries. Makes the exemptions from liability under this Act inapplicable if the person: (1) had an objectively reasonable basis to believe at the time of the recycling transaction that the recyclable material would not be recycled or would be burned as fuel or for energy recovery or incineration or that the consuming facility was not in compliance with Federal, State, or local environmental laws or regulations; (2) had reason to believe that hazardous substances had been added to the material for purposes other than processing for recycling; or (3) failed to exercise reasonable care with respect to the management of the material. Makes such exemptions inapplicable if the recyclable material contained polychlorinated biphenyls in excess of 50 parts per million or any new Federal standard.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Community Broadcasters Protection Act of 1999 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to direct the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to prescribe regulations to establish a class A license for qualifying low-power television (LPT) stations. Requires notification of LPT licensees of the requirements for class A designation. Requires requesting licensees to submit to the FCC a certification of eligibility based on the requirements of this Act. Requires the FCC to: (1) grant such certification absent a material deficiency; and (2) act to preserve the contours of LPT stations pending final resolution of such applications. Allows an LPT station to submit an application for class A designation only within 30 days after final regulations are adopted. Defines as a qualifying LPT station one which, during the 90 days preceding the date of enactment of this Act: (1) broadcast for at least 18 hours per day; (2) broadcast an average of at least three hours per week of programming that was produced within the market area served by such station or the market area served by a group of commonly controlled stations that carry common local or specialized programming not otherwise available to their communities; and (3) complied with other requirements applicable to LPT stations and, after the date of its license application, complies with the FCC's operating rules for full power television stations. Allows the FCC to treat non-qualifying stations as LPT stations under this Act if public interest, convenience, and necessity would be so served. Provides that: (1) the FCC is not required to issue any additional licenses for advanced television services to the licensees of class A television stations; and (2) the FCC shall approve such license applications proposing facilities that will not cause interference to any other broadcast facility authorized on the date of the filing of the class A advanced television application. States that nothing in this Act shall preempt Federal provisions concerning the allocation and assignment of new public safety services licenses and commercial licenses. Prohibits the FCC from granting a class A license to an LPT station operating between 698 and 806 megahertz, but requires the FCC to provide to LPT stations assigned to and temporarily operating within such bandwidth the opportunity to meet the licensing requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1999 - Title I: Brownfields Revitalization - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish programs to provide grants to eligible entities (including local government units, redevelopment agencies, States, and Indian tribes) for site characterization and assessment of, and performance of response actions at, brownfields facilities. Defines a "brownfield facility," with exceptions, as real property, the expansion or redevelopment of which is complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, including property contaminated with a controlled substance or precursor chemical to such a substance. (Sec. 102) Adds CERCLA provisions governing owner-operator status of persons owning or operating property contiguous to a release site. Absolves such persons of liability as owners or operators, subject to certain conditions. Requires the President to delist up to 20 individual parcels of real property from the National Priorities List (NPL) annually in order to conform with amendments that exclude from the NPL properties at which no release has occurred but to which a hazardous substance has migrated. (Sec. 103) Absolves from liability for response actions bona fide prospective purchasers to the extent liability at a facility for a release or threat thereof is based solely on ownership or operation of a facility. Gives a lien upon a facility to the United States for unrecovered response costs in any case in which there are such unrecovered costs for which the owner is not liable by reason of provisions limiting liability of fiduciaries and the facility's fair market value has increased above that which existed 180 days before the action was taken. (Sec. 104) Deems a person, with respect to defenses to liability of an owner of after-acquired property, to have undertaken appropriate inquiry into the property's previous ownership and uses if the person establishes that inquiries were undertaken in accordance with specified requirements (compliance with an American Society for Testing and Materials standard or with standards issued by the Administrator). Deems the appropriate inquiry requirements to be satisfied by a site inspection and title search that reveal no basis for further investigation in the case of property for residential or similar use purchased by a nongovernmental or noncommercial entity. Title II: State Response Programs - Adds CERCLA provisions requiring the Administrator to provide grants to States to establish and expand qualifying State response programs, comprised of elements including public participation opportunities, oversight and enforcement authorities, and certification mechanisms. Restricts authority to take enforcement actions under CERCLA in cases of hazardous substance releases subject to a State response plan. Authorizes the President to bring enforcement actions in certain instances, including cases where a State requests assistance or is unable to conduct a response action or there is a public health or environmental emergency or migration of contamination across State lines. Authorizes the President, if a State is unwilling or unable to take action to address a health or environmental emergency, to require the State to reimburse the Hazardous Substance Superfund (Superfund) for response costs incurred by the United States, with exceptions. (Sec. 202) Replaces provisions regarding the revision of the National Contingency Plan with those requiring the President to complete the evaluation of facilities classified as awaiting an NPL decision to determine the risk to public health or welfare or the environment posed by each facility as compared with other facilities. Prohibits additions to the NPL without concurrence from the Governor of the State in which the affected facility is located. Directs the Administrator, from amounts appropriated under CERCLA, to fund a cooperative agreement for an independent analysis of the projected ten-year costs for the implementation of the Superfund program. (Sec. 203) Alters the criteria for the continuance of obligations for removal actions to provide that actions shall not continue after $5 million (currently, $2 million) has been obligated or three years (currently, 12 months) have elapsed from the date of initial response to a release or threatened release of hazardous substances. (Sec. 204) Revises conditions for State financial and other assurances with respect to remedial actions to prohibit the Administrator from providing any funding for such actions unless the State enters into an agreement that provides assurances for State payment of ten percent of the costs of the action and operation and maintenance costs. Permits the Administrator to require a State contribution of 50 percent of the costs of any sums expended in response to a release at a facility that was operated by a State or political subdivision at the time of any disposal of hazardous substances. Title III: Fair Share Liability Allocations and Protections - Creates exceptions to liability for response costs at NPL-listed facilities for certain: (1) home owners or renters, small businesses, or small nonprofit organizations with respect to certain arrangements for, or transport of, municipal solid waste (MSW) or sewage sludge; (2) de micromis contributors; and (3) small businesses. Establishes limitations to liability for certain codisposal landfills (certain MSW or sewage sludge landfills that may have received hazardous waste and that contain predominately MSW or sewage sludge transported from outside the facility). Provides for settlements with certain parties whose liability is based on arrangement, transport, or acceptance provisions with respect to MSW or sewage sludge at NPL facilities. Absolves persons (other than owners or operators) who arranged for the recycling of, or transported, recyclable material from liability for environmental response actions. Excludes from the definition of "recyclable material" certain shipping containers having hazardous substances and any material containing polychlorinated biphenyls in excess of 50 parts per million or any new Federal standard. Deems transactions involving scrap paper, plastic, glass, textiles, or rubber (other than whole tires) to be arranging for recycling if the person who arranged the transaction demonstrates that the following criteria were met: (1) the recyclable material met a commercial specification grade and a market existed for the material; (2) a substantial portion of the material was made available for use as a feedstock for the manufacture of a new saleable product; (3) the material (or product to be made from the material) could have been a replacement for a virgin raw material; and (4) with respect to transactions occurring 90 days after this Act's enactment, the person exercised reasonable care to determine that the facility where the material would be managed by another was in compliance with Federal, State, or local environmental laws or regulations. Deems transactions involving scrap metal to be arranging for recycling if the person who arranged the transaction demonstrates that: (1) the criteria for scrap materials were met; (2) he or she complied with applicable standards regarding activities associated with the recycling of scrap metals; and (3) the scrap metal was not melted prior to the transaction. Deems transactions involving spent lead-acid, nickel-cadmium, or other batteries to be arranging for recycling if the person involved demonstrates that: (1) the criteria for scrap materials were met; and (2) he or she complied with applicable Federal environmental regulations or standards regarding such batteries. Makes the exemptions from liability under this Act inapplicable if the person: (1) had an objectively reasonable basis to believe at the time of the recycling transaction that the recyclable material would not be recycled or would be burned as fuel or for energy recovery or incineration or that the consuming facility was not in compliance with Federal, State, or local environmental laws or regulations; (2) had reason to believe that hazardous substances had been added to the material for purposes other than processing for recycling; or (3) failed to exercise reasonable care with respect to the management of the material. Considers transactions involving recyclable material that consists of used oil to be arranging for recycling if the person involved did not mix such material with a hazardous substance following the removal of the oil from service and demonstrates that the material was sent to a facility that recycled used oil by using it as a feedstock for the manufacture of a new saleable product or: (1) demonstrates that the material (or product to be made from the material) could have been a replacement for a virgin raw material; (2) demonstrates that, with respect to transactions occurring 90 days after this Act's enactment, the person exercised reasonable care to determine that the facility where the material would be managed by another was in compliance with Federal, State, or local environmental laws or regulations; and (3) was in compliance with regulations or standards for the management of used oil under the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Exempts from liability certain railroad owners or operators of spur tracks whose tracks meet specified conditions and who did not cause or contribute to the release concerned. Limits liability for certain organizations that hold title to a vessel or facility as a result of a charitable gift. (Sec. 302) Adds to the list of parties eligible for expedited final settlements certain persons, small businesses, or municipalities that demonstrate an inability or limited ability to pay response costs. Revises conditions of eligibility for such settlements for de minimis parties. (Sec. 303) Requires the President to initiate an impartial fair share allocation, conducted by a neutral third party at NPL facilities if: (1) there is more than one potentially responsible party (PRP) that is not eligible for specified exemptions or limitations to liability, eligible for an expedited final settlement, or insolvent, bankrupt, or defunct; and (2) at least one of the PRPs agrees to bear the costs of the allocation under conditions prescribed by the President. Requires the allocator to estimate the fair share of each PRP using specified equitable factors. Includes within such allocations response costs at NPL facilities that are not addressed in an administrative settlement or settlement or judgment approved by a Federal district court. Authorizes a party to settle any liability to the United States for response costs for its allocated fair share. Authorizes the President and the Attorney General to jointly reject an allocation report under certain conditions. Allocates shares attributable to insolvent, defunct, or bankrupt parties, or unattributable shares, among responsible parties, except certain parties with limited liability described by this Act. Sets forth provisions regarding orphan shares. Stays all contribution and cost recovery actions against parties eligible for expedited final settlements and those eligible for settlements based on certain limitations on liability with respect to the arrangement of MSW and sewage sludge until the Administrator offers a settlement. Suspends any statute of limitations applicable to such actions during the period that a stay is in effect. Bars the President from issuing orders with respect to abatement actions at a facility to any non-Federal party or commencing or maintaining any new or existing action to recover response costs if he fails to fund a statutory orphan share, reimburse a party, or include an orphan share estimate in any settlement when required to do so. Declares that settlements under allocation provisions, those regarding expedited final settlements, and settlements for parties with limited liability with respect to the arrangement of MSW and sewage sludge shall provide complete protection from all claims for contribution or cost recovery for response costs addressed in the settlement. Authorizes a party to retain the right to seek cost recovery or contribution for costs outside the scope of an allocation except from certain parties with limited liability described by this Act or those who have settled. Makes persons who commence contribution actions against parties who are not liable or who have resolved liability liable to such persons for all reasonable costs of defending the action. Provides that parties that settle liability under allocation provisions or provisions regarding expedited final settlements or limited liability with respect to the arrangement of MSW or sewage sludge waive rights to seek cost recovery or contribution. Authorizes the President, as a condition of a settlement under allocation provisions or those regarding limited liability for the arrangement of MSW or sewage sludge, to require parties to conduct a response action. Requires the President to reimburse such parties for costs incurred in excess of a party's allocated fair share. Bars a court from approving any settlement under this Act unless it includes an estimate of the statutory orphan share that is fair, reasonable, and consistent. Title IV: Remedy Selection and Natural Resource Damages - Revises provisions regarding selection of remedial actions to require the selection process to include, for any discrete area containing a principal hazardous constituent of a hazardous substance that poses a substantial health or environmental risk because of high toxicity or mobility, a preference for an action that includes treatment that reduces the risk. Authorizes the President, with respect to such a discrete area, to select a final containment remedy at a landfill, mining site, or similar facility under certain conditions. Requires remedial actions to require a level or standard of control for each hazardous substance that at least attains the substantive requirements of all promulgated standards under: (1) each Federal environmental law legally applicable to the action or to the level of cleanup for the substance concerned; (2) any more stringent and legally applicable State environmental or facility siting law that the State demonstrates is of general applicability, is identified to the President as being applicable, and has consistently applied to other remedial actions in the State; and (3) any such State law promulgated after this Act's enactment. Sets forth conditions under which the President may select a remedial action that does not attain such level or standard of control. Requires a remedial action, if no applicable Federal or State standard is established for a specific hazardous substance, to attain a standard protective of human health and the environment. (Sec. 402) Directs the President, in selecting a remedial action, to conduct and utilize a facility-specific risk evaluation. Describes requirements for, and uses of, such evaluations. (Sec. 403) Revises provisions regarding natural resource damages to permit the measure of such damages to include only the reasonable costs of: (1) restoring, replacing, or acquiring the equivalent of an injured, destroyed, or lost natural resource to reinstate its human uses and environmental functions; (2) providing an equivalent resource during the period of any interim lost use to the extent that a substitute is not reasonably available; and (3) assessing the damages. (Sec. 404) Prohibits double recovery for natural resource damages under CERCLA and other laws. Title V: Funding - Revises provisions regarding uses of Superfund. Requires the President to use amounts appropriated out of Superfund only to: (1) enter into mixed funding agreements; (2) reimburse a party for response costs incurred in excess of the allocated share as described in a final settlement; and (3) perform response actions. Authorizes appropriations from Superfund for FY 2000 through 2004. Prohibits claims against Superfund from being valid or paid in excess of the total amount in Superfund at any one time. Authorizes appropriations for: (1) the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry for health assessments and consultations and related activities; (2) hazardous substance research, demonstration, and training; (3) brownfields grant programs; (4) qualifying State response programs; and (5) the Department of Justice for enforcement.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1999
Adopted Orphans Citizenship Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for the acquisition of U.S. citizenship (as of the date of birth) by certain foreign-born children adopted by a U.S. citizen parent or parents.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1999
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1999
United States Capitol Visitor Center Commemorative Coin Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue ten-dollar bimetallic coins, one-dollar silver coins, half-dollar clad coins, and if the Secretary determines that the minting and issuance of bimetallic coins is not feasible, five-dollar gold coins emblematic of the first meeting of the United States Congress in the U.S. Capitol Building. Mandates that all surcharges received from the coin sales be deposited in the Capitol Preservation Fund and made available to the U.S. Capitol Preservation Commission to aid in the construction, maintenance, and preservation of a Capitol Visitor Center.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1999
Microenterprise for Self-Reliance Act of 1999 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to set forth congressional findings and policy, including that: (1) the development of microenterprise (including micro- and small enterprises) is a vital factor in the growth of developing countries and in the development of free, open, and equitable international economic systems; (2) it is in the best interest of the United States to assist the development of microenterprises and of enterprises of the poor in developing countries; and (3) the support of microenterprise can be served by programs that provide credit, savings, training, and technical assistance. (Sec. 4) Authorizes the President to provide grant and other assistance for programs to increase the availability of credit and other services to microenterprises (including small enterprises) lacking full access to capital, credit, and training through: (1) grants to microfinance institutions; (2) loans and guarantees to credit institutions; (3) training, technical assistance, and other support (including training programs for lenders and microentrepreneurs); and (3) policy and regulatory programs at the country level. Sets forth certain grant requirements and micro- and small enterprise assistance eligibility criteria. (Sec. 6) Directs the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID) to establish: (1) a monitoring system that provides, among other things, for performance goals for microenterprise development grant assistance; (2) eligibility criteria for determining which entities shall carry out activities receiving credit assistance; and (3) a U.S. Microfinance Loan Facility to prevent the bankruptcy of microfinance institutions caused by natural disasters, war or civil conflict, national financial crisis, or other short-term financial movements that threaten the long-term development of such institutions. Authorizes appropriations (earmarking a specified amount to cover certain subsidy costs). (Sec. 7) Directs the President to report to the appropriate congressional committees on the most cost-effective methods for increasing the access of poor people to credit, other financial services, and related training. (Sec. 8) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the Administrator of AID and the Secretary of State should seek to support and strengthen the effectiveness of microfinance activities in United Nations (UN) agencies, such as the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the UN Development Program (UNDP), which have provided key leadership in developing the microenterprise sector; and (2) the Secretary of the Treasury should instruct each U.S. Executive Director of the Multilateral Development Banks to advocate the development of a coherent and coordinated strategy to support the microenterprise sector, including an increase of multilateral resource flows for building microenterprise retail and wholesale intermediaries.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 1999
Amends the Food Security Act to extend the wetlands reserve program. Replaces the total program acreage limitation with an annual acreage enrollment limitation through FY 2005. Includes within program eligibility land that: (1) is suitable for wetland functions; (2) would contribute to habitat objectives of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan; or (3) has not historically been wetlands. Authorizes program related cooperative agreements for goods and services.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 1999
Calls upon the Senate, when it adjourns on July 19, 1999, to do so as a further mark of respect for the grieving families of John F. Kennedy, Jr., Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, and Lauren Bessette.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1999
Foster Care independence Act of 1999 - Title I: Improved Independent Living Program - Subtitle A: Improved Independent Living Program - Amends title IV (Grants for Dependent Children) Part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to prescribe State plan contents pursuant to which a State may apply for funds from its allotment to establish an independent living program providing education, training, employment services and financial support for young adults leaving foster care. (Sec. 101) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop performance measures and a data collection system. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Related Foster Care Provision - Increases the amount of assets allowable for children in foster care. Subtitle C: Medicaid Amendments - Grants States the option of providing Medicaid coverage for adolescents leaving foster care (independent foster care adolescents). Subtitle D: Welfare-To-Work Amendments - Makes children aging out of foster care eligible for welfare-to-work programs. Title II: SSI Fraud Prevention - Subtitle A: Fraud Prevention and Related Provisions - Amends SSA title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) and title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) to subject representative payees to liability for overpayments made after a recipient's demise. Instructs the Commissioner of Social Security (the Commissioner) to establish an overpayment control record under the representative payee's Social Security account number. (Sec. 202) Provides for recovery of overpayments of SSI benefits from lump sum SSI benefit payments. (Sec. 203) Authorizes the Commissioner to employ certain statutory debt collection practices to collect delinquent accounts. (Sec. 205) Sets forth additional rules relating to collection of overpayments from individuals convicted of crimes, including: (1) a ten-year period of ineligibility for persons failing to notify the Commissioner of overpayments in months in which the beneficiary is a prisoner or a fugitive, or fails to comply with a repayment schedule for such overpayments; and (2) continued collection efforts against prisoners. (Sec. 206) Sets forth a statutory mechanism for the treatment of assets held in trust in order to determine the resources of an individual in connection with SSI eligibility. Deems the corpus of a revocable trust established by an individual as a resource available to such individual. (Sec. 207) Revises guidelines governing criteria to deny SSI eligibility in connection with disposal of resources for less than fair market value. (Sec. 208) Prescribes administrative procedures for: (1) imposing penalties for false or misleading statements; and (2) excluding representatives and health care providers convicted of violations from participation in Social Security programs. (Sec. 211) Directs the Commissioner to: (1) study and report to certain congressional committees on possible measures to improve fraud prevention and administrative processing; (2) include in the annual budget an itemization of the amount of funds required to support efforts to combat fraud committed by applicants and beneficiaries; and (3) conduct periodic computer matches with Medicare and Medicaid institutionalization data. (Sec. 214) Authorizes the Commissioner to require applicants or beneficiaries to authorize access to information held by their financial institutions in order to ascertain benefits eligibility. Subtitle B: Benefits for Certain Veterans of World War II - Adds a new SSA title VIII (Special Benefits for Certain World War II Veterans) to provide monthly benefits for each month to certain qualified World War II veterans who reside outside the United States, including veterans of the organized military and guerrilla forces of the Government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. Makes appropriations for such benefits. Title III: Child Support - Amends SSA title IV part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) to repeal: (1) authority for the 90 percent Federal matching grant to the States for laboratory costs for paternity establishment; and (2) the hold harmless provision for State share of distribution of collected child support. Title IV: Technical Corrections - Sets for technical corrections relating to amendments to the Social Security Act made by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1999
Rhode Island Federal Worker Fairness Act of 1999 - Amends provisions regarding locality-based comparability payments for Federal employees to consider the five counties of Rhode Island (including Providence, Bristol, Newport, Kent, and Washington counties) as one county, adjacent to the Boston-Worcester-Lawrence, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, and Connecticut locality pay area and the Hartford, Connecticut, locality pay area (thus meeting the criteria for recommendation as an Area of Application to the Boston-Worcester-Lawrence, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, and Connecticut locality pay area).
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1999
Twenty-First Century Research Laboratories Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act with respect to: (1) biomedical and behavioral research facilities, adding congressional reporting requirements about the status of such facilities and the availability and condition of technologically sophisticated laboratory equipment, authorizing appropriations: and (2) construction programs for regional primate research centers, reauthorizing and extending them. Reauthorizes on a permanent basis the Shared Instrumentation Grant Program.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1999
Family Friendly Workplace Act - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide for: (1) time-and-a-half compensatory time off; and (2) biweekly work programs (allowing more than 40 hours of work in one week and correspondingly less in the other). (Thus provides private sector employees opportunities under such programs similar to those enjoyed by Federal employees). Requires, with respect to such compensatory time and biweekly work programs, that employee participation be voluntary, and that collective bargaining agreements be honored. Sets forth: (1) procedures for employer discontinuance of, or employee withdrawal from, certain of such programs; and (2) prohibitions against coercion. Amends the exemption from minimum wage and maximum hour requirements for certain executive, administrative, and professional employees and outside salesmen. Prohibits from consideration in determining whether an employee is exempt: (1) the fact that the employee is subject to deductions in compensation for absences from employment of less than a full workday or less than a full workweek; or (2) the payment of overtime compensation or other additions to the compensation of an employee employed on a salary based on hours worked. Allows consideration, in such a determination, of an actual reduction in compensation, with a specified exception. Amends the Federal bankruptcy code to grant third priority (allowed unsecured claims for wages, salaries, or commissions) in bankruptcy proceedings to claims relating to compensatory time off.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 1999
Immigrant Children's Health Improvement Act of 1999 - Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 with respect to lawful resident aliens and their eligibility for Medicaid (title XIX of the Social Security Act (SSA)) and other types of Federal assistance. Provides States with the option of extending Medicaid-eligibility to certain lawful resident alien pregnant women and children, as well as the option of extending SSA title XXI (Children's Health Insurance) eligibility to such children. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize a State to waive affidavit of support requirements for benefits provided through such State options.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1999
Foreign Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to use amounts in the Foreign Endangered and Threatened Species Conservation Account (established by this Act) to provide financial assistance for projects for the conservation of foreign endangered or threatened species in foreign countries. Prescribes project requirements. Directs the Secretary to: (1) coordinate efforts to conserve foreign endangered and threatened species with the relevant agencies of foreign countries; and (2) provide such agencies with technical assistance to further their conservation efforts. Establishes the Foreign Endangered and Threatened Species Conservation Account within the Multinational Species Conservation Fund of the Treasury. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1999
Equity in Prescription Insurance and Contraceptive Coverage Act of 1999 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Public Health Service Act to prohibit a group health plan, and a health insurance issuer providing group coverage, from: (1) excluding or restricting benefits for prescription contraceptive drugs, devices, and outpatient services if the plan provides benefits for other outpatient prescription drugs, devices, or outpatient services; (2) denying eligibility based on use or potential use of such items or services; (3) providing monetary payments or rebates to a covered individual to encourage acceptance of less than the minimum protections available; (4) penalizing, reducing, or limiting a professional's reimbursement because the professional prescribed such drugs or devices or provided such services; or (5) providing incentives to a professional to induce the professional to withhold drugs, devices, or services. Amends the Public Health Service Act to apply those prohibitions to coverage offered in the individual market.
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999
Surface Transportation Act of 1999 - Amends the National Highway System Designation Act of 1995 to remove restrictions on the State Infrastructure Bank Pilot Program, including the limitation on the Secretary of Transportation's entering into cooperative agreements with no more than ten States for the establishment of State and multi-state infrastructure banks. (Sec. 3) Amends Federal transportation provisions to authorize a State to use for a project under the High Priority Projects Program any funds apportioned under such provisions for which the project is eligible. Allows a State, if a project is not eligible for such funds, to use for the project certain funds apportioned to the State under the Surface Transportation Program (STP). Directs that such apportioned funds be reimbursed from amounts allocated for the project in an amount equal to that used under this section, but not to exceed the total of the amounts allocated for the project. (Sec. 4) Authorizes the obligation of National Highway System funds for the acquisition, construction, reconstruction, and rehabilitation of, and preventative maintenance for, intercity rail passenger facilities and rolling stock. Authorizes the use of STP funds for capital costs for transit projects eligible for assistance, including rail, or a combination of bus and rail. Makes eligible under the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program certain projects or programs that will have air quality benefits through acquisition, construction, reconstruction, and rehabilitation of, and preventative maintenance for, intercity rail passenger facilities and rolling stock. Transfers to Amtrak and publicly-owned intercity or intracity passenger rail lines specified highway and transit funds. (Sec. 5) Revises provisions regarding the Historic Bridges Program to eliminate a restriction that caps the amount of Federal-aid highway funds that can be spent on a historic bridge to a sum equal to the cost of demolition. (Sec. 6) Amends the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century to make a change with respect to the distribution of the Federal-aid obligation limitation to make all obligation authority for the program available as multi-year funding.
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Small Business Lawsuit Abuse Protection Title II: Product Seller Fair Treatment Small Business Liability Reform Act of 1999 - Title I: Small Business Lawsuit Abuse Protection - Allows punitive damages to be awarded against a small business only if the claimant establishes by clear and convincing evidence that conduct carried out by the defendant through willful misconduct or with a conscious, flagrant indifference to the rights or safety of others was the proximate cause of the harm that is the subject of the action. Limits such punitive damages to the lesser of two times the amount awarded for economic and noneconomic losses, or $250,000. (Sec. 104) States that, in any civil action against a small business: (1) each defendant shall be liable only for the amount of noneconomic loss allocated to that defendant in direct proportion to the percentage of responsibility of that defendant for the harm caused to the plaintiff; and (2) the court shall render a separate judgment against each defendant describing such percentage of responsibility. (Sec. 105) Excepts from such liability limitations any misconduct of a defendant: (1) that constitutes a crime of violence, international terrorism, or a hate crime; (2) that results in liability for damages under specified provisions of the Oil Pollution Control Act of 1990 or the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980; (3) that involves a sexual offense or violation of a Federal or State civil rights law; or (4) caused by being under the influence of intoxicating alcohol or a drug. (Sec. 106) Preempts inconsistent State law. Title II: Product Seller Fair Treatment - States that this title governs any product liability action brought in any Federal or State court. Excludes from this title actions for commercial loss, negligent entrustment, negligence per se concerning firearms and ammunition, and actions brought under a dram-shop or third-party liability arising out of the sale or provision of alcohol to an intoxicated person or a minor. (Sec. 204) Mandates that, in any product liability action covered by this Act, a product seller other than a manufacturer shall be liable to a claimant only if such claimant establishes that: (1) the product that caused the harm was sold, rented, or leased by the seller, the seller failed to exercise reasonable care with respect to the product, and such failure was the proximate cause of harm to the plaintiff; (2) the seller made an express warranty applicable to such product, the product failed to conform to the warranty, and such failure caused the harm to the plaintiff; or (3) the product seller engaged in intentional wrongdoing (as determined under applicable State law), and such wrongdoing caused the harm to the plaintiff. States that a seller shall not be considered to have failed to exercise reasonable care with respect to a product based upon a failure to inspect if: (1) there was no reasonable opportunity to inspect; or (2) such inspection would not have revealed the aspect of the product that allegedly caused the claimant's harm. Allows a seller to be liable as a manufacturer if: (1) the manufacturer is not subject to appropriate service of process; or (2) the court determines that the claimant is or would be unable to enforce a judgment against the manufacturer. Provides limited liability for persons engaged in the business of renting or leasing a product.
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999
Defense Jobs and Trade Promotion Act of 1999 - 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 · 26 May 1999
Fragile X Research Breakthrough Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to: (1) expand, intensify, and coordinate the Institute's activities respecting research on the disease known as Fragile X; and (2) make grants to, and enter into contracts with, public or nonprofit private entities for the development and operation of at least three centers to conduct research for improving the diagnosis and treatment of, and finding the cure for, Fragile X. Requires each such center assisted to conduct basic and clinical research, which may include clinical trials of new or improved diagnostic methods and drugs or other treatment approaches. Allows such centers to use grant funds provided under this Act to provide fees to individuals serving as subjects in clinical trials. Requires the Director to provide for the coordination of the centers' activities, including the exchange of information. Requires each center to use the facilities of a single institution, or be formed from a consortium of cooperating institutions. Allows support to be provided to a center for a period not exceeding five years with authorized extensions. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a program under which the Federal Government enters into contracts with qualified health professionals who agree to conduct research on Fragile X in consideration of the Government's agreement to repay, for each year of such service, no more than $35,000 of the principal and interest of the educational loans owed by such health professionals. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 1999
Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act with respect to the sugar program to: (1) reduce sugarcane loan rates through crop year 2002; (2) revise the sugar beet loan rate; (3) eliminate nonrecourse loans; and (4) eliminate sugar price supports after crop year 2002. Amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 to repeal sugar and crystalline fructose marketing quota and allotment provisions. Amends the Food Security Act of 1985, beginning after the 1998- 1999 quota year, to direct the President to use all available authority to ensure that U.S. market raw sugar shall be available at not more than the higher of the world sugar price or the U.S. loan rate.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 1999
Declares that the U.S. Government should pursue policies that: (1) support and encourage the U.S. people to master the English language plus other languages of the world, with special emphasis on the growing importance of Spanish for our Nation's economic and cultural relationships with Mexico, Central America, and South America; (2) recognize the value of Spanish to millions of U.S. people of Hispanic descent, who will be the Nation's largest minority by the year 2005, constituting one of every four U.S. people by the year 2030; (3) recognize the importance of English as the unifying language of the United States, and the importance of English fluency for individuals who want to succeed in U.S. society; (4) recognize that command of the English language is a critical component of the success and productivity of U.S. children, and should be encouraged at every age; (5) recognize that a skilled labor force is crucial to U.S. competitiveness in a global economy, and the ability to speak one or more languages in addition to English is a significant skill; (6) support literacy programs, including programs designed to teach English, as well as those dedicated to helping U.S. people learn and maintain other languages in addition to English; and (7) develop U.S. linguistic resources by encouraging U.S. citizens to learn and maintain Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Arabic, Italian, Korean, Vietnamese, Farsi, African languages, sign language, and the many other languages of the world, in addition to English.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Brownfields Revitalization Title II: State Response Programs Title III: Fair Share Liability Allocations and Protections Title IV: Funding Superfund Program Completion Act of 1999 - Title I: Brownfields Revitalization - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish programs to provide grants to eligible entities (including local government units, redevelopment agencies, States, and Indian tribes) for site characterization and assessment of, and performance of response actions at, brownfields facilities. Defines a "brownfield facility," with exceptions, as real property, the expansion or redevelopment of which is complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance. (Sec. 102) Adds CERCLA provisions governing owner-operator status of persons owning or operating property contiguous to a release site. Absolves such persons of liability as owners or operators, subject to certain conditions. (Sec. 103) Absolves from liability for response actions bona fide prospective purchasers to the extent liability at a facility for a release or threat thereof is based solely on ownership or operation of a facility. Gives a lien upon a facility to the United States for unrecovered response costs in any case in which there are such unrecovered costs for which the owner is not liable by reason of provisions limiting liability of fiduciaries and the facility's fair market value has increased above that which existed 180 days before the action was taken. (Sec. 104) Deems a person, with respect to defenses to liability of an owner of after-acquired property, to have undertaken appropriate inquiry into the property's previous ownership and uses if the person establishes that inquiries were undertaken in accordance with specified requirements (compliance with an American Society for Testing and Materials standard or with standards issued by the Administrator). Requires such owners to have exercised appropriate care with respect to the hazardous substance concerned to defend against liability. Deems the appropriate inquiry requirements to be satisfied by a site inspection and title search that reveal no basis for further investigation in the case of property for residential or similar use purchased by a nongovernmental or noncommercial entity. Title II: State Response Programs - Adds CERCLA provisions requiring the Administrator to provide grants to States to establish and expand qualifying State response programs, comprised of elements including public participation opportunities, oversight and enforcement authorities, and certification mechanisms. Restricts authority to take enforcement actions under CERCLA in cases of hazardous substance releases subject to a State response plan. Authorizes the President to bring enforcement actions in certain instances, including cases where a State requests assistance or is unable to conduct a response action or there is a public health or environmental emergency or migration of contamination across State lines. (Sec. 202) Replaces provisions regarding the revision of the National Contingency Plan with those requiring the President to complete the evaluation of facilities classified as awaiting a National Priority List (NPL) decision to determine the risk to public health or welfare or the environment posed by each facility as compared with other facilities. Directs the President, for FY 2000 through 2004, to add a maximum of 30 facilities to the NPL annually. Prohibits additions to the NPL without a request from the Governor of the State in which the affected facility is located. (Sec. 203) Alters the criteria for the continuance of obligations for removal actions to provide that actions shall not continue after $5 million (currently, $2 million) has been obligated or three years (currently, 12 months) have elapsed from the date of initial response to a release or threatened release of hazardous substances. (Sec. 204) Revises conditions for State financial and other assurances with respect to remedial actions to prohibit the Administrator from providing any funding for such actions unless the State enters into an agreement that provides assurances for State payment of ten percent of the costs of the action and operation and maintenance costs. Title III: Fair Share Liability Allocations and Protections - Creates exceptions to liability for response costs at NPL-listed facilities for certain: (1) home owners or renters, small businesses, or small nonprofit organizations with respect to certain arrangements for, or transport of, municipal solid waste (MSW) or sewage sludge; (2) de minimis contributors; and (3) small businesses. Establishes limitations to liability for codisposal landfills (certain MSW or sewage sludge landfills that may have received hazardous waste and that contain predominately MSW or sewage sludge transported from outside the facility). Absolves persons (other than owners or operators) who arranged for the recycling of recyclable material from liability for environmental response actions. Deems transactions involving scrap paper, plastic, glass, textiles, or rubber (other than whole tires) to be arranging for recycling if the person who arranged the transaction demonstrates that the following criteria were met: (1) the recyclable material met a commercial specification grade and a market existed for the material; (2) a substantial portion of the material was made available for use as a feedstock for the manufacture of a new saleable product; (3) the material (or product to be made from the material) could have been a replacement for a virgin raw material; and (4) with respect to transactions occurring 90 days after this Act's enactment, the person exercised reasonable care to determine that the facility where the material would be managed by another was in compliance with Federal, State, or local environmental laws or regulations. Deems transactions involving scrap metal to be arranging for recycling if the person who arranged the transaction demonstrates that: (1) the criteria for scrap materials were met; (2) he or she complied with applicable standards regarding activities associated with the recycling of scrap metals; and (3) the scrap metal was not melted prior to the transaction. Deems transactions involving spent lead-acid, nickel-cadmium, or other batteries to be arranging for recycling if the person involved demonstrates that: (1) the criteria for scrap materials were met; and (2) he or she complied with applicable Federal environmental regulations or standards regarding such batteries. Makes the exemptions from liability under this Act inapplicable if the person: (1) had an objectively reasonable basis to believe at the time of the recycling transaction that the recyclable material would not be recycled or would be burned as fuel or for energy recovery or incineration or that the consuming facility was not in compliance with Federal, State, or local environmental laws or regulations; (2) had reason to believe that hazardous substances had been added to the material for purposes other than processing for recycling; or (3) failed to exercise reasonable care with respect to the management of the material. Makes such exemptions inapplicable if the recyclable material contained polychlorinated biphenyls in excess of 50 parts per million. (Sec. 302) Adds to the list of parties eligible for expedited final settlements certain persons, small businesses, or municipalities that demonstrate an inability or limited ability to pay response costs. Revises conditions of eligibility for such settlements for de minimis parties. (Sec. 303) Requires the President to conduct an impartial fair share allocation of response costs at NPL facilities and to estimate the fair share of each potentially responsible party (PRP) using specified equitable factors. Includes within such allocations response costs at NPL facilities that were not addressed in a settlement or judgment approved by a Federal district court before, or no later than 180 days after, this Act's enactment. Authorizes a party to settle any liability to the United States for response costs for its allocated fair share. Allocates shares attributable to insolvent, defunct, or bankrupt parties, or unattributable shares, among responsible parties, except certain parties with limited liability described by this Act. Sets forth provisions regarding orphan shares. Provides that a statutory orphan share constitutes an obligation of the Hazardous Substance Superfund (Superfund). Stays all contribution and cost recovery actions against parties eligible for expedited final settlements and those eligible for settlements based on certain limitations on liability with respect to the arrangement of MSW and sewage sludge until the Administrator offers a settlement. Suspends any statute of limitations applicable to such actions during the period that a stay is in effect. Bars the President from issuing orders with respect to abatement actions at a facility to any non-Federal party or commencing or maintaining any new or existing action to recover response costs if he fails to fund a statutory orphan share, reimburse a party as required, or include an orphan share estimate in any settlement when required to do so. Declares that settlements under allocation provisions, those regarding expedited final settlements, and settlements for parties with limited liability with respect to the arrangement of MSW and sewage sludge shall provide complete protection from all claims for contribution or cost recovery for response costs addressed in the allocation. Authorizes a party to retain the right to seek cost recovery or contribution for costs outside the scope of an allocation except from certain parties with limited liability described by this Act or those who have settled. Makes persons who commence contribution actions against parties who are not liable or who have resolved liability liable to such persons for all reasonable costs of defending the action. Provides that parties that settle liability under allocation provisions or provisions regarding expedited final settlements or limited liability with respect to the arrangement of MSW or sewage sludge waive rights to seek cost recovery or contribution. Authorizes the President, as a condition of a settlement under allocation provisions or those regarding limited liability for the arrangement of MSW or sewage sludge, to require parties to conduct a response action. Requires the President to reimburse such parties for costs incurred in excess of a party's allocated fair share. Bars a court from approving any settlement under this Act unless it includes an estimate of the statutory orphan share that is fair, reasonable, and consistent. Title IV: Funding - Revises provisions regarding uses of Superfund. Authorizes appropriations from Superfund for the five-year period beginning on this Act's enactment date. Requires the President to use amounts appropriated out of Superfund only to: (1) enter into mixed funding agreements; (2) reimburse a party for response costs incurred in excess of the allocated share as described in a final settlement; and (3) perform response actions to the extent that the total amount in Superfund exceeds specified amounts in each of FY 2000 through 2004. Prohibits claims against Superfund from being valid or paid in excess of the total amount in Superfund at any one time. Bars the President from issuing an order or seeking to recover costs for a response action if the amount in Superfund is insufficient to enable the President to enter into an agreement or reimburse a party at a facility. Authorizes appropriations to make payments if sufficient funds are unavailable to satisfy claims or enter into agreements. Authorizes appropriations to EPA out of the general Treasury fund or Superfund for conducting removal and response actions. Authorizes appropriations for: (1) the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry for health assessments and consultations and related activities; (2) hazardous substance research, demonstration, and training; (3) brownfields grant programs; (4) qualifying State response programs; and (5) the Department of Justice for enforcement.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1999
Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to require the Secretary of the Interior or Commerce, as appropriate, after a final determination that a species is threatened or endangered, to: (1) appoint a recovery team to develop a recovery plan for the species; or (2) determine that such a team shall not be appointed after public notice and comment. Establishes a timetable for the publication of final recovery plans. Directs a recovery team, after the publication of a final regulation containing a listing determination for a species, to provide the Secretary with a description of species habitat that is recommended for designation as critical habitat and any recommendations for special management considerations or protection specific to the habitat. Requires the Secretary to perform such duties if a recovery team is not appointed. Directs the Secretary to designate any habitat considered to be critical habitat of an endangered or threatened species that is indigenous to the United States or waters with respect to which the United States exercises sovereign rights or jurisdiction. Provides for designation of critical habitat concurrently with publication of a recovery plan. Requires such designation within three years of a determination that a species is endangered or threatened if a recovery plan is not developed. Authorizes such designation concurrently with the determination that a species is endangered or threatened if such designation at the time of listing is essential to avoid imminent species extinction. Bases the designation of critical habitat on the best scientific and commercial data available and after consideration of economic impact, impacts to military training and operations, and any other relevant impact. Requires the Secretary to develop final recovery plans and review or revise critical habitat designations for species listed as endangered or threatened before this Act's enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1999
Designates the Amtrak station to be constructed in the James A. Farley Post Office Building in New York, New York, as the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Station.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1999
Adoption Equality Act of 1999 - Amends title IV part E (Federal Payments for Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to revise adoption assistance eligibility guidelines for children with special needs. Makes eligible for such assistance only children with special needs who before termination of parental rights and the initiation of adoption proceedings were: (1) in the care of a public or licensed private child care agency or Indian tribal organization, either pursuant to a voluntary placement agreement or as a result of a judicial determination to the effect that continuation in the home would be contrary to the child's safety and welfare; or (2) residing in a foster family home or child care institution with the child's minor parent. Requires a State to consider such special needs, together with the circumstances of the adopting parents, in determining the amount of Federal adoption subsidies paid to them. Prohibits assistance with respect to any child who is not a U.S. citizen or resident and who was adopted outside the United States or was brought into it for adoption purposes. Revises the criteria for determining a child with special needs to: (1) specify that State criteria for determining that a child cannot or should not be returned to the home of his parents need not include a judicial determination; and (2) allow, in the alternative, that the child meets all medical or disability requirements for benefits under SSA title XVI (Supplemental Security Income).
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1999
Sensible Ergonomics Needs Scientific Evidence Act - SENSE Act - Prohibits the Secretary of Labor from promulgating, through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, any standard, regulation, or guideline on ergonomics until 30 days after the National Academy of Sciences reports to Congress on a completed, peer-reviewed scientific study of the available evidence examining a cause and effect relationship between repetitive tasks in the workplace and musculoskeletal disorders or repetitive stress injuries.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1999
Real Estate Investment Trust Modernization Act of 1999 - Title I: Treatment of Income and Services Provided by Taxable REIT Subsidiaries - Excludes taxable REIT subsidiaries (TRSs) from the five and ten percent asset tests. Allows TRSs to provide non-customary tenant services. Allows a REIT to establish a TRS (as defined). Includes in the definition of "disqualified interest" (Sec. 163 of the IRC) any interest paid or accrued by a TRS to the REIT. Imposes a 100 percent tax on any interest payments by a TRS to the REIT in excess of the commercially reasonable interest rate. Title II: Health Care REITs - Includes within the definition of the term "foreclosure property" any qualified health care property acquired by a REIT as the result of the termination of a lease of such property. Title III: Conformity With Regulated Investment Company Rules - Changes the distribution requirement from 95 percent to 90 percent. Title IV : Clarification of Definition of Independent Contractor - Provides, with respect to the definition of an independent contractor, that in the event that any class of stock of is regularly traded on an established securities market, only owners who own, directly or indirectly, more than five percent of such class of stock shall be taken into account as owning any of the stock of such class for purposes of applying the 35 percent limitation. Title V: Modification of Earnings and Profits Rules - Provides rules for determining whether a Regulated Investment Company (RIC) has earnings and profits form a non-RIC year.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1999
Highway Tax Equity and Simplification Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the heavy vehicle use tax. Shortens, by five years, the termination of the tax on heavy trucks and trailers sold at retail and the termination of the tax on tires. Reduces the tax rate on diesel fuel. Establishes a tax on the use of certain vehicles (over 25,000 pounds) based on a weight-distance rate. Provides for a study concerning highway taxes.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1999
Structured Settlement Protection Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) impose an excise tax on persons acquiring structured settlement payments in factoring transactions; and (2) set forth related reporting requirements.
![Official portrait of Sen. Chafee, John H. [R-RI]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/c000269_200.jpg)