United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1999
Authorizes: (1) Tim Osborn, and any other former Senate Member or employee from whom testimony may be required, to testify and produce documents in the case of United States v. Nippon Miniature Bearing, Inc., et al., except concerning matters for which a privilege should be asserted; and (2) the Senate Legal Counsel to represent such individuals in connection with the case.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1999
Community Forestry and Agriculture Conservation Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat a bond issued to acquire land together with any renewable resources associated with the land on land subject to a conservation restriction as a tax-exempt (qualified 501(c)(3)) bond if the revenues from are used in a manner consistent with the charitable purpose.
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 · 17 May 1999
Declares that it is the sense of Congress that: (1) treatment by means of manual manipulation of the spine to correct a subluxation is a uniquely chiropractic service that Congress recognized in 1972 as a benefit under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act; (2) it is the unequivocal intent of Congress to ensure that every individual enrolled in a Medicare+Choice plan under Medicare part C (Medicare+Choice) has access to all covered services under Medicare part B; and (3) as a covered service under Medicare part B treatment by means of manual manipulation of the spine to correct a subluxation provided by a doctor of chiropractic is a covered service for individuals enrolled in a Medicare+Choice plan.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1999
Digital Education Act of 1999 - Amends title III (Technology for Education) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to provide for digital education partnerships. (Sec. 2) Renames and revises ESEA title III part C as Ready-to-Learn Digital Television (currently Ready-to-Learn Television). Directs the Secretary of Education to award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to eligible public telecommunications entities to: (1) develop educational programming, and related support materials and services, for preschool and elementary school children; (2) develop programming and digital content designed for nationwide distribution over public television stations' digital broadcasting channels and the Internet, containing Ready-to-Learn-based children's programming and resources for parents and caregivers; and (3) disseminate and distribute such programs to the widest possible appropriate audience by the most appropriate distribution technologies. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 3) Establishes the New Century Program for Distributed Teacher Professional Development as ESEA title III part D. (Replaces current part D provisions for a Technology Demonstration Project for Mathematics Project.) Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to a nonprofit telecommunications entity, or partnership of such entities for a national telecommunications-based program to improve teaching in core curriculum areas. Requires such program to be designed to assist elementary school and secondary school teachers in preparing all students for achieving State content standards. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 4) Establishes a Digital Education Content Collaborative as a new part F of ESEA title III. Authorizes the Secretary to award competitive matching grants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with, eligible local public television communications entities to develop, produce, and distribute educational and instructional video programming designed for use by kindergarten through grade 12 schools and based on State standards. Requires such eligible entities to enter into multiyear content development collaborative arrangements with State educational agencies, local educational agencies, institutions of higher education, businesses, or other agencies and organizations. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1999
Children First Child Support Reform Act of 1999 - Amends title IV, part D of the Social Security Act (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) to prescribe guidelines for the States to exercise the option of: (1) distributing State-collected child support payments directly to a family receiving assistance under the temporary assistance to needy families program; and (2) disregarding any such payments when determining the family's eligibility for assistance under such program.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1999
Motor Vehicle Franchise Contract Arbitration Fairness Act of 1999 - Provides that each party to a motor vehicle franchise contract providing for the use of arbitration to resolve a controversy arising out of or relating to the contract shall have the option, after the controversy arises and before both parties commence an arbitration proceeding, to reject arbitration as the means of settling the controversy. Requires that any such rejection be in writing. Requires the arbitrator, whenever a party elects arbitration, to provide the parties with a written explanation of the factual and legal basis for the award.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1999
Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 1999 - Provides collective bargaining rights for public safety officers employed by States or local governments. (Sec. 4) Directs the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) to determine whether State law provides specified rights and responsibilities for public safety officers, including: (1) granting public safety employees the right to form and join a labor organization which excludes management and supervisory employees, and which is, or seeks to be, recognized as the exclusive bargaining agent for such employees; and (2) requiring public safety employers to recognize and agree to bargain with the employees' labor organization. (Sec. 5) Requires the FLRA to issue regulations establishing collective bargaining procedures for public safety employers and employees in States that do not substantially provide for such public safety employee rights and responsibilities. Directs the FLRA, in such cases, to: (1) determine the appropriateness of units for labor organization representation; (2) supervise or conduct elections to determine whether a labor organization has been selected as an exclusive representative by a majority of the employees in an appropriate unit; (3) resolve issues relating to the duty to bargain in good faith; (4) conduct hearings and resolve complaints of unfair labor practices; and (5) resolve exceptions to arbitrator's awards. Grants a public safety employer, employee, or labor organization the right to seek enforcement of such FLRA regulations and authority through appropriate State courts. (Sec. 6) Prohibits public safety employers, employees, and labor organizations from engaging in lockouts or strikes. (Sec. 7) Provides that existing collective bargaining units and agreements shall not be invalidated by this Act. (Sec. 9) Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1999
Nursing and Allied Health Payment Improvement Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to exclude nursing and allied health education costs from calculation of the annual area- specific Medicare+Choice capitation (payment) rate.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1999
Affordable Housing Opportunity Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase, and link to the cost-of-living adjustment, the State low-income housing credit ceiling.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 1999
Amends the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999 (OCESAA99) to repeal certain mutually conflicting provisions relating to the Vaccine Injury Compensation Trust Fund under the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program Modification Act. Makes conforming amendments to the Internal Revenue Code relating to Trust Fund expenditures, and makes them effective as if included in OCESAA99.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1999
Amends Federal rail safety law to direct the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations that require that all cars of freight, passenger, or commuter trains be equipped and, if necessary, retrofitted, with at least one highly visible marker (including reflective tape or appropriate lighting).
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1999
Promoting Health in Rural Areas Act of 1999 - Title I: Promoting Access to Health Care Services in Rural Areas Under the Medicare Program - Subtitle A: Hospital-Related Provisions - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) with regard to hospital-related provisions to: (1) revise payment and geographic reclassification requirements for sole community hospitals; (2) modify the criteria for designation of a critical access hospital; (3) make certain technical amendments with regard to adjustments for graduate medical education, both indirect and direct; (4) make permanent the payment provision for the Medicare-dependent, small rural hospital program, and provide an option to base program eligibility on discharges during any of the three most recent audited cost reporting periods; and (5) provide for an all-inclusive payment rate option for outpatient critical access hospital services. (Sec. 106) Provides for: (1) exclusion of swing beds in critical access hospitals from the prospective payment system (PPS) for skilled nursing facilities; (2) exclusion of small rural providers from the PPS for hospital outpatient department services; (3) modification of disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payment adjustment requirements; (4) application of hospital geographic reclassification for inpatient services (labor costs) to all PPS-reimbursed items and services; and (5) mandatory standardization of wage levels for hospitals with respect to occupational mix before adjusting payment rates. Directs the Secretary of Labor to study and report to Congress on the feasibility and costs of having the Bureau of Labor Statistics collect data on wages that would assist the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) in determining average wage levels, at the metropolitan statistical area, statewide, and rural level by sector and the proportion of the workforce in each occupational category within each sector. Subtitle B: General Provisions - Amends Medicare part C (Medicare+Choice) to make certain adjustments to the calculation of annual capitation rates used in determining payments to Medicare+Choice organizations. (Sec. 122) Amends the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to convert into a permanently authorized program the current demonstration program for direct billing of Medicare, Medicaid (SSA title XIX), and other third party payors by Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Alaska Native health organizations. (Sec. 123) Amends SSA title XVIII (Medicare) to: (1) provide for rural representation on the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MEDPAC) as well as additional specified duties for MEDPAC; (2) require MEDPAC to review the impact of PPS's for skilled nursing facility services, home health services, and hospital outpatient department services on access to services in rural areas, as well as review the operating margins for hospitals in rural or frontier areas; and (3) provide for Medicare coverage of qualified mental health professional services. (Sec. 125) Directs the Secretary to study and report to Congress on the barriers that Medicare beneficiaries residing in rural areas face in obtaining quality mental health services, and on ways to reduce or eliminate such barriers. (Sec. 126) Directs the Secretary to establish a waiver process in which entities and individuals under Medicare that are located in an urban or large urban area for purposes of Medicare reimbursement may apply to be considered as located in a rural area for such purposes if the entity or individual is located in a rural area: (1) within a metropolitan county; or (2) as determined by using a census tract definition adopted by the Office of Rural Health Policy in awarding grants. (Sec. 127) Revises per-visit payment limits for rural health clinic services under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance). (Sec. 128) Amends Medicare part B to: (1) extend to physician assistant or nurse practitioner services additional payments for services furnished in health professional shortage areas; (2) provide authority for the Secretary to establish a PPS for rural health clinic (RHC) services in a rural hospital with 50 beds or more; (3) establish separate wage indexes for making adjustments to payments under the PPS's for skilled nursing facilities and home health agencies; and (4) require consideration of rural issues in establishing an ambulance service fee schedule. Title II: Additional Provisions to Address Shortages of Health Professionals in Rural Areas - Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to direct the Secretary to define "frontier area" for inclusion among health professional shortage areas. Requires the Secretary to consider any pending retirements or resignations of available physicians when determining whether to designate an area as a health professional shortage area. Prohibits the Secretary from implementing any regulation establishing a new methodology for designating a health professional shortage area unless such methodology: (1) is not detrimental to underserved rural or frontier communities, including that the methodology does not result in the provision of fewer services in such communities; and (2) includes consideration of the percentage of the population over age 65 residing in an area. (Sec. 202) Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to exclude from an individual's gross income certain amounts received under the National Health Service Corps Scholarship Program under PHSA. (Sec. 203) Amends Federal civil service law to provide for the designation of underserved areas under health care contracts administered by the Office of Personnel Management. (Sec. 204) Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to mandate a new PPS for federally-qualified health centers and rural health clinics under the Medicaid program. (Sec. 205) Amends the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 to revise requirements for Medicare reimbursement of telehealth services, including store-and-forward technologies among the telecommunications systems used in providing telehealth services. (Sec. 206) Directs the Secretary to conduct a specified study on telehealth licensure for a report to the Congress. (Sec. 207) Redesignates the Joint Working Group on Telemedicine as the Joint Working Group on Telehealth, with the chairperson being designated by the Director of the Office for the Advancement on Telehealth. Establishes the mission of the Joint Working Group, among other things, as identifying, monitoring, and coordinating Federal telehealth projects and programs. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Development of Telehealth Networks - Subtitle A: Development of Telehealth Networks - Directs the Secretary to provide specified financial assistance to eligible telehealth networks for the purpose of expanding access to health care services for individuals in rural and frontier areas through the use of such networks. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Rural Health Outreach and Network Development Grant Program - Amends PHSA to rename the Rural Health Outreach, Network Development, and Telemedicine Grant Program as the Rural Health Outreach and Network Development Grant Program, and to modify the renamed program. Title IV: Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends the IRC with regard to the non-deductible interest expense of financial institutions allocable to tax-exempt income, and the limited exception from such non-deductibility for interest expense on certain tax-exempt small issuer obligations. Allows a small issuer, the proceeds of whose obligations are to be used to make or finance eligible loans for health care or educational purposes, to elect to apply specified current limitations on the amount of obligations by treating each borrower as the issuer of a separate issue. (Sec. 402) Requires the heads of the National Center for Health Statistics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, and the Bureau of the Census to negotiate and enter into interagency agreements with HHS agencies and offices under which they will be provided access to data sets for the intramural and extramural research they conduct or support.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1999
Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act with respect to shared appreciation agreements to: (1) exclude capital improvements from the recapture value; and (2) require appraisals by appraisers whose principal place of business is in the State in which the property is located.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1999
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Equitable Compensation Act - Establishes in the Treasury the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Recovery Trust Fund. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) deposit a specified amount into the Fund out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated; (2) invest such portion of the Fund as is not required to meet current withdrawals; and (3) deposit interest resulting from such investments into the Fund. Establishes a schedule under which the Secretary shall withdraw specified amounts of interest deposited into the Fund and transfer those amounts to the Secretary of the Interior for making payments as requested by the Tribe, pursuant to tribal resolution, for promoting economic and infrastructure development and educational, health, recreational, and social welfare objectives. Authorizes the Tribe to enter into an agreement under which future payments are pledged as security for a loan or other financial transaction. Permits such agreement only in connection with the purchase of land or other capital assets and limits the pledge for any year under the agreement to 40 percent of any payment for that year. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 1999
Terry Peak Land Conveyance Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain Black Hills National Forest land in South Dakota to the Terry Peak Ski Area.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Emergency Response to the Public Health Crisis of Pain Title II: Developing Community Resources Title III: Reimbursement Barriers Title IV: Improving Federal Coordination of Policy, Research, and Information Title V: Demonstration Projects Conquering Pain Act of 1999 - Title I: Emergency Response to the Public Health Crisis of Pain - Requires development and maintenance of an Internet website on evidence-based practice guidelines for pain treatment. (Sec. 102) Requires the Medicare and Medicaid programs (titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act), programs through the Public Health Service Act, programs through the Indian Health Service, the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program, the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS), and other programs administered by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, where relevant, to inform individuals that they should expect to have their pain managed under such programs. (Sec. 103) Directs the Secretary to provide funds for implementation of special education projects carried out by peer review organizations to improve the quality of pain and symptom management. (Sec. 105) Amends Medicare provisions relating to the Medicare+Choice program to provide for dissemination to Medicare beneficiaries and prospective beneficiaries of information about an organization's coverage, and an evaluation of plan performance and quality, regarding pain and symptom management. Directs the Secretary to determine how to include measurements of pain and symptom management in Medicare, Medicaid, and other appropriate Federal programs. (Sec. 106) Mandates a report by the Surgeon General to appropriate congressional committees and the public on the state of pain and symptom management in the United States. Title II: Developing Community Resources - Mandates grants to health care provider training entities for the establishment of six National Family Support Networks in Pain and Symptom Management. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Reimbursement Barriers - Requires the existing Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPac) to study and report to appropriate congressional committees on: (1) the way Medicare policies may limit pain and symptom management and palliative care services; (2) Medicare and Medicaid financial barriers to continuity of care and interdisciplinary or supportive care for chronic pain patients and those who are terminally ill; (3) reimbursement barriers in providing pain and symptom management through hospice care; (4) whether the Medicare reimbursement system provides providers incentives to delay informing terminally ill patients of hospice and palliative care availability; and (5) the impact of providing payments for drug therapy management services in pain and symptom management and palliative care. (Sec. 302) Requires the General Accounting Office to survey public and private health insurance providers and report to appropriate congressional committees on whether the insurers' reimbursement policies inhibit patient access to pain and symptom management. Title IV: Improving Federal Coordination of Policy, Research, and Information - Establishes the Advisory Committee on Pain and Symptom Management. (Sec. 402) Directs the Secretary, through a contract with the Institute of Medicine, to review research findings and report to appropriate congressional committees on: (1) the effects of controlled substance regulation on patient access to effective care; (2) factors that may contribute to the underuse of pain medications, including opioids; and (3) State legal and regulatory barriers that may impact patient access to medications for pain and symptom management. (Sec. 403) Mandates the convening of a national conference to discuss the translation of pain research into the delivery of health services, using unobligated amounts appropriated to the Department of Health and Human Services. Title V: Demonstration Projects - Mandates grants to establish at least five demonstration projects on effective methods to measure improvement in the skills and knowledge of health care personnel in pain and symptom management. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1999
National Sustainable Fuels and Chemicals Act of 1999 - Amends the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 to direct the Secretaries of Agriculture and Energy to cooperate in promoting research and development of biobased industrial products. Establishes: (1) the Sustainable Fuels and Chemicals Board to coordinate Federal programs promoting the use of biobased industrial products; (2) the Sustainable Fuels and Chemicals Technical Advisory Committee; and (3) a Sustainable Fuels and Chemicals Research Initiative to provide for related grants and contracts (authorizes appropriations).
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1999
Military Reservists Small Business Relief Act of 1999 - Amends the Small Business Act to require the Small Business Administration (SBA), upon written request, to defer repayment of principal and interest due on a direct general business or disaster loan made to a member of the reserves ordered to active duty during a period of military conflict, as long as such reservist: (1) received the loan before being ordered to such duty; and (2) is the owner, manager, or key employee of a small business for which the loan was made. Extends such deferral period until 180 days after such reservist is discharged or released from active duty. Directs the SBA to encourage lenders and loan intermediaries participating in other SBA loan programs to defer repayment of similar loans as well as loans made under the Small Business Investment Act of 1958. Authorizes the SBA to make disaster loans to assist a small business that has or is likely to suffer economic injury as the result of the owner, manager, or key employee of such business being ordered to active duty during a period of military conflict. Extends such assistance until 180 days after such reservist is discharged or released from such duty. Provides a loan limitation. Applies such assistance to periods of military conflict occurring on or after March 24, 1999. Directs the SBA to utilize its entrepreneurial development and management assistance programs to provide business counseling and training to any small business adversely affected by the deployment of units of U.S. armed forces in support of a period of military conflict. Requires the SBA, for the duration of Operation Allied Force and 120 days thereafter, to enhance its publicity of the availability of such assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1999
Made in USA Label Defense Act of 1999 - Amends Federal law to prohibit the affixation of the "Made in the USA" label to a product of the Northern Mariana Islands. Prohibits such products from being imported into the United States free of duty or quotas.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1999
Federally Impacted School Improvement Act - Provides matching grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) for construction, renovation and repair of school facilities in areas affected by Federal activities. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of Education to distribute such funds as follows: (1) 45 percent for basic matching grants to LEAs eligible for impact aid assistance as serving children from Indian lands, if the number of such children is at least 25 percent of the total number in attendance; (2) 45 percent to the Secretary of Defense for basic matching grants to LEAs serving children from military bases, if the number of such children is at least 25 percent of the total number in attendance; and (3) ten percent for emergency non-matching grants in cases of health or safety hazards at facilities of LEAs which have a number of impact aid eligible children equal to at least 50 percent of their total attendance. Sets forth requirements for: (1) LEA eligibility; (2) basic grant awards and amount limits; (3) applications; and (4) emergency grant certifications, amounts, and priorities.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1999
Medicaid Nursing Incentive Act of 1999 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to provide for Medicaid coverage of State-authorized services by certified nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists, regardless of whether or not such services are performed under the supervision of a physician or other health care provider. Defines "clinical nurse specialist" as an individual who: (1) is a registered nurse licensed to practice nursing in the State in which the clinical nurse specialist services are performed; and (2) holds a master's degree in a defined area of clinical nursing from an accredited educational institution.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1999
Anesthesia Services Preservation Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to revise any regulations under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act establishing conditions of participation for hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers relating to anesthesia services under Medicare to: (1) prohibit such regulations from imposing any supervisory or other related requirements on the performance of such services by certified registered nurse anesthetists; and (2) permit States to determine such requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1999
Commends Thomas B. Griffith for his more than four years of exemplary service to the Senate, including three and one half years as Senate Legal Counsel.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1999
Authorizes the National Park Service, during each of calendar 1999 and 2000, subject to specified requirements, to sponsor a series of three concerts (free of charge and open to the public) by the National Symphony Orchestra on the Capitol Grounds on Memorial Day, the 4th of July, and Labor Day.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 1999
Farmer Owned Reserve Restoration Act of 1999 - Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act to restore the wheat and feed grain farmer owned reserve program. (Eliminates the provision suspending the program for such producers through crop or calendar year 2002.) Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 with respect to the program to: (1) revise extended price support loan interest charge provisions; (2) permit advance storage payments and revise storage loan termination provisions; (3) reduce maximum commodity amounts; and (4) set forth prices (compared to loan rates) at which, and conditions under which, a producer may withdraw stored commodities.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1999
Traffic Stops Statistics Study Act of 1999 - Directs the Attorney General to conduct a nationwide study for traffic violations by law enforcement officers. Requires the Attorney General to: (1) perform an initial analysis of existing data, including complaints alleging and other information concerning traffic stops motivated by race and other bias; (2) gather specified data on traffic stops from a nationwide sample of jurisdictions; and (3) report the results to Congress and make such report available to the public. (Sec. 3) Authorizes the Attorney General to provide grants to law enforcement agencies to collect and submit the data to the appropriate agency as designated by the Attorney General. (Sec. 4) Prohibits information released pursuant to this Act from revealing the identity of any individual who is stopped or any law enforcement officer involved in a traffic stop. (Sec. 6) Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1999
Directs the Senate Legal Counsel to represent Vice President Gore, Senator Gorton, and Senator Murray in the case of Jim Russell v. Albert Gore, et al.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1999
Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to pay a specified sum, out of money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to a named individual in compensation for the erroneous underpayment to her husband of compensation and other benefits relating to a service-connected disability incurred by him during military service in World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1999
Freedom to E-File Act - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish in the Department of Agriculture a public use electronic filing and information retrieval system.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1999
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from Federal income tax any amounts received by Holocaust victims or their heirs: (1) from the Swiss Humanitarian Fund established by the Government of Switzerland or from any similar fund established by any foreign country; or (2) as a result of the settlement of the action entitled "In re Holocaust Victims' Asset Litigation", (E.D. NY), C.A. No. 96-4849, or as a result of any similar action.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1999
Comprehensive Telehealth Act of 1999 - Title I: Revision and Clarification of Medicare Reimbursement of Telehealth Services - Amends the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 with respect to reimbursement of telehealth services under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) include reimbursement for store-and-forward technologies, clinical psychologist and physical, occupational, and speech therapist practitioner services, and items and services covered under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) that are provided via telecommunications systems; (2) extend telehealth coverage to all rural areas (currently, only those designated as health professional shortage areas under the Public Health Service Act); (3) allow any health care practitioner acting on instructions from the referring physician or practitioner to present the Medicare beneficiary to the consulting physician or practitioner for the provision of items and services; (4) prohibit the referring physician and the practitioner from receiving any reimbursement for such presentation other than the payment that the referring physician shares with the consulting physician; and (5) provide that payment for items and services shall include payment for all current procedural terminology billing codes covered under Medicare. Title II: Telehealth Licensure - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study and report to Congress regarding: (1) the number, percentage, and types of health care providers licensed to provide telehealth services across State lines; (2) the status of any reciprocal, mutual recognition, fast-track, or other licensure agreements between or among various States, as well as the status of any efforts to develop uniform national sets of standards for the licensure of health care providers to provide telehealth services across State lines; (3) a projection of future utilization of telehealth consultations across State lines; (4) State efforts to increase or reduce licensure as a burden to interstate telehealth practice; and (5) any State licensure requirements that appear to constitute unnecessary barriers to the provision of telehealth services across State lines. Title III: Joint Working Group on Telehealth and Periodic Reports to Congress - Redesignates the Joint Working Group on Telemedicine as the Joint Working Group on Telehealth, with the chairperson designated by the Director of the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth. Makes it the mission of the Joint Working Group on Telehealth to: (1) identify, monitor, coordinate, and analyze Federal telehealth projects, data sets, and programs; and (2) make further recommendations for coordination of Federal and State efforts to increase access to health care services, education, and information in rural and underserved areas. Requires the Joint Working Group to report annually, after a certain date, to Congress on mission status and the state of the telehealth field generally. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Development of Telehealth Networks - Subtitle A: Development of Telehealth Networks - Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Office for Advancement of Telehealth, to provide specified financial assistance to eligible telehealth networks to expand access to health care services for individuals in rural and frontier areas through the use of telehealth networks. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Rural Health Outreach and Network Development Grant Program - Amends the Public Health Service Act to rename the current Rural Health Outreach, Network Development, and Telemedicine Grant Program as the Rural Health Outreach and Network Development Grant Program, adding certain limitations on equipment purchases, construction, and real property acquisitions that apply to eligible networks under such newly renamed Grant Program.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Strategies for Preventing Crimes Against Seniors Title II: Combating Crimes Against Seniors Title III: Preventing Telemarketing Fraud Title IV: Preventing Health Care Fraud Title V: Protecting Residents of Nursing Homes Title VI: Protecting the Rights of Elderly Crime Victims Seniors Safety Act of 1999 - Title I: Strategies for Preventing Crimes Against Seniors - Directs the Attorney General (AG) to study and report to the congressional judiciary committees on crimes against seniors (over 55 years of age) in order to prevent and otherwise reduce the incidence of those crimes, which include telemarketing fraud, elder abuse, and health care fraud. (Sec. 102) Requires certain statistics concerning crimes against seniors to be included by the AG within each annual National Crime Victimization Survey. Title II: Combating Crimes Against Seniors - Directs the United States Sentencing Commission to review and, if appropriate, amend Federal sentencing guidelines to include the age of a crime victim as one of the criteria for determining whether a sentencing enhancement is appropriate. Requires a Commission report to Congress on issues relating to the age of crime victims. (Sec. 202) Directs the Commission to review and, if appropriate, amend sentencing guidelines and Commission policy statements to include persons convicted of offenses involving fraud in connection with a health care benefit program. (Sec. 203) Amends the Federal criminal code to provide increased penalties for fraud which results in serious injury or death. (Sec. 204) Provides civil and criminal penalties for any person who executes, or attempts to execute, a scheme or artifice to: (1) defraud any retirement arrangement or any person in connection with the establishment or maintenance of such an arrangement; or (2) falsely or fraudulently obtain any of the money or property owned by, or under the custody or control of, any retirement arrangement or other person in connection with such an arrangement. (Sec. 205) Authorizes the AG to bring a civil action to enforce penalties for defrauding pension plans. (Sec. 206) Revises criminal code provisions concerning the illegal influencing of operations of employee benefit plans to: (1) add certain definitions; and (2) include under such provisions bribery and graft committed by an applicable person (an employee benefit plan administrator, officer, counsel, agent, employee, or other person having influence with respect to such plan). Title III: Preventing Telemarketing Fraud - Directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to establish procedures to: (1) log and acknowledge the receipt of complaints by individuals who reasonably believe that they have been the victim of fraud in connection with telemarketing; (2) provide to such individuals and any others information on telemarketing fraud; and (3) refer such complaints to appropriate entities, including State consumer protection and law enforcement agencies, for potential law enforcement action. Requires the AG to establish and maintain a computer database containing information on corporations and companies convicted of Federal or State telemarketing fraud. Requires such database to be made available to the FTC. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 302) Includes a wire communications facility (facility) utilizing a telephone service within the scope of telemarketing fraud subject to enhanced criminal penalties under the criminal code. Provides that if a common carrier is notified by the AG that a facility furnished by such carrier is being or will be used by a subscriber to transmit or receive a wire communication in interstate or foreign commerce to execute any scheme or artifice to defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent representations, in connection with telemarketing, then the carrier shall discontinue or refuse to lease, furnish, or maintain the facility to such subscriber after reasonable notice to the subscriber. Title IV: Preventing Health Care Fraud - Includes within Federal injunctive authority against fraudulent actions certain offenses under the Social Security Act relating to false claims and illegal kickback schemes involving Federal health care programs. Amends the Social Security Act to authorize the AG to bring an action to enforce such authority. (Sec. 402) Includes within the AG's authority to subpoena information involving a Federal health care offense any allegation of fraud or false claims (whether criminal or civil) in connection with a Federal health care program as defined under the Social Security Act. Prohibits, during the production of such information, any record that contains personally identifiable information from being disclosed to any person, with exceptions for certain attorneys and government personnel as part of their official functions. Requires court ordered disclosures to be undertaken so as to preserve the confidentiality and privacy of individuals, unless such disclosure is required by the nature of such proceedings. Requires such records to be destroyed within 90 days after their production. (Sec. 403) Amends the Social Security Act to extend certain antifraud safeguards to the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. (Sec. 404) Authorizes grand jury disclosure of matters occurring during an investigation of a Federal health care offense for use in any investigation or civil proceeding relating to fraud or false claims in connection with a Federal health care program. (Sec. 405) Delegates to the Deputy or an Assistant Attorney General the AG authority to issue civil investigative demands for the production of information relevant to a false claims law investigation. Allows disclosure of such information only upon a showing that such disclosure would assist the Department of Justice in carrying out its statutory responsibilities. Title V: Protecting Residents of Nursing Homes - Nursing Home Resident Protection Act of 1999 - Provides civil penalties against anyone who knowingly and willfully engages in a pattern of violations that affects the health, safety, or care of individuals in a residential health care facility, and results in significant physical or mental harm to one or more of such individuals, except that any organization shall be fined not more than $2 million per facility. Authorizes the AG to bring an enforcement action. Lists maximum penalty amounts. Authorizes other relief, including equitable and declaratory relief to eliminate a pattern of violations. Prohibits retaliation against any person reporting a condition that may constitute grounds for civil action. Includes information as to such violations within Federal investigative demand procedures. Title VI: Protecting the Rights of Elderly Crime Victims - Amends Federal civil forfeiture provisions to authorize the AG to retain or transfer forfeited property as restoration to any victim of the offense giving rise to the forfeiture, including a money laundering offense or any offense constituting the underlying specified unlawful activity. (Sec. 602) Amends provisions of the Controlled Substances Act relating to criminal forfeitures to state that a defendant may not use property subject to forfeiture to satisfy an order of restitution, except when the defendant has no assets other than the property subject to forfeiture. Directs the Government to restore the forfeited property to the victims. (Sec. 603) Prohibits the use of bankruptcy proceedings to shield illegal gains from false claims brought against the Government. Prohibits the debt arising from such illegal gains from being discharged in bankruptcy proceedings. (Sec. 604) Authorizes a criminal or civil court, in imposing a sentence on a person convicted of a retirement offense (an offense involving fraudulent gains from another's retirement arrangement), to order such person to forfeit property that constitutes or is derived from proceeds traceable to the commission of such offense.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999
Regulatory Improvement Act of 1999 - Provides for the analysis of major rules by Federal agencies. Defines a "major rule" as one that is likely to: (1) have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more in quantifiable costs; or (2) affect the economy or a sector of the economy adversely. Requires agencies to issue regulatory analyses for major rules which include: (1) cost-benefit analyses, including for regulatory alternatives; (2) risk assessments; (3) scientific or economic information relied upon in cost-benefit analyses and risk assessments; and (4) any scientific information on substitution risks to health, safety, or the environment. Directs agency heads who select a rule that is unlikely to provide benefits that justify its costs or to achieve the rulemaking objective in a more cost-effective manner or with greater net benefits to provide an explanation for such selection. Authorizes a major rule to be adopted without prior compliance with regulatory analysis requirements if the agency: (1) finds that conducting such analysis before the rule becomes effective is impracticable or contrary to an important public interest; and (2) publishes the rule in the Federal Register with such finding and an explanation of the reasons for the finding. Directs each agency to develop a process to permit elected State, local, and tribal government officers to provide input in the development of regulatory proposals that contain significant Federal intergovernmental mandates. Requires agencies to design and conduct risk assessments for: (1) major rules the primary purpose of which is to address health, safety, or environmental risk; or (2) risk assessments that are not the basis of a rulemaking that the Director anticipates are likely to have a an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more in quantifiable costs and that the Director determines shall be subject to the requirements. Describes requirements for risk assessments. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) peer review of cost-benefit analyses of certain major rules and risk assessments; (2) deadlines for rulemaking; (3) judicial review; and (4) guidelines, interagency coordination, and research. Mandates a comparative risk analysis study by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, acting through the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. Directs the: (1) President to establish a process for the review and coordination of Federal agency regulatory actions; and (2) Director to establish procedures for public and agency access to information concerning review of regulatory actions. (Sec. 4) Provides that compliance with regulatory analysis requirements of this Act shall constitute compliance with requirements pertaining to the costs and benefits of Federal mandates to the private sector under the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995. (Sec. 5) Makes this Act inapplicable to any agency rule for which a notice of proposed rulemaking is published on or before 60 days before this Act's enactment date.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999
Prescription Drug Fairness for Seniors Act of 1999 - Requires each participating manufacturer of a covered outpatient drug to make available for purchase by each pharmacy such covered outpatient drug in the described amount (an amount equal to the aggregate amount of the covered outpatient drug sold or distributed by the pharmacy to Medicare beneficiaries) and at the described price (the price equal to the lower of either the lowest price paid for the drug by the Federal Government or the manufacturer's best price for the drug). Sets forth special provisions with respect to hospice programs.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999
Financial Services Act of 1999 - Title I: Facilitating Affiliation Among Securities Firms, Insurance Companies, and Depository Institutions - Subtitle A: Affiliations - Amends the Banking Act of 1933 (Glass-Steagall Act) to repeal the prohibitions: (1) against affiliation of any Federal Reserve member bank with an entity engaged principally in securities activities (securities affiliate); and (2) against simultaneous service by any officer, director, or employee of a securities firm as an officer, director, or employee of any member bank (interlocking directorates). (Sec. 102) Amends the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (BHCA) to exempt from its prohibition against interests in nonbanking organizations the shares of any company whose activities had been determined by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the Board), as of the day before the date of enactment of this Act, to be so closely related to banking as to be a proper incident thereto. (Sec. 103) Creates a statutory mechanism for the establishment of financial holding companies (FHCs) whose subsidiary depository institutions are well-capitalized, are well-managed, and have achieved a rating of at least a "satisfactory record of meeting community credit needs" at the most recent examination under the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977. Sets forth limited exclusions from community needs requirements for newly acquired depository institutions. Instructs the Board to establish and apply comparable capital standards to a foreign bank with a subsidiary bank or commercial lending company in the United States. Permits an FHC and a wholesale financial holding company (WFHC) to engage in any activity and acquire the shares of any company whose activities have been determined jointly by the Board and the Secretary of the Treasury to be either financial in nature, or incidental to financial activities. Includes among such activities any investments, lending, insurance, securities transactions, and ownership or control of banking interests. Requires an FHC to make assurances that risk management procedures adequately protect insured depository institution subsidiaries, including reasonable measures to preserve separate corporate identity and limited liability. Mandates notification to the Board of certain large business combinations with FHCs or wholesale FHCs. Cites circumstances under which an FHC (and its foreign counterpart) may engage in nonfinancial activities. Permits FHCs which were not BHCs or foreign banks before becoming FHCs to retain limited non-financial activities and affiliations. Sets forth cross-marketing restrictions for FHC-controlled depository institutions. (Sec. 104) Preempts State anti-affiliation laws restricting transactions among insured depository institutions, wholesale financial institutions, insurance concerns, and national banks. Cites exceptions to such preemption, including State regulation of the business of insurance, retention of State capitalization requirements for an insurance entity acquired by another, and specified consumer protections. Prohibits State regulation of the insurance activities of an insured depository institution or wholesale financial institution that discriminates adversely between insured depository institutions or wholesale financial institutions and other entities engaged in insurance activities. Declares that nothing in this Act preempts State antitrust and general corporate laws, or laws or regulations with respect to non-insurance financial activities. (Sec. 105) Mandates that mutual bank holding companies be regulated on the same terms as bank holding companies. (Sec. 106) Amends the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994 (RNIBBEA) to apply its prohibition against deposit production offices to interstate branches acquired or established under this Act, including all branches of a bank owned by an out-of-State BHC. (Sec. 107) Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDIA) to apply to any branch of a bank controlled by an out-of-State BHC certain requirements for branch closures by an interstate bank. (Sec. 108) Authorizes well-capitalized and well-managed limited purpose banks to engage in any banking activity. (Maintains the restriction that such banks may accept demand deposits or make commercial loans, but not both.) Prohibits such banks from permitting any overdraft (including intraday overdrafts), or incurring overdrafts in their accounts at a Federal Reserve Bank, on behalf of an affiliate, with certain exceptions. Permits such banks to: (1) issue corporate credit cards; (2) cross market affiliates; and (3) avoid divestiture by correcting violations within six months of receiving notice from the Board. (Sec. 109) Directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to present interim reports to the Congress regarding an ongoing multistage study of consumer privacy issues. (Sec. 110) Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to the Congress on the projected impact that the enactment of this Act will have on financial institutions with total assets of $100 million or less. Subtitle B: Streamlining Supervision of Financial Holding Companies - Prohibits the Board from imposing any capital or capital adequacy criteria upon a non-depository institution FHC subsidiary that is in compliance with State or Federal capitalization rules, or is registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Prohibits the Board, in developing capital adequacy requirements, from taking into consideration any affiliated investment company which is not a bank holding company nor controlled by one holding 25 percent or more shares of the investment company worth more than $1 million. (Sec. 111) Authorizes the Board to transfer its BHC oversight authority to the appropriate Federal banking agency if a BHC is not significantly engaged in non-banking activities. Mandates Board deference to the SEC and relevant State securities and insurance authorities with respect to interpretations and enforcement of activities (functional regulation) within their respective jurisdictions. (Sec. 112) Provides that a declaration filed by a company seeking to be an FHC shall satisfy BHC registration requirements but not any requirement to file an application to acquire a bank. Revises BHCA divestiture procedures to permit a BHC to elect divestiture of either a nonbanking subsidiary or an insured depository institution. (Sec. 113) Declares ineffective and non-enforceable any Board actions requiring an insurance company BHC or a registered securities broker-dealer BHC to provide assets to a subsidiary insured depository institution if the State insurance authority, or the SEC, determines in writing that such actions would have a material adverse effect on the BHC's financial condition. Permits the Board to order divestiture of the subsidiary in lieu of other action. (Sec. 114) Authorizes the Board to restrict relationships or transactions between: (1) a BHC depository institution subsidiary and its affiliates (other than a subsidiary of the institution); and (2) a foreign bank and its U.S. affiliates. (Sec. 115) Grants the SEC exclusive authority to examine and inspect any non-BHC registered investment company. Prohibits a Federal banking agency from inspecting or examining such a non-BHC company. Permits the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to examine an insured depository institution and its affiliate in order to disclose fully the impact of the relationship upon such institution. (Sec. 116) Prohibits the Board from taking any action under the BHCA or the FDIA against a BHC-regulated subsidiary unless it is necessary to prevent or redress an unsafe or unsound practice or breach of fiduciary duty by the subsidiary that poses a material risk to the financial safety, soundness or stability of an affiliated depository institution or to the domestic or international payment systems. (Sec. 117) Declares it is the intent of the Congress that the Board and State insurance regulators should: (1) coordinate their respective supervision of companies that control a depository institution and a company engaged in insurance activities; and (2) share relevant information on a confidential basis (including information regarding the financial health of the consolidated organization, and transactions and relationships between insurance companies and affiliated depository institutions). States that Federal banking agencies for depository institutions should also share information with State insurance regulators on a confidential basis regarding transactions and relationships between depository institutions and affiliated companies engaged in insurance activities. Sets forth guidelines for such information exchange and confidentiality. (Sec. 118) States that BHCA restrictions placed upon Board authority over bank holding companies and their nonbank subsidiaries also limit FDIC authority over such companies and their nonbank subsidiaries. Permits the FDIC to examine an insured depository institution and its affiliate in order to disclose fully the impact of the relationship upon such institution. (Sec. 119) Amends the FDIA to prohibit the use of the Bank Insurance Fund (BIF) and the Savings Association Insurance Fund (SAIF) to benefit any affiliates or subsidiaries of certain insured depository institutions in receivership, in default, or in danger of default, or of any insured depository institution in such circumstances that is acquiring another insured depository institution. Subtitle C: Subsidiaries of National Banks - Amends Federal law governing national banks to permit a national bank subsidiary to engage in activity that: (1) is permissible for the parent national bank; (2) is authorized under specified Federal statutes that expressly authorize national banks to own or control subsidiaries; and (3) is permissible for a BHCA bank holding company other than engaging as principal in traditional insurance activities (including providing annuities, or engaging in insurance company investments. Prohibits a national bank subsidiary from engaging in real estate investment or development activities (unless Federal statute expressly authorizes a national bank to engage in such activity). Precludes certain large-sized national banks ($10 billion total assets) from controlling a subsidiary unless such bank is itself a subsidiary of a bank holding company. Cites prerequisites for national banks with financial subsidiaries. (Sec.122) Amends the FDIA to prescribe guidelines authorizing State bank subsidiaries to engage in financial activities. (Sec. 123) Mandates safety and soundness firewalls between insured banks and their financial subsidiaries, including: (1) limits on the equity investment of a bank in such subsidiary; (2) mandatory bank procedures for identifying and managing financial operational risks posed by its financial subsidiary; (3) maintenance of separate corporate and legal status; and (4) limits on the credit exposure of a bank to its financial subsidiary. (Sec.124) Subjects securities and insurance agency activities of insured depository institution subsidiaries to functional regulation under the Securities Exchange Commission, and the State insurance regulator, respectively. (Sec. 125) Amends Federal criminal law to proscribe misrepresentations regarding depository institution liability for obligations of affiliates. (Sec. 126) Amends the Federal Reserve Act to repeal: (1) the Board's power to restrict the percentage of individual bank capital and surplus represented by loans secured by stock or bond collateral; and (2) the Board's duty to establish such restrictions with a view to preventing the undue use of bank loans for the speculative carrying of securities. Subtitle D: Wholesale Financial Holding Companies; Wholesale Financial Institutions - Chapter 1: Wholesale Financial Holding Companies - Sets forth a statutory mechanism for regulation of wholesale financial holding companies that do not control a bank other than a wholesale financial institution (WFI) or specified, limited-purpose institutions. Requires such a company to be a registered bank holding company predominantly engaged in certain financial activities, and in control of one or more WFIs. Specifies the limits of Board examinations of such companies. (Sec. 131) Prohibits the Board, in developing capital adequacy requirements, from taking into consideration any affiliated investment company which is not a bank holding company nor controlled by one holding 25 percent or more shares of the investment company worth more than $1 million. Specifies the kinds of nonfinancial activities in which Board-supervised companies may engage. Sets forth guidelines for the treatment of foreign banks operating within the United States as Board-supervised wholesale financial holding companies. Chapter 2: Wholesale Financial Institutions - Amends the Revised Statutes to permit a national bank to operate as a noninsured national WFI subject to FRA and the regulatory authority of the Comptroller of the Currency. Amends FRA to prescribe procedural guidelines for State bank membership as a noninsured WFI in the Federal Reserve System, subject to FDIA enforcement authority and prompt corrective action requirements. Subjects such institutions to the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 only if the WFI has an affiliate that is an insured depository institution or that operates an insured branch. (Sec. 136) Prohibits a WFI from receiving initial deposits of $100,000 or less except on an incidental and occasional basis. Limits incidental deposits of $100,000 or less to a maximum five percent of a WFI's total deposits. Sets forth capital and managerial requirements for certain WFIs controlled by companies under the jurisdiction of either the SEC or the BHCA. Empowers the Comptroller of the Currency (in the case of a national WFI), and the Board to direct a WFI conservator or receiver to file a petition under title II of the Federal bankruptcy code. Amends FDIA to prescribe procedures whereby an insured State-chartered bank or a national bank may voluntarily terminate its status as an insured depository institution. Requires any such terminated bank to become a WFI in order to accept any deposits. Amends Federal bankruptcy law to prescribe WFI liquidation guidelines. Subtitle E: Preservation of FTC Authority - Amends the BHCA to require the Board to notify the FTC of its approval of a proposed acquisition, merger, or consolidation which involves acquisition of nonbanking interests. (Sec. 142) Directs certain Federal banking agencies to make data available to the Attorney General and the FTC that they deem necessary for antitrust review under specified statutes. (Sec. 143) Excludes from FTC jurisdiction any nondepository institution subsidiary or affiliate of a bank or savings association. Amends the Clayton Act to apply its premerger notification and waiting period requirements to any portion of a merger or acquisition transaction that does require notice under BHCA but does not require approval. (Sec. 144) Instructs the Comptroller General to report annually to the Congress on market concentration in the financial services industry and its impact on consumers. Subtitle F: Applying the Principles of National Treatment and Equality of Competitive Opportunity to Foreign Banks and Foreign Financial Institutions - Amends the International Banking Act of 1978 (IBA) to terminate the grandfathered authority of a foreign bank or company under the IBA to engage in any financial activity, if it files a BHCA declaration to function as a qualified BHC (QBHC). (Consequently, foreign banks with grandfathered affiliates would be permitted to keep them on the same terms and conditions that govern domestic banking organizations.) (Sec. 152) Amends the FDIA to allow insured foreign banks and foreign wholesale financial institutions (WFIs) to terminate deposit insurance voluntarily in the same manner and to the same extent as insured State or national banks. (Sec. 153) Amends the International Banking Act of 1978 to authorize the Board to examine any affiliate of a foreign bank conducting business in any State in which the Board deems it necessary to determine and enforce compliance with Federal banking law. Subtitle G: Federal Home Loan Bank System Modernization - Federal Home Loan Bank System Modernization Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal Home Loan Bank Act (FHLBA) to expand Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) membership parameters to make a Federal savings association's membership in the FHLB system voluntary instead of mandatory. Permits such an association to withdraw its membership (currently such withdrawal is prohibited). (Sec. 164) Modifies guidelines governing long-term advances to: (1) allow advances to any community financial institution for small businesses, agricultural, rural development, or low-income community development lending; (2) make the cash (as well as the deposits) of an FHLB eligible collateral for securing a bank's interest in a loan or advance; and (3) repeal the 30 percent of capital cap on the aggregate amount of outstanding advances secured by real estate related collateral. Includes within the categories of collateral eligible for bank loans secured loans for small business, agriculture, rural development, or low-income community development, or securities representing a whole interest in such secured loans, in the case of any community financial institution. Authorizes an FHLB to renew certain advances on its own determination without concurrence by the Federal Housing Finance Board (FHFB). Requires an FHLB member with an advance secured by insufficient eligible collateral to reduce its level of outstanding advances according to a schedule determined by the FHLB (currently, by the FHF Board). Authorizes such Board to: (1) review the collateral standards applicable to each Federal home loan bank for designated classes of collateral; and (2) require an increase in such standards for safety and soundness purposes. (Sec. 165) Revises eligibility criteria to permit certain community financial institutions to gain FHLB membership regardless of the percentage of total assets represented by residential mortgage loans. (Sec. 166) Amends the FHLBA to increase from two years to four years the term of an elective director of a Federal home loan bank. Repeals the mandates for: (1) a procedure for informal review of certain supervisory decisions; and (2) the Housing Opportunity Hotline program. Repeals: (1) the prohibition against an FHLB's acquisition of a bank building by purchase or over ten-year lease; (2) the requirement for FHFB approval of personnel decisions as well as the exercise of corporate powers by any FHLB; and (3) authorization for an FHLB president to be a member of the FHLB board. Grants the FHFB power to: (1) issue charges upon an FHLB or any executive officer or director for violation of law or regulation in connection with the granting of any application or other request by the bank, or any written agreement between the bank and the FHFB, and take affirmative action to correct conditions resulting from violations or practices, or to limit FHLB activities; (2) address insufficiencies in capital levels resulting from automatic membership of a Federal savings association in the local FHLB; and (3) sue and be sued. Repeals FHFB jurisdiction to approve the granting by an FHLB of a member's application to secure an advance. Expands the mandate of FHLB Affordable Housing Programs to include providing subsidies (in addition to subsidized interest rates) on advances for member lending for low- and moderate-income housing. Authorizes each FHLB board of directors to approve member requests for Affordable Housing Program subsidies. Revises guidelines governing reserves and dividends to permit dividend payments out of previously retained earnings or current net earnings (currently, only out of net earnings). Repeals the requirement for: (1) FHFB approval for such dividend payments; and (2) investment of FHLB reserves exclusively in U.S. obligations or certain other Federal Government-related securities. (Sec. 167) States that FHLB payments to the Resolution Funding Corporation to cover interest payments on obligations shall be a specified percentage of net earnings (currently an aggregate sum certain). Subtitle H: Direct Activities of Banks - Amends Federal banking law to provide that limitations placed on securities transactions by a national banking association for its own account do not apply to State, local, or municipal bond transactions by a well-capitalized national banking association. Subtitle I: Deposit Insurance Funds - Directs the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to study and report to the Congress on specified issues regarding the BIF and the SAIF, including their safety and soundness, and the adequacy of their reserve requirements in light of mergers and consolidations within the industry. (Sec. 187) Amends the FDIA to eliminate the SAIF and Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) special reserves. Subtitle J: Effective Date of Title - Sets forth the effective date of title I of this Act. Title II: Functional Regulation - Subtitle A: Brokers and Dealers - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act) to include certain bank activities within the definition of "broker" and "dealer" (thus subjecting them to registration requirements and regulation under the Exchange Act). (Sec. 203) Requires a registered securities association to create a limited qualification category, without a testing requirement, for certain bank employees effecting sales as part of a non-public primary securities offering (private placement sales). (Sec. 204) Amends the FDIA to direct the appropriate Federal banking agencies to: (1) promulgate regulations and complaint procedures applicable to retail transactions, solicitations, advertising, or offers of any security by any insured depository institution or affiliate other than a registered broker or dealer; (2) jointly establish a grievance process for customer complaints against banks or bank employees arising in connection with securities sales or purchases; and (3) establish recordkeeping requirements for banks relying on exceptions and exemptions from the definitions of broker and dealer under the Exchange Act. (Sec. 206) Defines traditional banking product, and amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to define a new banking product as a security that: (1) was not subject to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulation as a security before enactment of this subtitle; and (2) is not a traditional banking product. Authorizes the SEC to determine, by regulation published in the Federal Register, that a bank that effects transactions in, or buys or sells, a new (hybrid) product (which is a security) should be subject to broker and dealer registration requirements, but only if it is necessary or appropriate in the public interest and for the protection of investors. Prescribes procedural guidelines under which the Federal Reserve Board, or any aggrieved party, may obtain judicial review of such regulation. Requires the court to determine whether the subject product or instrument would be more appropriately regulated under either Federal banking laws or Federal securities laws. (Sec. 207) Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to define: (1) derivative instrument so as to exclude a traditional banking product; (2) qualified investor; and (3) government security, so as to include a qualified Canadian government obligation. Subtitle B: Bank Investment Company Activities - Amends the Investment Company Act of 1940 to authorize the SEC to prescribe conditions under which a bank or its affiliate serving as promoter, organizer, or principal underwriter for a registered management company or a registered unit investment trust may also serve as custodian of such company or trust. Permits the SEC to bring a civil action against a custodian for a registered investment company for breach of fiduciary duty involving personal misconduct. (Sec. 212) Declares it is unlawful for an affiliate, promoter, or principal underwriter for a registered investment company to lend to it or its subsidiaries in contravention of SEC prescriptions. (Sec. 213) Modifies the definition of "interested person" to identify transactions, services, and loans taking place during the six months preceding determination of an interested person which would make a person an affiliated person of a broker or dealer. Prohibits a registered investment company from having a majority of its board of directors consisting of personnel or senior officers of the subsidiaries of any one bank, or of any single BHC, its affiliates and subsidiaries. (Sec. 214) Modifies guidelines pertaining to unlawful misrepresentation of guarantees and the deceptive use of names. (Sec. 215) Modifies the definition of "broker" to exclude any person who would be deemed a broker solely by reason of the fact that such person is an underwriter for one or more investment companies. (Sec. 216) Modifies the definition of "dealer" to exclude an insurance or an investment company. (Sec. 217) Amends the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to modify the definition of investment adviser to remove the exclusion for banks that advise investment companies. Revises the definitions of broker and dealer. (Sec. 220) Mandates interagency sharing between the appropriate Federal banking agency and the SEC of examination results and other information pertaining to the investment advisory activities of a registered BHC and its separately identifiable departments or divisions. (Sec. 221) Amends the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to revise the exclusion from their purview of certain bank common trust funds to specify the exclusion of any interest or participation in any common trust fund or similar fund that is excluded from the definition of "investment company" under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Amends the Investment Company Act of 1940 to revise such exclusion guidelines for certain bank common trust funds. (Sec. 222) Amends the Investment Company Act of 1940 to prescribe circumstances under which an investment adviser holding shares of an investment company in a fiduciary capacity must transfer the power to vote such shares to the beneficial owners or to another non-affiliated fiduciary. Exempts a church plan organization that is also an investment adviser (including its affiliate) from the proscription against ownership of controlling interests in an investment company. Subtitle C: SEC Supervision of Investment Bank Holding Companies - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to permit certain investment bank holding companies that do not have a bank or savings association affiliate to elect SEC supervision. (Sec. 231) Provides for voluntary withdrawal from SEC supervision by specified investment bank holding companies. Sets forth the parameters of SEC supervision of investment bank holding companies, including authority to set capital adequacy standards. Instructs the SEC, in developing its rules, to consider use of debt and other liabilities (double leverage) by the supervised investment BHC in order to fund capital investments in affiliates. Prohibits the SEC from imposing capital adequacy requirements on regulated nonbanking entities (other than a broker or a dealer) that are in compliance with the capital requirements of another Federal regulatory body or State insurance authority. Mandates SEC deference to appropriate regulatory banking agencies and State insurance regulators with respect to the banking and insurance laws under their purviews. Grants the SEC backup inspection authority for certain wholesale financial holding companies for monitoring and compliance enforcement purposes. Subtitle D: Studies - Directs the Comptroller General to report to Congress on the efficacy, costs, and benefits of requiring a federally-insured depository institution to disclose to its retail consumers through the use of a logo or seal that its investment or insurance products are not FDIC-insured. (Sec. 242) Directs the Comptroller General to report to the Congress regarding the efficacy and benefits of uniformly limiting commissions and costs incurred by customers in the acquisition of financial products. Title III: Insurance - Subtitle A: State Regulation of Insurance - States that the McCarran-Ferguson Act remains the law of the United States. (Sec. 302) Mandates: (1) State licensure of any entity providing insurance in a State as principal or agent; and (2) State functional regulation of insurance sales activity. (Sec. 304) Prohibits a national bank and its subsidiaries from providing insurance as principal in a State, except for certain authorized products (which may not include title insurance or taxable annuity contracts). (Sec. 305) Prohibits national banks and subsidiaries from selling or underwriting title insurance, except for certain grandfathered banks and subsidiaries already doing so. (Sec. 306) Establishes expedited dispute resolution for regulatory conflicts between State insurance regulators and Federal financial regulators. (Sec. 307) Requires each Federal banking agency to: (1) issue consumer protection regulations (including physical segregation of banking activities from insurance product activities); and (2) prohibit discrimination against victims of domestic violence. Expresses the sense of Congress that the States should adopt regulations prohibiting such discrimination regarding insurance products that are at least as strict as those under this Act. Mandates that the Federal banking agencies jointly establish a consumer complaint mechanism to address violations of this Act expeditiously. (Sec. 308) Preempts State law restricting: (1) insurance companies or insurance affiliates from becoming a financial holding company or acquiring control of a bank; and (2) the amount of an insurer's assets that can be invested in a bank (except that the insurer's State of domicile may limit such investments to five percent (or any higher threshold) of the insurer's admitted assets). Preempts State laws that restrict reorganization by an insurer from mutual form to stock form. (Sec. 309) Amends the Revised Statutes to apply to Federal banking agencies the same notice and publication requirements for preemption of State law with respect to Federal savings associations as pertain with respect to national banks. Subtitle B: National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers - Sets forth a regulatory framework for uniform multistate licensing for insurance sales practices, to take effect only if a majority of the States have not enacted uniform laws and regulations governing the licensure of insurance sales by individuals and entities within three years after enactment of this Act. (Sec. 322) Establishes the National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers (the Association) as a non-profit, non-Federal agency, to provide a mechanism for uniform licensing, appointment, continuing education, and other insurance producer sales qualification requirements which can be adopted and applied on a multistate basis, while preserving the right of States to regulate insurance producers and insurance-related consumer protection and unfair trade practices. (Sec. 324) Subjects the Association (which shall not be considered a Federal agency or instrumentality) to regulation by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). Requires the Association to establish an office of consumer complaints. Vests management of the Association in a board of directors. Cites circumstances under which Association rules preempt State regulation of insurance producers. Requires the Association to coordinate with the National Association of Securities Dealers in order to mitigate administrative burdens that may result from dual membership. Title IV: Unitary Savings and Loan Holding Companies - Amends the Home Owners' Loan Act to prohibit new affiliations between savings and loan holding companies and certain commercial firms, except in specified circumstances, including a family trust that becomes a savings and loan holding company with respect to a savings association. (Sec. 402) Permits Federal savings associations to convert into national banks if the resulting bank meets all applicable financial, management, and capital requirements. (Sec. 403) Amends specified Federal law to declare that any depository institution whose charter is converted from that of a Federal savings association to a national bank or a State bank after enactment of this Act may retain the term "Federal" in its name so long as it remains an insured depository institution. Title V: Financial Information Anti-Fraud - Financial Information Anti-Fraud Act of 1999 - Amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act to: (1) specify the types of enterprises constituting a financial institution within its purview; and (2) authorize the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to prescribe regulations clarifying or describing the types of institutions which shall be treated as financial institutions for purposes of this Act. (Sec. 501) Declares it a violation of this Act to obtain or solicit customer information of a financial institution relating to another person under false pretenses with intent to deceive. Exempts from such proscription: (1) law enforcement agencies; (2) financial institutions engaged in testing security procedures, investigating misconduct or negligence, or recovering customer information obtained or received under false pretenses; as well as (3) customer information of financial institutions available as a public record under Federal securities laws. Grants the FTC, certain banking regulatory agencies, and the States enforcement powers under this Act. Subjects violations of this Act to Federal civil and criminal penalties. Requires each Federal banking agency to issue advisories to the depository institutions under its jurisdiction relating to the deterrence and detection of the activities proscribed by this Act. Requires the Comptroller General to report to Congress: (1) on the efficacy and adequacy of the remedies provided in this Act addressing attempts to obtain financial information by fraudulent means or by false pretenses; and (2) any recommendations for additional action to address threats to the privacy of financial information created by such attempts. Title VI: Miscellaneous - Amends Federal criminal law to cite circumstances under which a court may direct disclosure of grand jury information concerning a banking law violation to certain personnel of a Federal or State financial institution. (Sec. 602) Expresses the sense of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs that: (1) the small business tax provisions of the Internal Revenue Code should be more widely available to community banks; and (2) in conjunction with any financial modernization legislation the Congress should amend the Code for certain purposes. Urges such legislation to: (1) increase the number of S corporation shareholders; (2) permit S corporation stock to be held in individual retirement accounts (IRAs); (3) clarify that interest on investments held for safety, soundness, and liquidity purposes should not be considered passive income; (4) provide that bank director stock is not treated as a disqualifying second class of stock for S corporations; and (5) improve the tax treatment of bad debt and interest deductions. (Sec. 603) Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to specify circumstances under which the Secretary of the Treasury may: (1) approve an affiliation between a depository institution and the Student Loan Marketing Association (SALLIE MAE) solely in its reorganized, privatized status as "the Holding Company," not in its status as a government sponsored enterprise (GSE); and (2) impose affiliation terms and conditions, including restrictions upon either the issuance of debt obligations by SALLIE MAE in its GSE status, or upon the use of proceeds from such obligations. (Current law prohibits affiliations between depository institutions and GSEs.) Limits the value of the investment portfolio of SALLIE MAE in its GSE status in the event such affiliation should occur to the lesser of: (1) its value upon enactment of this Act; or (2) its value on the date such an affiliation is consummated. Grants the Secretary enforcement powers under the Higher Education Act of 1965. (Sec. 604) Amends the BHCA of 1956 to repeal certain authority, requirements, and restrictions relating to insurance activities of savings bank subsidiaries of bank holding companies. (Sec. 605) Declares that the vice chairman of the Federal Reserve Board may serve as a member of the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority. (Sec. 606) Amends the Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994 to add to title I a new subtitle C, the Program for Investment in Microentrepreneurs Act of 199, or the PRIME Act. Directs the Administrator of the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (Administrator) to establish a microenterprise technical assistance and capacity building program to provide Fund grants to qualified nonprofit organizations to: (1) provide training and technical assistance to disadvantaged entrepreneurs; (2) provide training and capacity building services to help microenterprise development organizations and programs develop microenterprise training and services; and (3) aid in researching and developing the best practices in the field of microenterprise and technical assistance programs for disadvantaged entrepreneurs. Sets forth an allocation formula for such assistance and for grants benefitting very low-income persons, including those residing on Indian reservations. Authorizes a qualified organization to provide subgrants to small and emerging microenterprise entities. Mandates 50 percent matching funds from non-Federal sources. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Rural and Remote Community Development Block Grants Title II: Rural and Remote Community Electrification Grants The Rural and Remote Community Fairness Act - Title I: Rural and Remote Community Development Block Grants - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to authorize (including appropriations) a rural and remote community development block grant program. Sets forth eligible program activities, including housing, water and waste water, and fuel and energy enhancements. Title II: Rural and Remote Community Electrification Grants - Amends the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to authorize (including appropriations) rural and remote community electrification grants. Title III: Rural Recovery Community Development Block Grants - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to authorize (including appropriations) rural housing and community development assistance through rural recovery community development block grants for eligible local governments and Indian tribes in areas with high rates of outmigration and low per capita income.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1999
Federal Prisoner Health Care Copayment Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal criminal code to authorize the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to assess and collect a fee for health care services provided in connection with each health care visit requested by a prisoner, except for preventative health care services. Requires that each fee assessed be collected by the Director: (1) from the account of the prisoner receiving health care services; or (2) where such services are provided because of an injury inflicted by another prisoner, from the account of the prisoner who inflicted the injury. Sets a minimum fee of two dollars. Specifies that the prisoner's consent shall not be required for the collection of the fee. Specifies that nothing herein may be construed to permit refusal of treatment to a prisoner on the basis that: (1) the prisoner's account is insolvent; or (2) the prisoner is otherwise unable to pay. Requires that sums collected under this Act: (1) be used for restitution of the victims where the prisoner is subject to a restitution order; and (2) be deposited in the Crime Victims Fund (75 percent) and be available to the Attorney General for administrative expenses incurred in carrying out this Act (25 percent) where the prisoner is not subject to such an order. Sets forth reporting requirements by the Director. (Sec. 3) Amends the code to authorize a State or local government to assess and collect a reasonable fee from a Federal prisoner's trust fund account (or institutional equivalent) for health care services if the prisoner is confined in a non-Federal institution under specified circumstances.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1999
Expresses support for the U.S. military personnel who are engaged in military operations against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and recognizes their professionalism, dedication, patriotism, and courage.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1999
Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to prohibit group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group health insurance coverage, with regard to hospital stays in connection with breast cancer treatment, from: (1) covering less than 48 hours after mastectomies or less than 24 hours after lymph node dissections; or (2) requiring plan or issuer authorization for prescribing any length of stay. Prohibits: (1) denying eligibility, enrollment, or renewal to avoid these requirements; (2) providing payments or rebates to women; or (3) penalizing or providing incentives to providers. Applies the same requirements to issuers in the individual market.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1999
Agriculture Market Transparency Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a pilot program requiring certain packers to report to the Secretary with respect to prices, volume, and terms of sale for domestic and imported livestock and livestock products. Directs the Secretary to encourage voluntary reporting by other packers.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1999
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to give States the option of making medical assistance for breast and cervical cancer-related treatment services available during a presumptive eligibility period to certain low-income women without creditable coverage who have already been screened for such cancers under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention breast and cervical cancer early detection program and need treatment. Provides for an enhanced match with regard to such Medicaid treatment services.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1999
Medicare Medical Nutrition Therapy Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for Medicare coverage of medical nutrition therapy services of registered dietitians and nutrition professionals.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 1999
Authorizes: (1) Kevin Carvell, Judy Steffes, and any other former or current Senate employee from whom testimony or document production may be required to testify and produce documents in the case of Dirk S. Dixon, et al. v. Bruce Pearson, et al., except concerning matters for which a privilege should be asserted; and (2) the Senate Legal Counsel to represent Senator Byron L. Dorgan, Kevin Carvell, Judy Steffes, and any other Member or employee of the Senate from whom testimony or document production may be required in connection with such case.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 1999
Recognizes the historic significance of the first anniversary of the Good Friday Peace Agreement. Salutes British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and the elected representatives of the political parties in Northern Ireland for creating the opportunity for a negotiated peace. Commends former Senator George Mitchell for his leadership on behalf of the United States in guiding the parties toward peace. Congratulates the people of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland for their commitment to work together in peace. Reaffirms the bonds of friendship and cooperation that exist between the United States and the Governments of the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. Encourages all parties to move forward to implement the Agreement.
![Official portrait of Sen. Daschle, Thomas A. [D-SD]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/d000064_200.jpg)