United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2001
Social Security Guarantee Act of 2001 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue a benefit guarantee certificate to each individual determined by the Commissioner of Social Security to be entitled to benefits under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act. States that any certificate issued under the authority of this Act constitutes budget authority in advance of appropriations Acts and represents the obligation of the Federal Government to provide for the payment to the individual to whom the certificate is issued OASDI benefits in the amounts set forth in the certificate and subsequently adjusted.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2001
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to set forth provisions for: (1) a small employer (100 or fewer employees) retirement plan; (2) a credit for the expenses of establishing such a plan; and (3) a model small employer retirement plan.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Hope for Children Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the expenses allowable towards the adoption credit. Renames such credit as the "Tom Bliley adoption credit."
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
National Collegiate and Amateur Athletic Protection Act of 2001 - Directs the Attorney General to establish a prosecutorial task force on illegal wagering on amateur and collegiate sporting events. Increases penalties for illegal sports gambling. Requires: (1) the Director of the National Institute of Justice to study the extent to which minors participate in illegal sports gambling activities; and (2) the Attorney General to establish a panel to a study illegal college sports gambling. Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to: (1) require each institution of higher education to designate one or more full-time senior officers of the institution to coordinate the implementation of a comprehensive program to reduce illegal gambling and gambling control disorders by students and employees; (2) condition receipt of financial aid on compliance with this Act; (3) specify that a recipient of athletically related student aid shall cease to be eligible for such aid upon a determination by either the institution of higher education or the applicable amateur sports organization that the recipient has engaged in illegal gambling activity, including sports bribery, in violation of the policies or by-laws of the institution or organization; and (4) require an institution of higher education that provides athletically related student aid to report annually to the Attorney General and the Secretary of Education. Expresses the sense of Congress that illegal sports gambling poses a significant threat to youth.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Quality Teacher Recruitment and Retention Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to carry out a program of student loan forgiveness in exchange for the borrower's commitment to three consecutive years of full-time teaching in low-income schools or special education teaching.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Persian Gulf War Illness Compensation Act of 2001 - Amends a veterans' benefits program of compensation for disabilities occurring in veterans of the Persian Gulf War to: (1) require such disabilities, to be compensable, to occur before December 31, 2011, or such later date as prescribed by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; (2) define an "undiagnosed illness" in such veterans as one manifested by specified symptoms or signs the cause, etiology, or origin of which cannot be specifically and definitely identified; and (3) include an undiagnosed illness having such a symptom or sign within the presumption of being service-connected and therefore treatable as a service-connected disability.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Help for America's Uninsured Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit an individual to designate a portion of any tax overpayment for the Health Coverage for the Uninsured Trust Fund, which shall use such funds to provide injury and catastrophic illness protection to individuals without health coverage. Establishes the Health Coverage for the Uninsured Trust Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Straight Talk on Social Security Act of 2001 - Amends the Social Security Act to require Social Security account statements to contain additional information, such as a statement of the current Social Security tax rates applicable to wages and self-employment income, including an indication of the combined total of such rates of employee and employer taxes with respect to wages.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Directs the Secretary of the Army to terminate specified leases covering certain land at the Richard B. Russell Dam and Lake project, South Carolina, and enter into a single lease with the lessee, the South Carolina Department of Commerce, which shall not exceed 111 years, and shall allow for certain development activities that will enhance the recreational opportunities available on the Savannah River and at the project.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Life Insurance Tax Simplification Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal provisions: (1) providing for the reduction in certain deductions of mutual life insurance companies; and (2) relating to distributions to shareholders from pre-1984 policyholders surplus accounts.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that the word "person," as used in this amendment and in the fifth and 14th amendments to the Constitution, applies to all human beings regardless of age, health, function, or condition of dependency, including unborn offspring at every stage of their biological development. Prohibits depriving any unborn person of life. Declares that this amendment does not prohibit a law permitting medical procedures required to prevent the death of the mother.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Declares that Federal funding for diabetes research should be increased in accordance with the recommendations of the Diabetes Research Working Group so that a cure for juvenile diabetes can be found.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2001
Military Survivor Benefits Improvement Act of 2001 - Adjusts the basic Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuity amount for surviving spouses, age 62 or over, of former military personnel to: (1) 35 percent of the retired pay of the decedent (current law), for months beginning on or before the enactment of this Act; (2) 40 percent of such pay, for months beginning after enactment of this Act until October 2004; (3) 45 percent of such pay for months beginning after September 2004 and before October 2011; and (4) 55 percent of such pay for months after September 2011. Adjusts similarly the percentage amounts of SBP supplemental annuity authorized to be provided for such surviving spouses. Directs the Secretary of Defense to ensure appropriate adjustments in the computation of retired pay reductions for such supplemental annuities.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2001
Social Security and Medicare Lock-Box Act of 2001 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to provide a point of order against consideration of any: (1) budget resolution that sets forth a surplus for any fiscal year that is less than the surplus of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund for such year; or (2) legislation that would cause any surplus to be less than the Fund surplus for the covered fiscal year. Makes the point of order described in (2) above inapplicable to social security or Medicare reform legislation. Requires any Federal budget submitted by the President that recommends an on-budget surplus for any fiscal year that is less than the surplus of the Fund for such year to include a proposal for social security or Medicare reform legislation. Makes this Act inapplicable upon the enactment of social security and Medicare reform legislation. Defines "social security reform legislation" and "Medicare reform legislation" as a bill or joint resolution to save social security or Medicare, respectively, that specifies that it constitutes reform legislation.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2001
Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2001 - Provides that: (1) whoever engages in conduct that violates specified provisions of the Federal criminal code, the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, or the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, or specified articles the Uniform Code of Military Justice (conduct constituting certain Federal violent crimes) and thereby causes the death of, or bodily injury to, a child who is in utero, shall be guilty of a separate offense; and (2) the punishment for that separate offense shall be the same as that provided under Federal law for that conduct had that injury or death occurred to the unborn child's mother. Specifies that a violation of such provisions does not require proof that: (1) the person engaging in the conduct had knowledge or should have had knowledge that the victim of the underlying offense was pregnant; or (2) the defendant (or accused) intended to cause the death of, or bodily injury to, the unborn child. Directs that if the person engaging in the conduct thereby intentionally kills or attempts to kill the unborn child, that person shall be punished as provided under the Federal criminal code for intentionally killing or attempting to kill a human being. Prohibits imposition of the death penalty for an offense under this Act. Bars prosecution under this Act: (1) of any person for conduct relating to an abortion for which the consent of the pregnant woman, or a person authorized by law to act on her behalf, has been obtained or for which such consent is implied by law; (2) for conduct relating to any medical treatment of the pregnant woman or her unborn child; or (3) of any woman with respect to her unborn child.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2001
Child Custody Protection Act - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit transporting an individual under age 18 across a State line to obtain an abortion and thereby abridging the right of a parent under a law in force in the State where the individual resides requiring parental involvement in a minor's abortion decision. Makes an exception if the abortion was necessary to save the life of the minor. Specifies that neither the minor transported nor her parent may be prosecuted or sued for a violation of this Act. Makes it an affirmative defense to a prosecution for, or to a civil action based on, such a violation that the defendant reasonably believed that before the individual obtained the abortion, the parental consent or notification or judicial authorization that would have been required had the abortion been performed in the State where the individual resides, took place. Authorizes any parent who suffers legal harm from a violation to obtain appropriate relief in a civil action. Defines "parent" to include a guardian, legal custodian, or person standing in loco parentis who has care and control of the minor, and with whom the minor regularly resides, who is designated by such law as a person to whom notification, or from whom consent, is required.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2001
Directs the Secretary of the Interior to: (1) purchase the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Complex in Dixon, Illinois, and related personal property; (2) designate the Complex as the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home National Historic Site; (3) enter into a cooperative agreement with the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home Foundation for the management, operation, and use of the Site; and (4) complete a general management plan for the Site.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2001
RU-486 Patient Health and Safety Protection Act - Restricts the prescribing of the drug mifepristone (commonly referred to as RU-486, to be marketed as Mifeprex) to physicians who meet specified requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2001
Directs the Comptroller General to: (1) conduct a fraud audit of selected accounts at the Department of Education that the Comptroller General determines to be particularly susceptible to waste, fraud, and abuse; and (2) report audit results to specified congressional committees.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2001
Self-Employed Health Insurance Fairness Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a deduction for 100 percent of a self-employed individual's health insurance costs for himself or herself, spouse, and dependents, unless such individual participates in an employer-maintained health plan. (Current law provides for a phased-in 100 percent deduction and disallowance upon participation eligibility.)
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2001
National Advisory Commission on Tax Reform and Simplification Act of 2001 - Establishes within the legislative branch a National Advisory Commission on Tax Reform and Simplification which shall review and, when applicable, issue proposals on: (1) the present structure and provisions of the Internal Revenue Code; (2) whether tax systems imposed under the laws of other countries could provide more efficient, simple, and fair methods of funding the revenue requirements of the Government; (3) whether the income tax should be replaced with a tax imposed in a different manner or on a different base; and (4) whether the Internal Revenue Code can be simplified, absent wholesale restructuring or replacement. Authorizes appropriations for the Commission. Terminates the Commission after the submission of a report.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2001
Retired Pay Restoration Act of 2001 - Permits retired members of the armed forces with service-connected disabilities to be paid both military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation. Repeals a special compensation program for certain severely disabled military retirees.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2001
Education Empowerment Tax Credit Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a refundable annual credit of up to $1,000 per qualifying child for specified public or private (including homeschooling) elementary and secondary school expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2001
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal Subchapter B (Communications) of Chapter 33 (Facilities and Services) of Subtitle D (Miscellaneous Excise Taxes).
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2001
Community Protection Act of 2001- Amends the Federal criminal code to authorize qualified law enforcement officers (including qualified retired officers) carrying the photographic identification issued by the governmental agency for which the individual is, or was, employed as a law enforcement officer, notwithstanding State or local laws, to carry a concealed firearm that has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce. Specifies that this Act shall not be construed to supersede or limit the laws of any State that: (1) permit private persons or entities to prohibit or restrict the possession of concealed firearms on their property; or (2) prohibit or restrict the possession of firearms on any State or local government property, installation, building, base, or park.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2001
Social Security Benefits Tax Relief Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the 85 percent (second tier) taxation of Social Security and Railroad Retirement benefits. Appropriates, from the general fund, to the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund amounts equal to the reduction in revenue lost because of the repeal. Requires an annual report concerning the funds transferred from the general fund to the Trust Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2001
IRA Fairness Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the annual limitation on deductible individual retirement account contributions to $5000.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 2000
Patients' Declaration of Independence Act of 2000 - Provides, in the case of a group health plan that is a freedom-of-choice plan with respect to a participant or beneficiary, that: (1) an employer maintaining the plan shall not be liable pursuant to any cause of action relating to the provision of (or failure to provide, or manner of provision of) benefits under any health insurance coverage that may be secured by such participant or beneficiary in connection with the plan; and (2) there shall be no right of recovery, indemnity, or contribution by a person against such an employer (or an employee of such an employer acting within the scope of employment) for damages assessed against the person pursuant to any such cause of action. Provides that, for certain purposes under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), any such employer (and any such employee) shall not be considered a fiduciary of the plan. Defines a freedom-of-choice group health plan as one which: (1) provides benefits on behalf of the participant or beneficiary only in the form of a contribution towards the cost of health insurance coverage that meets the applicable requirements of law; (2) does not impose any restriction with respect to such coverage, including the benefits available under such coverage, the health insurance issuer that offers such coverage, and the selection of such coverage; and (3) provides that the participant (and not the employer or plan) is the owner of the health insurance coverage. Requires such a contribution to be treated as employer-provided coverage under a health plan, for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 2000
Medicare Drug Uniform Coverage Act of 2000 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to include as covered services and supplies any drugs and biologicals which are not usually self-administered by intravenous infusion or subcutaneous injection by the patient (currently, drugs and biologicals which cannot, as determined in accordance with regulations, be self-administered).
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 2000
RU-486 Patient Health and Safety Protection Act - Restricts the prescribing of the drug mifepristone (commonly referred to as RU-486, to be marketed as Mifeprex) to physicians who meet specified requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 2000
Social Security Guarantee Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue to each individual receiving benefits under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) and, thereafter, to each individual who applies for such benefits, a certificate representing a legally enforceable guarantee: (1) of the monthly amount of benefits that the individual will receive under that title, as determined on the certificate's date of issuance; and (2) that the benefits will be adjusted at least annually on the basis of an accurate determination of the increase in the individual's cost-of-living, and as a result in a change in the eligibility status of the individual under that title. States that any certificate issued under the authority of this Act constitutes budget authority in advance of appropriations Acts and represents the obligation of the Federal Government to provide for the payment to the individual to whom the certificate is issued OASDI benefits in the amounts set forth in the certificate and subsequently adjusted.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2000
Taxpayers' Choice Debt Reduction Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit an individual to designate three dollars on his or her income tax return (six dollars on a joint return) to be used to reduce the public debt of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2000
Scouts Honor Act - Prohibits the use of Federal funds: (1) to discriminate against, investigate, or deny or withdraw access to public property for, the Boy Scouts of America on the basis of beliefs promoted by that organization or that organization's constitutionally protected expression of beliefs or exercise of associational rights; or (2) to compel the Boy Scouts of America to employ, enroll, or accept as a member or volunteer an individual whose sexual orientation, sexual behavior, religious beliefs, or absence of religious beliefs is determined by the Boy Scouts of America to be inconsistent with the organization's policies, programs, morals, or mission.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2000
Calls on the Russian Federation to immediately release Edmond Pope and to ensure that proper and qualified medical attention is provided to him. Expresses the sense of Congress that if Pope is not released immediately, the President should continue efforts to secure his release, including consideration of: (1) terminating all assistance to the Government of the Russian Federation under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the annual Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act for purposes of preparing the Russian Federation's entrance or accession to the World Trade Organization; and (2) opposing any further debt relief of obligations owed to the U.S. Government from the Government of the Russian Federation. Urges the President to increase efforts to secure appropriate medical attention for Pope.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2000
Medicare Billing and Education Act of 2000 - Title I: Regulatory Reform - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) with regard to: (1) the prospective-only, non-retroactive application of regulations of the Secretary of Health and Human Services that establish or change a substantive legal standard governing the scope of benefits, the payment for services, or the eligibility of individuals, entities, or organizations to furnish or to receive Medicare services or benefits; and (2) allowance of civil actions against the Secretary challenging the constitutionality of regulations or policies. Prohibits the Secretary from recovering past Medicare overpayments by offsetting future payments to a health care provider, or while a provider is appealing a determination that an overpayment has been made or the amount of such an overpayment. Title II: Appeals Process Reforms - Revises requirements for the post-payment audit process, particularly the recoupment of overpayments. Requires the Secretary to permit any health care provider to appeal any determination of the Secretary under Medicare on behalf of a deceased beneficiary where no substitute party is available. Title III: Education Components - Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for education programs for physicians, providers of services, and suppliers. Requires fiscal intermediaries and carriers to do their utmost to provide health care providers with one, straight, and correct answer regarding Medicare billing and cost reporting questions, as well as their true first and last names. Requires the Secretary to establish a process for providers to request assistance in writing (advisory opinions) from fiscal intermediaries or carriers in addressing questionable Medicare coverage, billing, documentation, coding and cost reporting procedures. Title IV: Sustainable Growth Rate Reforms - Requires the inclusion of regulatory costs in the estimate of the sustainable growth rate for all physicians' services for a fiscal year. Title V: Studies and Reports - Requires the Comptroller General to: (1) audit and report to Congress on Health Care Financing Administration compliance with statutes administered by it and with administrative procedure and other requirements under Federal civil service law; and (2) study and report to Congress on whether policies or enforcement efforts against health care providers have reduced access to care for Medicare beneficiaries.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2000
Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act - Revises the bloodborne pathogens standard, in effect under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA), to include safer medical devices, such as sharps with engineered sharps injury protections and needleless systems, as examples of engineering controls designed to eliminate or minimize occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens through needlestick and other percutaneous injuries. Requires certain employers to: (1) review and update exposure control plans to reflect changes in technology that eliminate or reduce such exposure, and document their consideration and implementation of appropriate commercially available and effective safer medical devices for such purpose; (2) maintain a sharps injury log, noting the type and brand of device used, where the injury occurred, and an explanation of the incident (exempting employers who are not required to maintain specified OSHA logs); and (3) seek input on such engineering and work practice controls from the affected health care workers (exempting employers who are not required to establish exposure control plans). Requires such modifications of the standard to: (1) be in force until superseded by regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Labor under OSHA; and (2) take effect without regard to specified procedural requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2000
Congratulates and honors home educators and home schooled students for their contributions to educational quality. Supports the goals of National Home Education Week.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2000
Quality Teacher Recruitment and Retention Act of 2000 - Directs the Secretary of Education to carry out a program of student loan forgiveness in exchange for the borrower's commitment to three consecutive years of full-time teaching in low-income schools or special education teaching. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2000
Parents' Empowerment Act - Authorizes a minor, through a person acting on the minor's behalf, to obtain relief in a civil action in U.S. district court against anyone who knowingly sells or distributes in interstate or foreign commerce an entertainment product containing material that is harmful to minors if: (1) a reasonable person would expect a substantial number of minors to be exposed to the material; and (2) the minor, as a result of exposure to that material, is likely to suffer personal or emotional injury or injury to mental or moral welfare. Declares it to be an affirmative defense to such action that an act of a parent or guardian who owned the entertainment product was the proximate cause of the minor's exposure to the harmful material.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2000
Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to allow a State to preempt the Federal minimum wage if the State: (1) sets a minimum wage rate of at least $5.15 per hour (the current Federal minimum wage); and (2) applies that rate to as many workers in the State as would otherwise be covered by the Federal minimum wage rate. Exempts employers in such a State from Federal minimum wage rate requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2000
National Advisory Commission on Tax Reform and Simplification Act of 2000 - Establishes within the legislative branch a National Advisory Commission on Tax Reform and Simplification which shall review and, when applicable, issue proposals on: (1) the present structure and provisions of the Internal Revenue Code; (2) whether tax systems imposed under the laws of other countries could provide more efficient, simple, and fair methods of funding the revenue requirements of the Government; (3) whether the income tax should be replaced with a tax imposed in a different manner or on a different base; and (4) whether the Internal Revenue Code can be simplified, absent wholesale restructuring or replacement. Authorizes appropriations for the Commission. Terminates the Commission after the submission of a report.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2000
Straight Talk on Social Security Act - Amends the Social Security Act to require social security account statements to contain: (1) a comparison of the annual social security tax inflows to the amount paid in benefits annually and a statement of whether the ratio will result in a cash flow deficit and what year such deficit will commence as well as the first year in which funds in the Federal Old-Age and Survivors and Disability Insurance Trust Funds will cease to be sufficient to cover the deficit and the percentage of benefits due at that time that could be paid from annual tax inflows; and (2) an explanation of the average rate of return that a taxpayer can expect to receive on old-age insurance benefits as compared to the total amount of social security taxes a taxpayer expects to pay.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2000
Medicare Occupational Therapy Coverage Eligibility Act of 2000 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to repeal a specified condition on eligibility for Medicare coverage of home health services on the basis of a need for occupational therapy.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2000
Scientifically Based Education Research, Statistics, Evaluation, and Information Act of 2000 - Requires that a specified portion of amounts for discretionary programs of the Department of Education (ED) be made available for FY 2002 through 2006 to carry out certain programs under titles I and II of this Act. Title I: National Academy for Education Research, Statistics, Evaluation, and Information - Establishes a National Academy for Education Research, Statistics, Evaluation, and Information (the Academy) as an independent agency in the executive branch, whose Director shall: (1) coordinate with the Secretary of Education to ensure that ED and each of the Centers within the Academy use common sources of data in standardized formats; and (2) ensure that the Commissioner of each Center (under title II, subtitle A) establishes and maintains a regular schedule of data releases for all of the information it collects, with such data to be archived in electronic format and made accessible to the public in a timely fashion. (Sec. 102) Provides for the Academy's board of directors, which is to be known as the National Board for Education Research, Statistics, Evaluation, and Information. (Sec. 103) Establishes within the Academy a National Education Library and Clearinghouse Office (Library), to be headed by a Deputy Director appointed by the Director. Title II: National Centers for Education Research, Evaluation, and Statistics; National Assessment Governing Board - Subtitle A: National Centers for Education Research, Evaluation, and Information - Chapter 1: National Center for Education Research - Establishes within the Academy a National Center for Education Research (NCER). (Sec. 203) Requires the President to appoint a Commissioner of Educational Research (CER), who will head NCER and appoint a Senior Scientist and staff. (Sec. 204) Requires NCER to oversee and support the conduct of an evaluative summary of the primary education priority areas of each of the National Research and Development Centers (NRDCs) which are eligible grantees. Directs CER, on the basis of an NRDC's priorities and research plan, and the extent to which its work has met the standards of scientifically valid research, to: (1) extend or renegotiate any existing grant, contract, or cooperative agreement for a period not to extend beyond FY 2005; or (2) terminate it or prohibit its renewal. (Sec. 205) Establishes within NCER a Committee for Education Research. (Sec. 208) Requires NCER to: (1) ensure that research under its direction follows scientific standards, is published in peer-reviewed journals, and comply with Federal guidelines regarding research misconduct; (2) develop other necessary standards for research conduct and evaluation; (3) review procedures of other Federal agencies engaged in research and development, and solicit recommendations from research organizations and the public; and (4) use specified minimum standards with regard to awarding of funds and evaluation of applicants and recipients of such funds. Chapter 2: National Center for Program Evaluation - Establishes within the Academy a National Center for Program Evaluation (NCPE). (Sec. 212) Requires the President to appoint a Commissioner for Program Evaluation (CPE). (Sec. 213) Requires NCPE to: (1) evaluate programs under title I (Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), other Federal education programs as determined by the Director, and education programs on a contractual basis for other Federal or State agencies; and (2) administer all operations and contracts associated with evaluations under ESEA title I (which are currently administered by ED), including the national assessment, a longitudinal evaluation of the effectiveness of school interventions, and national longitudinal surveys of schools. Sets forth quality standards and other requirements for such evaluations. (Sec. 214) Authorizes CPE to establish one or more independent review panels for each evaluation, or set of evaluations, to assist NCPE. Chapter 3: National Center for Education Statistics - National Education Statistics Act of 2000 - Reauthorizes, revises, and establishes within the Academy the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). (Sec. 224) Requires the President to appoint the Commissioner for Education Statistics (CES), who heads NCES and appoints a Deputy Commissioner, Associate Commissioners, and staff. Extends the term of CES to six years. (Sec. 225) Requires NCES to collect, analyze, and disseminate statistics and other information related to education in the United States and in other nations, including specified types of data. Directs CES to make customer service a priority and ensure customer satisfaction through certain means. Authorizes CES to establish: (1) a program to train employees of public and private educational agencies, organizations, and institutions in the use of NCES's standard statistical procedures and concepts; and (2) a fellows program to appoint such employees as temporary fellows to assist NCES. (Sec. 226) Authorizes CES to award grants, and enter into contracts and cooperative agreements, on a competitive basis, for a maximum five-year period, and to renew such grants for an additional maximum five-year period. Gives CES final authority within the Academy with respect to decisions regarding the implementation of data collection activities, including the appropriateness of specific collection methodologies, except with respect to the National Assessment of Educational Progress under subtitle B of this title. Authorizes CES to use: (1) the statistical sampling method; (2) information collected from specified types of sources; and (3) interagency agreements or other arrangements with any agencies, organizations, or institutions for collection of information. Directs CES to: (1) provide technical assistance to ED offices that gather data for statistical purposes; (2) coordinate closely with other ED offices in the collection of data; and (3) notify sources of information, at least six months advance, of hardware and software requirements for new collection activities for which electronic submission will be required, and of any other new requirements for data collection and submission. (Sec. 227) Directs CES to submit to the President and the appropriate congressional committees, an annual statistical report on the condition and progress of education in the United States, and to issue regular statistical reports on appropriate education topics. (Sec. 228) Establishes within NCES an Advisory Council for Education Statistics. (Sec. 229) Requires NCES to develop and enforce confidentiality standards. Prohibits use of individually identifiable information for any purpose other than statistical. Sets forth confidentiality provisions relating to NCES administration, employees, staff, temporary staff, and penalties. Allows access to NCES records, including individual identifiers, by the Academy Director, the U.S. Comptroller General, the Director of the Congressional Budget Office, and the Librarian of Congress; but makes disclosure restrictions applicable to such officials. (Sec. 230) Directs NCES to: (1) provide State and local educational agencies (SEAs and LEAs) opportunities to suggest development of particular compilations of statistics, surveys, and analyses that would assist those agencies; (2) furnish special statistical compilations and surveys at the request of appropriate congressional committees; (3) provide access to other Federal agencies needing educational data it receives; and (4) provide all interested parties, for research and statistical information purposes, direct access to data it collects. Allows NCES to: (1) furnish copies of statistical records; and (2) make special statistical compilations and surveys for various entities and to charge fees for such work or services. Authorizes CES to engage in joint statistical projects with various entities. (Sec. 231) Authorizes CES to establish and provide grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, and technical assistance for one or more: (1) national cooperative education statistics systems; and (2) postsecondary education data advisory groups. Subtitle B: National Assessment Governing Board and National Assessment of Educational Progress - Chapter 1: National Assessment Governing Board - Establishes within the Academy the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB), which shall have full authority to formulate policy and carry out the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Sets forth requirements for establishment of policy for NAEP. Makes NAGB independent of the Director and the other offices and officers of the Academy. (Sec. 252) Directs NAGB to establish policy for the NAEP (which collectively refers to a long-term trend assessment, national assessment, and State assessments), and carry it out through grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements with one or more qualified entities or consortia. Sets forth requirements relating to: (1) the schedule for such assessments, including frequency, student ages, grades, and subject areas; (2) prohibited data; (3) public access and confidentiality; (4) voluntary participation by SEAs and LEAs; (5) non-Federal share; (6) student performance levels; (7) reviews and reports; and (8) coverage agreements with schools operated by the Department of Defense or operated or supported by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. (Sec. 253) Prohibits use of funds by ED, NAGB, the Academy, or an applicable program for activities related to any federally sponsored national test in reading, mathematics, or any other subject that is not specifically and explicitly provided for in authorizing legislation enacted into law. Makes such prohibition inapplicable to the Third International Mathematics and Science Study or other international comparative assessments developed under the authority of specified provisions of this Act and administered only to a representative sample of pupils in the United States and in foreign nations. Repeals specified provisions of the Department of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 of the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for 1999 (Public Law 105-277) relating to the authority of the NAGB over the direction and all policies and guidelines for developing voluntary national tests. Title III: Activities Within the Department of Education - Amends the Department of Education Organization Act to replace provisions for the Office of Educational Research and Improvement. Establishes the Office of Planning, Performance Measurement, and Technical Assistance. Requires the Office Director to provide: (1) assistance for planning and program performance measurement; (2) assistance to SEAs and LEAs in developing and maintaining management information systems; (3) technical assistance and information dissemination for the regional comprehensive technical assistance and reform initiatives which the Office Director establishes and coordinates, and (4) technical assistance and information dissemination for a school-based customer driven technical assistance program under which the Secretary shall award competitive grants to States. (Sec. 302) Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Miscellaneous Provisions - Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget provide for a transition of the activities described in this Act previously administered through the Department of Education (ED) and transferred under this Act. (Sec. 402) Repeals: (1) the Educational Research, Development, Dissemination, and Improvement Act of 1994; (2) the National Education Statistics Act of 1994 (which is title IV of the Improving America's Schools Act of 1994); and (3) specified provisions relating to educational research, Federal evaluations, demonstrations, and transition projects, or national education statistics under the Department of Education Organization Act, the Goals 2000: Educate America Act, ESEA, and the General Education Provisions Act.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2000
Veterans Claims Assistance Act of 2000 - Amends Federal veterans benefits provisions to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to take specified steps to assist claimants. Requires the Secretary: (1) to notify a claimant whose application is incomplete of the evidence necessary to complete the application (existing law), including the information and medical and lay evidence necessary to substantiate the claim and, as part of such notice, to indicate which portion of such evidence is to be provided by the claimant and which portion the Secretary will attempt to obtain on behalf of the claimant; (2) to make reasonable efforts to assist in obtaining evidence necessary to establish a claimant's eligibility for a benefit (but allows the Secretary to decide a claim without providing such assistance when no reasonable possibility exists that such assistance will aid in the establishment of eligibility) and to obtain relevant records that the claimant adequately identifies to the Secretary and authorizes the Secretary to obtain; and (3) to inform the claimant whenever the Secretary is unable to obtain such records and to request the claimant to notify the Secretary if the claimant intends to obtain such records independently. Requires, in the case of a veteran's claim for disability compensation, the Secretary to: (1) obtain the claimant's existing service medical records and, if the claimant has furnished sufficient information, other relevant service records, existing records of relevant medical treatment or examination of the veteran at Department of Veterans Affairs health care facilities or at the expense of the Department, and specified information to be furnished by other agencies; and (2) provide a medical examination or obtain a medical opinion when the evidence of record before the Secretary establishes that the claimant has a current disability or has current symptoms and that there was an event, injury, or disease (or combination thereof) during the claimant's active military, naval, or air service capable of causing or aggravating the claimant's current disability or symptoms, but is insufficient to establish service-connection. (Sec. 4) Places on the claimant the burden of proving entitlement to benefits (currently, of submitting evidence sufficient to justify a belief by a fair and impartial individual that the claim is well grounded). (Sec. 5) Prohibits any Federal department or agency from imposing any charge for providing to the Secretary information for purposes of determining benefit eligibility. (Sec. 6) Provides for: (1) the applicability of provisions of this Act concerning the burden of proof to claims filed before, and not final as of, the date of enactment of this Act; and (2) the readjudication of claims for benefits that were denied, because the claims were not well grounded, during the period between July 14, 1999, and this Act's enactment date.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2000
Expresses support for and encourages the public display of the national motto of the United States "In God we Trust" in all public buildings, public schools, and other government institutions.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2000
Personal Lockbox Act of 2000 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to add a new part B (Personal Retirement Account Program), as well as the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), to structure a tax-exempt personalized retirement program for covered individuals through the designation of a personal retirement account for each such individual that is funded by deposits from amounts in the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund not otherwise required for immediate withdrawal, and by rollover and other contributions made by eligible individuals for investment in any of at least three specified portfolios approved by the Commissioner of Social Security. Provides for tax treatment of distributions. Directs the Securities and Exchange Commission to study and report to Congress on personal retirement account reinsurance. Amends SSA title II with regard to primary insurance amounts. Amends IRC to provide for: (1) annual $300 contributions (tax credits) by the Secretary of the Treasury on behalf of each eligible individual to a personal retirement account; and (2) an excise tax on excess contributions to such accounts. Amends SSA title XI with regard to information requirements for Social Security account statements. Amends SSA title II make appropriations annually to the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund to maintain a balance ratio of at least 20 percent.
![Official portrait of Sen. DeMint, Jim [R-SC]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/d000595_200.jpg)