United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1999
Sensible Ergonomics Needs Scientific Evidence Act - SENSE Act - Prohibits the Secretary of Labor from promulgating, through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, any standard, regulation, or guideline on ergonomics until 30 days after the National Academy of Sciences reports to Congress on a completed, peer-reviewed scientific study of the available evidence examining a cause and effect relationship between repetitive tasks in the workplace and musculoskeletal disorders or repetitive stress injuries.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1999
Provides that specified Federal regulations regarding the removal of land from the operation of the mining laws shall not apply with respect to the conveyance by the Secretary of the Interior of the surface estate of specified lands in Campbell and Johnson Counties, Wyoming, in exchange for specified private land in Campbell County.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1999
Internet Regulatory Freedom Act of 1999 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to state that it is U.S. policy to assure that all Americans have access to advanced Internet services at affordable rates by eliminating regulation that impedes the competitive deployment of advanced broadband data networks. States that nothing in this Act applies to, or grants authority to the Federal Communications Commission with respect to: (1) the imposition of wholesale discount obligations on bulk offerings of advanced services to providers of Internet services or telecommunications carriers or imposition of the duty to provide as network elements the facilities and equipment used exclusively to provide Internet services; (2) technical standards or specifications for the provision of Internet services; or (3) the provision of Internet services. States that a provider of Internet services may not be considered a carrier providing intrastate communication service because it provides Internet services.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1999
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the President should adopt certain trade negotiating objectives, including: (1) the initiation of a round of multilateral trade negotiations that continues to reform agricultural and food trade policy and increases trade liberalization in agriculture and food; (2) the elimination of all export subsidies and nontariff barriers to trade, including tightening of rules for their circumvention; (3) the elimination of state trading enterprises; (4) the accelerated resolution of trade disputes and prompt enforcement of dispute panels of the World Trade Organization (WTO); (5) the provision of food security for importing nations by ensuring access to supplies through a commitment by WTO member countries not to restrict or prohibit the export of agricultural products; and (6) the establishment of WTO rules that will allow developing countries to graduate to full participation in, and obligations under, the WTO.
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
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 · 12 May 1999
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) no bilateral or multilateral assistance or benefit to any country should be conditioned upon or linked to that country's adoption or failure to adopt population programs or to the relinquishment of that country's sovereign right to implement the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development consistent with its own national laws and development priorities, with full respect for the various religious and ethical values and cultural backgrounds of its people, and in conformity with universally recognized international human rights; (2) family planning service providers or referral agents should not implement or be subject to quotas or other numerical targets for total number of births, number of family planning acceptors, or acceptors of a particular method of family planning (but allows the use of quantitative estimates or indicators for budgeting and planning purposes); (3) no family planning project should include payment of incentives, bribes, gratuities, or financial reward to any person in exchange for becoming a family planning acceptor or to program personnel for achieving a numerical target or quota of total number of births, number of family planning acceptors, or acceptors of a particular method of family planning; (4) no project should deny any right or benefit, including the right of access to participate in any program of general welfare or the right of access to health care, as a consequence of any person's decision not to accept family planning services; (5) every family planning project should provide family planning acceptors with comprehensible information on the health benefits and risks of the method chosen; (6) every family planning project should ensure that experimental contraceptive drugs and devices and medical procedures are provided only in the context of a scientific study in which participants are advised of the potential risks and benefits; (7) the United States should reaffirm these principles in the special session of the United Nations General Assembly to be held between June 30 and July 2, 1999, and in all preparatory meetings for the special session; and (8) the United States should support vigorously the principle that meetings under the auspices of the United Nations Economic and Social Council be open to the public, and should oppose vigorously attempts to exclude from meetings legitimate non-government organizations and private citizens.
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 · 4 May 1999
Second Amendment Preservation Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal criminal code to limit amounts paid in plaintiff's attorney's fees for settlement or adjudication of a civil action brought to curtail the sale or availability of firearms for legal purposes to the lesser of: (1) $150 per hour for each hour spent productively, plus actual expenses incurred by the attorney in connection with the action; or (2) ten percent of the amount that the plaintiff receives under the action. Directs the court, if it finds that the defendant in such an action is not wholly or primarily liable for the damages sought, to require the plaintiff to reimburse the defendant for reasonable attorney's fees and court costs incurred in litigating the action, unless the court finds that special circumstances make such reimbursement unjust. Provides that any court decision that the Constitution does not confer on Congress the power to enact this Act shall be directly appealable to the Supreme Court.
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
Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit any physician from knowingly performing a partial-birth abortion in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, unless it is necessary to save the life of the mother. Prescribes penalties. Defines a "partial birth abortion" as an abortion in which a person, deliberately and intentionally, partially vaginally delivers a living fetus before killing the fetus and completing the delivery. Authorizes the father, if married to the mother at the time of the abortion, and the maternal grandparents of the fetus, if the mother is under 18 years of age, to obtain specified relief in a civil action, unless the pregnancy resulted from the plaintiff's criminal conduct or the plaintiff consented to the abortion. Authorizes a defendant accused of an offense under this Act to seek a hearing before the State Medical Board on whether the physician's conduct was necessary to save the life of the mother. Prohibits the prosecution of a woman upon whom a partial-birth abortion is performed for conspiracy to violate this Act or under provisions regarding punishment as a principal or an accessory or for concealment of a felony.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 1999
Energy and Climate Policy Act of 1999 - Amends the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to replace provisions establishing a Director of Climate Protection with those establishing an Office of Global Climate Change in the Department of Energy. Requires the Office to serve as a focal point for coordinating for the Secretary of Energy and Congress all departmental issues and policies regarding climate change and related matters and to be headed by a Director, appointed by the Secretary. (Sec. 4) Directs the Secretary to establish a program of giving annual public recognition to all persons and entities voluntarily reporting information on sources of greenhouse gases who demonstrate voluntarily achieved greenhouse gas reductions, including information reported prior to this Act's enactment. Requires the Secretary, through the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration, to conduct and submit to specified congressional committees a review of what changes should be made to guidelines for accuracy and reliability of voluntarily reported information on greenhouse gas reductions. Provides for incorporation into such guidelines of changes found to be beneficial and cost effective in improving the accuracy and reliability of reported information. (Sec. 5) Requires the Secretary to establish a long-term Climate Technology Research, Development, and Demonstration Program to foster development of: (1) new technologies and the enhancement of existing technologies that reduce or avoid anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases and improve energy efficiency; (2) new technologies that are able to remove and sequester greenhouse gases from emissions streams; and (3) new technologies and practices to remove and sequester such gases from the atmosphere. Requires submission of a ten-year plan to guide such activities to Congress. Directs the Secretary to solicit proposals for conducting such activities. Describes applicant qualifications, proposal requirements, and criteria for proposal selection. Requires the Director of the Office of Science and Technology to report annually to Congress: (1) a certification that the program objectives are adequately focused, peer- and merit-reviewed, and not unnecessarily duplicative with other Federal science and technology research; and (2) whether the program addresses an adequate breadth and range of technologies and solutions to address anthropogenic climate change. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 6) Amends the Federal Nonnuclear Energy Research and Development Act of 1974 to require a specified energy research, development, and demonstration plan to include solutions to the effective management of greenhouse gas emissions in the long term by the development of technologies and practices designed to reduce or avoid anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases and remove and sequester greenhouse gases from emissions streams and the atmosphere. Includes within program elements and activities research, development, and demonstration designed to pursue a long-term climate technology strategy to demonstrate a variety of technologies by which stabilization of greenhouse gases might be best achieved.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1999
Small Business and Financial Institutions Tax Relief Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to subchapter S corporations (small businesses which do not pay corporate income taxes, and whose earnings are passed through to the shareholders where income taxes are paid) and subchapter C corporations (which do pay corporate income taxes on earnings, and whose shareholders pay income taxes again on those same earnings when they pass through as dividends). (Sec. 2) Permits S corporation eligible shareholders to include individual retirement accounts (IRAs). Exempts from prohibited transaction rules any sale of stock in an IRA pursuant to a small business corporation's election to be an S corporation. (Sec. 3) Excludes from the definition of passive income for purposes of S status termination any interest income earned by or dividends on assets required to be held by a bank, a bank holding company, or a qualified subchapter S subsidiary bank. (Sec. 4) Increases from 75 to 150 the maximum number of shareholders a small business organization may have to be eligible to elect S corporation treatment. (Sec. 5) States that stock held by a bank director as required by banking regulations (director qualifying stock) shall not be considered a disqualifying second class of S corporation stock. (Sec. 6) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to modify a certain regulation to permit an S corporation bank to treat certain bad debt deductions as built-in losses during the entire period during which the bank recognized built-in gains from changing its accounting method for recognizing bad debts from the reserve method to the charge-off method. (Sec. 7) Includes all banks within the three-year deduction preference rule. (Sec. 8) Repeals the current requirement that partnership rules apply to S corporations (and two- percent shareholders in such corporations) for fringe benefit purposes. Applies current special corporation) rules for health insurance costs of self-employed individuals to two-percent shareholders in S corporations, except that a two-percent shareholder's wages shall be treated as self-employed earned income. (Thus provides that non-health care related fringe benefits such as group-term life insurance will be excludible from such wages, and not taxed.) (Sec. 9) Makes family limited partnerships eligible to be S corporation shareholders. (Sec. 10) Permits the issuance of qualified preferred stock, which shall not be treated as second class stock. Makes any distribution (not in payment in exchange for stock) made by an S corporation with respect to qualified preferred stock includible as ordinary income of the holder and deductible to the corporation as an expense. (Sec. 11) Reduces from 100 percent to 90 percent the percentage of shares held by shareholders necessary for consent to election by a small business organization to be an S corporation. Prescribes rules for such consent. (Sec. 12) Revises exceptions to the criteria for the treatment of certain wholly owned subchapter S subsidiaries with reference to required information returns.
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 · 19 April 1999
No Net Loss of Private Lands Act - Allows the United States to acquire an interest in 100 or more acres of land within a State in which 25 percent or more of the land within that State is owned by the United States only if the United States disposes of the surface estate to land in that State approximately equal in value to the land being acquired. Specifies exceptions and authorizes a waiver in times of war or a national emergency.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1999
Requests the President to advance: (1) the late Rear Admiral Husband E. Kimmel to the grade of admiral on the retired list of the Navy; and (2) the late Major General Walter C. Short to the grade of lieutenant general on the retired list of the Army. Prohibits any change in compensation or benefits based on the military service of such officers as a result of such advancements. Expresses the sense of the Congress that such officers performed their duties competently and professionally and that losses incurred by the United States in attacks on military targets on Oahu, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, were not a result of their dereliction of duty.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 1999
Women's Business Centers Sustainability Act of 1999 - Amends the Small Business Act, with respect to the women's business center program, to allow a private organization that has received financial assistance under the program and that is either in the final year of a five-year project or has completed the project to apply for assistance for an additional five-year period. Requires such organizations to agree to obtain matching cash contributions from non-Federal sources. Extends through FY 2001 the authorization for the program, allowing no more than 40 percent of such amounts to be used for providing such additional assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1999
USDA Grade Recission (sic) Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal Meat Inspection Act to deem as misbranded imported meat or meat food products (including any carcass or part, meat, or meat food product from cattle, sheep, or goats that have not been U.S.-fed for at least 90 days) bearing a Department of Agriculture quality grade.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1999
Urges the Congress and the President, working within the constraints of the balanced budget agreement, to give programs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) the highest priority among Federal elementary and secondary education programs by meeting the commitment to fund the maximum State grant allocation for educating children with disabilities under such Act, prior to authorizing or appropriating funds for any new education initiative, while retaining the commitment to fund existing Federal education programs that increase student achievement.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999
National Monument Public Participation Act of 1999 - Amends the Antiquities Act to require the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to promulgate regulations that establish procedures to ensure that Federal, State, and local governments and the public have the right to participate in the formulation of plans relating to the declaration of a national monument on Federal land. Requires the Secretaries, prior to making any recommendations for declaration of a national monument in an area, to: (1) ensure compliance with all applicable Federal land management and environmental laws; (2) cause mineral surveys to be conducted by the Geological Survey to determine the mineral values that may be present in the area; (3) cause an assessment of the land's surface resource values to be completed and made available by the appropriate agencies; (4) identify all existing rights held on Federal land contained within such area; and (5) identify all State and private land contained within such area. Requires: (1) either Secretary, on completion of such reviews and mineral surveys, to submit to the President recommendations as to whether any area on Federal land warrants declaration as a national monument; and (2) no later than two years after the receipt of such a recommendation, the President to advise the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the President's recommendations and provide them with maps and descriptions of the boundaries of those areas evaluated for declaration.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Asbestos Resolution Corporation Title II: Medical Eligibility Determinations Title III: Alternative Dispute Resolution Title IV: Civil Actions Title V: Rules Applicable to Arbitrations and Civil Actions Title VI: Funding Title VII: Applicability; Pending Civil Actions Title VIII: Miscellaneous Provisions Fairness in Asbestos Compensation Act of 1999 - Title I: Asbestos Resolution Corporation - Establishes the Asbestos Resolution Corporation which shall: (1) have exclusive authority to adopt rules for cost recovery, physician qualifications, alternative dispute resolution, exceptional medical cases, and disease eligibility; and (2) appoint a Medical Advisory Board. Title II: Medical Eligibility Determinations - Sets forth claimant medical eligibility determination criteria for: (1) nonmalignant conditions; (2) mesothelioma; (3) lung cancer; and (4) other cancer. (Sec. 205) Sets forth procedures for Corporation determination of a claimant's certificate of medical eligibility. (Sec. 206) Directs the Corporation to establish one or more exceptional medical claims panels. Sets forth application and acceptance provisions. (Sec. 207) Provides for: (1) confidentiality; and (2) U.S. district court review of Corporation determinations of eligibility. Title III: Alternative Dispute Resolution - Directs the Board to establish procedural rules for an alternative dispute resolution process. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) motions officers; (2) respondent notification; (3) additional respondents; (4) grace period; (5) mediation and arbitration; and (6) subpoena powers. Title IV: Civil Actions - Prohibits: (1) a civil asbestos action unless the plaintiff has obtained a certificate of medical eligibility and release from mediation; and (2) a class action or other collective action without the consent of each defendant. (Sec. 404) Requires a penalty for a final offer made by a respondent in mediation if such offer is below a certain amount assigned by the jury or fact-finder. Title V: Rules Applicable to Arbitrations and Civil Actions - Sets forth arbitration and civil action rules with respect to: (1) issues to be decided; (2) relief; (3) timeliness defenses; (4) attorney's fees; and (5) nonpreclusion of nonmalignant claims upon subsequent malignancy claims. Title VI : Funding - Directs the Corporation to estimate its annual medical review and administrative and overhead costs and allocate proportionate cost shares among the previous year's respondents. Provides monetary penalties for noncooperation with the Corporation. (Sec. 602) Provides for mediation and arbitration costs to be charged on a per capita basis to participating respondents. (Sec. 603) Directs the Corporation to establish procedures for informal resolution of cost assessment disputes. Provides for U.S. district court review of cost assessment disputes. (Sec. 606) Establishes the Asbestos Resolution Corporation Trust Fund and transfers to it amounts received under this title and other amounts. Authorizes obligation of Fund amounts consistent with this Act, to remain available without fiscal year limitation. Title VII: Applicability; Pending Civil Actions - Makes this Act applicable to any civil asbestos action that has not resulted in a final, nonappealable judgment, with specified conditions applicable to pending civil actions. Title VIII: Miscellaneous Provisions - Defines specified terms. (Sec. 803) Makes this Act inapplicable to existing asbestos trusts, with an elective trust exception. (Sec. 804) States that nothing in this Act shall prohibit a claimant from entering into a settlement agreement concerning a claim covered under this Act.
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 · 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
Internet Gambling Prohibition Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal criminal code to make it unlawful for any person engaged in a gambling business to use the Internet or any other interactive computer service (service) to: (1) place, receive, or otherwise make a bet or wager; or (2) send, receive, or invite information assisting in the placing of a bet or wager. Prescribes penalties. Lists exceptions to such prohibition, including certain State and multi-State lotteries and authorized horse racing. Grants the district courts original and exclusive jurisdiction to prevent and restrain violations of this Act. Authorizes the United States or a State attorney general to institute such proceedings. Exempts from liability under this Act any service provider who, after being properly notified by a Federal or State law enforcement agency that a particular online site of such provider is being used to violate this Act, removes or disables access to such site. Authorizes alternative injunctive relief against such a provider, under certain limitations and considerations. Preempts applicable State law. Directs the Attorney General to submit to Congress: (1) an analysis of the problems associated with enforcing this Act; (2) recommendations for the best use of Department of Justice resources for enforcement; and (3) an estimate of the amount of activity and money being used to gamble on the Internet.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1999
State Water Sovereignty Protection Act - Directs the United States, when it seeks to appropriate water or acquire a water right in a State, to be subject to all procedural and substantive laws of that State relating to its water rights and uses. Gives consent to join the United States in any State proceeding relating to the allocation or use of a water right. Subjects management and control of water in a State to the laws of such State. Delegates to each State the authority to regulate water. Allows the United States to exercise management and control of water in a State only in compliance with that State's laws. Subjects the United States to the imposition of costs and fees in a proceeding to the same extent as a private person.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1999
Truth-in-Budgeting Act of 1999 - Requires the President's budget, the budget report of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) required under the Congressional Budget Act, and the concurrent budget resolution to include, effective for FY 2001: (1) the receipts and disbursements totals of the on-budget trust funds, including the projected levels for at least the next five fiscal years; and (2) the deficit or surplus excluding such trust funds, including the projected levels for at least the next five fiscal years. Requires the President's budget and the CBO budget report to include an itemization of the on-budget trust funds for the budget year, including receipts, outlays, and balances.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1999
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 · 17 March 1999
National Salvage Motor Vehicle Consumer Protection Act of 1999 - Amends Federal transportation law to require States receiving Federal funds for the compilation of passenger motor vehicle titling information, in licensing a passenger motor vehicle whose ownership has been transferred, to disclose on the certificate of title whenever records indicate that such vehicle was previously issued a title that contained a word or symbol signifying that it was "salvage," "older model salvage," "unrebuildable," "parts only," "scrap," "junk," "nonrepairable," "reconstructed," "rebuilt," or that it has been damaged by flood, and the name of the State that issued the title. (Sec. 2) Directs the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations requiring each State in licensing such vehicles to apply specified uniform standards, procedures, and methods for the issuance and control of motor vehicle titles and for information to be contained on such titles. Directs the Secretary to establish: (1) a record of the States which are in compliance with the uniform Federal title requirements; and (2) a mechanism to identify to interested parties which States are compliant. Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations requiring: (1) a person transferring ownership of a rebuilt salvage vehicle to disclose to the transferee, before the time of transfer, that the motor vehicle is a rebuilt salvage vehicle when such person has actual knowledge of such fact; and (2) that a label containing such information be affixed to the windshield or window of a rebuilt salvage vehicle before its first sale. Prohibits any person from willfully removing, altering, or rendering illegible such label before the vehicle is delivered to the first retail purchaser. Directs the Secretary to report to appropriate congressional committees on whether the costs to States for compliance with the requirements of this Act can be met by user fees for titling, registration, inspection, or other services, or by earmarking moneys collected through law enforcement action to enforce such requirements. Makes it unlawful for any person knowingly to: (1) make false statements on the application for a motor vehicle title or any disclosure with respect to a rebuilt salvage vehicle; (2) fail to apply for a salvage title when such application is required; (3) alter, forge, or counterfeit a certificate of title, a nonrepairable vehicle certificate, a certificate verifying an anti-theft inspection or an anti-theft and safety inspection, a required decal affixed to a passenger motor vehicle, or any disclosure with respect to a rebuilt salvage vehicle; (4) falsify the results of an inspection; (5) offer to sell any salvage vehicle or nonrepairable vehicle as a rebuilt salvage vehicle; (6) fail to give notice to a transferee of a motor vehicle that it has been damaged by flood; (7) fail to make any required disclosure with respect to a rebuilt salvage vehicle; (8) violate a regulation under this Act; (9) move a vehicle or a vehicle title in interstate commerce for the purpose of avoiding the titling requirements of this Act; or (10) conspire to commit any of these acts. Sets forth civil penalties for violations of this Act. Authorizes the chief law enforcement officer of a State, whenever a person violates a requirement of this Act, to bring an action in district court to restrain the violation, or recover amounts for which a person is civilly liable, or recover the amount of damage suffered by a resident in the State as a result of the knowing commission of the unlawful act by another person. Directs the Secretary to make a grant to each State that demonstrates that it is taking appropriate actions to implement this Act, including such conformance related activities as issuing titles, establishing and administering vehicle theft or salvage vehicles safety inspections, enforcement, and other related purposes. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 3) Requires the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System to permit a user to establish instantly and reliably, among other things, whether: (1) an automobile known to be titled in a particular State is or has been a nonrepairable vehicle, a rebuilt salvage vehicle, or a flood vehicle; and (2) an automobile bearing a known vehicle identification number has been reported as a nonrepairable vehicle, a rebuilt salvage vehicle, or a flood vehicle. Limits to States receiving certain Federal grants for the compilation of passenger motor vehicle titling information the current requirement that every State make such information available for use in operating the System. (Sec. 4) Amends Federal transportation law to direct the Secretary to develop and implement a program to notify U.S. dealers and distributors of the prohibition on the sale or delivery of any vehicle for use as a schoolbus that does not meet prescribed standards.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1999
Poison Control Center Enhancement and Awareness Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide coordination and assistance to regional poison control centers for the establishment of a nationwide toll-free phone number to be used to access such centers. Authorizes appropriations. Mandates a national media campaign to educate the public about poison prevention and the availability of local poison control resources and to conduct advertising campaigns concerning the nationwide toll-free number. Authorizes appropriations. Mandates grants for certified regional poison control centers to achieve financial stability and to prevent, and provide treatment recommendations for, poisoning. Mandates other grant uses. Sets forth center certification requirements. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1999
Commends U.S. Senator J. Robert Kerrey of Nebraska, on the 30th anniversary of the events giving rise to his receiving the Medal of Honor, for service to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1999
Directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), to convey specified portions of Federal land in Big Horn County and Washakie County, Wyoming, to the Westside Irrigation District, Wyoming. Requires proceeds of such sale to be available to the Secretary for the acquisition of land and interests in the Worland District of BLM in Wyoming that will benefit public recreation, public access, fish and wildlife habitat, or cultural resources.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1999
Second Amendment Rights Protection Act of 1999 - Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to prohibit the use of appropriated funds for: (1) any system to implement the Act that does not require and result in the immediate destruction of all information submitted by or on behalf of any person who has been determined not to be prohibited from owning a firearm; and (2) the implementation or collection of any tax or fee by any Federal officer, agent, or employee, or by any State or local officer or agent acting on behalf of the United States, in connection with such implementation. Authorizes any person aggrieved by a violation of this Act to bring an action in Federal district court and, if successful, to receive damages, punitive damages, and such other remedies as the court may determine to be appropriate, including a reasonable attorney's fee.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1999
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the United States should reaffirm its commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act and the specific guarantees of provision of legitimate defense arrangements to Taiwan contained therein; and (2) Congress has grave concerns over the People's Republic of China's growing arsenal of nuclear and conventionally armed ballistic missiles, the movement of those missiles into a closer geographic proximity to Taiwan, and the effect that buildup may have on stability in the Taiwan Strait. Calls on the President to: (1) direct all appropriate officials to raise with Chinese officials such concerns; (2) seek from Chinese leaders a public renunciation of any use of (or threat to use) force against Taiwan; and (3) provide an annual report detailing the military balance on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Calls for the Secretary of Defense to inform the appropriate congressional committees when officials from Taiwan seek to purchase defense articles for self-defense. Declares that: (1) the U.S. Government should encourage a high-level dialogue with officials from Taiwan and other U.S. allies in East Asia; and (2) it should be U.S. policy to publicly support Taiwan's admission to the World Trade Organization and encourage others to adopt similar policies.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1999
Farm Independence Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code and title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to exclude net earnings from a lease agreement (currently, an arrangement) from income with respect to farmland.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1999
American Debt Repayment Act - Prohibits budgeted outlays from exceeding budgeted revenues, beginning with FY 2000. Requires, beginning with FY 2000, that actual revenues exceed actual outlays in order to provide for the reduction of the gross Federal debt. Requires the amount of reduction to be equal to the amount required to amortize the debt over the next 30 years in order to repay the entire debt by the end of FY 2029. Authorizes a congressional waiver of this Act when a declaration of war is in effect. Prohibits a bill to increase revenues from being deemed to pass the House of Representatives or the Senate unless approved by a majority roll call vote of both Houses. Directs the Congress to review actual revenues on a quarterly basis and adjust outlays to comply with this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1999
Genetic Information Nondiscrimination in Health Insurance Act of 1999 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) (as amended by the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999), and the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit a health care plan or health insurance issuer from restricting enrollment or adjusting premium or contribution amounts for a group on the basis of predictive genetic information concerning an individual in the group or a family member of the individual (including information about a request for or receipt of genetic services). Prohibits a plan or issuer from requesting or requiring predictive genetic information concerning an individual or a family member of the individual (including information about a request for or receipt of genetic services). Permits a plan or issuer to request, but not require, such information for diagnosis, treatment, or payment purposes only. Sets forth confidentiality provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1999
American Land Sovereignty Protection Act - Amends the National Historic Preservation Act Amendments of 1980 to prohibit the Secretary of the Interior from nominating any Federal lands for inclusion on the World Heritage List pursuant to the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage unless: (1) the Secretary publishes a finding that commercially viable uses of nominated lands and lands within ten miles of them will not be adversely affected by such inclusion; (2) the Secretary has reported to the Congress on the lands' natural resources and the impact that the inclusion would have on existing and future uses of such lands; and (3) such nomination is specifically authorized by a law. Authorizes the President to submit proposals for legislation authorizing such a nomination after publication of the Secretary's finding. Requires the Secretary to object to the inclusion of any property in the United States on the list of World Heritage in Danger (established under the Convention) unless the Secretary: (1) has reported to the Congress on the necessity for such inclusion, the natural resources associated with the property, and the impact such inclusion would have on existing and future uses of such property; and (2) is specifically authorized to assent to the inclusion by a joint resolution of the Congress enacted after the report is submitted. Directs the Secretary to submit an annual report to specified congressional committees on the management of each World Heritage Site within the United States. (Sec. 4) Prohibits any Federal official from nominating any lands in the United States for designation as a Biosphere Reserve under the Man and Biosphere Program of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Provides that any such designation before enactment of this Act shall not have any force or effect, unless the Biosphere Reserve: (1) is specifically authorized by a law enacted before December 31, 2000; (2) consists solely of federally owned lands; and (3) is subject to a management plan that specifically ensures that the use of intermixed or adjacent non-Federal property is not limited or restricted as a result of that designation. Directs the Secretary of State to report annually to specified congressional committees information on the management of each Biosphere Reserve within the United States. (Sec. 5) Prohibits any Federal official from nominating, classifying, or designating any Federal land located within the United States for a special or restricted use under any international agreement for conserving, preserving, or protecting the terrestrial or marine environment, flora, or fauna (with specified exceptions) unless specifically authorized by law, but authorizes the President to submit proposals for authorizing legislation. Provides that any such nomination, classification, or designation of private or State or local lands shall have no force or effect without the owner's consent or specific authorization by State or local law, respectively.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1999
Protect Social Security Benefits Act of 1999 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to make it a point of order in the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider any concurrent resolution on the budget that would set forth or cause a Federal budget deficit (excluding social security trust funds receipts and disbursements), unless the Congress declares war or if a joint resolution is enacted under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) directing the President to modify the most recently issued order for enforcing pay-as-you-go requirements. Provides that if no concurrent resolution on the budget is adopted by September 1 of any year, this Act shall apply to any appropriation bill or joint resolution for that year or any subsequent year. Requires this Act to be waived in the Senate only upon a supermajority vote.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1999
Determined and Full Engagement Against the Threat of Methamphetamine or DEFEAT Meth Act of 1999 - Directs the United States Sentencing Commission to amend the Federal sentencing guidelines with respect to any offense relating to the manufacture, attempt to manufacture, or conspiracy to manufacture amphetamine or methamphetamine in violation of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act, or the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act, by: (1) increasing the base offense level, as specified; and (2) increasing such level even higher if the offense created a substantial risk of danger to the health and safety of another person. Directs the Commission to promulgate amendments pursuant to this Act in accordance with the procedure set forth in the Sentencing Act of 1987, as though the authority of that Act had not expired. (Sec. 3) Directs the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration to implement a comprehensive approach for targeting and investigating methamphetamine production, trafficking, and abuse to combat the trafficking of methamphetamine in areas designated by the Director of National Drug Control Policy as high intensity drug trafficking areas. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Director to: (1) combat methamphetamine trafficking in areas designated as high intensity drug trafficking areas, including by hiring new laboratory technicians in rural communities; and (2) engage in specified methamphetamine abuse prevention efforts. Authorizes appropriations. Grants priority to assisting rural and urban areas that are experiencing a high rate or rapid increases in methamphetamine abuse and addiction. Sets forth provisions regarding analyses and evaluation and annual reports. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 4) Amends the CSA to include: (1) among list II chemicals red phosphorus and sodium dichromate; and (2) within the definition of "drug paraphernalia" items primarily intended or designed for use in introducing methamphetamine into the body.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1999
Small Employer Nest Egg Act - 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 · 25 February 1999
Medicare Rehabilitation Benefit Improvement Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide certain Medicare beneficiaries with an exemption to the financial limitations imposed on physical, speech-language pathology, and occupational therapy services under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance). Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct a study of the specified effects of this Act for a report to Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1999
State and Local Investment Opportunities Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the State ceiling on private activity bonds. Provides for inflation adjustment.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1999
Equity in Charitable Giving Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit the waiver of the contemporaneous substantiation requirement for certain charitable deductions.
![Official portrait of Sen. Enzi, Michael B. [R-WY]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/e000285_200.jpg)