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United States · Official source
2,765 records where Sen. Graham, Bob [D-FL] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2001
Proclaims the week of March 18 through March 24, 2001, as National Safe Place Week.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Peopling of America Theme Study Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to prepare and submit to Congress a national historic landmark theme study on the peopling of America to identify regions, areas, trails, districts, communities, sites, buildings, structures, objects, organizations, societies, and cultures that: (1) best illustrate and commemorate key events or decisions affecting the peopling of America; and (2) can provide a basis for the preservation and interpretation of the peopling of America that has shaped U.S. culture and society.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Setting Aside for a Valuable Education (SAVE) Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) permit private higher educational institutions, in addition to currently permitted State institutions, to establish qualified tuition programs; (2) exclude from gross income program distributions used for qualified higher education expenses; (3) permit an annual rollover to a different tuition program on behalf of the same beneficiary; (4) include first cousins as a qualifying family member; and (5) revise the room and board limitation.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Designates March 25, 2001, as Greek Independence Day: A National Day of Celebration of Greek and American Democracy.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Supports the goals and ideas of National Donor Day. Encourages all Americans to learn about the importance of organ, tissue, bone marrow, and blood donation and to discuss such donations with their families and friends.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2001
Family Opportunity Act of 2001 or Dylan Lee James Act - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) give States the option of allowing families of disabled children to purchase Medicaid coverage for such children; and (2) provide for treatment of inpatient psychiatric hospital services for individuals under age 21 under waivers allowing for payment of part or all of the cost of home or community-based services. Authorizes a State to apply to the Secretary of Health and Human Services for approval of a demonstration project to provide Medicaid coverage of up to a specified maximum number of children with a potentially severe disability. Amends SSA title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) to make appropriations to the Secretary for special projects of regional and national significance for development and support of family-to-family health information centers. Amends SSA title XIX to provide for the restoration of Medicaid eligibility to certain SSI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSA title XVI) beneficiaries under age 21.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2001
Drug Abuse Education, Prevention, and Treatment Act of 2001 - Increases penalties for drug offenses involving juveniles, including trafficking in or near a school. Provides for: (1) grants to encourage drug-free prisons and jails; and (2) mandatory revocation of probation and supervised release for failing a drug test. Authorizes: (1) grants to develop, implement, or expand drug treatment alternative to prison programs; (2) a study of the effect of mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses; and (3) grants for substance abuse education and prevention efforts, residential and outpatient treatment programs for juveniles, and drug abuse research. Provides for a National Academy of Sciences study regarding youth violence and substance abuse. Provides for grants for: (1) alternative education for at-risk youth; and (2) counseling, training, and mentoring services in low-income, high-crime communities for children of prisoners. Authorizes: (1) the President to award to individuals under age 18 a National Character Achievement Award; and (2) grants for after school programs. Reestablishes drug courts. Prohibits participation by violent offenders. Offender Reentry and Community Safety Act of 2001 - Establishes: (1) the Federal Reentry Center Demonstration project; (2) the Federal High-Risk Offender Reentry Demonstration project; (3) the District of Columbia and Federal Intensive Supervision, Tracking, and Reentry Training Demonstration projects; and (4) the Federal Enhanced In-Prison Vocational Assessment and Training Demonstration project. Directs the Attorney General to make grants for: (1) adult and juvenile offender reentry demonstration projects and programs; and (2) research, development, and evaluation. Requires that the Government consider religious organizations for assistance under Government programs funded under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2001
Public Education Reinvestment, Reinvention, and Responsibility Act (Three R's Act) - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to reauthorize and revise various ESEA programs. Revises and renames ESEA title I as Student Performance (currently Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards). Declares it to be U.S. policy to: (1) hold States, local educational agencies (LEAs), and schools accountable for increased student academic performance results; and (2) facilitate improved classroom instruction. Revises and reauthorizes title I: (1) part A, LEA basic program grants (I-A); (2) part B, Even Start; (3) part C, education of migratory children; (4) part D, prevention and intervention programs for youth who are neglected, delinquent, or at-risk of dropping out; (5) provisions for capital expenses; (6) part E, Federal evaluations, demonstrations, and transition projects, including a new comprehensive school reform grants program; and (7) a part F, rural education development initiative. Revises I-A with respect to: (1) State educational agency (SEA) and LEA reservations of funds; (2) formulas for distributing funds to schools with the highest concentrations of poverty; (3) State and LEA plans; (4) priorities in providing school support and improvement assistance; (5) parental involvement; (6) qualifications of teachers and paraprofessionals in I-A schools; (7) professional development; (8) LEA and Head Start services coordination; (9) reservation, allocation, and use of funds for basic, concentration, and targeted grants; and (10) school-wide programs. Penalizes States for failing to meet statutory deadlines for demonstrating that they have in place standards, assessments, a system for measuring and monitoring adequate yearly progress (AYP), and a statewide system for holding schools and LEAs accountable for making AYP with specified groups of students. Requires public school choice to be provided to families of students attending I-A schools deemed to be in need of corrective action. Requires LEAs to use I-A funds only to provide academic instruction and services directly related to instruction to students in preschool through grade 12 to assist eligible children to improve their academic achievement and to meet State achievement standards. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make education finance program grants to States. Revises and renames ESEA title II as Teacher and Principal Quality, Professional Development, and Class Size (currently Dwight D. Eisenhower Professional Development Program), with grants programs for: (1) Teacher and Principal Quality, Professional Development (II-A); and (2) Class Size Reduction (II-B). Establishes a new ESEA title III, Language Minority Students and Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native Education. Directs the Secretary to make grants to States, subject to specified requirements, to help limited English proficient (LEP) students become proficient in English. Repeals the current ESEA title III, Technology for Education, including parts: (1) A, Technology for Education of All Students; (2) B, Star Schools Program; (3) C, Ready-to-Learn Television; (4) D, Telecommunications Demonstration Project for Mathematics; and (5) E, Elementary Mathematics and Science Equipment Program. Eliminates the Foreign Language Assistance Program. Reauthorizes the Emergency Immigration Education Program and Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native Education. Establishes a new ESEA title IV, Public School Choice program. Reauthorizes and redesignates certain parts of the current title IV, Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities, under such new title IV. Reauthorizes appropriations for: (1) Magnet Schools Assistance; and (2) Public Charter Schools. Requires SEAs to hold assisted charter schools accountable for AYP in improving student performance. Declares it to be U.S. policy to: (1) support and stimulate improved public school performance through increased public school competition and increased Federal financial assistance; and (2) provide parents with more choices among public school options. Establishes a new title IV part C, Development of Public School Choice Programs, providing for competitive development grants. Sets forth a new title IV part D, Report Cards. Requires States to prepare and disseminate annual report cards on all elementary and secondary schools receiving funds under ESEA I-A or II-A. Reauthorizes and transfers ESEA Impact Aid provisions to a new title V (currently title VIII). Eliminates the current title V, Promoting Equity, including Women's Educational Equity, and Assistance to Address School Dropout Problems. Establishes a new title VI, High Performance and Quality Education Initiatives grants program (eliminating Innovative Education Program Strategies). Establishes a new ESEA title VII, Accountability, with sanctions and rewards based on meeting performance objectives. Directs the Secretary to make awards to States that ensure that all teachers teaching in their public schools are fully qualified or have exceeded certain student performance objectives, for distribution among high-performing LEAs for further distribution among high-performing schools, teachers, and principals. Repeals the Goals 2000: Educate America Act and the following ESEA titles: (1) V, Promoting Equity; (2) X, Programs of National Significance; (3) XI, Coordinated Services; (4) XII, School Facilities Infrastructure Improvement; and (5) XIII, Support and Assistive Programs to Improve Education.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2001
Collegiate Learning and Student Savings Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) permit private higher educational institutions, in addition to currently permitted State institutions, to establish qualified tuition programs; and (2) exclude from gross income such program distributions used for qualified higher education expenses. Amends the Investment Company Act of 1940 to exempt qualified tuition programs from the definition of an investment company.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2001
Bipartisan Patient Protection Act of 2001 - - Part II - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) with respect to Archer Medical Savings Accounts, increase the number of permitted account participants, increase the permitted size of a "small employer" from 50 to 100 or fewer employees, and extend, by two years, the cut-off year; (2) allow an eligible small employer a limited health insurance expenses credit; and (3) consider a "qualified health benefit purchasing coalition" (a non-profit corporation selling health insurance for small employers through licensed insurers) distribution as a distribution for a charitable purpose. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a program to award demonstration grants to States to allow States to demonstrate the effectiveness of innovative ways to increase access to health insurance through market reforms and other innovative means. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2001
Bipartisan Patient Protection Act of 2001 - Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the Internal Revenue Code with respect to health care coverage. Requires group health plans, and health insurance issuers providing health insurance coverage, to conduct utilization review activities in connection with the provision of benefits under such plans or coverage only in accordance with an approved utilization review program. Requires health plans and insurers to offer consumers: (1) more care options; and (2) greater access to patient information. Restricts interference by health plans and insurers with the doctor-patient relationship. Prohibits health plans and insurers from discriminating against a licensed health care professional with respect to participation or indemnification. Requires health plans and insurers to comply with patient protection requirements of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2001
Consumer Right-to-Know Act of 2001 - Amends the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to require country of origin information to be provided: (1) by retailers of beef, pork, lamb, and perishable agricultural commodities to consumers at the final point of sale; and (2) to such retailers by suppliers. Exempts food service establishments from such requirement.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2001
High-Speed Rail Investment Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit (to be included in gross income as interest) to holders of qualified Amtrak bonds issued by the National Railroad Passenger Corporation. Requires, with exceptions, State matching contributions for qualifying projects, which shall be used to redeem project-specific bonds, and if amounts remain, to fund other projects or bonds. Treats such contributions as tax-exempt facility bonds. Eliminates, for tax exemption for purposes, the governmental ownership requirement for mass commuting facility bonds. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to allocate bond funds for Alaska Railroad issuances. Requires the Corporation to annually submit a multi-year capital spending plan.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2001
Downed Animal Protection Act - Amends the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 to make it unlawful for any stockyard owner, market agency, or dealer to buy, sell, give, receive, transfer, market, hold, or drag any nonambulatory livestock unless such livestock has been humanely euthanized.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2001
Kids Deserve Freedom from Tobacco Act of 2001 or the KIDS Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to regulate any tobacco product (excluding tobacco growers, cooperatives, and warehouses) as a drug, device, or both. States that a prohibited act shall include the manufacture, labeling, distribution, advertising, and sale of any misbranded or adulterated tobacco product in violation of such Act or the KIDS Act. Directs the Secretary, respecting tobacco products, to: (1) establish a scientific advisory committee to review nicotine-related matters; (2) review, and restrict as necessary, mail order sales to persons under 18 years old; (3) provide for additional marketing, advertising, and access restrictions; and (4) establish good manufacturing practice standards. Requires tobacco product manufacturers to provide the Secretary with: (1) lists of tobacco and nontobacco ingredients and constituents; and (2) new ingredient safety assessments. Prohibits manufacturers from making reduced risk statements without the Secretary's prior approval.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2001
Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should establish an international education policy to enhance national security and significantly further U.S. foreign policy and global competitiveness. Lists policy objectives, including invigorating citizen and professional international exchange programs, ensuring that college graduates have knowledge of a second language and of a foreign area, and capturing 40 percent of the international student market for the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2001
Designates a specified day as National Airborne Day.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2001
Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2001- Repeals the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935. Prescribes procedural guidelines for both Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and State access to records of a holding company (including subsidiaries, associates, and affiliates) of a public utility or natural gas company. Instructs FERC to promulgate a final rule to exempt specified holding companies from such access requirements. Requires FERC to exempt any person or transaction from such access requirements if it finds that regulation of such person or transaction is irrelevant to the jurisdictional rates of a public utility or natural gas company. Retains the jurisdiction of FERC and State commissions to determine whether a public utility company or natural gas company may recover in rates any costs of affiliate transactions. Declares this Act inapplicable to: (1) the United States; (2) a State or its political subdivision; and (3) a foreign governmental authority not operating in the United States. Grants FERC certain Federal Power Act enforcement powers. Amends the Federal Power Act to repeal its conflict of jurisdiction guidelines.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2001
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the United States-Canada Softwood Lumber Agreement of 1996 should terminate with no extension; (2) the President should continue talks with Canada to promote open trade of softwood lumber between the two countries; and (3) the President should consult with consumers in future discussions regarding such trade.
United States · United States Congress · 24 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 · 24 January 2001
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) a commemorative postage stamp should be issued by the U.S. Postal Service in honor of the U.S.S. Wisconsin and all those who served aboard her; and (2) the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee should recommend to the Postmaster General that such a postage stamp be issued.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2001
Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act of 2001 - Establishes within the Department of Justice (DOJ) the Office of Children's Services which shall be responsible for coordinating and implementing law and policy for unaccompanied alien children. Establishes an Interagency Task Force on Unaccompanied Alien Children. States that an unaccompanied alien child found in the United States shall be promptly paroled into the United States and placed under the jurisdiction of the Office. Sets forth a family reunification preference order. Prohibits, with an exception for violent children, detention in adult or delinquent children facilities. Directs the Office to develop procedures for prohibited detention practices. Prohibits an unaccompanied alien child from being repatriated to a country unless an appropriate voluntary agency has conducted an assessment of the country conditions and the Office has conducted an assessment of the suitability of the placement of the child. Directs the Office to provide that each unaccompanied child have counsel and guardian ad litem. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish a special immigrant juvenile visa (J Visa). Expresses congressional commendation of the Immigration and Naturalization Service' s issuance of its "Guidelines for Children's Asylum Claims." Directs the Attorney General to provide immigration officers with related training. Amends the Act to exempt unaccompanied alien children from certain removal and asylum filing provisions. Directs the Comptroller General to report respecting the Office's effectiveness.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2001
Veterans' Higher Education Opportunities Act of 2001 - Amends Federal veterans' benefits provisions to change the amount of monthly veterans' educational assistance allowance under the Montgomery GI Bill from a fixed amount adjusted for inflation to an amount equal to the average monthly costs of tuition and expenses for commuter students at public institutions of higher education that award baccalaureate degrees (75 percent of such amount for veterans whose initial obligated period of active duty is two years). Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to determine such average monthly costs each year and to publish such amounts in the Federal Register.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2001
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2001 - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) with respect to soft money to prohibit: (1) a national committee of a political party from soliciting or receiving contributions or making expenditures not subject to FECA; (2) a national, State, district, or local committee of a political party from soliciting or donating funds to a tax-exempt organization; and (3) a candidate or an incumbent for Federal office from soliciting or receiving funds not subject to FECA, and from soliciting, receiving, directing, transferring, or spending funds in connection with any election other than an election for Federal office, or disbursing funds in connection with such an election unless the funds meet specified requirements. Establishes an individual annual limit of $10,000 for State committee contributions. Increases the aggregate individual contribution limit to $30,000. Requires national and State committees to report all receipts and disbursements. Repeals the building fund exception to the definition of contribution. Requires the filing of additional statements on electioneering communications with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC). Sets out provisions with regard to electioneering communications, including rules prohibiting corporate and labor disbursements for such communications. Adds requirements for reporting certain independent expenditures to the FEC. Prohibits a committee of a political party from making both independent and coordinated expenditures for a nominee. Requires coordinated activities to be considered as contributions to and expenditures by a candidate. Lists the permitted and prohibited uses of amounts contributed by a candidate or an incumbent. Amends the Federal criminal code to revise the prohibition against campaign fundraising on Federal property. Amends FECA concerning contributions and donations by foreign nationals in connection with Federal, State, or local elections. Amends the National Labor Relations Act to codify the U. S. Supreme Court decision in Communications Workers of America et al. v. Beck et al.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2001
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the credit for increasing research activities. Increases the alternative incremental credit rates.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2001
Child Care Infrastructure Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an employer-provided child care credit for qualified expenses to: (1) build, rehabilitate, or expand a qualified child care facility; (2) operate a qualified child care facility; (3) contract with a qualified child care facility to provide child care services to employees; or (4) reimburse an employee for expenses for child care which enables the employee to be gainfully employed.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2001
Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage Act of 2001 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to add a new part D (Outpatient Prescription Drug Benefit Program) (OPDBP) to provide Medicare coverage of certain outpatient prescription drugs and biological products for individuals entitled to benefits under Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) or enrolled under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance). Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide for an outpatient prescription drug benefit program for eligible Medicare beneficiaries. Outlines premiums and cost-sharing provisions, including those for a $250 deductible waivable for generic drugs, as well as coinsurance provisions. Sets out patient protections. Authorizes the Secretary to develop and implement an Employer Incentive Program that encourages sponsors of employment-based health care coverage to provide adequate prescription drug benefits to retired individuals. Establishes a Medicare Pharmacy and Therapeutics Advisory Committee. Amends SSA title XVIII part C (Medicare+Choice) to require each Medicare+Choice plan, with specified exceptions, to provide enrolled members items and services for which benefits are available under new part D. Amends SSA title XVIII part D to exclude Medicare part D costs from determination of the part B monthly premium. Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to: (1) include in Medicare cost-sharing for qualified Medicare beneficiaries premiums under OPDBP; and (2) provide for expanding medical assistance with regard to OPDBP coinsurance and deductible. Sets at 100 percent the Federal Medicaid percentage with respect to such medical assistance. Amends SSA title XI to increase Medicaid payments to territories. Amends SSA title XVIII to revise requirements for benefit packages for Medicare supplemental policies, and with regard to comprehensive immunosuppressive drug coverage for transplant patients. Directs the Secretary to study whether to: (1) establish a uniform format for pharmacy benefit cards provided to beneficiaries by eligible entities under OPDBP; and (2) develop systems to transfer prescriptions electronically under OPDBP from the prescriber to the pharmacist. Outlines provisions for General Accounting Office and Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) studies involving OPDBP.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2001
Patients' Bill of Rights Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA), the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to protect consumers in managed care plans and other health coverage. Sets forth standards relating to: (1) grievance and appeals procedures; (2) access to care; (3) access to information; and (4) protection of the doctor-patient relationship. Applies such quality care and patient protection standards to group health plans, group health coverage, and individual health coverage under specified provisions of PHSA, ERISA, and IRC. Directs the Secretaries of Labor, of Health and Human Services (HHS), and of the Treasury to ensure coordination in the implementation of this Act. Establishes the Health Care Panel to Devise a Uniform Explanation of Benefits. Requires the Panel to devise a single form for use by third-party health care payers for remittance of claims to providers. Directs the Secretary of HHS to determine the composition of the Panel, including equal numbers of representatives from specified types of groups. Prohibits this Act from having any effect upon the Social Security Act or its trust funds.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 2000
Calls upon the Government of Bolivia to continue its successful program of coca eradication toward the total eradication of illegal coca in Bolivia by the end of 2002. Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) the United States should fully support the democratically elected Government of Bolivia; (2) the release of emergency supplemental assistance already approved by the United States for sustainable development activities in Bolivia should be accelerated; (3) the President, on a priority basis, should look for additional ways to provide increased tangible support to the people and Government of Bolivia; (4) such Government should continue to respect the human rights of all of its citizens and continue to discuss legitimate concerns of Bolivia's rural population; and (5) indigenous leaders should enter into discussions with the Government on issues of concern and cease provocative acts that could lead to escalating violence.
United States · United States Congress · 11 October 2000
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue a maximum of 500,000 $1 coins in commemoration of the human rights legacy and leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.. Mandates that the proceeds from sales surcharges be paid promptly to the Library of Congress to purchase and maintain historical documents and other materials associated with the life and legacy of Dr. King.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 2000
Environmental Streamlining Improvement Act - Directs the Secretary of Transportation, taking into consideration comments submitted during certain proposed rulemaking proceedings regarding transportation projects (notice published on May 25, 2000, 65 Fed. Reg. 33922, 33960), to publish in the Federal Register for public comment revised notices of proposed rulemaking to: (1) implement the planning and environmental streamlining provisions of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century; and (2) address the other matters covered by such notices of proposed rulemaking published on May 25, 2000. Prohibits the Secretary from promulgating final rules (including interim final rules) to implement such provisions and other matters until on or after May 1, 2001.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 2000
Community Renewal and New Markets Act of 2000 - Title I: Incentives for Distressed Communities - Subtitle A: Designation and Treatment of Renewal Zone s- Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to provide for the designation of up to 30 renewal zones. Treats a renewal zone as an empowerment zone. Subtitle B: Modification of Incentives for Empowerment Zones - Revises provisions concerning empowerment zones, including: (1) extending empowerment zone treatment through 2009; (2) a 15 percent employment credit for all empowerment zones; (3) increased expensing under section 179 (election to expenses certain depreciable assets); (4) exclusion from gross income of limited amounts capital gain from the sale or exchange of a qualified empowerment zone asset; and (5) funding. Subtitle C: Modification of Tax Incentives for DC Zone - Extends and expands IRC District of Columbia Enterprise Zone provisions. Subtitle D: New Markets Tax Credi t- Establishes a new markets tax credit. Subtitle E: Modification of Tax Incentives for Puerto Rico - Revises the of Puerto Rico economic activity tax credit. Subtitle F: Individual Development Accounts - Permits any qualified financial institution, qualified nonprofit organization, or Indian tribe to establish one or more qualified individual development account programs. Defines such an account as an account established for an eligible individual as part of a qualified individual development account program. Sets forth provisions concerning such accounts, including: (1) the structure and administration of account programs; (2) procedures for opening an account and qualifying for matching funds; (3) account contributions and withdrawals; and (4) disregarding account funds of program participants for purposes of certain means-tested Federal programs. Subtitle G: Additional Incentives - Provides for, among other things: (1) the exclusion of certain amounts received under the National Health Service Corps Scholarship Program and the F. Edward Hebert Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship and Financial Assistance Program; (2) the extension of enhanced deduction for corporate donations of computer technology; (3) the extension of the adoption tax credit; and (4) the treatment of Alaska Native Settlement Trusts and Indian tribal governments under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act. Title II: Tax Incentives for Affordable Housing - Subtitle A: Low-Income Housing Credit - Modifies the low-income housing credit. Subtitle B: Historic Homes - Establishes a credit equal to 20 percent of the qualified rehabilitation expenditures made by a taxpayer with respect to a qualified historic home. Subtitle C: Forgiven Mortgage Obligations - Excludes from gross income certain forgiven residential mortgage obligations. Subtitle D: Mortgage Revenue Bonds - Provides: (1) for an increase in the purchase price limitation under mortgage subsidy bond rules based on median family income; (2) revised rules for residences located in presidentially declared disaster areas. Subtitle E: Property and Casualty Insurance - Exempts from income tax State-created organizations providing property and casualty insurance for property for which such coverage is otherwise unavailable. Title III: Tax Incentives for Urban and Rural Infrastructure - Increases the State ceiling on private activity bonds. Modifies the expensing of environmental remediation costs. Provides credits for: (1) broadband internet access; and (2) holders of qualified Amtrak bonds. Includes customer connection fees (including fees to connect a customer's line to or extend a main water or sewer line) as an excludable corporate income item within the definition of "contribution in aid of construction." Includes qualified leasehold improvement property as 15 year property for purposes of the accelerated cost recovery depreciation rules. Title IV: Tax Relief for Farmers - Set forth provisions concerning farmers, including: (1) providing specified deductions and credits (including a deduction for cash paid to a Farm, Fishing, and Ranch Risk Management Accounts; (2) exempting agricultural bonds from the State volume cap; and (3) income averaging. Title V: Tax Incentives for the Production of Energy - Sets forth provisions concerning the production of energy, including: (1) expensing geological and geophysical expenditures; (2) a credit for marginal domestic oil and natural gas well production; and (3) the definition of "foreign base company oil related income." Title VI: Tax Incentives for Conservation - Sets forth provisions concerning conservation, including: (1) the exclusion of 50 percent of gain on certain sales of land or interests in land or water to qualified entities for conservation purposes; (2) a deduction for the certain energy efficient commercial property expenditures; (3) modification of the credit for electricity produced from biomass; and (4) a credit for certain hybrid automobiles. Title VII: Additional Tax Provisions - Revises provisions concerning: (1) the nonaccrual experience method of accounting; (2) the exemption from personal holding company tax for lending or finance companies; (3) a deduction for certain expenses incurred in support of Native Alaskan subsistence whaling; and (4) an excise tax on persons who acquire structured settlement payments in factoring transactions.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2000
James Madison Commemoration Commission Act - Establishes a James Madison Commemoration Commission and an advisory committee to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the birth of James Madison. Prescribes the duties of the Commission, including, in cooperation with the advisory committee and the Library of Congress, to: (1) direct the Government Printing Office to compile and publish a book containing a selection of James Madison's most important writings and tributes to him; and (2) plan and coordinate symposia that will be devoted to providing a better understanding of James Madison's contribution to American culture. Requires the Commission to report to the President and Congress by February 15, 2002, on its recommendations, including regarding disposition of historically significant items donated to it.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2000
Immigrant Fairness Restoration Act of 2000 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to revise specified restrictions respecting: (1) cancellation of removal; (2) deportability and admissibility; (3) judicial review; and (4) right to counsel.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2000
Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage Act of 2000 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to add a new part D (Outpatient Prescription Drug Benefit Program) to provide Medicare coverage of certain outpatient prescription drugs and biological products for individuals entitled to benefits under Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) or enrolled under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance). (Sec. 2) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide for an outpatient prescription drug benefit program for eligible Medicare beneficiaries. Makes the cost of providing benefits under this part payable from the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund. Directs the Secretary to establish a process for an eligible Medicare beneficiary (including one enrolled in a Medicare+Choice plan under Medicare part C (Medicare+Choice)) to elect to enroll under new SSA title XVIII part D. Requires an eligible Medicare beneficiary to enroll under new SSA title XVIII part D in order to be eligible for covered outpatient drugs under Medicare. Directs the Secretary to disseminate information to eligible and prospective eligible beneficiaries. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to determine and promulgate a monthly premium rate for the succeeding year in accordance with specified guidelines. Requires monthly premiums to be credited to the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund. Outlines cost-sharing provisions, including those for a $250 deductible waivable for generic drugs, coinsurance payments for the drug in an amount equal to the applicable percentage of the cost of the drug, and inflation adjustment. Directs the Secretary to establish procedures for accepting bids and awarding competitive contracts for benefit administration. Sets out patient protections. Provides for: (1) accessibility of outpatient drugs; (2) continuity of care; (3) medically necessary drugs; (4) denials of care; (5) procedures to ensure a timely internal and external review and resolution of denials of coverage and complaints regarding the use of formularies; (6) confidentiality; (7) transfer of medical records; and (8) medical errors. Requires the eligible entity, among other things, to have in place procedures to control fraud, abuse, and waste. Authorizes the Secretary to develop and implement an Employer Incentive Program, including incentive payments, that encourages employers and other sponsors of employment-based health care coverage to provide adequate prescription drug benefits to retired individuals by subsidizing, in part, the sponsor's cost of providing coverage under qualifying plans. Outlines sponsor requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Establishes a Medicare Pharmacy and Therapeutics Advisory Committee for development of: (1) guidelines for administration of the outpatient prescription drug benefit program; (2) standards for required pharmacy and therapeutics committees of eligible entities; (3) procedures for determining if a drug is medically necessary to prevent or to slow the deterioration of, or improve or maintain, the health of an eligible beneficiary; (4) standards for defining therapeutic classes and other specified matters; (5) procedures to evaluate the bids submitted by eligible entities under SSA title XVIII part D; and (6) procedures to ensure that eligible entities under contract are in compliance with requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Applies to SSA title XVIII part D the coverage exclusions under Medicare parts A or B for any expenses incurred for certain items or services. Provides that prescription drugs are not excluded from such coverage if reasonable and necessary. (Sec. 3) Amends SSA title XVIII part C to: (1) require each Medicare+Choice plan, with specified exceptions, to provide enrolled members items and services for which benefits are available under part D; (2) permit a Medicare+Choice organization offering a Medicare+Choice plan to elect a benefit provider as long as the organization complies with outpatient drug access requirements; (3) require the Secretary to determine a Medicare+Choice capitation rate for outpatient drug benefits for enrollees in accordance with specified payment rules; and (4) prohibit a Medicare+Choice organization from requiring an enrollee to pay an outpatient prescription drug benefit deductible or a coinsurance percentage exceeding the applicable amount. (Sec. 4) Amends SSA title XVIII part D to exclude Medicare part D costs from determination of the part B monthly premium. (Sec. 5) Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to: (1) include in Medicare cost-sharing for qualified Medicare beneficiaries premiums under the Outpatient Prescription Drug Benefit Program; and (2) provide for expanding medical assistance with regard to the coinsurance and deductible under such Program. Sets at 100 percent the Federal Medicaid percentage with respect to such medical assistance. Provides for the nonapplicability of payment differential requirements to SSA title XVIII part D cost-sharing. Amends SSA title XI to increase according to a certain formula Medicaid payments to territories for FY 2002 and thereafter. (Sec. 6) Amends SSA title XVIII to revise requirements for benefit packages for Medicare supplemental (Medigap) policies. (Sec. 7) Directs the Secretary to study and report to Congress on the feasibility and advisability of: (1) establishing a uniform format for pharmacy benefit cards provided to beneficiaries by eligible entities under the Outpatient Prescription Drug Benefit Program; and (2) developing systems to transfer prescriptions electronically under such program from the prescriber to the pharmacist. (Sec. 8) Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2000
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, with respect to sugars, syrups, and molasses (excluding cane or beet sugar) that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption during any fiscal year under certain quantitative import restrictions (tariff-rate quotas), to establish a duty on such articles and other articles if they are subsequently used for the commercial extraction or production of sugar, or such articles are used in any manner that circumvent any quota imposed under the Schedule.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2000
Latino and Immigrant Fairness Act of 2000 - Title I: Central American and Haitian Parity Act - Central American and Haitian Parity Act of 2000 - Amends the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (Act) to: (1) extend permanent resident status adjustment provisions to qualifying Salvadoran, Guatemalan, Honduran, and Haitian nationals; and (2) extend the application filing deadline. Permits certain pending applications filed by Salvadoran or Guatemalan nationals under the Act or Haitian nationals under the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998 to be converted to an application for status adjustment under the Act. Amends such Acts to: (1) authorize the Attorney General to waive certain grounds of inadmissibility; and (2) provide for issuance of immigrant visas to certain spouses and children. Provides for the limited reopening of certain orders of deportation, exclusion, or removal by certain Haitian, Cuban, or Nicaraguan nationals. Title II: Adjustment of Status of Other Aliens - Makes certain aliens from the Soviet Union, Russia, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Roumania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Albania, East Germany, Yugoslavia, and Liberia residing in the United States eligible for status adjustment as applicable under the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act. Title III: Restoration of Section 245(i) Adjustment of Status Benefits - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate the restriction that only aliens with preference petitions or labor certifications filed by January 14, 1998, are eligible to adjust to permanent resident status without leaving the United States if they entered without inspection or fall within one of other specified classes (including aliens accepting unauthorized employment and aliens not maintaining legal nonimmigrant status). Title IV: Extension of Registry Benefits - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to extend registry benefits to aliens who entered the United States prior to January 1, 1986.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2000
Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 2000 - Title I: Provisions Relating to Part A - Subtitle A: Skilled Nursing Facilities - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) with regard to eliminating the reduction in the skilled nursing facility (SNF) market basket update. (Sec. 102) Amends the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999 (BBRA) to revise the BBRA increase for SNFs in FY 2001 and 2002. (Sec. 103) Requires a Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) study and report to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Congress on nursing home costs to determine the adequacy of Medicare payment rates for items and services furnished by SNFs. Grants the Secretary the authority to make payment adjustments for covered SNF services if appropriate as a result of the study. Subtitle B: PPS Hospitals - Amends SSA title XVIII to: (1) revise the reduction of indirect graduate medical education payments; (2) eliminate the reduction in the Prospective Payment System (PPS) hospital payment update; (3) eliminate the reduction in disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments; and (4) change the payment formulas for DSH hospitals; and (5) modify the payment rate for Puerto Rico hospitals. (Sec. 115) Increases the DSH allotments under Medicaid for the District of Columbia. Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (State Children's Health Insurance) (SCHIP) to provide for the optional eligibility of certain alien pregnant women and children for Medicaid and SCHIP. (Sec. 117) Requires a MedPAC study on hospital area wage indexes for a report to the Secretary and Congress. Subtitle C: PPS Exempt Hospitals - Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for the treatment of certain cancer hospitals (Sec. 122) Makes certain changes with regard to the PPS for inpatient rehabilitation services and payment during the transition period under current law. Subtitle D: Hospice Care - Amends SSA title XVIII to revise payments for hospice care. Subtitle E: Other Provisions - Amends SSA title XVIII to outline various provisions concerned with: (1) hospital compliance with the Bloodborne Pathogens standard; (2) an Informatics and Data Systems Grant Program; and (3) relief from the Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) late enrollment penalty for a group buy-in for State and local retirees. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle F: Transitional Provisions - Reclassifies certain counties and areas in specified States for purposes of reimbursement under the Medicare program. Title II: Provisions Relating to Part B - Subtitle A: Hospital Outpatient Services - Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for reduction of the effective hospital outpatient department (HOPD) coinsurance rate to 20 percent by 2019. (Sec. 202) Revises the formula for calculating the base payment-to-cost-ratio component of HOPD PPS transitional corridor payments to include in such formula (and so cover) certain hospitals that did not submit cost reports for 1996. (Sec. 203) Provides a permanent guarantee of pre-Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA '97) payment levels for HOPD services furnished by children's hospitals. Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Physicians - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to grant medical students a deferment on their student loans for a period not to exceed the length of their full initial residency period. (Sec. 212) Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to the Secretary and Congress on: (1) the post-payment audit process under Medicare as it applies to physicians; and (2) the aggregate effects of regulatory, audit, oversight, and paperwork burdens on physicians and other health care providers participating in Medicare. (Sec. 213) Directs MEDPAC to study and report to the Secretary and Congress on the refinements to the practice expense relative value units during the transition to a resource-based practice expense system for physician payments under Medicare. Subtitle C: Ambulance Services - Amends SSA title XVIII with regard to the establishment of a fee schedule for ambulance services to allow a supplier of ambulance services to elect to forego phase-in of such schedule and receive payments based only upon it. (Sec. 222) Establishes a prudent layperson standard for emergency ambulance services. (Sec. 223) Eliminates the reduction in inflation adjustments for ambulance services. (Sec. 224) Directs the Secretary to study and report to Congress on the means by which rural areas with low population densities can be identified for the purpose of designating areas in which the cost of providing ambulance services would be expected to be higher than similar services provided in more heavily populated areas because of low usage. (Sec. 225) Outlines provisions for interim payments for rural ground ambulance services until such time as the established fee schedule is modified by a specified regulation. (Sec. 226) Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to the Secretary and Congress on the costs of providing emergency and medical transportation services across the range of acuity levels of conditions for which such transportation services are provided. Subtitle D: Preventive Services - Amends SSA title XVIII to: (1) prohibit deductibles and coinsurance for various specified preventive benefits; (2) add lancets to the definition of durable medical equipment; and (3) provide coverage of counseling for cessation of tobacco use, glaucoma detection tests, and medical nutrition therapy services for beneficiaries with diabetes, a cardiovascular disease, or a renal disease. (Sec. 235) Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct a series of studies, for an annual report to the Congress, designed to identify preventive interventions that can be delivered in the primary care setting that are most valuable to older Americans; and (2) contract with the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences to study and report periodically to the President on current literature and best practices in the field of health promotion and disease prevention among Medicare beneficiaries. (Sec. 237) Provides for fast-track consideration of preventive benefit legislation resulting from recommendations accompanying such study reports. Subtitle E: Other Services - Amends SSA title XVIII with regard to: (1) revision of the moratorium on caps for therapy services; (2) revision of coverage of immunosuppressive drugs; (3) extension of certain secondary payer requirements; (4) State accreditation of diabetes self-management training programs; (5) elimination of the reduction in payment amounts for orthotics and prosthetics, parenteral and enteral nutrients, supplies, and equipment and oxygen and oxygen equipment; (6) standards regarding payment for certain orthotics and prosthetics; (7) revision of the definition of orthotics; (8) new pap smear technologies and other new clinical laboratory test technologies; (9) increase in payments for certified nurse-midwife services; and (10) payment for administration services associated with chemotherapy and for blood clotting drug-related activities. (Sec. 249) Directs MEDPAC to study and report to the Secretary and Congress on the provision of in-home infusion therapy nursing services. Title III: Provisions Relating to Parts A and B - Subtitle A: Home Health Services - Amends SSA title XVIII to eliminate a specified 15 percent reduction in cost and per beneficiary limits with respect to payment rates for home health services under the Medicare PPS. (Sec. 302) Excludes from such PPS certain nonroutine medical supplies furnished by a home health agency. Details certain study and reporting requirements with regard to such exclusion. (Sec. 303) Permits home health patients with Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia to participate in adult-day care programs. (Sec. 304) Directs the Secretary to establish standards for the operation of a branch office, a service site for home health services controlled and supervised by a home health agency. (Sec. 305) Provides for the treatment of home health services provided in certain counties in the State of New York. Subtitle B: Direct Graduate Medical Education - Provides that, for cost reporting periods between October 1, 2000, and October 1, 2005, in applying the limitations regarding the total number of full-time equivalent interns and residents in the field of allopathic or osteopathic medicine under Medicare for a hospital, the Secretary shall not take into account a maximum of three interns or residents in the field of geriatric medicine to the extent the hospital increases the number of geriatric interns or residents above the number of such interns or residents for the hospital's most recent cost reporting period ending before October 1, 2000. (Sec. 312) Amends SSA title XI part A (General Provisions) to establish a program of payments to children's hospitals that operate graduate medical education programs. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 313) Provides that, effective for cost reporting periods beginning on or after October 1, 1999, for purposes of Medicare payments to hospitals for costs of approved educational activities, such activities shall include the clinical portion of professional educational training programs recognized by the Secretary for clinical psychologists. (Sec. 314) Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for the treatment of certain newly established residency programs in computing Medicare payments for the costs of medical education. Subtitle C: Miscellaneous - Amends SSA title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) to provide for a waiver of the 24-month waiting period for Medicare coverage of individuals disabled with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Title IV: Rural Provider Provisions - Subtitle A: Critical Access Hospitals - Amends SSA title XVIII with regard to payments to critical access hospitals for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests. (Sec. 402) Amends SSA title XVIII, as amended by BBRA, to revise the payment for professional services provided by a critical access hospital. (Sec. 403) Amends SSA title XVIII to permit critical access hospitals to operate PPS-exempt distinct part psychiatric and rehabilitation units. Subtitle B: Medicare Dependent, Small Rural Hospital Program - Amends SSA title XVIII to: (1) make the Medicare-dependent, small rural hospital program permanent; and (2) give any hospital under such program the option of basing eligibility for payment on discharges during any of the three most recent audited cost reporting periods in lieu of the current basing of eligibility for payment on discharges during the cost reporting period beginning in FY 1987. Subtitle C: Sole Community Hospitals - Amends SSA title XVIII to extend the option to use rebased target amounts to all sole community hospitals. (Sec. 422) States that, for purposes of discharges occurring on or after October 1, 2000, the Greensville Memorial Hospital located in Emporia, Virginia, shall be deemed to have satisfied the travel time criteria under applicable Medicare provisions for classification as a sole community hospital. Subtitle D: Other Rural Hospital Provisions - Amends SSA title XVIII to exempt Medicare swing bed hospitals from the PPS for skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). (Sec. 431) Amends BBRA to make January 1, 2001, the effective date of the elimination of certain restrictions with respect to the hospital swing bed program. (Sec. 432) Amends SSA title XVIII to mandate pre-BBA '97 payment levels for outpatient services furnished by rural hospitals. (Sec. 433) Provides for the treatment of certain physician pathology services under Medicare. Subtitle E: Other Rural Provisions - Amends SSA title XVIII with regard to bonus payments in the case of physicians' services furnished to an individual who is covered under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) and who incurs expenses for such services in a health professional shortage area. Extends such bonus payments to physician assistant and nurse practitioner services. Eliminates the requirement to make such payments on a monthly or a quarterly basis. (Sec. 442) Modifies: (1) the exemption to the limits established on payment for provider-based rural health clinic services in the case of such clinics in rural hospitals with less than 50 beds; and (2) payment for certain physician assistant services. (Sec. 444) Directs the Secretary to provide for bonus payments for rural home health agencies in the case of home health services furnished in a rural area in 2001 and 2002. (Sec. 445) Excludes clinical social worker services and worker services performed under a contract with a rural health clinic or a Federally-qualified health center from the PPS for SNFs. (Sec. 446) Covers marriage and family therapist services provided in rural health clinics under Medicare. (Sec. 447) Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to: (1) create a capital infrastructure revolving loan program for rural entities for projects for capital improvements; (2) provide for grants to assist eligible small rural hospitals in offsetting the costs of establishing data systems to implement PPSs under Medicare, and to comply with administrative simplification requirements under Medicare part C (Medicare+Choice), or to reduce medication errors; (3) provide for grants to eligible small rural hospitals to provide relief for financial distress that has a negative impact on access to care for Medicare beneficiaries who reside in a rural area. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 450) Amends BBA '97 to revise provisions for Medicare reimbursement for telehealth services with respect to: (1) the methodology for determining the amount of payments; (2) reimbursement for Medicare beneficiaries who do not reside in a health professional shortage area; (3) telehealth coverage for direct patient care; (4) eligibility for telehealth reimbursement for all physicians and practitioners; and (5) telehealth services provided using store-and-forward technologies. (Sec. 451) Directs MEDPAC to study and report to the Secretary and Congress on the effect of low patient and procedure volume on the financial status of low-volume, isolated rural health care providers participating in Medicare. Title V: Provisions Relating to Part C (Medicare+Choice Program) and Other Medicare Managed Care Provisions - Amends SSA title XVIII part C (Medicare+Choice) with regard to eligibility, election, and enrollment to provide for restoring the effective date of elections and changes of elections of Medicare+Choice plans. (Sec. 502) Amends SSA title XVIII part D (Miscellaneous) with regard to certification of Medicare supplemental health insurance (Medigap) policies. Sets forth a special Medigap enrollment anti-discrimination provision for certain beneficiaries. (Sec. 503) Amends SSA title XVIII part C with regard to payments to Medicare+Choice organizations to: (1) increase the national per capita Medicare+Choice growth percentage in 2001 and 2002; and (2) modify area-specific and national percentages provisions with respect to calculation of annual Medicare+Choice capitation rates. (Sec. 505) Delays from July 1, 2000, to November 1, 2000, the deadline for a Medicare+Choice organization to withdraw the offering of a Medicare+Choice plan under part C (or otherwise to submit information required for the offering of such a plan) for 2001. (Sec. 506) Amends SSA title XVIII to make certain amounts in the Medicare trust funds available for the Secretary's share of Medicare+Choice education and enrollment-related costs. (Sec. 507) Amends BBRA to revise terms and conditions for extension of Medicare community nursing organization demonstration projects. (Sec. 508) Amends SSA title XVIII part C with regard to payments to Medicare+Choice organizations to modify payment rules for certain frail elderly Medicare beneficiaries. Title VI: Provisions Relating to Individuals with End-Stage Renal Disease - Amends SSA title XVIII part D with respect to Medicare coverage for end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients to change the methodology for determining the update in the renal dialysis composite rate for end state renal dialysis services furnished after January 1, 2001. (Sec. 602) Amends SSA title XVIII part C with regard to payments to Medicare+Choice organizations to provide for revision of payment rates for ESRD patients enrolled in Medicare+Choice plans. (Sec. 603) Permits ESRD beneficiaries to enroll in another Medicare+Choice plan if the plan in which they are enrolled is terminated. (Sec. 604) Amends SSA title XVIII part B to provide for the coverage of certain vascular access services for ESRD beneficiaries provided by ambulatory surgical centers. (Sec. 605) Directs the Secretary to: (1) collect information on the satisfaction of each ESRD Medicare beneficiary with the quality of health care under the original fee-for-service Medicare program and the Medicare+Choice program, and the access of each beneficiary to that care; (2) analyze such information to determine, among other things, the kinds of health care that each nondialysis health care provider provides to each ESRD Medicare beneficiary for the treatment of ESRD and each comorbidity and the quality of health care provided to each such beneficiary enrolled under the Medicare+Choice program compared to each beneficiary enrolled under the original fee-for-service Medicare program; and (3) make such information collected and analysis conducted available to the public each year. Title VII: Access to Care Improvements Through Medicaid and SCHIP - Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to create a new PPS for federally-qualified health centers and rural health clinics. (Sec. 702) Amends SSA title XIX to make permanent the extension of eligibility for medical assistance, and give States the option of electing a 12-month initial eligibility period in lieu of the current six month initial eligibility period. (Sec. 703) Amends SSA title XIX with regard to State Medicaid plans to provide for coordination with Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) under SSA title XXI of the application of resource and income eligibility standards for certain Medicaid-eligible individuals under certain conditions, as well as providing for the automatic reassessment of eligibility for Medicaid and SCHIP benefits for children losing Medicaid- or SCHIP-eligibility. (Sec. 704) Amends SSA titles XIX and XXI to qualify additional entities to determine presumptive eligibility for low-income children under Medicaid and SCHIP. (Sec. 705) Amends SSA title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) to: (1) increase the authorization of appropriations; and (2) provide for coordination with Medicaid and SCHIP. (Sec. 706) Amends SSA title XIX to provide for increased access to Medicare cost-sharing assistance for low-income beneficiaries. (Sec. 707) Provides for: (1) optional State Medicaid coverage of breast and cervical cancer prevention and treatment coverage for certain breast and cervical cancer patients; (2) optional State Medicaid presumptive eligibility for certain breast or cervical cancer patients; and (3) an enhanced Federal match to be used under SCHIP with respect to medical assistance provided to such breast and cervical cancer patients receiving such optional State Medicaid coverage. Title VIII: Other Provisions - Amends the Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund Act of 1998 to make appropriations to the Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund for FY 2001. (Sec. 802) Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to increase appropriations for special diabetes programs for children with type 1 diabetes and for Indians. (Sec. 803) Directs the Secretary to award demonstration grants to up to seven States to conduct innovative programs designed to improve outreach to homeless individuals and families under specified Social Security programs with respect to enrollment and the provision of services under such programs. Makes appropriations. (Sec. 804) Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and PHSA to prohibit health insurance provided through a managed care organization under a group health plan, or through a health insurance issuer providing coverage in connection with a group health plan, (and, for the PHSA, health insurance in the individual market) from denying coverage of services provided by a continuing care retirement community or other qualified facility if they are: (1) post-hospitalization services in the same community or facility as in pre-hospitalization; (2) skilled nursing services, without a preceding hospitalization, which are necessary to prevent hospitalization; or (3) furnished in the same facility the participant's or beneficiary's spouse already resides in. Makes the prohibition: (1) depend on whether such services are otherwise covered; and (2) regardless of whether the organization is under contract with the community or facility. Prohibits related denial of enrollment or renewal, incentives to enrollees, and penalties or incentives to physicians. Declares that State laws are not preempted which meet certain requirements, including any more protective of participants or beneficiaries than those of this Act. Provides for enforcement. (Sec. 805) Directs the Secretary to award grants to eligible States to support real choice systems change initiatives that establish specific action steps and specific timetables to: (1) achieve enduring system improvements; and (2) provide consumer-responsive long-term services and supports to eligible individuals in the most integrated setting appropriate based on the unique strengths and needs of the individual, the priorities and concerns of the individual (or, as appropriate, the individual's representative), and the individual's desires with regard to participation in community life. Requires each State, in order to receive such a grant, to establish a Consumer Task Force to assist in the development, implementation, and evaluation of real choice systems change initiatives. Provides funding.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2000
Latino and Immigrant Fairness Act of 2000 - Title I: Central American and Haitian Parity Act - Central American and Haitian Parity Act of 2000 - Amends the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (Act) to: (1) extend permanent resident status adjustment provisions to qualifying Salvadoran, Guatemalan, Honduran, and Haitian nationals; and (2) extend the application filing deadline. Permits certain pending applications filed by Salvadoran or Guatemalan nationals under the Act or Haitian nationals under the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998 to be converted to an application for status adjustment under the Act. Amends such Acts to: (1) authorize the Attorney General to waive certain grounds of inadmissibility; and (2) provide for issuance of immigrant visas to certain spouses and children. Provides for the limited reopening of certain orders of deportation, exclusion, or removal by certain Haitian, Cuban, or Nicaraguan nationals. Title II: Adjustment of Status of Other Aliens - Makes certain aliens from the Soviet Union, Russia, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Roumania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Albania, East Germany, and Yugoslavia residing in the United States eligible for status adjustment as applicable under the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act. Title III: Restoration of Section 245(i) Adjustment of Status Benefits - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate the restriction that only aliens with preference petitions or labor certifications filed by January 14, 1998, are eligible to adjust to permanent resident status without leaving the United States if they entered without inspection or fall within one of other specified classes (including aliens accepting unauthorized employment and aliens not maintaining legal nonimmigrant status). Title IV: Extension of Registry Benefits - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Ac to extend registry benefits to aliens who entered the United States prior to January 1, 1986.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2000
Federal Judgeship Act of 2000 - Directs the President to make appointments to specified additional permanent and temporary judgeships in various U.S. circuit courts of appeal and district courts. Establishes a judicial district for: (1) the Northern Mariana Islands; and (2) the Virgin Islands comprising two divisions (the Saint Croix Division and the Saint Thomas and Saint John Division). Includes the Northern Mariana Islands within the ninth judicial circuit. Authorizes the Chief Judge of the ninth circuit to assign judges of courts of record of the Northern Mariana Islands or Guam to serve temporarily as a judge in the United States District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands when necessary. Grants such designated judges the powers of a magistrate judge. Authorizes the judges of the District Court of the Northern Mariana Islands to be summoned biennially to judicial conferences. Repeals provisions: (1) directing that such a judge who retires from office after meeting specified age and service requirements receive an annuity equal to the salary received at the time of retirement during the remainder of the judge's lifetime; and (2) granting the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit exclusive jurisdiction of an appeal from an interlocutory order of the District Court of the Northern Mariana Islands. Permits any U.S. attorney appointed for the Northern Mariana Islands to serve at the same time as U.S. attorney in another judicial district. Allows individuals from the Northern Mariana Islands to serve as magistrates.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2000
Medicare, Medicaid, and MCH Smoking Cessation Promotion Act of 2000 - Amends titles V (Maternal and Child Health Services), XVIII (Medicare), and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage of counseling for cessation of tobacco use under the Maternal and Child Health Services, Medicare, and Medicaid programs.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 2000
Designates October 20, 2000, as National Mammography Day.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2000
Professional Employer Organization Workers Benefits Act of 2000 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to provide that, for purposes of the taxes imposed by subtitle C (Employment Taxes), a certified professional employer organization shall be treated as the employer (and no other person shall be treated as the employer) of any work site employee performing services for any customer of such organization, but only with respect to remuneration remitted by such organization to such work site employee and exemptions and exclusions which would otherwise apply shall apply with respect to such taxes imposed on such remuneration. Sets forth provisions concerning: (1) secondary customer liability for employment taxes; (2) liability with respect to individuals purported to be work site employees; and (3) special rules for related parties. Amends IRC definition provisions of subchapter D (Deferred Compensation, Etc.) of subtitle A (Income Taxes) to provide that, subject to exceptions, if a certified professional employer organization establishes or maintains a plan to provide employee benefits to work site employees, then, for purposes of applying the provisions of this title applicable to such benefits: (1) such plan shall be treated as a single employer plan established and maintained by the organization; (2) the organization shall be treated as the employer of the work site employees eligible to participate in the plan; and (3) the portion of such plan covering work site employees shall not be taken into account in applying such provisions to the remaining portion of such plan or to any other plan providing employee benefits (other than to work site employees). Defines "certified professional employer organization" and "work site employee." Sets forth provisions concerning, among other things: (1) employer aggregation rules; (2) determination of employment status; and (3) reporting requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2000
Consumer Awareness of Market-based Drug Prices Act of 2000 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to publicize certain market-based drug pricing information received from drug manufacturers, including: (1) average manufacturer's price; (2) manufacturer's best price with respect to single source and innovator multiple source drugs; and (3) the base average and initial average manufacturer price for newly marketed drugs used to determine an additional rebate for single source and innovator multiple source drugs. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2000
Port and Maritime Security Act of 2000 - Directs the Commandant of the Coast Guard, in cooperation with the Maritime Administration and the U.S. Customs Service, to establish a Port Security Task Force to: (1) coordinate programs to enhance the security and safety of U.S. seaports; (2) coordinate the security operations of local seaport security committees; (3) develop standards and procedures for the conduct and triennial review and revision, if necessary, of seaport security threat assessments for U.S. seaports, including collection, maintenance, and dissemination of seaport infrastructure and overt-security equipment maps and charts; and (4) develop voluntary minimum security guidelines, linked to the U.S. Coast Guard Captain-of-the-Port controls for maritime trade, which include a model seaport concept and a set of recommended best practices guidelines for the use of maritime terminal operators. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 6) Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to authorize the Secretary of Transportation to guarantee loans for seaport security infrastructure improvements at any U.S. seaport involved in international trade. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 7) Requires the U.S. Customs Service to establish a competitive matching grant program for half the cost of developing technology to enhance security at U.S. seaports. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 8) Amends the International Maritime and Post Security Act to require the Secretary to report annually on maritime security and terrorism. (Sec. 9) Requires the Secretary, acting through the Maritime Administration, to publish a revised version of the "Port Security: A National Planning Guide" and make it available on the Internet. (Sec. 10) Directs the U.S. Coast Guard to establish seaport security committees to: (1) utilize the information made available under this Act; (2) implement port security threat assessments; and (3) implement security guidelines. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 11) Directs the Attorney General to coordinate the collection of port-related crime data. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 12) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Transportation, and the Attorney General to work with each other, the Task Force, and the States to establish shared dockside inspection facilities at U.S. seaports for Federal and State agencies. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 13) Directs the U.S. Customs Service to: (1) require all ocean manifests to be transmitted to the Service in electronic form in sufficient time for its effective use; (2) require all entries of goods, including in-bond entries, to provide to the Service the same information required for entries of goods released into U.S. commerce before the goods are released for shipment from the seaport of first arrival; and (3) distribute such information on a real-time basis to any Federal, State, or local government agency with a regulatory or law-enforcement interest in the goods. (Sec. 14) Amends Federal shipping law to reauthorize specified tonnage duties.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2000
Omnibus Long-term Care Act of 2000 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), the Older Americans Act of 1965 (OAA), the Public Health Service Act (PHSA), and the Social Security Act (SSA) with respect to long-term health care. Title I: Long Term Care - Subtitle A: Tax Incentives - Amends IRC to allow an additional itemized deduction for a certain percentage of the amount of eligible long-term care premiums paid during the taxable year for coverage for the taxpayer, spouse, and dependents under a qualified long-term care insurance contract. Sets forth special rules for individuals who have attained age 55. Adds contingent nonforfeiture requirements to specified insurance model regulations under IRC. Allows long-term care insurance to be offered under: (1) cafeteria plans, for purposes of IRC definition of qualified benefits; and (2) flexible spending arrangements, for purposes of IRC provisions relating to employer contributions to accident and health plans. (Sec. 102) Allows a nonrefundable personal credit for taxpayers who are eligible caregivers for individuals with long-term care needs. Sets forth: (1) limitations based on adjusted gross income; and (2) special rules where there is more than one eligible caregiver for an individual. Subtitle B: Federal Employees and Uniformed Services Group Long-Term Care Insurance - Long-Term Care Security Act - Amends Federal civil service provisions to direct the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to establish and administer a program through which Federal employees and annuitants, current and retired members of the uniformed services, and their qualified relatives may obtain long-term care insurance through a qualified carrier (a company licensed to issue such insurance in all States). (Sec. 112) Directs OPM, without regard to statutes requiring competitive bidding, to contract with one or more qualified carriers to provide such insurance. Sets forth contract terms and conditions, including that the carrier participate in an administrative process to settle claim disputes. Provides for seven-year contracts. Requires OPM, after a certain period, to recommend to specified congressional committees whether the insurance program should be continued. Requires each master insurance contract to include full portability of benefits. Makes insured individuals responsible for 100 percent of the charges of coverage and allows individuals to have amounts withheld from pay for their coverage and coverage for qualified relatives. Requires each carrier to maintain a separate accounting of premium amounts received. Provides that contract terms for coverage or benefits under this Act shall preempt State and local law relating to long-term care insurance or contracts. Requires qualified carriers to furnish reasonable reports and permit audits. Requires two reports from the General Accounting Office to OPM and each House of Congress evaluating the insurance program. Provides jurisdiction for disputed claims through U.S. district courts after exhausting all available administrative remedies. Subtitle C: Seniors' Access to Continuing Care - Senior Access to Continuing Care Act of 2000 - Amends ERISA and PHSA to prohibit health insurance provided through a managed care organization under a group health plan (and, for the PHSA, health insurance in the individual market) from denying coverage with regard to a continuing care retirement community or other qualified facility concerning: (1) post-hospitalization services in the same community or facility as in pre-hospitalization; (2) skilled nursing services without a preceding hospitalization; and (3) the same facility the participant's or beneficiary's spouse already resides in. Makes the prohibition: (1) depend on whether such services are otherwise covered; and (2) regardless of whether the organization is under contract with the community or facility. Prohibits related denial of enrollment or renewal, incentives to enrollees, and penalties or incentives to physicians. Declares that this subtitle does not preempt State laws meeting certain requirements, including requirements more protective of participants or beneficiaries than requirements under this subtitle. Provides for enforcement. (Sec. 125) Expresses the sense of the Senate concerning the care of older Americans. Subtitle D: Expansion of Home-Based Long-Term Care Services Under the Social Services Block Grant - Amends SSA to restore a State's authority to transfer up to ten percent of funds for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) to the Social Services Block Grant. (Sec. 132) Restores a specified amount of funds for the Social Services Block Grant. (Sec. 133) Appropriates additional funds for expansion of home-based long-term care services. Title II: Support and Planning for Long-Term Care - Subtitle A: Support and Surveys - Amends OAA to establish the National Family Caregiver Support Grant Program. Provides for: (1) grants to States for State programs and for area agencies on aging to provide multifaceted systems of support services for family caregivers and other caregivers who are informal providers of in-home services and community care for older individuals; (2) innovation grants; and (3) activities of national significance. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 202) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to conduct and report on a multi-city and county survey to determine if communities are elder-ready, or prepared to accommodate the needs of aging baby boomers. Subtitle B: Education and Studies - Directs the Secretary of Labor, in conjunction with the Secretary of HHS and the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, to establish and carry out a national public information campaign to provide employers and employees with information concerning the benefits of long-term health care coverage. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 212) Directs the Comptroller General to prepare and submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the long-term care programs of the Veterans Administration. (Sec. 213) Directs the Secretary of HHS to conduct, and report to Congress on, at least one study to determine: (1) activities or programs to improve the quality of life for the elderly; (2) measures to be taken to prevent or delay the onset of age-related functional decline and disease and disability among the elderly; (3) whether medicare health promotion and disease prevention benefits reduce or delay the need by seniors for long-term care services; and (4) the manner in which the aging of the population in the United States will impact the administration and solvency of Federal programs.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2000
FamilyCare Act of 2000 - Renames the State Children's Health Insurance program (SCHIP) under title XXI of the Social Security Act (SSA) as the FamilyCare program to provide for: (1) FamilyCare coverage of parents under Medicaid (SSA title XIX) as well as new SSA title XXI; (2) optional FamilyCare coverage of parents of targeted low-income children; (3) automatic eligibility for FamilyCare coverage of children born to a parent on Family Care assistance; (4) optional coverage of legal immigrants and of children through age 20 under both Medicaid and FamilyCare; (5) application of simplified FamilyCare procedures under Medicaid; (6) increased welfare-to-work transition (from six months to 12 months) under FamilyCare; (7) elimination of the 100 hour rule and other SSA title IV part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) related eligibility restrictions under FamilyCare; (8) limitations on specified conflicts of interests under SSA titles XIX and XXI; (9) increased FamilyCare allotment for FY 2002 through 2004; and (10) authority to pay Medicaid expansion costs from the FamilyCare appropriation. Makes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a program to award demonstration grants to States to allow them to demonstrate the effectiveness of innovative ways to increase access to health insurance through market reforms and other innovative means. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to award demonstration grants to a limited number of States to conduct innovative programs designed to improve outreach to homeless individuals and families under specified programs for the homeless (including SCHIP) with respect to enrollment of such individuals and families under such programs and the provision of services under such programs. Makes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2000
Creating New Markets and Empowering America Act of 2000 - Title I: New Markets Tax Credit - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) to provide a limited new markets tax credit for taxpayers holding a qualified equitable investment for amounts paid to a qualified community development entity for authorized investments. Title II: America's Private Investment Companies - Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to license America's Private Investment Companies (for-profit investment entities qualifying as community development entities). Title III: Community Development and Venture Capita l- Subtitle A: New Markets Venture Capital Program - Amends the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to establish a New Markets Venture Capital Program under which the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) is authorized to make grants to new market venture capital companies (NMVCs) and specialized small business investment companies and to guarantee debentures issued by NMVCs. Subtitle B: Community Development Venture Capital Assistance - Authorizes the SBA Administrator to: (1) contract with one or more community development organizations to carry out training and research activities for individuals in community development venture capital organizations (privately-controlled organizations which promote community development in low-income communities through investment in private businesses); and (2) make grants to community development organizations for the cost of such training and research activities and to intermediary organizations to provide intense marketing, management, and technical assistance and training to community development venture capital organizations. Subtitle C: Business LINC - Authorizes the Administrator to make grants to, and enter into cooperative agreements with, any coalition of private or public sector participants that: (1) expand business-to-business relationships between large and small businesses; and (2) provide businesses with information about companies interested in mentor-protegee programs or community-based, Statewide, or local business development programs. Title IV: Expansion and Extension of Empowerment Zone Tax Incentives - Provides for the designation of additional empowerment zones and increased empowerment zone tax incentives. Title V: American Community Renewal - Amends the Code to authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to designate (upon local or State nomination) up to 40 renewal communities (based on degree of poverty), of which at least 20 percent shall be in rural areas. Title VI: Homeownership and Revitalization - Revises the low-income housing credit. Establishes a home ownership tax credit which shall be allocated, through State housing finance agencies, to qualified lenders making qualified home ownership loans to certain low-income households. Establishes a credit for renovating historic homes. Amends the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997 to direct the Secretary to transfer ownership of qualified HUD-held properties (substandard or unoccupied multifamily or unoccupied single family properties) to local governments and community development corporations under specified conditions. Title VII: Trade-Affected Communities Relief - Authorizes a trade-affected community, a group of such communities, or the Governor of a State on behalf of such communities to petition the Secretary of Commerce for eligibility certification for community-based economic development assistance. Title VIII: Delta Regional Authority - Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to establish the Delta Regional Authority to: (1) develop comprehensive and coordinated plans and programs, establish priorities, and approve grants for the economic development of the Mississippi Delta region (parts of Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee surrounding such Delta); (2) provide for research, demonstration, investigation, assessment and evaluation of such region's assets and needs; (3) encourage the formation and capacity of local development districts and private investment in industrial, commercial, and other economic development projects; and (4) provide a forum for the consideration of problems and possible solutions of the region. Title IX: Federal Grant Program Participation Expansion - Directs The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure an equal opportunity for religious and other community organizations to provide assistance under the programs administered by such Administration by providing information and contact for such programs to such organizations in a manner similar to that developed by the Office of Community Faith-Based Organizations in the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Title X: New Millennium Classrooms - Establishes a limited credit for the donation of computers to schools, senior centers, public libraries, and other training centers located in a renewal community, empowerment zone or enterprise community, Indian reservation, or defined low-income community.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2000
Latino and Immigrant Fairness Act of 2000 - Title I: Central American and Haitian Parity Act - Central American and Haitian Parity Act of 2000 - Amends the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (Act) to: (1) extend permanent resident status adjustment provisions to qualifying Salvadoran, Guatemalan, Honduran, and Haitian nationals; and (2) extend the application filing deadline. Permits certain pending applications filed by Salvadoran or Guatemalan nationals under the Act or Haitian nationals under the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998 to be converted to an application for status adjustment under the Act. Amends such Acts to: (1) authorize the Attorney General to waive certain grounds of inadmissibility; and (2) provide for issuance of immigrant visas to certain spouses and children. Provides for the limited reopening of certain orders of deportation, exclusion, or removal by certain Haitian, Cuban, or Nicaraguan nationals. Title II: Restoration of Section 245(i) Adjustment of Status Benefits - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate the restriction that only aliens with preference petitions or labor certifications filed by January 14, 1998, are eligible to adjust to permanent resident status without leaving the United States if they entered without inspection or fall within one of other specified classes (including aliens accepting unauthorized employment and aliens not maintaining legal nonimmigrant status). Title III: Extension of Registry Benefits - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Ac to extend registry benefits to aliens who entered the United States prior to January 1, 1986.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2000
Designates the week beginning September 17, 2000, as National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week.