United States · United States Congress · 30 March 2000
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) the Senate Foreign Relations Committee should hold hearings on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW); and (2) the Senate should act on CEDAW by July 19, 2000, the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Convention by the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2000
Ryan White CARE Act Amendments of 2000 - Title I: Amendments to HIV Health Care Program - Subtitle A: Purpose; Amendments to Part A (Emergency Relief Grants ) - Amends Public Health Service Act provisions relating to emergency relief for areas with a substantial need for services relating to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease to revise the duties of HIV health services planning councils. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) develop epidemiologic measures for establishing the number of individuals living with HIV disease (defined as infection with the etiologic agent for acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), including any condition arising from AIDS) who are not receiving HIV-related health services; and (2) provide advice and technical assistance to planning councils regarding the process for establishing fund allocation priorities. (Sec. 102) Requires the chief elected official of an area that receives an emergency relief grant to establish a quality management program to assess the extent to which medical services provided to patients under the grant are consistent with the most recent Public Health Service guidelines for the treatment of HIV disease and related opportunistic infection and to develop strategies for improvements in the access to and quality of medical services. Allows use of emergency relief grant funds for the program. (Sec. 103) Requires, in order to receive an emergency relief grant, that: (1) the State or private service provider have a participation agreement under titles XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (Children's Health Insurance) of the Social Security Act; and (2) funded entities maintain relationships with area entities that constitute key points of access to the health care system (such as emergency rooms, substance abuse treatment programs, and sexually transmitted disease clinics) for individuals with HIV disease to facilitate early intervention. (Sec. 104) Requires that emergency relief grants be used: (1) for outpatient and ambulatory health services (currently, for outpatient and ambulatory health and support services, including case management) and other specified services; and (2) if the service provider meets specified requirements, for early intervention services. Requires that State and political subdivision grant recipients use the grants to increase funding for HIV-related services specified in provisions relating to outpatient and inpatient services (currently, HIV-related services to individuals with HIV disease). (Sec. 106) Makes permanent the provisions of current law requiring disbursal of 50 percent of the amounts appropriated 60 days after an appropriation for emergency relief grants and grants under provisions relating to grants to improve the quality, availability, and organization of health care and support services for individuals and families with HIV disease becomes available. (Sec. 107) Requires that the amount of a grant to an eligible area be not less than 98 percent of the amount the area received in the preceding fiscal year. (Sec. 108) Requires emergency relief grants to be used for infants, children, and women with HIV disease in the same ratio as each of those populations bears to the general population in that area of individuals with HIV disease. Subtitle B: Amendments to Part B (Care Grant Program ) - Modifies requirements regarding the contents of applications for grants to improve the quality, availability, and organization of health care and support services for individuals and families with HIV disease (care grants), including regarding peer review and quality management. Limits the amount a State may spend on its quality management program. Changes requirements regarding the amount a State that is receiving a small allotment may use for planning, evaluation, and administration. (Sec. 123) Requires, in order to receive a care grant, that funded entities maintain relationships with area entities that constitute key points of access to the health care system (such as emergency rooms, substance abuse treatment programs, and sexually transmitted disease clinics) for individuals with HIV disease to facilitate early intervention. (Sec. 124) Applies to care grants the use conditions and limitations that apply to emergency relief grant use provisions. (Sec. 125) Allows care grants to be used for early intervention services if the service provider meets specified requirements. (Sec. 126) Extends the authorization of appropriations for grants for specified services for pregnant women and newborns. (Sec. 128) Directs the Secretary to make supplemental grants to States for comprehensive services of the type described in care grant provisions to supplement services in areas that are not eligible to receive emergency relief grants. Directs the Secretary to: (1) reserve an amount for States with a metropolitan area that is not eligible for an emergency relief grant and that has 1,000 - 2,000 cases of AIDS; and (2) use 50 percent of any increase in the amount appropriated for emergency relief and care grants to carry out the provisions of this paragraph. (Sec. 129) Requires, in addition to other requirements, that States use therapeutics funds provided from care grants to encourage, support, and enhance adherence to and compliance with treatment regimens, but only if the State is able to provide to all eligible individuals appropriate HIV/AIDS therapeutic regimens as recommended in the most recent Federal treatment guidelines. Mandates supplemental grants to States with a severe need for providing access to AIDS/HIV-related medications for individuals at or below 200 percent of the Federal poverty line. (Sec. 130) Doubles the minimum care grant allotments to States. Adds the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Palau to the definition of "territory of the United States" for determination of care grant allotments. (Sec. 131) Requires care grants to be used for infants, children, and women with HIV disease in the same ratio as each of those populations bears to the general population of that State of individuals with HIV disease. Subtitle C: Amendments to Part C (Early Intervention Services ) - Repeals provisions mandating formula grants for HIV disease early intervention services. (Sec. 142) Allows currently-authorized planning and development grants to be used to expand the capacity, preparedness, and expertise to deliver primary care services to individuals with HIV disease in underserved low-income communities. Increases the limit on the amount of a care grant. (Sec. 143) Extends the authorization of appropriations for early intervention grants. (Sec. 144) Increases the limit on spending for administration (currently, for administration including planning and evaluation) of grants under early intervention provisions. Requires grantees to establish a quality management program to assess: (1) the extent to which medical services funded under title XXVI (HIV Health Care Services Program) of the Public Health Service Act are consistent with the most recent Public Health Service guidelines for the treatment of HIV disease and related opportunistic infections; and (2) whether improvements in access to and quality of medical services are addressed. (Sec. 145) Requires that preference in making early intervention grants be given to serving areas that are not otherwise eligible to receive emergency relief grants. Subtitle D: Amendments to Part D (General Provisions ) - Eliminates requirements that a significant number of women, infants, children, and youth who are patients of the grantee (under provisions mandating grants to provide opportunities for women, infants, children, and youth to be voluntary participants in research of potential benefit to individuals with HIV disease) participate in research projects. Requires grantees to: (1) inform and educate individuals regarding opportunities to participate in HIV/AIDS-related clinical research; and (2) implement a quality management program. Directs the Secretary to examine the distribution and availability of ongoing and appropriate HIV/AIDS- related research to existing sites under provisions amended by this paragraph to enhance and expand voluntary access to HIV-related research, especially in communities that are not reasonably served by the research. Extends the authorization of appropriations to carry out the provisions amended by this paragraph. (Sec. 152) Directs the Secretary to: (1) review the administrative, program support, and direct service-related activities carried out under title XXVI general provisions to ensure that eligible individuals have access to quality, HIV-related health and support services and research opportunities; and (2) determine the relationship between the costs of those activities and the access of eligible individuals to those services and opportunities. (Sec. 153) Authorizes appropriations to carry out: (1) program evaluations; (2) emergency relief grant provisions; and (3) care grant provisions. Subtitle E: Amendments to Part F (Demonstration and Training ) - Extends the authorizations of appropriations to carry out provisions relating to AIDS Education and Training Centers (including schools, centers, and dental schools). Title II: Miscellaneous Provisions - Directs the Secretary to: (1) contract with the Institute of Medicine to conduct a study on appropriate epidemiological measures and their relationship to the financing and delivery of primary care and health-related support services for low-income, uninsured, and under-insured individuals with HIV disease; and (2) report to the appropriate congressional committees regarding how the Institute of Medicine's conclusions and recommendations can be addressed and implemented.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2000
Worker Economic Opportunity Act - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to exempt employee stock option, stock appreciation right, stock purchase, and similar employer-provided grants or rights programs from being included in overtime pay calculations, under specified conditions. Provides that employers have no overtime pay liability because of any employee stock options or similar programs prior to enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2000
Declares Elian Gonzalez and specified family members to have been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence under the Immigration and Nationality Act. States that neither he nor any such family member shall be regarded as seeking an admission into the United States under the immigration laws if any such alien is absent from the United States for any period by reason of having traveled to Cuba.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2000
Commercial Space Partnership Act of 1999 - Authorizes the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to enter into a lease with any person or entity with regard to any real or personal property under the Administrator's jurisdiction for an initial term of up to 20 years and for fair market value. Permits consideration to take one or more of the following forms: (1) the payment of cash; (2) the construction or improvement of facilities on real property under the Administrator's jurisdiction; (3) the provision of services to NASA, including launch services and payload processing services; or (4) in the case of a lease of real property, use by NASA of facilities on the property.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 2000
Designates the U.S. Postal Service facility located at 14900 Southwest 30th Street in Miramar City, Florida, as the Vicki Coceano Post Office Building.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 2000
Medicaid Safety Net Hospital Act of 2000 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act, with respect to provisions regarding adjustments in payments for inpatient hospital services furnished by disproportionate share hospitals (DSH), to require DSH allotments for FY 2002 (currently, FY 2003) and succeeding fiscal years to be equal to the allotment for the State for the preceding fiscal year. Sets the DSH allotment for FY 2001 at the FY 2000 level.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2000
Medicaid DSH Preservation Act of 2000 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act, with respect to provisions regarding adjustments in payments for inpatient hospital services furnished by disproportionate share hospitals (DSH), to require DSH allotments for FY 2002 (currently, FY 2003) and succeeding fiscal years to be equal to the allotment for the State for the preceding fiscal year. Sets the DSH allotment for FY 2001 at the FY 2000 level.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 2000
Authorizes the President to extend nondiscriminatory treatment (normal trade relations treatment) to the products of China, provided, prior to such determination, the President certifies to Congress that the terms and conditions for China's accession to the World Trade Organization are at least equivalent to those agreed between the United States and China on November 15, 1999.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2000
2002 Winter Olympic Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue five dollar gold coins and one dollar silver coins emblematic of the participation of American athletes in the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. Mandates that coin design be selected by the Secretary after consultation with: (1) the Commission of Fine Arts; (2) the United States Olympic Committee; and (3) Olympic Properties of the United States-Salt Lake 2002 (created and owned by the Salt Lake Organizing Committee). States that all surcharges from the coin sales ($35 for a $5 coin and $10 for a $1 coin) shall be distributed by the Secretary to: (1) Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the Olympic Winter Games of 2002; and (2) the United States Olympic Committee.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2000
Family Opportunity Act of 2000 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) 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 for 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 to 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.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2000
Public Education Reinvestment, Reinvention, and Responsibility Act (Three R's) - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to reauthorize through FY 2005 and revise various ESEA programs. (Sec. 3) Declares U.S. national educational priorities addressed by this Act. Title I: Student Performance - Revises and renames ESEA title I as Student Performance (currently Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards). (Sec. 102) Declares it to be U.S. policy to ensure that all students receive a high-quality education by: (1) holding States, local educational agencies (LEAs), and schools accountable for increased student academic performance results; and (2) facilitating improved classroom instruction. (Sec. 103) Extends the authorization of appropriations for the following title I programs under: (1) part A, LEA grants; (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; and (6) part E, Federal evaluations, demonstrations, and transition projects. (Sec. 104) Requires State educational agencies (SEAs) to reserve a specified portion of their title I part A (I-A) funds to: (1) make at least 80 percent of such reserved funds available directly to LEAs; and (2) carry out SEA responsibilities for school improvement, including SEA statewide system of technical assistance and support for LEAs. Part A: Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies - Revises ESEA title I part A (Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies) (I-A) with respect to formulas for distributing funds to schools with the highest concentrations of poverty. (Sec. 105) Revises State plan requirements with respect to implementing challenging content and student performance standards (standards), yearly student assessments (assessments), and accountability. Requires State standards to: (1) be applied to all schools and children within the State; and (2) include at least the subjects of mathematics, science, and English language arts. Requires a State, if it allows LEAs to adopt more rigorous standards than the State, to allow LEAs to implement such standards. Requires each State plan to demonstrate what constitutes adequate yearly progress (AYP) of the State itself (as well as its schools and LEAs, as under current law) in enabling all children in all schools receiving I-A assistance to meet the State's challenging performance standards. Revises requirements for State definition of AYP. Adds requirements relating to: (1) accountability for AYP; (2) annual improvement by States, LEAs, and schools; and (3) public notice and comment. Requires assessments to be used, starting no later than the 2000-2001 school year, as the primary means of determining the yearly performance of each LEA and school in enabling all children to meet State standards (but does not require States to meet requirements for science standards or assessments until the beginning of the 2005-2006 school year). Requires State plans to provide that students who have attended school in the United States for at least three consecutive years are to be assessed in the English language, with certain exceptions. Requires State plans to describe what reasonable steps the State is taking to assist and encourage LEAs to: (1) measure literacy skills of first graders in schools receiving I-A funds by providing assessments that are developmentally appropriate, aligned with State standards, and scientifically research-based; and (2) identify and take developmentally appropriate and effective interventions in any school served under I-A in which a substantial number of first graders have not demonstrated grade-level literacy proficiency by the end of the school year. Requires State plans to describe how SEAs will: (1) assist each affected LEA and school to develop the capacity to comply with requirements for schoolwide programs, targeted assistance, and assessment and improvement; (2) hold each affected LEA accountable for improved student performance, including procedures for identifying and assisting LEAs and schools in need of improvement, and for corrective action if assistance is not effective; (3) provide low-performing students additional academic instruction, such as before- and after-school programs and summer academic programs; (4) ensure that all teachers in both schoolwide programs and targeted assistance programs are fully qualified not later than December 31, 2005, and low-income students and minority students are not taught at higher rates than other students by inexperienced, uncertified, or out-of-field teachers; and (5) evaluate and publicly report the State's progress in improving the quality of instruction in the schools served by the SEA and LEAs receiving ESEA funding. Requires State plans to assure that SEAs will: (1) use the disaggregated results of required student assessments, and other available measures or indicators, to review annually the progress of each LEA and school served under I-A to determine whether each one is making the annual progress necessary to ensure that all students will meet the proficient level of performance on such assessments within ten years of the enactment of this Act; (2) modify or eliminate State fiscal and accounting barriers so that elementary and secondary schools can easily consolidate funds from other Federal, State, and local sources for schoolwide programs under specified provisions; and (3) inform LEAs of LEA authority to obtain waivers under title VIII of ESEA and, if the State is an Ed-Flex Partnership State, under the Education Flexibility Partnership Act of 1999. Penalizes States for failing to meet statutory deadlines for demonstrating that they have in place standards, assessments, a system for measuring and monitoring AYP, and a statewide system for holding schools and LEAs accountable for making AYP with specified groups of students. Makes such States ineligible to receive any administrative funds under title I that exceed the amount received for such purposes in the previous year. Directs the Secretary of Education to withhold additional administrative funds in an amount determined appropriate based on the extent of the State's failure. Requires the Secretary, for each additional year that the State fails to comply with such requirements, to withhold at least one-fifth of the amount the State receives for such administrative expenses. Allows a State to request a one-time, one-year waiver to meet such requirements. (Sec. 106) Requires LEA plans to include descriptions of how they will: (1) assist low-performing schools, including those identified as in need of improvement; and (2) promote the use of alternative instructional methods, and extended learning time, such as an extended school year, before- and after-school programs, and summer programs. Requires various LEA assurances with respect to school accountability, improvement, and assessment. Requires LEAs to ensure that all teachers in both schoolwide programs and targeted assistance programs are fully qualified not later than December 31, 2005, and low-income students and minority students are not taught at higher rates than other students by inexperienced, uncertified, or out-of-field teachers. Requires LEAs to reserve at least ten percent of the I-A funds they receive for high quality professional development for professional instructional staff. Sets forth requirements for parental notification and consent for English language instruction. (Sec. 107) Revises school eligibility criteria for school-wide programs. Allows an LEA to use I-A funds for a school-wide programs at schools that serve eligible school attendance areas in which: (1) not less than 40 percent of the children are from low-income families; or (2) not less than 40 percent of the children enrolled in the school are from such families. (Sec. 108) Revises requirements for public school choice plans to allow limited amounts of I-A funds to be used for transportation services. (Sec. 109) Revises requirements for assessment and LEA and school improvement. Requires the provision of public school choice for families of students attending I-A schools deemed to be in need of corrective action. (Sec. 110) Revises requirements for State assistance for school support and improvement. Requires SEAs to provide such assistance according to the following order of priorities: (1) LEAs and schools in need of improvement; (2) LEAs subject to corrective action, and to individual schools for which an LEA has failed to carry out certain responsibilities; and (3) LEAs and schools at risk of being identified as being in need of improvement within the next academic year. Directs SEAs to use for such State assistance certain funds available for technical assistance and support. Authorizes SEAs also to use for such State assistance certain State administrative funds. (Sec. 111) Revises requirements for parental involvement. (Sec. 112) Sets forth required qualifications and duties for teachers and paraprofessionals in I-A schools. (Sec. 113) Revises requirements for professional development activities. Includes among required activities any strategies for identifying and eliminating gender and racial bias in instructional materials, methods, and practices. Includes among optional activities instruction in ways teachers, principals, and guidance counselors can work with parents and students from groups, such as females and minorities, that are underrepresented in careers in mathematics, science, engineering, and technology, to encourage and maintain student interest in such careers. (Sec. 115) Includes among coordination requirements for LEAs the linking of LEA educational services with those provided in local Head Start agencies. (Sec. 116) Revises requirements for reservation and allocation of funds for grants for the outlying areas and the Secretary of the Interior. (Sec. 117) Sets forth revised formulas for allocating amounts for basic grants, concentration grants, and targeted grants. (Sec. 118) Revises requirements for basic, concentration, and targeted grants to LEAs. (Sec. 121) Revises special allocation procedures. Part B: Even Start Family Literacy Programs - Revises ESEA title I part B (Even Start Family Literacy Programs) (Even Start). Directs the Secretary (currently the National Institute for Literacy) to disseminate, or designate another entity to disseminate, the results of certain research to States and recipients of Even Start subgrants. Part C: Education of Migratory Children - Revises ESEA title I part C (Education of Migratory Children) to refer to language instruction programs under the new ESEA title III provided by this Act (current law refers to bilingual education). Part D: Prevention and Intervention Programs for Children and Youth Who Are Neglected, Delinquent, or At Risk of Dropping Out - Revises ESEA title I part D (Prevention and Intervention Programs for Children and Youth Who Are Neglected, Delinquent, or At Risk of Dropping Out). Part E: Federal Evaluations, Demonstrations, and Transition Projects - Revises title I part E (Federal Evaluations, Demonstrations, and Transition Projects) to set new deadlines for certain interim and final reports on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). (Sec. 152) Establishes a Comprehensive School Reform program. (Replaces part E provisions for demonstrations of innovative practices.) Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to SEAs to provide subgrants to LEAs to provide financial incentives for schools to develop comprehensive school reforms, based upon scientifically-based research and effective practices that include an emphasis on basic academics and parental involvement so that all children can meet challenging State content and performance standards. Allows reservation of specified amounts for schools supported by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), schools in U.S. territories, and national evaluation activities. Sets forth requirements for State awards, local awards, evaluation, and reporting. Authorizes appropriations. Part F: Rural Education Development Initiative - Establishes a Rural Education Development Initiative as a new title I part F. Directs the Secretary to make grants to States for elementary and secondary education development by LEAs that are eligible because they serve: (1) a school-age population of whom 15 percent or more are from families with incomes below the poverty line; and (2) a school district in a rural locality, or a school-age population of 800 or fewer. Reserves a specified portion of grant funds for schools operated by the BIA. Sets forth an allotment formula for grants to SEAs to make grants to eligible LEAs. Authorizes the Secretary to make direct competitive grants to specially qualified eligible rural LEAs in nonparticipating States. Requires LEAs or their schools to use grant funds for: (1) educational technology, including software and hardware; (2) professional development; (3) technical assistance; (4) teacher, and principal, recruitment and retention; (5) parental involvement activities; or (6) academic enrichment programs or other education programs. Requires SEAs to award grants on a formula basis. Requires that at least 99 percent of such funds be awarded to eligible LEAs in the first year, and 99.5 in the second and in each succeeding year that an SEA receives such a grant. Directs the Secretary, at the end of the third year an SEA participates in the program, to permit continued participation only if the SEA has met its performance goals and objectives for two consecutive years. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on this part F program's impact on student achievement. Authorizes appropriations. Part G: General Provisions - Transfers title I general provisions to a new part G (currently part F). Revises a deadline for the Secretary's issuance of final regulations for title I. Eliminates a provision for State reservation of certain amounts for administrative costs. Title II: Teacher and Principal Quality, Professional Development, and Class Size - Revises and renames ESEA title II as Teacher and Principal Quality, Professional Development, and Class Size (currently Dwight D. Eisenhower Professional Development Program). (Sec. 201) Sets forth a part A, Teacher and Principal Quality, Professional Development (II-A). Directs the Secretary to make grants to States to raise the quality of, and provide professional development for, public school teachers, principals, and administrators. Provides for: (1) reservations, State allotments, and within-State allocations; (2) State and local plans; (3) performance objectives; (4) optional activities; (5) State administrative expenses; (6) local activities; (7) professional development for teachers; (8) parents' right to know; (9) State reports and a study by the Comptroller General, and (10) educator partnership grants. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth a part B, Class Size Reduction. Directs the Secretary to make grants to States to help them and LEAs recruit, train, and hire 100,000 additional teachers to: (1) reduce nationally class size in grades one through three to an average of 18 students per regular classroom; and (2) improve teaching in the early elementary school grades so that all students can learn to read independently and well by the end of the third grade. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Language Minority Students and Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native Education - Establishes a new ESEA title III, Language Minority Students and Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native Education, which combines and revises provisions of the current title VII (Bilingual Education, Language Enhancement, and Language Acquisition Programs) and of the current title IX (Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native Education). (Eliminates the current title III, Technology for Education, but provides for some technology literacy programs under title VI.) (Sec. 301) Repeals the current ESEA title III part A, Technology for Education of All Students. Sets forth a new title III subtitle A, Language Minority Students (which also replaces the current title VII) Bilingual Education, Language Enhancement, and Language Acquisition Programs). Declares it to be U.S. policy that, in order to ensure equal educational opportunity for all children and youth, and to promote educational excellence, the Federal Government should: (1) assist SEAs, LEAs, and community-based organizations to build their capacity to establish, implement, and sustain programs of instruction and English language development for children and youth of limited English proficiency (LEP); (2) hold SEAs and LEAs accountable for increases in English proficiency and core content knowledge among LEP students; and (3) promote parental and community participation in LEP programs. Directs the Secretary to make grants to States to help LEP students become proficient in English. Prohibits the Secretary from mandating or precluding a particular curricular or pedagogical approach to educating LEP students. Requires LEAs to certify to SEAs that all teachers in any language instruction program for LEP students funded under this subtitle are fluent in English. Requires LEAs to notify parents of students participating in language instruction educational program of: (1) the student's level of English proficiency and academic achievement, and certain implications of the student's strengths and needs; (2) various available programs; (3) instructional goals of such program; and (4) the parental option to decline the student's enrollment in such program. (Sec. 302) Repeals the current ESEA title III parts: (1) B, Star Schools Program; (2) C, Ready-to-Learn Television; (3) D, Telecommunications Demonstration Project for Mathematics; and (4) E, Elementary Mathematics and Science Equipment Program. Eliminates current title VII part B provisions for the Foreign Language Assistance Program. Transfers to a new title III subtitle B the Emergency Immigration Education Program (currently part C of title VII). Extends through FY 2005 the authorization of appropriations for such program. (Sec. 303) Transfers to a new title III subtitle C provisions for Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native Education (currently title XIX). Extends the authorization of appropriations for various programs of Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native Education. Title IV: Public School Choice - Establishes a new ESEA title IV, Public School Choice, and authorizes a new public school choice program. Redesignates certain parts of the current title IV, Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities, under such new title IV (and provides for some school safety improvement programs under title VI). Transfers certain parts and provisions of the current titles V and X to such new title IV. (Sec. 401) Extends the authorization of appropriations for: (1) Magnet Schools Assistance; and (2) Public Charter Schools. Requires SEAs that receive grants for charter schools assistance to hold assisted charter schools accountable for AYP for improving student performance under title I and as established in the school's charter, including the use of the same standards and assessments as established under title I. 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. (Sec. 402) Establishes a new title IV part C, Development of Public School Choice Programs (PSC programs). Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) make competitive grants to LEAs to develop such PSC programs; (2) reserve specified program funds for technical assistance, information dissemination, and evaluations; and (3) a priority to partnership projects. Requires the Secretary to give a priority to applications that would serve high-poverty LEAs. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth a new title IV part D, Report Cards. Directs the Secretary to make grants to States, if they have State report cards on education which meet specified requirements, to publish such report cards for each elementary and secondary school receiving ESEA funding. Authorizes appropriations. Requires States, if they receive assistance under ESEA, to prepare and disseminate (or publicly report through other public means) annual report cards, in easily understandable language, on all elementary and secondary schools receiving funds under ESEA I-A or II-A. Requires such State report cards on LEAs and schools to contain specified information regarding indicators of school performance and quality. Title V: Impact Aid - Transfers ESEA Impact Aid provisions to a new title V (currently title VIII). Eliminates the current title V, Promoting Equity, including part B, Women's Educational Equity, and part C, Assistance to Address School Dropout Problems (but transfers the current part A of title V to part A of title IV). (Sec. 501) Extends the authorization of appropriations for various impact aid programs. Title VI: High Performance and Quality Education Initiatives - Establishes a new title VI, High Performance and Quality Education Initiatives. Eliminates the current title VI, Innovative Education Program Strategies. (Sec. 601) Declares it to be U.S. policy to: (1) facilitate significant innovation in elementary and secondary school education programs; (2) enrich the learning environment of students; (3) provide a safe learning environment for all students; (4) ensure that all students are technologically literate; and (5) assist SEAs and LEAs in building their capacity to establish, implement, and sustain innovative programs for public school students. Directs the Secretary to make grants to SEAs with approved plans to award grants to LEAs. Requires States to allocate grant funds among LEAs according to both their I-A population and their entire school-age population. Requires LEAs to use grant funds for programs designed to achieve each of the goals described in the following category areas: (1) school improvement; (2) 21st Century Opportunities programs; (3) safe learning environments; and (4) New Economy Technology Schools. Allows LEAs that meet or exceed AYP requirements to reallocate, at their own discretion, specified portions of grant funds among the four categories. Allows LEAs identified as in need of improvement to reallocate for school improvement activities a certain portion of funds from the other three categories. Authorizes appropriations. Title VII: Accountability - Establishes a new ESEA title VII, Accountability, with sanctions and rewards based on meeting performance objectives. Eliminates the current title VII, Bilingual Education, Language Enhancement, and Language Acquisition Programs (but sets forth some provisions for language minority students under the new title III). (Sec. 701) Requires certain sanctions if performance objectives established under a covered provision have not been met by a State receiving grant funds under such provision. Directs the Secretary to reduce the amount the State is entitled to receive by specified percentages if such objectives have not been met by the end of the third fiscal year or the end of the fourth fiscal year. Requires such reductions to continue for each subsequent fiscal year until the State demonstrates that it has met such objectives. Directs the Secretary to provide technical assistance, if sought, to a State subjected to such sanctions. Requires each State receiving assistance under ESEA titles I, II, III, or VI to develop a system, including sanctions, to hold LEAs accountable for meeting performance objectives and AYP requirements. Directs the Secretary to make awards to States that either ensure that all teachers teaching in their public schools are fully qualified by FY 2003, or for three consecutive years have: (1) exceeded their performance objectives; (2) exceeded their AYP levels; (3) significantly narrowed the gaps between minority and non-minority students, and between economically disadvantaged and non-economically disadvantaged students; (4) raised all students to the proficient standard level within ten years; or (5) significantly increased the percentage of core classes being taught by fully qualified teachers teaching in schools receiving funds under part A of title I. Requires States to: (1) distribute 80 percent of such award funds to LEAs that have been consistently high-performing and achieving in specified ways; and (2) use the remainder to establish demonstration sites with respect to high-performing schools in order to help low-performing schools, and to improve the level of performance of all elementary and secondary school students in the State. Requires LEAs to use such award funds to: (1) reward individual schools that demonstrate high performance with respect to specified criteria; (2) reward collaborative teams of teachers, or teams of teachers and principals, who significantly increase the annual performance of low-performing students or significantly improve in a fiscal year the English proficiency of LEP students; (3) reward principals who successfully raise the performance of a substantial number of low-performing students to high academic levels; (4) develop or implement school district-wide programs or policies to increase the level of student performance on State assessments aligned with State content standards; and (5) reward schools for consistently high achievement in another area that the LEA deems appropriate to reward. Authorizes appropriations for such awards. Authorizes the Secretary to use certain amounts not reserved for other specified activities to: (1) support activities of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards; (2) study and disseminate information regarding model programs assisted under ESEA; (3) provide training and technical assistance to recipients of ESEA funds in administering and implementing ESEA-assisted activities; (4) support activities to promote systemic education reform at State and local levels; (5) award grants or contracts to public or private nonprofit entities to develop and disseminate exemplary reading, mathematics, science, and technology educational practices, and instructional materials to States, LEAs, and schools; (6) disseminate information on models of value-added assessments; (7) award a grant or contract to a public or private nonprofit entity or consortium to develop and disseminate exemplary programs and curricula for accelerated and advanced learning for all students, including gifted and talented students; (8) award a grant or contract with Reading Is Fundamental, Inc., and other public or private nonprofit entities to support and promote programs which include distribution of inexpensive books to students and literacy activities that motivate children to read; and (9) develop English language development standards and assessments, and native language tests for LEP students that States may use to assess student achievement in reading, science, and mathematics. Authorizes appropriations. Title VIII: General Provisions and Repeals - Requires SEAs and LEAs to use ESEA funds to supplement, and not supplant, State or local funds. (Sec. 802) 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 · 9 March 2000
Long-Term Care and Retirement Security Act of 2000 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow: (1) a deduction for eligible long-term care insurance premiums for a taxpayer and the taxpayer's spouse and dependents; and (2) a credit for eligible caregivers caring for certain individuals with long-term care needs.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2000
Medicare Wellness Act of 2000 - Title I: Healthy Seniors Promotion Program - Establishes within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) a Healthy Seniors Working Group to establish policies and criteria for the HHS Secretary to make grants to approved applicants to study specified approaches to further health promotion and disease prevention among the elderly. (Sec. 101) Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 102) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) should encourage inclusion of preventive health measures in all Medicare treatments; (2) HCFA should expand the study of the most promising behavioral modification of risk factors associated with health promotion and disease prevention for all Medicare beneficiaries; and (3) the National Library of Medicine should establish a Medicare health promotion and disease prevention intervention clearinghouse. Title II: Medicare Coverage of Preventive Services - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to outline Medicare coverage of various specified preventive services, including: (1) counseling for cessation of tobacco use; (2) screening for hypertension; (3) counseling for hormone replacement therapy; (4) screening for glaucoma and for diminished visual acuity; and (5) screening and counseling for osteoporosis. (Sec. 209) Extends Medicare coverage to medical nutrition therapy services for Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes, a cardiovascular disease, or a renal disease. (Sec. 210) Waives coinsurance and deductibles for certain preventive services, such as: (1) diabetes outpatient self-management training services; (2) colorectal and prostate cancer screening tests; and (3) bone mass measurement. (Sec. 211) Directs the Secretary to conduct a national falls prevention and awareness campaign to reduce fall-related injuries among Medicare beneficiaries and to integrate specified preventive benefits added by this Act with existing program integrity measures. Title III: Medicare Health Education and Risk Appraisal Program - Amends SSA title XVIII to direct the HHS Secretary to: (1) establish a health education and risk appraisal program to inform certain target individuals, including Medicare beneficiaries, of specified major behavioral risk factors through self-assessment; and (2) conduct periodic followups. Title IV: Disease Self-Management Demonstration Projects - Establishes in HHS a Disease Self-Management Working Group. Directs the HHS Secretary to conduct demonstration projects to promote disease self-management for conditions identified by the Group for described target individuals. Provides funding. Title V: Studies and Reports Advancing Original Research in the Field of Disease Prevention and the Elderly - Amends SSA title XVIII to revise reporting requirements for the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission. (Sec. 502) Directs the Director of the National Institute on Aging to conduct one or more studies, for associated reports to the HHS Secretary and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, that focus on ways to: (1) improve quality of life for the elderly; (2) develop better ways to prevent or delay the onset of age-related functional decline and disease and disability among the elderly; and (3) develop means of assessing the long-term development of cost-effective benefits and cost-saving benefits for health promotion and disease prevention among the elderly. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 503) Directs the HHS Secretary to contract with the Institute to study and report to the President and Congress on health promotion and disease prevention among Medicare beneficiaries. (Sec. 504) Provides for fast-track consideration of prevention benefit legislation in the House of Representatives and in the Senate.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2000
Federal Employees and Uniformed Services Group Long-Term Care Insurance Act of 2000 - Amends Federal civil service provisions to establish a program to provide long-term care insurance for certain Federal employees and annuitants, current and retired members of the uniformed services, and their qualified relatives. Authorizes the Office of Personnel Management, without regard to statutes requiring competitive bidding, to contract with qualified carriers to provide long-term care insurance under this Act. Sets forth contract terms, including a requirement that coverage may not be canceled except for nonpayment of premiums. Provides for five-year contracts. Describes conditions under which coverage may be terminated. Sets forth required elements of contracts, including portability of benefits. Makes insured individuals responsible for 100 percent of the charges of coverage and requires individuals to have amounts withheld from pay for their coverage (authorizes such withholding for qualified relatives). Requires such reimbursements to be deposited into the Employees Health Benefits Fund and held in a separate Long-Term Care Insurance Account. Preempts State and local law. Requires qualified carriers to furnish reasonable reports and permit audits. Requires insurance benefits claims to be filed within four years after the date on which the cost was incurred or the service was provided. Provides jurisdiction for disputed claims through U.S. district courts after exhausting all available administrative remedies. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2000
National Museum of the American Indian Commemorative Coin Act of 2000, or American Buffalo Coin Commemorative Coin Act of 2000 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue a maximum of 500,000 $1 dollar coins in commemoration of the opening of the Museum of the American Indian of the Smithsonian Institution. Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States Mint Facility in Denver, Colorado, should strike such coins unless the Secretary determines that it would be technically or cost-prohibitive. Mandates that the proceeds from sales surcharges be paid promptly to the National Museum of the American Indian of the Smithsonian Institution to: (1) commemorate the opening of the Museum; and (2)supplement the Museum's endowment and educational outreach funds. Subjects the Museum to certain Federal audit requirements. Instructs the Secretary to take actions to ensure that coin minting and issuance will not result in any net cost to the Government.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2000
Requires the U.S. Customs Service to liquidate or reliquidate specified entries in accordance with a specified final decision of the Department of Commerce of February 7, 1990.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2000
Commends the Florida State University for winning the 1999 Division 1-A collegiate football national championship. Invites the players, coaches, and support staff of the team to the U.S. Capitol Building to be honored. Requests the President to recognize and invite the team to the traditional White House ceremony held for national championship teams.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 2000
Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of Congress, a gold medal to John Cardinal O'Connor, Archbishop of New York, in recognition of his accomplishments as a priest, a soldier, and a humanitarian. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2000
Amends the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998 and the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act, respectively, to extend deadlines for applying for relief under such Acts.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2000
Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of Congress, a congressional gold medal to Charles M. Schulz in recognition of his lasting artistic contributions to the Nation and the world. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2000
American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act of 2000 - Increases available nonimmigrant H-1B specialty occupation visas for FY 2000 through 2002. (Sec. 3) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to exempt from certain annual visa limitations an alien who is: (1) employed at an institution of higher education, or nonprofit or governmental research facility; or (2) a graduate degree recipient. (Sec. 4) Makes employment-based immigrant visas available on a quarterly basis without regard to per-country limitations if unused visas are available. (Sec. 5) Authorizes qualifying specialty occupation aliens to accept new employment upon filing of the employer petition. (Sec. 6) Provides one-year extensions of authorized H-1B stay for specialty occupation aliens in cases of permanent residence adjudications lasting 365 days or longer. (Sec. 7) Extends certain fee and labor application attestation and investigative authorities. (Sec. 8) Provides, with respect to nonimmigrant visa petitions subject to numerical limitations, for the restoration of fraudulently obtained visas, effective in the fiscal year of petition revocation. (Sec. 9) Directs the National Science Foundation to conduct a study of the divergence to high technology access (digital divide).
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2000
Deems Elian Gonzales-Brotons to be a naturalized citizen of the United States. Requires the Attorney General to furnish him with a certificate of naturalization.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 1999
Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) to increase from one year to five years the maximum imprisonment for knowing and willful prohibited transactions aggregating $25,000 or more during a calendar year. Extends the statute of limitations from three to five years. Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to: (1) promulgate a guideline, or amend an existing guideline, for penalties under FECA and related election laws; and (2) submit to Congress an explanation of any such guidelines and any legislative or administrative recommendations regarding enforcement. Specifies considerations for such guidelines. Amends FECA to extend the prohibition against campaign contributions by foreign nationals to domestic subsidiaries of foreign nationals, unless the subsidiary can demonstrate through a reasonable accounting method that it has sufficient funds other than those given or loaned by its foreign national parent from which the contribution or donation is made. Extends to donations the prohibition against contributions in the name of another.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 1999
Older and Disabled Women's Protection From Violence Act of 1999 - Title I: Violence Against Women Act of 1994 - Amends the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 to direct the Attorney General to: (1) make grants to law school clinical programs to fund inclusion of cases addressing issues of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, including domestic violence, and sexual assault against older or disabled individuals; and (2) develop curricula and develop training programs to assist Federal, State, and tribal law enforcement personnel (including local courts) in recognizing, investigating, and prosecuting instances of such abuse. (Sec. 101) Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Family Violence Prevention and Services Act - Amends the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act to instruct the Secretary to include, within grants for State domestic violence coalitions, funds to develop outreach, support groups, and counseling targeted towards: (1) victims of elder domestic abuse, and (2) individuals with disabilities who are victims of domestic violence. (Sec. 204) Expands the eligibility criteria for community initiative demonstration grants to include adult protective services entities. Title III: Older Americans Act of 1965 - Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to direct the Assistant Secretary for Aging to consider the importance of research about the sexual assault of women who are older individuals when establishing research priorities. (Sec. 304) Expands the scope of eligible demonstration projects to include domestic violence shelters and programs for elder individuals. (Sec. 305) Authorizes appropriations without fiscal year limitation to implement the ombudsman program and the elder abuse prevention program. (Sec. 306) Directs the Assistant Secretary to: (1) make grants to nonprofit private or tribal organizations to support local community initiatives to coordinate activities concerning intervention and prevention of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, including domestic violence and sexual assault against older individuals; and (2) implement and update continuing education training programs for adult protective service workers, persons carrying out a State Long-Term Care Ombudsman program, health care providers, and community-based social service providers to improve recognition and treatment of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, including domestic violence and sexual assault against older and disabled individuals. Title IV: Public Health Service Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize area health education center programs to use Federal grants to conduct and participate in interdisciplinary training that includes domestic violence, sexual assault, elder abuse screening, and referral protocols. (Sec. 402) Mandates that federally funded geriatric training for: (1) area health education center programs include training of faculty to provide instruction regarding identification and treatment of victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and elder abuse; and (2) physicians and dentists include screening for elder abuse and domestic violence and sexual assault. Title V: Financial Exploitation of Older Individuals - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to study and to report to Congress on the nature and extent of financial exploitation of older individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 1999
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) the Senate Foreign Relations Committee should hold hearings on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW); and (2) the Senate should act on CEDAW by March 8, 2000, International Women's Day.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 1999
Declares that the Senate: (1) recognizes the contribution of older persons to their communities; and (2) commends the work of organizations that participate in programs assisting older persons and that promote the goals of the International Year of Older Persons.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 1999
Refugee Protection Act of 1999 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act with respect to refugee provisions to limit summary inspection procedures to emergency migration situations in which numbers of arriving aliens substantially exceed inspection capacities. Grants the Attorney General sole authority to make such determination, which shall last 90 days unless extended after consultation with the appropriate congressional committees. Revises provisions respecting inspection of aliens seeking U.S. admission, including requiring: (1) an alien to be informed of certain rights prior to removal or withdrawal of his or her admission application, and (2) review of a removal order by an immigration judge, with the right of the alien to personally appear and be represented (at his or her expense). Exempts from expedited removal procedures aliens fleeing countries with poor human rights record, as determined by the Attorney General. Revises the procedure used to determine whether an applicant for asylum has a credible fear of persecution. Authorizes (currently requires) the Attorney General to detain asylum applicants pending claims resolution. Repeals a specified limitation on judicial review of alien admissions. Provides, with respect to asylum applicants, for an exception to the filing deadline or a permitted second filing after a rejection upon a showing of good cause.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 1999
John H. Chafee Environmental Education Act of 1999 - Amends the National Environmental Education Act to rename it the John H. Chafee Environmental Education Act (the Act). (Sec. 2) Requires the Office of Environmental Education (OEE), within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to: (1) develop and support balanced and scientifically sound programs; and (2) provide for implementation of the Act through the headquarters and regional offices of the EPA. Eliminates provisions for: (1) OEE administration of environmental internship and fellowship programs (internship programs are eliminated and fellowship program administration is transferred elsewhere later in this Act); (2) an OEE Director who is a member of the Senior Executive Service; and (3) a minimum of six full-time equivalent employees on the OEE headquarters staff (retains the maximum of ten). Authorizes the EPA Administrator to carry out OEE activities directly or through awards of grants, cooperative agreements, or contracts. (Sec. 3) Revises provisions for environmental education grants to decrease from 25 to 15 percent the portion of grant funds which must be used for grants of $5,000 or less. Prohibits environmental education grants from being used to support lobbying activities. Requires the EPA Science Advisory Board to review and approve the guidance before the EPA Administrator issues any guidance to grant applicants. (Sec. 4) Establishes the John H. Chafee Memorial Fellowship Program for the award and administration of five annual one-year graduate education fellowships in environmental sciences. (Eliminates provisions for OEE-administered environmental internships and fellowships.) Provides that such Fellowships are to stimulate innovative graduate level study and the development of expertise in complex, relevant, and important environmental issues and effective approaches to addressing those issues through organized programs of guided independent study and environmental research. Requires each $25,000 Fellowship to be made available to individual candidates through a sponsoring institution of higher education and an annual competitive selection process. Requires each Fellowship to focus on: (1) effective land and resource management; (2) innovative open space preservation; (3) science associated with such worldwide issues as global climate change and sustainable marine resources; or (4) any other issue that a sponsoring institution determines to be appropriate. Requires annual awards of two Fellowships by the University of Rhode Island. Allows three annual Fellowships to be applied for through any other sponsoring institution. Directs the National Environmental Learning Foundation (as renamed in this Act) to establish and administer the John H. Chafee Fellowship Panel to establish selection process criteria, receive and review applications, and select Fellowship recipients. Requires that Panel members with specified qualifications be appointed by a majority vote of the National Environmental Education Advisory Council. Directs the Foundation to make specified amounts available for such Fellowships and administrative expenses of the Fellowship Program. (Sec. 5) Revises provisions for national environmental education awards. Retains and revises provisions for: (1) President's Environmental Youth Awards; and (2) environmental education awards for elementary and secondary school teachers and their local educational agencies. (Eliminates provisions for awards named for Theodore Roosevelt, Henry David Thoreau, Rachel Carson, and Gifford Pinchot.) (Sec. 6) Revises provisions for the National Environmental Education Advisory Council and for the Federal Task Force on Environmental Education. Directs the EPA Administrator to appoint at least one Advisory Council member to represent each of the following sectors: (1) elementary schools and secondary schools; (2) colleges and universities; (3) not-for-profit organizations involved in environmental education; (4) State departments of education and natural resources; (5) business and industry; and (6) senior citizens. Revises requirements for Advisory Council meetings and reports. Opens membership on the Task Force to representatives of any Federal agency actively engaged in environmental education. (Sec. 7) Renames the National Environmental Education and Training Foundation as the National Environmental Learning Foundation. Increases the number of director's on the Foundation's Board. Allows the Foundation to acknowledge receipt of donations by listing the names of donors in materials it distributes, but prohibits such acknowledgment from: (1) appearing in educational material presented to students; or (2) identifying a donor by means of a logo, letterhead, or other corporate commercial symbol, slogan, or product. Eliminates a time limit on the EPA Administrator's provision of administrative services and support to the Foundation. (Sec. 8) Extends through FY 2005 the authorization of appropriations to EPA to carry out the Act, with specified portions for: (1) OEE activities; (2) the environmental education and training program; (3) environmental education grants; and (4) Foundation activities. Directs the EPA Administrator to submit an annual report to Congress on the activities for which such funds were expended.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1999
High-Speed Rail Investment Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a limited tax credit to holders of a qualified Amtrak bond. Sets forth definitions, State matching requirements, and other rules.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1999
Refers S. 1456 (a bill for the relief of a named individual) to the chief judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims for a report to the Senate.
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 1999
Coral Reef Resource Conservation and Management Act of 1999 - Requires the Secretary of the Interior to provide grants for coral reef conservation projects. Authorizes the awarding of grants to State natural resource management authorities with jurisdiction over coral reefs or whose activities affect coral reefs or to any educational or nongovernmental organization with demonstrated expertise in marine science or coral reef conservation. Limits the Federal share of project costs to 75 percent. Waives the matching requirement if the cost of the project is $25,000 or less or the project is necessary to undertake planning and monitoring requirements for coral reef areas under specified Federal laws. Allocates 40 percent of grant awards for projects in the Pacific Ocean, 40 percent for projects in the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea, and the remainder for projects that address emergency priorities or threats. Sets forth procedures for project review and approval. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 1999
Expresses the sense of Congress that the President should direct the U.S. representative to the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) negotiations to use all available means to secure Miami, Florida, as the permanent site of the FTAA Secretariat after February 28, 2005.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 1999
Declares that a specified final rule relating to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network and the equitable and medically effective allocation of organs for transplantation shall have no force or legal effect. Prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services from implementing or exercising further regulatory authority regarding the Network, as well as regulatory authority under specified provisions of the Social Security Act (SSA) (relating to general SSA regulations, disclosure of information, organ procurement, and general Medicare regulations), before the enactment of amendments to reauthorize and revise provisions of the Public Health Service Act relating to organ transplants.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 1999
National Police Athletic League Youth Enrichment Act of 1999 - Directs the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs of the Department of Justice, for each of FY 2000 through 2004, to award a grant to the Police Athletic League (PAL) for the purposes of establishing PAL chapters to serve public housing projects and other distressed areas and expanding existing chapters to serve additional youths. Requires PAL, in order to be eligible to receive a grant, to submit to the Assistant Attorney General an application which shall include: (1) a long-term strategy to establish 250 additional chapters and a detailed summary of those areas in which new chapters will be established, or in which existing chapters will be expanded to serve additional youths, during the next fiscal year; (2) a plan to ensure that there are a total of not less than 570 chapters in operation before January 1, 2003; (3) a certification that there will be appropriate coordination with those communities where new chapters will be located; and (4) an explanation of the manner in which new chapters will operate without additional, direct Federal financial assistance once assistance under this Act is discontinued. Directs the Assistant Attorney General to review, and take action on, an application within 120 days after the date of submission. (Sec. 6) Directs that amounts made available under a grant awarded under this Act be used by the PAL to provide funding for the establishment of PAL chapters serving public housing projects and other distressed areas, or the expansion of existing PAL chapters. Requires that each new or expanded PAL chapter assisted carry out not less than four programs during non-school hours, of which: (1) not less than two programs shall provide mentoring assistance, academic assistance, recreational and athletic activities, or technology training; and (2) any remaining programs shall provide drug, alcohol, and gang prevention activities; health and nutrition counseling; cultural and social programs; conflict resolution training, anger management, and peer pressure training; job skill preparation activities; or Youth Police Athletic League Conferences or Youth Forums. (Sec. 7) Sets forth reporting requirements. (Sec. 8) Authorizes appropriations. Sets aside specified percentages of grant sums for research and evaluation, technical assistance, and management and administration.
United States · United States Congress · 4 November 1999
John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System Act - Redesignates the Coastal Barrier Resources System as the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System.
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 1999
Bankruptcy Judgeship Act of 1999 - Mandates that: (1) one bankruptcy judgeship position be filled for each of the districts of Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, and Puerto Rico; and (2) the first vacancy occurring five years or more after the appointment date in such districts shall not be filled.
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 1999
Transition to Teaching Act - Establishes a Transition-to-Teaching program, and continues the Troops-to-Teachers program, to address the need of high-poverty school districts for highly qualified teachers in subject areas such as mathematics, science, foreign languages, bilingual education, and special education needed by those school districts. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to use funds under this Act to award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to institutions of higher education (IHEs) and public and private nonprofit entities to carry out Transition-to-Teaching programs. Requires the Secretary, before making such awards, to: (1) consult with the Secretaries of Defense and of Transportation with respect to the appropriate amount of funding necessary to continue and enhance the Troops-to-Teachers program; and (2) transfer such amount to the Department of Defense to carry out such program. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a written agreement with the Departments of Defense and of Transportation, or take other appropriate steps to ensure effective continuation of such program. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth requirements for applications for Transition-to-Teaching program assistance. Authorizes use of such funds for: (1) recruitment of program participants; (2) training stipends and other financial incentives for program participants; (3) assistance to IHEs or other teacher training providers to meet particular needs of professionals changing their careers to teaching; (4) placement activities, including identifying high-poverty local educational agencies (LEAs) with needs for particular skills and characteristics of the newly trained program participants and assisting those participants to obtain employment in those LEAs; and (5) post-placement induction or support activities for program participants. Requires program participants who complete training to teach in a high-poverty LEA for at least three years, or else repay all or a portion of their training stipend or other incentive.
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 1999
Veterans Claims and Appeals Procedures Clarification and Improvement Act - Amends Federal veterans' benefits provisions to: (1) emphasize that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs must assist a veteran in developing all facts pertinent to a veterans' claim for compensation or benefits; (2) make the current veterans' claims adjudication and hearing procedures exclusive with respect to hearings, investigations, and other proceedings in connection with the consideration of a claim; (3) preclude the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims from entertaining any allegation of error by the Secretary in a decision which was not raised by the appellant or the Court; and (4) require such Court to set aside a previous finding of material fact not reasonably supported by a preponderance of the evidence (currently, when clearly erroneous).
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 1999
Agricultural Job Opportunity Benefits and Security Act of 1999 - Title I: Adjustment to Legal Status - Directs the Attorney General to adjust the status of a qualifying alien agricultural worker to that of a lawfully admitted nonimmigrant. Provides, with respect to such status, for: (1) a maximum seven-year period of validity; and (2) termination and removal for failure to meet specified agricultural work requirements. Sets forth employer record-keeping requirements. Provides for adjustment to permanent resident status upon completion of required agricultural work for five years. Provides for: (1) status termination and removal for fraud or misrepresentation, or certain criminal activities; and (2) deportation for failure to apply for status adjustment within the specified application period. Sets forth provisions with respect to: (1) adjustment of status applications, including penalties for false statements; (2) waiver of numerical limitations and certain grounds for inadmissibility; (3) temporary stay of removal and work authorization; (4) administrative and judicial review; and (5) dissemination of program information. Title II: Agricultural Worker Registries - Directs the Secretary of Labor (Secretary) to establish a database system of U.S. worker and nonimmigrant agricultural worker registries to provide temporary and seasonal agricultural job opportunity and referral information. States that such registries may be established as part of the "America's Job Bank" and "America's Talent Bank" databases. Bases registry coverage on job opportunities in a single State, except for the New England States which may be represented by a single registry. Requires prospective employers of H-2A visa agricultural workers to first apply for registry workers before a petition to import H-2A workers may be approved. Sets forth individual registrant requirements. States that an agricultural worker may apply for registry inclusion in the State of his or her residency. Grants referral preference to U.S. workers. Provides that adjusted nonimmigrants: (1) may only be employed in the State of their registration, or in contiguous States; and (2) shall be temporarily or permanently removed from the registry for failure to report for a committed job or jobs. Title III: H-2A Reform - Sets forth registry application requirements for H-2A employers and employer associations, including assurances: (1) that the job opportunity is not the result of a labor dispute, and is temporary or seasonal; (2) respecting required wages and benefits, and compliance with labor laws; (3) respecting advertising in the registry and other labor market sources; and (4) respecting provision of workers compensation. Provides that: (1) the Secretary, upon application approval, shall complete a registry search and notify an employer of available registered workers within seven days of the beginning work date; (2) if insufficient workers are available, the Secretary shall so notify an employer, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of State; (3) an employer shall pay a user fee for each admitted alien worker; (4) an employer may apply directly to the Secretary of State for alien worker admissions if such worker referral has not been received within the seven-day period; and (5) an employer may file a request for redetermination of need. (Sec. 304) Sets forth employment requirements with respect to: (1) wages; (2) housing; (3) transportation reimbursement; and (4) obligation to employ U.S. workers. (Sec. 305) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to revise provisions respecting the admission and extension of stay of temporary H-2A workers. Directs the Attorney General to conduct a study regarding H-2A workers overstays, and whether a partial wage withholding is a necessary inducement to assure timely departure. States that nothing in this Act shall preclude the Secretary and the Attorney General from continuing to apply special procedures to the employment, admissions, and extension of aliens in the range production of livestock. Title IV: Miscellaneous Provisions - Directs the Secretary to establish a process to receive and enforce complaints against employers by aggrieved persons or third party organizations (including bargaining representatives). Sets forth related provisions respecting: (1) expedited investigation of housing, wage, and child labor violations; (2) written notice of findings and opportunity for appeal; (3) ability of alien workers to change employers; and (4) remedies. Establishes the Commission on Housing Migrant Agricultural Workers which shall study the problem of in-season housing for migrant agricultural workers. Directs the Secretaries of Labor, Agriculture, and Health and Human Services to conduct a study of the relationship between child care of migrant agricultural workers and child labor violations in agriculture. Directs the Secretaries of Labor and Agriculture to conduct a study of agricultural field sanitation conditions. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study of persistent and serious agricultural labor standards violations. (Sec. 402) Authorizes and requests the Attorney General to establish bilateral commissions between the United States and each country having specified numbers of H-2A workers in the United States. (Sec. 404) Directs the Secretary to establish registry user and alien employment user fee schedules and related collection processes. (Sec. 405) States that additional funds for agricultural worker registry startup costs may be taken from amounts available to Federal or State entities under the Wagner-Peyser Act. (Sec. 406) Sets forth reporting requirements to the congressional Judiciary committees describing the results of a review of the implementation of this Act. Establishes an advisory board to advise the Comptroller General in the preparation of such report.
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 1999
Hunger Relief Act of 1999 - Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to remove specified restrictions on qualified aliens' eligibility for food stamp and supplemental security income benefits. Exempts food stamp provisions respecting aliens from: (1) the five-year waiting period for Federal means-tested public benefits eligibility; (2) inclusion of sponsor income and resources to an alien for State benefits eligibility; and (3) sponsor reimbursement requirements in cases of hardship. Sets forth effective dates for: (1) aliens; and (2) refugees and asylees. (Sec. 3) Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to authorize a State to use an alternative State auto valuation rather than the Federal one in order to provide a lower household resource attribution for food stamp program purposes. (Sec. 4) Increases, and indexes for inflation, the food stamp excess shelter deduction. (Sec. 5) Amends the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 to authorize additional appropriations for commodity purchases under the emergency food assistance program.
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 1999
Farmworker Adjustment Act of 1999 - Directs the Attorney General to adjust the status of a qualifying alien agricultural worker to that of a lawfully admitted nonimmigrant. Provides, with respect to such status, for: (1) a maximum seven-year period of validity; and (2) termination and removal for failure to meet specified agricultural work requirements. Sets forth employer record keeping requirements. Provides for adjustment to permanent resident status upon completion of required agricultural work for five years. Provides for: (1) status termination and removal for fraud or misrepresentation, or certain criminal activities; and (2) deportation for failure to apply for status adjustment within the specified application period. Sets forth provisions with respect to: (1) adjustment of status applications, including penalties for false statements; (2) waiver of numerical limitations and certain grounds for inadmissibility; (3) temporary stay of removal and work authorization; (4) administrative and judicial review; and (5) dissemination of program information.
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 1999
Food Stamp Outreach and Research for Kids Act of 1999 - Title I: Food Stamp Program - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to (temporarily) carry out mandatory annual onsite inspections of State food stamp program agencies. (Sec. 103) Directs the Secretary to carry out a caseworker training demonstration program. (Sec. 104) Provides for Food and Nutrition Service studies to measure food stamp program impacts on nutrition policy formulation. (Sec. 105) Directs the Secretary to establish a program of grants to qualifying organizations for community partnerships and innovative outreach programs. (Sec. 106) Directs the Secretary to conduct online and telephone program participation demonstration programs. (Sec. 107) Directs the Secretary to facilitate partnerships with State, local, private, and public entities to provide information on nutrition programs, and maintain a toll-free information number. Makes an entity maintaining a toll-free number eligible for a specified Internal Revenue Code business tax credit. (Sec. 108) Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study of State outreach programs. Title II: Medicaid and Food Stamp Information Through TANF Program and Tax Credit - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop a model application for receiving benefits under a State TANF program (Social Security Act block grants to States for temporary assistance to needy families). Requires the application to provide Medicaid and food stamp program eligibility information, for which the Secretary shall develop a model notice. Declares that State use of the application and notice shall be voluntary unless the Secretary determines that a State is not adequately providing food stamp information. (Sec. 202) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish a business credit for establishment of the toll-free number under title I of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 1999
Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act - Amends the Federal judicial code to revise the definition of "agency or instrumentality of a foreign state" for purposes of provisions regarding exceptions to: (1) the jurisdictional immunity of a foreign state where money damages are sought against a foreign state for personal injury or death that was caused by an act of torture, extrajudicial killing, aircraft sabotage, hostage taking, or the provision of material support or resources for such an act (jurisdictional provisions); and (2) the immunity from attachment or execution where the judgment relates to a claim for which the foreign state is not immune (attachment provisions). Directs that moneys due from or payable by the United States to any State against which a judgment is pending under jurisdictional provisions be subject to attachment and execution in like manner and to the same extent as if the United States were a private person. Authorizes the President, upon determining on an asset-by-asset basis that a waiver is necessary in the national security interest, to waive attachment provisions in connection with (and prior to the enforcement of) any judicial order directing attachment in aid of execution or execution against the premises of a foreign diplomatic mission to the United States, or any funds held by or in the name of such foreign diplomatic mission determined by the President to be necessary to satisfy actual operating expenses of such foreign diplomatic mission. Specifies that a waiver shall not apply to the proceeds of: (1) such use if the premises of a foreign diplomatic mission has been used for any non-diplomatic purpose (including use as rental property); or (2) a sale or transfer if any asset of a foreign diplomatic mission is sold or otherwise transferred for value to a third party. Treats all assets of any agency or instrumentality of a foreign state as assets of that foreign state.
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