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United States · Official source
4,936 records where Sen. Hollings, Ernest F. [D-SC] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2000
Expresses the condolences of the Senate on the death of Senator Paul Coverdell of Georgia.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2000
Pediatric Diabetes Research and Prevention Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to develop a system to collect data on type 1 diabetes (or juvenile diabetes), including information with respect to incidence and prevalence, and to establish a national registry for such data. Authorizes appropriations Provides for the conduct or support of long-term epidemiology studies in which individuals with type 1 diabetes (or juvenile diabetes) are followed for 10 years or more. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2000
Children's Public Health Act of 2000 - Title I: Injury Prevention - Subtitle A: Traumatic Brain Injury - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to implement a national education and awareness campaign regarding prevention of traumatic brain injury. Modifies requirements and authorizes appropriations regarding a currently-mandated study of traumatic brain injury. Authorizes an existing trauma research program to include research on cognitive disorders and neurobehavioral consequences of traumatic brain injury. Authorizes appropriations for that program. (Sec. 104) Authorizes grants for projects (currently, for demonstration projects) to improve access to health and other services regarding traumatic brain injury. Allows required matching funds to be in cash or in kind (currently, in cash). Regulates the use of grant funds. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Child Care Safety and Health Grants - Directs the Secretary to make allotments to States to establish programs to improve the health and safety of children receiving child care outside the home. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Maternal and Infant Health - Subtitle A: Safe Motherhood and Infant Health Promotion - Pregnant Women and Infants Health Protection Act - Directs the Secretary to carry out programs relating to prenatal and postnatal smoking and alcohol and illegal drug use. Authorizes grants and contracts. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) establish and implement a national surveillance program regarding investigation of deaths and severe complications during pregnancy; (2) expand the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System; and (3) expand the Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology Program. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Healthy Start Initiative - Healthy Start Initiative Continuation Act - Directs the Secretary to continue the Healthy Start Initiative (to reduce infant mortality and improve perinatal outcomes) and authorizes carrying it out on a national basis. Authorizes, if funding increases, additional grants. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to provide other health services (including ultrasound, prenatal care, genetic counseling, and fetal and other surgery) for pregnant women or infants that are medically appropriate to prevent or mitigate congenital defects or other serious obstetric complications. Allows using grant funds for paying transportation and subsistence expenses to assist the woman in obtaining health services from the grantee involved. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: National Center for Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities - Establishes the National Center for Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities to: (1) collect, analyze, and make available date on birth defects and developmental disabilities; and (2) conduct applied epidemiological research, and provide information and education to the pubic, on prevention of such defects and disabilities. Transfers to such Center all activities, budgets, and personnel of the National Center for Environmental Health that relate to birth defects, folic acid, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, child development, newborn screening, autism, Fragile X syndrome, fetal alcohol syndrome, pediatric genetics, disability prevention, and other activities. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle D: Folic Acid Education Program - Directs the Secretary to carry out a program of professional and public education and training, research, and epidemiological activities regarding folic acid and birth defects. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Pediatric Public Health Promotion - Subtitle A: Asthma - Directs the Secretary to make grants to provide comprehensive asthma-related services for children and other individuals. Authorizes appropriations. Allows preventive health and health services block grant funds to be used for projects to reduce the prevalence of asthma and asthma-related illnesses among urban populations, especially children, by reducing exposure to cockroach allergen or other known asthma triggers through pest management that minimizes or avoids pesticide chemicals through a combination of site maintenance, cleaning, and monitoring. Directs the Secretary to: (1) identify all Federal programs carrying out asthma-related activities; (2) develop a Federal plan for responding to asthma; and (3) submit recommendations to Congress on ways to strengthen and improve Federal coordination of such activities. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) to: (1) conduct local asthma surveillance activities to collect data on the prevalence and severity of asthma and the quality of asthma management; and (2) compile and annually publish data on the prevalence of children suffering from asthma in each State and the childhood mortality rate associated with asthma nationally and in each State. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Childhood Obesity Prevention - Directs the Secretary to award grants for the development and implementation of State and community-based intervention programs promoting good nutrition and physical activity in children and adolescents. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct research on physical activity, diet, health, health-related behaviors, and childhood obesity and its effects in adulthood; (2) develop and evaluate strategies to prevent and treat obesity and eating disorders; (3) identify obesity behaviors and risk factors; (4) evaluate materials and programs providing nutrition education to parents, teachers, and food service staff of child care and pre-school entities; and (5) evaluate materials and programs designed to educate and encourage physical activity in child care and pre-school facilities. Directs the Secretary to develop a national public campaign to promote and educate children and parents regarding health risks associated with obesity, inactivity, and poor nutrition, ways to incorporate physical activity into daily living, the benefits of good nutrition, and strategies to improve eating habits. Directs the Secretary to develop and carry out a program to educate and train health professionals in effective strategies to identify and assess patients with, or at risk for, obesity or an eating disorder, counsel, refer, or treat patients with obesity or an eating disorder, and educate patients and their families about strategies to improve dietary habits and establish appropriate levels of physical activity. Subtitle C: Early Detection and Treatment Regarding Childhood Lead Poisoning - Modifies application and reporting requirements for existing grants regarding lead poisoning. Directs the Secretary to develop national guidelines for the uniform and complete reporting of all blood lead test results to State and local health departments. Requires the CDCP Director to assist with the improvement of data links between local and State health departments and the CDCP, help States with the development of data management systems for the surveillance of children with lead poisoning, and take other actions regarding lead poisoning. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 322) Directs the Secretary to: (1) make grants where data suggests that at least five percent of preschool-age children have an elevated blood level; and (2) conduct education and training programs for health care providers regarding childhood lead poisoning. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle D: Oral Health - Directs the Secretary to support: (1) community-based research on the etiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of pediatric oral, dental, craniofacial diseases and conditions and their sequelae in high risk populations; (2) demonstrations of preventive interventions in those populations; and (3) the development of clinical approaches to assess individual patients for the risk of pediatric dental disease. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 332) Directs the Secretary to establish a program of repayment of oral health professionals' educational loans in return for the professionals agreeing to conduct pediatric oral, dental, and craniofacial disease and condition research or training. (Sec. 333) Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to increase the resources available for community water fluoridation. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 334) Directs the Secretary to establish a demonstration project to assist rural water systems in implementing the CDCP's water fluoridation guidelines. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 335) Authorizes the Secretary to make grants for the development of programs to improve children's school-based access to sealants. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 336) Directs the Secretary to: (1) fund innovative oral health activities that improve the oral health of children under six years who are eligible for services under a Federal health program; and (2) make grants or contracts to increase training of oral health services providers or to increase children's use of dental services. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Pediatric Research - Subtitle A: Pediatric Research Initiative - Mandates the establishment of a Pediatric Research Initiative to conduct and support research and coordination directly related to illnesses and conditions of children. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 402) Directs the Secretary to make available enhanced support for extramural activities relating to the training and career development of pediatric researchers. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to repay the educational loans of pediatricians in return for conducting pediatric research. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Autism - Requires the NIH Director to expand, intensify, and coordinate NIH activities regarding autism. Requires the Director, among other things, to make grants and contracts for centers of excellence regarding autism research. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 412) Authorizes the Secretary to make grants and cooperative agreements for the collection, analysis, and reporting of data on autism and pervasive developmental disabilities. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish, through grants or cooperative agreements, at least three regional centers of excellence in autism and pervasive developmental disabilities epidemiology to collect and analyze information on autism and developmental disabilities; (2) establish a clearinghouse for the collection and storage of data generated from the monitoring programs created by this title; (3) coordinate the Federal response to requests for assistance from State health department officials regarding potential or alleged autism or developmental disability clusters. Authorizes appropriations; and (4) establish a program to provide information and education on autism to health professionals and the public. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 414) Directs the Secretary to establish an Autism Coordinating Committee. Subtitle C: Long-Term Child Development - Requires the Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to establish a consortium of Federal agency representatives to: (1) plan and implement a prospective cohort study of the effects of chronic and intermittent exposures on human development; and (2) investigate basic mechanisms of developmental disorders and environmental factors that influence growth and developmental processes. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle D: Research on Rare Diseases in Children - Requires the NIH Director to report to Congress on NIH activities regarding children's rare diseases. Subtitle E: GME Programs in Children's Hospitals - Extends the mandate to make annual payments to each children's hospital for the direct and indirect expenses of operating graduate medical residency training programs. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2000
Shark Conservation Act of 2000 - Amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to make it unlawful for any person to engage in shark-finning, or to land the fins of a shark that were taken by shark-finning. Establishes a rebuttable presumption that shark fins landed from a fishing vessel or found on board a fishing vessel were taken by shark-finning. Sets forth provisions concerning; (1) the promulgation of regulations; (2) international negotiations; (3) reporting requirements; (4) import certification procedures; (5) research; (6) a cooperative research program with the commercial longline industry; and (7) international cooperation and assistance. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2000
Authorizes the President, on behalf of Congress, to present a gold medal to General Wesley K. Clark, in recognition of his outstanding leadership and service as Supreme Allied Commander in Europe during the military operations against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro). Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2000
Consumer Product Safety Commission Enhanced Enforcement Act - Amends the Consumer Product Safety Act and the Federal Hazardous Substances Act to direct the Consumer Product Safety Commission, if it determines, after affording opportunity for an informal hearing, that the repair, replacement, or refund action elected by a manufacturer, distributor, or retailer is not in the public interest, to order the manufacturer, distributor, or retailer to take any other action that the Commission determines to be in the public interest. Revises civil and criminal penalties, including removing the existing cap on the maximum civil penalty that can be assessed to companies that market products in violation of federal consumer product safety regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2000
Foreign Government Investment Act of 2000 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit any broadcast license, permit, or operating authority from being granted to or held by a corporation, joint venture, partnership, other business organization, or trust controlled by a foreign government or its representatives. Prohibits the Federal Communications Commission from waiving the application of such prohibition. Provides for an entity to be considered to be controlled by a foreign government or its representatives if more than 25 percent of the ownership, voting rights, capital stock, or other pecuniary interest in that entity is owned, held, or controlled by such a government or its representatives.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2000
Violence Against Women Act of 2000 - Title I: Strengthening Law Enforcement to Reduce Violence Against Women - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the Attorney General (AG) to make grants to provide technical assistance and equipment to police departments, prosecutors, courts, and tribal jurisdictions to facilitate the widespread enforcement of protection orders. Revises provisions of the Federal criminal code governing the full faith and credit of protection orders. Designates State, local, and Indian tribal courts as eligible grantees under the program to combat violent crimes against women. Reauthorizes through FY 2005 various programs which address violence against women, including domestic violence and stalking offenses. Title II: Strengthening Services to Victims of Violence - Authorizes the AG to award grants to increase the availability of legal assistance to victims of domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault. Reauthorizes through FY 2005 various grants and programs under the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act. Title III: Limiting the Effects of Violence on Children - Authorizes the AG to make grants to States, local governments, and Indian tribal governments for the provision of supervised visitation and safe visitation exchange of children by and between parents in situations involving domestic violence, child abuse, or sexual assault. Reauthorizes through FY 2005 runaway and homeless youth grants and programs for victims of child abuse. Title IV: Strengthening Education and Training to Combat Violence Against Women - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants for model programs of education and training in appropriate responses to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. Title V: Battered Immigrant Women - Battered Immigrant Women Protection Act of 2000 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide certain protections to battered immigrant women. Title VI: Extension of Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund - Extends through FY 2005 the Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2000
See summary of: S. 2541
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2000
Affordable Housing for Seniors and Families Act - Title I: Refinancing for Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, respecting projects assisted under section 202 (supportive housing for the elderly) of the Housing Act of 1959, to: (1) approve prepayment of indebtedness, including refinancing under specified conditions, provided the project sponsor continues to operate the project on terms at least as advantageous to tenants as required under the original agreement; and (2) upon refinancing, use at least 50 percent of the resultant savings in a manner that is advantageous to the tenants. Title II: Authorization of Appropriations for Supportive Housing for the Elderly and Persons With Disabilities - Amends the Housing Act of 1959 to authorize appropriations for supportive housing for the elderly. (Sec. 202) Amends the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act to authorize appropriations for supportive housing for persons with disabilities. (Sec. 203) Authorizes appropriations for: (1) grants for service coordinators for elderly and disabled residents of certain federally assisted multifamily housing; and (2) contracts for congregate services for certain federally assisted housing. Title III: Expanding Public Housing Opportunities for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities - Subtitle A: Housing for the Elderly - Amends the Housing Act of 1959, with respect to supportive services for the elderly, to establish a matching capital grant program. Provides for certain numbers of tenants who are elderly but not very low-income persons. (Sec. 302) Makes for-profit limited partnerships eligible program participants. (Sec. 303) Permits owners to use mixed funding sources for amenities and other design features. (Sec. 304) Expands acquisition authority. (Sec. 305) Authorizes low-income eligibility in supportive housing projects with high vacancy rates. (Sec. 306) Authorizes project reserves to be used to reduce the number of dwelling units by retrofitting unmarketable units. (Sec. 307) States that no provision of law shall be construed to prohibit commercial operations in a project location that benefits project residents. (Sec. 308) Directs the Secretary to carry out a pilot program for up to five projects to determine the effectiveness and feasibility of providing section 202 assistance for housing projects that are both for supportive services for the elderly and for other types of housing, including market rate housing. (Sec. 309) Amends the Housing Act of 1959 to authorize the Secretary to make grants for capital repairs of elderly housing projects or their conversion to assisted living facilities. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 310) Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to authorize the Secretary to make grants to public housing agencies for conversion of public housing for the elderly to assisted living facilities. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 311) Directs the Secretary to make an annual inventory of HUD and federally-assisted housing designated for elderly and disabled families. (Sec. 312) Directs the Secretary, in the case of denial of section 202 assistance for failure to provide timely information, to notify and provide opportunity for the applicant to show third party fault. Subtitle B: Housing for Persons with Disabilities - Amends the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act with respect to supportive housing for persons with disabilities to include among assistance forms a capital advance matching grants program. Provides for certain numbers of tenants who are disabled but not very low-income persons. (Sec. 322) Amends the Housing Act of 1959 to make certain for-profit limited partnerships eligible recipients under the supportive housing for persons with disabilities program. (Sec. 323) Amends the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act with respect to the supportive housing for persons with disabilities program to permit owners to use mixed funding sources for amenities and other design features. (Sec. 324) Provides that limited tenant-based assistance may be provided through a qualifying public housing agency or a private nonprofit organization. (Sec. 325) Authorizes project reserves to be used to reduce the number of dwelling units by retrofitting unmarketable units. (Sec. 326) States that no provision of law shall be construed to prohibit commercial operations in a project location that benefits project residents. Subtitle C: Other Provisions - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 to permit service coordinator services to be provided to low-income or elderly persons living in the vicinity of specified federally assisted housing. Includes telemarketing fraud protection among the services provided to elderly residents of federally assisted housing and under the supportive housing program. Title IV: Preservation of Affordable Housing Stock - Directs the Secretary to make grants to States and localities for low-income housing preservation and promotion. Title V: Mortgage Insurance for Health Care Facilities and Home Equity Conversion Mortgages - Amends the National Housing Act to authorize mortgage insurance for debt refinancing of existing health care facilities. Permits hospital, home, or facility refinancing to prepay a loan that is within five years of maturity. Permits use of refinancing proceeds for related maintenance and equipment. (Sec. 502) Includes within the definition of "assisted living facility" certain unlicenced facilities. Defines "integrated service facility." (Sec. 503) Revises hospital mortgage insurance provisions. (Sec. 504) Authorizes the Secretary to insure refinancing of home equity conversion mortgages.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2000
Amends Federal law to direct the Postal Service to establish a special (semipostal) postage rate for first-class mail in order to afford the public a convenient way to contribute to funding for the establishment of the World War II Memorial. Expresses the sense of Congress that nothing in this Act should: (1) directly or indirectly cause a net decrease in total funds received by the American Battle Monuments Commission below the level that would otherwise have been received but for the enactment of this section; or (2) affect regular first-class rates of postage or any other regular rates of postage.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2000
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) everyone in the United States should have a decent home; (2) Members of the Senate should demonstrate the importance of volunteerism; and (3) Members of the Senate and contributing organizations should sponsor and construct two homes in the District of Columbia, each of which to be known as a "House That the Senate Built."
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2000
Broadband Internet Access Act of 2000 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish the broadband credit which shall be the sum of: (1) the current generation broadband credit; plus; (2) the next generation broadband credit. Defines terms. Requires a study and report.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2000
Calls upon the President to: (1) issue a proclamation recognizing the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Helsinki Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, reasserting the U.S. commitment to full implementation of the Act, and urging all signatory states to abide by their obligations under the Act; and (2) convey to all signatory states that respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, democratic principles, economic liberty, and the implementation of related commitments continue to be vital elements in promoting a new era of democracy, peace, and unity in the region.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2000
Stop Tuberculosis (TB) Now Act - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to declare that a major objective of the foreign assistance program of the United States is to control tuberculosis, and that consequently Congress expects the agency primarily responsible for the administration of tuberculosis control health programs to focus upon implementation of Directly Observed Treatment, Short Course (DOTS) or other internationally accepted primary tuberculosis control strategies developed in consultation with the World Health Organization and other designated organizations. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2000
Mental Health Early Intervention, Treatment, and Prevention Act of 2000 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish programs for the treatment of mental illness. Directs the creation of a national anti-stigma and suicide prevention campaign to reduce the stigma often associated with mental illness. Provides for award grants to States, their political subdivisions, Indian tribes, and tribal organizations to train teachers and school personnel to recognize and respond to symptoms of adolescent mental disorders. Authorizes grants to support the designation of emergency mental health centers. Provides for a program of up to 125 grants to develop programs to divert individuals with mental illness from the criminal justice system to community-based services. Establishes grant programs for: (1) reduction of suicide deaths; (2) outreach screening to identify and refer persons with mental illnesses and co- occurring substance abuse disorders; (3) expansion of community-based mental health services; and (4) establishment of centers of excellence on psychological trauma response. Requires establishment, through the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, of a research program to determine factors contributing to noncompliance with outpatient treatment plans and design innovative methods to enhance compliance. Directs the creation of Centers for Excellence in Translational Research, and programs to increase the supply of basic and clinical researchers in the mental health field. Creates a grant program to provide integrated child welfare and mental health services for children and adolescents under age 19 in the child welfare system or at risk of becoming part of the system, and parents or caregivers with mental illness or mental illness and a co-occurring substance abuse disorder. Provides for grants for accredited primary care residency training programs and continuing education programs to identify and refer persons with a mental illness. Establishes a commission to study mental health issues research and develop model State legislation based on such research results. Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to direct the Attorney General to make grants for mental health court programs: (1) to provide training of law enforcement and judicial personnel in addressing the unique needs of individuals with a mental illness who come in contact with the criminal justice system; and (2) to coordinate criminal adjudication, supervision, and delivery of mental health treatment for preliminarily qualified individuals. Establishes a mental health screening and treatment grant program for persons in jails and prisons. Directs that grants be made to train State and local law enforcement officers in identification of and resources available to individuals with a mental illness.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2000
Consumer Privacy Protection Act - States that this Act preempts State laws and regulations inconsistent with its contents. Title I: Online Privacy - Sets forth operating parameters applicable to Internet service providers, online service providers, and commercial website operators with respect to the user of such service or website and: (1) the collection or disclosure of personally identifiable information; and (2) notice, consent, access and security requirements. Permits disclosure to law enforcement agencies and pursuant to court orders. Title II: Privacy Protection for Consumers of Books, Recorded Music, and Videos - Replaces Federal criminal code prohibition of the wrongful disclosure of video tape rental or sale records with prohibition of the wrongful disclosure of information about video, book, or recorded music rental, sale or delivery. Sets forth liability parameters for a video provider, book dealer, or recorded music dealer who knowingly discloses personally identifiable information concerning a consumer. Title III: Enforcement and Remedies - Vests the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) with enforcement authority for violations of this Act. Identifies additional agencies with enforcement authority for violations of online privacy under this Act. Grants a private right of action to persons aggrieved by such violations. Authorizes civil actions by States whose residents have been aggrieved by such violations. (Sec. 305) Sets forth whistleblower protections. Directs the FTC to establish an Office of Online Privacy to study privacy issues associated with electronic commerce and the Internet, the operation of this Act and the efficacy of its privacy protections. Title IV: Communications Technology Privacy Protections - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to extend its privacy protection parameters to subscribers of satellite television services for private home viewing. (Sec. 402) Requires a customer's express prior authorization for access or disclosure by a telecommunications carrier of the customer's proprietary network information. Title V: Rulemaking and Studies - Directs the Federal Trade Commission to study consumer privacy issues in the traditional, offline marketplace according to prescribed guidelines and report to Congress its recommendations regarding rights and remedies. (Sec. 502) Instructs the Federal Communications Commission to initiate a prescribed rulemaking proceeding to establish uniform consumer privacy rules for all communications providers. (Sec. 503) Instructs the Secretary of Labor to study and report to Congress on whether employer practices that monitor employee activities by electronic or other remote means both at and away from the workplace constitute an inappropriate violation of employee privacy. Title VI: Protection of Personally Identifiable Information in Bankruptcy - Amends the Federal Bankruptcy Code to exclude certain personally identifiable information from consideration as an asset in bankruptcy. Title VII: Internet Security Initiatives - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish a Computer Security Partnership Council to: (1) increase public awareness of information security (including threats to information security and the responses to such threats); and (2) publish a report which evaluates and describes of areas of computer security research and development that are inadequately developed or funded. (Sec. 703) Amends the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act to direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology (Institute) to establish a program of matching grants for research and development of protection technologies to address issues that are not addressed by market-driven, private-sector information security research. Sets forth a matching grant framework. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 704) Instructs the Secretary of Commerce to establish computer security training programs authorized to be supported by forms of financial aid to students at domestic institutions of higher education. Authorizes scholarships, but makes service as a Federal employee after graduation a condition of acceptance. (Sec. 705) Authorizes the Institute, as part of its computer standards program, to: (1) assist Federal agencies in the protection of interconnected computer systems and to coordinate Federal response efforts regarding unauthorized access to Federal computer systems; and (2) establish an award program for the recognition of excellence in Federal computer system security practices. (Sec. 707) Directs the Institute to support development of computer software that would: (1) reflect the user's preferences for protecting sensitive, privacy-related information; and (2) automatically execute the program, once activated, without requiring user intervention. Title VIII: Congressional Information Security Standards - Instructs the Sergeant at Arms of the Senate to develop regulations following prescribed principles of privacy that set forth an information security and electronic privacy policy governing Internet use by Senate officers and employees. Title IX: Definitions - Defines terms used in this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2000
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to grant duty-free treatment to certain machines used in the manufacture of radial tires designed for off-the-highway use and with a rim measuring 63.5cm (currently, 86cm) or more in diameter through December 31, 2001.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2000
Historically Women's Public Colleges or Universities Historic Building Restoration and Preservation Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to award grants to historically women's public colleges or universities (institutions) for the preservation and restoration of historic buildings and structures on their campuses. Requires such grants to be awarded from appropriations for FY 2001 through 2005 under the National Historic Preservation Act. Sets forth: (1) grant conditions; (2) a 20 percent non-Federal funds matching requirement; and (3) a limitation on the total amount of such grants in a fiscal year. Requires such amount for FY 2001 to be distributed equally among the following institutions: (1) Mississippi University for Women; (2) Georgia College and State University; (3) University of North Carolina at Greensboro, North Carolina; (4) Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina; (5) University of Montevallo in Montevallo, Alabama; (6) Texas Woman's University in Denton, Texas; and (7) University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma in Chickasha, Oklahoma. Requires such amounts for FY 2002 through 2005 also to be distributed among such institutions if they remain eligible and wish to participate, on a uniform basis, for such fiscal years.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2000
Medicare Expansion for Needed Drugs (MEND) Act of 2000 - Title I: Prescription Drug Benefit Program - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to add a new part D (Prescription Drug Benefit for the Aged and Disabled) outlining the following program components: (1) establishment of a voluntary insurance program to provide prescription drug benefits for individuals who are aged or disabled or have end-stage renal disease and who elect to enroll under such program, to be financed from enrollee premium payments together with contributions from Federal appropriations; (2) scope of benefits; (3) payment of benefits and benefit limits; (4) eligibility and enrollment; (5) monthly premium rates; (6) creation within the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of the Prescription Drug Insurance Account for payments; (7) administration of benefits through private entities; (8) authorization for the Employer Incentive Program to encourage employers to provide adequate prescription drug benefits to retired individuals and to maintain such existing benefit programs by subsidizing, in part, the sponsor's cost of providing coverage under qualifying plans; and (9) authorization of appropriations to the Account to cover Government contributions. (Sec. 101) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study and report on the feasibility and advisability of establishing an annual open enrollment period under the new part D program. (Sec. 102) Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to: (1) provide for coverage for certain low-income individuals of part D premiums; (2) require State Medicaid plans to provide that in the case of any individual whose eligibility for medical assistance is not limited to Medicare or Medicare drug cost-sharing, and for whom the State elects to pay monthly premiums under part D, the State will purchase all prescription drugs, without regard to whether the benefit limit for such individual has been reached; (3) require Government payment of Medicare drug cost-sharing for qualified Medicare beneficiaries and for Medicare-eligible individuals with incomes between 100 and 150 percent of the Federal poverty line; and (4) make provisions on payment for covered outpatient drugs inapplicable to prescription drugs purchased under part D pursuant to an agreement with the Secretary under the special eligibility, enrollment, and copayment rules below for low-income individuals. Amends SSA title XVIII part D to outline special eligibility, enrollment, and copayment rules for low-income individuals, which include options for continuation of Medicaid coverage or enrollment under such part. Amends SSA title XIX to remove the sunset date for cost-sharing in Medicare part B premiums for certain qualifying individuals. Repeals provisions on State coverage of Medicare cost-sharing for additional low-income Medicare beneficiaries. (Sec. 103) Directs the Secretary to submit to Congress recommendations on structuring a catastrophic drug benefit for Medicare beneficiaries. Establishes the Catastrophic Prescription Drug Coverage Reserve Fund and makes appropriations to it. (Sec. 104) Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for comprehensive immunosuppressive drug Medicare coverage for organ transplant patients. (Sec. 105) Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on the prescription drug benefit program under part D. (Sec. 106) Directs the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MEDPAC) to take similar action, including an analysis of such program's impact on the pharmaceutical market, franchise, independent, and rural pharmacies, and beneficiary access to prescription drugs. Title II: Enhanced Medicare Prevention Program - Amends SSA title XVIII to direct MEDPAC to report annually to Congress on the actuarial equivalence of Medicare and private sector benefit packages. (Sec. 202) Requires the Director of the National Institute on Aging to conduct studies on improving the quality of life for the elderly, developing better ways to prevent or delay the onset of age-related functional decline and disease among the elderly, and developing means of assessing the long-term development of cost-effective and cost-saving benefits for health promotion and disease among the elderly. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 203) Requires the Secretary to contract with the Institute of Medicine to study and report to the President along with appropriate legislative recommendations for Congress with respect to current literature and best practices in the field of health promotion and disease prevention among Medicare beneficiaries. Provides for fast-track consideration by Congress of such presidential report and accompanying recommendations.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2000
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) the Secretary of Education should work with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Veterans Day National Committee, and veterans service organizations to encourage, prepare, and disseminate educational materials and activities for elementary and secondary school students aimed at increasing awareness of the contributions of veterans; and (2) the week that includes Veterans Day should be designated as National Veterans Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2000
Telehealth Improvement and Modernization Act of 2000 - Revises the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 to: (1) revise telehealth payment methodology; (2) eliminate certain fee-sharing requirements; (3) eliminate the requirement for a telepresenter; (4) revise reimbursement guidelines for Medicare beneficiaries who do not reside in a health professional shortage area to include eligible telehealth beneficiaries; (5) modify telehealth coverage for direct patient care; (6) redefine physicians and practitioners eligible for telehealth reimbursement; (7) include certain store-and-forward technologies in Federal telemedicine demonstration programs in Alaska or Hawaii; and (8) permit a home health agency to furnish a home health service via a telecommunications system under certain conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2000
Maritime Administration Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 - Authorizes appropriations for FY 2001 to the Secretary of Transportation for the Maritime Administration. Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to declare that certain restrictions concerning a vessel built in a foreign country shall not apply to a drybulk or breakbulk vessel over 7,500 deadweight tons that has been delivered from a foreign shipyard or contracted for construction in a foreign shipyard before the earlier of specified dates. Deems U.S.-built any vessel timely contracted for or delivered and documented under U.S. law, if certain conditions are met. Names vessels of the National Defense Reserve Fleet that may be scrapped in foreign countries under terms and conditions prescribed by the Secretary. Authorizes the scrapping of additional vessels in the Fleet if the Secretary determines that they will become hazards to navigation or the environment.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2000
Designates August 16, 2000, as National Airborne Day.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2000
Pope John Paul II Congressional Gold Medal Act - Authorizes the presentation of a gold medal to Pope John Paul II in recognition of his outstanding and enduring contributions to humanity. Authorizes appropriations. Mandates that proceeds from duplicate bronze medal sales be deposited in the U.S. Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2000
Airport Security Improvement Act of 2000 - Amends the Federal transportation code with respect to aviation security to repeal mandatory criminal history checks in any case in which an employment investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reveals a gap in employment of 12 months or more for which the subject of the investigation does not account satisfactorily. Requires the FAA Administrator to provide by regulation that criminal background checks be done expeditiously. Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) complete development of uniform performance standards for providing security screening services; (2) prescribe minimum standards for training security screeners that include at least 40 hours of classroom instruction and at least 40 hours of practical training before an individual is qualified to provide security screening services at a regulated airport; and (3) require by regulation that computer-based training facilities intended for use at a hub airport be conveniently located for that airport and easily accessible. Directs the FAA Administrator to enforce compliance with airport access control requirements, including: (1) suspending, or requiring the suspension of, employees who fail to comply with those requirements, with or without pay, for appropriate periods of time; and (2) imposing specified penalties. Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) work with airport operators and air carriers to implement and strengthen existing controls to eliminate access control weaknesses; (2) require airport operators and air carriers to develop comprehensive and recurring training programs that teach employees their role in airport security and how performance will be evaluated and treated; (3) require airport operators and air carriers to develop programs that foster and reward compliance with access control requirements, discourage and penalize noncompliance, and enforce individual compliance requirements under FAA oversight; (4) assess and test for compliance with access control requirements, and take appropriate enforcement actions for noncompliance; (5) improve and better administer the FAA security database; (6) improve the execution of the FAA quality control program; and (7) require airport operators and air carriers to strengthen access control points in secured areas (including air traffic control operations areas) to ensure the security of passengers and aircraft.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2000
Recognizes the Hermann Monument and Hermann Heights Park in New Ulm, Minnesota, as a national symbol for the contributions of Americans of German heritage.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2000
National Transportation Safety Board Amendments Act of 2000 - Amends Federal transportation law to authorize the National Transportation Safety Board to: (1) negotiate and enter into agreements with individuals and private entities and departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the Government, State and local governments, and governments of foreign countries for the provision of facilities, accident-related services, or training in accident investigation techniques; and (2) require (as under current law) that such entities provide appropriate consideration for the reasonable costs of any facilities, services, or (new law) training provided by the Board. Requires any amounts received as such consideration to be credited to the Board's appropriations as offsetting collections. (Sec. 4) Authorizes the Board, for an employee whose basic pay equals or exceeds the minimum rate for GS-10 of the General Schedule, to establish an overtime hourly rate of time-and-a-half (which shall be considered premium pay), up to a specified annual limit, with respect to work performed at the scene of an accident (including travel to or from the scene) and other work critical to an accident investigation. (Sec. 5) Extends to cockpit video recordings or written depictions of visual information the same disclosure limitations and requirements (including those applicable to discovery and use of such recordings or written depictions in judicial proceedings) that apply to cockpit voice recordings or transcripts of them. Extends such disclosure limitations and requirements to surface vehicle voice or video recorder recordings or transcripts of oral communications by or among drivers, train employees, or other operating employees responsible for the movement and direction of the vehicle or vessel, or between such operating employees and company communication centers, related to an accident investigated by the Board. (Sec. 6) Revises the Board's current investigative priority over other Federal agencies to require the Board to relinquish such priority to the Federal Bureau of Investigation if the Attorney General determines that circumstances reasonably indicate that the accident may have been caused by an intentional criminal act. Requires the Board to take necessary actions to ensure that evidence is preserved if a Federal law enforcement agency suspects and notifies the Board that an accident the Board is investigating may have been caused by an intentional criminal act. (Sec. 7) Revises the duties and powers of the Board with respect to accidents involving public aircraft. (Sec. 8) Requires the Board and the U.S. Coast Guard to revise their Memorandum of Understanding governing major marine accidents to: (1) to redefine or clarify the standards used to determine when the Board will lead an investigation; and (2) develop new standards to determine when a major marine accident involves significant safety issues relating to Coast Guard safety functions. (Sec. 9) Directs the Chairman of the Board to establish annual fiscal year budgets for non-accident-related travel expenditures for Board members, and report annually to specified congressional committees on the non-accident-related travel of each Board member, with separate accounting for foreign and domestic travel. (Sec. 10) Requires the Board Chairman to designate an officer or employee of the Board as the Chief Financial Officer, who shall perform specified duties. (Sec. 11) Directs the Board to develop and implement comprehensive internal audit controls for its financial programs based on the findings and recommendations of the private sector audit firm contract entered into by the Board in March, 2000. Requires the improved internal audit controls, at a minimum, to address Board asset management systems, including systems for accounting management, debt collection, travel, and property and inventory management and control. (Sec. 12) Grants the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation authority to review only the Board's financial management and business operations. (Sec. 13) Authorizes appropriations for the Board through FY 2003. Increases from $1 million to $2 million the Board's emergency fund for accident investigations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2000
Pipeline Safety and Community Protection Act of 2000 - Amends Federal transportation law with respect to gas and hazardous liquid pipeline facilities in high-density population areas and environmentally sensitive areas. (Sec. 2) Requires the operator of a natural gas transmission pipeline facility or hazardous liquid pipeline facility to: (1) evaluate the risks to the operator's pipeline facility in such areas (as identified by specified criteria established by the Secretary of Transportation); and (2) adopt and implement a program for integrity management that reduces the risks in those areas. Specifies minimum standards, according to certain criteria, for an operator's program for integrity management, including: (1) internal inspection or another equally protective method for periodic assessment of pipeline integrity; (2) prompt actions to address integrity issues; and (3) measures that prevent and mitigate the consequences of a release of a hazardous substance or a discharge of oil. Requires the Secretary to prescribe additional standards, addressing specified issues, to direct an operator's conduct of a risk analysis or adoption or implementation of a program for integrity management. Excludes tanks incidental to pipeline transportation from the mandatory pipe inventory of a hazardous pipeline facility. Directs the Secretary to issue regulations for the implementation of an integrity management program by operators of more than 500 miles of hazardous liquid pipelines, and ultimately by all operators of such pipelines or natural gas transmission pipelines. (Sec. 3) Revises requirements for owner or operator public education programs on the use of a one-call notification system before excavation and other damage prevention activities, the possible hazards of unintended pipeline facility releases, and public detection and reporting of such an event. Requires each owner or operator to: (1) review its existing public education program for effectiveness and modify it as necessary; and (2) initiate and maintain liaison with the State emergency response commissions, and local emergency planning committees in the areas of pipeline right-of-way in each State in which it operates. Directs the Secretary to prescribe requirements for public access to integrity management program information prepared under this Act. Requires the owner or operator of each interstate gas pipeline facility to provide, at least annually, to the governing body of each municipality in which the interstate gas pipeline facility is located, a map identifying the location of the facility. Requires the Secretary to: (1) survey and assess public education programs and public safety programs; and (2) determine their effectiveness and applicability as components of a model program. Requires that notice of a hazardous condition be given, concurrently with a safety report to the Secretary, to local emergency responders, and appropriate on-scene coordinators for the area contingency plan or sub-area contingency plan. (Sec. 4) Revises requirements for the Secretary's decision that a pipeline facility is hazardous to life, property, or the environment to include decisions that a facility or its construction or operation would be hazardous. Authorizes the Secretary to waive notice and hearing requirements, upon deciding a facility may present a hazard, and request the Attorney General to bring suit to restrain facility operation on behalf of the United States in the appropriate district court. Increases the general administrative civil penalty for violations: (1) from the minimum penalty of $25,000 to $100,000; and (2) from the maximum penalty of $500,000 to $1 million. States that such maximum civil penalty for a related series of violations does not apply to a judicial enforcement action brought by the Attorney General or by a private person. Revises considerations for determining the amount of a civil penalty to allow the Secretary to consider the economic benefit gained from the violation without any discount because of subsequent damages. Revises requirements with respect to the penalty for an excavator's not using the one-call notification system or not heeding location information or markings. Allows a court in which the Attorney General brings suit to award (in addition to punitive damages) a temporary or permanent injunction and civil penalties. Revises requirements for injunctive actions by private persons. Repeals authorization to bring a civil action against the United States and other governmental authorities. Limits such an action to a compliance enforcement action, and the defendant to a person owning or operating a pipeline facility. (Sec. 5) Declares that regulations prescribed by the Secretary do not apply to a State that has a one-call notification program accepted by the Secretary as meeting certain minimum standards, or approved by the Secretary as an alternative program. Applies safety program requirements to operators of hazardous liquid pipeline facilities (as well as operators of gas pipeline facilities). Authorizes a State to enforce a requirement of a one-call notification law satisfying specified Federal requirements against an operator of an interstate natural gas pipeline facility or an interstate hazardous liquid pipeline facility, provided that the requirement sought to be enforced is compatible with Federal minimum standards. Establishes a misdemeanor for any person who knowingly engages in an excavation activity without first using an available one-call notification system to establish the location of underground facilities in the excavation area. (Sec. 6) Authorizes the Secretary, after accepting a State's pipeline safety program certification, to: (1) make an agreement authorizing the State authority to participate in the oversight of interstate pipeline transportation; but (2) end such an agreement upon finding significant gaps in the State authority's regulatory authority. Authorizes the Secretary to pay up to 100 percent of the cost of the personnel, equipment, and activities of a State authority acting as the Secretary's agent in conducting a special investigation involved in monitoring new construction or investigating an incident on an interstate gas pipeline facility or an interstate hazardous liquid pipeline facility. (Sec. 7) Requires any person owning or operating a hazardous liquid pipeline facility to: (1) report to the Secretary each release to the environment greater than five gallons of the hazardous liquid or carbon dioxide transported; and (2) make available to the Secretary within prescribed time limits, during an incident investigation, any records, reports, and information relevant to such investigation. Directs the Secretary to establish a national depository of data on events and conditions, including spill histories and corrective actions for specific incidents, that can be used to evaluate the risk of, and to prevent, pipeline failures and releases. (Sec. 8) Revises the Secretary's entry and inspection authority. Authorizes the Secretary to establish procedures to recover travel, contract support, and related costs incurred because of investigation of incidents from the operators of the pipeline facilities involved in the incidents. (Sec. 9) Directs the Secretary to support international efforts to share information about the risks to the public and the environment from pipelines and the means of protecting against those risks. (Sec. 10) Revises requirements for the risk management demonstration grant program to authorize the Secretary, by order, to allow the continuation of an individual project beyond the program's termination, subject to specified conditions and time limits. (Sec. 11) Directs the Secretary to participate in the development of innovative alternative technologies to: (1) identify outside force damage using internal inspection devices, as well as monitor outside-force damage to pipelines; and (2) inspect pipelines that cannot accommodate internal inspection devices available on the date of the enactment of this Act. (Sec. 12) Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2000
Honoring the Navajo Code Talkers Act - Authorizes the President to: (1) present to each of the original twenty-nine Navajo Code Talkers or a surviving family member, on behalf of Congress, a gold medal honoring the Navajo Code Talkers; and (2) award to each man who qualified as a Navajo Code Talker (MOS 642) or a surviving family member a silver medal. Provides that such medals are to express recognition by the United States and its citizens in honoring the Navajo Code Talkers who distinguished themselves in performing a unique, highly successful communications operation that greatly assisted in saving countless lives and in hastening the end of World War II in the Pacific. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2000
Maritime Administration Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 - Authorizes FY 2001 appropriations for the Maritime Administration of the Department of Transportation for operations, training activities, and the costs of guaranteed loans under the Merchant Marine Act, 1936. Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to exempt from certain U.S.-build requirements any drybulk or breakbulk vessel over 7,500 deadweight tons that has been built in and delivered from a foreign shipyard, or contracted for construction in a foreign shipyard, before the earlier of: (1) one year after the enactment of this Act; or (2) the effective date of the OECD Shipbuilding Trade Agreement Act. Requires such a vessel to: (1) have any additional shipyard work necessary to receive a Coast Guard certificate of inspection performed in a U.S. shipyard; (2) not be documented in another country before being documented under U.S. law; (3) comply with inspection standards imposed on ocean common carriers; and (4) be delivered on or before the third anniversary of the date of the construction contract. Amends the National Maritime Heritage Act of 1994 to postpone from September 30, 2001, until September 30, 2006, the deadline for disposal of vessels National Defense Reserve Fleet after July 1, 1994, that are not assigned to the Ready Reserve Force component of that fleet, and not specifically authorized or required by statute for any other use.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2000
Teaching Hospital Preservation Act of 2000 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise a certain formula pertaining to additional payments to hospitals with indirect costs of medical education to maintain the value of a certain variable used in the indirect teaching adjustment factor at the FY 1999 level on or after October 1, 2000. (Current law requires a lesser value for such variable in FY 2001 and thereafter.)
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2000
Expresses support for the Day of Honor 2000 to honor and recognize the service of minority veterans in the U.S. armed forces during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 2000
Home Health Payment Fairness Act of 2000 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act 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 prospective payment system.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 2000
National Institutes of Health EPSCoR Program Act of 2000 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to revise the program for enhancing the competitiveness of entities conducting biomedical and behavioral research in obtaining funds from the National Research Institutes. Establishes a new experimental program to stimulate competitive research (EPSCoR) to enhance the research competitiveness of a non-Federal entity located in an EPSCoR State (as defined in this Act). Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 30 March 2000
Directs the Secretary of the Interior to recalculate the franchise fee owed by Fort Sumter Tours, Inc., a concessioner providing service to Fort Sumter National Monument in South Carolina. Prohibits the Secretary, until arbitration is completed and no longer subject to appeal, from soliciting or accepting a bid for any contract for passenger service to the National Monument. Requires the Secretary, during such time frame, to offer annual extensions of the concessions contract to Fort Sumter Tours, Inc.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2000
Oceans Act of 2000 - Establishes the Commission on Ocean Policy and requires it to report to Congress and the President. Directs the President to submit to Congress: (1) after considering the Commission's report, proposals for a coordinated, comprehensive, and long range national policy for the responsible use and stewardship of ocean and coastal resources for the benefit of the United States; and (2) a biennial report on all existing Federal programs related to ocean and coastal activities.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2000
Rural Telecommunications Modernization Act of 2000 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish the rural telecommunications facilities investment tax credit.
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 · 23 March 2000
Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act of 2000 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to make grants to public or nonprofit private entities for the development and operation of not more than eight centers (each such center shall be known as a Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Center of Excellence) for the conduct of multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional research on environmental factors that may be related to the etiology of breast cancer. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2001 through 2006.
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 · 9 March 2000
Digital Empowerment Act - Title I: One-Stop Shop for Technology Education - Amends the Department of Education Organization Act to provide that the Office of Educational Technology (OET) shall be administered by an Assistant Secretary (currently a Director) of Educational Technology. (Sec. 101) Requires OET to: (1) be a one-stop shop for all technology education programs within the Department of Education; (2) provide schools and community groups with information on technology education programs and sources of funds; and (3) serve as a clearinghouse for information on public and private efforts to bring technology to areas underserved by technology. (Sec. 102) Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to include, among specified uses of Federal leadership funds for national programs of technology in education, the development of a national repository of information on the effective uses of educational technology and the dissemination of that information nationwide. Title II: Digital Education - Amends ESEA to require State educational agencies (SEAs), in awarding school technology resource grants under a program of national challenge grants for technology in education, to give priority to local educational agencies (LEAs) that have: (1) the highest numbers or percentages of children in poverty; and (2) a substantial need for assistance in acquiring and using technology. (Sec. 201) Authorizes appropriations for such grants program. (Sec. 202) Includes among required local uses of such grant funds: (1) providing intensive training in the use of technology to school librarians and library media specialists; and (2) providing technical support and services to assist schools in maintaining their educational technology. (Sec. 203) Requires local grant applications to describe how the LEA will ensure that school libraries and media centers possess equipment and trained personnel that enables them to provide access to information in formats made possible by new information and communication technologies. (Sec. 204) Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award: (1) formula grants to SEAs to establish Teacher Technology Preparation Academies for teachers, librarians, and library media specialists; (2) competitive grants to institutions of higher education to train students entering the teaching workforce to use technology effectively in the classroom; and (3) grants to SEAs to provide school library technology and training for school librarians and library media specialists. Authorizes appropriations for such grants. Title III: Expansion of Universal Service Assistance - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to authorize additional uses of universal service assistance (the e-rate program) by educational providers. (Sec. 301) Includes structured after-school activities among the educational purposes for which schools and libraries are to receive discount rates (E-rates) on telecommunications services. Allows schools to use specified offset funds, which they may receive in lieu of such discount E-rates, for maintenance and repair of technology necessary to use such services. (Sec. 302) Makes eligible for universal service assistance E-rates Head Start agencies and organizations that receive Federal job training funds. Title IV: E-Corps Programs - Amends the National and Community Service Act of 1990 to provide for E-Corps programs. (Sec. 401) Includes, among types of national service programs eligible for program assistance, an E-Corps program that involves participants who are proficient in technology and who provide service in a community by developing and assisting in carrying out technology programs in elementary schools, secondary schools, and community centers. Requires the Corporation for National and Community Services to ensure that specified funds are used only for E-Corps programs. Authorizes appropriations in a specified amount to carry out E-Corps programs and provide national service educational awards to E-Corps program participants. Title V: Community Technology Centers - Amends ESEA to establish a program for Community Technology Centers (CTCs). (Sec. 501) Authorizes the Secretary, through OET, to award competitive grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements, of up to three-years' duration, for: (1) creating or expanding CTCs; or (2) providing technical assistance and support to CTCs. Sets forth provisions for eligibility, applications, matching share of costs, and required and permissible uses of funds. Authorizes appropriations for such CTC program. Title VI: Neighborhood Networks for Public Housing - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to provide for onsite computer access and training resources for public housing residents. (Sec. 601) Authorizes computer centers in and around public housing, through a Neighborhood Networks initiative and related activities, to be established, operated, and assisted by the use of: (1) public housing capital and operating funds, and certain technical assistance; and (2) demolition, site revitalization, replacement housing, and tenant-based assistance grants for projects. Title VII: Incentives for Technology Assistance - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise provisions for a tax deduction for corporate donations of computer technology and equipment for educational purposes (currently for elementary and secondary school purposes). (Sec. 701) Includes Head Start centers, structured after-school programs, and certain public libraries and community centers (in addition to elementary and secondary schools) as eligible donees of such deductible donations. Allows such deductible donations to include training or maintenance services with respect to such computer technology or equipment. Extends such deduction to donations made on or before June 30, 2004. Title VIII: Demonstration Project in K-12 Education Technology - Directs the Secretary of Education to carry out a demonstration project that: (1) delivers a highly flexible educational system designed for kindergarten through grade 12, or a component thereof, that includes hardware, software, training, and ongoing support and professional development; (2) implements an Internet-based, one-to-one pilot project that specifically targets the educational needs of students in grade three through grade 12 who reside in low-income school districts; and (3) is conducted by an organization with proven expertise in the research and development of education technology designed for kindergarten through grade 12. (Sec. 801) Requires the demonstration project to provide for: (1) a rugged notebook computer for every student participating in the project; (2) an infrared wireless connection to the school's local area network; (3) a low-cost, high-speed Internet connection; (4) customized, professional development for technical and instructional staff; (5) an academic information system that provides alignment between curricula, State standards, assessment, and teacher resources; and (6) a parental training component. Allows the Secretary to contract with a private company or organization to carry out such a demonstration. Requires the Secretary to coordinate project implementation and oversight with an LEA and a private company, if such a company is used in the project. Requires, to the extent practicable, the project to be conducted in a location where a similar program is already at least partially underway. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations for such demonstration project.
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
Coastal Stewardship Act - Title I: Ocean and Coast Conservation Fund - Establishes the Ocean and Coast Conservation Fund (Fund) to carry out this Act. Title II: Cooperative Living Marine Resource Conservation - Subtitle A: Cooperative Fisheries Research and Management - Directs the Secretary of Commerce, if requested by a Governor of a State represented on an Interstate Marine Fishery Commission, to enter into cooperative agreements on a sole-source basis with any State, fisheries commission, fishery management council, or other regional or tribal entity charged with management of living marine resources for purposes of undertaking fisheries management projects. Requires the Secretary to make funds available for projects to address critical needs identified in fishery management reports or plans approved by such entities that pertain to: (1) collection and analysis of fishery data and information; or (2) development of measures to promote innovative or cooperative fishery management. (Sec. 203) Describes projects that shall receive priority for funding. (Sec. 205) Makes funds available from the Fund for administration of this title. Subtitle B: Cooperative Enforcement of Living Marine Resource Laws - Directs the Secretary, if requested by the Governor of a State represented on an interstate commission, to enter into an agreement under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act that authorizes the deputization of State law enforcement officers to perform the Secretary's duties relating to enforcement of this Act or any other marine resource law enforced by the Secretary. Directs the Secretary, after execution of that agreement and if requested by a State, to enter into an agreement for a joint project on matters of mutual interest. Declares that those joint project agreements are intended to provide a framework for enforcement and prosecution of Federal and State living marine resource laws and regulations in the Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a cooperative agreement on a sole-source basis with an appropriate marine fisheries commission to assist in oversight and coordination of the joint project agreement. Title III: Cooperative Coastal Stewardship - Requires coastal States, in order to receive funds made available under this title, to develop certain ocean and coastal resource restoration and preservation projects that encourage coordination of Federal, State, and community programs and partnerships between the public and private sector. Sets forth procedures for approval of project plans by the Secretary. Allocates funds for projects based on total amount of coastline and coastal population. (Sec. 305) Requires the Secretary to maintain a database of information concerning coastal habitat restoration and preservation projects funded under this title. (Sec. 308) Makes funds available from the Fund for administration of this title. Title IV: Coral Reef Protection - Coral Reef Protection Act of 2000 - Declares that it is U.S. policy to conserve coral reef ecosystems. (Sec. 406) Authorizes the Secretary to provide: (1) financial assistance for projects that provide for the restoration or conservation of coral reefs or coral reef ecosystems; and (2) technical assistance to any State or Federal agency with coral reef jurisdiction. (Sec. 407) Authorizes: (1) the conducting of activities that conserve coral reefs or coral reef ecosystems or that further public awareness and education; and (2) joint projects with any Federal, State, or local authority or financial assistance to any person for such activities. (Sec. 408) Amends Federal law relating to vessels eligible for documentation to prohibit a vessel that is otherwise qualified to be documented as a vessel of the United States from being documented if the owner has abandoned any vessel on a reef subject to U.S. jurisdiction and the vessel remains on the reef or was removed using funds under this Act or any other Act on the same subject enacted after 1999. (Sec. 409) Authorizes the Secretary to enter into an agreement with a foundation under which the foundation may receive, hold, and administer funds to support public-private partnerships that further this title's purposes. Authorizes such a foundation to solicit and accept any gift or donation to further this title's purposes. Authorizes the Secretary to transfer certain funds appropriated under this Act to such a foundation. (Sec. 410) Allocates funds to carry out this title.
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 · 6 March 2000
Conservation and Stewardship Act - Title I: Land and Water Conservation Fund - Land and Water Conservation Fund Act Amendments of 2000 - Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to provide for a permanent annual appropriation to the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Establishes the Non-Federal Lands of Regional or National Interest Fund. Title II: Coastal Stewardship - Coastal Stewardship Act of 2000 - Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to establish the Ocean and Coast Conservation Fund and Outer Continental Shelf Impact Assistance Fund. Title III: Wildlife Conservation and Restoration - Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Act of 2000 - Amends the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act to provide for the deposit of an additional annual amount into the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Fund. Establishes a wildlife conservation and restoration subaccount in such fund. Title IV: Endangered and Threatened Species Habitat Protection - Establishes the Endangered and Threatened Species Recovery Fund for recovery agreements with landowners. Title V: Historic Preservation Fund - Amends the National Preservation Act to provide for the deposit into the Historic Preservation Fund of a specified annual amount. Allocates amounts to State, local governmental, and tribal historic preservation programs, the American Battlefield Protection Program, and matching grant programs. Title VI: Natural Resource Restoration Programs - Establishes the National Park System Resource Protection Fund and the Coral Reef Resources Restoration Fund. Title VII: Urban Park and Forestry Programs - Amends the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act of 1978 to establish the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Fund. Amends the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 to establish the Urban and Community Forestry Assistance Fund. Title VIII: Conservation Easements - Establishes the Forest Legacy Fund, the Farmland Protection Fund, and the Ranchland Protection Fund. Title IX: Natural Resource Community Investment Programs - Amends the Youth Conservation Corps Act of 1970 to establish the Youth Conservation Corps Fund. Amends the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 to establish the Forest Service Rural Development Fund. Amends the National Forest-Dependent Rural Communities Economic Diversification Act to establish the Forest Service Rural Community Assistance Fund. Title X: Payment in Lieu of Taxes - Establishes the Payment in Lieu of Taxes Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2000
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to suspend, through December 31, 2003, the duty on specified chemicals.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2000
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to suspend, through December 31, 2004, the duty on high tenacity multiple (folded) or cabled yarn of viscose rayon.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2000
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to suspend, through December 31, 2004, the duty on other multiple (folded) or cabled yarn of viscose rayon.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2000
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to suspend, through December 31, 2004, the duty on cobalt boron.