United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1999
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to give States the option of making medical assistance for breast and cervical cancer-related treatment services available during a presumptive eligibility period to certain low-income women without creditable coverage who have already been screened for such cancers under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention breast and cervical cancer early detection program and need treatment. Provides for an enhanced match with regard to such Medicaid treatment services.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Trade Policy for Sub-Saharan Africa Title II: International Financial and Foreign Relations Policy for Sub-Saharan Africa African Growth and Opportunity Act - Declares the support of the Congress for the economic self-reliance of sub-Saharan African countries committed to economic and political reform, market incentives and private sector growth, eradication of poverty, and the importance of women to economic growth and development. (Sec. 4) Makes a sub-Saharan African country eligible to participate in programs, projects, or activities, or receive assistance or other benefits under this Act if the President determines, according to specified evidence, that it does not engage in gross violations of internationally recognized human rights, and has established, or is making continual progress toward establishing, a market-based economy. Directs the President to monitor and review the progress of sub-Saharan African countries to determine their current or potential eligibility under the requirements of this Act. Makes ineligible to participate in programs or receive assistance or other benefits under this Act any countries that have not made progress in meeting such requirements. Title I: Trade Policy For Sub-Saharan Africa - Directs the President to convene annual high-level meetings between U.S. Government officials and officials of the governments of sub-Saharan African countries to foster close economic ties between them. Directs the President to establish a United States-Sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum, which shall, among other things, encourage joint ventures between small and large businesses. Directs the United States Information Agency (USIA), in order to assist the Forum, to disseminate economic information in support of the free market economic reforms contained in this Act. Authorizes appropriations (but with a bar on the use of funds to create or support any nongovernmental organization whose aim is to facilitate trade between the United States and sub-Saharan Africa). (Sec. 102) Directs the President to develop a plan meeting certain requirements to enter into one or more trade agreements with certain eligible sub-Saharan African countries to establish a United States-Sub-Saharan Africa Free Trade Area. (Sec. 103) Expresses the sense of the Congress that reform of trade policies in sub-Saharan Africa that removes structural impediments to trade, consistent with the World Trade Organization (WTO), can lay the groundwork for sustained growth there in both textile and apparel exports. Directs the United States, pursuant to the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, to eliminate the existing quotas on textile and apparel exports to the United States from Kenya and Mauritius, provided they adopt a visa system to guard against the unlawful transshipment of such goods and the use of counterfeit documents. Directs the President to: (1) continue the existing no quota policy for sub-Saharan African countries; and (2) report to the Congress on the growth in textiles and apparel exports to the United States from such countries in order to protect U.S. consumers, workers, and textile manufacturers from economic injury on account of the no quota policy. Sets forth enforcement procedures (including penalties) for violations of the requirements contained in this Act. (Sec. 104) Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize the President to provide duty-free treatment for any non-import-sensitive article that is the growth, product, or manufacture of an eligible sub-Saharan African beneficiary developing country. Waives the competitive need limitation with respect to eligible countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Extends duty-free treatment to sub-Saharan African beneficiary developing countries through June 30, 2009. (Sec. 105) Directs the President to establish the position of Assistant United States Trade Representative for African Affairs within the Office of the United States Trade Representative to direct and coordinate interagency activities on U.S.-Africa trade policy and investment matters. (Sec. 106) Directs the President to report to Congress on U.S. trade and investment policy for sub-Saharan Africa and on implementation of this Act. Title II: International Financial and Foreign Relations Policy For Sub-Saharan Africa - Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the Secretary of the Treasury should instruct the U.S. Executive Directors of specified international financial institutions to use their votes to encourage their institutions to develop enhanced mechanisms which further economic and trade reforms and deep debt reduction under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt initiative in eligible sub-Saharan African countries; and (2) relief provided to such countries under the HIPC debt initiative should primarily be made through grants rather than through extended-term debt, with interim financing for eligible countries that establish a strong record of macroeconomic reform. (Sec. 202) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the stated policy of the executive branch in the 1997 Partnership for Growth and Opportunity in Africa initiative is a step toward the establishment of a comprehensive trade and development policy for sub-Saharan Africa and is a companion to the policy goals set forth in this Act. Directs the President, in addition to continuing bilateral and multilateral economic and development assistance, to target technical assistance toward: (1) developing relationships between U.S. firms and firms in sub-Saharan Africa; (2) providing assistance to sub-Saharan African countries to liberalize trade and promote exports, bring their regimes into compliance with WTO standards, make financial and fiscal reforms, and promote greater agribusiness linkages; (3) addressing critical agricultural policy issues as market liberalization, agricultural export development, and agribusiness investment in processing and transporting agricultural commodities; (4) increasing the number of reverse trade missions to growth-oriented sub-Saharan African countries; (5) increasing trade in services; and (6) encouraging greater sub-Saharan participation in future WTO negotiations on services and making further commitments in their schedules to the General Agreement on Trade in Services in order to encourage the removal of tariff and nontariff barriers. (Sec. 203) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) should exercise its authorities to initiate, in addition to any existing fund, an equity infrastructure fund or funds in support of projects in sub-Saharan African countries, particularly projects that expand opportunities for women entrepreneurs and employment for the poor. (Sec. 204) Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to direct the Board of Directors of OPIC to increase financial assistance in sub-Saharan Africa. Amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to make similar changes with respect to the Export-Import Bank of the United States. (Sec. 205) Directs the Secretary of Commerce, subject to the availability of appropriations, to take steps to ensure that at least 20 full-time U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service employees are stationed in sub-Saharan Africa, including that full-time Service employees are stationed in not less than ten different sub-Saharan African countries. Directs the Service to take specified action to encourage the export of U.S. goods and services to sub-Saharan African countries. (Sec. 206) Expresses the sense of the Congress that, to the extent appropriate, the U.S. Government should make every effort to donate to governments of eligible sub-Saharan African countries air traffic control equipment that is no longer in use, including appropriate related reimbursable technical assistance for such equipment.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1999
Historic Homeownership Assistance Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for 20 percent of the qualified rehabilitation expenditures made by a taxpayer with respect to a qualified historic home which has been substantially rehabilitated and which is owned by the taxpayer and used as his or her principal residence. Allows the credit for such expenditures to be taken by a purchaser of the rehabilitated home. Permits, in lieu of the credit, a historic rehabilitation mortgage credit certificate, which may be transferred to a lender in exchange for a reduction in the rate of interest on the loan secured by the building.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1999
Medicare Medical Nutrition Therapy Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for Medicare coverage of medical nutrition therapy services of registered dietitians and nutrition professionals.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1999
Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal criminal code to set penalties for persons who, whether or not acting under color of law, willfully cause bodily injury to any person or, through the use of fire, a firearm, or an explosive device, attempt to cause such injury, because of the actual or perceived: (1) race, color, religion, or national origin of any person; or (2) religion, gender, sexual orientation, or disability of any person, where in connection with the offense, the defendant or the victim travels in interstate or foreign commerce, uses a facility or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce, or engages in any activity affecting interstate or foreign commerce, or where the offense is in or affects interstate or foreign commerce. (Sec. 5) Directs the United States Sentencing Commission to study the issue of, and, if appropriate, amend the Federal sentencing guidelines to provide sentencing enhancements for, adult defendants who recruit juveniles to assist in the commission of hate crimes. (Sec. 6) Requires the Office of Justice Programs of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to make grants to State and local programs designed to combat hate crimes committed by juveniles. Authorizes appropriations, including programs to train local law enforcement officers in investigating, prosecuting, and preventing hate crimes. (Sec. 7) Authorizes appropriations to the Department of the Treasury and to DOJ to increase the number of personnel to prevent and respond to alleged violations of provisions regarding interference with specified federally protected activities, such as voting.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1999
Advance Planning and Compassionate Care Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop outcome standards and measures to evaluate health care program and project performance in providing quality end-of-life care and to report to Congress on such development. Requires the Secretary to study and report to Congress on: (1) the implementation of this Act; and (2) all matters relating to the creation of a national uniform policy on advance directives. Amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act, as amended by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, with regard to advance directives in order to: (1) require service providers and eligible organizations to provide an appropriately trained professional for discussing advance directive issues with all adult individuals receiving medical care by or through such entities; and (2) ensure that an advance directive valid in one State will be honored in another State. Requires the Secretary, through the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), to: (1) establish and operate a clearinghouse and 24-hour toll-free telephone hotline to provide consumer information about advance directives and end-of-life decision making; (2) conduct ongoing evaluations of innovative health care programs that provide end-of-life care to Medicare beneficiaries who are seriously ill or who suffer from a medical condition that is likely to be fatal; and (3) conduct demonstration projects to develop new and innovative approaches to providing such end-of-life care. Directs the Secretary to report annually to Congress on the quality of end-of-life care under Medicare, together with any suggestions for legislation to improve the quality of such care. Provides for necessary funding of such evaluations, demonstration projects, and annual reports. Amends SSA title XVIII, as amended by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, to provide for Medicare coverage of self-administered prescription drugs which are prescribed for the relief of chronic pain in patients with a life-threatening disease or condition.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1999
Commends U.S. Senator J. Robert Kerrey of Nebraska, on the 30th anniversary of the events giving rise to his receiving the Medal of Honor, for service to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1999
Elimination of Double Subsidies for the Hardrock Mining Industry Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to disallow the percentage depletion allowance for hardrock mines located on land currently subject to the general mining laws, or on land patented under such laws. Establishes the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Trust fund in the Treasury. Appropriates to such Fund amounts equal to 25 percent of the additional revenues received by reason of the above change in the percentage depletion allowance. Prescribes guidelines under which such fund shall be available to the Secretary of the Interior for reclamation and restoration of lands and water resources adversely affected by mineral and mineral material mining (excluding coal and fluid materials).
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1999
Healthcare Research and Quality Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish within the Public Health Service (PHS) an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to replace the current Agency for Health Care Policy and Research. Directs the Agency to identify and disseminate methods or systems used to assess healthcare research results, particularly to rate the strength of the scientific evidence behind healthcare practice and technology recommendations in the research. Requires the Agency to employ research strategies and mechanisms that will link research directly with clinical practice in geographically diverse locations throughout the United States, including: (1) Healthcare Improvement Research Centers that combine demonstrated multidisciplinary expertise in outcomes or quality improvement research with linkages to relevant sites of care; (2) Provider-based Research Networks, including plan, facility, or delivery system sites of care (especially primary care), that can evaluate and promote quality improvement; and (3) other innovative mechanisms or strategies. Directs the Agency to: (1) award grants to enable eligible entities at geographically diverse locations throughout the United States to carry out research training programs dedicated to health services research training at the doctoral, post-doctoral, and junior faculty levels; and (2) provide specified scientific and technical support for private and public efforts to improve healthcare quality, including accrediting organizations. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Agency Director, to establish a program of grants for one or more centers to conduct: (1) state-of-the-art clinical research on drugs, biological products, and devices; (2) research on the comparative effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and safety of drugs, biological products, and devices; and (3) other appropriate activities (excluding the review of new drugs). Requires the Agency Director to: (1) collect certain data on the cost and quality of healthcare; (2) support research on and initiatives to advance the use of information systems for the study of healthcare quality; and (3) provide ongoing administrative, research, and technical support for the Preventive Services Task Force, which shall review scientific evidence on the effectiveness, appropriateness, and cost-effectiveness of clinical preventive services regarding their usefulness in daily clinical practice. Establishes within the Agency a Center for Primary Care Research to serve as the principal funding source for Department of Health and Human Services primary care delivery research and demonstrations with respect to the first contact when illness or health concerns arise, the diagnosis, treatment or referral to specialty care, preventive care, and the relationship between the clinician and the patient in the context of the family and community. Requires the Agency Director by specified activities to promote innovation in evidence-based clinical practice and healthcare technologies. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director, to coordinate all research, evaluations, and demonstrations related to health services research and quality measurement and improvement activities undertaken and supported by the Federal Government. Establishes an Advisory Council for Healthcare Research and Quality to replace the current Advisory Council for Health Care Policy, Research, and Evaluation. Requires the Agency Director to establish technical and scientific peer review groups to review each application for a grant, cooperative agreement, or contract under this title. Repeals the mandates for: (1) a demonstration program regarding centers for education and research on therapeutics; and (2) the Office of the Forum for Quality and Effectiveness in Health Care. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Individual's Rights Subtitle A: Review of Protected Health Information by Subjects of the Information Subtitle B: Establishment of Safeguards Title II: Restrictions on Use and Disclosure Title III: Sanctions Subtitle A: Criminal Provisions Subtitle B: Civil Sanctions Title IV: Miscellaneous Health Care Personal Information Nondisclosure Act of 1999 - Health Care PIN Act - Title I: Individual's Rights - Subtitle A: Review of Protected Health Information by Subjects of the Information - Requires specified parties to permit an individual who is the subject of protected health information to inspect, copy, and request amendment of the information (or, if amendment is refused, to append the individual's disagreement statement). (The list of specified parties varies from provision to provision throughout this Act. The list includes, in various provisions, such individuals and entities as health care providers, health plans, health researchers, health oversight agencies, public health authorities, employers, law enforcement officials, health or life insurers, schools, universities, and their agents.) Requires specified parties to post or provide notice of confidentiality practices. Mandates development of model notices. Subtitle B: Establishment of Safeguards - Requires specified parties to maintain safeguards to ensure the confidentiality, security, accuracy, and integrity of protected health information. Requires specified parties to maintain a disclosure record. Title II: Restrictions on Use and Disclosure - Prohibits specified parties from disclosing protected health information except as authorized under this title. Allows disclosure within such a party. (Sec. 202) Requires: (1) a single authorization form for each individual for disclosure in connection with treatment, payment, and health care operations; and (2) a separate authorization for other purposes, including for disclosure with intent to sell, transfer, or use protected health information for commercial advantage. States that records of an individual's authorizations and revocations shall not be protected health information under this Act. Mandates disclosure to coroners and medical examiners. Requires development of model authorizations for circumstances other than treatment, payment and health care operations. (Sec. 204) Allows and regulates disclosure: (1) to next of kin (or another person identified by the information subject); (2) of directory information; (3) regarding a deceased individual; (4) in emergencies; (5) for oversight, public health, or health research; (6) in civil, judicial, and administrative procedures; and (7) for law enforcement. Sets forth the rights of minors. (Sec. 211) Mandates reporting, by code number rather than patient name, of adverse experiences regarding human drugs and licensed biological products. (Sec. 212) Allows disclosure, if an individual pays for health care using a debit or credit card or other electronic means, of only such information as is necessary for the processing of the payment transaction or the billing or collection of amounts. (Sec. 213) Mandates standards for disclosing, authorizing, and authenticating protected health information in electronic form. (Sec. 214) Regulates the exercise of an information subject's rights by that individual's representatives, including after death. (Sec. 215) Declares that: (1) Federal and State law enforcement officers shall not be personally liable for violations of this Act absent intentional conduct for commercial advantage, personal gain, or malicious harm; and (2) specified parties who make a disclosure permitted by this Act shall not be liable under common law. Title III: Sanctions - Subtitle A: Criminal Provisions - Amends the Federal criminal code to impose criminal penalties for knowingly and intentionally obtaining, using, or disclosing protected health information in violation of title II of this Act. Mandates regulations and procedures to permit the debarment of specified parties from receiving benefits under any Federal health programs if the managers or officers of such parties are found guilty of criminal acts under this Act, have civil penalties imposed under subtitle B, or make false statements or obstruct justice regarding illegal disclosure. Authorizes the Attorney General to provide advice, technical assistance, and guidance to reduce improper disclosure. Subtitle B: Civil Sanctions - Imposes civil monetary penalties on specified parties if the Secretary of Health and Human Services determines a party has substantially and materially failed to comply with this Act. (Sec. 314) Allows any individual whose rights under this Act have been knowingly or negligently violated to bring a civil action to recover preliminary and equitable relief, compensatory (or specified liquidated) damages, punitive damages (for knowing violations), and attorney's fees. Sets a time limit for the commencement of actions. Title IV: Miscellaneous - Preempts, with exceptions, any State law enacted after the effective date of this Act relating to the privacy of protected health information. Amends the Privacy Act of 1974 to require an agency that receives protected health information to promulgate rules to exempt a system of records within the agency from all but specified provisions of that Act. Provides for the application of this Act to the Departments of Defense, Transportation (regarding the Coast Guard), and Veterans Affairs.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1999
Post Office Community Partnership Act of 1999 - Modifies Federal postal law to revise requirements for the closing or consolidation of a post office and apply them, as well, to its relocation or construction. Requires a 60-day notice before an office's relocation, closing, consolidation, or construction. Requires such notice to be: (1) hand delivered or delivered by mail; and (2) published in one or more newspapers of general circulation within the zip codes served by such post office. Sets forth provisions which: (1) allow any person served by the post office to offer an alternative relocation, closing, consolidation, or construction proposal within such 60-day period; and (2) require the Postal Service to conduct a hearing, if requested by such person, to allow the individual to present oral or written testimony. Revises the factors to be considered in deciding whether or not to relocate, close, consolidate, or construct a post office to include: (1) the extent to which the post office is part of a core downtown business area; (2) the sentiment of the community; (3) the adequacy of the existing post office; and (4) whether all reasonable alternatives to relocation, closing, consolidation, or construction have been explored. Requires the Postal Service to respond in a consolidated report to all of the alternative proposals offered within the 60-day notification period by persons served by the post office in question. Requires the Postal Service to follow a community's public participation procedures to address the relocation, closing, consolidation, or construction of buildings in the community if such procedures are more stringent than those provided in this Act. Provides that nothing in this Act shall be construed to apply to a temporary customer service facility used for less than 60 days. Allows for a one-time suspension of this Act with respect to a single emergency for any specific post office for a maximum 180-day period.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1999
New Millennium Classrooms Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase from two to three years the age of computer equipment that corporations may donate to tax-exempt schools and for which they may receive a tax deduction; and (2) allow a business tax credit of 30 percent of the value of computer equipment donated to tax-exempt schools. Increases the amount of such credit to 50 percent for contributions to schools in empowerment zones, enterprise communities, and Indian reservations.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1999
Credit for Voluntary Reductions Act - Authorizes the President to enter into legally binding early action agreements with any person under which the United States agrees to provide greenhouse gas reduction credit usable beginning in the compliance period (during which a domestic greenhouse gas regulatory statute is in effect) if such person reduces greenhouse gas emissions or sequesters carbon before the end of the credit period. Defines the credit period as: (1) the period of January 1, 1999, through the earlier of the day before the compliance period begins or the end of the ninth calendar year beginning after enactment of this Act; or (2) a different period determined under extension or adjustment provisions of this Act . (Sec. 5) Requires a participant to receive greenhouse gas reduction credit under such an agreement if such participant takes an action that: (1) reduces such emissions or sequesters carbon before the end of the credit period; and (2) will result in an addition to the U.S. quantified emission limitation for the compliance period under any applicable international agreement. Authorizes agreements to entitle a participant to receive credit for a reduction or sequestration that is not creditable under such requirements and is for a project accepted before December 31, 2000, under the U.S. Initiative for Joint Implementation, financing for which was provided or construction of which was commenced before such date. Limits the period in which credit may be earned to the earlier of the earliest date on which credit may be earned for a reduction, sequestration, or comparable project under an international agreement or the end of the credit period. Grants a participant credit if, during the credit period, the participant's aggregate greenhouse gas emissions from domestic sources covered by the agreement are less than the sum of the participant's annual source baselines during such period. Treats the amount by which the aggregate net carbon sequestration for such period in a participant's domestic carbon reservoirs exceeds the sum of the annual reservoir baselines for such period as an emission reduction. Sets forth circumstances under which a participant is entitled to receive one ton of reduction credit for reductions or sequestration for 1991 through 1998. Authorizes an extension of the period during which credit may be earned if the Congress so permits by law. Entitles participants, at the end of the credit period, to one ton of reduction credit for each creditable ton. (Sec. 6) Establishes annual source or reservoir baselines for the years in the credit period equal to a participant's average annual greenhouse gas emissions from domestic sources or average level of carbon stocks in reservoirs during a 1996 through 1998 base period, with specified adjustments. Provides for alternative base periods if data is unavailable or unrepresentative. Authorizes participants to elect a base period earlier than 1996 through 1998 (excluding years earlier than 1990) to reflect voluntary reductions made before 1996. Provides for adjustment of the period during which credit may be earned if an election is made for a base period earlier than 1996. (Sec. 7) Requires agreements to cover all greenhouse gas sources that a participant owns on the date on which an agreement is entered into. Permits agreements to exclude small or diverse sources or sources owned by more than one person. Authorizes coverage for other owned sources and reservoirs. (Sec. 8) Establishes reporting, measurement, and verification procedures and requires public availability of participants' reports. (Sec. 9) Permits the President to enter into agreements that do not meet this Act's requirements with participants that manufacture or construct for sale to end-users equipment or facilities that emit greenhouse gases if such requirements are infeasible and such agreements would achieve comparable tonnage reductions. (Sec. 10) Permits participants to purchase credit from and sell credit to other participants and sell credit to non-participants. Authorizes pooling arrangements under which a group of participants acts as a single participant for purposes of entering into an agreement. (Sec. 11) Requires agreements to provide that: (1) credit earned under an agreement shall be provided in addition to any otherwise available authorizations of the participant to emit greenhouse gases in the first compliance period under a domestic statute; and (2) if the allocation of authorizations under such statute is based on the level of a participant's emissions in a historic period later than the participant's base period under the agreement, any credit to which the participant was entitled during such historic period shall be added back to the participant's emissions level for such period.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1999
Genetic Information Nondiscrimination in Health Insurance Act of 1999 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) (as amended by the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999), and the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit a health care plan or health insurance issuer from restricting enrollment or adjusting premium or contribution amounts for a group on the basis of predictive genetic information concerning an individual in the group or a family member of the individual (including information about a request for or receipt of genetic services). Prohibits a plan or issuer from requesting or requiring predictive genetic information concerning an individual or a family member of the individual (including information about a request for or receipt of genetic services). Permits a plan or issuer to request, but not require, such information for diagnosis, treatment, or payment purposes only. Sets forth confidentiality provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1999
Amends the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act to add as purposes of the Act that: (1) no individual may be denied the right to vote in a Federal election on the basis of being disabled; and (2) every voter has the right to vote independently in a Federal election. Makes amendments to such Act regarding the accessibility of polling places and registration facilities and services, enforcement, and the relationship of such Act with other laws (providing that nothing in this Act shall be construed to invalidate or limit the laws of any State or political subdivision that provide greater or equal access to registration or polling for disabled and elderly voters). Includes among such amendments providing for ensuring that all polling methods selected and used for Federal elections are accessible to disabled and elderly voters and that accessible registration procedures allow eligible voters to register at home, by mail, or by other means are in place. Revises definitions, including adding the term "Access Board," the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board established under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Directs such Board to issue minimum guidelines relating to requirements pertaining to the accessibility of polling places. Replaces all references in such Act to "handicapped" with "disabled" and with regard to such references in other laws, Executive Orders, or rules, in relation to such Act except where inappropriate.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1999
Gift of Life Congressional Medal Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to design and strike a bronze medal to commemorate organ donors and their families. Makes any organ donor, or the family or family member of any organ donor, eligible for the medal. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to direct the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) to arrange for medal presentation to eligible individuals. Declares the medals to be national medals. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to enter into agreements with the OPTN to collect funds to offset expenditures relating to medal issuance. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to deposit all solicited donations into the Numismatic Public Enterprise Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1999
Amends the Federal judicial code to require at least two of the members of the United States Sentencing Commission who are not Federal judges to be individuals who are victims of a crime of violence or, in the case of a homicide, an immediate family member of such a victim.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1999
Bring Them Home Alive Act of 1999 - Directs the Attorney General to grant refugee status in the United States to any alien (and the parent, spouse, and child of such) who: (1) is a national of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, China, or any of the independent states of the former Soviet Union; and (2) personally delivers into U.S. custody a living American Vietnam War POW or MIA. Requires the granting of the same status to any alien (and parent, spouse, and child) who is a national of North Korea, China, or any of the independent states of the former Soviet Union and who personally delivers a living American Korean War POW or MIA. Directs the International Broadcasting Bureau to broadcast to such foreign countries information that promotes such refugee programs. Requires: (1) a minimum level of such broadcasting; and (2) the Bureau to ensure that such information is made available on the Internet. Expresses the sense of the Congress that RFE-RL, Inc., Radio Free Asia, and any other recipient of Federal grants that broadcasts to such countries should also broadcast such information.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1999
Medicare Rehabilitation Benefit Improvement Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide certain Medicare beneficiaries with an exemption to the financial limitations imposed on physical, speech-language pathology, and occupational therapy services under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance). Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct a study of the specified effects of this Act for a report to Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1999
American Financial Institutions Privacy Act of 1999 - Precludes the Secretary of the Treasury and any Federal banking agency from prescribing any "Know Your Customer" regulation (a regulation requiring any depository institution to determine a customer's identity, sources of funds, and normal transactions and to monitor account activity for inconsistent transactions) unless specifically authorized to do so by a subsequent Act of Congress. Requires the Secretary and the Federal banking agencies to jointly conduct a comprehensive study and report to Congress on the impact of such regulations upon certain civil liberties and financial relationships, the economic burden of such regulations on small depository institutions, and the practical alternatives.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1999
Urges the President and the Secretary of State to give high priority to aiding in the resolution of the conflict in Sierra Leone and to bringing stability to West Africa. Condemns: (1) atrocities committed by the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) throughout the conflict; and (2) specified external actors for contributing to the cycle of violence by providing assistance to AFRC or RUF. Supports: (1) continued efforts by the regional peacekeeping force, the Economic Community Monitoring Group (ECOMOG), to restore peace and security and to defend the democratically elected Government of Sierra Leone; (2) appropriate U.S. logistical, medical, and political support for ECOMOG; and (3) the people of Sierra Leone in their quest for a democratic, prosperous, and reconciled society. Recognizes that basic improvements in ECOMOG's performance regarding human rights and personnel management would improve its effectiveness. Calls for: (1) an immediate cessation of hostilities and respect for human rights; and (2) all members of the conflict to engage in dialogue to bring about a long-term solution.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1999
State and Local Investment Opportunities Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the State ceiling on private activity bonds. Provides for inflation adjustment.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1999
Veterans' Equal Access to Medicare Act - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to authorize the Secretaries of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Veterans Affairs (VA) (the administering Secretaries) to establish a demonstration project under which the HHS Secretary reimburses the VA Secretary for Medicare health care services furnished to certain veterans at a VA medical facility. Makes eligible for such services a veteran who has attained age 65, is entitled to Medicare benefits, and was enrolled for Medicare benefits on the date of enactment of this Act. Requires voluntary participation of eligible veterans under the demonstration program. Directs the administering Secretaries to establish a data matching program under which there is an exchange of information between HHS and VA to identify those entitled to such benefits. Allows the administering Secretaries to select up to ten demonstration sites in geographically dispersed sites for program participation. Requires at least one site to: (1) be near a base which was closed under a defense base closure law; and (2) serve a predominately rural population area. Requires the demonstration project to be conducted during the three-year period beginning on January 1, 2000. Authorizes the HHS Secretary to waive certain Medicare requirements in connection with the program. Requires the administering Secretaries to submit to the appropriate congressional committees a copy of the demonstration program agreement. Authorizes the VA Secretary to establish and operate up to four managed health care plans at demonstration sites. Requires such Secretary to submit to Congress a plan for the use of appropriate sites and entities. Requires certain certifications from the VA Inspector General before a plan may be implemented. Directs the HHS Secretary to reimburse the VA Secretary for demonstration project services at specified rates. Provides for such payments from Medicare trust funds, with an annual limit of $50 million. Authorizes the reduction of such reimbursement payments for VA failure to maintain its effort level for targeted veterans. Directs the administering Secretaries to closely monitor the expenditures made under the Medicare program for targeted veterans during the period of the demonstration project compared to expenditures that would have been made for such veterans if the demonstration project had not been conducted. Requires: (1) an annual report by the Comptroller General during each year of the demonstration project; (2) the administering Secretaries to take certain steps in the case of increased costs under the demonstration project and arrange for an independent evaluation of the project; (3) annual reports from such independent entity during the demonstration project period; and (4) a report from the administering Secretaries on the possibility of extending the demonstration project, making it permanent, or expanding it to cover additional demonstration sites.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1999
Requests that the U.S. Postal Service issue a commemorative postage stamp honoring the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 1999
Designates the week of March 21 through March 27, 1999, as National Inhalants and Poisons Awareness Week. Encourages parents to learn about the dangers of inhalant abuse and to discuss those dangers with their children.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 1999
Declares that the Senate censures President William Jefferson Clinton and condemns his conduct. Urges that future Congresses recognize the importance of allowing this statement of censure and condemnation to remain intact for all time. Resolves that the Senate now move on to other matters, reconcile differences between and within the branches of government, and work together for the benefit of the American people.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1999
Program for Investment in Microentrepreneurs Act of 1999 - Amends the Reigle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994 to add to title I a new subtitle C, which may be cited as the Program for Investment in Microentrepreneurs Act of 1999. Directs the Administrator of the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund to establish a microenterprise technical assistance and capacity building program to provide Fund grants to qualified non profit organizations to: (1) provide training and technical assistance to disadvantaged entrepreneurs; (2) provide training and capacity building services to help microenterprise development organizations and programs develop microenterprise training and services; and (3) aid in researching and developing the best practices in the field of microenterprise and technical assistance programs for disadvantaged entrepreneurs. Sets forth an allocation formula for such assistance and for grants benefitting very low-income persons, including those residing on Indian reservations. Authorizes a qualified organization to provide subgrants to small and emerging microenterprise entities. Mandates matching funds from non-Federal sources. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1999
Expresses: (1) condolences to the family of King Hussein and to all the people of Jordan; (2) admiration for King Hussein's enlightened leadership and gratitude for his support for peace throughout the Middle East; and (3) support and best wishes for the new government of Jordan under King Abdullah. Reaffirms the U.S. commitment to strengthening the vital relationship between our two governments and peoples.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1999
Bond Fairness and Protection Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to tax-exempt bond financing of certain electric facilities, to exclude a permitted open access transaction (as defined by this Act) from the definition of private business use. Permits, as specified, termination of tax-exempt bond financing for certain electric output facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1999
Safety Advancement for Employees Act of 1999 - SAFE Act - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) to direct the Secretary of Labor to establish a third party consultation services program that certifies individuals to provide consultation services to help employers identify and correct safety and health hazards in the workplace. (Sec. 3) Provides for: (1) a registry of certified consultants; (2) disciplinary actions against consultants for malfeasance; (3) scope and guidelines for such consultative services; and (4) access to records. Exempts from assessment of certain civil penalties for one year thereafter any employer who receives from a certified consultant a certificate of compliance, and: (1) who makes a good faith effort to remain in compliance with OSHA; or (2) the hazards of whose workplace do not undergo a fundamental change (for the worse). Allows an employer to receive a one-year renewal of such a certificate of compliance if a qualified consultant makes certain determinations in an onsite visit and survey. (Sec. 4) Directs the Secretary to establish a special advisory committee, with expertise in workplace safety and health, to advise on the establishment and implementation of a third party consultation services program. (Sec. 5) Requires certain Federal personnel responsible for enforcing OSHA to: (1) meet specified eligibility requirements; and (2) receive professional education and training at least every five years if they carry out inspections or investigations. (Sec. 8) Revises inspection methods. Authorizes the Secretary's representative to contact an employer by telephone, facsimile, or other appropriate methods to determine whether: (1) the employer has taken corrective actions with respect to the alleged violation or danger; or (2) there are reasonable grounds to believe that a hazard exists. Provides that certain inspections are not required to be conducted if the Secretary determines that an inspection request was made for reasons other than employee safety and health or that the employees are not at risk. (Sec. 7) Establishes the use of alternative safe methods as an affirmative defense for employers. (Sec. 8) Directs the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with States for State consultation services to employers concerning the provision of safe and healthful working conditions. Directs the Secretary to carry out a two-year pilot program in three States to provide small businesses, upon request, for a nominal fee, with expedited consultation services on safe and healthful working conditions. Requires the Secretary, before issuing a citation to an employer for a violation found during a consultation, to permit the employer to carry out corrective measures. (Sec. 9) Directs the Secretary to establish: (1) cooperative agreements to encourage the establishment of comprehensive safety and health management systems with specified features; and (2) a voluntary protection program with specified features to encourage the achievement of excellence in both the technical and managerial protection of employees from occupational hazards. (Sec. 10) Authorizes employers to establish alcohol and substance abuse testing programs in accordance with specified Federal guidelines. (Sec. 11) Sets forth consultation alternatives to issuance of citations. Allows the Secretary's representative to provide discretionary compliance or technical assistance to an employer in correcting a violation discovered during an inspection or investigation, without issuing a citation. Authorizes the Secretary's representative to issue a warning in lieu of a citation for: (1) violations with no significant relationship to employee safety or health; and (2) employers who in good faith act promptly to abate violations that are not willful or repeated.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1999
Central American and Caribbean Relief Act - Title I: United States-Caribbean Basin Trade Enhancement - United States-Caribbean Basin Trade Enhancement Act - Amends the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA) to accord, for a specified period, the same tariff and quota treatment (duty-free treatment, free of any quantitative limitations) given certain textile and apparel articles imported from North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) countries to such articles from CBERA beneficiary countries planning to become parties to the Free Trade Area of the Americas, or a comparable trade agreement. Subjects to certain penalties exporters or countries that engage in the transshipment of such articles (preferential treatment claimed on the basis of material false information concerning the country of origin, manufacture, processing, or assembly of the article or any of its components). (Sec. 104) Directs the U.S. International Trade Commission to report biennially to Congress and the President on the economic impact of this Act on U.S. industries and consumers, including its effectiveness in promoting drug-related crop eradication and crop substitution efforts of CBERA beneficiary countries. (Sec. 105) Authorizes the President (with respect to factors considered in the designation of a country as a beneficiary country) to determine that a country is not providing adequate protection of intellectual property rights even if it is in compliance with its obligations under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act. (Sec. 106) Grants duty-free treatment of rum liqueurs and spirituous beverages from Canada and Mexico if certain conditions are met. Title II: Economic Support Fund and Other Assistance - Authorizes appropriations to: (1) provide economic support fund (ESF) assistance to areas of Central America and the Caribbean affected by Hurricane Mitch in October 1998 for roads, agricultural investment, microcredit loans, water sanitation, health clinics, vaccinations, and technical assistance for housing; (2) provide international disaster assistance for such areas; and (3) the U.S. Geological Survey to conduct imaging and analysis in Honduras and Nicaragua to minimize future loss of life and property. Earmarks specified amounts, over a five year period, for eligible expenses in connection with developing new or renovating existing structures to provide decent, safe, and sanitary nonluxury dwellings (Habitat for Humanity) in the affected Central American and Caribbean countries. (Sec. 203) Authorizes appropriations to the Department of the Interior to develop a river monitoring system in Honduras. Title III: Department of Defense - Authorizes the President to direct the drawdown of defense articles and services from the stocks of the Department of Defense (DOD) for the purpose of providing disaster relief and reconstruction to the affected areas of Central America and the Caribbean. (Sec. 302) Authorizes appropriations for: (1) the New Horizons Program, earmarking amounts for use for Central America and the Dominican Republic (including the National Guard and Reserve); (2) Overseas Humanitarian, Disaster, and Civic Aid programs; and (3) the Commanders-in-Chief CINC Initiative Fund. Title IV: International Monetary Relief - Authorizes the President, subject to specific appropriations, to reschedule the repayment of interest on, and reduce the amount of, the indebtedness owed by Honduran and Nicaraguan governments to the United States in FY 1999 and 2000. (Sec. 402) Authorizes the U.S. Governor of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) to contribute $25 million to the Central American Emergency Trust Fund. Authorizes appropriations. Title V: OPIC - Expresses the sense of Congress that the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) should foster U.S. private investment and enhance the ability of private enterprise to make its full contribution in the hurricane-affected areas of Central America and the Caribbean. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 501) Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to make Central American and Caribbean countries affected by Hurricane Mitch and Hurricane Georges eligible for equity investment financing under the pilot equity finance program. Increases the amount of transfers that OPIC can make from its noncredit account revolving fund to its revolving fund for acquisition of equity. Title VI: Microcredit and Agricultural Assistance - Directs the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID) to use credit and microcredit assistance to provide disaster assistance to rehabilitate agriculture production in the hurricane-affected areas of Central America and the Caribbean. (Sec. 603) Authorizes the Administrator of AID to utilize relevant foreign assistance programs and initiatives for the Central America and Caribbean region to support private producer-owned cooperative marketing associations there, including rural business associations owned and controlled by farmer shareholders. (Sec. 604) Directs the Administrator of AID to develop a comprehensive plan to coordinate and build on the research and extension activities of U.S. land-grant universities, international agricultural research centers, and national agricultural research and extension centers in Central America and the Caribbean. (Sec. 605) Provides assistance through the nonemergency food assistance programs of the Agriculture Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 to the hurricane- affected Central American and Caribbean areas.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1999
Amends the Animal Welfare Act to eliminate the provision permitting interstate movement of live fighting birds if the fighting venture is to take place in a State allowing such fights.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1999
National Oilheat Research Alliance Act of 1999 - Authorizes the oilheat industry to conduct a referendum through a qualified industry organization among retailers and wholesalers for the creation of a National Oilheat Research Alliance to develop programs concerning oilheat research and development, safety issues, consumer education, and training. Defines "oilheat industry" to include those persons involved in the production, transportation, and sale of oilheat, and those engaged in the manufacture and distribution of oilheat utilization equipment in the United States (but excludes the ultimate consumers of oilheat). Permits State industry trade association participation in such Alliance. Prescribes guidelines for Alliance membership and representation. Requires the Alliance to: (1) levy and collect annual assessments on the wholesale sale of No. 1 distillate and No. 2 dyed distillate; and (2) establish a program coordinating its operation with that of any similar State, local, or regional program. Prescribes allocation guidelines governing Alliance funds made available to a qualified State association. Conditions fund availability upon the Alliance's determination that the funds will be used to benefit the oilheat industry directly. Empowers the Alliance to bring suit in Federal district court to compel compliance with any assessments it levies. Mandates that Alliance-funded consumer education activities include a statement that they were supported by the Alliance. Prohibits such consumer education activities from including: (1) a reference to a private brand name if such activities were undertaken with funds derived from Alliance assessments; (2) a false or unwarranted claim on behalf of oilheat or related products; or (3) a reference regarding the attributes or use of any competing product. Prescribes procedural guidelines for the filing and transmittal of complaints, including judicial review in Federal court.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1999
Deceptive Mail Prevention and Enforcement Act - Amends Federal postal law to prohibit the use of any reference to the Postmaster General, a citation to Federal statute, or implication that nonmailable matter is afforded any special protections or status by the Federal Government if such matter constitutes a solicitation by a non-governmental entity for: (1) the purchase of or payment for products or services and containing a seal, insignia, trade or brand name, or any other term or symbol which reasonably could be interpreted or construed as implying Federal Government connection, approval, or endorsement; or (2) information or the contribution of funds or membership fees and containing such terms or symbols which could reasonably be interpreted or construed in the same manner. Allows the mailing of such matter if it does not contain a statement that implies that Federal Government benefits or services will be affected by any purchase, nonpurchase, response, or non-response to such matter. (Sec. 2) Declares that matter otherwise legally acceptable in the mails is nonmailable matter, shall not be carried or delivered by mail, and shall be disposed of as the Postal Service directs if such matter constitutes a solicitation for the purchase of any products that is federally produced, may be obtained without cost from the Federal Government, and does not contain a statement giving notice of such information. Requires the Postal Service to regulate the manner in which such statement should be displayed. (Sec. 3) Prohibits matter otherwise legally acceptable in the mails that relates to a sweepstakes, prize promotion, or award that does not meet specified Postal Service requirements from being carried or delivered by mail. Allows it to be disposed of as the Postal Service directs. Requires persons who: (1) use the mails for any matter that contains sweepstakes entry materials to adopt reasonable practices and procedures to prevent the mailing of such materials to persons who submit written requests that such materials should not be mailed to them; and (2) mail such solicitation materials to maintain or cause to be maintained records of all such requests that permit the suppression of the names of such requesters for a five-year period beginning on the date of the written requests. (Sec. 4) Makes postal law sanctions involving false representations and lotteries applicable to deceptive mailings under this Act. (Sec. 5) Allows the Postal Service to apply for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunctions in the preparation for or during the pendency of proceedings concerning deceptive mailings. (Sec. 6) Increases civil penalties for violation of current postal law sanctions and establishes civil penalties for violation of this Act. (Sec. 7) Authorizes the use of administrative subpoenas by the Postmaster General in any investigation involving nonmailable matter.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1999
Self-Employed Health Insurance Fairness Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a deduction for 100 percent of a self-employed individual's health insurance costs for himself or herself, spouse, and dependents, unless such individual participates in an employer-maintained health plan. (Current law provides for a phased-in 100 percent deduction and disallowance upon participation eligibility.)
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1999
Small Business Banking Act of 1999 - Amends Federal banking law with respect to a depository institution's authority to permit the holder of any interest-earning or dividend-earning deposit or account (negotiable order of withdrawal or NOW account) to make withdrawals from such account by negotiable or transferable instrument for the purpose of making payments to third parties. Repeals the restriction of such withdrawals to individuals, non-profit organizations and Federal, State, and local governments (thus allowing such withdrawals by businesses and other for-profit entities). Amends the Federal Reserve Act, the Home Owners' Loan Act, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to repeal the prohibition against the payment of interest on demand deposits by banks or Federal savings associations subject to their supervision.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1999
Amends Federal law to add Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday (the third Monday in January) to the list of days on which the U.S. flag should especially be displayed.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Expanded Availability of Health Care Services Title II: Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency and Related Provisions Subtitle A: Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Subtitle B: Elimination of Work Disincentives Subtitle C: Work Incentives Planning, Assistance, and Outreach Title III: Demonstration Projects and Studies Title IV: Technical Amendments Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 - Title I: Expanded Availability of Health Care Services - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for expanding State options under Medicaid for workers with disabilities, namely by creating State options to eliminate income, assets, and resource limitations for workers with disabilities who buy into Medicaid and to expand opportunities for such workers to make such a buy. Provides that Federal funds paid to a State for medical assistance provided to certain working disabled individuals must be used to supplement but not supplant the level of State funds expended as of FY 1999 for programs to enable working disabled individuals to work. (Sec. 102) Provides for certain continuation of Medicare coverage for working individuals with disabilities. (Sec. 103) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) award grants to eligible States to support establishment of State infrastructures to support the working disabled as well as to enable State outreach campaigns on infrastructure existence; and (2) submit a recommendation to specified congressional committees on whether such grant program should be continued after FY 2010. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 104) Authorizes State demonstration projects for certain Medicaid coverage of up to a specified maximum number of workers with a potentially severe disability, coverage equal to that afforded under the State option provided for above for eliminating income, assets, and resource limitations for disabled workers buying into Medicaid. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency and Related Provisions - Subtitle A: Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency - Amends part A (General Provisions) of SSA title XI to direct the Commissioner to establish a Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program (TWSSP) under which a disabled beneficiary may use a TWSSP ticket issued by the Commissioner under a described system, designed to ensure quality assurance, to obtain employment, vocational rehabilitation services, or other support services, pursuant to an appropriate individual beneficiary work plan that meets specified requirements, at the Commission's expense, from a participating employment network, public or private, which: (1) meets specified qualifications and is under an agreement with the Commissioner who must select a program manager to assist in administering TWSSP; (2) is chosen by the beneficiary, and (3) is willing to accept assignment of the beneficiary's TWSSP ticket. Allows State agencies administering or supervising the administration of the State plan under title I of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to elect to participate as an employment network. Sets forth special requirements applicable to cross-referral to certain State agencies and requirements relating to provision of services. Describes employment network payment systems. Provides that during any period for which an individual is using a TWSSP ticket, the Commissioner and any applicable State agency may not initiate a continuing disability or similar review with regards to whether the individual is or is not disabled. Requires payments to employment networks to be made out of the social security trust funds in the case of ticketed SSA title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) disability beneficiaries who return to work, or from the appropriation made available for making Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments under SSA title XVI, in the case of SSI disability beneficiaries who return to work. Provides for allocation of other costs. (Sec. 202) Establishes within the Social Security Administration the Work Incentives Advisory Panel to advise the Commissioner with respect to TWSSP, and other Federal officials on related issues. Provides that the costs for carrying out this paragraph shall be paid from amounts available for the administration of SSA titles II and XVI, and shall be allocated among those amounts as appropriate. Subtitle B: Elimination of Work Disincentives - Amends SSA title II to set forth a number of measures designed to eliminate work disincentives, namely prohibiting work activity as a basis for review of an individual's disability status and providing for expedited eligibility determinations for applications for disability benefits of former certain long-term disability beneficiaries that engaged in substantial gainful activity during a certain extended period following the end of a rehabilitation services trial work period. Subtitle C: Work Incentives Planning, Assistance, and Outreach - Amends SSA title XI part A (General Provisions) to direct the Commissioner to establish a community-based work incentives outreach program for disabled beneficiaries that includes the provision of technical assistance to organizations and entities that are designed to encourage disabled beneficiaries to return to work. Provides that the costs of carrying out this subtitle shall be paid from amounts made available for administration of SSA titles II and XVI, and shall be allocated among such amounts as appropriate. (Sec. 222) Amends SSA title XI to authorize the Commissioner to make certain minimum payments in each State to the protection and advocacy system established under the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act for the purpose of providing services to disabled beneficiaries, services which may include advocacy or other services that such a beneficiary may need to secure or regain gainful employment. Provides for funding similar to that in he paragraph above. Title III: Demonstration Projects and Studies - Amends the Social Security Disability Amendments of 1980 to provide for an extension of disability insurance program demonstration project authority to include any group of applicants for benefits under such program with impairments that may reasonably be presumed to be disabling for purposes of such demonstration project. (Sec. 302) Directs the Commissioner to conduct certain demonstration projects designed to provide for specified reductions in disability insurance benefits based on earnings. Requires expenditures for such demonstration projects to come out of the social security and Medicare trust funds to the extent provided in advance in appropriation acts. (Sec. 303) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Commissioner of Social Security and the Secretary of Health and Human Services should establish additional demonstration projects to assist individuals with disabilities to engage in work. (Sec. 304) Directs the Comptroller General to conduct and report to the Congress on various described studies concerning existing disability-related employment incentives and coordination of the OASDI disability insurance program and the SSI program as they relate to individuals entering or leaving concurrent entitlement under such programs, as well as on a study concerning the impact of the substantial gainful activity limit on return to work. Title IV: Technical Amendments - Amends the Contract with America Advancement Act of 1996 with respect to: (1) final adjudication of denied claims by drug addicts and alcoholics for SSA title II disability benefits; and (2) the effective dates of certain requirements concerning representative payees and treatment referrals for such individuals. (Sec. 402) Amends SSA title II to: (1) provide for payments to State and local prisons for monthly reports on the identities of inmates whose OASDI benefits are determined by the Commissioner not to be payable as a result of such reports; (2) provide for a 50 percent reduction in such payments under SSA titles II and XVI in cases involving a comparable payment under the other title with respect to the same prisoner; (3) exempt from the Privacy Act of 1974 any agreements with State and local prisons to supply such information; (4) transfer from the OASDI trust funds any sums necessary to enable the Commissioner to make such payments; (5) eliminate the requirement that confinement stem only from a crime punishable by imprisonment for more than one year (thus denying OASDI benefits to individuals confined for any criminal offense); and (6) provide for continued denial of benefits to sex offenders remaining confined to public institutions upon completion of prison term. (Sec. 403) Provides for a two-year open season for members of the clergy who wish to revoke their exemption from social security coverage. (Sec. 404) Amends SSA title XI to make a miscellaneous technical amendment relating to cooperative research or development projects under SSA titles II and XVI. (Sec. 405) Amends SSA title XI to make miscellaneous technical amendments to provisions concerning the requirements of State income and eligibility verification systems, among other changes allowing a State to permit certain employers that make returns with respect to domestic service employment taxes on a calendar year basis to instead make such reports on an annual basis.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Patients' Bill of Rights Subtitle A: Right to Advice and Care Subtitle B: Right to Information about Plans and Providers Subtitle C: Right to Hold Health Plans Accountable Title II: Individual Rights with Respect to Personal Medical Information Subtitle A: Access to Medical Records Subtitle B: Establishment of Safeguards Subtitle C: Enforcement; Definitions Title III: Genetic Information and Services Title IV: Healthcare Research and Quality Patients' Bill of Rights Act - Title I: Patients' Bill of Rights - Subtitle A: Right to Advice and Care - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to define "fully insured group health plan" as one under which benefits are provided pursuant to the terms of an arrangement between a group health plan and a health insurance issuer and are guaranteed by the issuer under a contract or policy of insurance. Requires a group health plan (for purposes of benefits and protections discussed in this subtitle, one other than a fully insured group health plan) covering emergency medical care to provide coverage, without requiring preauthorization, for appropriate emergency medical screening examinations to the extent that a prudent layperson, possessing an average knowledge of health and medicine, would determine such examinations to be necessary to determine whether emergency medical care is necessary. (Sec. 101) Requires a plan to cover additional emergency medical services following such an examination to the extent that a prudent emergency medical professional would determine such services to be necessary to avoid specified serious consequences. Requires a plan (other than a small employer's fully insured group health plan) providing benefit coverage only through a defined set of participating health care professionals to offer the option of point-of-service coverage (of the same benefits provided by a nonparticipating health care professional), unless the plan offers multiple issuer or coverage options. Requires any plan offering gynecological, obstetric, or pediatric care not to require prior authorization from a participant's primary care provider if such provider is not a gynecologist, obstetrician, or pediatrician. Requires a plan to permit a participant or beneficiary undergoing a course of treatment to continue such treatment for a period of time even though the contract between the plan and a health care provider is terminated, or the schedule of benefits or coverage is terminated by a change in the terms of the provider's participation in the plan. Specifies a 90-day continuation of coverage generally, and other transitional periods for institutionalization (until discharge), pregnancy (through post-partum care), and terminal illness. Declares that a plan shall not prohibit or otherwise restrict a health care professional from advising a patient about the patient's health status, medical care, or treatment for the patient's condition or disease, regardless of whether coverage for such care or treatment is provided under the contract, if the professional is acting within the lawful scope of the practice. Subtitle B: Right to Information about Plans and Providers - Requires plans and group health insurance issuers to disclose specified plan information to enrollees and (upon request) potential enrollees. (Sec. 112) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to contract with the Institute of Medicine for a study and report to the appropriate congressional committees on: (1) health care professionals information currently available to patients, consumers, States, and professional societies, nationally and on a State-by-State basis; (2) the legal and other barriers to the sharing of information about health care professionals; and (3) recommendations for disclosure of such information on health care professionals, including their competencies and professional qualifications, to better facilitate patient choice, quality improvement, and market competition. Subtitle C: Right to Hold Health Plans Accountable - Revises requirements for plan provision of a procedure for appealing denied claims. (Sec. 121) Requires a plan or health insurance issuer conducting utilization review to have: (1) specified procedures in place for coverage determinations, including expedited determinations; (2) written procedures for addressing grievances between a plan and enrollees; (3) an internal procedure for coverage determination appeals; and (4) an external review procedure for enrollee appeals, involving specified entities and independent medical experts, whose determination shall be binding. Prescribes external review standards. Directs the General Accounting Office to study and report to the appropriate congressional committees on a statistically appropriate sample of completed external reviews. Title II: Individual Rights with Respect to Personal Medical Information - Personal Medical Information Access Act - Subtitle A: Access to Medical Records - Requires any health care provider, health plan, employer, health or life insurer, school, or university, except in specified circumstances, to: (1) permit an individual who is the subject of protected health information (or the individual's designee) to inspect and copy protected health information concerning the individual; (2) amend such information upon the individual's request; and (3) make reasonable efforts to inform any person to whom the unamended portion of the information was previously disclosed of any nontechnical amendment that has been made. (Sec. 212) Prescribes procedures for: (1) an entity's denial of a request to amend such information; and (2) an individual's filing of a statement of disagreement with such denial, which shall accompany any subsequent disclosure of the disputed portion of the information. (Sec. 213) Requires any health care provider, health plan, employer, health or life insurer, school, or university to post notice of the entity's confidentiality practices, including specified information. Requires the Secretary to develop and disseminate model notices of confidentiality practices. Subtitle B: Establishment of Safeguards - Requires any health care provider, health plan, employer, health or life insurer, school, or university to establish and maintain appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect the confidentiality, security, accuracy, and integrity of protected health information the entity creates, receives, obtains, maintains, uses, transmits, or disposes of. Subtitle C: Enforcement; Definitions - Prescribes civil money penalties for substantial and material failure to comply with this Act. (Sec. 232) Sets forth definitions. Title III: Genetic Information and Services - Genetic Information Nondiscrimination in Health Insurance Act of 1999 - Amends ERISA, the Public Health Service Act (PHSA), and the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit a health care plan or health insurance issuer from restricting enrollment or adjusting premium or contribution amounts for a group on the basis of predictive genetic information concerning an individual in the group or a family member of the individual (including information about a request for or receipt of genetic services). (Sec. 302) Prohibits a plan or issuer from requesting or requiring predictive genetic information concerning an individual or a family member of the individual (including information about a request for or receipt of genetic services). Permits a plan or issuer to request, but not require, such information for diagnosis, treatment, or payment purposes only. Title IV: Healthcare Research and Quality - Healthcare Research and Quality Act of 1999 - Amends the PHSA to establish within the Public Health Service (PHS) an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to replace the current Agency for Health Care Policy and Research. (Sec. 402) Directs the Agency to identify and disseminate methods or systems used to assess health care research results, particularly to rate the strength of the scientific evidence behind health care practice, recommendations in research literature, and technology assessments. Requires the Agency to employ research strategies and mechanisms that will link research directly with clinical practice in geographically diverse locations throughout the United States, including: (1) Healthcare Improvement Research Centers that combine demonstrated multidisciplinary expertise in outcomes or quality improvement research with linkages to relevant sites of care; (2) Provider-based Research Networks, including plan, facility, or delivery system sites of care (especially primary care), that can evaluate and promote quality improvement; and (3) other innovative mechanisms or strategies. Authorizes the Agency to provide specified scientific and technical support for private and public efforts to improve health care quality, including activities of accrediting organizations. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Agency Director, to establish a demonstration program of grants for one or more centers to conduct: (1) state-of-the-art clinical research on drugs, biological products, and devices; (2) research on the comparative effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and safety of drugs, biological products, and devices; and (3) other appropriate activities (excluding the review of new drugs). Requires the Agency Director to: (1) collect certain data on the cost and quality of health care; (2) support research on and initiatives to advance the use of information systems for the study of health care quality; and (3) provide ongoing administrative, research, and technical support for the Preventive Services Task Force, which shall review scientific evidence on the effectiveness, appropriateness, and cost-effectiveness of clinical preventive services regarding their usefulness in daily clinical practice. Establishes within the Agency a Center for Primary Care Research to serve as the principal funding source for HHS primary care research and demonstrations with respect to the first contact when illness or health concerns arise, the diagnosis, treatment or referral to specialty care, preventive care, and the relationship between the clinician and the patient in the context of the family and community. Requires the Agency Director by specified activities to promote innovation in evidence-based clinical practice and health care technologies. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director, to coordinate all research, evaluations, and demonstrations related to health services research and quality measurement and improvement activities undertaken and supported by the Federal Government. Requires the Secretary to contract with the Institute of Medicine to: (1) describe and evaluate current quality improvement research and monitoring processes; and (2) recommend options to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of such processes. Establishes an Advisory Council for Healthcare Research and Quality to replace the current Advisory Council for Health Care Policy, Research, and Evaluation. Requires the Agency Director to establish technical and scientific peer review groups to review each application for a grant, cooperative agreement, or contract under this title. Repeals the mandates for: (1) a demonstration program regarding centers for education and research on therapeutics; and (2) the Office of the Forum for Quality and Effectiveness in Health Care. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 404) Requires the Secretary, within 30 days after enactment of any Act providing for a qualifying health care benefit, to evaluate scientifically and report to the appropriate congressional committees on: (1) the safety, efficacy, cost, benefits and value of such benefit; (2) alternative approaches in improving care compared with such benefit; and (3) the benefit's overall impact on health care as measured through research. Title V: Miscellaneous Provisions - Expresses the sense of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions that Congress should take measures to further the purposes of this Act, including necessary changes to the Internal Revenue Code or other Acts to: (1) promote equity and prohibit discrimination based on genetic information with respect to the availability of health benefits; (2) allow the full deduction of health insurance costs for the self-employed; (3) provide for the full availability of medical savings accounts; (4) provide for the carryover of unused benefits from cafeteria plans and other flexible arrangements; and (5) permit contributions to medical savings accounts through the Federal employees health benefits program.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1999
Makes veterans who have been awarded the Purple Heart eligible for veterans' hospital care and medical services. Provides such veterans with a priority in the veterans' system of annual patient enrollment.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1999
Small Business Year 2000 Readiness Act - Amends the Small Business Act to authorize the Small Business Administration (SBA), during the period ending on December 31, 2000, to: (1) guarantee loans made by eligible lenders to small businesses to address Year 2000 computer problems (Y2K problem), including repair and acquisition, consulting, and related expenses; and (2) provide relief for a substantial economic injury incurred by a small business as a direct result of Y2K problems. Provides loan amounts and administration participation limits. Requires an annual report from the SBA to the congressional small business committees on the loan guarantee program.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1999
Patients' Bill of Rights Act - Title I: Patients' Bill of Rights - Subtitle A: Right to Advice and Care - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to require a group health plan covering emergency medical care to provide coverage, without requiring preauthorization, for appropriate emergency medical screening examinations to the extent that a prudent layperson, possessing an average knowledge of health and medicine, would determine such examinations to be necessary to determine whether emergency medical care is necessary. (Sec. 101) Requires a plan to cover additional emergency medical services to stabilize an emergency medical condition following such an examination to the extent that a prudent emergency medical professional would determine such services to be necessary to avoid specified serious consequences. Requires a plan (other than a fully insured group health plan) providing benefit coverage only through a defined set of participating health care professionals to offer the option of point-of-service coverage (of the same benefits provided by a nonparticipating health care professional), unless the plan offers multiple issuer or coverage options. Exempts from this requirement any group health plan (other than a fully insured plan) of a small employer. Requires any plan offering gynecological, obstetric, or pediatric care not to require prior authorization from a participant's primary care provider if such provider is not a gynecologist, obstetrician, or pediatrician. Requires a plan to permit a participant or beneficiary undergoing a course of treatment to continue such treatment for a period of time even though the contract between the plan (other than a fully insured plan) and a health care provider is terminated, or the schedule of benefits or coverage is terminated by a change in the terms of the provider's participation in the plan. Specifies a 90-day continuation of coverage generally, and other transitional periods for institutionalization (until discharge), pregnancy (through post-partum care), and terminal illness (remainder of life). Declares that a plan shall not prohibit a health care professional from advising a patient about the patient's health status, medical care, or treatment for the patient's condition or disease, regardless of whether coverage for such care or treatment is provided under the contract, if the professional is acting within the lawful scope of the practice. Defines "fully insured group health plan" as a plan where benefits are provided pursuant to the terms of an arrangement between a group health plan and a health insurance issuer and are guaranteed by the health insurance issuer under a contract or policy of insurance. Subtitle B: Right to Information about Plans and Providers - Amends ERISA, as amended by the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999, to require plans and group health insurance issuers to disclose specified plan information to enrollees and (upon request) potential enrollees. (Sec. 112) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to contract with the Institute of Medicine for a study and report to the appropriate congressional committees on: (1) health care professionals information currently available to patients, consumers, States, and professional societies, nationally and on a State-by-State basis; (2) the legal and other barriers to the sharing of information about health care professionals; and (3) recommendations for disclosure of such information on health care professionals, including their competencies and professional qualifications, to better facilitate patient choice, quality improvement, and market competition. Subtitle C: Right to Hold Health Plans Accountable - Revises requirements for plan provision of a procedure for appealing denied claims. (Sec. 121) Requires a plan or health insurance issuer conducting utilization review to have: (1) specified procedures in place for coverage determinations, including expedited determinations; (2) written procedures for addressing grievances between a plan and enrollees; (3) an internal procedure for coverage determination appeals; and (4) an external review procedure for enrollee appeals, involving specified entities and independent medical experts, whose determination shall be binding. Prescribes external review standards. Directs the General Accounting Office to study and report to the appropriate congressional committees on a statistically appropriate sample of completed external reviews. Subtitle D: Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to deem the requirements of subtitle B of this Act to be incorporated into the Code. Title II: Individual Rights with Respect to Personal Medical Information - Personal Medical Information Access Act - Subtitle A: Access to Medical Records - Requires any health care provider, health plan, employer, health or life insurer, school, or university, except in specified circumstances, to: (1) permit an individual who is the subject of protected health information (or the individual's designee) to inspect and copy protected health information concerning the individual; (2) amend such information upon the individual's request; and (3) make reasonable efforts to inform any person to whom the unamended portion of the information was previously disclosed of any nontechnical amendment that has been made. (Sec. 212) Prescribes procedures for: (1) an entity's denial of a request to amend such information; and (2) an individual's filing of a statement of disagreement with such denial, which shall accompany any subsequent disclosure of the disputed portion of the information. (Sec. 213) Requires any health care provider, health plan, employer, health or life insurer, school, or university to post notice of the entity's confidentiality practices, including specified information. Requires the Secretary to develop and disseminate model notices of confidentiality practices. Subtitle B: Establishment of Safeguards - Requires any health care provider, health plan, employer, health or life insurer, school, or university to establish and maintain appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect the confidentiality, security, accuracy, and integrity of protected health information the entity creates, receives, obtains, maintains, uses, transmits, or disposes of. Subtitle C: Enforcement; Definitions - Prescribes civil money penalties for substantial and material failure to comply with this Act. (Sec. 232) Sets forth definitions. Title III: Genetic Information and Services - Genetic Information Nondiscrimination in Health Insurance Act of 1999 - Amends ERISA, the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) (as amended by the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999), and the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit a health care plan or health insurance issuer from restricting enrollment or adjusting premium or contribution amounts for a group on the basis of predictive genetic information concerning an individual in the group or a family member of the individual (including information about a request for or receipt of genetic services). (Sec. 302) Prohibits a plan or issuer from requesting or requiring predictive genetic information concerning an individual or a family member of the individual (including information about a request for or receipt of genetic services). Permits a plan or issuer to request, but not require, such information for diagnosis, treatment, or payment purposes only. Title IV: Healthcare Research and Quality - Healthcare Research and Quality Act of 1999 - Amends PHSA to establish within the Public Health Service (PHS) an Agency for Healthcare Quality Research to replace the current Agency for Health Care Policy and Research. (Sec. 402) Directs the Agency to identify and disseminate methods or systems used to assess healthcare research results, particularly to rate the strength of the scientific evidence behind healthcare practice and technology recommendations in the research. Requires the Agency to employ research strategies and mechanisms that will link research directly with clinical practice in geographically diverse locations throughout the United States, including: (1) Healthcare Improvement Research Centers that combine demonstrated multidisciplinary expertise in outcomes or quality improvement research with linkages to relevant sites of care; (2) Provider-based Research Networks, including plan, facility, or delivery system sites of care (especially primary care), that can evaluate and promote quality improvement; and (3) other innovative mechanisms or strategies. Directs the Agency to: (1) award grants to enable eligible entities at geographically diverse locations throughout the United States to carry out research training programs dedicated to health services research training at the doctoral, post-doctoral, and junior faculty levels; and (2) provide specified scientific and technical support for private and public efforts to improve healthcare quality, including accrediting organizations. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Agency Director, to establish a program of grants for one or more centers to conduct: (1) state-of-the-art clinical research on drugs, biological products, and devices; (2) research on the comparative effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and safety of drugs, biological products, and devices; and (3) other appropriate activities (excluding the review of new drugs). Requires the Agency Director to: (1) collect certain data on the cost and quality of healthcare; (2) support research on and initiatives to advance the use of information systems for the study of healthcare quality; and (3) provide ongoing administrative, research, and technical support for the Preventive Services Task Force, which shall review scientific evidence on the effectiveness, appropriateness, and cost-effectiveness of clinical preventive services regarding their usefulness in daily clinical practice. Establishes within the Agency a Center for Primary Care Delivery Research to serve as the principal funding source for HHS primary care delivery research and demonstrations with respect to the first contact when illness or health concerns arise, the diagnosis, treatment or referral to specialty care, preventive care, and the relationship between the clinician and the patient in the context of the family and community. Requires the Agency Director by specified activities to promote innovation in evidence-based clinical practice and healthcare technologies. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director, to coordinate all research, evaluations, and demonstrations related to health services research and quality measurement and improvement activities undertaken and supported by the Federal Government. Requires the Secretary to contract with the Institute of Medicine to: (1) describe and evaluate current quality improvement research and monitoring processes; and (2) recommend options to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of such processes, and optimize public-private sector accreditation bodies. Establishes an Advisory Council for Healthcare Quality Research to replace the current Advisory Council for Health Care Policy, Research, and Evaluation. Requires the Agency Director to establish technical and scientific peer review groups to review each application for a grant, cooperative agreement, or contract under this title. Repeals the mandates for: (1) a demonstration program regarding centers for education and research on therapeutics; and (2) the Office of the Forum for Quality and Effectiveness in Health Care. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 404) Requires the Secretary, within 30 days after enactment of any Act providing for a qualifying health care benefit, to evaluate scientifically and report to the appropriate congressional committees on: (1) the safety, efficacy, cost, benefits and value of such benefit; (2) alternative approaches in improving care compared with such benefit; and (3) the benefit's overall impact on health care as measured through research. Title V: Enhanced Access to Health Insurance Coverage - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a full deduction from gross income of the health insurance costs of self-employed individuals. (Sec. 502) Repeals the limitation of the availability of medical savings accounts (MSAs) to employees of small employers and the self-employed. Reduces from $1,500 to $1,000 (self-only coverage) and from $3,000 to $2,000 (family coverage) the minimum annual deductible of a high deductible health plan. Revises the formula for the monthly limitation on the allowable deduction for MSAs to increase the contribution limit to 100 percent of the annual deductible under a high deductible health plan. Waives the additional tax on MSA distributions not used for qualified medical expenses to the extent any payment or distribution does not reduce the fair market value of the MSA assets to an amount less than the annual deductible for the account holder's high deductible health plan. (Sec. 503) Allows the annual carryover of up to $500 of unused benefits from cafeteria plans, flexible spending arrangements, and health flexible spending accounts. (Sec. 504) Authorizes the Office of Personnel Management to contract for or approve catastrophic FEHBP plans, whose covered expenses exceed $500. Amends Federal civil service law, with respect to Government contributions under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), to require an additional Government contribution, according to a certain formula, to an individual's MSA with respect to a catastrophic plan. Deems subscription charges for MSAs to be the amount of Government contributions.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1999
Education Flexibility Partnership Act of 1999 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to allow all States to participate in the Education Flexibility Partnership (Ed-Flex Partnership) program. (Sec. 4) Requires Ed-Flex Partnership States to: (1) have approved challenging content standards, challenging performance measures, and aligned assessments in place or have made substantial progress towards having an approved plan under title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA); (2) hold local educational agencies (LEAs) accountable for meeting the educational goals submitted in their local applications for waivers, and for taking corrective actions if they have not met such goals; and (3) waive State educational requirements while holding LEAs or schools affected by such waivers accountable for student performance. Sets forth requirements for: (1) State educational agency (SEA) applications and approval by the Secretary; and (2) local applications and approval and monitoring by SEAs. Limits Federal waivers to five years, unless the Secretary extends such period upon determining that such waiver authority has been effective in enabling such SEAs or affected LEAs or schools to carry out local reform plans. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out the Ed-Flex Partnership program for FY 2000 through 2004. Includes as statutory or regulatory requirements that may be waived under this Act those of programs under the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998, and of the following programs under ESEA: (1) title I Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards; (2) part A Federal Activities under the title II Dwight D. Eisenhower Professional Development Program; (3) subpart 2 State and Local Programs for School Technology Resources (with specified exceptions), under part A Technology Education for All Students, of title III Technology for Education; (4) title IV Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities; (5) title VI Innovative Education Program Strategies; and (6) the part C Emergency Immigrant Education Program under title VII Bilingual Education, Language Enhancement, and Language Acquisition Programs. Prohibits waivers for specified types of requirements. Provides that this Act shall not affect the authority of any SEA under the Ed-Flex Demonstration program of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act. Sets forth accountability requirements. Requires the Secretary, in deciding whether to extend the authority of an SEA to issue waivers, to review the progress of the SEA, LEA, or school affected by the waiver or authority toward the desired results described in its application.
![Official portrait of Sen. Jeffords, James M. [I-VT]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/j000072_200.jpg)