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United States · Official source
3,868 records where Sen. Landrieu, Mary L. [D-LA] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 2000
Expresses the condolences of the Senate on the death of the Honorable Carl Curtis, formerly a Senator from Nebraska.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2000
Keep Our Promise to America's Military Retirees Act - Includes as an employee, for purposes of Federal provisions authorizing enrollment under the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program: (1) a member of the armed forces who began service before June 7, 1956, and retired after a minimum of 20 years of such service or by reason of a service-connected disability; and (2) the surviving widow or widower of such member. Directs the Secretary of Defense to enter into an agreement with the Office of Personnel Management to provide FEHB coverage to the following eligible beneficiaries: (1) a member or former member entitled to military retired or retainer pay; (2) an unremarried former spouse who was married to a member for at least 20 years, during which such member performed at least 20 years of retirement-creditable military service; (3) a dependent of a deceased qualifying member or former member; (4) a dependent of a living member or former member; and (5) a family member of such member. Repeals a provision prohibiting coverage under the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services for persons entitled to hospital insurance benefits under part A of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 1999
New Markets for State-Inspected Meat Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to review each State's meat and poultry inspection program, which shall include: (1) determination of plan effectiveness; and (2) identification of changes necessary for future transition to a State program as provided for by this Act. Authorizes appropriations. Title I: Meat Inspection - Amends the Federal Meat Inspection Act to authorize the Secretary to approve a qualifying State meat inspection program and allow the shipment in commerce of carcasses, parts of carcasses, meat, and meat food products so inspected. Requires the Secretary to review such approved plans to: (1) determine effectiveness; and (2) identify changes necessary to ensure enforcement of Federal requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a cooperative agreement with a State to establish the relationship between the State program and the Secretary. Sets forth provisions with respect to: (1) product marking; (2) labeling requirements; (3) authority of the Secretary; (4) State reimbursement; (5) sampling, including salmonella testing; (6) noncompliance; (7) establishment inspections, including exemptions for restaurants and retail stores; (8) acceptance of interstate shipments of meat and meat food products; and (9) advisory committees. Directs the Secretary to temporarily suspend or take over a noncomplying State program (or an establishment). Provides for program reinstatement. Title II: Poultry Inspection - Amends the Poultry Products Inspection Act to make similar amendments to those in title I. Title III: General Provisions - Terminates the Secretary's authority to establish interstate meat and poultry inspection programs under this Act if approval and cooperative agreements have not been concluded by a specified date.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 1999
Milton Friedman Congressional Gold Medal Act - Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of the Congress, a gold medal to Milton Friedman in recognition of his outstanding and enduring contributions to individual freedom and opportunity in American society through his exhaustive research and teaching of economics and his extensive writings on economics and public policy. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates of such national medal. Requires proceeds to be deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 1999
Older and Disabled Women's Protection From Violence Act of 1999 - Title I: Violence Against Women Act of 1994 - Amends the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 to direct the Attorney General to: (1) make grants to law school clinical programs to fund inclusion of cases addressing issues of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, including domestic violence, and sexual assault against older or disabled individuals; and (2) develop curricula and develop training programs to assist Federal, State, and tribal law enforcement personnel (including local courts) in recognizing, investigating, and prosecuting instances of such abuse. (Sec. 101) Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Family Violence Prevention and Services Act - Amends the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act to instruct the Secretary to include, within grants for State domestic violence coalitions, funds to develop outreach, support groups, and counseling targeted towards: (1) victims of elder domestic abuse, and (2) individuals with disabilities who are victims of domestic violence. (Sec. 204) Expands the eligibility criteria for community initiative demonstration grants to include adult protective services entities. Title III: Older Americans Act of 1965 - Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to direct the Assistant Secretary for Aging to consider the importance of research about the sexual assault of women who are older individuals when establishing research priorities. (Sec. 304) Expands the scope of eligible demonstration projects to include domestic violence shelters and programs for elder individuals. (Sec. 305) Authorizes appropriations without fiscal year limitation to implement the ombudsman program and the elder abuse prevention program. (Sec. 306) Directs the Assistant Secretary to: (1) make grants to nonprofit private or tribal organizations to support local community initiatives to coordinate activities concerning intervention and prevention of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, including domestic violence and sexual assault against older individuals; and (2) implement and update continuing education training programs for adult protective service workers, persons carrying out a State Long-Term Care Ombudsman program, health care providers, and community-based social service providers to improve recognition and treatment of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, including domestic violence and sexual assault against older and disabled individuals. Title IV: Public Health Service Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize area health education center programs to use Federal grants to conduct and participate in interdisciplinary training that includes domestic violence, sexual assault, elder abuse screening, and referral protocols. (Sec. 402) Mandates that federally funded geriatric training for: (1) area health education center programs include training of faculty to provide instruction regarding identification and treatment of victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and elder abuse; and (2) physicians and dentists include screening for elder abuse and domestic violence and sexual assault. Title V: Financial Exploitation of Older Individuals - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to study and to report to Congress on the nature and extent of financial exploitation of older individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 1999
Make College Affordable Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an annual income-adjusted deduction for qualified higher education expenses (tuition and academic fees) paid on behalf of a taxpayer, spouse, dependent, or grandchild. (Prohibits the use in the same year of such deduction and the Hope and Lifetime Learning Credits.) Establishes an annual income-adjusted credit (up to $1,500) for the interest paid during the first 60 months of a qualified higher education loan by a non-dependent taxpayer.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 1999
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) the Senate Foreign Relations Committee should hold hearings on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW); and (2) the Senate should act on CEDAW by March 8, 2000, International Women's Day.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 1999
Declares that the Senate: (1) recognizes the contribution of older persons to their communities; and (2) commends the work of organizations that participate in programs assisting older persons and that promote the goals of the International Year of Older Persons.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1999
CT-43A Federal Employee Settlement Act - Directs the Secretary of the Air Force to pay $2 million to the specified beneficiary of each of the 14 Federal civilian officers and employees killed in the crash of a United States Air Force CT-43A aircraft on April 3, 1996, near Dubrovnik, Croatia. Provides that acceptance of such payment constitutes full settlement of all claims by that person against the United States arising from the death. Prohibits any representative of a beneficiary from receiving more than ten percent of a payment for services rendered in connection with the beneficiary's claim.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 1999
Medicaid Community Attendant Services and Supports Act of 1999 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to provide for Medicaid coverage of community attendant services and supports for eligible individuals with disabilities. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to eligible States which have established a Consumer Task Force to assist the State in its development of real choice systems change initiatives with regard to consumer-responsive long-term services to eligible individuals. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the National Council on Disability to review and report to Congress on: (1) certain Medicaid regulations on home health and personal care services; and (2) how Medicaid expenditures can be reduced by the furnishing of community attendant services and supports. Directs the Secretary to establish a task force to examine appropriate methods for financing long-term services and supports.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 1999
Vietnam Veterans Recognition Act of 1999 - Authorizes the American Battle Monuments Commission to place within the Vietnam Veterans Memorial a plaque to honor Vietnam veterans who died after service in the Vietnam War, but as a direct result of such service, and whose names are not otherwise eligible for placement on the Memorial wall.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1999
Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Conservation Act of 1999 - Prohibits any person from engaging in pelagic longline fishing in the: (1) Atlantic Conservation Zone for Highly Migratory Species (HMS); (2) Gulf of Mexico Conservation Zone for Swordfish from January 1 through Memorial Day; and (3) Gulf of Mexico Conservation Zone for HMS from Memorial Day through Labor Day for the next four years. Provides the geographic coordinates for each Zone. Makes such restrictions inapplicable to longline fishery research authorized by the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary). (Sec. 7) Directs the Secretary to conduct a voluntary Pelagic Longline Vessel Permit Holder Compensation Program, under which vessels prohibited from engaging in such commercial fishing are compensated for fish catch losses. Identifies eligible vessels. Terminates vessel eligibility if the vessel or any Federal fishing permit or license applicable to that vessel is transferred to a different person after November 10, 1999. Requires notification of each eligible permit holder. Provides a compensation (buyout) amount of $125,000 plus either: (1) zero for any eligible holder that did not report any landings (catches) of HMS for the period between January 1 and October 1, 1999; or (2) for every other eligible holder, a landing payment determined by the Secretary. Provides for payment determination and prohibits such payment from exceeding $325,000. Outlines provisions concerning the buyout offer and its acceptance. Authorizes the Secretary to provide up to $10 million for such payments through a direct loan obligation for any payments not fully paid for by appropriated funds. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 8) Requires the revocation of all commercial fishing permits or licenses held by those accepting payments under this Act, prohibiting such vessels from being used anywhere in the world for commercial fishing. Prohibits the foreign transfer or registry of such vessels. Provides criminal and civil penalties for violations of this section, including seizure and forfeiture. Requires revocation information to be recorded in the Federal vessel identification system maintained by the Secretary of Transportation. (Sec. 9) Establishes a fishery conservation fee system, administered by the Secretary, for repayment of direct loans made under this Act. Provides fee amounts and payment requirements, including fees required from commercial Atlantic swordfish dealers. States that a vessel registered in an affected State (South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas) shall not be required to purchase a Federal fishery conservation permit if such State, within 240 days after the enactment of this Act, makes a binding agreement to pay fully, within four years, that State's recreational share allocation, plus associated interest. Provides State share allocations. Directs the Secretary to issue for $25 each an annual fishery conservation permit to vessels over 18 feet in length wishing to engage in recreational HMS fishing in any area closed to commercial fishing under this Act. Prohibits any such vessels without permits from engaging in such fishing. (Sec. 10) Considers a person violating this Act to also have committed an act prohibited under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. (Sec. 11) Establishes within the National Marine Fisheries Service at the Southeast Fisheries Science Center a Pelagic Longline Billfish Bycatch and Mortality Reduction Research Program to identify and test a variety of fishing gear configurations and uses for reducing billfish bycatch mortality in the pelagic longline fisheries of the Gulf of Mexico and in the exclusive economic zone north of the Atlantic Conservation Zone established by this Act. Requires observers to be placed on such vessels for monitoring purposes. Provides for Program design, monitoring by the Secretary, and reports to specified congressional committees. (Sec. 12) Prohibits interim regulations (with exceptions) by the Secretary prior to such report with respect to any time-area closures for pelagic longline fishing in the Atlantic by U.S. fishing vessels that are in addition to, or expand, regulations established by this Act. (Sec. 13) Prohibits, after the 165th day of enactment of this Act, any pelagic longline vessel from operating within the Atlantic HMS fishery without a vessel monitoring device approved by the Secretary. States that vessels accepting buyouts under this Act will not be required to carry such a device. (Sec. 15) Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1999
High-Speed Rail Investment Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a limited tax credit to holders of a qualified Amtrak bond. Sets forth definitions, State matching requirements, and other rules.
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 1999
Medicare Preservation and Improvement Act of 1999 - Title I: Establishment of Medicare Competitive Premium System - Amends the Social Security Act to add a new title XXII (Medicare Competitive Premium System), outlining new parts A (Medicare Plans; Combining Parts A and B), B (Competitive Premium System), C (Medicare Board Charter), D (Unified Medicare Trust Fund); and E (Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) Duties and Responsibilities). Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Special Protections - Subtitle A: Protection Package for Certain Areas - Places a limitation on beneficiary obligations in certain areas and provides protection for areas with no contract with a private entity in effect. Subtitle B: Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary Protection Package - Provides for Medicare plans for low-income Medicare beneficiaries. Title III: Medicare Beneficiary Outreach and Education - Creates the Medicare Board to establish a Medicare beneficiary education program to provide timely, readable, accurate, and understandable information to Medicare beneficiaries regarding Medicare plan options. Directs the Medicare Board to establish Medicare Consumer Coalitions to inform Medicare beneficiaries about enrollment in Medicare plans. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Miscellaneous - Makes specified conforming amendments. Provides that, beginning on January 1, 2003, only Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in the HCFA-sponsored standard plan established under new part E above may purchase or renew Medicare supplemental insurance policies.
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 1999
Urges the Government of Germany to: (1) uphold its commitments to take effective measures to prevent and eliminate discrimination against individuals or communities on the grounds of religion or belief and to foster a climate of mutual tolerance and respect between believers of different communities, as required by the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe's Vienna Concluding Document of 1989; and (2) enter into a constructive dialogue with minority groups subject to government discrimination based on religion or belief. Declares that the Senate continues to hold such Government responsible for protecting the right of freedom of religion or belief of U.S. citizens who are living, performing, doing business, or traveling in Germany. Calls upon the President to assert the concern of the U.S. Government to the Government of Germany regarding government discrimination in Germany based on religion or belief.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 1999
Entitles to an annuity under either the Civil Service Retirement System or the Federal Employee Retirement System a military reserve technician who is separated from service as a technician after either: (1) becoming 50 years of age and completing 20 years of such service; or (2) completing 25 years of such service.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 1999
Designates November 23, 2000, Thanksgiving Day, as a day to "Give Thanks, Give Life" and to discuss organ and tissue donation with other family members so that informed decisions can be made if the occasion to donate arises.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 1999
Declares that a specified final rule relating to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network and the equitable and medically effective allocation of organs for transplantation shall have no force or legal effect. Prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services from implementing or exercising further regulatory authority regarding the Network, as well as regulatory authority under specified provisions of the Social Security Act (SSA) (relating to general SSA regulations, disclosure of information, organ procurement, and general Medicare regulations), before the enactment of amendments to reauthorize and revise provisions of the Public Health Service Act relating to organ transplants.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 1999
Calls for the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee to recommend and the Postal Service to issue a commemorative postage stamp in honor of the 200th anniversary of the founding of the U.S. naval shipyards.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 1999
Designates November 1999 as National American Indian Heritage Month.
United States · United States Congress · 1 November 1999
Designates August 1, 2000, as National Relatives as Parents Day.
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 1999
Open and Accountable Campaign Financing Act of 2000 - Title I: Disclosure - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) to revise reporting requirements, including: (1) changing from quarterly to monthly the additional reports required to be filed with regard to the principal campaign committee of a candidate for the House of Representatives or the Senate in any calendar year during which there is a regularly scheduled election for which such candidate is seeking nomination or election; (2) requiring a national committee of a political party to file the same monthly reports designated for all political committees other than authorized committees of a candidate; (3) requiring the national committee of a political party, any national congressional campaign committee of a political party, and any subordinate committee of either, to report all receipts and disbursements during the appropriate reporting period; and (4) directing the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to make report information available on the Internet and at FEC offices. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require a licensee to maintain and make available for public inspection a complete record of certain requests to purchase broadcast time that are related to legally qualified candidates. Title II: Soft Money of National Political Parties and Contribution Limits - Amends FECA to limit to $60,000 aggregate (indexed for inflation) per calendar year per contributor the amount of soft money a national committee of a political party, a congressional campaign committee of a national party, or an entity directly or indirectly established, financed, maintained, or controlled by such committee may accept. Provides for judicial review with respect to such amendment. Increases individual, political committee, and multicandidate political committee contribution limits. Revises indexing provisions. Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit solicitation of soft money in any room or building occupied in the discharge of official duties by an officer or employee of the United States or any department or agency thereof, or a person receiving any salary or compensation for service from the Treasury. Amends FECA to provide for the indexing of certain penalty and other amounts under enforcement provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 1999
Veterans Claims and Appeals Procedures Clarification and Improvement Act - Amends Federal veterans' benefits provisions to: (1) emphasize that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs must assist a veteran in developing all facts pertinent to a veterans' claim for compensation or benefits; (2) make the current veterans' claims adjudication and hearing procedures exclusive with respect to hearings, investigations, and other proceedings in connection with the consideration of a claim; (3) preclude the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims from entertaining any allegation of error by the Secretary in a decision which was not raised by the appellant or the Court; and (4) require such Court to set aside a previous finding of material fact not reasonably supported by a preponderance of the evidence (currently, when clearly erroneous).
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 1999
Expresses the condolences of the Senate on the death of Senator John H. Chafee.
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 1999
Small Watershed Rehabilitation Act of 1999 - Amends the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to provide financial assistance to an eligible local organization to cover a portion of the total costs incurred for the rehabilitation of structural measures originally constructed as part of a covered water resource project (except that the local organization shall be responsible for securing all land, easements, or rights-of-ways necessary for the project). Limits the amount of Federal funds that may be made available to such an organization for construction of a particular rehabilitation project to 65 percent of the total rehabilitation costs, but not exceed 100 percent of actual construction costs incurred, and makes the local organization responsible for resource rights costs and all Federal, State, and local permits. Authorizes the Secretary, acting through the Natural Resources Conservation Service, to provide technical assistance to a requesting organization in planning, designing, and implementing rehabilitation projects. Prohibits any assistance authorized under this Act from being used to perform operation and maintenance activities. Outlines assistance application requirements. Directs the Secretary to establish a system of approving rehabilitation assistance requests from eligible organizations equitably. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2009 to provide financial and technical assistance. Earmarks funds authorized for the first two fiscal years for an assessment by the Secretary of the rehabilitation needs of covered projects. Requires: (1) the Secretary to maintain a database to track the benefits derived from rehabilitation projects and expenditures and report annually to the Congress on the status of activities conducted; and (2) eligible local organizations that received assistance to report to the Secretary on the status of rehabilitation efforts undertaken using financial assistance after the completion of the specific projects for which assistance was provided.
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 1999
Providing Reliable Officers, Technology, Education, Community Prosecutors, and Training In Our Neighborhoods Act of 1999 or PROTECTION Act - Modifies provisions of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (the Act) regarding public safety and community policing ("cops on the beat" program, COPS) to authorize the Attorney General to use funding under COPS grants to: (1) increase prosecutor presence and to enhance law enforcement access to new technologies; (2) pay overtime to existing career law enforcement officers to the extent that such overtime is devoted to community policing efforts; and (3) promote higher education among in-service State and local law enforcement officers by reimbursing them for the costs associated with seeking a college or graduate school education. Includes among permitted additional grant projects: (1) specialized integrity and ethics training; (2) innovative proactive crime control and prevention programs involving school officials and religiously-affiliated organizations; (3) school-based partnerships between local law enforcement agencies and local school systems by using school resource officers who operate in and around elementary and secondary schools (current law) to serve as a law enforcement liaison with other Federal, State, and local law enforcement and regulatory agencies and to combat gang membership and criminal activity, firearms and explosives-related incidents, illegal use and possession of alcohol, and the illegal possession, use, and distribution of drugs; and (4) innovative programs that bring together a community's sheriff, police chief, and elderly residents to address the public safety concerns of older citizens. Authorizes the Attorney General to use up to five percent of appropriated funds for technical assistance and training to States, local governments, Indian tribal governments, and other public and private entities. Requires the technical assistance provided by the Attorney General to include the establishment and operation of regional community policing institutes training centers or facilities. Permits the functions of the centers or facilities to include instruction and seminars for specified individuals, including representatives of police labor and management organizations and community residents. Repeals provisions of the Act regarding: (1) termination of grants for hiring officers; and (2) preferential consideration of applications for certain grants. Allows grants to be used to assist: (1) police departments in employing specified professional, scientific, and technological advancements; and (2) State, local, or tribal prosecutors' offices in implementation of community-based prosecution programs that build on local community policing efforts. Reserves specified funds for units of local government with a population of less than 50,000. Authorizes the Attorney General to use no more than 50 percent of grant renewal funds to award grants targeted specifically for retention of police officers to grantees in good standing, with preference to those that demonstrate financial hardship or severe budget constraint that impacts the entire local budget and may result in the termination of employment for officers. Redefines: (1) "career law enforcement officer" to include sheriffs' deputies charged with supervising offenders who are released into the community but also engaged in local community policing efforts; and (2) "school resource officer" to mean a career law enforcement officer deployed in community-oriented policing and assigned to work in collaboration with schools and community-based organizations (as under current law) to engage in specified activities, including serving as a law enforcement liaison with other Federal, State, and local law enforcement and regulatory agencies to address and document crime and disorder problems, training students in conflict resolution and crime awareness, and assisting school administrators with the preparation of an annual report on the number of students expelled per year for bringing a weapon, firearm, or explosive to school. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 15 October 1999
Calls for the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee to recommend and the Postal Service to issue a commemorative postage stamp in honor of the U.S.S. Wisconsin and those who served on that vessel.
United States · United States Congress · 14 October 1999
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit certain allocations of S corporation stock held by an employee stock ownership plan.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 1999
Mothers and Newborns Health Insurance Act of 1999 - Amends title XXI (Children's Health Insurance) (CHIP) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to give States, subject to specified guidelines, the authority to provide for: (1) optional coverage of pregnancy-related assistance for targeted low-income pregnant women under the State's CHIP plan; and (2) automatic eligibility and enrollment for child health assistance under the State's CHIP plan for children born to targeted low-income pregnant women receiving such pregnancy-related assistance when the child is born until the child attains one year of age. Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) with respect to the transitional increased Federal matching rate for increased administrative costs related to Medicaid-eligibility determinations of individuals receiving aid or assistance under SSA title IV part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF). Removes Medicaid- eligibility determinations with regard to TANF recipients from such provisions. Repeals the termination of authorization for the increased Federal matching rate. Includes as administrative expenditures those attributable to the administrative costs of CHIP-eligibility determinations with regard to children and pregnant women and outreach to such populations likely to be eligible for such benefits. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a procedure under which, if a State does not obligate available amounts, local and community-based organizations in CHIP and Medicaid, with State approval, may seek to have administrative costs relating to outreach and enrollment of children and pregnant women treated as State administrative costs.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 1999
Leif Ericson Millennium Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue one-dollar silver coins, in conjunction with the simultaneous minting and issuance of commemorative coins by the Republic of Iceland, in commemoration of the millennium of the discovery of the New World by Leif Ericson. Mandates that all coin surcharges be paid to the Leifur Eirikson Foundation for the purpose of funding student exchanges between the United States and Iceland.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1999
Designates October 24 through 30, 1999, and October 22 through 28, 2000, as National Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Week.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1999
Debt Relief for Poor Countries Act of 1999 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to direct the President, subject to authorization of appropriations, to cancel or reduce all amounts owed to the United States by heavily indebted poor countries (HIPCs) as a result of concessional and nonconcessional loans made, guarantees issued, or credits extended prior to January 1, 1996, under any provision of law. Sets forth eligibility requirements for cancellation or reduction of debt. Directs the President, in canceling or reducing debt, to give priority to HIPCs that have demonstrated a sustained commitment to poverty alleviation or have recently suffered a major natural disaster. (Sec. 2) Provides that cancellation or reduction of debt shall not be considered to be assistance for purposes of any law limiting assistance to a country. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth certain procedures for the making of new loans, extending new credits, or issuing new guarantees to the governments of developing countries. (Sec. 3) Amends the International Financial Institutions Act to urge the President, in order to accelerate multilateral debt relief and promote economic and human development and poverty alleviation in HIPCs, to commence diplomatic efforts within the Paris Club of Official Creditors, as well as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and other appropriate multilateral development institutions to make certain modifications in the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, including: (1) the placing of a limit on maximum waiting period before a country receives debt relief; (2) the revision of country eligibility requirements under the HIPC Initiative; (3) the adoption of an economic opportunity and human development action plan by HIPCs; (4) limits on the amount of debt reduction; (5) transparency and participation by HIPCs in HIPC decision making; and (6) the provision of HIPC review. Authorizes appropriations for the HIPC Trust Fund. Declares the sense of Congress that the amounts that would otherwise be provided by the United States for development aid or other debt relief should not be reduced on account of any such appropriations. Directs the President to work with the member countries of international financial institutions to ensure transparency and public participation in decisions to make new loans to developing countries, including terms and conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1999
Commends the past and present personnel of the submarine force of the U.S. Navy for their technical excellence, accomplishments, professionalism, and sacrifices. Congratulates them for the 100 years of exemplary service that they have provided the United States. Expresses the sense of the Senate that, in the next millennium, the submarine force should continue to constitute an integral part of the Navy, and to carry out missions that are key to maintaining the Nation's freedom and security as the superior submarine force in the world.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1999
Medicare Beneficiary Access to Care Act of 1999 - Title I: Hospitals - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) with respect to: (1) multiyear transition to prospective payment system (PPS) for hospital outpatient department services and a special rule for rural and cancer hospitals; (2) limitation in reduction of payments to disproportionate share (DSH) hospitals; (3) revision of criteria for designation as a critical access hospital; and (4) sole community and Medicare-dependent, small rural hospitals and the applicable percentage increase for FY 2000 and each subsequent fiscal year. (Sec. 103) Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to increase DSH hospital allotments for Minnesota, New Mexico, and Wyoming. Amends the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA '97) to make the Medicaid DSH transition rule permanent. Title II: Graduate Medical Education - Amends SSA title XVIII with respect to revision of multiyear reduction of indirect graduate medical education (GME) payments. (Sec. 202) Amends SSA title XVIII parts D (Miscellaneous) and C (Medicare+Choice) with respect to acceleration of payment to hospitals of indirect and direct GME costs for Medicare+Choice enrollees. (Sec. 203) Amends SSA title XVIII part C with respect to the exclusion of nursing and allied health education costs in calculating the Medicare+Choice payment rate. Amends SSA title XVIII with respect to: (1) payment to hospitals of nursing and allied health education program costs for Medicare+Choice enrollees; and (2) adjustments to limitations on the number of interns and residents and GME payments for certain interns and residents. Title III: Hospice Care - Amends SSA title XVIII to increase payments for routine home care and other services included in hospice care for a fiscal year after FY 1999. Title IV: Skilled Nursing Facilities - Provides that, for purposes of applying any formula under the PPS for covered skilled nursing facility services (SNFs) for services provided between April 1, 2000, and the end of FY 2001, the Secretary shall increase, by a specified applicable payment add-on, the adjusted Federal per diem rate otherwise determined for services provided to any individual during the period in which such individual is in a RUG III case mix category. (Sec. 402) Amends SSA title XVIII to exclude clinical social worker services and services performed under a contract with a rural health clinic or a Federally-qualified health center from the PPS for SNFs, as well as certain ambulance services, chemotherapy administration services, and other specified items, services, and devices, including swing beds in critical access hospitals. Title V: Outpatient Rehabilitation Services - Amends title XVIII to repeal for three years a specified financial limitation on outpatient physical therapy services, outpatient occupational therapy services, and outpatient speech-language pathology services covered under Medicare and furnished on or after January 1, 2000. Directs the Secretary to implement by January 1, 2003, a payment system for such services that takes into account the needs of Medicare beneficiaries for differing amounts of therapy based on certain factors. Title VI: Physicians' Services - Amends SSA title XVIII with respect to payment for physicians' services to revise the formula for determining the update adjustment factor and the formula for determining the sustainable growth rate for all physicians' services. (Sec. 602) Directs the Secretary to publish in the Federal Register an estimate of the single conversion factor to be used in the next calendar year for reimbursement of physicians' services, and data on which such estimate is based. Directs the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MEDPac) to review annually and report to the Secretary and specified congressional committees on such estimates and data. Title VII: Home Health - Amends BBA '97 and SSA title XVIII to delay application of the 15 percent reduction in payment rates for home health services until one year after implementation of the PPS for home health services. (Sec. 702) Amends SSA title XVIII to increase the FY 2000 per visit limit for home health agencies furnishing home health services, but in such a way that has no effect on the PPS for home health services. (Sec. 703) Requires the Secretary to pay such excess reasonable cost to a home health services provider that furnishes services appropriate to an individual's condition at a reasonable cost which significantly exceeds the applicable per beneficiary limit because of unusual variations in the type or amount of medically necessary care required. (Sec. 704) Eliminates the 15-minute billing requirement for the payment of claims for home health services furnished on or after October 1, 1998. (Sec. 705) Provides that, in the case of an overpayment by the Secretary to a home health agency for services furnished during a cost reporting period beginning on or after October 1, 1997, as a result of certain payment limitations, the home health agency may elect to repay the amount of such overpayment ratably over a 36-month period beginning on the overpayment notification date. (Sec. 706) Amends SSA title XVIII to include medical supplies (but not durable medical equipment) as home health services for purposes of home health consolidated billing. Title VIII: Medicare+Choice - Amends Medicare part C to delay the submission of proposed premiums, adjusted community rates, and related information each Medicare+Choice organization is required to submit to the Secretary for each Medicare+Choice plan for the service area in which it is intended to be offered in the following year. (Sec. 802) Reduces from five years to three years the general exclusion period for Medicare+Choice organizations whose contract has been terminated. (Sec. 803) Authorizes enrollment in alternative Medicare+Choice plans and Medigap coverage in the event of an involuntary termination of Medicare+Choice enrollment. Guarantees access for certain Medicare beneficiaries to Medigap policies in case of such an involuntary termination. (Sec. 804) Removes certain age-related restrictions with respect to Medigap protection against medical condition or pre-existing condition discrimination. Permits an individual who develops end-stage renal disease while enrolled in a Medicare+Choice plan and remains so enrolled to elect to continue enrollment in another Medicare+Choice plan if the original enrollment is discontinued. (Sec. 805) Extends the Medicare+Choice disenrollment window for certain involuntarily terminated enrollees. (Sec. 806) Provides under the Medicare+Choice program for continuation of any State law that requires the comprehensive coverage of prescription drugs, or any regulation that carries out such a law if: (1) the State has a waiver in effect with respect to requiring such coverage under Medigap policies; or (2) the Secretary provides for a waiver for the State to impose such a requirement. (Sec. 807) Exempts certain frail elderly Medicare+Choice beneficiaries from the risk-adjustment system if they are enrolled in a specialized program for the frail elderly. Sets forth special rules for frail elderly Medicare+Choice beneficiaries enrolled in such specialized programs. Provides for continuous open enrollment for certain such beneficiaries. Directs the Secretary to develop and implement a program to measure the quality of care provided in specialized programs for the frail elderly in order to reflect their unique health aspects and needs. (Sec. 808) Extends for an additional three years Medicare community nursing and ambulatory care demonstration projects under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987. Title IX: Clinics - Amends SSA title XIX to establish a new PPS for Federally-qualified health centers and rural health clinics under which the State Medicaid plan may provide for payment in any fiscal year to such a center or clinic for certain services in an amount exceeding the amount otherwise required to be paid under the PPS.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1999
Improved Maternal and Children's Health Coverage Act- Amends titles XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (Children's Health Insurance Program) (CHIP) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to mandate: (1) development and use of a uniform, simplified application form for establishing eligibility for Medicaid and CHIP benefits; and (2) coordinated enrollment processes. (Sec. 2) Provides for the expanded availability of funding for administrative costs related to certain outreach and eligibility determinations under Medicaid and CHIP with regard to children and pregnant women. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a procedure with regard to the participation of local and community-based public or nonprofit organizations in outreach and enrollment activities if States do not otherwise obligate the amounts made available under this Act. Sets forth a special rule for certain enrollment and outreach activities providing for use of three percent of CHIP funds at 90 percent Federal match for such activities. Amends SSA title XIX to provide for additional entities (including elementary and secondary schools, child support enforcement agencies, and child care resource and referral agencies) that are qualified to determine Medicaid presumptive eligibility for low-income children. (Sec. 3) Amends SSA title XXI to require, to the extent a State child health plan provides coverage other than through providing benefits under the State's Medicaid plan, a State child health plan to: (1) specify methods to ensure coordination of pediatric care within a family; (2) make the State and its contractors, and not beneficiaries and families, responsible for applying limitations on cost-sharing; (3) impose, at its option, a flat limit (of up to $500) on out-of-pocket expenditures for certain low-income children (as an alternative to the current five percent of family income); and (4) provide a grace period and prior notice before disenrollment for nonpayment of premiums, if the State child health plan requires the payment of a premium and such premium is not paid on a timely notice, as well as an opportunity for a hearing on the matter. Prohibits State child health plan eligibility standards from permitting the use of mandatory waiting periods, unless the Secretary finds that such a period would not be contrary to title XXI. (Sec. 4) Amends SSA title XIX to provide, among other changes, for: (1) automatic reassessment of eligibility for CHIP and Medicaid benefits for children losing Medicaid or CHIP eligibility; (2) optional CHIP coverage of low-income, uninsured pregnant women; ; (3) elimination of the funding offset for exercise of the presumptive eligibility option; (4) automatic enrollment of children born to targeted low-income pregnant women receiving pregnancy-related assistance under such programs; and (5) CHIP and Medicaid program coordination with the Maternal and Child Health Services program under SSA title V.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1999
Lake Pontchartrain Basin Restoration Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Restoration Program within EPA. Directs the Administrator to: (1) establish the Lake Pontchartrain Executive Council; (2) assist the Council in developing a comprehensive, multi-use watershed management plan for the restoration and protection of the Basin; and (3) provide funding and oversight for voluntary restoration projects for the Basin. Authorizes appropriations to: (1) continue to provide priority funding for the New Orleans Inflow and Infiltration Project sponsored by the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board and Jefferson Parish, Louisiana; and (2) carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1999
Delta Regional Authority Act of 1999 - Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to establish the Delta Regional Authority to: (1) develop comprehensive and coordinated plans and programs, establish priorities, and approve grants for the economic development of the Mississippi Delta region (parts of Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee surrounding such Delta); (2) provide for research, demonstration, investigation, assessment and evaluation of such region's assets and needs; (3) encourage the formation and capacity of local development districts and private investment in industrial, commercial, and other economic development projects; and (4) provide a forum for the consideration of problems and possible solutions of the region. Provides conflict-of-interest requirements with respect to Authority members, alternates, officers, and employees. Authorizes the Authority to approve grants to States and public and private entities for projects to: (1) assist the region in obtaining necessary job training or employment-related education, leadership and civic development, and business development, especially entrepreneurship for such region; (2) provide special assistance to severely distressed and underdeveloped counties within such region; and (3) fund research, demonstration, evaluations, assessments, training programs, construction of necessary facilities, and the provision of technical assistance of and for the region. Provides the following priority for the use of grant funds: (1) basic infrastructure in distressed counties; (2) job-related infrastructure; (3) job training or employment-related education; (4) leadership and civic development; and (5) business development, with an emphasis on entrepreneurship. Authorizes the Federal co- chairman of the Authority to use grant amounts as required Federal contributions to grant-in-aid programs for which the region is eligible but cannot supply the required matching share. Prohibits the Federal share of project costs for which assistance is provided under this title from exceeding 80 percent, and prohibits a grant period of more than three years. Defines a "local development district" as a certified entity having a charter or authority that includes the economic development of counties or other parts of the region. Outlines certification requirements. Authorizes the Authority to make grants to such districts for administrative expenses. Requires the Authority to: (1) annually designate distressed and economically strong counties, and isolated areas of distress, within the region; and (2) allocate at least 50 percent of the appropriations made available under this Act for programs and projects for the distressed counties. Prohibits (with an exception) such funds from being used within economically strong counties. Makes isolated areas of distress eligible for such assistance at the Authority's discretion. Requires each State member of the Authority to submit a development plan for the area of the region represented by the member. Outlines factors to be considered by the Authority in considering programs and projects for assistance under this Act and in establishing priorities among assistance requests. Requires the Authority to review for approval any State or regional development plan submitted. Outlines plan approval requirements. Directs the Authority to: (1) maintain appropriate records; and (2) annually prepare and submit to the President, for transmittal to Congress, a report on its activities. Authorizes appropriations to the Authority to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 1999
Community Development and Venture Capital Act of 1999 - Title I: New Markets Venture Capital Program - Amends the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to establish a New Markets Venture Capital Program under which the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) is authorized to make grants to new market venture capital companies (NMVCs) and guarantee debentures issued by NMVCs. Makes eligible as participating companies in the Program those companies which submit an approved business plan for: (1) making venture capital investments in small enterprises; and (2) providing marketing, management, and technical assistance to such enterprises. Requires applicants to be experienced in making venture capital investments in small enterprises. Provides additional application requirements and SBA selection criteria. Outlines conditions to be met by each company before final approval as an NMVC, including: (1) a capital investment requirement of at least $5 million from investors who meet SBA-established criteria; and (2) cash or binding commitments with non-SBA sources for Program marketing, management, and technical assistance. Authorizes the Administrator to: (1) make grants to each approved NMVC to provide marketing, management, and technical assistance for the benefit of small enterprises financed by the NMVC; (2) guarantee the timely payment of principal and interest on debentures issued by NMVCs, not to exceed 150 percent of the contributed capital of the NMVC; (3) issue trust certificates representing ownership of all or a fractional part of SBA-guaranteed debentures under this Act; and (4) charge fees with respect to any guarantee issued or grant awarded. Authorizes any national bank, member bank of the Federal Reserve System, and any other bank which is insured to the extent permitted under applicable State law to invest in any NMVC, or in any entity established to invest solely in NMVCs. Limits such investment to five percent of such bank's capital and surplus. Requires each NMVC to provide the SBA with any required information. Subjects each NMVC to examinations made at the direction of the Investment Division of the SBA. Authorizes the Administrator to obtain injunctions and other relief against companies violating requirements of this Act, which shall include a breach of fiduciary duty in unlawful acts and omissions by company officers, directors, employees, or agents. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2005 to carry out this title. (Sec. 102) Exempts an NMVC from debtor status under Federal bankruptcy law. (Sec. 103) Amends the Home Owners' Loan Act to authorize a Federal savings association to invest in NMVC securities, with an investment limit of five percent of the association's capital and surplus. Title II: Community Development Venture Capital Assistance - Community Development Venture Capital Capacity Building and Professional Development Act of 1999 - Amends the Small Business Act to authorize the Administrator to: (1) contract with one or more community development organizations to carry out training and research activities for individuals in community development venture capital organizations (privately-controlled organizations which promote community development in low-income communities through investment in private businesses); and (2) make grants to community development organizations for the cost of such training and research activities and to intermediary organizations to provide intense marketing, management, and technical assistance and training to community development venture capital organizations. Outlines authorized training and research activities. Directs the Administrator to require, as a condition to a grant to an intermediary organization, a matching contribution from non-Federal sources. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2003 to carry out this title. Title III: Business Linc - Authorizes the Administrator to make grants to, and enter into cooperative agreements with, any coalition of private or public sector participants that: (1) expand business-to-business relationships between large and small businesses; and (2) provide businesses with on-line information and a database of companies interested in mentor-protege programs or community-based, Statewide, or local business development programs. Provides a matching funds requirement, with an authorized waiver in the best interests of the program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2003 to carry out this title.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 1999
Central American and Haitian Parity Act of 1999 - Amends the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (Act) to: (1) extend permanent resident status adjustment provisions to qualifying Salvadoran, Guatemalan, Honduran, and Haitian nationals; and (2) extend the application filing deadline. Permits certain pending applications filed by Salvadoran or Guatemalan nationals under the Act or Haitian nationals under the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998 to be converted to an application for status adjustment under the Act. Amends such Acts to: (1) authorize the Attorney General to waive certain grounds of inadmissibility; and (2) provide for issuance of immigrant visas to certain spouses and children. Provides for the limited reopening of certain orders of deportation, exclusion, or removal by certain Haitian, Cuban, or Nicaraguan nationals.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 1999
Designates October 15, 1999, as National Mammography Day.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Older Americans Act Amendments of 1999 - Title I: Amendment to Title I of the Older Americans Act of 1965 - Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to add certain definitions. Title II: Amendments to Title II of the Older Americans Act of 1965 - Revises the duties of the Administration on Aging. Provides for a set of performance outcome measures to be used for planning, managing, and evaluating activities performed and services provided under the Act. Reauthorizes appropriations for the Administration on Aging. Title III: Amendments to Title III of the Older Americans Act of 1965 - Authorizes appropriations indefinitely for making grants relating to: (1) supportive services, (2) senior centers; (3) congregate nutrition services, (4) home delivered nutrition services; (5) in-home services; and (6) special needs. Authorizes appropriations for a nutrition services incentive program. Authorizes a State to require or permit cost sharing by recipients for all direct services, with specified exceptions, provided for in the Act. Expands the list of supportive services for which grants to States are provided. Establishes grant programs for support services for family caregivers, education and training related to programs for older individuals, and pension counseling projects. Title IV: Amendments to Title IV of the Older Americans Act of 1965 - Repeals provisions regarding training, research, and discretionary projects Title V: Amendments to Title V of the Older Americans Act of 1965 - Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to establish projects to place community service employment program participants in unsubsidized employment in both the public and private sectors. Reauthorizes the community service employment for older Americans program. Title VI: Amendments to Title VI of the Older Americans Act of 1965 - Makes the authorization of appropriations for title VI of the Act indefinite, with exceptions. Establishes programs for grants to carry out vulnerable elder rights protection activities and for a Native American caregiver support program. Title VII: Amendments to Title VII of the Older Americans Act of 1965 - Revises provisions regarding the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program. Title VIII: Technical and Conforming Amendments - Makes technical and conforming amendments.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Medicare Beneficiary Access to Quality Nursing Home Care Act of 1999 - Modifies the case-mix categories for the formula for determination of the payment to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), under the prospective payment system (PPS), for routine service costs. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to increase the adjusted Federal per diem rate otherwise determined for services provided to any individual during the period in which such individual is in a Nursing Home Case-Mix and Quality Demonstration resource utilization group (RUGS III) category of care, by the applicable payment add-on (updated for FY 2001 by the applicable SNF market basket percentage change), according to a specified table of such categories (especially for high-acuity and medically complex patients). Limits the application of this Act to services provided on or after October 1, 1999, and before the earlier of October 1, 2001, or the date on which the Secretary implements a case-mix methodology that takes into account adjustments for the provision of non-therapy ancillary services and supplies such as drugs and respiratory therapy. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise the formula for facility specific per diem rates with respect to the market basket update (inflation adjuster) to repeal the mandatory annualized one percent reduction in basket amount.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Superfund Recycling Equity Act of 1999 - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to absolve persons (other than owners or operators) who arranged for the recycling of recyclable material from liability for environmental response actions. Deems transactions involving scrap paper, plastic, glass, textiles, or rubber (other than whole tires) to be arranging for recycling if the person who arranged the transaction demonstrates that the following criteria were met: (1) the recyclable material met a commercial specification grade and a market existed for the material; (2) a substantial portion of the material was made available for use as a feedstock for the manufacture of a new saleable product; (3) the material (or product to be made from the material) could have been a replacement for a virgin raw material; and (4) with respect to transactions occurring 90 days after this Act's enactment, the person exercised reasonable care to determine that the facility where the material would be managed by another was in compliance with Federal, State, or local environmental laws or regulations. Deems transactions involving scrap metal to be arranging for recycling if the person who arranged the transaction demonstrates that: (1) the criteria for scrap materials were met; (2) he or she complied with applicable standards regarding activities associated with the recycling of scrap metals; and (3) the scrap metal was not melted prior to the transaction. Deems transactions involving spent lead-acid, nickel-cadmium, or other batteries to be arranging for recycling if the person involved demonstrates that: (1) the criteria for scrap materials were met; and (2) he or she complied with applicable Federal environmental regulations or standards regarding such batteries. Makes the exemptions from liability under this Act inapplicable if the person: (1) had an objectively reasonable basis to believe at the time of the recycling transaction that the recyclable material would not be recycled or would be burned as fuel or for energy recovery or incineration or that the consuming facility was not in compliance with Federal, State, or local environmental laws or regulations; (2) had reason to believe that hazardous substances had been added to the material for purposes other than processing for recycling; or (3) failed to exercise reasonable care with respect to the management of the material. Makes such exemptions inapplicable if the recyclable material contained polychlorinated biphenyls in excess of 50 parts per million or any new Federal standard.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Public Health Response to Youth Suicide and Violence Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health to carry out specified activities to expand and intensify research aimed at better understanding the underlying developmental and other causes of mental disorders that lead to youth suicide and violence. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1999
Designates the week beginning September 19, 1999, as National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1999
Adopted Orphans Citizenship Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for the acquisition of U.S. citizenship (as of the date of birth) by certain foreign-born children adopted by a U.S. citizen parent or parents.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1999
Excellence in Economic Education Act of 1999 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to establish a program for excellence in economic education under title X (Programs of National Significance). (Sec. 1) Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award a grant to the National Council on Economic Education (the grantee), a nonprofit educational organization. Requires the grantee to reserve certain amounts for States that do not have designated recipients. Requires the grantee to use one-quarter of the grant amount (after such reservation) to: (1) strengthen and expand the grantee's nationwide network on economic education; (2) support and promote training of teachers who teach a grade from kindergarten through grade 12 regarding economics, including the dissemination of information on effective practices and research findings regarding the teaching of economics; (3) support research on effective teaching practices and the development of assessment instruments to document student performance; (4) develop and disseminate appropriate materials to foster economic literacy; and (5) coordinate activities assisted under this Act with activities assisted under of ESEA title II (Dwight D. Eisenhower Professional Development Program). Requires the grantee to use of three-quarters of the grant amount (after such reservation) to award grants to State economic education councils, or in the case of a State that does not have a State economic education council, a center for economic education (a recipient). Requires that such a grant pay for the Federal share of the cost of enabling the recipient to work in partnership with one or more specified educational entities for one or more of the following purposes: (1) collaboratively establishing and conducting teacher training programs that use effective and innovative approaches to the teaching of economics; (2) providing resources to school districts that want to incorporate economics into the curricula of their schools; (3) evaluating the impact of economic education on students; (4) conducting economic education research; (5) creating and conducting school-based student activities to promote consumer, economic, and personal finance education, such as saving, investing, and entrepreneurial education, and to encourage awareness and student achievement in economics; (6) establishing interstate and international student and teacher exchanges to promote economic literacy; and (7) encouraging replication of best practices to encourage economic literacy. Sets forth requirements for recipients in carrying out teacher training programs under this Act. Encourages the grantee and recipients, in carrying out assisted activities under this Act, to: (1) include interactions with the local business community to the fullest extent possible, to reinforce the connection between economic education and economic development; and (2) work with private businesses to obtain matching contributions for Federal funds and assist recipients in working toward self-sufficiency. Sets forth requirements for Federal and non-Federal shares, grantee and recipient applications, reserved funds for States without recipients, and reports. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1999
United States Capitol Visitor Center Commemorative Coin Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue ten-dollar bimetallic coins, one-dollar silver coins, half-dollar clad coins, and if the Secretary determines that the minting and issuance of bimetallic coins is not feasible, five-dollar gold coins emblematic of the first meeting of the United States Congress in the U.S. Capitol Building. Mandates that all surcharges received from the coin sales be deposited in the Capitol Preservation Fund and made available to the U.S. Capitol Preservation Commission to aid in the construction, maintenance, and preservation of a Capitol Visitor Center.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1999
Safe Schools Act of 1999 - Establishes: (1) grant programs for hiring school mental health professionals and for mentoring elementary and secondary school students; (2) requirements for annual State and school report cards on elementary and secondary education and for a report on a alternative education settings; and (3) a program of loan forgiveness for mental health professionals who serve in schools. (Sec. 6) Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make formula allotment grants to States to award competitive grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to: (1) hire mental health professionals to reduce the student-to-counselor ratio at their elementary and secondary schools; and (2) purchase the counseling services of mental health professionals in the community on a consultant basis. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 7) Authorizes the Secretary to make formula allotment grants to States to award competitive grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) for after-school and summer mentoring programs to provide continued academic learning opportunities for elementary school students, in public elementary or secondary school buildings. Allows such programs to provide services that address the health, social service, cultural and recreational needs of the students. Authorizes LEAs to use grant funds to use secondary school students to work with elementary school students, parents, or older volunteers. Requires coordination of such assisted mentoring activities with activities: (1) assisted under a national or community service program under specified provisions of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 and the Foster Grandparent Program and the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program under the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973; and (2) carried out by organizations and programs such as Parents as Teachers, 4-H Clubs, and Save the Children. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 8) Requires annual State and school report cards with respect to elementary and secondary education, in easily understandable language. Requires each State educational agency (SEA) receiving assistance under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to produce and widely disseminate a State report card for parents, the general public, teachers and the Secretary of Education. Requires each school receiving assistance under ESEA, or the local educational agency (LEA) serving that school, to produce and widely disseminate a school report card for parents, the general public, teachers and the SEA, in easily understandable language, with respect to elementary or secondary education in the school. Requires such State and school report cards to contain, as appropriate, specified information regarding indicators of school performance and quality, including: (1) student performance in assessed subject areas, including comparisons with students elsewhere; (2) attendance and graduation rates; (3) professional qualifications of teachers, and numbers teaching out-of-field or with emergency certification; (4) average class size; (5) school safety; (6) parental involvement; (7) annual school dropout rate; (8) student access to technology, including computers and the Internet; (9) the quality of school buildings in the State, renovations needed at the school buildings, and the quality of heating and cooling systems at the schools; (10) mental health services available to students in need of service; (11) extracurricular activities available to students, including after-school and summer programs; and (12) community support, such as scholarships, sponsorship of school events, and publicity of and involvement in extracurricular activities. Requires a certain disaggregation of student performance data in State and school report cards. (Sec. 9) Directs the Secretary to report to Congress regarding successful alternative education settings used for disruptive or violent students in elementary and secondary schools, including information on the training of school personnel in the education of such students. (Sec. 10) Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide student loan forgiveness for mental health professionals who have been employed in certain schools whose teachers qualify for loan cancellation. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1999
Medicare Return To Home Act of 1999 - Amends part C (Medicare+Choice) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to prohibit a Medicare+Choice organization from denying coverage for services provided by a skilled nursing facility (SNF) in which the enrollee resided immediately before admission to a hospital, or located within the continuing care retirement community in which the enrollee resided immediately before admission to a hospital.