United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1999
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to prohibit any Medicaid-related funds recovered or paid to a State as part of a settlement or judgment reached in litigation the State initiated or pursued against one or more tobacco companies from being treated as an overpayment. Permits a State to use amounts recovered or paid to it as part of such a settlement or judgment for any appropriate expenditures, except with respect to any expenditure for administrative expenses incurred in initiating or pursuing tobacco litigation.
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
Food and Medicine Sanctions Relief Act of 1999 - Prohibits the President from restricting or prohibiting exports (including financing) of food, other agricultural products (including fertilizer), medicines or medical equipment as part of any policy of existing or future unilateral economic sanctions imposed against a foreign government, with specified exceptions.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 1999
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that a member of a uniformed service shall be treated as using property as a principal residence, for purposes of the exclusion of gain on the sale of a principal residence, while serving on qualified official extended duty.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1999
Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize not less than ten percent of the total amount made available to a State for residential substance abuse treatment for State prisoners to be used for grants to local correctional facilities in the State to assist jail-based substance abuse treatment programs. Limits the Federal share to 75 percent of the total program cost. Sets forth provisions regarding application requirements, review, and approval. Grants preference to applications that provide for certain aftercare services and periodic substance abuse testing. Requires States making grants to implement a statewide communications network with the capacity to track participants. Sets forth reporting and performance review requirements.
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
Blind Persons Earnings Equity Act - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to restore the link ended by the Senior Citizens' Freedom to Work Act of 1995 between the rules relating to substantial gainful activity for blind individuals and the rules relating to excess earnings under the social security earnings test for individuals who have attained retirement age (thus allowing blind individuals, once again, to earn up to the social security excess earnings threshold without being regarded as having demonstrated an ability to engage in substantial gainful activity and without losing entitlement to OASDI benefits).
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 1999
National Missile Defense Act of 1999 - States as U.S. policy to deploy as soon as technologically possible a National Missile Defense system capable of defending U.S. territory against limited ballistic missile attack (whether accidental, unauthorized, or deliberate).
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Clean Gasoline Act of 1999 - Amends the Clean Air Act to prohibit the manufacture, sale, supply, dispensation, transport, or introduction into commerce of motor vehicle gasoline that contains a concentration of sulfur exceeding 40 parts per million per gallon of gasoline. Provides that a person shall not be in violation of such prohibition if, during a one-year period, the person engages in such an activity with respect to gasoline that contains a sulfur concentration between 40 and 80 parts per million per gallon if the average concentration of sulfur in the gasoline during the period is less than 30 parts per million per gallon. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to report to the Congress on the effects of use of low sulfur motor vehicle gasoline on urban and regional air quality. Provides for an update within two years of submission of the original report. Authorizes the Administrator to promulgate a regulation to establish maximum and average allowable sulfur concentrations in motor vehicle gasoline that are lower than concentrations specified under this Act if: (1) research conducted after this Act's enactment indicates that significant air quality benefits would result from a reduction in allowable sulfur concentration in such gasoline; or (2) advanced vehicle technologies have been developed that can significantly reduce emissions of air pollutants from motor vehicles but that require gasoline with a lower concentration of sulfur than that specified under this Act. Prescribes penalties for violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Wei Jingsheng Freedom of Conscience Act - Declares a named individual to have been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence under the Immigration and Nationality Act upon payment of the required visa fee.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act - Requires the Secretary of the Interior to establish a program to provide financial assistance for projects to promote the conservation of neotropical migratory birds. Authorizes project proposals to be submitted by the following entities: (1) individuals or other private entities; (2) Federal, State, or local government entities or foreign government entities; (3) other entities subject to U.S. or foreign jurisdiction; and (4) international organizations. Limits the Federal share of project costs to 33 percent. Authorizes the Secretary to convene an advisory group of individuals representing organizations involved in neotropical migratory bird conservation to assist in carrying out this Act. Establishes in the Multinational Species Conservation Fund of the Treasury a Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Account. Authorizes appropriations to the Account for FY 2000 through 2003 to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Establishes in the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) the position of Chief Agricultural Negotiator, who shall be appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate. Requires the Chief to conduct trade negotiations and enforce trade agreements relating to U.S. agricultural products and services, as well as perform other functions as the USTR may direct.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Public Safety Medal of Valor Act- Authorizes the President to award, and present in the name of the Congress, a Medal of Valor to a public safety officer who is cited by the Attorney General, upon the recommendation of the Medal of Valor Review Board, for extraordinary valor above and beyond the call of duty. States that the Public Safety Medal of Valor is the highest national award for valor by a public safety officer. Establishes a Medal of Valor Review Board to select candidates as recipients of the Medal from among applications received by the National Medal Office. Establishes within the Department of Justice a National Medal Office to support the Board and, with the Board's concurrence, to establish criteria and procedures for the submission of recommendations of nominees for the Medal. Authorizes appropriations. Repeals provisions of the Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 establishing the President's Award for Outstanding Public Safety Service and the Secretary of Commerce's Award for Distinguished Public Safety Service. Directs the Attorney General to: (1) consult with the Institute of Heraldry within the Department of Defense regarding the design and artistry of the Medal of Valor; and (2) consider suggestions received by the Department of Justice regarding the design of the medal, including those made by persons not employed by the Department.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Biennial Budgeting and Appropriations Act - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (CBA) to revise the Federal and congressional budget processes by establishing a two-year budgeting and appropriations cycle and timetable. Defines the budget biennium as the two consecutive fiscal years beginning on October 1 of any odd-numbered year. Sets forth a special timetable for any first session that begins in any year immediately following a leap year and during which the term of a President begins (except one who starts a second successive term). (Sec. 2) Devotes the first session of any Congress to the budget resolution and to appropriations decisions, retaining current deadlines in most cases. Changes certain deadlines to conform to the biennial scheme. Devotes each second session to authorization activity, subject to specified deadlines. (Sec. 4) Sets forth revised pay-as-you-go provisions for the Senate to conform with the biennial framework. (Sec. 5) Conforms provisions governing the President's budget to the biennial framework. (Sec. 6) Requires all Acts making regular appropriations for the support of the Government to be enacted for a biennium and to specify the amount of appropriations provided for each fiscal year in that period. (Sec. 7) Amends CBA to provide that it shall not be in order in the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider: (1) any bill, joint resolution, amendment, motion, or conference report that authorizes appropriations for a period of less than two fiscal years, unless the program, project, or activity for which the appropriations are authorized will require no further appropriations and will be completed or terminated after the appropriations have been expended; and (2) in any odd-numbered year, any authorization or revenue bill or joint resolution until Congress completes action on the biennial budget resolution, all regular biennial appropriations bills, and all reconciliation bills. Provides that, in the Senate, such point of order shall not apply to: (1) any measure that is privileged for consideration pursuant to a rule or statute; (2) any matter considered in Executive Session; or (3) an appropriations measure or reconciliation bill. (Sec. 8) Changes to a biennial basis specified requirements for certain Government strategic and performance plans, performance reports in budget submissions, and program performance reports. Requires congressional committee reviews of such plans and reports. (Sec. 9) Provides that it shall not be in order in the House or the Senate in any odd-numbered year to consider any regular bill providing new budget authority or a limitation on obligations under the jurisdiction of any Appropriations subcommittee for only the first fiscal year of a biennium unless the program, project, or activity for which such authority or limitation is provided will require no additional authority beyond one year and will be completed or terminated after the amount provided has been expended. (Sec. 10) Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to report to the Budget Committees on the impact and feasibility of changing the definition of a fiscal year and the budget process based on that definition to a two-year fiscal period with a biennial budget process based on the two-year period.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Estate and Gift Tax Repeal Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the estate tax, gift tax, and tax on generation-skipping transfers.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Agricultural Trade Act of 1999 - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the principal agricultural trade negotiating objectives of the United States for future multilateral and bilateral trade negotiations, including the World Trade Organization (WTO), shall be to achieve, on an expedited basis and to the maximum extent feasible, more open and fair conditions for trade in agricultural commodities by: (1) developing, strengthening, and clarifying rules for agricultural trade, including disciplines on restrictive or trade-distorting import and export practices; (2) increasing U.S. agricultural exports by eliminating barriers to trade (including transparent and nontransparent barriers) and other constraints to fair and more open markets access in foreign markets, such as export subsidies, quotas, and other non-tariff import barriers; (3) developing, strengthening, and clarifying rules that address practices that unfairly limit U.S. market access opportunities or distort agricultural markets to the detriment of the United States; (4) ensuring that there are reliable suppliers of agricultural commodities international commerce by encouraging countries to treat foreign buyers no less favorably than domestic buyers of the commodity involved; and (5) eliminating barriers for meeting the food needs of the world through the use of biotechnology by ensuring access to U.S. commodities derived from biotechnology that is scientifically defensible, opposing the establishment of protectionist trade measures disguised as health standards, and protesting continual delays by other countries in their approval processes which constitute non-tariff trade barriers. (Sec. 4) Directs the President to review all unilateral economic sanctions imposed against foreign countries for reasons of foreign policy or national security.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Estate and Gift Tax Phase-Out Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to phase-out and repeal, effective January 1, 2005, the estate tax, gift tax, and the tax on generation-skipping transfers.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the income tax system should be replaced with a broad-based single-rate national sales tax on goods and services.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1998
Commends: (1) those Gabonese who have demonstrated their love for free and fair elections; and (2) the Gabonese Government for inviting the International Foundation for Election Systems to perform a pre-election assessment study. Calls on the Gabonese Government to: (1) take measures to help ensure a credible election and an independent and impartial election commission; (2) invite the Foundation, the National Democratic Institute, the International Republic Institute, and other international non-governmental organizations to aid the organization of, and supervise, the December 1998 Presidential election in Gabon in an effort to ensure that elections in Gabon are free and fair; and (3) take all necessary and lawful steps toward conducting free and fair elections. Calls on the international community to join the United States in offering assistance toward free and fair elections. Calls for the U.S. Government: (1) to provide support directly and through nongovernmental organizations to aid the organization of free and fair elections in Gabon; (2) to work with the international community in urging the Government of Gabon to create the conditions necessary to guarantee free and fair elections; and (3) and the international community to continue to encourage the Government of Gabon to ensure a lasting and committed transition to democracy.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1998
Library of Congress Bicentennial Commemorative Coin Act of 1998 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue five-dollar gold coins and one-dollar silver coins emblematic of the Library of Congress. Authorizes the Secretary to mint and issue $10 bimetallic coins of gold and platinum in lieu of the gold coins. Requires payment of coin sale surcharges to the Library of Congress Trust Fund Board to support Library activities.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1998
Federal Meat and Poultry Employees Pay Act of 1998 - Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to pay (and accept reimbursement for) Food Safety and Inspection Service employees working in establishments subject to the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products Inspection Act for overtime and holiday work. Makes conforming amendments to the Poultry Products Inspection Act and other Federal law.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 1998
Declares that the Congress supports the existing Federal legal process for determining the safety and efficacy of drugs and opposes efforts to circumvent this process by legalizing marijuana, and other Schedule I drugs, for medicinal use without valid scientific evidence and Food and Drug Administration approval. Directs the Attorney General to report to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, regarding specified years, on: (1) the total quantity of marijuana eradicated in the United States; and (2) the annual number of arrests and prosecutions for Federal marijuana offenses. Requires the Commissioner of Food and Drugs to report to specified congressional committees on the specific efforts underway to enforce specified provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act regarding marijuana and other Schedule I drugs.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 1998
Requires the printing as a Senate document of a compilation of materials, with illustrations, entitled "History of the United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry."
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 1998
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a feasibility and cost-benefit study of options for the design and implementation of a national database to track participation in Federal means-tested public assistance programs. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1998
Rural Opportunity Communities Act of 1998 - Amends title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to entitle each State to Federal grants for: (1) each rural opportunity community in the State designated pursuant to this Act; and (2) each additional qualified empowerment zone in the State designated pursuant to the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997. Specifies a formula for the amount of each grant, with separate base amounts for empowerment zones in urban or rural areas. Provides funding for the additional grants made available by this Act. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to designate up to ten rural opportunity communities. Sets forth the criteria an area must meet to be designated as a rural opportunity community, including that the area must demonstrate economic distress resulting from poverty or certain other factors during the most recent five-year time period. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that well-performing empowerment zones and enterprise communities: (1) may be given additional points in the designation process; and (2) shall be recognized annually, and their best practices disseminated to other designated empowerment zones and enterprise communities. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to set aside ten percent of amounts otherwise made available for urban empowerment zones for use by any urban empowerment zone or enterprise community that the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development determines has completed or made satisfactory progress in implementing its approved ten year strategic plan.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1998
Amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act, reenacted with amendments by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a pilot program permitting milk producers and cooperatives to voluntarily enter into forward price contracts with milk handlers.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1998
Freedom To Transport Act of 1998 - Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1929 and Federal shipping law to exempt from the prohibition against transportation of merchandise in the coastwise trade in any vessel other than one built and documented under U.S. law certain foreign built vessels issued a certificate of documentation for the coastwise trade that are used to transport forest products, bulk cargo (including agricultural products carried in bulk), or livestock.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 1998
Economic Development Administration Reform Act of 1998 - Amends the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (the Act) to replace titles I through VI of such Act with the provisions of this Act. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to cooperate with States and other entities to ensure that Federal economic development programs are compatible with and further the objectives of State, regional, and local economic development plans and comprehensive economic development strategies. Authorizes the Secretary to provide appropriate technical assistance to such entities in order to alleviate economic distress, encourage partnerships for economic development strategies, and promote investment in infrastructure and technological capacity to keep pace with the changing global economy. Directs the Secretary to promulgate regulations for intergovernmental review of proposed economic development projects. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into economic development cooperation agreements with two or more adjoining States. Defines an "eligible recipient," for purposes of this Act, as: (1) an area with a per capita income of 80 percent or less of the national average or an unemployment rate at least one percent greater than the national average or one which has experienced or is about to experience actual or threatened severe unemployment or economic adjustment problems; (2) an economic development district; (3) an Indian tribe; (4) a State; (5) a political subdivision; (6) an institution of higher education; or (7) a nonprofit organization acting in cooperation with local officials. Sets forth provisions similar to existing provisions of law authorizing grants to eligible recipients for acquisition or development of public works and development facilities. Retains a limitation that prohibits more than 15 percent of the amounts made available for such assistance from being expended in any one State. Authorizes assistance for public works and economic development to be available for a project to be carried out on a military or Department of Energy installation that is closed or scheduled for closure or realignment without requiring an eligible recipient to have title to the property or a leasehold interest for any specified term. Sets forth provisions similar to those under existing law authorizing grants for economic planning. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants for related administrative expenses as well. Provides a Federal cost-share limit of 50 percent of project costs. Authorizes the Secretary to make supplementary grants for a project for which the recipient is eligible but for which the recipient cannot provide the required non-Federal share. Provides supplementary grant conditions and requirements, authorizing the Secretary to reduce or waive the required non-Federal share in certain cases. Sets forth provisions similar to those under existing law that authorize technical assistance useful in alleviating or preventing conditions of excessive unemployment or underemployment. Authorizes grants for training and research for such purposes as well. Permits the Secretary to reduce or waive the non-Federal share of a project so assisted if the project is not feasible without, and merits, such a reduction or waiver. Retains an existing provision of law regarding the prevention of unfair competition. Sets forth provisions similar to those under existing law which authorize grants for economic adjustment to alleviate long-term economic deterioration and sudden economic dislocation. Revises criteria for such assistance. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) approve the use of grant funds for projects the scope or purpose for which has been modified after the grant has been made; and (2) use funds for projects constructed for less than the projected costs to improve such projects. Bars assistance for public works and economic development from being used for attorney's or consultants' fees incurred in connection with obtaining grants and contracts. Requires areas to have per capita incomes of 80 percent or less of the national average or unemployment rates at least one percent greater than the national average or to have experienced or be about to experience actual or threatened severe unemployment or economic adjustment problems in order to be eligible for grants for public works and economic development or economic adjustment. Requires from such applicants: (1) documentation of meeting such criteria; and (2) evidence of a comprehensive economic development strategy which identifies the economic problems to be addressed through such assistance, as well as related information. Revises conditions under which areas may be designated as economic development districts by the Secretary. Retains: (1) existing incentives for increasing grant assistance in districts where participants are actively participating in economic development activities and the project is consistent with the district's comprehensive economic development strategy; and (2) provisions authorizing assistance to parts of districts not in eligible areas. Directs the Secretary to carry out this Act through an Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development who shall serve as the Administrator of the Economic Development Administration. Directs the Secretary to maintain an information clearinghouse on all matters relating to economic development and adjustment, disaster recovery, defense conversion, and trade adjustment programs and activities of Federal and State governments and to assist applicants for such assistance. Authorizes the Secretary to furnish procurement divisions of the Federal Government with a list of business firms located in distressed areas that desire Federal contracts. Requires the Secretary to conduct reviews of university centers that receive grant assistance under this Act to assess their performance and contribution toward retention and creation of employment. Provides for penalty, administrative, and recordkeeping provisions similar to those under existing law. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2003. Authorizes additional appropriations for defense conversion activities and disaster economic recovery activities. Repeals provisions of the Act regarding economic recovery for disaster areas, special economic development and adjustment assistance, and the job opportunities program.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1998
National Environmental Education Amendments Act of 1998 - Amends the National Environmental Education Act to require that curricula, materials, and training programs developed with support from the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Environmental Education be balanced and scientifically sound. (Sec. 2) Requires that implementation of the Act be through EPA. Eliminates requirements for a Director of the Office and a minimum number of staff. Allows activities to be carried out through grants, cooperative agreements, or contracts. (Sec. 3) Reduces from 25 percent to 15 percent the percentage of funds to be obligated for environmental education grants of not more than $5,000. Prohibits the use of grants for certain lobbying activities. Requires the EPA Science Advisory Board to review and approve any guidance by the EPA Administrator before it is issued to applicants for such grants. (Sec. 4) Repeals the authority for environmental internships and fellowships. (Sec. 5) Eliminates all environmental education awards provided for under such Act, except the President's Environmental Youth Awards. (Sec. 6) Revises requirements for membership on the National Environmental Education Advisory Council. Requires that membership on the Federal Task Force on Environmental Education be open to representatives of any Federal agency actively engaged in environmental education. (Under current law, membership must include specified agency representatives.) Repeals specific requirements for contents of Advisory Council reports. (Sec. 7) Changes the name of the National Environmental Education and Training Foundation to the National Environmental Learning Foundation. Increases the size of the Foundation's Board of the Directors. Repeals the prohibition on the transmission of logos or other means of identification on materials donated to the Foundation for environmental education and training use. Allows acknowledgement of donors, but prohibits such acknowledgement from: (1) appearing in educational material to be presented to students; and (2) identifying a donor by means of a logo, letterhead, or other corporate commercial symbol, slogan, or product. (Sec. 8) Extends through FY 2004 the authorization of appropriations to the EPA for such Act. Revises funding limitations. Limits to 25 percent the amount available for administrative costs. Directs the EPA Administrator to report on expenses annually to the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1998
National Uniformity for Food Act of 1998 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) to prohibit any State or political subdivision from establishing or continuing in effect as to any food in interstate commerce any requirement for food labeling or food that is not identical to specified FDCA provisions. Prohibits any State or political subdivision from establishing or continuing in effect any notification requirement for a food that provides for a warning concerning the food's safety that is not identical to FDCA provisions. Allows a State to petition for an exemption and for a national standard regarding any requirement under the FDCA or the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act relating to food regulation. Allows a State to establish a requirement that would otherwise violate FDCA provisions relating to national uniform nutrition labeling or this paragraph if the requirement is needed to address an imminent hazard to health that is likely to result in serious adverse health consequences and if other requirements are met.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1998
Declares that the Congress honors the memory of Detective John Michael Gibson and Private First Class Jacob Joseph Chestnut of the U.S. Capitol Police for the selfless acts of heroism they displayed on July 24, 1998, in sacrificing their lives in the line of duty so that others might live. Provides that, when the Senate and the House of Representatives adjourn on this date, they shall do so out of respect for the memory of Officers Gibson and Chestnut.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1998
Authorizes the use of the rotunda of the Capitol for a memorial service for Detective John Michael Gibson and Private First Class Jacob Joseph Chestnut of the U.S. Capitol Police. Directs the Architect of the Capitol to place a plaque in honor of the memory of Officers Gibson and Chestnut at an appropriate site in the U.S. Capitol, with the approval of the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. Directs the Sergeant at Arms of the House of Representatives to make arrangements for funeral services for Officers Gibson and Chestnut, including payments for travel expenses of immediate family members, and for expenses incurred by Members of the House of Representatives in attending such services. Directs the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives to pay survivor's gratuities to the widows of Officers Gibson and Chestnut. Expresses the sense of the Congress that there should be established under law a U.S. Capitol Police Memorial Fund for the surviving spouses and children of members of the U.S. Capitol Police who are slain in the line of duty.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 1998
Emergency Farm Financial Relief Act - Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act to provide that FY 1999 production flexibility contract payments shall be paid at such time or times as the owner or producer so requests.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1998
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, to direct the Attorney General to waive the requirement that an alien seeking to pursue a course of study in a school reimburse the school's local educational agency (LEA), if the LEA certifies to the Attorney General that such waiver will promote educational interest and not impose on it an undue financial burden.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1998
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 Quality Research Title V: Women's Health Research and Prevention Subtitle A: Provisions Relating to Women's Health Research at the National Institutes of Health Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Women's Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Subtitle C: Women's Health and Cancer Rights Title VI: Enhanced Access to Health Insurance Coverage 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 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 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 (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. Applies the requirements of this subtitle to group health plans, but not to a health insurance issuer licensed by a State and subject to State insurance regulation while engaged in the business of insurance in such State. 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 - Amends ERISA to require 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 1998 - 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 Quality Research - Healthcare Quality Research Act of 1998 - 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) Practice-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 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 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. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director, to establish a nonprofit, nongovernmental Foundation for Healthcare Research, which shall: (1) support the Agency and foster public-private partnerships to support Agency programs and activities; (2) advance collaboration with healthcare researchers from universities, industry, and nonprofit organizations; and (4) develop linkages with users of healthcare and quality research. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Agency Director, to make grants each fiscal year to support the Foundation. 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: Women's Health Research and Prevention - Women's Health Research and Prevention Amendments of 1998 - Subtitle A: Provisions Relating to Women's Health Research at the National Institutes of Health - Amends PHSA to extend the authorization of appropriations for research on the drug diethylstilbestrol (commonly known as DES). Directs the Secretary, acting through PHS agency heads, to carry out a national program to educate health professionals and the public about DES. (Sec. 512) Extends the authorization of appropriations for research on: (1) osteoporosis, Paget's disease, and related bone disorders; (2) breast and ovarian cancers; and (3) aging processes relating to women. (Sec. 514) Requires the Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to expand, intensify, and coordinate research and related activities with respect to heart attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases in women. (Sec. 516) Requires the Director of the National Institutes of Health (currently, the Director of the Office of Research on Women's Health) to appoint members of the Advisory Committee on Research on Women's Health. Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Women's Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Amends PHSA to extend the authorization of appropriations for: (1) the National Center for Health Statistics; (2) the National Program of Cancer Registries; (3) the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program; (4) Centers for Research and Demonstration of Health Promotion; and (5) community programs on domestic violence. (Sec. 523) Authorizes a State receiving a Federal grant to make grants to or contract with for-profit private entities to carry out programs of preventive health measures for breast and cervical cancers. Subtitle C: Women's Health and Cancer Rights - Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act of 1998 - Amends ERISA, PHSA, and the Internal Revenue Code to require certain group health plans and health insurance issuers to ensure specified minimum coverage regarding: (1) breast cancer mastectomies, lumpectomies, and lymph node dissections; (2) post-mastectomy breast reconstruction on both breasts; and (3) the costs of prostheses and complications of mastectomy, including lymphedemas. Prohibits: (1) denial of eligibility to a patient, and other related practices, solely to avoid the requirements of this subtitle; (2) incentives or rebates to encourage individuals to accept less than the minimum coverage; and (2) certain penalties or incentives to providers to evade application of this subtitle. (Sec. 535) Amends PHSA to apply the same requirements to health insurance issuers in the individual market. (Sec. 537) Directs the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research to study and report to the appropriate congressional committees on the scientific issues relating to prevention and treatment of breast cancer. Title VI: Enhanced Access to Health Insurance Coverage - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow the annual carryover of up to $500 of unused benefits from cafeteria plans, flexible spending arrangements, and health flexible spending accounts; (2) allow a full deduction from gross income of the health insurance costs of self-employed individuals; and (3) repeal the limitation of the availability of medical savings accounts (MSAs) to employees of small employers and the self-employed. (Sec. 603) 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. 604) 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. Increases the Government's biweekly contribution to an employee's or annuitant's FEHBP catastrophic plan from 75 percent to 100 percent of the subscription charge.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1998
Defense Jobs and Trade Promotion Act of 1998 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the limitation on the amount of receipts attributable to military property which may be treated as exempt foreign trade income.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: School Lunch and Related Programs Title II: School Breakfast and Related Programs Title III: Commodity Distribution Programs Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Amendments of 1998 - Title I: School Lunch and Related Programs - Amends the National School Lunch Act (NSLA) with respect to direct expenditures for agricultural commodities and other foods to repeal requirements for: (1) interim sources of funds pending supplemental appropriations; and (2) State matching funds for such interim funds and for cash donations in lieu of commodity donations. (Sec. 102) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to waive, through FY 2003, any regulatory requirement for using weighted averages for nutrient analysis of menu items and foods offered or served as part of a reimbursable meal under the school breakfast or lunch program. (Sec. 103) Requires all schools participating in the National School Lunch Program (lunch program) under NSLA or the School Breakfast Program (breakfast program) under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (CNA), in which meals are prepared on site, to obtain inspections at least once during each school year that indicate food service operations meet State or local health and safety standards. (Sec. 104) Repeals a prohibition against requiring a State to match Federal funds for meals in private schools if the State educational agency is prohibited by law from disbursing State appropriated funds to private schools. Sunsets the Secretary of Agriculture's authority to disburse NSLA program funds to schools directly during the period FY 1999 through FY 2001 (or through FY 2003, if an extension is needed before a State will be able to assume responsibility). Requires the Secretary to provide training and technical assistance to State agencies which assume program administration from the Secretary during such period. (Sec. 105) Revises certain initial and extension time periods under special assistance alternative eligibility provisions. (Sec. 106) Revises requirements for calculating reimbursement rates for school meals. (Sec. 107) Authorizes the Secretary to adjust summer food service program reimbursement rates in non-contiguous States and territories where the cost of providing meals is greater than that in the contiguous States. (Sec. 108) Increases the maximum fine, from $10,000 to $25,000, upon anyone who embezzles, willfully misapplies, steals, or obtains by fraud any funds, assets, or property that are the subject of a grant or other form of assistance under CNA or NSLA if such funds, assets, or property are worth $100 or more. (Sec. 109) Extends the authorization of appropriations for food and nutrition projects through FY 2003. (Sec. 110) Requires schools participating in the lunch program or breakfast program to make every effort to establish meal service periods that provide children adequate time to fully consume their meals in an environment conducive to eating. (Sec. 111) Directs the Secretary to require that schools in the contiguous United States purchase for the lunch program and breakfast program, whenever possible, only food products that are produced in the United States. (Sec. 112) Allows States, State agencies, or schools to enter into procurement contracts, using funds under NSLA or CNA, with persons that have assisted them in drafting contract specifications. (Sec. 113) Revises the eligibility criteria for private nonprofit institutions under the NSLA summer food service program to increase from five to 25 the number of sites they may operate. Repeals certain summer food service program requirements relating to: (1) a March 1 deadline for indication of interest; (2) restrictions on meal contracting; and (3) vendor registration. Extends through FY 2003 the authorization of appropriations for the NSLA summer food service program. (Sec. 114) Reauthorizes through FY 2003 the NSLA commodity distribution program, which may use Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) and other specified funds to purchase agricultural commodities for use in programs under NSLA, CNA, and the Older Americans Act of 1965. (Sec. 115) Revises NSLA child and adult care food program requirements for licensing and alternate approval for schools and outside school hours child care. Repeals automatic eligibility, under the NSLA child care food program, for participants in the Even Start program of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Requires State agencies to: (1) perform a site visit to a private institution before approval for participation in the child care food program; and (2) conduct periodic site visits to private institutions determined to have a high probability of program abuse. Revises conditions for child and adult care program participation by institutions moving toward compliance with the requirement for tax-exempt status. Repeals a notification requirement for incomplete applications. Requires funding for FY 1999 through 2003 for demonstration projects for child care food program qualification of private for-profit organizations providing nonresidential day care services. Directs the Secretary to provide State agencies with increased levels of training and technical assistance for their management and oversight of the child and adult care program. Allows institutions that provide care to at-risk school children during after-school hours, weekends, or holidays during the regular school year to participate in the child care food program. Defines as at-risk any children who: (1) are age 12 through 18; and (2) live in a geographical area served by a school enrolling elementary students in which at least 50 percent of the total number of children enrolled are certified eligible to receive free or reduced price school meals under NSLA or CNA. Allows such institutions to claim reimbursements, at the free supplement rate, only for: (1) supplements served without charge to at-risk school children during after-school hours, weekends, or holidays during the regular school year; and (2) one supplement per child per day. Directs the Secretary to provide State agencies with information concerning the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC program) under CNA. Requires State agencies to ensure that each participating child care center (other than institutions providing care to school children outside of school hours) receives certain WIC program informational materials and updates, and provides such information to parents of enrolled children annually. (Sec. 116) Allows emergency shelter homeless programs to participate in the child and adult care food program. Allows shelters to claim reimbursements, at the free supplement rate, only for: (1) supplements served without charge to resident children through age 12; and (2) not more than three meals or two meals and a supplement per child per day. Repeals the homeless children nutrition program. (Sec. 117) Limits reimbursements for after-school supplements to supplements provided to children in after-school programs organized primarily to provide care with an educational or enrichment component. Provides for a free supplement to at-risk children in after-school programs operated by schools in low income areas. (Sec. 118) Extends through FY 2003 the authority of the Secretary to administer pilot projects designed to provide food and nutrition services to homeless pregnant women and homeless mothers or guardians of infants, and the children of the mothers and guardians. Repeals authority for certain demonstration projects involving: (1) meals and supplements outside of school hours; (2) fortified fluid milk; (3) fruits, vegetables, legumes, cereals, and grain-based products; (4) low-fat dairy products and lean meat and poultry products; and (5) reduced paperwork and application requirements and increased participation. (Sec. 119) Directs the Secretary to: (1) make grants to State agencies for free breakfast pilot projects, in elementary schools under the jurisdiction of not more than six school food authorities in each of the school years 1999 through 2001; and (2) report to specified congressional committees on the project evaluations. (Sec. 120) Extends through FY 2003 the authorization of appropriations for training and technical assistance under the child and adult care food program. (Sec. 121) Extends authority to fund the food service management institute, including mandatory and discretionary activities. (Sec. 122) Extends through FY 2003 the authorization of appropriations for compliance and accountability activities under the child and adult care food program. (Sec. 123) Extends through FY 2003 the authorization of appropriations for the information clearinghouse for nongovernmental groups on food assistance and self-help activities for low-income individuals and communities. (Sec. 124) Repeals the requirement that the Secretary provide guidance and grant assistance to eligible entities for accommodating special dietary needs of individuals with disabilities who participate in covered programs under NSLA and CNA. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out accommodation activities, including guidance, technical assistance, training, and grants for State agencies and eligible entities. Title II: School Breakfast and Related Programs - Amends CNA to sunset the Secretary of Agriculture's authority to disburse CNA program funds to schools directly during the period FY 1999 through FY 2001 (or through FY 2003, if an extension is needed before a State will be able to assume responsibility). Requires the Secretary to provide training and technical assistance to State agencies which assume program administration from the Secretary during such period. (Sec. 202) Repeals specified requirements for reallocation of State administrative expense funds. Eliminates the ten percent limitation on the transfer of administrative expense funds under CNA and NSLA. Extends through FY 2003 the authorization of appropriations for State administrative expenses under CNA. (Sec. 203) Reauthorizes and revises WIC requirements. Establishes additional WIC program application requirements involving the certification period for infants, physical presence, income documentation, and verification. Authorizes the Secretary to provide bulk quantities of WIC program nutrition education materials to State agencies administering the Commodity Supplemental Food Program under the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973 at no cost to that program. Adds WIC program requirements for: (1) limiting retail grocery store participation to those that offer a variety of foods; (2) State use of funds recovered from vendors and participants; (3) identifying recipients who participate at more than one site; and (4) identifying and investigating high risk vendors. Allows State agencies, beginning in FY 2000, to use specified WIC funds for the purchase of breast pumps. Extends through FY 2003: (1) the authorization of appropriations for the WIC program and for the WIC farmers market nutrition program; and (2) requirements to use certain WIC funds for allocations to State agencies for costs of nutrition services and administration, and for program infrastructure and information, projects of regional or national significance, and breastfeeding promotion and support activities. Revises WIC program requirements relating to: (1) infant formula procurement; (2) level of per-participant expenditure for nutrition services and administration; (3) conversion of amounts for supplemental foods to amounts for nutrition services; (4) use of funds in preceding and subsequent years; (5) farmers market nutrition program State plans; and (6) disqualification of certain vendors convicted of trafficking or illegal sales. Directs the Secretary to establish (and report to specified congressional committees on) a long-range plan for developing and implementing management information systems for the WIC program. Authorizes courts to order, in addition to other penalties or sentences, criminal forfeitures of property for embezzlement, willful misapplication, stealing, obtaining by fraud, or trafficking in food instruments, funds, assets, or property that are worth $100 or more under the WIC program. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to the Secretary and specified congressional committees on WIC program: (1) cost containment practices; and (2) services and costs. (Sec. 204) Authorizes appropriations in necessary amounts (currently gives a specified amount for each fiscal year) for FY 1997 through 2003 for the nutrition education and training program under CNA. Title III: Commodity Distribution Programs - Amends the Commodity Distribution Reform Act and WIC Amendments of 1987 to revise requirements relating to applicability and customer acceptability information. (Sec. 302) Prescribes food distribution requirements relating to the Secretary of Agriculture's authority to: (1) transfer commodities between programs; (2) resolve claims; (3) use specified funds to make payment of costs associated with management of commodities which pose a health or safety hazard; and (4) accept commodities donated by Federal sources. Title IV: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective date for this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1998
Agriculture Export Relief Act of 1998 - Amends the Arms Export Control Act to exempt Department of Agriculture assistance for the purchase or other provision of food or other agricultural commodities (including fertilizer, medicines, and medical equipment) from the prohibition against extensions of U.S. Government credit, credit guarantees, or other financial assistance to countries involved in the transfer or use of nuclear explosive devices. Declares that such assistance shall be available only to the extent that an official budget request that includes designation of such assistance as an emergency requirement as defined in the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) is transmitted by the President to the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Assistance for Sub-Saharan Africa Title II: Worldwide Food Assistance and Agricultural Programs Subtitle A: Nonemergency Food Assistance Programs Subtitle B: Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust Act of 1998 Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions Africa: Seeds of Hope Act of 1998 - Declares it to be U.S. policy, consistent with title XII of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act, to support governments of sub-Saharan African countries, U.S. and African nongovernmental organizations, universities, businesses, and international agencies to help ensure the availability of basic nutrition and economic opportunities for sub-Saharan individuals, through sustainable agricultural and rural development. Title I: Assistance for Sub-Saharan Africa - Directs the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID), in providing development assistance under the Africa Food Security Initiative, or any comparable or successor program, to: (1) emphasize programs and projects that improve the food security of children, women, and food-insecure households, or that improve the agricultural productivity, incomes, and marketing of the rural poor in Africa; (2) solicit and take into consideration the views and needs of intended beneficiaries and program participants during the selection, planning, implementation, and evaluation phases of projects; and (3) ensure that programs are designed and conducted in cooperation with African and U.S. organizations and institutions (such as private and voluntary organizations, cooperatives, land-grant and other appropriate universities, and local producer-owned cooperative marketing and buying associations) that have expertise in addressing the needs of the poor, small-scale farmers, entrepreneurs, and rural workers, including women. (Sec. 101) Expresses the sense of the Congress that, if there is an increase in funding for sub-Saharan programs, the Administrator of AID should proportionately increase resources to the Africa Food Security Initiative, or any comparable or successor program, for FY 2000 and subsequent fiscal years in order to meet the needs of the countries participating in such Initiative. (Sec. 102) Directs the Administrator of AID to use, through bilateral and multilateral assistance, microenterprise assistance (including credit) to improve the capacity and efficiency of agricultural production in sub-Saharan Africa of small-scale farmers and small rural entrepreneurs (specifically taking into consideration the needs of women, and using the applied research and technical assistance capabilities of U.S. land-grant universities). (Sec. 103) Authorizes the Administrator of AID to utilize foreign assistance programs and initiatives for sub-Saharan Africa to support private producer-owned cooperative marketing associations there, including rural business associations owned by farmer shareholders. (Sec. 104) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) should issue loans, guaranties, and insurance, and utilize existing equity funds and loan and insurance funds, to support private agricultural and rural development in sub-Saharan Africa (particularly intermediary organizations that directly serve the needs of small-scale farmers, small rural entrepreneurs, and rural producer-owned cooperative purchasing and marketing associations). (Sec. 105) 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 sub-Saharan Africa. Title II: Worldwide Food Assistance and Agricultural Programs - Subtitle A: Non-Emergency Food Assistance Programs - Sets forth general requirements for the administration of non-emergency assistance programs under title II of the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954. Subtitle B: Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust Act of 1998 - Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust Act of 1998 - Amends the Food Security Commodity Reserve Act of 1996 and the Food Security Wheat Reserve Act of 1980 to rename specified provisions of the Food for Development Program as the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust Act. (Sec. 212) Includes, as part of the established trust stock of wheat, rice, corn, or sorghum used to meet emergency humanitarian food needs in developing countries, certain funds for Commodity Credit Corporation programs under the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 that are available to acquire such eligible commodities through purchases from producers or in the market to replenish the trust. Authorizes the release of eligible commodities from the trust for emergency food assistance to developing countries, provided such release is at levels consistent with maintaining the long-term value of the trust. Makes permanent the authority for the trust. Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions - Directs the Administrator of AID to report to the Congress on AID's plans for implementing the Africa Food Security Initiative and an estimate of all amounts expended or to be expended on related activities during the current and previous four years.
United States · United States Congress · 8 July 1998
Amends the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Research Act of 1978, as amended by the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998, to provide that at the request of the Governor of Maine, New Hampshire, New York, or Vermont, the Secretary of Agriculture may cooperate with certain agricultural research programs. Amends the Honey Research, Promotion, and Consumer Information Act, as amended by the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Educational Reform Act of 1998, to increase the honey assessment rate.
United States · United States Congress · 7 July 1998
Declares that the Congress affirms: (1) its longstanding commitment to Taiwan in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act; (2) its expectation that the future of Taiwan will be determined by peaceful means with the consent of the people of Taiwan and that it considers any effort to determine Taiwan's future by other than peaceful means a threat to the peace and security of the Western Pacific and of grave concern to the United States; (3) its commitment to make available to Taiwan such defense articles and services as may be necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability; and (4) its commitment that only the President and Congress shall determine the nature and quantity of defense articles and services needed by Taiwan. Urges the President to seek a public renunciation by the People's Republic of China of any use of force, or threat to use force, against democratic Taiwan.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1998
Amends the Arms Export Control Act to exempt Department of Agriculture assistance for the purchase or other provision of food or other agricultural commodities from the prohibition against extensions of U.S. Government credit, credit guarantees, or other financial assistance to countries involved in the transfer or use of nuclear explosive devices.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1998
Disapproves the rule submitted by the Health Care Financing Administration, Department of Health and Human Services, on June 1, 1998, relating to surety bond requirements for home health agencies under titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 1 June 1998
Declares that at the upcoming U.S.-China summit the President should: (1) secure from China's leaders a pledge to remove the names on an official reentry blacklist, which now contains the names of more than 50 Chinese citizens living in the United States who cannot return to China because of their peaceful advocacy of greater rights and freedom; and (2) visit family members of victims of the 1989 massacre at Tiananmen Square. Declares that in the context of the upcoming U.S.-China summit, the President should urge the Chinese leaders to: (1) engage in a meaningful dialogue with the Dalai Lama with the aim of establishing genuine cultural and religious autonomy in Tibet; (2) revise China's security laws, including the provisions on "endangering state security" added to the criminal code in March 1997; (3) release unconditionally all imprisoned political, religious, and labor activists detained for their peaceful, nonviolent involvement in public protests; (4) review the sentences of more than 2,000 convicted so-called "counterrevolutionaries" to consider releasing those convicted solely for exercising their internationally recognized rights of free speech and association; (5) encourage greater cooperation by the Chinese Government with the United Nation's human rights mechanisms and greater transparency in China's legal and detention system; (6) ease religious repression by abolishing the requirement that all religious sites register with the official Religious Affairs Bureau and implementing the 1994 recommendations of the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerances; (7) lift Government mandated quotas on the number of monks and nuns in monasteries and nunneries, end the Government's current "reeducation" campaign, and immediately reinstate all monks and nuns expelled from their monasteries for failing to denounce the Dalai Lama; (8) allow access by credible, independent human rights or humanitarian organizations to the nine-year-old boy recognized by the Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama; and (9) allow regular, unmonitored access to Tibet and Xinjiiang province of China by independent human rights monitors.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1998
USDA Information Technology Reform and Year-2000 Compliance Act of 1998 - Establishes within the Department of Agriculture the position of Chief Information Officer who shall manage: (1) year-2000 compliance; and (2) planning, funding, and acquisition of information technology and resource management. Requires: (1) funding approval by the Chief Information Officer; and (2) each office or agency to appoint an Agency Chief Information Officer. Makes a technical amendment to the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act.
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