United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Access to Medicare Benefits for Individuals 62-to-65 Years of Age Title II: Access to Medicare Benefits for Displaced Workers 55-to-62 Years of Age Title III: COBRA Protection for Early Retirees Subtitle A: Amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 Subtitle B: Amendments to the Public Health Service Act Subtitle C: Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 Medicare Early Access Act of 1999 - Title I: Access to Medicare Benefits for Individuals 62-to-65 Years of Age - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to add a new part D (Purchase of Medicare Benefits by Certain Individuals Age 62-to-65 Years of Age). Makes eligible to enroll in Medicare during a specified period individuals between the ages of 62 and 65 who: (1) are not eligible for coverage under group health plans or Federal health insurance; but (2) would be Medicare-eligible if age 65. Requires prior notification of each individual seeking to enroll of the deferred monthly premium amount for which the individual will be liable upon attaining age 65. (Sec. 101) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to determine rates for: (1) the base monthly premium; (2) the base annual premium for individuals age 62 or older, reduced appropriately for a premium area that has costs below the national average, in order to assure participation in all areas of the country; and (3) the deferred premium for such individuals. Directs the Secretary to provide for payment and collection of the base monthly premium. Makes the enrollee liable for the deferred monthly premium payment. Requires collection of both premiums in the same manner as for the payment of monthly premiums under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance). Creates in the Treasury the Medicare Early Access Trust Fund (Trust Fund) to hold collected premiums. Directs: (1) the Trust Fund's Board of Trustees to report annually to the Congress on the need for adjustments in the new program in order to maintain its financial solvency; and (2) the Comptroller General to report periodically to the Congress on the adequacy of program financing along with appropriate recommendations to accomplish such end. Requires: (1) individuals enrolled under the new part D program to be treated for Medicare purposes as though they were entitled to benefits under Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) and enrolled under Medicare part B; and (2) new part D program benefits to be payable under Medicare to such individuals in the same manner as if they were so entitled and enrolled. Provides that the new part D program shall not be treated as Medicare for purposes of the Medicaid program (SSA title XIX), including the provision of Medicare cost-sharing assistance, nor for purposes of COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985) continuation requirements of the Public Health Service Act. Title II: Access to Medicare Benefits for Displaced Workers 55-to-62 Years of Age - Amends SSA title XVIII part D to rename the newly established part D program the Purchase of Medicare Benefits by Certain Individuals Age 55-to-65 Years of Age. Provides for part D coverage for certain displaced workers and spouses between the ages of 55 and 62 under arrangements similar to those in title I. Directs the Secretary to provide for continued enrollment of displaced workers who attain 62 years of age. Title III: COBRA Protection for Early Retirees - Subtitle A: Amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to extend specified group health plan insurance continuation coverage under COBRA to qualified retirees and their dependents, in cases of substantial reduction or termination of a retiree group health plan. Sets forth a special rule for certain dependents in case of termination or substantial reduction of retiree health coverage. Permits an increased level of premiums in the case of an individual provided continuation coverage by reason of the qualifying event. Subtitle B: Amendments to the Public Health Service Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to extend specified group health plan insurance continuation coverage under COBRA to qualified retirees and their dependents, in cases of substantial reduction or termination of a retiree group health plan. Sets forth a special rule for certain dependents in case of termination or substantial reduction of retiree health coverage. Permits an increased level of premiums in the case of an individual provided continuation coverage by reason of the qualifying event. Subtitle C: Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend specified group health plan insurance continuation coverage under COBRA to qualified retirees and their dependents, in cases of substantial reduction or termination of a retiree group health plan. Sets forth a special rule for certain dependents in case of termination or substantial reduction of retiree health coverage. Permits an increased level of premiums in the case of an individual provided continuation coverage by reason of the qualifying event.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Education Grant Formula Adjustment Act of 1999 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education, in using poverty data produced by or for the Secretary of Commerce for subnational, State, or substate areas, to adjust such data to account for differences in area costs of living.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Real Cost of Handgun Ammunition Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the excise tax on the sale of certain ammunition, except sales for law enforcement purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Destructive Ammunition Prohibition Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit the use of destructive ammunition, defined as any jacketed, hollow point projectile that may be used in a handgun and the jacket of which is designed to produce, upon impact, sharp-tipped, barb-like projections that extend beyond the diameter of the unfired projectile.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Amends the Federal criminal code to eliminate the exception from Federal explosives prohibitions for commercially manufactured black powder in quantities not to exceed 50 pounds, percussion caps, safety and pyrotechnic fuses, quills, quick and slow matches, and friction primers, intended to be used solely for sporting, recreational, or cultural purposes in antique firearms or in antique devices as exempted from the term "destructive device."
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Y2K State and Local GAP (Government Assistance Programs) Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to: (1) award grants to States to assist the States and local governments in making their programs Y2K compliant; and (2) give priority to grant requests that relate to making Federal welfare programs Y2K compliant. Requires a State's application for such a grant to contain: (1) a description of a proposed plan for the development and implementation of a Y2K compliance program; and (2) a description or identification of a proposed funding source for the completion of the plan and maintenance of the system. Requires a State awarded a grant to expend one dollar for every two dollars awarded under the grant for the development and implementation of the compliance program. Permits the Secretary to waive or modify such matching requirement for any State that the Secretary determines would suffer undue hardship. Prohibits the award of a grant for a period of more than two years. Requires: (1) each State awarded a grant to submit an annual report that contains a description of the ongoing results of the evaluation of the plan for the compliance program funded under the grant; and (2) the Secretary to submit to the Congress a final report evaluating the programs funded under such grants. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Math and Science Learning Improvement Act of 1999 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award competitive grants to State Governors or State educational agencies upon determining that the average score of eighth grade students in a State on the 1999 retake of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study is or would be lower than the median of the scores of the countries participating in such retake. Sets minimum and maximum amounts for such a grant. Directs the Secretary to use the results of the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress for comparisons between States and countries with respect to such retake. Requires use of such grant funds to improve mathematics and science instruction in the State. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Arc of Park Capitol Grounds Improvement Act of 1999 - Requires the Architect of the Capitol to develop and begin implementation of a comprehensive plan for the improvement of the grounds of the U.S. Capitol. Requires the plan to: (1) be consistent with the 1981 Report on the "Master Plan for the Future Development of the Capitol Grounds and Related Areas"; and (2) result in an "arc of park" sweeping from Second Street, Northeast, to the Capitol Reflecting Pool to First Street, Southeast. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Directs the Secretary of Commerce, annually, to determine for the immediately preceding fiscal year: (1) the amount of funds made available for that fiscal year for each covered Federal formula grant program; and (2) for each such program, the amount distributed to each grant recipient. Requires, not later than 120 days after the end of each fiscal year, the head of each Federal agency that administers such a program to submit to the Secretary: (1) the amount of funds made available for that program for that fiscal year; and (2) for each State recipient of a covered Federal formula grant, the amount distributed as a grant award under that grant to that recipient. Requires the Secretary to determine: (1) the 100 covered Federal formula grant programs that received the greatest amount of funding during the preceding fiscal year; and (2) whether, on the basis of undercounting for the most recent decennial census, any State recipient of a grant award under such a program received an amount less than or greater than the amount that the recipient would have received if an adjustment to such award had been made for that undercounting. Requires the Secretary, upon making such determinations, to prepare a specified annual report for each State identifying grant awards affected.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Violent Crime Reduction Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit the manufacture, transfer, importation, sale, or delivery of .25 or .32 caliber or nine millimeter ammunition, except for: (1) the use of the Federal Government or any State or local government; and (2) testing or experimenting authorized by the Secretary of the Treasury. Imposes a licensing fee of $1,000 per year upon manufacturers and importers of .25 or .32 caliber or nine millimeter ammunition. Requires licensed importers and manufacturers to mark all .25 and .32 caliber and nine millimeter ammunition and packages containing such ammunition for distribution. Includes .25 and .32 caliber and nine millimeter ammunition as restricted ammunition, the use of which during the commission of a crime of violence or a drug trafficking crime carries a mandatory five-year prison term.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Real Cost of Destructive Ammunition Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the excise tax on handgun ammunition. Provides for such additional taxes to be added to the general fund. Imposes a special (occupational) tax on importers and manufacturers of certain handgun ammunition for each place of business.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Law Enforcement Officers Protection Amendment Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal criminal code to expand the definition of "armor piercing ammunition" to include a projectile that may be used in a handgun and that the Secretary of the Treasury determines to be capable of penetrating body armor. Directs the Secretary to promulgate regulations based on standards to be developed for the uniform testing of projectiles to determine whether such projectiles are capable of penetrating National Institute of Justice Level II-A body armor. Authorizes appropriations for the Secretary and the Attorney General to develop and implement, and promulgate regulations for, performance standards for armor piercing ammunition.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Handgun Ammunition Control Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal criminal code to: (1) require each licensed importer and manufacturer of ammunition to maintain records of, and submit an annual report on, the importation, production, shipment, sale, or other disposition of ammunition, including the amount, caliber, and type of ammunition, as prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury; and (2) increase licensing fees for manufacturers of ammunition. Directs the Secretary to request the National Academy of Sciences to: (1) prepare a study of the criminal use and regulation of ammunition; and (2) report to the Congress, not later than July 31, 1998(sic), on the potential for preventing crime by regulating or restricting the availability of ammunition.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit a Federal explosive materials licensee or permittee from willfully manufacturing, importing, purchasing, distributing, or receiving explosive materials without transmitting a copy of each required record to the Secretary of the Treasury.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Strengthening Law Enforcement to Reduce Violence Against Women Title II: Strengthening Services to Victims of Violence Title III: Limiting the Effects of Violence on Children Title IV : Strengthening Education and Training to Combat Violence Against Women Title V: Extension of Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund Violence Against Women Act II - Title I: Strengthening Law Enforcement to Reduce Violence Against Women - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the Attorney General to make grants to eligible States, Indian tribal governments, or local governmental units to provide technical assistance and computer and other equipment to police departments, prosecutors, courts, and tribal jurisdictions to facilitate the widespread, including interstate, enforcement of protection orders. Instructs the Attorney General to give priority to grant applicants that: (1) have established cooperative agreements with neighboring jurisdictions to facilitate the enforcement of protection orders from other jurisdictions; and (2) will give priority to using the grant to develop and install data collection and communication systems linking police, prosecutors, courts, and tribal jurisdictions in order to identify and track protection orders and violations of such orders. Directs the Attorney General to compile and disseminate information about successful data collection and communication systems. Amends Federal criminal code provisions governing full faith and credit given to protection orders to provide that: (1) a State or Indian tribe shall not notify the party against whom a protection order has been made that the protection order has been registered or filed in the State or tribal jurisdiction unless requested to do so by the party protected under that order; and (2) nothing in this title may be construed to require prior filing or registration of such orders in the enforcing State as a prerequisite to enforcement by such State. Directs that a protection order that is otherwise consistent with this title shall be accorded full faith and credit and enforced notwithstanding the failure to provide notice to the party against whom the order is made of its registration or filing in the enforcing State or Indian tribe. (Sec. 102) Amends such Act to designate State, local, and Indian tribal courts as eligible grantees in the program to combat violent crimes against women. Revises allocation percentages for police and prosecutors, victim services, and State and local courts (not less than 25 percent, 30 percent, and ten percent, respectively). Amends the Equal Justice for Women in the Courts Act to expand training that may be provided under domestic violence training grants to include training with respect to issues concerning individuals with disabilities. Authorizes appropriations from the Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund through FY 2002. Includes State, local, and tribal courts among the grantees eligible for Federal grants to encourage arrest policies. Earmarks a minimum of five percent of the total amount available for grants each fiscal year for grants to Indian tribal governments. (Sec. 103) Reauthorizes appropriations through FY 2002 for grants to combat violent crimes against women. Directs the Attorney General to make grants to State domestic violence and sexual assault coalitions for coordinating State victim services activities and for coordinating with Federal, State, and local entities engaged in violence against women activities. (Sec. 104) Instructs the Attorney General to transfer flunitrazepam (the "date-rape" drug) from schedule IV of the Controlled Substances Act to schedule I (the strictest level of Federal drug penalty and control). (Sec. 105) Reauthorizes appropriations through FY 2002 for grants to encourage arrest policies. (Sec. 106) Amends the Federal criminal code to provide that any person who, while employed by or accompanying the armed forces outside of the United States, engages in conduct that would constitute a domestic violence or sexual assault offense if the conduct had been engaged in within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, shall be subject to prosecution in a U.S. district court. Sets forth provisions regarding concurrent jurisdiction and priority of exercise of jurisdiction. Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to designate and authorize any individual serving in a law enforcement position in the Department of Defense to arrest such a person outside of the United States if there is probable cause to believe that such person committed such an offense. Provides for the release of such arrested persons to civilian law enforcement authorities in specified circumstances. Provides for delivery of such persons to the appropriate authorities of a foreign country if: (1) delivery is requested for trial for such conduct as an offense under the laws of that country; and (2) delivery is authorized by a treaty or other international agreement to which the United States is a party. Requires the Secretary of the military department concerned to transmit to the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation a copy of records of any penal actions taken, including certain nonjudicial punishments imposed, against a member of the armed forces who is discharged, dismissed, or released from active duty. (Sec. 107) Prohibits and sets penalties for willfully causing bodily injury to any person or attempting, through the use of fire, a firearm, or an explosive device, to cause bodily injury to any person, whether or not acting under color of law, because of: (1) the actual or perceived race, color, religion, or national origin of any person; or (2) the actual or perceived religion, gender, sexual orientation, or disability of any person if, in connection with the offense, the defendant or the victim travels in interstate or foreign commerce, uses a facility or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce, or engages in any activity affecting interstate or foreign commerce, or the offense is in or affects such commerce. Authorizes appropriations to the Departments of the Treasury and of Justice through FY 2002 to increase the number of personnel to prevent and respond to such alleged violations. Directs the United States Sentencing Commission to study and, if appropriate, amend the Federal sentencing guidelines to provide sentencing enhancements for adult defendants who recruit juveniles to assist in the commission of hate crimes. Directs the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the Department of Justice to make grants to State and local programs designed to combat hate crimes committed by juveniles. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 108) Amends the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 to reauthorize through FY 2002: (1) rural domestic violence and child abuse enforcement grants (and allots not less than five percent of the total made available for each fiscal year for grants to Indian tribal governments); and (2) national stalker and domestic violence reduction grants. (Sec. 110) Modifies Federal criminal code provisions regarding interstate domestic violence, interstate stalking, and interstate violation of a protective order to cover situations where persons travel in interstate or foreign commerce or to or from Indian country. Deems a tribal court, for purposes of full faith and credit provisions, to have jurisdiction over any activity occurring in Indian country. Title II: Strengthening Services to Victims of Violence - Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to private and nonprofit entities, publicly funded organizations not acting in a governmental capacity, and Indian tribal governments and affiliated organizations, to: (1) implement, expand, and establish cooperative efforts and projects between domestic violence and sexual assault victim advocacy organizations and civil legal assistance providers to strengthen a broad range of civil legal assistance for victims of domestic violence, stalking, and sexual assault; (2) implement, expand, and establish efforts and projects to strengthen a broad range of civil legal assistance for victims of domestic violence, stalking, and sexual assault by organizations with a demonstrated history of providing direct legal or advocacy services on behalf of these victims; and (3) provide training, technical assistance, and data collection to improve the capacity of grantees and other entities to offer civil legal assistance to victims of domestic violence, stalking, and sexual assault. Authorizes the Attorney General to: (1) make a grant to establish, operate, and maintain a national computer database of programs that provide civil legal assistance to victims of domestic violence, stalking, and sexual assault; and (2) evaluate the grants funded under this title through contracts or other arrangements with entities expert on domestic violence, stalking, and sexual assault and on evaluation research. Authorizes appropriations from the Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund to carry out this title through FY 2002, with at least five percent of available amounts in each fiscal year used for grants for programs that assist victims of domestic violence, stalking, and sexual assault on lands within the jurisdiction of an Indian tribe. (Sec. 202) Amends the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act with respect to State demonstration grants for programs and projects to prevent family violence and provide immediate shelter and related assistance to victims. Requires grant applicants to provide documentation, including memoranda of understanding, of the specific involvement of the State domestic violence coalition and other knowledgeable individuals and interested organizations, in the development of the application. Earmarks funds to provide emergency assistance directly to victims of family violence, or their dependents, who are in the process of fleeing an abusive situation. Changes from a formula amount to $500,000 the minimum allotment to each State for such grants. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to Indian tribes and organizations from any sums not distributed to them. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to private nonprofit organizations for information, training, and technical assistance initiatives in specified subject areas. Authorizes appropriations under such Act through FY 2002. Revises the formula for the allocation of appropriations for grants for State coalitions. Directs the Secretary to conduct a nationwide needs assessment relating to family violence prevention and services programs. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to up to ten State domestic violence coalitions, and up to ten local entities that carry out domestic violence programs providing shelter or related assistance, to develop and implement model community intervention strategies to address family violence in underserved populations. Prescribes formulae for the redistribution of funds available due to certain limitations. (Sec. 203) Prohibits any insurer from, directly or indirectly, taking any adverse action against: (1) an innocent insured; or (2) an applicant or insured on the basis that the applicant or insured, or any person employed by the applicant or insured or with whom the applicant or insured is known to have a relationship or association is, has been, or may be the subject of abuse. Defines an innocent insured as a subject of abuse insured under the same policy as the abuser, but who is not (in light of all the facts and circumstances) the cause of any claim incurred or that may incur. Requires any insurer taking an adverse action against a known subject of abuse to advise the applicant or insured in writing of the specific reasons for the action. Empowers the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to enforce such prohibitions and policy. Provides for a private action against an insurer by an applicant or insured affected by a violation of this Act. (Sec. 204) Amends the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act to extend through FY 2002 the authorization of appropriations for the national domestic violence hotline. (Sec. 205) Amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to extend through FY 2002 and increase the authorization of appropriations for Federal victims' counselors. (Sec. 206) Amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to entitle employees to leave to: (1) address domestic violence and its effects; or (2) care for a child or parent of the employee who is addressing domestic violence and its effects. Authorizes an employer to require an employee to provide documentation or other corroborating evidence. Amends Federal civil service law to entitle Federal employees to take such leave, subject to the same requirements. (Sec. 207) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to authorize unemployment compensation where an individual is separated from employment due to circumstances directly resulting from the individual's experience of domestic violence. Amends the Social Security Act to require State laws to provide for methods of administration that will ensure that claims reviewers and hearing personnel are adequately trained in the nature and dynamics of claims for unemployment compensation based on domestic violence, including methods of ascertaining and keeping information confidential. (Sec. 208) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 with respect to aliens who have been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty to provide for waiver of certain immigration requirements. (Sec. 209) Amends the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 to add a new Subtitle H (Elder Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation, Including Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Against Older Individuals). Directs the Attorney General to: (1) make grants to law school clinical programs for the purposes of funding the inclusion of cases addressing issues of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, including domestic violence, and sexual assault, against older individuals; and (2) develop curricula and offer, or provide for the offering of, training programs to assist law enforcement officers and prosecutors in recognizing, addressing, investigating, and prosecuting instances of such abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act and the Older Americans Act of 1965 with respect to programs addressing such issues, including related training for health professionals. Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to authorize appropriations for programs and activities for the prevention of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Requires the Secretary to make grants to: (1) support projects in local communities to coordinate activities concerning intervention in and prevention of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, including domestic violence, and sexual assault, against older individuals; and (2) develop and implement outreach programs directed toward assisting older individuals who are victims of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, including those in senior housing complexes and senior centers. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Public Health Service Act (as amended by the Health Professions Education Partnerships Act of 1998) to require the Secretary to give preference in the award of certain grants and contracts to any health professions educational entity that requires, as a condition of receiving a degree or certificate, that each student have had significant training in the identification and referral of victims of elder abuse and neglect. Title III: Limiting the Effects of Violence on Children - Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to States and Indian tribal governments to enable them to enter into contracts and cooperative agreements to assist public or private nonprofit entities in establishing and operating supervised visitation centers for purposes of facilitating supervised visitation and visitation exchange of children by and between parents. Requires that priority be given to States that consider domestic violence in making a custody decision and require findings on the record. (Sec. 302) Directs the Attorney General to study and report to Congress on Federal and State laws relating to child custody, including the Parental Kidnaping Prevention Act of 1980, and their effect on child custody cases in which domestic violence is a factor. Requires such study to examine the sufficiency of defenses to parental abduction charges available in cases involving domestic violence, and the burdens and risks encountered by victims of domestic violence arising from compliance with the full faith and credit (and judicial jurisdiction) requirements of that Act. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 303) Amends the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act to authorize appropriations for grants through FY 2002. Directs the Secretary to compile annually and disseminate, especially to community-based programs (including domestic violence and sexual assault programs), specified information about the use of amounts expended and the projects funded under such Act. (Sec. 304) Amends the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 to authorize appropriations through FY 2002 for: (1) the court-appointed special advocate program; (2) child abuse training programs for judicial personnel and practitioners; and (3) grants for televised testimony. Directs the Attorney General to compile annually and disseminate, especially to community-based programs (including domestic violence and sexual assault programs), specified information about the use of amounts expended and the projects funded under such Act. Title IV: Strengthening Education and Training to Combat Violence Against Women - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in awarding grants or contracts for health professions and nurse education, to give preference to a relevant health professions entity that requires, as a condition of receiving a degree or certificate, that a student has had significant training in the identification, examination, treatment, and referral of victims of domestic violence. (Sec. 401) Defines relevant health professions entity as a school of medicine, a school of osteopathic medicine, a graduate program in mental health practice, a school of nursing, a program for the training of physician assistants, or a program for the training of allied health professionals. (Sec. 402) Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants for the development and dissemination of model programs to provide education and training in appropriate and effective responses to victims of domestic violence and victims of sexual assault (including, as appropriate, the effects of domestic violence on children) to individuals (other than law enforcement officers and prosecutors) who are likely to come into contact with such victims during the course of their employment. Limits such grants to public and private nonprofit entities that have: (1) nationally recognized expertise in the areas of domestic violence and sexual assault; and (2) a record of commitment and quality responses to reduce domestic violence and sexual assault. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 403) Requires States to use certain transferred funds for rape prevention and education programs conducted by rape crisis centers, State sexual assault coalitions, and other public and private nonprofit entities for: (1) educational seminars; (2) hotlines; (3) training programs for professionals; (4) the preparation of informational material; (5) education and training programs for students and campus personnel designed to reduce the incidence of sexual assault at colleges and universities; and (6) other efforts to increase awareness of, or to help prevent, sexual assault, including efforts to increase awareness in underserved communities and awareness among individuals with disabilities. Requires at least 25 percent of grant funds are used for educational programs targeted for middle school, junior high, and high school students. Directs the Secretary, through the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to establish a National Resource Center on Sexual Assault (with a central resource library) to provide resource information, policy, training, and technical assistance to Federal, State, and Indian tribal agencies, as well as to State sexual assault coalitions and local sexual assault programs and to other professionals and interested parties on issues relating to sexual assault. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 404) Directs the Secretary to provide grants to individuals or organizations to carry out educational programs for elementary schools, middle schools, secondary schools, or institutions of higher education with respect to information regarding, and prevention of, domestic violence and violence among intimate partners. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 405) Directs the Attorney General to make grants to States and nongovernmental private entities to provide education and technical assistance for the purpose of providing training, consultation, and information on violence, abuse, and sexual assault against women who are individuals with disabilities. Authorizes appropriations for such grants through FY 2002. (Sec. 406) Amends the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act to make grants to groups that provide services to or advocate on behalf of individuals with disabilities eligible for demonstration grants for community initiatives. Authorizes appropriations for such grants through FY 2002. (Sec. 407) Directs the Attorney General to establish a multidisciplinary, multiagency national commission to: (1) evaluate standards of training and practice for licensed health care professionals performing sexual assault forensic examinations, and develop a national recommended training standard; (2) recommend minimum sexual assault forensic examination training for all health care students; (3) review national, State, and local protocols on sexual assault for forensic examinations, and develop a recommended national protocol and a mechanism for nationwide dissemination; and (4) study and evaluate State procedures for payment of forensic examinations for victims of sexual assault, and establish a recommended Federal protocol for such payment. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 408) Authorizes the Attorney General to make a grant to a private, nonprofit entity meeting certain requirements to establish a national clearinghouse and resource center to provide information and assistance to employers and labor organizations on appropriate workplace responses to domestic violence and sexual assault. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 409) Amends the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 to direct the Secretary to make grants to entities, including domestic violence and sexual assault organizations, research organizations, and academic institutions, to: (1) support specified research and evaluation of education, prevention, and intervention programs on violent behavior against women; and (2) address gaps in research and knowledge about violence against women, including violence against women in underserved communities. Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to report to Congress on: (1) Federal and State sentences for homicides or assaults in which the victim was a spouse, former spouse, or intimate partner of the offender; (2) the effect of illicit drugs and alcohol on domestic violence and the sentences imposed for offenses involving them in which domestic violence occurred; (3) the extent to which acts of domestic violence committed against the offender, including coercion, may have contributed to the commission of an offense; (4) an analysis delineated by race, gender, type of offense, and any other categories that would be useful for understanding the problem of domestic violence; and (5) recommendations with respect to all such offenses, including any basis for a downward adjustment in any applicable Federal sentencing guidelines determination. Directs the Secretary to make grants to nonprofit entities, including sexual assault organizations, research organizations, and academic institutions, in order to gather qualitative and quantitative data on the experiences of minors and adults who become pregnant as a result of sexual assault within State health care, judicial, and social services systems. Requires the Attorney General to study and report to Congress on the status of the law with respect to rape and sexual assault offenses and the effectiveness of the implementation of laws in addressing such crimes and protecting their victims. Authorizes appropriations. Title V: Extension of Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund - Amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to authorize appropriations to the Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund through FY 2002. Reduces discretionary spending limits for FY 2001 and 2002 in the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) by specified offsetting amounts.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Authorizes the President to provide Fulbright scholarships for Cuban nationals for graduate study in public health, public policy, economics, law, or other field of social science, under the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961. Prohibits Cuban Government officials, or members of their immediate families, from being eligible for such scholarships. Provides that such scholarship-making authority supercedes any existing law. Makes specified amounts under such Act in FY 2000 through 2004 available for such scholarships, for up to 20 scholarships in FY 2000, 25 in FY 2001, and 35 in each of FY 2002 through 2004.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Authorizes the President, subject to specified conditions, to provide scholarships under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (relating to assistance to the independent states of the former Soviet Union) for 100 nationals of the independent states of the former Soviet Union seeking to commence graduate study in a six-year program in any field of social science. Sets forth specified allocations of funds for such scholarships for FY 2000 through 2009.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 1999 - Title I: Reduction of Special Interest Influence - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) with respect to "soft money" to, among other changes: (1) prohibit a national committee of a political party (including specified related entities) from soliciting or receiving contributions or making expenditures not subject to FECA; (2) require a State, district, or local committee of a political party to make Federal election year expenditures (with exceptions) for specified Federal election activities from funds subject to FECA; (3) prohibit a national, State, district, or local committee from soliciting or donating funds to a tax-exempt organization; and (4) prohibit an incumbent or candidate for Federal office from soliciting or receiving funds not subject to FECA, including funds for any Federal election activity. (Sec. 102) Establishes an individual annual limit of $10,000 for State committee contributions. Increases the aggregate individual contribution limit to $10,000. (Sec. 103) Requires national and State committees to report all receipts and disbursements. Repeals the building fund exception to the definition of contribution. Title II: Independent and Coordinated Expenditures - Subtitle A: Electioneering Communications - Amends FECA to: (1) require every person who makes a disbursement for broadcast electioneering communications, as defined, in an aggregate amount in excess of $10,000 per year to file, with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), a statement containing specified outlined information; (2) treat payment for any broadcast electioneering communication that is coordinated with a candidate or an authorized committee of such candidate, a Federal, State, or local political party or committee thereof, as a contribution to such candidate and as an expenditure by such candidate; and (3) set forth special operating rules prohibiting corporate and labor disbursements for electioneering communications. Subtitle B: Independent and Coordinated Expenditures - Amends FECA: (1) to define the term "independent expenditure" as an expenditure by a person expressly advocating the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate and that is not provided in coordination with a candidate; (2) regarding independent expenditure reporting requirements; (3) to revise the penalty for knowing and willful violations Act involving statements by other than political committees, prohibiting conciliation agreements and authorizing a civil action for relief in such situations; (4) to prohibit a party making both independent and coordinated expenditures with respect to a candidate during the same election cycle; (5) to define the term "coordinated activity" to mean anything of value provided by a person in coordination with a candidate for the purpose of influencing a Federal election in which such candidate seeks nomination or election to Federal office (with specific listed examples); and (6) to consider such a coordinated activity to be a contribution to the candidate, and in the case of a limitation on expenditures, treats such activity as an expenditure by the candidate. Title III: Disclosure - Amends FECA with regard to the use of computers and fax machines in filing FEC reports to require filing in an electronic form accessible by computers if there are, or there is a reason to expect to have, aggregate contributions or expenditures in excess of a FEC- determined threshold amount. Directs the FEC to make such a report publicly accessible on the Internet within 24 hours of its receipt. Requires designations, statements, and reports filed by Senate candidates to be filed directly with the FEC. (Sec. 302) Prohibits the treasurer of a candidate's authorized committee from depositing, except in an escrow account, or otherwise negotiating a contribution from a person who makes an aggregate amount of contributions in excess of $200 during a calendar year unless the treasurer verifies specified contributor information. (Sec. 303) Amends audit provisions, authorizing FEC random audits and investigations to ensure voluntary FECA compliance. (Sec. 304) Modifies reporting requirements for contributions of $50 or more. (Sec. 305) Requires the name of each authorized committee to include the name of the candidate who authorized the committee and prohibits a political committee that is not an authorized committee (except in the case of a national, State, or local party committee) from using the name of any candidate in any activity on behalf of the committee in such a context as to suggest that the committee is an authorized committee of the candidate or that the use of the candidate's name has been authorized by the candidate. (Sec. 306) Prohibits any person from soliciting contributions by falsely representing himself or herself as a candidate or as a representative of a candidate, a political committee, or a political party. (Sec. 307) Sets forth provisions governing soft money disbursements of persons other than political parties. Defines the term "generic campaign activity" as an activity that promotes a political party and does not promote a candidate or non- Federal candidate. (Sec. 308) Revises campaign advertising provisions, establishing specified requirements for printed communications, and adding additional provisions governing broadcast and cablecast communications. Title IV: Personal Wealth Option - Amends FECA to establish a voluntary personal funds expenditure limit for eligible Senate candidates in primary and general elections, provided the candidate files with FEC a declaration that the candidate and the candidate's authorized committees will not exceed such limit. Sets the voluntary personal funds expenditure limit at $50,000. Gives the FEC authority to certify such a declaration. (Sec. 402) Exempts such certified candidates from specified FECA requirements. Title V: Miscellaneous - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to declare it to be an unfair labor practice for a labor organization to receive payments from an employee pursuant to an agreement requiring such non-member employee to make payments in lieu of organization dues or fees without establishing a specified objection procedure under which the non-member's fees are reduced by the percent that would be used to support political activities (thus codifying the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Communications Workers of America et al. v. Beck et al). (Sec. 502) Amends FECA to revise provisions on permitted and prohibited uses of contributed amounts by candidates and incumbents for certain purposes. Specifies prohibited kinds of conversion of such funds to personal use. (Sec. 503) Revises Federal law concerning permitted time frames for mailing franked mail to prohibit any mass mailing as franked mail during a year in which there will be an election for the seat held by the Member of Congress during the period between January 1 of that year and the date of the general election for that Office, unless the Member has made a public announcement that the Member will not be a candidate for reelection to that year or for election to any other Federal office. (Sec. 504) Amends the Federal criminal code to revise the prohibition against fundraising on Federal property. Prohibits an officer or employee of the Federal Government, including the President, Vice President, and Members, from soliciting a donation of money or other thing of value in connection with a Federal, State, or local election from any person while in any room or building occupied in the discharge of official duties by a Federal officer or employee. Imposes on violators a monetary penalty, imprisonment, or both. Excepts from the prohibition contributions received by the staff of the Executive Office of the President. (Sec. 505) Amends FECA to double the penalties for knowing and willful violations of FECA, the Presidential Election Campaign Fund Act (PECFA), and the Presidential Primary Matching Payment Account Act (such Acts). Permits conciliation agreements to correct or prevent such violations to include equitable remedies or penalties, including disgorgement of funds to the Treasury, or community service requirements (including requirements to participate in public education programs). Sets forth requirements for late filing of FECA reports, including requiring establishment of mandatory monetary penalties. (Sec. 506) Revises the ban on contributions by foreign nationals to, among other things, include a prohibition on donations by foreign nationals. (Sec. 507) Prohibits minors (age 17 or younger) from making contributions to candidates or contributions or donations to committees of political parties. (Sec. 508) Permits FEC to: (1) order expedited proceedings for certain complaints; and (2) refer, at any time, to the Attorney General possible violations of such Acts. (Sec. 509) Modifies the basis for mandatory FEC initiation of enforcement proceedings upon receipt of a complaint alleging a violation of such Acts by replacing "has reason to believe" a violation has been or is about to be committed with "has reason to investigate whether" such a violation has been or is about to be committed. Title VI: Severability; Constitutionality; Effective Date; Regulations - Sets forth provisions regarding severability, review of constitutional issues, effective date, and FEC regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Brownfield Remediation and Environmental Cleanup Title II: Prospective Purchasers Title III: Innocent Landowners Title IV: Contiguous Properties Brownfields and Environmental Cleanup Act of 1999 - Title I: Brownfield Remediation and Environmental Cleanup - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a program to provide grants to States or local governments to inventory and conduct site assessments of brownfield sites. Defines a "brownfield site" as a facility that has or is suspected of having environmental contamination that: (1) could prevent the timely use, development, reuse, or redevelopment of the facility; and (2) is relatively limited in scope or severity and can be comprehensively characterized and readily analyzed. (Sec. 103) Directs the Administrator to establish a program to provide grants to State and local governments for capitalization of loan programs for brownfield site cleanup by either the State or locality or by an owner or prospective purchaser. (Sec. 104) Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to authorize the Administrator to award grants, cooperative agreements, or contracts or provide technical assistance to States, Indian tribes, political subdivisions, and other entities for training, technology transfer, and information dissemination programs to strengthen environmental response activities. (Sec. 105) Requires the Administrator to carry out a program to provide financial assistance for brownfield training programs. (Sec. 106) Makes amounts in the Hazardous Substance Superfund available to carry out the grant and assistance programs of this Act. (Sec. 107) Requires reports to specified congressional committees regarding the programs established under this title. (Sec. 108) Imposes funding limitations, including a restriction on use of funds to meet Federal cost-sharing requirements and a prohibition on the use of grants to pay fines or penalties. (Sec. 111) Authorizes appropriations to carry out the programs established under this title. Title II: Prospective Purchasers - Amends CERCLA to absolve from liability for response actions bona fide prospective purchasers to the extent liability at a facility for a release or threat thereof is based solely on ownership or operation of a facility. Gives a lien upon a facility to the United States for unrecovered response costs in any case in which there are such unrecovered costs for which the owner is not liable by reason of this Act and the facility's fair market value has increased above that which existed 180 days before the action was taken. Title III: Innocent Landowners - Amends CERCLA, with respect to defenses to liability of an owner of after-acquired property, to deem a person to have made (under current law, "undertaken") appropriate inquiry into the property's previous ownership and uses if the person establishes that an environmental site assessment was conducted which meets specified requirements (compliance with an American Society for Testing and Materials standard or with standards issued by the President) and the person fulfills certain responsibilities concerning information compilation, exercise of appropriate care with respect to hazardous substances at the facility, cooperation with those conducting response actions, and compliance with land use or activity restrictions. Deems the appropriate inquiry requirements to be satisfied by a site inspection and title search that reveal no basis for further investigation in the case of property for residential or similar use purchased by a nongovernmental or noncommercial entity. Title IV: Contiguous Properties - Exempts from liability under CERCLA certain owners or operators of real property contiguous to property on which there has been a release or threatened release. Authorizes the President to issue an assurance that no enforcement action will be initiated against such individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Control of Congressional Campaign Spending Subtitle A: Senate Election Campaign spending Limits and Benefits Subtitle B: General Provisions Title II: Independent Expenditures Title III: Expenditures Subtitle A: Personal Funds; Credit Subtitle B: Soft Money of Political Parties Subtitle C: Soft Money of Persons Other Than Political Parties Title IV: Contributions Title V: Authorities and Duties of the Federal Election Commission Title VI: Miscellaneous Title VII: Effective Dates; Authorizations Congressional Election Campaign Spending Limit and Reform Act of 1999 - Title I: Control of Congressional Campaign Spending - Subtitle A: Senate Election Campaign Spending Limits and Benefits - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) to make a Senate candidate eligible for FECA benefits if the candidate: (1) files a primary election eligibility declaration; (2) files a general election eligibility certification and declaration; and (3) meets certain contribution and expenditure limits. Limits Senate primary expenditures for a candidate (or his or her authorized committees) to the lesser of: (1) 67 percent of the general election expenditure limit; or (2) $2.75 million. Limits runoff expenditures. Sets a threshold contribution amount which triggers application of such primary and runoff limits. Limits the use by a Senate candidate (or authorized committees), during an entire election cycle, of the candidate's personal (or family) funds (including debt). Limits aggregate general election expenditures by an eligible Senate candidate (or authorized committees) to the lesser of: (1) $5.5 million; or (2) the greater of $1.2 million, or $400,000 plus 30 cents times the voting age population up to 4 million and 25 cents times the voting age population over 4 million. Exempts from the general election expenditure limit qualified accounting or legal expenditures. Entitles eligible Senate candidates to certain broadcast media rates, and in certain circumstances, payments compensating for independent expenditures and excess expenditures on behalf of the candidate's opponent. Requires the Federal Election Commission (Commission) to certify an eligible Senate candidate within 48 hours after his or her application to the Secretary of the Senate. Requires the Commission to examine and audit, for FECA compliance, the campaign accounts of all candidates in five percent of the elections to the Senate in which there was an eligible Senate candidate on the ballot. Requires candidates to refund to the Commission any excess payments or expenditures. Sets civil penalties for excess expenditures and contributions. Provides for judicial review of Commission actions and requires Commission reports to the Senate after each general election. Requires closed captioning for eligible Senate candidates' television broadcasts. Authorizes reduced payments to an eligible Senate candidate under circumstances of insufficient funds. (Sec. 102) Sets forth reporting requirements for Senate candidates not eligible for FECA benefits. Requires reports to the Secretary within two days after aggregate contributions have been received and aggregate expenditures have been made or obligated to be made in excess of FECA limits. Requires any candidate for the Senate who, during the election cycle, expends more than the personal funds expenditure limit to report to the Secretary of the Senate within two days after expenditures have been made or loans incurred in excess of the personal funds expenditure limit. Requires certain expenditure reports from any Senate candidate who held Federal, State, or local office during the same election cycle, and made any expenditures, before becoming a Senate candidate, that would have been treated as Senate candidate expenditures. (Sec. 103) Requires Senate candidates ineligible for FECA benefits to place on every paid or authorized political commercial or communication the declaration: "This candidate has not agreed to voluntary campaign spending limits." (Sec. 104) Sets forth provisions governing excess campaign funds of Senate candidates. (Sec. 105) Sets forth a contribution limit for an eligible Senate candidate (and the candidate's authorized political committees) whose opponent fails to comply with the expenditure limits and has received contributions in excess of ten percent of the general election limits or has expended personal funds in excess of ten percent of the general election limits. Subtitle B: General Provisions - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require a broadcast station to make broadcast time available to all House and Senate candidates in the last 30 (currently 45) days before a primary at the lowest unit charge of the station for the same amount of time (currently, the same class and amount of time) for the same period on the same date. Allows Senate candidates to purchase broadcast time at 50 percent of the lowest unit rate for the 30 days before a primary or runoff election and 60 days before a general election. Prohibits broadcasters from preempting advertisements sold to political candidates at the lowest unit rate, unless the preemption is beyond the broadcaster's control. (Sec. 112) Amends FECA to set forth reporting requirements for certain independent expenditures. (Sec. 113) Makes certain amendments with regard to campaign advertising that includes certain requirements for printed as well as broadcast and cablecast communications. (Sec. 114) Adds various definitions to FECA for such specified terms as "general election," "general election period," and "primary election period." (Sec. 115) Amends Federal postal law to prohibit a Senator who is a candidate for election to any public office from making a mass mailing under the frank during the calendar year of any primary or general election for such office. Title II: Independent Expenditures - Amends FECA to define "independent expenditure" as an expenditure by a person other than a candidate or candidate's authorized committee: (1) that is made for a communication that contains express advocacy; and (2) is made without the participation or cooperation of and without coordination with a candidate. Defines the following terms: (1)"express advocacy"; and (2) "without the participation or cooperation of and without coordination with a candidate." (Sec. 202) Defines "coordinated expenditure" to mean an expenditure that is made by a person other than the candidate and that is not an independent expenditure. Prohibits political party committees from making both a coordinated expenditure and an independent expenditure to the same candidate during a single election cycle. Requires political party committees to file with the Commission a certification signed by the treasurer stating whether the committee will make coordinated expenditures or independent expenditures to the candidate. Prohibits a party committee that certifies that it will make coordinated expenditures to a candidate from, in the same election cycle, making a transfer of funds to, or receiving a transfer of funds from, any other party committee that has certified that it will make independent expenditures to the candidate. (Sec. 203) Permits qualified nonprofit corporations to make independent expenditures. (Sec. 204) Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to provide for equal broadcast time, including notification and opportunity to purchase equal time on an independent expenditure basis. Title III: Expenditures - Subtitle A: Personal Funds; Credit - Amends FECA to prohibit the use of contributions after the date of a general election to repay loans to a candidate (or authorized committee) by the candidate or by members of the candidate's family. (Sec. 302) Treats as a contribution any extension of credit for goods or services relating to general political advertising of more than $1,000 for more than 60 days to candidates for Federal office (or authorized committees). Subtitle B: Soft Money of Political Parties - Amends FECA to exclude from the definition of "contribution" the preparation and distribution, by volunteers, of materials in connection with State and local party voter registration and get-out-the-vote activities. (Sec. 312) Permits maximum contributions to a State Party Grassroots Fund of: (1) $20,000 by an individual; and (2) $15,000 from a multicandidate committee. Establishes an overall $60,000 annual limit on individual contributions, including specified limits for: (1) candidates and their political committees; and (2) State committees. (Sec. 313) Provides for the treatment of: (1) any amount solicited, received, or expended directly or indirectly by a national, State, district, or local committee of a political party (including any subordinate committee) with respect to an activity (such as voter registration and get-out-the vote activities among others) which is in connection with an election to Federal office as a contribution subject to certain limitations, prohibitions, and reporting requirements; (2) any amount to raise funds that are used, in whole or in part, in connection with such activities as an expenditure subject to certain limitations, prohibitions, and reporting requirements; and (3) any get-out-the-vote activity for a State and local candidate, or for a ballot measure conducted by a State, district, or local committee of a political party as an expenditure subject to certain limitations, prohibitions, and reporting requirements. Limits the expenditures for which a State committee may use its State Party Grassroots Fund. (Sec. 314) Prohibits Federal candidates and officeholders from soliciting contributions: (1) not subject to FECA; and (2) on behalf of tax-exempt organizations, if a significant portion of the activities of the organization include voter registration or get-out-the-vote activities. (Sec. 315) Requires: (1) a national committee and a congressional campaign committee to report all receipts and disbursements whether or not in connection with a Federal election; and (2) other specified political committees to report all receipts and disbursements in connection with a Federal election. Subtitle C: Soft Money of Persons Other Than Political Parties - Requires that persons other than political parties who make (or obligate to make) aggregate disbursements totaling over $2,000 for specified election activities shall file a statement with the Commission within 48 hours after the disbursements or obligations are made, or in the case of disbursements or obligations that are made within 14 days of an election, on or before the 14th day before the election. Title IV: Contributions - Prohibits certain lobbyist contributions. (Sec. 402) Treats contributions by a dependent not of voting age as having been made by the individual on whom that dependent is a dependent. (Sec. 403) Prohibits a candidate for Federal office from accepting, with respect to any election, any contribution from a State or local political party committee (or subordinate committee) if such contribution, when added to the total of contributions previously accepted from all such committees of that political party, would cause the total amount of contributions to exceed the relevant contribution limitation. (Sec. 404) Makes it unlawful to use physical threat, intimidation, or taking or threatening to take other adverse action to: (1) coerce contributions or expenditures from another person; or (2) deter or prevent any person from filing a complaint, providing testimony, or otherwise cooperating with enforcement efforts under FECA; or (3) retaliate against any person who has filed a complaint, provided testimony, or otherwise cooperated with enforcement efforts under FECA. (Sec. 405) Prohibits acceptance by a candidate of cash contributions from any one person aggregating more than $100. Title V: Authorities and Duties of the Federal Election Commission - Authorizes the Commission to issue a regulation to require the filing of designations, statements, and reports using computers if the person has, or has reason to expect to have, aggregate contributions or expenditures in excess of a threshold amount determined by the Commission. Requires the Commission to prescribe a regulation allowing persons to file designations, statements, and reports using facsimile machines. (Sec. 502) Increases the threshold amount to $50 with respect to reporting the identification of certain contributors and disbursements. (Sec. 503) Authorizes the Commission to conduct random audits and investigations to ensure voluntary compliance. Extends the period during which a campaign audit of a candidate's authorized committee may be begun. (Sec. 504) Grants authority to the Commission, to seek at any time in a proceeding, a temporary restraining order or a temporary injunction if the Commission believes there is a substantial likelihood that a violation is occurring or is about to occur. (Sec. 505) Revises specified enforcement requirements to provide for: (1) increased monetary penalties; and (2) equitable remedies if authorized by a conciliation agreement with the Commission. Directs the Commission to establish a schedule of automatic monetary penalties for the late filing of reports. (Sec. 506) Repeals requirements authorizing the Commission to appear in and defend against any action initiated under FECA. Replaces them with requirements authorizing the Commission to appear on its own behalf in any action related to the exercise of its statutory duties or powers in any court as a party or amicus curiae. Revises a requirement respecting the powers of the Commission to initiate civil actions to permit the Commission to petition the Supreme Court for certiorari to review judgements or decrees entered with respect to actions in which the Commission appears. (Sec. 507) Revises requirements concerning the referral of suspected violations to the Attorney General. (Sec. 508) Revises certain powers of the Commission. Title VI: Miscellaneous - Prohibits Federal candidates and officeholders from establishing, maintaining, or controlling any political committee (such as a "leadership committee") other than a principal campaign committee of the candidate, authorized committee, party committee, or other political committee designated as an authorized committee. (Sec. 602) Directs the Commission to study and report to the Congress on the feasibility of developing a system by which persons with disabilities could vote by telephone. (Sec. 603) Exempts certain tax-exempt organizations from specified corporate expenditure limits. (Sec. 604) Provides that with respect to any provision of FECA that places a requirement or prohibition on any person acting in a particular capacity, any person who knowingly aids or abets the person in that capacity in violating that provision may be proceeded against as a principal in the violation. (Sec. 605) Requires exact copies of campaign advertising that refers to a candidate's opponent to be filed with the Commission and the Secretary of State of the candidate's State. (Sec. 606) Amends Federal postal law to prohibit a Member of Congress, during an election year, from using the franking privilege for a mass mailing from January 1 until the general election date. (Sec. 607) Amends FECA to make it unlawful for: (1) foreign nationals to make or promise to make donations of money or other things of value in connection with a Federal, State, or local election, or contributions or donations to a committee of a political party; or (2) any person to solicit, receive, or accept such contributions or donations from a foreign national. (Sec. 608) Requires that reports include a certification under penalty of perjury that the political committee has complied with foreign contribution and solicitation limitations. Title VII: Effective Dates; Authorizations - Sets forth the general effective date of this Act. Provides for direct, expedited appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court from any court rulings on the constitutionality of any provision of this Act or amendment made by it.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Safe and Fair Enforcement and Recall for Meat and Poultry Act (SAFER Meat and Poultry Act) - Amends the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products Inspection Act to: (1) require a person, other than a household consumer, who has reason to believe meat or poultry products to be adulterated or misbranded to so notify the Secretary of Agriculture; and (2) provide the Secretary with authority for voluntary and mandatory nondistribution and recall, withdrawal of inspectors from violating facilities, and civil penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Fair Minimum Wage Title II: Marriage Tax Penalty Relief Title III: Paycheck Fairness Title IV: Pension Reform Subtitle A: Pension Access and Coverage Subtitle B: Security Subtitle C: Portability Subtitle D: Comprehensive Subtitle E: Date for Adoption of Plan Amendments Title V: Save Social Security First Income Security Enhancement Act of 1999 - Title I: Fair Minimum Wage - Fair Minimum Wage Act of 1999 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to increase the Federal minimum wage (currently $5.15 per hour) to: (1) $5.65 an hour during the year beginning on September 1, 1999; and (2) $6.15 an hour beginning on September 1, 2000. (Sec. 103) Makes Federal minimum requirements applicable to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Title II: Marriage Tax Penalty Relief - Marriage Tax Penalty Relief Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to provide for a deduction for two-earner married couples to eliminate the marriage penalty. Allows such deduction, in the case of a joint return, in an amount equal to a specified applicable percentage of the qualified earned income of the spouse with the lower qualified earned income for the taxable year. Provides that such deduction is to be above-the-line. Requires that the earned income credit phaseout reflect such deduction. Title III: Paycheck Fairness - Paycheck Fairness Act - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to revise remedies for and enforcement of prohibitions against sex discrimination in the payment of wages (such FLSA prohibitions are also known as the Equal Pay Act). (Sec. 303) Amends FLSA to provide for enhanced enforcement of equal pay requirements, adding a nonretaliation requirement. Increases penalties for such violations. Provides for the Secretary of Labor to seek additional compensatory or punitive damages in such cases. (Sec. 304) Requires the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to train EEOC employees and affected individuals and entities on matters involving wage discrimination. (Sec. 305) Directs the Secretary to conduct studies and provide information to employers, labor organizations, and the general public concerning the means available to eliminate pay disparities between men and women, including convening a national summit and carrying out other specified activities. (Sec. 306) Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop guidelines for employer evaluations of job categories based on objective criteria, to be used voluntarily by employers to compare wages for different jobs to determine if pay scales adequately and fairly reflect each job's educational and skill requirements, independence, working conditions, and responsibility, in order to eliminate unfair pay disparities between occupations traditionally dominated by men or women; and (2) establish a program to recognize employers who use such guidelines to ensure that women are paid fairly in comparison to men without lowering men's wages. Authorizes the Secretary to provide technical assistance for employers to carry out such evaluations. (Sec. 307) Establishes the Robert Reich National Award for Pay Equity in the Workplace, which shall be evidenced by a medal. Sets forth criteria for specified types of entities to receive such an award. (Sec. 308) Expresses the sense of the Senate that the President should: (1) take appropriate steps to increase the amount of information available with respect to wage disparities; and (2) consider ways to collect such information that maximize its utility, protect individual privacy, and minimize reporting burdens. (Sec. 309) Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Pension Reform - Retirement Accessibility, Security, and Portability Act of 1999 - Subtitle A: Pension Access and Coverage - Chapter 1: Improved Access to Individual Retirement Savings - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to allow a tax credit for up to a maximum $500 of the qualified start-up costs of eligible small employers in establishing a qualified pension plan or qualified employer payroll deduction system. (Sec. 412) Provides for an exclusion from an employee's gross income of payroll deduction contributions to individual retirement accounts (IRAs). (Sec. 413) Provides for a nonrefundable tax credit for contributions to individual retirement plans. (Sec. 414) Allows the use without penalty of distributions from certain plans during periods of unemployment. Chapter 2: Secure Money Annuity or Retirement (SMART) Trusts - Establishes a defined benefit plan option for small businesses, to be known as secure money annuity or retirement (SMART) trusts. Chapter 3: Improved Fairness in Retirement Plan Benefits - Amends the IRC to require a specified minimum employer contribution to SIMPLE retirement accounts. Provides for an employer option to suspend contributions with 30-days' notice. Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) with respect to fiduciary duties in the case of such accounts. (Sec. 422) Amends the IRC to set forth various nondiscrimination rules for qualified cash or deferred arrangements and matching contributions. (Sec. 423) Increases from $75,000 to $80,000 per year specified compensation criteria for a highly compensated employee. Excludes specified categories of employees with respect to age, short length of service, and part-time service from the meaning of highly compensated employee. (Sec. 424) Includes multiemployer plans, as well as governmental plans, under specified provisions of IRC for: (1) special limitation rules relating to compensation limits; and (2) exemptions for survivor and disability benefits. (Sec. 425) Declares that compensation deferred under a mirror plan shall not be taken into account in applying certain limits (with respect to deferred compensation plans of State and local governments and tax-exempt organizations) to compensation deferred under any other deferred compensation plan. (Sec. 426) Amends specified Federal law relating to Federal employees to allow immediate participation in the Thrift Savings Plan for Federal employees by eliminating certain waiting periods. (Sec. 427) Amends IRC and ERISA to set a full funding limitation for multiemployer plans. (Sec. 428) Eliminates IRC partial termination rules for multiemployer plans. (Sec. 429) Replaces the 150 percent of current liability factor in the calculation of the full-funding limit with an incremental scale from 155 percent in 1998 to 170 percent in 2001, followed by zero in 2002 and succeeding years. Subtitle B: Security - Chapter 1: General Provisions - Amends ERISA to revise requirements for periodic pension benefits statements. (Sec. 432) Applies an ERISA requirement for annual, detailed investment reports to certain IRC section 401(k) plans. (Sec. 433) Directs the Secretary of Labor, in prescribing regulations for required information in such reports, to consider including specified types of information. (Sec. 434) Directs the Secretary to study and report to the Congress on: (1) the extent to which pension plans invest in collectibles; and (2) whether such investments present a risk to the pension security of the participants and beneficiaries of such plans. (Sec. 435) Amends IRC to prohibit qualified employer plans from making loans through credit cards and other intermediaries. (Sec. 436) Increases the amounts of multiemployer plan benefits guaranteed under ERISA. (Sec. 437) Increases the maximum amount of the civil penalty which may be assessed administratively for certain prohibited transactions. (Sec. 438) Amends ERISA with respect to substantial owner benefits to revise the phase-in of guarantee and the allocation of assets. (Sec. 439) Directs the Secretary to report annually to the President and the Congress on plans from which residual assets were distributed to employers (reversion report). Chapter 2: ERISA Enforcement - Amends ERISA enforcement provisions to change from mandatory to discretionary the Secretary's authority to impose certain civil penalties for breach of fiduciary responsibilities. (Sec. 442) Revises reporting and enforcement requirements for employee benefit plans. Requires plan administrators and accountants to notify the Secretary: (1) of specified irregularities; and (2) upon termination of the accountant. Authorizes the Secretary to impose civil penalties for failure to make such notifications. (Sec. 443) Sets forth additional ERISA requirements for qualified public accountants. (Sec. 444) Directs the Inspector General of the Department of Labor to study, and report to the Congress and the Secretary on, the need for regulatory standards and procedures to authorize the Secretary, in appropriate cases, to prohibit persons from serving as qualified accountants for purposes of specified annual reports. Chapter 3: Increase in Excise Tax on Employer Reversions - Amends the IRC to increase the excise tax on reversions of qualified employee benefit plan assets to employers. Subtitle C: Portability - Amends ERISA and the IRC to provide for faster vesting of employer matching contributions. (Sec. 452) Revises certain restrictions on distributions from IRC section 401(k) plans. (Sec. 453) Amends ERISA and the IRC with respect to an accrued benefit not to be decreased by plan amendment to revise the treatment of transfers between defined contribution plans. (Sec. 454) Amends ERISA rules requiring transfer of benefits of missing participants to direct the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to prescribe similar rules for multiemployer plans that terminate. Requires transfer of missing participants' plan benefits to the PBGC by certain plans not otherwise subject to ERISA enforcement provisions. (Sec. 455) Allows rollovers from and to the IRC section 403(b) plans. (Sec. 456) Amends the IRC to set forth requirements relating to rollover contributions from deferred compensation plans of State and local governments. (Sec. 457) Extends the IRC 60-day rollover period in the case of presidentially declared disasters and service in combat zones. (Sec. 458) Excludes from gross income, for certain IRC purposes, amounts involved in a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer to a defined benefit governmental plan, if such transfer is for: (1) purchase of service credit under such plan; or (2) a specified type of repayment. Subtitle D: Comprehensive Women's Pension Protection - Chapter 1: Pension Reform - Amends the IRC and ERISA to provide for the spouse's right to know specified distribution information relating to survivor annuities. Provides for the employee's right to know of the opportunity for elective contributions under IRC section 401(k) plans. (Sec. 462) Directs the Secretary of Labor to contract with an independent organization to create a women's pension toll-free phone number and contact. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 463) Amends the Social Security Act to modify the government pension offset with respect to certain insurance benefits for wives, husbands, widows, widowers, and mothers and fathers. (Sec. 464) Amends the IRC and ERISA to treat periods of family and medical leave, under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, as hours of service for purposes of pension participation and vesting. (Sec. 465) Amends the IRC to: (1) disallow integration for simplified employee pensions; and (2) provide for eventual repeal of certain pension integration rules. (Sec. 466) Amends the IRC and ERISA with respect to division of pension benefits upon divorce, at the former spouse's election, to deem any State divorce decree to be a domestic relations order specifying that half of the marital share of the participant's accrued benefit is to be provided to such former spouse. (Sec. 467) Amends the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (RRA) to entitle divorced spouses to railroad retirement annuities independent of the employee's actual entitlement. Chapter 2: Protection of Rights of Former Spouses to Pension Benefits Under Certain Government and Government-Sponsored Retirement Programs - Amends RRA to extend Tier II railroad retirement benefits to surviving former spouses pursuant to divorce agreements. (Sec. 472) Amends Federal civil service law with respect to survivor annuities for widows, widowers, and former spouses of Federal employees who die before attaining the age for deferred annuity under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). (Sec. 473) Amends Federal civil service law with respect to payment of lump-sum benefits to former spouses of Federal employees under CSRS and the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS). Chapter 3: Modifications of Joint and Survivor Annuity Requirements - Modifies ERISA and IRC requirements for joint and survivor annuities to provide for an alternative joint and two-thirds survivor annuity payable while both the participant and the spouse are alive. (Sec. 476) Requires spousal consent for distributions from the IRC section 401(k) plans. Subtitle E: Date for Adoption of Plan Amendments - Sets forth dates for adoption of plan amendments. Title V: Save Social Security First - Sets forth a point of order that prohibits any changes to the pay-as-you-go rule in the Senate until the Congress enacts legislation that ensures the long- term fiscal solvency of the Social Security Trust Funds.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the International Labor Organization's Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work is an important achievement that may help advance core labor standards in a competitive global economy; and (2) the President should use all means at the President's disposal to ensure that the Declaration and its Follow Up Mechanism evolve into an effective means of monitoring worldwide compliance with core labor standards.
United States · United States Congress · 16 October 1998
Amends the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 to extend, for an additional ten years, the authorization for the Upper Delaware Citizens Advisory Council.
United States · United States Congress · 10 October 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Extension of Expiring Provisions Subtitle A: Tax Provisions Subtitle B: Trade Provisions Title II: Other Tax Provisions Title III: Revenue Offset Title IV: Technical Corrections Tax Extension Act of 1998 - Title I: Extension of Expiring Provisions - Subtitle A: Tax Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to temporarily extend provisions concerning the: (1) research credit; (2) work opportunity credit; (3) welfare-to-work credit; (4) contribution of stock to private foundations; (5) subpart F exemption for active financing income; (6) credit for producing fuel from a nonconventional source; and (7) disclosure of return information on income contingent student loans. Subtitle B: Trade Provisions - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to extend the Generalized System of Preferences through December 31, 1999. Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize appropriations for trade adjustment assistance (TAA) for workers, firms, and the training of workers adversely affected by import competition under the North American Free Trade Agreement transitional adjustment assistance program. Terminates the TAA programs July 1, 1999. Title II: Other Tax Provisions - Provides, starting January 1, 2002, for the deduction of 100 percent of the health insurance costs of self-employed individuals. Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act to disregard specified payment options provided by the Emergency Farm Financial Relief Act. Permanently extends income averaging for farmers. Allows, for taxable year 1998, nonrefundable personal credits to fully offset regular tax liability. Title III: Revenue Offset - Amends provisions concerning liquidation of corporate subsidiaries to provide that if a corporation receives a distribution from a regulated investment company or a real estate investment trust which is considered as being in complete liquidation of such company or trust, then, notwithstanding other specified IRC provisions, such corporation shall recognize and treat as a dividend from such company or trust an amount equal to the deduction for dividends paid allowable to such company or trust by reason of such distribution. Title IV: Technical Corrections - Revises provisions of the IRC, the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, the Tax Reform Act of 1984, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, and title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 October 1998
Medicare Home Health Fair Payment Act of 1998 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, with respect to the computation formula of the interim system of limited payments for services provided by home health agencies, as amended by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, in order to: (1) create a new formula for cost reporting periods beginning on or after October 1, 1998 with the agency-specific per beneficiary annual limitation calculated on a different basis which still makes use of the agency's census division; (2) revise the rules for new providers for cost reporting periods beginning on or after October 1, 1998; (3) provide for a five percent increase in per visit cost limits for such cost reporting periods; (4) provide for a one year delay in establishment of a prospective payment system (PPS) for home health services and in implementation of the mandatory 15 percent reduction in cost and per beneficiary limits under such interim system; and (5) adjust the home health market basket update for home health services under PPS and such interim system, reducing it by a specified percentage for any cost reporting period beginning in FY 2000 or 2001, and increasing it by another specified percentage for any cost reporting period beginning in FY 2004. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat: (1) a taxpayer as having omitted a correct taxpayer identification number (TIN) for purposes of mathematical error assessment if information provided by the taxpayer on the return with respect to the individual whose TIN was provided differs from the information the Secretary of the Treasury obtains from the person issuing the TIN; and (2) as a mathematical error the inclusion on a return of a TIN if it is of an individual whose age affects the amount of the tax credit involved and the computation of such credit reflects the treatment of such individual as being of an age different from the individual's age based on such TIN. Adds the vaccine against rotavirus gastroenteritis to the list of taxable vaccines for Federal sales tax purposes. Limits specified liability losses for purposes of the net operating loss deduction to those attributable to a liability under a Federal or State law requiring the reclamation of land, decommissioning of a nuclear power plant (or any unit thereof), dismantlement of an offshore drilling platform, remediation of environmental contamination, or payment of workmen's compensation. Limits the rule waiving the accrual method requirement for any portion of payment amounts which will not be collected to persons performing services in the fields of health, law, engineering, architecture, accounting, actuarial science, performing arts, or consulting. Applies to any organization a significant trade or business of which is the lending of money the requirement of filing a return relating to the cancellation of indebtedness.
United States · United States Congress · 9 October 1998
Amends the Clean Air Act to require emissions standards of performance for new or modified fossil fuel-fired electric utility units to apply to grandfathered units (units that were not subject to standards set forth in Federal regulations pertaining to fossil fuel-fired steam generators for which construction is commenced after August 17, 1971, and certain other steam generating units or to subsequent standards for such units) that: (1) have the capacity to generate more than 25 megawatts of electrical output per hour; and (2) generate electricity that flows through transmission or connected facilities that cross State lines (including electricity in a transaction that for regulatory purposes is treated as an intrastate rather than an interstate transaction). Requires grandfathered units to comply with standards established before this Act's enactment within five years of this Act's enactment and within three years of enactment of any standard established after this Act's enactment. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, to provide an alternative means of complying with such standards, to: (1) establish national annual limitations for calendar year 2003 and subsequent years for each pollutant subject to standards at a level equal to the aggregate emissions of each pollutant that would result from application of the standards to all affected electric utility units; (2) allocate transferable allowances for such pollutants to such units in an annual quantity not to exceed such limitations based on each unit's share of the total electric generation from such units in each year; and (3) require grandfathered units to meet standards by emitting no more of each regulated pollutant than the quantity of allowances held by such units for the year.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1998
Federal Employee Flexibility Act of 1998 - Adds as an option under agency programs to encourage Federal employees to commute by means other than single-occupancy motor vehicles the provision of a taxable cash payment to such an employee in lieu of an agency-provided parking space.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1998
Amends the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 1997 to extend until October 15, 1998, the deadline for the Attorney General to develop an automated entry and exit control system (that will collect a record of departure for every alien departing the United States and match the records of departure with the record of the alien's arrival in the United States and enable the Attorney General to identify lawfully admitted nonimmigrants who remain in the United States beyond the period authorized by the Attorney General).
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1998
Condemns the repressive policies of the Government of the former Soviet Union during the Ukrainian Famine of 1932-1933. Expresses the sense of the Congress: (1) in remembrance of the victims of the Famine; and (2) that any supplemental material that will assist in disseminating information about the Famine should be compiled and made available worldwide.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 1998
Calls upon the President to: (1) pursue enhanced enforcement of U.S. trade laws with respect to the increase in steel imports into the United States, including imposition of offsetting duties, quantitative restrictions, and other appropriate remedial measures; (2) pursue with all methods at the President's disposal to achieve a more equitable sharing of the burden of accepting imports of finished steel products from Asia and the independent states of the former Soviet Union; (3) establish a task force that has responsibility for closely monitoring U.S. imports of steel; and (4) report to the Congress by January 5, 1999, with a comprehensive plan for responding to the increase in steel imports, including ways of limiting the deleterious effects on employment, prices, and investment in the U.S. steel industry.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1998
Excludes from gross income for Federal income and gift tax purposes any portions of amounts paid to David R. Kaczynski of Schenectady, New York, and his wife, Linda E. Patrik, for information leading to the arrest of Theodore J. Kaczynski in the "Unabomber" case which are used to: (1) pay attorney's fees in connection with the "Unabomber case;" or (2) benefit "Unabomber" victims and their families or any irrevocable trust established for them.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Assistance for Children Title II: Parent Grants Enhancing Family Life Act of 1998 - Title I: Assistance for Children - Amends title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to entitle States and Indian tribes to funds to establish second chance homes for custodial parents under age 19 and their children. Defines a second chance home as one with a supportive and supervised living arrangement in which such parents would be required to learn parenting skills, including child development, family budgeting, health and nutrition, and other skills to promote their long-term economic independence and the well-being of their children. Specifies funds for such program. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to submit recommendations to the Congress on the extent to which surplus Federal properties may be used for such homes. (Sec. 102) Amends SSA title IV (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) (TANF) to revise eligibility criteria for children with special needs with respect to the adoption assistance program. Prohibits adoption assistance payments to parents of any child with special needs who is not a U.S. citizen or resident, and was adopted outside the United States or was brought into the United States in order to be adopted. Allows such payments for such a child placed in foster care subsequent to the failure of the initial adoption by such parents. Requires a State to spend, for specified services (including post-adoption services) to children or families, an amount equal to the amount of any savings in State expenditures resulting from the application of revised eligibility criteria for children with special needs. Instructs the Secretary to approve at least three child welfare demonstration projects designed to test a per capita approach for the successful resolution of a foster care placement under which a private entity contracts to either restore a child in foster care to the child's parents or locate an adoptive placement. (Sec. 103) Amends SSA title IV to create part F (Assistance for Young Children) to establish a statutory mechanism for the Secretary to make allotments to eligible States to pay for the Federal share of the cost of State grants to local collaboratives for young child assistance activities. Requires a State to establish a State Early Learning Coordinating Board to receive the Federal allotment and make the grants. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Parent Grants - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make payments to enable a qualifying institution of higher education to make grants to certain custodial parents of a child under the age of six for career development and retraining after a period of child rearing. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1998
Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to: (1) repeal a provision which prohibits a State or local government from regulating the placement, construction, or modification of personal wireless service facilities (communications towers) on the basis of the environmental effects of frequency emissions from such facilities when such facilities comply with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations; (2) allow any person adversely affected by any final action or failure to act by a State or local government with respect to such facilities to commence an action in any court of competent jurisdiction within 30 days after exhaustion of any administrative remedies; (3) require that, in any action in which a person seeking to place, construct, or modify such a facility is a party, such person bear the burden of proof of its necessity; and (4) prohibit the FCC from adopting as a final rule a certain proposed rule which would preempt State and local zoning and land use restrictions on the siting, placement, and construction of broadcast station transmission facilities. Prohibits any provision of such Act from being interpreted to: (1) authorize any person to place, construct, or modify a broadcast or telecommunications tower in a manner that is inconsistent with State or local law or contrary to an official State decision if alternate technology is capable of delivering the broadcast or telecommunications signals without the use of such a tower; or (2) prohibit a State or local government from requiring a person seeking authority to locate such facilities within a local jurisdiction to produce appropriate documentation of compliance with FCC radio frequency exposure limits and aviation safety standards. Authorizes such State or local government to refuse to grant such location authority to any person who fails to produce such documentation.
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 · 17 September 1998
Kate Mullany National Historic Site Act - Establishes the Kate Mullany National Historic Site in New York State, consisting of the Kate Mullany House (Troy, New York), home of the first women's labor union, to interpret the connection between immigration and the industrialization of the Nation, including the history of Irish immigration, women's history, and worker history. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to develop and submit to specified congressional committees a general management plan for the Site. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 1998
Amends the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 to extend, for an additional ten years, the authorization for the Upper Delaware Citizens Advisory Council. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, subject to the availability of appropriations, to: (1) enter into a 99-year lease with the State of New York for State-owned land within the boundaries of the Upper Delaware River located at an area known as Mongaup near the confluence of the Mongaup and Upper Delaware Rivers in New York State; and (2) construct and operate a visitor center on the leased land.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 1998
Auto Choice Reform Act of 1997 - Affords a person the right to choose between: (1) a personal protection system (personal system) providing insurance for that person and any resident relative or dependent; and (2) a tort maintenance system (tort system) providing for the form of motor vehicle insurance otherwise required in the State in which the person is insured. (Sec. 5) Sets forth personal system minimum requirements, including regarding waiver of certain tort rights. Supersedes State laws inconsistent with this Act. Sets forth tort system minimum requirements, allowing State laws (not inconsistent with this Act) regarding uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. Provides for: (1) the effect of a person's choice on resident relatives and dependents; (2) underwriting rules to encourage choice uniformity within a household; and (3) the failure of a person to choose. Authorizes States to maintain a program to inform consumers (comparing the two systems) about costs, benefits, rights, and obligations. (Sec. 6) Requires that a person who chooses: (1) a tort system and is involved in an accident be subject to tort law for injury except that, based on fault, the person may claim against (and be claimed against by) a personal system person only for uncompensated economic loss; and (2) a personal system be compensated only for economic loss, without regard to fault. Provides for the handling of accidents involving: (1) persons with personal protection and unlawfully uninsured persons; and (2) motorists under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs or engaging in intentional misconduct. (Sec. 8) Declares that this Act does not apply to a State if: (1) the State so elects; or (2) the State finds that average premiums will not be reduced by at least 30 percent for persons choosing the personal system.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 1998
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Louisville Festival of Faiths should be commended for its concept and its achievements to date, and should serve as a model for similar festivals in other communities throughout the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1998
Medicaid and Children's Health Improvement Amendments of 1998 - Amends titles XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (Children's Health Insurance) (CHIP) of the Social Security Act to give States the option of covering certain legal immigrant children under Medicaid and CHIP. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide for increased allotments under CHIP for the territories. Makes necessary appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1998
Adoption Equality Act of 1998 - Amends title IV part E (Federal Payments for Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to revise adoption assistance eligibility guidelines for children with special needs. (Sec. 2) Makes eligible for such assistance only children with special needs who before termination of parental rights and the initiation of adoption proceedings were: (1) in the care of a public or licensed private child care agency or Indian tribal organization, either pursuant to a voluntary placement agreement (provided the child was in care for not more than 180 days), or as a result of a judicial determination to the effect that continuation in the home would be contrary to the child's safety and welfare; or (2) residing in a foster family home or child care institution with the child's minor parent. Requires a State to consider such special needs, together with the circumstances of the adopting parents, in determining the amount of Federal adoption subsidies paid to them. Prohibits assistance with respect to any child who is not a U.S. citizen or resident and who was adopted outside the United States or was brought into it for adoption purposes. (Sec. 3) Prescribes guidelines under which the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall reduce, for specified fiscal years, Federal payments to the States for administrative costs based on determinations of amounts attributable to the Medicaid program under the Food Stamp Act of 1977. Requires the Secretary to make a bonus payment to any State: (1) whose income and eligibility rules are not more restrictive than the income and resource eligibility rules applied by the State for the temporary assistance to needy families (TANF) program funded under SSA title IV part A; and (2) which assures the Secretary that families applying for TANF may apply for Medicaid under SSA title XIX.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1998
Year 2000 Information Disclosure Act - Provides that, in any covered civil action based on an allegedly false, inaccurate, or misleading statement concerning Year 2000 computer compliance information (Y2K problem), the maker of such statement shall not be liable unless the claimant establishes that the statement: (1) was material; (2) where not a republication, was made with knowledge that it was false, inaccurate, or misleading, with an intent to mislead or deceive, or with a grossly negligent failure to determine or verify its accuracy; and (3) where it was a republication of a statement regarding a third party, was made with knowledge that it was false, inaccurate, or misleading and without disclosure that it was based on information supplied by another and that the maker has not verified the statement. Provides that, in any covered action in which the adequacy of notice about Year 2000 processing is at issue and no clearly more effective method of notice is practicable, the posting of notice by the entity purporting to have provided such notice on that entity's Year 2000 Internet website shall be presumed to be an adequate mechanism for providing such notice. Provides that, in any covered action arising under any Federal or State defamation law or law relating to trade disparagement or a similar claim, to the extent such action is based on an allegedly false Year 2000 statement, the maker shall not be liable unless the claimant establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the statement was made with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of its truth. Prohibits in any covered action a Year 2000 statement from being interpreted or construed as an amendment to or alteration of a written contract or warranty, whether entered into by a public or private party (with exceptions). Authorizes a Federal entity, agency, or authority to expressly designate requests for the voluntary provision of information relating to Year 2000 processing as "Special Year 2000 Data Gathering Requests," thereby protecting information received from such requests from: (1) disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act; and (2) use by any Federal entity, agency, or authority in any civil action arising under any Federal or State law (with an exception). Provides exclusions from this Act. Makes this Act applicable to any Year 2000 statement made on or after July 14, 1998, through July 14, 2001.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1998
Amends the Uruguay Round Agreements Act to revise rules of origin for textile and apparel products to provide, for purposes of the customs laws and the administration of quantitative restrictions, that certain fabrics of silk, cotton, man-made fiber, or vegetable fiber, and certain other silk accessories shall be considered to originate in, and be the growth, product, or manufacture of, the country, territory, or possession in which the finishing operations for such products occur.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1998
Clean Gasoline Act of 1998 - 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. Authorizes the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate regulations to establish maximum and average allowable sulfur concentrations in motor vehicle gasoline that are lower than such concentrations 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. Requires the Administrator to report to the Congress on the effects of the use of low sulfur motor vehicle gasoline on urban and regional air quality within six and eight years of this Act's enactment date.
![Official portrait of Sen. Moynihan, Daniel Patrick [D-NY]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/m001054_200.jpg)