Bill· SS. 3250 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 2000
Peace Through Negotiations Act of 2000 - Declares it to be U.S. policy to oppose the unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state, to withhold diplomatic recognition of any Palestinian state that is unilaterally declared, and to encourage other countries and international organizations to withhold diplomatic recognition of any Palestinian state that is unilaterally declared. Sets forth certain measures that shall be applied in the event that a Palestinian state is unilaterally declared, including: (1) to make it unlawful for the government of any unilaterally declared Palestinian state, the Palestinian Authority, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), or any successor entities to establish an office in the United States; (2) to bar of U.S. assistance to the government of any unilaterally declared Palestinian state, the Palestinian Authority (or to any successor entity), and any programs or projects in the West Bank or Gaza (except humanitarian assistance); (3) to withhold a specified percentage of the U.S. contribution to any international organization that recognizes a unilaterally declared Palestinian state; and (4) to oppose such state's membership in any international financial institution or the extension by such institution of any loan or other financial assistance to it. Authorizes the President to suspend, for one year, the application of a specified number of such measures provided he determines and certifies to specified congressional committees that such suspensions are in the national security interests of the United States or the application of such measures would significantly hinder the prospects for a negotiated peace agreement in the Middle East.
Bill· SS. 3241 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 2000
Vietnam Education Foundation Act of 2000 - Establishes the Vietnam Education Foundation to further the process of reconciliation between the United States and Vietnam by awarding fellowships to: (1) Vietnamese nationals to study at U.S. institutions of higher education at graduate and post-graduate levels in the fields of physical sciences, natural sciences, mathematics, environmental sciences, medicine, technology, and computer sciences; and (2) U.S. citizens to teach in Vietnam in appropriate Vietnamese institutions in the same fields of study. Authorizes such fellowships to include funding for the study of scientific and technical vocabulary in English. Establishes the Vietnam Debt Repayment Fund which shall consist of deposits as offsetting receipts of all payments (including interest) made by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam under the U.S.-Vietnam debt agreement, dated April 7, 1997. Makes amounts deposited into the Fund available for Foundation activities.
Resolution· SRESS.Res. 379 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 18 October 2000
Declares that the Senate memorializes specified Navy sailors lost in the attack on the U.S.S. Cole, and extends condolences to their family members, other loved ones, and shipmates. Expresses the sense of the Senate that all the people of the United States join the Chief of Naval Operations and other members of the Navy in mourning the grievous loss of life among the members of the crew of the U.S.S. Cole. Declares that the Senate: (1) recognizes the loss, sacrifice, valor, and determination of the surviving members of members of the crew of the U.S.S. Cole; (2) extends sympathy to the 39 sailors of that crew injured in the attack on their vessel; and (3) commends the crew members for their remarkable performance, professionalism, skill, and success in fulfilling their duties to support and save the U.S.S. Cole following the attack.
Resolution· SRESS.Res. 378 (106th)passed
United States · United States Congress · 18 October 2000
Honors the members of the crew of the U.S.S. COLE who died or were wounded as a result of the terrorist attack on such ship in Aden, Yemen on October 12, 2000. Extends sympathy to their families. Commends the ship's crew for their heroic damage control efforts. Condemns the attack as an unprovoked and cowardly act of terrorism.
Resolution· SRESS.Res. 373 (106th)passed
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 2000
Recognizes the 225th birthday of the U.S. Navy.
Bill· SS. 3183 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 11 October 2000
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue a maximum of 500,000 $1 coins in commemoration of the human rights legacy and leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.. Mandates that the proceeds from sales surcharges be paid promptly to the Library of Congress to purchase and maintain historical documents and other materials associated with the life and legacy of Dr. King.
Law· SS. 3181 (106th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 10 October 2000
National Moment of Remembrance Act - Establishes a White House Commission on the National Moment of Remembrance to provide national coordination for, and encourage national, State, local, and tribal participation in, the commemoration of Memorial Day and the National Moment of Remembrance. Establishes as an agency of the Commission the Moment of Remembrance Alliance to assist the Commission, including by: (1) planning, organizing, and implementing an annual White House Conference on the National Moment of Remembrance and other similar events; (2) promoting the observance of Memorial Day and the National Moment of Remembrance; and 3) establishing incentives for Federal, State, and local governments and private entities to sponsor and participate in programs initiated by the Commission or the Alliance. Requires the Director of the Committee Management Secretariat Staff of the General Services Administration to appoint an individual as Executive Director and White House Liaison to: (1) serve as a liaison between the Commission and the President; (2) serve as chief of staff of the Commission; and (3) coordinate the Commission's and the President's efforts on all matters relating to this Act, including matters relating to the National Moment of Remembrance.
Resolution· SRESS.Res. 364 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 2000
Commends the city of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, for its successful conduct of the 2000 Summer Olympic Games and congratulates the U.S. Olympic Team for its outstanding accomplishments there.
Bill· SS. 3152 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 2000
Community Renewal and New Markets Act of 2000 - Title I: Incentives for Distressed Communities - Subtitle A: Designation and Treatment of Renewal Zone s- Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to provide for the designation of up to 30 renewal zones. Treats a renewal zone as an empowerment zone. Subtitle B: Modification of Incentives for Empowerment Zones - Revises provisions concerning empowerment zones, including: (1) extending empowerment zone treatment through 2009; (2) a 15 percent employment credit for all empowerment zones; (3) increased expensing under section 179 (election to expenses certain depreciable assets); (4) exclusion from gross income of limited amounts capital gain from the sale or exchange of a qualified empowerment zone asset; and (5) funding. Subtitle C: Modification of Tax Incentives for DC Zone - Extends and expands IRC District of Columbia Enterprise Zone provisions. Subtitle D: New Markets Tax Credi t- Establishes a new markets tax credit. Subtitle E: Modification of Tax Incentives for Puerto Rico - Revises the of Puerto Rico economic activity tax credit. Subtitle F: Individual Development Accounts - Permits any qualified financial institution, qualified nonprofit organization, or Indian tribe to establish one or more qualified individual development account programs. Defines such an account as an account established for an eligible individual as part of a qualified individual development account program. Sets forth provisions concerning such accounts, including: (1) the structure and administration of account programs; (2) procedures for opening an account and qualifying for matching funds; (3) account contributions and withdrawals; and (4) disregarding account funds of program participants for purposes of certain means-tested Federal programs. Subtitle G: Additional Incentives - Provides for, among other things: (1) the exclusion of certain amounts received under the National Health Service Corps Scholarship Program and the F. Edward Hebert Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship and Financial Assistance Program; (2) the extension of enhanced deduction for corporate donations of computer technology; (3) the extension of the adoption tax credit; and (4) the treatment of Alaska Native Settlement Trusts and Indian tribal governments under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act. Title II: Tax Incentives for Affordable Housing - Subtitle A: Low-Income Housing Credit - Modifies the low-income housing credit. Subtitle B: Historic Homes - Establishes a credit equal to 20 percent of the qualified rehabilitation expenditures made by a taxpayer with respect to a qualified historic home. Subtitle C: Forgiven Mortgage Obligations - Excludes from gross income certain forgiven residential mortgage obligations. Subtitle D: Mortgage Revenue Bonds - Provides: (1) for an increase in the purchase price limitation under mortgage subsidy bond rules based on median family income; (2) revised rules for residences located in presidentially declared disaster areas. Subtitle E: Property and Casualty Insurance - Exempts from income tax State-created organizations providing property and casualty insurance for property for which such coverage is otherwise unavailable. Title III: Tax Incentives for Urban and Rural Infrastructure - Increases the State ceiling on private activity bonds. Modifies the expensing of environmental remediation costs. Provides credits for: (1) broadband internet access; and (2) holders of qualified Amtrak bonds. Includes customer connection fees (including fees to connect a customer's line to or extend a main water or sewer line) as an excludable corporate income item within the definition of "contribution in aid of construction." Includes qualified leasehold improvement property as 15 year property for purposes of the accelerated cost recovery depreciation rules. Title IV: Tax Relief for Farmers - Set forth provisions concerning farmers, including: (1) providing specified deductions and credits (including a deduction for cash paid to a Farm, Fishing, and Ranch Risk Management Accounts; (2) exempting agricultural bonds from the State volume cap; and (3) income averaging. Title V: Tax Incentives for the Production of Energy - Sets forth provisions concerning the production of energy, including: (1) expensing geological and geophysical expenditures; (2) a credit for marginal domestic oil and natural gas well production; and (3) the definition of "foreign base company oil related income." Title VI: Tax Incentives for Conservation - Sets forth provisions concerning conservation, including: (1) the exclusion of 50 percent of gain on certain sales of land or interests in land or water to qualified entities for conservation purposes; (2) a deduction for the certain energy efficient commercial property expenditures; (3) modification of the credit for electricity produced from biomass; and (4) a credit for certain hybrid automobiles. Title VII: Additional Tax Provisions - Revises provisions concerning: (1) the nonaccrual experience method of accounting; (2) the exemption from personal holding company tax for lending or finance companies; (3) a deduction for certain expenses incurred in support of Native Alaskan subsistence whaling; and (4) an excise tax on persons who acquire structured settlement payments in factoring transactions.
Bill· SS. 3147 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 2000
Authorizes Frederick Douglass Gardens, Inc., to establish a memorial and gardens on Department of the Interior lands in the District of Columbia or its environs in honor and commemoration of Frederick Douglass.
Law· SS. 3137 (106th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2000
James Madison Commemoration Commission Act - Establishes a James Madison Commemoration Commission and an advisory committee to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the birth of James Madison. Prescribes the duties of the Commission, including, in cooperation with the advisory committee and the Library of Congress, to: (1) direct the Government Printing Office to compile and publish a book containing a selection of James Madison's most important writings and tributes to him; and (2) plan and coordinate symposia that will be devoted to providing a better understanding of James Madison's contribution to American culture. Requires the Commission to report to the President and Congress by February 15, 2002, on its recommendations, including regarding disposition of historically significant items donated to it.
Bill· SS. 3115 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2000
Amends the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Development Act to extend through January 8, 2011, the term of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park Commission.
Bill· SS. 3107 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2000
Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage Act of 2000 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to add a new part D (Outpatient Prescription Drug Benefit Program) to provide Medicare coverage of certain outpatient prescription drugs and biological products for individuals entitled to benefits under Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) or enrolled under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance). (Sec. 2) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide for an outpatient prescription drug benefit program for eligible Medicare beneficiaries. Makes the cost of providing benefits under this part payable from the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund. Directs the Secretary to establish a process for an eligible Medicare beneficiary (including one enrolled in a Medicare+Choice plan under Medicare part C (Medicare+Choice)) to elect to enroll under new SSA title XVIII part D. Requires an eligible Medicare beneficiary to enroll under new SSA title XVIII part D in order to be eligible for covered outpatient drugs under Medicare. Directs the Secretary to disseminate information to eligible and prospective eligible beneficiaries. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to determine and promulgate a monthly premium rate for the succeeding year in accordance with specified guidelines. Requires monthly premiums to be credited to the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund. Outlines cost-sharing provisions, including those for a $250 deductible waivable for generic drugs, coinsurance payments for the drug in an amount equal to the applicable percentage of the cost of the drug, and inflation adjustment. Directs the Secretary to establish procedures for accepting bids and awarding competitive contracts for benefit administration. Sets out patient protections. Provides for: (1) accessibility of outpatient drugs; (2) continuity of care; (3) medically necessary drugs; (4) denials of care; (5) procedures to ensure a timely internal and external review and resolution of denials of coverage and complaints regarding the use of formularies; (6) confidentiality; (7) transfer of medical records; and (8) medical errors. Requires the eligible entity, among other things, to have in place procedures to control fraud, abuse, and waste. Authorizes the Secretary to develop and implement an Employer Incentive Program, including incentive payments, that encourages employers and other sponsors of employment-based health care coverage to provide adequate prescription drug benefits to retired individuals by subsidizing, in part, the sponsor's cost of providing coverage under qualifying plans. Outlines sponsor requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Establishes a Medicare Pharmacy and Therapeutics Advisory Committee for development of: (1) guidelines for administration of the outpatient prescription drug benefit program; (2) standards for required pharmacy and therapeutics committees of eligible entities; (3) procedures for determining if a drug is medically necessary to prevent or to slow the deterioration of, or improve or maintain, the health of an eligible beneficiary; (4) standards for defining therapeutic classes and other specified matters; (5) procedures to evaluate the bids submitted by eligible entities under SSA title XVIII part D; and (6) procedures to ensure that eligible entities under contract are in compliance with requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Applies to SSA title XVIII part D the coverage exclusions under Medicare parts A or B for any expenses incurred for certain items or services. Provides that prescription drugs are not excluded from such coverage if reasonable and necessary. (Sec. 3) Amends SSA title XVIII part C to: (1) require each Medicare+Choice plan, with specified exceptions, to provide enrolled members items and services for which benefits are available under part D; (2) permit a Medicare+Choice organization offering a Medicare+Choice plan to elect a benefit provider as long as the organization complies with outpatient drug access requirements; (3) require the Secretary to determine a Medicare+Choice capitation rate for outpatient drug benefits for enrollees in accordance with specified payment rules; and (4) prohibit a Medicare+Choice organization from requiring an enrollee to pay an outpatient prescription drug benefit deductible or a coinsurance percentage exceeding the applicable amount. (Sec. 4) Amends SSA title XVIII part D to exclude Medicare part D costs from determination of the part B monthly premium. (Sec. 5) Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to: (1) include in Medicare cost-sharing for qualified Medicare beneficiaries premiums under the Outpatient Prescription Drug Benefit Program; and (2) provide for expanding medical assistance with regard to the coinsurance and deductible under such Program. Sets at 100 percent the Federal Medicaid percentage with respect to such medical assistance. Provides for the nonapplicability of payment differential requirements to SSA title XVIII part D cost-sharing. Amends SSA title XI to increase according to a certain formula Medicaid payments to territories for FY 2002 and thereafter. (Sec. 6) Amends SSA title XVIII to revise requirements for benefit packages for Medicare supplemental (Medigap) policies. (Sec. 7) Directs the Secretary to study and report to Congress on the feasibility and advisability of: (1) establishing a uniform format for pharmacy benefit cards provided to beneficiaries by eligible entities under the Outpatient Prescription Drug Benefit Program; and (2) developing systems to transfer prescriptions electronically under such program from the prescriber to the pharmacist. (Sec. 8) Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· SS. 3089 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2000
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Education Act - Authorizes the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc., to construct a temporary education center for educating people about the Memorial. Requires the center to remain for ten years, after which Congress may reevaluate the continuing need for the center. Requires the Fund, in designing the center, to consult with the Commission on Fine Arts.
Resolution· SRESS.Res. 359 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2000
Designates the week beginning on October 16, 2000, as National Teach For America Week.
Bill· SS. 3077 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2000
Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 2000 - Title I: Provisions Relating to Part A - Subtitle A: Skilled Nursing Facilities - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) with regard to eliminating the reduction in the skilled nursing facility (SNF) market basket update. (Sec. 102) Amends the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999 (BBRA) to revise the BBRA increase for SNFs in FY 2001 and 2002. (Sec. 103) Requires a Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) study and report to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Congress on nursing home costs to determine the adequacy of Medicare payment rates for items and services furnished by SNFs. Grants the Secretary the authority to make payment adjustments for covered SNF services if appropriate as a result of the study. Subtitle B: PPS Hospitals - Amends SSA title XVIII to: (1) revise the reduction of indirect graduate medical education payments; (2) eliminate the reduction in the Prospective Payment System (PPS) hospital payment update; (3) eliminate the reduction in disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments; and (4) change the payment formulas for DSH hospitals; and (5) modify the payment rate for Puerto Rico hospitals. (Sec. 115) Increases the DSH allotments under Medicaid for the District of Columbia. Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (State Children's Health Insurance) (SCHIP) to provide for the optional eligibility of certain alien pregnant women and children for Medicaid and SCHIP. (Sec. 117) Requires a MedPAC study on hospital area wage indexes for a report to the Secretary and Congress. Subtitle C: PPS Exempt Hospitals - Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for the treatment of certain cancer hospitals (Sec. 122) Makes certain changes with regard to the PPS for inpatient rehabilitation services and payment during the transition period under current law. Subtitle D: Hospice Care - Amends SSA title XVIII to revise payments for hospice care. Subtitle E: Other Provisions - Amends SSA title XVIII to outline various provisions concerned with: (1) hospital compliance with the Bloodborne Pathogens standard; (2) an Informatics and Data Systems Grant Program; and (3) relief from the Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) late enrollment penalty for a group buy-in for State and local retirees. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle F: Transitional Provisions - Reclassifies certain counties and areas in specified States for purposes of reimbursement under the Medicare program. Title II: Provisions Relating to Part B - Subtitle A: Hospital Outpatient Services - Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for reduction of the effective hospital outpatient department (HOPD) coinsurance rate to 20 percent by 2019. (Sec. 202) Revises the formula for calculating the base payment-to-cost-ratio component of HOPD PPS transitional corridor payments to include in such formula (and so cover) certain hospitals that did not submit cost reports for 1996. (Sec. 203) Provides a permanent guarantee of pre-Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA '97) payment levels for HOPD services furnished by children's hospitals. Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Physicians - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to grant medical students a deferment on their student loans for a period not to exceed the length of their full initial residency period. (Sec. 212) Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to the Secretary and Congress on: (1) the post-payment audit process under Medicare as it applies to physicians; and (2) the aggregate effects of regulatory, audit, oversight, and paperwork burdens on physicians and other health care providers participating in Medicare. (Sec. 213) Directs MEDPAC to study and report to the Secretary and Congress on the refinements to the practice expense relative value units during the transition to a resource-based practice expense system for physician payments under Medicare. Subtitle C: Ambulance Services - Amends SSA title XVIII with regard to the establishment of a fee schedule for ambulance services to allow a supplier of ambulance services to elect to forego phase-in of such schedule and receive payments based only upon it. (Sec. 222) Establishes a prudent layperson standard for emergency ambulance services. (Sec. 223) Eliminates the reduction in inflation adjustments for ambulance services. (Sec. 224) Directs the Secretary to study and report to Congress on the means by which rural areas with low population densities can be identified for the purpose of designating areas in which the cost of providing ambulance services would be expected to be higher than similar services provided in more heavily populated areas because of low usage. (Sec. 225) Outlines provisions for interim payments for rural ground ambulance services until such time as the established fee schedule is modified by a specified regulation. (Sec. 226) Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to the Secretary and Congress on the costs of providing emergency and medical transportation services across the range of acuity levels of conditions for which such transportation services are provided. Subtitle D: Preventive Services - Amends SSA title XVIII to: (1) prohibit deductibles and coinsurance for various specified preventive benefits; (2) add lancets to the definition of durable medical equipment; and (3) provide coverage of counseling for cessation of tobacco use, glaucoma detection tests, and medical nutrition therapy services for beneficiaries with diabetes, a cardiovascular disease, or a renal disease. (Sec. 235) Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct a series of studies, for an annual report to the Congress, designed to identify preventive interventions that can be delivered in the primary care setting that are most valuable to older Americans; and (2) contract with the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences to study and report periodically to the President on current literature and best practices in the field of health promotion and disease prevention among Medicare beneficiaries. (Sec. 237) Provides for fast-track consideration of preventive benefit legislation resulting from recommendations accompanying such study reports. Subtitle E: Other Services - Amends SSA title XVIII with regard to: (1) revision of the moratorium on caps for therapy services; (2) revision of coverage of immunosuppressive drugs; (3) extension of certain secondary payer requirements; (4) State accreditation of diabetes self-management training programs; (5) elimination of the reduction in payment amounts for orthotics and prosthetics, parenteral and enteral nutrients, supplies, and equipment and oxygen and oxygen equipment; (6) standards regarding payment for certain orthotics and prosthetics; (7) revision of the definition of orthotics; (8) new pap smear technologies and other new clinical laboratory test technologies; (9) increase in payments for certified nurse-midwife services; and (10) payment for administration services associated with chemotherapy and for blood clotting drug-related activities. (Sec. 249) Directs MEDPAC to study and report to the Secretary and Congress on the provision of in-home infusion therapy nursing services. Title III: Provisions Relating to Parts A and B - Subtitle A: Home Health Services - Amends SSA title XVIII to eliminate a specified 15 percent reduction in cost and per beneficiary limits with respect to payment rates for home health services under the Medicare PPS. (Sec. 302) Excludes from such PPS certain nonroutine medical supplies furnished by a home health agency. Details certain study and reporting requirements with regard to such exclusion. (Sec. 303) Permits home health patients with Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia to participate in adult-day care programs. (Sec. 304) Directs the Secretary to establish standards for the operation of a branch office, a service site for home health services controlled and supervised by a home health agency. (Sec. 305) Provides for the treatment of home health services provided in certain counties in the State of New York. Subtitle B: Direct Graduate Medical Education - Provides that, for cost reporting periods between October 1, 2000, and October 1, 2005, in applying the limitations regarding the total number of full-time equivalent interns and residents in the field of allopathic or osteopathic medicine under Medicare for a hospital, the Secretary shall not take into account a maximum of three interns or residents in the field of geriatric medicine to the extent the hospital increases the number of geriatric interns or residents above the number of such interns or residents for the hospital's most recent cost reporting period ending before October 1, 2000. (Sec. 312) Amends SSA title XI part A (General Provisions) to establish a program of payments to children's hospitals that operate graduate medical education programs. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 313) Provides that, effective for cost reporting periods beginning on or after October 1, 1999, for purposes of Medicare payments to hospitals for costs of approved educational activities, such activities shall include the clinical portion of professional educational training programs recognized by the Secretary for clinical psychologists. (Sec. 314) Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for the treatment of certain newly established residency programs in computing Medicare payments for the costs of medical education. Subtitle C: Miscellaneous - Amends SSA title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) to provide for a waiver of the 24-month waiting period for Medicare coverage of individuals disabled with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Title IV: Rural Provider Provisions - Subtitle A: Critical Access Hospitals - Amends SSA title XVIII with regard to payments to critical access hospitals for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests. (Sec. 402) Amends SSA title XVIII, as amended by BBRA, to revise the payment for professional services provided by a critical access hospital. (Sec. 403) Amends SSA title XVIII to permit critical access hospitals to operate PPS-exempt distinct part psychiatric and rehabilitation units. Subtitle B: Medicare Dependent, Small Rural Hospital Program - Amends SSA title XVIII to: (1) make the Medicare-dependent, small rural hospital program permanent; and (2) give any hospital under such program the option of basing eligibility for payment on discharges during any of the three most recent audited cost reporting periods in lieu of the current basing of eligibility for payment on discharges during the cost reporting period beginning in FY 1987. Subtitle C: Sole Community Hospitals - Amends SSA title XVIII to extend the option to use rebased target amounts to all sole community hospitals. (Sec. 422) States that, for purposes of discharges occurring on or after October 1, 2000, the Greensville Memorial Hospital located in Emporia, Virginia, shall be deemed to have satisfied the travel time criteria under applicable Medicare provisions for classification as a sole community hospital. Subtitle D: Other Rural Hospital Provisions - Amends SSA title XVIII to exempt Medicare swing bed hospitals from the PPS for skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). (Sec. 431) Amends BBRA to make January 1, 2001, the effective date of the elimination of certain restrictions with respect to the hospital swing bed program. (Sec. 432) Amends SSA title XVIII to mandate pre-BBA '97 payment levels for outpatient services furnished by rural hospitals. (Sec. 433) Provides for the treatment of certain physician pathology services under Medicare. Subtitle E: Other Rural Provisions - Amends SSA title XVIII with regard to bonus payments in the case of physicians' services furnished to an individual who is covered under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) and who incurs expenses for such services in a health professional shortage area. Extends such bonus payments to physician assistant and nurse practitioner services. Eliminates the requirement to make such payments on a monthly or a quarterly basis. (Sec. 442) Modifies: (1) the exemption to the limits established on payment for provider-based rural health clinic services in the case of such clinics in rural hospitals with less than 50 beds; and (2) payment for certain physician assistant services. (Sec. 444) Directs the Secretary to provide for bonus payments for rural home health agencies in the case of home health services furnished in a rural area in 2001 and 2002. (Sec. 445) Excludes clinical social worker services and worker services performed under a contract with a rural health clinic or a Federally-qualified health center from the PPS for SNFs. (Sec. 446) Covers marriage and family therapist services provided in rural health clinics under Medicare. (Sec. 447) Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to: (1) create a capital infrastructure revolving loan program for rural entities for projects for capital improvements; (2) provide for grants to assist eligible small rural hospitals in offsetting the costs of establishing data systems to implement PPSs under Medicare, and to comply with administrative simplification requirements under Medicare part C (Medicare+Choice), or to reduce medication errors; (3) provide for grants to eligible small rural hospitals to provide relief for financial distress that has a negative impact on access to care for Medicare beneficiaries who reside in a rural area. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 450) Amends BBA '97 to revise provisions for Medicare reimbursement for telehealth services with respect to: (1) the methodology for determining the amount of payments; (2) reimbursement for Medicare beneficiaries who do not reside in a health professional shortage area; (3) telehealth coverage for direct patient care; (4) eligibility for telehealth reimbursement for all physicians and practitioners; and (5) telehealth services provided using store-and-forward technologies. (Sec. 451) Directs MEDPAC to study and report to the Secretary and Congress on the effect of low patient and procedure volume on the financial status of low-volume, isolated rural health care providers participating in Medicare. Title V: Provisions Relating to Part C (Medicare+Choice Program) and Other Medicare Managed Care Provisions - Amends SSA title XVIII part C (Medicare+Choice) with regard to eligibility, election, and enrollment to provide for restoring the effective date of elections and changes of elections of Medicare+Choice plans. (Sec. 502) Amends SSA title XVIII part D (Miscellaneous) with regard to certification of Medicare supplemental health insurance (Medigap) policies. Sets forth a special Medigap enrollment anti-discrimination provision for certain beneficiaries. (Sec. 503) Amends SSA title XVIII part C with regard to payments to Medicare+Choice organizations to: (1) increase the national per capita Medicare+Choice growth percentage in 2001 and 2002; and (2) modify area-specific and national percentages provisions with respect to calculation of annual Medicare+Choice capitation rates. (Sec. 505) Delays from July 1, 2000, to November 1, 2000, the deadline for a Medicare+Choice organization to withdraw the offering of a Medicare+Choice plan under part C (or otherwise to submit information required for the offering of such a plan) for 2001. (Sec. 506) Amends SSA title XVIII to make certain amounts in the Medicare trust funds available for the Secretary's share of Medicare+Choice education and enrollment-related costs. (Sec. 507) Amends BBRA to revise terms and conditions for extension of Medicare community nursing organization demonstration projects. (Sec. 508) Amends SSA title XVIII part C with regard to payments to Medicare+Choice organizations to modify payment rules for certain frail elderly Medicare beneficiaries. Title VI: Provisions Relating to Individuals with End-Stage Renal Disease - Amends SSA title XVIII part D with respect to Medicare coverage for end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients to change the methodology for determining the update in the renal dialysis composite rate for end state renal dialysis services furnished after January 1, 2001. (Sec. 602) Amends SSA title XVIII part C with regard to payments to Medicare+Choice organizations to provide for revision of payment rates for ESRD patients enrolled in Medicare+Choice plans. (Sec. 603) Permits ESRD beneficiaries to enroll in another Medicare+Choice plan if the plan in which they are enrolled is terminated. (Sec. 604) Amends SSA title XVIII part B to provide for the coverage of certain vascular access services for ESRD beneficiaries provided by ambulatory surgical centers. (Sec. 605) Directs the Secretary to: (1) collect information on the satisfaction of each ESRD Medicare beneficiary with the quality of health care under the original fee-for-service Medicare program and the Medicare+Choice program, and the access of each beneficiary to that care; (2) analyze such information to determine, among other things, the kinds of health care that each nondialysis health care provider provides to each ESRD Medicare beneficiary for the treatment of ESRD and each comorbidity and the quality of health care provided to each such beneficiary enrolled under the Medicare+Choice program compared to each beneficiary enrolled under the original fee-for-service Medicare program; and (3) make such information collected and analysis conducted available to the public each year. Title VII: Access to Care Improvements Through Medicaid and SCHIP - Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to create a new PPS for federally-qualified health centers and rural health clinics. (Sec. 702) Amends SSA title XIX to make permanent the extension of eligibility for medical assistance, and give States the option of electing a 12-month initial eligibility period in lieu of the current six month initial eligibility period. (Sec. 703) Amends SSA title XIX with regard to State Medicaid plans to provide for coordination with Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) under SSA title XXI of the application of resource and income eligibility standards for certain Medicaid-eligible individuals under certain conditions, as well as providing for the automatic reassessment of eligibility for Medicaid and SCHIP benefits for children losing Medicaid- or SCHIP-eligibility. (Sec. 704) Amends SSA titles XIX and XXI to qualify additional entities to determine presumptive eligibility for low-income children under Medicaid and SCHIP. (Sec. 705) Amends SSA title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) to: (1) increase the authorization of appropriations; and (2) provide for coordination with Medicaid and SCHIP. (Sec. 706) Amends SSA title XIX to provide for increased access to Medicare cost-sharing assistance for low-income beneficiaries. (Sec. 707) Provides for: (1) optional State Medicaid coverage of breast and cervical cancer prevention and treatment coverage for certain breast and cervical cancer patients; (2) optional State Medicaid presumptive eligibility for certain breast or cervical cancer patients; and (3) an enhanced Federal match to be used under SCHIP with respect to medical assistance provided to such breast and cervical cancer patients receiving such optional State Medicaid coverage. Title VIII: Other Provisions - Amends the Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund Act of 1998 to make appropriations to the Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund for FY 2001. (Sec. 802) Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to increase appropriations for special diabetes programs for children with type 1 diabetes and for Indians. (Sec. 803) Directs the Secretary to award demonstration grants to up to seven States to conduct innovative programs designed to improve outreach to homeless individuals and families under specified Social Security programs with respect to enrollment and the provision of services under such programs. Makes appropriations. (Sec. 804) Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and PHSA to prohibit health insurance provided through a managed care organization under a group health plan, or through a health insurance issuer providing coverage in connection with a group health plan, (and, for the PHSA, health insurance in the individual market) from denying coverage of services provided by a continuing care retirement community or other qualified facility if they are: (1) post-hospitalization services in the same community or facility as in pre-hospitalization; (2) skilled nursing services, without a preceding hospitalization, which are necessary to prevent hospitalization; or (3) furnished in the same facility the participant's or beneficiary's spouse already resides in. Makes the prohibition: (1) depend on whether such services are otherwise covered; and (2) regardless of whether the organization is under contract with the community or facility. Prohibits related denial of enrollment or renewal, incentives to enrollees, and penalties or incentives to physicians. Declares that State laws are not preempted which meet certain requirements, including any more protective of participants or beneficiaries than those of this Act. Provides for enforcement. (Sec. 805) Directs the Secretary to award grants to eligible States to support real choice systems change initiatives that establish specific action steps and specific timetables to: (1) achieve enduring system improvements; and (2) provide consumer-responsive long-term services and supports to eligible individuals in the most integrated setting appropriate based on the unique strengths and needs of the individual, the priorities and concerns of the individual (or, as appropriate, the individual's representative), and the individual's desires with regard to participation in community life. Requires each State, in order to receive such a grant, to establish a Consumer Task Force to assist in the development, implementation, and evaluation of real choice systems change initiatives. Provides funding.
Bill· SS. 3071 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2000
Federal Judgeship Act of 2000 - Directs the President to make appointments to specified additional permanent and temporary judgeships in various U.S. circuit courts of appeal and district courts. Establishes a judicial district for: (1) the Northern Mariana Islands; and (2) the Virgin Islands comprising two divisions (the Saint Croix Division and the Saint Thomas and Saint John Division). Includes the Northern Mariana Islands within the ninth judicial circuit. Authorizes the Chief Judge of the ninth circuit to assign judges of courts of record of the Northern Mariana Islands or Guam to serve temporarily as a judge in the United States District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands when necessary. Grants such designated judges the powers of a magistrate judge. Authorizes the judges of the District Court of the Northern Mariana Islands to be summoned biennially to judicial conferences. Repeals provisions: (1) directing that such a judge who retires from office after meeting specified age and service requirements receive an annuity equal to the salary received at the time of retirement during the remainder of the judge's lifetime; and (2) granting the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit exclusive jurisdiction of an appeal from an interlocutory order of the District Court of the Northern Mariana Islands. Permits any U.S. attorney appointed for the Northern Mariana Islands to serve at the same time as U.S. attorney in another judicial district. Allows individuals from the Northern Mariana Islands to serve as magistrates.
Bill· SS. 3060 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 2000
Amends the Hmong Veterans' Naturalization Act of 2000 to extend the provisions of such Act to certain surviving spouses of deceased Hmong veterans.
Resolution· SCONRESS.Con.Res. 135 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2000
Recognizes the 25th anniversary of the enactment of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975. Acknowledges the contributions of children with disabilities, their parents, teachers, related services personnel, and administrators. Reaffirms support for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act so that all children with disabilities have access to a free public education.
Resolution· SRESS.Res. 353 (106th)passed
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 2000
Designates October 20, 2000, as National Mammography Day.
Bill· SS. 3024 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2000
Medicare Glaucoma Detection Act of 2000 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage of glaucoma detection tests for certain eligible individuals under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance).
Bill· SS. 3020 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 7 September 2000
Radio Broadcasting Preservation Act of 2000 - Directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to modify its rules authorizing the operation of low-power FM radio stations to: (1) prescribe minimum distance separations for third-adjacent channels (as well as co-channels and first- and second-adjacent channels); and (2) prohibit any applicant from obtaining a low-power FM license if such applicant has engaged in the unlicensed operation of any radio station in violation of FCC radio licensing requirements. Prohibits the FCC, without specific authorization by Congress, from: (1) eliminating or reducing such minimum distance separations for third-adjacent channels; or (2) extending the eligibility for low-power FM stations beyond those organizations and entities proposed in MM Docket No. 99-25. Invalidates any previously issued low-power FM station license that does not comply with such rule modifications. Directs the FCC to conduct an experimental program to test whether low- power FM stations will result in harmful interference to existing FM radio stations if such stations are not subject to the minimum distance separation requirements. Requires the FCC to: (1) publish test results and allow an opportunity for public comment; and (2) report test results and FCC recommendations on reducing or eliminating minimum distance standards to specified congressional committees.
Bill· SS. 3002 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 September 2000
Pipeline Integrity, Safety, and Reliability Research and Development Act of 2000 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation, in coordination with the Secretary of Energy, to develop and implement an accelerated cooperative research and development program to ensure the integrity of natural gas and hazardous liquid pipelines. Requires the Secretary to: (1) arrange with the National Academy of Sciences for the establishment of a Pipeline Integrity Technical Advisory Committee; and (2) prepare, along with the Committee, in coordination with the Secretary of Energy, and submit to Congress a five-year research and development program plan. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· SS. 3000 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2000
Authorizes an exchange of lands near the George Washington Memorial Parkway between the Secretary of the Interior and the Director of Central Intelligence. Allows access to a road for a motor vehicle turn-around on the Parkway and to employees of and visitors to the Turner Fairbank Highway Research Center. Allows the Director to close access to such land to protect the employees or property of the CIA. Requires the Director to ensure compliance by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with the deed restrictions for the transferred land. Requires compliance by the National Park Service (NPS) and the CIA with the 1998 interagency agreement regarding the exchange. Requires that the land conveyed: (1) to the Secretary be included within the boundary of the Parkway and be administered by the NPS as part of the Parkway; and (2) to the CIA be administered as part of its Headquarters Building Compound.
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