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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2000
Electric Power Industry Tax Modernization Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit a governmental unit to make an irrevocable election to terminate certain tax-exempt financing for electric output facilities. Sets forth provisions concerning independent transmission companies. Provides for the exclusion from gross income as contributions to capital of certain amounts received by electric utilities. Revises the special rules concerning the tax treatment of nuclear decommissioning costs.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2000
Health Insurance Equity Act of 2000 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide, in the case of a small employer, for an employee health insurance expenses credit. Provides for the establishment of qualified health benefit purchasing coalitions which shall enter into agreements with small business employers to provide health benefits to employees of such employers.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2000
FamilyCare Act of 2000 - Renames the State Children's Health Insurance program (SCHIP) under title XXI of the Social Security Act (SSA) as the FamilyCare program to provide for: (1) FamilyCare coverage of parents under Medicaid (SSA title XIX) as well as new SSA title XXI; (2) optional FamilyCare coverage of parents of targeted low-income children; (3) automatic eligibility for FamilyCare coverage of children born to a parent on Family Care assistance; (4) optional coverage of legal immigrants and of children through age 20 under both Medicaid and FamilyCare; (5) application of simplified FamilyCare procedures under Medicaid; (6) increased welfare-to-work transition (from six months to 12 months) under FamilyCare; (7) elimination of the 100 hour rule and other SSA title IV part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) related eligibility restrictions under FamilyCare; (8) limitations on specified conflicts of interests under SSA titles XIX and XXI; (9) increased FamilyCare allotment for FY 2002 through 2004; and (10) authority to pay Medicaid expansion costs from the FamilyCare appropriation. Makes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a program to award demonstration grants to States to allow them to demonstrate the effectiveness of innovative ways to increase access to health insurance through market reforms and other innovative means. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to award demonstration grants to a limited number of States to conduct innovative programs designed to improve outreach to homeless individuals and families under specified programs for the homeless (including SCHIP) with respect to enrollment of such individuals and families under such programs and the provision of services under such programs. Makes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2000
Creating New Markets and Empowering America Act of 2000 - Title I: New Markets Tax Credit - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) to provide a limited new markets tax credit for taxpayers holding a qualified equitable investment for amounts paid to a qualified community development entity for authorized investments. Title II: America's Private Investment Companies - Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to license America's Private Investment Companies (for-profit investment entities qualifying as community development entities). Title III: Community Development and Venture Capita l- Subtitle A: New Markets Venture Capital Program - Amends the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to establish a New Markets Venture Capital Program under which the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) is authorized to make grants to new market venture capital companies (NMVCs) and specialized small business investment companies and to guarantee debentures issued by NMVCs. Subtitle B: Community Development Venture Capital Assistance - Authorizes the SBA Administrator to: (1) contract with one or more community development organizations to carry out training and research activities for individuals in community development venture capital organizations (privately-controlled organizations which promote community development in low-income communities through investment in private businesses); and (2) make grants to community development organizations for the cost of such training and research activities and to intermediary organizations to provide intense marketing, management, and technical assistance and training to community development venture capital organizations. Subtitle C: Business LINC - Authorizes the Administrator to make grants to, and enter into cooperative agreements with, any coalition of private or public sector participants that: (1) expand business-to-business relationships between large and small businesses; and (2) provide businesses with information about companies interested in mentor-protegee programs or community-based, Statewide, or local business development programs. Title IV: Expansion and Extension of Empowerment Zone Tax Incentives - Provides for the designation of additional empowerment zones and increased empowerment zone tax incentives. Title V: American Community Renewal - Amends the Code to authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to designate (upon local or State nomination) up to 40 renewal communities (based on degree of poverty), of which at least 20 percent shall be in rural areas. Title VI: Homeownership and Revitalization - Revises the low-income housing credit. Establishes a home ownership tax credit which shall be allocated, through State housing finance agencies, to qualified lenders making qualified home ownership loans to certain low-income households. Establishes a credit for renovating historic homes. Amends the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997 to direct the Secretary to transfer ownership of qualified HUD-held properties (substandard or unoccupied multifamily or unoccupied single family properties) to local governments and community development corporations under specified conditions. Title VII: Trade-Affected Communities Relief - Authorizes a trade-affected community, a group of such communities, or the Governor of a State on behalf of such communities to petition the Secretary of Commerce for eligibility certification for community-based economic development assistance. Title VIII: Delta Regional Authority - Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to establish the Delta Regional Authority to: (1) develop comprehensive and coordinated plans and programs, establish priorities, and approve grants for the economic development of the Mississippi Delta region (parts of Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee surrounding such Delta); (2) provide for research, demonstration, investigation, assessment and evaluation of such region's assets and needs; (3) encourage the formation and capacity of local development districts and private investment in industrial, commercial, and other economic development projects; and (4) provide a forum for the consideration of problems and possible solutions of the region. Title IX: Federal Grant Program Participation Expansion - Directs The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure an equal opportunity for religious and other community organizations to provide assistance under the programs administered by such Administration by providing information and contact for such programs to such organizations in a manner similar to that developed by the Office of Community Faith-Based Organizations in the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Title X: New Millennium Classrooms - Establishes a limited credit for the donation of computers to schools, senior centers, public libraries, and other training centers located in a renewal community, empowerment zone or enterprise community, Indian reservation, or defined low-income community.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2000
Middle East Peace Process Support Act - Prohibits U.S. assistance to any unilaterally-declared Palestinian state. Directs the President to instruct the U.S. Representative to the United Nations to oppose admission to the United Nations of a unilaterally-declared Palestinian state or formal recognition by the United Nations of such a state.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2000
Declares that: (1) the International Committee of the Red Cross should immediately recognize the Magen David Adom Society and the Society should be granted full membership in the International Red Cross (IRC) and Red Crescent Movement; (2) the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies should grant full membership to the Society immediately following recognition by the IRC; (3) the Society should not be required to give up or diminish its use of its emblem as a condition for membership; and (4) the Red Shield of David should be accorded the same recognition under international law as the Red Cross and the Red Crescent.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2000
Latino and Immigrant Fairness Act of 2000 - Title I: Central American and Haitian Parity Act - Central American and Haitian Parity Act of 2000 - Amends the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (Act) to: (1) extend permanent resident status adjustment provisions to qualifying Salvadoran, Guatemalan, Honduran, and Haitian nationals; and (2) extend the application filing deadline. Permits certain pending applications filed by Salvadoran or Guatemalan nationals under the Act or Haitian nationals under the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998 to be converted to an application for status adjustment under the Act. Amends such Acts to: (1) authorize the Attorney General to waive certain grounds of inadmissibility; and (2) provide for issuance of immigrant visas to certain spouses and children. Provides for the limited reopening of certain orders of deportation, exclusion, or removal by certain Haitian, Cuban, or Nicaraguan nationals. Title II: Restoration of Section 245(i) Adjustment of Status Benefits - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate the restriction that only aliens with preference petitions or labor certifications filed by January 14, 1998, are eligible to adjust to permanent resident status without leaving the United States if they entered without inspection or fall within one of other specified classes (including aliens accepting unauthorized employment and aliens not maintaining legal nonimmigrant status). Title III: Extension of Registry Benefits - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Ac to extend registry benefits to aliens who entered the United States prior to January 1, 1986.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2000
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit a taxpayer to elect to use the completed contract accounting method with respect to an qualified naval construction contract (more than 24 months in duration).
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2000
Jamestown 400th Commemoration Commission Act of 2000 - Establishes the Jamestown 400th Commemoration Commission to plan and execute programs to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Jamestown settlement in Virginia and facilitate and encourage Jamestown-related activities throughout the United States. Terminates the Commission on December 31, 2008. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2000
Civil Rights Tax Fairness Act of 2000 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income amounts received by a claimant on account of claims based on unlawful discrimination (as defined). Permits income averaging for backpay and frontpay awards received on account of such claims.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2000
Life Insurance Tax Simplification Act of 2000 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal provisions: (1) providing for the reduction in certain deductions of mutual life insurance companies; and (2) relating to distributions to shareholders from pre-1984 policyholders surplus accounts.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2000
Virginia Wilderness Act of 2000 - Designates certain lands in the George Washington National Forest, Virginia, as the Priest Wilderness Area and the Three Ridges Wilderness Area.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2000
Early Learning Opportunities Act - Provides funds for increasing: (1) availability of early learning programs; and (2) compensation for child care providers. Declares that no person, including a parent, shall be required to participate in any program of early childhood education, early learning, parent education, or developmental screening under this Act. Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect the rights of parents otherwise established in Federal, State, or local law. Declares that no entity receiving funds under this Act shall be required to provide services under this Act through a particular instructional method or in a particular instructional setting. Authorizes appropriations to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Directs the Secretary of HHS (the Secretary) and the Secretary of Education to develop mechanisms to resolve administrative and programmatic conflicts between Federal programs that would be a barrier to parents, caregivers, service providers, or children related to the coordination of services and funding for early learning programs. Requires nonrestrictive use of equipment and supplies for collaborative activities funded under this Act and other law providing for Federal child care or early learning programs. Directs the Secretary to award grants to States to award subgrants to Local Councils to pay the Federal share of the cost of carrying out early learning programs in the locality served by the Local Council. Sets forth requirements for: (1) non-Federal share; (2) uses of funds; (3) duties of Lead State Agencies and of Local Councils; (4) reservations of funds for Indian tribes, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians; (5) State allotments based on numbers of children age four and younger and of such children in families below the poverty line; (6) Federal and State grant administration; (7) State eligibility and preferences for Local Councils, and Local Council preferences for projects; (8) performance goals; and (9) local allocations, applications, and administration.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2000
Community Oriented Policing Services Against Drugs Act - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the Attorney General to award grants to: (1) local law enforcement agencies in eligible communities for programs, projects, and activities to hire additional community policing officers and civilian personnel to aggressively investigate drug-related crimes and for overtime pay for existing law enforcement officers for community policing efforts with respect to drug-related crimes; and (2) State and local prosecutors' offices and prosecution programs in eligible communities that augment community policing programs to assist in the aggressive prosecution of drug-related crimes. Sets forth criteria for: (1) identifying eligible communities, such as the extent to which illegal drug-related activities in the community have an adverse impact on other communities; and (2) utilization of information from national data sources, including data relating to the number of arrests for drug possession or sale and for drug-related crime, and the number of arrestees testing positive for illegal drug use, in the community. Authorizes the Attorney General to set aside 20 percent of award grants to applicants located in eligible communities with a population of less than.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 2000
Truthfulness, Responsibility, and Accountability in Contracting Act of 2000 - Requires the head of each Federal agency to certify to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) (who shall make such certification public) its compliance with the requirements of this Act. (Sec. 3) Prohibits agency heads from entering any service contracts until the OMB Director: (1) determines that the agency is making substantial progress toward meeting the requirements in the certification; or (2) waives suspension of contracting authority in the interest of national security, extraordinary economic harm, or patient care. Requires the Comptroller General to monitor the compliance of any agency operating under a suspension of contracting authority. (Sec. 4) Requires each agency to establish, according to OMB guidelines, a centralized reporting system with respect to both contracting out and contracting in. Specifies frequency and contents on such reports. Requires every agency to file a separate annual report on the number of Federal employee positions and positions held by non-Federal employees under a contract that has been subject to public-private competition during the past fiscal year. Requires OMB to compile and submit all such reports to specified congressional committees for eventual publication on the Internet. (Sec. 5) Requires any agency decision to initiate or continue a privatization, outsourcing, contracting in, or contracting out for the performance of a function to be based on the results of a public-private competition process meeting certain requirements. Requires an agency to commence or continue the performance of a function by Federal employees if, under a specified cost comparison, the agency determines that at least a ten-percent cost savings would not be achieved by contractor performance of the function. (Sec. 6) Requires an agency either to conduct a new public-private competition or to convert the function to Federal employee performance, if a report indicates that, for two consecutive years, the actual cost of privatization, outsourcing, contracting in, or contracting out of a particular function exceeds the anticipated cost of contractor performance, or fails substantially to meet quality control standards. States that any resulting terminations for convenience may be undertaken without cost to the U.S. Government. Requires an agency to subject to public-private competition each fiscal year an equivalent number of Federal employee positions and positions held by non-Federal employees under a contract. (Sec. 7) Directs the Secretary of Labor to survey the wages and quantifiable benefits provided by contractors to non-Federal personnel working in various occupations under contracts entered into during the two fiscal years immediately preceding enactment of this Act. Requires the OMB Director to review the survey and report to specified congressional committees on the extent to which the wages and quantifiable benefits paid by contractors are comparable to the wages and quantifiable benefits earned by Federal employees.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2000
Authorizes the President, on behalf of Congress, to present a gold medal to General Wesley K. Clark, in recognition of his outstanding leadership and service as Supreme Allied Commander in Europe during the military operations against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro). Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2000
Violence Against Women Act of 2000 - 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 (AG) to make grants to provide technical assistance and equipment to police departments, prosecutors, courts, and tribal jurisdictions to facilitate the widespread enforcement of protection orders. Revises provisions of the Federal criminal code governing the full faith and credit of protection orders. Designates State, local, and Indian tribal courts as eligible grantees under the program to combat violent crimes against women. Reauthorizes through FY 2005 various programs which address violence against women, including domestic violence and stalking offenses. Title II: Strengthening Services to Victims of Violence - Authorizes the AG to award grants to increase the availability of legal assistance to victims of domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault. Reauthorizes through FY 2005 various grants and programs under the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act. Title III: Limiting the Effects of Violence on Children - Authorizes the AG to make grants to States, local governments, and Indian tribal governments for the provision of supervised visitation and safe visitation exchange of children by and between parents in situations involving domestic violence, child abuse, or sexual assault. Reauthorizes through FY 2005 runaway and homeless youth grants and programs for victims of child abuse. Title IV: Strengthening Education and Training to Combat Violence Against Women - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants for model programs of education and training in appropriate responses to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. Title V: Battered Immigrant Women - Battered Immigrant Women Protection Act of 2000 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide certain protections to battered immigrant women. Title VI: Extension of Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund - Extends through FY 2005 the Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2000
NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office Reauthorization Act of 2000 - Amends the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Authorization Act of 1992 to: (1) rename the Chesapeake Bay Estuarine Resources Office as the Chesapeake Bay Office (the Office); (2) require that the Office be administered by the Office of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere; (3) revise the functions of the Office; (4) require a five-year study concerning living resources of the Chesapeake Bay and a multiple species management strategy for the Chesapeake Bay; (5) require a community-based fishery and habitat restoration small grants and technical assistance program in the Chesapeake Bay watershed; (6) establish a coastal prediction center for the Chesapeake Bay; and (7) authorize appropriations for the Office through FY 2004.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2000
NICS Partnership Act of 2000 - Authorizes appropriations to the Department of Justice to directly reimburse States for the reasonable costs necessary to serve as points of contact for access to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. Directs the Attorney General to submit to the Senate and House Judiciary Committees a report on the appropriate formula for such reimbursement.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2000
Bipartisan Social Security Reform Act of 2000 - Title I: Individual Savings Accounts - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) establish in the Treasury the Individual Savings Fund (ISF), and an ISF Board to manage it in a manner similar to that in which the Thrift Savings Plan for Federal employees is administered; and (2) require the Commissioner of Social Security to establish in the ISF tax-exempt Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) for eligible individuals electing to contribute to one, and KidSave Accounts (KSAs) for individuals born on or after January 1, 1995. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 101) Excludes ISF receipts and disbursements (and any ISF accounts) from the Federal budget, and exempts them from statutory limitations on Federal budgetary outlays. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for reductions in OASDI taxes and contribution of resulting savings to ISAs. Entitles ISA holders to a specified tax credit. (Sec. 102) Specifies Federal contributions to individual KSAs. (Sec. 103) Amends SSA title II to provide for adjustments to primary insurance amounts under the old OASDI program (redesignated as part A (Insurance Benefits) of SSA title II). Title II: Social Security System Adjustments - Amends SSA title II with regard to: (1) adjustments to bend points in determining primary insurance amounts; (2) adjustment of widows' and widowers' insurance benefits; (3) elimination of the limitation on the amount of outside income which a beneficiary who has attained early retirement age may earn (earnings test) without incurring a reduction in benefits; (4) gradual increase in the number of benefit computation years, and the use of all years in computation; (5) maintenance of benefit and contribution base; (6) actuarial adjustment for retirement; and (7) modification of primary insurance amount factors to reflect change in life expectancy. (Sec. 203) Requires the Commissioner of Social Security to report to Congress on: (1) a study on the effect of taking earnings into account in determining substantial gainful activity of individuals receiving disability insurance benefits; and (2) a detailed study plan for evaluating the effects of increases in life expectancy as well as an evaluation of the implications of the trends studied, along with appropriate recommendations. (Sec. 206) Amends the Social Security Amendments of 1983 to provide for a reduction in the amount of certain transfers to the Medicare trust funds. (Sec. 208) Directs the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to publish annually in the Federal Register an estimate of the upper level substitution bias, quality-change bias, and new-product bias retained in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Makes appropriations to BLS for specified actions to improve the CPI.. Directs BLS to establish an administrative advisory committee regarding CPI revisions. (Sec. 210) Amends SSA title VII (Administration) to prescribe a mechanism for remedying unforeseen deterioration in social security solvency.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2000
National and Community Service Amendments Act of 2000 - Title I: Amendments to National and Community Service Act of 1990 - Amends the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (NCSA) to reauthorize and revise various programs. (Sec. 103) Revises provisions for school-based and community-based service-learning programs to: (1) include Indian tribes as qualified organizations for program participation; and (2) eliminate a requirement that the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) give priority to grant applications containing specified proposals. (Sec. 104) Revises provisions for the national service trust program to: (1) eliminate provisions authorizing CNCS to transfer funds to another Federal agency to support a national service program; (2) limit the CNCS's share of the aggregate cost of national service positions, through a formula based on a specified amount per participant; (3) eliminate Federal agency positions from eligibility for approval for national service positions or educational awards; (4) establish a State minimum for national service grant awards; (5) provide for grants to increase the participation of individuals with disabilities, and for demonstration programs of outreach to such individuals; (6) reserve certain funds to support programs reducing CNCS costs; and (7) modify provisions relating to participant performance, selection, terms of service, and living allowances. (Sec. 105) Revises provisions for the national service trust to include, as an allowable use of trust funds, national service scholarships (under the program established by this Act). Makes expenditures from the trust available for interest payments during forbearance on loan repayment and for national service scholarship awards. Provides that a prohibition against using the educational award to pay off loans made to parents also applies to loans made to parents under the direct student loan program. Allows educational awards to be used to pay off private or State loans. Permits the trust to be used to support a national service scholarship program to recognize secondary school juniors and seniors engaged in community service activities. (Sec. 106)Authorizes the Director of the Civilian Community Corps (CCC) to select individuals with prior supervisory or service experience to be team leaders. Requires team leaders to be selected without regard to a specified age limitation. Revises authorized benefits for CCC members. (Sec. 107) Repeals the authority of State commissions and any division of CNCS to enter into agreements for coordinating functions. (Sec. 108) Eliminates a provision relating to staggered terms for CNS board members. Allows appointed board members whose terms have expired to continue to serve for a specified limited period. Authorizes the chief executive officer (CEO) of CNCS to enter into agreements with other agencies to carry out activities to implement national service laws. (Sec. 109) Authorizes the CEO of CNCS to serve as an ex officio, nonvoting member of the board of directors of the Points of Light Foundation. (Sec. 110) Extends through FY 2005 the authorization of appropriations for programs under NCSA. Title II: Amendments to the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 - Amends the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (DVSA) to reauthorize and revise: (1) title I National Volunteer Antipoverty Programs, part A Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) including VISTA Literacy Corps, part B University Year for VISTA, part C Special Volunteer Programs including literacy challenge grants; and (2) title II National Senior Service Corps (currently National Senior Volunteer Corps), part A Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), part B Foster Grandparent Program (FGP), and part C Senior Companion Program (SCP). (Sec. 203) Includes as a VISTA objective the encouragement of supportive efforts by local agencies and organizations to achieve long-term sustainability of programs in the absence of Federal assistance. Encourages the VISTA Director to enter into agreements under which public agencies and private organizations pay all or part of the direct cost of supporting volunteers. Authorizes the VISTA Director to provide a stipend of a maximum of $200 per month to individuals designated as volunteer leaders. (Sec. 204) Renames the National Senior Volunteer Corps as the National Senior Service Corps (NSSC). Eliminates the priority for enrolling individuals age 60 and older (but continues to allow individuals age 55 and older to enroll). Allows individuals age 55 (currently 60) or older to enroll in FGP, but gives priority to enrolling individuals age 60 or older. Requires any stipend under FGP to be at least $2.55 per hour and be adjusted for inflation once prior September 30, 2005. Allows individuals age 55 (currently 60) or older to enroll in SCP, but gives priority to enrolling individuals age 60 or older. Requires the SCP Director spend certain amounts each year to promote SCP. Prohibits awarding national significance grants for RSVP, FGP, or SCP unless the appropriated allocation for each program exceeds the appropriated allocations for each of the two preceding years. (Sec. 206) Extends through 2005 the authorization of appropriations for programs under DVSA. Title III: Technical Amendments to Other Laws - Revises references and makes other technical and conforming amendments to various other Federal laws.
![Official portrait of Sen. Robb, Charles S. [D-VA]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/r000295_200.jpg)