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Bill· HRH.R. 4579 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Provisions Primarily Affecting Individuals and Families Subtitle A: General Provisions Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Education Subtitle C: Provisions Relating to Social Security Title II: Provisions Primarily Affecting Farming and Other Businesses Subtitle A: Increase in Expense Treatment for Small Businesses Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Farmers Subtitle C: Increase in Volume Cap on Private Activity Bonds Title III: Extension and Modification of Certain Expiring Provisions Subtitle A: Tax Provisions Subtitle B: Generalized System of Preference Title IV: Revenue Offset Title V: Technical Corrections Title VI: American Community Renewal Act of 1998 Subtitle A: Designation and Evaluation of Renewal Communities Subtitle B: Tax Incentives for Renewal Communities Taxpayer Relief Act of 1998 - Title I: Provisions Affecting Individuals and Families - Subtitle A: General Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to: (1) make the basic standard deduction on a joint return equal to twice the deduction of a single return; (2) make the aged or blind additional deduction amounts the same for married and unmarried individuals; (3) as a general rule, exclude from gross income up to $200 ($400 in the case of a joint return) of dividends and interest received by an individual; (4) revise provisions concerning the aggregate amount of nonrefundable personal credits allowed to provide that the aggregate amount of such credits shall not exceed the sum of the taxpayer's regular tax liability and the alternative minimum tax; (5) allow for the deduction of 100 percent of the health insurance costs of self-employed individuals; (6) set forth a special rule for members of the uniformed services and foreign service in determining the exclusion of gain from the sale of a principal residence; and (7) accelerate the $1 million exemption from the estate and gift taxes. Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Education - Permits private educational institutions to maintain qualified tuition programs which are comparable to qualified State tuition programs. Modifies arbitrage rebate rules applicable to public school construction bonds. Subtitle C: Provisions Relating to Social Security - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to: (1) increase the limit on earnings before there is a reduction in benefits for individuals who have attained retirement age but who are under age 70; and (2) provide for the recomputation of benefits resulting from earnings after reaching retirement age. Title II: Provisions Primarily Affecting Farming and Other Businesses - Subtitle A: Increase in Expense Treatment for Small Businesses - Amends the IRC to accelerate the increase in the dollar limitation on the cost of property which may be expensed by businesses as depreciable assets. Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Farmers - Amends the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 to permanently extend income averaging for farmers. Amends the IRC to provide a five-year carryback period for farming losses. Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act to disregard the payment option provided by the Emergency Farm Financial Relief Act. Subtitle C: Increase in Volume Cap on Private Activity Bonds - Amends IRC provisions concerning State private activity bond volume limits to repeal the adjustment for years after 1987. Title III: Extension and Modification of Certain Expiring Provisions - Subtitle A: Tax Provisions - Extends, for a limited period, the: (1) credit for increasing research activities; (2) work opportunity credit; and (3) welfare-to-work credit. Extends permanently the special rule for contributions of stock for which market quotations are readily available. Establishes rules for the public inspection of the returns of private foundations. Revises provisions concerning the special rule for income derived in the active conduct of banking, financing, or similar businesses to provide, as general rule, that foreign personal holding company income shall not include qualified banking or financing income of an eligible controlled foreign corporation. Revises the definition of insurance income and provides that, as a general rule, foreign personal holding company income shall not include qualified insurance income of a qualifying insurance company. Subtitle B: Generalized System of Preferences - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to extend the Generalized System of Preferences through February 29, 2000. Provides for the retroactive application of certain liquidations and reliquidations. Title IV: Revenue Offset - Amends IRC provisions concerning the complete liquidations of subsidiaries to provide that if a corporation receives a distribution form a regulated investment company or a real estate investment trust which is considered as being in complete liquidation of such company or trust, then such corporation shall treat as a dividend from such trust or company an amount equal to the deduction for dividends paid allowable to such company or trust by reason of such distribution. Title V: Technical Corrections - Revises provisions of the IRC, the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, the Tax Reform Act of 1984, and the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century. Title VI: American Community Renewal Act of 1998 - American Community Renewal Act of 1998 - Subtitle A: Designation and Evaluation of Renewal Communities - Renewing American Communities Act of 1998 - Amends the IRC to authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to designate (upon local or State nomination) up to 20 renewal communities, of which at least 20 percent shall be in rural areas. Requires for nomination purposes that: (1) the area be experiencing high rates of poverty and unemployment and general distress; and (2) State and local governments enter into written contracts with community organizations to promote specified economic growth and employment activities. Treats renewal communities as labor surplus areas for all Federal law purposes. Subtitle B: Tax Incentives for Renewal Communities - Excludes from gross income capital gains on the sale or exchange of a qualified community asset (stock, business property, or partnership interest) held for more than five years. Allows a specified deduction for amounts paid into a family development account on behalf of an individual or another qualified individual who is a renewal community resident. Excludes from gross income account distributions used for qualified family development expenses (postsecondary education, first-home purchase, business capitalization, medical, and rollovers). Provides a penalty (with exceptions) in addition to inclusion as gross income for nonqualifying distributions. Provides for designation of up to 25 percent of qualifying renewal communities as matching demonstration areas eligible to receive family development account matching contributions. Authorizes: (1) designation of earned income tax credit payments for family development account deposit; (2) a commercial building revitalization tax credit; (3) increased first year expensing for renewal community businesses; (4) extension of environmental remediation cost expensing and the work opportunity credit for renewal communities; and (5) similar tax treatment of renewal communities and enterprise zones for specified youth residence requirements. Permits a deduction for contributions to a family development account whether or not a taxpayer itemizes. Makes conforming amendments to provisions respecting: (1) tax on excess contributions and prohibited transactions; (2) trust and annuity information; (3) tax exemption applications; and (4) the commercial revitalization credit.
Bill· HRH.R. 4580 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 1998
Agricultural Trade Emergency Response Act of 1998 - Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to temporarily make supplemental payments to farm owners and producers with production flexibility contracts.
Bill· HRH.R. 4587 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 1998
Family Farm Preservation Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that the $675,000 limitation on the estate tax deduction shall not apply to interests in qualified family-owned farming business interests.
Law· HJRESH.J.Res. 128 (105th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 1998
Makes appropriations for FY 1999 for continuing projects or activities, including the costs of direct loans and loan guarantees, which were conducted in FY 1998 and for which appropriations, funds, or other authority would be available in: (1) the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999; (2) the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999; (3) the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1999; (4) the District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 1999; (5) the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 1999; (6) the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1999; (7) the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999; (8) the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999; (9) the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1999; (10) the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999; (11) the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 1999; and (12) the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999. Sets forth the rates of (current rates, with specified exceptions), and limitations on, such funding. Provides funding under this resolution until enactment into law of any covered appropriation or the applicable appropriations Act (without any provision for the covered appropriation) or October 9, 1998, whichever occurs first. Continues certain activities authorized by the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 through the date for which funding is provided under this resolution. Amends Federal law to extend provisions regarding claim maintenance fees to be paid by holders of unpatented mining claims, mills, or tunnel sites and location fees to be paid by locators. Continues the time for locating such claims, mills, or tunnel sites through the date for which funding is provided under this resolution. Requires the amounts charged for patent fees through the date for which funding is provided under this resolution to be the amounts charged by the Patent and Trademark Office on September 30, 1998. Authorizes, until 30 days after the date for which funding is provided under this resolution, the use of funds to initiate or resume projects or activities at a rate exceeding the current rate to achieve Year 2000 (Y2K) computer conversion.
Bill· HRH.R. 4570 (105th)passed
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Boundary Adjustments and Related Conveyances Title II: Other Land Conveyances and Management Subtitle A: Southern Nevada Public Land Management Subtitle B: Gallatin Land Consolidation Subtitle C: Conveyance of Canyon Ferry Reservoir Properties Subtitle D: Conveyance of National Forest Lands for Public School Purposes Subtitle E: Other Conveyances Title III: Heritage Areas Subtitle A: Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor of Pennsylvania Subtitle B: Automobile National Heritage Area of Michigan Subtitle C: Miscellaneous Provisions Title IV: Historic Areas Title V: San Rafael Swell Subtitle A: San Rafael Swell National Heritage Area Subtitle B: San Rafael Swell National Conservation Area Subtitle C: Wilderness Areas within Conservation Area Subtitle D: Other Special Management Areas within Conservation Area Subtitle E: General Management Provisions Title VI: National Parks Title VII: Reauthorizations Title VIII: Rivers and Trails Title IX: Hazardous Fuels Reduction Subtitle A: Management of Wildland-Urban Interface Areas Subtitle B: Miscellaneous Provisions Title X: Miscellaneous Provisions Title XI: Amendments and Technical Corrections to 1996 Omnibus Parks Act Subtitle A: Technical Corrections to the Omnibus Parks Act Subtitle B: Other Amendments to Omnibus Parks Act Title XII: Dutch John Federal Property Disposition and Assistance Title XIII: Reclamation Project Conveyances and Miscellaneous Provisions Subtitle A: Sly Park Dam and Reservoir, California Subtitle B: Minidoka Project, Idaho Subtitle C: Carlsbad Irrigation Project, New Mexico Subtitle D: Palmetto Bend Project, Texas Subtitle E: Wellton-Mohawk Division, Gila Project, Arizona Subtitle F: Canadian River Project, Texas Subtitle G: Clear Creek Distribution System, California Subtitle H: Pine River Project, Colorado Subtitle I: Technical Corrections and Miscellaneous Provisions Title XIV: Provisions Specific to Alaska Subtitle A: Land Exchange Near Gustavus and Related Provisions Subtitle B: Amendments to Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and Related Provisions Subtitle C: Miscellaneous Provisions Omnibus National Parks and Public Lands Act of 1998 - Title I: Boundary Adjustments and Related Conveyances - Increases the number of acres the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) is authorized to acquire for the Fort Davis National Historic Site in Fort Davis, Texas, by 16. (Sec. 102) Authorizes the Secretary to acquire, by donation only, certain land known as Knob Creek Farm in Larue County, Kentucky. Modifies the boundary of the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site to include such land. Requires the Secretary to study and report to the Congress on the Farm in order to: (1) identify significant resources associated with the Farm and the early boyhood of Abraham Lincoln; (2) evaluate the threats to the long-term protection of the Farm's cultural, recreational, and natural resources; and (3) examine the incorporation of the Farm into the operations of the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site and establish a strategic management plan for implementing such incorporation. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 103) Modifies the boundaries of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in the State of Utah to exclude specified Federal lands and to include the East Clark Bench. Requires the Secretary to convey specified Federal lands to: (1) Garfield County School District, Utah, for use as the location for a school and for other education purposes; and (2) the State of Utah for inclusion of the lands in Kodachrome Basin State Park. Designates specified Federal lands as a utility corridor with regard to U.S. Route 89, in Kane County, Utah. (Sec. 104) Modifies the boundaries of the George Washington Birthplace National Monument to include the property known as George Washington's Boyhood Home, Ferry Farm in Stafford County, Virginia. Authorizes the Secretary to acquire no more than a less than fee interest in the property to ensure the preservation of the important cultural and natural resources associated with Ferry Farm. Requires the Secretary to submit to specified congressional committees a resource study of the property and upon completion of such study allows the Secretary to enter into agreements with the property owner or other entities for the purpose of providing programs, services, facilities, or technical assistance that further the property's preservation and public use. (Sec.105) Adjusts the boundaries of the Wasatch-Cache National Forest and the Mount Naomi Wilderness, in Utah, to exclude the parcel of lands known as the D. Hyde property to correct a faulty land survey. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) convey such parcel to Darrell Edward Hyde of Cache County, Utah; and (2) release any claims against him for trespass or unauthorized use of the parcel before its conveyance. (Sec. 106) Amends the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area Establishment Act of 1990 to modify the boundaries of the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. (Sec. 107) Authorizes the Secretary to convey to Provincetown, Massachusetts, specified Federal land within the Cape Cod National Seashore in exchange for specified land outside of the Seashore to allow for the establishment of a municipal facility to serve the town that is restricted to solid waste transfer and recycling facilities and for other municipal activities that are compatible with National Park Service laws and regulations. Directs the Secretary to modify the boundary of the Seashore to include the land that has been added. Extends the Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory Commission until September 26, 2008. (Sec. 108) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to make a boundary adjustment of the Hells Canyon Wilderness to exclude a specified Forest Service road (which shall continue to be part of the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area) so that it may continue to be used by motorized vehicles to its historical terminus at Squirrel Prairie. Title II: Other Land Conveyances and Management - Subtitle A: Southern Nevada Public Land Management - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to dispose of certain Federal lands within the area under the jurisdiction of the Director of the Bureau of Land Management in Clark County, Nevada. (Sec. 203) Allows the State of Nevada or the unit of local government in whose jurisdiction the lands are located (Clark County, Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, or Henderson, Nevada) to elect to obtain the lands for local public purposes pursuant to the Recreation and Public Purposes Act (RPPA). Requires the Secretary, upon application by a unit of local government or regional governmental entity (the Southern Nevada Water Authority, the Regional Flood Control District, and the Clark County Sanitation District), to issue right-of-way grants (valid in perpetuity) on Federal lands in Clark County for all facilities and systems needed for: (1) the impoundment, storage, treatment, transportation, or distribution of water (other than water from the Virgin River) or wastewater; or (2) flood control management. Waives rental or cost recovery fees with respect to such grants. Directs the Secretary to make such lands available to Clark County in accordance with the RPPA for the construction of youth activity facilities. Sets forth provisions concerning: (1) withdrawal of such lands from mining laws and from operation under the mineral leasing and geothermal leasing laws; and (2) joint selection of such lands for sale or exchange by the Secretary and the respective unit of local government. Provides for allocation of proceeds from the land sales and exchanges to: (1) the general education program of Nevada; (2) the Southern Nevada Water Authority; and (3) a special account in the Treasury for the acquisition of environmentally sensitive land in Nevada, capital improvements in Federal areas in Clark County and the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area, development of a multispecies habitat conservation plan, parks, trails, and natural areas in Clark County, and reimbursement of costs incurred by BLM local offices in arranging sales or exchanges. Requires the Secretary to transfer the airport environs overlay district lands identified in the Interim Cooperative Management Agreement between the United States Department of the Interior-Bureau of Land Management and Clark County, dated November 4, 1992, to Clark County upon request, without consideration, and subject to specified conditions, including conditions governing proceeds from the sale or lease of such property by Clark County. (Sec. 204) Allows the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to acquire environmentally sensitive land with the owner's consent. Provides that such acquired land that is within the boundaries of a unit of the National Forest System, the National Park System, the National Wildlife Refuge System, the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, the National Trails System, the National Wilderness Preservation System, or any other system or national conservation or recreation area established by Act of Congress shall: (1) become part of the unit or area without further action by the respective Secretary; and (2) be managed in accordance with all laws and regulations and land use plans applicable to the unit or area. Includes lands acquired by the Secretaries under this Act within the definition of entitlement lands with respect to Federal payments to a local unit of government in which such land is located (payments in lieu of taxes). (Sec. 206) Authorizes the Secretary, upon request by a grantee of lands within Clark County, Nevada, that are subject to a lease or patent issued under the RPPA, to transfer the reversionary interest in such lands to other non-Federal lands on an equal value basis. (Sec. 207) Requires the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, to make available land in Nevada, in accordance with the RPPA, for purposes of affordable housing (housing that is assisted under the United States Housing Act of 1937) only to State and local governmental entities (including local public housing authorities). (Sec. 208) Directs the Secretary to convey, under specified conditions, to the Clark County, Nevada, Department of Aviation certain real property in Ivanpah Valley, Nevada, for the development of an airport facility and related infrastructure. Requires conveyance of small parcels over 20 years as may be required for phased construction and development. Sets forth provisions concerning: (1) the determination of the fair market value of each conveyed parcel of land; and (2) a reversionary interest in such land if the Secretary determines that the Aviation Department is not developing or progressing toward the development of the conveyed lands as an airport facility. Withdraws the conveyed lands from mineral entry under the Mining Law of 1872 and the Mineral Leasing Act. Subtitle B: Gallatin Land Consolidation - Provides for the exchange of land and other assets including certain timber harvest rights by the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior with the Big Sky Lumber Co. (BSL) for inclusion in the Gallatin National Forest and Deerlodge National Forest, Montana. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) implement a timber sale program to fund the purchase of specified (Taylor Fork) BSL land; (2) enter into specified land exchanges (Wapiti and Eightmile-West Pine); and (3) implement a restoration program for lands acquired under this Act. Encourages the Secretary to pursue a specified land exchange (section 1 of the Taylor Fork land). (Sec. 216) Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Conveyance of Canyon Ferry Reservoir Properties - Establishes the terms and conditions under which the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) shall convey 265 cabin sites and certain small contiguous parcels of the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) around Canyon Ferry Reservoir, Montana, to the lessees of the properties, based upon the highest bidder. Grants the Canyon Ferry Recreation Association, Incorporated, the right to match the highest bid and purchase the property. Sets forth provisions regarding terms of conveyance if the highest bidder is other than CFRA and CFRA does not match the highest bid, rights and options of existing lessees, and applicable requirements if CFRA is the highest bidder or matches the highest bid. (Sec. 225) Sets forth provisions regarding management of the Silos Recreation Area, income generated by concessions at the Area, and use of the proceeds of conveyances under this Act. (Sec. 227) Establishes the Montana Fish and Wildlife Conservation Trust to acquire publicly accessible land and interests in land, easements, and conservation easements in Montana for specified purposes. (Sec. 228) Prohibits the sale of the 265 cabin sites and related BOR parcels unless and until the Board of Commissioners for Broadwater County, Montana, establishes the Canyon Ferry-Broadwater County Trust as a perpetual public trust and the Board deposits at least $3 million as the initial corpus of the Trust. Requires the Commissioners to appoint an advisory committee to establish priorities and prepare requests for the dispersement of funds from the County Trust with the Commissioners' approval. Subtitle D: Conveyance of National Forest Lands for Public School Purposes - Provides for the transfer of up to 40 acres of certain National Forest System lands to a local governmental entity for local public school purposes only. Subtitle E: Other Conveyances - Provides for an exchange of specified Federal lands administered by the El Portal Administrative Site in California in exchange for specified non-Federal lands known as the Yosemite View parcel located adjacent to the Site. (Sec. 242) Authorizes the use of specified lands in Merced County, California, for an elementary school. (Sec. 243) Issues quitclaim deeds to specified individuals to certain family property in Big Horn County, Wyoming. (Sec. 245) Ratifies the "Agreement to Exchange Utah School Trust Lands Between the State of Utah and the United States of America" and sets forth the obligations and commitments of the United States, Utah, and Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration as a matter of Federal law. Repeals Federal law providing for the exchange of Federal lands in Utah in exchange for State lands and providing additional lands within Utah for the Goshute Indian Reservation, with the exception of provisions regarding: (1) payment to Utah of a portion of a royalty payment received by the United States for certain mining and mineral interests in Utah; (2) the limit on such payment; and (3) payment in lieu of taxes for certain entitlement lands in Utah. Requires a $50 million payment to Utah upon completion of all conveyances described in the Agreement. (Sec. 246) Provides for the exchange of specified Federal lands within the Routt National Forest, Colorado, for specified non-Federal lands known as the Miles parcel located adjacent to such Forest. Adjusts the boundary of the Forest to reflect the exchange. (Sec. 247) Provides for the sale or exchange of the Rogue River National Forest administrative site. (Sec. 248) Transfers administrative jurisdiction over certain lands in Lake County, Oregon, located adjacent to or within the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge, from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Includes transferred lands within the Refuge. Withdraws such lands from the public land, mineral leasing, and mining laws. Requires BLM to retain jurisdiction over certain lands located south of the Refuge identified for cooperative management. Requires such lands that are within the Guano Creek Wilderness Study Area to be managed to maintain the values for which the Area was designated. Transfers administrative jurisdiction over other specified lands adjacent to or within the Refuge from the Fish and Wildlife Service to BLM. Removes such lands from the Refuge and designates them as public lands. (Sec. 249) Amends the Idaho Admission Act regarding school land lease or sale to provide for: (1) establishment of an earnings reserve fund; (2) authorization of a land bank fund for additional land purchases; and (3) elimination of land lease-time restrictions. (Sec. 250) Transfers certain property located in the San Joaquin Valley, California, from the administrative jurisdiction of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Department of Justice to the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior. (Sec. 251) Conveys specified parcels of land under the jurisdiction of the Forest Service in Kern County, California to Kern County. (Sec. 252) Absolves the United States from any liability that did not already exist with respect to the transfer of specified land from the city of St. George, Utah, to the United States located within the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve in Washington County, Utah. Title III: Heritage Areas - Subtitle A: Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor of Pennsylvania - Amends the Delaware and Lehigh Navigation Canal National Heritage Corridor Act of 1988 (the Act) to change the name of the Delaware and Lehigh Navigation Canal National Heritage Corridor to the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor. (Sec. 302) Includes among the Act's purposes enhancing economic development within the context of preservation. (Sec. 303) Modifies provisions regarding: (1) membership of, terms of office for, and confirmation of appointment to the Delaware and Lehigh National Corridor Commission; and (2) powers of the Commission to authorize the conveyance of real property acquired by the Commission to an appropriate nonprofit organization, to authorize the Commission to enter into cooperative agreements with a nonprofit organization, and to require any cooperative agreement to establish procedures for providing notice to the Commission of any action proposed by a nonprofit organization which may affect implementation of the Cultural Heritage and Corridor Management Plan. (Sec. 304) Authorizes the Commission to administer any grant or loan from amounts appropriated, donated, or otherwise made available to the Commission for the purpose of providing a grant or loan. (Sec. 305) Directs the Commission to implement the Plan by taking appropriate steps to preserve and interpret the cultural, natural, recreational, and scenic (currently, limited to historic) resources of the Canal and its surrounding area. (Sec. 306) Terminates the Commission ten years after the date of this Act's enactment. (Sec. 307) Requires specified actions by any Federal entity conducting or supporting activities directly affecting the historic, cultural, natural, recreational, or scenic resources of the Corridor (currently, the flow of the Canal or the natural resources of the Corridor). (Sec. 308) Reauthorizes and increases appropriations under the Act. (Sec. 309) Prohibits the Commission from interfering with private property rights or any local zoning ordinance or land use plan of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or any political subdivision. (Sec. 310) Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, upon request of the Commission, to provide grants and technical assistance to the Commission or units of government, nonprofit organizations, and other persons, for development and implementation of the plan. Subtitle B: Automobile National Heritage Area of Michigan - Establishes the Automobile National Heritage Area in the State of Michigan. Authorizes the Secretary to add or remove lands from the Area in response to a request from the Automobile National Heritage Area Partnership, Inc. (a nonprofit corporation established under Michigan laws). (Sec. 314) Designates the Partnership as the management entity for the Area and authorizes it to receive amounts appropriated to carry out this Act. Provides that if a management plan for the Area is not submitted to the Secretary within the time specified in this Act, the Partnership shall cease to be authorized to receive Federal funding until such a plan is submitted. Sets forth authorized uses of, and a limitation on, such funds by the Partnership. (Sec. 315) Requires the Board of Directors of the Partnership to develop and submit to the Secretary a management plan for the Area for review and approval. (Sec. 316) Authorizes the Secretary to provide technical assistance and, subject to the availability of appropriations, grants to government units, nonprofit organizations, and other persons upon request of the Partnership, and to the Partnership, regarding the management plan and its implementation. Prohibits the Secretary, as a condition of the award of technical assistance or grants, from requiring any recipient of such technical assistance or a grant to enact or modify land use restrictions. (Sec. 317) Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed to: (1) modify, enlarge, or diminish any authority of Federal, State, or local governments to regulate any use of land under any other law or regulation; (2) grant powers of zoning or land use control to the Partnership; or (3) affect or to authorize the Partnership to interfere with the rights of any person with respect to private property or any local zoning ordinance or land use plan of the State of Michigan or a political subdivision thereof. (Sec. 318) Prohibits the Secretary from making any grant or providing any assistance under this Act after September 30, 2014. (Sec. 319) Authorizes appropriations. Limits Federal funding to 50 percent of the total cost of any activity carried out with any financial assistance or grant provided under this Act. Subtitle C: Miscellaneous Provisions - Extends, through FY 2000, the authorization of appropriations for preservation of structures on or eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places within the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. (Sec. 322) Amends the Illinois and Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor Act of 1984 to extend the Illinois and Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor Commission to August 24, 2004. Repeals provisions granting the Commission extension authority. Title IV: Historic Areas - Requires the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the National Park Service and in consultation with the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the International Midway Memorial Foundation, Inc., the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Battle of Coral Sea Association, the American Legion, or other appropriate veterans groups, respectively, and Midway Phoenix Corporation, to study and report to specified congressional committees on the suitability and feasibility of establishing Midway Atoll as a national memorial to the Battle of Midway. Requires that the report include an inventory of all known facilities and structures of historical significance on Midway Atoll and its environs. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 402) Amends the National Historic Preservation Act to direct the Secretary, in order to provide a national historic light station program, to: (1) collect and disseminate information concerning such stations; (2) foster educational programs relating to the history, practice, and contribution to society of such stations; (3) sponsor or conduct research and study into the history of such stations; (4) maintain a listing of such stations; and (5) assess the effectiveness of the program regarding the conveyance of such stations. Directs the Secretary and the Administrator of General Services to establish a process for identifying and selecting an eligible entity to which a station could be conveyed for education, park, recreation, cultural, and historic preservation purposes. Requires: (1) the Secretary to review all applicants for the conveyance of a station identified as excess to an agency's needs and forward to the Administrator a single approved application for such station; and (2) the Administrator to convey such station, subject to specified conditions that include a requirement that active aids to navigation continue to be operated and maintained by the United States if considered necessary by the Administrator. Prohibits stations located within the exterior boundary of a National Park System unit or a refuge within the National Wildlife Refuge System from being conveyed or sold without the Secretary's approval. Requires: (1) a station to be offered for sale in accordance with terms developed by the Administrator if no applicants are approved for conveyance; and (2) net sale proceeds to be transferred to the National Maritime Heritage Grant Program. Requires any Federal department or agency to which a station is conveyed to maintain the station in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and the Secretary's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 403) Establishes the Thomas Cole National Historic Site in New York State as an affiliated area of the National Park System. Provides that the Greene County Historical Society of Greene County, New York, shall continue to own, manage, and operate the Site. Requires the Society to administer the Site in a manner consistent with this Act and all laws generally applicable to National Park System units. Authorizes the Secretary enter into cooperative agreements with the: (1) Society to preserve the Thomas Cole House and other structures in the Site and to assist with education programs and research and interpretation of the Thomas Cole House and associated landscapes; (2) State of New York, the Society, the Thomas Cole Foundation, and other public and private entities to facilitate public understanding and enjoyment of the lives and works of the Hudson River artists through activities related to the preservation, interpretation, and use of the Site; and (3) acquire personal property and works of art associated with, and appropriate for, the interpretation of the Site and for display at the Site. Directs the Secretary, with the cooperation of the Society, to develop and submit to specified congressional committees a general management plan for the Site, including recommendations for regional wayside exhibits. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 404) Amends Federal law to include within the Valley Forge National Historical Park the Paoli Battlefield in Malvern, Pennsylvania. Authorizes appropriations to acquire Battlefield property, if a specified amount of non-Federal funds are available for the acquisition (and subsequent donation to the National Park Service) of such property. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a cooperative agreement with Malvern Borough for the Borough management of the Battlefield Addition. (Sec. 405) Authorizes the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements to provide to Arizona and the town of Springerville, Arizona, technical assistance to interpret, operate, and maintain the Casa Malpais National Historical Landmark and financial assistance for planning, staff training, and development of the Landmark, but not other routine operations. Provides that such agreements may also: (1) grant the Secretary, acting through the National Park Service, access to public portions of the property covered by the agreements for the purpose of interpreting the Landmark; and (2) prohibit changes or alterations to the Landmark except by mutual agreement between the Secretary and the other parties to all such agreements. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 406) Designates the Lower East Side Tenement at 97 Orchard Street, New York, New York, as a national historic site and an affiliated site of the National Park System. Requires the Secretary to coordinate the operation and interpretation of the Site with that of the Lower East Side Tenement Historic Site, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and Castle Clinton National Monument. Provides that the Lower East Side Tenement Museum shall continue to own, operate, and manage the Site. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a cooperative agreement with the Museum to ensure the marking, interpretation, and preservation of the Site. Requires the Secretary, working with the Museum, to develop a general management plan for the Site to: (1) define the National Park Service's roles and responsibilities with regard to the interpretation and the preservation of the Site; and (2) outline how interpretation and programming for the Lower East Side Tenement Historic Site, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and Castle Clinton National Monuments will be integrated and coordinated so as to enhance the stories at each of the four Sites. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 407) Gateway Visitor Center Authorization Act of 1998 - Authorizes the Secretary to enter into an agreement with the Gateway Visitor Center Corporation to facilitate the construction and operation of the Gateway Visitor Center on Independence Mall, in Philadelphia. Authorizes: (1) the Corporation to operate the Center in cooperation with the Secretary and to provide at the Center information, interpretation, facilities, and services to visitors of Independence National Historical Park, its surrounding historic sites, the city of Philadelphia, and the region and, acting as a private nonprofit organization, to engage in activities appropriate for operation of a regional visitor center; and (2) the Secretary to undertake, at the Center, activities relating to the management of the Park. Requires revenues from activities engaged in by the Corporation to be used for the Center's operation and administration. Declares that nothing in this Act authorizes the Secretary or the Corporation to take any action in derogation of the preservation and protection of the values and resources of the Park. (Sec. 408) Establishes the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site in Alabama as a unit of the National Park System. Requires the Secretary, with the full participation of Tuskegee University, to develop and submit to specified congressional committees a general management plan for the Site. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 409) Establishes the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site, Arkansas, as a unit of the National Park System. Requires the Secretary, within two years after funds are made available, to: (1) prepare a general management plan for the Site; and (2) prepare and transmit to specified congressional committees a National Historic Landmark Theme Study on the history of desegregation in public education. Requires the Secretary, on the basis of the study, to identify possible new national historic landmarks appropriate to this theme and prepare a list in order of importance or merit of the most appropriate sites for national historic landmark designation. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 410) Directs the Secretary to submit a resource study of the Sand Creek Massacre site in Colorado to specified congressional committees. Requires the Secretary to act through the Director of the National Park Service and consult with the State of Colorado and the tribes of the Cheyenne and Arapaho of Oklahoma, the Northern Cheyenne, and the Northern Arapaho (the Tribes). Requires the study to: (1) identify the location and extent of the massacre area and the suitability and feasibility of designating the site as a unit of the National Park System; and (2) include cost estimates for any necessary acquisition, development, operation and maintenance, and identification of alternatives for the management and protection of the area. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 411) Sets forth provisions providing for the protection and enhancement of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, including private acquisition or use of secondary and surplus land controlled by the Secretary and administered as part of the Park and which was first included in the Park in the period beginning January 1, 1972, and ending December 31, 1983. Title V: San Rafael Swell - San Rafael Swell National Heritage and Conservation Act - Subtitle: San Rafael Swell National Heritage Area - Designates the San Rafael Swell National Heritage Area in Utah. (Sec. 514) Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to make grants for specified uses, but not for acquisition of real property or any interest in real property. (Sec. 515) Prescribes necessary elements of: (1) any compact with respect to the Area entered into by the Secretary, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Governor of Utah, in coordination with the Heritage Council established by this subtitle; and (2) the heritage plan setting forth the strategy to implement the goals and objectives of the Area. (Sec. 516) Establishes the Heritage Council to manage the Area and develop a heritage plan in accordance with the compact. (Sec. 517) Sets forth disclaimers with respect to land use regulation. (Sec. 518) Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle: San Rafael Swell National Conservation Area -- Establishes the San Rafael Swell National Conservation Area, which the Secretary shall manage to conserve, protect, and enhance its resources. Sec. 523) Directs the Secretary to develop a comprehensive plan for the long-range management and protection of the Conservation Area. (Sec. 525) Establishes a San Rafael Swell National Conservation Area Advisory Council. Subtitle C: Wilderness Areas within the Conservation Area - Designates the following areas within the Conservation Area as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System: (1) Crack Canyon Wilderness Area; (2) Mexican Mountain Wilderness Area; (3) Muddy Creek Wilderness Area; and (4) San Rafael Reef Wilderness Area. (Sec. 533) Declares that grazing of livestock within designated wilderness areas: (1) shall be administered according to specified law and guidelines; and (2) shall not be reduced, increased, or withdrawn, except based solely on scientific analyses of range conditions. (Sec. 534) Declares that any public land administered by the Bureau of Land Management within the Conservation Area in Emery County, Utah, that is not designated as wilderness by this subtitle: (1) shall not be subject to management for preservation as wilderness; but (2) shall be managed for multiple uses and in accordance with certain land management plans. Subtitle D: Other Special Management Areas Within Conservation Area - Establishes within the Conservation Area a San Rafael Swell Desert Bighorn Sheep Management Area to provide for the prudent management of Desert Bighorn Sheep and their habitat in the Sid's Mountain area of the Conservation Area. Prescribes requirements for management and use of the Management Area. Directs the Secretary to include a management plan for the Area in the Conservation Area management plan. (Sec. 542) Directs the Secretary to designate within the Conservation Area certain semi-primitive nonmotorized use areas, which shall provide opportunities for: (1) isolation from the sights and sounds of humans (including their motorized vehicles); (2) a high degree of interaction with the natural environment; and (3) the practice of outdoor skills in settings that present moderate challenge and risk. (Sec. 543) Directs the Secretary to designate within the Conservation Area a specified scenic visual area of critical environmental concern to preserve the scenic value of the Interstate Route 70 corridor. Subtitle E: General Management Provisions - Requires the Secretary to permit domestic livestock grazing within areas of the Conservation Area where grazing was established before enactment of this Act, except in wilderness areas. (Sec. 552) Directs the Secretary to authorize the discovery of, protect, and (at the Secretary's discretion) interpret cultural or paleontological resources within the Conservation Area. (Sec. 553) Provides for the exchange of Federal lands or interests in lands with the State of Utah for any school and institutional trust lands of the State whose value or economic potential may be diminished by establishment of the Conservation Area. (Sec. 554) Declares that there is no express or implied Federal reservation of water or water rights arising from the designation of any area as part of the Conservation Area or as a wilderness or semi-primitive area under this Act. Authorizes the United States to acquire and exercise, in accordance with State law, such water rights as necessary to carry out its responsibilities on any land designated as part of the Conservation Area. (Sec. 555) Declares that nothing in this Act affects the State jurisdiction or responsibilities with respect to fish and wildlife management activities. Declares that the Congress does not intend that the designation of the Conservation Area or any wilderness or semi-primitive area lead to the creation of protective perimeters or buffer zones around the area, but only within it. Provides for: (1) the set back of boundaries from roads and rights-of- way; and (2) acquisition of land from non-governmental entities by exchange or purchase only. Title VI: National Parks - Amends Federal law to include in the land and water use management plan for the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Michigan, provisions for appropriate improvements to Alger County Road H-58. Prohibits construction of a scenic shoreline drive in the Lakeshore. (Sec. 602) Modifies the boundary of the Arches National Park, Utah, to include the Lost Spring Canyon Addition (Area). Requires the Secretary of the Interior to transfer jurisdiction over the Federal lands contained in the Area from the Bureau of Land Management to the National Park Service to be administered in accordance with the laws and regulations applicable to the Park. Continues existing grazing leases, permits, or licenses for the Area for the lifetime of the existing permittee and of any direct descendants of the permittee born before enactment of this Act. Allows the sale of such grazing lease, permit, or license, except that the term of a sold lease, permit, or license shall not exceed ten years or its retirement date, whichever occurs first. Withdraws Federal lands within the Area from the public land and mineral leasing laws. Provides that the inclusion of the Area in the Park shall not affect the operation or maintenance by the Northwest Pipeline Corporation of the natural gas pipeline that passes through the Area. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to transfer specified Federal lands to the State of Utah in exchange for specified State school trust lands, if the State offers such exchange within one year after enactment of this Act. Subjects such exchanged lands to valid existing rights. Specifies requirements to be satisfied by the State before undertaking or permitting any surface disturbing activities. Requires the State to preserve existing grazing, recreational, and wildlife uses of such lands. Permits Utah to authorize or undertake surface or mineral activities authorized by existing or future land management plans for the acquired lands. (Sec. 603) Terminates a Special Use Permit, issued by the Secretary to the Miccosukee Indian Tribe on February 1, 1973, authorizing such Tribe's use of a specified area of the northern portion of Everglades National Park, Florida. Expands the area covered by the former Permit, to be known as the Miccosukee Reserved Area (MRA). Directs the Tribe to govern its own affairs within the MRA as though it were a Federal Indian reservation. Gives the Tribe exclusive use and occupancy over the MRA in perpetuity. Confers Indian Country status on the MRA, with exclusive Federal jurisdiction. Directs the Tribe to prevent and abate any significant: (1) water quality, quantity, or distribution degradation; (2) propagation of exotic plants or animals outside the MRA; (3) hindrance to public access to Park areas outside the MRA; and (4) cumulative adverse environmental impact on the Park outside the MRA resulting from development or other activities within the MRA. Requires the Tribe to: (1) develop, publish, and implement procedures assuring adequate public notice and opportunity to comment on major tribal actions within the MRA that may have a significant cumulative adverse impact on the Everglades ecosystem; and (2) adopt and comply with water quality standards within the MRA that are at least as protective as those for the Park areas approved under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. Restricts buildings within the MRA to 45 feet or two stories in height, with exceptions for: (1) a structure within the Miccosukee Government Center; and (2) certain public service structures. Authorizes the waiver of such restriction by the Secretary when appropriate. Provides other limitations, including gaming and aviation, within the MRA. Directs the Secretary and the tribal chairman to reach required agreements under this Act, authorizing the use of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. Provides general authorities, including easements and access rights to Federal agents to monitor tribal compliance with this Act. States that nothing in this Act shall enhance or diminish current water rights. Authorizes the Attorney General or the Tribe to bring suit to enforce this Act. (Sec. 604) Adjusts the boundaries of the Cumberland Island Wilderness, Georgia to exclude and to include certain lands if the proposed land exchange being negotiated between the Secretary and the Nature Conservancy and High Point, Inc. is agreed to with regard to Cumberland Island National Seashore and Cumberland Island Wilderness. Excludes the main road on Cumberland Island (as described on the register of national historic places), the spur road that provides access to Plum Orchard mansion, and such limited area on each side of these roads as necessary, from the boundaries of the Cumberland Island Wilderness and the potential wilderness area. Requires the Secretary to: (1) restore Plum Orchard mansion at Cumberland Island National Seashore so that the condition of the restored mansion is at least equal to the condition of the mansion when it was donated to the United States; and (2) submit a comprehensive plan for the repair, stabilization, and restoration of the mansion to such condition. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to: (1) identify, document, and protect archaeological sites located on Federal land within the Seashore; and (2) prepare and implement a plan to preserve designated national historic sites within the Seashore. Designates, subject to valid existing rights and pre-existing uses, a specified parcel of Federal land within Cumberland Island National Seashore as wilderness and a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Adjusts the boundaries of the Cumberland Island Wilderness to include the parcel. (Sec. 605) Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the National Park Service, to undertake feasibility studies and report to the Congress on the establishment of National Park System units in specified areas of the islands of Maui, Lanai, Kauai, and Molokai of Hawaii (including the feasibility of extending the present National Historic Park boundaries at Kalaupapa Settlement eastward to Halawa Valley along the island's north shore). (Sec. 606) Amends the Antiquities Act to prohibit the President from issuing a proclamation designating more than 50,000 acres in a single State in a single calendar year as a national monument until 30 days after the President has transmitted the proposed proclamation to the Governor of the affected State. Provides that the proclamation shall cease to be effective two years after it is issued unless the Congress has approved it by joint resolution. (Sec. 607) Amends Federal law regarding Channel Islands National Park, California, to direct the Secretaryto grant to specified individuals rights of use and occupancy of the Gherini Ranch on Santa Cruz Island for a term of 25 years. (Sec. 608) Authorizes the Secretary to acquire up to 15 acres of land known as the Warren Property or Mount Kimble, to be included in and administered as part of Morristown National Historical Park. (Sec. 609) Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to allow the Secretary in any fiscal year to withhold from the special Treasury account established for a Federal agency 100 percent of the fees and charges (such as recreational use fees) collected by such agency in connection with any National Park System (NPS) unit at which entrance or admission fees cannot be collected by reason of deed restrictions. Requires such amounts to be retained for expenditure by the Secretary, without further appropriation, for such NPS unit. (Sec. 610) Provides for an additional map to depict lands added to the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Georgia, pursuant to this Act. Allows, after July 1, 1999, the Secretary to modify the boundaries of the Area to include other lands within 2,000 feet of each bank of the River by submitting a revised map or other boundary description to the Congress. Prohibits such revised boundaries from taking place if the Congress adopts a Joint Resolution disapproving the revision. Permits, before such date, a landowner whose land or portion thereof is within 2,000 feet of each bank of the River, to notify the Secretary that such land is not to be included within the revised boundaries of the Area. Requires the Secretary to modify the boundaries to exclude such land upon receipt of its legal description. Increases the total acreage limitation for the Area to 10,000 (currently, approximately 6,800). Repeals Federal provisions providing for exchange of Federal lands within the Area for non-Federal lands within its boundaries. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with other entities (currently, Georgia and its political subdivisions) to assure standardized acquisition, planning, design, construction, and operation of the Area. Decreases from $79.4 million to $25 million the cap on the authorization of appropriations for acquisition of land and interests in land for the Area. Authorizes the Secretary to accept the donation of funds and lands or interests in lands to carry out this Act. Requires the Secretary, within three years after enactment of this Act, to submit to specified congressional committees a revision of the general management plan for the Area. Prohibits the acquisition of lands and interests in lands under this Act without the owner's consent. Title VII: Reauthorization -Amends the National Historic Preservation Act to authorize (current law requires) the Secretary of the Interior to undertake a review of the nomination of a property for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places as a national historic landmark when an objection to such inclusion has been made. Authorizes the Secretary to administer grants (current law requires the Secretary to administer a program of matching grants-in-aid) to the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States. Requires a State or Indian tribe to be solely responsible for determining which professional employees are necessary to carry out its duties relating to the administration of an historic preservation program. Limits Federal properties under the jurisdiction of the Architect of the Capitol that are exempt from requirements of the National Historic Preservation Act to those properties depicted on a specified map to be kept on file in the office of the Secretary. Extends through FY 2004 funding for the Historic Preservation Fund. Requires Federal agencies: (1) prior to procuring buildings for carrying out agency responsibilities, to use historic properties available to the agency to the maximum extent feasible, especially in central business areas; and (2) when locating Federal facilities, to give first consideration to historic properties in historic districts, then to developed or undeveloped sites within such districts, and finally to historic properties outside of such districts. Requires any rehabilitation or construction undertaken pursuant to such Act to be architecturally compatible with the character of the surrounding historic district or properties. Extends through FY 2004 the budget authority for the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. (Sec. 702) Reauthorizes the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area Citizen Advisory Commission until October 31, 2008. (Sec. 703) Increases from $1 million to $4 million the authorization of additional appropriations for the New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail Route. Extends the Secretary's authority with respect to such Route until May 4, 2004. Includes the township of Woodbridge, New Jersey, as a cultural site along the New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail Route. (Sec. 704) Amends the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 to extend, for an additional ten years, the authorization for the Upper Delaware Citizens Advisory Council. Title VIII: Rivers and Trails - Amends the National Trails System Act to provide for the establishment, as components of the National Trails System, of national discovery trails which shall be extended, continuous interstate trails located so as to provide for outdoor recreation and travel and to connect representative examples of America's trails and communities. Permits such trails to be designated on nonfederal lands, with an owner's consent. Prohibits a trail from being considered feasible and desirable for designation as a national discovery trail unless : (1) the trail links one or more areas within the boundaries of a metropolitan area and joins with other trails, tying the National Trails System to significant recreation and resources areas; (2) the trail is supported by at least one competent trailwide volunteer-based organization and has extensive local and trailwide support by the public, user groups, and affected State and local governments; (3) the trail extends and passes through more than one State and, at a minimum, is a continuous, walkable route; and (4) the appropriate Secretary obtains written consent from affected landowners before entering nonpublic lands to conduct surveys or studies of nonpublic lands. Exempts national discovery trails from Federal provisions authorizing the Secretary to use condemnation proceedings to acquire private lands without the owner's consent. Designates as a national discovery trail the 6,000-mile American Discovery Trail which shall extend from Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware to Point Reyes National Seashore in California, traveling northern and southern routes from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Denver, Colorado. Requires: (1) the Trail to be administered by the Secretary of the Interior in cooperation with at least one competent trailwide volunteer-based organization, affected land managing agencies, and State and local governments as appropriate; and (2) the responsible Secretary, within three complete fiscal years after designation of a national discovery trail, to submit a comprehensive plan for the protection, management, development, and use of the Federal portions of the trail and provide technical assistance to States, local units of government, and private landowners, as requested, for nonfederal portions of the trail. (Sec. 802) Amends the National Trails System Act to designate the Lincoln National Historic Trail (a trail of approximately 350 miles extending from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River with an extension of the water route down the River to connect with the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail near Wood River, Illinois as a component of the National Trails System. Designates an extension of such water route down the Sangamon River from Beardstown to Springfield for study as an addition to such System. Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate segments of the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord Rivers in Massachusetts as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Requires the segments to be: (1) administered by the Secretary through cooperative agreements between the Secretary and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and its relevant political subdivisions; and (2) managed in accordance with the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord Wild and Scenic River Study, River Conservation Plan which shall be deemed to satisfy the requirement for a comprehensive management plan pursuant to the Act. Requires the Director of the National Park Service to represent the Secretary in the implementation of the Conservation Plan and the provisions of the Act with respect to the segments. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 803) Requires the Secretary: (1) acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management, to establish the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center in Casper, Wyoming, for the interpretation of the historic trails in the vicinity of Casper, including the Oregon Trail, the Mormon Trail, the California Trail, the Pony Express Trail, the Bridger Trail, the Bozeman Trail, and various Indian routes; and (2) to construct, operate, and maintain facilities for the Center. Allows the Secretary to: (1) accept, retain, and expend donations of funds, property, or services from individuals, foundations, corporations, or public entities for development and operation of the Center; (2) collect an entrance fee from visitors to the Center; and (3) use such fees for the Center's operating expenses. Authorizes appropriations. Title IX: Hazardous Fuels Reduction - Community Protection and Hazardous Fuels Reduction Act of 1998 - Subtitle A: Management of Wildland-Urban Interface Areas - Requires the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service to identify wildlife-urban interface areas (the line, area, or zone where structures and other human development meet or intermingle with undeveloped wildland or vegetative fuel) with hazardous fuels buildups and other forest management needs. (Sec. 912) Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture or of the Interior to (temporarily) enter into forest product sales contracts in order to reduce hazardous fuels buildups in such areas, which may require the purchaser to undertake forest management projects under specified conditions in return for forest management credits. Limits such credits to $75 million per fiscal year. Subtitle B: Miscellaneous Provisions - Requires the Secretary concerned to issue implementing regulations within a specified time. Authorizes program appropriations. Title X: Miscellaneous Provisions - Authorizes the Government of India to establish a memorial to honor Mahatma Gandhi on specified Federal land in the District of Columbia. Prohibits the United States from paying any expense of establishing the memorial. (Sec. 1002) National Cave and Karst Research Institute Act of 1997 - Requires the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the National Park Service, to establish the National Cave and Karst Research Institute in the vicinity and outside the boundaries of Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico. Limits Federal funding to matching funds. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1003) Establishes the Guadalupe-Hidalgo Treaty Land Claims Commission to determine the validity of land claims arising out of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo of 1848. Authorizes to petition the Commission, on behalf of themselves and all other descendants, ten or more eligible Mexican descendants in the State of New Mexico who are also descendants of the same community land grant. Directs the Commission to establish a Community Land Grant Study Center. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1004) Designates specified public lands in the California Desert District of the Bureau of Land Management as the Otay Mountain Wilderness. Declares that such designation: (1) shall not preclude Federal, State, or local government drug interdiction and border operations or wildland fire management operations within the Wilderness; and (2) is not intended to lead to the creation of protective buffer zones around the Wilderness. (Sec. 1005) Directs the Secretary to: (1) purchase the Wilcox Ranch in Eastern Utah; and (2) transfer the surface estate to such lands to the State of Utah for management by the State Division of Wildlife Resources for wildlife habitat and public access. Authorizes the Secretary to use not more than $5 million from the land and water conservation fund for the purchase. (Sec. 1006) Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument Completion Act - Requires the Secretary to acquire, by exchange, the mineral and geothermal interests of each company (Burlington Northern, Incorporated or the Weyerhaeuser Company) in the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument in the State of Washington. Sets forth requirements and administrative procedures for such exchange, including requiring the Secretary, in exchange for all mineral and geothermal interests acquired from each company, to issue to each such company monetary credits with a value of $2.1 million that may be used for the payment of: (1) not more than 50 percent of the bonus or other payments made by successful bidders in any sales of mineral, oil, gas, or geothermal leases under the Mineral Leasing Act, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, or the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 in the contiguous 48 States; (2) not more than ten percent of the bonus or other payments made by successful bidders in any sales of such leases under such Acts; (3) not more than 50 percent of any royalty, rental, or advance royalty payment made to the United States to maintain any mineral, oil, or gas, or geothermal lease in the 48 contiguous States issued under such Acts; or (4) not more than ten percent of any royalty, rental, or advance royalty payment made to the United States to maintain any mineral, oil, or gas, or geothermal lease in Alaska issued under such Acts. Requires the Secretary to accept credits in the same manner as cash for the payments. Requires that all amounts in the form of credits accepted by the Secretary for the payments be considered to be money received for the purpose of the Mineral Leasing Act and the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970. Directs the Secretary, not later than 30 days after the completion of the required exchange with a company, to establish an exchange account for that company for the monetary credits issued to it. Permits: (1) a company to transfer or sell any credits in the company's account to another person; and (2) such credits transferred or sold to be used only by a person that is qualified to bid on, or that holds, a mineral, oil, or gas lease under the Mineral Leasing Act, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, or the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970. Terminates an account created for a company five years after creation. Requires the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees on: (1) all remaining privately held mineral interests within the boundaries of the Monument; and (2) a plan and a timetable by which the Secretary would propose to complete the acquisition of such interests. (Sec. 1007) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary), with respect to the Emigrant Wilderness in the Stanislaus National Forest, California, to enter into an agreement with a non-Federal entity to retain, maintain, and operate at private expense 18 concrete dams and weirs at levels that applied to them before enactment of a specified Act (January 3, 1975). (Sec. 1008) Granite Watershed Enhancement and Protection Act of 1997 - Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a five-year contract with a single private contractor to perform multiple resource management activities (reduction of forest fuel loads, monitoring of wildlife and water quality in the Granite watershed) on Federal lands within the Stanislaus National Forest, California, to demonstrate enhanced water quality at reduced Government cost. (Sec. 1009) Authorizes the Secretary to remove dead, downed, or severely root-sprung trees in accordance with certain alternative arrangements approved by the Council on Environmental Quality for forests and grasslands in Texas in specified National Forest areas in Colorado, Utah, California, Oregon, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Vermont, Idaho, Kentucky, and Florida. Authorizes the Secretary and the Secretary of the Interior, respectively, to request Council approval of alternative tree removal arrangements in cases of catastrophic forest conditions. (Sec. 1010) Amends the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to prohibit the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to public lands, or the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to national forest system lands, from imposing liability without fault for fire suppression costs incurred by the United States with respect to a right-of-way if the right-of-way holder is a not-for-profit entity, including one that uses such right-of-way for electricity delivery to parties having an equity interest in the not-for-profit entity. (Sec. 1011) Directs the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to conduct a study regarding improved outdoor recreational access for persons with disabilities. (Sec. 1012) Designates the site located directly below Inspirational Point within the San Jacinto Ranger District of the San Bernardino National Forest, California, on which communications facilities are located on August 1, 1998, to be used for communication purposes by the persons who operate such facilities until such time as such persons no longer require the use of such site and provide written notice to that effect to the Forest Service. (Sec. 1013) Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to prohibit fees from being assessed against a Federal, State, or local government agency (currently, Federal) regarding negotiations between the Secretary and persons concerning an agreement for the use of Outer Continental Shelf sand, gravel, and shell resources based on an assessment of the value of the resources and the public interest served by promoting development of them. (Sec. 1014) Subjects to the Mineral Leasing Act certain Federal reserved mineral interests conveyed by specified United States land patents. Authorizes any person who acquires a lease under the Act for such mineral interests to exercise the Federal right of entry reserved in such patents by occupying the surface required for purposes reasonably incident to exploration, extraction, and removal of the leased minerals. Prescribes permissible means of occupancy. (Sec. 1015) Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to enter into noncompetitive oil and gas production and reclamation contracts with well operators in the Wayne National Forest (Ohio) who meet specified statutory criteria pursuant to private land mineral leases, subject to the same laws and regulations that applied to such leases. Proscribes contractual arrangements authorizing deeper completions or additional drilling. Requires contracts to require contractors to provide a Federal oil and gas bond to ensure complete and timely reclamation of the former lease tract in accordance with regulations of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service, unless the Secretary accepts in lieu thereof assurances from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Oil and Gas, that: (1) the contractor is in compliance with specified Ohio bonding requirements; (2) the United States is entitled to receive funding under Ohio law to properly plug and restore oil and gas sites and lease tracts; and (3) at least 20 percent of Ohio State severance tax revenues have been allocated to the State of Ohio Orphan Well Fund. Declares that, in entering into any contract under this Act, the Secretary shall reserve the right to require contractor compliance with BLM and Forest Service oil and gas lease bonding requirements whenever the Secretary finds that less than 20 percent of State severance tax revenues has been allocated to such Fund. (Sec. 1016) Authorizes the Washington Interdependence Council of the District of Columbia to establish a memorial in the District to honor and commemorate the accomplishments of Benjamin Banneker. Prohibits the use of Federal funds to pay any expense for establishment of such memorial. Title XI: Amendments and Technical Corrections to 1996 Omnibus Parks Act - Subtitle A: Technical Corrections to the Omnibus Parks Act - Amends the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 (the Act) to make technical corrections to provisions concerning the: (1) Presidio of San Francisco; (2) Colonial National Historical Park; (3) Merced Irrigation District; (4) Big Thicket National Preserve; (5) Kenai Natives Association land exchange; (6) Lamprey Wild and Scenic River; (7) Vancouver National Historic Reserve; (8) Memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr.; (9) Advisory Council on Historic Preservation; (10) Great Falls Historic District, New Jersey; (11) New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park; (12) Nicodemus National Historic Site; (13) Aleutian World War II National Historic Area; (14) Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Historic Preservation Study; (15) Shenandoah Valley Battlefields; (16) Washita Battlefield; (17) ski area permit rental charge; (18) Glacier Bay National Park; (19) Robert J. Lagomarsino visitor center; (20) National Park Service administrative reform; (21) Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor; (22) Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve; (23) recreation lakes; (24) Fossil Forest protection; (25) Opal Creek Wilderness and Scenic Recreation Area; (26) Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area; (27) Natchez National Historical Park; (28) regulation of fishing in certain waters of Alaska;(29) National Coal Heritage Area; (30) Tennessee Civil War Heritage Area; (31) Augusta Canal National Heritage Area; (32) Essex National Heritage Area; and (33) Ohio & Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor. Subtitle B: Other Amendments to Omnibus Parks Act - Amends the Act to extend, until October 27, 2003, the authority of the Black Revolutionary War Patriots Foundation to establish a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia or its environs. Title XII: Dutch John Federal Property Disposition and Assistance - Dutch John Federal Property Disposition and Assistance Act of 1998 - Provides for the transfer or disposal of certain Federal properties at Dutch John, Utah. (Sec. 1206) Transfers lands designated for disposal from the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary), acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, to the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation (BLM), and, if appropriate, the Postal Service. Removes such lands from inclusion in the Ashley National Forest and the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to transfer administrative jurisdiction over certain lands acquired for the Central Utah Project and developed for wildlife mitigation to the Secretary. Incorporates such lands into the Ashley or Uinta National Forests. Directs the Secretary to transfer administrative jurisdiction over certain lands to the Postal Service. (Sec. 1209) Requires the Secretary of the Interior to conduct appraisals to determine the fair market value of properties designated for disposal. (Sec. 1210) Conveys specified infrastructure facilities, land, and public schools to Daggett County, and certain facilities of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources to the Division, without consideration. Sets forth requirements for the purchase of disposed residential properties. Bases priority in purchasing on seniority of reclamation lease or residency in Dutch John. Limits households to one residential lot. Sets forth requirements for the purchase of unoccupied lots, special use lands, and church land. Transfers all water rights to the Dutch John municipal water system to the County, subject to certain conditions. Requires the Secretary to consider issuance of a special use permit affording Flaming Gorge Reservoir public shoreline access and use within the vicinity of Dutch John in conjunction with commercial visitor facilities provided under such a permit. (Sec. 1212) Directs the Secretary, before transfer or disposal of any land that contains cultural resources and may be eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, to prepare a memorandum of agreement, for review and approval by the Utah Office of Historical Preservation and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, that contains a strategy for protecting or mitigating adverse effects on cultural resources. Conveys such land to the County upon completion of actions required under the agreement. (Sec. 1213) Requires the Secretary of the Interior to provide training and transitional operating assistance to County personnel designated as successors to operators of conveyed infrastructure facilities. Provides for annual payments to the County, for up to 15 years, for purposes of defraying administrative transition costs. Makes available a limited amount of electric power and energy from the Colorado River Storage Project for the Dutch John community. (Sec. 1214) Authorizes appropriations. Title XIII: Reclamation Project Conveyances and Miscellaneous Provisions - Subtitle A: Sly Park Dam and Reservoir, California - Sly Park Unit Conveyance Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey the Sly Park Dam and Reservoir, Camp Creek Diversion Dam and Tunnel, and conduits and canals held by the United States (the project) to the El Dorado Irrigation District, California, in consideration of the District accepting the Government's obligations for the Project and subject to District payment of the net present value of the remaining repayment obligation. Requires the transfer to be completed within 180 days if no changes in project operations are expected, and within two years if the District intends to change project operations. Requires the Secretary to: (1) bear all administrative costs if transfer does not occur within the authorized period; and (2) pay one-half of such costs otherwise. (Sec. 1316) Exempts the project from application of the Reclamation Act of 1902 upon such conveyance, except that the District is required to make payments into the Central Valley Project Restoration Fund for 31 years after the enactment of the Act. Calculates the District's obligation in the same manner as Central Valley Project water contractors. Subtitle B: Minidoka Project, Idaho - Burley Irrigation District Conveyance Act - Directs the Secretary to convey to the Burley Irrigation District, Idaho, the Southside Pumping Division of the Minidoka Project, Idaho, and related water rights in consideration of the District accepting the Government's obligations for the Project. Provides transfer completion and administrative costs requirements identical to those provided under subtitle A. (Sec. 1325) Continues the right of the Minidoka Irrigation District to the joint use of the gravity portion of the Southside Canal under a current contract. Directs the Secretary to: (1) allocate to the District storage space in three area reservoirs; and (2) provide the District with reserved power. Subtitle C: Carlsbad Irrigation Project, New Mexico - Carlsbad Irrigation Project Acquired Land Conveyance Act - Directs the Secretary to convey to the Carlsbad Irrigation District, New Mexico, specified real property within the Carlsbad Project in New Mexico and all U.S. interests in Project irrigation and drainage system and related ditch rider houses, the maintenance shop and buildings, and Pecos River Flume. Provides transfer completion and administrative costs requirements identical to those provided under subtitle A. (Sec. 1336) Directs the Secretary to: (1) provide a written identification of all mineral and grazing leases in effect on Project lands; and (2) notify all leaseholders of the conveyance authorized by this title. Requires the District to assume all U.S. rights and obligations under existing mineral and grazing leases, licenses, and permits and entitles the District to any associated receipts. Requires receipts paid into the reclamation fund as Project credits to be made available for the payment of administrative costs. Subtitle D: Palmetto Bend Project, Texas - Palmetto Bend Conveyance Act - Requires the Secretary to convey the Palmetto Bend reclamation project, Texas, to the Lavaca-Navidad River Authority and the Texas Water Development Board, jointly, in consideration of their accepting the Government's obligations for the project and subject to their payment of the net present value of the remaining repayment obligation. Provides transfer completion and administrative costs requirements identical to those provided under subtitle A. (Sec. 1344) Prohibits Lake Texana from being used to wheel water originating from the Texas, Colorado River. Subtitle E : Wellton-Mohawk Division, Gila Project, Arizona - Wellton-Mohawk Division Title Transfer Act of 1998 - Directs the Secretary to convey to the Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation and Drainage District, Arizona, the Wellton-Mohawk Division, Gila Project in Arizona, in consideration of the District accepting the Government's obligations for the Project and subject to the payment of fair market value for District lands that have been withdrawn from public use for reclamation purposes. Provides transfer completion and administrative costs requirements identical to those provided under subtitle A. (Sec. 1357) Requires the Secretary and the Secretary of Energy to deliver Colorado River water and Parker-Davis Project Priority Use power to the District under the terms of existing contracts. Subtitle F : Canadian River Project, Texas - Canadian River Project Prepayment Act - Authorizes prepayment of amounts due under a Bureau of Reclamation water reclamation project contract for the Canadian River Project, Texas. Directs the Secretary, upon such payment, to convey to the Canadian River Municipal Water Authority all U.S. rights and interests to the Project pipeline and related facilities authorized under such contract. Subtitle G : Clear Creek Distribution System, California - Clear Creek Distribution System Conveyance Act - Directs the Secretary to convey title to the Clear Creek Distribution System, California, to the Clear Creek Community Services District in consideration of the District accepting the Government's obligations for the System. Provides transfer completion and administrative costs requirements identical to those provided under subtitle A. Subtitle H : Pine River Project, Colorado - Vallecito Dam and Reservoir Conveyance Act - Directs the Secretary to convey to the Pine River Irrigation District, Colorado, an undivided five-sixths interest in the Pine River Project (the Vallecito Dam and Reservoir and associated interests) in consideration of the District accepting the Government's obligations under the Project. Requires the District, prior to such conveyance, to submit to the Secretary a plan to manage the Project similarly to the manner in which it was previously managed. Provides transfer completion and administrative costs requirements identical to those provided under subtitle A. Directs the Secretary, at the option of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe in Colorado, to convey to the Tribe an undivided one-sixth interest in the Project, all interests in lands in such area over which the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) holds administrative jurisdiction, and associated water rights. (Sec. 1384) Directs the: (1) Secretary to submit to the District, the BIA, and the State of Colorado a description of the current condition of Vallecito Dam; and (2) District to work with the Army Corps of Engineers to develop a flood control plan for the operation of such Dam. Provides for: (1) the transfer of certain inundated lands along the Reservoir; and (2) appropriate administrative jurisdiction over such lands after such transfer. Subtitle I: Technical Corrections and Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends the Reclamation Safety of Dams Act of 1978 to reduce (from 60 to 30 days after the Secretary of the Interior has transmitted a report on an existing dam to the Congress) the required waiting period before the obligation of reclamation funds provided under such Act. Amends the Reclamation Projects Authorization and Adjustment Act of 1992 to direct the Secretary to participate in the planning, design, and construction of the: (1) Albuquerque Metropolitan Area Water Reclamation and Reuse Project; and (2) Phoenix Metropolitan Water Reclamation and Reuse Project. Adds as a purpose of the Albuquerque project to reclaim and use nonpotable surface water in the Albuquerque metropolitan area. Directs the Secretary to refund all amounts received by the United States as collections under the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982 for charges that were assessed for failure to file certain certification or reporting forms. Allows certain administrative fees to be retained. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Emergency Drought Relief Act of 1996 to extend the period of contract repayment for: (1) the city of Corpus Christi, Texas, and the Nueces River Authority under the Nueces River reclamation project, Texas; and (2) the Canadian River Municipal Water Authority under the Canadian River reclamation project, Texas. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into contracts with the Solano County Water Agency, or any of its member unit contractors for water from the Solano Project, California, pursuant to the Act of February 21, 1911 (subject to a limitation on the portion of the Project that may be used) for: (1) the impounding, storage, and carriage of nonproject water for domestic, municipal, industrial, and other beneficial purposes, using any facilities associated with the Project; and (2) the exchange of water among Project contractors for such purposes, using facilities associated with the Project. Authorizes the Secretary to use otherwise available amounts to provide up to $2 million in financial assistance to the Medford Irrigation District and the Rogue River Valley Irrigation District for the design and construction of fish passage and protective facilities at North Fork Little Butte Creek Diversion Dam and South Fork Little Butte Creek Diversion Dam in the Rogue River basin, Oregon, if the Secretary determines in writing that these facilities will enhance the fish recovery efforts currently underway at the Rogue River Basin Project, Oregon. (Sec. 1392) Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to construct: (1) a temperature control device and associated monitoring facilities on Folsom Dam to be operated as part of the Central Valley Project for the benefit and propagation of fall-run chinook salmon and steelhead trout in the American River, California; and (2) such a device and facilities on existing non-Federal facilities delivering Central Valley Project water from Folsom Reservoir. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1393) Colusa Basin Watershed Integrated Resources Management Act - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to provide financial assistance for use by the Colusa Basin Drainage District, California, or by local agencies for planning, design, environmental compliance, and construction required to carry out eligible projects in the Colusa Basin Watershed to: (1) reduce the risk of damage to urban and agricultural areas from flooding or the discharge of drainage water or tailwater; (2) assist in groundwater recharge efforts to alleviate overdraft and land subsidence; (3) construct, restore or preserve wetland and riparian habitat; and (4) capture surface or stormwater for conservation, conjunctive use, and increased water supplies. Requires the Secretary to ensure that funded projects are not inconsistent with watershed protection and environmental restoration efforts being carried out under the Central Valley Project Improvement Act or the CALFED Bay-Delta Program. Directs the Secretary to require that the District and cooperating non-Federal agencies or organizations pay: (1) 25 percent of project costs; and (2) 100 percent of project operation, maintenance, and replacement and rehabilitation costs. Permits funds appropriated pursuant to this Act to be made available: (1) to fund all costs incurred for planning, design, and environmental compliance activities by the District or by local agencies in accordance with agreements with the Secretary; and (2) only to a District or a local agency that has entered into a binding agreement with the Secretary under which the District or local agency is required to pay the non-Federal share of construction costs and which governs the funding of planning, design, and compliance activities costs. Authorizes appropriations. Title XIV: Provisions Specific to Alaska - Subtitle A: Land Exchange Near Gustavus and Related Provisions - Glacier Bay National Park Boundary Adjustment Act of 1998 - Provides for: (1) an exchange of specified State lands in Alaska for specified Federal lands to be completed within six months after the issuance of a license to Gustavus Electric Company (GEC) by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for the construction and operation of a hydroelectric project on such Federal lands; or (2) the exchange of other specified Alaska lands having a sufficiently equal value to satisfy State and Federal law within one year after such license is issued if the Secretary of the Interior and Alaska have not agreed on which lands Alaska will convey within such six-month period. Designates specified State lands and waters in Alaska as wilderness upon consummation of such exchange to ensure that this transaction maintains approximately the same amount of area of designated wilderness. Conditions such land exchange on: (1) FERC's having conducted economic and environmental analyses pursuant to the Federal Power Act (FPA), the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, and the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act that conclude that the construction and operation of a hydroelectric power project on such lands will not adversely impact the purposes and values of the Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, will comply with the requirements of the National Historic Preservation Act, and can be accomplished in an economically feasible manner; (2) FERC holding at least one public meeting in Gustavus, Alaska, allowing its citizens to express their views on the proposed project; (3) FERC having determined with the concurrence of the Secretary and Alaska, the minimum amount of land necessary to construct and operate the project; (4) GEC having been granted a FERC license that requires it to submit an acceptable financing plan to FERC before project construction commences; and (5) FERC approving such plan. (Sec. 1403) Makes the FERC licensing process applicable to any application submitted by GEC to FERC for the right to construct and operate a hydropower project on specified Alaska lands. Authorizes FERC to accept and consider an application filed by GEC for construction and operation of such a project, notwithstanding FPA provisions, if submitted within three years after this Act's enactment. Provides for retention of FERC jurisdiction over any hydropower project constructed on such site. Sets forth additional provisions regarding issuance of a license for construction or operation of such a project. (Sec. 1404) Directs the Secretary to issue a special use permit to GEC to allow completion of the required analyses. Requires the Secretary to impose conditions in the permit as needed to protect the purposes and values of the Preserve. Requires the lands acquired from Alaska to be added to and administered as part of the National Park System, subject to valid existing rights. Exempts GEC from making Federal land use payments under the FPA with respect to the lands exchanged under this Act. Subtitle B: Amendments to Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and Related Provisions - Amends the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) to include lands conveyed to a Native Corporation pursuant to an exchange authorized under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) or other applicable law among lands that are exempt, as long as such lands are not developed, leased, or sold to third parties, from adverse possession claims, real property taxes, specified judgments, and involuntary distributions or conveyances related to the involuntary dissolution of a Native Corporation or Settlement Trust. Specifies that lands shall not be considered developed, leased, or sold to a third party as a result of an exchange or conveyance between or among Native Corporations and trusts, partnerships, corporations, or joint ventures (trusts) whose beneficiaries, partners, shareholders, or joint venturers (beneficiaries) are Native Corporations. Makes certain prohibitions regarding actions by a trustee inapplicable to actions by any trustee whose right, title, or interest in land arises pursuant to an agreement between or among Native Corporations and trusts whose beneficiaries are Native Corporations. (Sec. 1412) Amends ANILCA to revise the definition of "developed" to: (1) require any purposeful modification of land to be performed by a Native individual or Native Corporation; and (2) prohibit any lands previously developed by third-party trespassers from being considered to have been developed. (Sec. 1413) Amends ANCSA to authorize a Native Regional Corporation, upon request, to obtain the retained mineral estate of the Native Allotments that are totally surrounded by ANCSA land selections. Limits a Regional Corporation to a total of not more than 12,000 acres. (Sec. 1414) Amends the Alaska Land Status Technical Corrections Act of 1992 to treat the establishment of the Gold Creek account and conveyance of land, if any, as though 3,520 acres of land had been conveyed to Gold Creek Susitna Association, Incorporated, under ANCSA for which rights to subsurface estate are provided to CIRI (Cook Inlet Region Incorporated). Requires, within one year from enactment, that CIRI select 3,520 acres of subsurface estate in land from the area designated for selection by a specified document. Limits total land selections to five, each of which shall be compact and in whole sections, except when separated by unavailable land or when the remaining entitlement is less than a whole section. (Sec. 1415) Amends ANCSA to exempt certain bonds received by a household, an individual Native, or a descendant of a Native from a Native Corporation from being taken into account as an asset or resource in determining eligibility for need based Federal programs. (Sec. 1416) Amends ANCSA to include the Haida Corporation and the Haida Traditional Use Sites with respect to transferring the administration of mining claims on Regional Corporation lands and not subjecting any revenues remitted to Haida Corporation to distribution under such Act. (Sec. 1417) Amends ANCSA to exempt revenues received by a Regional Corporation from the sale of sand, gravel, stone, pumice, peat, clay, or cinder resources from the revenue sharing requirements otherwise applicable to revenues received for timber resource and subsurface estate sales. (Sec. 1418) Amends ANILCA to: (1) provide for the approval of certain protested Alaska Native allotment applications; and (2) require the Secretary, in selecting individuals to provide certain visitor services, to give preference to the Native Corporations (currently, the Native Corporation) most directly affected by the establishment or expansion of any conservation system unit by or under the provisions of such Act. Requires any allotment application which is open and pending and which is legislatively approved by this section, to be made subject to any easement, trail, or right-of-way in existence on the date of the applicant's commencement of use and occupancy. (Sec. 1420) Requires a report to the Congress concerning local hires under ANILCA and their inability to obtain competitive service positions. (Sec. 1421) Amends ANCSA to authorize and confirm the authority of a Native Corporation to provide benefits to its shareholders who are Natives or descendants of Natives or to its shareholders' immediate family members who are Natives or descendants of Natives to promote the health, education, or welfare of such shareholders or family members. Provides that eligibility for such benefits need not be based on share ownership in the Native Corporation and that such benefits may be provided on a basis other than pro rata based on share ownership. Subtitle C: Miscellaneous Provisions - Prohibits temporarily the Secretaries of Agriculture or the Interior from issuing or implementing any rules or regulations asserting jurisdiction or management (of fish or game resources) pursuant to title VIII of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act over the navigable waters transferred to Alaska pursuant to the Submerged Lands Act of 1953 or the Alaska Statehood Act of 1959. (Sec. 1432) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, not later than December 11, 1998, to grant Chugach Alaska Corporation a road and related easement for access to the Carbon Mountain and Katalla vicinity pursuant to conveyances under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.
Bill· SS. 2467 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 1998
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase, for a limited period of time, from two to ten the number of years permitted for the carryback of net operating losses for certain farmers. Defines specified terms, including "farming loss."
Bill· HRH.R. 4560 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Short-Term Cash Relief Measures Title II: Trade Issues and Promotion of Value-Added Agriculture Subtitle A: Trade Issues Subtitle B: Value-Added Agriculture Subtitle C: Meat Labeling Subtitle D: Other Matters Regarding Trade Title III: Tax Provisions Family Agriculture Reinvestment and Marketing Strategy Act of 1998 - Title I: Short-Term Cash Relief Measures - Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act to authorize increases for production flexibility contract payments. (Sec. 102) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Risk Management Agency, to conduct a crop insurance program that allows producers to select a dollar amount of coverage per acre by crop within a designated production area. Amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to repeal the existing revenue insurance pilot program. (Sec. 103) Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act to provide supplemental market deficiency and indemnity payments to eligible wheat and barley producers adversely affected by trade sanctions. Title II: Trade Issues and Promotion of Value- Added Agriculture -Subtitle A: Trade Issues - Directs the President and the United States Trade Representative to take specified actions regarding trade with Canada concerning: (1) wheat imports; (2) feeder cattle; (3) wheat and feed subsidies; (4) phytosanitary inspection requirements; (4) rail system access; and (5) trade barriers. (Sec. 202) Sets forth specified trade negotiating objectives with respect to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Agriculture. (Sec. 203) Amends the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 to revise provisions with respect to the accession of countries with state trading enterprises to the general agreement on tariffs and trade (GATT) and the WTO. (Sec. 204) States that the United States shall not agree to accession of the People's Republic of China or Russia to the WTO until they take specified actions with respect to: (1) phytosanitary and veterinary standards; and (2) pork, meat, seed, and wheat imports. Subtitle B: Value-Added Agriculture - Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to authorize appropriations to encourage production and marketing of value-added agricultural commodities. (Sec. 212) Directs the Small Business Administrator to implement a low interest loan program for small businesses, farmers, and ranchers affected by low commodity prices. Subtitle C: Meat Labeling - Amends the Federal Meat Inspection Act to: (1) define specified terms relating to beef and lamb; and (2) set forth related labeling requirements. Directs the Secretary to conduct a ground beef and ground lamb labeling study. Subtitle D: Other Matters Regarding Trade - Directs the Secretary and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to jointly conduct a study of licensing and registration procedures under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act and under Canadian law. (Sec. 232) Amends the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to direct the Secretary to conduct a pilot program requiring persons engaged in buying, selling, or marketing livestock, meat, and related products in unmanufactured form to report on prices and sale terms. Amends the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 to prohibit packer retaliation against livestock producers. Title III: Tax Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise individual capital gains tax rates. (Sec. 302) Repeals estate and gift tax provisions. (Sec. 303) Amends the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 to make income averaging for farmers permanent.
Bill· HRH.R. 4565 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 1998
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase, for a limited period of time, from two to ten the number of years permitted for the carryback of net operating losses for certain farmers. Defines specified terms, including "farming loss."
Bill· HRH.R. 4525 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 1998
Amends Federal law to reestablish and add acreage to the Bull Run Watershed Management Unit in Oregon. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture or the Interior, as applicable, to prohibit the cutting of trees on Federal land in the entire unit. Repeals a provision of the: (1) Oregon Resource Conservation Act of 1996 which requires certain Unit lands that are not contained in the Bull Run River Drainage to be managed in accordance with the law establishing the Unit; and (2) Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 regarding the Unit. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture: (1) upon application by the city of Portland, Oregon, to enter into negotiations with the city for the transfer of National Forest System land underlying the city's Bull Run water supply facilities to the city in exchange for city- owned land lying within the boundaries of any unit of the National Forest System in Oregon or Washington; and (2) to expedite the negotiations and complete such land exchange not later than September 30, 2001.
Bill· HRH.R. 4535 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 1998
Emergency Drought Relief Act of 1998 - Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act to eliminate marketing assistance loan rate caps for wheat, corn and feed grains, upland and extra long staple cotton, and oilseeds. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to (temporarily) provide cost-share assistance for crop and livestock producers performing certain drought alleviation projects. Makes such assistance available retroactively to eligible projects begun as of January 1, 1998. Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to authorize: (1) emergency loans based upon estimated losses; and (2) emergency loan interest deferral.
Bill· SS. 2446 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Drug-Free Borders Title II: Protecting Our Neighborhoods and Schools from Drugs Subtitle A: Drug-Free Teen Drivers Subtitle B: Drug-Free Schools Subtitle C: Drug-Free Student Loans Subtitle D: Drug-Free Workplaces Subtitle E: Drug-Free Communities Subtitle F: Banning Free Needles for Drug Addicts Title III: Defeating the Drug Mafia Title IV: National Drug Control Strategy Drug-Free Neighborhoods Act - Title I: Drug-Free Borders - Drug-Free Borders Act of 1998 - Authorizes additional appropriations for FY 1999 through 2003 for the United States Customs Service, Coast Guard, and Department of Defense to stop the flow of illegal drugs into the United States. (Sec. 103) Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit and set penalties for committing (or attempting to commit) a crime of violence during and in relation to: (1) eluding customs, immigration, or agriculture inspection or failing to stop at the command of an officer of customs, immigration, or animal and plant and health inspection services; or (2) an intentional violation of specified arrival, reporting, entry, or clearance requirements (provides for authorizing the imposition of a death sentence if death results). Specifies that if two or more persons conspire to commit such an offense, and one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each shall be punishable as a principal, except that the death sentence may not be imposed. (Sec. 104) Increases from two to five years the penalty for entry of goods by means of false statements. (Sec. 105) Establishes civil penalties for failure to comply with vessel boarding. (Sec. 106) Amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to direct the Attorney General, in each of FY 1999 through 2003, to increase by not less than 1,500 the number of positions for full-time, active-duty border patrol agents within the Immigration and Naturalization Service above the number of such positions for which funds were allotted for the preceding fiscal year, to achieve a level of 15,000 positions by FY 2003. (Sec. 107) Prohibits a border patrol agent from ceasing pursuit of an alien suspected of unlawfully entering, or of an individual unlawfully importing a narcotic into, the United States, until State or local law enforcement authorities are in pursuit and have the alien or individual in their visual range. (Sec. 108) Amends Federal law to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer: (1) up to five percent of the customs officers employed as of the beginning of each fiscal year to new duty stations in that fiscal year on a permanent basis; and (2) customs officers to temporary duty assignments for not more than 90 days. (Sec. 109) Amends Federal law to express the sense of the Congress that collective bargaining agreements should not have any adverse impact on the ability of the Customs Service to interdict contraband, including controlled substances. Requires the parties to meet to address the issue if the Commissioner of the Customs Service or an exclusive representative of Customs Service employees determines that any collective bargaining agreement between the parties has an adverse impact upon the interdiction of contraband. Authorizes either party to enlist the services of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service if the parties do not reach agreement within 90 days of the adverse impact determination, and to pursue any impasse with the Federal Service Impasses Panel. Title II: Protecting Our Neighborhoods and Schools From Drugs - Subtitle A: Drug-Free Teen Drivers - Drug Free Teenage Drivers Act - Directs: (1) the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to establish a demonstration program in several States to provide voluntary drug testing for all teenage applicants (or other first time driver's license applicants) for a driver's license; (2) that information respecting an applicant's choice not to take the drug test or the result of the test be made available to the applicant's automobile insurance company; and (3) the State in which the program is established, if an applicant tests positive, to refrain from issuing a license to the applicant and to require the applicant to complete a State drug treatment program and to not test positive in a drug test before reapplying for a license. (Sec. 203) Directs the Secretary of Transportation to establish an incentive grant program to assist the States in improving their laws relating to controlled substances and driving. Sets forth grant requirements, including regarding the use of grant funds. (Sec. 204) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2003. Subtitle B: Drug-Free Schools - Chapter 1: Victim and Witness Assistance Programs for Teachers and Students - Amends the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 to authorize an eligible crime victim compensation program to expend appropriated funds to offer compensation to elementary and secondary school students or teachers who are victims of school violence. Authorizes the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance to make a grant for a demonstration project or for training and technical assistance services to a program that: (1) assists State and local educational agencies in developing, establishing, and operating programs to protect victims of and witnesses to incidents of elementary and secondary school violence; or (2) supports a student safety toll-free hotline that provides students and teachers in such schools with confidential assistance relating to the issues of school crime, violence, drug dealing, and threats to personal safety. Chapter 2: Innovative Programs to Protect Teachers and Students - Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to States, and State and local educational agencies, to develop, establish, or conduct innovative programs to improve unsafe elementary or secondary schools. Provides priorities for programs that: (1) provide prompt parent and teacher notification of certain school incidents; (2) provide annual reports to parents and teachers regarding such incidents; and (3) enhance school security measures. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 218) Sets forth application requirements. (Sec. 219) Amends the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1994 to authorize innovative voluntary random drug testing programs. Chapter 3: Parental Consent Drug Testing - Authorizes the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the Department of Justice to award grants to States, and State and local educational agencies, to develop, establish, or conduct programs for testing students for illegal drug use with prior parental consent. Sets forth provisions regarding program guidelines, subpoenas and discovery, and matching funds. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2003. Subtitle C: Drug-Free Student Loans - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make a student who has been convicted of a Federal or State felony involving the possession or sale of a controlled substance ineligible to receive any Federal higher education grant, loan, or work assistance for a specified period. Allows a student whose eligibility has been suspended to resume eligibility upon satisfactory completion of a drug rehabilitation program that complies with criteria prescribed by the Secretary, including two unannounced drug tests. Subtitle D: Drug-Free Workplaces - Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1998 - Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) businesses should adopt drug-free workplace programs; and (2) States should consider financial incentives, such as reductions in workers' compensation premiums, to encourage businesses to adopt drug-free workplace programs. (Sec. 244) Amends the Small Business Act to establish a drug-free workplace demonstration program, under which the Small Business Administration may make grants to eligible intermediaries for the purpose of providing financial and technical assistance to small business concerns seeking to start a drug-free workplace program. Sets forth provisions regarding eligibility for participation and program requirements. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 245) Requires the services to be provided by small business development centers to include providing information and assistance to small business concerns with respect to developing drug-free workplace programs. (Sec. 246) Authorizes the Small Business Administrator to contract with and compensate Government and private agencies or persons for services related to carrying out this chapter. Subtitle E: Drug-Free Communities - Amends the National Narcotics Leadership Act of 1988 to authorize appropriations for the Office of National Drug Control Policy for FY 1999 through 2003, of which $10 million in each such fiscal year shall be used for volunteer grassroots drug prevention programs that mobilize parent action teams nationwide to conduct community teen drug awareness education and prevention activities that guarantee increased parental involvement. Subtitle F: Banning Free Needles for Drug Addicts - Prohibits any Federal funds for FY 1998 or 1999 from being made available or used to carry out any program of distributing sterile hypodermic needles or syringes to individuals for the injection of any illegal drug. Title III: Defeating the Drug Mafia - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2003 to: (1) the Drug Enforcement Administration for additional activities to disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking organizations; and (2) to the Federal Bureau of Investigation to enhance investigative and intelligence gathering capabilities relating to illegal drugs. (Sec. 302) Directs the Attorney General to establish an incentive grant program to assist States in enacting laws that establish State registration programs for individuals convicted of criminal offenses involving drug trafficking. Sets forth provisions regarding registration requirements, penalties for failure to register, release of information, immunity of State officials for good faith conduct, fingerprints, and uses of grant funds. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2003. Title IV: National Drug Control Strategy - Amends the National Narcotics Leadership Act of 1988 to require the President to submit to the Congress by: (1) April 1, 1999, a National Drug Control Strategy, setting forth a comprehensive two-year plan for reducing drug abuse and the consequences of drug use in the United States, by limiting the availability of and reducing the demand for illegal drugs; and (2) October 1, 2001, and quadrennially thereafter, a revised National Drug Control Strategy, setting forth a comprehensive four-year plan for reducing drug abuse and the consequences of drug use in the United States. Sets forth provisions regarding the handling of classified information, an annual Strategy report, a performance measurement system, and annual reports by the President to the Congress on the prevalence of illegal drug use by youth between the ages of 12 and 17.
Bill· SS. 2447 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 1998
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a feasibility and cost-benefit study of options for the design and implementation of a national database to track participation in Federal means-tested public assistance programs. Authorizes appropriations.
Law· HRH.R. 4501 (105th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Directs the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to conduct a study regarding improved outdoor recreational access for persons with disabilities.
Bill· HRH.R. 4508 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Temporary Emergency Agriculture Relief Act of 1998 - Amends the Agricultural Act of 1970 to authorize the temporary use of Commodity Credit Corporation funds and facilities to provide cash assistance to agricultural producers adversely affected by natural disasters, including coverage for 1998 losses.
Bill· HRH.R. 4497 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Food Safety Enforcement Enhancement Act of 1998 - Amends the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products Inspection Act to: (1) require a person, other than a household consumer, who has reason to believe meat or poultry products to be adulterated or misbranded to so notify the Secretary of Agriculture; and (2) provide the Secretary with authority for voluntary and mandatory nondistribution and recall, withdrawal of inspectors from violating facilities, and civil penalties.
Bill· HRH.R. 4447 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Forest Tax Relief Act - Terminates the participation of the Forest Service in the Recreational Fee Demonstration Program. Prohibits the Secretary of Agriculture from imposing or collecting any fee under the authority of such Program (authorized by the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996).
Bill· HRH.R. 4417 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Emergency Livestock Disaster Relief Act of 1998 - Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to temporarily use Commodity Credit Corporation funds to provide disaster relief to livestock producers in the same manner as previously provided under the Agricultural Act of 1970.
Bill· HRH.R. 4467 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Open Space Protection Act of 1998 - Amends the Land and Water Conservation Act of 1965 to appropriate from the Land and Water Conservation Fund $900 million for every fiscal year from FY 1999 through 2015, with specified portions available for: (1) Federal purposes (Federal share); (2) financial assistance to the States for State and local natural areas, open space, parklands, or recreational areas; (3) grants to local governments through the Urban Parks and Recreation Recovery Program; (4) grants (through FY 2004) for land acquisition in connection with the American Battlefield Protection Program; and (5) grants (for FY 2004 through 2014) for the restoration and acquisition of historical and cultural sites found within the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management and the National Forest Service. (Sec. 3) Requires the President to: (1) require the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to prepare Federal priority lists for expenditure of the Federal share; and (2) name in the annual budget submission the specific purposes for which the Secretaries shall use such funds, unless Congress specifies otherwise. (Sec. 4) Requires Indian-Alaska Native Village Corporations to be treated as one State for allocation purposes. Authorizes the Secretary to approve conversion of property improved or developed with Federal assistance to other than public recreation uses only if the State demonstrates no prudent or feasible alternative exists (with the exception of those properties that are no longer viable as an outdoor conservation and recreation facility due to changes in demographics, or that must be abandoned because of environmental contamination endangering public health and safety). Requires any conversion to satisfy any conditions the Secretary deems necessary to assure the substitution of other conservation and recreation properties which are: (1) of at least equal market value and reasonably equivalent usefulness and location; and (2) in accord with the existing State Plan for Conservation and Recreation. Declares that wetland areas and interests identified in the action agenda, and proposed for acquisition as suitable replacement property (acceptable to the Secretary) within that same State, shall be considered to be of reasonably equivalent usefulness with the property proposed for conversion. (Sec. 5) Amends the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act to include in the list of local governments eligible to compete for Federal assistance grants for the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Program: (1) all political subdivisions included in Metropolitan, Primary, or Consolidated Statistical Areas; (2) any other city or town within a Metropolitan Area with a total population of 50,000 or more in the 1970, 1980, 1990, or subsequent census; and (3) any other political subdivision, county, parish, or township with a total of 250,000 or more in the 1970, 1980, 1990, or subsequent census. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to make to local governments matching capital: (1) development grants to cover costs of development and construction on existing or new neighborhood recreation sites, including indoor and outdoor recreation facilities, support facilities, and landscaping (but not routine maintenance and upkeep activities); and (2) acquisition grants to cover the direct and incidental costs of purchasing new parkland to be permanently dedicated and made accessible for public conservation and recreation. Authorizes the Secretary to approve conversion of property improved or developed with Federal assistance to other than public recreation uses only if the grantee demonstrates no prudent or feasible alternative exists (with the exception of those properties that are no longer a viable recreation facility due to changes in demographics or that must be abandoned because of environmental contamination endangering public health and safety). Requires any conversion to satisfy any conditions the Secretary deems necessary to assure the substitution of other conservation and recreation properties which are: (1) of at least equal market value and reasonably equivalent usefulness and location; and (2) in accord with the current conservation and recreation recovery action program. Repeals the prohibition against using funds under such Act to acquire land or interests in land.
Bill· HRH.R. 4430 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
New York Canal National Heritage Corridor Act of 1998 - Establishes the New York Canal National Heritage Corridor as an affiliated unit of the National Park System, whose boundaries shall include the counties that are located along the New York Canal Corridor and connecting waterways. Authorizes the Secretaries of the Interior, of Housing and Urban Development, of Agriculture, and of Transportation, and the heads of other appropriate Federal agencies, upon the request of local governments within the Heritage Corridor, to give financial assistance to implement Corridor activities through any program under which such local governments may be assisted. Provides that nothing in this Act shall be construed as a restriction on land use, development, or any other local or individual action.
Bill· HRH.R. 4450 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Children's Act for Responsible Employment - CARE Act - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLRA) to revise child labor prohibitions. (Sec. 2) Repeals certain exemptions from child labor prohibitions for agricultural employment. Applies the same age restrictions to agricultural employment as to other forms of employment. Limits exemptions to agricultural labor outside of school hours, if the individual is employed by his or her parent or legal guardian, on a farm owned or operated by such parent or legal guardian. Raises from 16 to 18 years old the minimum age for engaging in hazardous agricultural employment. (Sec. 3) Prohibits employment of individuals under age 16 in youth peddling. Excludes from the definition of youth peddling volunteer selling of goods or services on behalf of not-for-profit organizations. (Sec. 4) Increases civil and criminal penalties for child labor violations. (Sec. 5) Directs the Secretary of Labor to determine the circumstances under which goods tainted by oppressive child labor may be allowed to be shipped or delivered for shipment in interstate commerce. (Sec. 6) Directs the Secretary to establish closer working relationships with non-governmental organizations and with State and local government agencies with responsibility for administering and enforcing labor and safety and health laws. Requires State and local government agencies to submit information regarding injuries and deaths of employees to the Secretary, upon request, for specified use in enforcement and other uses under FLRA. Authorizes the Secretary to reimburse such agencies for such services. (Sec. 7) Directs the Secretaries of Labor and of Agriculture to enter into a memorandum or understanding to coordinate the development and enforcement of standards to minimize child labor.
Bill· HRH.R. 4409 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1998
Small Watershed Rehabilitation Amendments of 1998 - Amends the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to provide financial assistance to an eligible local organization for the rehabilitation of structural measures originally constructed as part of a covered water resource project. Limits the amount of such assistance to 65 percent of total rehabilitation costs. Authorizes the Secretary to provide technical assistance to a requesting organization in planning, designing, and implementing rehabilitation projects. Prohibits any assistance authorized under this Act from being used to perform operation and maintenance activities. Outlines assistance application requirements. Directs the Secretary to establish a system of approving rehabilitation assistance requests from eligible organizations equitably. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2008. Earmarks funds authorized for the first two fiscal years for an assessment by the Secretary of the rehabilitation needs of covered projects.
Bill· HRH.R. 4394 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1998
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to temporarily give conservation reserve program enrollment priority to croplands that are in disaster areas or in areas infected with Fusarium graminearum or vomitoxin.
Bill· HRH.R. 4399 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1998
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permanently extend income averaging for farmers.
Bill· HRH.R. 4383 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1998
National Uniformity for Food Act of 1998 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) to prohibit any State or political subdivision from establishing or continuing in effect as to any food in interstate commerce any requirement for food labeling or food that is not identical to specified FDCA provisions. Prohibits any State or political subdivision from establishing or continuing in effect any notification requirement for a food that provides for a warning concerning the food's safety that is not identical to FDCA provisions. Allows a State to petition for an exemption and for a national standard regarding any requirement under the FDCA or the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act relating to food regulation. Allows a State to establish a requirement that would otherwise violate FDCA provisions relating to national uniform nutrition labeling or this paragraph if the requirement is needed to address an imminent hazard to health that is likely to result in serious adverse health consequences and if other requirements are met.
Law· SS. 2413 (105th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1998
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the supervisor of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in Arizona, to develop a plan for the Woodland Lake Park tract designed to ensure management for recreational purposes consistent with the current use of the tract as a public park. Prohibits the Secretary from conveying any U.S. right, title, or interest in and to such tract unless the conveyance is: (1) made to the town of Pinetop-Lakeside; or (2) specifically authorized by a law enacted after the date of the enactment of this Act.
Bill· SS. 2402 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1998
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain lands in San Juan County, New Mexico, to San Juan College, Farmington, New Mexico.
Bill· SS. 2418 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1998
Rural Opportunity Communities Act of 1998 - Amends title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to entitle each State to Federal grants for: (1) each rural opportunity community in the State designated pursuant to this Act; and (2) each additional qualified empowerment zone in the State designated pursuant to the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997. Specifies a formula for the amount of each grant, with separate base amounts for empowerment zones in urban or rural areas. Provides funding for the additional grants made available by this Act. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to designate up to ten rural opportunity communities. Sets forth the criteria an area must meet to be designated as a rural opportunity community, including that the area must demonstrate economic distress resulting from poverty or certain other factors during the most recent five-year time period. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that well-performing empowerment zones and enterprise communities: (1) may be given additional points in the designation process; and (2) shall be recognized annually, and their best practices disseminated to other designated empowerment zones and enterprise communities. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to set aside ten percent of amounts otherwise made available for urban empowerment zones for use by any urban empowerment zone or enterprise community that the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development determines has completed or made satisfactory progress in implementing its approved ten year strategic plan.
Bill· SS. 2400 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Trade and Development Subtitle A: Trade Policy for Sub-Saharan Africa Subtitle B: Generalized System of Preferences Subtitle C: United States-Caribbean Trade Enhancement Title II: Reciprocal Trade Agreements Title III: Trade Adjustment Assistance Title IV: Market Access Identification for Certain Agricultural Products Title V: Approval and Implementation of OECD Shipbuilding Agreement Subtitle A: General Provisions Subtitle B: Other Provisions Subtitle C: Effective Date Title VI: Miscellaneous Trade and Tariff Provisions Subtitle A: Extension of Normal Trade Relations to Mongolia Subtitle B: Miscellaneous Tariff Provisions Title VII: Revenue Provisions Title I: Trade and Development - Subtitle A: Trade Policy for Sub-Saharan Africa - African Growth and Opportunity Act - Declares the policy of the Congress toward sub-Saharan African countries. (Sec. 1004) Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize the President to designate a sub-Saharan African country eligible for duty-free treatment for certain non-import-sensitive articles if the President determines that: (1) it has established, or is making continual progress toward establishing, a market-based economy, a democratic society, an open trading system, and economic policies to reduce poverty, increase health care availability and educational opportunities, and promote private enterprise; and (2) it does not engage in gross violations of internationally recognized human rights or support international terrorism, and cooperates in international efforts to eliminate human rights violations and terrorist activities. Directs the President to monitor and review the progress of sub-Saharan African countries to determine their current or potential eligibility under the requirements of this Act. Requires the President to terminate the designation as a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country of any such country that is not making continual progress in meeting such requirements. Waives the competitive need limitation (a basis for withdrawal of duty-free treatment) for articles of any beneficiary sub-Saharan African country. (Sec. 1005) Grants duty-free and quota-free treatments to certain textile and apparel articles (including textile luggage) of beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries, namely: (1) apparel articles assembled from fabrics wholly formed and cut in the United States, from yarns wholly formed in the United States that are entered under a specified subheading or chapter of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States; (2) apparel articles cut from such fabrics and yarns, if assembled in one or more beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries with thread formed in the United States; and (3) certified handloomed, handmade, or folklore articles of a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country or countries. Prescribes penalties for exporters engaged in transshipments of such articles under false claims as to country of origin, manufacture, processing, or assembly. Grants the President authority to impose appropriate remedies, including import restrictions, in the event that textile and apparel articles from a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country are being imported in such increased quantities as to threaten or cause serious damage to the domestic industry producing like or directly competitive articles. (Sec. 1006) Directs the President to convene annual high-level meetings between U.S. Government officials and officials of the governments of sub-Saharan African countries to foster close economic ties between them. Directs the President to establish a United States-Sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum, which shall discuss expanding trade and investment relations between the United States and sub-Saharan Africa. (Sec. 1007) Directs the President to examines and report to the Congress on the feasibility of negotiating one or more free trade agreements with interested eligible sub-Saharan African countries to establish a United States-Sub-Saharan Africa Free Trade Area. (Sec. 1008) Names the sub-Saharan countries covered by this subtitle. Subtitle B: Generalized System of Preferences - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to extend duty-free treatment: (1) under the General System of Preferences through December 31, 2000 (applied retroactively for liquidations and reliquidations (refunds) to articles entered between June 30, 1998, and October 1, 1998); and (2) for any beneficiary developing sub-Saharan African country through June 30, 2008. Subtitle C: United States-Caribbean Trade Enhancement - United States-Caribbean Basin Trade Enhancement Act - Amends the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act with respect to tariff treatment during a specified transition period of articles from U.S.-Caribbean Basin Trade Enhancement Act (CBTEA) beneficiary countries planning to become parties to the Free Trade Area of the Americas, or countries which have undertaken their obligations under the World Trade Organization (WTO) on or ahead of schedule. Extends immediate duty- and quota-free treatment to certain textile (including textile luggage) and apparel articles assembled, and to certain handloomed, handmade and folklore articles originating, in an eligible CBTEA beneficiary country. Directs the President to reduce tariffs on footwear, canned tuna, petroleum and derivatives, watches and watch parts, and certain leather goods to half of the preference Mexican products enjoy under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) relative to imports of the same articles from CBTEA beneficiary countries. Authorizes the President to proclaim further reductions for such articles if a country meets specified criteria. (Sec. 1204) Imposes certain penalties on persons or countries that have engaged in, or permitted, the transshipment (based on false claims) of covered textile or apparel products. Directs the President to report periodically to the Congress concerning CBTEA beneficiary countries. Directs the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) to report biennially to the Congress and the President regarding the economic impact of this Act on U.S. industries and consumers, including its effectiveness in promoting drug-related crop eradication and crop substitution efforts of the CBTEA beneficiary countries. (Sec. 1205) Authorizes the President to determine that a country is not providing adequate protection of intellectual property rights under its laws, even if it is in compliance with the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act. Title II: Reciprocal Trade Agreements - Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act of 1998 - Sets forth the purposes of this Act, which are, through trade agreements affording mutual benefits, to achieve: (1) more open, equitable, and reciprocal market access for U.S. goods, services, and investment; (2) the reduction or elimination of barriers and other trade-distorting policies and practices; (3) a more effective system of international trading disciplines and procedures; and (4) economic growth, higher living standards, and full employment in the United States, and economic growth and development among U.S. trading partners. (Sec. 2002) Sets forth the principal U.S. trade negotiating objectives for agreements regarding tariff barriers and agreements regarding tariff and non-tariff barriers. Declares that the principal U.S. trade negotiating objectives regarding a reduction of barriers to trade in goods include eliminating specified tariffs for products identified in the Uruguay Round Agreements Act. Declares that the principal U.S. negotiating objectives regarding trade in services are: (1) reducing or eliminating barriers to, or other distortions of, international trade in services, including regulatory and other barriers that deny national treatment or unreasonably restrict the establishment and operation of service suppliers in foreign markets; and (2) developing internationally agreed rules, including dispute settlement procedures, that are consistent with U.S. commercial policies and will reduce or eliminate such barriers or distortions, and help ensure fair, equitable opportunities for foreign markets. Declares that the principal U.S. negotiating objectives regarding foreign investment are: (1) reducing or eliminating artificial or trade-distorting barriers to foreign investment, expanding the principle of national treatment, and reducing unreasonable barriers to establishment; and (2) developing internationally agreed rules through the negotiation of investment agreements, including dispute settlement procedures, that will help ensure a free flow of foreign investment and will reduce or eliminate the trade distortive effects of certain trade-related investment measures. Declares that the principal U.S. negotiating objectives regarding intellectual property are: (1) promoting adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights; (2) securing fair, equitable, and non-discriminatory market access opportunities for U.S. persons that rely on intellectual property protection; and (3) recognizing that the inclusion in the WT0 of adequate and effective substantive norms and standards for the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights and dispute settlement provisions and enforcement procedures is without prejudice to other complementary initiatives undertaken in other international organizations. Declares that the principal U.S. negotiating objectives regarding agriculture are, in addition to those set forth in the Food Security Act of 1985, achieving on an expedited basis to the maximum extent feasible, more open and fair conditions of trade in agricultural commodities. Declares that the principal U.S. negotiating objectives regarding unfair trade practices are: (1) enhancing the operation and effectiveness of the relevant Uruguay Round Agreements and any other agreements designed to define, deter, discourage the persistent use of, and otherwise discipline, unfair trade practices having adverse trade effects, including forms of subsidy and dumping not adequately disciplined; and (2) obtaining the enforcement of WTO rules against trade-distorting practices of state trading enterprises and the acts, practices, or policies of any foreign government which, as a practical matter, unreasonably require that substantial direct investment in the foreign country be made, intellectual property be licensed to the foreign country or to any firm of the foreign country or other collateral concessions be made, as a condition for the importation of any product or service of the United States into the foreign country or as a condition for carrying on business in the foreign country. Declares that the principal U.S. negotiating objectives regarding safeguards are: (1) improving and expanding rules and procedures covering safeguard measures; (2) ensuring that safeguard measures are transparent, temporary, degressive, and subject to review and termination when no longer necessary to remedy injury and to facilitate adjustment; and (3) requiring notification of, and to monitor the use by, WTO members of import relief actions for their domestic industries. Declares that the principal U.S. negotiating objectives regarding improvement of the WTO and multilateral trade agreements are: (1) improving the operation and extending the coverage of the WTO and such agreements to products, sectors, and conditions of trade not adequately covered; and (2) expanding country participation in particular agreements, where appropriate. Declares that the principal U.S. negotiating objectives regarding dispute settlement are: (1) providing for effective and expeditious dispute settlement mechanisms and procedures in any trade agreement entered into under this authority; and (2) ensuring that such mechanisms within the WTO and agreements concluded under the auspices of the WTO provide for more effective and expeditious resolution of disputes and enable better enforcement of U.S. rights. Declares that the principal U.S. negotiating objective regarding transparency is to obtain broader application of the principle of transparency through increased public access to information regarding trade issues, clarification of the costs and benefits of trade policy actions, and the observance of open and equitable procedures by U.S. trading partners and within the WTO. Declares that the principal U.S. negotiating objectives regarding developing countries are: (1) ensuring that developing countries promote economic development by assuming the fullest possible measure of responsibility for achieving and maintaining an open international trading system by providing reciprocal benefits and assuming equivalent obligations with respect to their import and export practices; and (2) establishing procedures for reducing nonreciprocal trade benefits for the more advanced developing countries. Declares that the principal U.S. negotiating objective regarding current account surpluses is to promote policies to address large and persistent global current account imbalances of countries by imposing greater responsibility on such countries to undertake policy changes aimed at restoring current account equilibrium through expedited implementation of trade agreements where feasible and appropriate. Declares that the principal U.S. negotiating objective regarding access to high technology is to obtain the elimination or reduction of foreign barriers to, and acts, policies, or practices by foreign governments which limit, equitable access by U.S. persons to foreign-developed technology. Declares that the principal U.S. negotiating objective regarding border taxes is, within the WTO, to obtain a revision of the treatment of border adjustments for internal taxes in order to redress the disadvantage to countries that rely primarily on direct taxes rather than indirect taxes for revenue. Declares that the principal U.S. negotiating objectives regarding regulatory competition are: (1) ensuring that foreign government regulations and other government practices do not unfairly discriminate against U.S. goods, services, or investment; and (2) preventing the use of foreign government regulation and other government practices, including the lowering of, or derogation from, existing labor, health and safety, or environmental standards, for the purpose of attracting investment or inhibiting U.S. exports. States that it is U.S. policy to reinforce the trade agreements process by: (1) fostering stability in international currency markets and developing mechanisms to assure greater coordination, consistency, and cooperation between international trade and monetary systems and institutions in order to protect against the trade consequences of significant and unanticipated currency movements; (2) supplementing and strengthening standards for protection of intellectual property rights under conventions designed to protect such rights that are administered by non-WTO international organizations, expanding the conventions to cover new and emerging technologies, and eliminating discrimination and unreasonable exceptions or pre-conditions to such protection; (3) promoting respect for workers' rights; and (4) expanding the production of goods and trade in goods and services to ensure the optimal use of the world's resources while seeking to protect and preserve the environment and to enhance the international means for doing so. (Sec. 2003) Sets forth the authority of the President to enter trade agreements with foreign countries regarding tariff and non-tariff barriers. Allows the President to enter into such agreements before October 1, 2001 (or before October 1, 2005, if trade authorities are extended according to a specified congressional procedure). States that a trade agreement may be entered only if it makes progress in meeting the applicable objectives, and the President satisfies certain congressional consultation requirements, set forth in this Act. Declares that bills implementing trade agreements may qualify for congressional trade agreement approval (fast-track) procedures only if they consist solely of: (1) provisions approving a trade agreement entered into under this Act that achieves one or more of the principal negotiating objectives set forth above, and approving any statement of administrative action; (2) provisions that are necessary to implement such agreement or otherwise related to the implementation, enforcement, and adjustment to the effects of such trade agreement and are directly related to trade; and (3) provisions necessary to comply with budget offset requirements of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Provides for extension of fast-track procedures to agreements entered into on or after October 1, 2001, and before October 1, 2005, upon the President's request if neither House of the Congress adopts an extension disapproval resolution according to a specified procedure. (Sec. 2004) Prescribes requirements for presidential notice and consultation with the Congress before negotiations on tariff and nontariff barrier agreements. Requires the President to consult with specified congressional committees before entering an agreement. Provides that in the course of negotiations conducted under this Act, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) shall consult closely and on a timely basis (including immediately before initialing an agreement) with, and keep fully apprised of the negotiations, the congressional advisers for trade policy and negotiations appointed under the Trade Act of 1974, the Committee on Finance of the Senate, and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives. (Sec. 2005) Requires the President to notify the Congress within 90 days of entering an agreement. Requires the President, within 60 days of signing an agreement, to submit to the Congress a preliminary list of changes to existing laws considered mandatory to bring the United States into compliance with the agreement. Provides that fast-track procedures shall not apply to any implementing bill that contains a provision approving any agreement regarding tariff and non-tariff barriers with any foreign country if the Committee on Finance of the Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives disapprove of the negotiation of the agreement before the close of the 90-calendar day period that begins when notice is provided with respect to the negotiation of such agreement. Authorizes both Houses of Congress to adopt, within 60 days of each other, a procedural disapproval resolution denying fast-track to any trade agreement if the President has failed or refused to notify or consult with the Congress about it. Requires the President, at least 90 days before entering into a trade agreement, to provide the ITC with agreement details and request the Commission to assess them. Requires the ITC, within 90 calendar days after the President enters into the agreement, to assess for the President and Congress the agreement's likely impact on the U.S. economy as a whole and on specific industry sectors. (Sec. 2006) Exempts from notice and certain consultation requirements of this Act agreements that result from negotiations which were commenced before the enactment of this Act: (1) under the auspices of WTO regarding trade in information technology products; (2) pursuant to a Uruguay Round Agreement; (3) with Chile; or (4) to achieve a free trade area of the Americas. Title III: Trade Adjustment Assistance - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize appropriations to the Departments of Labor and of Commerce through FY 2000 for trade adjustment assistance (TAA) for workers and for firms, respectively. (Sec. 3001) Postpones termination of the TAA programs until the end of FY 2000. Title IV: Market Access Identification for Certain Agricultural Products - United States Agricultural Products Market Access Act of 1998 - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to require the USTR, by 30 days after the annual National Trade Estimate is due, to identify those foreign countries that: (1) deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. agricultural products, or that apply unjustified sanitary or phytosanitary standards to such imports; and (2) are priority foreign countries (which engage in the most egregious acts, policies, or practices that deny market access to, or whose acts, policies, or practices have the greatest adverse impact on, U.S. agricultural products). Prescribes certain requirements with respect to the identification of such countries. (Sec. 4003) Requires the USTR to report annually to specified congressional committees on actions taken, and on progress made, in achieving market access for U.S. value-added agricultural products. Title V: Approval and Implementation of OECD Shipbuilding Agreement - OECD Shipbuilding Trade Agreement Act - Subtitle A: General Provisions - Declares that the Congress approves the Agreement Respecting Normal Competitive Conditions in the Commercial Shipbuilding and Repair Industry (Shipbuilding Agreement), a reciprocal trade agreement resulting from negotiations under the auspices of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, entered into on December 21, 1994. (Sec. 5102) Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to impose an injurious pricing charge upon the foreign producer of a vessel sold to U.S. buyers at less than fair value if the U.S. International Trade Commission determines that as a result of the sale an industry in the United States: (1) has been materially injured, or is threatened with material injury; or (2) the establishment of an industry in the United States is or has been materially retarded. Prescribes procedural guidelines for: (1) an injurious pricing investigation by an administering authority (Secretary of Commerce, or any other Federal officer to whom such responsibilities are transferred); (2) collection of such an injurious pricing charge; and (3) imposition of countermeasures. Prescribes guidelines for: (1) injurious pricing petitions by third countries, and by eligible interested parties with respect to a sale to a buyer in a Shipbuilding Agreement Party; (2) a comparison between export price and normal value in order to determine whether a subject vessel has been sold at less than fair value; (3) hearings and determinations on the basis of available facts; and (4) conduct of investigations. Authorizes the USTR to request the Commission to issue an advisory report, and to notify certain congressional committees, if a dispute settlement panel finds that a Commission action is not in conformity with U.S. obligations under the Shipbuilding Agreement. Provides for implementation of Commission determinations, including suspension of injurious pricing charges. (Sec. 5103) Directs the Customs Service to deny any request, with certain exceptions, for a permit to lade or unlade passengers, merchandise, or baggage from or onto vessels appearing on a countermeasures list pursuant to this Act. (Sec. 5104) Provides for judicial review in injurious pricing and countermeasure proceedings. Subtitle B: Other Provisions - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to exempt certain Shipbuilding Agreement Party vessels from the customs duty on equipment purchased for, and repairs made in a foreign country upon, a vessel documented under U.S. law to engage in the foreign or coastwise trade. Specifies as so exempt: (1) self-propelled seagoing vessels of 100 gross tons or more used for transportation of goods or persons or for performance of a specialized service (including, but not limited to, ice breakers and dredges); (2) tugs of 365 kilowatts or more; and (3) integrated tug-barges or tug-barge combinations. (Sec. 5202) Precludes any private right of action under the Shipbuilding Agreement. (Sec. 5204) Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to include a Shipbuilding Agreement vessel within its eligibility guidelines on construction-differential and operating-differential subsidies. Revises guidelines for Federal loans and guaranteed loans for shipbuilding. (Sec. 5206) Directs the USTR to: (1) establish a program to monitor the compliance of Shipbuilding Agreement Parties with their obligations under the Agreement; and (2) use the consultation and dispute settlement procedures under the Agreement to redress Agreement violations. (Sec. 5208) Provides, with respect to the Shipbuilding Agreement, for: (1) Party withdrawal (and termination of withdrawal); (2) congressional procedures for withdrawing approval of the Agreement; (3) non-Party accession; and (4) protection of U.S. interests. Prohibits the President from implementing the notice of withdrawal of the United States from the Shipbuilding Agreement until the withdrawal of one or more Shipbuilding Agreement Parties is in effect and specified circumstances apply to such Parties. Sets forth an expedited congressional procedure for the introduction and enactment of snapback implementing bills, which would reinstate requirements regarding ships built in the United States before enactment of this Act, in the event of U.S. withdrawal from the Shipbuilding Agreement. Subtitle C: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective and termination dates of this Act. Title VI: Miscellaneous Trade and Tariff Provisions - Subtitle A: Extension of Normal Trade Relations to Mongolia - Authorizes the President to: (1) determine that title IV of the Trade Act of 1974 (denying nondiscriminatory treatment to the products of certain countries) should no longer apply to Mongolia; and (2) based upon such determination, extend normal trade relations to Mongolian products. Subtitle B: Miscellaneous Tariff Provisions - Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to set forth the duty treatment of certain fabrics, of carded or combed wool or fine animal hair, all certified by the importer as "Super 90's" or higher grade intended for use in making suits, suit-type jackets or trousers. (Sec. 6102) Grants duty-free treatment, through January 1, 2003, of the personal effects of, and other equipment imported and used by, participants, their families and associated members, and officials involved in the 1999 International Special Olympics, the 1999 Women's World Cup Soccer, the 2001 International Special Olympics, the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, and the 2002 Winter Paralympic Games. Declares that such articles shall be: (1) free of applicable taxes and fees; but (2) not exempt from routine customs inspections. (Sec. 6103) Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to extend to certain fine jewelry (gold, silver, and platinum) which is the product of the Virgin Islands, Guam, or American Samoa (including any such article which contains any foreign component) certain trade benefits of insular possessions of the United States. (Sec. 6104) Declares that Executive Order 13067 (prohibiting importation into the United States of articles of Sudanese origin without a specified license) shall not apply to importation on or before December 31, 2002, of gum arabic. (Sec. 6105) Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to make eligible for duty drawback any materials imported and used in the construction and equipment of a mobile offshore drilling unit operated outside the exclusive economic zone of the United States for the unit's useful life, notwithstanding that such unit may not within the strict meaning of the term be an article exported. Title VII: Revenue Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to apply the tax benefits provided by capital construction funds to any vessel constructed or reconstructed in any nation (not just the United States) that is a Party to the OECD Shipbuilding Agreement entered into on December 21, 1994. (Sec. 7002) Reduces the carryback period for excess foreign tax credits from two years to one year. Extends the excess foreign tax credits carryforward period from five years to seven years.
Bill· SS. 2396 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1998
Amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act, reenacted with amendments by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a pilot program permitting milk producers and cooperatives to voluntarily enter into forward price contracts with milk handlers.
Bill· SS. 2421 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1998
Amends the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 to make income averaging for farmers permanent beginning with 1997.
Bill· HRH.R. 4372 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1998
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the supervisor of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in Arizona, to develop a plan for the Woodland Lake Park tract designed to ensure management for recreational purposes consistent with the current use of the tract as a public park. Prohibits the Secretary from conveying any U.S. right, title, or interest in and to the such tract unless the conveyance is: (1) is made to the town of Pinetop-Lakeside; or (2) specifically authorized by a law enacted after the date of the enactment of this Act.
Bill· HRH.R. 4366 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1998
Food Stamp Verification Act of 1998 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into an agreement with the Commissioner of Social Security permitting information exchanges with State agencies administering the food stamp program to ensure that program benefits are not provided for deceased persons. Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to authorize State program agencies to provide the Commissioner with such verification information.
Bill· HRH.R. 4373 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1998
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to sell the Woodland Lake Park tract in Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest to the town of Pinetop-Lakeside, Arizona, for use as a public park and for other recreational purposes.
Bill· HRH.R. 4371 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1998
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to convey the Woodland Lake Park tract in Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest to the town of Pinetop-Lakeside, Arizona, for use as a public park and for other recreational purposes.
Bill· SS. 2385 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: San Rafael Swell National Heritage Area Title II: San Rafael Swell National Conservation Area Subtitle A: Establishment of Conservation Area Subtitle B: Wilderness Areas Within Conservation Area Subtitle C: Other Special Management Areas Title III: General Management Provisions San Rafael Swell National Heritage and Conservation Act - Title I: San Rafael Swell National Heritage Area - San Rafael Swell National Heritage Area Act - Establishes the San Rafael Swell National Heritage Area in Utah. (Sec. 104) Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to make grants for specified uses, but not for acquisition of real property or any interest in real property. (Sec. 105) Prescribes necessary elements of: (1) any compact with respect to the Area entered into by the Secretary, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Governor of Utah, in coordination with the Heritage Council established by this title; and (2) the heritage plan setting forth the strategy to implement the goals and objectives of the Area. (Sec. 106) Establishes the Heritage Council to manage the Area and develop a heritage plan in accordance with the compact. (Sec. 107) Sets forth disclaimers with respect to land use regulation. (Sec. 108) Authorizes appropriations. Title II: San Rafael Swell National Conservation Area - Subtitle A: Establishment of Conservation Area - Establishes the San Rafael Swell National Conservation Area, which the Secretary of the Interior shall manage to conserve, protect, and enhance its resources. (Sec. 203) Directs the Secretary to develop a comprehensive plan for the long-range management and protection of the Conservation Area. (Sec. 205) Establishes a San Rafael Swell National Conservation Area Advisory Council. Subtitle B: Wilderness Areas Within Conservation Area - Designates the following areas within the Conservation Area as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System: (1) Crack Canyon Wilderness Area; (2) Mexican Mountain Wilderness Area; (3) Muddy Creek Wilderness Area; and (4) San Rafael Reef Wilderness Area. (Sec. 223) Declares that grazing of livestock within designated wilderness areas: (1) shall be administered according to specified law and guidelines; and (2) shall not be reduced, increased, or withdrawn, except based solely on scientific analyses of range conditions. (Sec. 224) Declares that any public land administered by the Bureau of Land Management within the Conservation Area in Emery County, Utah, that is not designated as wilderness by this subtitle: (1) shall not be subject to management for preservation as wilderness; but (2) shall be managed for multiple uses and in accordance with certain land management plans. Subtitle C: Other Special Management Areas - Establishes within the Conservation Area a San Rafael Swell Desert Bighorn Sheep Management Area to provide for the prudent management of Desert Bighorn Sheep and their habitat in the Sid's Mountain area of the Conservation Area. (Sec. 231) Prescribes requirements for management and use of the Management Area. Directs the Secretary to include a management plan for the Area in the Conservation Area management plan. (Sec. 232) Directs the Secretary to designate within the Conservation Area certain semi-primitive nonmotorized use areas, which shall provide opportunities for: (1) isolation from the sights and sounds of humans (including their motorized vehicles); (2) a high degree of interaction with the natural environment; and (3) the practice of outdoor skills in settings that present moderate challenge and risk. (Sec. 233) Directs the Secretary to designate within the Conservation Area a specified scenic visual area of critical environmental concern to preserve the scenic value of the Interstate Route 70 corridor. Title III: General Management Provisions - Requires the Secretary to permit domestic livestock grazing within areas of the Conservation Area where grazing was established before enactment of this Act, except in wilderness areas. (Sec. 302) Directs the Secretary to authorize the discovery of, protect, and (at the Secretary's discretion) interpret cultural or paleontological resources within the Conservation Area. (Sec. 303) Provides for the exchange of Federal lands or interests in lands with the State of Utah for any school and institutional trust lands of the State whose value or economic potential may be diminished by establishment of the Conservation Area. (Sec. 304) Declares that there is no express or implied Federal reservation of water or water rights arising from the designation of any area as part of the Conservation Area or as a wilderness or semi-primitive area under this Act. Authorizes the United States to acquire and exercise, in accordance with State law, such water rights as necessary to carry out its responsibilities on any land designated as part of the Conservation Area. (Sec. 305) Declares that nothing in this Act affects the State jurisdiction or responsibilities with respect to fish and wildlife management activities. Declares that the Congress does not intend that the designation of the Conservation Area or any wilderness or semi-primitive area lead to the creation of protective perimeters or buffer zones around the area, but only within it. Provides for: (1) the set back of boundaries from roads and rights-of-way; and (2) acquisition of land from non-governmental entities by exchange or purchase only.
Bill· SS. 2393 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1998
Prohibits temporarily the Secretaries of Agriculture or the Interior from issuing or implementing any rules or regulations asserting jurisdiction or management (of fish or game resources) pursuant to title VIII of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act over the navigable waters transferred to Alaska pursuant to the Submerged Lands Act of 1953 or the Alaska Statehood Act of 1959.
Bill· SS. 2383 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1998
Children's Act for Responsible Employment - CARE Act - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLRA) to revise child labor prohibitions. (Sec. 2) Repeals certain exemptions from child labor prohibitions for agricultural employment. Applies the same age restrictions to agricultural employment as to other forms of employment. Limits exemptions to agricultural labor outside of school hours, if the individual is employed by his or her parent or legal guardian, on a farm owned or operated by such parent or legal guardian. Raises from 16 to 18 years old the minimum age for engaging in hazardous agricultural employment. (Sec. 3) Prohibits employment of individuals under age 16 in youth peddling. Excludes from the definition of youth peddling volunteer selling of goods or services on behalf of not-for-profit organizations. (Sec. 4) Increases civil and criminal penalties for child labor violations. (Sec. 5) Directs the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) to determine the circumstances under which goods tainted by oppressive child labor may be allowed to be shipped or delivered for shipment in interstate commerce. (Sec. 6) Directs the Secretary to establish closer working relationships with non-governmental organizations and with State and local government agencies having responsibility for administering and enforcing labor and safety and health laws. Requires State and local government agencies to submit information regarding injuries and deaths of employees to the Secretary, upon request, for specified use in enforcement and other uses under FLRA. Authorizes the Secretary to reimburse such agencies for such services. (Sec. 7) Directs the Secretaries of Labor and of Agriculture to enter into a memorandum of understanding to coordinate the development and enforcement of standards to minimize child labor. (Sec. 8) Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· SS. 2371 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Reduction in Individual Capital Gains Tax Rates Title II: Tax Incentives for Farmers Family Investment and Rural Savings Tax Act - Title I: Reduction in Individual Capital Gains Tax Rates - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce individual capital gains tax rates. Title II: Tax Incentives for Farmers - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit an eligible farmer or rancher to establish a Farm and Ranch Risk Management Account (FARRM Account). States that: (1) up to 20 percent of farm-derived income may be deposited as an annual income deduction; and (2) deferred amounts shall be taxed upon withdrawal without penalty if distributed within five years. Amends the Taxpayer Relief of 1997 to permanently extend income averaging for farmers.
Bill· HRH.R. 4360 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1998
Amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act, reenacted with amendments by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a pilot program permitting milk producers and cooperatives to voluntarily enter into forward price contracts with milk handlers.
Bill· HRH.R. 4345 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1998
Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to remove dead, downed, or severely root-sprung trees in accordance with certain alternative arrangements approved by the Council on Environmental Quality for forests and grasslands in Texas in specified National Forest areas in Colorado, Utah, California, Oregon, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Vermont, Idaho, Kentucky, and Florida. Authorizes the Secretary and the Secretary of the Interior, respectively, to request Council approval of alternative tree removal arrangements in cases of catastrophic forest conditions.
Bill· SS. 2356 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1998
National Uniformity for Food Act of 1998 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) to prohibit any State or political subdivision from establishing or continuing in effect as to any food in interstate commerce any requirement for food labeling or food that is not identical to specified FDCA provisions. Prohibits any State or political subdivision from establishing or continuing in effect any notification requirement for a food that provides for a warning concerning the food's safety that is not identical to FDCA provisions. Allows a State to petition for an exemption and for a national standard regarding any requirement under the FDCA or the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act relating to food regulation. Allows a State to establish a requirement that would otherwise violate FDCA provisions relating to national uniform nutrition labeling or this paragraph if the requirement is needed to address an imminent hazard to health that is likely to result in serious adverse health consequences and if other requirements are met.
Bill· HRH.R. 4331 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 1998
Fort Peck Paleontological Protection and Interpretation Act - Authorizes the Secretary of the Army (Secretary) to design, construct, and equip an interpretive center and museum, to be located on project lands of the Army Corps of Engineers at Fort Peck Dam, Montana. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to transfer, without reimbursement, a specified parcel of real property to the Secretary's administrative jurisdiction to be administered as part of the project lands of the Army Corps of Engineers at Fort Peck Dam. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 4320 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1998
Hyde Farm-Cache National Forest Boundary Adjustment Act - Adjusts the boundaries of the Wasatch-Cache National Forest and the Mount Naomi Wilderness, in Utah, to exclude the parcel of lands known as the D. Hyde property to correct a faulty land survey. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) convey such parcel to Darrell Edward Hyde of Cache County, Utah; and (2) release any claims against him for trespass or unauthorized use of the parcel before its conveyance.
Bill· HRH.R. 4319 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1998
Provides that with respect to a specified conservation reserve program signup (under the Food Security Act of 1985), certain highly erodible land meeting related wind and water erosion criteria shall: (1) be deemed to meet wildlife criteria; and (2) receive maximum points for wildlife benefits.
Law· SS. 2344 (105th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 1998
Emergency Farm Financial Relief Act - Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act to provide that FY 1999 production flexibility contract payments shall be paid at such time or times as the owner or producer so requests.
Bill· HRH.R. 4301 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 1998
Community Forestry and Agriculture Conservation Act of 1998 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat a bond issued to acquire renewable resources on land subject to a conservation easement as a tax-exempt (qualified 501(c)(3)) bond if the revenues from such resources' use or sale are used in a manner consistent with the charitable purpose of the issuer although not used as otherwise required.
Bill· SS. 2333 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1998
District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for the District of Columbia for FY 1999, including amounts for: (1) the Federal payment for management reform; (2) Federal support for economic development in the District; (3) the Federal payment for Boys Town U.S.A. operations in the District; (4) the Federal payment to the District for the Nation's Capital Infrastructure Fund; (5) the Federal payment to the District's Corrections Trustee for operations; (6) the Federal payment to the District courts; (7) the Federal payment to the District's Offender Supervision, Defender, and Court Services Agency; (8) the Federal payment to the Georgetown Waterfront Park Fund; and (9) a Federal contribution to the District to establish a National Museum of American Music and a City Museum and Visitors Center. Appropriates specified sums out of the District's general fund (and other funds, in some cases) for the current FY for: (1) governmental direction and support; (2) economic development and regulation; (3) public safety and justice; (4) the public education system; (5) human support services; (6) public works; (7) financing and other uses; (8) receivership programs; (9) the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority (Authority); (10) the Water and Sewer Authority and the Washington Aqueduct; (11) the Lottery and Charitable Games Enterprise Fund; (12) the Cable Television Enterprise Fund; (13) the Public Service Commission; (14) the Office of the People's Counsel; (15) the Office of Banking and Financial Institutions; (16) the Department of Insurance and Securities Regulation; (17) D.C. General Hospital; (18) the Starplex Fund; (19) the D.C. Retirement Board; (20) the Correctional Industries Fund; (21) the Washington Convention Center Enterprise Fund; and (22) capital outlays. Prohibits the District government from employing more than 32,900 full time employee (FTE) positions, exclusive of intra-district FTE positions, during FY 1999. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. Bars the use of revenues from Federal sources to support the operations of the D.C. Statehood and Statehood Compact Commissions. Requires the District to identify the sources of funding for Admission to Statehood from its own locally-generated revenues. (Sec. 110) Prohibits funds appropriated in this Act from being available to pay the salary of any District government employee whose name, title, grade, salary, work experience, and salary history are not available for inspection by specified congressional committees and subcommittees and the District Council. (Sec. 114) Bars the D.C. Mayor from borrowing any funds for capital projects without prior approval of the District Council. (Sec. 124) Applies any sequestration orders under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to each account appropriating Federal funds in this Act rather than to the aggregate total of such accounts. Requires the Mayor, in the event such an order is issued after amounts appropriated to the District have been paid, to pay sequestered amounts to the Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary). (Sec. 127) Bars the use of Federal funds provided in this Act to provide for salaries or other expenses associated with the offices of U.S. Senator or Representative under the District of Columbia Statehood Constitutional Convention Initiatives of 1979. (Sec. 129) Prohibits the expenditure of funds appropriated under this Act for abortions except where the mother's life would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term or in cases of rape or incest. (Sec. 130) Permits any entity of the D.C. government, including the Authority, in using the funds for repair and improvement of D.C. public school facilities made available under this Act or any other Act, to place orders for engineering and construction and related services with the Chief of Engineers of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Allows the Chief to accept such orders on a reimbursable basis and to provide any part of such services by contract. (Sec. 131) Bars the use of funds made available by this Act to implement any system of registration of unmarried, cohabitating couples for purposes of extending benefits to such couples on the same basis as such benefits are extended to married couples or to implement the District Domestic Partner Act (also known as the District of Columbia Health Care Benefits Expansion Act of 1992). (Sec. 132) Requires by FY 1999, or within 30 calendar days after the enactment of this Act, whichever occurs later, and each succeeding year, the Chief Executive Officer, Superintendent of the D.C. Public Schools, and the University of the District of Columbia (University) to submit to the appropriate congressional committees, the Mayor, the District Council, the Consensus Commission, and the Authority, a revised appropriated funds operating budget for the public school system and the University for such fiscal year that is in the total amount of the approved appropriation and that realigns budgeted data for personal services and other-than-personal services, respectively, with anticipated actual expenditures. (Sec. 133) Requires the Emergency Transitional Education Board of Trustees, the Board of Trustees of the University, the Board of Library Trustees, and the Board of Governors of the University of the District of Columbia School of Law to vote on and approve their respective annual or revised budgets before submission to the Mayor for inclusion in the Mayor's budget submission to the District Council or before submitting their respective budgets directly to the Council. (Sec. 134) Establishes a ceiling on total operating expenses for the District for FY 1999. Permits increases of such amount for additional approved expenditures which the Chief Financial Officer certifies will produce additional revenues during such fiscal year at least equal to 200 percent of such expenditures. Requires the Authority, within 30 calendar days after the end of each fiscal quarter starting FY 1999, to report to specified congressional committees on an itemized accounting of all non-appropriated funds obligated or expended by the Authority for the quarter. (Sec. 135) Amends the District of Columbia Public Education Act to allow amounts appropriated to the District by the Federal Government (in lieu of donation of public lands for the endowment and maintenance of colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts) to be invested in equity-based securities if approved by the Chief Financial Officer. (Sec. 136) Requires, if a District government department or agency is under the administration of a court-appointed receiver or other court-appointed official during FY 1999 or any succeeding fiscal year, the receiver or official to prepare and submit to the Mayor, for inclusion in the District's annual budget for the year and to be forwarded by the Mayor to the District Council without revision but subject to the Mayor's recommendations, annual estimates of the expenditures and appropriations necessary for the maintenance and operation of the department or agency. Allows the Council to comment or make recommendations concerning such annual estimates but bars the Council from revising the estimates. (Sec. 137) Directs the Authority, the Chief Executive Officer, and the Superintendent of the District public schools to report to specified congressional committees on measures to be taken to ensure that the District's public schools open on time to begin the 1999-2000 academic year. (Sec. 138) Requires an employee of the District public schools to be: (1) classified as an Educational Service employee; (2) placed under the personnel authority of the Board of Education; and (3) subject to all Board rules. Mandates that school-based personnel shall constitute a separate competitive area from nonschool-based personnel who shall not compete with school-based personnel for retention purposes. (Sec. 139) Provides that, for purposes of determining the amount of funds expended by any entity within the District government during FY 1999 and each succeeding fiscal year, any expenditures of the District government attributable to any District government officers or employees who provide services which are within the authority and jurisdiction of the entity (including any portion of the compensation paid to the officer or employee attributable to the time spent in providing such services) shall be treated as expenditures made from the entity's budget, without regard to whether the officers or employees are assigned to the entity or otherwise treated as the entity's officers or employees. Amends the District of Columbia Government Comprehensive Merit Personnel Act of 1978 to modify reduction in force procedures. (Sec. 140) Requires the D.C. Board of Education and the D.C. Public Schools (DCPS), within 120 days after a DCPS student is referred for evaluation or assessment to: (1) assess or evaluate such student who may have a disability and who may require special education services; and (2) if the student is classified as having a disability as defined in provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or the Rehabilitative Act of 1973, place that student in an appropriate program of special education services. (Sec. 141) Provides that, notwithstanding any provision of any federally-granted charter or any other provision of law, beginning in FY 1999 and each fiscal year thereafter, the real property of the National Education Association located in the District shall be subject to taxation by the District in the same manner as any similar organization. (Sec. 142) Conditions expenditure of appropriations made by this Act for programs or functions for which a reorganization plan is required only on the approval by the Authority of the required reorganization plan. (Sec. 143) Makes the evaluation process and instruments for evaluating District public school employees a non-negotiable item for collective bargaining purposes. (Sec. 144) Requires the Authority to report to: (1) specified congressional committees on the status of all partnerships or agreements entered into from January 1, 1994, through September 30, 1998, between the District government and any nonprofit organization that provides medical care, substance abuse treatment, low income housing, food and shelter services, abstinence programs, or educational services to children, adults and families residing in the District; and (2) the Congress on the plans by the District government for reinitiating the partnerships or agreements that have been terminated with the respective nonprofit organization. (Sec. 145) Repeals the Residency Requirement Reinstatement Amendment Act of 1998. (Sec. 146) Amends the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Act of 1995 to require that beginning with the FY 2000 fiscal plan or budget submitted pursuant to this Act, such Act shall contain $150 million for a Reserve to be established by the Chief Financial Officer and the Authority to be expended only according to criteria established by the Chief Financial Officer and approved by the Authority. (Sec. 147) Allows funds accumulated during FY 1999 through fees that are otherwise non-appropriated funds to the District to be expended during FY 1999 by the Chief Financial Officer up to the amount certified by the Chief Financial Officer with the prior written approval of the Authority. (Sec. 148) Authorizes the Board of Trustees of the District of Columbia Public Library to hire a fund raiser and to raise funds from private sources and expend those funds for the benefit of the Library, with the prior review and approval of the Chief Financial Officer and the Authority. (Sec. 149) District of Columbia Adoption Improvement Act of 1998 - Requires the District of Columbia Child and Family Services (Family Services) to: (1) report to the Congress the number of children in the custody of the District who are legally free for adoption; (2) establish a database listing and tracking any child who is in the custody of the District with the goal of adoption or legally free for adoption; and (3) enter into contracts with private service providers to perform some of the adoption recruitment and placement functions of Family Services including recruitment, homestudy, and placements. Subjects the contracts to the competitive bidding process and an outcomes based out-sourcing and requires the contracts to compensate the winning bidder solely upon completion of a service. Outlines criteria for completion of a service. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) removal of barriers to such adoptions; and (2) prohibition against a child being exclusively assigned to a specific private service provider or otherwise embargoed. Provides that Family Services shall retain the custody of any child on whose behalf a private service provider performs recruitment and placement functions pursuant to this Act. (Sec. 150) Amends the Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997 to revise the duties of the Director of the District of Columbia Offender, Supervision, Defender, and Courts Services Agency to include carrying out all functions which have been carried out by the Social Services Division of the Superior Court relating to supervision of adults subject to protection orders or provision of services for or related to such persons. Amends the District of Columbia Code to: (1) give the Director of Social Services in the Superior Court charge over all juvenile social services for the Court; (2) bar the Director from jurisdiction over any adult under supervision; (3) coordinate with and utilize, to the maximum extent feasible, the services of the Agency; and (4) conduct studies and make reports, as directed by the Executive Officer of the Superior Court, relating to the utilization of juvenile social services as an adjunct to such Court. (Sec. 151) Permits the Authority to employ a Chief Management Officer (CMO) of the District to be appointed by the Chair with the consent of the Authority. Requires the CMO to assist the Authority in the fulfillment of the Authority's responsibilities under the District of Columbia Management Reform Act of 1997 to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the District government. Validates the employment agreement entered into as of January 15, 1998, between the CMO and the Authority. (Sec. 152) Requires the salaries of the Chief Financial Officer and the Inspector General of the District to be paid at an annual rate determined by the Authority (currently, the Mayor) sufficient in the judgment of the Authority to obtain the services of the individuals with the skills and experience required to discharge the duties of such offices. (Sec. 154) Increases from three to five the number of consecutive fiscal years in which the Inspector General is allowed to enter into a contract with the same auditor who is not an officer or employee of the Inspector's Office to audit the complete financial statement and report on the activities of the District government for a fiscal year. (Sec. 155) Prohibits funds provided under this Act or provided under previous appropriations Acts to the agencies funded by this Act, both Federal and District government agencies, that remain available for obligation or expenditure in FY 1999, or provided from Treasury accounts derived by the collection of fees available to the agencies funded by this Act, from being available for obligation or expenditure for an agency through a reprogramming of funds which: (1) creates new programs; (2) eliminates a program project or activity; (3) establishes or changes allocations specifically denied, limited, or increased by the Congress in the Act; (4) increases funds or personnel by any means for any project or activity for which funds have been denied or restricted; (5) reestablishes through reprogramming any program or project previously deferred through reprogramming; (6) augments existing programs, projects, or activities through a reprogramming of funds in excess of $1 million or 20 percent, whichever is more; or (7) increases by 20 percent or more personnel assigned to a specific program, project, or activity, unless the Appropriations Committees of both the Senate and the House of Representatives are notified in writing 15 days in advance of such reprogramming of funds. (Sec. 156) Requires funds allocated to management reform by the Authority in the District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 1998 under deficit reduction and revitalization (contained in the Authority's notification of June 24, 1998) to remain available for management reform until September 30, 1999. (Sec. 157) Requires the Authority's Executive Director to be paid at an annual rate determined by the Authority sufficient in the judgment of the Authority to obtain the services of an individual with the skills and experience required to discharge the duties of the office.
Law· HRH.R. 4283 (105th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Assistance for Sub-Saharan Africa Title II: Worldwide Food Assistance and Agricultural Programs Subtitle A: Nonemergency Food Assistance Programs Subtitle B: Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust Act of 1998 Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions Africa: Seeds of Hope Act of 1998 - Declares it to be U.S. policy, consistent with title XII of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act, to support governments of sub-Saharan African countries, U.S. and African nongovernmental organizations, universities, businesses, and international agencies to help ensure the availability of basic nutrition and economic opportunities for sub-Saharan individuals, through sustainable agricultural and rural development. Title I: Assistance for Sub-Saharan Africa - Directs the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID), in providing development assistance under the Africa Food Security Initiative, or any comparable or successor program, to: (1) emphasize programs and projects that improve the food security of children, women, and food-insecure households, or that improve the agricultural productivity, incomes, and marketing of the rural poor in Africa; (2) solicit and take into consideration the views and needs of intended beneficiaries and program participants during the selection, planning, implementation, and evaluation phases of projects; and (3) ensure that programs are designed and conducted in cooperation with African and U.S. organizations and institutions (such as private and voluntary organizations, cooperatives, land-grant and other appropriate universities, and local producer-owned cooperative marketing and buying associations) that have expertise in addressing the needs of the poor, small-scale farmers, entrepreneurs, and rural workers, including women. (Sec. 101) Expresses the sense of the Congress that, if there is an increase in funding for sub-Saharan programs, the Administrator of AID should proportionately increase resources to the Africa Food Security Initiative, or any comparable or successor program, for FY 2000 and subsequent fiscal years in order to meet the needs of the countries participating in such Initiative. (Sec. 102) Directs the Administrator of AID to use, through bilateral and multilateral assistance, microenterprise assistance (including credit) to improve the capacity and efficiency of agricultural production in sub-Saharan Africa of small-scale farmers and small rural entrepreneurs (specifically taking into consideration the needs of women, and using the applied research and technical assistance capabilities of U.S. land-grant universities). (Sec. 103) Authorizes the Administrator of AID to utilize foreign assistance programs and initiatives for sub-Saharan Africa to support private producer-owned cooperative marketing associations there, including rural business associations owned by farmer shareholders. (Sec. 104) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) should issue loans, guaranties, and insurance, and utilize existing equity funds and loan and insurance funds, to support private agricultural and rural development in sub-Saharan Africa (particularly intermediary organizations that directly serve the needs of small-scale farmers, small rural entrepreneurs, and rural producer-owned cooperative purchasing and marketing associations). (Sec. 105) Directs the Administrator of AID to develop a comprehensive plan to coordinate and build on the research and extension activities of U.S. land-grant universities, international agricultural research centers, and national agricultural research and extension centers in sub-Saharan Africa. Title II: Worldwide Food Assistance and Agricultural Programs - Subtitle A: Non-Emergency Food Assistance Programs - Sets forth general requirements for the administration of non-emergency assistance programs under title II of the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954. Subtitle B: Bill Emerson Humanitarian International Food Security Trust Act of 1998 - Bill Emerson Humanitarian International Food Security Trust Act of 1998 - Amends the Food Security Commodity Reserve Act of 1996 and the Food Security Wheat Reserve Act of 1980 to rename specified provisions of the Food for Development Program as the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust Act. (Sec. 212) Includes, as part of the established trust stock of wheat, rice, corn, or sorghum used to meet emergency humanitarian food needs in developing countries, certain funds for Commodity Credit Corporation programs under the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 that are available, with respect to FY 2000 and subsequent fiscal years, to acquire such eligible commodities through purchases from producers or in the market to replenish the trust. Authorizes the release of eligible commodities from the trust for emergency food assistance to developing countries, provided such release is at levels consistent with maintaining the long-term value of the trust. Makes permanent the authority for the trust. Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions - Directs the Administrator of AID to report to the Congress on AID's plans for implementing the Africa Food Security Initiative and an estimate of all amounts expended or to be expended on related activities during the current and previous four years.
Bill· HRH.R. 4288 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1998
Agriculture Export Enhancement Act of 1998 - Sets forth the principal agricultural trade negotiating objectives of the United States with respect to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Agriculture. Requires the United States to negotiate: (1) a specific date after which tariffs imposed on agricultural products shall be eliminated by WTO members (including elimination or substantial reduction of tariffs imposed by Japan and South Korea on meats, the Philippines on grains, livestock, and meat, South Africa on wheat, and Turkey on milling wheat, corn, and sorghum); (2) a specific date after which all export and other trade-distorting subsidies shall be eliminated by WTO members (including elimination of European Union export subsidies on wheat, wheat flour, beef, and poultry and domestic subsidies on pork and feed grains); (3) elimination of the exclusive right of state trading enterprises to import agricultural products in the case of WTO members and their ability to use their exclusive authority over the export of agricultural products to distort trade and international prices (ensuring that Australia adheres to its commitment to end the export monopoly of the Australia Wheat Board no later than January 1, 1999, and that Canada eliminates the discretionary pricing practices of the Canadian Wheat Board); and (4) the elimination of certain sanitary and phytosanitary restrictions on imports of U.S. agricultural products to the extent that they are inconsistent with the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures. (Sec. 4) Amends the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 to revise the requirement that the President make certain determinations before any foreign country (currently, major foreign country) can accede to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the WTO. Requires the President to determine whether state trading enterprises in the foreign country produce or procure a significant share of: (1) the goods exported from, or imported into, such country; or (2) the goods produced domestically in such country. (An affirmative determination, together with another specified affirmative determination, mandates denial of GATT application to such a country.) Requires a country denied GATT application to enter into an agreement with the United States providing that the state trading enterprises will make purchases and sales in international trade based solely on commercial considerations (including price, quality, availability, marketability, and transportation), and on no other basis. Repeals the "in-accordance-with-customary practice" condition on the requirement that such state trading enterprises afford U.S. business firms adequate opportunity to compete for participation in such purchases and sales, before the GATT 1947 or the WTO agreement will apply between the United States and that country. (Sec. 5) Prohibits the United States from agreeing to the accession of the People's Republic of China to the WTO until the President certifies to the Congress that China: (1) evenly applies phytosanitary and veterinary import quarantine standards based upon modern laboratory techniques; (2) agrees to eliminate the restrictive import licensing requirements it imposes on pork products; and (3) agrees to permit the unrestricted importation of meat products. (Sec. 6) Prohibits the United States from agreeing to the accession of Russia to the WTO until the President certifies to the Congress that Russia agrees to change: (1) the Russian Veterinary Department requirements in a manner that brings them into conformity with WTO's Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (in particular transparency and basis on sound science); and (2) other sanitary and phytosanitary requirements that violate the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, especially those governing the import of planting seeds and meat products.
Bill· SS. 2328 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1998
Agriculture Export Enhancement Act of 1998 - Sets forth the principal agricultural trade negotiating objectives of the United States with respect to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Agriculture. Requires the United States to negotiate: (1) a specific date after which tariffs imposed on agricultural products shall be eliminated by WTO members (including elimination or substantial reduction of tariffs imposed by Japan and South Korea on meats, the Philippines on grains, livestock, and meat, South Africa on wheat, and Turkey on milling wheat, corn, and sorghum); (2) a specific date after which all export and other trade-distorting subsidies shall be eliminated by WTO members (including elimination of European Union export subsidies on wheat, wheat flour, beef, and poultry and domestic subsidies on pork and feed grains); (3) elimination of the exclusive right of state trading enterprises to import agricultural products in the case of WTO members and their ability to use their exclusive authority over the export of agricultural products to distort trade and international prices (ensuring that Australia adheres to its commitment to end the export monopoly of the Australia Wheat Board no later than January 1, 1999, and that Canada eliminates the discretionary pricing practices of the Canadian Wheat Board); and (4) the elimination of certain sanitary and phytosanitary restrictions on imports of U.S. agricultural products to the extent that they are inconsistent with the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures. (Sec. 4) Amends the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 to revise the requirement that the President make certain determinations before any foreign country (currently, major foreign country) can accede to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the WTO. Requires the President to determine whether state trading enterprises in the foreign country produce or procure a significant share of: (1) the goods exported from, or imported into, such country; or (2) the goods produced domestically in such country. (An affirmative determination, together with another specified affirmative determination, mandates denial of GATT application to such a country.) Requires a country denied GATT application to enter into an agreement with the United States providing that the state trading enterprises will make purchases and sales in international trade based solely on commercial considerations (including price, quality, availability, marketability, and transportation), and on no other basis. Repeals the "in-accordance-with-customary practice" condition on the requirement that such state trading enterprises afford U.S. business firms adequate opportunity to compete for participation in such purchases and sales, before the GATT 1947 or the WTO agreement will apply between the United States and that country. (Sec. 5) Prohibits the United States from agreeing to the accession of the People's Republic of China to the WTO until the President certifies to the Congress that China: (1) evenly applies phytosanitary and veterinary import quarantine standards based upon modern laboratory techniques; (2) agrees to eliminate the restrictive import licensing requirements it imposes on pork products; and (3) agrees to permit the unrestricted importation of meat products. (Sec. 6) Prohibits the United States from agreeing to the accession of Russia to the WTO until the President certifies to the Congress that Russia agrees to change: (1) the Russian Veterinary Department requirements in a manner that brings them into conformity with WTO's Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (in particular transparency and basis on sound science); and (2) other sanitary and phytosanitary requirements that violate the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, especially those governing the import of planting seeds and meat products.