Agriculture

Nuclear Disarmament and Economic Conversion Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1999

Nuclear Disarmament and Economic Conversion Act of 1999 - Requires the U.S. Government to: (1) disable and dismantle all its nuclear weapons and refrain from replacing them at any time with weapons of mass destruction; (2) undertake vigorous good faith efforts to eliminate war, armed conflict, and all military operations; (3) actively promote policies to induce all other countries to join in these commitments for world peace and security; and (4) redirect resources that are currently being used for nuclear weapons programs to constructive, ecologically beneficial peacetime activities and to address human and infrastructure needs such as housing, health care, education, agriculture, and environmental protection. Makes this Act effective when the President certifies to Congress that all foreign countries possessing nuclear weapons have established legal requirements comparable to those set forth in this Act.

Jackson Multi-Agency Campus Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 15 July 1999

Jackson Multi-Agency Campus Act of 1999 - Provides for the exchange of certain federally owned land in Wyoming by the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) the Game and Fish Commission of Wyoming for certain State land to be used for construction of a multi-agency administrative facility (for use by specified Federal, State, and local agencies) for the Bridger-Teton National Forest; and (2) the town of Jackson, Wyoming, for construction of such facility.

To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to increase the maximum amount of marketing loan gains and loan deficiency payments that an agricultural producer may receive during the 1999 crop year.

United States · United States Congress · 15 July 1999

Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to increase the maximum amount of marketing loan gains and loan deficiency payments that an agricultural producer may receive for crop year 1999.

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exempt farm equipment and other property used in farming from the requirement that all gain on the sale of such property be recognized in the year of the sale.

United States · United States Congress · 15 July 1999

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt the installment sale of depreciable farm property from the requirement of year-of-sale gain (recapture) recognition.

A bill to provide for the eventual termination of milk marketing orders.

United States · United States Congress · 13 July 1999

Terminates milk marketing order authority as of a specified date.

Financial Freedom Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 13 July 1999

Financial Freedom Act of 1999 - Title I: Broad-Based Tax Relief - Subtitle A: 10-Percent Reduction in Individual Income Tax Rates - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to provide for the phase-in of a ten percent individual income tax rate. Subtitle B: Marriage Penalty Tax Relief - Phases-in a standard deduction on a joint (married) return equal to twice the deduction of a single (not married) return. (Sec. 112) Makes the modified adjusted gross income limitation applicable in determining the deduction for interest on educational loans on a joint return double the limit of a single return. (Sec. 113) Raises from $100,000 (currently applicable to any filing status) to $160,000 (in the case of a joint return) the adjusted gross income limit applicable to rollovers from regular IRAs to Roth IRAs. Subtitle C: Repeal of Alternative Minimum Tax on Individuals - Phases-in a repeal of the alternative minimum tax for individuals. Title II: Relief from Taxation on Savings and Investments - Excludes from gross income a limited amount of dividends and interest otherwise includible in gross income. (Sec. 202) Reduces the individual capital gains tax rate. (Sec. 203) Applies the capital gains tax rates to capital gains of designated settlement funds. (Sec. 204) Provides, with respect to exclusion of gain from the sale of a principal residence, for the suspension of the five-year ownership and use requirement during the time that a member (or spouse) of the uniformed services or Foreign Service is on qualified official extended duty (as defined by this Act). (Sec. 205) Treats certain dealer derivative financial instruments, hedging transactions, and supplies as ordinary assets. (Sec. 206) Revises provisions concerning the worthless securities of financial institutions. Title III: Incentives for Business Investment and Job Creation - Phases-in a corporate capital gains tax rate reduction. (Sec. 302) Phases- in a repeal of the alternative minimum tax on corporations. Repeals the 90 percent limitation on the utilization of the foreign tax credit. Title IV: Education Savings Incentives - Renames education individual retirement accounts education savings accounts. Increases to $2,000 the maximum annual contribution allowed to such accounts. Permits tax-free expenditures from such accounts for elementary and secondary education expenses required for attendance at a public, private, or religious school, or for homeschooling that meets State requirements. Waives certain age limitations in cases of children with special needs. Permits corporations to contribute to such accounts. (Sec. 402) Permits private educational institutions to maintain qualified tuition programs which are comparable to qualified State tuition programs. Excludes qualified distributions from such accounts from gross income. (Sec. 403) Excludes from gross income certain amounts received under the National Health Corps Scholarship Program, the Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship and Financial Assistance Program, the National Institutes of Health Undergraduate Scholarship Program, or any similar State program. (Sec. 404) Increases the amount by which certain governmental bonds used to finance public school capital expenditures may be exempted from specified arbitrage bond provisions. (Sec. 405) Modifies arbitrage rebate rules applicable to public school construction bonds. (Sec. 406) Repeals the 60-month limitation period on the allowance of the interest deduction on loans for higher education expenses. Title V: Health Care Provisions - Phases-in a 100 percent deduction (for both itemizers and nonitemizers) for the health and long- term care insurance costs of individuals not participating in employer-subsidized health plans. (Sec. 502) Permits offering long-term care insurance under cafeteria plans and flexible spending arrangements. (Sec. 503) Revises medical savings accounts provisions to: (1) repeal the limitation on the number of accounts; (2) make all employers (currently limited to small employers) eligible to offer accounts; (3) increase contribution deduction amounts; (4) permit employer and employee contributions; (5) reduce high deductible health plan deductibles; and (6) permit accounts to be offered under cafeteria plans. (Sec. 504) Permits a taxpayer an additional exemption for certain elderly family members who need long-term care and who reside with the taxpayer. (Sec. 505) Expands the time frame for human clinical trials qualifying for the orphan drug credit. (Sec. 506) Adds to the list of taxable vaccines any conjugate vaccine of streptococcus pneumoniae. Title VI: Estate Tax Relief - Subtitle A: Estate, Gift, and Generation-Skipping Taxes; Repeal of Step Up in Basis At Death - Repeals the estate tax, gift tax, and the tax on generation-skipping transfers, effective January 1, 2009. (Sec. 602) Terminates, effective January 1, 2009, the current provisions providing for determining the basis of property the acquired from a decedent and sets forth new provisions for determining the basis of certain property acquired from a decedent dying after December 31, 2008. Subtitle B: Reductions of Estate and Gift Tax Rates Prior to Repeal - Sets forth additional estate and gift tax reductions applicable to the period prior to repeal. Subtitle C: Unified Credit Replaced Unified Exemption Amount - Replaces the unified credit with a unified exemption amount. Subtitle D: Modifications of Generation-Skipping Tax - Amends provisions concerning the special rules for allocation of the generation-skipping tax (GST) exemption to provide, as a general rule, that: (1) if any individual makes an indirect skip during such individual's lifetime, any unused portion of such individual's GST exemption shall be allocated to the property transferred to the extent necessary to make the inclusion ratio for such property zero; and (2) if the amount of the indirect skip exceeds such unused portion, the entire unused portion shall be allocated to the property transferred. Title VII: Tax Relief for Distressed Communities and Industries - Subtitle A: American Community Renewal Act of 1999 - Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to designate (upon local or State nomination) up to 20 renewal communities, of which at least four 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. 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 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 five 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 deduction; (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. (Sec. 705) 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. (Sec. 706) Sets forth reporting requirements. Subtitle B: Farming Incentive - Disregards any option to accelerate the receipt of any payment under a production flexibility contract which is payable under the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996, as in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act, in determining the taxable year for which such payment is properly includible in gross income for purposes of the IRC. Subtitle C: Oil and Gas Incentive - Permits a five-year net operating loss carryback for losses attributable to operating mineral interests of independent oil and gas producers. Subtitle D: Timber Incentive - Increases the maximum permitted amortization of reforestation expenditures. Subtitle E: Steel Industry Incentive - Increases, for steel companies, the credit allowed against the regular tax for prior year minimum tax liability. Title VIII: Relief for Small Businesses - Provides for the deduction of 100 Percent of the health insurance costs of self-employed individuals. (Sec. 802) Increases to $30,000 the amount which may be expensed as section 179 property. (Sec. 803) Makes the 6.2 percent Federal Unemployment Tax Act rate effective through calendar year 2004 (currently, 2007) and the 6.0 percent rate effective through calendar year 2005 (currently, 2008). (Sec. 804) Phases-in an 80 percent meal expenses deduction. Title IX: International Tax Relief - Permits, for interest allocation rule purposes, treating each electing worldwide affiliated group an affiliated group. (Sec. 902) Revises provisions concerning the of application of look-thru rules to dividends from noncontrolled section 902 corporations to provide, in general, that any dividend from a noncontrolled section 902 corporation with respect to the taxpayer shall be treated as income in a separate category in proportion to the ratio of: (1) the portion of earnings and profits attributable to income in such category; to (2) the total amount of earnings and profits. (Sec. 903) Excludes from the definition of "foreign base company oil related income" the pipeline transportation of oil or gas within such foreign country. (Sec. 904) Excludes from the definition of "foreign base company services income" income derived in connection with the performance of services which are related to the transmission of high voltage electricity. (Sec. 905) Defines overall domestic loss and sets forth provisions for determining taxable income for any taxpayer sustaining such a loss. (Sec. 906) Repeals the special rule for military property with respect to exempt foreign trade income. (Sec. 907) Exempts from taxation certain regulated investment company dividends received by nonresident aliens. Treats certain regulated investment company stock owned by nonresident noncitizens as non-U.S. property for estate tax purposes. (Sec. 908) Repeals section 907 (Special Rules In Case of Foreign Oil and Gas Income) of the IRC. (Sec. 909) Requires a study and a report on the feasibility of treating all countries in the European Union as one country under subpart F (Controlled Foreign Corporations) of part III (Income From Sources Without the United States) of subchapter N (Tax Based on Income From Sources Within or Without the United States) of chapter 1 (Normal Taxes and Surtaxes) of the IRC. (Sec. 910) Permits the President to determine that the continued denial of the foreign tax credit with respect to a foreign country is no longer in the national interests of the United States. (Sec. 911) Treats advance pricing agreements as confidential taxpayer information. (Sec. 912) Phases in an increase in the dollar limitation on the section 911 (Citizens or Residents of the United States Living Abroad) exclusion. Title X: Provisions Relating to Tax-Exempt Organizations - Exempts an organization from income tax if it is created by a State to provide property and casualty insurance coverage for property for which such coverage is otherwise unavailable. (Sec. 1002) Amends the Tax Reform Act of 1984 to revise the special arbitrage rule. (Sec. 1003) Amends the IRC to disallow a deduction for the transfer of a charitable contribution to or for the use of a State or charitable tax-exempt organization or trust if in connection with such transfer: (1) the organization directly or indirectly pays, or has previously paid, any premium on any personal benefit contract (life insurance, annuity, or endowment contract, also known as charitable split-dollar life insurance) with respect to the transferor; or (2) there is an understanding (side agreement) that any person will directly or indirectly pay any premium on such contract with respect to such transferor. Imposes on such organization an excise tax equal to the premiums paid by it on the personal benefit contract. Provides that certain persons shall not be treated as indirect beneficiaries: (1) in certain cases in which a charitable organization purchases an annuity contract to fund an obligation to pay a charitable gift annuity; or (2) solely by reason of being a noncharitable recipient of an annuity or unitrust amount paid by a charitable remainder trust that holds a life insurance, annuity or endowment contract. (Sec. 1004) Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a procedure for exemption from the self- dealing tax. (Sec. 1005) Revises provisions concerning: (1) declaratory judgments relating to tax-exempt organizations; and (2) the special rules for certain amounts of unrelated business taxable income received from controlled entities. Title XI: Real Estate Provisions - Subtitle A: Provisions Relating to Real Estate Investment Trusts - Part I: Treatment of Income and Services Provided by Taxable REIT Subsidiaries - Excludes taxable REIT subsidiaries (TRSs) from the five and ten percent asset tests. (Sec. 1102) Allows TRSs to provide non-customary tenant services. (Sec. 1103) Allows a REIT to establish a TRS (as defined). (Sec. 1104) Includes in the definition of "disqualified interest" (Sec. 163 of the IRC) any interest paid or accrued by a TRS to the REIT. (Sec. 1105) Imposes a 100 percent tax on any interest payments by a TRS to the REIT in excess of the commercially reasonable interest rate. Part II: Health Care REITs - Includes within the definition of the term "foreclosure property" any qualified health care property acquired by a REIT as the result of the termination of a lease of such property. Part III: Conformity With Regulated Investment Company Rules - Changes the distribution requirement from 95 percent to 90 percent. Part IV: Clarification of Exception From Impermissible Tenant Service Income - Provides, with respect to the definition of an independent contractor, that in the event that any class of stock of is regularly traded on an established securities market, only owners who own, directly or indirectly, more than five percent of such class of stock shall be taken into account as owning any of the stock of such class for purposes of applying the 35 percent limitation. Part V: Modification of Earnings and Profits Rules - Provides rules for determining whether a Regulated Investment Company (RIC) has earnings and profits form a non-RIC year. Part VI: Study Relating to Taxable REIT Subsidiaries - Directs the: (1) Commissioner of Internal Revenue shall conduct a study to determine how many taxable REIT subsidiaries are in existence and the aggregate amount of taxes paid by such subsidiaries; and (2) the Secretary of the Treasury to submit a report to Congress describing the results of such study. Subtitle B: Modification of At-Risk Rules for Publicly Traded Securities - Revises, with respect to real property, provisions concerning the treatment under the at-risk rules of publicly traded nonrecourse debt. Subtitle C: Treatment of Construction Allowances and Certain Contributions To Capital of Retailers - Amends provisions which exclude from the gross income of a lessee any amount received in cash by a lessee from a lessor under a short-term lease of retail space used for the purpose of such lessee's constructing or improving long-term real property for use in the lessee's business to makes such exclusion inapplicable under a short-term lease if the lessee is a qualified retail business. (Sec. 1172) Defines the term "contribution to the capital of the taxpayer" to include any amount of money or other property received by the taxpayer if: (1) the taxpayer has entered into an agreement to operate a qualified retail business at a particular location for at least 15 years; (2) immediately after the receipt of such money or other property, the taxpayer owns the land and the structure to be used by the taxpayer in carrying on a qualified retail business at such location, or the taxpayer uses such amount to acquire ownership of at least such land and structure; (3) such amount meets the requirements of the expenditure rule; and (4) the contributor of such amount does not hold a beneficial interest in any property located on the premises of such qualified retail business other than de minimis amounts of property associated with the operation of property adjacent to such premises. Defines the terms "expenditure rule" and "qualified retail business." Title XII: Provisions Relating to Pensions - Subtitle A: Expanding Coverage - Increases the $90,000 limit on defined benefit plans to $160,000. Changes the age from which such limit will be reduced from the social security retirement age to 62 and the age from which the limit will be increased from the social security retirement age to 65. Increases the $30,000 limit for defined benefit contribution plans to $40,000. Increases the $150,000 compensation limit to $200,000. Increases the elective deferral limit to $15,000. (Sec. 1202) Eliminates certain current rules concerning plan loans made to an owner-employee. (Sec. 1203) Revises the definition of a top-heavy plan and a key employee for purposes of the special rules for top-heavy plans. Takes into account: (1) matching contributions for minimum contribution requirements; and (2) distributions during the last year before the determination date. (Sec. 1204) Provides that elective deferral contributions are not subject to deduction limits. (Sec. 1205) Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to provide that, during the first five years of a new single-employer plan of a small employer (100 or fewer employees), the flat rate Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PGBC) premium will be five dollars per plan participant. Provides for a reduced additional PGBC variable premium for new and small employers. (Sec. 1207) Repeals specified coordination requirements under the Code for deferred compensation plans of State and local governments and tax-exempt organizations. (Sec. 1208) Eliminates user fee requirements for requests to the IRS concerning the status of pension plans. (Sec. 1209) Revises the definition of compensation, for purposes of the deduction rules, to include salary reduction amounts treated as a participant's compensation. (Sec. 1210) Provides for optional treatment of elective deferrals as plus contributions. Defines such contributions. (Sec. 1211) Phases-in an increase in the minimum annual benefit permitted under a defined benefit contribution plan. Subtitle B: Enhancing Fairness for Women - Allows additional salary reduction catch-up contributions for those approaching retirement under IRC requirements relating to: (1) elective deferrals; (2) simple retirement accounts; and (3) deferred compensation plans of State and local governments and tax-exempt organizations. (Sec. 1222) Sets forth requirements relating to equitable treatment for contributions of employees to defined contribution plans. Requires that certain contributions by church plans are not to be treated as exceeding a specified limit. (Sec. 1223) Provides for faster vesting of certain employer matching contributions. (Sec. 1224) Revises minimum distribution rules under the IRC. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) simplify and finalize the regulations relating to minimum distribution requirements; and (2) modify such regulations to reflect increases in life expectancy, and revise required distribution methods so that, under reasonable assumptions, the amount of the required minimum distribution does not decrease over a participant's life expectancy. Provides that, during the first year that such revised regulations are in effect, required distributions for future years may be redetermined, with the opportunity to choose a new designated beneficiary and to elect a new method of calculating life expectancy. (Sec. 1225) Revises requirements relating to tax treatment of division of section 457 plan benefits upon divorce. Subtitle C: Increasing Portability for Participants - Permits rollovers from and to various types of plans under the IRC. (Sec. 1232) Permits individual retirement plan (IRA) rollovers only if certain conditions are met. (Sec. 1233) Permits rollover of after-tax contributions in an exempt trust under specified conditions. (Sec. 1234) Sets forth a hardship exception to the 60-day rule. (Sec. 1235) Sets forth requirements for treatment of forms of distribution available under transferor and transferee plans, under the IRC. (Sec. 1236) Revises restrictions on distributions, including the same desk exception. (Sec. 1237) Authorizes trustee-to-trustee transfers to purchase permissive service credit with respect to governmental defined benefit plans. (Sec. 1238) Allows employers to disregard rollovers for purposes of cash-out amounts, under retirement plan provisions of the Code and ERISA. (Sec. 1239) Revises minimum distribution and inclusion requirements for section 457 plans. Subtitle D: Strengthening Pension Security and Enforcement - Amends the IRC to revise the percentage of current liability funding limit. (Sec. 1242) Revises maximum contribution deduction rules and applies them to all defined benefit plans under the IRC. (Sec. 1243) Amends ERISA to revise requirements relating to missing participants. Directs the PBGC to prescribe rules relating to missing participants for multiemployer plans covered by the PBGC that terminate. Allows the administrator of a plan not otherwise subject to such PBGC regulation to elect to transfer a missing participant's benefits to the PBGC upon termination of the plan, under specified conditions. (Sec. 1244) Amends the IRC to allow an employer, in determining the amount of nondeductible contributions for any taxable year, to elect not to take into account any contributions to a defined benefit plan except to the extent that they exceed the full-funding limitation. (Sec. 1245) Imposes an excise tax on a plan failing to provide required notice of a significant reduction in the rate of future benefit accrual. Subtitle E: Reducing Regulatory Burdens -Repeals a multiple use test. Directs the Secretary prescribe regulations permitting appropriate aggregation of plans and contributions. (Sec. 1252) Amends the Code and ERISA to revise requirements relating to timing of plan valuations. (Sec. 1253) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to modify regulations in order to expand the ability of a pension plan to demonstrate compliance with the nondiscrimination and line of business requirements. (Sec. 1254) Amends ERISA rules for substantial owners relating to plan terminations to revise: (1) the phase-in of the guarantee; and (2) the allocation of assets. (Sec. 1255) Amends IRC requirements for applicable dividends to allow dividends of employee stock ownership plans to be reinvested without loss of dividend deduction. (Sec. 1256) Revises the notice and consent period regarding distributions. Directs the Secretary to modify certain regulations to provide that the description of a participant's right, if any, to defer receipt of a distribution shall also describe the consequences of failing to defer such receipt. (Sec. 1257) Repeals a transition rule relating to certain highly compensated employees under the Tax Reform Act of 1986. (Sec. 1258) Directs the Secretary to modify certain regulations with respect to certain plan participation by employees of tax-exempt entities under the IRC. (Sec. 1259) Excludes qualified retirement planning services from gross income (as a fringe benefit). (Sec. 1260) Prescribes requirements for plan amendments or annuity contract amendments under the IRC. (Sec. 1261) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue model defined contribution and benefit plans that fit the needs of small businesses. (Sec. 1262) Directs the Secretary to provide for the filing of a simplified annual return in the case of a retirement plan covering less than 25 employees. (Sec. 1263) Directs the Secretary to continue to update and improve the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System. Title XIII: Miscellaneous Provisions - Subtitle A: Provisions Primarily Affecting Individuals - Provides that the exclusion of State or local government foster care payments from the gross income of foster care providers shall also apply to payments by qualifying placement agencies. (Sec. 1302) Excludes from an individual's gross income amounts received as reimbursement regarding the use of a passenger automobile for the benefit of a charitable organization. Relieves the organization of certain reporting requirements regarding the reimbursements. (Sec. 1303) Requires a W-2 to include employer Social Security taxes paid. Subtitle B: Provisions Primarily Affecting Businesses - Includes income from publicly traded partnerships as qualifying income of regulated investment companies. Excludes distributions from the source-based inclusion limitation applicable to other partnerships. (Sec. 1312) Applies specified passive activity provisions for publicly traded partnerships to regulated investment companies. (Sec. 1313) Makes certain large electric trucks, vans and buses eligible for the $50,000 deduction clean-fuel property deduction, but not the $4,000 electric vehicle credit. (Sec. 1314) Modifies the special rules concerning nuclear decommissioning costs. (Sec. 1315) Repeals certain provisions concerning the filing of consolidated returns by insurance companies. Subtitle C: Provisions Relating to Excise Taxes - Combines the Hazardous Substance Superfund and the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund (LUST) into the Environmental Remediation Trust Fund (established by this Act). (Sec. 1322) Repeals the: (1) LUST taxes on fuel used in trains; and (2) 4.3-cents- per-gallon General Fund excise tax on diesel fuel used by railroads and on fuels used by barges operating on designated inland waterways. (Sec. 1323) Repeals the excise tax on fishing tackle boxes. Subtitle D: Other Provisions - Amends IRC provisions concerning State private activity bond volume limits to repeal the adjustment for years after 1987. (Sec. 1332) Permits, in general, an electing Alaska Native Settlement Trust to exclude contributions, during the year of contribution, from the gross income of a beneficiary. Subtitle E: Tax Court Provisions - Authorizes the Tax Court to charge a filing fee of up to $60 in all cases commenced by petition. (Sec. 1342) Authorizes the Tax Court to make the $30 practice fee available to pro se taxpayers. (Sec. 1343) Permits the Tax Court to apply the doctrine of equitable recoupment to the same extent that it is available in civil tax cases. Title XIV: Extensions of Expiring Provisions - Extends, for five years, the: (1) research credit; (2) subpart F (Controlled Foreign Corporations) exemption for active income financing; (3) taxable income limit on percentage depletion for marginal oil and gas wells; and (4) work opportunity credit and the welfare-to-work credit. Title XV: Revenue Offsets - Amends provisions involving returns relating to the cancellation of indebtedness by certain entities to include within the definition of "applicable financial entity" any organization a significant trade or business of which is the lending of money. (Sec. 1502) Directs the Secretary to establish a program requiring the payment of user fees for requests to the IRS for ruling letters, opinion letters, determination letters, and other similar requests. Terminates fees October 1, 2007. (Sec. 1503) Modifies rules relating to the exemption of certain ten or more employer plans from welfare benefit fund provisions. (Sec. 1504) Increases the withholding rate for nonperiodic distributions from 10 to 15 percent. (Sec. 1505) Makes a controlled entity ineligible to be a REIT. Defines "controlled entity." (Sec. 1506) Treats a gain as an ordinary gain to the extent such gain exceeds the net underlying long-term capital gain where the taxpayer has gain from a constructive ownership transaction with respect to any financial position and such gain otherwise would be treated as a long-term capital gain. Provides that, to the extent such gain is treated as a long-term capital gain after the application of the previous sentence, the determination of the applicable capital gain rate (or rates) shall be determined on the basis of the respective rate (or rates) that would have been applicable to the net underlying long-term capital gain. Sets forth definitions and exceptions. (Sec. 1507) Prohibits transfers of excess pension assets to retiree health account made after September 30, 2009 (currently, after December 31, 2000), from being treated as qualified transfers. (Sec. 1508) Prohibits, in general, the use of the installment method of accounting for accrual method dispositions. Title XVI: Technical Corrections - Sets forth amendments concerning, among other things: (1) the Tax and Trade Relief Extension Act of 1998; (2) the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998; (3) the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997; (4) the treatment of worthless securities of affiliated corporations; (5) the IRA contribution amount of the lesser earning spouse; (6) modified endowment contracts; (7) lump-sum distributions; and (8) tentative carryback adjustments of losses from section 1256 contracts.

Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000

United States · United States Congress · 2 July 1999

Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000 - Makes appropriations for the Department of the Interior and related agencies for FY 2000. Title I: Department of the Interior - Makes appropriations for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for: (1) land and resource management; (2) wildland fire management; (3) remedial action of hazardous waste substances; (4) construction; (5) payments in lieu of taxes to local governments; (6) land acquisition; (7) Oregon and California grant lands; (8) range improvements; (9) service charges, deposits, and forfeitures with respect to public lands; and (10) miscellaneous trust funds. Appropriates funds for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for: (1) resource management; (2) construction; (3) land acquisition; (4) expenses related to carrying out the Endangered Species Act of 1973; (5) the National Wildlife Refuge Fund; (6) expenses related to carrying out the North American Wetlands Conservation Act; (7) the Wildlife Conservation and Appreciation Fund; and (8) expenses related to carrying out the African Elephant Conservation Act, the Asian Elephant Conservation Act of 1997, and the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act of 1994. Makes appropriations for the National Park Service (NPS) for: (1) the National Park System; (2) national recreation and preservation activities; (3) expenses related to carrying out the Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996; (4) construction; and (5) land acquisition and State assistance from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Rescinds specified contract authority to obligate funds from the Land and Water Conservation Fund for FY 2000. Makes appropriations for: (1) the U.S. Geological Survey for surveys, investigations, and research; (2) the Minerals Management Service for royalty and offshore minerals management and oil spill research; (3) the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement for regulation and technology and the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund; (4) the Bureau of Indian Affairs for operation of Indian programs, construction, miscellaneous payments to Indians, and Indian guaranteed loans; (5) assistance to U.S. territories and for carrying out the Compacts of Free Association with respect to Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau; (6) departmental management and the Offices of the Solicitor and the Inspector General; (7) trust programs for Indians; (8) a pilot program for consolidation of fractional interests in Indian lands by direct expenditure or cooperative agreement; and (9) natural resource damage assessment. Sets forth authorized and prohibited uses of specified funds. (Sec. 107) Prohibits the use of funds provided in this title for specified offshore leasing and related activities. (Sec. 109) Incorporates provisions similar to those contained in the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 (Public Law 105-83) concerning employees of BLM's Helium Operations. (Sec. 111) Bars the NPS from developing a reduced entrance fee program to accommodate non-local travel through a unit. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to provide for and regulate local non-recreational passage through National Park System units, allowing each unit to develop guidelines and permits for activity appropriate to such unit. (Sec. 116) Exempts all properties administered by the NPS at Fort Baker, Golden Gate National Recreation Area and other agreements associated with such properties from all taxes and special assessments, except sales tax by the State of California and its political subdivisions. (Sec. 118) Authorizes persons utilizing Federal lands within the boundary of Lake Roosevelt National Recreational Area for grazing purposes pursuant to NPS permits to renew such permits. (Sec. 119) Allows the renewal of grazing permits which expire during FY 2000 for the balance of FY 2000 or until the BLM completes permit processing, whichever comes first. Provides for modification of such permits, if necessary, and authorizes reissuance for a term of up to ten years. (Sec. 120) Authorizes the Secretary, notwithstanding any other provision of law, including those pertaining to competition in the appointment process, to appoint administrative law judges for such periods of time as necessary to reduce the Indian probate backlog in the Department of the Interior. Title II: Related Agencies - Makes appropriations for the Department of Agriculture for the Forest Service for: (1) forest and rangeland research; (2) State and private forestry; (3) the National Forest System; (4) wildland fire management; (5) construction and reconstruction; (6) land acquisition; (7) range rehabilitation and improvement; and (8) forest and rangeland research. Defers a certain amount of funds made available for obligation in prior years for Department of Energy (DOE) clean coal technology projects until FY 2001. Makes appropriations for DOE for: (1) fossil energy research and development activities; (2) naval petroleum and oil shale reserve activities; (3) payment to the State of California for the State Teachers' Retirement Fund from the Elk Hills School Lands Fund; (4) energy conservation; (5) economic regulation activities of the Office of Hearings and Appeals; (6) the Strategic Petroleum Reserve; and (7) the Energy Information Administration. Makes appropriations for the Department of Health and Human Services for the Indian Health Service and Indian health facilities. Makes appropriations for: (1) the Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation; (2) the Smithsonian Institution, including amounts for repair and restoration of facilities owned or occupied by the Smithsonian and construction; (3) the National Gallery of Art, including an amount for repair and restoration of facilities owned or occupied by the National Gallery; (4) operations, maintenance, and construction expenses of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; (5) carrying out the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Act of 1968; (6) the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA); (7) the National Endowment for the Humanities; (8) the Institute of Museum and Library Services; (9) the Commission of Fine Arts; (10) national capital arts and cultural affairs; (11) the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation; (12) the National Capital Planning Commission; (13) the Holocaust Memorial Council; and (14) the Presidio trust. Sets forth provisions regarding uses of, and limitations on, funds under this title. Title III: General Provisions - Sets forth limitations on the use of funds under this Act, including Buy American requirements. Incorporates provisions similar to those contained in the Department of Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 (Public Law 105-83) concerning: (1) the sale of timber from giant sequoias; (2) the underground lunchroom at Carlsbad Caverns National Park; (3) funding for the Americorps program; (4) the bridge between Jersey City, New Jersey, and Ellis Island; (5) patents for mining or mill site claims; (6) competition for watershed restoration project contracts in the Pacific Northwest; (7) designation of Biosphere Reserves; and (8) restrictions on NEA grants. (Sec. 316) Bars the use of funds made available in any Act to designate any portion of Canaveral National Seashore in Brevard County, Florida, as a clothing-optional area or area in which public nudity is permitted if such designation would be contrary to county ordinance. (Sec. 328) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to deposit certain administrative fees in a special account for use in covering costs incurred by the Forest Service for the processing of applications for special use authorizations and for inspection and monitoring in connection with such authorizations. (Sec. 330) Authorizes a woman to breastfeed her child at any location on property that is part of the National Park System, the Smithsonian Institution, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, or the National Gallery of Art if the woman and child are otherwise permitted to be present at such location. (Sec. 331) Prohibits the use of funds appropriated in this Act to propose or issue rules or orders for implementing the Kyoto Protocol.

A bill to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain National Forest land to Elko County, Nevada, for continued use as a cemetery.

United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1999

Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to convey a parcel of National Forest lands known as Jarbidge Cemetery to Elko County, Nevada, for use as a cemetery.

Public Lands Planning and Management Improvement Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1999

Public Lands Planning and Management Improvement Act of 1999 - Provides that this Act shall prevail in the event of an inconsistency with other laws applicable to Federal lands, except for laws governing the National Wilderness Preservation System, the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, or the National Trails System and as otherwise provided. Title I: Ensuring the Effectiveness and Implementation of Federal Land Planning - Part A: In General - Requires the mission of the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to be to manage Federal lands to assure the health, sustainability, and productivity of the lands' ecosystems, to furnish a sustainable flow of multiple goods and services while protecting and providing a full range and diversity of natural habitats of native species, and to designate appropriate areas to conserve certain resources or allow certain uses. (Sec. 103) Directs the Secretaries, in rendering decisions concerning resource management plans (plans) for and management activities on Federal lands, to utilize the best scientific and commercial data available. Part B: Resource Management and Management Activity Planning - Limits the Secretaries to two levels of planning for Federal lands comprised of: (1) multiple-use planning in the form of plans for planning units; and (2) site or area specific planning for management activities. Authorizes the Secretaries to conduct analyses or assessments for regions or areas that are not designated planning units and to apply the results of such analyses or assessments to the affected Federal lands by amendment or revision of plans for such units. Grants the Secretaries three years from this Act's enactment date to amend or revise plans to modify policies in plans which do not comply with this Act's planning requirements. Terminates noncomplying plans after such three-year period. (Sec. 105) Sets forth specific plan requirements, planning deadlines, and procedures for amending and revising plans to eliminate conflicts between plan provisions and the Secretaries' policies. (Sec. 107) Continues management activities during the amendment or revision process, except as otherwise required by this Act, court order, or a formal declaration of the Secretary concerned. (Sec. 108) Requires, in preparing or revising plans, consideration of the stability of each community dependent on the resources of the Federal lands to which a plan applies. (Sec. 109) Requires consideration of ecosystem management principles in environmental analysis documents prepared for plans and plan revisions. Part C: Encouragement of Collaborative Planning - Requires alternatives to plans or revisions developed by independent committees of local interest to be included in documentation related to environmental impact assessment analyses under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). Requires committees to be composed of interests representing commodity resource production and noncommodity resource protection, respectively. Authorizes funding to such committees for plan monitoring and implementation if the Secretary concerned adopts a significant part of a committee's alternative. Encourages the Secretaries to establish committees corresponding to planning units. (Sec. 111) Sets forth procedures for citizen petitions to challenge plans or plan revisions. (Sec. 112) Requires each Secretary to establish a notice and comment process for proposed actions concerning activities implementing plans. Part D: Consideration and Disclosure of Budget and Funding Effects - Requires the environmental analysis accompanying each plan or plan revision to disclose the funding constraints on each plan or alternative plan. Directs the Secretaries, in such documents, to specify the fully allocated cost, expressed as a user cost or cost-per-beneficiary, of each noncommodity output from Federal lands to which plans apply. Requires the President's budget requests to Congress governing the planning and management of Federal lands to include a statement of what funds would be required to achieve 100 percent of annual outputs specified in, and implement fully, the plan for each planning unit. Directs each Secretary to report annually to specified congressional committees on the total cost and costs per function or procedure incurred in the preparation of plans and significant plan revisions, including costs incurred by other Federal agencies. Part E: Monitoring and Adaptive Management - Provides for monitoring of plan implementation and Federal land management at least every two years. (Sec. 117) Directs that if, as a result of such monitoring, the Secretary finds that a plan has been constructively changed, then corrective measures shall be undertaken to restore plan compliance or to amend or revise the plan. (Sec. 118) Requires the Secretary of the Interior to establish a Public Lands Monitoring Fund and the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a Forest Lands Monitoring Fund. Part F: Planning-Related Assessments - Authorizes each Secretary to prepare or participate in the preparation of assessments which may encompass all Federal and non-Federal lands within a region or area that is not a planning unit, with special rules for non-Federal lands not subject to the jurisdiction of a federally recognized Indian tribe. Requires congressional and public notification of such assessments. (Sec. 120) Prohibits such assessments from containing any decisions concerning resource management planning or management activities on the Federal lands. Requires such assessments to be reviewed to determine whether a plan should be amended or revised to include such lands. (Sec. 120) Requires biannual reports from the Secretary to the appropriate congressional committees on such assessments and their results. Requires a review and report on such assessments by the General Accounting Office. Part G: Challenges to Planning - Requires each Secretary to promulgate regulations to govern administrative appeals of decisions to approve plans and plan revisions and to approve or disapprove Federal land management activities. Replaces certain Forest Service regulations promulgated pursuant to provisions related to decisionmaking and appeals reform with those required by this Act. (Sec. 123) Sets forth provisions regarding judicial review of challenges to planning, citizen suits, and filing deadlines. Title II: Coordination and Compliance with Other Environmental Laws - Directs the Secretary concerned to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) pursuant to NEPA in developing a plan or plan revision. Requires environmental assessments (or an EIS if the nature or scope of activity is substantially different from, or greater than, consequences considered in the plan EIS) with respect to planning management activities on Federal lands. (Sec. 203) Directs the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) or the Forest Service, as appropriate, to ensure that plan or management activities are not likely to jeopardize the existence of any threatened or endangered species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat. Sets forth procedures for certifying such agencies to perform certain consultation and biological assessment actions currently assigned to the Secretaries of the Interior or Commerce. (Sec. 204) Deems management activities on Federal lands which constitute a nonpoint source of water pollution certified by the State in which the Federal lands are located to meet best management practices to be in compliance with area-wide waste treatment management plans and State nonpoint source management programs under the Clean Water Act. (Sec. 205) Deems a prescribed use of fire on Federal lands which, pursuant to a finding by a Forest Service supervisor or BLM district manager, would reduce the risk of greater emissions from a wildfire and will be conducted in a manner to minimize air quality impacts, to be in compliance with State implementation plans for air quality standards and any other Environmental Protection Agency requirements imposed under the Clean Air Act. Title III: Development of a Global Renewable Resources Assessment - Directs the National Council on Renewable Resources Policy (established by this Act) to prepare a Global Renewable Resources Assessment, to be submitted to specified congressional committees every five years. (Sec. 303) Establishes the Council. (Sec. 304) Repeals provisions of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act relating to a Renewable Resource Assessment and presidential budget requests for Forest Service activities. Title IV: Administration - Part A: In General - Sets forth provisions regarding the presidential appointment and confirmation of the Chief of the Forest Service. (Sec. 402) Authorizes interagency land transfers and interchanges of jurisdiction between the Secretaries to facilitate land management or achieve other public purposes, subject to specified conditions. (Sec. 403) Authorizes the Secretaries to permit the use of Federal land and facilities for motion picture, television, soundtrack, or advertisement production or any similar commercial project, unless such use is not appropriate or will impair the value or resources of such land or facility. Requires assessment of a use fee which shall include a reimbursement fee (all Federal application and cleanup costs) and a special use fee. Requires 80 percent of the special use fee to be available to the supervisors of units of Federal land where the fee was collected. Allows the special use fee to be waived if the activity provides clear educational or interpretive benefits for the public. Provides civil penalties for nonpayment of fees. (Sec. 404) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to implement a public-private venture demonstration program of not more than 15 projects to evaluate the feasibility of using non-Federal funds to construct, rehabilitate, maintain, and operate federally owned visitor facilities on Forest Service lands and to conduct the requisite environmental analysis associated with those activities. Allows such projects to be depreciated over a term not to exceed 30 years. Allows such Secretary to sell existing facilities on such lands to a concessionaire if such sale is in the best interests of the Government and such concessionaire agrees that facility use will be consistent with applicable plans and Federal and State laws. Directs such Secretary to charge and collect concession fees. Requires a report to specified congressional committees evaluating the programs established and providing recommendations for permanent authority to conduct such programs. (Sec. 405) Directs each Secretary to charge and collect a fee for linear rights-of-way (power and communications lines, oil and gas pipelines) on Federal lands under that Secretary's jurisdiction. (Sec. 407) Requires the General Accounting Office to conduct, and report to specified congressional committees on, a study of the feasibility and likely effects of prohibiting appropriations to the Forest Service and the BLM, except for activities conducted on or related to non-Federal lands, and permitting such agencies to retain for their use, without fiscal year limitation, all revenues from Federal lands minus funds necessary to make payments to State and local governments. (Sec. 408) Amends the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to bar the imposition of liability without fault for fire suppression costs with respect to a right-of-way granted or renewed to or for a nonprofit entity. Part B: Non-Federal Lands - Sets forth deadlines and processing requirements for applications for access through Federal lands to non-Federal lands pursuant to the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. (Sec. 410) Amends the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to set forth certain procedural deadlines and requirements related to the exchange of Federal lands for non-Federal lands. Increases the maximum combined value of Federal lands that may be exchanged in exchanges of lands of approximately equal value. Part C: The Forest Resource - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a pilot program to charge and collect fees to cover the direct costs to the Department of Agriculture of timber sale preparation and harvest administration on Forest Service lands. Provides exceptions. Terminates such authority eight years after the enactment of this Act. (Sec. 412) Authorizes the Secretaries to require, as a condition of any specific salvage sale of forest products from Federal lands or any sale of forest products constituting a forest health enhancement project, that the purchaser undertake a forest management activity which addresses effects of the sale or past sales or involves vegetation management within the sale or affected area. Sets forth financing provisions and authorizes the use of appropriated funds for such activities, subject to certain conditions. Requires the Secretary, prior to the advertisement of such sales, to determine the amount of forest health credits to be allocated to each activity to be performed by the purchaser. Permits the transfer of unused credits from one sale to another sale held by the same purchaser if the other sale applies to Federal lands under the jurisdiction of the same Secretary and is located in the same State as the original sale. Terminates the authority to offer such sales five years after this Act's enactment date but continues contracts in effect on such date. (Sec. 413) Requires the Secretary of the Interior to maintain a special fund to be derived from the Federal share of monies received from the salvage sales of forest products from BLM lands and to be available for planning, preparing, and administering such sales, subsequent site preparation and reforestation, and forest health enhancement projects. Credits the Federal share of all monies received from such sales and other specified activities on lands within the National Forest System to the Forest Service Permanent Appropriations. Lists purposes for which such funds shall be expended. Considers monies received from salvage sales and other activities funded by this section to be money received for purposes of computing and distributing payments to State and local governments under other laws concerning the distribution of revenues derived from forest resources from affected lands. (Sec. 414) Requires the Secretaries, to the extent feasible and subject to specified conditions, to use private contractors to prepare sales of forest products. (Sec. 415) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to charge and collect not less than the fair market value for special forest products harvested on Forest System lands. Authorizes a fee waiver. Provides authorized fee uses. Title V: Miscellaneous - Authorizes appropriations to carry out this Act. (Sec. 504) Sets forth certain laws that will prevail in case of inconsistencies with this Act.

A bill to redesignate the "Stuttgart National Aquaculture Research Center" as the "Harry K. Dupree Stuttgart National Aquaculture Research Center".

United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1999

Amends the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 to rename the Stuttgart National Aquaculture Research Center as the Harry K. Dupree Stuttgart National Aquaculture Research Center.

Food Stamp Vitamin and Mineral Improvement Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 30 June 1999

Food Stamp Vitamin and Mineral Improvement Act of 1999 - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to permit food stamp program purchases of vitamin or mineral nutritional supplements.

To amend the Agricultural Market Transition Act to extend through fiscal year 2002 the authority for the advance payment, in full, of the payments required under production flexibility contracts.

United States · United States Congress · 30 June 1999

Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act to extend authority to receive full or part payment of production flexibility contracts at times specified by the producer.

Community Forest Restoration Act

United States · United States Congress · 28 June 1999

Community Forest Restoration Act - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, to establish a cooperative forest restoration program in New Mexico to provide cost-share grants to stakeholders for experimental forest restoration projects designed to: (1) reduce wildfire danger; (2) restore watersheds; or (3) enhance small diameter tree use.

Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000

United States · United States Congress · 28 June 1999

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Department of the Interior Title II: Related Agencies Title III: General Provisions Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000 - Makes appropriations for the Department of the Interior and related agencies for FY 2000. Title I: Department of the Interior - Makes appropriations for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for: (1) land and resource management; (2) wildland fire management; (3) remedial action of hazardous waste substances; (4) construction; (5) payments in lieu of taxes to local governments; (6) land acquisition; (7) Oregon and California grant lands; (8) range improvements; (9) service charges, deposits, and forfeitures with respect to public lands; and (10) miscellaneous trust funds. Appropriates funds for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for: (1) resource management; (2) construction; (3) land acquisition; (4) expenses related to carrying out the Endangered Species Act of 1973; (5) the National Wildlife Refuge Fund; (6) expenses related to carrying out the African Elephant Conservation Act, the Asian Elephant Conservation Act of 1997, and the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act of 1994; (7) expenses related to carrying out the North American Wetlands Conservation Act; and (8) the Wildlife Conservation and Appreciation Fund. Makes appropriations for the National Park Service (NPS) for: (1) the National Park System; (2) national recreation and preservation activities; (3) expenses related to carrying out the Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996; (4) construction; and (5) land acquisition and State assistance from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Rescinds specified contract authority to obligate funds from the Land and Water Conservation Fund for FY 2000. Makes appropriations for: (1) the U.S. Geological Survey for surveys, investigations, and research; (2) the Minerals Management Service for royalty and offshore minerals management and oil spill research; (3) the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement for regulation and technology and the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund; (4) the Bureau of Indian Affairs for operation of Indian programs, construction, miscellaneous payments to Indians, and Indian guaranteed loans; (5) assistance to U.S. territories and for carrying out the Compacts of Free Association with respect to Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau; (6) departmental management and the Offices of the Solicitor and the Inspector General; (7) trust programs for Indians; (8) a pilot program for consolidation of fractional interests in Indian lands by direct expenditure or cooperative agreement; and (9) natural resource damage assessment. Sets forth authorized and prohibited uses of specified funds. (Sec. 107) Prohibits the use of funds provided in this title for specified offshore leasing and related activities. (Sec. 114) Bars the NPS from developing a reduced entrance fee program to accommodate non-local travel through a unit. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to provide for and regulate local non-recreational passage through National Park System units, allowing each unit to develop guidelines and permits for activity appropriate to such unit. (Sec. 117) Authorizes the renewal of grazing permits and leases which expire or are transferred in any fiscal year until the Secretary completes renewal processing. (Sec. 120) Exempts all properties administered by the NPS at Fort Baker, Golden Gate National Recreation Area and other agreements associated with such properties, from all taxes and special assessments, except sales tax by the State of California and its political subdivisions. (Sec. 122) Prohibits the use of funds provided in any Act for the pre-design, design, or engineering for the removal of the Elwha or Glines Canyon Dams or for the actual removal of such dams until they are acquired by the Federal Government. Battle of Midway National Memorial Study Act - Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the NPS, 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. (Sec. 124) Authorizes persons utilizing Federal lands within the boundary of Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area (as designated by the Secretary on April 5, 1990) as of March 31, 1997, for grazing purposes pursuant to NPS permits to renew such permits for the lesser of 20 years or the lifetime of the permittee. (Sec. 125) Allows the Secretary to redistribute any Tribal Priority Allocation funds to alleviate tribal funding inequities by transferring funds on the basis of identified, unmet needs. Bars any tribe from receiving a reduction in such funds of more than ten percent in FY 2000. (Sec. 126) Makes funds provided in this Act unavailable for transferring land into trust status for the Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe in Clark County, Washington, until the tribe and county reach a legally enforceable agreement that addresses the financial impact of new development on the county, school and fire districts, and other local governments and the impact on zoning and development. Incorporates provisions similar to those contained in the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 (Public Law 105-83) concerning: (1) employees of BLM's Helium Operations; and (2) Huron Cemetery in Kansas City, Kansas. Title II: Related Agencies - Makes appropriations for the Department of Agriculture for the Forest Service for: (1) forest and rangeland research; (2) State and private forestry; (3) the National Forest System; (4) wildland fire management; (5) construction and reconstruction; (6) land acquisition; (7) range rehabilitation and improvement; and (8) forest and rangeland research. Defers a certain amount of funds made available for obligation in prior years for Department of Energy (DOE) clean coal technology projects until FY 2001. Makes appropriations for DOE for: (1) fossil energy research and development activities; (2) naval petroleum and oil shale reserve activities; (3) energy conservation; (4) economic regulation activities of the Office of Hearings and Appeals; (5) the Strategic Petroleum Reserve; and (6) the Energy Information Administration. Makes appropriations for the Department of Health and Human Services for the Indian Health Service and Indian health facilities. Makes appropriations for: (1) the Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation; (2) the Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development; (3) the Smithsonian Institution, including amounts for repair and restoration of buildings owned or occupied by the Smithsonian; (4) construction and improvements at the National Zoological Park; (5) construction; (6) the National Gallery of Art, including an amount for repair and restoration of facilities owned or occupied by the National Gallery; (7) operations, maintenance, and construction expenses of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; (8) carrying out the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Act of 1968; (9) the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA); (10) the National Endowment for the Humanities; (11) the Institute of Museum and Library Services; (12) the Commission of Fine Arts; (13) national capital arts and cultural affairs; (14) the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation; (15) the National Capital Planning Commission; (16) the Holocaust Memorial Council; and (17) the Presidio trust. Sets forth provisions regarding uses of, and limitations on, funds under this title. Title III: General Provisions - Sets forth limitations on the use of funds under this Act, including Buy American requirements. Incorporates provisions similar to those contained in the Department of Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 (Public Law 105-83) concerning: (1) the sale of timber from giant sequoias; (2) the underground lunchroom at Carlsbad Caverns National Park; (3) funding for the Americorps program; (4) the bridge between Jersey City, New Jersey, and Ellis Island; (5) patents for mining or mill site claims; (6) competition for watershed restoration project contracts in the Pacific Northwest; (7) designation of Biosphere Reserves; and (8) restrictions on NEA grants. (Sec. 317) Bars the use of funds made available in any Act to designate any portion of Canaveral National Seashore in Brevard County, Florida, as a clothing-optional area or area in which public nudity is permitted if such designation would be contrary to county ordinance. (Sec. 326) Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct technology transfer and development, training, dissemination of information, and applied research in the management, processing, and utilization of the hardwood forest resource. Permits the Secretary of Agriculture to operate and utilize assets of the Wood Education and Resource Center in West Virginia as part of a newly formed Institute of Hardwood Technology Transfer and Applied Research. Requires Institute revenues to be deposited in a special Treasury fund known as the Hardwood Technology Transfer and Applied Research Fund. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 327) Sets forth requirements for the sale of timber in Region 10 of the Forest Service, including those regarding the volume of western red cedar timber available for processors. (Sec. 328) Bars the use of funds available to the Secretaries of Agriculture or the Interior for introducing grizzly bears into Idaho or Montana without the approval of the Governors of both States. (Sec. 331) Amends the Service Contract Act to exempt from service contract labor standards any concession contract with Federal land management agencies the principal purpose of which is the provision of recreational services to the general public. Provides that such exemptions shall not affect the applicability of the Davis-Bacon Act to construction contracts associated with such contracts. (Sec. 332) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to implement a pilot program to charge and collect at least the fair market value for special forest products (vegetation or other life forms such as fungi that grows on National Forest System lands) harvested on such lands. (Sec. 334) Expands Forest Service authority to enter into stewardship and end result contracts to authorize an additional nine contracts in Region One. (Sec. 335) Amends Federal law to exempt units of local government and persons residing within such units that lie in the White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire, from Demonstration Program Fees imposed for access to the Forest. (Sec. 336) Prohibits the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture from limiting the number or acreage of millsites based on the ratio between the number or acreage of millsites and the number or acreage of associated lode or placer claims for any fiscal year. (Sec. 337) Authorizes increases in recreation residence fees, with a specified ceiling. (Sec. 338) Bars the use of monies appropriated for the purchase of land by the Forest Service in the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area unless the Forest Service complies with a specified acquisition protocol. (Sec. 340) Prohibits the Secretary of the Interior, before June 1, 2001, from issuing a prospecting permit for hardrock mineral exploration on Mark Twain National Forest land in the Current River-Jack's Fork River-Eleven Point Watershed, with a specified exception for land on which mining activities are currently taking place. Bars the use of Department of the Interior funds, before such date, to segregate or withdraw lands in the Forest from operation of public land laws and certain activities under such laws and mining laws. Requires specified Federal officials to study and report to specified congressional committees on exploratory drilling operations on such land. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to specified congressional committees on the impact of the cessation of lead mining in the Forest, the State of Missouri, and surrounding States on the public and private sectors, the strategic availability of lead in the United States, and the economies of the United States and such States. (Sec. 342) Amends the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 to extend a certain prohibition on the issuance of a final rulemaking with respect to the valuation of crude oil for royalty purposes until June 30, 2001, or until there is a negotiated agreement on the rule.

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives on agricultural trade negotiations.

United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1999

Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should adopt certain trade negotiating objectives, including: (1) the initiation of a round of multilateral trade negotiations that continues to reform agricultural and food trade policy and increases trade liberalization in agriculture and food; (2) the elimination of all export subsidies and nontariff barriers to trade, including tightening of rules for their circumvention; (3) the elimination of state trading enterprises; (4) the accelerated resolution of trade disputes and prompt enforcement of dispute panels of the World Trade Organization (WTO); (5) the provision of food security for importing nations by ensuring access to supplies through a commitment by WTO member countries not to restrict or prohibit the export of agricultural products; and (6) the establishment of WTO rules that will allow developing countries to graduate to full participation in, and obligations under, the WTO.

Paul W. Fiddick, of Texas, to be an Assistant Secretary of Agriculture, vice Wardell Clinton Townsend, Jr., resigned.

United States · United States Senate · 24 June 1999

Safe Food Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1999

Safe Food Act of 1999 - Establishes in the executive branch an independent Food Safety Administration which shall administer and enforce the food safety laws for the protection of the public health. Directs the Administrator of Food Safety to oversee the: (1) implementation of Federal food safety inspection, enforcement, and research efforts, based on scientifically supportable assessments of risks to public health; (2) development of consistent and science-based standards for safe food; (3) coordination and prioritization of food safety research and education programs with other Federal agencies; (4) coordination of the Federal response to foodborne illness outbreaks with other Federal agencies and State agencies; and (5) integration of Federal food safety activities with State and local agencies. Transfers to the Administration all functions of the following Federal agencies that relate to administration or enforcement of the food safety laws, as determined by the President: (1) the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the Department of Agriculture; (2) the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); (3) the Center for Veterinary Medicine of FDA; (4) the National Marine Fisheries Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the Department of Commerce as it relates to the Seafood Inspection Program; and (5) such others as the President may designate by executive order.

Safe Food Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1999

Safe Food Act of 1999 - Establishes in the executive branch an independent Food Safety Administration which shall administer and enforce the food safety laws for the protection of the public health. Directs the Administrator of Food Safety to oversee the: (1) implementation of Federal food safety inspection, enforcement, and research efforts, based on scientifically supportable assessments of risks to public health; (2) development of consistent and science-based standards for safe food; (3) coordination and prioritization of food safety research and education programs with other Federal agencies; (4) coordination of the Federal response to foodborne illness outbreaks with other Federal agencies and State agencies; and (5) integration of Federal food safety activities with State and local agencies. Transfers to the Administration all functions of the following Federal agencies that relate to administration or enforcement of the food safety laws, as determined by the President: (1) the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the Department of Agriculture; (2) the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); (3) the Center for Veterinary Medicine of FDA; (4) the National Marine Fisheries Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the Department of Commerce as it relates to the Seafood Inspection Program; and (5) such others as the President may designate by executive order.

To amend the Agricultural Adjustment Act to terminate Federal milk marketing orders.

United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1999

Amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act, as reenacted with amendments by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, to terminate milk marketing order authority.

To require the national pooling of receipts under Federal milk marketing orders.

United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1999

Requires the national pooling of receipts under Federal milk marketing orders.

To amend the Agricultural Adjustment Act to terminate Federal milk marketing orders and to replace such orders with a program to verify receipts of milk.

United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1999

Amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act, as reenacted with amendments by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, to terminate milk marketing order authority. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a program to verify the receipts of all cow's milk marketed in the 48 contiguous States, which shall include: (1) specified market services; (2) reporting requirements; (3) handler assessments; (4) producer marketing agreement authority; and (5) a prohibition on marketing limitations.

A bill to require the Secretary of Agriculture to implement the Class I milk price structure known as Option 1-A as part of the implementation of the final rule to consolidate Federal milk marketing orders.

United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1999

S. 01265 (rd) DGST MRL H.R. 01402 DGST MRL Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to implement the Class I milk price structure known as Option A as part of the final rule to consolidate Federal milk marketing orders.

Forest Access Immediate Relief Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1999

Forest Access Immediate Relief Act of 1999 - Terminates the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture to impose or collect any fee under the authority of the Forest Service recreational fee demonstration program authorized under the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996. Prohibits the Forest Service from using Federal funds to provide engineering support for the timber sales program, including support of timber purchaser-funded roadwork.

Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000

United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1999

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Agricultural Programs Title II: Conservation Programs Title III: Rural Economic and Community Development Programs Title IV: Domestic Food Programs Title V: Foreign Assistance and Related Programs Title VI: Related Agencies and Food and Drug Administration Title VII: General Provisions Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000 - Title I: Agricultural Programs - Appropriates funds for FY 2000 for the following Department of Agriculture programs and services: (1) Office of the Secretary of Agriculture; (2) executive operations ; (3) Office of the Chief Information Officer; (4) Office of the Chief Financial Officer; (5) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration; (6) Agriculture buildings and facilities and rental payments; (7) hazardous waste management; (8) departmental administration; (9) outreach for socially disadvantaged farmers; (10) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations; (11) Office of Communications; (12) Office of the Inspector General; (13) Office of the General Counsel; (14) Office of the Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics; (15) Economic Research Service; (16) National Agricultural Statistics Service; (17) Agricultural Research Service; (18) Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service; (Native American Institutions Endowment Fund); (19) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs; (20) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service; (19) Agricultural Marketing Service; (21) Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration; (22) Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety; (23) Food Safety and Inspection Service; (24) Office of the Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services; (25) Farm Service Agency; (26) Risk Management Agency; (27) Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Fund; and (28) Commodity Credit Corporation Fund. Title II: Conservation Programs - Appropriates funds for the: (1) Office of the Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment; and (2) Natural Resources Conservation Service. Title III: Rural Economic and Community Development Programs - Appropriates funds for the following: (1) Office of the Under Secretary for Rural Development; (2) Rural Housing Service; (3) Rural Business-Cooperative Service; (4) Alternative Agricultural Research and Commercialization Corporation Revolving Fund; and (5) Rural Utilities Service. Title IV: Domestic Food Programs - Appropriates funds for the following: (1) Office of the Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services; and (2) Food and Nutrition Service. Title V: Foreign Assistance and Related Programs - Appropriates funds for the Foreign Agricultural Service and General Sales Manager. Title VI: Related Agencies and Food and Drug Administration - Appropriates funds for the following: (1) Food and Drug Administration; and (2) Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Title VII: General Provisions - Specifies certain uses and limits on or prohibitions against the use of funds appropriated by this Act.

A bill to amend the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to permit a State to register a foreign pesticide for distribution and use within that State.

United States · United States Congress · 16 June 1999

Amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to allow a State, on the request of an agricultural producer or on the State's initiative, to register a foreign pesticide for distribution and use in the State if registration is consistent with such Act and is approved by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Considers such registrations, on approval by the Administrator, as registrations under the Act. Bars the transport of such pesticides to, or use by, a person in another State unless the distribution and use is consistent with the registration by the original State. Sets forth requirements for foreign pesticide registration by a State and approval by the Administrator. Requires the Administrator, in carrying out this Act, to take into account the priority of harmonizing the registrations of foreign and comparable domestic pesticides in accordance with applicable agreements and treaties. Sets forth labeling requirements for foreign registered pesticides. Requires persons seeking to distribute such pesticides to provide to the State a report that: (1) identifies the person that will receive and use the pesticide in the State; and (2) states the quantity of the pesticide that will be transported into the State. Directs States registering foreign pesticides to prepare annual reports that identify such pesticides and the users of such pesticides and state the quantity of such pesticides used. Requires States, if the Administrator determines it necessary to terminate the distribution or use of a foreign pesticide, to recall the pesticide on the Administrator's request. Authorizes the Administrator to suspend the authority of a State to register foreign pesticides if a State is found incapable of exercising adequate controls to ensure that registration is consistent with the Act. Provides States with an opportunity to respond before suspension. Makes Federal patent law inapplicable to a foreign pesticide registered by a State that is transported into the United States or to any person that takes an action with respect to such pesticide in accordance with this Act.

Rural Education Initiative Act

United States · United States Congress · 16 June 1999

Rural Education Initiative Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to establish Rural Education Initiative (REI) programs under subpart 2 of part J (Urban and Rural Education Assistance) of title X (Programs of National Significance). (Replaces current subpart 2 provisions for demonstration grants for rural education, but retains provisions for higher education grants partnerships for rural education.) (Sec. 1) Makes a local educational agency (LEA) eligible for REI alternative use formula grants and competitive grants if: (1) the total number of students in average daily attendance at all of the schools served by the LEA is less than 600; and (2) all of the schools served by the LEA are located in a community with a Rural-Urban Continuum Code of 6, 7, 8, or 9, as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture. Provides, under the alternative use formula grant program, that an eligible LEA may use applicable funding that it is eligible to receive from the State educational agency (SEA) for a fiscal year to support local or statewide education reform efforts intended to improve the achievement of elementary school and secondary school students and the quality of instruction provided for the students. Defines applicable funding as that received under: (1) specified provisions of the Department of Education Appropriations Act, 1999; (2) ESEA title II (Dwight D. Eisenhower Professional Development Program); (3) ESEA title IV (Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities); and (4) ESEA title VI (Innovative Education Program Strategies). Requires each SEA receiving applicable funding to disburse it to LEAs for alternative uses at the same times it disburses it to LEAs that do not intend to use it for alternative uses for that fiscal year. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award competitive grants to eligible LEAs to support local or statewide education reform efforts intended to improve the achievement of elementary school and secondary school students and the quality of instruction provided for the students. Sets forth formulas for determining the amounts of such grants, based on numbers of children in average daily attendance at schools served by the LEAs, minus amounts received under applicable funding. Makes LEAs that receive such competitive grants ineligible for funds under specified ESEA programs. Sets forth accountability provisions. Requires LEAs that receive REI alternative use formula grants or competitive grants to administer tests to assess the academic achievement of students in their schools. Requires each SEA that receives applicable funding to: (1) determine, after the fifth year of an LEA's participation in either REI grant program, whether the LEA's students are performing better on such tests than after the first year of participation; (2) only permit LEAs that perform better to continue to participate for an additional five years; and (3) prohibit LEAs that do not perform better from participating for five years from the date of determination. Authorizes appropriations through FY 2004 for the following ESEA title X part J programs: (1) the REI program established by this Act; (2) higher education grants partnerships for rural education; and (3) Urban Education Demonstration Grants.

Crop Insurance Equalization Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 16 June 1999

Crop Insurance Equalization Act of 1999 - Title I: Crop Insurance Coverage - Amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to provide that the Commodity Credit Corporation, with respect to prevented planting crop insurance, shall: (1) offer such coverage as an option to a crop insurance policy; (2) provide equal coverage levels for all covered commodities; and (3) permit (noninsurable) substitute plantings. (Sec. 102) Directs the Corporation to develop alternative rates and methodologies for rating insurance plans, which shall take into account nonparticipating producers and producers participating only in catastrophic risk protection. Grants priority to commodities with the largest acreage and the lowest percentage of participating producers. (Sec. 103) Directs the Corporation to: (1) offer optional quality adjustment policies; and (2) establish a low-risk producer pilot program. (Sec. 105) Increases catastrophic risk coverage. Revises related loss adjustment fee provisions. (Sec. 107) Establishes a projected-cost price level (expected market price) for production insurance plans. (Sec. 108) Directs the Corporation to provide premium discounts for qualifying risk-reducing production practices. (Sec. 109) Provides 50 percent premium subsidies for additional coverage and catastrophic risk protection (with 100 percent and 75 percent coverage for crop years 2000 and 2001, respectively). (Sec. 112) Directs the Corporation, for production history calculation purposes, to assign a producer a commodity yield equal to 85 percent of the county's transition yield for a year in which disasters have reduced yield to below such level. (Sec. 113) Prohibits the Corporation from subsidizing a plan that offers coverage for losses based on change of price. (Sec. 114) Limits underwriting gains to 50 percent of the policy. (Sec. 115) Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act to include certain isolated producers in the noninsured crop assistance program. Revises provisions regarding: (1) area and individual loss thresholds; (2) market price-based payments; and (3) income eligibility. Title II: Administration - Amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to revise the membership of the Corporation's Board of Directors. (Sec. 202) Amends the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to place the Office of Risk Management under the Board. (Sec. 203) Amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish an Office of Private Sector Partnership to provide specified Board-private sector liaison functions. (Sec. 204) Increases monetary penalties for intentionally providing false insurance information. Authorizes disbarment from Department of Agriculture programs for such violations. (Sec. 206) Directs the Corporation to establish a crop insurance compliance monitoring program. (Sec. 207) Authorizes a cooperative association acting as an insurance agent to provide its members with funds received from the Corporation. (Sec. 208) Prohibits purchasing insurance for more than one crop per year on the same acreage unless the producer or the acreage has a previous history of double-cropping. (Sec. 209) Provides for State consultation. (Sec. 211) Authorizes specified insurance plan fees. (Sec. 212) Directs the Corporation to carry out a flexible subsidy pilot program to encourage private sector innovation through exclusive marketing rights and premium rate competition.

To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to provide emergency assistance to apple producers and onion producers in the State of New York who incurred extensive crop losses in 1998.

United States · United States Congress · 16 June 1999

Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to provide emergency assistance to qualifying New York State apple and onion producers who incurred 1998 weather related losses. Authorizes appropriations.

Trade Adjustment Assistance for Farmers Act

United States · United States Congress · 15 June 1999

Trade Adjustment Assistance for Farmers Act - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize a group of agricultural commodity producers to file with the Secretary of Labor a petition for a certification of eligibility to apply for trade adjustment assistance. Sets forth specified group eligibility requirements. Requires the Secretary to determine whether the petitioning group meets such requirements and, if so, to issue a certification of eligibility to apply for such assistance. Requires the International Trade Commission to notify the Secretary immediately whenever it begins an investigation into whether an agricultural commodity is being imported into the United States in such increased quantities as to be a substantial cause or threat of serious injury to a domestic industry producing an agricultural commodity like or directly competitive with the imported agricultural commodity. Requires the Secretary, upon such notification, to study and report to the President and the public on: (1) the number of agricultural commodity producers who have been or are likely to be certified as eligible for trade adjustment assistance; and (2) the extent to which the adjustment of such producers to the import competition may be facilitated through the use of existing programs. Directs the Secretary to provide agricultural commodity producers with information about trade adjustment assistance petition and application procedures, benefit allowances, training, and other employment services. Sets forth certain eligibility requirements for the payment of trade adjustment assistance to adversely affected agricultural commodity producers. Limits to $10,000 the maximum annual amount of cash benefits a producer may receive. Provides for the repayment and recovery of overpayments of trade adjustment assistance made to such producers due to fraud. Sets forth penalties. Authorizes appropriations.

Corporate Welfare Elimination Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 15 June 1999

Corporate Welfare Elimination Act of 1999 - Title I: Tax Reform - Termination of Energy and Natural Resource Tax Subsidies Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal or terminate the following: (1) the expensing of intangible drilling and development costs and of mining exploration and development costs; (2) the credit for producing fuel from a nonconventional source; (3) the percentage depletion deduction for mines, oil and gas wells, other natural deposits, and timber; (4) tax benefits for alcohol fuels; (5) the enhanced oil recovery credit; (6) the credit and deduction for electric vehicles, clean-fuel vehicles, and certain refueling property; (7) the deduction for tertiary injectants; (8) the rehabilitation credit for non-historic structures (reduces such credit for certified historic structures); (9) the provisions concerning the treatment of Blue Cross and Blue Shield Organizations; (10) the small life insurance company deduction; (11) the alternative tax on small property and casualty insurance companies; (12) provisions permitting farming businesses to use the cash method of accounting; (13) the deduction for soil and water conservation expenditures; (14) the deduction for expenditures by farmers for fertilizer, etc.; (15) certain exceptions permitting farm businesses to use the cash method of accounting; (16) the exclusion for the cancellation of qualified farm indebtedness; (17) the exclusion for certain cost-sharing payments; (18) the reforestation credit; (19) the rapid amortization of reforestation expenditures; (20) the exclusion of certain income of citizens or residents living abroad; (21) the exclusion for income of foreign sales corporations; (22) the deferral of income of controlled foreign corporations; (23) the deferral of tax under the Merchant Marine Capital Construction Fund; (24) the special treatment for magazine circulation expenditures; and (25) the special treatment for returns of magazines, paperbacks, and records. Title II: Natural Resources - Public Resources Deficit Reduction Act of 1999 - Subtitle A: General Provisions -Prohibits any timber, minerals, forage, or other natural resources owned by the United States and any federally owned water, or hydroelectric energy of a Federal facility from being sold, leased, or otherwise disposed of by any Federal entity for less than fair market value. (Sec. 212) Authorizes the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to establish and collect user fees as necessary to reimburse the United States for expenses incurred in administering programs. (Sec. 213) Requires the revenues from the sale, lease, and transfer of Federal assets to be included in the President's budget submission to Congress. Subtitle B: Revenue from Mining Claims - Requires the holders of mining claims to pay an annual claim maintenance fee of $100 per claim per calendar year. Allows the waiver of such fee for holders of more than ten claims. (Sec. 223) Requires claimholders to pay a royalty of eight percent of gross income for production of locatable minerals on Federal lands. (Sec. 224) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an excise tax on gross income resulting from the severance of any locatable mineral, or mineral concentrates or products, from a mine or other natural deposit. Makes such tax inapplicable to gross income to which a royalty is imposed. (Sec. 225) Establishes the Abandoned Locatable Minerals Mine Reclamation Fund for the reclamation and restoration of land and water resources adversely affected by past mineral activities on Federal lands. Credits the royalties and excise tax under this title to such Fund. (Sec. 226) Prohibits the issuance of a patent for any mining claim unless the Secretary of the Interior determines that, for the claim concerned: (1) a patent application was filed before January 27, 1995; and (2) all requirements are met under the Revised Statutes for vein or lode claims and for placer claims. (Sec. 227) Requires the Secretary to adjust all dollar amounts under this title for changes in purchasing power every ten years, employing the Consumer Price Index as the basis for adjustment. Subtitle C: Use or Disposal of Federal Natural Resources - Amends the Federal Land Policy Management Act of 1976 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to National Forest lands in the 16 contiguous Western States, and the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to public domain lands, where domestic livestock grazing is permitted under applicable law, to establish an annual domestic livestock grazing fee equal to fair market value, based on a specified formula. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) abolition of grazing advisory boards; and (2) the U.S. share of receipts. (Sec. 232) Amends the National Forest Management Act of 1976 to prohibit below-cost timber sales from National Forest System Lands. (Sec. 233) Amends the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 to require the Secretary of Agriculture in revising land management plans to take into account the economic suitability of lands for timber production. (Sec. 234) Amends the Food Security Act of 1995 and the Federal Crop Insurance Act to provide for the reduction of payment limitations for persons who receive Federal irrigation water for agricultural purposes. (Sec. 237) Amends the Emergency Livestock Feed Assistance Act of 1988 to repeal the livestock feed assistance program. (Sec. 238) Amends the Mineral Leasing Act to require that oil and gas rental prices for leases on public lands be established at fair market value. (Sec. 239) Requires that permits for the use of communications sites on public lands be established at fair market prices.

To provide relief from Federal tax liability arising from the settlement of claims brought by African American farmers against the Department of Agriculture for discrimination in farm credit and benefit programs and to exclude amounts received under such settlement from means-based determinations under programs funding in whole or in part with Federal funds.

United States · United States Congress · 15 June 1999

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide in the case of any person who is certified to be a member of the plaintiff class in the settlement of the consolidated actions entitled "Pigford, et al. v. Glickman," No. 97-1978 (D.D.C.) (PLF), and "Brewington, et al. v. Glickman" No. 98-1693 (D.D.C.) (PLF) (concerning relief from Federal tax liability arising from the settlement of claims brought by African American farmers against the Department of Agriculture for discrimination in farm credit and benefit programs) amounts received from the settlement of claims shall: (1) be excluded from taxation; and (2) not considered as income or resources when determining eligibility for any federally funded program.

Crop Insurance Equity Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 15 June 1999

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Crop Insurance Coverage Title II: Administration Crop Insurance Equity Act of 1999 - Title I: Crop Insurance Coverage - Amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to provide that the Commodity Credit Corporation, with respect to prevented planting crop insurance, shall: (1) offer such coverage as an option to a crop insurance policy; (2) provide equal coverage levels for all covered commodities; and (3) permit (noninsurable) substitute plantings. (Sec. 102) Directs the Corporation to develop alternative rates and methodologies for rating insurance plans, which shall take into account nonparticipating producers and producers participating only in catastrophic risk protection. Grants priority to commodities with the largest acreage and the lowest percentage of participating producers. (Sec. 103) Directs the Corporation to: (1) offer optional quality adjustment policies; and (2) establish a low-risk producer pilot program. (Sec. 105) Increases catastrophic risk coverage. Revises related loss adjustment fee provisions. (Sec. 107) Establishes a projected-cost price level (expected market price) for production insurance plans. (Sec. 108) Directs the Corporation to provide premium discounts for qualifying risk-reducing production practices. (Sec. 109) Provides for 50 percent premium subsidies. (Sec. 112) Directs the Corporation, for production history calculation purposes, to assign a producer a commodity yield equal to 85 percent of the county's transition yield for a year in which disasters have reduced yield to below such level. (Sec. 113) Prohibits the Corporation from subsidizing a plan that offers coverage for losses based on change of price. (Sec. 114) Limits underwriting gains to 50 percent of the policy. Title II: Administration - Amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to revise the membership of the Corporation's Board of Directors. (Sec. 202) Amends the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to place the Office of Risk Management under the Board. (Sec. 203) Amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish an Office of Private Sector Partnership to provide specified Board-private sector liaison functions. (Sec. 204) Increases monetary penalties for intentionally providing false insurance information. Authorizes disbarment from Department of Agriculture programs for such violations. (Sec. 206) Directs the Corporation to establish a crop insurance compliance monitoring program. (Sec. 207) Authorizes a cooperative association acting as an insurance agent to provide its members with funds received from the Corporation. (Sec. 208) Prohibits purchasing insurance for more than one crop per year on the same acreage unless the producer or the acreage has a previous history of double-cropping. (Sec. 209) Provides for State consultation. (Sec. 211) Authorizes specified insurance plan fees. (Sec. 212) Directs the Corporation to carry out a flexible subsidy pilot program to encourage private sector innovation through exclusive marketing rights and premium rate competition.

Public Resources Debt Reduction Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 15 June 1999

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: General Provisions Title II: Hardrock Mining Royalties Title III: Use or Disposal of Federal Natural Resources Public Resources Debt Reduction Act of 1999 - Title I: General Provisions - Prohibits the sale, lease, or any other disposal of a Federally owned natural resource for less than fair market value, including water and hydroelectric energy generated at a Federal facility. Grandfathers existing contracts, leases, and similar arrangements which would otherwise violate this prohibition. (Sec. 101) Authorizes the President to waive such prohibition in the national interest. (Sec. 102) Authorizes the Secretaries of Agriculture and of the Interior to establish and collect fees from program beneficiaries under their respective jurisdictions in order to recover the Federal expenses of program administration. Mandates that such Secretaries collect fees from each person receiving a transfer of a Federal onshore oil and gas lease after the date of enactment of this Act. (Sec. 103) Directs the President to include in the annual submission of the budget to Congress: (1) projected revenues from anticipated sales, leases, or transfers of physical assets; and (2) the estimated price at which comparable assets would be sold in an arms length transaction in the private sector. Title II: Hardrock Mining Royalties - Requires the payment of a royalty to the Federal Government of five percent of the net smelter return from the production of locatable minerals (including associated minerals), or mineral concentrates derived from locatable minerals, produced from any mining claim located under the general mining laws. Establishes the Abandoned Minerals Mine Reclamation Fund, into which all such royalty receipts shall be deposited for the reclamation and restoration of land and water resources adversely affected by past minerals activities (other than coal and fluid minerals activities). Identifies the kinds of land and waters eligible for reclamation expenditures. Authorizes appropriations for the Fund. (Sec. 203) Restricts the issuance of any patents for mining or mill site claims to those for which applications were filed, and all statutory requirements governing vein or lode claims, placer claims, and mill site claims were complied with, before September 30, 1994. (Sec. 204) Sets forth annual claim maintenance fee requirements (which shall not apply to oil shale claims subject to claim maintenance fees under the Energy Policy Act of 1992). Title III: Use or Disposal of Federal Natural Resources - Amends the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to direct: (1) the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary) to establish a fair market value-based annual livestock grazing fee for National Forest System lands in the 16 contiguous Western States (except National Grasslands); and (2) the Secretary of the Interior to establish a similar grazing fee for Bureau of Land Management lands. Sets forth the fair market value formula. (Sec. 302) Amends the National Forest Management Act of 1976 to prohibit below-cost timber sales from National Forest System lands. (Sec. 303) Amends the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 to revise timberland suitability provisions for National Forest System land and resource management plan purposes. (Sec. 304) Amends the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 to require contract organizations to pay crop production water costs on production flexibility contract acreage. (Sec. 305) Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 and the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 to reduce maximum price support payments and noninsured crop disaster payments, respectively, to reflect receipt of Federal irrigation water. (Sec. 306) Amends the Knutson-Vandenberg Act and Federal law to replace the requirement that certain National Forest timber purchase deposits constitute special funds in the Treasury with authorization of appropriations language. Amends the Forest Roads and Trails Act with respect to right-of-way fees to replace discretionary fund language with authorization of appropriations language. Amends Federal law to authorize the Secretary to obligate Reforestation Trust Fund amounts subject to prior appropriations. (Sec. 307) Amends the Taylor Grazing Act to eliminate certain grazing fee allocation provisions. (Sec. 308) Amends the Emergency Livestock Feed Assistance Act of 1988 to repeal the livestock feed assistance program. (Sec. 309) Requires right-of-way holders on public or National Forest lands to pay annual fair market value-based fees. (Sec. 310) Amends the Mineral Leasing Act to provide for oil and gas rental fair market value-based fees. (Sec. 311) Amends the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Simplification and Fairness Act of 1996 to authorize specified assessments for royalty under reporting of Federal or Indian oil or gas leases.

A resolution requesting that the President raise the issue of agricultural biotechnology at the June G-8 Summit meeting.

United States · United States Congress · 14 June 1999

Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) as the world trading system moves toward a reduction of tariff and nontariff barriers, all countries should work to ensure that scientifically unfounded new barriers are not erected; (2) the President should raise at the June 1999 G-8 Summit the issues surrounding the use of, and trade in, agricultural biotechnology; and (3) as world leaders prepare for a new round of negotiations on agriculture in the World Trade Organization, such Summit is an appropriate forum to seek a consensus with the major trading partners of the United States regarding recognition of the global benefits of agricultural biotechnology, increasing consumer knowledge and understanding of such biotechnology and its benefits, and the adoption of rational, scientifically-based systems for the regulation of biotechnology products and for eliminating unjustified barriers to the use of such products in international trade.

Farmer Tax Fairness Act

United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1999

Farmer Tax Fairness Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that income averaging for farmers shall not increase alternative minimum tax liability.

James Peak Wilderness Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1999

James Peak Wilderness Act of 1999 - Amends the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 to designate specified lands in the Arapaho National Forest as the James Peak Wilderness. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture: (1) if the Colorado State Land Board informs the Secretary that it is willing to transfer to the United States some or all of the lands owned by the Board within the Wilderness, to promptly seek to reach agreement with the Board regarding terms and conditions for acquisition of such lands; (2) to enter into negotiations with the owner of lands located within the portion of the Jim Creek drainage within the Wilderness for the purpose of acquiring such lands; and (3) to report to specified House and Senate Committees upon the conclusion of an agreement for acquisition of such lands or, after one year after this Act's enactment date, on the status of negotiations. Directs the Forest Supervisor of the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests to: (1) establish a trailhead and corresponding facilities and services to regulate use of National Forest System lands adjacent to Alice Township and St. Mary's Glacier; (2) consult with the Clear Creek County Commissioners and residents in the immediate vicinity regarding the location of such facilities and services; and (3) inform specified House and Senate Committees regarding the amount of any additional funding required to implement such measures. Directs the Secretary to remove the abandoned radio tower and associated structures located on Mount Eva on the potential wilderness lands.

National Uniformity for Food Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1999

National Uniformity for Food Act of 1999 - 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, as amended by this Act, 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.

Safe Air Travel for Animals Act

United States · United States Congress · 9 June 1999

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Animal Welfare Title II: Transportation Safe Air Travel for Animals Act - Title I: Animal Welfare - Amends the Animal Welfare Act to define "transport" with respect to air carrier transport of animals. Requires airlines to report to: (1) the Secretary of Agriculture in advance of any flight that will be carrying a live animal; and (2) the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Transportation concerning injury, loss, death, or mistreatment of a carried animal. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to: (1) make such information available to the public; and (2) forward animal-injury consumer complaints to the Secretary of Agriculture. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to include animal-injury information in the annual report on animal transportation. Title II: Transportation - Amends Federal law to require airlines to include in their contract of carriage policies and procedures for animal transportation safety. Amends Federal law to provide civil penalties and compensation for animal loss, injury, or death during air transport. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to provide for animal safety cargo hold improvements.

Lake Tahoe Restoration Act

United States · United States Congress · 9 June 1999

Lake Tahoe Restoration Act - Establishes the Lake Tahoe National Scenic Forest and Recreation Area (as a National Forest System unit) to replace the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, to develop an Area environmental restoration project priority list. Authorizes appropriations. Amends Federal law to permit Area payments to be used for: (1) wetlands restoration; (2) native vegetation and fish and wildlife enhancement; and (3) soil conservation. Authorizes additional appropriations and requires that each of the Lake Tahoe Basin political jurisdictions receives at least ten percent of appropriations. Requires the Secretary to coordinate with State, local, and organizational entities in carrying out urban fire risk reduction activities in the Basin. Authorizes appropriations.

Terry Peak Land Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1999

Terry Peak Land Transfer Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain Black Hills National Forest land in South Dakota to the Terry Peak Ski Area.

To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to authorize the annual enrollment of land in the wetlands reserve program, to extend the program through 2005, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1999

Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to extend the wetland reserve program. Replaces the total program acreage limitation with an annual enrollment limitation through FY 2005. Includes within eligible program land non-wetland areas that would substantially contribute to North American Waterfowl Management Plan habitat objectives. Authorizes program related cooperative agreements for goods and services.

Imported Food Safety Improvement Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1999

Imported Food Safety Improvement Act of 1999 - Title I: Improvements to the Food Safety Import System - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require imported food to be prepared, packed, and held under a system meeting the requirements of such Act, or determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) to be equivalent to domestic requirements. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop an implementation plan; and (2) conduct overseas food system evaluations. Directs the Secretary to establish, for use by the Secretary of the Treasury, a system to deny the entry of imported food from a specific area, producer, manufacturer, or transporter into the United States that: (1) has been repeatedly adulterated or associated with repeated outbreaks of foodborne disease, presents a health danger, and is likely without systematic changes to cause disease or be adulterated again; or (2) in an emergency determination, has been strongly associated with a serious outbreak of foodborne disease. Makes a conforming amendment to the Public Health Service Act. (Sec. 102) Deems as adulterated an imported (or offered for import) food: (1) withheld for review that is distributed prior to the Secretary's authorization of distribution; (2) ordered to be held in secure storage prior to distribution that is not so held; (3) required to be destroyed that is not so destroyed; (4) previously denied admission that is subsequently offered for admission without a showing of appropriate compliance (port shopping); or (5) owned or consigned by a debarred person. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) prohibit distribution of an imported food until the Secretary so authorizes; (2) prohibit distribution and require the secure storage of an imported food if the importer, owner, or consignee of such food is a person against whom the Secretary of the Treasury has assessed certain liquidated damages for failure to redeliver food subject to a bond; (3) order dangerous imported food to be destroyed; and (4) require marking of refused entry (but not ordered destroyed) food until brought into appropriate compliance. Deems as misbranded a refused entry food not so marked. (Sec. 108) Shortens the period before a refused entry article which is not exported shall be destroyed. (Sec. 109) Authorizes the Secretary to provide for the collection and analysis of imported food by entities other than the Food and Drug Administration. Title II: Enforcement and Penalties for Importing Contaminated Food - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to establish increased bonding requirements for persons involved in prior importing of adulterated or misbranded food. (Sec. 202) Authorizes the Secretary to debar a person from importing food into the United States for food import-related repeat or felony activities. (Sec. 203) Authorizes appropriations for additional Food and Drug Administration laboratory, inspection, and compliance personnel. Title III: Improvements to Public Health Infrastructure and Awareness - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary, through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to make grants to, enter into contracts with, and provide technical assistance to State and local health entities for enhanced surveillance and prevention of foodborne disease, particularly related to imported food. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary, with respect to foodborne disease, to: (1) conduct pathogen detection research and development; and (2) provide for training, education, and public information. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to provide related international public health training and technical assistance. Authorizes appropriations.

Sequoia Ecosystem and Recreation Preserve Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1999

Sequoia Ecosystem and Recreation Preserve Act of 1999 - Designates specified California lands within the Sequoia National Forest and the Inyo National Forest as wilderness areas to be administered as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System. (Sec. 5) Establishes the Giant Sequoia National Forest Preserve as a unit of the National Forest System for the: (1) protection and maintenance of giant sequoia groves, their supporting ecosystems, and associated forests; and (2) preservation of the natural state and processes that have created and maintained such forests. (Sec. 7) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to appoint a Scientific Advisory Team for the Preserve. (Sec. 8) Directs the Secretary to publish a final management plan for the Preserve for the protection, restoration, and enhancement of natural, scientific, and recreational values. Provides for interim Preserve management by the Secretary. (Sec. 9) Directs the Secretary, as part of the management plan, to designate and map the ancient forest reserves within the Preserve. (Sec. 10) Requires the management plan to include a comprehensive transportation plan that protects natural Preserve features while ensuring visitor safety and that includes a trail plan identifying which trails will allow motorized access. (Sec. 11) Allows all current campgrounds within the Preserve to remain in place, subject to evaluation by the Secretary. Directs the Secretary to provide new camping opportunities. (Sec. 12) Authorizes the continued use of Preserve areas for hunting and fishing, firewood collection, and grazing, but prohibits new patents from being issued under the mining or geothermal laws. (Sec. 16) Directs the Secretary to establish a Community Assistance Task Force to oversee the provision of assistance to communities and workers in political subdivisions whose boundaries include Federal lands in the Preserve or contain facilities that milled timber from lands in the Preserve during any portion of the five-year period ending on the date of enactment of this Act. (Sec. 17) Prohibits the Secretary, in preparing the Preserve budget proposal for each fiscal year, from targeting any of the budget to any commodity production in the Preserve. (Sec. 18) Authorizes appropriations.

Tax Relief for Working Americans Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 7 June 1999

Tax Relief for Working Americans Act of 1999 - Title I: Marriage Penalty Relief - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to set the basic standard deduction for married individuals at twice the deduction for unmarried individuals. Title II: Adjustment of Social Security Earning Limit - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to increase, for any taxable year ending after 1999 and before 2001, the monthly exempt amount for individuals who have attained retirement age. Title III: Incentives for Health and Long-Term Care Coverage - Provides a limited credit for the insurance costs of health and long-term care coverage for previously uninsured individuals and individuals with COBRA continuation coverage. Phases-in a deduction for the health insurance and long-term insurance costs of employees and the self-employed. Allows a limited credit for taxpayers with long-term care needs. Title IV: Expansion of Dependent Care Credit - Increases the percentage of employment-related expenses allowed as a credit. Establishes a limited credit for certain stay-at-home parents. Title V: Alternative Minimum Tax Relief - Provides that the aggregate amount of credits allowed under subpart A (Nonrefundable Personal Credits) of part IV (Credits Against Tax) of the Code shall not exceed the sum of a taxpayer's regular tax liability and the alternative minimum tax. Provides that income averaging for farmers shall not increase alternative minimum tax liability. Title VI: Elimination of 60-Month limit on Student Loan Interest Deduction - Eliminates the 60-month limit on the student loan interest deduction. Title VII: Increase in Low-Income Housing Credit State Ceiling - Increases, and links to the cost-of-living adjustment, the State low-income housing credit ceiling. Title VIII: Farm and Ranch Risk Management Accounts - Allows an individual engaged in an eligible farming (or ranching) business a deduction (in computing adjusted gross income) for any taxable year of up to 20 percent of taxable income attributable to the eligible farming business which was paid in cash by the taxpayer to a Farm and Ranch Risk Management Account (FARRM Account). Includes distributions from a FARRM account in the taxpayer's gross income, and subjects to a special ten percent surtax any distributions not made within five years of contribution. Establishes a tax on excess contributions, but exempts the taxpayer from the tax on certain prohibited transactions. Title IX: Incentives for Urban Revitalization and Open Space - Expands the areas eligible for the expensing of environmental remediation costs from qualified contamination sites within targeted areas only to qualified contamination sites anywhere within the United States. Sets forth provisions concerning the donation of capital gain real property for qualified conservation purposes. Title X: Extension of Expiring Provisions - Permanently extends the: (1) credit for increasing research activities; (2) work opportunity credit; and (3) subpart F exemption for active income financing. Modifies the placed-in-service rules for qualified facilities producing electricity from certain renewable sources. Makes the credit allowed for such production inapplicable to electricity sold to utilities under certain contracts.

National Uniformity for Food Act of 2000

United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999

National Uniformity for Food Act of 1999 - 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, as amended by this Act, 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.

National Forest System Community Purposes Act

United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999

National Forest System Community Purposes Act - Authorizes, and sets forth conditions for, disposal by the Secretary of Agriculture of National Forest System land to a State or its political subdivision for public or recreational purposes.

A bill to appropriate funds to carry out the commodity supplemental food program and the emergency food assistance program during fiscal year 2000.

United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999

Appropriates funds for the commodity supplemental food program under the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973 and for the emergency food assistance program under the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983.

A bill to amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to permit the harvesting of crops on land subject to conservation reserve contracts for recovery of biomass used in energy production.

United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999

Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to permit crop harvesting on conservation reserve land for recovery of biomass used in energy production.

Economic Sanctions Reform Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999

Economic Sanctions Reform Act of 1999 - Declares that it is the purpose of this Act to establish an effective framework for consideration and enactment of unilateral economic sanctions legislation, and for the use of sanctions in order to ensure strong and effective use of such sanctions in pursuit of U.S. national interests while minimizing the associated adverse effects and costs imposed on U.S. businesses, exporters, farmers, and workers. Declares that any new unilateral economic sanctions legislation should: (1) contain a statement of the foreign policy or national security objective of the United States; (2) provide authority for the President to refrain from imposing or to suspend or terminate a sanction if it is in the national interests of the United States; (3) authorize the President to target any such sanction as narrowly as appropriate; (4) not restrict humanitarian or human rights assistance or any agricultural commodity or medicine unless it is in the national interests of the United States; and (5) provide that the President shall review annually the effectiveness, and costs and gains to the United States of continued imposition, of such sanctions. Sets forth certain guidelines and procedures for congressional consideration of any new unilateral economic sanction legislation. Urges the President to: (1) adopt guidelines comparable to those contained in this Act that would apply to executive branch imposition of any unilateral economic sanctions; and (2) establish procedures for informing the U.S. public of significant developments in the formulation of U.S. policy with respect to such sanctions. Authorizes the President, under specified circumstances, to refrain from imposing, or suspend or terminate, a unilateral economic sanction.

Tax Relief for Working Americans Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999

Tax Relief for Working Americans Act of 1999 - Title I: Marriage Penalty Relief - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to set the basic standard deduction for married individuals at twice the deduction for unmarried individuals. Title II: Adjustment of Social Security Earning Limit - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to increase, for any taxable year ending after 1999 and before 2001, the monthly exempt amount for individuals who have attained retirement age. Title III: Incentives for Health and Long-Term Care Coverage - Provides a limited credit for the insurance costs of health and long-term care coverage for previously uninsured individuals and individuals with COBRA continuation coverage. Phases-in a deduction for the health insurance and long-term insurance costs of employees and the self-employed. Allows a limited credit for taxpayers with long-term care needs. Title IV: Expansion of Dependent Care Credit - Increases the percentage of employment-related expenses allowed as a credit. Establishes a limited credit for certain stay-at-home parents. Title V: Alternative Minimum Tax Relief - Provides that the aggregate amount of credits allowed under subpart A (Nonrefundable Personal Credits) of part IV (Credits Against Tax) of the Code shall not exceed the sum of a taxpayer's regular tax liability and the alternative minimum tax. Provides that income averaging for farmers shall not increase alternative minimum tax liability. Title VI: Elimination of 60-Month limit on Student Loan Interest Deduction - Eliminates the 60-month limit on the student loan interest deduction. Title VII: Increase in Low-Income Housing Credit State Ceiling - Increases, and links to the cost-of-living adjustment, the State low-income housing credit ceiling. Title VIII: Farm and Ranch Risk Management Accounts - Allows an individual engaged in an eligible farming (or ranching) business a deduction (in computing adjusted gross income) for any taxable year of up to 20 percent of taxable income attributable to the eligible farming business which was paid in cash by the taxpayer to a Farm and Ranch Risk Management Account (FARRM Account). Includes distributions from a FARRM account in the taxpayer's gross income, and subjects to a special ten percent surtax any distributions not made within five years of contribution. Establishes a tax on excess contributions, but exempts the taxpayer from the tax on certain prohibited transactions. Title IX: Incentives for Urban Revitalization and Open Space - Expands the areas eligible for the expensing of environmental remediation costs from qualified contamination sites within targeted areas only to qualified contamination sites anywhere within the United States. Sets forth provisions concerning the donation of capital gain real property for qualified conservation purposes. Title X: Extension of Expiring Provisions - Permanently extends the: (1) credit for increasing research activities; (2) work opportunity credit; and (3) subpart F exemption for active income financing. Modifies the placed-in-service rules for qualified facilities producing electricity from certain renewable sources. Makes the credit allowed for such production inapplicable to electricity sold to utilities under certain contracts.