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Resolution· SCONRESS.Con.Res. 40 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1999
Commends the armed forces, President Clinton, specified military and administration officials, and the NATO forces on the success of Operation Allied Force. Demands from Slobodan Milosevic the withdrawal of all Yugoslav and Serb forces from Kosovo, a permanent end to hostilities there, the return of Kosovo citizens to their homes, and unimpeded access to Kosovo for humanitarian relief operations. Urges the leadership of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) to ensure KLA compliance with ceasefire and demilitarization obligations. Calls for full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and assistance in bringing indicted war criminals, including Milosevic and other Serb military and political leaders, to justice.
Bill· HRH.R. 2269 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1999
Code of Conduct on Arms Transfers Act of 1999 - Prohibits U.S. military assistance and arms transfers to a foreign government unless the President certifies to Congress that such government: (1) meets specified conditions regarding democracy, including that it was chosen by free and fair elections and promotes civilian control of the military, the rule of law, and respect for individual rights; (2) does not engage in human rights violations, investigates and prosecutes those responsible for human rights violations, permits access to political prisoners by international organizations, and provides access to such organizations in situations of conflict or famine; (3) is not engaged in acts of armed aggression in violation of international law; and (4) is participating in the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms. Authorizes the President to request from Congress an exemption from such prohibition, stating that: (1) it is in the national security interest to provide military assistance and arms transfers to a government; or (2) an emergency exists under which it is vital to the U.S. interest to do so. Makes the exemption effective upon such request, unless disapproved by Congress. Directs the President to: (1) compile a list of countries that do not meet the requirements of this Act; (2) notify the governments participating in the Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual Use Goods and Technologies, done at Vienna, July 11 and 12, 1996, that the listed countries are ineligible to receive U.S. arms sales and military assistance; and (3) request that the notified countries also declare the listed countries as ineligible for arms sales and military assistance. Requires the President to continue efforts through the United Nations and other international fora, such as the Wassenaar Arrangement, to limit arms transfers worldwide, particularly transfers to the listed countries, for the purpose of establishing a permanent multilateral regime to govern the transfer of conventional arms. Directs the President, in conjunction with the submission of the annual congressional presentation documents for foreign assistance programs, to report to Congress on progress made toward establishing such regime.
Bill· HRH.R. 2272 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1999
Requires an officer who entered the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in 1983 and successfully completed instruction at such University in 1987 to be treated in the same manner as a student of the University who graduated in 1986 for purposes of determining pay and years of service, notwithstanding enactment of the Defense Officer Personnel Management Act.
Bill· HRH.R. 2249 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 1999
Corinth Battlefield Preservation Act of 1999 - Establishes the Corinth Unit of the Shiloh National Military Park in the States of Mississippi and Tennessee to be composed of: (1) the Battery Robinett and the site of the interpretative center authorized under the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996; and (2) any additional land the Secretary of the Interior determines is suitable for inclusion that is owned by a public entity or nonprofit organization and identified by the Siege and Battle of Corinth National Historic Landmark Study, dated January 8, 1991. Requires the Secretary to study and report to specified congressional committees on whether certain additional properties are appropriate for inclusion in the Unit. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 2244 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 1999
United States-Panama Security Act of 1999 - Bars U.S. assistance to Panama during any period in which a defense site or military installation located in Panama that was at any time part of a site or installation built or formerly operated by the United States has been conveyed by the Government of Panama to any foreign government-owned entity. Directs the President to instruct the U.S. representatives to the international financial institutions to oppose any loans or other assistance to Panama during any such period. Requires the President to report to the Congress on how Hutchison Whampoa, a Chinese firm with ties to the Chinese Government, was selected to receive a grant for management control of the Panamanian ports of Balboa and San Cristobal. Directs the Secretary of Defense to report to the Congress on: (1) the extent to which the control of such ports by such firm poses a threat to U.S. security; and (2) how U.S. strategic interests with respect to the Panama Canal will continue to be protected after the Government of Panama assumes sole responsibility for the defense of the Canal and becomes the only entity entitled to have military forces, defense sites, or military installations in Panama after December 31, 1999. Requires: (1) the Director of Central Intelligence to report annually to the Congress on the intelligence activities of China against or affecting U.S. interests in Panama; and (2) the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy to report to the Congress on the utility of maintaining a military presence in Panama for interdicting illegal drugs. Authorizes and directs the President to confer with the Government of Panama to renegotiate the terms of the Panama Canal Treaty and the Treaty Concerning the Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal or to negotiate a new agreement to supersede such treaties. Expresses the sense of the Congress that any negotiations should include: (1) a ban on foreign government investment in or management of the Canal and related projects; (2) the right to a continued U.S. military presence in Panama and a continued presence to interdict and eradicate illegal drug trafficking through Panama; and (3) the right to control or prohibit the use of the Canal by hostile powers, terrorist states, or criminal groups by redefining the terms of the 1977 Treaty Concerning the Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal.
Bill· HRH.R. 2206 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 1999
Extends through September 30, 1996, the period during which beneficiaries of veterans who died in the line of duty on or after October 29, 1992, could have applied to the Department of Veterans Affairs for a death gratuity under Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance.
Bill· HRH.R. 2224 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 1999
Expresses the sense of Congress that no major change to the governance structure of the Civil Air Patrol should be mandated until a review of potential improvements in the management and oversight of its operations is conducted. Directs the Comptroller General to conduct such review and report the results to Congress. Directs the Inspector General of the Department of Defense to conduct and report to Congress on a review, including an audit, of the financial and management operations of the Patrol.
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 208 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 1999
Reaffirms the commitment of the United States to the men and women who have honorably served this nation in the armed forces to provide reasonable access to burial in a national cemetery or State veterans cemetery. Calls on the National Cemetery Administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs to commence planning for the construction of new national cemeteries for such purpose.
Bill· SS. 1217 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Department of Justice Title II: Department of Commerce and Related Agencies Title III: The Judiciary Title IV: Department of State and Related Agencies Title V: Related Agencies Title VI: General Provisions Title VII: Rescissions Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000 - Makes appropriations for FY 2000 for the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the judiciary, and related agencies. Title I: Department of Justice - Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 2000 - Makes appropriations for the Department of Justice for: (1) general administration; (2) a Joint Automated Booking System; (3) conversion to narrowband communications; (4) counterterrorism activities; (5) payments of costs of telecommunications carriers in complying with capability requirements; (6) administration of pardon and clemency petitions and immigration-related activities; (7) the Office of Inspector General; (8) the U.S. Parole Commission; (9) legal activities;(10) antitrust activities; (11) the Office of U.S. Attorneys; (12) the U.S. Trustee Program; (13) the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission; (14) the U.S. Marshals Service, including amounts for Federal prisoner detention and for the initial capitalization of the Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System Fund; (15) fees and expenses of witnesses; (16) the Community Relations Service; (17) certain uses of the Assets Forfeiture Fund; (18) administrative expenses related to the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act; (19) the Radiation Exposure Compensation Trust Fund; (20) interagency law enforcement with respect to organized crime drug trafficking; (21) the Federal Bureau of Investigation; (22) construction for specified agencies; (23) the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); (24) the Immigration and Naturalization Service; (25) the Federal prison system, including an amount for buildings and facilities; (26) Office of Justice programs; (27) State and local law enforcement assistance; (28) the Executive Office for Weed and Seed; (29) juvenile justice programs; and (30) public safety officers' benefits. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. (Sec. 102) Repeals a provision of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 regarding an automated entry-exit control system. (Sec. 103) Prohibits the use of funds appropriated by this title to: (1) pay for abortions except where the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term, or in the case of rape; or (2) require any person to perform or facilitate an abortion. (Sec. 110) Prohibits, unless the person concerned consents or disclosure is pursuant to a court order or a verdict of liability has been entered, the disclosure of specified financial records and personal information of a person employed or formerly employed by a Federal, State, or local jail, prison, or correctional facility in actions for deprivation of rights against such facilities or persons brought by a prisoner. (Sec. 112) Amends the Parole Commission Phaseout Act of 1996 to reduce the maximum number of members of the U.S. Parole Commission from five to three. (Sec. 114) Directs the Attorney General to establish by rule that it shall be punishable conduct for any Department of Justice employee to intentionally: (1) seek the indictment of a person in the absence of probable cause; (2) fail to disclose exculpatory evidence to the defense; (3) mislead a court as to the guilt of any person by knowingly making a false statement of material fact or law; (4) offer false evidence or alter evidence; (5) attempt to influence or color a witness' testimony with the intent to encourage untruthful testimony; (6) violate a defendant's right to discovery; (7) offer or provide sexual activities to any Government or potential witness in exchange for testimony; or (8) improperly disseminate confidential information to any person during an investigation or trial. Provides for penalties for engaging in such conduct. (Sec. 115) Prohibits the use of funds made available by any Act to pay premium pay to any Department of Justice attorney. (Sec. 116) Reduces the total of amounts appropriated under this title by a specified amount. Title II: Department of Commerce and Related Agencies - Department of Commerce and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000 - Makes appropriations for the Department of Commerce for: (1) the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative; (2) the International Trade Commission; (3) export administration and national security activities; (4) the Economic Development Administration; (5) minority business development; (6) economic and statistical analysis programs; (7) the Census Bureau; (8) the National Telecommunications and Information Administration; (9) public telecommunications facilities, planning, and construction grants; (10) information infrastructure grants; (11) the Patent and Trademark Office; (12) the Under Secretary for Technology-Office of Technology Policy; (13) the National Institute of Standards and Technology, including amounts for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership and the Advanced Technology Program and for construction of new research facilities; (14) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), including amounts for procurement, acquisition, and construction of capital assets; (15) restoration of Pacific salmon populations; (16) the Coastal Zone Management Fund; (17) the Fishermen's Contingency Fund; (18) the Foreign Fishing Observer Fund; (19) the fisheries finance program account; (20) general administration; and (21) the Office of Inspector General. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. Rescinds a specified amount of funds for the Fisheries Promotional Fund. Title III: The Judiciary - Judiciary Appropriations Act, 2000 - Makes appropriations for: (1) the Supreme Court, including an amount for care of the building and grounds; (2) the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; (3) the U.S. Court of International Trade; (4) the courts of appeals, district courts, and other judicial services; (5) defender services; (6) fees of jurors and commissioners; (7) court security; (8) the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts; (9) the Federal Judicial Center; (10) judicial retirement funds; and (11) the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. (Sec. 305) Makes additional appropriations for courts of appeals, district courts, and other judicial services for the Institute at Saint Anselm College and the New Hampshire State Library. Title IV: Department of State and Related Agencies - Department of State and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000 - Makes appropriations for the Department of State for: (1) administration of foreign affairs, diplomatic and consular programs; (2) the Capital Investment Fund; (3) the Office of Inspector General; (4) educational and cultural exchange programs; (5) representation allowances; (6) protection of foreign missions and officials; (7) security and maintenance of U.S. missions; (8) emergencies in the diplomatic and consular service; (9) the repatriation loans program account; (10) the American Institute in Taiwan; (11) the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Fund; (12) international organizations, conferences, peacekeeping, and commissions; (13) the Eisenhower Exchange Fellowships, Incorporated; (14) the Israeli Arab Scholarship Program; and (15) the East-West Center. Makes appropriations for the Broadcasting Board of Governors for international broadcasting operations, broadcasting to Cuba, and radio construction. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title. (Sec. 404) Bars the use of funds made available in this Act by the Department of State or the Broadcasting Board of Governors to provide assistance to the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation. (Sec. 405) Prohibits the use of funds made available by any Act for: (1) the operation of a U.S. consulate or diplomatic facility in Jerusalem unless such facility is under the supervision of the U.S. Ambassador to Israel; and (2) the publication of any official Government document which lists countries and their capital cities unless the publication identifies Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. (Sec. 407) Directs the Secretary of State, for purposes of registration of birth, certification of nationality, or issuance of a U.S. passport of a citizen born in Jerusalem, to record the place of birth as Israel upon request of the citizen. Title V: Related Agencies - Makes appropriations for the: (1) Maritime Administration for maritime security, operations and training, and the maritime guaranteed loan program; (2) Census Monitoring Board; (3) Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad; (4) Commission on Civil Rights; (5) Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe; (6) Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC); (7) Federal Communications Commission; (8) Federal Maritime Commission; (9) Federal Trade Commission; (10) Legal Services Corporation; (11) Marine Mammal Commission; (12) Securities and Exchange Commission; (13) Small Business Administration, including amounts for the Office of Inspector General and business and disaster loans; and (14) State Justice Institute. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. Title VI: General Provisions - Sets forth limitations on the use of funds under this Act. (Sec. 607) Sets forth Buy American provisions. (Sec. 608) Prohibits the use of funds made available by this Act to: (1) enforce any EEOC guidelines covering harassment based on religion if such guidelines do not differ from proposed guidelines of October 1, 1993; (2) pay for costs incurred in operating certain diplomatic or consular posts in Vietnam or increasing the number of personnel assigned to such posts until the President makes a specified certification; or (3) provide specified personal comforts in the Federal prison system. (Sec. 615) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act to issue visas to certain individuals from Haiti, including those involved in specified extrajudicial and political killings. (Sec. 616) Bars funds appropriated under any law from being used for: (1) the implementation of any tax or fee in connection with any criminal background check system that implements requirements under the Federal criminal code in connection with certain restrictions on the transfer of firearms; or (2) any such system that does not result in the destruction of information submitted by persons determined not to be prohibited from owning a firearm. (Sec. 618) Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to provide that any Federal or State law regarding insolvencies or receiverships shall not apply to the Federal Communications Commission or limit the rights or powers of the Commission with respect to: (1) a license or permit issued by the Commission under competitive bidding provisions or a payment made to or a debt owed to the Commission relating to or arising from such a license or permit; (2) an interest of the Commission in property securing such a debt; or (3) an act by the Commission to issue, deny, cancel, or transfer control of such a license or permit. Grants the Commission a first priority security interest in a license or construction permit issued under such provisions. Applies this section retroactively, including to pending cases and proceedings. Title VII: Rescissions - Rescinds specified amounts of funds appropriated to the Department of Justice for: (1) general administration, the working capital fund; and (2) legal activities of the asset forfeiture fund. Reduces amounts available for the DEA Drug Diversion Control Fee Account. Rescinds a specified amount of funds for NOAA operations, research, and facilities. Rescinds specified amounts for the Department of State for security and maintenance of U.S. missions and international broadcasting operations of the Broadcasting Board of Governors.
Bill· HRH.R. 2195 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 1999
Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to transfer a parcel of real property at Fort Gordon, Georgia, to the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for the purpose of establishing a national cemetery.
Bill· SS. 1215 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1999
Makes marked (currently, only unmarked) graves of certain veterans eligible for the provision of a headstone or marker through the Department of Veterans Affairs. Allows such headstone or marker to be placed at another area appropriate for commemorating the individual.
Bill· SS. 1205 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1999
Military Construction Appropriations Act, 2000 - Appropriates funds for FY 2000 for military construction, family housing, and base realignment and closure functions administered by the Department of Defense (DOD), namely: (1) military construction for the Army, Navy, and Air Force; (2) military construction, DOD (including a transfer of funds); (3) military construction for the Army and Air National Guards; (4) military construction for the Army, Navy, and Air Force Reserves; (5) the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Security Investment Program; (6) family housing for the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, and Air Force; (7) family housing, DOD; (8) the Family Housing Revitalization Transfer Fund (including a transfer of funds); (9) the Department of Defense Family Housing Improvement Fund; and (10) the Base Realignment and Closure Account, Part IV. (Sec. 101) Specifies restrictions and authorizations regarding the use of funds appropriated in this Act and in other military construction appropriations Acts. (Sec. 113) Directs the Secretary of Defense to notify the appropriate congressional committees 30 days in advance of the plans and scope of any military exercise involving U.S. personnel if construction costs are anticipated to exceed $100,000. (Sec. 118) Authorizes the transfer of lapsed unobligated military construction and family housing funds into the Foreign Currency Fluctuations, Defense account. (Sec. 119) Directs the Secretary to report to the congressional appropriations committees on actions proposed by DOD to encourage other member nations of NATO, Japan, Korea, and U.S. allies in the Arabian Gulf to assume a greater share of the common defense burden of such nations and the United States. (Sec. 123) Authorizes the transfer of DOD funds for expenses associated with the Homeowners Assistance Program under the Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development Act of 1966. (Sec. 125) Reduces, with specified exceptions, each amount of budget authority provided in this Act for FY 2000 by five percent. (Sec. 126) Directs the Secretary to report to the congressional defense committees examining the adequacy of special education facilities and services available to the dependent children of military personnel stationed in the United States. (Sec. 127) Earmarks funds appropriated under the 1999 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Security Investment Program.
Bill· HRH.R. 2127 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1999
Military Sniper Weapon Regulation Act of 1999 - Amends Chapter 53 ( Machine Guns, Destructive Devices, and Certain Other Firearms) of the Internal Revenue Code to include in the definition of the term "firearm" a 50 caliber sniper weapon.
Law· HRH.R. 2116 (106th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Access to Care Title II: Program Administration Title III: Miscellaneous Veterans' Millennium Health Care Act - Title I: Access to Care - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to operate and maintain a program to provide the following extended care services to eligible veterans: (1) geriatric evaluation; (2) nursing home care, either in facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs (Department) or in community-based facilities; (3) domiciliary services; (4) adult day health care; (5) noninstitutional alternatives to nursing home care; and (6) respite care. Makes eligible for such care any veteran in need of such care: (1) for a service-connected disability; or (2) who has a service-connected disability rated at 50 percent or more. Directs the Secretary to give the highest priority to such veterans in making placements for nursing home care in Department facilities. Prohibits the Secretary from furnishing such services for a nonservice-connected disability not rated at least 50 percent unless such veteran agrees to make a copayment for services of more than 21 days in any year. Requires the Secretary to establish a methodology for establishing the copayment amount. Establishes in the Treasury the Department of Veterans Affairs Extended Care Fund for deposits and disbursements to cover such care. Directs the Secretary to develop and begin to implement a plan to carry out the recommendations of the Federal Advisory Committee on the Future of Long-Term Care to increase the options, services, and budget level of community-based care for eligible veterans. Authorizes the Secretary to furnish adult day health care to veterans enrolled in the Department's annual patient enrollment system who would otherwise require nursing home care. Authorizes the Secretary to furnish respite care services: (1) outside of a hospital, nursing home, or Department facility; and (2) through contract arrangements. (Sec. 102) Authorizes the Secretary to reimburse for the reasonable value of emergency treatment furnished in a non-Department facility those veterans who are active Department health-care participants (enrolled in the annual patient enrollment system and recipients of Department hospital, nursing home, or domiciliary care under such system within the last 12-month period) and who are personally liable for such treatment. Provides reimbursement limitations. Provides an independent right of recovery for the United States when a third-party subsequently makes a payment for the same treatment. Requires the veteran to notify the Secretary of any such payment. Authorizes the Secretary to waive recovery of such payment in the best interests of the United States. Requires the Secretary to include in annual budget justification materials a report on implementation of the extended care services. (Sec. 103) Requires the Secretary to furnish hospital and medical services, and authorizes the Secretary to furnish nursing home care, to a veteran who: (1) is wounded in action by an enemy of the United States or by any weapon fire while directly engaged in armed conflict; or (2) is retired from active-duty service, is eligible for care under the TRICARE Program (a Department of Defense managed health care program), and is not otherwise eligible for such care. Requires, in the latter case, a memorandum of understanding between the Secretaries of Veterans Affairs and Defense for reimbursement to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for services provided. (Sec. 105) Authorizes the payment of veterans' disability compensation and dependency and indemnity compensation for persons disabled by participation in a compensated work therapy program. (Sec. 106) Authorizes the Secretary to carry out a three-year pilot program to provide primary health care services for the spouse or child of a veteran who is enrolled in the annual patient enrollment system and is able to pay for such care or services either directly or through reimbursement or indemnification from a third-party insurer. Authorizes the Secretary to provide such services either through a Department facility or by contract. Prohibits such services from being provided in a Department facility if it would deny or delay access to care for any enrolled veteran at that facility. Entitles the United States to recover from a third-party insurer the reasonable charges for such care or services. Requires the Secretary to designate (under specified criteria) no more than four veterans integrated service networks in which such pilot program shall be carried out. Directs the Comptroller General to: (1) monitor the program; and (2) report to the Secretary on findings and recommendations. (Sec. 107) Directs the Secretary, in providing hospital care and medical services through network-based planning, to establish an enhanced service program at Department medical centers that are so designated by the Secretary (designated centers). Requires such designated centers to improve access and quality of services provided to veterans served by those medical centers. Directs the Secretary to develop a plan for each center to improve access to, and quality of, care and services provided. Outlines designation criteria and plan requirements. Prohibits any such plan from being implemented until at least 45 days after its submission to the appropriate congressional committees. Provides for plan implementation and funds allocation. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress on implementation of the enhanced service program. (Sec. 108) Revises a program providing counseling and treatment for veterans who have experienced sexual trauma to: (1) extend such program through calendar year 2002; (2) require (current law authorizes) the Secretary to provide such care and services to those in need; and (3) ensure that information about such care and services is revised and updated and made available through appropriate means (requiring a report from the Secretary to the veterans' committees on implementation of such outreach efforts). Requires the Secretary: (1) to study, and report to the veterans' committees on, the possibility of extending eligibility for such care and services to former reserve personnel; and (2) report to the veterans' committees on implementation of the sexual trauma program. Requires the Secretary and the Secretary of Defense to jointly report to the appropriate congressional committees describing the efforts of their respective departments to ensure that military personnel, upon separation, are provided appropriate and current information about such counseling and treatment programs, including eligibility requirements and application procedures. Title II: Program Administration - Authorizes the Secretary, with respect to required copayments by veterans for medication furnished by the Department on an outpatient basis for the treatment of a nonservice-connected disability or condition, to: (1) increase the amount of such copayment (currently $2 for each 30-day supply of medication); (2) establish a maximum annual copayment for veterans who have multiple outpatient prescriptions; and (3) require certain veterans to pay a reasonable copayment for sensori-neural aids, electronic equipment, and any other costly item furnished for a nonservice-connected disability (other than a wheelchair or artificial limb). (Sec. 202) Establishes in the Treasury the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Services Improvement Fund for the deposit and disbursement of funds used for improving various health services to veterans, including services under this Act. (Sec. 203) Establishes in the Treasury the Veterans Tobacco Trust Fund. Provides that if a lawsuit is brought by the United States against tobacco manufacturers for costs incurred due to tobacco- related illnesses, there shall be credited to the Fund, without further appropriation, the amount that bears the same ratio to the amount recovered as the amount of the Department's costs for health care attributable to tobacco-related illnesses bears to the total amount sought in the suit. Makes such amounts available to the Secretary for: (1) furnishing veterans' medical care and services; and (2) conducting medical, rehabilitation, and health systems research, with particular emphasis on research relating to the prevention and treatment of, and rehabilitation from, tobacco addiction and diseases associated with tobacco use. (Sec. 204) Revises provisions establishing nonprofit research corporations at Department medical centers to: (1) authorize such corporations to provide education and training to Veterans Health Administration (VHA) health-care personnel; (2) include additional personnel on its board of directors; and (3) prohibit such corporation from expending funds for an education activity unless it is approved under procedures prescribed by the Department's Under Secretary for Health. (Sec. 205) Extends through: (1) calendar year 2002 the veterans' readjustment counseling program; (2) 2003 required reports concerning the provision of care to severely chronically mentally ill veterans; and (3) March 1, 2000, and February 1, 2001, certain reports concerning the provision of counseling and treatment for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Amends the Homeless Veterans Comprehensive Service Programs Act of 1992 to: (1) extend through FY 2002 the authority to make grants for housing assistance for homeless veterans; and (2) remove a limitation on the number of such programs which may incorporate the procurement of vans as part of such program. (Sec. 206) Directs the Secretary to prescribe for each State the number of nursing home and domiciliary beds for which assistance under veterans' domiciliary, nursing home, and hospital care may be authorized. Requires such regulations to be based on the projected demand for such care ten years after enactment of this Act by veterans who are 65 years old or older. Directs the Secretary, with respect to State applications for the construction or acquisition of new nursing facilities or the replacement or increase of the number of beds at a current facility, to characterize the need of such facility as great, significant, or limited and to grant applications accordingly. Allows financial assistance only for renovation projects for which total construction costs are in excess of $400,000. Outlines State application requirements for such projects or assistance. (Sec. 207) Adds as a required condition to the authority of the Secretary to enter into an enhanced-use lease (the leasing of Department property not currently used by the Department) the Secretary's determination that the business plan proposed by the Under Secretary for Health for applying lease payments to the provision of medical care and services demonstrably improves services to eligible veterans in the geographic service-delivery area within which the leased property is located. Increases to 75 years the authorized term for such leases. Requires funds received under such a lease and remaining after expense deductions to be deposited in the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Services Improvement Fund and used for authorized purposes. Requires at least 75 percent of such funds to be made available to the designated VHA health care region within which the leased property is located. (Sec. 208) Makes ineligible for employment as a VHA health-care professional an individual who was licensed, registered, or certified to practice in more than one State when any one of those States has since terminated such license, registration, or certification. Title III: Miscellaneous - Prohibits the Secretary from closing in any fiscal year more than 50 percent of the beds within a Department medical center unless the Secretary first submits to the veterans' committees a justification for such closure. Prohibits any such closure until 21 days after submission of the report. Requires the Secretary to report annually to such committees on bed closures during the preceding fiscal year. (Sec. 302) Revises provisions concerning the Veterans Canteen Service to remove a provision limiting such services to the sales of merchandise and services for consumption and use on the premises. (Sec. 303) Directs the Secretary to report to the veterans' committees on the feasibility of establishing a pilot program to assist veterans in receiving assisted living services. (Sec. 304) Requires the Department's Under Secretary for Health to establish a VHA policy regarding the role of chiropractic treatment in the care of veterans.
Bill· HRH.R. 2050 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1999
Electric Consumers' Power to Choose Act of 1999 - Title I: Consumer Choice and Competition for Electric Utilities - Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) to set forth statutory parameters for retail electric competition. (Sec. 101) Sets a deadline by which each State may elect to require retail electric competition in accordance with prescriptions under this Act for every regulated and nonregulated local distribution company providing local distribution service. Prescribes implementation guidelines. Exempts regulated and nonregulated companies that have: (1) adopted a plan providing open access to local distribution facilities for retail electric suppliers seeking to make retail sales to all classes of retail customers; and (2) have notified the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)accordingly. Cites circumstances under which a State (and a nonregulated electric utility) may prohibit a distribution facility from selling to retail electric consumers energy that is generated by non-competitive facilities in another State (i.e. no retail reciprocity). Permits acquisition of retail electric energy on an aggregate basis by an entity acting on behalf of a group of customers if notice of retail competition has been filed. Denies Federal courts jurisdiction for actions regarding retail competition (except for Supreme Court review). Declares the retail reciprocity provisions applicable to: (1) any foreign person or electric utility which is a citizen of a signatory to the North American Free Trade Agreement; and (2) electric energy imports. Prescribes privacy guidelines governing consumer proprietary information. (Sec.102) Amends the Federal Power Act (FPA) to provide for the establishment and enforcement of mandatory reliability standards to ensure the reliable operation of the bulk-power system. Grants FERC, for purposes of approving and enforcing compliance with such standards, jurisdiction over: (1) the Electric Reliability Organization; (2) all affiliated regional reliability entities (entities to which authority has been delegated to enforce compliance with reliability standards); (3) all system operators; and (4) all users of the bulk-power system. Provides that, prior to the establishment of the Electric Reliability Organization (Organization), any person (including the North American Electric Reliability Council and its member Regional Reliability Councils) may file a proposed reliability standard, guidance, or practice which, subject to FERC approval, shall be mandatory and enforceable. Prescribes procedural guidelines for FERC approval of: (1) applications competing for status as the Electric Reliability Council; and (2) Organization standards. Requires all users of the bulk-power system to comply with such standards. Mandates that: (1) the Organization take all appropriate steps to gain recognition in Canada and Mexico; and (2) the United States use its best efforts to enter into international agreements with the governments of Canada and Mexico to effectuate compliance with Organization standards, and to provide for the effectiveness of the Organization's mission. Requires every system operator to be a member of the Electric Reliability Organization, and of any affiliated regional reliability entity operating under an agreement applicable to the region in which the system operator operates or is responsible for the operation of a bulk-power system facility. Empowers the Organization to take disciplinary and enforcement action. Directs the Organization to assess periodically the reliability and adequacy of the interconnected bulk-power system in North America, and to report its findings and recommendations annually to FERC and to the Secretary of Energy. Provides for the assessment and recovery of implementation and enforcement costs incurred by the Organization and each affiliated regional reliability entity, respectively. Presumes to be in compliance with Federal anti-trust laws those activities undertaken by the Organization, an affiliated regional reliability entity, or members of those entities pursuant to this Act. (Sec. 103) Mandates that a local distribution utility allow interconnection with a facility if the facility owner is an electric customer which is provided local distribution service and complies with a final Federal ruling governing such interconnection. (Sec. 104) Requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to promulgate, in consultation with selected Federal agencies, mandatory electric supplier information disclosures governing any electric supplier with a capacity in excess of five megawatts that sells electric energy. Prescribes mandatory disclosures. Prescribes guidelines governing FERC mitigation of electric utility market power domination resulting in electric energy prices that exceed the prices that would be charged in a fully competitive market. Authorizes the States to prescribe additional requirements. Directs the FTC to establish and enforce rules governing unfair trade practices with respect to: (1) selection by a retail electric customer of a retail electric supplier ("slamming"); and (2) express consent by a retail electric customer for the purchase of goods and services ("cramming"). (Sec. 107) Amends the FPA to declare it does not preempt or otherwise affect any authority under State or local municipal law to: (1) require unbundled transmission and local distribution services for electric energy delivery directly to an ultimate consumer; or (2) impose a delivery charge on such consumer's receipt of electric energy. Retains the exclusive jurisdiction of FERC over unbundled transmission in interstate commerce. Authorizes FERC to: (1) require public utilities and transmitting utilities to provide open access transmission services; (2) permit recovery of stranded costs arising from any requirement to provide open access transmission services; and (3) require the transmission of electric energy to an ultimate consumer if a notice of retail competition is in effect with respect to such consumer, or if a distribution utility offers such consumer open access to its delivery facilities. Requires FERC to issue an order requiring the transmission of electric energy upon application of either an Indian tribe, or a Department of Defense military base facility, regardless of whether a notice of retail competition has been filed. Authorizes a State regulatory authority, a transmitting utility; or a local distribution company to apply to FERC for a determination whether a particular facility used for the transportation of electric energy located in the State is: (1) a local distribution facility subject the State regulatory authority; or (2) a transmission facility subject to FERC. (Sec. 108) Cites circumstances under which: (1) FERC may order the establishment of an entity to independently operate and control interconnected transmission facilities and generators, and may order a transmitting utility to relinquish operating control over its transmission facilities to such entity; and (2) designated Federal utilities may participate in a regional transmission system operation. (Sec. 109) Repeals FPA wheeling provisions pertaining to: (1) the Columbia River Transmission System; and (2)the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). (Sec. 110) Conditions electric company mergers and acquisitions upon prior FERC authorization. Subjects generation facilities to FERC jurisdiction. (Sec. 111) Grants the consent of Congress to an interstate compact to establish a regional transmission planning agency subject to specified FERC determinations. (Sec. 112) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) every consumer should have access to electric energy at reasonable, affordable rates; and (2) FERC and the States should ensure that competition does not result in the loss of service to rural, residential, or low-income consumers. (Sec. 114) Directs FERC to study and report to Congress on the extent to which retail electric customers of certain local distribution companies benefit from adoption of retail electric competition. Title II: Provisions Respecting the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 - Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1999 - Repeals the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, except with respect to a holding company system whose subsidiary public-utility company provides retail electric or gas service in two or more States whose regulatory authority has not: (1) provided notice of retail competition in accordance with statutory guidelines; or (2) required distribution utilities to provide open access service over their distribution facilities. (Sec. 204) Prescribes procedural guidelines for both FERC and State access to records of a public utility or natural gas holding company (including subsidiaries, associates and affiliates). (Sec. 205) Precludes such State access to any person that is a holding company solely by reason of ownership of one or more qualifying facilities under PURPA. (Sec. 206) Instructs FERC to promulgate a final rule to exempt specified holding companies from such access requirements. Requires FERC to exempt any person or transaction from such access requirements if it finds that regulation of such person or transaction is irrelevant to the jurisdictional rates of a public utility or natural gas company. (Sec. 207) Retains the jurisdiction of FERC and State commissions to determine whether a public utility company or natural gas company may recover in rates any costs of affiliate transactions. (Sec. 208) Declares this Act inapplicable to: (1) the United States; (2) a State or its political subdivision; and (3) a foreign governmental authority not operating in the United States. (Sec. 210) Grants FERC certain FPA enforcement powers. (Sec. 213) Transfers from the Securities and Exchange Commission to FERC all books and records that relate primarily to the functions vested in FERC by this Act. (Sec. 214) Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 215) Amends the FPA to repeal its conflict of jurisdiction guidelines. Title III: Provisions Respecting the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 - Ratepayer Protection Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to declare that after enactment of this Act, no electric utility shall be required to enter into a new contract or obligation to purchase or sell electric energy or capacity pursuant to PURPA provisions governing cogeneration and small power production. (Sec. 304) Directs FERC to promulgate and enforce regulations to assure that no utility shall be required to absorb the costs (thus allowing a utility to recover all costs) associated with electric energy or capacity purchases from a qualifying facility executed before enactment of this Act, to the extent that the utility cannot otherwise reasonably mitigate such costs. Provides that such regulations shall be treated as a rule enforceable under the FPA. Title IV: Federal Power Marketing Administrations and Tennessee Valley Authority - Subtitle A: Tennessee Valley Authority - Repeals FPA provisions relating to: (1) interconnection or wheeling orders that result in sales or delivery outside the Tennessee Valley Region; and (2) equitability within territory restricted electric systems. (Sec. 402) Amends the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933 to repeal restrictions placed upon the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to sell or deliver power beyond the area for which it was the primary source of power on July 1, 1957. (Sec. 403) Prohibits TVA sales of electric energy to an end use or retail customer that did not have a purchase contract for services to specific facilities on the date of enactment of this Act. Sets forth prerequisites under which sales of TVA wholesale electric energy and services for use outside the Tennessee Valley Region are: (1) restricted to excess electric energy; and (2) subject to FPA and FERC rules and regulations. (Sec. 404) Prohibits TVA acquisition of any new major generating resource: (1) unless financial arrangements have been made to ensure that the customer on whose behalf such acquisition has been made has committed to pay the full costs of the resource; and (2) that it reasonably expects will necessitate use of its authority to recover certain nonrecoverable costs. (Sec. 405) Mandates that TVA and its distributors renegotiate existing long-term contracts with respect to: (1) remaining term; (2) length of termination notice; (3) amount of electric energy that distributors may purchase from non-TVA suppliers, including access to the TVA transmission system; and (4) stranded costs recovery. (Sec. 406) Subjects TVA electric energy transmission and local distribution to the jurisdiction of FERC and the FPA. Mandates FERC approval as a prerequisite to any significant TVA transmission plant investment. Permits any municipality or cooperative organization that is a customer of TVA electric energy to: (1) avoid TVA regulatory authority regarding the rates or terms of its resales of electric energy for profit; and (2) replace TVA oversight authority with that of its own governing body. Amends PURPA to redefine "State regulatory authority" so as to remove TVA as a State agency with ratemaking authority over sales of electric energy by any electric utility (thus terminating TVA jurisdiction under PURPA). (Sec. 408) Directs FERC to promulgate regulations governing recovery of stranded costs imposed on TVA by either a departing power customer, or by a departing transmission customer. Mandates that such regulations shield customers that did not impose stranded costs upon TVA from liability for paying them on behalf of other customers. Conditions TVA recovery of stranded costs upon FERC approval. Precludes FERC from imposing stranded cost recovery charges after FY 2007, without the consent of the person against whom such charges are assessed. Mandates that any TVA stranded costs recovery charges be unbundled from other rates and stated separately on the customer's bill. (Sec. 409) Proscribes TVA participation in a FERC-regulated regional transmission planning agency that would require it, or combined users of TVA's transmission system, to pay a disproportionate share of agency costs. (Sec. 410) Places TVA within Federal antitrust purview. (Sec. 411) Mandates that TVA offer its local distribution facilities for sale pursuant to FERC prescriptions. Permits TVA customers to elect retention of such facilities, but precludes inclusion of the costs of such facilities in TVA transmission rates. Proscribes TVA construction of facilities designed to operate at less than 35 kilovolts. Subtitle B: Bonneville Power Administration - Amends the FPA to prescribe procedural guidelines under which FERC shall provide for the imposition of surcharges for transmission services over the Bonneville Transmission System in order for the Bonneville Administrator to meet certain statutory cost recovery requirements. (Sec. 426) Subjects the Bonneville Power Administration to Federal antitrust jurisdiction. Subtitle C: Other Power Marketing Administrations - Instructs the Secretary of Energy to promulgate procedural guidelines governing the accounting principles and requirements of the Western, Southwestern, and Southeastern Power Administrations, including compliance and administrative reconciliation. (Sec. 433) Sets parameters for participation by the Federal power marketing administrations in a FERC-approved and regulated regional transmission planning agency. Subjects such administrations to Federal antitrust jurisdiction. Title V: Renewable Energy - Amends PURPA to set a deadline by which the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration in the Department of Energy shall publicize the estimated percentage of total domestic electric energy generation to be supplied by renewable energy during calendar year 2004. (Sec. 501) Sets a deadline by which a retail electric supplier shall submit to the Secretary Renewable Energy Credits equal to a certain annual percentage of total electric energy sold to electric consumers in the calendar year. Prescribes implementation guidelines. (Sec. 502) Requires each retail electric supplier to make net metering service available upon request to a retail electric consumer served or solicited by such supplier. Authorizes State imposition of: (1) additional requirements; and (2) a cap limiting the amount of net metering available in the State. Retains State authority to require a retail electric supplier to make net metering service available to a retail electric consumer. Title VI: Provisions Relating to the Internal Revenue Code - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend for five years the tax credit for producing electricity from renewable resources. (Sec. 602) Allows a credit against tax for: (1) certain qualified energy efficiency improvements; (2) construction of new energy efficient homes; and (3) combined heat and power system property. (Sec. 605) Redefines "private business use" to exclude open access transactions with respect to an electric output facility owned by a governmental unit. Permits certain bond issuers to make an irrevocable election to terminate certain tax-exempt financing for electric output facilities.
Bill· HRH.R. 2036 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1999
Children's Defense Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit, and set penalties for, knowingly soliciting, selling, loaning, or exhibiting to a minor, in interstate or foreign commerce, a picture, photograph, drawing, sculpture, video game, motion picture film, or similar visual representation or image, book, pamphlet, magazine, printed matter, or sound recording containing explicit sexual or violent material or detailed verbal descriptions or narrative accounts of explicit sexual or violent material which, taken as a whole: (1) predominantly appeals to the prurient, shameful, or morbid interest of minors; (2) is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable material for minors; and (3) is utterly without redeeming social importance for minors. (Sec. 3) Requires any retail establishment engaged in the sale of sound recordings in interstate or foreign commerce to make available for on-site review, upon the request of a person over age 18, the lyrics packaged with any sound recording offered for sale by such establishment. Subjects such establishments that knowingly fail to comply to fines of $1,000 per day. (Sec. 4) Directs the National Institutes of Health to conduct a study of the effects of video games and music on child development and youth violence. (Sec. 5) Makes the antitrust laws inapplicable to any joint discussion, consideration, review, action, or agreement (discussion) by or among persons in the entertainment industry for the purpose of developing and disseminating voluntary guidelines designed to: (1) alleviate the negative impact of telecast material, movies, video games, Internet content, and music lyrics containing violence, sexual content, criminal behavior, or other subjects that are not appropriate for children; or (2) promote telecast material, movies, video games, Internet content, or music lyrics that are educational, informational, or otherwise beneficial to child development. Makes such exemption inapplicable to any such discussion that: (1) results in a boycott; or (2) concerns the purchase or sale of advertising, including restrictions on the number of products that may be advertised in a commercial, the number of times a program may be interrupted for commercials, and the number of consecutive commercials permitted within each interruption. Terminates this provision three years after this Act's enactment date. (Sec. 6) Directs the Attorney General, subject to appropriations, to award a grant to the National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise to enable the Center to award sub-grants to grassroots entities in Washington, D.C., Detroit, Hartford, Indianapolis, Chicago and the surrounding metropolitan area, Dallas, Los Angeles, Norfolk, and Houston. Requires such entities, to be eligible to receive sub-grants, to submit an application to the Center to fund intervention models that establish violence-free zones. Sets forth provisions regarding selection criteria, permissible uses of funds (such as for youth mediation, youth mentoring, and other activities to further community objectives in reducing youth crime and violence), and reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Prohibits the Center from using more than 20 percent of funds appropriated in any fiscal year for administrative costs, technical assistance and training, comprehensive support services, and evaluation of participating grassroots entities.
Bill· HRH.R. 2056 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1999
Lebanon Independence Restoration Act of 1999 - Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should not support or participate in any peace agreement between Syria and Israel that does not provide for the full and verifiable withdrawal of Syrian military, intelligence, and security forces and their proxies from Lebanon. Withdraws nondiscriminatory (most-favored- nation) treatment from the products of Syria and Lebanon. Authorizes the President to restore nondiscriminatory treatment of the products of: (1) Lebanon after certifying to Congress that the Syrian military, security, and intelligence forces and their proxies there have completely withdrawn and that Lebanon's Government has been democratically and freely elected; and (2) Syria after certifying to Congress that such withdrawal has taken place and the Syrian Government has been democratically and freely elected. Prohibits, unless the requirements of this Act have been met, the provision of: (1) economic assistance to Syria or Lebanon; or (2) military assistance to Lebanon. Expresses the sense of Congress that any assistance so prohibited should be redirected for humanitarian, democracy building, human rights, and educational efforts in Lebanon. Directs the President to instruct the U.S. representative to each international financial institution to vote to oppose the initiation or renewal of any loan or other form of assistance for Syria or Lebanon unless the requirements of this Act have been met. Requires the Secretary of State, as part of the annual report to Congress concerning the human rights situation in countries proposed to receive security assistance, to pay special attention to the report on Lebanon by including: (1) an assessment of Syrian influence on the Lebanese Government and human rights abuses attributable to such influence; (2) an assessment of the role played by Syrian intelligence services there; (3) progress made by the Lebanese Government in disarming terrorist groups; and (4) specific steps taken by the State Department to affect the withdrawal of Syrian forces and their proxies from Lebanon.
Bill· HRH.R. 2067 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1999
Military Personnel Home of Record Act of 1999 - Requires the Secretary of Commerce to ensure that, for purposes of the 2000 census: (1) members of the armed forces on active duty shall be allocated to their home of record, legal residence, or last permanent duty station in the United States, in that order of priority; and (2) any dependents of such a member assigned to a permanent duty station outside of the United States who are residing with such member shall be allocated to their last State or U.S. territory of residence, except that, if such dependent never resided in the United States (or a U.S. territory) and is a U.S. citizen, such dependent shall be allocated in the same manner as applies to such member.
Bill· HRH.R. 2040 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1999
Veterans' Cemeteries Assessment Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to contract with one or more qualified organizations to conduct a study of national cemeteries, including required repairs, standards of appearance, additional cemeteries needed, and improvement to veterans' burial benefits. Requires: (1) a report from such organization to the Secretary on study results; and (2) transmission of such report, along with comments, to the congressional veterans' committees.
Bill· HRH.R. 2037 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Juvenile Justice Reform Title II: Effective Enforcement of Federal Firearms Laws Title III: Limiting Juvenile Access to Firearms and Explosives Title IV: Preventing Criminal Access to Firearms and Explosives Title V: Punishing and Deterring Criminal Use of Firearms and Explosives Title VI: Punishing Gang Violence and Drug Trafficking to Minors Child Safety and Youth Violence Prevention Act of 1999 - Title I: Juvenile Justice Reform - Amends provisions of the Federal criminal code (the code) regarding delinquency proceedings in district courts and transfer for criminal prosecution to require that a juvenile alleged to have committed an offense against the United States or an act of juvenile delinquency (offense or act) be surrendered to State authorities or be proceeded against in Federal court as a juvenile or tried as an adult. Repeals the prohibition against proceeding against a juvenile in Federal court unless the Attorney General certifies that the State does not have available programs and services adequate for the needs of juveniles. Authorizes a juvenile to be proceeded against as a juvenile in Federal court if: (1) the alleged offense or act is committed within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States and is one for which the maximum authorized term of imprisonment does not exceed six months; or (2) the Attorney General, after investigation, certifies to the appropriate U.S. district court that the juvenile court or other appropriate court of a State does not have, or declines to assume, jurisdiction over the juvenile regarding the alleged act and there is a substantial Federal interest in the case or the offense to warrant the exercise of Federal jurisdiction. Requires, if a juvenile is proceeded against as a juvenile in Federal court, that court be open to the public, except that the court may exclude all or some members of the public other than a victim unless the victim is a witness in the determination of guilt or innocence, if required by the interests of justice or if other good cause is shown. Requires that a juvenile be prosecuted as an adult if the juvenile: (1) has requested in writing upon advice of counsel to be prosecuted as an adult; or (2) is alleged to have committed an act after attaining age 14 (current law refers to a juvenile 15 years and older alleged to have committed the act after his 15th birthday) which if committed by an adult would be a serious violent felony or a specified drug offense. Makes this provision inapplicable if the Attorney General certifies to the appropriate U.S. district court that the interests of public safety are best served by proceeding against the juvenile as a juvenile. Allows a juvenile to be prosecuted as an adult if: (1) the juvenile is alleged to have committed an act after attaining age 13 which, if committed after attaining age 14 would require that the juvenile be prosecuted as an adult, upon approval of the Attorney General (but prohibits the Attorney General from delegating the authority to give the required approval to an officer or employee of the Department of Justice (DOJ) at a level lower than a Deputy Assistant Attorney General); and (2) the juvenile is alleged to have committed an act after attaining age 14 which would not constitute a serious violent felony or specified serious drug offense if committed by an adult, but which would be a serious felony, including explosives and specified drug offenses. Makes certain determinations to approve or not to approve, or to institute or not to institute, prosecution of a juvenile as an adult, and a determination to file or not to file and the contents of certifications under this title, non-reviewable in any court. Permits the juvenile in such prosecutions to be prosecuted and convicted as an adult for any other offense which is properly joined under the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, and to be convicted of a lesser included offense. Directs the Attorney General to report annually to the Congress on: (1) the number of juveniles adjudicated delinquent or tried as adults in Federal court; (2) their race, ethnicity, and gender; (3) the number of those juveniles who were abused or neglected by their families; and (4) the number and types of assault crimes committed against juveniles while incarcerated in connection with the adjudication or conviction. (Sec. 102) Requires: (1) an arresting officer to promptly take reasonable steps to notify the parents, guardian, or custodian of a juvenile taken into custody (current law requires immediate notification of such parties and the Attorney General); and (2) the juvenile to be taken before a judicial officer without unreasonable delay (current law prohibits a juvenile from being detained for longer than a reasonable period before being brought before a magistrate). (Sec. 104) Amends provisions regarding detention prior to disposition to: (1) require that a juvenile alleged to be delinquent or a juvenile being prosecuted as an adult, if detained prior to sentencing, be detained in a suitable place (whenever appropriate, in a foster home or community based facility, and with preference given to a place located within, or within a reasonable distance of, the district in which the juvenile is being prosecuted; and (2) prohibit (to the maximum extent feasible) such a juvenile from being detained prior to sentencing in any facility in which the juvenile has regular contact with adult persons convicted of a crime or awaiting trial on criminal charges. Requires that every juvenile detained prior to sentencing be provided with reasonable safety and security. (Sec. 105) Requires that a juvenile proceeded against for allegedly committing an offense against the United States or an act of juvenile delinquency be brought to trial within 45 days from the date such detention began or the information be dismissed on motion of the alleged delinquent or at the court's direction, with exceptions. (Sec. 106) Modifies requirements regarding dispositional hearings. Directs the court, if it finds such juvenile to be a juvenile delinquent, to hold a hearing concerning the appropriate disposition of the juvenile within 40 (currently, 20) court days, unless the court has ordered further study. Requires that a predisposition report be prepared by the probation officer who shall promptly provide a copy to the juvenile, the juvenile's counsel, and the attorney for the Government. Specifies that victim impact information shall be included in the report and victims, or (as appropriate) their official representatives, shall be provided the opportunity to make a statement to the court in person or present any information in relation to the disposition. Directs the court, after the dispositional hearing, to impose an appropriate sanction, including the ordering of restitution. Authorizes the court to order the juvenile's parent, guardian, or custodian to be present at the dispositional hearing and the imposition of sanctions, and to issue orders directed to such person regarding conduct with respect to the juvenile. Limits the term for which: (1) probation may be ordered for a juvenile found to be a juvenile delinquent to five years for a felony or a misdemeanor, and to one year for an infraction; (2) official detention may be ordered for such juvenile to the least of the maximum term of imprisonment that would be authorized if the juvenile had been tried and convicted as an adult, ten years, or the period until the juvenile becomes 26 years old; and (3) supervised release may be ordered for such juvenile to five years. Directs the United States Sentencing Commission (the Commission) to develop a list of possible sanctions for juveniles adjudicated delinquent, which shall: (1) be comprehensive and encompass punishments of varying levels of severity; (2) include terms of confinement; and (3) provide punishments that escalate in severity with each additional or subsequent more serious delinquent conduct. Requires the court, in the case of a defendant convicted for conduct that occurred before the juvenile attained age 16, to impose a sentence without regard to any statutory minimum sentence, if it finds at sentencing (after affording the Government an opportunity to make a recommendation) that the juvenile previously has not been adjudicated delinquent for or convicted of a serious violent felony or specified serious drug offenses. (Sec. 107) Modifies provisions regarding juvenile records. Requires the court, throughout and upon completion of the juvenile delinquency proceeding, to keep a record relating to the arrest and adjudication of a juvenile alleged to have committed an offense or act that is: (1) equivalent to the record that would be kept of an adult arrest and conviction for such an offense; and (2) retained for a period equal to that for which adult conviction records are kept. Directs that such records be made available for official purposes, including communications with any victim or, in the case of a deceased victim, such victim's representative, or school officials, and to the public to the same extent as court records regarding the criminal prosecutions of adults are available. Requires the Attorney General to establish guidelines for fingerprinting and photographing a juvenile who is the subject of any such proceeding. Directs that fingerprints and photographs of a juvenile who is prosecuted as an adult be made available in the manner applicable to adult offenders. Requires the court, whenever a juvenile has been adjudicated delinquent for an act that, if committed by an adult, would be a felony or for a violation of specified firearms prohibitions, to transmit to the Federal Bureau of Investigation information concerning the adjudication, along with a notation that the matter was a juvenile adjudication. Sets forth provisions regarding the reporting, retention, disclosure, or availability of records or information where such activities are authorized or required in the law of the State in which a Federal juvenile delinquency proceeding takes place. Title II: Effective Enforcement of Federal Firearms Laws - Directs the Attorney General to establish in the office of each U.S. Attorney an Armed Criminal Apprehension Program, which shall: (1) provide for coordination with State and local law enforcement officials in the identification of violations of Federal firearms laws and the establishment of agreements with State and local law enforcement officials for the referral to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF) and the U.S. Attorney for prosecution of persons arrested for specified violations of the code and of the Internal Revenue Code relating to firearms; (2) require that the U.S. Attorney designate not less than one Assistant U.S. Attorney to prosecute violations of Federal firearms laws; (3) provide for the hiring of BATF agents to investigate firearms violations; and (4) ensure that each person so referred to the U.S. Attorney be charged with a violation of the most serious Federal firearm offense consistent with the act committed. Directs the U.S. Attorney to carry out an extensive media and public outreach campaign focused in high-crime areas to: (1) educate the public about the severity of penalties for violations of Federal firearms laws; and (2) encourage law-abiding citizens to report the possession of illegal firearms to authorities. Grants authority regarding waiver of these provisions. (Sec. 202) Directs the Attorney General to report annually to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees regarding the program. (Sec. 203) Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 204) Authorizes each U.S. Attorney to cross-designate one or more Assistant U.S. Attorneys to prosecute specified firearms offenses under State law in State and local courts. Title III: Limiting Juvenile Access to Firearms and Explosives - Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to prohibit a licensed manufacturer, importer, or dealer from selling, delivering, or transferring a handgun to anyone other than a licensed person unless the licensee provides the transferee with a secure gun storage or safety device, with exceptions. Entitles a person who has lawful possession and control of a handgun, who uses a secure gun storage or safety device, to immunity from a civil action brought against a person for damages resulting from the criminal or unlawful misuse of the handgun by a third party, where: (1) the handgun was accessed by another person who did not have the permission or authorization of the person having lawful possession and control of the handgun; and (2) at the time access was gained by the person not so authorized, the handgun had been made inoperable by use of a secure gun storage or safety device. Provides for civil penalties, and suspension or revocation of license, for violations of requirements of this title. (Sec. 302) Revises the Brady Act to increase penalties for unlawful possession by a juvenile of a handgun, ammunition, a large capacity ammunition feeding device, or a semiautomatic assault weapon: (1) giving rise to a violation in a school zone, or knowing that another juvenile intends to possess it giving rise to a violation in a school zone; and (2) with intent to use it in the commission of a violent felony, or knowing that another juvenile intends to use it in the commission of a serious violent felony. Subjects such a juvenile to the same laws, rules, and proceedings regarding sentencing that would be applicable for an adult. Prohibits the release from custody of a juvenile sentenced to a term of imprisonment simply because the juvenile attains age 18. (Sec. 303) Increases penalties and the mandatory minimum sentence for the unlawful transfer of a firearm to the juvenile. (Sec. 304) Amends the Brady Act to expand the scope of, and increase penalties for, certain juvenile weapons violations (such as transferring a semiautomatic assault weapon or a large capacity ammunition feeding device to a juvenile). (Sec. 305) Prohibits, and sets penalties for, keeping a loaded firearm, or an unloaded firearm and ammunition for it, knowing or recklessly disregarding the risk that a juvenile is capable of gaining access to the firearm or will use the firearm to cause death or serious bodily injury, or knowing that firearm possession by the juvenile is unlawful under Federal or State law, if the juvenile uses the firearm to cause death or serious bodily injury. Specifies exceptions, including that the firearm was secured with a storage or safety device or that the juvenile used the firearm for lawful self defense. (Sec. 306) Prohibits anyone under age 21 from shipping, transporting, receiving, or possessing explosive materials, with an exception for bulk quantities of under five pounds of commercially manufactured black powder under specified circumstances. Title IV: Preventing Criminal Access to Firearms and Explosives - Sets forth provisions regarding the regulation of firearms transfers at gun shows. Defines "gun show" as an event sponsored to foster the collecting, competitive use, sporting use, or any other legal use of firearms, at which: (1) 50 or more firearms are offered or exhibited for sale, transfer, or exchange, if one or more affects interstate or foreign commerce; and (2) there are not less than ten firearm vendors. Requires a person who is not a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer, and who desires to be registered as an instant check registrant, to submit to the Secretary of the Treasury an application which contains: (1) a certification by the applicant of compliance with specified Federal firarms license requirements; and (2) the applicant's photograph and fingerprints. Requires the Secretary to approve an application which meets such requirements; (2) issue to the applicant (on approval of the application and payment of a $100 fee for three years, and upon renewal of valid registration a fee of $50 for three years) an instant check registration; and (3) advise the Attorney General of the same. Provides that an instant check registration shall entitle the registrant, for a three-year period, to contact the national instant criminal background check system for information about any individual desiring to obtain a firearm at a gun show from any transferor who has requested the registrant's assistance with respect to the transfer of the firearm. Sets forth provisions regarding application approval or denial, records, and inadmissibility as evidence pertaining to the use or non- use by a transferor of the services of an instant check registrant. Grants immunity from a civil liability action to a person who (consistent with code requirements) is: (1) an instant check registrant who assists in having a background check; (2) a licensee who acquires a firearm at a gun show from a nonlicensee, for transfer to another nonlicensee in attendance at the show, for the purpose of effectuating a sale, trade, or transfer between the two nonlicensees; and (3) a nonlicensee disposing of a firearm who utilizes the services of an instant check registrant or licensee. Prohibits a qualified civil liability action (defined as a civil action brought by any person against a person granted such immunity for damages resulting from the criminal or unlawful misuse of the firearm by the transferee or a third party, with exceptions) from being brought in any Federal or State court. Sets forth additional requirements regarding registration and recordkeeping, time and place of delivery of the firearm to the prospective transferee, penalties for violations of this title, inspection authority of the Secretary, and increased penalties for serious recordkeeping violations by licensees and for violations of criminal background check requirements. (Sec. 402) Amends the Federal judicial code to prohibit an officer, employee, or agent of the United States, including a State or local officer or employee acting on behalf of the United States, from charging or collecting any fee in connection with a background check required in connection with the transfer of a firearm. Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit an officer, employee, or agent of the United States, including a State or local officer or employee acting on behalf of the United States, from: (1) performing any national instant criminal background check on any person through the system established under the Brady Act if the system does not require and result in the immediate destruction of all information concerning any person determined not to be prohibited from receiving a firearm (except for the retention or transfer of information relating to any unique identification number provided by the national instant criminal background check system and the date on which that number is provided); and (2) continuing to operate the system unless the national instant check system index complies with specified Federal requirements and the agency responsible for the system and the system's compliance with Federal law does not invoke certain exceptions, except if specifically identifiable information is compiled for a particular law enforcement investigation or specific criminal enforcement matter. Grants persons aggrieved by a violation of this section to sue in U.S. district court for the district in which the person resides. Directs that any person who is successful with respect to such action receive actual and punitive damages and such other remedies as the court may deem appropriate, including a reasonable attorney's fee. (Sec. 403) Amends the Brady Act to prohibit firearms possession by persons who have been adjudicated to have committed an act of violent juvenile delinquency. (Sec. 404) Amends the code to prohibit, and set penalties for, teaching or demonstrating the making or use of an explosive, destructive device, or weapon of mass destruction, or distribution by any means of information pertaining to its manufacture or use with the intent that the teaching, demonstration, or information be used for, or in furtherance of, an activity that constitutes a Federal crime of violence. (Sec. 405) Amends the Brady Act to prohibit any common or contract carrier from failing to report the theft or loss of a firearm within 48 hours after its discovery. Authorizes the Secretary to impose a civil fine of up to $10,000 for knowingly violating this provision. (Sec. 406) Authorizes the successor licensee, upon receipt of records of a discontinued business, to retain the records or submit them to the Secretary. Allows a licensee while maintaining a firearms business to voluntarily submit the records required to be kept to the Secretary if such records are at least 20 years old. (Sec. 407) Authorizes the Attorney General to provide grants to States to improve the quality and accessibility of juvenile records and to ensure that such records are routinely available for background checks performed in connection with the transfer of a firearm. Sets forth provisions regarding grant eligibility by States and allocation and permissible uses of funds. Authorizes appropriations. Title V: Punishing and Deterring Criminal Use of Firearms and Explosives - Amends the Brady Act to provide for increased penalties, including the death penalty if death results and the person shooting has attained age 18, for discharging a firearm in a school zone: (1) with reckless disregard for the safety of another; and (2) if serious bodily injury results (and provides for a mandatory minimum term of 15 to 25 years imprisonment). (Sec. 502) Amends: (1) the code to define "crime of violence" to include an offense relating to possession of explosives or firearms by convicted felons (thus making such individuals subject to pretrial detention); and (2) the Brady Act to prohibit the court from granting a probationary sentence to a person who has more than one previous conviction for a violent felony or a serious drug offense, committed under different circumstances. (Sec. 503) Increases: (1) penalties for possessing or transferring stolen firearms; (2) mandatory minimum penalties for using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime; (3) penalties for a misrepresented firearms purchase in aid of a serious violent felony; and (4) penalties for engaging in an illegal firearms business. Directs the Commission to review and amend the sentencing guidelines to provide an appropriate enhancement for the latter violation, and to provide additional increases, as appropriate, for offenses involving more than 50 firearms. (Sec. 507) Increases penalties for: (1) serious recordkeeping offenses; (2) transactions involving firearms with obliterated serial numbers; and (3) firearms conspiracy. Provides for termination of a firearms dealer's license upon a felony conviction. Provides for forfeiture for a gun trafficking offense or conspiracy. (Sec. 512) Makes firearm or ammunition possession or transport in commerce after a conviction of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, and serious juvenile drug trafficking offenses, predicates under the Armed Career Criminal Act. (Sec. 514) Directs the court, in imposing a sentence on a person convicted of any crime of violence or any felony under Federal law, to order that the person forfeit to the United States any firearm used or intended to be used to commit or facilitate the commission of the offense. Requires the seizing agency to dispose of any forfeited firearm. Authorizes the Secretary, whenever any firearm is subject to forfeiture, to seize and forfeit any property otherwise forfeitable under Federal law that was involved in or derived from the crime of violence or drug trafficking crime in which the forfeited firearm was used or carried. Requires that any administrative action or proceeding (currently, any action or proceeding) for the forfeiture of firearms or ammunition be commenced within 120 days of such seizure. Directs that the forfeiture of property under code provisions regarding firearms possessed by convicted felons be governed by the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, with an exception. (Sec. 515) Amends the Brady Act to provide for separate licenses and license fees ($100 for three years) for gunsmiths. (Sec. 516) Revises explosives provisions to prohibit any person other than a licensee or permittee from knowingly transporting, shipping, causing to be transported, or receiving any explosive materials, or from distributing explosive materials to any person other than a licensee or permittee. Prohibits a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer from transferring explosive materials to any other person who is not a licensee unless: (1) before the completion of the transfer, the licensee contacts the national instant criminal background check system established under the Brady Act; (2) the system provides the licensee with a unique identification number, or five business days have elapsed since the licensee contacted the system and the system has not notified the licensee that the receipt of explosive materials by such other person would violate the Act; (3) the transferor has verified the identity of the transferee by examining a valid identification document of the transferee containing a photograph of the transferee; and (4) the transferor has examined the permit issued to the transferee and recorded the permit number on the record of the transfer. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) further procedures and exceptions, penalties for violations, and Federal, State, and local government immunity for preventing or failing to prevent sales of explosive materials; and (2) remedies for erroneous denial of explosive materials. Requires an application for a license or user permit for explosive materials to include the applicant's fingerprints and photograph. Modifies code provisions to charge the applicant a fee of up to $300 for a license and up to $100 for a permit. Sets penalties for violating the requirement for a background check for purchases of explosives. (Sec. 517) Prohibits the distribution of explosive materials to: (1) anyone who has been committed to a mental institution; (2) certain aliens; (3) anyone discharged from the armed forces under dishonorable conditions; (4) persons who have renounced their U.S. citizenship; (5) certain persons subject to a court order (such as one involving harassment, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or their child); (6) anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence; or (7) persons adjudicated delinquent. Sets forth: (1) similar restrictions regarding possession of explosives; and (2) provisions relating to aliens admitted under non-immigrant visas. Title VI: Punishing Gang Violence and Drug Trafficking To Minors - Amends the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to increase mandatory minimum penalties for: (1) employing or using persons under age 18 in drug operations; (2) distributing drugs to minors; and (3) drug trafficking in or near a school or other protected location. (Sec. 604) Amends the code to redefine "criminal street gang" to consist of an ongoing group, club, organization, or association of three persons, whether formal or informal, that has as one of its primary purposes or activities the commission of one or more of specified criminal offenses, and which meets other specified requirements. Provides for criminal forfeiture by persons convicted of such gang offenses for CSA violations. Expands the list of violations covered by criminal street gang provisions. (Sec. 605) Directs the Commission to amend the sentencing guidelines to provide an appropriate enhancement for specified offenses committed in connection with, or in furtherance of, the activities of a criminal street gang. (Sec. 606) Revises provisions regarding traveling or transportation in aid of racketeering enterprises to: (1) increase penalties for traveling or using the mail or any facility in interstate or foreign commerce with intent to distribute the proceeds of unlawful activity or otherwise promote unlawful activity; (2) cover attempts and conspiracy to perform such acts; and (3) expand the definition of "unlawful activity" to cover burglary if the offense involves property valued at not less than $10,000, and retaliation against or intimidation of witnesses, victims, jurors, and informants. Directs the Commission to amend the sentencing guidelines to provide an appropriate sentencing enhancement for recruitment across State lines of a criminal street gang member. (Sec. 607) Prohibits, and sets penalties for, interstate travel to engage in witness intimidation or obstruction of justice. Makes anyone who conspires to obstruct justice with respect to victims, witnesses, and informants subject to the same penalties as those prescribed for the underlying offense. Directs the Attorney General to: (1) survey all State and selected local witness protection and relocation programs to determine and report to Congress on the extent and nature, and training needs, of such programs; and (2) make available to State and local law enforcement agencies training, based on survey results, to assist those agencies in developing and managing such programs. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Attorney General to engage in activities which promote coordination among State and local witness interstate relocation programs and to establish a model Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for States and localities. Authorizes the Attorney General to expend specified funds appropriated under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to make grants to jurisdictions that have such programs and that have substantially followed the model MOU. Directs the Attorney General to establish guidelines relating to implementation and to determine which jurisdictions are eligible for grants. Amends the Safe Streets Act to authorize the use of drug control and system improvement (Byrne) grants to develop and maintain witness security and relocation programs.
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 200 (106th)passed
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1999
Sets forth the rule (modified closed) for the consideration of H.R. 1401 (defense authorization).
Bill· HRH.R. 2032 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 1999
Amends the Department of Energy (DOE) Organization Act to establish the Nuclear Security Administration within DOE, headed by an Administrator who shall be accountable directly to the Secretary of Energy (the Secretary). States that the Under Secretary for National Security shall serve as the Administrator. Identifies the Administrator's duties to: (1) manage a program designed to ensure the safety and reliability of the nuclear weapons stockpile; (2) direct nuclear weapons production facilities and the national laboratories; and (3) be primarily responsible for other DOE national security functions involving nuclear weapons research and development. Directs the Secretary to assign to the Administrator direct authority over and responsibility for the nuclear weapons production facilities and the national laboratories. Establishes in DOE an Under Secretary for National Security who is specially qualified to: (1) manage a program designed to ensure the safety and reliability of the nuclear weapons stockpile, production facilities, and the national laboratories; and (2) implement the functions of the Administrator of the Nuclear Security Administration.
Bill· HRH.R. 2023 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 1999
American People Protection Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of Defense, acting through the Director of the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, to: (1) produce before or during the year 2001 a prototype interceptor missile for the Navy Theater Wide system, with an interceptor velocity of 4.5 kilometers per second or greater; (2) produce before or during 2002 the first satellite of the Space-Based Infrared Sensors-low system; (3) conduct before or during 2003 an in-flight experiment of the Space-Based laser; and (4) report to Congress describing the specific funding required for all such production and testing.
Bill· HRH.R. 2022 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 1999
Freedom From Mutually Assured Destruction Act of 1999 - Prohibits the use of appropriated funds made available to any executive branch entity, and prohibits any U.S. employee or armed forces member from engaging in any activity, to comply in any manner with the ABM Treaty (between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics signed at Moscow on May 26, 1972) or the Memorandum of Understanding Treaty (entered into in New York City in 1997 between the United States and Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan). Makes all regulations, directives, and other policies of the executive branch designed to achieve compliance with such treaties null and void.
Bill· HRH.R. 2018 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 1999
International Tax Simplification for American Competitiveness Act of 1999 - Title I: Treatment of Controlled Foreign Corporations - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) with respect to subpart F (Controlled Foreign Corporations) to set forth provisions concerning, among other things: (1) permanently extend the subpart F exemption for active financing income earned on business operation overseas; (2) direct the Secretary of the Treasury to conduct a study on the feasibility of treating all countries included in the European Union as a single country for purposes of applying the same country exceptions under subpart F; (3) provide for the determination of subpart F earnings and profits under generally accepted U.S. accounting principles; (4) exclude from the definition of "foreign base company oil related income" the pipeline transportation of oil or gas within such foreign country; and (5) exclude from the definition of the term "foreign base company services income" income derived in connection with the performance of services which are related to the transmission of high voltage electricity. Title II: Provisions Relating to Foreign Tax Credit - Revises section 904 (Limitation On Credit) of the (IRC) to, among other things: (1) extend the period to which excess foreign taxes may be carried; (2) define overall domestic loss and sets forth provisions for determining taxable income for any taxpayer sustaining such a loss; (3) provide an exception for interest on certain securities; (4) revise 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 the portion of earnings and profits attributable to income in such category to the total amount of earnings and profits; (5) repeal the 90 percent limitation on the utilization of the foreign tax credit; and (6) repeals section 907 (Special Rules In Case of Foreign Oil and Gas Income) of the IRC. Title III: Other Provisions - Applies constructive ownership rules for purposes of determining certain post-1986 undistributed U.S. earnings. Applies capitalization rules to nonresident aliens and foreign corporations. Repeals the special rule for military property with respect to exempt foreign trade income. Revises the definition of U.S. property to exclude certain assets acquired by dealers in the ordinary course of business. Exempts from the taxes on nonresident aliens and foreign corporations certain regulated investment company dividends. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, with respect to the Puerto Rico and possession tax credit, to exclude from the definition of the term "intangible property" any preliminary agreement which is not legally enforceable. Sets forth provisions concerning airline mileage awards to certain foreign persons. Repeals subpart G (Export Trade Corporations) of part III of subchapter N of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code. Prohibits the Secretary from requiring a corporation to report any information with respect to any foreign person which is a related person if the aggregate value of the transactions between the corporation and the related person does not exceed $5 million.
Bill· HRH.R. 2016 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 1999
Repeals a Federal provision requiring the termination of the Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans as of December 31, 1999.
Bill· SS. 1186 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Department of Defense-Civil Department of the Army Title II: Department of the Interior Title III: Department of Energy Title IV: Independent Agencies Title V: Rescissions Title VI: General Provisions Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2000 - Title I: Department of Defense-Civil Department of the Army - Makes appropriations to the Department of the Army and its Corps of Engineers for FY 2000 for: (1) authorized civil functions of the Department of the Army relating to rivers and harbors, flood control, beach erosion, and related purposes; (2) expenses necessary for the collection and study of information related to such purposes; (3) the prosecution of authorized water development and related projects; (4) certain flood control projects on the Mississippi River and its tributaries; (5) water development projects operation and maintenance; (6) the navigable waters and wetlands regulatory program; (7) formerly utilized sites remedial action program; and (8) general expenses. Authorizes use of the Revolving Fund to renovate certain office space for use by the Corps and the General Accounting Office. (Sec. 101) Bars application of a fully allocated funding policy to projects for which funds are identified in specified Committee reports. Directs the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, to undertake such projects using continuing contracts. (Sec. 102) States that agreements proposed for execution by the Assistance Secretary of the Army for civil works or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers shall be limited to a single agreement per project. Limits credits and reimbursements per project, and total credits and reimbursements for all applicable projects, to specified amounts in each fiscal year. (Sec. 103) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act to revise the Missouri River Master Water Control Manual when it is made known to the pertinent Federal authority that such revision provides for an increase in the springtime water release program during the spring heavy rainfall and snow melt period in States with rivers draining into the Missouri River below the Gavins Point Dam. Title II: Department of the Interior - Makes FY 2000 appropriations to the Department of the Interior for: (1) the Central Utah Project; (2) the Bureau of Reclamation, water and related resources; (3) Bureau of Reclamation Loan Program Account; (4) Central Valley Project Restoration Fund; (5) California Bay-Delta Restoration; and (6) general administrative expenses. Title III: Department of Energy - Makes appropriations to the Department of Energy (DOE) for FY 2000 for: (1) energy supply programs; (2) non-defense environmental management; (3) the Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund; (4) general DOE science and research activities; (5) the Nuclear Waste Disposal Fund; (6) DOE administration; (7) Office of the Inspector General; (8) atomic energy defense weapons activities; (9) defense environmental restoration and waste management; (10) defense facilities closure projects; (11) defense environmental management privatization; (12) other DOE defense activities; (13) defense nuclear waste disposal; (14) the various geographical power marketing administrations of DOE (including specified costs for the hydroelectric facilities at the Falcon and Amistad Dams under the Western Area Power Administration); and (15) the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. (Sec. 301) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act to: (1) award either a management and operating contract without competitive procedures unless the Secretary of Energy (Secretary) grants a waiver on a case-by-case basis; (2) develop or implement a workforce restructuring plan for DOE employees, or to provide them with enhanced severance payments or other benefits; (3) augment specified funds made available for severance payments and other benefits and community assistance grants under specified law; (4) prepare or initiate Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for a program that has not been funded by Congress; or (5) dispose of any transuranic waste containing specified plutonium concentrations in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. Title IV: Independent Agencies - Makes appropriations for FY 2000 for: (1) the Appalachian Regional Commission; (2) the Denali Commission; (3) the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board; (4) the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC); (5) the NRC Office of the Inspector General; (6) the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board; and (7) the Tennessee Valley Authority Fund. Title V: Rescissions - Rescinds specified amounts previously appropriated for designated projects under the aegis of: (1) Department of Defense-Civil, Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers; and (2) Department of Energy, Southeastern Power Administration. Title VI: General Provisions - Declares the sense of Congress that all equipment and products bought with funds under this Act should be American-made. Requires each Federal agency to give notice of this policy to any entity to which it provides financial assistance or contracts. Bars contracts funded under this Act from being awarded to any person determined by a court or Federal agency to have falsely labeled products as made in America. (Sec. 603) Prohibits the use of any funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act to determine the final point of discharge for the interceptor drain for the San Luis Unit until the Secretary of the Interior and the State of California develop a plan, which shall conform to California water quality standards approved by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, to minimize any detrimental effect of the San Luis drainage waters. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to classify the costs of the Kesterson Reservoir Cleanup and the San Joaquin Valley Drainage Programs as reimbursable or nonreimbursable and collected until fully repaid pursuant to the "Cleanup Program--Alternative Repayment Plan" and the "SJVDP--Alternative Repayment Plan" described in a specified report. Makes San Luis Unit beneficiaries of drainage service or drainage studies responsible to reimburse the United States fully for any future obligations of Federal funds relating to, or providing for, such service or studies for the San Luis Unit. (Sec. 604) Prohibits the use of any funds to restart the High Flux Beam Reactor. (Sec. 605) Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 to extend from September 30, 1998, through September 30, 2000 the NRC's authority to assess annual charges. (Sec. 606) Extends from FY2000 to FY2002 the proscription against withdrawal of certain amounts from either the United States Enrichment Corporation Fund (USEC Fund), or the Working Capital Account, for specified gaseous diffusion plants. Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to instruct the Secretary of the Treasury to invest in U.S. obligations such portion of the Fund as is not required to meet current withdrawals. (Sec. 607) Redesignates the "Cascade Reservoir" as "Lake Cascade". (Sec. 608) Amends the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act to decrease from $2 million in 1997 dollars to $500,000 in 1997 dollars the annual cost of implementing the Northwest Power Planning Council's mandate to establish an Independent Scientific Review Panel and Scientific Peer Review Groups, and their activities. Repeals the expiration date of such mandate and activities to make them permanent.
Bill· SS. 1180 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards Part A: Basic Grants Part B: Even Start Part C: Education of Migratory Children Part D: Neglected and Delinquent Children Part E: Federal Evaluations, Demonstrations, and Transition Projects Part F: General Provisions Part G: Reading Excellence Title II: High Standards in the Classroom Part A: Teaching to High Standards Title III: Technology for Education Part A: Federal Leadership and National Activities Part B: Special Projects Part C: Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology Part D: Regional, State, and Local Educational Technology Resources Title IV: Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act Title V: Promoting Equity, Excellence, and Public School Choice Title VI: Class-Size Reduction Title VII: Bilingual Education Act Title VIII: Impact Aid Title IX: Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native Education Part A: Indian Education Part B: Native Hawaiian Education Act Part C: Alaska Native Education Title X: Programs of National Significance Title XI: General Provisions, Definitions, and Accountability Title XII: Amendments to Other Laws; Repeals Part A: Amendments to Other Laws Part B: Repeals Educational Excellence for All Children Act of 1999 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to revise and reauthorize ESEA programs through FY 2005. (Sec. 3) Renames the National Education Goals (currently in title I of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act), as America's Education Goals, revises such Goals, and includes them under ESEA. Title I: Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards - Extends the authorization of appropriations for the following ESEA title I programs: (1) part A basic grants to States for improving programs of local educational agencies (LEAs); (2) part B Even Start program; (3) part C education of migratory children; (4) part D State agency programs for neglected or delinquent children; (5) part E Reading Excellence program (transferred from title II); and (6) part F Federal activities. (Sec. 103) Requires each State educational agency (SEA) to: (1) reserve a portion (2.5 percent in FY 2001 and 2002, 3.5 percent in subsequent fiscal years) of its annual basic grant under part A of title I to carry out certain LEA assistance and school improvement activities; and (2) allocate at least 70 percent of such reserved amount directly to LEAs in accordance with specified priorities, or use at least that portion of the reserved amount to carry out an alternative system of school and LEA improvement and corrective action described in the State plan and approved by the Secretary of Education. Part A: Basic Grants - Revises requirements for State plans. (Sec. 111) Requires State plan coordination with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998 (VTEA). Revises provisions relating to assessments of limited English proficient (LEP) children. Requires submission of accountability plans and establishment of accountability systems that are based on challenging standards, include all students, promote continuous improvement, and include rigorous criteria for identifying and intervening in schools and districts in need of improvement. Eliminates a requirement that States identify languages other than English that are present in the participating school population, indicate the languages for which assessments are not available, and make every effort to develop those assessments. Directs the Secretary to include experts on educational standards, assessments, accountability, and the diverse educational needs of students in the peer-review process used to review State plans. (Sec. 112) Revises requirements for LEA plans. Requires LEA plan coordination with IDEA and VTEA. Requires LEA plans to describe any assessments that they will use to determine the literacy levels of first graders and their need for interventions and how they will ensure that those assessments: (1) are developmentally appropriate; (2) use multiple measures to provide information about the variety of relevant skills; and (3) are administered to students in the language most likely to yield valid results. Requires LEA professional development strategies under title I part A to be components of their professional development plans under the new title II, if they receive title II funds. Includes Indian children served under title IX of ESEA among those for whom LEA plans must describe coordination of title I services with other educational services. Requires LEA plans to include descriptions of: (1) the actions an LEA will take to assist its low-performing schools, if any, in making the changes needed to educate all children to the State standards; and (2) how the LEA will promote the use of extended learning time, such as an extended school year, before- and after-school programs, and summer programs. Requires LEA assurances regarding: (1) annual assessment of the English proficiency of all LEP children participating in part A programs, using assessment results to help guide and modify instruction in the content areas, and providing those results to the children's parents; and (2) compliance with specified requirements regarding teacher qualifications and the use of paraprofessionals. Requires States to use a peer-review process in reviewing LEA plans. (Sec. 113) Revises provisions relating to eligible school attendance areas. Authorizes an LEA to: (1) continue serving an attendance area for one year after it loses its eligibility; and (2) allocate greater per-child amounts of title I funds to higher-poverty areas and schools than it provides to lower-poverty areas and schools. Requires LEAs to reserve sufficient funds to serve homeless children who do not attend participating schools. (Sec. 114) Revises provisions for schoolwide programs. Allows use of IDEA funds for such programs under certain conditions. Requires peer review and LEA approval of a schoolwide plan before implementation. (Sec. 115) Revises provisions for targeted assistance schools. Allows preschool children of any age to be served under part A if they can benefit from an organized instructional program. Provides that children who, within the prior two years, had received title I preschool services are eligible for services under part A (as are children who participated in a Head Start or Even Start program in such period). (Sec. 116) Revises provisions relating to assessment and LEA and school improvement. Sets forth examples of criteria to be used by SEAs in designating Distinguished Schools. Requires each participating school identified by an LEA as being in need of improvement, to develop or revise a school plan, in consultation with parents, school staff, the LEA, and a State school support team or other outside experts. Requires an LEA to take at least one of a number of specified corrective actions in the case of a school that fails to make progress within three years of its identification as being in need of improvement. Requires an LEA that has been identified by the SEA as needing improvement to submit a revised part A plan to the SEA for peer review and approval. Requires an SEA to take certain corrective actions in the case of an LEA that fails to make sufficient progress within three years of being identified as in need of improvement. (Sec. 117) Revises provisions for State assistance for school support and improvement. Requires SEAs to provide such assistance according to the following order of priorities: first, to LEAs identified for corrective action and to individual schools for which an LEA has failed to carry out certain responsibilities; next, to other LEAs identified as in need of improvement, but not identified as in need of corrective action; and finally, to other LEAs and schools that need those services in order to achieve the purpose of part A. Directs SEAs to use for such State assistance certain funds available for technical assistance and support. Authorizes SEAs also to use for such State assistance certain State administrative funds. (Sec. 118) Applies to all part A activities the requirement to provide full opportunities for participation by parents with limited English proficiency and parents with disabilities. (Sec. 119) Requires each participating LEA to: (1) hire qualified instructional staff; (2) provide high-quality professional development to staff members; and (3) use for such professional development at least five percent of its part A grant for FY 2001 and 2002, and ten percent of such grant for subsequent fiscal years. Sets forth minimum qualifications for teachers and paraprofessionals in programs supported with part A funds. Revises a list of professional development activities. Includes child-care providers among those with whom an LEA could choose to conduct joint professional development activities. (Sec. 120) Revises provisions for program participation of children enrolled in private schools. Allows LEAs to determine the number of poor children in private schools every year or every two years. Revises provisions relating to consultation with private school officials regarding provision of program services to children. (Sec. 120A) Revises criteria for determining the required comparability of services that a participating LEA provides in title I schools, from State and local sources, with those it provides in its other schools. Requires LEAs to update their records documenting compliance with such comparability requirement annually. (Sec. 120B) Sets forth additional requirements for quality assurance by preschool programs carried out with part A funds. (Sec. 120C) Revises formulas and other requirements for allocations of part A basic grant funds to territories, States, and LEAs. (Sec. 120D) Requires States to report annually to the Secretary on specified program indicators relating to schools participating in the part A program. Part B: Even Start - Revises the ESEA title I part B Even Start program. (Sec. 121) Requires Even Start programs to be based on the best available research on language development, reading instruction, and prevention of reading difficulties. (Sec. 122) Directs the Secretary to reserve five percent of program funds to support national demonstration and model projects for isolated and especially hard-to-reach populations, including projects for: (1) children of migratory workers; (2) the outlying areas; (3) Indian tribes and tribal organizations; and (4) other populations, such as families that are homeless, that have children with severe disabilities, or that include incarcerated mothers of young children. Limits to not more than one percent of program funds the amount which may be reserved to provide technical assistance, program improvement, and replication activities. Makes discretionary, rather than mandatory, the Secretary's making of competitive grants for interagency coordination of statewide family literacy initiatives. Allows for-profit, as well as nonprofit, organizations to qualify as providers of technical assistance. (Sec. 123) Requires States applying for Even Start grants to submit State plans, including State indicators of program quality. (Sec. 124) Includes family literacy services among permissible uses of Even Start program funds. (Sec. 125) Revises required elements of Even Start programs. Allows career counseling and job placement services to be offered to accommodate participants' work schedules and other responsibilities. Requires instructional programs to integrate all elements of family literacy services. Sets forth requirements relating to: (1) qualifications of instructional staff and paraprofessionals; and (2) staff training to obtain certification in relevant instructional areas, as well as necessary skills. Includes individuals with disabilities among those who may be most in need of program services. Revises various provisions relating to retention of families in Even Start programs. (Sec. 126) Includes as eligible for Even Start program participation teenage parents who are attending school, but who are above the State's age for compulsory school attendance. (Sec. 127) Revises application provisions relating to local Even Start plans to require: (1) program improvement emphasis; (2) outcome goals for participating children and families that are consistent with the State's program indicators; (3) addressing of specified program elements; and (4) evaluation plans. (Sec. 128) Revises subgrant award provisions to require a State's review panel to include an individual with expertise in family literacy programs. Makes optional, rather than mandatory, the inclusion of one or more of other specified types of individuals on such panels. Authorizes each State to continue Even Start funding, for up to two years beyond the eight-year limit, for up to two exemplary projects in the State that have been highly successful and that show substantial potential to serve as models for other projects throughout the Nation and as mentor sites for other family literacy projects in the State. (Sec. 130) Sets the end of FY 2000 as the deadline for States to develop certain required indicators of program quality. Adds to such required indicators others relating to the levels of intensity of services and the duration of participating children and adults needed to reach the outcomes the State specifies. (Sec. 130A) Repeals specified provisions relating to research. Part C: Education of Migratory Children - Revises part C title I ESEA provisions for education of migratory children. (Sec. 131) Revises formulas and other requirements for allocation of funds to the States and Puerto Rico. Establishes minimum and maximum annual State allocation amounts. (Sec. 132) Revises State application requirements to include certain elements of the separate comprehensive service-delivery plan requirements removed by this Act. (Sec. 133) Revises authorized activities. Removes requirements that a State develop a comprehensive service-delivery plan that is separate from its application for funds. (Sec. 134) Makes for-profit entities (as well as nonprofit entities) eligible for awards of funds to carry out various activities to support the interstate and intrastate coordination of migrant education activities. Increases the maximum amount that may be reserved each year from the appropriation for the Migrant Education program to support coordination activities. Authorizes awarding of incentive grants to States that form consortia to improve the delivery of services to migratory children whose education is interrupted. (Current law makes such grant awards mandatory and competitive.) Increases the maximum amount that may be reserved for such grant awards. Part D: Neglected and Delinquent Children - Revises and renames part D title I ESEA as State Agency Programs for Children and Youth Who Are Neglected or Delinquent. (Sec. 143) Revises requirements for payments for part D programs. (Sec. 144) Revises requirements for allocation of part D funds to the States and Puerto Rico. (Sec. 145) Requires State plans to provide that participating children will be held to the same challenging academic standards, as well as given the same opportunity to learn, as they would if they were attending local public schools. (Sec. 147) Repeals provisions for Local Agency Programs. (Sec. 148) Revises program evaluation provisions to require that an SEA to use multiple measures of student progress that are: (1) appropriate for the students and feasible for the SEA; and (2) consistent with the requirement to provide participating children the same opportunities to learn, and to hold them to the same standards that would apply if they were attending local public schools. Part E: Federal Evaluations, Demonstrations, and Transition Projects - Revises provisions relating to evaluations, management information, demonstrations of innovative practices and other Federal activities. Part F: General Provisions - Repeals certain requirements relating to rulemaking and issuance of a program assistance manual. Part G: Reading Excellence - Transfers the Reading Excellence Act program (currently part C of title II of ESEA) to a new part E of title I of ESEA. (Sec. 171) Revises provisions for reading and literacy activities grants to allow an SEA to apply for and receive a subsequent grant. Requires SEA grant applications to include the process and criteria to be used to review and approve LEA applications for local reading improvement subgrants and tutorial assistance subgrants, including a peer-review process with individuals with relevant expertise. (Sec. 172) Requires SEAs receiving part G grants to use such funds as follows: (1) not more than five percent for State administrative costs, including a specified two percent maximum for such costs with respect to a specified program; and (2) award up to 15 percent through at least one tutorial assistance subgrant. (Sec. 173) Limits eligibility for local reading improvement subgrants to LEAs that operate schools for grades one through three. Requires that the schools in which such reading instruction activities are provided serve children in the third grade or below. (Sec. 174) Limits eligibility for tutorial assistance subgrants to LEAs that serve children for grades one through three. Requires that such grant funds serve children in the third grade or below. (Sec. 176) Authorizes the National Institute for Literacy to use a specified amount to pay for the costs of administering information dissemination activities. Authorizes the Secretary to reserve a specified amount for the Reading Excellence program for technical assistance, program improvement, and replication activities. (Sec. 177) Repeals an authorization of appropriations (but transfers the authorization of appropriations for the Reading Excellence program to another part of ESEA). (Sec. 178) Transfers the authority for the Reading Excellence program (currently in part C of title II of ESEA) to part E of title I of ESEA. Title II: High Standards in the Classroom - Revises and renames title II of ESEA as High Standards in the Classroom. Part A: Teaching to High Standards - Authorizes a new program by consolidating the Dwight D. Eisenhower Professional Development Program (current title II ESEA) and Innovative Education Program Strategies (current title VI ESEA) and the current title III of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act. (Sec. 201) Authorizes appropriations for the following part A programs: (1) State and local activities (subpart 2); and (2) national activities for the improvement of teaching and school leadership (subpart 3). Sets forth subpart 2 provisions for State and Local Activities. Sets forth formulas for allocations to the States, the outlying areas, and schools operated or funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Requires priority use of part A funds for professional development in mathematics and science. Increases the amount of the current Eisenhower program's set-aside amount for professional development in mathematics and science. Allows such professional development in mathematics and science to include interdisciplinary activities, as long as these activities include a strong focus on mathematics and science. Requires funds in excess of the set-aside amount to be used in one or more of the core academic subjects, including mathematics and science. Sets forth State application requirements. Requires States to submit annual reports to the Secretary on their own program activities and on the progress of subgrant recipients against program performance indicators. Sets forth requirements relating to funds for: (1) State-level activities, program evaluations, and administration, including certain amounts for the State higher education agency (SHEA); and (2) within-State allocations for formula and competitive grants to LEAs. Sets forth authorized State-level activities to promote high-quality instruction. Allows SHEAs to reserve a portion of their allocation for administrative activities and program evaluations and require them, in cooperation with SEAs, to award competitive subgrants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with, institutions of higher education (IHEs) or nonprofit organizations to provide professional development in the core academic subjects. Requires priority to be given to projects that focus on teacher induction programs. Requires awards to be made only to projects that include an LEA, are coordinated with related activities under title II of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), and involve the IHE's school or department of education and the school or departments in the specific disciplines in which the professional development will be provided. Sets forth program activities and reporting requirements. Requires SEAs to award competitive subgrants to LEAs, using a peer-review process that includes reviewers knowledgeable in the academic content areas. Requires SEAs to adopt strategies to ensure that LEAs with the greatest need are provided a reasonable opportunity to receive an award. Sets a three-year subgrant period, allowing extension for an additional two years if the SEA determines that the LEA is making substantial progress toward meeting the goals in the LEA's district-wide plan for raising student achievement against State standards and against the performance indicators identified by the Secretary. Sets forth requirements for LEA applications to SEAs for formula or competitive subgrants. Requires a district-wide plan that describes how the LEA will raise student achievement against State standards by: (1) supporting the alignment of curricula, assessments, and professional development to challenging State and local content standards; (2) providing professional development in the core academic content areas; (3) carrying out activities to assist new teachers during their first three years in the classroom; and (4) ensuring that teachers employed by the LEA are proficient in teaching skills and content knowledge. Requires the LEA application also to identify specific goals for achieving program purposes, assure collection of data that measures progress toward program performance indicators, and describe how it will: (1) address the needs of high-poverty, low-performing schools, and of teachers of students with limited English proficiency and other students with special needs; (2) coordinate program funds with professional development activities funded through other State and Federal programs, use its formula subgrant funds to address the items in the district-wide plan, and use any additional funds from a competitive subgrant to implement that plan. Sets forth authorized uses of program funds by LEAs to implement their district-wide plans. Requires LEAs to submit program reports to SEAs. Sets forth formulas for Federal and local shares of program costs. Prohibits subgrantees from using program funds for equipment, computer hardware, textbooks, telecommunications fees, or other items, that would otherwise be provided by the LEA or State, or by a private school whose students receive services under the program. Directs the Secretary to identify indicators of program performance against which recipients would report their progress. Sets forth subpart 3 provisions for National Activities for the Improvement of Teaching and School Leadership. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to, and contracts with LEAs, SEAs, SHEAs, IHEs, educational service agencies, and other public and private nonprofit entities to support: (1) activities of national significance that are not supported through other sources and that will contribute to the improvement of teaching and school leadership in the Nation's schools; (2) activities of national significance that will contribute to the recruitment and retention of highly qualified teachers and principals in high-poverty LEAs; and (3) a national evaluation of the part A program. Directs the Secretary to support: (1) the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards; and (2) the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for Mathematics and Science Education (Clearinghouse). Authorizes the Secretary to make a grant or contract to continue the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for Mathematics and Science Education. Sets forth part B provisions for the Transition-to-Teaching program, and the Troops-to-Teachers program, to address the need of high-poverty school districts for highly qualified teachers in subject areas such as mathematics, science, foreign languages, bilingual education, and special education needed by those school districts. Authorizes the Secretary to use part B funds to award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to IHEs and public and private nonprofit entities to carry out part B Transition-to-Teaching programs. Requires the Secretary, before making such awards, to: (1) consult with the Secretaries of Defense and Transportation with respect to the appropriate amount of funding necessary to continue and enhance the Troops-to-Teachers program; and (2) transfer such amount to the Department of Defense to carry out such program. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a written agreement with the Departments of Defense and of Transportation, or take other appropriate steps to ensure effective continuation of such program. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth part B requirements for applications. Authorizes use of part B funds for: (1) recruitment of program participants; (2) training stipends and other financial incentives for program participants; (3) assistance to IHEs or other teacher training providers to meet particular needs of professionals changing their careers to teaching; (4) placement activities, including identifying high-poverty LEAs with needs for particular skills and characteristics of the newly trained program participants and assisting those participants to obtain employment in those LEAs; and (5) post-placement induction or support activities for program participants. Requires program participants who complete training to teach in a high-poverty LEA for at least three years, or else repay all or a portion of their training stipend or other incentive. Sets forth part C provisions for Early Childhood Educator Professional Development. Directs the Secretary to make competitive grants to eligible partnerships consisting of: (1) at least one IHE (or another public or private, nonprofit entity) that provides professional development for early childhood educators who work with children from low-income families in high-need communities; and (2) one or more public agencies (including LEAs, SEAs, State human services agencies, and State and local agencies administering programs under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990), Head Start agencies, or private nonprofit entities. Gives priority to applications from partnerships that include one or more LEAs that operate early childhood programs for children from low-income families in high-need communities. Sets forth requirements for applications, selection of grantees, uses of funds, allowable activities, technologies, and data collection, evaluation, and reporting activities necessary to meet program accountability requirements, performance indicators, reports, and cost-sharing. Directs the Secretary (of Education) and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to coordinate activities of this program and other early childhood programs that they administer. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth part D provisions for technical assistance programs, including the following subparts: (1) strengthening the capacity of SEAs and LEAs to become effective, informed consumers of technical assistance; (2) technical assistance centers serving special needs; (3) technology-based technical assistance information dissemination; and (4) national evaluation activities. Sets forth requirements for allocation of subpart 1 funds, formula grants to SEAs, State applications and uses of funds, direct formula grants to large LEAs, local applications and uses of funds, and equitable services for private schools. Directs the Secretary to establish, through one or more contracts, an independent source of consumer information regarding the quality and effectiveness of technical assistance activities and providers available to States, LEAs, and other recipients of funds under ESEA, in selecting technical assistance activities and providers for their use. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth subpart 2 provisions for technical assistance centers serving special needs. Sets forth general requirements applicable to all technical assistance providers that receive funds under this subpart 2, all consortia that receive funds under subpart 2 part B title III ESEA, and the educational laboratories, and clearinghouses of the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC), supported under the Educational Research, Development, Dissemination, and Improvement Act. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to public or private nonprofit entities (or consortia of those entities) to operate two centers for technical assistance on the needs of special populations. Requires such centers to provide training and technical assistance to SEAs, LEAs, schools, tribes, community-based organizations, and other recipients of funds under ESEA on: (1) addressing specific linguistic, cultural, or other needs of limited English proficient, migratory, Indian, and Alaska Native students; and (2) educational strategies to enable those students to meet challenging State academic content and performance standards. Requires each center to give priority to providing services to schools, including BIA-funded schools, that educate such students and have the highest percentages or numbers of children in poverty and the lowest student achievement levels. Sets forth accountability requirements. Authorizes appropriations for such centers. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements for Parental Information and Resource Centers (PIRCs) (currently authorized under Title IV of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act). Provides for such awards to nonprofit organizations that serve parents, particularly those organizations that make substantial efforts to reach low-income, minority, or limited English proficient parents. Requires PIRCs to: (1) coordinate the efforts of Federal, State, and local parent education and family involvement initiatives; and (2) provide training, information, and support to SEAs, LEAs, schools, and organizations that support family-school partnerships. Sets forth requirements for applications, matching funds, and uses of funds. Increases from 50 percent to 75 percent the minimum portion of its award which each recipient of such funds must use to support activities that serve areas with large numbers or concentrations of low-income families. Authorizes the Secretary to reserve a portion of program funds for technical assistance to the PIRCs and evaluations of program activities. Sets forth reporting and general program provisions. Authorizes appropriations for the PIRC program. Revises and authorizes provisions for the Eisenhower Regional Mathematics and Science Education Consortia (currently authorized under part C title XIII ESEA). Authorizes appropriations for the Eisenhower Consortia. Sets forth subpart 3 provisions for technology-based technical assistance information dissemination. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out, through grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements, a national system, through the Worldwide Web and other advanced telecommunications technologies, that supports interactive information sharing and dissemination about ways to improve educational practices throughout the Nation. Directs the Secretary, in designing and implementing such system, to create opportunities for the continuing input of students, teachers, administrators, and other individuals who participate in, or may be affected by, the Nation's educational system. Requires such system to include information on: (1) stimulating instructional materials that are aligned with challenging content standards; and (2) successful and innovative practices in instruction, professional development, challenging academic content and student performance standards, assessments, effective school management, and other appropriate areas. Authorizes the Secretary to require certain technical assistance providers funded under ESEA or the ERIC educational laboratories and clearinghouses to participate in such information dissemination system in specified ways. Directs the Secretary to ensure that such system's dissemination activities are integrated with those of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), and that the public has access, through this system, to the latest research, statistics, and other information supported by, or available from, OERI. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out additional activities to assist LEAs, SEAs, tribes, and other ESEA recipients in meeting the requirements of the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993. Authorizes appropriations for subpart 3. Sets forth subpart 4 provisions for national evaluation activities. Directs the Secretary to conduct, directly or through grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements, activities necessary to: (1) determine what constitutes effective technical assistance; (2) evaluate the effectiveness of the technical assistance and dissemination programs authorized by, or assisted under, part E title II ESEA, and the ERIC educational laboratories, and clearinghouses; and (3) increase the effectiveness of those programs. Title III: Technology for Education - Technology for Education Act - Revises and reorganizes title III of ESEA to change its short title to the Technology for Education Act. (Sec. 304) Requires recipients to use title III funds only to supplement, and not to supplant, those non-Federal funds or resources. Part A: Federal Leadership and National Activities - Revises and renames part A title III ESEA as Federal Leadership and National Activities. (Sec. 311) Repeals authority for the Product Development program. (Sec. 312) Directs the Secretary to update the national long-range technology plan and to broadly disseminate the updated plan. Includes among requirements for such plan descriptions of how the Secretary will promote or encourage: (1) full integration of technology into learning, including the creation of new instructional opportunities through access to challenging courses and information that would otherwise not have been available, and independent learning opportunities for students through technology; (2) creation of opportunities for teachers to develop, through the use of technology, their own networks and resources for sustained and intensive, high- quality professional development; and (3) commercial development of effective, high-quality, cost-competitive educational technology and software. (Sec. 313) Replaces the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Systems with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy on the list of agencies with which the Secretary consults under the program for Federal leadership in promoting the use of technology in education. Authorizes the Secretary to develop a national repository of information on the effective uses of educational technology, including its use for sustained and intensive, high-quality professional development, and the dissemination of that information nationwide. (Sec. 314) Eliminates a requirement that funds be used for a discretionary grant program when appropriations for part A of title III of the ESEA are less than a specified amount, and for a State formula grant program when the appropriation exceeds that amount. Directs the Secretary to develop and carry out a strategy for an ongoing National Evaluation of Education Technology. Authorizes appropriations for the national evaluation strategy, national plan, and Federal leadership activities. Part B: Special Projects - Repeals the following ESEA title III provisions: (1) part B, the Star Schools Program; and (2) part E, the Elementary Mathematics and Science Equipment Program. (Sec. 321) Redesignates and renames the following ESEA title III provisions: (1) part C, Ready-To-Learn Television, as subpart 2 part B title III ESEA, Ready-to-Learn-Digital-Television; and (2) part D, Telecommunications Demonstration Project for Mathematics, as subpart 3 part B title III ESEA. Establishes a program of Next-Generation Technology Innovation Awards, as subpart 1 part B title III ESEA. Authorizes the Secretary, through the Office of Educational Technology (OET), to award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements on a competitive basis to eligible applicants, which are consortia that include: (1) at least one SEA or LEA; and (2) at least one IHE, for-profit business, museum, library, other public or private entity with appropriate expertise. Sets forth requirements for applications, plans, priorities, uses of funds, and evaluation. Authorizes appropriations for subpart 1, Next-Generation Technology Innovation Awards. (Sec. 322) Authorizes appropriations for the revised subpart 2, Ready-to-Learn-Digital-Television. (Sec. 323) Authorizes appropriations for the Telecommunications Program for Professional Development in the Core Content Areas. (Sec. 324) Establishes a program for Community Technology Centers, as subpart 4 part B title III ESEA. Authorizes the Secretary, through OET, to award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to eligible applicants to create or expand community technology centers that expand access to information technology and related training for disadvantaged residents of distressed urban or rural communities or to provide technical assistance and support to such centers. Sets forth requirements for eligibility, applications, required and permissible uses of funds, and cost-sharing. Authorizes appropriations for subpart 4, Community Technology Centers. Part C: Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology - Establishes a part C title III ESEA program, Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology. (Sec. 331) Authorizes the Secretary, through OET, to award competitive grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to develop or redesign teacher preparation programs to enable prospective teachers to use technology effectively in their classrooms. Requires applicants to be consortia that include at least one IHE that offers a baccalaureate degree and prepares teachers for their initial entry into teaching, at least one SEA or LEA, and at least one other of specified types of entities with the capacity to contribute to the technology-related reform of teacher preparation programs. Sets forth requirements for applications, matching funds, required and permissible uses of funds. Authorizes appropriations. Part D: Regional, State, and Local Educational Technology Resources - Establishes a part D title III ESEA program, Regional, State, and Local Educational Technology Resources, including: (1) subpart 1, the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund (TLCF); and (2) subpart 2, Regional Technology in Education Consortia (RTEC). (Sec. 342) Revises provisions for allotment and reallotment of TLCF funds to include the BIA as a State educational agency for such purposes. Revises provisions for minimum TLCF grant amounts for States and outlying areas. (Sec. 343) Revises requirements under the subpart 1 TLCF, including: (1) State use of grant funds to make subgrants to LEAs; (2) State and local applications; and (3) local uses of funds. (Sec. 347) Repeals a current part D program for National Challenge Grants for Technology in Education (but establishes a similar program, the Next-Generation Technology Innovation Awards program, as the new subpart 1 part C title III ESEA). (Sec. 348) Adds certain definitions to target subpart 1 funds to low-performing schools in needy areas. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 349) Revises requirements under the subpart 2 RTEC. Directs the Secretary to make subpart 2 grants to, or enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with, consortia that meet specified requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act - Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act - Revises ESEA title IV to change the short title (currently, Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1994). Revises Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities (SDFSC) programs to require: (1) emphasis on environments in and around schools; (2) competitive, as well as non-competitive, awarding funds to LEAs under certain conditions; and (3) increased coordination among related programs. (Sec. 401) Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth title IV part A provisions for State grants for drug and violence prevention programs. Revises requirements for reservations and allotments. Prohibits outlying areas from consolidating SDFSC funds with other Federal education funds. Requires State applications to be jointly submitted by the SEA and Governor and to include descriptions of: (1) procedures the SEA will use for reviewing applications and awarding funds to LEAs competitively, based on need and quality of the ESEA, those the SEA will use for reviewing applications and awarding funds to LEAs non-competitively, based on need and quality; (2) procedures the Governor will use for reviewing applications and awarding funds to eligible applicants competitively, based on need and quality; (3) SEA's and Governor's proposed use of funds reserved for coordinated capacity-building, technical assistance, and program accountability services and activities at the State and local levels; and (4) proposed SEA technical assistance for LEAs not receiving SDFSC State grant funds to improve their programs. Requires part A funds to be used for SEA and LEA programs and activities designed to create and maintain drug-free, safe, and orderly learning environments for learning in and around schools. Requires SEAs to reserve between ten percent and 20 percent of their part A allocations for State-level activities. Authorizes SEAs to use such reserved funds to plan, develop, and implement, jointly with the Governor, capacity building and technical assistance and accountability services to support the effective implementation of local drug and violence prevention activities throughout the State and promote program accountability and improvement. Revises provisions for State administrative costs. Authorizes SEAs and Governors to provide emergency intervention services to schools and communities following a traumatic crisis, such as a shooting or major accident that has disrupted the learning environment. Requires SEAs to: (1) use at least 80 percent of part A funds for local-level activities; (2) use at least 70 percent of their total SDFSC State grant funding for competitive awards to LEAs that the SEA determines have need for assistance; (3) base their competition on the quality of an LEA's proposed program and how closely it is aligned with specified principles of effectiveness; (4) make competitive awards to no more than 50 percent of the LEAs in the State, with certain exceptions; and (5) make their competitive awards to LEAs of sufficient size to support high-quality, effective programs and activities that are designed to create safe, disciplined, and drug- free learning environments in schools, and that are consistent with the needs, goals, and objectives identified in the State's plan. Allows SEAs to use up to ten percent of their total SDFSC State grant funding for non-competitive awards to LEAs with the greatest need for assistance that did not receive a competitive award. Requires, in order for an SEA to make a non-competitive award to an LEA, the SEA must assist the LEA in meeting the information requirements pertaining to LEA needs assessment, results-based performance measures, comprehensive safe and drug-free schools plan, evaluation plan, and assurances, and provide continuing technical assistance to the LEA to build its capacity to develop and implement high-quality, effective programs. Sets forth authorized services and activities of local drug and violence prevention programs. Requires each LEA receiving SDFSC funding to use such funds to support research-based drug and violence prevention services and activities consistent with specified principles of effectiveness. Allows an LEA to use such funds for additional activities other than research-based programming, under specified conditions. Authorizes SEAs to waive, under certain conditions, a 20 percent cap on SDFSC subgrant funds that LEAs may spend for the acquisition or use of metal detectors and security personnel. Requires Governors to: (1) use Governor's Programs funds (20 percent of the State allocation) to support community efforts that directly complement the efforts of LEAs to foster drug-free, safe, and orderly learning environments for learning in and around schools; (2) reserve between ten percent and 20 percent of their allocations for State-level activities to plan, develop, and implement, jointly with the SEA, capacity building, technical assistance, and accountability services to support the effective implementation of local drug and violence prevention activities throughout the State and promote program accountability and improvement; (3) use at least 80 percent of SDFSC State grant funding to make competitive subgrants to community-based organizations, LEAs, and other public entities and private non-profit organizations to support community efforts that directly complement the efforts of LEAs to foster drug-free, safe, and orderly learning environments in and around schools; and (4) base competition for subgrants on the quality of the applicant's proposed program and how closely it is aligned with the principles of effectiveness, and on objective criteria, determined by the Governor, on the needs of the schools or LEAs to be served. Allows subgrants made by Governors to support community efforts on a Statewide, regional, or local basis and the efforts of LEAs and schools that do not receive subgrants. Allows use of such funds to support research-based drug and violence prevention services and activities consistent with the principles of effectiveness, and for additional activities other than research-based programming, under specified conditions. Revises local application requirements to emphasize the applicant's need for assistance and the quality of its proposed programming. Requires each applicant LEA for SEA competitive and formula grants to include assurances that it: (1) has a policy, consistent with State law, that requires the expulsion of students who possess a firearm at school consistent with the Gun-Free Schools Act; (2) has, or will have, a full- or part-time program coordinator whose primary responsibility is planning, designing, implementing, and evaluating the applicant's programs (unless the applicant demonstrates in its application, to the satisfaction of the SEA, that such a program coordinator is not needed); (3) will evaluate its program every two years to assess its progress toward meeting its goals and objectives, and will use the results of its evaluation to improve its program and refine its goals and objectives, as needed; and (4) has, or the schools to be served have, a comprehensive Safe and Drug-Free Schools plan that includes specified elements. Requires any eligible entity that applies to the Governor for a subgrant to include in its application: (1) a description of how the services and activities to be supported will be coordinated with relevant SDFSC State grant programs that are supported by SEAs, including how recipients will share resources, services, and data; (2) a description of how the applicant will coordinate its activities under this part with those implemented under the Drug-Free Communities Act, if any; and (3) an assurance that it will evaluate its program every two years to assess its progress toward meeting its goals and objectives, and will use the results of its evaluation to improve its program and refine its goals and objectives as needed (if the applicant is not an LEA, or other specified assurances if the applicant is an LEA). Requires SEAs to use a peer review process, but allows Governors to use other methods, for reviewing local applications to ensure that SDFSC subgrants are made on the basis of need and quality. Revises national evaluation and data collection requirements under title IV. Directs the Secretary and the Attorney General to publish an annual report on school safety. Revises the State and local report requirements to focus on progress toward attaining performance indicators for achieving drug-free, safe, and orderly learning environments in schools. Requires States to report to the Secretary all school-related suicides and homicides within the State within 30 days of the incident. Requires LEAs to report to SEAs any problems in SDFSC program implementation that warrant provision of SEA technical assistance. Requires SEAs to: (1) review annual LEA reports; and (2) terminate funding for the second or third year of an LEA's program unless the LEA is making reasonable progress toward meeting its objectives. Sets forth annual progress report and program funding review requirements for Governor's award recipients. Sets forth title IV part B provisions for National Programs. Revises the list of authorized national program activities. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out programs for students that promote lifelong physical activity. Establishes a title IV part C program, School Emergency Response to Violence (Project SERV), to provide education-related services to LEAs in which the learning environment has been disrupted due to a violent or traumatic crisis, such as a shooting or major accident. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out Project SERV directly, through contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements with public and private organizations, agencies, and individuals, or through agreements with other Federal agencies. Sets forth authorized activities under Project SERV. Directs the Secretary to establish criteria and application requirements as may be needed to select which LEAs are assisted under Project SERV. Authorizes the Secretary to establish reporting requirements for uniform data and other information from all LEAs assisted under Project SERV. Requires the establishment of a Federal Coordinating Committee on school crises, to coordinate the Federal responses to crises that occur in schools or directly affect the learning environment in schools. Requires the Committee to be composed of the Secretary (who shall serve as Chair), the Attorney General, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and such other members as the Secretary shall determine. Gun-Free Schools Act - Revises and transfers to ESEA title IV part D the provisions of the Gun-Free Schools Act (currently under ESEA title XIV part F). Requires each State receiving Federal funds under ESEA to have in effect a State law that: (1) requires LEAs to expel from school, for a period of not less than one year, a student who is determined to have possessed a firearm at school under the jurisdiction of the LEA in that State; and (2) allows the chief administering officer of that LEA to modify the expulsion requirement for a student on a case-by-case basis. Sets forth local and State reporting requirements. Prohibits awarding ESEA funds to any LEA unless it has a policy ensuring that: (1) any student who possesses a firearm at a school served by such agency is referred to the criminal justice or juvenile delinquency system; (2) students who possess a firearm at school are referred to mental health professionals for assessment as to whether they pose an imminent threat of harm to themselves or others and need appropriate mental health services before readmission to school; and (2) any student determined to pose such a threat receives appropriate mental health services, in addition to other services, before being permitted to return to school. Requires drug prevention programs supported under title IV ESEA convey a clear and consistent message that the illegal use of alcohol and other drugs is wrong and harmful. Prohibits the Secretary from prescribing the use of particular curricula for programs under title IV ESEA, but allows the Secretary to evaluate and disseminate information about the effectiveness of such curricula and programs. Prohibits use of title IV ESEA funds for: (1) construction (except for minor remodeling needed to accomplish the purposes of this part); and (2) medical services, drug treatment or rehabilitation, except for pupil services or referral to treatment for students who are victims of, or witnesses to, crime or who use alcohol, tobacco, or drugs. Sets forth a requirement for Drug-Free, Alcohol-Free, and Tobacco-Free Schools. Requires each SEA and LEA that receives title IV ESEA funds to have a policy that prohibits possession or use of tobacco, and the illegal use of drugs or alcohol, in any form, at any time, and by any person, in school buildings, on school grounds, or at any school-sponsored event. Requires LEA applications to include an assurance of compliance with such requirement. Requires annual SEA reports to the Secretary if any LEAs are not in compliance with such requirement. Requires that title IV funds supplement, not supplant, State, local, and other non-Federal funds. Title V: Promoting Equity, Excellence, and Public School Choice - Revises and renames ESEA title V as Promoting Equity, Excellence, and Public School Choice (currently Promoting Equity). (Sec. 502) Revises the Magnet Schools Assistance program under part A to emphasize projects that consider the diversity of the student populations and that have the capacity to continue after the Federal grant has run out. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 503) Revises the Women's Educational Equity program. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 504) Repeals the Assistance to Address School Dropout Problems program (currently in part C). (Sec. 505) Transfers Public Charter Schools provisions to part B (currently in title X part C). (Sec. 506) Establishes a part C program of Options: Opportunities to Improve Our Nation's Schools. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to SEAs and LEAs to support programs that promote innovative approaches to high-quality public school choice, including worksite and college-based schools. Authorizes appropriations. Title VI: Class-Size Reduction - Establishes a new title VI of ESEA, Class-Size Reduction. (Replaces the current title VI, Innovative Education Program Strategies.) (Sec. 601) Establishes a grants program to help States and LEAs recruit, train, and hire 100,000 additional teachers over a seven-year period in order to: (1) reduce class sizes nationally, in grades one through three, to an average of 18 students per classroom; and (2) improve teaching in the early grades so that all students can learn to read independently and well by the end of the third grade. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth program requirements for: (1) allotments to States; (2) within-State allocations; (3) local uses of funds; (4) cost-sharing; and (5) participation of teachers from private schools in professional development activities. Title VII: Bilingual Education Act - Revises the Bilingual Education Act, which is ESEA title VII (Bilingual Education, Language Enhancement, and Language Acquisition Programs). (Sec. 701) Makes it policy that limited English proficient students be tested in English after three consecutive years in U.S. schools. (Sec. 702) Authorizes appropriations for part A, Bilingual Education, including the following subparts: (1) bilingual education capacity and demonstration grants; (2) research, evaluation, and dissemination; (3) professional development; and (4) transition. (Sec. 703) Establishes a Program Development and Enhancement Grants program (which consolidates activities of the current Program Development and Implementation Grants program and Enhancement Grants program). Requires such grants to be used to: (1) develop and implement comprehensive, preschool, elementary, or secondary education programs for children and youth with limited English proficiency, that are aligned with standards-based State and local school reform efforts and coordinated with other relevant programs and services; (2) provide high-quality professional development; and (3) require annual assessment of student progress in learning English. Revises allowable activities to emphasize effective instructional practice and the use of technology in the classroom. Authorizes the Secretary to give priority to applicants that enroll fewer than 10,000 students and that have limited or no experience in serving limited English proficient students. (Sec. 704) Revises provisions for Comprehensive School Grants for school-wide instructional programs (in coordination with title I ESEA) for children and youth with limited English proficiency, to assist such children and youth to learn English and achieve to challenging State content and performance standards, and to improve, reform, and upgrade relevant programs and operations in schools with significant concentrations of such students or that serve significant numbers of them. Revises conditions for termination or continuation of grant awards. Limits to 90 days the period during which grant funds may be used for planning. Limit to two the number of schools that may be included in the grant. (Sec. 705) Revises provisions for Systemwide Improvement Grants for projects within an entire school district. Revises conditions for termination or continuation of grant awards. Sets forth required activities, including building school district capacity to continue to operate similar instructional programs once Federal funding is no longer available, aligning programs for limited English proficient students with school, district, and State reform efforts and coordinating with other relevant programs, and annually assessing student progress in learning English. Revises allowable activities to emphasize effective instructional practice, developing student proficiency in two languages, and the use of technology in the classroom. (Sec. 706) Revises application requirements with respect to program accountability and related matters. Adds priorities for applicants that experience a dramatic increase in the number of limited English proficient students enrolled and demonstrate that they have a proven record of success in helping children and youth with limited English proficiency learn English and achieve to high academic standards. (Sec. 707) Requires subpart 1 grantee evaluations to: (1) be conducted annually, rather than biennially; (2) use application data as the baseline against which to report academic achievement and gains in English proficiency for students; (2) report on the validity and reliability of all instruments used to measure student progress; (3) enable results to be disaggregated by such relevant factors as a student's grade, gender, and language group, and whether the student has a disability; and (4) include specified types of data, program implementation indicators, and coordination descriptions. Requires the Secretary to establish performance indicators to determine if comprehensive school grant and systemwide improvement grant programs are making continuous and substantial progress. Authorizes establishing such indicators to determine if program development and enhancement grant programs are making such progress. (Sec. 708) Eliminates the requirement that Bilingual Education Program research be conducted through the Office of Educational Research and Improvement in collaboration with the Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs. Includes among allowable research activities: (1) data collection needed for compliance with the Government Performance and Results Act; and (2) identifying technology-based approaches that show effectiveness in helping limited English proficient students reach challenging State standards. (Sec. 709) Establishes a program of discretionary grants to States to make Academic Excellence Awards (which replaces current Academic Excellence provisions for grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements to promote the adoption of promising instructional and professional development programs). Authorizes the Secretary to make such grants to SEAs to assist them in recognizing LEAs and other public and non-profit entities whose programs have demonstrated significant progress in assisting limited English proficient students to learn English and to meet the same challenging State content standards expected of all children and youth, within three years. (Sec. 710) Revises the State Grant Program to require States to use such funds to: (1) assist LEAs with program design, capacity building, assessment of student performance, program evaluation, and development of data collection and accountability systems for limited English proficient students that are aligned with State reform efforts; and (2) collect data on limited English proficient populations in the State and the educational programs and services available to such populations. (Sec. 711) Renames the National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education as the National Clearinghouse on the Education of Children and Youth with Limited English Proficiency. Eliminates requirements that the Clearinghouse: (1) be administered as an adjunct to the Educational Resources Information Center Clearinghouse system; (2) develop a database management and monitoring system; and (3) develop, maintain, and disseminate a listing of bilingual education professionals. (Sec. 712) Revises provisions for grants to develop, publish, and disseminate instructional materials to include materials: (1) in other low-incidence languages in the United States for which instructional materials are not readily available; and (2) on State content standards and assessments for dissemination to parents of limited English proficient students. Requires the Secretary to give priority to applications for developing instructional materials in languages indigenous to the United States or to the outlying territories and for developing and evaluating instructional materials that reflect challenging State and local content standards, in collaboration with specified assisted activities. (Sec. 713) Revises subpart 3 Professional Development provisions to eliminate a reference to dissemination of information. (Sec. 714) Revises the Training for all Teachers Program to limit grants to ongoing professional development. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to LEAs or consortia of LEAs and IHEs, SEAs, or nonprofit organizations. Reduces the grant period from five to three years. Requires professional development activities to be of high quality and long-term. Revises allowable activities to include induction programs, coaching by experienced teachers, and teacher use of education technologies. (Sec. 715) Revises the Bilingual Education Teachers and Personnel Grants program. Limits grants to IHEs for preservice professional development. Requires use of grant funds to put in place a course of study that prepares teachers to serve limited English proficient students, integrate course content relating to meeting the needs of limited English proficient students into all programs for prospective teachers, assign tenured faculty to train teachers to serve limited English proficient students, incorporate State content and performance standards into the institution's coursework, and expand clinical experiences for participants. Authorizes grantees to use funds for activities such as supporting partnerships with LEAs, restructuring higher education course content, assisting other institutions of higher education to improve the quality of relevant professional development programs, and expanding recruitment efforts for students who will participate in relevant professional development programs. (Sec. 716) Revises the Bilingual Education Career Ladder Program to authorize grants to consortia of one or more IHEs and one or more SEAs or LEAs to develop and implement bilingual education career ladder programs. Requires such programs to be designed to provide high-quality, pre-baccalaureate coursework and teacher training to educational personnel who do not have a baccalaureate degree, and to lead to timely receipt of a baccalaureate degree and certification or licensure of program participants as bilingual education teachers or other educational personnel who serve limited English proficient students. Requires grantees to coordinate with programs under title II of the Higher Education Act of 1965, and other relevant programs, for the recruitment and retention of bilingual students in postsecondary programs to train them to become bilingual educators, and make use of all existing sources of student financial aid before using grant funds to pay tuition and stipends for participating students. Eliminates certain special considerations. Requires the Secretary to give special consideration to applications that provide training in English as a second language, including developing proficiency in the instructional use of English and, as appropriate, a second language in classroom contexts. (Sec. 717) Revises the Graduate Fellowships in Bilingual Education Program to eliminate: (1) the authorization for fellowships at the post-doctoral level; and (2) the requirement that the Secretary make a specific number of fellowship awards in any given year. (Sec. 718) Requires SEAs to review and submit written comments on all applications for professional development grants, with the exception of those for fellowships, to the Secretary. (Sec. 719) Revises program evaluation requirements. Requires an annual evaluation. (Sec. 721) Continues the part C Emergency Immigrant Education Program. (Sec. 722) Authorizes States to use up to two percent of their grant for administrative costs if they distribute funds to LEAs within the State on a competitive basis. (Sec. 723) Revises provisions for competitive State grants to LEAs. Eliminates an appropriations trigger on, and a cap for, allowing States each year to reserve funds from their program allotments and award grants, on a competitive basis, to LEAs. (Sec. 724) Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 725) Defines reclassification rate, for purposes of Bilingual Education Program applications and evaluations under subpart 1 of part A, as the annual percentage of limited English proficient students who have met the State criteria for no longer being considered limited English proficient. (Sec. 726) Adds requirements for projects funded under subpart 1 Part A relating to: (1) parental notification of right to withdraw from programs at any time; and (2) the use of paraprofessionals or other instructional staff who are not certified in the field in which they teach. (Sec. 728) Repeals specified provisions under title VII, including a requirement that all professional development grants assist educational personnel in meeting State and local certification requirements. Title VIII: Impact Aid - Revises title VIII of ESEA, Impact Aid, to provide assistance to certain LEAs that are financially burdened as a result of activities of the Federal Government carried out in their jurisdictions, in order to help those LEAs provide educational services to their children, including federally connected children, so that they can meet challenging State standards. (Sec. 802) Revises the program of payments relating to Federal acquisition of real property, which authorizes the Secretary to partially compensate certain LEAs for revenue lost due to the presence of non-taxable Federal property in their jurisdictions. Requires that the Federal property claimed as the basis of eligibility have a current aggregate assessed value that is at least ten percent of the total assessed value of all real property in the LEA. Provides for a three-year phase-out of payments to LEAs that received such payments for FY 1999, but that would no longer be eligible because of the new requirement that Federal property constitute at least ten percent of the current assessed value of all real property in the LEA. (Sec. 803) Revises the program of payments for eligible federally connected children. Eliminates the various "(b)" categories of students. Continues payments with respect to "(a)" categories of students: (1) children of Federal employees who both live and work on Federal property; (2) children of military personnel (and other members of the uniformed services) living on Federal property; (3) children living on Indian lands; and (4) children of foreign military officers living on Federal property. Eliminates the requirement that an LEA have at least 400 eligible students (or that those students constitute at least three percent of its average daily attendance) in order to receive a basic support payment. Revises options for determining an LEA's local contribution rate (LCR), which is used to compute its maximum payment, to include a measure of the amount or proportion of funds that are provided at the local level. Provides that LCRs' local contribution rates are to be determined using data from the third preceding fiscal year. Revises the formula for computing each LEA's "learning opportunity threshold" (LOT), a factor used in determining actual payment amounts when sufficient funds are not available to pay the maximum amounts, to give priority to LEAs with high concentrations of federally connected students. Revises provisions for additional payments to LEAs on behalf of children with disabilities. Eliminates hold-harmless provisions relating to basic support payments. Revises provisions for additional payments to LEAs that are heavily impacted by the presence of federally connected children in their schools. Requires an LEA to meet the following criteria to qualify for a payment: (1) having federally connected children as at least 40 percent of its enrollment, and a tax rate for general-fund purposes of at least 100 percent of the average tax rate of comparable LEAs in the State (or being an LEA whose boundaries are the same as those of a military installation); (2) exercising due diligence to obtain financial assistance from the State and from other sources; and (3) having State aid made available to it on a basis at least as favorable as that for other LEAs. Sets forth a formula that, for each eligible LEA, factors in per-pupil expenditures, number of federally connected children, amount available to it from other sources for current expenditures, and amounts of basic support payments and supplemental payments for children with disabilities it receives. Directs the Secretary, in determining eligibility and payment amounts for heavily impacted LEAs, to use data from the second preceding fiscal year, if that data is provided by the affected LEA (or the SEA) within 60 days of being requested by the Secretary to do so. Prohibits an LEA from receiving a payment on behalf of federally connected children if Federal funds (other than Impact Aid funds) provide a substantial portion of their educational program. Eliminates the requirement that LEAs maintain their fiscal effort for education from year to year as a condition of receiving an impact aid payment. (Sec. 804) Revises requirements concerning LEAs that receive related Impact Aid payments carrying out specified activities to ensure: (1) equitable participation of children residing on Indian lands in LEA programs and activities; and (2) the participation of parents of Indian children and Indian tribes in determining the education of their children. (Sec. 805) Revises requirements for applications for Impact Aid payments. (Sec. 806) Repeals provisions for payments for sudden and substantial increases in attendance of military dependents. (Sec. 807) Revises provisions for grants to certain categories of LEAs to support the construction or renovation of schools. Limits such assistance to LEAs that receive basic support payments and in which children residing on Indian lands make up at least half of the average daily attendance. Requires applicants to include an assessment of their school-construction needs. Allocates grant funds to qualifying LEAs in proportion to their respective numbers of children residing on Indian lands. Sets the maximum Federal portion of the cost of an assisted project at 50 percent. Gives an LEA three years after its proposal is approved to demonstrate that it can provide its share of the project's cost. Allows an LEA to use such a grant only for the minimum initial equipment necessary for the operation of the new or renovated school, as well as for construction. (Sec. 808) Revises provisions relating to certain federally-owned school facilities used by LEAs to serve dependents of military personnel. (Sec. 809) Adds to preconditions for State consideration of Impact Aid payments a requirement that the average per-pupil expenditure in the State be at least 80 percent of that in the 50 States and the District of Columbia. (Sec. 813) Revises the definition of Federal property, as a basis of eligibility for Impact Aid payments, to eliminate special references to certain property not usually regarded as Federal property. (Sec. 814) Authorizes appropriations for Impact Aid programs. Title IX: Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native Education - Part A: Indian Education - Revises ESEA title IX part A (Indian Education) with respect to: (1) grants to LEAs; (2) amount of grants to schools operated or supported by the BIA; (3) applications, plans, local assessments, parent committees, and schoolwide programs; (4) authorized services and activities relating to curriculum development, creation and implementation of standards, improvement of student achievement, and gifted and talented education; (5) student eligibility forms and timing of child counts; (6) payments; (7) SEA review; (8) project applications for support for services and activities to improve educational opportunities for Indian children; and (9) professional development and training to perform related work that benefits Indian people, adding grants to consortia to provide in-service training to teachers in LEAs with substantial numbers of Indian children in their schools. (Sec. 911) Repeals specified provisions for fellowships for Indian students, gifted and talented education, tribal administrative planning and development, and adult education. (Sec. 913) Authorizes appropriations. Part B: Native Hawaiian Education Act - Revises ESEA title IX part B (Native Hawaiian Education) to replace a series of categorical programs serving Native Hawaiian children and adults with a single, more flexible authority for the Secretary to assist such program activities. (Sec. 921) Authorizes appropriations. Part C: Alaska Native Education - Revises ESEA title IX part C (Alaska Native Education) to replace a series of categorical programs serving Alaska Native children and adults with a single, more flexible authority for the Secretary to assist such program activities. (Sec. 921) Authorizes appropriations. Title X: Programs of National Significance - Revises ESEA title X Programs of National significance. (Sec. 1001) Revises part A (Fund for the Improvement of Education) with respect to: (1) authorized uses of funds; (2) application goals and objectives; (3) reports; (4) matching funds; and (5) limitation of competitions to particular types of entities, such as SEAs or LEAs. Requires each part A grant recipient to submit to the Secretary, by the mid-point of the program, and no later than one year after program completion, a comprehensive evaluation on the effectiveness of its program in achieving its goals and objectives, including the impact of the program on students, teachers, administrators, and parents. Revises provisions for character education. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out programs of: (1) grants for State and local character education; and (2) grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements for character education research, dissemination, and evaluation. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1002) Revises part B (Gifted and Talented Children) with respect to peer review, dissemination, and evaluation. Requires the National Center for Research and Development in the Education of Gifted and Talented Children to focus the dissemination of the results of its activities on schools with high percentages of economically disadvantaged students. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1003) Transfers and redesignates the International Education Exchange program (currently title VI of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act) as part C of title X of ESEA. Makes eligible for such program the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, and any other emerging democracy in a developing country. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1004) Revises part D (Arts in Education) to include among authorized activities model arts and cultural programs in the arts for at-risk children and youth, particularly programs that use arts and culture to promote students' academic progress. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1005) Authorizes appropriations for part E (Inexpensive Book Distribution Program). (Sec. 1006) Revises part F (Civic Education) to repeal the civics, government, and law instruction program. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1007) Repeals the (current part G) Allen J. Ellender Program. (Sec. 1008) Revises and redesignates as part G the (current part I) 21st Century Community Learning Centers program. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to LEAs and community based organizations (CBOs) (with up to ten percent of the funds appropriated to carry out this part for any fiscal year) on behalf of public elementary or secondary schools in inner-cities, rural areas, and small cities. Limits such awards to schools or CBOs that serve communities with a substantial need for expanded learning opportunities due to: (1) high proportion of low-achieving students; (2) lack of resources to establish or expand community learning centers; or (3) other needs. Retains the current requirement for equitable distribution among the States and urban and rural areas of the United States, but eliminates the requirement for equitable distribution among urban and rural areas of a State. Lengthens the duration of such program grants from three years to five years. Changes the eligible applicant for such a grant from a school to an LEA (which would apply on behalf of one or more schools) or a CBO. Adds requirements relating to matching funds and maintenance of effort. Gives priority to applications that offer a broad selection of services that address community needs. Requires community learning centers to provide expanded learning opportunities, and allows them to also provide services that address health, social service, cultural, and recreational needs of the community. Requires a community learning center operated by an LEA (but not a CBO) to be located within a public elementary or secondary school building. Authorizes appropriations. Allows the Secretary to use part G funds to make continuation awards for projects that were funded with FY 1999 and 2000 funds, under the terms and conditions that applied to the original awards. (Sec. 1009) Repeals part J, Urban and Rural Education Assistance. (Sec. 1010) Establishes a new part H, High School Reform. Authorizes the Secretary to make competitive grants to LEAs to support: (1) planning and implementation of educational reforms in high schools, particularly in urban and rural high schools that educate concentrations of students from low-income families; (2) further development of educational reforms, designed specifically for high schools, that help students meet challenging State standards, and that increase connections between students and adults and provide safe learning environments; (3) positive incentives for serious change in high schools, by offering rewards to participating schools that achieve significant improvements in student achievement; (4) identification of the most effective approaches to high school reform and disseminating information on those approaches so that they can be adopted nationally; and (5) implementation of reforms in at least 5,000 U.S. high schools by the year 2007. Provides for equitable participation of personnel from private schools in any professional development carried out with part H funds. Requires grantees that use part H funds to develop curricular materials to make information about those materials available to private schools at their request. Directs the Secretary to reserve certain part H funds for certain activities relating to the program's purpose, including testing the effect of offering financial rewards to teachers and administrators in high schools if their students demonstrate significant gains in educational outcomes. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1011) Revises and redesignates the (current part B title VII ESEA) Elementary School Foreign Language Assistance Program to part I title X ESEA. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to SEAs and to LEAs for the Federal share of the cost of specified activities. Allows an SEA to receive a grant if it: (1) has established, or is establishing, State standards for foreign language instruction; or (2) requires the public elementary schools of the State to provide foreign language instruction. Allows an LEA to receive a grant if the program in its application: (1) shows promise of being continued beyond the grant period; (2) would demonstrate approaches that can be disseminated to, and duplicated by, other LEAs; (3) would include performance measurements and assessment systems that measure students' proficiency in a foreign language; and (4) would use a curriculum that is aligned with State standards, if the State has such standards. Requires grants to SEAs to be used to support programs that promote the implementation of high-quality foreign language programs in the elementary schools of the State, which may include specified activities. Requires that grants to LEAs to be used for activities to develop and implement high-quality, standards-based elementary school foreign language programs, which may include specified activities, including support for the expansion of secondary school instruction, so long as that instruction is part of an articulated elementary-through-secondary school foreign language program that is designed to result in student fluency in a foreign language. Authorizes the Secretary, in awarding such grants, to establish priorities, including ones for projects carried out by LEAs that include immersion programs in which instruction is in the foreign language for a major portion of the day or that promote the sequential study of a foreign language for students, beginning in elementary schools. Sets forth application, reporting, cost-sharing, and evaluation requirements. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1012) Revises and redesignates as part J the (current part K) National Writing Project. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct an independent evaluation of the Project. Authorizes appropriations. Title XI: General Provisions, Definitions, and Accountability - Revises ESEA title XIV (to be redesignated as title XI) (General Provisions) with respect to: (1) definitions; (2) administrative funds; (3) coordination of programs, including optional consolidated State plans and consolidated local plans; (4) waivers; and (5) uniform provisions. (Sec. 1106) Repeals ESEA title XIV part F (Gun Possession), which as the revised Gun-Free Schools Act is transferred to title IV of ESEA. (Sec. 1107) Revises and renames part G of title XIV ESEA as Evaluation and Indicators. Revises evaluation requirements to provide for: (1) national evaluation; (2) an independent review panel; (3) reports; and (4) technical assistance partnerships for performance information. Authorizes the Secretary to establish performance indicators, benchmarks, and targets for each program under ESEA (and under subtitle B of title VII-B of the McKinney Homeless Assistance Act) to assist in measuring program performance. Requires such indicators, benchmarks, and targets to be consistent with the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993, strategic plans adopted by the Secretary under such Act, and specified ESEA provisions. (Sec. 1108) Revises and transfers ESEA title XI (Coordinated Services) to part I of title XI ESEA. Revises provisions for project development and implementation. Provides that an SEA need not require eligible entities to submit an application in order to permit them to carry out coordinated services projects. (Sec. 1109) Redesignates title XIV of ESEA as title XI of ESEA. (Sec. 1110) Revises and redesignates the Education Flexibility Partnership Act of 1999 (P.L. 106-25) Partnerships) as part G of title XI of ESEA. Revises provisions for: (1) State eligibility and accountability; (2) the Federal education programs that are subject to ED-Flex authority; (3) certain waivers. Allows the Secretary to grant an extension of ED-Flex authority, beyond five years, only upon determination that the State has made significant statewide gains in student achievement and is closing the achievement gap between low- and high-performing students. (Sec. 1111) Education Accountability Act of 1999 - Establishes a new part B, Improving Education Through Accountability, of title XI of ESEA. Requires States that receive ESEA assistance to develop and implement a statewide system for holding its LEAs and schools accountable for student performance, including a procedure for identifying LEAs and schools in need of improvement, intervention, and corrective actions. Requires such States to have in effect, at the time they submit accountability plans, State policies with certain required elements to ensure that: (1) students progress through school on a timely basis and master challenging material to reach high standards of performance, and the practices of social promotion and retention are ended; (2) there are qualified teachers in every classroom in the State; (3) its LEAs and schools have in place and implement sound and equitable discipline policies to ensure a safe, and orderly, and drug-free learning environment in every school; (4) requires the development and dissemination of annual report cards regarding the status of education and educational progress in the State and in its LEAs and schools. Requires such States to have on file with the Secretary an approved accountability plan on or after July 1, 2000, and to submit annual progress reports. Authorizes the Secretary to ensure accountability, upon determination that a State has failed substantially to carry out a requirement of this part or its approved accountability plan, or that its performance has failed substantially to meet a performance indicator in its accountability plan. Includes among authorized steps to ensure prompt compliance: (1) providing, or arranging for, technical assistance to the SEA; (2) requiring a corrective action plan; (3) suspending or terminating authority to grant waivers under applicable ED-Flex authority; (4) suspending or terminating eligibility to participate in competitive programs under the ESEA; (5) withholding, in whole or in part, State administrative funds or program funds under the ESEA; (6) imposing one or more conditions upon the Secretary's approval of a State plan or application under the ESEA; (7) taking other actions under part D of the General Education Priorities Act; and (8) taking other appropriate steps, including referral to the Department of Justice for enforcement. Requires the Secretary to take one or more additional steps to bring the State into compliance upon determination that previous steps have failed to correct the State's non-compliance. Directs the Secretary to establish a system to recognize and reward States that have demonstrated significant, statewide achievement gains in core subjects as measured by the National Assessment of Educational Progress for three consecutive years, are closing the achievement gap between low- and high-performing students, and have in place strategies for continuous improvement in reducing the practices of social promotion and retention. Allows rewards to include conferring a priority in competitive programs under the ESEA, increased flexibility in administering programs under the ESEA (consistent with maintaining accountability), and supplementary grants or administrative funds to carry out ESEA purposes. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to disseminate information regarding best practices, models, and other forms of technical assistance. (Sec. 1112) Renames the National Education Goals Panel as America's Education Goals Panel. Transfers provisions for the Panel from title II of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act to a new part C of title XI of ESEA. Eliminates certain provisions relating to voluntary national content standards, voluntary national student performance standards, and the resource and technical planning groups on school readiness. Authorizes appropriations for the Panel. (Sec. 1113) Repeals ESEA title XII (School Facilities Infrastructure Improvement, also known as the Education Infrastructure Act of 1994). Title XII: Amendments to Other Laws; Repeals - Part A: Amendments to Other Laws -Amends the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act with respect to: (1) providing that homelessness alone is not sufficient reason to separate students from the mainstream school environment; (2) grants for State and local activities for the education of homeless children and youth; (3) coordination at the State and local levels; (4) State plans; (5) parental involvement; (6) competitive subgrants to LEAs; and (7) national data collection, dissemination, and reports. (Sec. 1201) Authorizes appropriations for the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act. (Sec. 1202) Amends various other Federal laws to reflect the revised ESEA, including specified provisions under the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Act, the higher Education Act of 1965, and the Pro-Children Act of 1994. Part B: Repeals - Repeals ESEA title XIII (Support and Assistance Programs to Improve Education) (new part D title II ESEA contains new technical assistance and information dissemination programs). (Sec. 1211) Repeals the following titles and parts of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act: I, National Education Goals; II, National Education Reform Leadership, Standards, and Assessments; III, State and Local Education Systemic Improvement; IV, Parental Assistance; VII, Safe Schools; VIII, Minority-focused Civics Education; and X-part B, Gun-free Schools. Repeals the following parts of the Educational Research, Development, Dissemination, and Improvement Act of 1994 (title IX of P.L. 103-227): F, Star Schools; G, Office of Comprehensive School Health Education; H, Field Readers; and I, Amendments to the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Act. Repeals title III, Partnerships in Education for Mathematics, Science, and Engineering, of the Education for Economic Security Act.
Bill· SS. 1165 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999
Defense Jobs and Trade Promotion Act of 1999 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the limitation on the amount of receipts attributable to military property which may be treated as exempt foreign trade income.
Bill· SS. 1182 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999
Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide for flat grave markers at the Santa Fe National Cemetery, New Mexico.
Bill· SS. 1174 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999
Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century - Title I: Airport and Airway Improvements - Subtitle A: Funding - Amends Federal Aviation law to reauthorize through FY 2004: (1) the Airport Improvement Program (AIP); and (2) the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Facilities and Equipment Program. Earmarks specified amounts for the voluntary purchase and installation of universal access systems. (Sec. 103) Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to authorize appropriations for FAA operations through FY 2004. Makes specified allocations, including for: (1) wildlife hazard mitigation measures and management of the wildlife strike database of the FAA; and (2) a university consortium established to provide an air safety and security management certificate program. Sets forth fiscal year limits on amounts appropriated from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund for certain aviation improvement programs. (Sec. 104) Makes specified allocations out of the Trust Fund for the aviation safety accelerated program. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation through FY 2004 to make grants out of such amounts for eligible projects to: (1) reduce delays and congestion at airports and in the air traffic control system; (2) construct airport improvements or acquire air traffic equipment to enhance competition among air carriers; and (3) enhance air service to small and medium-sized communities. Directs the Secretary to establish innovative methods for processing, reviewing, and approving such projects in order to reduce, to the maximum extent practicable, the time required from an applicant's request for project approval through the completion of the project. (Sec. 105) Makes specified changes to the formula for crediting airport improvement fund amounts to the discretionary fund. Revises the apportionment of airport improvement fund amounts to sponsors of primary (including cargo only) airports and to the States for each fiscal year. Provides minimum apportionments for reliever and nonprimary (but excluding primary) commercial service airports. Authorizes the use of airport improvement funds apportioned to Alaska, Puerto Rico, or Hawaii for any of their public airports. Authorizes the use of State-apportioned airport improvement funds for integrated airport system planning that encompasses one or more primary airports. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to permit the use of State highway specifications for airfield pavement construction using airport improvement funds at nonprimary airports serving certain aircraft, provided safety will not be negatively affected and the life of the pavement will not be shorter than it would be if constructed using FAA standards. Increases the apportionment for airport improvement funds for airport noise compatibility programs. Authorizes the use of the supplemental apportionment of airport improvement funds for Alaska for any of its public airports. Repeals a certain limitation on the apportionment of airport improvement funds for commercial service airports in Alaska. (Sec. 106) Provides for an eligible agency to impose a passenger facility fee of more than three dollars (currently, one, two, or three dollars) on each airline passenger of a domestic or foreign air carrier boarding an aircraft at an airport the agency controls to finance an eligible airport-related project, provided certain conditions are met. (Sec. 107) Directs the FAA Administrator to submit to specified congressional committees a copy of the annual budget estimates of the FAA (including line item justifications) at the same time such budget estimates are submitted to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations. Subtitle B: Airport Development - Revises U.S. policies regarding aviation programs to encourage the funding and use of integrated in-pavement lighting systems for runways and taxiways and other runway and taxiway incursion prevention devices. (Sec. 121) Makes eligible for airport development project funds the installation of emergency call boxes, closed circuit weather surveillance equipment, and windshear detection equipment at public airports. (Sec. 123) Directs the FAA Administrator to study and report to Congress on the feasibility of requiring U.S. airports to install enhanced vision technologies to replace or enhance conventional landing light systems over a ten-year period. Makes the installation of such systems at public airports eligible for airport development projects funds. (Sec. 124) Repeals the pavement maintenance pilot program. Makes routine work to preserve and extend the useful life of runways, taxiways, and aprons at nonprimary airports eligible for airport development project funds. (Sec. 125) Prohibits the approval of a passenger facility fee or airport improvement grant for a covered airport (one that has more than .25 percent of the total number of passenger boardings each year at all commercial service airports, and at which one or two air carriers control more than 50 percent of the passenger boardings) unless it submits a competition plan containing certain airport gate and related facility information. (Sec. 126) Declares that the Government's share of costs shall be: (1) not more than 90 percent for airport improvement projects funded under the State block grant program; (2) 100 percent for airport security projects funded with airport improvement funds; and (3) in FY 2000, 100 percent for any airport improvement funded project at a nonprimary airport, or at a primary airport having less than .05 percent of the total number of passenger boardings each year at all commercial service airports. (Sec. 127) Prohibits the Secretary from requiring an eligible agency to impose a passenger facility fee in order to obtain a letter of intent with respect to airport development projects. (Sec. 128) Provides that the lesser of $15 million or 20 percent of small airport grant funds be set-aside for each of the next four fiscal years to assist sponsors of airports (not located in Alaska and which serve aircraft designed for more than nine but less than 31 passenger seats) in meeting the safety terms in airport operating certificates. Requires the Secretary to notify the grant recipient that the source of the grant is from the small airport fund. Revises the amount of certain funds apportioned to the small airport fund. Authorizes the Secretary to distribute specified percentages of funds from the small airport fund for grants for projects at small hub airports, public-use airports, and certain commercial service airports. Requires the Secretary to give priority consideration to airport development projects to support operations by turbine powered aircraft (if the non-Federal share of project costs is at least 40 percent) when making small airport fund grants to sponsors of public-use airports. (Sec. 129) Authorizes the Secretary to use certain unobligated funds to make discretionary grants for airport planning and development programs. (Sec. 130) Increases from 12 to 20 the number of current or former military airports at any time that may receive airport improvement funds. Increases the amount of discretionary funds that are available to designated sponsors of current or former military airports to construct, improve, or repair airport terminal building facilities and airport surface parking lots, fuel farms, utilities, hangers, and air cargo terminals (50,000 square feet or less). (Sec. 131) Directs the Secretary to establish a pilot program to contract for air traffic control services at Level I air traffic control towers that do not qualify for the Contract Tower Program. Sets forth specified program requirements. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 132) Authorizes the Secretary to approve not more than 25 projects in which airport improvement grant funds may be used for innovative financing techniques for development projects at airports that each have less than .25 percent of the total number of passenger boardings each year at all commercial service airports. (Sec. 133) Directs the Secretary, in order to improve security at public U.S. airports, to carry out not less than one project to test and evaluate innovative airport security systems and related technology. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 134) Directs the Secretary to carry out an inherently low-emission airport vehicle pilot program which makes grants to the sponsors of not more than ten public-use airports eligible for airport development assistance. Makes a public-use airport eligible for such assistance if it is located in an air quality nonattainment area. Directs the Secretary, in selecting an applicant sponsor for a grant, to give priority consideration to applicants that achieve the greatest air quality benefits measured by the amount of emission reduced per dollar of grant funds. (Sec. 135) Revises the amount of certain funds apportioned to the discretionary fund. Declares that an airport development project shall remain eligible for funding from the discretionary fund (subject to the availability of funds) even though the airport's status changes from a primary to a nonprimary airport. Permits certain regulations to authorize a public agency to request waiver of a passenger facility fee for: (1) any class of domestic or foreign air carrier that enplanes not more than one percent of the total number of passengers enplaned annually at an airport; or (2) passengers enplaned on a flight to an airport with scheduled passenger service but fewer than 2,5000 passenger boardings each year, and in a community with a population of less than 10,000 and not connected by land to the National Highway System. (Sec. 136) Requires the Secretary to publish notice in the Federal Register and provide an opportunity for comment before any modification can be made with respect to airport development project grant assurances made by an airport owner or operator (before December 29, 1987) with respect to the disposal of surplus property for the airport. Declares that the Secretary may only release an option of the United States for a reversionary interest in property conveyed to a public agency sponsoring an airport development project after providing notice and an opportunity for public comment. Requires any Federal, executive branch department, agency, or instrumentality to grant priority to a request by a public agency (except another Federal executive branch department, agency, or instrumentality) for surplus property for use at a public airport. Authorizes the Secretary to waive, without charge, a term of a gift of an interest in such property after providing notice and an opportunity for public comment and other conditions are met. Subtitle C: Miscellaneous - Treats as an eligible airport-related project with respect to which an eligible agency may impose a passenger facility fee the construction of a terminal building (and adjacent aircraft fueling facilities), including structural foundations and floor systems, exterior building walls and load-bearing interior columns or walls, windows, door and roof systems, and building utilities (including heating, air conditioning, ventilation, plumbing, and electrical service), but excluding the construction necessary for improvement or final completion of revenue-producing areas and nonpublic use areas within such terminal buildings unless otherwise permitted, if an air carrier not yet serving the airport or accounting for less than 40 percent of passenger boardings at the airport: (1) will initiate or increase scheduled air transportation passenger service at the airport; and (2) will occupy such terminal facilities or equivalent terminal facilities otherwise made available as a result of such terminal construction not more than two years from the date that construction of such terminal facilities is completes. Treats also as such a project for which an eligible agency may impose a passenger facility fee the costs of terminal development at an airport that did not have more than .25 percent of the total U.S. annual passenger boardings and at which total passenger boardings declined by at least 16 percent between 1989 and 1997. (Sec. 152) Makes available to repay money borrowed to pay such development costs any airport planning and development and noise compatibility planning grant funds apportioned to sponsors of an air carrier airport at which terminal development was carried out between June 30, 1970, and July 12, 1976, or, in the case of a commercial service airport which annually had less than .25 percent (currently, .05 percent) of the total enplanements in the United States, between August 1, 1986, and September 30, 1990, or between June 1, 1991, and October 31, 1992. Makes such grants available for repayment if, among other things, the Secretary decides that using the amount to repay the borrowed money will not defer any needed airport development project affecting safety, security, or capacity. Authorizes the Secretary to approve the use of such funds for the repayment of borrowed money for terminal development costs at commercial service airports (nonhub airports) which annually have less than .25 percent (currently, .05 percent) of the total enplanements in the United States. Requires the Secretary to determine whether or not a public airport has at least 2,500 passenger boardings, on the basis of the number of passenger boardings at a public airport in the calendar year that includes the first day of such fiscal year or the preceding calendar year, when determining whether discretionary funds may be distributed to such commercial service airport. (Sec. 153) Extends the instrument landing system (ILS) program through FY 2004. Directs the Secretary to maintain and upgrade Loran-C navigation facilities throughout the transition period to satellite-based navigation. (Sec. 154) Makes charter air transportation a scheduled passenger operation subject to mandatory issuance of an airport operating license if the airport is not in Alaska and serves aircraft designed for between nine and 31 passenger seats. Directs the FAA Administrator to permit such an airport to preclude scheduled passenger operations (including public chartered operations), however, if it notifies the Administrator that it does not intend to obtain a certificate. (Sec. 155) Authorizes the Secretary to obligate airport improvement funds and amounts from the Trust Fund for any project to construct a new runway at an international airport. (Sec. 156) Directs the FAA Administrator to study and report to Congress on the long term physical performance, safety implications, and environmental benefits of using recycled materials (including recycled pavements, waste materials, and byproducts) in aviation pavement. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Airline Service Improvements - Subtitle A: Service to Airports Not Receiving Sufficient Service - Repeals requirements under the Code of Federal Regulations prohibiting the increase or decrease by the Administrator in the number of takeoffs and landings (the High Density Rule) at airports (except Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport). (Sec. 201) Authorizes the Secretary to grant exemptions from the High Density Rule to air carriers that provide nonstop air transportation using jet aircraft that comply with stage 3 noise levels and whose flights begin or end within 1,250 miles (perimeter rule) between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and an airport that has had less than two million enplanements, or between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and an airport that does not have nonstop transportation. Requires the Secretary to treat all commuter air carriers that have cooperative agreements (including code share agreements with other air carriers) equally for determining eligibility for exemptions regardless of the form of the corporate relationship between the commuter air carrier and the other air carrier. (Sec. 202) Increases the authorization of appropriations for the essential air service program for each fiscal year. Earmarks specified funds for: (1) the small community air service program; (2) air carriers to subsidize service to and from an underserved airport (not to exceed three years); (3) underserved airports to obtain jet aircraft service to and from them; (4) implementation of such other measures as the Secretary considers appropriate to improve air service both in terms of costs and availability of such service to consumers; and (5) rural air safety at airports with less than 100,000 annual boardings. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the FAA Administrator to give priority in funding to airports in which the community will provide from local sources a portion of project costs. (Sec. 203) Waives the State or local contribution requirement with respect to the compensation of an air carrier providing air service to certain noneligible places. (Sec. 204) Directs the Secretary, in carrying out aviation policy, to consider as being in the public interest and consistent with public convenience and necessity ensuring that consumers in all regions of the United States, including those in small communities and rural and remote areas, have access to affordable, regularly scheduled air service. (Sec. 205) Prohibits the Secretary from denying airport improvement assistance to small community air service airports solely on the basis that such an airport is located within 70 highway miles of a hub airport if the most commonly used highway route between the airport and the hub airport exceeds 70 miles. Subtitle B: Regional Air Service Incentive Program - Authorizes the Secretary to provide through one or more lenders guaranteed loans (including the extension of credit) to commuter air carriers (maximum seating capacity of 75 or less) for the purchase of regional jet aircraft which are to be used to provide service to underserved markets. Outlines loan conditions and limitations, including that: (1) the maximum amount guaranteed on a loan or extended on credit shall be no more than 50 percent, or $100 million; (2) such aircraft comply with certain Federal noise-level requirements; and (3) the air carrier agrees that the purchased aircraft be used to provide service to an underserved market. Authorizes the Secretary to make use of Federal facilities and assistance in carrying out the incentive program. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 211) Terminates the Secretary's program authority five years after enactment of this Act. Title III: FAA Management Reform - Establishes the Air Traffic Control Oversight Board within the Department of Transportation. Sets forth the Board's responsibilities, including to oversee the FAA in its administration, management, conduct, direction, and supervision of the air traffic control system. (Sec. 303) Provides for the appointment, by the FAA Administrator, and with the approval of the Board, of a Chief Operating Officer for the air traffic control system. (Sec. 304) Provides that the Secretary (instead of, as currently, the President, with the consent of the Senate) shall make subsequent appointments of Federal Aviation Management Advisory Council members. (Sec. 305) Directs the Secretary to develop and implement a coordinated environmental review process for aviation infrastructure projects that require the preparation of an environmental impact statement or environmental assessment under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (or any other environmental review or approval by operation of law). Sets forth the elements of such review process. (Sec. 306) Prohibits the FAA Administrator from issuing a proposed or final regulation that is likely to result in the expenditure by State, local, and tribal governments, or by the private sector, of $250 million (currently, $100 million) or more in aggregate (adjusted annually for inflation), or any regulation which is significant, unless the Secretary approves the issuance of the regulation in advance. (Sec. 307) Directs the Inspector General to conduct an assessment of whether the overall method of calculating FAA costs and attributing such costs to the user is reasonable. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Family Assistance - Amends Federal transportation law to revise provisions prohibiting unsolicited communications concerning potential action for personal injury or wrongful death by an attorney to an individual injured in an accident involving a domestic air carrier before the 45th day (currently, 30th day) following the accident to provide that such prohibition include accidents involving a foreign air carrier in the United States. Authorizes the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to bring a civil action in a district court for violations of this title. (Sec. 401) Prohibits a State or political subdivision from preventing nonprofit organization employees with experience in disasters and post-trauma communication with families from providing mental health and counseling services within the 30 day period after an accident. Includes within the definition of "passenger" for purposes of the provision of assistance to families of passengers involved in aircraft accidents: (1) foreign air carrier employees aboard the aircraft; and (2) any other person aboard the aircraft without regard to whether the person paid for the transportation, occupied a seat, or held a reservation for the flight. (Sec. 402) Revises air carrier plans that provide assistance to the families of passengers involved in aircraft accidents to require them to include, at a minimum, an assurance that: (1) upon request of the family of a passenger, the air carrier will inform the family of whether the passenger's name appeared on a preliminary passenger manifest for the flight involved in the accident; and (2) the air carrier will provide adequate training to air carrier employees and agents to meet the needs of survivors and family members following an accident. Prohibits the Secretary from approving an air carrier's application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity unless the applicant has included, among other things, an agreement that in the event that the air carrier volunteers assistance to U.S. citizens within the United States in the case of an aircraft accident outside of the United States involving major loss of life, the carrier will consult with the NTSB and the Department of State on the provision of such assistance. Declares that an air carrier shall not be liable for damages in any action brought in a Federal or State court arising out of its performance in providing information concerning a flight reservation (except in cases of gross negligence or intentional misconduct). (Sec. 403) Makes similar changes to foreign air carrier plans. Title V: Safety - Directs the FAA Administrator to require by regulation that collision avoidance equipment (TCAS-II) be installed on each cargo aircraft with a payload capacity in excess of 15,000 kilograms. (Sec. 502) Declares that an air carrier does not need to obtain the employment records of an applicant pilot who has been employed by a branch of the U.S. armed forces, the National Guard, or reserve before allowing such individual to begin service as a pilot. Provides for electronic access to the employment records of FAA air pilots. (Sec. 503) Provides for the enforcement of whistleblower laws for FAA employees. (Sec. 504) Directs the FAA Administrator to issue guidelines and encourage the development of air safety risk management programs throughout the aviation industry, including self-audits and self-disclosure programs. (Sec. 505) Directs the FAA Administrator to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking: (1) to develop procedures to protect air carriers and their employees from civil enforcement actions under the Flight Operations Quality Assurance program; and (2) on implementing a certain section of title 49 (Federal aviation law) relating to the issuance of airport operating certificates for small scheduled passenger air carrier operations. (Sec. 507) Directs the FAA Administrator to conduct a rulemaking proceeding to require the safe disposition of life-limited parts removed from an aircraft. Sets forth civil penalties for violations of such requirements. (Sec. 508) Subjects to a civil penalty of up to $25,000 any individual who interferes with the duties or responsibilities of the flight crew or cabin crew of a civil aircraft, or who poses an imminent threat to the safety of the aircraft or other individuals on the aircraft. (Sec. 509) Directs the FAA Administrator to report to specified congressional committees on FAA progress in implementing the air transportation oversight system. (Sec. 510) Makes applicable to other specified types of aircraft (currently exempted from them), including turbojet-powered aircraft, certain requirements that commercial aircraft be outfitted with an emergency locator transmitter. (Continues to exempt from such requirements aircraft used in scheduled flights by scheduled air carriers holding certificates issued by the Secretary, training operations conducted entirely within a 50-mile radius of the airport from which the training operations begin, flight operations related to design and testing, the manufacture, preparation, and delivery of aircraft, research and development, showing compliance with regulations, exhibition, air racing, or the aerial application of a substance on agricultural crops.) Title VI: Whistleblower Protection - Amends Federal transportation law to establish a whistleblower protection program for airline employees providing air safety information. (Sec. 601) Prohibits air carriers, contractors, and subcontractors from discharging or otherwise discriminating against an employee as to pay, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because the employee: (1) is about to provide or has provided to the Federal Government information relating to air safety; or (2) is about to file or has filed a proceeding, or testified, or otherwise participated in a proceeding relating to air safety. Sets forth a Department of Labor complaint procedure for persons who believe they have been discharged or discriminated against in violation of this Act. Provides for award of attorney's fees of up to $5,000 to a prevailing employer for any such complaint found frivolous or brought in bad faith. Specifies civil penalties for violation of this Act. Title VII: Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends Federal aviation safety law to declare that aircraft owned by the Government, State, or local government qualifies as a public aircraft except when used for commercial purposes or to carry an individual other than a crewmember or a qualified non-crewmember. (Sec. 703) Provides that a proposal under a competitive bid process that is in the possession of the FAA Administrator may not be made available to the public under the Freedom of Information Act , with a specified exception. (Sec. 704) Authorizes the FAA Administrator to make a multiyear contract of not more than ten years (currently, such contracts for the procurement of goods and services are limited to no more than five years) for telecommunication services that are provided through the use of a satellite if the FAA Administrator finds that the longer contract period would be cost beneficial. (Sec. 705) Provides that a proposed change to the FAA personnel management system that has not led to an agreement between the FAA employee bargaining unit and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service shall not become effective until 60 days after the FAA Administrator has submitted the change to Congress. Provides that such period shall not include any period during which Congress has adjourned sine die. Authorizes FAA employees who have been the subject of a major adverse personnel action to contest such action either through any contractual grievance procedure through the employee's collective bargaining unit or through the FAA's internal process relating to review of FAA major adverse personnel actions known as Guaranteed Fair Treatment or a specified section of the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996. Requires such employees who can contest such personnel action through more than one forum to elect the appropriate forum (no more than one). Amends the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 to authorize FAA employees under the new FAA personnel management system to appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board and seek judicial review of Board decisions. (Sec. 706) Amends Federal transportation law to prohibit domestic (including interstate) air carriers and foreign air carriers from discriminating against an air passenger on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, or sex. Prohibits foreign air carriers from discriminating against handicapped individuals. Provides a civil penalty for discrimination against handicapped individuals. Directs the Secretary to work with appropriate international organizations and the aviation authorities of other nations to establish higher standards, if appropriate, to accommodate handicapped air passengers, particularly with respect to foreign air carriers that code share with domestic air carriers. (Sec. 707) Defines major air carrier joint venture agreements as agreements with regard to code-sharing, blocked-space arrangements, long-term wet leases of a substantial number of aircraft, or frequent flyer programs, or any other cooperative working arrangement between two or more major air carriers that affects more than 15 percent of the total number of available seat miles offered by such carriers. (Sec. 708) Extends, through December 31, 2004, the aviation war risk insurance program. (Sec. 709) Authorizes the FAA Administrator to make improvements to real property leased for an air navigation facility, regardless of whether the cost of making such improvements exceeds the cost of leasing such property, provided certain requirements are met. (Sec. 710) Authorizes the FAA Administrator to enter into bilateral agreements with the aeronautical authorities of another country to exchange with that country all or part of their respective safety oversight functions and duties with respect to certain domestic and foreign aircraft. (Sec. 711) Provides for the availability of airman certificate records to the public. (Sec. 712) Authorizes a person to file with the NTSB a petition for a ten-day emergency stay of orders revoking an airman's certificate. (Sec. 715) Directs the FAA Administrator to establish new fees for, among other things, FAA services to any entity obtaining such services outside the United States (except no fee shall be imposed for production-certification related service performed outside the United States). (Sec. 717) Amends the Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990 to make foreign air carriers eligible for a waiver from stage 3 noise level requirements for certain aircraft. Authorizes the Secretary to provide a procedure under which a person may operate a stage 1 or stage 2 aircraft in nonrevenue service to or from a U.S. airport in order to: (1) sell the aircraft outside the United States; (2) sell the aircraft for scrapping; or (3) obtain modifications to the aircraft to meet stage 3 noise levels. (Sec. 718) Extends the Secretary's authority to approve an application of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority: (1) for airport development project grants; or (2) to impose a passenger facility fee. (Sec. 720) Amends the Centennial of Flight Commemoration Act to make it a nonprimary duty of the Centennial of Flight Commission to publish popular and scholarly works related to the history of aviation or the anniversary of the centennial of powered flight. Requires the Commission to adopt a policy to protect against possible conflicts of interest involving its members and employees. Requires Commission duties related to the designing, use, and licensing of logos, emblems, seals, and marks to be carried out by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). (Sec. 721) Repeals mail rate-setting authority of the U.S. Postal Service with respect the transportation of mail by aircraft in foreign air transportation. (Sec. 722) Declares that a memorandum of agreement between the FAA Administrator and any person that directly obtains aircraft situational display data shall require that such person: (1) demonstrate the capability of selectively blocking the display of any aircraft-situation-display-to-industry derived data related to any identified aircraft registration number; and (2) agree to block selectively the aircraft registration numbers of any aircraft owner or operator upon FAA request. (Sec. 723) Authorizes the Secretary to hire additional personnel to eliminate the backlog of pending equal employment opportunity complaints to the Department of Transportation (DOT) and to ensure that investigations of complaints are completed no later than 180 days after the initiation of the investigation. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 724) Directs the Secretary, subject to specified conditions, to waive any term contained in the deed of conveyance with respect to airport property that is no longer required for purposes of the Newport News-Williamsburg International Airport. (Sec. 725) Authorizes the City of Los Angeles Department of Airports to grant an easement to the California Department of Transportation to lands required to provide a right-of-way for the construction of the California State Route 138 bypass. (Sec. 726) Declares that flight operations conducted by Alaska guide pilots shall be regulated under the general operating and flight rules contained in part 91 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations. Directs the FAA Administrator to conduct a rulemaking proceeding to modify the general operating and flight rules by establishing special rules requiring Alaska guide pilots to: (1) operate aircraft inspected no less often than after 125 hours of flight time; (2) participate in an annual flight review; (3) have at least 500 hours of flight time as a pilot; (4) have a commercial rating; (5) hold at least a second-class medical certificate; and (6) hold a letter of authorization certifying that the pilot is in compliance with the rules issued by the Administrator. (Sec. 727) Directs the FAA Administrator to establish a pilot program to test and evaluate the benefits of long-term capital leasing contracts of aviation equipment and facilities. (Sec. 728) Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish an Aircraft Repair and Maintenance Advisory Panel to review issues related to the use and oversight of aircraft and aviation component repair and maintenance facilities located within, or outside of, the United States; and (2) seek the advice of the panel on methods to increase safety by improving the oversight of aircraft repair facilities. Directs the Secretary to require, by regulation, domestic and foreign air carriers and repair facilities to submit certain information (including the existence of employee drug and alcohol testing programs at foreign repair facilities) in order to assess balance of trade and safety issues with respect to work performed on aircraft used by domestic and foreign carriers and corporate operators. Requires the Secretary to make such information available to the public. (Sec. 729) Directs the FAA Administrator to study and report to Congress on air taxi operators covered by specified regulations. (Sec. 730) Declares the sense of Congress that, as soon as is practicable, the Administrator should complete and begin implementation of the comprehensive national airspace redesign the Administrator is conducting. (Sec. 732) Directs the Secretary to continue to work to develop a new standard for aircraft and aircraft engines that will lead to a further reduction in aircraft noise levels. (Sec. 733) Encourages the Administrator to consider any proposal with a regional consensus submitted by a State aviation authority regarding the expansion of existing airport facilities or the introduction of new airport facilities. Title VIII: National Parks Air Tour Management - National Parks Air Tour Management Act of 1999 - Prohibits a commercial air tour operator from conducting commercial air tour operations over a national park or tribal lands, except in accordance with this Act, conditions prescribed for that operator by the FAA Administrator, and any commercial air tour management plan for the park or tribal lands. (Sec. 803) Sets forth specified requirements with respect to: (1) the granting of authority to commercial air tour operators to conduct air tour operations over national parks or tribal lands, with specified exceptions; and (2) establishment of commercial air tour management plans. Exempts from the requirements of this Act: (1) the Grand Canyon National Park, or any Indian country within or abutting such park; and (2) any land or waters located in Alaska. (Sec. 804) Directs the FAA Administrator and the Director of the National Park Service (Director) to establish, jointly, an advisory group to provide continuing advice and counsel with respect to the operation of commercial air tours over and near national parks. (Sec. 805) Directs the FAA Administrator to report to Congress on the effects proposed overflight fees are likely to have on the commercial air tour industry. Directs the FAA Administrator and the Director to report jointly to Congress on the effectiveness of this Act in providing incentives for the development and use of quiet aircraft technology. Title IX: Truth in Budgeting - Truth in Budgeting Act - Prohibits the receipts and disbursements of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund from being counted as new budget authority, outlays, receipts, or deficit or surplus for purposes of the Federal budget as submitted by the President, the congressional budget, or the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Exempts such receipts and disbursements from any general budget limitation imposed by statute on Federal expenditures and net lending (budget outlays). (Sec. 903) Amends Federal aviation law to require the Secretary to estimate annually: (1) what, but for this Act, would be at the close of the next fiscal year the amount of unfunded aviation authorizations; and (2) the net aviation receipts to be credited to the Fund during the fiscal year. Title X: Aviation Spending Guarantee - Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to establish discretionary spending categories in budget authority and outlays for the traditional aviation general fund (FAA operation account 69-1301-0-1-402) for FY 2000 through 2004. Provides for the reduction in discretionary spending limits for budget authority and outlays for FY 2000 through 2004. (Sec. 1002) Prohibits the Director of the Office of Management and Budget from making any estimates of changes in direct spending outlays and receipts for any fiscal year resulting from this title. (Sec. 1003) Sets forth FAA guaranteed spending levels for budget resources for FY 2000 through 2004 (including adjustments to align with revenues). Authorizes appropriations for the AIP program. Sets forth estimated aviation income levels for FY 2000 through 2004.
Bill· SS. 1164 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999
International Tax Simplification for American Competitiveness Act of 1999 - Title I: Treatment of Controlled Foreign Corporations - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) with respect to subpart F (Controlled Foreign Corporations) to set forth provisions concerning, among other things: (1) permanently extend the subpart F exemption for active financing income earned on business operation overseas; (2) direct the Secretary of the Treasury to conduct a study on the feasibility of treating all countries included in the European Union as a single country for purposes of applying the same country exceptions under subpart F; (3) provide for the determination of subpart F earnings and profits under generally accepted U.S. accounting principles; (4) exclude from the definition of "foreign base company oil related income" the pipeline transportation of oil or gas within such foreign country; and (5) exclude from the definition of the term "foreign base company services income" income derived in connection with the performance of services which are related to the transmission of high voltage electricity. Title II: Provisions Relating to Foreign Tax Credit - Revises section 904 (Limitation On Credit) of the (IRC) to, among other things: (1) extend the period to which excess foreign taxes may be carried; (2) define overall domestic loss and sets forth provisions for determining taxable income for any taxpayer sustaining such a loss; (3) provide an exception for interest on certain securities; (4) revise 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 the portion of earnings and profits attributable to income in such category to the total amount of earnings and profits; (5) repeal the 90 percent limitation on the utilization of the foreign tax credit; and (6) repeals section 907 (Special Rules In Case of Foreign Oil and Gas Income) of the IRC. Title III: Other Provisions - Applies constructive ownership rules for purposes of determining certain post-1986 undistributed U.S. earnings. Applies capitalization rules to nonresident aliens and foreign corporations. Repeals the special rule for military property with respect to exempt foreign trade income. Revises the definition of U.S. property to exclude certain assets acquired by dealers in the ordinary course of business. Exempts from the taxes on nonresident aliens and foreign corporations certain regulated investment company dividends. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, with respect to the Puerto Rico and possession tax credit, to exclude from the definition of the term "intangible property" any preliminary agreement which is not legally enforceable. Sets forth provisions concerning airline mileage awards to certain foreign persons. Repeals subpart G (Export Trade Corporations) of part III of subchapter N of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code. Prohibits the Secretary from requiring a corporation to report any information with respect to any foreign person which is a related person if the aggregate value of the transactions between the corporation and the related person does not exceed $5 million.
Bill· SS. 1162 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999
Strengthening Families in the Military Service Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of Defense to establish and carry out a program to provide, at no cost to the recipient, supplemental foods and nutrition education to: (1) low-income pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding women, infants, and children up to five years old of military families stationed outside the United States; and (2) eligible civilians serving with, employed by, or accompanying the armed forces outside the United States. Directs the Secretary to operate the program in a manner similar to the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children established under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966. Directs the inspectors general of the military departments and Department of Defense to investigate and monitor implementation of the program. Requires a program implementation report from the Secretary to the congressional defense and agricultural committees. Provides program funding for FY 2000 through 2002.
Bill· SS. 1146 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999
Veterans' Access to Emergency Care Act of 1999 - Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to contract for emergency health care in non-Department of Veterans Affairs facilities for veterans enrolled in the Department's annual patient enrollment system. Includes such contracted emergency care within the definition of authorized Department medical services. Authorizes the reimbursement of enrolled veterans for expenses incurred in the treatment of any emergency medical condition which results in: (1) placing the health of the individual in serious jeopardy; or (2) serious impairment to bodily functions or serious dysfunction of a body organ or part. Directs the Secretary to require in such a contract that payment by the Secretary for treatment of enrolled veterans at the non-Department facility be made only after any payment that may be made with respect to such treatment: (1) under part A or part B of the Medicare program (title XVIII of the Social Security Act); and (2) by a third-party insurance provider.
Bill· HRH.R. 1981 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999
Military Reserves Small Business Relief Act - Amends the Small Business Act to require the Small Business Administration (SBA), upon written request, to defer repayment of principal and interest due on a direct general business or disaster loan made to a member of the reserves ordered to active duty during a period of military conflict, as long as such reservist: (1) received the loan before being ordered to such duty; and (2) is the owner, manager, or key employee of a small business for which the loan was made. Extends such deferral period until the later of 180 days after: (1) such reservist is discharged or released from active duty; or (2) the date of enactment of this Act. Applies such assistance to periods of military conflict occurring on or after August 1, 1990. Authorizes the SBA to make disaster loans to assist a small business that has suffered or is likely to suffer economic injury as the result of the owner, manager, or key employee of such business being ordered to active duty during a period of military conflict. Provides a loan limitation. Applies such assistance to periods of military conflict occurring on or after August 1, 1990.
Bill· HRH.R. 1984 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999
Elderly Protection Act - Title I: Federal Prohibition of Violence Against the Elderly and Additional Assistance for Programs to Combat That Violence - Amends the Federal criminal code to establish criminal penalties, including ten years' imprisonment, for willful bodily or psychological injury (or its attempt) to a senior (age 62 or older) because of the individual's age. Prescribes up to life imprisonment in the case of kidnaping, aggravated sexual abuse, or homicide. (Sec. 101) Authorizes appropriations for additional enforcement personnel and resources. Title II: Domestic Violence Prevention - Increases the authorization of appropriations for assistance under the United States Housing Act of 1937. (Sec. 202) Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make such amounts available only to public housing agencies and qualified nonprofit organizations only for use for providing tenant-based rental assistance on behalf of families victimized by domestic violence who have left or are leaving a residence as a result of the domestic violence. (Sec. 203) Revises Federal law with respect to payment of monthly transitional compensation to dependents or former dependents of armed forces members convicted of a dependent-abuse offense. Allows resumption, on a case-by-case basis, of any such payments terminated, after execution of a punitive or adverse action, because the convicted former member again resides in the same household as the spouse or former spouse receiving such payments, if the former member subsequently ceases such residence, and it is determined there was ongoing abuse. (Sec. 204) Adds mental health services to the medical care to which the abused dependent receiving such transitional compensation is entitled. (Sec. 205) Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to require the Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Aging, in making demonstration project grants and contracts, to give special consideration to projects designed to: (1) expand access to domestic violence shelters and programs for older individuals; and (2) promote research on legal, organizational, or training impediments to providing services to older individuals through such shelters, especially impediments to provision of services in coordination with delivery of health care or senior services. (Sec. 206) Makes permanent the authorization of appropriations for the ombudsman program and the elder abuse prevention program, without fiscal year limitation. (Sec. 207) Directs the Secretary to make grants to: (1) nonprofit private organizations to support community initiatives to coordinate activities concerning intervention in and prevention of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, including domestic violence, and sexual assault, against older individuals; and (2) develop and implement outreach programs directed toward assisting older individuals who are victims of such abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 208) Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 and the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary, in making awards of grants or contracts under this title, to give preference to any qualified health professions school or training program that requires, as a condition of receiving a degree or certificate, each student to have had significant training in identifying, examining, treating, and referring to service providers any victims of elder abuse and neglect, including domestic violence, and sexual assault. Title III: Elderly and Disabled Protection - Elderly and Disabled Protection Act of 1999 - Declares that a nursing facility (including a skilled nursing facility), home health agency, or hospice program (covered facility) under the Medicare and Medicaid programs of titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act may not: (1) employ an individual as a direct care employee unless the facility has requested from the State direct care employee registry a background check (including a criminal as well as an abusive work history background check); or (2) continue to employ such an individual if the background check report reveals a conviction of a disqualifying crime. Requires the covered facility to report to such registry documented findings of patient abuse by a direct care employee. Imposes civil penalties upon covered facilities that violate such requirements. (Sec. 303) Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish methods by which State direct care registries can pool and share criminal background check summaries and documented findings of patient abuse (national registry coordination system). Requires each State to expand its direct care employee registry in order to carry out such background checks and other related functions, including reporting of summary information to the national registry coordination system. Sets forth procedures for criminal and abusive work history background checks. (Sec. 304) Defines "direct care employee" as a paid, nonvolunteer nurse aide, home health care aide, personal care assistant, private duty nurse aide, day attendant, housekeeper, library attendant, laundry assistant, or similar worker who performs nursing or related tasks involving direct patient care in a covered facility.
Bill· HRH.R. 2000 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999
Military Survivor Benefits Improvement Act of 1999 - Amends Federal provisions concerning the military Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) to adjust the basic SBP annuity amount for surviving spouses age 62 or over of former military personnel to: (1) 35 percent of the retired pay of the decedent, for months beginning on or before the enactment of this Act (current law); (2) 40 percent of such pay, for months beginning after the date of enactment of this Act until October 2004; and (3) 45 percent of such pay, for months beginning on or after October 2004. Adjusts similarly the percentage amounts of SBP supplemental annuity authorized to be provided for such surviving spouses. Directs the Secretary of Defense to ensure appropriate adjustments in the computation of retired pay reductions for such supplemental annuities made necessary by this Act.
Bill· HRH.R. 1973 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a national cemetery in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area.
Bill· HRH.R. 1978 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a national cemetery in Boise, Idaho.
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 196 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999
Declares that: (1) the United States should work with the United Nations (UN) as the primary conduit for a peaceful solution to the crisis in Yugoslavia; and (2) the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) should cease air strikes in Yugoslavia to give the UN the necessary window of opportunity to bring peace to the people of Kosovo. Urges the President to engage the UN as an intermediary in negotiations between NATO and Slobodan Milosevic to: (1) bring an end to the NATO bombing in Yugoslavia; (2) end the intimidation and expulsion of the Kosovo civilian population; (3) cease all activities of the Yugoslav military and paramilitary forces in Kosovo and to withdraw those forces; (4) facilitate the return of refugees and displaced persons to their homes; and (5) deploy an international peacekeeping force to ensure a secure environment for the refugees and humanitarian aid.
Bill· SS. 1134 (106th)passed
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1999
Affordable Education Act of 1999 - Title I: Education Savings Incentives - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the maximum annual contribution allowed to an education individual retirement account. Permits eligible educational institutions to maintain qualified tuition programs. Title II: Educational Assistance - Extends the termination date for the exclusion of employer provided educational assistance provisions. Eliminates the 60 month limit on the student loan interest deduction. Excludes from gross income certain amounts received under the National Public Health Service Corps Scholarship Program and the F. Edward Hebert Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship and Financial Assistance Program. Title III: Liberalization of Tax-Exempt Financing Rules for Public School Construction - Increases the amount by which certain governmental bonds used to finance public school capital expenditures may be exempted from specified arbitrage bond provisions. Provides for the treatment of qualified public educational facility bonds as exempt facility bonds. Permits aggregate Federal guarantees of up to $500 million in school construction bonds by the Federal Housing Finance Board. Title IV: Revenue Provisions - Modifies the foreign tax credit carryback and carryover periods. Limits the use of the non-accrual experience method of accounting under provisions relating to special rules for services. 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. 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, 2009). Revises provisions concerning a corporation, its shareholders, and the transferring of certain assets and liabilities. Disallows 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. 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. Modifies rules relating to the exemption of certain ten or more employer plans from welfare benefit fund provisions. Prohibits, in general, the use of the installment method of accounting for accrual method dispositions. Adds to the list of taxable vaccines any conjugate vaccine of streptococcus pneumoniae.
Bill· HRH.R. 1962 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1999
Supercomputer Post-shipment Verification Act of 1999 - Prohibits the export or reexport of digital computers with a composite theoretical performance of more than 2,000 MTOPS to a country that has been a recipient of such exports for which post-shipment verifications have not been made during the period beginning on November 18, 1997, and ending September 30, 1998. Prohibits the subsequent export or reexport of such computers to such country until all post-shipment verifications have been made. Requires the Secretary of Commerce to report annually to specified congressional committees on the results of post-shipment verifications during the previous fiscal year. Directs the Secretary of Defense to report to specified congressional committees on the impact on national security of the export of such computers to countries listed as "Computer Tier 3" eligible under section 740.7 of title 15 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
Bill· HRH.R. 1960 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards Part A: Basic Grants Part B: Even Start Part C: Education of Migratory Children Part D: Neglected and Delinquent Children Part E: Federal Evaluations, Demonstrations, and Transition Projects Part F: General Provisions Part G: Reading Excellence Title II: High Standards in the Classroom Part A: Teaching to High Standards Title III: Technology for Education Part A: Federal Leadership and National Activities Part B: Special Projects Part C: Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology Part D: Regional, State, and Local Educational Technology Resources Title IV: Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act Title V: Promoting Equity, Excellence, and Public School Choice Title VI: Class-Size Reduction Title VII: Bilingual Education Act Title VIII: Impact Aid Title IX: Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native Education Part A: Indian Education Part B: Native Hawaiian Education Act Part C: Alaska Native Education Title X: Programs of National Significance Title XI: General Provisions, Definitions, and Accountability Title XII: Amendments to Other Laws; Repeals Part A: Amendments to Other Laws Part B: Repeals Educational Excellence for All Children Act of 1999 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to revise and reauthorize ESEA programs through FY 2005. (Sec. 3) Renames the National Education Goals (currently in title I of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act), as America's Education Goals, revises such Goals, and includes them under ESEA. Title I: Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards - Extends the authorization of appropriations for the following ESEA title I programs: (1) part A basic grants to States for improving programs of local educational agencies (LEAs); (2) part B Even Start program; (3) part C education of migratory children; (4) part D State agency programs for neglected or delinquent children; (5) part E Reading Excellence program (transferred from title II); and (6) part F Federal activities. (Sec. 103) Requires each State educational agency (SEA) to: (1) reserve a portion (2.5 percent in FY 2001 and 2002, 3.5 percent in subsequent fiscal years) of its annual basic grant under part A of title I to carry out certain LEA assistance and school improvement activities; and (2) allocate at least 70 percent of such reserved amount directly to LEAs in accordance with specified priorities, or use at least that portion of the reserved amount to carry out an alternative system of school and LEA improvement and corrective action described in the State plan and approved by the Secretary of Education. Part A: Basic Grants - Revises requirements for State plans. (Sec. 111) Requires State plan coordination with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998 (VTEA). Revises provisions relating to assessments of limited English proficient (LEP) children. Requires submission of accountability plans and establishment of accountability systems that are based on challenging standards, include all students, promote continuous improvement, and include rigorous criteria for identifying and intervening in schools and districts in need of improvement. Eliminates a requirement that States identify languages other than English that are present in the participating school population, indicate the languages for which assessments are not available, and make every effort to develop those assessments. Directs the Secretary to include experts on educational standards, assessments, accountability, and the diverse educational needs of students in the peer-review process used to review State plans. (Sec. 112) Revises requirements for LEA plans. Requires LEA plan coordination with IDEA and VTEA. Requires LEA plans to describe any assessments that they will use to determine the literacy levels of first graders and their need for interventions and how they will ensure that those assessments: (1) are developmentally appropriate; (2) use multiple measures to provide information about the variety of relevant skills; and (3) are administered to students in the language most likely to yield valid results. Requires LEA professional development strategies under title I part A to be components of their professional development plans under the new title II, if they receive title II funds. Includes Indian children served under title IX of ESEA among those for whom LEA plans must describe coordination of title I services with other educational services. Requires LEA plans to include descriptions of: (1) the actions an LEA will take to assist its low-performing schools, if any, in making the changes needed to educate all children to the State standards; and (2) how the LEA will promote the use of extended learning time, such as an extended school year, before- and after-school programs, and summer programs. Requires LEA assurances regarding: (1) annual assessment of the English proficiency of all LEP children participating in part A programs, using assessment results to help guide and modify instruction in the content areas, and providing those results to the children's parents; and (2) compliance with specified requirements regarding teacher qualifications and the use of paraprofessionals. Requires States to use a peer-review process in reviewing LEA plans. (Sec. 113) Revises provisions relating to eligible school attendance areas. Authorizes an LEA to: (1) continue serving an attendance area for one year after it loses its eligibility; and (2) allocate greater per-child amounts of title I funds to higher-poverty areas and schools than it provides to lower-poverty areas and schools. Requires LEAs to reserve sufficient funds to serve homeless children who do not attend participating schools. (Sec. 114) Revises provisions for schoolwide programs. Allows use of IDEA funds for such programs under certain conditions. Requires peer review and LEA approval of a schoolwide plan before implementation. (Sec. 115) Revises provisions for targeted assistance schools. Allows preschool children of any age to be served under part A if they can benefit from an organized instructional program. Provides that children who, within the prior two years, had received title I preschool services are eligible for services under part A (as are children who participated in a Head Start or Even Start program in such period). (Sec. 116) Revises provisions relating to assessment and LEA and school improvement. Sets forth examples of criteria to be used by SEAs in designating Distinguished Schools. Requires each participating school identified by an LEA as being in need of improvement, to develop or revise a school plan, in consultation with parents, school staff, the LEA, and a State school support team or other outside experts. Requires an LEA to take at least one of a number of specified corrective actions in the case of a school that fails to make progress within three years of its identification as being in need of improvement. Requires an LEA that has been identified by the SEA as needing improvement to submit a revised part A plan to the SEA for peer review and approval. Requires an SEA to take certain corrective actions in the case of an LEA that fails to make sufficient progress within three years of being identified as in need of improvement. (Sec. 117) Revises provisions for State assistance for school support and improvement. Requires SEAs to provide such assistance according to the following order of priorities: first, to LEAs identified for corrective action and to individual schools for which an LEA has failed to carry out certain responsibilities; next, to other LEAs identified as in need of improvement, but not identified as in need of corrective action; and finally, to other LEAs and schools that need those services in order to achieve the purpose of part A. Directs SEAs to use for such State assistance certain funds available for technical assistance and support. Authorizes SEAs also to use for such State assistance certain State administrative funds. (Sec. 118) Applies to all part A activities the requirement to provide full opportunities for participation by parents with limited English proficiency and parents with disabilities. (Sec. 119) Requires each participating LEA to: (1) hire qualified instructional staff; (2) provide high-quality professional development to staff members; and (3) use for such professional development at least five percent of its part A grant for FY 2001 and 2002, and ten percent of such grant for subsequent fiscal years. Sets forth minimum qualifications for teachers and paraprofessionals in programs supported with part A funds. Revises a list of professional development activities. Includes child-care providers among those with whom an LEA could choose to conduct joint professional development activities. (Sec. 120) Revises provisions for program participation of children enrolled in private schools. Allows LEAs to determine the number of poor children in private schools every year or every two years. Revises provisions relating to consultation with private school officials regarding provision of program services to children. (Sec. 120A) Revises criteria for determining the required comparability of services that a participating LEA provides in title I schools, from State and local sources, with those it provides in its other schools. Requires LEAs to update their records documenting compliance with such comparability requirement annually. (Sec. 120B) Sets forth additional requirements for quality assurance by preschool programs carried out with part A funds. (Sec. 120C) Revises formulas and other requirements for allocations of part A basic grant funds to territories, States, and LEAs. (Sec. 120D) Requires States to report annually to the Secretary on specified program indicators relating to schools participating in the part A program. Part B: Even Start - Revises the ESEA title I part B Even Start program. (Sec. 121) Requires Even Start programs to be based on the best available research on language development, reading instruction, and prevention of reading difficulties. (Sec. 122) Directs the Secretary to reserve five percent of program funds to support national demonstration and model projects for isolated and especially hard-to-reach populations, including projects for: (1) children of migratory workers; (2) the outlying areas; (3) Indian tribes and tribal organizations; and (4) other populations, such as families that are homeless, that have children with severe disabilities, or that include incarcerated mothers of young children. Limits to not more than one percent of program funds the amount which may be reserved to provide technical assistance, program improvement, and replication activities. Makes discretionary, rather than mandatory, the Secretary's making of competitive grants for interagency coordination of statewide family literacy initiatives. Allows for-profit, as well as nonprofit, organizations to qualify as providers of technical assistance. (Sec. 123) Requires States applying for Even Start grants to submit State plans, including State indicators of program quality. (Sec. 124) Includes family literacy services among permissible uses of Even Start program funds. (Sec. 125) Revises required elements of Even Start programs. Allows career counseling and job placement services to be offered to accommodate participants' work schedules and other responsibilities. Requires instructional programs to integrate all elements of family literacy services. Sets forth requirements relating to: (1) qualifications of instructional staff and paraprofessionals; and (2) staff training to obtain certification in relevant instructional areas, as well as necessary skills. Includes individuals with disabilities among those who may be most in need of program services. Revises various provisions relating to retention of families in Even Start programs. (Sec. 126) Includes as eligible for Even Start program participation teenage parents who are attending school, but who are above the State's age for compulsory school attendance. (Sec. 127) Revises application provisions relating to local Even Start plans to require: (1) program improvement emphasis; (2) outcome goals for participating children and families that are consistent with the State's program indicators; (3) addressing of specified program elements; and (4) evaluation plans. (Sec. 128) Revises subgrant award provisions to require a State's review panel to include an individual with expertise in family literacy programs. Makes optional, rather than mandatory, the inclusion of one or more of other specified types of individuals on such panels. Authorizes each State to continue Even Start funding, for up to two years beyond the eight-year limit, for up to two exemplary projects in the State that have been highly successful and that show substantial potential to serve as models for other projects throughout the Nation and as mentor sites for other family literacy projects in the State. (Sec. 130) Sets the end of FY 2000 as the deadline for States to develop certain required indicators of program quality. Adds to such required indicators others relating to the levels of intensity of services and the duration of participating children and adults needed to reach the outcomes the State specifies. (Sec. 130A) Repeals specified provisions relating to research. Part C: Education of Migratory Children - Revises part C title I ESEA provisions for education of migratory children. (Sec. 131) Revises formulas and other requirements for allocation of funds to the States and Puerto Rico. Establishes minimum and maximum annual State allocation amounts. (Sec. 132) Revises State application requirements to include certain elements of the separate comprehensive service-delivery plan requirements removed by this Act. (Sec. 133) Revises authorized activities. Removes requirements that a State develop a comprehensive service-delivery plan that is separate from its application for funds. (Sec. 134) Makes for-profit entities (as well as nonprofit entities) eligible for awards of funds to carry out various activities to support the interstate and intrastate coordination of migrant-education activities. Increases the maximum amount that may be reserved each year from the appropriation for the Migrant Education program to support coordination activities. Authorizes awarding of incentive grants to States that form consortia to improve the delivery of services to migratory children whose education is interrupted. (Current law makes such grant awards mandatory and competitive.) Increases the maximum amount that may be reserved for such grant awards. Part D: Neglected and Delinquent Children - Revises and renames part D title I ESEA as State Agency Programs for Children and Youth Who Are Neglected or Delinquent. (Sec. 143) Revises requirements for payments for part D programs. (Sec. 144) Revises requirements for allocation of part D funds to the States and Puerto Rico. (Sec. 145) Requires State plans to provide that participating children will be held to the same challenging academic standards, as well as given the same opportunity to learn, as they would if they were attending local public schools. (Sec. 147) Repeals provisions for Local Agency Programs. (Sec. 148) Revises program evaluation provisions to require that an SEA to use multiple measures of student progress that are: (1) appropriate for the students and feasible for the SEA; and (2) consistent with the requirement to provide participating children the same opportunities to learn, and to hold them to the same standards that would apply if they were attending local public schools. Part E: Federal Evaluations, Demonstrations, and Transition Projects - Revises provisions relating to evaluations, management information, demonstrations of innovative practices and other Federal activities. Part F: General Provisions - Repeals certain requirements relating to rulemaking and issuance of a program assistance manual. Part G: Reading Excellence - Transfers the Reading Excellence Act program (currently part C of title II of ESEA) to a new part E of title I of ESEA. (Sec. 171) Revises provisions for reading and literacy activities grants to allow an SEA to apply for and receive a subsequent grant. Requires SEA grant applications to include the process and criteria to be used to review and approve LEA applications for local reading improvement subgrants and tutorial assistance subgrants, including a peer-review process with individuals with relevant expertise. (Sec. 172) Requires SEAs receiving part G grants to use such funds as follows: (1) not more than five percent for State administrative costs, including a specified two percent maximum for such costs with respect to a specified program; and (2) award up to 15 percent through at least one tutorial assistance subgrant. (Sec. 173) Limits eligibility for local reading improvement subgrants to LEAs that operate schools for grades one through three. Requires that the schools in which such reading instruction activities are provided serve children in the third grade or below. (Sec. 174) Limits eligibility for tutorial assistance subgrants to LEAs that serve children for grades one through three. Requires that such grant funds serve children in the third grade or below. (Sec. 176) Authorizes the National Institute for Literacy to use a specified amount to pay for the costs of administering information dissemination activities. Authorizes the Secretary to reserve a specified amount for the Reading Excellence program for technical assistance, program improvement, and replication activities. (Sec. 177) Repeals an authorization of appropriations (but transfers the authorization of appropriations for the Reading Excellence program to another part of ESEA). (Sec. 178) Transfers the authority for the Reading Excellence program (currently in part C of title II of ESEA) to part E of title I of ESEA. Title II: High Standards in the Classroom - Revises and renames title II of ESEA as High Standards in the Classroom. Part A: Teaching to High Standards - Authorizes a new program by consolidating the Dwight D. Eisenhower Professional Development Program (current title II ESEA) and Innovative Education Program Strategies (current title VI ESEA) and the current title III of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act. (Sec. 201) Authorizes appropriations for the following part A programs: (1) State and local activities (subpart 2); and (2) national activities for the improvement of teaching and school leadership (subpart 3). Sets forth subpart 2 provisions for State and Local Activities. Sets forth formulas for allocations to the States, the outlying areas, and schools operated or funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Requires priority use of part A funds for professional development in mathematics and science. Increases the amount of the current Eisenhower program's set-aside amount for professional development in mathematics and science. Allows such professional development in mathematics and science to include interdisciplinary activities, as long as these activities include a strong focus on mathematics and science. Requires funds in excess of the set-aside amount to be used in one or more of the core academic subjects, including mathematics and science. Sets forth State application requirements. Requires States to submit annual reports to the Secretary on their own program activities and on the progress of subgrant recipients against program performance indicators. Sets forth requirements relating to funds for: (1) State-level activities, program evaluations, and administration, including certain amounts for the State higher education agency (SHEA); and (2) within-State allocations for formula and competitive grants to LEAs. Sets forth authorized State-level activities to promote high-quality instruction. Allows SHEAs to reserve a portion of their allocation for administrative activities and program evaluations and require them, in cooperation with SEAs, to award competitive subgrants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with, institutions of higher education (IHEs) or nonprofit organizations to provide professional development in the core academic subjects. Requires priority to be given to projects that focus on teacher induction programs. Requires awards to be made only to projects that include an LEA, are coordinated with related activities under title II of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), and involve the IHE's school or department of education and the school or departments in the specific disciplines in which the professional development will be provided. Sets forth program activities and reporting requirements. Requires SEAs to award competitive subgrants to LEAs, using a peer-review process that includes reviewers knowledgeable in the academic content areas. Requires SEAs to adopt strategies to ensure that LEAs with the greatest need are provided a reasonable opportunity to receive an award. Sets a three-year subgrant period, allowing extension for an additional two years if the SEA determines that the LEA is making substantial progress toward meeting the goals in the LEA's district-wide plan for raising student achievement against State standards and against the performance indicators identified by the Secretary. Sets forth requirements for LEA applications to SEAs for formula or competitive subgrants. Requires a district-wide plan that describes how the LEA will raise student achievement against State standards by: (1) supporting the alignment of curricula, assessments, and professional development to challenging State and local content standards; (2) providing professional development in the core academic content areas; (3) carrying out activities to assist new teachers during their first three years in the classroom; and (4) ensuring that teachers employed by the LEA are proficient in teaching skills and content knowledge. Requires the LEA application also to identify specific goals for achieving program purposes, assure collection of data that measures progress toward program performance indicators, and describe how it will: (1) address the needs of high-poverty, low-performing schools, and of teachers of students with limited English proficiency and other students with special needs; (2) coordinate program funds with professional development activities funded through other State and Federal programs, use its formula subgrant funds to address the items in the district-wide plan, and use any additional funds from a competitive subgrant to implement that plan. Sets forth authorized uses of program funds by LEAs to implement their district-wide plans. Requires LEAs to submit program reports to SEAs. Sets forth formulas for Federal and local shares of program costs. Prohibits subgrantees from using program funds for equipment, computer hardware, textbooks, telecommunications fees, or other items, that would otherwise be provided by the LEA or State, or by a private school whose students receive services under the program. Directs the Secretary to identify indicators of program performance against which recipients would report their progress. Sets forth subpart 3 provisions for National Activities for the Improvement of Teaching and School Leadership. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to, and contracts with LEAs, SEAs, SHEAs, IHEs, educational service agencies, and other public and private nonprofit entities to support: (1) activities of national significance that are not supported through other sources and that will contribute to the improvement of teaching and school leadership in the Nation's schools; (2) activities of national significance that will contribute to the recruitment and retention of highly qualified teachers and principals in high-poverty LEAs; and (3) a national evaluation of the part A program. Directs the Secretary to support: (1) the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards; and (2) the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for Mathematics and Science Education (Clearinghouse). Authorizes the Secretary to make a grant or contract to continue the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for Mathematics and Science Education. Sets forth part B provisions for the Transition-to-Teaching program, and the Troops-to-Teachers program, to address the need of high-poverty school districts for highly qualified teachers in subject areas such as mathematics, science, foreign languages, bilingual education, and special education needed by those school districts. Authorizes the Secretary to use part B funds to award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to IHEs and public and private nonprofit entities to carry out part B Transition-to-Teaching programs. Requires the Secretary, before making such awards, to: (1) consult with the Secretaries of Defense and Transportation with respect to the appropriate amount of funding necessary to continue and enhance the Troops-to-Teachers program; and (2) transfer such amount to the Department of Defense to carry out such program. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a written agreement with the Departments of Defense and of Transportation, or take other appropriate steps to ensure effective continuation of such program. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth part B requirements for applications. Authorizes use of part B funds for: (1) recruitment of program participants; (2) training stipends and other financial incentives for program participants; (3) assistance to IHEs or other teacher training providers to meet particular needs of professionals changing their careers to teaching; (4) placement activities, including identifying high-poverty LEAs with needs for particular skills and characteristics of the newly trained program participants and assisting those participants to obtain employment in those LEAs; and (5) post-placement induction or support activities for program participants. Requires program participants who complete training to teach in a high-poverty LEA for at least three years, or else repay all or a portion of their training stipend or other incentive. Sets forth part C provisions for Early Childhood Educator Professional Development. Directs the Secretary to make competitive grants to eligible partnerships consisting of: (1) at least one IHE (or another public or private, nonprofit entity) that provides professional development for early childhood educators who work with children from low-income families in high-need communities; and (2) one or more public agencies (including LEAs, SEAs, State human services agencies, and State and local agencies administering programs under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990), Head Start agencies, or private nonprofit entities. Gives priority to applications from partnerships that include one or more LEAs that operate early childhood programs for children from low-income families in high-need communities. Sets forth requirements for applications, selection of grantees, uses of funds, allowable activities, technologies, and data collection, evaluation, and reporting activities necessary to meet program accountability requirements, performance indicators, reports, and cost-sharing. Directs the Secretary (of Education) and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to coordinate activities of this program and other early childhood programs that they administer. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth part D provisions for technical assistance programs, including the following subparts: (1) strengthening the capacity of SEAs and LEAs to become effective, informed consumers of technical assistance; (2) technical assistance centers serving special needs; (3) technology-based technical assistance information dissemination; and (4) national evaluation activities. Sets forth requirements for allocation of subpart 1 funds, formula grants to SEAs, State applications and uses of funds, direct formula grants to large LEAs, local applications and uses of funds, and equitable services for private schools. Directs the Secretary to establish, through one or more contracts, an independent source of consumer information regarding the quality and effectiveness of technical assistance activities and providers available to States, LEAs, and other recipients of funds under ESEA, in selecting technical assistance activities and providers for their use. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth subpart 2 provisions for technical assistance centers serving special needs. Sets forth general requirements applicable to all technical assistance providers that receive funds under this subpart 2, all consortia that receive funds under subpart 2 part B title III ESEA, and the educational laboratories, and clearinghouses of the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC), supported under the Educational Research, Development, Dissemination, and Improvement Act. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to public or private nonprofit entities (or consortia of those entities) to operate two centers for technical assistance on the needs of special populations. Requires such centers to provide training and technical assistance to SEAs, LEAs, schools, tribes, community-based organizations, and other recipients of funds under ESEA on: (1) addressing specific linguistic, cultural, or other needs of limited English proficient, migratory, Indian, and Alaska Native students; and (2) educational strategies to enable those students to meet challenging State academic content and performance standards. Requires each center to give priority to providing services to schools, including BIA-funded schools, that educate such students and have the highest percentages or numbers of children in poverty and the lowest student achievement levels. Sets forth accountability requirements. Authorizes appropriations for such centers. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements for Parental Information and Resource Centers (PIRCs) (currently authorized under Title IV of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act). Provides for such awards to nonprofit organizations that serve parents, particularly those organizations that make substantial efforts to reach low-income, minority, or limited English proficient parents. Requires PIRCs to: (1) coordinate the efforts of Federal, State, and local parent education and family involvement initiatives; and (2) provide training, information, and support to SEAs, LEAs, schools, and organizations that support family-school partnerships. Sets forth requirements for applications, matching funds, and uses of funds. Increases from 50 percent to 75 percent the minimum portion of its award which each recipient of such funds must use to support activities that serve areas with large numbers or concentrations of low-income families. Authorizes the Secretary to reserve a portion of program funds for technical assistance to the PIRCs and evaluations of program activities. Sets forth reporting and general program provisions. Authorizes appropriations for the PIRC program. Revises and authorizes provisions for the Eisenhower Regional Mathematics and Science Education Consortia (currently authorized under part C title XIII ESEA). Authorizes appropriations for the Eisenhower Consortia. Sets forth subpart 3 provisions for technology-based technical assistance information dissemination. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out, through grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements, a national system, through the Worldwide Web and other advanced telecommunications technologies, that supports interactive information sharing and dissemination about ways to improve educational practices throughout the Nation. Directs the Secretary, in designing and implementing such system, to create opportunities for the continuing input of students, teachers, administrators, and other individuals who participate in, or may be affected by, the Nation's educational system. Requires such system to include information on: (1) stimulating instructional materials that are aligned with challenging content standards; and (2) successful and innovative practices in instruction, professional development, challenging academic content and student performance standards, assessments, effective school management, and other appropriate areas. Authorizes the Secretary to require certain technical assistance providers funded under ESEA or the ERIC educational laboratories and clearinghouses to participate in such information dissemination system in specified ways. Directs the Secretary to ensure that such system's dissemination activities are integrated with those of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), and that the public has access, through this system, to the latest research, statistics, and other information supported by, or available from, OERI. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out additional activities to assist LEAs, SEAs, tribes, and other ESEA recipients in meeting the requirements of the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993. Authorizes appropriations for subpart 3. Sets forth subpart 4 provisions for national evaluation activities. Directs the Secretary to conduct, directly or through grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements, activities necessary to: (1) determine what constitutes effective technical assistance; (2) evaluate the effectiveness of the technical assistance and dissemination programs authorized by, or assisted under, part E title II ESEA, and the ERIC educational laboratories, and clearinghouses; and (3) increase the effectiveness of those programs. Title III: Technology for Education - Technology for Education Act - Revises and reorganizes title III of ESEA to change its short title to the Technology for Education Act. (Sec. 304) Requires recipients to use title III funds only to supplement, and not to supplant, those non-Federal funds or resources. Part A: Federal Leadership and National Activities - Revises and renames part A title III ESEA as Federal Leadership and National Activities. (Sec. 311) Repeals authority for the Product Development program. (Sec. 312) Directs the Secretary to update the national long-range technology plan and to broadly disseminate the updated plan. Includes among requirements for such plan descriptions of how the Secretary will promote or encourage: (1) full integration of technology into learning, including the creation of new instructional opportunities through access to challenging courses and information that would otherwise not have been available, and independent learning opportunities for students through technology; (2) creation of opportunities for teachers to develop, through the use of technology, their own networks and resources for sustained and intensive, high-quality professional development; and (3) commercial development of effective, high-quality, cost-competitive educational technology and software. (Sec. 313) Replaces the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Systems with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy on the list of agencies with which the Secretary consults under the program for Federal leadership in promoting the use of technology in education. Authorizes the Secretary to develop a national repository of information on the effective uses of educational technology, including its use for sustained and intensive, high-quality professional development, and the dissemination of that information nationwide. (Sec. 314) Eliminates a requirement that funds be used for a discretionary grant program when appropriations for part A of title III of the ESEA are less than a specified amount, and for a State formula grant program when the appropriation exceeds that amount. Directs the Secretary to develop and carry out a strategy for an ongoing National Evaluation of Education Technology. Authorizes appropriations for the national evaluation strategy, national plan, and Federal leadership activities. Part B: Special Projects - Repeals the following ESEA title III provisions: (1) part B, the Star Schools Program; and (2) part E, the Elementary Mathematics and Science Equipment Program. (Sec. 321) Redesignates and renames the following ESEA title III provisions: (1) part C, Ready-To-Learn Television, as subpart 2 part B title III ESEA, Ready-to-Learn-Digital-Television; and (2) part D, Telecommunications Demonstration Project for Mathematics, as subpart 3 part B title III ESEA. Establishes a program of Next-Generation Technology Innovation Awards, as subpart 1 part B title III ESEA. Authorizes the Secretary, through the Office of Educational Technology (OET), to award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements on a competitive basis to eligible applicants, which are consortia that include: (1) at least one SEA or LEA; and (2) at least one IHE, for-profit business, museum, library, other public or private entity with appropriate expertise. Sets forth requirements for applications, plans, priorities, uses of funds, and evaluation. Authorizes appropriations for subpart 1, Next-Generation Technology Innovation Awards. (Sec. 322) Authorizes appropriations for the revised subpart 2, Ready-to-Learn-Digital-Television. (Sec. 323) Authorizes appropriations for the Telecommunications Program for Professional Development in the Core Content Areas. (Sec. 324) Establishes a program for Community Technology Centers, as subpart 4 part B title III ESEA. Authorizes the Secretary, through OET, to award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to eligible applicants to create or expand community technology centers that expand access to information technology and related training for disadvantaged residents of distressed urban or rural communities or to provide technical assistance and support to such centers. Sets forth requirements for eligibility, applications, required and permissible uses of funds, and cost-sharing. Authorizes appropriations for subpart 4, Community Technology Centers. Part C: Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology - Establishes a part C title III ESEA program, Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology. (Sec. 331) Authorizes the Secretary, through OET, to award competitive grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to develop or redesign teacher preparation programs to enable prospective teachers to use technology effectively in their classrooms. Requires applicants to be consortia that include at least one IHE that offers a baccalaureate degree and prepares teachers for their initial entry into teaching, at least one SEA or LEA, and at least one other of specified types of entities with the capacity to contribute to the technology-related reform of teacher preparation programs. Sets forth requirements for applications, matching funds, required and permissible uses of funds. Authorizes appropriations. Part D: Regional, State, and Local Educational Technology Resources - Establishes a part D title III ESEA program, Regional, State, and Local Educational Technology Resources, including: (1) subpart 1, the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund (TLCF); and (2) subpart 2, Regional Technology in Education Consortia (RTEC). (Sec. 342) Revises provisions for allotment and reallotment of TLCF funds to include the BIA as a State educational agency for such purposes. Revises provisions for minimum TLCF grant amounts for States and outlying areas. (Sec. 343) Revises requirements under the subpart 1 TLCF, including: (1) State use of grant funds to make subgrants to LEAs; (2) State and local applications; and (3) local uses of funds. (Sec. 347) Repeals a current part D program for National Challenge Grants for Technology in Education (but establishes a similar program, the Next-Generation Technology Innovation Awards program, as the new subpart 1 part C title III ESEA). (Sec. 348) Adds certain definitions to target subpart 1 funds to low-performing schools in needy areas. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 349) Revises requirements under the subpart 2 RTEC. Directs the Secretary to make subpart 2 grants to, or enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with, consortia that meet specified requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act - Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act - Revises ESEA title IV to change the short title (currently, Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1994). Revises Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities (SDFSC) programs to require: (1) emphasis on environments in and around schools; (2) competitive, as well as non-competitive, awarding funds to LEAs under certain conditions; and (3) increased coordination among related programs. (Sec. 401) Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth title IV part A provisions for State grants for drug and violence prevention programs. Revises requirements for reservations and allotments. Prohibits outlying areas from consolidating SDFSC funds with other Federal education funds. Requires State applications to be jointly submitted by the SEA and Governor and to include descriptions of: (1) procedures the SEA will use for reviewing applications and awarding funds to LEAs competitively, based on need and quality of the ESEA, those the SEA will use for reviewing applications and awarding funds to LEAs non-competitively, based on need and quality; (2) procedures the Governor will use for reviewing applications and awarding funds to eligible applicants competitively, based on need and quality; (3) SEA's and Governor's proposed use of funds reserved for coordinated capacity-building, technical assistance, and program accountability services and activities at the State and local levels; and (4) proposed SEA technical assistance for LEAs not receiving SDFSC State grant funds to improve their programs. Requires part A funds to be used for SEA and LEA programs and activities designed to create and maintain drug-free, safe, and orderly learning environments for learning in and around schools. Requires SEAs to reserve between ten percent and 20 percent of their part A allocations for State-level activities. Authorizes SEAs to use such reserved funds to plan, develop, and implement, jointly with the Governor, capacity building and technical assistance and accountability services to support the effective implementation of local drug and violence prevention activities throughout the State and promote program accountability and improvement. Revises provisions for State administrative costs. Authorizes SEAs and Governors to provide emergency intervention services to schools and communities following a traumatic crisis, such as a shooting or major accident that has disrupted the learning environment. Requires SEAs to: (1) use at least 80 percent of part A funds for local-level activities; (2) use at least 70 percent of their total SDFSC State grant funding for competitive awards to LEAs that the SEA determines have need for assistance; (3) base their competition on the quality of an LEA's proposed program and how closely it is aligned with specified principles of effectiveness; (4) make competitive awards to no more than 50 percent of the LEAs in the State, with certain exceptions; and (5) make their competitive awards to LEAs of sufficient size to support high-quality, effective programs and activities that are designed to create safe, disciplined, and drug- free learning environments in schools, and that are consistent with the needs, goals, and objectives identified in the State's plan. Allows SEAs to use up to ten percent of their total SDFSC State grant funding for non-competitive awards to LEAs with the greatest need for assistance that did not receive a competitive award. Requires, in order for an SEA to make a non-competitive award to an LEA, the SEA must assist the LEA in meeting the information requirements pertaining to LEA needs assessment, results-based performance measures, comprehensive safe and drug-free schools plan, evaluation plan, and assurances, and provide continuing technical assistance to the LEA to build its capacity to develop and implement high-quality, effective programs. Sets forth authorized services and activities of local drug and violence prevention programs. Requires each LEA receiving SDFSC funding to use such funds to support research-based drug and violence prevention services and activities consistent with specified principles of effectiveness. Allows an LEA to use such funds for additional activities other than research-based programming, under specified conditions. Authorizes SEAs to waive, under certain conditions, a 20 percent cap on SDFSC subgrant funds that LEAs may spend for the acquisition or use of metal detectors and security personnel. Requires Governors to: (1) use Governor's Programs funds (20 percent of the State allocation) to support community efforts that directly complement the efforts of LEAs to foster drug-free, safe, and orderly learning environments for learning in and around schools; (2) reserve between ten percent and 20 percent of their allocations for State-level activities to plan, develop, and implement, jointly with the SEA, capacity building, technical assistance, and accountability services to support the effective implementation of local drug and violence prevention activities throughout the State and promote program accountability and improvement; (3) use at least 80 percent of SDFSC State grant funding to make competitive subgrants to community-based organizations, LEAs, and other public entities and private non-profit organizations to support community efforts that directly complement the efforts of LEAs to foster drug-free, safe, and orderly learning environments in and around schools; and (4) base competition for subgrants on the quality of the applicant's proposed program and how closely it is aligned with the principles of effectiveness, and on objective criteria, determined by the Governor, on the needs of the schools or LEAs to be served. Allows subgrants made by Governors to support community efforts on a Statewide, regional, or local basis and the efforts of LEAs and schools that do not receive subgrants. Allows use of such funds to support research-based drug and violence prevention services and activities consistent with the principles of effectiveness, and for additional activities other than research-based programming, under specified conditions. Revises local application requirements to emphasize the applicant's need for assistance and the quality of its proposed programming. Requires each applicant LEA for SEA competitive and formula grants to include assurances that it: (1) has a policy, consistent with State law, that requires the expulsion of students who possess a firearm at school consistent with the Gun-Free Schools Act; (2) has, or will have, a full- or part-time program coordinator whose primary responsibility is planning, designing, implementing, and evaluating the applicant's programs (unless the applicant demonstrates in its application, to the satisfaction of the SEA, that such a program coordinator is not needed); (3) will evaluate its program every two years to assess its progress toward meeting its goals and objectives, and will use the results of its evaluation to improve its program and refine its goals and objectives, as needed; and (4) has, or the schools to be served have, a comprehensive Safe and Drug-Free Schools plan that includes specified elements. Requires any eligible entity that applies to the Governor for a subgrant to include in its application: (1) a description of how the services and activities to be supported will be coordinated with relevant SDFSC State grant programs that are supported by SEAs, including how recipients will share resources, services, and data; (2) a description of how the applicant will coordinate its activities under this part with those implemented under the Drug-Free Communities Act, if any; and (3) an assurance that it will evaluate its program every two years to assess its progress toward meeting its goals and objectives, and will use the results of its evaluation to improve its program and refine its goals and objectives as needed (if the applicant is not an LEA, or other specified assurances if the applicant is an LEA). Requires SEAs to use a peer review process, but allows Governors to use other methods, for reviewing local applications to ensure that SDFSC subgrants are made on the basis of need and quality. Revises national evaluation and data collection requirements under title IV. Directs the Secretary and the Attorney General to publish an annual report on school safety. Revises the State and local report requirements to focus on progress toward attaining performance indicators for achieving drug-free, safe, and orderly learning environments in schools. Requires States to report to the Secretary all school-related suicides and homicides within the State within 30 days of the incident. Requires LEAs to report to SEAs any problems in SDFSC program implementation that warrant provision of SEA technical assistance. Requires SEAs to: (1) review annual LEA reports; and (2) terminate funding for the second or third year of an LEA's program unless the LEA is making reasonable progress toward meeting its objectives. Sets forth annual progress report and program funding review requirements for Governor's award recipients. Sets forth title IV part B provisions for National Programs. Revises the list of authorized national program activities. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out programs for students that promote lifelong physical activity. Establishes a title IV part C program, School Emergency Response to Violence (Project SERV), to provide education-related services to LEAs in which the learning environment has been disrupted due to a violent or traumatic crisis, such as a shooting or major accident. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out Project SERV directly, through contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements with public and private organizations, agencies, and individuals, or through agreements with other Federal agencies. Sets forth authorized activities under Project SERV. Directs the Secretary to establish criteria and application requirements as may be needed to select which LEAs are assisted under Project SERV. Authorizes the Secretary to establish reporting requirements for uniform data and other information from all LEAs assisted under Project SERV. Requires the establishment of a Federal Coordinating Committee on school crises, to coordinate the Federal responses to crises that occur in schools or directly affect the learning environment in schools. Requires the Committee to be composed of the Secretary (who shall serve as Chair), the Attorney General, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and such other members as the Secretary shall determine. Gun-Free Schools Act - Revises and transfers to ESEA title IV part D the provisions of the Gun-Free Schools Act (currently under ESEA title XIV part F). Requires each State receiving Federal funds under ESEA to have in effect a State law that: (1) requires LEAs to expel from school, for a period of not less than one year, a student who is determined to have possessed a firearm at school under the jurisdiction of the LEA in that State; and (2) allows the chief administering officer of that LEA to modify the expulsion requirement for a student on a case-by-case basis. Sets forth local and State reporting requirements. Prohibits awarding ESEA funds to any LEA unless it has a policy ensuring that: (1) any student who possesses a firearm at a school served by such agency is referred to the criminal justice or juvenile delinquency system; (2) students who possess a firearm at school are referred to mental health professionals for assessment as to whether they pose an imminent threat of harm to themselves or others and need appropriate mental health services before readmission to school; and (2) any student determined to pose such a threat receives appropriate mental health services, in addition to other services, before being permitted to return to school. Requires drug prevention programs supported under title IV ESEA convey a clear and consistent message that the illegal use of alcohol and other drugs is wrong and harmful. Prohibits the Secretary from prescribing the use of particular curricula for programs under title IV ESEA, but allows the Secretary to evaluate and disseminate information about the effectiveness of such curricula and programs. Prohibits use of title IV ESEA funds for: (1) construction (except for minor remodeling needed to accomplish the purposes of this part); and (2) medical services, drug treatment or rehabilitation, except for pupil services or referral to treatment for students who are victims of, or witnesses to, crime or who use alcohol, tobacco, or drugs. Sets forth a requirement for Drug-Free, Alcohol-Free, and Tobacco-Free Schools. Requires each SEA and LEA that receives title IV ESEA funds to have a policy that prohibits possession or use of tobacco, and the illegal use of drugs or alcohol, in any form, at any time, and by any person, in school buildings, on school grounds, or at any school-sponsored event. Requires LEA applications to include an assurance of compliance with such requirement. Requires annual SEA reports to the Secretary if any LEAs are not in compliance with such requirement. Requires that title IV funds supplement, not supplant, State, local, and other non-Federal funds. Title V: Promoting Equity, Excellence, and Public School Choice - Revises and renames ESEA title V as Promoting Equity, Excellence, and Public School Choice (currently Promoting Equity). (Sec. 502) Revises the Magnet Schools Assistance program under part A to emphasize projects that consider the diversity of the student populations and that have the capacity to continue after the Federal grant has run out. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 503) Revises the Women's Educational Equity program. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 504) Repeals the Assistance to Address School Dropout Problems program (currently in part C). (Sec. 505) Transfers Public Charter Schools provisions to part B (currently in title X part C). (Sec. 506) Establishes a part C program of Options: Opportunities to Improve Our Nation's Schools. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to SEAs and LEAs to support programs that promote innovative approaches to high-quality public school choice, including worksite and college-based schools. Authorizes appropriations. Title VI: Class-Size Reduction - Establishes a new title VI of ESEA, Class-Size Reduction. (Replaces the current title VI, Innovative Education Program Strategies.) (Sec. 601) Establishes a grants program to help States and LEAs recruit, train, and hire 100,000 additional teachers over a seven-year period in order to: (1) reduce class sizes nationally, in grades one through three, to an average of 18 students per classroom; and (2) improve teaching in the early grades so that all students can learn to read independently and well by the end of the third grade. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth program requirements for: (1) allotments to States; (2) within-State allocations; (3) local uses of funds; (4) cost-sharing; and (5) participation of teachers from private schools in professional development activities. Title VII: Bilingual Education Act - Revises the Bilingual Education Act, which is ESEA title VII (Bilingual Education, Language Enhancement, and Language Acquisition Programs). (Sec. 701) Makes it policy that limited English proficient students be tested in English after three consecutive years in U.S. schools. (Sec. 702) Authorizes appropriations for part A, Bilingual Education, including the following subparts: (1) bilingual education capacity and demonstration grants; (2) research, evaluation, and dissemination; (3) professional development; and (4) transition. (Sec. 703) Establishes a Program Development and Enhancement Grants program (which consolidates activities of the current Program Development and Implementation Grants program and Enhancement Grants program). Requires such grants to be used to: (1) develop and implement comprehensive, preschool, elementary, or secondary education programs for children and youth with limited English proficiency, that are aligned with standards-based State and local school reform efforts and coordinated with other relevant programs and services; (2) provide high-quality professional development; and (3) require annual assessment of student progress in learning English. Revises allowable activities to emphasize effective instructional practice and the use of technology in the classroom. Authorizes the Secretary to give priority to applicants that enroll fewer than 10,000 students and that have limited or no experience in serving limited English proficient students. (Sec. 704) Revises provisions for Comprehensive School Grants for school-wide instructional programs (in coordination with title I ESEA) for children and youth with limited English proficiency, to assist such children and youth to learn English and achieve to challenging State content and performance standards, and to improve, reform, and upgrade relevant programs and operations in schools with significant concentrations of such students or that serve significant numbers of them. Revises conditions for termination or continuation of grant awards. Limits to 90 days the period during which grant funds may be used for planning. Limit to two the number of schools that may be included in the grant. (Sec. 705) Revises provisions for Systemwide Improvement Grants for projects within an entire school district. Revises conditions for termination or continuation of grant awards. Sets forth required activities, including building school district capacity to continue to operate similar instructional programs once Federal funding is no longer available, aligning programs for limited English proficient students with school, district, and State reform efforts and coordinating with other relevant programs, and annually assessing student progress in learning English. Revises allowable activities to emphasize effective instructional practice, developing student proficiency in two languages, and the use of technology in the classroom. (Sec. 706) Revises application requirements with respect to program accountability and related matters. Adds priorities for applicants that experience a dramatic increase in the number of limited English proficient students enrolled and demonstrate that they have a proven record of success in helping children and youth with limited English proficiency learn English and achieve to high academic standards. (Sec. 707) Requires subpart 1 grantee evaluations to: (1) be conducted annually, rather than biennially; (2) use application data as the baseline against which to report academic achievement and gains in English proficiency for students; (2) report on the validity and reliability of all instruments used to measure student progress; (3) enable results to be disaggregated by such relevant factors as a student's grade, gender, and language group, and whether the student has a disability; and (4) include specified types of data, program implementation indicators, and coordination descriptions. Requires the Secretary to establish performance indicators to determine if comprehensive school grant and systemwide improvement grant programs are making continuous and substantial progress. Authorizes establishing such indicators to determine if program development and enhancement grant programs are making such progress. (Sec. 708) Eliminates the requirement that Bilingual Education Program research be conducted through the Office of Educational Research and Improvement in collaboration with the Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs. Includes among allowable research activities: (1) data collection needed for compliance with the Government Performance and Results Act; and (2) identifying technology-based approaches that show effectiveness in helping limited English proficient students reach challenging State standards. (Sec. 709) Establishes a program of discretionary grants to States to make Academic Excellence Awards (which replaces current Academic Excellence provisions for grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements to promote the adoption of promising instructional and professional development programs). Authorizes the Secretary to make such grants to SEAs to assist them in recognizing LEAs and other public and non-profit entities whose programs have demonstrated significant progress in assisting limited English proficient students to learn English and to meet the same challenging State content standards expected of all children and youth, within three years. (Sec. 710) Revises the State Grant Program to require States to use such funds to: (1) assist LEAs with program design, capacity building, assessment of student performance, program evaluation, and development of data collection and accountability systems for limited English proficient students that are aligned with State reform efforts; and (2) collect data on limited English proficient populations in the State and the educational programs and services available to such populations. (Sec. 711) Renames the National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education as the National Clearinghouse on the Education of Children and Youth with Limited English Proficiency. Eliminates requirements that the Clearinghouse: (1) be administered as an adjunct to the Educational Resources Information Center Clearinghouse system; (2) develop a database management and monitoring system; and (3) develop, maintain, and disseminate a listing of bilingual education professionals. (Sec. 712) Revises provisions for grants to develop, publish, and disseminate instructional materials to include materials: (1) in other low-incidence languages in the United States for which instructional materials are not readily available; and (2) on State content standards and assessments for dissemination to parents of limited English proficient students. Requires the Secretary to give priority to applications for developing instructional materials in languages indigenous to the United States or to the outlying territories and for developing and evaluating instructional materials that reflect challenging State and local content standards, in collaboration with specified assisted activities. (Sec. 713) Revises subpart 3 Professional Development provisions to eliminate a reference to dissemination of information. (Sec. 714) Revises the Training for all Teachers Program to limit grants to ongoing professional development. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to LEAs or consortia of LEAs and IHEs, SEAs, or nonprofit organizations. Reduces the grant period from five to three years. Requires professional development activities to be of high-quality and long-term. Revises allowable activities to include induction programs, coaching by experienced teachers, and teacher use of education technologies. (Sec. 715) Revises the Bilingual Education Teachers and Personnel Grants program. Limits grants to IHEs for preservice professional development. Requires use of grant funds to put in place a course of study that prepares teachers to serve limited English proficient students, integrate course content relating to meeting the needs of limited English proficient students into all programs for prospective teachers, assign tenured faculty to train teachers to serve limited English proficient students, incorporate State content and performance standards into the institution's coursework, and expand clinical experiences for participants. Authorizes grantees to use funds for activities such as supporting partnerships with LEAs, restructuring higher education course content, assisting other institutions of higher education to improve the quality of relevant professional development programs, and expanding recruitment efforts for students who will participate in relevant professional development programs. (Sec. 716) Revises the Bilingual Education Career Ladder Program to authorize grants to consortia of one or more IHEs and one or more SEAs or LEAs to develop and implement bilingual education career ladder programs. Requires such programs to be designed to provide high-quality, pre-baccalaureate coursework and teacher training to educational personnel who do not have a baccalaureate degree, and to lead to timely receipt of a baccalaureate degree and certification or licensure of program participants as bilingual education teachers or other educational personnel who serve limited English proficient students. Requires grantees to coordinate with programs under title II of the Higher Education Act of 1965, and other relevant programs, for the recruitment and retention of bilingual students in postsecondary programs to train them to become bilingual educators, and make use of all existing sources of student financial aid before using grant funds to pay tuition and stipends for participating students. Eliminates certain special considerations. Requires the Secretary to give special consideration to applications that provide training in English as a second language, including developing proficiency in the instructional use of English and, as appropriate, a second language in classroom contexts. (Sec. 717) Revises the Graduate Fellowships in Bilingual Education Program to eliminate: (1) the authorization for fellowships at the post-doctoral level; and (2) the requirement that the Secretary make a specific number of fellowship awards in any given year. (Sec. 718) Requires SEAs to review and submit written comments on all applications for professional development grants, with the exception of those for fellowships, to the Secretary. (Sec. 719) Revises program evaluation requirements. Requires an annual evaluation. (Sec. 721) Continues the part C Emergency Immigrant Education Program. (Sec. 722) Authorizes States to use up to two percent of their grant for administrative costs if they distribute funds to LEAs within the State on a competitive basis. (Sec. 723) Revises provisions for competitive State grants to LEAs. Eliminates an appropriations trigger on, and a cap for, allowing States each year to reserve funds from their program allotments and award grants, on a competitive basis, to LEAs. (Sec. 724) Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 725) Defines reclassification rate, for purposes of Bilingual Education Program applications and evaluations under subpart 1 of part A, as the annual percentage of limited English proficient students who have met the State criteria for no longer being considered limited English proficient. (Sec. 726) Adds requirements for projects funded under subpart 1 Part A relating to: (1) parental notification of right to withdraw from programs at any time; and (2) the use of paraprofessionals or other instructional staff who are not certified in the field in which they teach. (Sec. 728) Repeals specified provisions under title VII, including a requirement that all professional development grants assist educational personnel in meeting State and local certification requirements. Title VIII: Impact Aid - Revises title VIII of ESEA, Impact Aid, to provide assistance to certain LEAs that are financially burdened as a result of activities of the Federal Government carried out in their jurisdictions, in order to help those LEAs provide educational services to their children, including federally connected children, so that they can meet challenging State standards. (Sec. 802) Revises the program of payments relating to Federal acquisition of real property, which authorizes the Secretary to partially compensate certain LEAs for revenue lost due to the presence of non-taxable Federal property in their jurisdictions. Requires that the Federal property claimed as the basis of eligibility have a current aggregate assessed value that is at least ten percent of the total assessed value of all real property in the LEA. Provides for a three-year phase-out of payments to LEAs that received such payments for FY 1999, but that would no longer be eligible because of the new requirement that Federal property constitute at least ten percent of the current assessed value of all real property in the LEA. (Sec. 803) Revises the program of payments for eligible federally connected children. Eliminates the various "(b)" categories of students. Continues payments with respect to "(a)" categories of students: (1) children of Federal employees who both live and work on Federal property; (2) children of military personnel (and other members of the uniformed services) living on Federal property; (3) children living on Indian lands; and (4) children of foreign military officers living on Federal property. Eliminates the requirement that an LEA have at least 400 eligible students (or that those students constitute at least three percent of its average daily attendance) in order to receive a basic support payment. Revises options for determining an LEA's local contribution rate (LCR), which is used to compute its maximum payment, to include a measure of the amount or proportion of funds that are provided at the local level. Provides that LCRs' local contribution rates are to be determined using data from the third preceding fiscal year. Revises the formula for computing each LEA's "learning opportunity threshold" (LOT), a factor used in determining actual payment amounts when sufficient funds are not available to pay the maximum amounts, to give priority to LEAs with high concentrations of federally connected students. Revises provisions for additional payments to LEAs on behalf of children with disabilities. Eliminates hold-harmless provisions relating to basic support payments. Revises provisions for additional payments to LEAs that are heavily impacted by the presence of federally connected children in their schools. Requires an LEA to meet the following criteria to qualify for a payment: (1) having federally connected children as at least 40 percent of its enrollment, and a tax rate for general-fund purposes of at least 100 percent of the average tax rate of comparable LEAs in the State (or being an LEA whose boundaries are the same as those of a military installation); (2) exercising due diligence to obtain financial assistance from the State and from other sources; and (3) having State aid made available to it on a basis at least as favorable as that for other LEAs. Sets forth a formula that, for each eligible LEA, factors in per-pupil expenditures, number of federally connected children, amount available to it from other sources for current expenditures, and amounts of basic support payments and supplemental payments for children with disabilities it receives. Directs the Secretary, in determining eligibility and payment amounts for heavily impacted LEAs, to use data from the second preceding fiscal year, if that data is provided by the affected LEA (or the SEA) within 60 days of being requested by the Secretary to do so. Prohibits an LEA from receiving a payment on behalf of federally connected children if Federal funds (other than Impact Aid funds) provide a substantial portion of their educational program. Eliminates the requirement that LEAs maintain their fiscal effort for education from year to year as a condition of receiving an impact aid payment. (Sec. 804) Revises requirements concerning LEAs that receive related Impact Aid payments carrying out specified activities to ensure: (1) equitable participation of children residing on Indian lands in LEA programs and activities; and (2) the participation of parents of Indian children and Indian tribes in determining the education of their children. (Sec. 805) Revises requirements for applications for Impact Aid payments. (Sec. 806) Repeals provisions for payments for sudden and substantial increases in attendance of military dependents. (Sec. 807) Revises provisions for grants to certain categories of LEAs to support the construction or renovation of schools. Limits such assistance to LEAs that receive basic support payments and in which children residing on Indian lands make up at least half of the average daily attendance. Requires applicants to include an assessment of their school-construction needs. Allocates grant funds to qualifying LEAs in proportion to their respective numbers of children residing on Indian lands. Sets the maximum Federal portion of the cost of an assisted project at 50 percent. Gives an LEA three years after its proposal is approved to demonstrate that it can provide its share of the project's cost. Allows an LEA to use such a grant only for the minimum initial equipment necessary for the operation of the new or renovated school, as well as for construction. (Sec. 808) Revises provisions relating to certain federally-owned school facilities used by LEAs to serve dependents of military personnel. (Sec. 809) Adds to preconditions for State consideration of Impact Aid payments a requirement that the average per-pupil expenditure in the State be at least 80 percent of that in the 50 States and the District of Columbia. (Sec. 813) Revises the definition of Federal property, as a basis of eligibility for Impact Aid payments, to eliminate special references to certain property not usually regarded as Federal property. (Sec. 814) Authorizes appropriations for Impact Aid programs. Title IX: Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native Education - Part A: Indian Education - Revises ESEA title IX part A (Indian Education) with respect to: (1) grants to LEAs; (2) amount of grants to schools operated or supported by the BIA; (3) applications, plans, local assessments, parent committees, and schoolwide programs; (4) authorized services and activities relating to curriculum development, creation and implementation of standards, improvement of student achievement, and gifted and talented education; (5) student eligibility forms and timing of child counts; (6) payments; (7) SEA review; (8) project applications for support for services and activities to improve educational opportunities for Indian children; and (9) professional development and training to perform related work that benefits Indian people, adding grants to consortia to provide in-service training to teachers in LEAs with substantial numbers of Indian children in their schools. (Sec. 911) Repeals specified provisions for fellowships for Indian students, gifted and talented education, tribal administrative planning and development, and adult education. (Sec. 913) Authorizes appropriations. Part B: Native Hawaiian Education Act - Revises ESEA title IX part B (Native Hawaiian Education) to replace a series of categorical programs serving Native Hawaiian children and adults with a single, more flexible authority for the Secretary to assist such program activities. (Sec. 921) Authorizes appropriations. Part C: Alaska Native Education - Revises ESEA title IX part C (Alaska Native Education) to replace a series of categorical programs serving Alaska Native children and adults with a single, more flexible authority for the Secretary to assist such program activities. (Sec. 921) Authorizes appropriations. Title X: Programs of National Significance - Revises ESEA title X Programs of National significance. (Sec. 1001) Revises part A (Fund for the Improvement of Education) with respect to: (1) authorized uses of funds; (2) application goals and objectives; (3) reports; (4) matching funds; and (5) limitation of competitions to particular types of entities, such as SEAs or LEAs. Requires each part A grant recipient to submit to the Secretary, by the mid-point of the program, and no later than one year after program completion, a comprehensive evaluation on the effectiveness of its program in achieving its goals and objectives, including the impact of the program on students, teachers, administrators, and parents. Revises provisions for character education. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out programs of: (1) grants for State and local character education; and (2) grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements for character education research, dissemination, and evaluation. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1002) Revises part B (Gifted and Talented Children) with respect to peer review, dissemination, and evaluation. Requires the National Center for Research and Development in the Education of Gifted and Talented Children to focus the dissemination of the results of its activities on schools with high percentages of economically disadvantaged students. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1003) Transfers and redesignates the International Education Exchange program (currently title VI of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act) as part C of title X of ESEA. Makes eligible for such program the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, and any other emerging democracy in a developing country. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1004) Revises part D (Arts in Education) to include among authorized activities model arts and cultural programs in the arts for at-risk children and youth, particularly programs that use arts and culture to promote students' academic progress. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1005) Authorizes appropriations for part E (Inexpensive Book Distribution Program). (Sec. 1006) Revises part F (Civic Education) to repeal the civics, government, and law instruction program. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1007) Repeals the (current part G) Allen J. Ellender Program. (Sec. 1008) Revises and redesignates as part G the (current part I) 21st Century Community Learning Centers program. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to LEAs and community based organizations (CBOs) (with up to ten percent of the funds appropriated to carry out this part for any fiscal year) on behalf of public elementary or secondary schools in inner-cities, rural areas, and small cities. Limits such awards to schools or CBOs that serve communities with a substantial need for expanded learning opportunities due to: (1) high proportion of low-achieving students; (2) lack of resources to establish or expand community learning centers; or (3) other needs. Retains the current requirement for equitable distribution among the States and urban and rural areas of the United States, but eliminates the requirement for equitable distribution among urban and rural areas of a State. Lengthens the duration of such program grants from three years to five years. Changes the eligible applicant for such a grant from a school to an LEA (which would apply on behalf of one or more schools) or a CBO. Adds requirements relating to matching funds and maintenance of effort. Gives priority to applications that offer a broad selection of services that address community needs. Requires community learning centers to provide expanded learning opportunities, and allows them to also provide services that address health, social service, cultural, and recreational needs of the community. Requires a community learning center operated by an LEA (but not a CBO) to be located within a public elementary or secondary school building. Authorizes appropriations. Allows the Secretary to use part G funds to make continuation awards for projects that were funded with FY 1999 and 2000 funds, under the terms and conditions that applied to the original awards. (Sec. 1009) Repeals part J, Urban and Rural Education Assistance. (Sec. 1010) Establishes a new part H, High School Reform. Authorizes the Secretary to make competitive grants to LEAs to support: (1) planning and implementation of educational reforms in high schools, particularly in urban and rural high schools that educate concentrations of students from low-income families; (2) further development of educational reforms, designed specifically for high schools, that help students meet challenging State standards, and that increase connections between students and adults and provide safe learning environments; (3) positive incentives for serious change in high schools, by offering rewards to participating schools that achieve significant improvements in student achievement; (4) identification of the most effective approaches to high school reform and disseminating information on those approaches so that they can be adopted nationally; and (5) implementation of reforms in at least 5,000 U.S. high schools by the year 2007. Provides for equitable participation of personnel from private schools in any professional development carried out with part H funds. Requires grantees that use part H funds to develop curricular materials to make information about those materials available to private schools at their request. Directs the Secretary to reserve certain part H funds for certain activities relating to the program's purpose, including testing the effect of offering financial rewards to teachers and administrators in high schools if their students demonstrate significant gains in educational outcomes. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1011) Revises and redesignates the (current part B title VII ESEA) Elementary School Foreign Language Assistance Program to part I title X ESEA. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to SEAs and to LEAs for the Federal share of the cost of specified activities. Allows an SEA to receive a grant if it: (1) has established, or is establishing, State standards for foreign language instruction; or (2) requires the public elementary schools of the State to provide foreign language instruction. Allows an LEA to receive a grant if the program in its application: (1) shows promise of being continued beyond the grant period; (2) would demonstrate approaches that can be disseminated to, and duplicated by, other LEAs; (3) would include performance measurements and assessment systems that measure students' proficiency in a foreign language; and (4) would use a curriculum that is aligned with State standards, if the State has such standards. Requires grants to SEAs to be used to support programs that promote the implementation of high-quality foreign language programs in the elementary schools of the State, which may include specified activities. Requires that grants to LEAs to be used for activities to develop and implement high-quality, standards-based elementary school foreign language programs, which may include specified activities, including support for the expansion of secondary school instruction, so long as that instruction is part of an articulated elementary-through-secondary school foreign language program that is designed to result in student fluency in a foreign language. Authorizes the Secretary, in awarding such grants, to establish priorities, including ones for projects carried out by LEAs that include immersion programs in which instruction is in the foreign language for a major portion of the day or that promote the sequential study of a foreign language for students, beginning in elementary schools. Sets forth application, reporting, cost-sharing, and evaluation requirements. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1012) Revises and redesignates as part J the (current part K) National Writing Project. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct an independent evaluation of the Project. Authorizes appropriations. Title XI: General Provisions, Definitions, and Accountability - Revises ESEA title XIV (to be redesignated as title XI) (General Provisions) with respect to: (1) definitions; (2) administrative funds; (3) coordination of programs, including optional consolidated State plans and consolidated local plans; (4) waivers; and (5) uniform provisions. (Sec. 1106) Repeals ESEA title XIV part F (Gun Possession), which as the revised Gun-Free Schools Act is transferred to title IV of ESEA. (Sec. 1107) Revises and renames part G of title XIV ESEA as Evaluation and Indicators. Revises evaluation requirements to provide for: (1) national evaluation; (2) an independent review panel; (3) reports; and (4) technical assistance partnerships for performance information. Authorizes the Secretary to establish performance indicators, benchmarks, and targets for each program under ESEA (and under subtitle B of title VII-B of the McKinney Homeless Assistance Act) to assist in measuring program performance. Requires such indicators, benchmarks, and targets to be consistent with the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993, strategic plans adopted by the Secretary under such Act, and specified ESEA provisions. (Sec. 1108) Revises and transfers ESEA title XI (Coordinated Services) to part I of title XI ESEA. Revises provisions for project development and implementation. Provides that an SEA need not require eligible entities to submit an application in order to permit them to carry out coordinated services projects. (Sec. 1109) Redesignates title XIV of ESEA as title XI of ESEA. (Sec. 1110) Revises and redesignates the Education Flexibility Partnership Act of 1999 (P.L. 106-25) Partnerships) as part G of title XI of ESEA. Revises provisions for: (1) State eligibility and accountability; (2) the Federal education programs that are subject to ED-Flex authority; (3) certain waivers. Allows the Secretary to grant an extension of ED-Flex authority, beyond five years, only upon determination that the State has made significant statewide gains in student achievement and is closing the achievement gap between low- and high-performing students. (Sec. 1111) Education Accountability Act of 1999 - Establishes a new part B, Improving Education Through Accountability, of title XI of ESEA. Requires States that receive ESEA assistance to develop and implement a statewide system for holding its LEAs and schools accountable for student performance, including a procedure for identifying LEAs and schools in need of improvement, intervention, and corrective actions. Requires such States to have in effect, at the time they submit accountability plans, State policies with certain required elements to ensure that: (1) students progress through school on a timely basis and master challenging material to reach high standards of performance, and the practices of social promotion and retention are ended; (2) there are qualified teachers in every classroom in the State; (3) its LEAs and schools have in place and implement sound and equitable discipline policies to ensure a safe, and orderly, and drug-free learning environment in every school; (4) requires the development and dissemination of annual report cards regarding the status of education and educational progress in the State and in its LEAs and schools. Requires such States to have on file with the Secretary an approved accountability plan on or after July 1, 2000, and to submit annual progress reports. Authorizes the Secretary to ensure accountability, upon determination that a State has failed substantially to carry out a requirement of this part or its approved accountability plan, or that its performance has failed substantially to meet a performance indicator in its accountability plan. Includes among authorized steps to ensure prompt compliance: (1) providing, or arranging for, technical assistance to the SEA; (2) requiring a corrective action plan; (3) suspending or terminating authority to grant waivers under applicable ED-Flex authority; (4) suspending or terminating eligibility to participate in competitive programs under the ESEA; (5) withholding, in whole or in part, State administrative funds or program funds under the ESEA; (6) imposing one or more conditions upon the Secretary's approval of a State plan or application under the ESEA; (7) taking other actions under part D of the General Education Priorities Act; and (8) taking other appropriate steps, including referral to the Department of Justice for enforcement. Requires the Secretary to take one or more additional steps to bring the State into compliance upon determination that previous steps have failed to correct the State's non-compliance. Directs the Secretary to establish a system to recognize and reward States that have demonstrated significant, statewide achievement gains in core subjects as measured by the National Assessment of Educational Progress for three consecutive years, are closing the achievement gap between low- and high-performing students, and have in place strategies for continuous improvement in reducing the practices of social promotion and retention. Allows rewards to include conferring a priority in competitive programs under the ESEA, increased flexibility in administering programs under the ESEA (consistent with maintaining accountability), and supplementary grants or administrative funds to carry out ESEA purposes. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to disseminate information regarding best practices, models, and other forms of technical assistance. (Sec. 1112) Renames the National Education Goals Panel as America's Education Goals Panel. Transfers provisions for the Panel from title II of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act to a new part C of title XI of ESEA. Eliminates certain provisions relating to voluntary national content standards, voluntary national student performance standards, and the resource and technical planning groups on school readiness. Authorizes appropriations for the Panel. (Sec. 1113) Repeals ESEA title XII (School Facilities Infrastructure Improvement, also known as the Education Infrastructure Act of 1994). Title XII: Amendments to Other Laws; Repeals - Part A: Amendments to Other Laws -Amends the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act with respect to: (1) providing that homelessness alone is not sufficient reason to separate students from the mainstream school environment; (2) grants for State and local activities for the education of homeless children and youth; (3) coordination at the State and local levels; (4) State plans; (5) parental involvement; (6) competitive subgrants to LEAs; and (7) national data collection, dissemination, and reports. (Sec. 1201) Authorizes appropriations for the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act. (Sec. 1202) Amends various other Federal laws to reflect the revised ESEA, including specified provisions under the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Act, the higher Education Act of 1965, and the Pro-Children Act of 1994. Part B: Repeals - Repeals ESEA title XIII (Support and Assistance Programs to Improve Education) (new part D title II ESEA contains new technical assistance and information dissemination programs). (Sec. 1211) Repeals the following titles and parts of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act: I, National Education Goals; II, National Education Reform Leadership, Standards, and Assessments; III, State and Local Education Systemic Improvement; IV, Parental Assistance; VII, Safe Schools; VIII, Minority-focused Civics Education; and X-part B, Gun-free Schools. Repeals the following parts of the Educational Research, Development, Dissemination, and Improvement Act of 1994 (title IX of P.L. 103-227): F, Star Schools; G, Office of Comprehensive School Health Education; H, Field Readers; and I, Amendments to the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Act. Repeals title III, Partnerships in Education for Mathematics, Science, and Engineering, of the Education for Economic Security Act.
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 195 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1999
Sets forth the rule (modified closed) for the consideration of H.R. 1401 (defense authorization).
Law· SS. 1117 (106th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 1999
Corinth Battlefield Preservation Act of 1999 - Establishes the Corinth Unit of the Shiloh National Military Park in the States of Mississippi and Tennessee to be composed of: (1) the Battery Robinett and the site of the interpretative center authorized under the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996; and (2) any additional land the Secretary of the Interior determines is suitable for inclusion that is owned by a public entity or nonprofit organization and identified by the Siege and Battle of Corinth National Historic Landmark Study, dated January 8, 1991. Requires the Secretary to study and report to specified congressional committees on whether certain additional properties are appropriate for inclusion in the Unit. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· SS. 1122 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Military Personnel Title II: Operation and Maintenance Title III: Procurement Title IV: Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation Title V: Revolving and Management Funds Title VI: Other Department of Defense Programs Title VII: Related Agencies Central Intelligence Agency Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2000 - Title I: Military Personnel - Appropriates funds for FY 2000 for active-duty and reserve personnel in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force and for National Guard personnel in the Army and Air Force. Title II: Operation and Maintenance - Appropriates funds for FY 2000 for the operation and maintenance (O&M) of the Army, Navy, and Air Force (including a transfer of funds in each case), the Marine Corps, the defense agencies, the reserve components, and the Army and Air National Guards. Appropriates funds for: (1) overseas contingency operations (including a transfer of funds); (2) the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces; (3) environmental restoration for the Army, Navy, Air Force, and defense-wide (including a transfer of funds in each case); (4) environmental restoration at former defense sites (including a transfer of funds); (5) overseas humanitarian, disaster, and civic aid; (6) nuclear threat reduction programs with respect to republics of the former Soviet Union; and (7) renovation of the Pentagon. Title III: Procurement - Appropriates funds for FY 2000 for procurement by the armed forces and its reserve components of aircraft, missiles, weapons, tracked combat vehicles, ammunition, and shipbuilding and conversion and for other procurement. Appropriates funds for defense-wide procurement and for National Guard and reserve equipment. Title IV: Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation - Appropriates funds for FY 2000 for research, development, test, and evaluation by the armed forces and defense agencies. Appropriates funds for the Directors of Test and Evaluation and Operational Test and Evaluation. Title V: Revolving and Management Funds - Appropriates funds for: (1) the defense working capital funds; and (2) programs under the National Defense Sealift Fund (including a transfer of funds). Title VI: Other Department of Defense Programs - Appropriates funds for: (1) the Department of Defense (DOD) medical and health care programs; (2) the Armed Forces Retirement Home; (3) the destruction of lethal chemical agents and munitions; (4) drug interdiction and counter-drug activities, defense (including a transfer of funds); and (5) expenses and activities of the Office of Inspector General in carrying out the Inspector General Act of 1978. Title VII: Related Agencies Central Intelligence Agency - Appropriates funds for: (1) the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System Fund; (2) expenses of the Intelligence Community Management Account (including a transfer of funds); (3) authorized payments to the Kaho'olawe Island Conveyance, Remediation, and Environmental Restoration Fund; and (4) national security scholarships, fellowships, and grants (using funds derived from the National Security Education Trust Fund). Title VIII: General Provisions - Department of Defense - Specifies authorized, restricted, and prohibited uses of appropriated funds. (Sec. 8008) Authorizes procurement funds appropriated under this Act to be used for multiyear procurement contracts for the Longbow Apache helicopter, MLRS Rocket Launcher, Abrams M1A2 upgrade, Bradley M2A3 vehicle, F-A 18E-F aircraft, C-17 aircraft, and F-16 aircraft. (Sec. 8010) Prohibits during FY 2000 the management by end strengths of DOD civilian personnel. (Sec. 8019) Authorizes the Secretary of Defense (Secretary) to establish with host governments of NATO-member countries an account for the deposit of residual value amounts negotiated in the return of U.S. military installations to such countries. (Sec. 8032) Authorizes DOD to incur up to $350 million in obligations for DOD personnel compensation, military construction projects, and supplies and services in anticipation of receipts of contributions from the Government of Kuwait. (Sec. 8033) Earmarks funds from this Act for the Civil Air Patrol Corporation. (Sec. 8034) Prohibits the use of funds from this Act to establish a new DOD federally funded research and development center (FFRDC). Limits the Federal compensation to be paid to FFRDC members or consultants. Prohibits the use of FY 2000 FFRDC funds for new building construction, cost-sharing payments for projects funded by Government grants, absorption of cost overruns, or certain charitable contributions. Limits the staff years of technical effort that may be funded for FFRDCs from FY 2000 funds. (Sec. 8042) Directs the President to include within each fiscal year budget the amounts requested for administrative activities of DOD, the military departments, and the defense agencies. (Sec. 8053) Prohibits the use of funds: (1) by a DOD entity without compliance with the Buy American Act; (2) for assistance to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea unless specifically appropriated for such purpose; (3) to reduce the civilian medical and medical support personnel assigned to military treatment facilities below the September 30, 1999, level; and (4) to transport chemical munitions to the Johnston Atoll for storage or demilitarization (with an exception and an authorized wartime waiver by the President). (Sec. 8050) Earmarks funds appropriated under this Act for the mitigation of adverse environmental impacts on Indian lands resulting from DOD activities. (Sec. 8057) Authorizes DOD to lease real and personal property at the Adak Naval Air Facility, Alaska. (Sec. 8058) Rescinds specified funds from various accounts under prior defense appropriations Acts. (Sec. 8065) Prohibits the transfer to any other department or agency, except as specifically provided in an appropriations law, of funds available to DOD or the Central Intelligence Agency in any fiscal year for drug interdiction and counter-drug activities. (Sec. 8072) Directs the Secretary to report quarterly to specified congressional committees setting forth all costs incurred by DOD in implementing or supporting United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions. (Sec. 8073) Prohibits current fiscal year DOD funds from being obligated or expended to transfer to another nation or international organization defense articles or services for use in any UN peacekeeping or peace enforcement operation, or for any other international peacekeeping, peace enforcement, or humanitarian assistance operation, unless specified congressional committees are given 15 days' advance notice. (Sec. 8074) Directs the Secretary, to the extent authorized by law, to issue loan guarantees in support of U.S. defense exports not otherwise provided for, with a contingent liability limit of $15 billion. Requires quarterly reports to specified congressional committees on such loan guarantees. (Sec. 8078) Authorizes the use of DOD O&M funds in support of U.S. missions and with eligible organizations and activities outside of DOD. (Sec. 8081) Directs the Secretary, upon the enactment of this Act, to make specified transfers between various DOD accounts. (Sec. 8083) Authorizes the Secretary, during the current fiscal year, to waive reimbursement of certain educational costs of the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies for military officers and civilian officials of foreign countries if determined to be in the national security interest. (Sec. 8088) Authorizes the Secretary, on a case-by-case basis, to waive limitations on the procurement of defense items from a foreign country if: (1) the Secretary determines that such limitation would invalidate cooperative programs or reciprocal trade agreements for the procurement of defense items; and (2) such country does not discriminate against the same or similar defense items produced in the United States for that country. Provides exceptions. (Sec. 8091) Reduces by $452.1 million the total amount appropriated in this Act to reflect savings from revised economic assumptions, to be allocated among various DOD accounts. (Sec. 8092) Prohibits the use of appropriated funds to support any training program involving security forces of a foreign country if credible information exists that such country has committed a gross violation of human rights, unless all necessary corrective steps have been taken. Requires the monitoring of such information. Authorizes the Secretary to waive such prohibition under extraordinary circumstances. (Sec. 8093) Authorizes the Secretary to distribute surplus DOD dental equipment to Indian health service facilities and federally- qualified health centers. (Sec. 8094) Reduces the total amount appropriated in this Act by: (1) $209.3 million, to reflect savings from the pay of civilian personnel; (2) $206.6 million, to reflect savings from favorable foreign currency fluctuations; and (3) $250.3 million, to reflect savings from reductions in the price of bulk fuel. Allocates such savings among various DOD O&M accounts. (Sec. 8098) Makes Navy-appropriated funds available for the replacement of certain lost and canceled checks. (Sec. 8099) Authorizes the Chief of the National Guard Bureau to waive payments for the lease of personal property to Federal, State, or local governments or youth or charitable organizations. (Sec. 8100) Provides authorized uses of funds appropriated for the Pacific Disaster Center. Authorizes the Secretary to enable the Center and its derivatives to enter into cooperative agreements for the delegation or implementation of all of its missions and to accept grants to carry out its activities. Prohibits the Center from accepting any remuneration or services that compromise national security. (Sec. 8101) Reduces by over $1.8 billion the total amount appropriated under this Act for military personnel, to reflect amounts appropriated in H.R. 1141, as enacted. (Sec. 8104) Earmarks specified O&M funds for combating terrorism inside and outside the United States. Requires each budget to separately state the amount requested for such activities. (Sec. 8106) Authorizes the Secretary of the Air Force to negotiate leases for operational support aircraft. (Sec. 8107) Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to repeal a requirement that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) not begin to commence bidding for commercial licenses for certain reallocated frequency spectrum until after January 1, 2001. Directs the FCC to initiate such bidding during FY 1999 and to ensure that all proceeds of such bidding are deposited no later than September 30, 2000. Provides for the expedited assignment of such frequencies. Requires at least seven days' public notice prior to the granting of an application for an instrument of authorization for any such frequency. (Sec. 8108) Reduces by $3.1 billion the total amount appropriated under titles II and III of this Act, to reflect certain supplemental appropriations provided under Public Law 106-31.
Bill· SS. 1115 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 1999
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a national cemetery in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area.
Bill· SJRESS.J.Res. 25 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 1999
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the court-martial charges against then-Captain Charles McVay, U.S. Navy, arising from the sinking of the USS INDIANAPOLIS on July 30, 1945, while under his command were not morally sustainable; (2) Captain McVay's conviction was a miscarriage of justice; (3) the American people should now recognize Captain McVay's lack of culpability for the loss of such ship and the lives of the men who died as the result of her sinking; and (4) the President should award a Unit Citation to the final crew of the INDIANAPOLIS in recognition of their courage and fortitude in the face of tremendous hardship and adversity after their ship was torpedoed and sunk.
Bill· SJRESS.J.Res. 26 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 1999
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the court-martial charges against then-Captain Charles McVay, U.S. Navy, arising from the sinking of the USS INDIANAPOLIS on July 30, 1945, while under his command were not morally sustainable; (2) Captain McVay's conviction was a miscarriage of justice; (3) the American people should now realize Captain McVay's lack of culpability for the loss of such ship and the lives of the men who died as the result of her sinking; and (4) the President should award a Unit Citation to the final crew of the INDIANAPOLIS in recognition of their courage and fortitude in the face of tremendous hardship and adversity after their ship was torpedoed and sunk.
Bill· HRH.R. 1924 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 1999
Federal Agency Compliance Act - Requires a Federal agency and its officers and employees, in civil matters, in administering a statute, rule, regulation, program, or policy (statute) within a judicial circuit, to adhere to the existing precedent respecting the interpretation and application of such statute, as established by the decisions of the U.S. court of appeals for that circuit, with exceptions. Allows an agency to take a position, either in administration or litigation, that is at variance with such precedent if: (1) it is uncertain whether the administration of the statute will be subject to review by the appeals court that established that precedent or a court of appeals for another circuit; (2) the Government did not seek further review of the case in which that precedent was first established in that appeals court or the U.S. Supreme Court because neither the United States nor any agency or officer thereof was a party to the case or because the decision establishing that precedent was otherwise substantially favorable to the Government; or (3) it is reasonable to question the continued validity of that precedent in light of a subsequent decision of that appeals court or the U.S. Supreme Court, a subsequent change in any pertinent statute or regulation, or any other subsequent change in the public policy or circumstances on which that precedent was based. Requires the officers of any Federal agency supervising the conduct of litigation to ensure that the initiation, defense, and continuation of proceedings in the U.S. courts within, or subject to the jurisdiction of, a particular judicial circuit avoids unnecessarily repetitive litigation on questions of law already consistently resolved against the United States in three or more circuits.