Education

School Environment Protection Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 12 October 1999

School Environment Protection Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a National School Integrated Pest Management Advisory System to develop and update uniform standards and criteria for implementing integrated pest management systems in schools. Directs local educational agencies (LEAs) of school districts to develop and implement systems in schools in compliance with this Act. Permits LEAs to continue to implement existing State systems that meet this Act's standards and criteria. Applies this Act's requirements to pesticide application in school buildings and on school grounds. Requires schools to prohibit: (1) the application of a pesticide when a school or school ground is occupied or in use; or (2) the use of an area or room treated by a pesticide, other than a least toxic pesticide, during the 24-hour period beginning at the end of the treatment. Requires the Administrator to establish a National School Integrated Pest Management Advisory Board. Directs the Board, among other duties, to: (1) review pesticides used in schools for their acute toxicity and chronic effects; and (2) recommend a list of least toxic pesticides. Authorizes the Board to recommend restrictions on pesticide use in schools. Requires the Administrator to: (1) establish a list of least toxic pesticides that may be used in schools; (2) publish pesticide restrictions in the Federal Register; and (3) issue findings on whether use of registered pesticides in schools may endanger children's health. Directs the Administrator to appoint an official for school pest management within the EPA Office of Pesticide Programs to coordinate integrated pest management systems in schools. Requires LEAs to: (1) designate contact persons for carrying out such systems; (2) maintain all pesticide use data for each school in the district and make such data publicly available; and (3) include notice of such systems in forms of universal notification at the beginning of each school year. Permits the use of a pesticide only if the pesticide has been disclosed in such notice. Prescribes procedures to be followed if a pest cannot be controlled after having used an integrated pest management system and least toxic pesticides, including prior notification of parents, guardians, and staff members of the use of a pesticide and posting of signs. Prescribes alternative procedures in emergency situations. Provides for public comments, through school board meetings, on integrated pest management systems. Establishes a complaint procedure to remedy violations of this Act. Prescribes civil penalties for violations. Establishes the Integrated Pest Management Trust Fund to carry out education, training, propagation, and development activities under integrated pest management systems of schools to remedy the harmful effect of actions taken by persons who paid civil penalties. Describes remedies for employees alleging violations of this Act. Directs the Administrator to provide grants to LEAs to develop systems under this Act. Prohibits, no later than six years after this Act's enactment, the use of any pesticide other than a least toxic pesticide in schools unless the Administrator has met the requirements of this Act. Authorizes appropriations.

Chesapeake Bay Restoration Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1999

Chesapeake Bay Restoration Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to: (1) continue the Chesapeake Bay Program; and (2) maintain a Program Office to provide specified support to the Chesapeake Executive Council. Authorizes the Administrator to provide technical assistance and assistance grants to nonprofit organizations, State and local governments, colleges and universities, and interstate agencies to achieve Program goals. Provides the Federal and non-Federal share of various Program costs. Provides for Chesapeake Bay Agreement (an agreement among signatory members to restore and protect the Bay's ecosystem) implementation and monitoring grants, with specified Federal and non-Federal shares. Directs the Administrator to make public a document describing in detail projects funded for the current and previous years. Requires any Federal agency that owns or operates a facility within the Bay watershed to: (1) participate in regional and subwatershed planning and restoration programs; and (2) report to the President and the Council on expenditures to carry out such programs. Requires the Administrator to: (1) ensure that management plans are developed and that implementation is begun by signatories to the Agreement to achieve specified water nutrient and quality goals and habitat restoration and protection; and (2) offer technical assistance and assistance grants for a small watershed grants program within the Bay. Directs the Administrator to study and report to Congress on the state of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem and on Program strategies. Requires a five-year study to establish and expand understanding of Bay ecosystem living resources response to water quality improvements resulting from the Program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2005.

Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000

United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1999

Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000 - Makes appropriations for FY 2000 for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and related agencies. Title I: Department of Labor - Department of Labor Appropriations Act, 2000 - Makes appropriations for FY 2000 to the Department of Labor for: (1) training and employment services; (2) community service employment for older Americans; (3) Federal unemployment benefits and allowances; (4) State unemployment insurance and employment service operations; (5) advances to the Unemployment Trust Fund and other trust funds; (6) employment and training program administration; (7) the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation; (8) the Employment Standards Administration; (9) certain special benefits; (10) the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund; (11) the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; (12) the Mine Safety and Health Administration; (13) the Bureau of Labor Statistics; (14) departmental management; (15) the Assistant Secretary for Veterans Employment and Training; and (16) the Office of Inspector General. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title. Title II: Department of Health and Human Services - Department of Health and Human Services Appropriations Act, 2000 - Makes appropriations for FY 2000 to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for: (1) the Health Resources and Services Administration; (2) the Medical Facilities Guarantee and Loan Fund for Federal interest subsidies for medical facilities; (3) health education assistance loans; (4) the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program Trust Fund; (5) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; (6) the National Institutes of Health, including amounts for the John E. Fogarty International Center, the National Library of Medicine, the Office of the Director, and buildings and facilities; (7) the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; (8) the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research; (9) the Health Care Financing Administration for grants to States for Medicaid, payments to health care trust funds, program management, and the Health Maintenance Organization Loan and Loan Guarantee Fund; (10) the Administration for Children and Families for family support payments to States; (11) low income home energy assistance; (12) refugee and entrant assistance; (13) the social services block grant; (14) children and families services programs; (15) family preservation and support pursuant to a specified provision of the Social Security Act; (16) payments to States for foster care and adoption assistance; (17) the Administration on Aging; (18) the Office of the Secretary for general departmental management; (19) the Office of Inspector General; (20) the Office for Civil Rights; (21) policy research; (22) retirement pay and medical benefits for Public Health Service commissioned officers; and (23) activities related to countering potential biological, disease, and chemical threats to civilian populations. Rescinds FY 2000 funds for a sample study of child welfare. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title. (Sec. 208) Prohibits funds appropriated in this Act from being made available under title X (population research and voluntary family planning) of the Public Health Service Act unless the award applicant certifies to the Secretary of HHS that it encourages family participation in the decision of minors to seek family planning services and provides counseling to minors on resisting attempts to coerce them into engaging in sexual activities. (Sec. 210) Prohibits the use of funds appropriated by this Act to carry out the Medicare+Choice program if the Secretary of HHS denies participation in such program to an otherwise eligible entity (including a Provider Sponsored Organization) because the entity informs the Secretary that it will not provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or provide referrals for abortions. (Sec. 211) Amends the Public Health Service Act to require State allotments under block grants for: (1) community health services for FY 2000 to be at least the amount the State received for FY 1998; and (2) substance abuse prevention and treatment for FY 2000 to be equal to allotments for FY 1999. Title III: Department of Education - Department of Education Appropriations Act, 2000 - Makes appropriations for FY 2000 to the Department of Education for: (1) education reform; (2) education for the disadvantaged; (3) impact aid; (4) school improvement activities; (5) reading excellence; (6) Indian education; (7) bilingual and immigrant education; (8) special education; (9) rehabilitation services and disability research; (10) special institutions for persons with disabilities, including the American Printing House for the Blind, the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, the Kendall Demonstration Elementary School, the Model Secondary School for the Deaf, and Gallaudet University; (11) vocational and adult education; (12) student financial assistance; (13) the Federal Family Education Loan program account; (14) higher education; (15) Howard University; (16) the college housing and academic facilities loans program; (17) the historically Black college and university capital financing program account; (18) education research, statistics, and improvement; (19) departmental management; (20) the Office for Civil Rights; and (21) the Office of the Inspector General. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title. (Sec. 301) Prohibits funds appropriated in this Act from being used to: (1) transport teachers or students in order to overcome racial imbalance in any school or to carry out a racial desegregation plan; or (2) prevent the implementation of programs of voluntary prayer and meditation in public schools. (Sec. 306) Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to reduce to 35 percent the Federal share available for Even Start family literacy programs in any year after the eighth year of receiving assistance. Removes a provision which limits the receipt of such assistance to a period of eight years. Title IV: Related Agencies - Makes appropriations for FY 2000 to the: (1) Armed Forces Retirement Home; (2) Corporation for National and Community Service; (3) Corporation for Public Broadcasting; (4) Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service; (5) Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission; (6) Institute of Museum and Library Services; (7) Medicare Payment Advisory Commission; (8) National Commission on Libraries and Information Science; (9) National Council on Disability; (10) National Education Goals Panel; (11) National Labor Relations Board; (12) National Mediation Board; (13) Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission; (14) Railroad Retirement Board for the dual benefits payments account, Federal payments to the railroad retirement accounts, administration, and the Office of Inspector General; (15) Social Security Administration for payments to the social security trust funds, special benefits for disabled coal miners, the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Program, administrative expenses, and the Office of Inspector General; and (16) U.S. Institute of Peace. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title. Title V: General Provisions - Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this Act. (Sec. 505) Prohibits the use of funds appropriated under this Act for programs to distribute sterile needles or syringes for the injection of illegal drugs. (Sec. 506) Sets forth Buy American requirements. (Sec. 508) Prohibits funds appropriated under this Act from being expended for abortions or for health benefits coverage that includes coverage of abortion, except in cases where the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest or where a woman suffers from a physical condition that would, as certified by a physician, place her in danger of death unless an abortion is performed. (Sec. 510) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act for: (1) the creation of a human embryo for research purposes; or (2) research in which a human embryo is destroyed or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death greater than that allowed for research on fetuses in utero under Federal regulations and the Public Health Service Act. (Sec. 511) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act for activities to promote the legalization of a controlled substance unless there is significant medical evidence of a therapeutic advantage to the use of such substance or that federally-sponsored trials are being conducted to determine such advantage. (Sec. 514) Bars the use of funds made available in this Act to promulgate a final standard under the Social Security Act providing for a unique health identifier for an individual (except in an individual's capacity as an employer or health care provider) until legislation is enacted specifically approving the standard. Title VI: Early Detection, Diagnosis, and Interventions For Newborns and Infants With Hearing Loss - Mandates grants or cooperative agreements to: (1) develop statewide newborn and infant hearing screening, evaluation, and intervention programs and systems; and (2) provide technical assistance to State agencies to complement an intramural program and to conduct applied research related to newborn and infant hearing screening, evaluation, and intervention programs and systems. Requires the National Institutes of Health to continue a program of research and development on the efficacy of new screening techniques and technology. Mandates Federal coordination and collaboration with State and local agencies, consumer groups, national medical, health, and education specialty organizations, deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals and their families, qualified professional personnel, and related commercial industries. Authorizes appropriations. Title VII: Child Protection Act of 1999 - Child Protection Act of 1999 - Requires any elementary or secondary school or public library that has received Federal funds for the acquisition or operation of any computer that is accessible to minors and that has access to the Internet to: (1) install software on that computer adequately designed to prevent minors from obtaining access to any obscene information or child pornography; and (2) ensure that such software is operational whenever that computer is used by minors. Allows temporary interruption of software operation to permit a minor, under the direct supervision of an adult designated by the school or library, to have access to information that is not obscene, is not child pornography, or is otherwise unprotected by the Constitution. Requires determinations of adequate design to be made by an agency or official designated by the chief executive officer of the State. Authorizes Federal agency heads to respond to violations of this Act by seeking remedies, in the same manner as under the General Education Provisions Act, including withholding of further payments, issuing a complaint to compel compliance through a cease and desist order, or entering into a compliance agreement with the recipient of funds. Prohibits seeking recovery of funds from the recipient. Title VIII: Inflation Adjustments to Mandatory Jurisdiction Thresholds of National Labor Relations Board - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to provide for inflation adjustments to the mandatory jurisdiction thresholds of the National Labor Relations Board. Title IX: Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require earned income credit refunds to be paid in 12 substantially equal installments. Makes such requirement inapplicable to refunds under $600. Terminates provisions regarding advanced payment of earned income credit after September 30, 1999. Makes such termination inapplicable to earned income eligibility certificates in effect on such date and to renewals of such certificates which are so in effect. Applies the preceding amendments to taxable years beginning after December 31, 1998. (Sec. 902) Directs the General Accounting Office to conduct a study of the impact on earned income tax credit recipients with respect to a disbursement over 12 months versus the current one-time, lump-sum payment. Title X: Disaster Relief for Farmers - Makes a specified amount of Commodity Credit Corporation funds available to the Secretary of Agriculture to provide assistance to producers for crop and livestock losses incurred as a result of the hurricanes and flooding that struck the eastern United States in August and September 1999.

Smaller Schools, Stronger Communities Act

United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1999

Smaller Schools, Stronger Communities Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to authorize the Secretary of Education to provide flexible challenge grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to implement and administer plans to create smaller schools. (Sets forth such Smaller Schools program as a new part L of title X, Programs of National Significance, of ESEA.) Requires the Secretary, in awarding such grants, to: (1) consider the number of students served and the number, location, and size of the schools; (2) assure an equitable distribution of assistance among urban and rural areas of the Nation and of a State; and (3) give priority to LEAs that establish a target number of not more than 600 students for attendance at (or in a self-operating academic unit within) each high school, and not more than 400 for each elementary school or middle school. Allows use of grant funds for: (1) hiring additional staff; (2) planning, feasibility studies, and architectural fees to design or remodel school facilities; and (3) other reasonable expenses. Prohibits use of grant funds to cover costs directly associated with the renovation of existing facilities or the purchase or construction of new facilities. Authorizes appropriations.

Cornelius P. O'Leary, of Connecticut, to be a Member of the National Security Education Board for a term of four years, vice Roger Hilsman, term expired.

United States · United States Senate · 6 October 1999

A bill to establish America's education goals.

United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1999

Title I: America's Education Goals - Sets forth a declaration of America's Education Goals, using the categories of: (1) school readiness; (2) school completion; (3) student achievement and citizenship; (4) teacher education and professional development; (5) mathematics and science; (6) adult literacy and lifelong learning; (7) safe, disciplined, and alcohol- and drug-free schools; and (8) parental participation. Title II: America's Education Goals Panel - Establishes an America's Education Goals Panel in the executive branch, to advise the President, the Secretary of Education, and Congress.

Access to High Standards Act

United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1999

Access to High Standards Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to award grants to State or local educational agencies to: (1) carry out specified activities under three-year demonstration programs to expand access for low-income individuals to advanced placement (AP) incentive programs; and (2) provide students with on-line AP courses. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to make AP programs a priority for Javits Gifted and Talented Students, Upward Bound, Eisenhower professional development, Star Schools, and education technology grants. Requires each institution of higher learning receiving HEA assistance to distribute to secondary school counselors or AP coordinators in the State information on academic credit given to students at the institution for AP test scores.

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow unused benefits from cafeteria plans to be carried over into later years and used for health care reimbursement rollover accounts and certain other plans, arrangements, or accounts.

United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1999

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit: (1) annual carryover of up to $3000 of unused benefits under cafeteria plans or flexible spending or similar arrangements; and (2) in lieu of a carryover, such amount to be rolled over as nontaxable income when transferred to certain retirement plans, a medical savings account, an education individual retirement account, or health care reimbursement rollover account. Authorizes an annual cost-of-living adjustment to the $3000 limit. Exempts a health care reimbursement rollover account from Federal income tax unless such account ceases to be that type of account. Subjects such account to taxation on unrelated business income. Outlines account qualification requirements. Considers as nontaxable income any amounts paid out of such accounts when used exclusively for qualified medical expenses, while considering as taxable any amounts used otherwise. Excludes account funds from estate taxes. Considers the transfer of such an account to a designated beneficiary as if the beneficiary were the original account holder. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to require from an account trustee appropriate reports concerning account contributions, distributions, and related matters.

Russian Economic Restoration and Justice Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1999

Russian Economic Restoration and Justice Act of 1999 - Amends the Bretton Woods Agreements Act to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to use the U.S. vote to urge the IMF to: (1) not provide any assistance to the Russian Federation government until there is in effect a Russian federal law that implements specified economic reforms; and (2) provide assistance to the Russian Federation only to aid in implementation of such reforms. Establishes a Russian-American financial oversight commission to monitor the use of Western resources in Russia. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) there should be established joint United States-Russian business, economics, and agricultural education programs in which Russian Federation students on completion of their studies in the United States be required to return to the Russian Federation and work for the federal or regional government in Russia; and (2) the United States and the government of the Russian Federation should create a program which would link successful U.S. business leaders with their Russian Federation counterparts so that Russian Federation companies will be better able to access a pool of resources and knowledge to assist them in their transition to successfully competing in a market-based economy. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Director at the IMF to use the U.S. vote to urge the IMF to create a commission, composed of prominent international financial experts, to draw up recommendations for reforming the IMF, with a view to achieving more transparency in the structures of the IMF and increasing the effectiveness of its programs while decreasing financial risk. Establishes a pilot housing loan program (to be administered through a nonprofit corporation) in which the average Russian citizen may attain affordable home ownership.

To establish a national clearinghouse for youth entrepreneurship education.

United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1999

Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make a grant or contract, to an organization or institution with substantial experience in curriculum-based entrepreneurship education, for a national clearinghouse for youth entrepreneurship education to: (1) facilitate professional development opportunities for teachers; (2) stimulate community partnerships with businesses, youth, agencies, and nonprofit entities (including faith-based, nonprofit, and other local organizations); (3) collect and disseminate curricular materials; and (4) undertake other activities to encourage teacher interest and involvement in entrepreneurship education, especially for students in grades seven through 12. Authorizes appropriations. Declares that curriculum-based youth entrepreneurship education programs with demonstrated records of empowering disadvantaged youth with applied mathematics, entrepreneurial, and other analytical skills shall be considered an eligible use of funds in specified programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to designate certified diabetes educators recognized by the National Certification Board of Diabetes Educators as certified providers for purposes of outpatient diabetes education services under part B of the Medicare Program.

United States · United States Congress · 4 October 1999

Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for the treatment of certified diabetes educators recognized by the National Certification Board of Diabetes Educators as certified providers for purposes of outpatient diabetes education services under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act.

Public School Choice Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 4 October 1999

Public School Choice Act of 1999 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make grants to State and local educational agencies to support programs that promote innovative approaches to high-quality public school choice. Authorizes appropriations.

Early Education Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 4 October 1999

Early Education Act of 1999 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to establish an early education program of grants to States to provide programs for at least half-day schooling during the year preceding kindergarten. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award such matching grants to not less than ten State educational agencies (SEAs) to expand the existing education system with programs that provide such early education. Requires each such assisted program to: (1) be carried out by one or more local educational agencies (LEAs), as selected by the SEA; (2) be carried out in a public school building, or in another facility by, or through a contract or agreement with, an LEA; (3) be available to all children served by the LEA carrying out the program; and (4) only involve licensed or certified instructors. Authorizes appropriations.

Elementary and Secondary School Library Media Resources, Training, and Advanced Technology Assistance Act

United States · United States Congress · 4 October 1999

Elementary and Secondary School Library Media Resources, Training, and Advanced Technology Assistance Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to establish a program to provide for elementary and secondary school library media resources, including mandatory State allotments for library media resources and discretionary grants for school library access during non-school hours. Directs the Secretary of Education to make such allotments to applicant State educational agencies (SEAs) according to a specified formula. Allows the SEA and the Secretary to reserve specified amounts for certain statewide and national activities, including information dissemination. Requires SEAs to make allocations to applicant local educational agencies (LEAs) that have: (1) the greatest need for school library media improvement; and (2) the highest percentages of poverty. Sets forth authorized uses of such funds by LEAs, including: (1) acquisition of resources, including books; (2) acquisition of advanced technology; (3) resource-sharing among schools and their library media centers and public and academic libraries; (4) professional development for school library media specialists; and (5) collaboration between such specialists and teachers and administrators. Sets forth accountability requirements for continuation of funding. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to applicant LEAs to provide students with access to libraries in elementary schools and secondary schools during non-school hours, including the hours before and after school, weekends, and summer vacation periods. Requires that priority be given to LEAs that: (1) seek to provide activities that will increase reading skills and student achievement; (2) have effectively coordinated services and funding with entities involved in other Federal, State, and local efforts to provide programs and activities for students during non-school hours; and (3) have a high level of community support. Authorizes appropriations.

Medicare Beneficiary Access to Care Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1999

Medicare Beneficiary Access to Care Act of 1999 - Title I: Hospitals - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) with respect to: (1) multiyear transition to prospective payment system (PPS) for hospital outpatient department services and a special rule for rural and cancer hospitals; (2) limitation in reduction of payments to disproportionate share (DSH) hospitals; (3) revision of criteria for designation as a critical access hospital; and (4) sole community and Medicare-dependent, small rural hospitals and the applicable percentage increase for FY 2000 and each subsequent fiscal year. (Sec. 103) Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to increase DSH hospital allotments for Minnesota, New Mexico, and Wyoming. Amends the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA '97) to make the Medicaid DSH transition rule permanent. Title II: Graduate Medical Education - Amends SSA title XVIII with respect to revision of multiyear reduction of indirect graduate medical education (GME) payments. (Sec. 202) Amends SSA title XVIII parts D (Miscellaneous) and C (Medicare+Choice) with respect to acceleration of payment to hospitals of indirect and direct GME costs for Medicare+Choice enrollees. (Sec. 203) Amends SSA title XVIII part C with respect to the exclusion of nursing and allied health education costs in calculating the Medicare+Choice payment rate. Amends SSA title XVIII with respect to: (1) payment to hospitals of nursing and allied health education program costs for Medicare+Choice enrollees; and (2) adjustments to limitations on the number of interns and residents and GME payments for certain interns and residents. Title III: Hospice Care - Amends SSA title XVIII to increase payments for routine home care and other services included in hospice care for a fiscal year after FY 1999. Title IV: Skilled Nursing Facilities - Provides that, for purposes of applying any formula under the PPS for covered skilled nursing facility services (SNFs) for services provided between April 1, 2000, and the end of FY 2001, the Secretary shall increase, by a specified applicable payment add-on, the adjusted Federal per diem rate otherwise determined for services provided to any individual during the period in which such individual is in a RUG III case mix category. (Sec. 402) Amends SSA title XVIII to exclude clinical social worker services and services performed under a contract with a rural health clinic or a Federally-qualified health center from the PPS for SNFs, as well as certain ambulance services, chemotherapy administration services, and other specified items, services, and devices, including swing beds in critical access hospitals. Title V: Outpatient Rehabilitation Services - Amends title XVIII to repeal for three years a specified financial limitation on outpatient physical therapy services, outpatient occupational therapy services, and outpatient speech-language pathology services covered under Medicare and furnished on or after January 1, 2000. Directs the Secretary to implement by January 1, 2003, a payment system for such services that takes into account the needs of Medicare beneficiaries for differing amounts of therapy based on certain factors. Title VI: Physicians' Services - Amends SSA title XVIII with respect to payment for physicians' services to revise the formula for determining the update adjustment factor and the formula for determining the sustainable growth rate for all physicians' services. (Sec. 602) Directs the Secretary to publish in the Federal Register an estimate of the single conversion factor to be used in the next calendar year for reimbursement of physicians' services, and data on which such estimate is based. Directs the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MEDPac) to review annually and report to the Secretary and specified congressional committees on such estimates and data. Title VII: Home Health - Amends BBA '97 and SSA title XVIII to delay application of the 15 percent reduction in payment rates for home health services until one year after implementation of the PPS for home health services. (Sec. 702) Amends SSA title XVIII to increase the FY 2000 per visit limit for home health agencies furnishing home health services, but in such a way that has no effect on the PPS for home health services. (Sec. 703) Requires the Secretary to pay such excess reasonable cost to a home health services provider that furnishes services appropriate to an individual's condition at a reasonable cost which significantly exceeds the applicable per beneficiary limit because of unusual variations in the type or amount of medically necessary care required. (Sec. 704) Eliminates the 15-minute billing requirement for the payment of claims for home health services furnished on or after October 1, 1998. (Sec. 705) Provides that, in the case of an overpayment by the Secretary to a home health agency for services furnished during a cost reporting period beginning on or after October 1, 1997, as a result of certain payment limitations, the home health agency may elect to repay the amount of such overpayment ratably over a 36-month period beginning on the overpayment notification date. (Sec. 706) Amends SSA title XVIII to include medical supplies (but not durable medical equipment) as home health services for purposes of home health consolidated billing. Title VIII: Medicare+Choice - Amends Medicare part C to delay the submission of proposed premiums, adjusted community rates, and related information each Medicare+Choice organization is required to submit to the Secretary for each Medicare+Choice plan for the service area in which it is intended to be offered in the following year. (Sec. 802) Reduces from five years to three years the general exclusion period for Medicare+Choice organizations whose contract has been terminated. (Sec. 803) Authorizes enrollment in alternative Medicare+Choice plans and Medigap coverage in the event of an involuntary termination of Medicare+Choice enrollment. Guarantees access for certain Medicare beneficiaries to Medigap policies in case of such an involuntary termination. (Sec. 804) Removes certain age-related restrictions with respect to Medigap protection against medical condition or pre-existing condition discrimination. Permits an individual who develops end-stage renal disease while enrolled in a Medicare+Choice plan and remains so enrolled to elect to continue enrollment in another Medicare+Choice plan if the original enrollment is discontinued. (Sec. 805) Extends the Medicare+Choice disenrollment window for certain involuntarily terminated enrollees. (Sec. 806) Provides under the Medicare+Choice program for continuation of any State law that requires the comprehensive coverage of prescription drugs, or any regulation that carries out such a law if: (1) the State has a waiver in effect with respect to requiring such coverage under Medigap policies; or (2) the Secretary provides for a waiver for the State to impose such a requirement. (Sec. 807) Exempts certain frail elderly Medicare+Choice beneficiaries from the risk-adjustment system if they are enrolled in a specialized program for the frail elderly. Sets forth special rules for frail elderly Medicare+Choice beneficiaries enrolled in such specialized programs. Provides for continuous open enrollment for certain such beneficiaries. Directs the Secretary to develop and implement a program to measure the quality of care provided in specialized programs for the frail elderly in order to reflect their unique health aspects and needs. (Sec. 808) Extends for an additional three years Medicare community nursing and ambulatory care demonstration projects under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987. Title IX: Clinics - Amends SSA title XIX to establish a new PPS for Federally-qualified health centers and rural health clinics under which the State Medicaid plan may provide for payment in any fiscal year to such a center or clinic for certain services in an amount exceeding the amount otherwise required to be paid under the PPS.

Nutraceutical Research and Education Act

United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1999

Nutraceutical Research and Education Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to define "nutraceutical" as a dietary supplement, food, or medical food, as defined in specified provisions of the Orphan Drug Act, that: (1) has a benefit which prevents or reduces the risk of a disease or health condition, including the management of a disease or health condition or the improvement of health; and (2) is safe for human consumption in the quantity and with the frequency required to realize such properties. (Sec. 4) Allows any person to petition the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue a regulation regarding a nutraceutical claim. Requires that the petition contain specified information, including a report of at least one clinical trial and evidence that the nutraceutical is safe. (Sec. 5) Prohibits the Secretary, if the Secretary issues a regulation in response to a petition, from issuing another regulation for an essentially identical nutraceutical claim for ten years, unless: (1) the new petition involves a use that provides greater effectiveness, greater safety, or otherwise a major contribution to patient care; or (2) the first petition is subsequently revoked. Deems a food adulterated if it is a nutraceutical and it: (1) has not had a petition approved; or (2) has been prepared, packed, or held under conditions that do not meet good manufacturing practice regulations. Authorizes the Secretary to issue such regulations. (Sec. 7) Establishes in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the Advisory Council on Nutraceuticals to evaluate whether a petition is worthy of review by the FDA and whether the petition conflicts with any other petition. Exempts the Council from the Federal Advisory Committee Act. (Sec. 8) Directs the Secretary to maintain and periodically publish an index, with specified contents, listing: (1) each nutraceutical having an approved petition; and (2) each pending petition. (Sec. 10 (sic)) Makes it not unlawful under the antitrust laws for two or more small businesses to agree to combine their resources to meet FDCA requirements for claims of nutraceutical health benefits. Defines: (1) "antitrust laws" as it is defined in specified provisions of the Clayton Act plus specified provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act as those provisions apply to unfair methods of competition; and (2) "small businesses" as entities that have fewer than 500 employees, including employees of affiliates.

Low-Income and Rural School Program

United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1999

Low-Income and Rural School Program - Establishes a Low-Income and Rural School Program for State and direct grants to certain rural and low-income local educational agencies (LEAs). Directs the Secretary of Education to make grants to State educational agencies (SEAs) for elementary and secondary education development by LEAs that are eligible if: (1) 20 percent or more of the children aged five through 17, whom the LEA serves, are from families with incomes below the poverty line; and (2) all of the schools served by the LEA are located in a rural community (with a Rural-Urban Continuum Code of 6, 7, 8, or 9). Reserves a specified portion of grant funds for schools operated or supported by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Sets forth an allotment formula for grants to SEAs to make grants to eligible LEAs. Authorizes the Secretary to make direct competitive grants to specially qualified LEAs in nonparticipating States. Bases LEA eligibility for such grants on the same criteria as that for LEAs to receive State grants in participating States. Requires such LEAs or their schools to use grant funds for: (1) educational technology, including software and hardware; (2) professional development; (3) technical assistance; (4) teacher recruitment and retention; (5) parental involvement activities; or (6) academic enrichment programs. Requires SEAs to award grants on a competitive or formula basis. Limits to five percent that portion of a grant which may be used for State administrative costs. Requires grant program reports by SEAs, specially qualified LEAs, and the Secretary. Authorizes appropriations.

Josephine Butler United States Health Service Act

United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1999

Josephine Butler United States Health Service Act - Title I: Establishment and Operation of the United States Health Service - Subtitle A: Initial Organization - Establishes the United States Health Service (Service) as an independent executive branch entity. Vests the appropriate National Health Board of the Service (National Board) with the authority through which the authority of the Service shall be exercised. Provides that the authority of the Service shall also be exercised by area health boards in accordance with this Act and National Board guidelines. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Organization of Area Health Boards - Sets forth procedures regarding election and appointment of interim national, interim regional, and initial and subsequent National, regional, district, and community health boards. Provides for the appropriate Boards to establish health care delivery regions, districts, and communities. Subtitle C: General Provisions Regarding Health Boards - Sets forth the membership and terms of office of health boards and certain public accountability and financial disclosure requirements with regard to serving on such boards. Establishes an Office of the Inspector General for the Service. Title II: Delivery of Health Care and Supplemental Services - Subtitle A: Patients' Rights in Health Care Delivery - Affords every user the right to receive high quality care and supplemental services from any facility within the Service capable of providing such services without charge and without discrimination. Sets forth a list of other basic health rights. (Sec. 202) Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to entitle certain employees to health leave compensation. Subtitle B: Eligibility for, Nature of, and Scope of Services Provided by the Service - Declares all individuals in the United States eligible to receive health care and supplemental services under this Act. Requires the Service to provide specified services. Provides for Service reimbursement of emergency health services costs. Subtitle C: Health Care Facilities and Delivery of Health Care Services - Requires each community board to maintain health care facilities as necessary for the delivery of primary, specialized, and community-oriented services. (Sec. 221) Requires each district board, where appropriate, to maintain a general hospital and other health care facilities and to provide specialized health care services. Requires each regional board to maintain the following: (1) a regional medical facility for highly specialized care; and (2) services that cannot be provided by community or district boards. Requires each area health board to hire health workers, purchase or lease necessary premises, minimize care delivery fragmentation and duplication, assist community and district boards in operating services, and ensure that all required health services under this title are available and accessible. Requires the National Board to authorize the National Institute of Evaluative Clinical Research to establish evidence-based clinical decision criteria that, where feasible, shall apply nationwide. (Sec. 222) Requires each health board to establish policies and organizational plans for the operation of a facility. Authorizes a health board that has established more than one health care facility to provide for a health care facility board or boards to manage any facility the health board cannot effectively manage. Prohibits a health board from permitting its facilities to be used for private service delivery. Prohibits health board employees from engaging in private service delivery. Requires regular facilities inspections. (Sec. 223) Requires area health boards to provide specified services, including abortion services counseling. Requires an individual to give written voluntary consent before any treatment or procedure which could affect the individual's capacity to reproduce children. Title III: Health Labor Force - Subtitle A: Job Categories and Certification - Declares that, notwithstanding State laws to the contrary, the Service shall be the sole judge of the qualifications of its employees. (Sec. 303) Requires the National Board to establish guidelines for the classification, certification, and employment of health workers. Requires that the guidelines permit alternative approaches to healing. Requires that each regional board establish advanced specialty training certification standards. Prohibits individual health facility administrators from downgrading the level of skill, license, or certification required to perform the duties delineated by the National Board. Directs the National Board to convene a national level task force to review the impact on the safety and health of patients and workers of downgrading and deskilling of health care job categories by replacing licensed with unlicensed workers during the 1990's, particularly in the nursing area, and to recommend remedies as appropriate. Prohibits health care workers who report compromises in the quality of care from being subjected to recriminations. Subtitle B: Education of Health Workers - Requires each regional board to establish a health team school to provide initial and continuing basic care delivery education and initial and continuing advanced specialty education. Requires that the schools be funded exclusively by the Service, prohibits them from charging or accepting tuition or fees, and requires them to provide each student with an allowance for living expenses, educational supplies, and any child care. (Sec. 312) Requires that enrollees agree to perform health care services as Service employees. (Sec. 313) Requires the National Board to make educational loan payments. Subtitle C: Employment and Labor-Management Relations Within the Service - Requires the National Board to ensure that all individuals employed as health workers before enactment of this Act and desiring employment in the Service find appropriate employment in the Service. (Sec. 321) Imposes certain remuneration-related restrictions on health workers and Service employees. (Sec. 323) Amends the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 to include the Service in the term "employer." (Sec. 324) Makes the remedies provided by stated Federal laws regarding jurisdiction and tort claims exclusive of any other civil action or proceeding. Title IV: Other Functions of Health Boards - Subtitle A: Advocacy, Grievance Procedures, and Trusteeships - Requires each area health board to establish a health advocacy program. (Sec. 401) Requires the National Board to establish a health rights legal services program for users and health workers. Subtitle B: Occupational Safety and Health Programs - Requires the National Board to oversee regional occupational safety and health programs and to participate in the establishment and administration of standards under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA). (Sec. 411) Amends OSHA to substitute references to the National Board for references to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). (Sec. 412) Requires each: (1) community board to provide for the operation of a community occupational safety and health action council; (2) regional board to establish a regional occupational health and safety program; and (3) Community Health Board to establish employer maintained worksite facilities to meet occupational and emergency health care needs of employees, with the cost borne by the employer. (Sec. 415) Grants employees in workplaces having 25 or more employees the right to establish workplace occupational safety and health committees. Authorizes such employees to monitor conditions and to remove themselves from the site of any hazard without loss of pay or other job rights. Subtitle C: Health and Health Care Delivery Research, Quality Assurance, and Health Equity - Requires the Service to conduct a program of health and health care delivery research. (Sec. 422) Transfers the National Institutes of Health from HHS to the National Health Board. Requires the National Board to establish the following five new national institutes of: Epidemiology, Evaluative Clinical Research, Health Care Services, Pharmacy and Medical Supply, and Sociology of Health and Health Care. Subtitle D: Health Planning, Distribution of Drugs and Other Medical Supplies, and Miscellaneous Functions - Requires the following: (1) each area board to collect data on supply and demand regarding health workers and care delivery; (2) publication of a National Pharmacy and Medical Supply Formulary; and (3) each regional board to establish a program for the purchase and distribution of drugs and other medical supplies. Authorizes the National Board to operate drug and medical supply manufacturing facilities. Title V: Financing of the Service - Subtitle A: Health Service Taxes - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to impose on individuals and on corporations additional taxes of specified percentages of the total taxes otherwise imposed on individuals and on corporations under IRC. (Sec. 502) Ends the exclusion from gross income of amounts paid by third parties for medical care. Excludes from gross income employer contributions to accident or health plans to the extent that such contributions do not provide for health care available to such employees under this Act. Prohibits income tax deductions for: (1) health care expenses as a trade or a business expense; and (2) contributions to certain medical and hospital facilities. Repeals IRC provisions regarding medical and dental expenses, hospital insurance tax imposed on employment and self-employment income, and receipts for railroad employees. (Sec. 503) Declares that no contractual or other nonstatutory obligation of any employer to pay or provide for health care for present or former employees and their dependents and survivors shall apply on or after the effective date of health services under this Act to the extent such individuals are eligible to receive such services under this Act. (Sec. 504) Prohibits Federal, State, or private workers' compensation programs from paying for or providing any health care on or after the effective date of health services under this Act to the extent such care is available under this Act. Subtitle B: Health Service Trust Fund - Creates in the Treasury the Health Service Trust Fund (Fund). (Sec. 511) Appropriates to the Fund: (1) amounts equal to 100 percent of the expected net receipts from taxes imposed by subtitle A as well as Federal Hospital Insurance employment taxes; and (2) a Government contribution equal to 40 percent of the amount so appropriated. (Sec. 512) Transfers to the Fund all assets and liabilities of the Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act (SSA))trust funds. Subtitle C: Preparation of Plans and Budgets - Requires the National Board to annually fix the maximum amount of funds which may be expended from the Fund during the fiscal year. Subtitle D: Allocation and Distribution of Funds - Requires the National Board to transmit annually a national budget to regional boards. Declares the budget adopted on approval by a majority of the regional boards. (Sec. 532) Sets forth similar requirements for preparation and adoption of regional and district budgets. (Sec. 534) Requires each National Board budget to incorporate a fund for special operating expenses. (Sec. 535) Requires funds allocated under the national health budget to be distributed by the National Board from the Fund. Prohibits health boards from requesting or receiving funds from any other source. Subtitle E: General Provisions - Authorizes the National Board to borrow money, issue and sell obligations, and pledge Fund assets. Empowers the National Board to require the Secretary of the Treasury to purchase the Service's obligations, to a specified maximum. (Sec. 541) Makes obligations issued by the Service obligations of the Government under certain circumstances. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, for the purchase of Service obligations, to use as a public debt transaction the proceeds from the sale of any securities issued under the Second Liberty Bond Act. Title VI: Miscellaneous Provisions - Repeals, on the effective date of health services under this Act, the Public Health Service Act (PHSA), except for specified provisions regarding: (1) its short title and definitions; (2) licensing, quarantine, and inspections authority; and (3) safety of public water systems. Delays, until four years after the effective date of health services, repeal of portions of PHSA regarding provision of assistance to educational institutions and their students in areas that have not established health team schools. (Sec. 602) Repeals SSA provisions relating to maternal and child health (title V of SSA), Medicare, Medicaid (title XIX of SSA), professional standards review (part B of title XI of SSA), plus additional various specified SSA provisions relating to entitlement to hospital insurance benefits, uniform health reporting systems, limitation on Federal participation for capital expenditures, the program for determining qualification for certain health care personnel, disclosure of ownership and related information, disclosure of certain convictions, and payments to States for health care and supplemental services. Repeals the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), specified provisions on medical benefits and on programs relating to veterans, and the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS). Repeals the Comprehensive Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Prevention, Treatment, and Rehabilitation Act of 1970; the Comprehensive Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Prevention, Treatment, and Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1974; and specified provisions of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 relating to medical treatment of narcotic addiction. Repeals specified Federal law regarding hospitals, community hospitals, and other health facilities for Indians. Repeals the District of Columbia Medical Facilities Construction Act of 1968 and the District of Columbia Medical and Dental Manpower Act of 1970. Repeals specified provisions of the National Housing Act regarding mortgage insurance for nursing homes, hospitals, and group practice facilities. Repeals the Mental Retardation Facilities and Community Mental Health Centers Construction Act of 1963; the Family Planning Services and Population Research Act of 1970; the National Arthritis Act of 1974; and the National Diabetes Mellitus Research and Education Act. Repeals specified provisions of the Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention Act regarding grant, demonstration, and research programs for lead-based paint poisoning prevention. Repeals specified OSHA provisions regarding the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Requires the President to prepare and submit to Congress legislation to repeal or amend provisions of laws that are inconsistent with this Act. (Sec. 603) Transfers to the Fund amounts appropriated to carry out the purposes of any law repealed by this Act. (Sec. 604) Amends Federal money and finance law to require the President's annual budget submitted to Congress to account for expenditures from, and appropriations to, the Fund separately from such items with respect to expenditures and appropriations relating to other operations of the Government.

National Dropout Prevention Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1999

National Dropout Prevention Act of 1999 - Title I: Dropout Prevention - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) title V (Promoting Equity) to revise part C Assistance to Address School Dropout Problems. (Replaces current part C provisions known as the School Dropout Assistance Act.) (Sec. 101) Establishes: (1) a subpart 1 Coordinated National Strategy; and (2) a subpart 2 National School Dropout Prevention Initiative. Sets forth the Coordinated National Strategy. Makes it a national priority, for the five-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, to lower the school dropout rate, and increase school completion, for middle school and secondary school students in accordance with Federal law. Requires all Federal agencies that carry out activities that serve students at risk of dropping out of school, or that are intended to help address the school dropout problem, to make school dropout prevention a top priority in the agencies' funding priorities during such five-year period. Directs the Secretary to collect systematic data on the participation of different racial and ethnic groups (including migrant and limited English proficient students) in all Federal programs. Requires, as part of the national school dropout prevention strategy, the Director of the Office of Dropout Prevention and Program Completion to develop, implement, and monitor an interagency plan to assess the coordination, use of resources, and availability of funding under Federal law that can be used to address school dropout prevention, or middle school or secondary school reentry. Requires the plan to address: (1) program coordination, targeting of existing Federal services, and cost-effectiveness of various programs and approaches; (2) ways in which State and local agencies can implement effective school dropout prevention programs using funds from a variety of Federal programs; and (3) all Federal programs with school dropout prevention or school reentry elements or objectives. Requires the Director to establish, through a competitive grant or contract, a national clearinghouse on effective school dropout prevention, intervention and reentry programs. Requires the clearinghouse to: (1) disseminate such data by an electronically accessible database, a Worldwide Web site, and a national journal; and (2) provide technical assistance regarding securing resources for programs. Requires the Director to carry out a national recognition program that recognizes schools that have made extraordinary progress in lowering school dropout rates, under which a public middle school or secondary school from each State will be recognized, using uniform national guidelines and school nominations submitted by SEAs. Authorizes monetary awards to recognized schools for dissemination activities within the school district or nationally. Sets forth the National School Dropout Prevention Initiative. Directs the Secretary to make State allotments for such program based on relative amounts received under ESEA title I. Authorizes SEAs to use allotments to award grants to public middle schools or secondary schools with school dropout rates in the highest one-third of all school dropout rates in the State, for only the startup and implementation costs of effective, sustainable, coordinated, and whole school dropout prevention programs. Includes among authorized program activities: (1) professional development; (2) obtaining curricular materials; (3) release time for professional staff; (4) planning and research; (5) remedial education; (6) reduction in pupil-to-teacher ratios; (7) efforts to meet State student achievement standards; and (8) counseling for at-risk students. Expresses the intent of Congress that such activities shall be continued with funding provided under part A of title I of ESEA. Sets forth determining factors and limits relating to grant amounts and duration. Requires the Director to increase the amount awarded to a school under the initiative grant program by ten percent if the school creates smaller learning communities within the school and the creation is certified by the SEA. Requires each school receiving such a grant to implement research based, sustainable, and widely replicated strategies for school dropout prevention and reentry that address the needs of an entire school population rather than a subset of students. Allows such strategies to include: (1) specific strategies for targeted purposes; and (2) approaches such as breaking larger schools down into smaller learning communities, and other comprehensive reform approaches, developing clear linkages to career skills and employment, and addressing specific gatekeeper hurdles that often limit student retention and academic success. Requires the Director to: (1) establish and publish annually the principles, criteria, models, and other parameters regarding the types of effective, proven program models allowed to be used under the initiative program, based on existing research; (2) conduct a capacity building and design initiative in order to increase the types of proven strategies for dropout prevention on a schoolwide level (through a limited contract with a non-Federal entity); and (3) support eligible entities to provide training, materials, development, and staff assistance to schools assisted under the initiative program. Sets forth initiative program requirements relating to: (1) selection of schools; (2) dissemination activities; (3) progress incentives; (4) school dropout rate calculation; (5) reporting and accountability; and (6) a prohibition on tracking. Authorizes appropriations for the coordinated national strategy and the national school dropout prevention initiative. (Sec. 102) Amends the Department of Education Organization Act to establish in the Department of Education an Office of Dropout Prevention and Program Completion, to be administered by the Director. Requires the Director, through the Office, to: (1) help coordinate Federal, State, and local efforts to lower school dropout rates and increase program completion by middle school, secondary school, and college students; (2) recommend Federal policies, objectives, and priorities to lower school dropout rates and increase program completion; (3) oversee the implementation of subpart 2 of part C of title V of ESEA; (4) develop and implement the National School Dropout Prevention Strategy under ESEA; and (5) recommend action to the Secretary and the President, as appropriate, regarding school dropout prevention and program completion. Includes under the scope of the Director's duties examination of all Federal and non-Federal efforts related to: (1) promotion of program completion for children attending middle school or secondary school; (2) programs to obtain a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent (including general equivalency diploma (GED) programs), or college degree programs; and (3) reentry programs for individuals aged 12 to 24 who are out of school. Title II: State Responsibilities - Revises ESEA title XIV (General Provisions) to add a new part I, Dropout Prevention. Requires SEAs, in order to receive any assistance under ESEA, to comply with specified provisions regarding school dropouts, including requirements relating to: (1) uniform data collection; (2) attendance neutral funding policies; and (3) suspension and expulsion policies.

A bill to establish a child centered program, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1999

Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to establish a new subpart 3, Child Centered Program, under part A (Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies) of title I (Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards). Allows States and participating local educational agencies (LEAs) to use funds under subpart 1 (Basic Program Requirements) and subpart 2 (Allocations) to carry out such child centered program. Requires States and such LEAs to use certain incentive grant funds to carry out such program. Allows an LEA, if its State does not carry out such a child centered program or have an approved application for a fiscal year, to elect to carry out such a program. Requires the Secretary of Education to provide directly to such LEA the funds it is eligible for under subparts 1 and 2 to carry out such program. Requires participating LEAs to obtain State approval of the submission, but not of the contents, of their applications for such program assistance. Requires the Secretary to award incentive grants to States (or directly to LEAs under the described conditions) that elect to carry out such a child centered program and have an approved application. Bases such incentive grant amounts on relative share of funds received under subparts 1 and 2. Authorizes appropriations for such incentive grants. Sets forth requirements for State and LEA use of child centered program funds from subparts 1 and 2 and incentive grants, including: (1) establishing per-pupil amounts which may be varied because of certain factors; and (2) providing supplemental education services directly or through a contractor, or, if requested and selected by the child's parent or legal guardian, a tutorial assistance provider, another public school, or a private school. Allows use of child centered program funds for schoolwide programs under specified conditions. Requires that private school children receive comparable services. Requires participating States and LEAs to operate statewide or school-district-wide open enrollment programs. Requires public schools receiving such child centered program funds to carry out parent involvement activities, including annual meetings and information on parents' right to choose to use the per pupil amount to purchase supplemental education services from the specified types of providers. Sets forth requirements for program applications, administration, State and LEA reports, termination authority, and evaluations and reports by the Comptroller General. Prohibits Federal control of specified types of State and local education decisions as a condition for eligibility to receive funds under this Act. Prohibits preemption of a State constitution or statute that pertains to expenditure of State funds in or by religious institutions.

School Improvement Accountability Act

United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1999

School Improvement Accountability Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to revise title I (Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards) part A (Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies) to: (1) include certain yearly progress accountability standards under State plan provisions; and (2) require use of such standards in State and local review assessments and in local corrective actions for school improvement.

Small, Safe Schools Act

United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1999

Small, Safe Schools Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish a new part L, Small Schools and Smaller Learning Communities, under title X (Programs of National Significance). Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award to local educational agencies, elementary or secondary schools, and schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs: (1) grants for certain activities relating to smaller learning communities; (2) technical assistance in creating smaller learning communities in schools; and (3) grants for construction or renovation of elementary, middle, and secondary schools with specified maximum student capacities. Authorizes appropriations.

Jacob K. Javits Senate Fellowship Program Resolution

United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1999

Jacob K. Javits Senate Fellowship Program Resolution - Reauthorizes the Jacob K. Javits Fellowship program through FY 2004.

Methamphetamine and Club Drug Anti-Proliferation Act of 2000

United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1999

Methamphetamine Anti-Proliferation Act of 1999 - Directs the United States Sentencing Commission (the Commission) to review and amend the Federal sentencing guidelines with respect to any offense relating to the manufacture, importation, exportation, or trafficking in amphetamine (including an attempt or conspiracy to do any of the foregoing) in violation of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act (CSIEA), or the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act (MDLEA) to provide for increased penalties comparable to the base offense level for methamphetamine. Directs the Commission to: (1) ensure that the sentencing guidelines for such offenses reflect their heinous nature, the need for aggressive law enforcement, and the extreme dangers associated with unlawful activity involving amphetamines; and (2) promulgate amendments pursuant to this Act in accordance with the procedure set forth in the Sentencing Act of 1987, as though the authority of that Act had not expired. (Sec. 3) Amends the CSA to prohibit advertisements for the sale of drug paraphernalia and of schedule I controlled substances. (Sec. 4) Provides for mandatory restitution for CSA and CSIEA violations. Expands provisions regarding restitution for cleanup of clandestine laboratory sites to cover offenses involving, and reimbursement for costs incurred for the cleanup associated with, the manufacture of amphetamine (currently, limited to methamphetamine), and to include reimbursement to States and local governments, as well as to the United States. Amends the Federal judicial code to provide for the deposit of sums from a reimbursement order into the Department of Justice (DOJ) Assets Forfeiture Fund. (Sec. 5) Amends the Federal criminal code (the code) to: (1) prohibit and set penalties for teaching or demonstrating the manufacture of a controlled substance, or distributing information pertaining to such manufacture or use, with intent that it be used for or to further activity that constitutes a Federal crime, or knowing that the recipient intends to use it for or to further such activity; and (2) allow the delay of issuance of a warrant to search and seize property that constitutes evidence of a Federal criminal offense pursuant to the standards, terms, and conditions set forth in the code, unless otherwise expressly provided by statute. (Sec. 7) Directs the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to carry out specified programs (advanced mobile clandestine laboratory training teams, basic clandestine laboratory certification training, and clandestine laboratory recertification and awareness training) with respect to the law enforcement personnel of States and localities determined by the Administrator to have significant levels of methamphetamine- or amphetamine-related crime or projected by the Administrator to have the potential for such levels of crime in the future. Limits the duration of any such program to three years. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 8) Requires the Director of National Drug Control Policy to use amounts available under this section to combat the trafficking of methamphetamine and amphetamine in areas designated by the Director as high intensity drug trafficking areas. Requires the Director to provide funds for: (1) employing additional Federal law enforcement personnel, or facilitating the employment of additional State and local law enforcement personnel; and (2) such other activities that the Director considers appropriate. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Director to apportion amounts appropriated for a fiscal year pursuant to such authorization of appropriations for activities under this section among and within areas designated as high intensity drug trafficking areas based on: (1) the number of methamphetamine and amphetamine manufacturing facilities discovered by law enforcement officials in the previous fiscal year; (2) the number of methamphetamine and amphetamine prosecutions in the previous fiscal year; (3) the number of methamphetamine and amphetamine arrests in the previous fiscal year; (4) the amounts of methamphetamine, amphetamine, or listed chemicals seized in the previous fiscal year; and (5) intelligence and predictive data from the DEA and the Department of Health and Human Services showing patterns and trends in abuse, trafficking, and transportation in methamphetamine, amphetamine, and listed chemicals. Requires the Director, before apportioning any funds under this section to a high intensity drug trafficking area, to certify that the law enforcement entities responsible for clandestine methamphetamine and amphetamine laboratory seizures in that area are providing laboratory seizure data to the national clandestine laboratory database at the El Paso Intelligence Center. Sets limits on administrative costs. (Sec. 9) Authorizes the DEA to: (1) assist State and local law enforcement in small and mid-sized communities in all phases of investigations related to such manufacturing and trafficking; (2) staff additional regional enforcement and mobile enforcement teams related to such manufacturing and trafficking; (3) establish additional resident offices and posts of duty to assist State and local law enforcement in rural areas in combating such manufacturing and trafficking; and (4) provide the Special Operations Division of the DEA with additional agents and staff to collect, evaluate, interpret, and disseminate critical intelligence targeting the command and control operations of major amphetamine and methamphetamine manufacturing and trafficking organizations. Authorizes the Administrator to establish in the DEA not more than 50 full-time positions, including not more than 31 special agent positions, and to appoint personnel to such positions. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 10) Amends the Federal judicial code to make sums in the DOJ Assets Forfeiture Fund available for payment for costs incurred by or on behalf of: (1) DOJ in connection with the removal, for purposes of Federal forfeiture and disposition, of any hazardous substance or pollutant or contaminant associated with the illegal manufacture of amphetamine or methamphetamine; and (2) a State or local government in connection with such removal in any case in which such State or local government has assisted in a Federal prosecution relating to amphetamine or methamphetamine, to the extent such costs exceed equitable sharing payments made to such State or local government. Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to make funds under the drug control and system improvement (Byrne) grant program available to remove any hazardous substance or pollutant or contaminant associated with the illegal manufacture of amphetamine or methamphetamine. Requires that any sums made available from the DOJ Assets Forfeiture Fund for purposes of this section in a fiscal year supplement and not supplant any other amounts made available to DOJ from other sources. (Sec. 11) Requires the head of each Federal department, agency, and establishment to place anti-drug messages on appropriate Internet websites controlled by such department, agency, or establishment which messages shall, where appropriate, contain an electronic hyperlink to the Internet website, if any, of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. (Sec. 12) Revises CSA mail order provisions to: (1) require that each regulated person who engages in an export transaction (currently, limited to each regulated person who engages in a transaction with a non-regulated person) submit a monthly report of each such transaction to the Attorney General; and (2) make specified exemptions from such reporting requirement, such as for certain distributions of sample packages of drug products and distributions of drug products pursuant to a valid prescription. Authorizes the Attorney General to revoke any such exemptions if drug products distributed by the regulated person are being used in violation of CSA requirements, subject to specified provisions concerning notification and the right to an expedited hearing. (Sec. 13) Amends the CSA to prohibit and set penalties for the theft of anhydrous ammonia, or the transportation of stolen anhydrous ammonia across State lines, knowing, intending, or having reasonable cause to believe that such ammonia will be used to manufacture a controlled substance in violation of the Act. Requires the DEA Administrator to seek to enter into an agreement with Iowa State University to permit the University to expand its current research into the development of inert agents that, when added to anhydrous ammonia, eliminate its usefulness as an ingredient in methamphetamine production. Authorizes such agreement to provide for the provision to such University of $500,000, on a reimbursable basis, for such activities. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 14) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to submit to designated congressional committees annual reports on the problems caused by methamphetamine consumption in rural areas, suburban areas, and small, mid-size, and large cities. (Sec. 15) Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to authorize the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to make grants to and enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with public and nonprofit private entities to enable such entities to carry out: (1) school-based programs concerning the dangers of abuse of and addiction to methamphetamine and other illicit drugs, using methods that are effective and science-based, including initiatives that give students the responsibility to create their own anti-drug abuse education programs for their schools; and (2) community-based abuse and addiction prevention programs relating to methamphetamine and other illicit drugs that are effective and science-based. Sets forth provisions regarding permissible grant uses, priorities in making grants, program evaluation, and reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations for expansion of abuse prevention efforts and for practitioner registration requirements. (Sec. 16) Amends the PHSA to authorize the Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse to make grants or enter into cooperative agreements to expand the current and on-going interdisciplinary research and clinical trials with treatment centers of the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network relating to methamphetamine abuse and addiction and other biomedical, behavioral, and social issues related to methamphetamine abuse and addiction. Sets forth provisions regarding permissible uses of grant funds and dissemination of research results. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 17) Directs the Secretary to study and report to the Senate and House Judiciary Committees on the development of medications for the treatment of addiction to amphetamine and methamphetamine. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 18) Amends the CSA to waive registration requirements for practitioners who dispense schedule IV or V narcotic drugs or combinations thereof for maintenance or detoxification treatment if the practitioner submits to the Secretary a notification of intent to begin such dispensation that contains certifications by the practitioner that: (1) the practitioner is a physician licensed under State law, has demonstrable training or experience and the ability to treat and manage opiate-dependent patients, and has the demonstrated capacity to refer the patients for appropriate counseling and ancillary services; and (2) the total number of such patients at any one time will not exceed 20, with exceptions. Sets forth additional conditions, including that the drugs or combinations: (1) have been approved for use in maintenance or detoxification treatment; and (2) have not been the subject of an adverse determination. Requires the Secretary to provide to the Attorney General requested information contained in required notifications as the Attorney General may request. Authorizes the Attorney General to consider a practitioner who violates requirements of this section to have committed an act that renders the registration to be inconsistent with the public interest. Directs that, during the three-year period beginning upon enactment of this Act: (1) the Secretary make determinations regarding the effectiveness, increased availability, and adverse consequences for public health, of treatments provided under the waivers; and (2) the Attorney General make determinations regarding the extent to which there have been violations of numerical limitations established and regarding whether waivers have increased the extent to which narcotic drugs in schedule IV or V or combinations are being dispensed or possessed in violation of this Act. Sets forth provisions regarding publication by the Secretary or Attorney General in the Federal Register of decisions. Prohibits a State from precluding a practitioner from dispensing narcotic drugs in schedule IV or V, or combinations of such drugs, to patients for maintenance or detoxification treatment during the three-year period unless, before the expiration of such period, the State enacts a law prohibiting a practitioner from dispensing such drugs. (Sec. 19) Directs the Commission to amend the Federal sentencing guidelines to increase the base offense level, with respect to any offense relating to the manufacture, attempt to manufacture, or conspiracy to manufacture amphetamine or methamphetamine in violation of the CSA, CSIEA, or MDLEA, by specified amounts if the offense created a substantial risk of harm to human life or the environment, or to the life of a minor or incompetent. (Sec. 20) Amends the CSA to include methamphetamine paraphernalia within provisions applicable to "drug paraphernalia."

Medicare Teaching Hospital Equity Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1999

Medicare Teaching Hospital Equity Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to accelerate from 60 percent to 100 percent in 2000 (and subsequent years) Medicare payments to hospitals with respect to the indirect and direct costs of graduate medical education for inpatient hospital services furnished to Medicare+Choice enrollees under SSA title XVIII part C (Medicare+Choice).

Lower Rio Grande Valley Water Resources Conservation and Improvement Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1999

Lower Rio Grande Valley Water Resources Conservation and Improvement Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation and in cooperation with the Secretary of Agriculture, to undertake a program for improving the supply of water for the Texas counties of Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, Willacy, Jim Hogg, Zapata, Webb, Maverick, Val Verde, Kinney, Terrell, Brewster, Presidio, Jeff Davis, Hudspeth, and El Paso through specified water transportation, conservation, and education activities. Makes a project ineligible for implementation unless: (1) the project plan shows an estimate of the amount of water that will be conserved; and (2) the design for the project includes a cost-of-project-to- water-developed ratio statement. Limits: (1) the non-Federal share of the costs of any such activity to 40 percent; and (2) payments by the State of Texas to 30 percent of such costs. Permits provision of the remainder of the non-Federal share to include in-kind contributions of goods and services. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Commissioner and in cooperation with the Secretary of Agriculture, the counties, and other non-Federal entities, to: (1) assess alternative water supply options for the counties of Maverick, Kinney, Edwards, Val Verde, Terrell, Brewster, Presidio, Jeff Davis, Hudspeth, and El Paso for alleviating water supply shortages and project water demands; and (2) submit recommendations to Congress regarding such alternatives which shall emphasize water management actions that encourage the incorporation of prudent, responsible, and economically feasible water conservation measures. Requires the Secretary to assess the feasibility of wastewater reuse for irrigation and groundwater recharge and other nonpotable purposes. Limits the Federal share of the cost of any such activity to 50 percent. Prohibits the Secretary from carrying out any activity except under an agreement with a non- Federal entity that has legal authority under the laws of the State to obligate funds or provide in- kind services for such activity, under which the non-Federal entity is obligated to provide the non-Federal share of the cost of the activity. Authorizes appropriations.

To provide grants to States and local educational agencies to recruit, train, and hire 100,000 school-based resource staff to help students deal with personal state of mind problems.

United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1999

Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish a grants program to assist States and local educational agencies (LEAs) to recruit, train, and hire 100,000 school-based resource staff to work with students to: (1) reduce the student-to-counselor ratios nationally, in grades six through 12, to an average of one such staff for every 250 students, as recommended in a 1997 report by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences relating to schools and health; (2) help address the mental, emotional, and developmental needs of public school students; and (3) support other school staff and teachers in reaching students early before problems arise, conducting behavioral interventions to improve school discipline, and developing the awareness and skills to identify early warning signs of violence and the need for mental health services. Directs the Secretary of Education to make such grants, for up to three years for each grant, to establish or expand the number of resource staff available for students' needs . Requires such grant funds to be allocated on the basis of relative State population under 18 years of age. Sets forth requirements for LEA grant applications and uses of funds. Provides that resource staff means an individual who has documented competence and training in mental health to be able to provide services to children and adolescents in a school setting and who has specified types of licensure, certification, or educational qualifications. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2004 for such program.

A bill to authorize the construction of a Reconciliation Place in Fort Pierre, South Dakota, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 29 September 1999

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Reconciliation Center Title II: Native American Economic Development Council Title I: Reconciliation Center - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish a reconciliation center known as Reconciliation Place to: (1) enhance knowledge and understanding of the history of Native Americans; (2) interpret the encounters between Lewis and Clark and the Sioux Nation; (3) house the Sioux Nation Tribal Supreme Court (Court); and (4) house the Native American Economic Development Council (Council). Directs such Secretary to award a grant to the Wakpa Sica Historical Society of Fort Pierre, South Dakota, for construction of Reconciliation Place. (Sec. 102) Directs the Attorney General to provide technical and financial assistance to ensure the development and operation of the Court. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Native American Economic Development Council - Establishes the Native American Economic Development Council to: (1) accept gifts and use them as a source of matching funds necessary for Federal assistance; (2) provide members of Indian tribes with skills, resources, and grants and loans for establishing and operating businesses; (3) provide scholarships to Indian students pursuing an education in a business or a business-related subject; and (4) provide technical assistance to Indian tribes in obtaining Federal assistance. Establishes a Council Board of Directors. (Sec. 204) Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to: (1) provide necessary administrative services to the Council for five years after the enactment of this Act; and (2) accept volunteers to serve on the Council and the Board. (Sec. 206) Subjects the Council to Federal audit requirements. Directs the Council to report annually to Congress on its proceedings and activities. Provides for district court relief for certain Council acts or failures to act. (Sec. 207) Releases the United States from all Council debts, actions, or omissions. (Sec. 208) Directs the Secretary to award, at least annually, grants to the Council to carry out its purposes. Provides a Federal share of 80 percent, with a 20 percent matching funds requirement from the Council. Requires specified agency heads to provide necessary technical assistance to the Council. (Sec. 209) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2004 to carry out this Act.

A concurrent resolution concerning the emancipation of the Iranian Baha'i community.

United States · United States Congress · 29 September 1999

Condemns the repressive anti-Baha'i policies and actions of the Government of Iran. Continues to hold such Government responsible for upholding the rights of all its nationals in a manner consistent with Iran's obligations under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and other international agreements guaranteeing the civil and political rights of its citizens. Expresses concern that individual Baha'is continue to suffer from severely repressive and discriminatory government actions, including executions and death sentences, solely on account of their religion. Urges the Government of Iran to: (1) permit Baha'i students to attend and Baha'i faculty to teach at Iranian universities, return property confiscated from the Baha'i Open University (OU), free imprisoned faculty members of OU, and permit OU to continue to function; (2) implement fully the conclusions and recommendations on the emancipation of the Iranian Baha'i community made by the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance, Professor Abdelfattah Amor, in his March 1996 report to the UN Commission of Human Rights; and (3) extend to the Baha'i community the rights guaranteed by UDHR and the international covenants of human rights. Calls upon the President to continue to: (1) assert the U.S. Government's concern regarding Iran's violations of the rights of its citizens, including members of the Baha'i community, along with expressions of its concern regarding the Iranian Government's support for international terrorism and its efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction; (2) emphasize that the United States regards the Iranian Government's human rights practices, particularly its treatment of such community and other religious minorities, as a significant factor in the development of the U.S. Government's relations with the Government of Iran; (3) emphasize the need for the UN Special Representative for Human Rights to be granted permission to enter Iran; (4) urge the Iranian Government to emancipate the Baha'i community by granting rights guaranteed by UDHR and the international covenants on human rights; and (5) encourage other governments to continue to appeal to the Iranian Government, and to cooperate with other governments and international organizations, including the UN, in efforts to protect the religious rights of the Baha'is and other minorities through joint appeals and other appropriate actions.

Youth Education Development Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 29 September 1999

Youth Education Development Act of 1999 - Title I: Grant Program to Provide Opportunities for Adolescents - Authorizes the Commissioner of the Administration for Children, Youth, and Families in the Department of Health and Human Services to make competitive grants to public agencies and nonprofit private organizations for specified programs and activities to help adolescents to improve: (1) educational performance; (2) health and fitness; (3) development of life skills; and (5) family relationships. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Grant Program to Establish Training Programs for Teachers - Directs the Secretary of Education to make grants to establish training programs to upgrade the skills of teachers at elementary schools and secondary schools. Makes eligible for such grants consortia of: (1) local educational agencies (LEAs) or institutions of higher education, or both; (2) a teacher association; (3) representatives of business and industry associations; and (4) labor organizations. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Grant Program to Establish Job Training Courses at Community Colleges - Directs the Secretary to make grants to community colleges to establish job training courses there. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Class Size Reduction - Class Size Reduction and Teacher Quality Act of 1999 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to establish a Class Size Reduction program as a new part E of title VI (Innovative Education Program Strategies) of ESEA. Provides for teacher recruiting, hiring, training, testing, and professional development under such program. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 401) Directs the Secretary to make: (1) program allotments to States according to their relative share under either ESEA title I (Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards) part A (Improving Basic Programs Operated by LEAs) or ESEA title II (Dwight D. Eisenhower Professional Development Program) part B (State and Local Activities), whichever percentage is greater; and (2) specified amounts available for programs for Indian children and in outlying areas. Requires a State, after using a limited amount for administrative expenses, to distribute program funds as follows: (1) 80 percent to LEAs in proportion to their numbers of students from families with incomes below the poverty line; and (2) 20 percent to LEAs in proportion to their relative enrollments of students. Requires LEAs to use program funds to reduce class size with highly qualified teachers to improve educational achievement for both regular and special-needs children, with particular consideration given to reducing class size in the early elementary grades. Allows LEAs to do so through: (1) recruiting, hiring, and training certified regular and special education teachers and teachers of special-needs children, including teachers certified through State and local alternative routes; (2) testing new teachers for academic content knowledge, and to meet State certification requirements that are consistent with specified provisions of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA); and (3) providing professional development to teachers, including special education teachers and teachers of special-needs children, consistent with such HEA provisions. Limits the portion of such funds which may be used for testing and professional development. Sets forth cost-sharing requirements. Title V: School Modernization - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide a limited tax credit for holders of qualified public school construction bonds. (Sec. 502) Amends the General Education Provisions Act to apply certain labor standards to projects financed through the qualified school construction bonds program under this title and the qualified zone academy bonds program under the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997. (Sec. 503) Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to require States to establish a specialized program of training services related to the construction or reconstruction of public school facilities receiving funding assistance under applicable programs. Title VI: Access to Post Secondary Education - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for an increase in the maximum amount of an individual Pell grant to $6,500 for each of academic years 2000-2001 through 2003-2004.

Academic Emergency Act

United States · United States Congress · 29 September 1999

Academic Emergency Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award grants to States that have one or more designated academic emergency schools to provide parents of children at such schools with education alternatives. Limits to five years the period for which such a grant may be made to a State. (Sec. 3) Authorizes State Governors to designate as academic emergency schools one or more public elementary schools in their States: (1) with a consistent record of poor performance by failing to meet minimum academic standards as determined by the State; and (2) in which more than 50 percent of the children attending are eligible for free or reduced price lunches under the National School Lunch Act. Sets forth requirements for: (1) lists of such schools; (2) State applications, including certain assurances and information; (3) selection, priorities, and criteria for grant awards to States; and (4) State plans. (Sec. 5) Requires recipient States to use such grants to make subgrants to academic emergency schools, based on: (1) the number of eligible students (in grades K through four) attending; (2) the availability of qualified schools near such schools; and (3) the academic performance of students in such schools. Requires the State, if its grant amount is insufficient to provide every eligible student in a selected academic emergency school with academic emergency relief funds, to devise a random selection process to provide eligible students whose family income does not exceed 185 percent of the poverty line the opportunity to participate in education alternatives established pursuant to this Act. Requires States to pay from grant funds: (1) up to $3,500 in academic emergency relief to the parents of each participating eligible student in grades K through four; and (2) $3,500 (for class size reduction only) to an academic emergency school selected for program participation, for each participating eligible student who chooses to attend a qualified school. (Sec. 6) Allows a qualified school to be any public, private, or independent elementary school that meets certain minimum requirements and any other qualifications established by the State to accept academic emergency relief funds from the parents of participating eligible students. Requires applicant States to publish their criteria for a qualified school under this Act. Requires, at a minimum, each such school to provide to the State: (1) assurances of compliance with specified civil rights requirements; (2) certification that the tuition and fees charged to a parent using academic relief funds does not exceed the amount charged to a parent not using such relief funds whose child attends the qualified school (excluding scholarship students); and (3) an annual report on student performance. (Sec. 7) Allows parents to use academic emergency relief funds to pay tuition and mandatory fees for an instruction program at a qualified school. Treats academic emergency relief funds as assistance to the student, not to the qualified school. (Sec. 8) Directs the Comptroller General to arrange for annual evaluations of the education alternative program. (Sec. 10) Prohibits qualified schools from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, or sex in carrying out the provisions of this Act. Makes such sex discrimination prohibition inapplicable if: (1) it is inconsistent with the religious tenets of a qualified school controlled by a religious organization; or (2) it would be construed as preventing a parent from choosing, or a qualified school from offering, a single-sex school, class, or activity. (Sec. 11) Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed to: (1) prevent a qualified school that is operated by, supervised by, controlled by, or connected to a religious organization from employing, admitting, or giving preference to persons of the same religion to the extent determined by such school to promote the religious purpose for which the qualified school is established or maintained; (2) prohibit the use of funds made available under this Act for sectarian educational purposes; or (3) require a qualified school to remove religious art, icons, scripture, or other symbols. (Sec. 12) Provides that nothing in this Act shall affect the rights of students, or the obligations of public schools of a State, under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. (Sec. 15) Authorizes appropriations.

Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000

United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1999

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Department of Labor Title II: Department of Health and Human Services Title III: Department of Education Title IV: Related Agencies Title V: General Provisions Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000 - Makes appropriations for FY 2000 for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and related agencies. Title I: Department of Labor - Makes appropriations for FY 2000 to the Department of Labor for: (1) training and employment services; (2) community service employment for older Americans; (3) Federal unemployment benefits and allowances; (4) State unemployment insurance and employment service operations; (5) advances to the Unemployment Trust Fund and other trust funds; (6) employment and training program administration; (7) the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation; (8) the Employment Standards Administration; (9) certain special benefits; (10) the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund; (11) the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; (12) the Mine Safety and Health Administration; (13) the Bureau of Labor Statistics; (14) departmental management; (15) the Assistant Secretary for Veterans Employment and Training; and (16) the Office of Inspector General. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title. Title II: Department of Health and Human Services - Makes appropriations for FY 2000 to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for: (1) the Health Resources and Services Administration; (2) the Medical Facilities Guarantee and Loan Fund for Federal interest subsidies for medical facilities; (3) health education assistance loans; (4) the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program Trust Fund; (5) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; (6) the National Institutes of Health, including amounts for the John E. Fogarty International Center, the National Library of Medicine, the Office of the Director, and buildings and facilities; (7) the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; (8) retirement pay and medical benefits for Public Health Service commissioned officers; (9) the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research; (10) the Health Care Financing Administration for grants to States for Medicaid, payments to health care trust funds, program management, and the Health Maintenance Organization Loan and Loan Guarantee Fund; (11) the Administration for Children and Families for family support payments to States; (12) low income home energy assistance; (13) refugee and entrant assistance; (14) the child care and development block grant; (15) the social services block grant; (16) children and families services programs; (17) promoting safe and stable families pursuant to a specified provision of the Social Security Act; (18) payments to States for foster care and adoption assistance; (19) the Administration on Aging; (20) the Office of the Secretary for general departmental management; (21) the Office of Inspector General; (22) the Office for Civil Rights; (23) policy research; and (24) activities related to countering potential biological, disease, and chemical threats to civilian populations. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title. (Sec. 209) Prohibits funds appropriated in this Act from being made available under title X (population research and voluntary family planning) of the Public Health Service Act unless the award applicant certifies to the Secretary of HHS that it encourages family participation in the decision of minors to seek family planning services and provides counseling to minors on resisting attempts to coerce them into engaging in sexual activities. (Sec. 210) Prohibits the use of funds appropriated by this Act to carry out the Medicare+Choice program if the Secretary of HHS denies participation in such program to an otherwise eligible entity (including a Provider Sponsored Organization) because the entity informs the Secretary that it will not provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or provide referrals for abortions. (Sec. 211) Amends the Public Health Service Act to require State allotments under block grants for community health services for FY 2000 to be at least the amount the State received for FY 1998. Provides a specified minimum State allotment for FY 2000 under block grants for substance abuse prevention and treatment as well. (Sec. 213) Amends the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1990 to extend through FY 2000 the authorization of admission into the United States of a specified number of refugees from the independent states of the former Soviet Union, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania based on religious persecution owing to participation in the Ukrainian Catholic or Orthodox churches. Makes September 30, 2000, the latest allowable entry date for specified aliens from the former Soviet Union, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia for purposes of qualifying for adjustment of status. (Sec. 214) Prohibits the use of funds provided in any Act making FY 2000 appropriations for the implementation in Arizona or in Kansas City, Missouri or Kansas, of the Medicare Competitive Pricing Demonstration Project operated by the Secretary of HHS under the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. Title III: Department of Education - Makes appropriations for FY 2000 to the Department of Education for: (1) education reform; (2) education for the disadvantaged; (3) impact aid; (4) school improvement activities; (5) reading excellence; (6) Indian education; (7) bilingual and immigrant education; (8) special education; (9) rehabilitation services and disability research; (10) special institutions for persons with disabilities, including the American Printing House for the Blind, the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, the Kendall Demonstration Elementary School, the Model Secondary School for the Deaf, and Gallaudet University; (11) vocational and adult education; (12) student financial assistance; (13) the Federal Family Education Loan program account; (14) higher education; (15) Howard University; (16) the college housing and academic facilities loans program; (17) the historically Black college and university capital financing program account; (18) education research, statistics, and improvement; (19) departmental management; (20) the Office for Civil Rights; and (21) the Office of the Inspector General. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title. (Sec. 301) Prohibits funds appropriated in this Act from being used to: (1) transport teachers or students in order to overcome racial imbalance in any school or to carry out a racial desegregation plan; or (2) prevent the implementation of programs of voluntary prayer and meditation in public schools. (Sec. 305) Amends the General Education Provisions Act to bar the use of funds provided to the Department of Education or to an applicable program to field or pilot test, implement, administer, or distribute national tests. Makes such prohibition inapplicable to the International Math and Science Study or other international assessments developed under the authority of the National Education Statistics Act of 1994 that are administered only to a representative sample of U.S. and foreign pupils. Provides that exclusive authority over the direction and all policies for developing voluntary national tests shall continue to be vested in the National Assessment Governing Board. Title IV: Related Agencies - Makes appropriations for FY 2000 to the: (1) Corporation for National and Community Service; (2) Corporation for Public Broadcasting; (3) Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service; (4) Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission; (5) Office of Library Services; (6) Medicare Payment Advisory Commission; (7) National Commission on Libraries and Information Science; (8) National Council on Disability; (9) National Education Goals Panel; (10) National Labor Relations Board; (11) National Mediation Board; (12) Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission; (13) Railroad Retirement Board for the dual benefits payments account, Federal payments to the railroad retirement accounts, administration, and the Office of Inspector General; (14) Social Security Administration for payments to the social security trust funds, special benefits for disabled coal miners, the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Program, administrative expenses, and the Office of Inspector General; and (15) U.S. Institute of Peace. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title. Title V: General Provisions - Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this Act. (Sec. 505) Prohibits the use of funds appropriated under this Act for programs to distribute sterile needles or syringes for the injection of illegal drugs unless the Secretary of HHS determines that such programs are effective in preventing the spread of HIV and do not encourage the use of illegal drugs. (Sec. 506) Sets forth Buy American requirements. (Sec. 508) Prohibits funds appropriated under this Act from being expended for abortions or for health benefits coverage that includes coverage of abortion, except in cases where the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest or where a woman suffers from a physical condition that would, as certified by a physician, place her in danger of death unless an abortion is performed. (Sec. 510) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act for: (1) the creation of a human embryo for research purposes; or (2) research in which a human embryo is destroyed or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death greater than that allowed for research on fetuses in utero under Federal regulations and the Public Health Service Act. (Sec. 511) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act for activities to promote the legalization of a controlled substance unless there is significant medical evidence of a therapeutic advantage to the use of such substance or that federally-sponsored trials are being conducted to determine such advantage. (Sec. 513) Bars the use of funds made available in this Act to promulgate a final standard under the Social Security Act providing for a unique health identifier for an individual (except in an individual's capacity as an employer or health care provider) until legislation is enacted specifically approving the standard. (Sec. 514) Amends the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997 to extend the availability of certain voluntary separation incentives for employees of the Railroad Retirement Board and its Office of Inspector General.

Measures to Encourage Results in Teaching Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1999

Measures to Encourage Results in Teaching Act of 1999 - Amends title II (Dwight D. Eisenhower Professional Development Program) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish a new part E (State Incentives for Teacher Testing and Merit Pay). Directs the Secretary of Education to make an award to each State that: (1) administers a test to each elementary school and secondary school teacher in the State, with respect to the subjects taught by the teacher, every three to five years; and (2) has an elementary school and secondary school teacher compensation system based on merit. Allows States to use Federal education funds for teacher testing and merit pay programs.

HITEC Act

United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1999

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Pilot Program Title II: Technology Education Grants Helping Improve Technology Education and Competitiveness Act or the HITEC Act - Title I: Pilot Program - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish a pilot program under which certain aliens completing a postsecondary degree in mathematics, science, engineering, or computer science may have their nonimmigrant status adjusted to permit U.S. employment for up to five years in such fields. Sets forth related employer filing and enforcement provisions. Establishes in the Treasury the High-Tech Education Account Fund. Title II: Technology Education Grants - Directs the Secretary of Commerce, through the National Institute of Standards and Technology, to make matching grants to eligible business entities (which may additionally consist of government and education representatives) to assist public schools improve mathematics, science, and technology education. States that such grants shall be used for: (1) teacher training; and (2) provision of resources and technology support and specialized teaching personnel. Requires grantees to track program performance. Directs the Secretary to carry out an awards program (HITEC Gold Medal) to recognize entities that have demonstrated extraordinary commitment to improving the quality of mathematics, science, and technology education through public school partnering. Authorizes appropriations.

Improved Maternal and Children's Health Coverage Act

United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1999

Improved Maternal and Children's Health Coverage Act- Amends titles XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (Children's Health Insurance Program) (CHIP) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to mandate: (1) development and use of a uniform, simplified application form for establishing eligibility for Medicaid and CHIP benefits; and (2) coordinated enrollment processes. (Sec. 2) Provides for the expanded availability of funding for administrative costs related to certain outreach and eligibility determinations under Medicaid and CHIP with regard to children and pregnant women. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a procedure with regard to the participation of local and community-based public or nonprofit organizations in outreach and enrollment activities if States do not otherwise obligate the amounts made available under this Act. Sets forth a special rule for certain enrollment and outreach activities providing for use of three percent of CHIP funds at 90 percent Federal match for such activities. Amends SSA title XIX to provide for additional entities (including elementary and secondary schools, child support enforcement agencies, and child care resource and referral agencies) that are qualified to determine Medicaid presumptive eligibility for low-income children. (Sec. 3) Amends SSA title XXI to require, to the extent a State child health plan provides coverage other than through providing benefits under the State's Medicaid plan, a State child health plan to: (1) specify methods to ensure coordination of pediatric care within a family; (2) make the State and its contractors, and not beneficiaries and families, responsible for applying limitations on cost-sharing; (3) impose, at its option, a flat limit (of up to $500) on out-of-pocket expenditures for certain low-income children (as an alternative to the current five percent of family income); and (4) provide a grace period and prior notice before disenrollment for nonpayment of premiums, if the State child health plan requires the payment of a premium and such premium is not paid on a timely notice, as well as an opportunity for a hearing on the matter. Prohibits State child health plan eligibility standards from permitting the use of mandatory waiting periods, unless the Secretary finds that such a period would not be contrary to title XXI. (Sec. 4) Amends SSA title XIX to provide, among other changes, for: (1) automatic reassessment of eligibility for CHIP and Medicaid benefits for children losing Medicaid or CHIP eligibility; (2) optional CHIP coverage of low-income, uninsured pregnant women; ; (3) elimination of the funding offset for exercise of the presumptive eligibility option; (4) automatic enrollment of children born to targeted low-income pregnant women receiving pregnancy-related assistance under such programs; and (5) CHIP and Medicaid program coordination with the Maternal and Child Health Services program under SSA title V.

Digital Education Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1999

Digital Education Act of 1999 - Amends title III (Technology for Education) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to provide for digital education partnerships. (Sec. 2) Renames and revises ESEA title III part C as Ready-to- Learn Digital Television (currently Ready-to-Learn Television). Directs the Secretary of Education to award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to eligible public telecommunications entities to: (1) develop educational programming, and related support materials and services, for preschool and elementary school children; (2) develop programming and digital content designed for nationwide distribution over public television stations' digital broadcasting channels and the Internet, containing Ready-to-Learn-based children's programming and resources for parents and caregivers; and (3) disseminate and distribute such programs to the widest possible appropriate audience by the most appropriate distribution technologies. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 3) Establishes the New Century Program for Distributed Teacher Professional Development as ESEA title III part D. (Replaces current part D provisions for a Technology Demonstration Project for Mathematics Project.) Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to a nonprofit telecommunications entity, or partnership of such entities for a national telecommunications-based program to improve teaching in core curriculum areas. Requires such program to be designed to assist elementary school and secondary school teachers in preparing all students for achieving State content standards. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 4) Establishes a Digital Education Content Collaborative as a new part F of ESEA title III. Authorizes the Secretary to award competitive matching grants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with, eligible local public television communications entities to develop, produce, and distribute educational and instructional video programming designed for use by kindergarten through grade 12 schools and based on State standards. Requires such eligible entities to enter into multiyear content development collaborative arrangements with State educational agencies, local educational agencies, institutions of higher education, businesses, or other agencies and organizations. Authorizes appropriations.

Education for Democracy Act

United States · United States Congress · 27 September 1999

Education for Democracy Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to revise provisions for Civic Education, under part F of title X (Programs of National Significance). (Sec. 2) Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make grants to or contracts with: (1) the Center for Civic Education (CCE) to carry out civic education activities under the We the People... The Citizen and the Constitution program and The Project Citizen program, and under Cooperative Educational Exchange programs; and (2) the National Council on Economic Education (NCEE) to carry out economic education activities under Cooperative Educational Exchange programs. Revises requirements for CCE implementation of the We the People... The Citizen and the Constitution program and The Project Citizen program. Sets forth requirements for the Cooperative Educational Exchange programs of civic education by CCE and economic education by NCEE. Makes eligible for such programs Central European countries, an Eastern European country, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and the independent states of the former Soviet Union. Allows such program eligibility also for the Republic of Ireland, the province of Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom, and any developing country as defined under the Education for the Deaf Act. Authorizes appropriations through FY 2004 for: (1) the We the People... The Citizen and the Constitution program and The Project Citizen program; and (2) the Cooperative Educational Exchange programs. (Sec. 3) Repeals title VI (International Education Program) of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act.

An original resolution authorizing expenditures by committees of the Senate for the periods October 1, 1999, through September 30, 2000, and October 1, 2000, through February 28, 2001.

United States · United States Congress · 27 September 1999

Authorizes expenditures by the following Senate committees from October 1, 1999, through September 30, 2000, and October 1, 2000, through February 28, 2001: (1) Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; (2) Armed Services; (3) Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; (4) Budget; (5) Commerce, Science, and Transportation; (6) Energy and Natural Resources; (7) Environment and Public Works; (8) Finance; (9) Foreign Relations; (10) Governmental Affairs; (11) Judiciary; (12) Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; (13) Rules and Administration; (14) Small Business; (15) Veterans' Affairs; (16) Aging; (17) Intelligence; and (18) Indian Affairs. Provides that within the funds in the account "Expenses of Inquiries and Investigations" appropriated by the legislative branch appropriations Acts for FY 2000 and 2001 there is authorized to be established a special reserve to be available to any committee to meet specified unpaid obligations or expenses.

Partnership to Rebuild America's Schools Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 27 September 1999

Partnership to Rebuild America's Schools Act of 1999 - Title I: School Construction Assistance Program - Part 1: Program Authorized - Establishes a program to provide Federal funds to help States and local school districts finance the repair, renovation, modernization, and construction of their school facilities. (Sec. 104) Makes appropriations and specifies their allocation. Part 2: Grants to States - Provides for allocation of funds for formula grants to States by the Secretary of Education, on a proportional basis similar to that for Basic Grants for disadvantaged students under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Sets forth requirements relating to: (1) eligible State agencies; (2) allowable uses of funds; (3) eligible construction projects; (4) period for project initiation; (5) selection of localities and projects; (6) State applications; (7) amount of Federal subsidy; (8) separate funds or accounts; (9) prudent investment; and (10) State reports. Part 3: Direct Grants to Local Educational Agencies - Provides for direct grants both (formula and competitive) to local educational agencies (LEAs) by the Secretary of Education. (Sec. 121) Makes eligible for grants the LEAs with the largest numbers of children aged five through 17 from families living below the poverty level. Makes LEAs for Hawaii and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ineligible for such grants. Sets forth requirements relating to: (1) grantees; (2) allowable uses of funds; (3) eligible construction projects; (4) redistribution of funds; (5) local applications; (6) formula grants; (7) competitive grants; (8) amount of Federal subsidy; (9) separate funds or accounts; (10) prudent investment; and (11) local reports. Title II: General Provisions - Sets forth requirements relating to: (1) technical employees; (2) wage rates; (3) no liability of the Federal Government; and (4) consultation with Secretary of the Treasury by the Secretary of Education.

To provide for the continuation of higher education through the conveyance of certain public lands in the State of Alaska to the University of Alaska, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 27 September 1999

Entitles the University of Alaska to take up to: (1) 250,000 acres of Federal lands or interests in lands in or adjacent to Alaska as a Federal grant in exchange for specified University holdings; and (2) an additional 250,000 acres in Federal lands or interests in lands in or adjacent to Alaska, to be conveyed on an acre-for-acre basis as a matching grant for any lands granted to the University by the State of Alaska after enactment of this Act. Permits the University to select, and requires the Secretary to convey, land pursuant to this State matching grant in parcels of 25,000 acres or greater.

Children's Protection and Community Cleanup Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 27 September 1999

Children's Protection and Community Cleanup Act of 1999 - Title I: Remedy - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to revise general rules for the selection of remedial cleanup actions. Removes a provision requiring the President to specifically address the long-term effectiveness of various alternative treatment or resource recovery technologies. Requires remedial actions to: (1) make contaminated property available for beneficial use to the maximum extent practicable; and (2) protect uncontaminated groundwater and surface water, wherever technically feasible, and restore such water to beneficial uses in a reasonable time period given the circumstances of the release of the hazardous substance concerned. Lists minimum factors to be taken into account by the President in assessing alternative remedial actions and selecting remedial actions. Requires selected remedial actions, unless the President determines that a risk-based standard for a contaminant is based on data and assumptions adequate to assure protection of children's health, to reduce contamination to background levels (where more stringent) with respect to such contaminant, to the maximum extent technically feasible. Prohibits the selection of an action that allows hazardous substances to remain on site above levels that would be protective for unrestricted use unless institutional controls are incorporated into the action to achieve protection of human health and the environment during and after completion of the action. Requires remedial actions for hazardous substances that remain on site to comply with any more stringent and legally applicable tribal standard. Directs the President to ensure that a remedial action attains standards of control protective of human health and the environment in cases where: (1) no Federal, State, or tribal standard has been established for the specific hazardous substance present at the facility where the action is being undertaken; or (2) there are multiple hazardous substances present and the remedial action is not protective even though applicable requirements would be attained. Removes a provision which requires the President to conform a remedial action to a State standard in cases where a State has initiated a law suit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prior to May 1, 1986. Eliminates a provision which allows the President to select a remedial action that does not attain a standard equivalent to a legally applicable standard if compliance with requirements is technically impracticable from an engineering perspective. Sets forth minimum requirements for remedies for contaminated groundwater or surface water in cases where a legally applicable standard for a hazardous substance is waived. Authorizes the President to use institutional controls as a supplement to, but not as a substitute for, other response measures under CERCLA. Lists requirements for actions that rely on institutional controls. Provides for funds to be established for facilities for which the selected remedy is containment or at which hazardous substances remain on site above levels that would allow for unrestricted use of the facility. Requires such funds to be sufficient to guarantee successful performance of a remedy and, to the extent technically feasible, future beneficial reuse. Directs the EPA Administrator (Administrator) to report annually to Congress, for each record of decision signed during the previous fiscal year, on the type of institutional controls and media affected and the institution designated to monitor, enforce, and ensure compliance with such controls. Makes procedural requirements of State laws inapplicable to the portion of any removal or remedial action conducted entirely on site, except for recordkeeping and reporting. (Sec. 102) Sets forth criteria for institutional control instruments. Requires the President, if such an instrument is adopted, to record a notice of property use restriction in the public land records for the jurisdiction in which the affected property is located. Makes such instruments enforceable in perpetuity (unless terminated and released) against holders of interest in an affected property and all persons who subsequently acquire such interest. Directs the President to maintain a registry of all property at which institutional controls have been established in connection with response actions. Describes types of institutional control instruments, including easements. Authorizes the President, in order to respond to a release or threatened release of a hazardous substance, to acquire an easement to limit or control the use of land or other natural resources. Permits easements to be used wherever institutional controls have been selected as a component of a response action. Sets forth provisions regarding the President's authority to assign easements to other parties, issue orders imposing restrictions on land or natural resources, and include State institutional controls in response actions. (Sec. 103) Requires the President to ensure that a removal action is not undertaken in lieu of a long-term remedial action. Title II: Community Participation and Human Health - Subtitle A: Community Participation - Revises provisions regarding grants for technical assistance to make such grants available to Community Advisory Groups or affected communities (defined as two or more individuals affected by the release or threatened release of a hazardous substance at a covered facility). Defines a "covered facility" as a facility: (1) that has been listed or proposed for listing on the National Priorities List (NPL); (2) at which the Administrator is undertaking an action anticipated to exceed one year or a specified funding limit; or (3) with respect to which the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Administrator has accepted a petition requesting a health assessment or related health activity. Expands the list of authorized grant activities and increases the maximum amount of such grants. Requires the President to take specified actions to provide for meaningful public participation in every significant phase of response activities under CERCLA. Permits Community Advisory Groups, affected Indian tribes and communities, and local government and health officials to propose remedial alternatives to the President. Requires the President to make records relating to response actions at a covered facility available to the public throughout all phases of an action. Sets forth additional requirements with respect to public notice of certain removal actions. (Sec. 203) Requires States or Indian tribes with covered facilities to establish Community Information and Access Offices. Provides funding for such Offices. Directs the Administrator to establish Offices for States or tribes that fail to do so. (Sec. 204) Requires the President to provide the opportunity for the establishment of a Community Advisory Group, a representative public forum, to achieve direct, regular, and meaningful consultation with all interested parties throughout all stages of a response action whenever: (1) the President determines such a group will be helpful; or (2) ten individuals residing in the area in which the covered facility is located, or ten percent of the population of a locality in which the covered facility is located, whichever is fewer, petition for a Group to be established. Directs the President to adopt any consensus recommendation of a Group on land use as part of the remedy selected for the facility, with exceptions. Authorizes the President to provide administrative support for such groups. Directs the Administrator to submit to Congress a community study that includes an analysis of: (1) the speed of listing; (2) the speed and nature of response actions; (3) the degree to which public views are reflected in response actions; (3) use of institutional controls; and (4) the population, race, ethnicity, and income characteristics of communities affected by facilities listed or proposed for listing on the NPL. Requires periodic updates of such study. Directs the Administrator to institute necessary improvements or modifications to address any deficiencies identified by the study. (Sec. 206) Requires the Administrator to conduct a program to assist in the recruitment and training of individuals in affected communities for employment in response activities. Subtitle B: Human Health - Directs the President to notify State and local public health authorities and tribal health officials whenever there is reason to believe that a release (or threat of release) of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant has occurred, is occurring, or is about to occur. Requires the ATSDR Administrator to perform a health assessment for each facility listed, or proposed for listing, on the NPL, including Federal facilities. Permits related health activities to be performed in lieu of assessments for facilities that are so listed or proposed for ecological reasons only. Requires the ATSDR Administrator to develop and distribute educational materials on human health effects of hazardous substances to the public. (Sec. 213) Provides for research on exposure or tolerance limits for hazardous substances found commonly at NPL facilities in cases where adequate information on health effects of a substance is not available. Expands the duties of the ATSDR Administrator to require the Administrator to establish an inventory of exposure or tolerance limits for such substances. (Sec. 215) Directs the President, in any case in which a person is relocated in order to reduce exposure and eliminate health risks from hazardous substances, to provide to the individual the replacement value of the individual's residence. (Sec. 216) Authorizes and directs the ATSDR Administrator, pursuant to specified grants and contracts, to provide health services to communities affected by the release of hazardous substances. Makes funds available for such services for FY 2002 through 2006. (Sec. 217) Provides for cooperation with Indian tribes with respect to certain ATSDR activities. Requires the ATSDR Administrator to include in a biennial report on ATSDR activities the health impacts on Indian tribes of hazardous substances from covered facilities. Subtitle C: General Provisions - Sets forth effective dates for provisions of this title. Title III: Right to Know - Requires the annual disclosure of certain information by potentially responsible parties at NPL facilities and owners or operators of facilities subject to toxic chemical release reporting requirements under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 (EPCRA). Includes within such required disclosures information on quantities of certain hazardous substances and potential exposure of facility employees. Directs the Administrator to consolidate all annual reporting pursuant to title I of CERCLA and other Federal environmental laws to the extent not prohibited by such laws. Prescribes penalties for noncompliance with disclosure requirements. Amends EPCRA to permit the withholding of portions of information required to be disclosed under CERCLA for purposes of protecting trade secrets. (Sec. 302) Requires owners or operators of facilities subject to EPCRA reporting requirements to submit to the Administrator and State officials annual unstudied chemical release forms for each chemical subject to this section that was manufactured, processed, or used in quantities exceeding thresholds during the preceding year at the facility. Permits the Administrator to: (1) apply such requirements to other facilities that use unstudied chemicals, as appropriate; and (2) exclude a class of facilities in a Standard Industrial Classification Code that is required to report under EPCRA if unstudied chemicals will not cause certain adverse human health or environmental effects. Makes subject to the requirements of this section an unstudied chemical: (1) for which the information needed to complete a preliminary assessment of potential toxicity is not available; and (2) that is a compound containing at least carbon, hydrogen, and one or more of the elements chlorine, fluorine, or bromine or is a compound included on the 1990 High Production Volume List issued pursuant to the Toxic Substances Control Act. Authorizes the addition of chemicals subject to such requirements based on health or environmental effects or presence in human tissues, food stuffs, or drinking water. Excludes from reporting requirements chemicals: (1) that are listed under EPCRA; (2) that are high molecular weight polymers; or (3) for which information is publicly available. Sets forth provisions regarding information needed for preliminary assessment of potential toxicity of unstudied chemicals. Establishes threshold amounts of unstudied chemicals which trigger reporting requirements. Makes release form information publicly available. Authorizes petitions to the Administrator to compel certain actions under this title, including the exemption from reporting, addition of chemicals subject to reporting, and revision of thresholds. Requires the Administrator to establish a national unstudied chemicals inventory based on submitted data. Makes violations of this title subject to civil and administrative penalties under EPCRA. Provides trade secret protection for information disclosed under this title in the same manner as provided under EPCRA. Title IV: Environmental Justice - Directs the President, acting through the Secretary of Commerce, to publish a list of special priority areas which shall be geographic areas in which residents face a high degree of economic distress or social disenfranchisement. Provides for updates to such list no later than two years after each official census count on social and economic characteristics. Describes areas to be included on such list. Requires the President to advertise the right of petition for assessment of a hazardous substance release in such areas. Directs the President to publish a list of special priority facilities which shall be those facilities located in special priority areas that are: (1) listed in the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System; (2) the subject of a petition; or (3) those the President considers appropriate. Establishes deadlines for completing preliminary assessments, site inspections, and hazard ranking of such facilities and for listing them on the NPL. Requires the President to ensure that a remedial action for any such facility on the NPL is completed within three years of placement on the NPL. Provides exceptions from placing such facilities on the NPL. Title V: Children's Environmental Health - Requires the ATSDR Administrator and the Administrator to create a scientifically peer-reviewed list of environmental pollutants commonly found at facilities listed or proposed for listing on the NPL with known or suspected health risks to which fetuses and children are especially susceptible. Provides for a toxicological profile for each listed substance. Directs the Administrator or the Secretary of Health and Human Services, as appropriate, to review and revise, where necessary, environmental and public health regulations, risk assessment policies and procedures, and guidance documents issued under CERCLA to determine whether they consider and fully protect fetal and children's health. Incorporates fetal and children's health concerns into all health research initiatives under CERCLA. Requires the ATSDR Administrator to develop: (1) guidelines for addressing fetal and children's health issues in health studies and research programs; and (2) criteria for determining when and what type of child-specific health study shall be conducted based on the results of a health assessment. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the costs of such research programs should be borne by the manufacturers and processors of the hazardous substance in question. Directs the ATSDR Administrator to: (1) establish an exposure registry for all children exposed to hazardous substances as the result of a release at an NPL facility where levels of exposure are significant for children's health; and (2) implement specified children's environmental health education and training programs. Requires all lists, profiles, studies, and research results conducted under this title to be reported or adopted only after appropriate peer review. Sets forth requirements for peer reviews. Title VI: Brownfield Remediation and Environmental Cleanup - Subtitle A: Brownfields - Directs the Administrator to establish a program to award grants to local governments to inventory and conduct site assessments of brownfield sites and provide training in the cleanup of such sites. Defines a "brownfield site" as land that contains or contained abandoned or under-used commercial or industrial facilities, the expansion or redevelopment of which may be complicated by the presence of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants. Sets forth grant application requirements and grant conditions. Requires States to submit information to the Administrator on brownfield sites. Directs the Administrator to compile a National Brownfields Registry. Directs the Administrator to establish a program to award grants to be used by local governments to capitalize revolving loan funds for the cleanup of brownfield sites, including associated rivers and streams. Authorizes local governments to provide such loans to finance cleanups by such governments or by owners or prospective purchasers of affected brownfield sites. Sets forth grant application and agreement requirements. Requires grant recipients to report to the Administrator on the extent of local citizen involvement in funded projects. Authorizes the Administrator to award a grant to a State if necessary to facilitate the receipt of funds by local governments that do not have the capabilities to manage grants. Makes certain facilities ineligible for the grant program, including facilities that are the subject of response actions and Federal facilities. Authorizes the President to make exceptions for excluded facilities and allow grants on a facility-by-facility basis. Makes amounts available from the Hazardous Substance Superfund (Superfund) to carry out the grant programs. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2001 through 2005. (Sec. 602) Authorizes the Administrator to award grants to, and enter into cooperative agreements with, States, Indian tribes, municipalities, and other specified agencies and organizations for training, technology transfer, and information dissemination programs to strengthen environmental response activities. (Sec. 603) Requires the Administrator to provide grants and other forms of assistance for brownfields workforce training programs in communities that contain brownfield sites. Subtitle B: Innocent Landowners and Prospective Purchaser Liability - Amends CERCLA, with respect to defenses to liability of an owner of after-acquired property, to deem a person to have made (under current law, "undertaken") appropriate inquiry into the property's previous ownership and uses if the person establishes that an environmental site assessment was conducted which meets specified requirements (compliance with an American Society for Testing and Materials standard or with standards issued by the President) and the person fulfills certain responsibilities concerning information compilation, exercise of appropriate care with respect to hazardous substances at the facility, and cooperation with those conducting response actions. (Sec. 622) Absolves from liability for response actions bona fide prospective purchasers to the extent liability at a facility for a release or threat thereof is based solely on ownership or operation of a facility. Gives a lien upon a facility to the United States for unrecovered response costs in any case in which there are such unrecovered costs for which the owner is not liable by reason of this section and the facility's fair market value has increased above that which existed 180 days before the action was taken. (Sec. 623) Exempts certain contiguous property owners from liability. Subtitle C: Department of Housing and Urban Development Brownfield Grants - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make grants, in connection with the authority to guarantee obligations to finance certain community development activities, to eligible public entities for projects and activities for economic redevelopment of brownfield sites. Authorizes appropriations for such grants for FY 2001 through 2005. Title VII: Natural Resource Damages - Adds the reasonable costs of recovering natural resource damages to the list of recoverable damages for which liable parties are responsible under CERCLA. (Sec. 703) Eliminates the damage assessment rebuttable presumption and prescribes revised procedures for natural resource damage assessments. (Sec. 704) Authorizes a trustee for natural resources to establish an administrative record on which the trustee will base the selection of a plan for restoration of the resource. Provides for participation of interested persons in the development of an administrative record. (Sec. 705) Provides that the presence of hazardous substances in sediments of U.S. waters above background or reference levels shall be sufficient to establish injury to natural resources for purposes of determining liability. Directs the Administrator and the appropriate natural resource trustees to report to Congress on how response, remedial, and restoration actions are restoring and protecting natural resources affected by the facilities of: (1) Hudson River, New York; (2) Newark and New York Bays, New York and New Jersey; (3) Housatonic River, Connecticut and Massachusetts; (4) New Bedford Harbor, Massachusetts; (5) Clark Fork River, Montana; (6) Lavaca Bay, Texas; (7) Palos Verdes, California; (8) Fox River, Wisconsin; (9) Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; and (10) Hanford, Washington. (Sec. 706) Requires natural resource trustees to conduct a program to assist in the recruitment and training of individuals in affected communities for employment in restoration activities. (Sec. 707) Revises provisions regarding the statute of limitations on natural resource damage actions. (Sec. 708) Adds archaeological resources to the definition of "natural resources" under CERCLA. (Sec. 709) Authorizes citizen suits to recover natural resources damages. Title VIII: Federal Facilities - Revises provisions regarding the applicability of CERCLA to the U.S. Government. Makes Federal agencies subject to all Federal, State, interstate, and local requirements regarding response actions and damages related to, or management of, hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants in the same manner as any nongovernmental entity. Waives immunity of the United States with respect to the enforcement of injunctive relief. Makes Federal employees subject to criminal sanctions under State or Federal response laws. Authorizes the Administrator to issue an abatement order to a Federal agency and requires initiation of an administrative enforcement action in the same manner as action would be initiated against any other person. Requires all funds collected by a State from the Federal Government from penalties imposed under this section to be used only for projects to improve or protect the environment or to defray costs of environmental protection or enforcement unless a State law requires such funds to be used differently. Requires Federal agencies to notify States and the Administrator of removal actions. Sets forth additional conditions under which a Federal property may be transferred to any other person without a covenant warranting that all remedial action has been taken on the property. Establishes additional assurances to be contained in deeds governing such transfers with regard to hazardous substances releases for which a Federal agency is potentially responsible. Title IX: Liability - Provides exemptions to liability (including liability for contribution) for response costs for pre-July 1997 acts if liability is based solely on arranging for disposal, treatment, or transport of, or accepting, a specified limited amount of hazardous substances. Absolves certain small parties of liability based on arrangement or acceptance provisions if the substance involved was municipal solid waste or sewage sludge. Removes a provision which excludes petroleum from the definition of "hazardous substance" under CERCLA. Provides that persons liable for willful releases of hazardous substances or threats thereof may be liable to the United States for punitive damages in an amount of up to two times the costs incurred by Superfund as a result of such a release. Title X: Funding - Extends the authorization of appropriations to carry out specified Superfund authorities through FY 2005. (Sec. 1007) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the environmental income tax to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2000, and before January 1, 2006. Extends specified provisions regarding: (1) Superfund's financing rate; (2) limits on tax if the unobligated balance in Superfund exceeds a specified amount; and (3) the repayment deadline for advances made to Superfund. Title XI: Miscellaneous - Increases the ceiling on certain penalties under CERCLA. Prescribes penalties for specified additional violations. (Sec. 1103) Considers a remedial action that attains applicable requirements to be protective of human health and the environment unless the President determines otherwise. Directs the President to establish additional requirements to ensure such protection, as necessary. Provides that the decontamination regulations for site termination issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on July 21, 1997, shall not be considered sufficiently protective. Revises the definition of "federally permitted release" under CERCLA with respect to releases of source, special nuclear, or byproduct material in compliance with licenses, permits, regulations, or orders pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to apply such definition only if such licenses, permits, regulations, or orders adequately protect groundwater. Applies requirements of this Act pertaining to Federal facilities to facilities subject to licenses or decontamination regulations for license termination issued by the NRC. Amends environmental excise tax provisions to treat uranium dioxide as a taxable chemical only if it is used as a fuel in a nuclear reactor.

To amend the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 to authorize grants to Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University in Huntsville, Alabama.

United States · United States Congress · 27 September 1999

Amends the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 to authorize specified funds for grants to Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University in Huntsville, Alabama.

Making continuing appropriations for the fiscal year 2000, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 27 September 1999

Makes appropriations for FY 2000 for continuing projects or activities, including the costs of direct loans and loan guarantees, which were conducted in FY 1999 and for which appropriations, funds, or other authority would be available in: (1) the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000; (2) the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000; (3) the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2000; (4) the District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 2000; (5) the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2000; (6) the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2000; (7) the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000; (8) the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000; (9) the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2000; (10) the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000; (11) the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 2000; and (12) the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000. Continues funding of projects or activities at the current rate of operations and sets forth limitations on such funding. (Sec. 106) Provides funding under this resolution until enactment into law of any covered appropriation or the applicable appropriations Act (without any provision for the covered appropriation) or October 21, 1999, whichever occurs first. (Sec. 115) Continues certain activities authorized by the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 through the date for which funding is provided under this resolution. (Sec. 116) Sets the rate of operations for reimbursement of past losses for the Commodity Credit Corporation Fund at $11.5 billion. (Sec. 117) Continues specified authorities of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation through the period of this joint resolution. (Sec. 118) Authorizes the use of funds to initiate or resume projects or activities at a rate exceeding the current rate to achieve Year 2000 (Y2K) computer compliance and for implementation of business continuity and contingency plans. (Sec. 119) Makes a specified amount available for decennial census programs for the period covered by this joint resolution. (Sec. 122) Extends, until November 1, 1999, a certain provision of law that allows fewer than three members of the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States to constitute a quorum.

Making continuing appropriations for the fiscal year 2000, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 27 September 1999

Makes appropriations for FY 2000 for continuing projects or activities, including the costs of direct loans and loan guarantees, which were conducted in FY 1999 and for which appropriations, funds, or other authority would be available in: (1) the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000; (2) the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000; (3) the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2000; (4) the District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 2000; (5) the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2000; (6) the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2000; (7) the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000; (8) the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000; (9) the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2000; (10) the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000; (11) the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 2000; and (12) the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000. Continues funding of projects or activities at the current rate of operations and sets forth limitations on such funding. (Sec. 106) Provides funding under this resolution until enactment into law of any covered appropriation or the applicable appropriations Act (without any provision for the covered appropriation) or October 21, 1999, whichever occurs first. (Sec. 115) Continues certain activities authorized by the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 through the date for which funding is provided under this resolution. (Sec. 116) Sets the rate of operations for reimbursement of past losses for the Commodity Credit Corporation Fund at $11.5 billion. (Sec. 117) Continues specified authorities of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation through the period of this joint resolution. (Sec. 118) Authorizes the use of funds to initiate or resume projects or activities at a rate exceeding the current rate to achieve Year 2000 (Y2K) computer compliance and for implementation of business continuity and contingency plans. (Sec. 119) Makes a specified amount available for decennial census programs for the period covered by this joint resolution. (Sec. 121) Applies the date specified in Section 106 of this resolution, in lieu of October 1, 1999, as the date of termination of a prohibition on the issuance of a notice of final rulemaking with respect to the valuation of crude oil for royalty purposes. (Sec. 123) Extends, until November 1, 1999, a certain provision of law that allows fewer than three members of the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States to constitute a quorum.

Earthquake Hazards Reduction Authorization Act of 2000

United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1999

Earth, Wind, and Fire Authorization Act of 1999 - Title I: Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act - Amends the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 (the Act) to authorize appropriations for FY 2000 through 2002 for: (1) the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to carry out specified activities under the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program; (2) the Secretary of the Interior for responsibilities assigned to the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), with specified funds earmarked for the Global Seismic Network and for carrying out a competitive, peer-reviewed program under which FEMA awards grants to or enters into cooperative agreements with State and local governments and persons or entities from the academic community and the private sector; (3) the National Science Foundation (NSF) for engineering research and geosciences research; and (4) the National Institute of Standards and Technology. (Sec. 102) Repeals provisions of the Act concerning: (1) non-Federal cost sharing for certain supplemental funds; (2) the authorization of appropriations in prior fiscal years for certain required adjustments in employee salaries and benefits; and (3) the availability of FY 1991-1993 funding. (Sec. 103) Requires the USGS Director to establish and operate an Advanced National Seismic Research and Monitoring System to organize, modernize, and standardize U.S. national, regional, and urban seismic monitoring systems. Requires such Director to transmit to Congress a five-year management plan for establishing and operating the System. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2001 through 2005, and additional amounts for FY 2001 and 2002 for System operation. (Sec. 104) Requires the NSF Director to establish a Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation that will upgrade, link, and integrate a system of geographically distributed experimental facilities for earthquake engineering testing of full-sized structures and partial-scale models. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2004. (Sec. 105) Directs FEMA to: (1) annually provide guidance to other agencies involved in the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (Program) concerning the preparation of requests for appropriations for Program activities; and (2) prepare and submit to the Office of Management and Budget an annual Program budget. Requires each Program agency to specify Program activities in their annual request for appropriations. (Sec. 106) Requires the FEMA Director to report to Congress describing Program elements that specifically address the needs of at-risk populations. (Sec. 107) Requires FEMA's comprehensive earthquake education and public awareness program to include increasing public access to available locality-specific information to assist the public in preparing for or responding to earthquakes. Title II: National Weather Service and Related Agencies Authorization Act - Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 and 2001 to the Secretary of Commerce to enable the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to carry out: (1) Operations, Research, and Facilities activities of the National Weather Service (NWS); (2) Procurement, Acquisition, and Construction activities of NWS; (3) Atmospheric Research Operations, Research, and Facilities environmental research and development activities of the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OOAR); (4) Atmospheric Research Procurement, Acquisition, and Construction environmental research and development activities of OOAR; (5) Operations, Research, and Facilities environmental research and development and related activities of the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS); and (6) Procurement, Acquisition, and Construction environmental research and development and related activities of NESDIS. (Sec. 205) Directs the NOAA Administrator to make available through the NOAA Internet home page information relating to all research grants and awards made with funds authorized by this Act. Title III: Fire Administration Authorization Act - Amends the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to authorize appropriations for FY 2000 through 2002 for Federal fire prevention and control activities. Prohibits the obligation of such funds until the Administrator of the United States Fire Administration (USFA) has verified to specified congressional committees that such obligation is consistent with the strategic plan. (Sec. 302) Directs the USFA Administrator to prepare and submit to such committees: (1) a five-year strategic plan of USFA program activities; and (2) a report describing USFA's research agenda and a plan for implementing such agenda. (Sec. 303) Directs the USFA Administrator to make publicly available, including through the Internet, information on procedures for: (1) acquiring surplus and excess equipment or property that may be useful to State and local fire, emergency, and hazardous material handling service providers; and (2) establishing cooperative agreements between State and local fire and emergency services and Federal facilities in their region for the coordinated provision of such services. (Sec. 306) Directs the USFA Administrator to conduct and report to Congress on an assessment of the need for additional capabilities for Federal counterterrorism training of emergency response personnel.

A bill to amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to extend the retroactive eligibility dates for financial assistance for higher education for spouses and dependent children of Federal, State, and local law enforcement officers who are killed in the line of duty.

United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1999

Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to extend the retroactive eligibility dates for financial assistance for higher education for spouses and dependent children of law enforcement officers who are killed in the line of duty.

HOPE for Africa Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1999

HOPE for Africa Act of 1999 - Declares the sense of Congress that: (1) for the majority of people in sub-Saharan Africa to be able to benefit from new trade, investment, and other economic opportunities provided by this Act, the pre-existing burden of external debt of sub-Saharan African countries must be eliminated; and (2) only significant debt relief will allow operation of local credit markets and eliminate distortions currently hindering development in sub-Saharan Africa. Title I: Cancellation of Debt Owed by Sub-Saharan African Countries - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to direct the President, with specified exceptions, to cancel all concessional and nonconcessional loans made, guarantees issued, or credits extended by the United States to sub-Saharan African countries. Directs the President to report annually to the appropriate congressional committees concerning the cancellation of debt. (Sec. 101) Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 102) Directs the Secretary of State to notify foreign governments that have outstanding loans, guarantees, or credits to the government of a sub-Saharan African country that it is U.S. policy to forgive all such debts and that such foreign governments should do the same. (Sec. 103) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to submit to Congress a plan to advocate the cancellation of debt owed by sub-Saharan African countries to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank), including proposed instructions to the U.S. Executive Directors of such financial institutions to use the U.S. vote to advocate that such institutions: (1) unconditionally cancel all debts owed by a sub-Saharan African country to such institution; and (2) provide that until all debts owed have been unconditionally canceled, require that any future loans not be used to finance in whole or part the implementation of any agreement which requires the country to pay more than five percent of its annual export earnings toward the servicing of foreign loans. (Sec. 104) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to report to Congress on the amount of debt owed to any U.S. person by any country in sub-Saharan Africa and include a plan to acquire each debt obligation owed to each U.S. person. (Sec. 105) Amends the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1999 to require the International Financial Institution Advisory Commission to advise the Secretary of the Treasury and report to Congress on the viability and desirability of having each indebted sub-Saharan African country repay foreign loans in their currency. (Sec. 106) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the government of each sub-Saharan African country should allocate 20 percent of its national budget, including the savings from cancellation of debt owed by it to the United States, to other foreign countries, to the IMF and the World Bank, and to U.S. persons for the provision of basic services to individuals in their respective country, as provided for in the United Nations 20/20 Initiative; and (2) prior to the unconditional cancellation of debt owed by sub-Saharan African countries, each such country should not pay in any calendar year an aggregate amount greater than five percent of the export earnings of the country for the prior calendar year. Title II: Trade Provisions Relating to Sub-Saharan Africa - Directs the United States, pursuant to the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, to eliminate existing quotas on textile and apparel exports to the United States from Kenya and Mauritius within 30 days after each country demonstrates that it: (1) is not ineligible for benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences of the Trade Act of 1974; (2) does not engage in significant violations of internationally recognized human rights; (3) provides for the enforcement of certain internationally recognized worker rights; and (4) takes adequate measures to prevent illegal transshipment of goods. Directs the President to continue the no quota policy for each of the other sub-Saharan African countries that are in compliance with such requirements. (Sec. 201) Provides that, when the quota for textile and apparel products imported from Kenya or Mauritius is eliminated, the quota for textile and apparel products from China for each calendar year shall be reduced by an amount equal to the volume of imports of all textile and apparel product from all sub-Saharan African countries into the United States in the preceding calendar year, plus five percent of that amount. Requires the Secretary of Labor to determine, and report annually to Congress on, whether or not each sub-Saharan African country is providing for effective enforcement of internationally recognized worker rights. Directs the President to report annually to Congress on the growth in textiles and apparel imported into the United States from countries in sub-Saharan Africa in order to inform U.S. consumers, workers, and textile manufacturers about the effects of the no quota policy. Directs the President to provide an additional benefit of 50 percent tariff reduction for any textile and apparel product of a sub-Saharan African country: (1) that meets the requirements relating to human rights, workers rights, and illegal transshipments; and (2) that is imported directly into the United States from such country if the business enterprise, or a subcontractor of the enterprise, producing the product is in compliance with specified conditions. Sets forth specified conditions for the import of textile and apparel goods into the United States, including goods from a sub-Saharan African country. Sets forth penalties for violations of the requirements of this Act. Directs the U.S. Customs Service to monitor and the Commissioner of Customs to report annually on measures taken by sub-Saharan African countries that import textiles or apparel goods into the United States to prevent unlawful transshipment of such goods and circumvention of this Act or any agreement regulating trade in such goods between such country and the United States. (Sec. 202) Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize the President to provide duty-free treatment for articles set forth in the product list of the Lome Treaty that are the product of a beneficiary developing sub-Saharan African country, and in compliance with certain human rights requirements, if the President determines that such articles are not import-sensitive in the context of imports from such countries. Extends duty-free treatment to products from beneficiary developing sub-Saharan African countries through September 30, 2006. (Sec. 203) Grants a U.S. citizen a cause of action in the U.S. district court to seek compliance of sub-Saharan African countries with the requirements of this Act. Title III: Development Assistance for Sub-Saharan African Countries - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to declare that the HIV- AIDS epidemic and other conditions have caused countless deaths and untold suffering among the people of sub-Saharan Africa. (Sec. 302) Directs the Agency for International Development (AID) to provide capacity building assistance through participatory planning to private and voluntary organizations involved in providing assistance for sub-Saharan Africa. (Sec. 303) Prohibits military assistance to sub-Saharan African countries. (Sec. 304) Revises critical sectoral priorities provisions to give priority to: (1) increasing food security by promoting agriculture policies in sub-Saharan African countries; (2) improving health conditions in such countries by emphasizing HIV-AIDS prevention and treatment programs; (3) providing increased access to voluntary family planning services, including access to prenatal healthcare; (4) improving education and vocational education, with particular emphasis on primary education and vocational education for women; and (5) developing income-generating opportunities, including development of manufacturing and processing industries and microcredit projects. (Sec. 305) Directs the Administrator of AID to report semiannually to Congress on: (1) how, and to what extent, AID has consulted with nongovernmental organizations in sub-Saharan Africa regarding the use of long-term development assistance to sub-Saharan African countries; (2) the extent to which such assistance has been successful in capacity building among local nongovernmental organizations and in increasing food security and access to health and education services among the people of sub-Saharan Africa; and (3) how, and to what extent, such assistance has furthered the goals of sustainable economic and agricultural development, gender equity, environmental protection, and respect for workers' rights there. (Sec. 306) Declares that amounts appropriated to the Development Fund for Africa shall be appropriated to a separate account for such Fund. Title IV: Sub-Saharan Africa Equity and Infrastructure Funds - Directs the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) to initiate one or more equity funds in support of infrastructure projects in sub-Saharan Africa, including basic health services (including AIDS prevention and treatment), hospitals, potable water, sanitation, schools, electrification of rural areas, and publicly-accessible transportation. Title V: Overseas Private Investment Corporation and Export-Import Bank Initiatives - Directs the President to establish an advisory committee to assist the Board of Directors of OPIC in developing and implementing policies, programs, and financial instruments with respect to sub-Saharan Africa, including with respect to equity and infrastructure funds established under this Act. (Sec. 502) Amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to revise provisions establishing an advisory committee to require such committee to assist the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States in developing, among other things, financial instruments with respect to sub-Saharan African countries. Title VI: Miscellaneous Provisions - Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should encourage the accession of sub-Saharan African countries to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions. (Sec. 602) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) it is in the interest of the United States to take all necessary steps to prevent further spread of infectious disease, particularly HIV-AIDS; and (2) individual countries should have the ability to determine the availability of pharmaceuticals and health care for their citizens, particularly with respect to the HIV-AIDS epidemic. Prohibits the obligation of funds appropriated to any Federal agency to seek the revocation or revisions of any sub-Saharan African intellectual property or competition law or policy designed to promote access to pharmaceuticals or other medical technologies. (Sec. 603) Directs the Secretary of Commerce, subject to the availability of appropriations, to take steps to ensure that: (1) at least 20 full-time Commercial Service employees are stationed in sub-Saharan Africa; and (2) full-time Service employees are stationed in at least ten different sub-Saharan African countries. Title VII: Offset - Prohibits the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration from carrying out research and development (R&D) activities relating to the performance of aircraft (including supersonic aircraft and subsonic aircraft) unless the Administrator receives full payment for such activities from the private sector.

A resolution to express the sense of the Senate regarding education funding.

United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1999

Expresses the sense of the Senate that it should: (1) increase the Federal investment in education, including providing increases in support for specified programs; and (2) stay within the discretionary spending caps and avoid using the resources of the social security program by finding discretionary spending offsets that do not jeopardize important investments in other key programs within the jurisdiction of a specified congressional subcommittee.

A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate regarding reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1999

Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) this Congress has taken strong steps to reform our Nation's educational system and allowed States, local schools and parents more flexibility and authority over their children's education; and (2) the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 will enable this Congress to continue its efforts to send decision making back to States, local schools, and families.

To amend the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act relating to the minimum amount of State grants for any fiscal year under that Act.

United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1999

Amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to change the maximum amount to the minimum amount which a State may receive as a grant for any fiscal year for assistance for education of all children with disabilities.