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Bill· HRH.R. 4464 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Military Retiree Health Care Task Force Act of 1998 - Establishes the Medicare Eligible Military Retiree Health Care Consensus Task Force to study and report to the Congress on matters relating to health care coverage of retired military personnel and their families, Federal sharing agreements relating to such care, and proposals to provide a full continuum of such coverage to Medicare-eligible military retirees and their dependents.
Bill· HRH.R. 4492 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Medicare Health Plan Fair Payment Act - Amends part C (Medicare+Choice) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to eliminate the budget neutrality adjustment factor used in calculating the blended capitation rate for payment of Medicare+Choice organizations.
Bill· HRH.R. 4480 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to extend the higher Federal medical assistance percentage for payment for Indian Health Service facilities to urban Indian health programs.
Bill· HRH.R. 4498 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Neighborhood Tobacco Advertising Act of 1998 - Amends the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act to repeal provisions preempting any: (1) statement relating to smoking and health (other than the one specified by the Act); and (2) requirement or prohibition based on smoking and health under State law regarding the advertising or promotion of cigarettes in packages labeled in conformity with the Act.
Bill· HRH.R. 4495 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Medicare Beneficiary Access to Home Care Act of 1998 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA), as amended by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA '97), with respect to the computation formula of the interim system of limited payments for services provided by home health agencies. Repeals the current interim system, retroactive to the enactment of BBA '97. Mandates a new interim system of limits for cost reporting periods beginning on or after October 1, 1998, with a revised formula that includes: (1) retroactive restoration of the per visit cost limit to 112 percent of the mean of costs; (2) an agency-specific, annual per beneficiary limitation equal to the sum of certain base and outlier amounts, based generally on the standardized average cost per unduplicated patient in FY 1994; and (3) application of a wage index based on the locality of the agency. Amends BBA '97 to revise the mandatory reduction in cost and per beneficiary limits in the event that the Secretary of Health and Human Services does not establish the prospective payment system (PPS) for home health services. Replaces the current 15 percent reduction in such limits with a percentage reduction sufficient to assure that total expenditures for home health services benefits in each of FY 1999 through 2002 do not exceed the original Congressional Budget Office spending targets for such fiscal years. Amends SSA title XVIII to direct the Secretary to restore periodic interim payments for home health services. Directs the Secretary to continue the home health per episode prospective payment demonstration project under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 until the PPS for home health services is established and implemented under Medicare. Revises surety bond requirements for home health agencies under the Medicare program and the Medicaid program of SSA title XIX to: (1) specify a surety bond against fraudulent or abusive activities; and (2) reduce the amount of such bond from a minimum of $50,000 to $25,000. Amends SSA title XVIII to require home health agencies to have fraud and abuse compliance programs as a condition of their Medicare participation.
Bill· HRH.R. 4465 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Notch Baby Health Care Relief Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a credit for premiums paid by a "notch baby" under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act. Amends such part B to eliminate the part B premium penalty for a "notch baby."
Bill· HRH.R. 4418 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Same Insurance as Congress Act of 1998 - Requires any carrier of a plan approved under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program to offer health insurance to individuals who are not eligible: (1) to be enrolled in a group health plan; or (2) for Medicare, Medicaid, or Children's Health Insurance Program benefits under the Social Security Act. Sets forth provisions concerning premiums, contributions, benefits, and the exclusion of a carrier or plan. Terminates the provisions of this Act ten years after enactment.
Bill· HRH.R. 4505 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Northern Colorado Headwaters Wilderness Act of 1998 - Amends the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 to designate specified lands in the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests as wilderness. Directs the Forest Supervisor of the Arapaho National Forest to: (1) consult with the Commissioners of Clear Creek County, Colorado, and with residents in the immediate vicinity, to identify appropriate measures to regulate activities on national forest lands adjacent to Alice Township and St. Mary's Glacier that interfere with access to such areas by emergency or law-enforcement vehicles, that may adversely affect public health, or that impede access by local residents; (2) take steps to implement such measures; and (3) inform specified House and Senate Committees regarding the amount of any additional funding required to implement such measures.
Bill· HRH.R. 4467 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Open Space Protection Act of 1998 - Amends the Land and Water Conservation Act of 1965 to appropriate from the Land and Water Conservation Fund $900 million for every fiscal year from FY 1999 through 2015, with specified portions available for: (1) Federal purposes (Federal share); (2) financial assistance to the States for State and local natural areas, open space, parklands, or recreational areas; (3) grants to local governments through the Urban Parks and Recreation Recovery Program; (4) grants (through FY 2004) for land acquisition in connection with the American Battlefield Protection Program; and (5) grants (for FY 2004 through 2014) for the restoration and acquisition of historical and cultural sites found within the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management and the National Forest Service. (Sec. 3) Requires the President to: (1) require the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to prepare Federal priority lists for expenditure of the Federal share; and (2) name in the annual budget submission the specific purposes for which the Secretaries shall use such funds, unless Congress specifies otherwise. (Sec. 4) Requires Indian-Alaska Native Village Corporations to be treated as one State for allocation purposes. Authorizes the Secretary to approve conversion of property improved or developed with Federal assistance to other than public recreation uses only if the State demonstrates no prudent or feasible alternative exists (with the exception of those properties that are no longer viable as an outdoor conservation and recreation facility due to changes in demographics, or that must be abandoned because of environmental contamination endangering public health and safety). Requires any conversion to satisfy any conditions the Secretary deems necessary to assure the substitution of other conservation and recreation properties which are: (1) of at least equal market value and reasonably equivalent usefulness and location; and (2) in accord with the existing State Plan for Conservation and Recreation. Declares that wetland areas and interests identified in the action agenda, and proposed for acquisition as suitable replacement property (acceptable to the Secretary) within that same State, shall be considered to be of reasonably equivalent usefulness with the property proposed for conversion. (Sec. 5) Amends the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act to include in the list of local governments eligible to compete for Federal assistance grants for the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Program: (1) all political subdivisions included in Metropolitan, Primary, or Consolidated Statistical Areas; (2) any other city or town within a Metropolitan Area with a total population of 50,000 or more in the 1970, 1980, 1990, or subsequent census; and (3) any other political subdivision, county, parish, or township with a total of 250,000 or more in the 1970, 1980, 1990, or subsequent census. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to make to local governments matching capital: (1) development grants to cover costs of development and construction on existing or new neighborhood recreation sites, including indoor and outdoor recreation facilities, support facilities, and landscaping (but not routine maintenance and upkeep activities); and (2) acquisition grants to cover the direct and incidental costs of purchasing new parkland to be permanently dedicated and made accessible for public conservation and recreation. Authorizes the Secretary to approve conversion of property improved or developed with Federal assistance to other than public recreation uses only if the grantee demonstrates no prudent or feasible alternative exists (with the exception of those properties that are no longer a viable recreation facility due to changes in demographics or that must be abandoned because of environmental contamination endangering public health and safety). Requires any conversion to satisfy any conditions the Secretary deems necessary to assure the substitution of other conservation and recreation properties which are: (1) of at least equal market value and reasonably equivalent usefulness and location; and (2) in accord with the current conservation and recreation recovery action program. Repeals the prohibition against using funds under such Act to acquire land or interests in land.
Bill· HRH.R. 4472 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Long-Term Care and Retirement Security Act of 1998 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit a deduction for eligible long-term health care premiums for an individual who is not eligible for an employer-subsidized long-term care health plan.
Bill· HRH.R. 4419 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Prescription Guarantee Act of 1998 - Amends the Public Health Service Act and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to require a group health plan, or a health insurance issuer offering coverage in connection with a group plan, if it covers prescription drugs but limits benefits to (or provides more favorable benefits for) drugs in a formulary, to: (1) make available to the public on request a description of the formulary restrictions; and (2) provide for restriction exceptions when the plan or beneficiary's physician, subject to reasonable plan or issuer review, determines that a non-formulary alternative is medically beneficial based on a therapeutic difference to the patient involved. Allows copayment doubling for nonformulary drugs. Prohibits a plan that provides prescription drug coverage from denying coverage of a drug if the use is included in the labeling authorized under specified provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Prohibits a plan or issuer from discriminating against a health professional based on the extent, type, or pattern of prescription drugs. Prohibits a plan or issuer from excluding a pharmacist from its network if the pharmacist is willing to enter into a contract to provide drugs at the rate prescribed by the plan or issuer. Amends the Public Health Service Act to apply the above requirements to issuers offering coverage in the individual market. Amends the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 to modify requirements regarding coordination by the Secretaries of the Treasury, Health and Human Services, and Labor regarding regulations, rulings, interpretations, and policies relating to the Act.
Bill· HRH.R. 4413 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1998
Participating Provider Prompt Payment Act of 1998 - Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the Internal Revenue Code to require health plans and health insurance issuers to provide for prompt payment of participating providers. Applies such prompt payment standards to claims submitted: (1) for covered items and services that are not furnished by a nonparticipating provider; or (2) by the participant, beneficiary, or enrollee, in the case of private fee-for-service plans or coverage.
Bill· HRH.R. 4404 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1998
Homebound Elderly Relief Opportunity Act of 1998 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA), as amended by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA '97), with respect to the computation formula of the interim system of limited payments for services provided by home health agencies. Declares that such interim system shall apply only if aggregate expenditures for home health services in a fiscal year exceed specified applicable amounts for FY 1998 and 1999 (with adjustments through FY 2002). Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in the case of such an excess, to implement such system beginning January 1 of the year following the fiscal year in which such aggregate expenditures exceed the applicable amount. Includes in the computation formula the separate determination of costs for agencies in rural and nonrural areas. Provides for adjustment of payments (up to five percent of the aggregate projected or estimated payments) for outliers where the reasonable cost for home health services to an individual exceeds the per beneficiary limit by a fixed number of standard deviations. Eliminates the special rule for new agencies with respect to determination of the reasonable cost of home health services. Provides for a five percent increase in per-visit cost limits for cost reporting periods beginning on or after October 1, 1997. Amends SSA title XVIII (Medicare) to modify calculation of the payment amount for home health services under the prospective payment system (PPS) for them created under BBA '97. Provides for an adjustment in the current 15 percent reduction in cost and per beneficiary limits for cost reporting periods beginning before October 1, 2002, if the PPS is not established for the pertinent cost reporting periods, with a return of the current reduction for cost reporting periods beginning on or after such date. Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for temporary restoration of periodic interim payment for home health services until the PPS for such services is implemented under Medicare.
Bill· HRH.R. 4412 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1998
Cigars Are No Safe Alternative Act - Prohibits any person from selling or distributing a cigar to any individual under 18. Requires that cigar retailers: (1) ensure that all cigars are located in areas where customers do not have direct access; and (2) sell cigars only in face-to-face exchanges. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to impose restrictions on the sale, advertising, distribution, and marketing of cigars directed at youth as appropriate to limit sale to individuals 18 or over. Prohibits advertising cigars on any form of electronic communication. Directs the Secretary to encourage cigar manufacturers to end the practice of paying for, or participating in, the placement of cigars in movies and on television where a substantial segment of the audience is under 18. Mandates health warnings on the labels of cigars and cigar packaging. Requires a study and report to the Congress and the President on: (1) the health effects of occasional cigar smoking, nicotine dependence demonstrated by cigar smokers, biological uptake of toxic and carcinogenic constituents of cigars, and environmental cigar smoke exposure; and (2) the yields of tar, nicotine, carbon monoxide, and any other additive designated by the Secretary. Requires cigar manufacturers to report to the Secretary on those yields. Requires a study and report to the Congress and the President by the Federal Trade Commission on current cigar sales, advertising, and marketing practices. Directs the Secretary to monitor trends in youth access to and use of cigars and, if cigars are inappropriately accessible to, or becoming an attractive alternative to smoking cigarettes for, children and adolescents, to notify the Congress and make recommendations.
Bill· HRH.R. 4403 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1998
Medicare Substitute Adult Day Care Services Act of 1998 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage of substitute adult day care services. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to monitor Medicare expenditures for home health services for a fiscal year, including substitute adult day care services, and compare them to expenditures that the Secretary estimates would have been made for home health services for that fiscal year if there had been no coverage of substitute adult day care services. Requires the Secretary, if home health service expenditures exceed such estimates, to adjust the rate of payment for home health services so that total expenditures do not exceed such estimates.
Bill· HRH.R. 4411 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1998
Health Care Benefits Financial Protection Act of 1998 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish a limited credit for an eligible employer for costs incurred in maintaining an employee group health plan.
Resolution· HCONRESH.Con.Res. 321 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1998
Expresses the sense of the Congress that any money received from efforts to combat waste, fraud, and abuse in the Medicare Program should be deposited into the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund to ensure the financial integrity of the Medicare program and to secure health care services for only those individuals who meet current eligibility requirements under the program.
Law· HRH.R. 4382 (105th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1998
Mammography Quality Standards Reauthorization Act of 1998 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations to carry out provisions relating to the certification of mammography facilities. Requires that appeals from certification denials follow procedures in effect at that time (currently, in effect on a specified date). Requires that standards for accreditation bodies: (1) mandate review of clinical images by qualified review physicians (currently, by qualified practicing physicians); and (2) prohibit those conducting reviews from having any relationship (currently, any financial relationship) with the facility being reviewed that would constitute a conflict of interest. Modifies mammogram record retention requirements. Requires that a summary of the written report regarding a mammography be sent directly to the patient in terms easily understood by a lay person. Allows inspection of facilities (currently, certified facilities) for compliance with certification requirements and mammography quality standards (currently, compliance with mammography quality standards). Authorizes a demonstration program under which inspections are conducted less often than the current minimum of annually. Allows inspections to be conducted by a local agency on behalf of the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Empowers the Secretary to require a facility to notify patients who received mammograms if the Secretary determines the quality was so inconsistent with standards as to present a significant risk to the individual or public health. Authorizes civil money penalties for failure to comply. Allows certificate suspension or revocation for a failure to comply with an accreditation body's requests for records or materials. Modifies requirements for certification suspension before holding a hearing.
Bill· HRH.R. 4380 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1998
District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for the District of Columbia for FY 1999, including amounts for: (1) the Federal contribution to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority for improvements and expansion of the Mount Vernon Square Metrorail station located at the site of the proposed Washington Convention Center project; (2) the Federal contribution to the Nation's Capital Infrastructure Fund; (3) the Federal contribution for an environmental study and related activities at the Lorton Correctional Complex; (4) the Federal contribution for the District's Offender Supervision, Defender, and Court Services Agency (Agency) for establishment of a residential sanctions center and drug testing, intervention, and treatment, to be used to ensure adequate response to persons who violate conditions of supervision and to implement recommendations of the District's Truth-in-Sentencing Commission; (5) the Federal payment to the District's Corrections Trustee for operations and correctional facilities; (6) the Federal payment to the District courts; (7) the Federal payment to the District's Offender Supervision, Defender, and Court Services Agency for necessary expenses of Parole Revocation, Adult Probation and Offender Supervision and to be made available to the Public Defender Service and the Pretrial Services Agency; (8) the Federal payment to the Metropolitan Police Department; (9) the Federal payment to the Fire Department; (10) a Federal contribution to the Board of Trustees of Boys Town U.S.A. for expansion of the operations of Boys Town of Washington; (11) the Federal payment to the Historical Society of Washington, D.C. for the establishment and operation of a Museum of the District at the Carnegie Library at Mount Vernon Square; (12) the Federal payment to the U.S. Park Police; (13) the Federal payment to the District Department of Housing and Community Development for a study by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of necessary improvements to the Southwest Waterfront in the District; (14) the Federal payment to the International Youth Service and Development Corps, Inc. for a mentoring program for at-risk children in the District and for the operation of a resource hotline for low-income individuals in the District; and (15) a Federal contribution to the public education system for public charter schools. Appropriates specified sums out of the District's general fund (and other funds, in some cases) for the current fiscal year for: (1) governmental direction and support; (2) economic development and regulation; (3) public safety and justice; (4) the public education system; (5) human support services; (6) public works; (7) the Washington Convention Center Fund transfer payment; (8) repayment of certain loans and interest; (9) repayment of General Fund Recovery Debt; (10) payment of interest on short term borrowing; (11) lease payments in accordance with the Certificates of Participation involving the land site underlying the building located at One Judiciary Square; (12) human resources development; (13) the District's Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority (Authority); (14) receivership programs; (15) the Water and Sewer Authority and the Washington Aqueduct; (16) the Lottery and Charitable Games Control Board; (17) the Cable Television Enterprise Fund; (18) the Public Service Commission; (19) the Office of the People's Counsel; (20) the Office of Banking and Financial Institutions; (21) the Department of Insurance and Securities Regulation; (22) D.C. General Hospital; (23) the Starplex Fund; (24) the D.C. Retirement Board; (25) the Correctional Industries Fund; (26) the Washington Convention Center Enterprise Fund; and (27) capital outlays (including rescissions). Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. Bars the use of revenues from Federal sources to support the operations of the D.C. Statehood and Statehood Compact Commissions. Requires the District to identify the sources of funding for Admission to Statehood from its own locally-generated revenues. (Sec. 110) Prohibits funds appropriated in this Act from being available to pay the salary of any District government employee whose name, title, grade, salary, work experience, and salary history are not available for inspection by specified congressional committees and subcommittees and the District Council. (Sec. 114) Bars the D.C. Mayor from borrowing any funds for capital projects without prior approval of the District Council. (Sec. 124) Applies any sequestration orders under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to each account appropriating Federal funds in this Act rather than to the aggregate total of such accounts. Requires the Mayor, in the event such an order is issued after amounts appropriated to the District have been paid, to pay sequestered amounts to the Secretary of the Treasury . (Sec. 127) Bars the use of Federal funds provided in this Act to provide for salaries or other expenses associated with the offices of U.S. Senator or Representative under the District of Columbia Statehood Constitutional Convention Initiatives of 1979. (Sec. 130) Prohibits funds contained in this Act from being made available: (1) under specified conditions, to pay the fees of an attorney who represents a party who prevails in an action brought against the District public schools under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act nor shall the fees be made available to an attorney who represents a party who prevails in an administrative proceeding under such Act; or (2) for the operations of any department, agency, or entity (other than the District's Water and Sewer Authority, the Washington Convention Center Authority, or any operations for borrowing activities under specified provisions of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act) unless appropriated by the Congress in an annual appropriations Act. (Sec. 132) Prohibits the expenditure of funds appropriated under this Act for abortions except where the mother's life would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term or in cases of rape or incest. (Sec. 133) Bars the use of funds made available by this Act to implement any system of registration of unmarried, cohabitating couples for purposes of extending benefits to such couples on the same basis as such benefits are extended to married couples or to implement the District Domestic Partner Act (also known as the District of Columbia Health Care Benefits Expansion Act of 1992). (Sec. 136) Requires by FY 1999, or within 15 calendar days after the enactment of this Act, whichever occurs later, and each succeeding year, the Emergency Transitional Education Board of Trustees and the University of the District of Columbia (University) to submit to the appropriate congressional committees, the Mayor, the District Council, the Consensus Commission, and the Authority, a revised appropriated funds operating budget for the public school system and the University for such fiscal year that is in the total amount of the approved appropriation and that realigns budgeted data for personal services and other-than-personal services, respectively, with anticipated actual expenditures. (Sec. 137) Requires the Emergency Transitional Education Board of Trustees, the Board of Trustees of the University, the Board of Library Trustees, and the Board of Governors of the University of the District of Columbia School of Law to vote on and approve their respective annual or revised budgets before submission to the Mayor for inclusion in the Mayor's budget submission to the District Council or before submitting their respective budgets directly to the Council. (Sec. 138) Establishes a ceiling on total operating expenses for the District for FY 1998. Permits increases of such amount for: (1) one-time emergency or unanticipated operating or capital needs transactions approved by the Authority; and (2) additional approved expenditures which the Chief Financial Officer certifies will produce additional revenues during such fiscal year at least equal to 200 percent of such expenditures. Authorizes, to the extent that the sum of total revenues of the District for such fiscal year exceed the total amount provided for, the Chief Financial Officer, with the approval of the Authority, to credit up to ten percent of the amount of such difference, not to exceed $3.3 million, to a reserve fund which may be expended for operating purposes in future fiscal years (in accordance with the financial plans and budgets for such years). Prohibits the Chief Financial Officer from reprogramming for operating expenses any funds derived from bonds, notes, or other obligations issued for capital projects. Sets forth conditions under which grants excluded from such ceiling may be accepted. Requires the Authority, within 20 calendar days after the end of each fiscal quarter starting FY 1999, to report to specified congressional committees on an itemized accounting of all non-appropriated funds obligated or expended by the Authority for the quarter. Applies local revenues collected in excess of amounts required to support appropriations in this Act for District operating expenses for FY 1999: (1) first, to the elimination of the general fund accumulated deficit; (2) second, to a reserve account not to exceed $250 million to be used to finance seasonal cash needs (in lieu of short term borrowings); (3) third, to accelerate repayment of cash borrowed from the Water and Sewer Fund; and (4) fourth, to reduce the outstanding long term debt. (Sec. 139) Directs the District of Columbia Emergency Transitional Education Board of Trustees to: (1) develop a comprehensive plan to identify and accomplish energy conservation measures to achieve maximum cost-effective energy and water savings; (2) enter into innovative financing and contractual mechanisms for such purposes; and (3) encourage District agencies to participate in programs conducted by utilities for the management of electricity or gas demand or energy or water conservation. (Sec. 140) Requires an employee of the District public schools to be: (1) classified as an Educational Service employee; (2) placed under the personnel authority of the Board of Education; and (3) subject to all Board rules. Mandates that school-based personnel shall constitute a separate competitive area from nonschool-based personnel who shall not compete with school-based personnel for retention purposes. (Sec. 141) Prohibits the use of funds made available by this Act or any other Act from being used to provide any District officer or employee with an official vehicle unless the individual uses the vehicle only in the performance of his or her official duties. Excludes travel between the officer's or employee's residence and workplace (except in the case of a police officer who resides in the District). Requires the Chief Financial Officer of the District to submit, by November 15, 1998, an inventory, as of September 30, 1998, of all vehicles owned, leased, or operated by the District government. Specifies the contents of such inventory. Provides that, for purposes of determining the amount of funds expended by any entity within the District government during FY 1999 and each succeeding fiscal year, any expenditures of the District government attributable to any District government officers or employees who provide services which are within the authority and jurisdiction of the entity (including any portion of the compensation paid to the officer or employee attributable to the time spent in providing such services) shall be treated as expenditures made from the entity's budget, without regard to whether the officers or employees are assigned to the entity or otherwise treated as the entity's officers or employees. (Sec. 142) Sets forth Buy American provisions. (Sec. 143) Provides that, notwithstanding any provision of any federally-granted charter or any other provision of law, the real property of the National Education Association located in the District shall be subject to taxation by the District in the same manner as any similar organization. (Sec. 144) Prohibits funds contained in this Act: (1) or any other Act from being used to pay the salary or expenses of any officer or employee of any District government agency or of any entity within the District government who fails to provide information requested by the Chief Financial Officer; (2) from being used for purposes of the annual independent audit of the District government (including the Authority) for FY 1999 unless the audit is conducted by the Inspector General of the District and the audit includes a comparison of audited actual year-end results with the revenues submitted in the budget document for such year and the appropriations enacted into law for such year; and (3) from being used by the District Corporation Counsel or any other District government officer or entity to provide assistance for any petition drive or civil action which seeks to require the Congress to provide for voting representation in the Congress for the District. (Sec. 146) Conditions expenditure of appropriations made by this Act for programs or functions for which a reorganization plan is required only on the approval by the Authority of the required reorganization plan. (Sec. 147) Makes the evaluation process and instruments for evaluating District public school employees a non-negotiable item for collective bargaining purposes. (Sec. 149) Repeals the Residency Requirement Reinstatement Amendment Act of 1998. (Sec. 150) Prohibits Federal funds appropriated under this Act from being used to carry out any program of distributing sterile needles or syringes for the hypodermic injection of any illegal drug.
Bill· SS. 2410 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1998
Medicaid and Children's Health Improvement Amendments of 1998 - Amends titles XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (Children's Health Insurance) (CHIP) of the Social Security Act to give States the option of covering certain legal immigrant children under Medicaid and CHIP. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide for increased allotments under CHIP for the territories. Makes necessary appropriations.
Bill· SS. 2420 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1998
Amends the Public Health Service Act to repeal provisions regarding the Office of Alternative Medicine. Establishes a National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine as a National Institutes of Health (NIH) agency, to be headed by a Director appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Requires the Director of the Center to study the integration of alternative treatment, diagnostic and prevention systems, modalities, and disciplines with the practice of conventional medicine as a complement to such medicine and into U.S. health care delivery systems. Sets forth additional responsibilities of the Director, including the establishment of an advisory council, a bibliographic system for the collection of worldwide research relating to complementary and alternative medicine, a related information clearinghouse, and multipurpose research centers. Requires the Director to submit biennial activity reports to the Director of NIH. Authorizes appropriations for the Center for FY 1999 through 2003. Transfers current employees and funds of the Office of Alternative Medicine to the Center.
Bill· SS. 2416 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Promoting Responsible Managed Care Subtitle A: Grievance and Appeals Subtitle B: Consumer Information Subtitle C: Patient Protection Standards Subtitle D: Enhanced Enforcement Authority Title II: Patient Protection Standards Under the Public Health Service Act Title III: Patient Protection Standards Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 Title IV: Patient Protection Standards Under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 Title V: Effective Dates; Coordination in Implementation Promoting Responsible Managed Care Act of 1998 - Title I: Promoting Responsible Managed Care - Subtitle A: Grievance and Appeals - Declares that a participant or beneficiary in a group health plan or an enrollee in health insurance coverage offered by a health insurance issuer (covered individual) has rights relating to grievances, timely coverage determinations, expedited coverage determinations, and determination appeals. Requires that a group health plan, and a health insurance issuer in connection with health coverage, maintain procedures in accordance with those sections. (Sec. 102) Requires a plan or issuer to: (1) conduct utilization review; (2) provide procedures for timely hearings and resolution of grievances by covered individuals; (3) make timely coverage determinations and redeterminations, including expedited determinations and redeterminations in certain circumstances. Regulates review programs. (Sec. 106) Allows a party to a reconsideration that receives an unfavorable determination to request external review by an entity under contract with the plan. Subtitle B: Consumer Information - Requires plans and issuers to disclose specified information at certain times. Authorizes appropriations for grants to States for contracts with organizations that are independent of plans and issuers for Health Insurance Ombudsmen to provide consumer assistance. Authorizes Federal provision of such a contract where States do not do so. (Sec. 112) Requires: (1) plans and issuers to collect and submit to the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research certain aggregate quality data; and (2) the Agency to publicly disseminate the information (thereby allowing quality comparisons) and to conduct and support research demonstration projects, evaluations, and the dissemination of information regarding quality information. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 113) Requires plans and issuers to have: (1) procedures to safeguard the privacy of individually identifiable health information; and (2) quality assurance and quality improvement programs meeting specified requirements. Subtitle C: Patient Protection Standards - Imposes plan or issuer requirements regarding emergency services and related maintenance or post-stabilization care. (Sec. 122) Provides for: (1) choice of primary (and, unless prior notice is given to the contrary, specialist) providers; (2) routine gynecological and pregnancy-related services from appropriate professionals without authorization; (3) referrals to specialists; (4) designation of a specialist as a primary provider in certain circumstances; (5) standing referrals; and (6) continuity of care on termination of a contract between a plan or issuer and a provider or between a plan and an issuer. Prohibits involuntary disenrollment because an individual's behavior is disruptive, abusive, or uncooperative if the behavior is directly related to diminished mental capacity, severe and persistent mental illness, or a serious childhood mental and emotional disorder, unless the behavior directly threatens bodily injury. Requires that plans and issuers have a sufficient number, distribution, and variety of providers. (Sec. 123) Prohibits plans and issuers, in certain circumstances, from denying participation in a relevant clinical trial or otherwise discriminating against the individual on the basis of the enrollee's trial participation. Imposes requirements on plans and issuers regarding drug formularies. (Sec. 124) Prohibits plans and issuers from discriminating on the basis of race and other specified factors. (Sec. 125) Prohibits an organization on behalf of a plan or issuer from penalizing a health professional for advocating on behalf of the professional's patient or for providing information or referral for medical care. Prohibits a plan or issuer: (1) from restricting a health professional from assisting enrollees who are appealing certain matters under subtitle A; (2) through its contract with its provider, from transferring to the provider any plan or issuer liability; or (3) from operating any physician incentive plan not meeting certain requirements. (Sec. 127) Requires plans and issuers to have a written process for the selection of participating professionals. Prohibits discrimination on the basis of a high-risk patient base or the professional's race or other specified factors. (Sec. 128) Sets forth plan and issuer requirements regarding breast cancer and related procedures, coverages, and practices. Subtitle D: Enhanced Enforcement Authority - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) enforce this Act; (2) require States that elect to assume enforcement authority to report on their efforts; (3) require issuers to report regarding compliance with this Act; and (4) bring a civil action for equitable relief regarding violations of this Act. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to: (1) enforce this Act; and (2) bring such an action. Sets dollar limits on monetary penalties. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 142) Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to authorize the Secretary of Labor to assess a civil penalty against a person acting as a fiduciary of a plan so as to cause a violation of certain amendments made by title III of this Act. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Patient Protection Standards Under Public Health Service Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require plans (and, with regard to group and individual insurance, issuers) to comply with patient protection requirements under title I of this Act. Title III: Patient Protection Standards Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 - Amends ERISA to require plans and issuers to comply with the requirements of title I of this Act. Provides for situations in which a plan is not liable for the failure of an issuer's or external appeal entity's failure to meet those requirements. (Sec. 302) Makes any person or persons responsible for making a coverage determination that is not made timely or in accordance with plan terms liable to the participant or beneficiary for economic loss. Title IV: Patient Protection Standards Under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require a plan to comply with the requirements of this Act. Title V: Effective Dates; Coordination in Implementation - Sets forth the effective dates for this Act. (Sec. 502) Amends the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 to provide for coordination between the Secretaries of Health and Human Services, Labor, and the Treasury regarding regulations, rulings, interpretations, and policies relating to specified provisions of the Act.
Bill· SS. 2400 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Trade and Development Subtitle A: Trade Policy for Sub-Saharan Africa Subtitle B: Generalized System of Preferences Subtitle C: United States-Caribbean Trade Enhancement Title II: Reciprocal Trade Agreements Title III: Trade Adjustment Assistance Title IV: Market Access Identification for Certain Agricultural Products Title V: Approval and Implementation of OECD Shipbuilding Agreement Subtitle A: General Provisions Subtitle B: Other Provisions Subtitle C: Effective Date Title VI: Miscellaneous Trade and Tariff Provisions Subtitle A: Extension of Normal Trade Relations to Mongolia Subtitle B: Miscellaneous Tariff Provisions Title VII: Revenue Provisions Title I: Trade and Development - Subtitle A: Trade Policy for Sub-Saharan Africa - African Growth and Opportunity Act - Declares the policy of the Congress toward sub-Saharan African countries. (Sec. 1004) Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize the President to designate a sub-Saharan African country eligible for duty-free treatment for certain non-import-sensitive articles if the President determines that: (1) it has established, or is making continual progress toward establishing, a market-based economy, a democratic society, an open trading system, and economic policies to reduce poverty, increase health care availability and educational opportunities, and promote private enterprise; and (2) it does not engage in gross violations of internationally recognized human rights or support international terrorism, and cooperates in international efforts to eliminate human rights violations and terrorist activities. Directs the President to monitor and review the progress of sub-Saharan African countries to determine their current or potential eligibility under the requirements of this Act. Requires the President to terminate the designation as a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country of any such country that is not making continual progress in meeting such requirements. Waives the competitive need limitation (a basis for withdrawal of duty-free treatment) for articles of any beneficiary sub-Saharan African country. (Sec. 1005) Grants duty-free and quota-free treatments to certain textile and apparel articles (including textile luggage) of beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries, namely: (1) apparel articles assembled from fabrics wholly formed and cut in the United States, from yarns wholly formed in the United States that are entered under a specified subheading or chapter of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States; (2) apparel articles cut from such fabrics and yarns, if assembled in one or more beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries with thread formed in the United States; and (3) certified handloomed, handmade, or folklore articles of a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country or countries. Prescribes penalties for exporters engaged in transshipments of such articles under false claims as to country of origin, manufacture, processing, or assembly. Grants the President authority to impose appropriate remedies, including import restrictions, in the event that textile and apparel articles from a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country are being imported in such increased quantities as to threaten or cause serious damage to the domestic industry producing like or directly competitive articles. (Sec. 1006) Directs the President to convene annual high-level meetings between U.S. Government officials and officials of the governments of sub-Saharan African countries to foster close economic ties between them. Directs the President to establish a United States-Sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum, which shall discuss expanding trade and investment relations between the United States and sub-Saharan Africa. (Sec. 1007) Directs the President to examines and report to the Congress on the feasibility of negotiating one or more free trade agreements with interested eligible sub-Saharan African countries to establish a United States-Sub-Saharan Africa Free Trade Area. (Sec. 1008) Names the sub-Saharan countries covered by this subtitle. Subtitle B: Generalized System of Preferences - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to extend duty-free treatment: (1) under the General System of Preferences through December 31, 2000 (applied retroactively for liquidations and reliquidations (refunds) to articles entered between June 30, 1998, and October 1, 1998); and (2) for any beneficiary developing sub-Saharan African country through June 30, 2008. Subtitle C: United States-Caribbean Trade Enhancement - United States-Caribbean Basin Trade Enhancement Act - Amends the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act with respect to tariff treatment during a specified transition period of articles from U.S.-Caribbean Basin Trade Enhancement Act (CBTEA) beneficiary countries planning to become parties to the Free Trade Area of the Americas, or countries which have undertaken their obligations under the World Trade Organization (WTO) on or ahead of schedule. Extends immediate duty- and quota-free treatment to certain textile (including textile luggage) and apparel articles assembled, and to certain handloomed, handmade and folklore articles originating, in an eligible CBTEA beneficiary country. Directs the President to reduce tariffs on footwear, canned tuna, petroleum and derivatives, watches and watch parts, and certain leather goods to half of the preference Mexican products enjoy under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) relative to imports of the same articles from CBTEA beneficiary countries. Authorizes the President to proclaim further reductions for such articles if a country meets specified criteria. (Sec. 1204) Imposes certain penalties on persons or countries that have engaged in, or permitted, the transshipment (based on false claims) of covered textile or apparel products. Directs the President to report periodically to the Congress concerning CBTEA beneficiary countries. Directs the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) to report biennially to the Congress and the President regarding the economic impact of this Act on U.S. industries and consumers, including its effectiveness in promoting drug-related crop eradication and crop substitution efforts of the CBTEA beneficiary countries. (Sec. 1205) Authorizes the President to determine that a country is not providing adequate protection of intellectual property rights under its laws, even if it is in compliance with the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act. Title II: Reciprocal Trade Agreements - Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act of 1998 - Sets forth the purposes of this Act, which are, through trade agreements affording mutual benefits, to achieve: (1) more open, equitable, and reciprocal market access for U.S. goods, services, and investment; (2) the reduction or elimination of barriers and other trade-distorting policies and practices; (3) a more effective system of international trading disciplines and procedures; and (4) economic growth, higher living standards, and full employment in the United States, and economic growth and development among U.S. trading partners. (Sec. 2002) Sets forth the principal U.S. trade negotiating objectives for agreements regarding tariff barriers and agreements regarding tariff and non-tariff barriers. Declares that the principal U.S. trade negotiating objectives regarding a reduction of barriers to trade in goods include eliminating specified tariffs for products identified in the Uruguay Round Agreements Act. Declares that the principal U.S. negotiating objectives regarding trade in services are: (1) reducing or eliminating barriers to, or other distortions of, international trade in services, including regulatory and other barriers that deny national treatment or unreasonably restrict the establishment and operation of service suppliers in foreign markets; and (2) developing internationally agreed rules, including dispute settlement procedures, that are consistent with U.S. commercial policies and will reduce or eliminate such barriers or distortions, and help ensure fair, equitable opportunities for foreign markets. Declares that the principal U.S. negotiating objectives regarding foreign investment are: (1) reducing or eliminating artificial or trade-distorting barriers to foreign investment, expanding the principle of national treatment, and reducing unreasonable barriers to establishment; and (2) developing internationally agreed rules through the negotiation of investment agreements, including dispute settlement procedures, that will help ensure a free flow of foreign investment and will reduce or eliminate the trade distortive effects of certain trade-related investment measures. Declares that the principal U.S. negotiating objectives regarding intellectual property are: (1) promoting adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights; (2) securing fair, equitable, and non-discriminatory market access opportunities for U.S. persons that rely on intellectual property protection; and (3) recognizing that the inclusion in the WT0 of adequate and effective substantive norms and standards for the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights and dispute settlement provisions and enforcement procedures is without prejudice to other complementary initiatives undertaken in other international organizations. Declares that the principal U.S. negotiating objectives regarding agriculture are, in addition to those set forth in the Food Security Act of 1985, achieving on an expedited basis to the maximum extent feasible, more open and fair conditions of trade in agricultural commodities. Declares that the principal U.S. negotiating objectives regarding unfair trade practices are: (1) enhancing the operation and effectiveness of the relevant Uruguay Round Agreements and any other agreements designed to define, deter, discourage the persistent use of, and otherwise discipline, unfair trade practices having adverse trade effects, including forms of subsidy and dumping not adequately disciplined; and (2) obtaining the enforcement of WTO rules against trade-distorting practices of state trading enterprises and the acts, practices, or policies of any foreign government which, as a practical matter, unreasonably require that substantial direct investment in the foreign country be made, intellectual property be licensed to the foreign country or to any firm of the foreign country or other collateral concessions be made, as a condition for the importation of any product or service of the United States into the foreign country or as a condition for carrying on business in the foreign country. Declares that the principal U.S. negotiating objectives regarding safeguards are: (1) improving and expanding rules and procedures covering safeguard measures; (2) ensuring that safeguard measures are transparent, temporary, degressive, and subject to review and termination when no longer necessary to remedy injury and to facilitate adjustment; and (3) requiring notification of, and to monitor the use by, WTO members of import relief actions for their domestic industries. Declares that the principal U.S. negotiating objectives regarding improvement of the WTO and multilateral trade agreements are: (1) improving the operation and extending the coverage of the WTO and such agreements to products, sectors, and conditions of trade not adequately covered; and (2) expanding country participation in particular agreements, where appropriate. Declares that the principal U.S. negotiating objectives regarding dispute settlement are: (1) providing for effective and expeditious dispute settlement mechanisms and procedures in any trade agreement entered into under this authority; and (2) ensuring that such mechanisms within the WTO and agreements concluded under the auspices of the WTO provide for more effective and expeditious resolution of disputes and enable better enforcement of U.S. rights. Declares that the principal U.S. negotiating objective regarding transparency is to obtain broader application of the principle of transparency through increased public access to information regarding trade issues, clarification of the costs and benefits of trade policy actions, and the observance of open and equitable procedures by U.S. trading partners and within the WTO. Declares that the principal U.S. negotiating objectives regarding developing countries are: (1) ensuring that developing countries promote economic development by assuming the fullest possible measure of responsibility for achieving and maintaining an open international trading system by providing reciprocal benefits and assuming equivalent obligations with respect to their import and export practices; and (2) establishing procedures for reducing nonreciprocal trade benefits for the more advanced developing countries. Declares that the principal U.S. negotiating objective regarding current account surpluses is to promote policies to address large and persistent global current account imbalances of countries by imposing greater responsibility on such countries to undertake policy changes aimed at restoring current account equilibrium through expedited implementation of trade agreements where feasible and appropriate. Declares that the principal U.S. negotiating objective regarding access to high technology is to obtain the elimination or reduction of foreign barriers to, and acts, policies, or practices by foreign governments which limit, equitable access by U.S. persons to foreign-developed technology. Declares that the principal U.S. negotiating objective regarding border taxes is, within the WTO, to obtain a revision of the treatment of border adjustments for internal taxes in order to redress the disadvantage to countries that rely primarily on direct taxes rather than indirect taxes for revenue. Declares that the principal U.S. negotiating objectives regarding regulatory competition are: (1) ensuring that foreign government regulations and other government practices do not unfairly discriminate against U.S. goods, services, or investment; and (2) preventing the use of foreign government regulation and other government practices, including the lowering of, or derogation from, existing labor, health and safety, or environmental standards, for the purpose of attracting investment or inhibiting U.S. exports. States that it is U.S. policy to reinforce the trade agreements process by: (1) fostering stability in international currency markets and developing mechanisms to assure greater coordination, consistency, and cooperation between international trade and monetary systems and institutions in order to protect against the trade consequences of significant and unanticipated currency movements; (2) supplementing and strengthening standards for protection of intellectual property rights under conventions designed to protect such rights that are administered by non-WTO international organizations, expanding the conventions to cover new and emerging technologies, and eliminating discrimination and unreasonable exceptions or pre-conditions to such protection; (3) promoting respect for workers' rights; and (4) expanding the production of goods and trade in goods and services to ensure the optimal use of the world's resources while seeking to protect and preserve the environment and to enhance the international means for doing so. (Sec. 2003) Sets forth the authority of the President to enter trade agreements with foreign countries regarding tariff and non-tariff barriers. Allows the President to enter into such agreements before October 1, 2001 (or before October 1, 2005, if trade authorities are extended according to a specified congressional procedure). States that a trade agreement may be entered only if it makes progress in meeting the applicable objectives, and the President satisfies certain congressional consultation requirements, set forth in this Act. Declares that bills implementing trade agreements may qualify for congressional trade agreement approval (fast-track) procedures only if they consist solely of: (1) provisions approving a trade agreement entered into under this Act that achieves one or more of the principal negotiating objectives set forth above, and approving any statement of administrative action; (2) provisions that are necessary to implement such agreement or otherwise related to the implementation, enforcement, and adjustment to the effects of such trade agreement and are directly related to trade; and (3) provisions necessary to comply with budget offset requirements of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Provides for extension of fast-track procedures to agreements entered into on or after October 1, 2001, and before October 1, 2005, upon the President's request if neither House of the Congress adopts an extension disapproval resolution according to a specified procedure. (Sec. 2004) Prescribes requirements for presidential notice and consultation with the Congress before negotiations on tariff and nontariff barrier agreements. Requires the President to consult with specified congressional committees before entering an agreement. Provides that in the course of negotiations conducted under this Act, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) shall consult closely and on a timely basis (including immediately before initialing an agreement) with, and keep fully apprised of the negotiations, the congressional advisers for trade policy and negotiations appointed under the Trade Act of 1974, the Committee on Finance of the Senate, and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives. (Sec. 2005) Requires the President to notify the Congress within 90 days of entering an agreement. Requires the President, within 60 days of signing an agreement, to submit to the Congress a preliminary list of changes to existing laws considered mandatory to bring the United States into compliance with the agreement. Provides that fast-track procedures shall not apply to any implementing bill that contains a provision approving any agreement regarding tariff and non-tariff barriers with any foreign country if the Committee on Finance of the Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives disapprove of the negotiation of the agreement before the close of the 90-calendar day period that begins when notice is provided with respect to the negotiation of such agreement. Authorizes both Houses of Congress to adopt, within 60 days of each other, a procedural disapproval resolution denying fast-track to any trade agreement if the President has failed or refused to notify or consult with the Congress about it. Requires the President, at least 90 days before entering into a trade agreement, to provide the ITC with agreement details and request the Commission to assess them. Requires the ITC, within 90 calendar days after the President enters into the agreement, to assess for the President and Congress the agreement's likely impact on the U.S. economy as a whole and on specific industry sectors. (Sec. 2006) Exempts from notice and certain consultation requirements of this Act agreements that result from negotiations which were commenced before the enactment of this Act: (1) under the auspices of WTO regarding trade in information technology products; (2) pursuant to a Uruguay Round Agreement; (3) with Chile; or (4) to achieve a free trade area of the Americas. Title III: Trade Adjustment Assistance - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize appropriations to the Departments of Labor and of Commerce through FY 2000 for trade adjustment assistance (TAA) for workers and for firms, respectively. (Sec. 3001) Postpones termination of the TAA programs until the end of FY 2000. Title IV: Market Access Identification for Certain Agricultural Products - United States Agricultural Products Market Access Act of 1998 - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to require the USTR, by 30 days after the annual National Trade Estimate is due, to identify those foreign countries that: (1) deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. agricultural products, or that apply unjustified sanitary or phytosanitary standards to such imports; and (2) are priority foreign countries (which engage in the most egregious acts, policies, or practices that deny market access to, or whose acts, policies, or practices have the greatest adverse impact on, U.S. agricultural products). Prescribes certain requirements with respect to the identification of such countries. (Sec. 4003) Requires the USTR to report annually to specified congressional committees on actions taken, and on progress made, in achieving market access for U.S. value-added agricultural products. Title V: Approval and Implementation of OECD Shipbuilding Agreement - OECD Shipbuilding Trade Agreement Act - Subtitle A: General Provisions - Declares that the Congress approves the Agreement Respecting Normal Competitive Conditions in the Commercial Shipbuilding and Repair Industry (Shipbuilding Agreement), a reciprocal trade agreement resulting from negotiations under the auspices of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, entered into on December 21, 1994. (Sec. 5102) Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to impose an injurious pricing charge upon the foreign producer of a vessel sold to U.S. buyers at less than fair value if the U.S. International Trade Commission determines that as a result of the sale an industry in the United States: (1) has been materially injured, or is threatened with material injury; or (2) the establishment of an industry in the United States is or has been materially retarded. Prescribes procedural guidelines for: (1) an injurious pricing investigation by an administering authority (Secretary of Commerce, or any other Federal officer to whom such responsibilities are transferred); (2) collection of such an injurious pricing charge; and (3) imposition of countermeasures. Prescribes guidelines for: (1) injurious pricing petitions by third countries, and by eligible interested parties with respect to a sale to a buyer in a Shipbuilding Agreement Party; (2) a comparison between export price and normal value in order to determine whether a subject vessel has been sold at less than fair value; (3) hearings and determinations on the basis of available facts; and (4) conduct of investigations. Authorizes the USTR to request the Commission to issue an advisory report, and to notify certain congressional committees, if a dispute settlement panel finds that a Commission action is not in conformity with U.S. obligations under the Shipbuilding Agreement. Provides for implementation of Commission determinations, including suspension of injurious pricing charges. (Sec. 5103) Directs the Customs Service to deny any request, with certain exceptions, for a permit to lade or unlade passengers, merchandise, or baggage from or onto vessels appearing on a countermeasures list pursuant to this Act. (Sec. 5104) Provides for judicial review in injurious pricing and countermeasure proceedings. Subtitle B: Other Provisions - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to exempt certain Shipbuilding Agreement Party vessels from the customs duty on equipment purchased for, and repairs made in a foreign country upon, a vessel documented under U.S. law to engage in the foreign or coastwise trade. Specifies as so exempt: (1) self-propelled seagoing vessels of 100 gross tons or more used for transportation of goods or persons or for performance of a specialized service (including, but not limited to, ice breakers and dredges); (2) tugs of 365 kilowatts or more; and (3) integrated tug-barges or tug-barge combinations. (Sec. 5202) Precludes any private right of action under the Shipbuilding Agreement. (Sec. 5204) Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to include a Shipbuilding Agreement vessel within its eligibility guidelines on construction-differential and operating-differential subsidies. Revises guidelines for Federal loans and guaranteed loans for shipbuilding. (Sec. 5206) Directs the USTR to: (1) establish a program to monitor the compliance of Shipbuilding Agreement Parties with their obligations under the Agreement; and (2) use the consultation and dispute settlement procedures under the Agreement to redress Agreement violations. (Sec. 5208) Provides, with respect to the Shipbuilding Agreement, for: (1) Party withdrawal (and termination of withdrawal); (2) congressional procedures for withdrawing approval of the Agreement; (3) non-Party accession; and (4) protection of U.S. interests. Prohibits the President from implementing the notice of withdrawal of the United States from the Shipbuilding Agreement until the withdrawal of one or more Shipbuilding Agreement Parties is in effect and specified circumstances apply to such Parties. Sets forth an expedited congressional procedure for the introduction and enactment of snapback implementing bills, which would reinstate requirements regarding ships built in the United States before enactment of this Act, in the event of U.S. withdrawal from the Shipbuilding Agreement. Subtitle C: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective and termination dates of this Act. Title VI: Miscellaneous Trade and Tariff Provisions - Subtitle A: Extension of Normal Trade Relations to Mongolia - Authorizes the President to: (1) determine that title IV of the Trade Act of 1974 (denying nondiscriminatory treatment to the products of certain countries) should no longer apply to Mongolia; and (2) based upon such determination, extend normal trade relations to Mongolian products. Subtitle B: Miscellaneous Tariff Provisions - Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to set forth the duty treatment of certain fabrics, of carded or combed wool or fine animal hair, all certified by the importer as "Super 90's" or higher grade intended for use in making suits, suit-type jackets or trousers. (Sec. 6102) Grants duty-free treatment, through January 1, 2003, of the personal effects of, and other equipment imported and used by, participants, their families and associated members, and officials involved in the 1999 International Special Olympics, the 1999 Women's World Cup Soccer, the 2001 International Special Olympics, the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, and the 2002 Winter Paralympic Games. Declares that such articles shall be: (1) free of applicable taxes and fees; but (2) not exempt from routine customs inspections. (Sec. 6103) Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to extend to certain fine jewelry (gold, silver, and platinum) which is the product of the Virgin Islands, Guam, or American Samoa (including any such article which contains any foreign component) certain trade benefits of insular possessions of the United States. (Sec. 6104) Declares that Executive Order 13067 (prohibiting importation into the United States of articles of Sudanese origin without a specified license) shall not apply to importation on or before December 31, 2002, of gum arabic. (Sec. 6105) Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to make eligible for duty drawback any materials imported and used in the construction and equipment of a mobile offshore drilling unit operated outside the exclusive economic zone of the United States for the unit's useful life, notwithstanding that such unit may not within the strict meaning of the term be an article exported. Title VII: Revenue Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to apply the tax benefits provided by capital construction funds to any vessel constructed or reconstructed in any nation (not just the United States) that is a Party to the OECD Shipbuilding Agreement entered into on December 21, 1994. (Sec. 7002) Reduces the carryback period for excess foreign tax credits from two years to one year. Extends the excess foreign tax credits carryforward period from five years to seven years.
Bill· SS. 2403 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1998
Health Care Entity Protection Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit the Federal Government, and any State or local government that receives Federal financial assistance, from discriminating against any health care entity because (in addition to current prohibited reasons) the entity refuses to provide coverage of, or pay for, induced abortions. Expands the definition of "health care entity" to include (in addition to physicians) other health professionals, health insurance plans, and any other kind of health care facility, organization, or plan.
Bill· SS. 2395 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1998
Amends the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to States and local health care entities to strengthen their response to domestic violence by building the capacity of health care professionals and staff to identify, address, and prevent domestic violence. Prescribes guidelines for State and local demonstration grants. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 4376 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1998
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effect Prevention and Services Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a comprehensive Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and Fetal Alcohol Effect (FAE) prevention, intervention, and services delivery program. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants, cooperative agreements, and technical assistance to eligible State, tribal, and local governments, scientific or academic institutions, and nonprofit organizations to carry out such activities. Directs the Secretary to establish a National Task Force on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effect to: (1) foster coordination among governmental agencies, academic bodies, and community groups that support FAS and FAE research, programs, and surveillance and otherwise meet the needs of populations actually or potentially impacted by FAS and FAE; and (2) advise Federal, State, and local programs and research concerning FAS and FAE. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2003. Terminates application of this Act seven years after the date on which all Task Force members have been appointed.
Bill· HRH.R. 4377 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1998
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to expand from 15 to 17 the membership of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, with the initial terms of such additional members staggered.
Bill· HRH.R. 4375 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Price Increase to Discourage Child Tobacco Use Title II: FDA Jurisdiction Over Tobacco Products Title III: Performance Objectives to Reduce Child Tobacco Use Title IV: Smoke-Free Environments Title V: Tobacco Prevention Initiatives Title VI: International Tobacco Control Title VII: Tobacco Accountability Board Title VIII: Payments to States Subtitle A: Resolution of State Actions Subtitle B: State Grants Subtitle C: Castano Actions Title IX: Definitions Bipartisan NO Tobacco for Kids Act of 1998 - Title I: Price Increase to Discourage Child Tobacco Use - Requires that the funds raised by this title be used to reduce the public debt, except as provided in titles V and VIII. (Sec. 102) Requires each tobacco manufacturer (defining manufacturer, for this Act, to include importers) to make initial ($10 billion dollars allocated by the manufacturer's share of units manufactured or imported) and annual (50 cents per unit manufactured or imported) payments. Excludes exports. (Sec. 103) Provides for injunctions and civil monetary penalties for failure to comply with regulations under this title. Title II: FDA Jurisdiction Over Tobacco Products - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) to add nicotine in tobacco products to the definition of "drug" and add tobacco products to the definition of "device." (Sec. 203) Declares a tobacco product misbranded if it does not comply with section 205 requirements. Amends restricted device provisions to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services, if the Secretary determines that there cannot otherwise be reasonable assurances of safety and effectiveness, to require tobacco advertising and promotion restrictions. Prohibits State and local requirements of warnings on labels and in advertising if this Act requires a warning. (Sec. 204) Requires that all provisions of specified existing tobacco regulations be considered lawful and lawfully promulgated under the FDCA. (Sec. 205) Deems, for tobacco products, an action providing appropriate protection of public health to provide a reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness. Mandates regulations, conforming to specified provisions of the Proposed Resolution between manufacturers and State attorneys general on June 20, 1997: (1) restricting tobacco marketing, advertising, and access (but prohibits restrictions on marketing or advertising that would violate the first amendment to the Constitution); (2) requiring warnings on cigarette and smokeless tobacco labeling and advertisements; and (3) regarding tobacco product ingredients. Makes it unlawful to advertise tobacco on any electronic medium subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Communications Commission. Prohibits considering the Secretary of Health and Human Services' failure to approve or disapprove an ingredient's safety within the review period to be approval. Prohibits a manufacturer from stating or implying in labeling or advertising that a product has a reduced health risk unless the Secretary has so determined. Prohibits a State from receiving a grant under subtitle B of title VIII of this Act unless the State has put into law a tobacco control program conforming to the model State program established by the Secretary. Mandates establishment of that model program, including in its requirements State retail licensure, a prohibition of tobacco purchase for resale or distribution to individuals under 18, compliance inspection conduct and frequency, State performance objectives, and violations penalties. Requires, if a State fails to implement a conforming program or fails to achieve the performance objectives, that the Secretary withhold up to 20 percent of the grant to the State under subtitle B of title VIII of this Act. Mandates a Federal retail licensing program for retailers on Federal property, retailers in a State without an effective program conforming to the model program, and others as specified by the Secretary. Authorizes the Secretary to order a State-licensed retailer in violation of this Act to suspend or cease tobacco sales. Treats Indian tribes and tribal organizations as a State regarding retailers operating on Indian reservations. (Sec. 206) Adds violation of any FDCA tobacco requirement to the list of FDCA prohibited acts. Authorizes the Secretary to disclose tobacco information to the public if the Secretary determines it appropriate to protect public health. (Sec. 207) Repeals the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act and the Comprehensive Smokeless Tobacco Health Education Act of 1986. Title III: Performance Objectives to Reduce Child Tobacco Use - Mandates an annual survey regarding the percentage of children using each manufacturer's tobacco product. (Sec. 302) Requires each manufacturer to have a performance objective of reducing its child tobacco use by specified percentages. Requires, if the reductions are not met, price increases and, for subsequent consecutive year failures, sales by carton minimum and packaging in black on a white background. (Sec. 306) Makes failure to comply with this title's requirements an FDCA prohibited act. (Sec. 307) Requires that the annual survey determine the use level for children of different racial and ethnic backgrounds. Mandates, if use is increasing (or not decreasing at a proportionate rate) among children of a racial or ethnic background, recommendations to the Congress regarding reducing the level for those children. Title IV: Smoke-Free Environments - Requires the responsible entity for each public facility (any building in which activities substantially affecting interstate commerce occur, subject to exceptions for locations such as residential buildings, on-sale alcoholic beverage establishments, and prisons) to implement a smoke-free environment policy meeting specified requirements. Allows smoking areas meeting certain requirements. (Sec. 402) Authorizes an action to enforce this title (by injunction or civil monetary penalty) by any aggrieved person, State or local governmental agency, or the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, allowing the award of litigation costs (including attorney's and expert fees) to any prevailing party. Authorizes the court to order that the civil penalties be used for projects furthering this title. Prohibits compensatory and punitive damages. (Sec. 403) Authorizes the Administrator to extend the smoke-free policy requirement to certain otherwise-exempt facilities if the Administrator determines that the extension is appropriate to protect the public health. (Sec. 405) Declares that this title does not preempt or affect any other Federal, State, or local law providing protection from environmental tobacco health hazards. Title V: Tobacco Prevention Initiatives - Requires that funds be made available (from annual manufacturer payments under section 102) to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, without fiscal year limitation, for: (1) a national public awareness campaign to discourage tobacco use; (2) the implementation of FDCA tobacco provisions, title III of this Act, and Tobacco Accountability Board provisions of this Act; (3) tobacco use cessation programs (mandating grants); (4) research on nicotine addiction, cessation, and prevention; and (5) tobacco surveillance and epidemiology research. Requires that certain programs under this title: (1) take into account the needs of minority populations; and (2) be age, culturally, and linguistically appropriate for those populations. Title VI: International Tobacco Control - Mandates regulations to prohibit domestic concerns from directly or indirectly: (1) selling or distributing tobacco in a foreign country without warning labels appropriate to protect public health; or (2) selling or distributing tobacco in a foreign country to children or advertising or promoting it in a way that appeals to children. Adds violations to the list of FDCA prohibited acts. (Sec. 602) Prohibits any U.S. officer, employee, department, or agency from: (1) promoting tobacco export or foreign sale, manufacture, promotion, distribution, or use; or (2) subject to exception, seeking the removal or reduction of foreign restrictions on tobacco importation, exportation, sale, manufacture, promotion, distribution, tariffs, or taxes. (Sec. 603) Establishes in the Treasury the International Tobacco Control Trust Fund, to be funded by payments under section 605. Provides for the use of Fund amounts for: (1) the American Center on Global Health and Tobacco; (2) grants and other assistance to foreign governments, nongovernmental organizations, and international organizations for foreign tobacco control; and (3) enforcement of any requirement regarding foreign tobacco sale, distribution, or promotion. (Sec. 604) Establishes the American Center on Global Health and Tobacco (ACT) as a private, nonprofit corporation, requiring it to assist foreign organizations to reduce and prevent tobacco use, including through public awareness campaigns and youth-oriented and community-based programs. (Sec. 605) Requires each domestic concern that manufactures tobacco in a foreign country (or controls a person who does so) to annually pay to the Fund a specified amount per unit manufactured. (Sec. 606) Mandates regulations to reduce tobacco smuggling in interstate and foreign commerce. (Sec. 607) Declares that it is the sense of the Congress that the Government should support implementation of the International Framework Convention on Tobacco Control through all available resources. Title VII: Tobacco Accountability Board - Establishes the Tobacco Accountability Board as an independent board. Requires each tobacco manufacturer to submit to the Board all documents in the manufacturer's possession: (1) relating to tobacco health effects (including addiction), the manipulation of nicotine, or tobacco sale or marketing to children; or (2) produced or ordered to be produced in a named civil action. Requires the Board to make the documents available to the public. Exempts trade secrets from public disclosure unless the Board determines that disclosure is appropriate to protect the public health. (Sec. 703) Requires the Board to investigate all matters relating to tobacco and public health and report to the Congress annually. (Sec. 705) Empowers the Board to bring an action to enjoin a failure to comply with this title or to impose a civil monetary penalty. (Sec. 707) Prohibits discrimination against an individual as a reprisal for disclosing information regarding a violation of tobacco-related law. Applies to whistleblowers existing provisions of Federal law allowing whistleblowers to receive a portion of any false claims amounts recovered. Title VIII: Payments to States - Subtitle A: Resolution of State Actions - Allows a State to elect to receive payments under section 802 instead of seeking recovery from manufacturers for health care costs attributable to tobacco use. Prohibits a State that so elects from seeking recovery from manufacturers, except for actions after enactment of this Act or for criminal prosecutions. (Sec. 802) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to pay to any State so electing the amount the State would have received under the Proposed Resolution between manufacturers and State attorneys general. Requires a State to pass payments through to local governments in proportion to the local government's tobacco use health care costs. Makes a State that fails to pass through payments ineligible for this section's future payments. (Sec. 803) Exempts a manufacturer from the portion of the section 102 payments that will be provided to States under this title if the manufacturer: (1) resolved tobacco-related civil actions with more than 25 States before 1998; (2) provided to all other States the opportunity to enter into substantially similar settlements; and (3) manufactures less than three percent of all cigarettes manufactured or imported in the United States. Subtitle B: State Grants - Requires that funds be made available annually from amounts paid under section 102, without fiscal year limitation, for grants to States with approved child-oriented or community-based programs to discourage tobacco use. (Sec. 812) Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to authorize payment to States for a specified percentage of the State's Medicaid expenditures for tobacco use cessation programs. Subtitle C: Castano Actions - Provides that the rights and benefits afforded in titles III and V are provided in settlement of, and shall constitute the exclusive remedy for the purpose of determining, civil liability as to addiction-dependency claims asserted in specified civil actions against the manufacturers of cigarettes and others (referred to as Castano actions). Preempts and settles all bases for any such claim under State laws, with reservation of the rights of individual class members to pursue their claims in a civil action not based on addiction or dependency in accordance with this Act. Specifies that, for purposes of determining the applicable statute of limitation or repose, individual actions filed by those who were included within such class actions shall be considered to have been filed as of the filing date of the original class action. Establishes an Arbitration Panel for purposes of awarding attorney's fees and expenses relating to litigation affected by, or legal services that resulted in, this Act. Sets forth provisions regarding the right to petition the Panel, criteria in making awards, appeal and enforcement, the source and payment of awards, and the validity and enforceability of private agreements with respect to the allocation or division of attorney's fees. Title IX: Definitions - Sets forth definitions for this Act.
Bill· HRH.R. 4370 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1998
Home Health Access Preservation Act of 1998 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA), as amended by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, with respect to the computation formula of the interim system of limited payments for services provided by home health agencies. Revises such formula for cost reporting periods beginning after FY 1998 to replace the current agency-specific per beneficiary annual limits with limits based on specified base regional limits, a base national limit, and an area wage index. Eliminates the special rule for new agencies with respect to determination of the reasonable cost of home health services. Provides for a three percent increase in per-visit cost limits for cost reporting periods beginning on or after October 1, 1997. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to allot grants to States, according to a specified formula, to provide for adjustment for outliers to assist in the transition to the prospective payment system for home health services. Makes necessary appropriations. Directs the Secretary to meet every 90 days with appropriate congressional committee staff to provide informal updates of progress in implementing the prospective payment system for home health agencies under Medicare.
Bill· HRH.R. 4367 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1998
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to furnish hospital care and medical services, and authorizes the Secretary to furnish nursing home care, to any veteran who received one or more nasopharyngeal radium irradiation treatments while serving in active military service between January 1, 1940, and December 31, 1965. Authorizes the Secretary to examine, and include in the Department of Veterans Affairs Ionizing Radiation Registry Program, any such veteran.
Bill· SS. 2382 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1998
Children's Health Assurance through the Medicaid Program (CHAMP) Act - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to allow certain additional community-based entities to determine the presumptive Medicaid eligibility for low-income children. Includes among such entities: (1) elementary and secondary schools (including those operated or supported by the Bureau of Indian Affairs); (2) State child support enforcement agencies; (3) child care resource and referral agencies; and (4) State offices and private contractors that accept applications for or administer programs funded under SSA title IV part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF), or that determine assistance or benefit eligibility for any federally-funded program of public or assisted housing under the United States Housing Act of 1937.
Bill· SS. 2378 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1998
Investment in Women's Health Act of 1998 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to increase to $14.60 the payment for diagnostic or screening pap smear laboratory tests.
Bill· SS. 2380 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Parental Involvement in the Abortion Decision Title II: Parental Involvement in Decisions Concerning Contraceptives and Abortion Referrals Putting Parents First Act - Title I: Parental Involvement in the Abortion Decision - Prohibits, and sets penalties for, knowingly performing an abortion upon or prescribing an abortifacient to a pregnant woman under age 18 unless the attending physician has secured the informed written consent of the minor and: (1) the informed written consent of the minor's parent or guardian; or (2) a court order waiving the need for the parent's or guardian's consent pursuant to a judicial bypass procedure under this title. Requires a court to issue such an order if it finds by clear and convincing evidence on an individual basis that: (1) the process of obtaining such consent is not in the best interests of the minor petitioner; or (2) the minor petitioner is an emancipated minor. Sets forth procedures regarding confidentiality, filing of the petition, preference over other proceedings, findings, and expedited appellate review. (Sec. 103) Specifies that the provisions of this title shall not be construed to preempt State law provisions that provide greater protections to parents of minors seeking abortions. Title II: Parental Involvement in Decisions Concerning Contraceptives and Abortion Referrals - Requires all federally funded programs that provide for the distribution of contraceptive drugs or devices to minors or that provide abortion referrals to minors to obtain informed written consent of a custodial parent or custodial legal guardian prior to the provision of such drugs or devices or referral information to the minor, with an exception. Requires a court to issue an order waiving such requirement if it finds by clear and convincing evidence on an individual basis that: (1) the process of obtaining such consent is not in the best interests of the minor petitioner; or (2) the minor petitioner is an emancipated minor. Sets forth procedures regarding confidentiality, filing of the petition, preference over other proceedings, findings, and expedited appellate review. Specifies that nothing in this title shall be construed as prohibiting the distribution of contraceptive drugs or devices, or the provision of abortion referral information, to unemancipated minors without obtaining prior written parental consent if: (1) the distribution is paid for through the expenditure by a State of State funds, regardless of whether such State funds are provided as part of the State's contribution to a Federal program; and (2) the State takes affirmative action to allow the provision of such drugs, devices, or information through the use of State funds without requiring such parental consent.
Bill· HRH.R. 4362 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1998
Stand Down Authorization Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs: (1) to carry out Stand Down events (events to provide veterans who are without a home, unemployed, experiencing health or social adjustment challenges, or otherwise in need with one to three days of safety and security and access to food, shelter, clothing, benefits certification, health care, or any other appropriate form of assistance); and (2) in connection with such events, to provide outreach services, use Department of Veterans Affairs personal property, and provide any other appropriate benefit or service. Directs the Secretary to establish and implement a pilot program under which the Secretary shall carry out a single Stand Down event in each State in each calendar year, beginning in 1999. Requires an annual report to the Congress on pilot program implementation and recommendations for legislation.
Bill· SS. 2358 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Service Connection for Gulf War Illnesses Title II: Extension and Enhancement of Gulf War Health Care Authorities Title III: Miscellaneous Persian Gulf War Veterans Act of 1998 - Title I: Service Connection for Gulf War Illnesses - Presumes to be service-connected (and therefore compensable or treatable under Federal veterans' benefits provisions) any illness that: (1) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines to warrant such a presumption based upon a positive association with exposure to a biological, chemical, or toxic agent, an environmental or wartime hazard, or preventive medicine or vaccine associated with service in the southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War; and (2) becomes manifest in a Gulf War veteran within a period to be prescribed by the Secretary. Requires such presumption even though there is no record of evidence of such illness in the veteran during the period of service. Requires the Secretary to make such determinations based on sound medical and scientific evidence and to take into account reports submitted by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) as required under this Act. Requires the Secretary to make determinations regarding presumptions of service connection for covered illnesses within 60 days after receipt of an NAS report. (Sec. 102) Directs the Secretary to enter into an agreement with NAS under which NAS shall identify: (1) the agents, hazards, or medicines to which Gulf War veterans may have been exposed; and (2) the illnesses that are manifest in such members. Requires NAS, in making such identification, to consider certain pesticides, nerve agents, repellents, compounds, ionizing radiation, particulates, endemic diseases, and vaccines. Requires NAS to submit to the congressional veterans and defense committees (designated committees) a report specifying all agents, hazards, or medicines considered. Directs NAS, after such identification, to determine whether a statistical association exists between exposure to such agent, hazard, or medicine and the illness. Requires NAS to separately review potential treatment models for such illnesses, make recommendations for additional studies, and perform subsequent reviews of available evidence and data. Requires periodic reports from NAS to the Secretary, the Secretary of Defense, and the designated committees concerning NAS activities. Terminates requirements and activities under this Act ten years after NAS submits its first report. Requires the Secretary to enter into an agreement with an alternative scientific organization if agreement cannot be reached with NAS. (Sec. 103) Directs the Secretary to develop and implement a plan for the establishment and operation of a single computerized information database for the collection, storage, and analysis of information on illnesses and health care utilization patterns of Gulf War veterans. Requires such plan to be submitted to the Secretary of Defense, NAS, and the designated committees. Directs NAS to evaluate and report on such plan. Requires a joint annual report by the Secretary and the Secretary of Defense concerning data compiled and the types, incidences, and prevalence of the illnesses identified, with explanations, as well as information analysis and the implementation of appropriate treatment models in the health care systems of their respective departments. (Sec. 104) Requires such Secretaries and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to the designated committees on any recommendations received from NAS for additional scientific studies. (Sec. 105) Directs the Secretaries of Veterans Affairs and Defense to carry out an ongoing program to provide Gulf War veterans with information relating to any health risks determined to be associated with such service, together with services or benefits available. Title II: Extension and Enhancement of Gulf War Health Care Authorities - Extends through December 31, 2001, the authority of the Secretary to provide hospital and nursing care and medical services to Persian Gulf War veterans for any disability. (Sec. 202) Amends the Persian Gulf War Veterans' Benefits Act to extend a program for evaluating the health status of spouses and children of Persian Gulf War veterans until either the date on which all funds for the program are expended or December 31, 2001, whichever is earlier. (Currently such program is authorized until December 31, 1998.) Repeals certain testing and evaluation requirements under such program. Provides additional program outreach requirements. Authorizes the Secretary, in order to increase the number of diagnostic tests and medical examinations under such program: (1) to reimburse primary care physicians of such spouses and children for the costs of such tests or examinations; (2) to conduct such tests and examinations in Department medical facilities; and (3) in the event travel is required for the conduct of such tests or examinations by contract entities, to reimburse the spouses and children for the costs of such travel and related lodging. Requires the Secretary to provide for monthly reports to the Department's Central Office on activities conducted under the program. Title III: Miscellaneous - Requires the Secretary to seek to enter into an agreement with NAS or other appropriate independent organization under which NAS assesses the need for and feasibility of establishing an independent entity to: (1) evaluate and monitor the post-deployment health concerns of military personnel; (2) evaluate the health care provided both before and after deployment; and (3) take certain related actions with respect to the monitoring, evaluation, and improvement of post-deployment health care. Requires a report from NAS to the designated committees on assessment results.
Bill· SS. 2360 (105th)reported
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: NOAA Atmospheric and Satellite Programs Title II: NOAA Ocean and Coastal Programs Title III: Program Administration and Support Title IV: Hydrographic Services Title V: NOAA Corps Title VI: NOAA Fleet Title VII: Miscellaneous National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Authorization Act of 1998 - Title I: NOAA Atmospheric and Satellite Programs - Authorizes appropriations for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for: (1) National Weather Service operations and research; (2) improvement of public warning and forecast systems; (3) climate and air quality research; (4) atmospheric research; (5) satellite observing systems; and (6) data and information services. Title II: NOAA Ocean and Coastal Programs - Authorizes appropriations for NOAA for: (1) ocean resources conservation and assessment; and (2) marine environmental research. (Sec. 203) Mandates establishment and maintenance of a National Undersea Research Program to increase scientific knowledge essential for the wise use and conservation of oceanic, coastal, and large lake resources. Requires its research to be conducted by regional National Undersea Research Centers. Mandates annual solicitation of research proposals. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Program Administration and Support - Authorizes appropriations for NOAA for: (1) administration and services; (2) acquisition, construction, maintenance, and operation of facilities; (3) vessel support; (4) the National Ocean Service for collection of coastal assessment data; (5) the National Marine Fisheries Service for conducting sustained fisheries scientific and survey operations; (6) the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research for conducting sustained oceanographic and atmospheric data collection; (7) ship maintenance and repair and planning for future ship capability; and (8) aircraft services. Title IV: Hydrographic Services - Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998 - Lists the hydrographic duties of the NOAA Administrator. Grants related authorities, including: (1) implementing a quality assurance program and certifying hydrographic products meeting standards promulgated by the Administrator; (2) authorizing the use of the emblem or any trademark of NOAA on a certified product; and (3) charging a related fee. Declares that the Government is not liable for any negligence by a person that produces certified hydrographic products. Establishes the Hydrographic Services Account to receive the fees and other amounts as provided by law, with fees credited as offsetting collections to the Administration, Operations, Research, and Facilities account. Prohibits the Administrator from increasing any charge for hydrographic services except as authorized by this paragraph. (Sec. 405) Mandates reports to the Congress on: (1) the status of implementation of real-time tide and current data systems in U.S. ports; (2) existing safety and efficiency needs in U.S. ports that could be met by increased use of those systems; (3) a plan for expanding those systems to meet those needs; and (4) a plan to ensure that Federal competence and expertise in hydrographic surveying will be maintained after the decommissioning of the three existing NOAA hydrographic survey vessels. (Sec. 406) Authorizes appropriations for NOAA for: (1) nautical mapping and charting; (2) hydrographic surveys; (3) geodetic functions; and (4) tide and current measurement functions. Title V: NOAA Corps - Amends the Coast and Geodetic Survey Commissioned Officers' Act of 1948 to: (1) authorize between 264 and 299 commissioned officers on NOAA's active list; (2) mandate the appointment of one of the officers as the officers' director, to be responsible for administration of the officers and for oversight of the operation of NOAA's vessel and aircraft fleets. Ends the moratorium on new officer appointments. Title VI: NOAA Fleet - Mandates submission to specified congressional committees of a revised fleet modernization plan reflecting the need to continue providing NOAA with high-quality oceanic and atmospheric research information and NOAA's budget constraints. Title VII: Miscellaneous - Amends the Reorganization Plan Numbered 4 of 1970 to remove provisions establishing the position of Chief Scientist of NOAA. (Sec. 702) Amends the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 to authorize the Secretary of Commerce to use by agreement the personnel, services, and facilities of State and other Federal departments, agencies, and instrumentalities, on a reimbursable or non-reimbursable basis, to carry out the purposes of title III (Marine Sanctuaries) of that Act. (Sec. 703) Amends the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to add health care providers and education providers to the list of categories in which Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards must be awarded.
Bill· HRH.R. 4339 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1998
Medicare Home Health Beneficiary Protection Act of 1998 - Amends part D (Miscellaneous Provisions) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA), as amended by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA '97), to revise reasonable cost requirements with regard to the interim system of limited payments for services provided by home health agencies. Establishes a moratorium on implementation of per beneficiary limits and a three-year freeze on cost limits. Amends BBA '97 to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to: (1) establish a process for eliminating inappropriate utilization of home health services by reviewing claims for reimbursement of such services furnished under the Medicare program in which the number of home health visits provided to a beneficiary in a year exceeds the regional average of per beneficiary annual visits; (2) if appropriate, issue a determination denying payment for such a claim, and refer the name of the claimant-provider to the HHS Office of Inspector General for investigation; and (3) include in the annual reports to the Congress on home health cost containment any recommendations for changes to the method of payment, claims review, and scope of benefits that the Secretary determines is necessary to achieve actual outlays equal to estimated outlays under Medicare parts A (Hospital Insurance) and B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) for such services during the following fiscal year. (Sec. 4) Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for: (1) establishment of limits for calculating prospective payment rates for home health services under the payment system for such services; and (2) temporary restoration of periodic interim payment for such services.
Bill· SS. 2352 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 1998
Patient Privacy Rights Act of 1998 - Amends title XI of the Social Security Act to repeal: (1) the mandate for standards for unique health identifiers for each individual, employer, health plan, and health care provider for use in the health care system; and (2) the offense of wrongful disclosure of such identifiers.
Bill· SS. 2354 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 1998
Medicare Home Health Beneficiary Protection Act of 1998 - Amends part D (Miscellaneous Provisions) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA), as amended by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA '97), to revise reasonable cost requirements with regard to the interim system of limited payments for services provided by home health agencies. Establishes a moratorium on implementation of per beneficiary limits and a three-year freeze on cost limits. Amends BBA '97 to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to: (1) establish a process for eliminating inappropriate utilization of Medicare home health services by reviewing claims in which the number of home health visits provided to a beneficiary in a year exceeds the regional average of per beneficiary annual visits; (2) if appropriate, issue a determination denying payment for such a claim, and refer the name of the claimant-provider to the HHS Inspector General for investigation; and (3) include in the annual reports to the Congress on home health cost containment any recommendations for changes to the method of payment, claims review, and scope of benefits that the Secretary determines is necessary to achieve actual outlays equal to estimated outlays under Medicare parts A (Hospital Insurance) and B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) for such services during the following fiscal year. (Sec. 4) Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for: (1) establishment of limits for calculating prospective payment rates for home health services under the payment system for such services; and (2) temporary restoration of periodic interim payment for such services.
Bill· HRH.R. 4333 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 1998
Annual Mammogram and Prostate Cancer Screening Coverage Act of 1998 - Amends the Public Health Service Act and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to require a group health plan, and a health insurance issuer offering group coverage, to provide coverage for annual screening mammograms for participants and beneficiaries 40 years old and older and annual prostate cancer screening testing for male participants and beneficiaries 50 years old and older. Prohibits related eligibility discrimination, monetary incentives to individuals, and penalties or incentives to providers. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require a group health plan to provide coverage for annual screening mammograms for participants and beneficiaries 40 years old and older and annual prostate cancer screening testing for male participants and beneficiaries 50 years old and older. Amends the Public Health Service Act to apply the requirements of this Act to coverage offered in the individual market. Amends the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 to mandate coordination of regulations, rulings, and interpretations between the Secretaries of the Treasury, Health and Human Services, and Labor relating to matters over which two or more of the Secretaries have responsibility.
Bill· SS. 2348 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1998
Schools and Libraries Internet Access Act - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to repeal provisions authorizing the Federal Communications Commission to take certain actions to provide access to advanced telecommunications services for schools, health care providers, and libraries. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce the excise tax paid for telephone and other communications services to one percent (currently, three percent) of the total paid for such services beginning with bills rendered on or after January 1, 1999, and before October 1, 2003. Repeals such communications taxation provisions with respect to bills rendered on or after October 1, 2003. Establishes in the Treasury the Telecommunications Technology Trust Fund and appropriates into such Fund all amounts received pursuant to the above taxation authority after December 31, 1998. Makes such funds available to carry out provisions of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act (NTIAO) as added under this Act. Terminates this section on October 1, 2003. Amends the NTIAO to direct the Secretary of Commerce to award a fiscal year grant to each State having an approved plan for the acquisition of telecommunications and related services for: (1) the provision of health care services by any public or nonprofit health care provider that serves persons residing in a rural area; or (2) elementary and secondary schools and libraries, for educational purposes. Provides for an allocation of State funding based on relative populations. Requires the State plan to take into consideration the relative economic need of the eligible entities, including the number of students living in low-income or sparsely populated areas. Authorizes appropriations from the Fund for FY 1999 through 2003 for such grants and administrative expenses. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2004 and thereafter for such purposes from general Treasury funds.
Bill· SS. 2347 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1998
Comprehensive Methamphetamine Abuse Reduction Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act (the Act) to authorize the Director of the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention to make grants to, and enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with, public and non-profit private entities to carry out: (1) school-based programs concerning the dangers of methamphetamine abuse and addiction; and (2) community based methamphetamine abuse and addiction prevention programs. Requires that: (1) sums made available be used for planning, establishing, or administering methamphetamine prevention programs; and (2) the Director give priority in making grants to rural and urban areas that are experiencing a high rate or rapid increases in methamphetamine abuse and addiction. Sets forth: (1) provisions regarding allotment of specified sums available for analyses and evaluations of effective prevention programs and the development of strategies for disseminating information about, and implementing, such programs; and (2) reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 3) Directs the United States Sentencing Commission to promulgate or amend existing Federal sentencing guidelines to increase the base offense levels for offenses relating to the manufacture, attempt to manufacture, or conspiracy to manufacture amphetamine or methamphetamine. Authorizes appropriations to the Office of National Drug Control Policy to combat the trafficking of methamphetamine in areas designated by the Director of National Drug Control Policy as high intensity drug trafficking areas. (Sec. 4) Amends the Act to authorize the Director of the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention to make grants to, and enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with, public and non-profit private entities for the purpose of expanding activities for the treatment of methamphetamine abuse and addiction. Sets forth analogous provisions regarding the use of funds, permissible treatment programs and activities, priority in making grants, analyses and evaluation, reporting requirements, and authorization of appropriations. (Sec. 5) Amends the Act to authorize the Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse to make grants to expand interdisciplinary research relating to methamphetamine abuse and addiction and other biomedical, behavioral, and social issues related to methamphetamine abuse and addiction. Requires the Director to promptly disseminate research results to Federal, State, and local entities involved in combating methamphetamine abuse and addiction. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 4324 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1998
Schools and Libraries Internet Access Act - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to repeal provisions authorizing the Federal Communications Commission to take certain actions to provide access to advanced telecommunications services for schools, health care providers, and libraries. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce the excise tax paid for telephone and other communications services to one percent (currently, three percent) of the total paid for such services beginning with bills rendered on or after January 1, 1999, and before October 1, 2003. Repeals such communications taxation provisions with respect to bills rendered on or after October 1, 2003. Establishes in the Treasury the Telecommunications Technology Trust Fund and appropriates into such Fund all amounts received pursuant to the above taxation authority after December 31, 1998. Makes such funds available to carry out provisions of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act (NTIAO) as added under this Act. Terminates this section on October 1, 2003. Amends the NTIAO to direct the Secretary of Commerce to award a fiscal year grant to each State having an approved plan for the acquisition of telecommunications and related services for: (1) the provision of health care services by any public or nonprofit health care provider that serves persons residing in a rural area; or (2) elementary and secondary schools and libraries, for educational purposes. Provides for an allocation of State funding based on relative populations. Requires the State plan to take into consideration the relative economic need of the eligible entities, including the number of students living in low-income or sparsely populated areas. Authorizes appropriations from the Fund for FY 1999 through 2003 for such grants and administrative expenses. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2004 and thereafter for such purposes from general Treasury funds.
Bill· HRH.R. 4317 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1998
Directs the Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration to provide for a pilot program to examine the use of optical memory cards for the storage of identification and medical records information on Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries under titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 4323 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1998
Medicaid and Children's Health Improvement Amendments of 1998 - Amends titles XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (Children's Health Insurance) (CHIP) of the Social Security Act to give States the option of covering certain legal immigrant children under Medicaid and CHIP. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide for increased allotments under CHIP for the territories. Makes necessary appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 4315 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1998
Comprehensive Methamphetamine Abuse Reduction Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act (the Act) to authorize the Director of the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention to make grants to, and enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with, public and non-profit private entities to carry out: (1) school-based programs concerning the dangers of methamphetamine abuse and addiction; and (2) community based methamphetamine abuse and addiction prevention programs. Requires that: (1) sums made available be used for planning, establishing, or administering methamphetamine prevention programs; and (2) the Director give priority in making grants to rural and urban areas that are experiencing a high rate or rapid increases in methamphetamine abuse and addiction. Sets forth: (1) provisions regarding allotment of specified sums available for analyses and evaluations of effective prevention programs and the development of strategies for disseminating information about, and implementing, such programs; and (2) reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 3) Directs the United States Sentencing Commission to promulgate or amend existing Federal sentencing guidelines to increase the base offense levels for offenses relating to the manufacture, attempt to manufacture, or conspiracy to manufacture amphetamine or methamphetamine. Authorizes appropriations to the Office of National Drug Control Policy to combat the trafficking of methamphetamine in areas designated by the Director of National Drug Control Policy as high intensity drug trafficking areas. (Sec. 4) Amends the Act to authorize the Director of the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention to make grants to, and enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with, public and non-profit private entities for the purpose of expanding activities for the treatment of methamphetamine abuse and addiction. Sets forth analogous provisions regarding the use of funds, permissible treatment programs and activities, priority in making grants, analyses and evaluation, reporting requirements, and authorization of appropriations. (Sec. 5) Amends the Act to authorize the Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse to make grants to expand interdisciplinary research relating to methamphetamine abuse and addiction and other biomedical, behavioral, and social issues related to methamphetamine abuse and addiction. Requires the Director to promptly disseminate research results to Federal, State, and local entities involved in combating methamphetamine abuse and addiction. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· SS. 2342 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 1998
Skilled Nursing Facility Payment Fairness Act of 1998 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to authorize certain facilities to exempt themselves from the three-year transition period under the prospective payment system for skilled nursing facilities. Limits such optional exemption to facilities that: (1) are providing services whose level and type are substantially different from the level and type of services the facility provided in FY 1995; or (2) were eligible for and elected to receive payments pursuant to the post-June 30, 1998, prospective payment system for the cost reporting period immediately preceding the facility's first cost reporting period beginning on or after July 1, 1998.
Bill· SS. 2340 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 1998
Patient Access to Acupuncture Services Act of 1998 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage of qualified acupuncturist services under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance). Amends Federal civil service law to provide for coverage of acupuncturist services under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.
Law· HRH.R. 4309 (105th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 1998
Torture Victims Relief Act of 1998 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize the President to provide assistance in the form of grants to treatment centers and programs in foreign countries that are carrying out projects or activities specifically designed to treat victims of torture for the physical and psychological effects of such torture. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide grants to U.S. programs to cover the costs of services for: (1) the rehabilitation of victims of torture, including treatment of the physical and psychological effects of torture; (2) social and legal services for victims of torture; and (3) research and training for health care providers outside of treatment centers. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes appropriations to the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should: (1) request the Fund to find new ways to support and protect treatment centers and programs (including the development of new centers and programs) that are carrying out rehabilitative services for victims of torture; (2) use the U.S. vote to support the work of the Special Rapporteur on Torture and the Committee Against Torture established under the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; and (3) use the U.S. vote to establish a country rapporteur or similar procedural mechanism to investigate human rights violations in a country if either the Special Rapporteur or the Committee Against Torture indicates that a systematic practice of torture is prevalent in such country. Directs the Secretary of State to provide training for consular officers with respect to torture victims, including gender-specific training on the subject of interacting with women and men who are victims of torture by rape or any other form of sexual violence.
Bill· HRH.R. 4312 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 1998
Medical Privacy Protection Act of 1998 - Amends title XI of the Social Security Act to repeal: (1) the mandate for standards for unique health identifiers for each individual, employer, health plan, and health care provider for use in the health care system; and (2) the offense of wrongful disclosure of such identifiers. Prohibits any Federal agency or military department from construing Federal law as authorizing, directly or indirectly: (1) the issuance or use of a national medical identification card; (2) the establishment of such a card; or (3) the agency to direct a State to issue or modify an identification card or document for the purpose of satisfying any Federal requirement.