Records whose title is actually about this topic. Use a country filter if the list is still too broad.
Records
Bill· HRH.R. 4569 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Export and Investment Assistance Title II: Bilateral Economic Assistance Title III: Military Assistance Title IV: Multilateral Economic Assistance Title V: General Provisions Title VI: Funds Appropriated to the President - International Monetary Programs Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1999 - Title I: Export and Investment Assistance - Makes appropriations for FY 1999 for: (1) direct loans, loan guarantees, tied-aid grants, insurance, and administrative expenses under Export-Import Bank programs; (2) Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) direct and guaranteed loans and credit and insurance programs, including administrative expenses; and (3) the Trade and Development Agency. Title II: Bilateral Economic Assistance - Makes appropriations for FY 1998 for: (1) expenses of the President in carrying out certain programs under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961; (2) the Agency for International Development (AID) for child survival and disease programs, including basic education programs; (3) specified development assistance (but barring assistance for the central Government of the Republic of South Africa until the Secretary of State takes steps to negotiate repeal, suspension, or termination of a specified South African law relating to medicines and related substances control); (4) private and voluntary organizations; (5) international disaster assistance; (6) micro and small enterprise development programs; (7) guaranteed loans for the urban and environmental credit program; (8) the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Fund; (9) operating expenses of AID and the AID Office of Inspector General; (10) Economic Support Fund (ESF) assistance (earmarking amounts for Israel and Egypt); (11) the International Fund for Ireland; (12) economic assistance for Eastern Europe and the Baltic States (earmarking amounts for Bosnia and Herzegovina, but with a prohibition on funds for new housing construction or repair or reconstruction of existing housing in Bosnia and Herzegovina unless directly related to U.S. troop efforts to promote peace there); (13) assistance for the new independent states of the former Soviet Union (subject to specified conditions, and earmarking amounts for Mongolia and the Southern Caucasus, including Georgia and Armenia, especially the areas of Abkhazia and Nagorno-Karabakh); (14) the Inter-American Foundation and the African Development Foundation; (15) the Peace Corps (but with a prohibition on the use of such funds for abortions); (16) international narcotics control; (17) migration and refugee assistance; (18) the Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund; (19) nonproliferation, anti-terrorism and related programs and activities (specifying conditions on funds for the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO)); and (20) debt restructuring. Bars the use of development assistance funds for: (1) coercive abortions or involuntary sterilizations; and (2) U.S. private and voluntary organizations which obtain less than 20 percent of annual funding from sources other than the U.S. Government. Authorizes the President to withhold funds for economic revitalization programs in Bosnia and Herzegovina if the President certifies to the Committees on Appropriations that: (1) the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has not complied with article III of annex 1-A of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina concerning the withdrawal of foreign forces; and (2) intelligence cooperation on training, investigations, and related activities between Iranian officials and Bosnian officials has not been terminated. Requires the withholding of certain funds from Russia unless the President certifies to the Committees on Appropriations that: (1) such assistance is vital to the U.S. national security interest; and (2) Russia is taking steps to terminate arrangements to provide Iran with technology to develop a nuclear program. Title III: Military Assistance - Makes appropriations for FY 1998 for: (1) international military education and training (IMET) (earmarking amounts for Indonesia and Guatemala, with specified restrictions); (2) foreign military financing grants and direct loans (earmarking amounts for Israel, Egypt, Jordan); and (3) international peacekeeping operations (subject to certain conditions). Prohibits foreign military financing for Sudan, Liberia, and Guatemala. Title IV: Multilateral Economic Assistance - Makes appropriations for FY 1998 for the U.S. contribution to: (1) the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank); (2) the International Development Association; (3) the Inter-American Development Bank; (4) the Enterprise for the Americas Multilateral Investment Fund; (5) the Asian Development Bank; (6) the Asian Development Fund; (7) the African Development Fund; and (8) the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Makes appropriations for FY 1998 for international programs and organizations. Sets certain restrictions on international organization funding, including prohibiting the use of funds made available to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for activities in China. Prohibits the use of funds for: (1) the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO); and (2) the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Title V: General Provisions - Sets forth limits on the use of appropriations, including that no more than 15 percent of such appropriations shall be obligated during the last month of availability. Renews certain prohibitions, restrictions, and conditions on the use of funds that appeared in the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1998 (P.L. 105-118). (Sec. 517) Prescribes conditions on assistance to the new independent states of the former Soviet Union. (Sec. 518) Prohibits the use of development assistance funds for abortions or involuntary sterilizations as methods of family planning or to motivate or coerce any person to practice abortions, or provide any financial incentive to undergo sterilization. (Sec. 518A) Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to prohibit the availability of funds (either directly or as a subcontractor or subgrantee) for population planning activities or other population assistance to any foreign private, nongovernmental, or multilateral organization until it certifies that it will not, during the period for which the funds are made available: (1) perform abortions in any foreign country, except where the life of the mother would be endangered if the pregnancy were carried to term or in cases of forcible rape or incest; or (2) violate the laws of any foreign country concerning the circumstances under which abortion is permitted, regulated, or prohibited, or engage in any activity or effort to alter the laws or governmental policies of any foreign country concerning such circumstances. Authorizes the President to waive the prohibition against population assistance to foreign organizations that perform abortions in foreign countries; but caps the amount of funds available in that fiscal year for population planning activities or other population assistance. Prohibits the availability of funds for UNFPA in any fiscal year unless the President certifies that: (1) UNFPA has terminated all activities in the People's Republic of China, and will conduct no such activities during such fiscal year; or (2) during the 12 months preceding such certification there have been no abortions as the result of coercion associated with the family planning policies of the national government or other governmental entities within China. (Sec. 519) Amends Federal law to extend through FY 2000 the authority to expend funds to transfer excess defense articles to countries eligible for the Partnership for Peace as well as assistance under the Support for East European Democracy (SEED) Act of 1989. (Sec. 520) Adds Honduras to the list of countries for which no appropriations may be obligated or expended except through the regular notification procedures of the Committees on Appropriations. (Sec. 523) Bars funding for indirect assistance or reparations to Cuba, Iraq, Libya, Iran, Syria, North Korea, or China unless the President certifies that the withholding of such funds is contrary to the U.S. national security interest. (Sec. 524) Amends the Arms Export Control Act to extend the President's waiver authority with respect to reciprocal leasing through FY 1999. (Sec. 527) Authorizes the availability of ESF funds to provide general support for nongovernmental organizations located outside the People's Republic of China that have as their primary purpose fostering democracy in that country. (Sec. 530) Prohibits U.S. sale of Stinger missiles in the Persian Gulf region, with certain exceptions. (Sec. 534) Bars assistance to any country that is not in compliance with the United Nations (UN) sanctions against Iraq unless the President certifies to the Congress that such assistance: (1) is in the U.S. national interest; (2) will directly benefit the needy people in that country; or (3) will be humanitarian assistance for foreign nationals who have fled Iraq and Kuwait. (Sec. 537) Prohibits the use of funds to provide: (1) any financial incentive to a business for purposes of inducing it to relocate outside the United States if it will reduce the number of employees in the United States; (2) assistance for establishing or developing in a foreign country an export processing zone or other designated area in which a country's tax, tariff, labor, environment, and safety laws do not apply to activities in the area, unless the President certifies that such assistance is not likely to cause a loss of U.S. jobs; or (3) assistance for any project that contributes to the violation of internationally recognized workers rights in the recipient country. (Sec. 538) Continues the authorization for the use of foreign assistance funds to support biodiversity conservation activities. Authorizes AID to employ personal services contractors to administer programs for the West Bank and Gaza. (Sec. 539) Expresses the sense of the Congress with respect to: (1) immediate public renunciation by Arab League countries of the boycott of Israel (reinstated in 1997) and of American firms having commercial ties with Israel; and (2) steps the President should take to encourage such renunciation. (Sec. 540) Authorizes the use of ESF funds to strengthen the administration of justice in countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, and in other regions. Allows such use of ESF funds (including for anti-narcotics activities) for Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru, notwithstanding specified provisions of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. (Sec. 545) Declares that assistance under this Act should make full use of American resources, including commodities, products, and services, to the maximum extent possible. Declares the sense of the Congress that, to the greatest extent practicable, all equipment and products purchased with funds made available in this Act should be American-made. Requires Federal agency heads, in providing financial assistance to or entering into any contract with any entity using funds made available in this Act, to notify such entity of this intention. (Sec. 546) Prohibits the use of funds to pay any assessments, arrearages, or dues of any UN member. (Sec. 549) Prohibits the provision of funds to any foreign government that provides lethal military equipment to a country that the Secretary of State has determined has a terrorist government, unless the President determines that the furnishing of such assistance is in the U.S. national interest. (Sec. 551) Prohibits the obligation of any appropriations for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) for the West Bank and Gaza unless the President has exercised certain authorities to suspend prohibitions on assistance to the PLO. (Sec. 552) Permits the President to provide up to a specified amount of commodities and services to the UN War Crimes Tribunal if doing so will contribute to a just resolution of charges regarding genocide or other violations of international law in the former Yugoslavia. (Sec. 553) Authorizes disposal on a grant basis in foreign countries of demining equipment used in support of the clearing of land mines and unexploded ordnance for humanitarian purposes. (Sec. 554) Prohibits the obligation of appropriations to create in Jerusalem a new U.S. agency office for the purpose of conducting U.S. business with the Palestinian Authority over Gaza and Jericho (or any successor Palestinian governing entity) provided for in the Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles. (Sec. 556) Limits the amount of certain foreign assistance funds to Latin America and the Caribbean region. (Sec. 557) Authorizes the President to reduce amounts owed to the United States by eligible countries as a result of: (1) housing guarantees made pursuant to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961; (2) credits extended or guarantees issued under the Arms Export Control Act; or (3) any obligation for a Latin American country to pay for certain purchases of U.S. agricultural commodities. Sets forth conditions for the exercise of such authority. (Sec. 558) Authorizes the President to engage in certain debt buybacks or sales, subject to certain conditions. (Sec. 560) Provides for bilateral and multilateral assistance sanctions against countries harboring war criminals indicted with respect to Rwanda or Nazi Germany. (Sec. 560) Prohibits provision to the Government of Haiti of any funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act (except for humanitarian, electoral, counter narcotics, or law enforcement assistance, and subject to waiver in certain conditions), unless the President reports to the Congress that such Government: (1) is conducting thorough investigations of extrajudicial and political killings; (2) is cooperating with U.S. authorities in such investigations; (3) has substantially completed privatization of (or placed under long-term private management or concession) at least three major public enterprises; and (4) has taken action to remove from the Haitian National Police, national palace and residential guard, ministerial guard, and any other public security entity individuals who have committed human rights violations. (Sec. 561) Requires a specified annual report of the Secretary of State containing the voting record of each foreign member country of the UN to include a side-by-side comparison of each country's overall support for the United States at the UN and the amount of U.S. assistance provided to it in FY 1997. (Sec. 562) Prohibits the United States from paying any voluntary contribution to the UN, including the UN Development Program, unless the President certifies to the Congress 15 days in advance of such payment that the UN is not engaged in any effort to implement or impose any taxation on U.S. persons in order to raise revenue for itself or any of its specialized agencies. (Sec. 563) Prohibits the obligation of any appropriations for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), unless the President certifies to the Congress that it is in the U.S. national security interests. (Sec. 564) Prohibits the use of funds for Croatia to relocate the remains of Croatian Ustashe soldiers at the site of the World War II concentration camp at Jasenovac, Croatia. (Sec. 565) Prohibits the use of funds for the security forces of a foreign country if the Secretary of State believes they have committed gross violations of human rights, unless the Secretary reports to the Committees on Appropriations that such country is taking steps to bring the responsible persons to justice. (Sec. 566) Requires that any agreement between the United States and the Government of Indonesia for the sale of lethal weapons shall state that such items will not be used in East Timor. (Sec. 567) Provides for bilateral and multilateral assistance sanctions (with humanitarian, democratization, and certain infrastructure project exceptions) against countries harboring war criminals indicted with respect to the former Yugoslavia. (Sec. 568) Makes funds available for FY 1998 for defense article stockpiles in foreign countries, including the Republic of Korea and Thailand. (Sec. 569) Directs the President to give a detailed account to the Congress of all Federal agency obligations and expenditures for FY 1998 and 1999 associated with the proposed agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. (Sec. 570) Directs the President to withhold a specified amount of foreign assistance funds (except development or humanitarian assistance) from countries that violate any UN sanction against Libya. (Sec. 571) Bars funds to the Government of Congo until the President reports to the Congress that it is cooperating fully with investigators from the UN in accounting for human rights violations committed there or in adjacent countries. (Sec. 572) Earmarks specified foreign assistance funds for Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza, the Israel-Lebanon Monitoring Group, the Multinational Force and Observers, the Middle East Regional Democracy Fund, Middle East Regional Cooperation, and Middle East Multilateral Working Groups. (Sec. 573) Requires the President to submit to specified congressional committees a plan for the distribution of the assets of a Enterprise Fund before any distribution resulting from liquidation, dissolution, or winding up of the Fund. (Sec. 574) Prohibits the availability of funds under this Act for assistance (other than for humanitarian, demining, or election-related programs or activities) for the Government of Cambodia. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. executive directors of international financial institutions to oppose loans to Cambodia (except loans to support basic human needs). (Sec. 576) Makes specified funds available for bilateral assistance for population planning activities. (Sec. 577) Directs the Secretaries of Defense and of State to report jointly to the Congress on all overseas military training provided to, and proposed to be provided to, foreign military personnel under programs administered by the Defense and State Departments during FY 1998 and 1999. (Sec. 578) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act for a voluntary contribution to, or assistance for, KEDO. (Sec. 579) Amends the Freedom for Russia and Emerging Eurasian Democracies and Open Markets Support Act of 1992 (FREEDOM Support Act) to repeal the prohibition against direct assistance to Azerbaijan unless certain conditions are met. Title VI: Funds Appropriated to the President - International Monetary Programs - International Monetary Fund Reform and Authorization Act of 1998 - Earmarks the dollar equivalent to a specified amount of Special Drawing Rights for loans to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the New Arrangements to Borrow. Authorizes the use for the New Arrangements to Borrow of a specified amount of previously appropriated IMF Special Drawing Rights for the General Arrangements to Borrow. (Sec. 601) Prohibits funds appropriated for the U.S. IMF quota from being obligated or made available to the IMF until after the Secretary of the Treasury and the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System jointly notify the appropriate congressional committees that the major IMF shareholders have publicly agreed to, and will seek to implement in the IMF, policies that provide for conditions in stand-by agreements or other arrangements regarding the use of IMF resources, requiring that the recipient country: (1) liberalize restrictions on trade in goods and services and on investment, at a minimum consistent with the terms of all international trade obligations and agreements; (2) eliminate the practice or policy of government directed lending on non-commercial terms or provision of market distorting subsidies to favored industries, enterprises, parties, or institutions; and (3) guarantee nondiscriminatory treatment in insolvency proceedings between domestic and foreign creditors, and for debtors and other concerned persons. Directs the United States to exert its influence with the IMF and its members to encourage it to include as part of its conditions of stand-by agreements or other uses of the IMF's resources that the recipient country take action to remove discriminatory treatment between foreign and domestic creditors in its debt resolution proceedings. Prescribes conditions for the obligation or availability of funds under this Act to the IMF. (Sec. 602) Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to submit to the appropriate congressional committees two reports on the implementation of IMF financial stabilization programs in any country in connection with which the United States has made a commitment to provide or has provided stabilization fund financing. (Sec. 603) Directs the President to establish an International Financial Institution Advisory Commission, which shall report to the appropriate congressional committees on the future role and responsibilities of the IMF and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the World Bank). Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Director at the IMF to seek establishment of a permanent advisory committee to the Interim Committee of the Board of Governors of the IMF, to consist of elected members of the national legislatures of the member countries directly represented by appointed members of such Board. (Sec. 605) Amends the Bretton Woods Agreement Act to authorize the U.S. Governor of the IMF to consent to an increase in the U.S. IMF quota of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs). Increases the maximum aggregate amount of loans the Secretary of the Treasury may make to the IMF. Authorizes increased appropriations (in SDRs). (Sec. 607) Amends the International Financial Institutions Act to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Director of the IMF to promote vigorously specified policies to increase the effectiveness of the IMF, including its efforts to promote market-oriented reform, trade liberalization, economic growth, democratic governance, and social stability through certain actions, among them: (1) privatization of government enterprises; (2) economic deregulation; (3) development of internationally acceptable domestic bankruptcy laws; (4) burden-sharing by investors and creditors; (5) improvement of core labor standards; and (6) greater IMF transparency, including a more open release policy toward working papers, past evaluations, and other IMF documents. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish an International Monetary Fund Advisory Committee. (Sec. 608) Declares that it is the sense of the Congress that Japan should assume a greater regional leadership role, which would coincide with its goal of promoting strong domestic demand-led growth and avoiding a significant increase in its external surplus with the United States and the countries of the Asia-Pacific region. (Sec. 609) Amends the International Financial Institutions Act to require the Secretary of the Treasury to report to specified congressional committees on the implementation of IMF financial stabilization programs in any country in connection with which the United States has made a commitment to provide or has provided stabilization fund financing. (Sec. 610) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to submit to the appropriate congressional committees three reports on the steps taken by the United States, other members of the world community, and the international financial institutions to strengthen safeguards in the global financial system, and the progress made toward achieving specific goals toward the end of reforming the architecture of the international monetary system. (Sec. 611) Amends the International Financial Institutions Act to require the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) report annually to specified congressional committees on the progress (if any) made by the U.S. Executive Director of the IMF in influencing the IMF to adopt certain policies and reform its internal procedures, as called for in this title; and (2) certify to such committees that the Secretary has instructed the U.S. Executive Director at the IMF to facilitate timely General Accounting Office (GAO) access to IMF information and documents that GAO needs to perform financial reviews of the IMF that will facilitate the conduct of U.S. policy with respect to it.
Bill· SS. 2467 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 1998
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase, for a limited period of time, from two to ten the number of years permitted for the carryback of net operating losses for certain farmers. Defines specified terms, including "farming loss."
Law· HRH.R. 4558 (105th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 1998
Noncitizen Benefit Clarification and Other Technical Amendments Act of 1998 - Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRAWORA) to provide that the new restrictions it imposes on alien eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) under title XVI of the Social Security Act (SSA) (and thus Medicaid under SSA title XIX) shall not apply to a nonqualified alien who was receiving such benefits on August 22, 1996 (the date of enactment of PRAWORA). (Sec. 3) Amends the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (NAFTA) to permanently extend the authorization of the Self-Employment Assistance programs. (Sec. 4) Amends SSA title IV part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to reduce, by 20 percent, the penalty for State failure to meet the deadline for compliance with child support data processing and information retrieval requirements, for each performance measure under the child support enforcement incentive payment system for which it does achieve maximum performance. (Sec. 5) Amends PRAWORA to allow nonresident alien professionals to renew their U.S. professional licenses. (Sec. 6) Amends SSA title IV part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) with regard to welfare-to-work grants to eliminate the one year obligation requirement and allow a State to retain certain funds reserved for special projects (or for States small enough to have only one Service Delivery Area), without passing them through to a sub-State entity, even if all the money has not been obligated each fiscal year. (Sec. 7) Amends SSA title XVI to exclude from SSI eligibility and Medicaid benefit calculations up to $2,000 in cash awards made by tax-exempt organizations to children with life-threatening conditions. (Sec. 8) Amends part A (General Provisions) of title XI of the Social Security Act to authorize the Social Security Administration to recover SSI overpayments by offsetting up to ten percent per month of any Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance benefits under SSA title II.
Bill· HRH.R. 4564 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 1998
Income Averaging Equity Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit farm income to be allocated among taxable years.
Bill· HRH.R. 4560 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Short-Term Cash Relief Measures Title II: Trade Issues and Promotion of Value-Added Agriculture Subtitle A: Trade Issues Subtitle B: Value-Added Agriculture Subtitle C: Meat Labeling Subtitle D: Other Matters Regarding Trade Title III: Tax Provisions Family Agriculture Reinvestment and Marketing Strategy Act of 1998 - Title I: Short-Term Cash Relief Measures - Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act to authorize increases for production flexibility contract payments. (Sec. 102) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Risk Management Agency, to conduct a crop insurance program that allows producers to select a dollar amount of coverage per acre by crop within a designated production area. Amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to repeal the existing revenue insurance pilot program. (Sec. 103) Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act to provide supplemental market deficiency and indemnity payments to eligible wheat and barley producers adversely affected by trade sanctions. Title II: Trade Issues and Promotion of Value- Added Agriculture -Subtitle A: Trade Issues - Directs the President and the United States Trade Representative to take specified actions regarding trade with Canada concerning: (1) wheat imports; (2) feeder cattle; (3) wheat and feed subsidies; (4) phytosanitary inspection requirements; (4) rail system access; and (5) trade barriers. (Sec. 202) Sets forth specified trade negotiating objectives with respect to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Agriculture. (Sec. 203) Amends the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 to revise provisions with respect to the accession of countries with state trading enterprises to the general agreement on tariffs and trade (GATT) and the WTO. (Sec. 204) States that the United States shall not agree to accession of the People's Republic of China or Russia to the WTO until they take specified actions with respect to: (1) phytosanitary and veterinary standards; and (2) pork, meat, seed, and wheat imports. Subtitle B: Value-Added Agriculture - Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to authorize appropriations to encourage production and marketing of value-added agricultural commodities. (Sec. 212) Directs the Small Business Administrator to implement a low interest loan program for small businesses, farmers, and ranchers affected by low commodity prices. Subtitle C: Meat Labeling - Amends the Federal Meat Inspection Act to: (1) define specified terms relating to beef and lamb; and (2) set forth related labeling requirements. Directs the Secretary to conduct a ground beef and ground lamb labeling study. Subtitle D: Other Matters Regarding Trade - Directs the Secretary and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to jointly conduct a study of licensing and registration procedures under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act and under Canadian law. (Sec. 232) Amends the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to direct the Secretary to conduct a pilot program requiring persons engaged in buying, selling, or marketing livestock, meat, and related products in unmanufactured form to report on prices and sale terms. Amends the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 to prohibit packer retaliation against livestock producers. Title III: Tax Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise individual capital gains tax rates. (Sec. 302) Repeals estate and gift tax provisions. (Sec. 303) Amends the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 to make income averaging for farmers permanent.
Bill· HRH.R. 4565 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 1998
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase, for a limited period of time, from two to ten the number of years permitted for the carryback of net operating losses for certain farmers. Defines specified terms, including "farming loss."
Bill· HRH.R. 4561 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 1998
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that members of the uniformed services and the Foreign Service shall be treated as using a principal residence while on official extended duty.
Bill· HRH.R. 4563 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 1998
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income a Holocaust victims' settlement payment.
Bill· HRH.R. 4553 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 1998
Small Business and Financial Institutions Tax Relief Act of 1998 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit S corporation eligible shareholders to include individual retirement accounts. (Sec. 3) Excludes investment securities income held by a bank from passive income limits for purposes of S status termination. (Sec. 4) Increases the number of eligible S corporation shareholders. (Sec. 5) States that stock held by a bank director as required by banking regulations (director qualifying stock) shall not be considered a disqualifying second class of S corporation stock. (Sec. 6) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to modify a certain Regulation to permit an S corporation bank to charge certain bad debt deductions over a related bad debt reserve recapture period. (Sec. 7) Includes all banks within the three-year deduction preference rule.
Bill· HRH.R. 4542 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Provisions Primarily Affecting Individuals Title II: Provisions Primarily Affecting Businesses Subtitle A: Certain Expiring Provisions Modified and Made Permanent Subtitle B: Credit for Clinical Testing Research Expenses Attributable to Certain Qualified Academic Institutions Including Teaching Hospitals Tax Relief for Working Americans Act of 1998 - Title I: Provisions Primarily Affecting Individuals - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make the basic standard deduction for married individuals twice the deduction for unmarried individuals. (Sec. 102) Provides for the full deduction for health insurance costs of individuals not eligible to participate in employer-subsidized health plans. (Sec. 103) Revises provisions concerning the aggregate amount of nonrefundable personal credits allowed to provide that the aggregate amount of such credits shall not exceed the sum of the taxpayer's regular tax liability and the alternative minimum tax. (Sec. 104) Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to increase, for any taxable year ending after 1998 and before 2000, the monthly exempt amount for individuals who have attained retirement age. Title II: Provisions Primarily Affecting Businesses - Subtitle A: Certain Expiring Provisions Modified and Made Permanent - Makes permanent the credit for increasing research activities. Increases the alternative incremental credit rate. (Sec. 202) Makes permanent the work opportunity credit. Sets forth, as a general rule, that the amount equal to the work opportunity credit amount with respect to any wages paid for any calendar quarter by an eligible tax-exempt employer shall be treated as payment by such employer of such employer's tax liability for such calendar quarter. (Sec. 203) Extends permanently the special rule for contributions of stock for which market quotations are readily available. (Sec. 204) Excludes from the definition of "foreign personal holding company income" income which is derived in the active conduct by a controlled foreign corporation of a banking, financing, or similar business, subject to stated conditions. Subtitle B: Credit for Clinical Testing Research Expenses Attributable to Certain Qualified Academic Institutions Including Teaching Hospitals - Establishes a medical innovation credit equal to 20 percent of the excess (if any) of: (1) the qualified medical innovation expenses for the taxable year; over (2) the medical innovation base period amount. Defines terms.
Bill· HRH.R. 4538 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 1998
Energy Efficient Technology Tax Act - Establishes: (1) an energy credit based on the energy efficiency of energy properties and passenger vehicles; (2) a reforestation credit; and (3) a credit for certain nonbusiness energy property. Defines terms. Increases the exclusion allowed from gross income as a "qualified transportation fringe" benefit. Extends, by five years, the placed in service date of a qualified energy resources facility.
Bill· HRH.R. 4541 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 1998
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to eliminate, for purposes of the alternative minimum tax, the 90 percent limitation on foreign tax credits.
Bill· SS. 2453 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 1998
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) provide a credit for electricity produced from poultry waste; and (2) extend, by five years, the placed in service date of a qualified energy resources facility.
Bill· HRH.R. 4522 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 1998
Provides, with respect to a home run ball hit during the 1998 baseball season by a batter who hit at least 61 home runs during such season, that: (1) no amount shall be included in the gross income of the person recovering such a ball for purposes of subtitle A (Income Taxes) of the Internal Revenue Code; and (2) any gift of such a ball to the batter by the person recovering such a ball shall not be treated as a gift for purposes of subtitle B (Estate and Gift Taxes) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Bill· SS. 2446 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Drug-Free Borders Title II: Protecting Our Neighborhoods and Schools from Drugs Subtitle A: Drug-Free Teen Drivers Subtitle B: Drug-Free Schools Subtitle C: Drug-Free Student Loans Subtitle D: Drug-Free Workplaces Subtitle E: Drug-Free Communities Subtitle F: Banning Free Needles for Drug Addicts Title III: Defeating the Drug Mafia Title IV: National Drug Control Strategy Drug-Free Neighborhoods Act - Title I: Drug-Free Borders - Drug-Free Borders Act of 1998 - Authorizes additional appropriations for FY 1999 through 2003 for the United States Customs Service, Coast Guard, and Department of Defense to stop the flow of illegal drugs into the United States. (Sec. 103) Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit and set penalties for committing (or attempting to commit) a crime of violence during and in relation to: (1) eluding customs, immigration, or agriculture inspection or failing to stop at the command of an officer of customs, immigration, or animal and plant and health inspection services; or (2) an intentional violation of specified arrival, reporting, entry, or clearance requirements (provides for authorizing the imposition of a death sentence if death results). Specifies that if two or more persons conspire to commit such an offense, and one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each shall be punishable as a principal, except that the death sentence may not be imposed. (Sec. 104) Increases from two to five years the penalty for entry of goods by means of false statements. (Sec. 105) Establishes civil penalties for failure to comply with vessel boarding. (Sec. 106) Amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to direct the Attorney General, in each of FY 1999 through 2003, to increase by not less than 1,500 the number of positions for full-time, active-duty border patrol agents within the Immigration and Naturalization Service above the number of such positions for which funds were allotted for the preceding fiscal year, to achieve a level of 15,000 positions by FY 2003. (Sec. 107) Prohibits a border patrol agent from ceasing pursuit of an alien suspected of unlawfully entering, or of an individual unlawfully importing a narcotic into, the United States, until State or local law enforcement authorities are in pursuit and have the alien or individual in their visual range. (Sec. 108) Amends Federal law to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer: (1) up to five percent of the customs officers employed as of the beginning of each fiscal year to new duty stations in that fiscal year on a permanent basis; and (2) customs officers to temporary duty assignments for not more than 90 days. (Sec. 109) Amends Federal law to express the sense of the Congress that collective bargaining agreements should not have any adverse impact on the ability of the Customs Service to interdict contraband, including controlled substances. Requires the parties to meet to address the issue if the Commissioner of the Customs Service or an exclusive representative of Customs Service employees determines that any collective bargaining agreement between the parties has an adverse impact upon the interdiction of contraband. Authorizes either party to enlist the services of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service if the parties do not reach agreement within 90 days of the adverse impact determination, and to pursue any impasse with the Federal Service Impasses Panel. Title II: Protecting Our Neighborhoods and Schools From Drugs - Subtitle A: Drug-Free Teen Drivers - Drug Free Teenage Drivers Act - Directs: (1) the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to establish a demonstration program in several States to provide voluntary drug testing for all teenage applicants (or other first time driver's license applicants) for a driver's license; (2) that information respecting an applicant's choice not to take the drug test or the result of the test be made available to the applicant's automobile insurance company; and (3) the State in which the program is established, if an applicant tests positive, to refrain from issuing a license to the applicant and to require the applicant to complete a State drug treatment program and to not test positive in a drug test before reapplying for a license. (Sec. 203) Directs the Secretary of Transportation to establish an incentive grant program to assist the States in improving their laws relating to controlled substances and driving. Sets forth grant requirements, including regarding the use of grant funds. (Sec. 204) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2003. Subtitle B: Drug-Free Schools - Chapter 1: Victim and Witness Assistance Programs for Teachers and Students - Amends the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 to authorize an eligible crime victim compensation program to expend appropriated funds to offer compensation to elementary and secondary school students or teachers who are victims of school violence. Authorizes the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance to make a grant for a demonstration project or for training and technical assistance services to a program that: (1) assists State and local educational agencies in developing, establishing, and operating programs to protect victims of and witnesses to incidents of elementary and secondary school violence; or (2) supports a student safety toll-free hotline that provides students and teachers in such schools with confidential assistance relating to the issues of school crime, violence, drug dealing, and threats to personal safety. Chapter 2: Innovative Programs to Protect Teachers and Students - Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to States, and State and local educational agencies, to develop, establish, or conduct innovative programs to improve unsafe elementary or secondary schools. Provides priorities for programs that: (1) provide prompt parent and teacher notification of certain school incidents; (2) provide annual reports to parents and teachers regarding such incidents; and (3) enhance school security measures. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 218) Sets forth application requirements. (Sec. 219) Amends the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1994 to authorize innovative voluntary random drug testing programs. Chapter 3: Parental Consent Drug Testing - Authorizes the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the Department of Justice to award grants to States, and State and local educational agencies, to develop, establish, or conduct programs for testing students for illegal drug use with prior parental consent. Sets forth provisions regarding program guidelines, subpoenas and discovery, and matching funds. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2003. Subtitle C: Drug-Free Student Loans - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make a student who has been convicted of a Federal or State felony involving the possession or sale of a controlled substance ineligible to receive any Federal higher education grant, loan, or work assistance for a specified period. Allows a student whose eligibility has been suspended to resume eligibility upon satisfactory completion of a drug rehabilitation program that complies with criteria prescribed by the Secretary, including two unannounced drug tests. Subtitle D: Drug-Free Workplaces - Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1998 - Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) businesses should adopt drug-free workplace programs; and (2) States should consider financial incentives, such as reductions in workers' compensation premiums, to encourage businesses to adopt drug-free workplace programs. (Sec. 244) Amends the Small Business Act to establish a drug-free workplace demonstration program, under which the Small Business Administration may make grants to eligible intermediaries for the purpose of providing financial and technical assistance to small business concerns seeking to start a drug-free workplace program. Sets forth provisions regarding eligibility for participation and program requirements. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 245) Requires the services to be provided by small business development centers to include providing information and assistance to small business concerns with respect to developing drug-free workplace programs. (Sec. 246) Authorizes the Small Business Administrator to contract with and compensate Government and private agencies or persons for services related to carrying out this chapter. Subtitle E: Drug-Free Communities - Amends the National Narcotics Leadership Act of 1988 to authorize appropriations for the Office of National Drug Control Policy for FY 1999 through 2003, of which $10 million in each such fiscal year shall be used for volunteer grassroots drug prevention programs that mobilize parent action teams nationwide to conduct community teen drug awareness education and prevention activities that guarantee increased parental involvement. Subtitle F: Banning Free Needles for Drug Addicts - Prohibits any Federal funds for FY 1998 or 1999 from being made available or used to carry out any program of distributing sterile hypodermic needles or syringes to individuals for the injection of any illegal drug. Title III: Defeating the Drug Mafia - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2003 to: (1) the Drug Enforcement Administration for additional activities to disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking organizations; and (2) to the Federal Bureau of Investigation to enhance investigative and intelligence gathering capabilities relating to illegal drugs. (Sec. 302) Directs the Attorney General to establish an incentive grant program to assist States in enacting laws that establish State registration programs for individuals convicted of criminal offenses involving drug trafficking. Sets forth provisions regarding registration requirements, penalties for failure to register, release of information, immunity of State officials for good faith conduct, fingerprints, and uses of grant funds. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2003. Title IV: National Drug Control Strategy - Amends the National Narcotics Leadership Act of 1988 to require the President to submit to the Congress by: (1) April 1, 1999, a National Drug Control Strategy, setting forth a comprehensive two-year plan for reducing drug abuse and the consequences of drug use in the United States, by limiting the availability of and reducing the demand for illegal drugs; and (2) October 1, 2001, and quadrennially thereafter, a revised National Drug Control Strategy, setting forth a comprehensive four-year plan for reducing drug abuse and the consequences of drug use in the United States. Sets forth provisions regarding the handling of classified information, an annual Strategy report, a performance measurement system, and annual reports by the President to the Congress on the prevalence of illegal drug use by youth between the ages of 12 and 17.
Bill· SS. 2442 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 1998
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to eliminate, for purposes of the alternative minimum tax, the 90 percent limitation on foreign tax credits.
Bill· SS. 2440 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Department of Labor Title II: Department of Health and Human Services Title III: Department of Education Title IV: Related Agencies Title V: General Provisions Title VI: National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 - Title I: Department of Labor - Department of Labor Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for FY 1999 to the Department of Labor for: (1) training and employment services; (2) community service employment for older Americans; (3) Federal unemployment benefits and allowances; (4) State unemployment insurance and employment service operations; (5) advances to the Unemployment Trust Fund and other trust funds; (6) employment and training program administration; (7) the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation; (8) the Employment Standards Administration; (9) certain special benefits; (10) the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund; (11) the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; (12) the Mine Safety and Health Administration; (13) the Bureau of Labor Statistics; (14) departmental management; (15) the Assistant Secretary for Veterans Employment and Training; and (16) the Office of Inspector General. Rescinds specified amounts of funds made available for: (1) training and employment services for the Opportunity Areas of Out-of-School Youth; and (2) State unemployment insurance and employment service operations for assisting States to convert their automated employment security agency systems. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title. (Sec. 101) Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act to require funds under the welfare-to-work program that have not been allotted at the end of any fiscal year due to a State not having met specified program requirements to be transferred to the General Fund of the Treasury. Title II: Department of Health and Human Services - Department of Health and Human Services Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for FY 1999 to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for: (1) the Health Resources and Services Administration; (2) the Medical Facilities Guarantee and Loan Fund for Federal interest subsidies for medical facilities; (3) health education assistance loans; (4) the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program Trust Fund; (5) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; (6) the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including amounts for the John E. Fogarty International Center, the National Library of Medicine, the Office of the Director, and buildings and facilities; (7) the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; (8) retirement pay and medical benefits for Public Health Service commissioned officers; (9) the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research; (10) the Health Care Financing Administration for grants to States for Medicaid, payments to health care trust funds, program management, and the Health Maintenance Organization Loan and Loan Guarantee Fund; (11) the Administration for Children and Families for family support payments to States; (12) low income home energy assistance; (13) refugee and entrant assistance; (14) the child care and development block grant; (15) the social services block grant; (16) children and families services programs; (17) family preservation and support; (18) payments to States for foster care and adoption assistance; (19) the Administration on Aging; (20) the Office of the Secretary for general departmental management; (21) the Office of Inspector General; (22) the Office for Civil Rights; (23) policy research; and (24) activities related to countering potential biological and chemical threats to civilian populations. Reduces amounts of specified funds appropriated for FY 1999 for: (1) a study of child welfare under part B (Child-Welfare Services) of title IV of the Social Security Act; and (2) certain welfare research, evaluations, and studies under such Act. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title. (Sec. 212) Amends title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) of the Social Security Act to replace provisions which authorize appropriations for allotments for FY 2003 and succeeding fiscal years with an authorization amount for FY 1998. (Sec. 213) Prohibits the use of funds appropriated by this Act to carry out the Medicare+Choice program if the Secretary of HHS denies participation in such program to an otherwise eligible entity (including a Provider Sponsored Organization) because the entity informs the Secretary that it will not provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or provide referrals for abortions. Title III: Department of Education - Department of Education Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for FY 1999 to the Department of Education for: (1) education reform; (2) education for the disadvantaged; (3) impact aid; (4) school improvement activities; (5) Indian education; (6) bilingual and immigrant education; (7) special education; (8) rehabilitation services and disability research; (9) special institutions for persons with disabilities, including the American Printing House for the Blind, the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, the Kendall Demonstration Elementary School, the Model Secondary School for the Deaf, and Gallaudet University; (10) vocational and adult education; (11) student financial assistance; (12) the Federal Family Education Loan program account; (13) higher education; (14) Howard University; (15) the college housing and academic facilities loans program; (16) the historically Black college and university capital financing program account; (17) education research, statistics, and improvement; (18) departmental management; (19) the Office for Civil Rights; and (20) the Office of the Inspector General. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title. (Sec. 301) Prohibits funds appropriated in this Act from being used to: (1) transport teachers or students in order to overcome racial imbalance in any school or to carry out a racial desegregation plan; or (2) prevent the implementation of programs of voluntary prayer and meditation in public schools. (Sec. 305) Prohibits Department of Education funds from being used to field test, implement, or administer any federally sponsored national test in reading, mathematics, or any other subject. Makes such prohibition inapplicable to the Third International Mathematics and Science Study, the National Assessment of Education Progress, or other international assessments developed under the authority of the National Education Statistics Act of 1994 that are administered only to a representative sample of U.S. and foreign pupils. (Sec. 307) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act to enforce certain annual compliance audit requirements of the guaranteed student loan program under the Higher Education Act of 1965 against those lenders with guaranteed student loan portfolios that do not exceed $5 million. Title IV: Related Agencies - Makes appropriations for FY 1999 to the: (1) Armed Forces Retirement Home; (2) Corporation for National and Community Service; (3) Corporation for Public Broadcasting; (4) Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service; (5) Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission; (6) Institute of Museum and Library Services; (7) Medicare Payment Advisory Commission; (8) National Commission on Libraries and Information Science; (9) National Council on Disability; (10) National Education Goals Panel; (11) National Labor Relations Board; (12) National Mediation Board; (13) Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission; (14) Railroad Retirement Board for the dual benefits payments account, Federal payments to the railroad retirement accounts, administration, and the Office of Inspector General; (15) Social Security Administration for payments to the social security trust funds, special benefits for disabled coal miners, the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Program, administrative expenses, and the Office of Inspector General; and (16) U.S. Institute of Peace. Title V: General Provisions - Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this Act. (Sec. 505) Prohibits the use of funds appropriated under this Act for programs to distribute sterile needles or syringes for the injection of illegal drugs, with specified exceptions for needle exchange programs determined to prevent the spread of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that do not encourage illegal drug use. (Sec. 506) Sets forth Buy American requirements. (Sec. 508) Prohibits funds appropriated under this Act from being expended for abortions or for health benefits coverage that includes coverage of abortion, except in cases where the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest or where a woman suffers from a physical condition that would, as certified by a physician, place her in danger of death unless an abortion is performed. (Sec. 511) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act for: (1) the creation of a human embryo for research purposes; or (2) research in which a human embryo is destroyed or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death greater than that allowed for research on fetuses in utero under Federal regulations and the Public Health Service Act. (Sec. 512) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act for activities to promote the legalization of a controlled substance unless there is significant medical evidence of a therapeutic advantage to the use of such substance or that federally-sponsored trials are being conducted to determine such advantage. (Sec. 515) Cancels a specified amount of budgetary resources available for FY 1999 for salaries and expenses of the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. Title VI: National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine - 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 an NIH agency, to be headed by a Director appointed by the Secretary of HHS. 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, and a related information clearinghouse.
Bill· SS. 2426 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 31 August 1998
Uniformed Services Filing Fairness Act of 1998 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for a two-month tax return filing date extension for any uniformed services member stationed outside of the United States on the date returns would otherwise be due.
Bill· HRH.R. 4521 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 7 August 1998
Family Business and Family Farm Preservation Act of 1998 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that the $675,000 limitation on the estate tax deduction shall not apply to interests in a business owned by a single family. Establishes a reinvestment requirement on estates to which such limitation did not apply.
Bill· HRH.R. 4514 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Federal Research Investment Act - Calls for Federal funding levels for fundamental, scientific, and pre-competitive engineering research to be increased to equal approximately 2.6 percent of the total annual Federal budget. Authorizes appropriations for civilian research and development (R&D) within specified agencies for FY 1999 through 2010. Directs the President to include with the annual budget request a report concerning Federal R&D program funding, future R&D strategies and targets, and an analysis of funding levels across Federal agencies by funding methodology. Requires the Director of the Office of Science Technology Policy (OSTP) to enter in an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a comprehensive study to develop methods for evaluating federally-funded R&D programs. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), based on study results, to promulgate one or more alternative forms for Federal R&D performance goals. Permits an agency head to apply such an alternative form without further authorization by OMB. Requires agency heads carrying out R&D activities, upon updating a strategic plan, to describe the current and future use of methods for determining an acceptable level of R&D success as recommended by the study. Authorizes appropriations for the study. Requires: (1) the OMB Director, based upon program performance reports, to identify the civilian R&D program activities or components which do not meet an acceptable level of success; (2) an agency head to submit to the appropriate congressional committees a concise statement of the steps needed to terminate a program activity or component identified as being below the acceptable level of success for two consecutive fiscal years; (3) such a program to be terminated unless the Directors of OSTP and OMB and the agency head determine that it should be continued; and (4) the statement of termination to recommend disposition of unexpended and unobligated funds from terminated programs.
Bill· HRH.R. 4438 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to obligate up to $110 million during FY 1999 for the National Guard civilian youth opportunities program. Repeals a Federal provision which prohibits Federal expenditures under such program from exceeding $50 million for any fiscal year.
Bill· HRH.R. 4474 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Telecommunications Trust Act of 1998 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to state that contributions currently required of providers of interstate telecommunications services for the preservation and enhancement of universal telecommunications services shall no longer be required after the date on which appropriated funds are first available for Federal universal service support. Authorizes the Federal Communications Commission to continue to distribute balances of such contributions that remain available on such date. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2004 from the Telecommunications Trust Fund (established under this Act) to provide Federal universal service support, such funds to be the exclusive source of funding for such support. Allow such funds to be available on a school year basis in lieu of a fiscal year basis. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish the Telecommunications Trust Fund for the deposit of amounts appropriated for universal services support. Transfers to such Fund 100 percent of amounts received in the Treasury after December 31, 1998, as certain communications excise taxes. Makes Fund amounts available only to provide for Federal universal service support mechanisms.
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. 4447 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Forest Tax Relief Act - Terminates the participation of the Forest Service in the Recreational Fee Demonstration Program. Prohibits the Secretary of Agriculture from imposing or collecting any fee under the authority of such Program (authorized by the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996).
Bill· HRH.R. 4502 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Provides for the adjustment of status to permanent resident of certain diversity immigrant visa applicants who were adversely affected by processing delays.
Bill· HRH.R. 4446 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Crime Does Not Pay Act of 1998 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to provide for a reduction by five percent (and redistribution to States in compliance) of funds available for a State under the drug control and system improvement (Byrne) grant program unless, on the first day of each fiscal year after FY 2000, the State has in effect throughout the State a law which prohibits any individual who has been convicted of a felony from recovering, in any civil action under the law of such State, any compensatory, actual, or general damages for any physical or mental injury, harm, or suffering caused in the commission of the felony.
Bill· HRH.R. 4434 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Graton Rancheria Restoration Act - Restores Federal recognition and associated rights, privileges, and eligibility for Federal services and benefits to the Indians of the Graton Rancheria of California (the Tribe). Requires the Secretary of the Interior, upon application by the Tribe, to accept in trust for the Tribe any real property located in Marin or Sonoma County, California, after the property is conveyed to the Secretary if there are no adverse legal claims to such property. Provides that any such property shall: (1) be part of the Tribe's reservation; (2) not be exempt from the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act; and (3) be exempt from all local, State, and Federal taxation. Directs the Secretary to compile a membership roll of the Tribe not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act. Provides for: (1) an Interim Tribal Council to be the Tribe's governing body; (2) an election to ratify a Tribal constitution; and (3) the election of Tribal officials under such constitution.
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. 4484 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Tax Assistance for Children With Chronic Medical Conditions Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a limited deduction for the expenses of attendance at a qualified conference on chronic medical conditions affecting a taxpayer's dependent.
Bill· HRH.R. 4489 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to nonrefundable personal credits to revise the limitation based on the amount of tax to provide that the aggregate amount allowed for such credits shall not exceed the sum of: (1) the taxpayer's regular tax liability; and (2) the alternative minimum tax.
Bill· HRH.R. 4496 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Conservation Tax Incentives Act of 1998 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide a 50 percent exclusion of gain on the sale of land or interests in land or water to a governmental entity or qualified conservation nonprofit organization for conservation purposes.
Bill· HRH.R. 4476 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Computers for the Children Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permanently extend the charitable deduction for the donation of computer technology and equipment to schools.
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. 4468 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the phaseout of the graduated estate tax rates and the unified credit.
Bill· HRH.R. 4509 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce from 84 to 36 months the amortization period for reforestation expenditures and to increase from $10,000 to $25,000 the maximum amount of such expenditures which may be amortized annually.
Bill· HRH.R. 4482 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act Amendments of 1998 - Makes amendments to the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (NAHASDA), including: (1) setting forth a requirement for assistance to Indian families that are not low-income; (2) eliminating separate Indian housing plan requirements for small Indian tribes; (3) expanding the authority of the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to review Indian housing plans; (4) revising requirements regarding tenant selection to require the inclusion of homebuyer selection policies and criteria; (5) revising provisions regarding review and audit by the Secretary; (6) excepting from the hearing requirement certain actions by the Secretary affecting grant amounts if the Secretary makes a determination that the failure of a recipient of assistance to comply substantially with any provision of the Act is resulting, and would continue to result, in an unauthorized expenditure of Federal funds; (7) permitting the Secretary to take certain actions affecting grant amounts in cases of noncompliance due to technical incapacity; (8) requiring that Indian housing plans, policies, waiting lists, annual performance reports, audit reports, and performance agreements be made available publicly; (9) repealing certification of compliance with subsidy layering requirements; and (10) revising tax exemption provisions. Amends the Public and Assisted Housing Drug Elimination Act of 1990 to make Indian tribes eligible to receive grants for elimination of drug-related crime in public housing.
Bill· HRH.R. 4452 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Expresses the sense of the Congress that it is necessary to ensure that the Congress is presented with reliable information from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Joint Committee on Taxation as to the dynamic macroeconomic feedback effects to changes in Federal law and the probable behavioral responses of taxpayers, businesses, and other parties to such changes. Requires the Joint Committee and CBO to prepare fiscal estimates of each proposed change in Federal revenue law on the basis of assumptions that estimate the probable behavioral responses of personal and business taxpayers and other relevant entities to such change and its dynamic macroeconomic feedback effects. Applies such requirement only to proposed changes that, pursuant to static fiscal estimates, have a fiscal impact exceeding $100 million in any fiscal year.
Bill· HRH.R. 4493 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require providers of commercial mobile services to render to subscribers bills that: (1) permit the subscriber to identify each call included in such bill (unless the subscriber is charged a single flat fee for unlimited service); (2) separately state the charges for local and long distance calls and identify any additional charges for calls made from outside a local service area; and (3) separately state any taxes or fees imposed pursuant to the requirements of any government and identify that government.
Bill· HRH.R. 4454 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Capital Gains Tax Simplification Act of 1998 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that, if for any taxable year a non-corporate taxpayer has a net capital gain, 38 percent of such gain shall be a deduction from gross income regardless of whether or not the taxpayer itemizes other deductions. Makes such deduction inapplicable to the alternative minimum tax. Revises provisions concerning the maximum and the regular tax on net capital gain for purposes of the alternative minimum tax. Repeals the tax preference for exclusion for gains on the sale of certain small business stock. Treats, as a general rule, any gain or loss from the sale or exchange of a collectible as a short-term gain or loss without regard to the period the asset was held. Amends the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, with respect to maximum capital gains rates for individuals, to repeal the allowance of an election to recognize gain on assets held on January 1, 2001.
Bill· HRH.R. 4473 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Tobacco Political Influence Deduction Exclusion Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to disallow deductions for: (1) expenses for advertising tobacco products; and (2) expenses incurred in connection with influencing Federal tobacco policy.
Bill· HRH.R. 4424 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Directs the Secretary of Defense to obligate the funds appropriated for the SR-71 aircraft in the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1998 for operation and maintenance (O&M) and for aircraft modifications in accordance with the purposes for which such funds were appropriated. Requires such O&M funds to remain available for obligation until September 30, 1999.
Bill· HRH.R. 4437 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Amends the Incentive Grants for Local Delinquency Prevention Programs Act to authorize appropriations for FY 1999 through 2004.
Bill· HRH.R. 4451 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide a 200 percent deduction to employers for amounts paid or incurred for training employees. Increases the corporate income tax rates.
Bill· HRH.R. 4439 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Amends the Head Start Act to extend through FY 2004 the authorization of appropriations, in specified amounts, for: (1) Head Start programs; (2) the Head Start Transition Project Act and other transition activities; and (3) longitudinal research.
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 517 (105th)passed
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1998
Sets forth the rule (open) for the consideration of H.R. 4380 (District of Columbia appropriations).
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. 4409 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1998
Small Watershed Rehabilitation Amendments of 1998 - Amends the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to provide financial assistance to an eligible local organization for the rehabilitation of structural measures originally constructed as part of a covered water resource project. Limits the amount of such assistance to 65 percent of total rehabilitation costs. Authorizes the Secretary to provide technical assistance to a requesting organization in planning, designing, and implementing rehabilitation projects. Prohibits any assistance authorized under this Act from being used to perform operation and maintenance activities. Outlines assistance application requirements. Directs the Secretary to establish a system of approving rehabilitation assistance requests from eligible organizations equitably. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2008. Earmarks funds authorized for the first two fiscal years for an assessment by the Secretary of the rehabilitation needs of covered projects.
Bill· HRH.R. 4408 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1998
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make revisions concerning the treatment of tip income, including treating a limited amount of tips as property transferred by gift.
Bill· HRH.R. 4414 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1998
Repeal the Social Security Tax Increase Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the tax increase on Social Security benefits enacted by the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1993. Sets forth related provisions concerning reductions in discretionary spending limits under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 and authorizations of appropriations to the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund.