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H.R.3037
Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and
Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000 (Reported in the House)
TITLE VI--EARLY DETECTION , DIAGNOSIS, AND INTERVENTIONS
FOR NEWBORNS AND INFANTS WITH HEARING LOSS
SEC. 601. (a) DEFINITIONS- For the purposes of this section only, the
following terms in this section are defined as follows:
(1) HEARING SCREENING-
Newborn and infant hearing
screening consists of objective physiologic procedures to detect possible
hearing loss and to identify
newborns and infants who, after rescreening, require further audiologic and
medical evaluations.
(2) AUDIOLOGIC EVALUATION- Audiologic evaluation consists of procedures
to assess the status of the auditory system; to establish the site of the
auditory disorder; the type and degree of hearing loss, and the potential
effects of hearing loss on
communication; and to identify appropriate treatment and referral options.
Referral options should include linkage to State IDEA part C coordinating
agencies or other appropriate agencies, medical evaluation, hearing aid/sensory aid assessment,
audiologic rehabilitation treatment, national and local consumer, self-help,
parent, and education organizations, and other family-centered
services.
(3) MEDICAL EVALUATION- Medical evaluation by a physician consists of
key components including history, examination, and medical decision making
focused on symptomatic and related body systems for the purpose of
diagnosing the etiology of hearing loss and related physical
conditions, and for identifying appropriate treatment and referral
options.
(4) MEDICAL INTERVENTION -
Medical intervention is the
process by which a physician provides medical diagnosis and direction for
medical and/or surgical treatment options of hearing loss and/or related medical
disorder associated with hearing loss.
(5) AUDIOLOGIC REHABILITATION- Audiologic rehabilitation (intervention ) consists of
procedures, techniques, and technologies to facilitate the receptive and
expressive communication abilities of a child with hearing loss.
(6) EARLY INTERVENTION - Early intervention (e.g., nonmedical)
means providing appropriate services for the child with hearing loss and ensuring that
families of the child are provided comprehensive, consumer-oriented
information about the full range of family support, training, information
services, communication options and are given the opportunity to consider
the full range of educational and program placements and options for their
child.
(b) PURPOSES- The purposes of this section are to clarify the authority
within the Public Health Service Act to authorize statewide newborn and infant
hearing screening, evaluation
and intervention programs and
systems, technical assistance, a national applied research program, and
interagency and private sector collaboration for policy development, in order
to assist the States in making progress toward the following goals:
(1) All babies born in hospitals in the United States and its
territories should have a hearing screening before leaving the
birthing facility. Babies born in other countries and residing in the United
States via immigration or adoption should have a hearing screening as early as possible.
(2) All babies who are not born in hospitals in the United States and
its territories should have a hearing screening within the first 3
months of life.
(3) Appropriate audiologic and medical evaluations should be conducted
by 3 months for all newborns and infants suspected of having hearing loss to allow appropriate
referral and provisions for audiologic rehabilitation, medical and early intervention before the age of 6
months.
(4) All newborn and infant hearing screening programs and
systems should include a component for audiologic rehabilitation, medical
and early intervention options that ensures
linkage to any new and existing statewide systems of intervention and rehabilitative
services for newborns and infants with hearing loss.
(5) Public policy in regard to newborn and infant hearing screening and intervention should be based on
applied research and the recognition that newborns, infants, toddlers, and
children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing have unique language,
learning, and communication needs, and should be the result of consultation
with pertinent public and private sectors.
(c) STATEWIDE NEWBORN AND INFANT HEARING SCREENING, EVALUATION AND
INTERVENTION PROGRAMS AND
SYSTEMS- Under the existing authority of the Public Health Service Act, the
Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this section referred to as the
`Secretary'), acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and
Services Administration, shall make awards of grants or cooperative agreements
to develop statewide newborn and infant hearing screening, evaluation and
intervention programs and
systems for the following purposes:
(1) To develop and monitor the efficacy of statewide newborn and infant
hearing screening, evaluation
and intervention programs and
systems. Early intervention includes referral to
schools and agencies, including community, consumer, and parent-based
agencies and organizations and other programs mandated by part C of the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which offer programs
specifically designed to meet the unique language and communication needs of
deaf and hard of hearing
newborns, infants, toddlers, and children.
(2) To collect data on statewide newborn and infant hearing screening, evaluation and
intervention programs and
systems that can be used for applied research, program evaluation and policy
development.
(d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, DATA MANAGEMENT, AND APPLIED RESEARCH-
(1) CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION- Under the existing
authority of the Public Health Service Act, the Secretary, acting through
the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall make
awards of grants or cooperative agreements to provide technical assistance
to State agencies to complement an intramural program and to conduct applied
research related to newborn and infant hearing screening,
evaluation and intervention
programs and systems. The program shall develop standardized procedures for data
management and program effectiveness and costs, such as--
(A) to ensure quality monitoring of newborn and infant hearing loss screening,
evaluation, and intervention
programs and systems;
(B) to provide technical assistance on data collection and
management;
(C) to study the costs and effectiveness of newborn and infant hearing screening, evaluation and
intervention programs and
systems conducted by State-based programs in order to answer issues of
importance to State and national policymakers;
(D) to identify the causes and risk factors for congenital hearing loss;
(E) to study the effectiveness of newborn and infant hearing screening, audiologic and
medical evaluations and intervention programs and systems
by assessing the health, intellectual and social developmental, cognitive,
and language status of these children at school age; and
(F) to promote the sharing of data regarding early hearing loss with state-based
birth defects and developmental disabilities monitoring programs for the
purpose of identifying previously unknown causes of hearing loss.
(2) NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH- Under the existing authority of the
Public Health Service Act, the Director of the National Institutes of
Health, acting through the Director of the National Institute on Deafness
and Other Communication Disorders, shall for purposes of this section,
continue a program of research and development on the efficacy of new
screening techniques and technology, including clinical studies of screening
methods, studies on efficacy of intervention , and related
research.
(e) COORDINATION AND COLLABORATION-
(1) IN GENERAL- Under the existing authority of the Public Health
Service Act, in carrying out programs under this section, the Administrator
of the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Director of the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Director of the National
Institutes of Health shall collaborate and consult with other Federal
agencies; State and local agencies, including those responsible for early intervention services pursuant to
title XIX of the Social Security Act (Medicaid Early and Periodic Screening,
Diagnosis and Treatment Program); title XXI of the Social Security Act
(State Children's Health Insurance Program); title V of the Social Security
Act (Maternal and Child Health Block Grant Program); and part C of the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; consumer groups of and that
serve individuals who are deaf and hard-of-hearing and their families;
appropriate national medical and other health and education specialty
organizations; persons who are deaf and hard-of-hearing and their families; other
qualified professional personnel who are proficient in deaf or hard-of-hearing children's language and who
possess the specialized knowledge, skills, and attributes needed to serve
deaf and hard-of-hearing
newborns, infants, toddlers, children, and their families; third-party
payers and managed care organizations; and related commercial
industries.
(2) POLICY DEVELOPMENT- Under the existing authority of the Public
Health Service Act, the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services
Administration, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, and the Director of the National Institutes of Health shall
coordinate and collaborate on recommendations for policy development at the
Federal and State levels and with the private sector, including consumer,
medical and other health and education professional-based organizations,
with respect to newborn and infant hearing screening, evaluation and
intervention programs and
systems.
(3) STATE EARLY DETECTION , DIAGNOSIS, AND INTERVENTION PROGRAMS AND SYSTEMS;
DATA COLLECTION- Under the existing authority of the Public Health Service
Act, the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration
and the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shall
coordinate and collaborate in assisting States to establish newborn and
infant hearing screening,
evaluation and intervention
programs and systems under subsection (c) and to develop a data collection
system under subsection (d).
(f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION- Nothing in this section shall be construed to
preempt any State law.
(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS-
(1) STATEWIDE NEWBORN AND INFANT HEARING SCREENING, EVALUATION AND
INTERVENTION PROGRAMS AND
SYSTEMS- For the purpose of carrying out subsection (c) under the existing
authority of the Public Health Service Act, there are authorized to the
Health Resources and Services Administration appropriations in the amount of
$5,000,000 for fiscal year 2000, $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2001, and such
sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2002.
(2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, DATA MANAGEMENT, AND APPLIED RESEARCH; CENTERS
FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION- For the purpose of carrying out
subsection (d)(1) under the existing authority of the Public Health Service
Act, there are authorized to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
appropriations in the amount of $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2000, $7,000,000
for fiscal year 2001, and such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year
2002.
(3) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, DATA MANAGEMENT, AND APPLIED RESEARCH;
NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DEAFNESS AND OTHER COMMUNICATION DISORDERS- For the
purpose of carrying out subsection (d)(2) under the existing authority of
the Public Health Service Act, there are authorized to the National
Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders appropriations for
such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2000 through
2002.
TITLE VII--CHILD PROTECTION ACT OF 1999
SEC. 701. This title may be cited as the `Child Protection Act of
1999'.
SEC. 702. (a) COMPUTER SOFTWARE INSTALLATION REQUIRED- Any elementary or
secondary school or public library that has received under any program or
activity of any Federal agency any funds for the acquisition or operation of
any computer that is accessible to minors and that has access to the Internet
shall--
(1) install software on that computer that is determined (in accordance
with subsection (b)) to be adequately designed to prevent minors from
obtaining access to any obscene information or child pornography using that
computer; and
(2) ensure that such software is operational whenever that computer is
used by minors, except that such software's operation may be temporarily
interrupted to permit a minor to have access to information that is not
obscene, is not child pornography, or is otherwise unprotected by the
Constitution under the direct supervision of an adult designated by such
school or library.
(b) DETERMINATION OF ADEQUATE DESIGN- For any elementary or secondary
school or public library within the jurisdiction of any State, the
determinations required for purposes of subsection (a)(1) shall be made by an
agency or official designated by the chief executive officer of such State.
For any elementary or secondary school or public library that is not within
the jurisdiction of any State, the determinations required for purposes of
subsection (a)(1) shall be made by the Secretary of Education.
(c) CONSEQUENCES OF VIOLATIONS-
(1) USE OF GENERAL EDUCATION PROVISIONS ACT REMEDIES- Whenever the head
of any Federal agency has reason to believe that any recipient of funds
under any program or activity is failing to comply substantially with the
requirements of subsection (a), the head of such agency may--
(A) withhold further payments under that program or activity,
(B) issue a complaint to compel compliance through a cease and desist
order, or
(C) enter into a compliance agreement with a recipient to bring it
into compliance,
in same manner as the Secretary of Education is authorized to take such
actions under sections 455, 456, and 457, respectively, of the General
Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1234d).
(2) RECOVERY OF FUNDS PROHIBITED- The actions authorized by paragraph
(1) are the exclusive remedies available with respect to a violation of
subsection (a), and the head of any Federal agency shall not seek a recovery
of funds from the recipient.
(d) DEFINITIONS- For purposes of this section:
(1) ELEMENTARY OR SECONDARY SCHOOL- The term `elementary or secondary
school' means an elementary school or a secondary school as such terms are
defined in section 14101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801).
(2) PUBLIC LIBRARY- The term `public library' has the meaning given the
term `library' by section 213 of the Library Services and Technology Act (20
U.S.C. 9122).
(3) COMPUTER- The term `computer' includes any hardware, software, or
other technology attached or connected to, installed in, or otherwise used
in connection with a computer.
(4) ACCESS TO INTERNET- A computer shall be considered to have access to
the Internet if such computer is equipped with a modem or is connected to a
computer network which has access to the Internet.
(5) ACQUISITION OR OPERATION- An elementary or secondary school or
public library shall be considered to have received under a program or
activity of any Federal agency any funds for the acquisition or operation of
any computer if such funds are used in any manner, directly or
indirectly--
(A) to purchase, lease, or otherwise acquire or obtain the use of such
computer, or
(B) to obtain services, supplies, software, or other actions or
materials to support, or in connection with, the operation of such
computer.
(6) FEDERAL AGENCY- The term `Federal agency' has the meaning given the
term `agency' by section 551(1) of title 5, United States Code.
(7) STATE- The term `State' means each of the 50 States, the District of
Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam,
American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the
Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and
the Republic of Palau.
(8) CHILD PORNOGRAPHY- The term `child pornography' has the meaning
provided in section 2256(8) of title 18, United States Code.
TITLE VIII--INFLATION ADJUSTMENTS TO MANDATORY JURISDICTION THRESHOLDS OF
NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
SEC. 801. Section 14(c)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C.
164(c)(1)) is amended to read as follows:
`(c)(1)(A) MANDATORY JURISDICTION- The Board shall assert jurisdiction
over any labor dispute involving any class or category of employers over which
it would assert jurisdiction under the standards prevailing on August 1, 1959,
with the financial threshold amounts adjusted for inflation under subparagraph
(B).
`(B) INFLATION ADJUSTMENTS- The Board, beginning on October 1, 1999, and
not less often than every 5 years thereafter, shall adjust each of the
financial threshold amounts referred to in subparagraph (A) for inflation,
using as the base period the later of (i) the most recent calendar quarter
ending before the financial threshold amount was established, or (ii) the
calendar quarter ending June 30, 1959. The inflation adjustments shall be
determined using changes in the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers
published by the Department of Labor and shall be rounded to the nearest
$10,000. The Board shall prescribe any regulations necessary for making the
inflation adjustments.'.
TITLE IX--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
SEC. 901. INSTALLMENT PAYMENTS OF EARNED INCOME CREDIT REFUNDS; TERMINATION
OF ADVANCE PAYMENTS OF EARNED INCOME CREDIT.
(a) INSTALLMENT PAYMENTS OF EARNED INCOME CREDIT REFUNDS-
(1) IN GENERAL- Section 6402 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986
(relating to authority to make credits or refunds) is amended by adding at
the end the following new subsection:
`(l) INSTALLMENT PAYMENTS OF EARNED INCOME CREDIT REFUNDS-
`(1) IN GENERAL- Earned income credit refunds shall be paid in 12
substantially equal installments with--
`(A) the first installment payable without regard to this
subsection,
`(B) the second installment payable not later than the 90th day after
the first installment is paid, and
`(C) the remaining installments payable at monthly intervals over the
10 months following the month in which the second installment is
paid.
`(2) EARNED INCOME CREDIT REFUNDS- For purposes of this subsection, the
term `earned income credit refund' means, with respect to any taxable year,
the lesser of--
`(A) the credit allowed by section 32 for such year (determined
without regard to section 32(n)), or
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