SUMMARY AS OF:
11/17/1999--Introduced.
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: Early Detection, Diagnosis, and Interventions For Newborns and
Infants With Hearing Loss
- Title VII: Denali Commission
- Title VIII: Welfare-To-Work And Child Support Amendments of 1999
Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000 - Makes appropriations for FY 2000 for the
Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and related
agencies.
Title I: Department of Labor - Department of Labor Appropriations Act,
2000 - Makes appropriations for FY 2000 to the Department of Labor for: (1)
training and employment services; (2) community service employment for older
Americans; (3) Federal unemployment benefits and allowances; (4) State
unemployment insurance and employment service operations; (5) advances to the
Unemployment Trust Fund and other trust funds; (6) employment and training
program administration; (7) the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration and
the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation; (8) the Employment Standards
Administration; (9) certain special benefits; (10) the Black Lung Disability
Trust Fund; (11) the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; (12) the
Mine Safety and Health Administration; (13) the Bureau of Labor Statistics; (14)
departmental management; (15) the Assistant Secretary for Veterans Employment
and Training; and (16) the Office of Inspector General.
Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under
this title.
Title II: Department of Health and Human Services - Department of
Health and Human Services Appropriations Act, 2000 - Makes appropriations for FY
2000 to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for: (1) the Health
Resources and Services Administration; (2) the Medical Facilities Guarantee and
Loan Fund for Federal interest subsidies for medical facilities; (3) health
education assistance loans; (4) the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program Trust
Fund; (5) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; (6) the National
Institutes of Health, including amounts for the John E. Fogarty International
Center, the National Library of Medicine, the National Center for Complementary
and Alternative Medicine, the Office of the Director, and buildings and
facilities; (7) the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration;
(8) the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research; (9) the Health Care
Financing Administration for grants to States for Medicaid, payments to health
care trust funds, program management, and the Health Maintenance Organization
Loan and Loan Guarantee Fund; (10) the Administration for Children and Families
for family support payments to States; (11) low income home energy assistance;
(12) refugee and entrant assistance; (13) the child care and development block
grant; (14) the social services block grant; (15) children and families services
programs; (16) promoting safe and stable families pursuant to a specified
provision of the Social Security Act; (17) payments to States for foster care
and adoption assistance; (18) the Administration on Aging; (19) the Office of
the Secretary for general departmental management; (20) the Office of Inspector
General; (21) the Office for Civil Rights; (22) policy research; (23) retirement
pay and medical benefits for Public Health Service commissioned officers; and
(24) activities related to countering potential biological, disease, and
chemical threats to civilian populations.
Rescinds FY 2000 funds for a sample study of child welfare.
Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under
this title.
(Sec. 209) Prohibits funds appropriated in this Act from being made available
under title X (population research and voluntary family planning) of the Public
Health Service Act unless the award applicant certifies to the Secretary of HHS
that it encourages family participation in the decision of minors to seek family
planning services and provides counseling to minors on resisting attempts to
coerce them into engaging in sexual activities.
(Sec. 211) Prohibits the use of funds appropriated by this Act to carry out
the Medicare+Choice program if the Secretary of HHS denies participation in such
program to an otherwise eligible entity (including a Provider Sponsored
Organization) because the entity informs the Secretary that it will not provide,
pay for, provide coverage of, or provide referrals for abortions.
(Sec. 212) Amends the Public Health Service Act to require State allotments
under block grants for community health services for FY 2000 to be at least the
amount the State received for FY 1998. Provides a specified minimum State
allotment for FY 2000 under block grants for substance abuse prevention and
treatment as well.
(Sec. 214) Amends the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related
Programs Appropriations Act, 1990 to extend through FY 2000 the authorization of
admission into the United States of a specified number of refugees from the
independent states of the former Soviet Union, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania
based on religious persecution owing to participation in the Ukrainian Catholic
or Orthodox churches.
Makes September 30, 2000, the latest allowable entry date for specified
aliens from the former Soviet Union, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Vietnam, Laos,
and Cambodia for purposes of qualifying for adjustment of status.
(Sec. 215) Prohibits the use of funds provided in any Act making FY 2000
appropriations for the implementation in Arizona or in Kansas City, Missouri or
Kansas, of the Medicare Competitive Pricing Demonstration Project operated by
the Secretary of HHS under the Balanced Budget Act of 1997.
(Sec. 217) Directs the Secretary of HHS to study and report to Congress on:
(1) the reasons why, and the appropriateness of the fact that, the geographic
adjustment factor used in determining the amount of payment for physicians'
services under Medicare is less for services provided in New Mexico than for
those provided in Arizona, Colorado, and Texas; and (2) the effect that the
level of the geographic cost-of-practice adjustment factor has on the
recruitment and retention of physicians in small rural States.
(Sec. 218) Prohibits funds appropriated by this Act from being used to
withhold substance abuse funding from a State pursuant to Public Health Service
Act provisions for withholding funds from States that are not in compliance with
specified requirements prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to minors if a
State certifies to the Secretary of HHS that it will commit additional State
funds to ensure compliance with State laws prohibiting such sales.
(Sec. 219) Bars the use of funds made available under this title to carry out
the transmittal of August 13, 1997 (relating to self-administered drugs), of the
Deputy Director of the Division of Acute Care of the Health Care Financing
Administration to regional offices of the Administration or to promulgate any
regulation or other transmittal or policy directive that imposes or clarifies
the imposition of a restriction on the coverage of injectable drugs under
Medicare beyond the restrictions applied before the date of such transmittal.
Title III: Department of Education - Department of Education
Appropriations Act, 2000 - Makes appropriations for FY 2000 to the Department of
Education for: (1) education reform; (2) education for the disadvantaged; (3)
impact aid; (4) school improvement activities; (5) reading excellence; (6)
Indian education; (7) bilingual and immigrant education; (8) special education;
(9) rehabilitation services and disability research; (10) special institutions
for persons with disabilities, including the American Printing House for the
Blind, the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, the Kendall Demonstration
Elementary School, the Model Secondary School for the Deaf, and Gallaudet
University; (11) vocational and adult education; (12) student financial
assistance; (13) the Federal Family Education Loan program account; (14) higher
education; (15) Howard University; (16) the college housing and academic
facilities loans program; (17) the historically Black college and university
capital financing program account; (18) education research, statistics, and
improvement; (19) departmental management; (20) the Office for Civil Rights; and
(21) the Office of the Inspector General.
Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under
this title.
(Sec. 301) Prohibits funds appropriated in this Act from being used to: (1)
transport teachers or students in order to overcome racial imbalance in any
school or to carry out a racial desegregation plan; or (2) prevent the
implementation of programs of voluntary prayer and meditation in public schools.
(Sec. 306) Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to
reduce to 35 percent the Federal share available for Even Start family literacy
programs in any year after the eighth year of receiving assistance. Removes a
provision which limits the receipt of such assistance to a period of eight
years.
(Sec. 307) Requires the Secretary of Education to restore the eligibility of
Jacksonville College in Texas to participate in the Pell Grant program. Directs
the College to implement a default management plan satisfactory to the
Secretary.
(Sec. 310) Allocates amounts appropriated for title VI of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965. Provides for distribution of funds to local
educational agencies (LEAs) for purposes of reducing class size. Authorizes the
use of such funds for: (1) recruiting, hiring, and training teachers; (2)
testing new teachers for academic content knowledge and to meet State
certification requirements; and (3) providing professional development to
teachers.
Requires States and LEAs to report to parents on progress in reducing class
size, increasing the percentage of classes in core academic areas taught by
fully qualified teachers who are certified and demonstrate competency in the
content areas in which they teach, and the impact that hiring additional highly
qualified teachers and reducing class size has had on increasing student
academic achievement.
Repeals titles III and IV of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act on September
30, 2000.
(Sec. 311) Amends the Y2K Act to prohibit punitive damages in a Y2K action
from being awarded against an institution of higher education. Makes such
prohibition inapplicable to an institution where the Y2K failure occurred in a
computer-based student financial aid system of that institution and the
institution has passed Y2K data exchange testing with the Department of
Education or is not or was not in the process of performing data exchange
testing with the Department at the time the Department terminates such testing.
(Sec. 312) Amends the Missing, Exploited, and Runaway Children Protection Act
to remove a funding provision with respect to a study of school violence.
Title IV: Related Agencies - Makes appropriations for FY 2000 to the:
(1) Armed Forces Retirement Home; (2) Corporation for National and Community
Service; (3) Corporation for Public Broadcasting; (4) Federal Mediation and
Conciliation Service; (5) Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission; (6)
Office of 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 (15) U.S.
Institute of Peace.
Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under
this title.
Title V: General Provisions - Sets forth authorized uses of, and
limitations on, funds appropriated under this Act.
(Sec. 505) Prohibits the use of funds appropriated under this Act for
programs to distribute sterile needles or syringes for the injection of illegal
drugs.
(Sec. 506) Sets forth Buy American requirements.
(Sec. 508) Prohibits funds appropriated under this Act from being expended
for abortions or for health benefits coverage that includes coverage of
abortion, except in cases where the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest or
where a woman suffers from a physical condition that would, as certified by a
physician, place her in danger of death unless an abortion is performed.
(Sec. 510) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act for: (1) the
creation of a human embryo for research purposes; or (2) research in which a
human embryo is destroyed or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death
greater than that allowed for research on fetuses in utero under Federal
regulations and the Public Health Service Act.
(Sec. 511) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act for
activities to promote the legalization of a controlled substance unless there is
significant medical evidence of a therapeutic advantage to the use of such
substance or that federally-sponsored trials are being conducted to determine
such advantage.
(Sec. 514) Bars the use of funds made available in this Act to promulgate a
final standard under the Social Security Act providing for a unique health
identifier for an individual (except in an individual's capacity as an employer
or health care provider) until legislation is enacted specifically approving the
standard.
(Sec. 515) Amends the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and
Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997 to extend the
availability of certain voluntary separation incentives for employees of the
Railroad Retirement Board and its Office of Inspector General.
(Sec. 516) Amends the United States-Mexico Border Health Commission Act to
require the President to appoint the U.S. members of the U.S.-Mexico Border
Health Commission and to attempt to conclude an agreement with Mexico providing
for the establishment of such Commission. Eliminates a Commission duty to
formulate recommendations regarding a method by which the government of one
country could reimburse an entity in the other country for the cost of a health
care service provided by the entity to a citizen of the first country who is
unable to pay for the service.
(Sec. 517) Provides that the applicable time limitations with respect to the
giving of notice of injury and the filing of a claim for compensation for
disability or death under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act for injuries
sustained as a result of exposure to a nitrogen or sulfur mustard agent in the
performance of official duties as an employee at the Department of the Army's
Edgewood Arsenal before March 20, 1944, shall not begin to run until this Act's
enactment date.
Title VI: Early Detection, Diagnosis, and Interventions For Newborns and
Infants With Hearing Loss - Mandates grants or cooperative agreements to:
(1) develop statewide newborn and infant hearing screening, evaluation, and
intervention programs and systems; and (2) provide technical assistance to State
agencies to complement an intramural program and to conduct applied research
related to newborn and infant hearing screening, evaluation, and intervention
programs and systems. Requires the National Institutes of Health to continue a
program of research and development on the efficacy of new screening techniques
and technology. Mandates Federal coordination and collaboration with State and
local agencies, consumer groups, national medical, health, and education
specialty organizations, deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals and their families,
qualified professional personnel, and related commercial industries. Authorizes
appropriations.
Title VII: Denali Commission - Amends the Denali Commission Act of
1998 to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to
the Denali Commission to plan, construct, and equip demonstration health,
nutrition, and child care projects in order to demonstrate the value of adequate
health facilities and services to regional economic development. Limits grants
for construction or equipment to 50 percent of costs (80 percent for projects
located in severely economically distressed communities). Authorizes
appropriations.
Title VIII: Welfare-To-Work And Child Support Amendments of 1999 -
Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of
the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) repeal certain eligibility requirements
(thus allowing flexibility in eligibility) for participation of both custodial
and noncustodial parents in the welfare-to-work (WtW) program; (2) make
vocational educational and job training of up to six months allowable TANF
activities; (3) authorize a grantee that is neither a private industry council
nor a workforce investment board to provide employment services directly; (4)
revise financial and participant information reporting requirements; (5)
authorize State agencies to disclose name, address, and telephone information
(subject to safeguards) about potential program participants to aid private
industry councils in their administration of WtW grant funds; and (6) reduce the
set-aside of a portion of WtW funds for performance bonuses.
(Sec. 807) Amends SSA title IV part D (Child Support and Establishment of
Paternity) to establish an alternative penalty procedure for State disbursement
units under which: (1) units that achieve compliance requirements by April 1,
2000, shall have all penalties waived; and (2) units that achieve compliance
between April 1, 2000, and September 30, 2000, shall pay no more than one
percent of the penalty base with respect to the failure involved.