Women's Caucus Agenda - 106th Congress
1. VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN/SAFETY ISSUES
TEAM LEADERS: Connie Morella, Julia Carson
TEAM: Diana DeGette, Judy Biggert, Sheila Jackson-Lee, Barbara Cubin, Jan Schakowsky, Sue
Kelly, Maxine Waters, Sue Myrick, Stephanie Tubbs
Jones, Deborah Pryce, Louise Slaughter, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Anna Eshoo, Carolyn McCarthy, Donna Christian-Christensen
H.R. 764 -- Child Abuse & Prevention
Enforcement (CAPE) Act - To reduce the incidence of child abuse and
neglect, and for other purposes. (Pryce) STATUS: Passed
House 10/5/99, Passed Senate 11/19/99
H.R. 1248 -- Violence Against Women Act of
1999 (VAWA Reauthorization) - A bill to prevent violence against women.
(Morella) STATUS: Hearing held, 9/29/99
H.R. 1352 -- Domestic Violence and Sexual
Assault Victims' Housing Act - A bill to provide housing assistance to
domestic violence victims. (Schakowsky) STATUS: Amended
version added to HR 1073 (Homeless Housing Programs Consolidation and
Flexibility Act), which passed Banking Subcommittee on Housing and
Community Opportunity, 4/15/99
H.R. 1869 -- Stalking Prevention and
Victim Protection Act of 1999 - A bill to expand the prohibition on
stalking, and for other purposes. (Kelly) STATUS: Passed
House 11/10/99
H.R. 2130 - Hillory J. Farias Date-Rape Prevention Drug Act of
1999 - A bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act to add gamma
hydroxybutyric acid and ketamine to the schedules of control substances,
to provide for a national awareness campaign, and for other purposes.
(Upton/Stupak/Jackson-Lee/Bliley)
STATUS: Passed House 10/12/99, Passed Senate 11/19/99
H.R.
___ (not yet introduced) -- Protection of Women in Prison Act of 1999 - A
bill to require that facilities receiving federal funding develop and
implement policies to restrict the role of male staff with regard to
female inmates, address the particular health needs of female inmates,
prohibit the routine shackling of pregnant women and women in labor, and
provide additional protections to female inmates who report violations in
order to protect them from retaliation. (Waters)
H.R. 3083 - The Battered Immigrant Women
Protection Act of 1999 - A bill to provide protection for battered
immigrant women. (Schakowsky/Morella/Jackson-Lee)
2A.
HEALTH
TEAM LEADERS: Louise Slaughter, Sue
Kelly
TEAM: Nancy
Johnson, Juanita Millender-McDonald, Barbara Cubin, Diana DeGette, Sue Kelly, Marcy Kaptur, Helen Chenoweth, Tammy Baldwin, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Eva Clayton, Connie Morella, Anna Eshoo, Marge Roukema, Patsy
Mink, Shelley Berkley, Karen Thurman, Nita Lowey, Carolyn McCarthy, Lois
Capps, Corrine Brown, Karen McCarthy, Carolyn Kilpatrick, Nancy Pelosi,
Rosa DeLauro, Julia Carson, Nydia Velแzquez, Barbara Lee
H.R. 49 -- Treatment of Children's
Deformities Act - A bill to require that group and individual health
insurance coverage and group health plans provide coverage for treatment
of a minor child's congenital or developmental deformity or disorder due
to trauma, infection, tumor, or disease. (Kelly)
H.R. 306 - Genetic Information
Nondiscrimination in Health Insurance Act of 1999 -- A bill to prohibit
discrimination against individuals and their family members on the basis
of genetic information or a request for genetic services. (Slaughter)
STATUS: a version was included in the Senate-passed
Patient's Bill of Rights bill
H.R. 1285 -- Cancer Screening Coverage Act
(CASCA) -- A bill to require that group and individual health insurance
coverage and group health plans provide coverage of (breast, cervical,
prostate, and colorectal) cancer screening. (Maloney/Kelly)
H.R. 1388 -- Medicare Cancer Clinical
Trial Coverage Act -- A bill to establish a demonstration project to study
and provide coverage of routine patient care costs for Medicare
beneficiaries with cancer who are enrolled in an approved clinical trial
program. This bill would officially expand Medicare coverage to clinical
trials, which are already often covered by Medicare
(N.Johnson/Cardin)
H.R. 116 -- Breast Cancer Patient
Protection Act -- A bill to require that group and individual health
insurance coverage and group health plans provide coverage for a minimum
hospital stay for mastectomies and lymph node dissections performed for
the treatment of breast cancer. (DeLauro)
H.R. 383 - Women's Health and Cancer
Rights Act -- A bill to require that health plans provide coverage for a
minimum hospital stay for mastectomies and lymph node dissection for the
treatment of breast cancer, and coverage for secondary consultations.
(Kelly)
H.R. 1070 -- Breast and Cervical Cancer
Treatment Act - A bill to provide medical assistance for certain women
screened and found to have breast or cervical cancer under a federally
funded screening program. (Lazio/Eshoo)
STATUS: passed Commerce Committee,
10/18/99
H.R.
1816 -- Eliminate Colorectal Cancer Act - A bill to require coverage for
colorectal cancer screenings. (Slaughter/McIntosh)
H.R. 961 -- Ovarian Cancer Research and
Information Amendments -- A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to
provide for programs regarding ovarian cancer. (Mink)
H.R. 845 -- Beneficiary Health Coverage
Notification Rights Act -- A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act,
the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 to require a health insurance issuer to notify
participants and beneficiaries of impending termination of coverage
resulting from the failure of a group health plan to pay premiums
necessary to maintain coverage, and for other purposes.
(Thurman)
H.R. 1966 -- Asthma Awareness, Education
and Treatment Act -- A bill to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human
Services to carry out programs regarding the prevention and management of
asthma, allergies, and related respiratory problems, to establish a tax
credit regarding pest control services for multifamily residential housing
in low-income communities, and for other purposes.
(Millender-McDonald)
H. Con. Res. 64 -- Cervical Cancer Public
Awareness Resolution - A resolution recognizing the severity of the issue
of cervical health, and for other purposes.
(Millender-McDonald)
H.Res. 19 -- A resolution expressing the
sense of the House of Representatives with respect to the seriousness of
the national problems associated with mental illness. (Roukema)
H.R. 1899 -- The Health Care Worker
Needlestick Prevention Act - A bill to require the Secretary of Labor to
issue regulations to eliminate or minimize the significant risk of
needlestick injury to health care workers. (Roukema/Stark)
2B. OLDER WOMEN'S HEALTH
TEAM LEADERS:
Carrie Meek, Ileana
Ros-Lehtinen
TEAM: Grace Napolitano, Nancy Johnson, Jan Schakowsky, Connie Morella, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Lynn
Woolsey, Shelley Berkley, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Karen McCarthy, Carolyn Kilpatrick
H.R. 762 -- Lupus Research and Care
Amendments of 1999 -- A bill to provide for research and services with
respect to lupus. (Meek)
H.R. 925 - Osteoporosis Early Detection and
Prevention Act of 1999 -- A bill to require that health insurance plans
provide coverage for qualified individuals for bone mass measurement.
(Maloney/Morella)
H.R. 933 -- Osteoporosis Federal Employee
Health Benefits Standardization Act of 1999 -- A bill to ensure that
coverage of bone mass measurement is provided under the health benefits
program for federal employees (Morella)
H.R. 1187 -- Medicare Medical Nutrition
Therapy Act of 1999 -- A bill to provide for coverage under part B of the
Medicare Program of medical nutrition therapy services furnished by
registered dietitians and nutrition professionals. (N. Johnson)
H.R. 2294 - Osteoporosis Educaiton and
Prevention Act of 1999 - A bill to amend the Older Americans Act of 1965
to help prevent osteoporosis. (Berkley/Roukema/DeLauro/Maloney)
H.R.2471 -- Public Health Osteoporosis
Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment Act of 1999 - A bill to amend the
Public Health Service Act to provide for screenings, referrals, and
education regarding osteoporosis. (E.B. Johnson/Kelly)
3. SAFE
MOTHERHOOD
TEAM LEADERS:
Nita Lowey, Connie Morella
TEAM: Jan Schakowsky, Lucille
Roybal-Allard, Cynthia McKinney, Lois Capps, Nancy Pelosi, Sheila
Jackson-Lee, Carolyn Maloney, Donna Christian-Christensen
Family Planning:
HR 2120 - Equity in Prescription Insurance
& Contraceptive Coverage Act - A bill to require health insurance
plans which cover prescription drugs and devices also cover prescription
contraceptive drugs and devices. (Greenwood/Lowey)
HR 895 -- United Nations Population Fund
(UNFPA) Funding Act of 1999 - A bill to restore a United States voluntary
contribution to the United Nations. Cuts and spending restrictions on our
international family planning programs in recent years have put a number
of U.S.-supported programs in jeopardy; there have also been a number of
reports indicating that the resulting denial of family planning services
has led to an increase in the number of abortions.
(Maloney/Porter/Kelly/Lowey/Gilman) STATUS: passed House
and Senate as part of the FY2000 Foreign Operations Appropriations
bill
HR 1806 -- Access to Women's Health Care
Act - A bill to provide women in managed care plans with direct access to
ob/gyn services and the option of choosing their ob/gyn provider
(including non-physicians specialists) as their primary care provider.
(Lowey/Lazio) STATUS: Passed House and Senate as part of
the Patient's Bill of Rights
HR 1636 -- Teen Pregnancy Reduction Act -
The federal government spends more than $200 million annually specifically
for teen pregnancy programs or services. These amounts demonstrate a
significant investment in a national effort to prevent teen pregnancy.
However, we know very little about the effectiveness of teen pregnancy
prevention programs because adequate evaluation is not taking place. In an
effort to bolster evaluation of teen pregnancy prevention programs of
every type, the bill would provide for both a substantial investment in
rigorous, scientific evaluation as well as the dissemination of
information on programs, models and processes that have proven effective
in preventing teen pregnancy. (Lowey/Castle)
Prenatal and Postpartum
Care:
HR 1843 -- Mothers and Newborns Health
Insurance Act - A bill to improve prenatal care and delivery of healthy
babies, the bill would allow states the option of enrolling pregnant women
under the state CHIP program and the option of automatically enrolling the
babies born to those women in CHIP. Endorsed by National Council of State
Legislatures and March of Dimes, among other groups.
(Hyde/Lowey)
H.R. 2538 -- Folic Acid Promotion and
Birth Defects Prevention Act -- A bill to amend the Public Health Service
Act to provide for a national folic acid education program to prevent
birth defects. The bill also authorizes the CDC to launch an education and
public awareness campaign, conduct research to identify effective
strategies for increasing folic acid consumption, and evaluate the
effectiveness of these strategies. 70% of neural tube birth defects could
be prevented if women of childbearing age consumed 400 micrograms of folic
acid daily. The problem is that a majority of women are still not aware of
the benefits of folic acid, nor are they consuming the recommended daily
amount. (Roybal-Allard/Emerson)
H. Res. 163, Resolution to raise awareness
of post partum depression. Approximately 400,000 women experience post
partum depression each year. Post-partum depression is a condition that
strikes many women just after they have given birth. More than just the
"baby blues," the more extreme cases of post partum depression can result
in sadness, fatigue, anxiety, irritability, and low self esteem in new
mothers. The resolution provides statistics on this often serious
condition, and provides recommendations on how the United States can work
to reduce its incidence, including providing information on post partum
depression before they leave the hospitals with their babies, training of
medical providers, and screening of new mothers for symptoms for early
detection of the problem. Additionally, the resolution calls on the U.S.
to begin to collect data on post partum depression, so that we can measure
its extent. (Capps-Kingston)
H.R. 1848 -- Right to Breastfeed Act - A
bill to ensure a woman's right to breastfeed her child on any part of
federal property (federal parks, federal buildings, and national museums)
where she and her child have a right to be.
(Maloney/Morella/Roybal-Allard) [STATUS: enacted as part
of the FY2000 Treasury-Postal Appropriations bill]
Health Care Coverage for Kids/Other
Provisions:
HR 827 -- Improved Maternal and Children's
Health Coverage Act of 1999 - A bill to expand health coverage for
uninsured children by improving the outreach to an enrollment of children
into Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP).
(DeGette)
HR 1085 -- Healthy Kids Act 2000 - The
purpose of this legislation is to improve health care for pregnant women
and newborns. It includes ensuring direct access to obstetric and
gynecological care for women and pediatric care for children, gives states
greater flexibility by allowing them to enroll income-eligible pregnant
women in State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and increases
enrollment of Medicaid-eligible women. This bill also includes sections
for pediatric medical education, public health promotion, and research.
(Emerson)
4.
EDUCATION
TEAM LEADERS: Judy Biggert, Lois Capps
TEAM: Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Connie Morella, Ellen Tauscher, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Eleanor Homes Norton, Eddie
Bernice Johnson, Marge Roukema, Debbie Stabenow, Deborah Pryce, Lynn
Woolsey, Patsy Mink, Nita Lowey, Carolyn McCarthy, Lois Capps,
Corrine Brown, Karen McCarthy, Carrie
Meek, Eva Clayton, Nancy Pelosi, Zoe Lofgren, Loretta Sanchez, Nydia
Velแzquez, Barbara Lee
H.R. 455 - Teacher Technology Training Act
of 1999 -- A bill to provide grants to local education agencies to provide
integrated classroom-related computer training for elementary and
secondary school teachers. (Capps)
H.R. 645 -- Teacher Technology Training
Act of 1999 -- A bill to require states to incorporate technology
requirements in teacher training content and performance standards.
(Morella)
H.R. 1307 - After-School Children's
Education (ACE) Act -- A bill to provide for grants, a national
clearinghouse of information and a GAO report on the quality and
availability of after school programs. (Castle)
H.R. 1129 - A bill to remove the 60 month
limitation for taking a tax deduction of student loan interest.
(Mink)
H.R.1456 -- A bill to improve the National
Writing Project program. (Miller-CA) STATUS: passed House
as part of H.R. 1995
H.R.637 -- Gifted and Talented Students
Education Act of 1999 -- A bill to make improvements and expand the gifted
and talented program. (Gallegly) STATUS: passed House as
part of H.R. 2
The Caucus has also identified the
following as priority areas:
School Construction Funding
Alternative Teacher Certification
[STATUS: language passed House as part of H.R.
1995
School Violence
Support of Title I of ESEA
Gender Equity in Education
School Counselors
5. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
TEAM LEADER: Eleanor Holmes Norton
TEAM: Marcy Kaptur, Tammy Baldwin, Lynn
Woolsey, Sheila Jackson-Lee, Darlene Hooley, Carolyn Maloney, Rosa
DeLauro
H. Res. 107 -- CEDAW -- A resolution
expressing the sense of the House that the Senate should ratify the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against
Women. (Woolsey)
H.J. Res. 41 -- Equal Rights Amendment --
A resolution proposing a constitutional amendment relative to equal rights
for men and women. (Maloney/Morella/Shays/N.Johnson)
H.R. 541 -- Paycheck Fairness Act -- A
bill to provide more effective remedies to victims of discrimination in
the payment of wages on the basis of sex. (DeLauro)
H.R. 1271 - Fair Pay Act of 1999 -- A bill
to prohibit discrimination in the payment of wages on account of sex,
race, or national origin for work in equivalent jobs. The Fair Pay Act
recognizes that if men and women are doing comparable work requiring the
same skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions, they should be
paid a comparable wage. (Norton)
H.Res. 202 -- Artwork in the Capitol - a
resolution ensuring that artwork in the capitol is more representative of
women's contributions to society. (Kaptur/Morella)
6. CHILDREN'S ISSUES AND CHILD
CARE
TEAM LEADERS: Sheila
Jackson-Lee/Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
TEAM: Ellen Tauscher, Marge Roukema,
Eleanor Homes Norton, Tammy Baldwin, Eva Clayton, Patsy Mink, Lois Capps,
Maxine Waters, Zoe Lofgren, Rosa DeLauro, Nydia Velแzquez, Carolyn Maloney, Carrie Meek,
Lynn Woolsey, Darlene Hooley
H.R.
206 -- A bill to provide for greater access to child care services for
Federal employees (Morella) [STATUS: enacted as part of
the FY2000 Treasury-Postal Appropriations bill]
H.R. 1112 -- Kiddie Mac -- A bill to
authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to insure
mortgages for the acquisition, construction, or substantial rehabilitation
of child care and development facilities and to establish the Children's
Development Commission to certify such facilities for such insurance, and
for other purposes. (Maloney/Baker) STATUS: Hearing held,
October 8, 1999
(bipartisan portions of) H.R. 1139, the
ACCESS Act on Child Care Affordability (Tauscher) - A bill to expand the
dependent care tax credit, to provide grants to business consortia, and to
establish a new Model State's Early
Learning Fund to support programs to improve early learning and the
quality and safety of child care for children ages 0-5.
(Tauscher)
H.R.
2486 -- Infant Crib Safety Act -- A bill to provide for infant crib
safety. (Tauscher/Greenwood)
H.R. ___ (not yet introduced) - Give a
Child a Chance Omnibus Mental Health Bill - A bill to place more mental
health and student service personnel (school counselors, social workers,
or psychologists, and a school nurse) in the schools. The bill also
specifies which academic qualifications are necessary for such
professionals to be hired. The mental health personnel in the schools
would provide assessment for mental health disorders that may be exhibited
by a student. For a student that might require more in-depth treatment for
serious disorders, the mental health professional would refer those
students to an outside professional, with the permission of a parent or
guardian. (Jackson-Lee)
7. RETIREMENT
TEAM LEADERS: Eddie Bernice Johnson, Kay Granger
TEAM: Jennifer Dunn, Juanita Millender-McDonald,
Connie Morella, Carolyn Kilpatrick, Stephanie
Tubbs Jones, Ellen Tauscher, Darlene Hooley, Debbie Stabenow, Rosa
DeLauro, Julia Carson
The Caucus supports efforts to ensure that
the unique needs of women are recognized and addressed in efforts to shore
up Social Security.
The Caucus supports efforts to educate
women about pension plans and encourage women to save for
retirement.
The Caucus recognizes that:
*63 percent of women beneficiaries aged 62
or older receive wife's or widow's benefits.
*Three-quarters of unmarried and widowed
elderly women rely on Social Security for over half of their
income.
*Without Social Security benefits, the
elderly poverty rate among women would have been 52.2 percent and among
widows would have been 60.6 percent.
*Women tend to live longer and have lower
lifetime earnings than men.
*Women spend an average of 11.5 years out
of their careers to care for their families, and are more likely to work
part-time than full-time
*Women earn an average of 70 cents for
every dollar men earn.
STATUS: H.J.Res.32, a
resolution including language recognizing the "particular significance" of
Social Security changes to women, due to their longer life expectancies,
lower average earnings, and fewer pension assets, passed the House on
March 2, 1999
8. WOMEN IN THE MILITARY/WOMEN
VETERANS
TEAM LEADERS: Corrine Brown, Tillie
Fowler
TEAM: Shelley
Berkley, Helen Chenoweth, Marcy Kaptur, Grace Napolitano, Loretta Sanchez,
Ellen Tauscher
H.R. 1247 -- World
War II Memorial Completion Act - A bill to expand the fund raising
authorities of the American Battle Monuments Commission to expedite the
establishment of the World War II memorial in the District of Columbia and
to ensure adequate funds for the repair and long-term maintenance of the
memorial, and for other purposes. (Stump/Evans) [STATUS:
passed House on June 29, 1999]
H.R. 1847 -- Military Dependents
Communications Confidentiality Act -- A bill to require the Secretary of
Defense to prescribe regulations to protect the confidentiality of
communications between dependents of members of the Armed Forces and
professionals providing therapeutic or related services regarding sexual
or domestic abuse. (Maloney/Kelly) [STATUS: enacted as
part of the FY2000 Defense Authorization bill]
H.R. 2116 -- Veterans Millennium Health
Care Act -- A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to establish a
program of extended care services for veterans and to make other
improvements in health care programs of the Department of Veterans
Affairs. (Stearns) [STATUS: enacted, P.L. 106-117, signed
November 30, 1999]
H.Res. 41 -- Honoring American Military
Women For Their Service in World War II - A resolution to honor the women
who served the United States in military capacities during World War II
and recognizing that these women contributed vitally to the victory of the
United States and the Allies in the war. (Myrick)
[STATUS: passed House, November 10, 1999]
9. WOMEN IN
BUSINESS
TEAM LEADERS: Grace Napolitano,
Sue Kelly
TEAM: Judy
Biggert, Nydia Velแzquez, Kay
Granger, Loretta Sanchez, Jennifer
Dunn, Debbie Stabenow, Maxine Waters, Pat Danner, Eddie Bernice
Johnson, Juanita Millender McDonald, Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Anna
Eshoo, Donna
Christian-Christensen, Karen Thurman,
Carolyn Kilpatrick
H.R. 413 -- PRIME Act - Grant program. Authorizes
qualified organizations to provide technical assistance and capacity
building services to microenterprise development organizations and
programs and to disadvantaged entrepreneurs using funds from the Community
Development Financial Institutions Fund (Rush/Leach)
STATUS: enacted as part of S.900/H.R.10, the Financial
Modernization Act.
H.R. 1496 -- Small Business Access and
Choice for Entrepreneurs (ACE) Act -- A bill to help reduce the number of
uninsured self-employed persons, and their employees, by giving them
better access to affordable health care options. This bi-partisan bill
includes Association Health Plans (AHPs) and 100% tax deductibility of
health care costs for the self- employed. AHPs allow the small businesses
to join together through their trade associations to obtain the purchasing
clout and administrative efficiency that employees of large employers
currently enjoy. By providing workers with new sources of health coverage
through trade and professional associations, AHPs will allow them to
retain coverage even when changing jobs. AHPs will also allow
beneficiaries more freedom to design affordable benefit options. The ACE
Act also includes a provision for 100% deductibility of health insurance
costs for the self-employed. Currently, the self- employed are allowed
only a 60% deduction, while large businesses enjoy a full 100% deduction.
(Talent/Dooley) STATUS: portions of this bill passed the
House as part of an overall health insurance bill
H.R. 1497 -- Women's Business Centers
Sustainability Act of 1999 -- A bill to amend the Small Business Act with
respect to the women's business center program. (Udall-NM)
STATUS: Enacted, December 9, 1999, Public Law No:
106-165.
H.RES. 15 -- A resolution expressing the
sense of the House of Representatives regarding Government procurement
access for women-owned businesses. (Kelly)
H.R. 2334 -- Access to Contract Equity Act
(ACE) -- A bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to extend and make
improvements to the provisions relating to procurement contract goals for
small disadvantaged businesses and certain institutions of higher
education, and for other purposes. (Velazquez) STATUS: a
version included as part of DoD Authorization bill.
10. TAX
POLICY
TEAM LEADERS: Karen Thurman, Nancy
Johnson
TEAM: Helen Chenoweth, Darlene Hooley,
Jennifer Dunn, Juanita Millender-McDonald, Kay Granger, Deborah Pryce,
Marge Roukema
Child Care:
H.R. 389 -- Child Care Infrastructure Act of 1999 - A
bill to provide a credit against tax for employers who provide child care
assistance for dependents of their employees, and for other purposes.
(Maloney/Ros-Lehtinen)
H.R. 963 -- Child Care Availability Incentive Act -- A
bill to allow employers a credit for a portion of the expenses of
providing dependent care services to employees. (Pryce/Roemer)
H.R.1097 - A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986 to simplify the $500 per child tax credit and other individual
non-refundable credits by repealing the complex limitations on the
allowance of those credits resulting from their interaction with the
alternative minimum tax. (Neal)
Dependent Care Tax Credit: Several bills pending to
expand the DCTC -
General concepts we endorse --
Increase percentage of expenses from 30% to
50%
Increase the income level at which one can
receive the maximum credit
from $10,000 to $30,000
Some kind of state-at-home parent
component
Indexation for inflation
Bills: H.R. 1139 (Tauscher) - the
Affordable Child Care, Education, Security, and Safety Act, a bill which
includes this provision.
H.R. 2259 (N. Johnson) - Tax Relief for
Parents Act of 1999, a bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to
expand the dependent care credit.
Estate Tax:
H.R.241 -- Surviving Spouse Fairness Act
of 1999 -- A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide
that the $500,000 exclusion of gain on the sale of a principle residence
shall apply to certain sales by a surviving spouse. (Roukema)
Education:
H.R. 464 - Higher Education Affordability
and Availability Act - A bill to provide tax incentives for education and
to exclude from income distributions from qualified tuition programs used
for qualified higher education expenses (Granger)
School Construction - providing
low-interest bonds to local school districts
Bills: H.R. 1760 - America's Better
Classrooms Act of 1999 (N.Johnson)
H.R. 415 - Expand and Rebuild America's
Schools Act of 1997 (Sanchez)
H.R. 1660 -- Public School Modernization
Act of 1999 (Rangel)
Marriage
Penalty:
H.R. 6 -- Marriage Tax Elimination Act of 1999 -- A
bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to eliminate the marriage
penalty by providing that the income tax rate bracket amounts, and the
amount of the standard deduction for joint returns shall be twice the
amounts applicable to unmarried individuals.
(Weller/McIntosh/Danner) STATUS: Passed
House and Senate
Health
Care/Retirement:
H.R. 2261 -- Health Insurance Affordability and Equity
Act of 1999 -- A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to
provide incentives for health coverage by providing credits and deductions
for unemployed and self-employed to cover health care costs. (N.
Johnson)
H.R. 1021 -- Small Business Pension Start-Up Credit
Act of 1999 - A bill to allow small employers a credit against income tax
for costs incurred in establishing a qualified employer plan
(Stabenow/Camp)
H.R. 1102 -- Comprehensive Retirement Security and
Pension Reform Act - A bill to provide for pension reform
(Portman/Cardin)
H.R. 2102 -- Long-Term Care and Retirement Security
Act of 1999 -- A bill to allow individuals a deduction for qualified
long-term care insurance premiums and a credit for individuals with long
term care needs, to provide for an individual and employer educational
campaign concerning long-term care insurance, and to amend title XIX of
the Social Security Act to expand State long-term care partnerships by
exempting 75 percent of partnership assets from Medicaid estate recovery
(N. Johnson/Thurman)
H.R. 957 - Farm and Ranch Risk Management Act -- FARRM
bill which would allow farmers to put money into the equivalent of IRAs to
cover expenses during downturns in the market.
(Hulshof/Thurman)
Miscellaneous bills incorporating many
issues:
H.R. 2085 -- Family Tax Reduction Act of
1999 -- A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to end the
marriage penalty, to provide estate tax relief for family-owned farms and
other family-owned businesses, to provide a tax credit for longterm care
needs, to expand the child and dependent care tax credit, to increase the
deduction for health insurance costs for self-employed individuals, and to
adjust for inflation the exemption amounts used to calculate the
individual alternative minimum tax. (Hooley)
H.R. 2020 -- Tax Relief for Working
Americans Act of 1999 -- A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986
to provide marriage penalty relief, incentives to encourage health
coverage, and increased child care assistance, to extend certain expiring
tax provisions, and for other purposes. (N. Johnson)
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