Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney/14th District New York

Back to My Work in Congress Main Page

Women's Caucus

Home Page
Constituent Services
Legislative Issues, Committees & Projects
Biography
Contact Congresswoman Maloney
Press & Statements
Links & Resources
Photo Album
Calendar
Photo Album




Search my Web site! Enter your search term(s) here:
 

 

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 Velázquez, 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 Velázquez, 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 Velázquez, 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 Velázquez, 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)