bill_id,congress,bill_type,bill_number,title,policy_area,introduced_date,latest_action_date,latest_action_text,origin_chamber,sponsor_name,sponsor_state,sponsor_party,sponsor_bioguide_id,cosponsor_count,summary_text,update_date,url
105-hr-4837,105,hr,4837,Comprehensive Budget Process Reform Act of 1998,Economics and Public Finance,1998-10-14,1998-10-14,Referred to House Rules,House,"Rep. Nussle, Jim [R-IA-2]",IA,R,N000172,24,"TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Budget With Force of Law      Title II:  Reserve Funds for Emergencies      Title III:  Enforcement of Budgetary Decisions           Subtitle A:  Application of Points of Order to                Unreported Legislation           Subtitle B:  Compliance with Budget Resolution           Subtitle C:  Justification for Budget Act Waivers           Subtitle D:  CBO Scoring of Conference Reports      Title IV:  Accountability for Federal Spending           Subtitle A:  Prohibitions on Indefinite Spending           Subtitle B:  Enhanced Congressional Oversight                Responsibilities           Subtitle C:  Strengthened Accountability      Title V:  Budgeting for Unfunded Liabilities and Other Long-           Term Obligations           Subtitle A:  Budgetary Treatment of Federal Insurance                Programs           Subtitle B:  Reports on Long-Term Budgetary Trends      Title VI:  Baselines, Byrd Rule, and Lock-Box           Subtitle A:  The Baseline           Subtitle B:  The Byrd Rule           Subtitle C:  Spending Accountability Lock-Box           Subtitle D:  Automatic Continuing Resolution      Title VII:  Budgeting in an Era of Surpluses Comprehensive Budget Process Reform Act of 1998 - Makes this Act effective for fiscal years beginning after September 30, 1999. Title I:  Budget With Force of Law - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (CBA) to require the Congress, by April 15 of each year, to complete action on a joint (currently, concurrent) resolution on the budget for the fiscal year beginning on October 1 of such year.    Requires such resolution, in addition to items required under existing law, to set forth for the fiscal year and at least the four ensuing fiscal years:  (1) subtotals of new budget authority and outlays for nondefense and defense discretionary spending, direct spending, and other subsets of such spending, if necessary; and (2) subtotals of new budget authority and outlays for emergencies for fiscal years to which the amendments made by title II of this Act apply. Revises matters which may be included in the budget resolution. Authorizes the resolution to change the statutory limit on the public debt if the amendment is submitted by the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives or the Senate Finance Committee to the appropriate Budget Committee. Revises required elements of the report accompanying the budget resolution.  Includes within such report:  (1) new budget authority and outlays for each major functional category based on allocations of total levels; (2) a measure, as a percentage of gross domestic product, of total outlays, total Federal revenues, the surplus or deficit, and new outlays for nondefense discretionary, defense, and direct spending; (3) a justification for allocating any new budget authority and outlays for any new program or activity to a committee for which such new authority and outlays would not be subject to discretionary appropriations; (4) a description of committee spending allocations; and (5) a justification for not subjecting any program or activity for which an allocation is made to an annual discretionary appropriation if the resolution includes any committee allocation (other than the Appropriations Committees) exceeding current law levels. Amends Federal provisions concerning elements of the President's required budget submission to the Congress.  Requires such submission to include, for the affected fiscal year and at least each of the four ensuing fiscal years:  (1) totals of new budget authority and outlays; (2) total Federal revenues and the amount by which the aggregate level of revenues should be increased or decreased by reported bills and resolutions; (3) the budget surplus or deficit; (4) subtotals of new budget authority and outlays for nondefense and defense discretionary spending and direct spending and other subsets of such spending, if necessary; (5) the public debt limit; and (6) subtotals of new budget authority and outlays for emergencies for fiscal years to which title II of this Act applies. Amends the CBA to provide a point of order against consideration of any budget resolution or related amendment or conference report that contains matter not specified in content requirements. (Sec. 104) Removes an exception which allows general appropriations bills in the House, after May 15, to be considered before the budget resolution has been agreed to. Applies a specified pay-as-you-go exception in the House to certain legislation that would not increase the deficit only after the date of enactment of the budget resolution (currently, April 15). Requires a three-fifths majority in the Senate to waive or suspend provisions requiring the budget resolution to be adopted before budget-related legislation is considered. Provides for expedited procedures upon presidential veto of the budget resolution.  Authorizes the Budget Committees to introduce a concurrent or joint budget resolution upon such veto.  Discharges such committees from further consideration of the resolution if such resolution is not reported within three days of referral.  Deems any agreed-to concurrent resolution to be the budget resolution for the applicable fiscal years. (Sec. 105) Excludes outlays and revenues of the Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) Program under the Social Security Act from surplus or deficit totals required by this Act or other specified Federal public finance provisions. Bars receipts and disbursements of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors and Disability Insurance Trust Funds from being counted as new budget authority, outlays, receipts, or deficit or surplus for purposes of the President's budget submission, the congressional budget, or the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Makes it out of order to consider legislation in the House that would provide for specified increases in OASDI benefits or decreases in OASDI taxes. Title II:  Reserve Funds for Emergencies - Repeals provisions of the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act regarding:  (1) discretionary spending limits and emergency appropriations; and (2) direct spending and emergency legislation. Amends rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives to repeal a provision which prohibits a provision from being reported in appropriations legislation containing an emergency designation if such provision is not designated as an emergency, with specified exceptions. (Sec. 206) Amends the CBA to require adjustments to be made only to allocations with respect to emergencies in amounts not to exceed those in reserve funds established by this Act. Sets forth the amounts for discretionary budget authority, direct spending, and outlays to be contained in reserve funds for emergencies. Directs the chairman of the Budget Committee, in the case of legislation that provides budget authority for any emergency, to make an adjustment only to the applicable allocation if the chairman certifies that such outlays or budget authority and the resulting outlays are for an emergency meeting the definition under this Act. Sets forth procedures for the consideration of legislation that provides budget authority for an emergency exceeding the amount provided for in the budget resolution. (Sec. 207) Requires committees, when reporting legislation that provides budget authority for any emergency, to identify all provisions that provide such authority and the resulting outlays in the accompanying report or joint explanatory statement of managers. (Sec. 208) Includes:  (1) up-to-date tabulations of amounts remaining in the reserve funds for emergencies in summary budget scorekeeping reports provided by the Budget Committees; and (2) the average annual enacted levels of discretionary and direct spending budget authority and the resulting outlays for emergencies for the five fiscal years preceding the fiscal year of the budget resolution in the report accompanying the resolution. (Sec. 210) Makes it out of order to consider an amendment to a budget resolution which changes the amount of budget authority and outlays set forth for emergency reserve funds. Permits limitations on the contents of the budget resolution and the point of order against changing the budget authority and outlays for emergency reserve funds to be waived or suspended only by a three-fifths majority in the Senate. (Sec. 211) Makes the amendments of this title effective only after the enactment of legislation changing or extending for any fiscal year any of the discretionary spending limits set forth in the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act. Title III:  Enforcement of Budgetary Decisions - Subtitle A: Application of Points of Order to Unreported Legislation - Applies a certain point of order against the consideration of unreported legislation in the House before the adoption of the budget resolution. Subtitle B:  Compliance with Budget Resolution - Amends rule XIII of the Rules of the House to require committee reports to include a budget compliance statement prepared by the chairman of the Budget Committee. Subtitle C:  Justification for Budget Act Waivers - Amends rule XI of the Rules of the House to provide a point of order against consideration of any resolution from the Committee on Rules to consider any reported legislation which waives specified provisions of the CBA unless the report contains certain information on the provision proposed for waiver. Subtitle D:  CBO Scoring of Conference Reports - Amends the CBA to provide for Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis and scoring of conference reports.  Requires such analysis to include, for reported legislation and conference reports, a determination of whether the measure provides indefinite spending authority. Title IV:  Accountability for Federal Spending - Subtitle A: Prohibitions on Indefinite Spending - Provides a point of order in the House and the Senate against consideration of legislation that provides direct spending for a new program unless such spending is limited to a period of ten or fewer fiscal years.  Removes provisions regarding points of order and legislation providing new entitlement authority. Amends rule XXI of the Rules of the House to make it out of order to consider any legislation that authorizes the appropriation of new budget authority unless such authorization is specifically provided for ten or fewer fiscal years. Amends rule XXIII of the Rules of the House to provide that, in the Committee of the Whole, an amendment to subject a new program providing direct spending to discretionary appropriations if offered by the chairman of the Budget or Appropriations Committees may be precluded from consideration only by the specific terms of a special House order. Declares that the purpose of such amendment is to hold the discretionary spending limits and allocations made to the Appropriations Committee harmless for legislation that offsets a new discretionary program with a designated reduction in direct spending. Amends the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act to require, if a provision of direct spending legislation is enacted that decreases direct spending for any fiscal year and is designated as an offset and specifically identifies an authorization of discretionary appropriations for a new program, the reductions in new budget authority and outlays resulting from such provision to be designated as an offset in specified CBO pay-as-you-go estimates.  Excludes such offsets from such estimates. Requires, if an authorization Act includes provisions reducing direct spending and identifies those provisions as offsets, the adjustments to be an increase in the budget authority and outlay caps in each fiscal year equal to such authority and reductions, respectively, achieved by the specified offsets.  Prohibits the adjustments for the first fiscal year in which the offsetting provisions take effect from exceeding the amount of discretionary new budget authority enacted for the new program in an Act making discretionary appropriations and the resulting outlays. Provides for:  (1) adjustments to discretionary spending limits, allocations, and budgetary allocations resulting from programs for which offsets were designated and resulting outlays; and (2) reductions of committee allocations of new budget authority and outlays with respect to reported legislation containing provisions that decrease direct spending and are designated as offsets. Subtitle B:  Enhanced Congressional Oversight Responsibilities - Amends rule X of the Rules of the House to require House committees, in developing oversight plans, to provide a specific timetable for review of laws, programs, or agencies within their jurisdiction and require such timetable to demonstrate that such laws, programs, or agencies will be reauthorized at least once every ten years. Removes a provision of such rule pertaining to procedures for consideration of legislation providing new entitlement authority which exceeds the appropriate allocation of budget authority. Requires the House Appropriations Committee to report at least once each Congress (currently, from time to time) on recommendations for terminating or modifying provisions of law which provide permanent budget authority. (Sec. 422) Amends the CBA to require the joint explanatory statement accompanying a conference report on a joint budget resolution that includes an allocation to a committee (other than the Appropriations Committee) of levels exceeding current law levels to set forth a justification for not subjecting any program to annual discretionary appropriations.  Makes conforming amendments to provisions regarding the presidential budget submission and to House rules regarding committee consideration of legislation. (Sec. 424) Requires the Budget Committees, during the 106th Congress, to report results of a study on budget reform proposals. Subtitle C:  Strengthened Accountability - Requires certain reports on legislation providing new budget authority or increases or decreases in revenues or tax expenditures to include CBO projections of how such legislation will affect levels of budget authority, outlays, revenue, or tax expenditures for the affected fiscal year and the ensuing nine (currently, four) fiscal years.  Provides for ten-year (currently, four) CBO cost estimates of reported legislation as well. Amends rule XIII of the Rules of the House to require committee reports to contain cost estimates for each of 11 fiscal years. (Sec. 432) Repeals rule XLIX (relating to the establishment of the statutory limit on the public debt) of the Rules of the House. Title V:  Budgeting for Unfunded Liabilities and Other Long-Term Obligations - Subtitle A:  Budgetary Treatment of Federal Insurance Programs - Amends the CBA to establish a new title known as the Federal Insurance Budgeting Act of 1998. Requires the President's budget, beginning with FY 2005, to be based on the risk-assumed cost of Federal insurance programs.  Defines ""risk-assumed cost"" as the net present value of the estimated cash flows to and from the Government resulting from an insurance commitment or modification. Requires the program accounts for such programs to pay:  (1) the risk-assumed cost borne by the taxpayer to the financing account; and (2) actual insurance program administrative costs.  Requires the financing accounts to:  (1) receive premiums and other income; (2) pay all claims for insurance and receive all recoveries; and (3) transfer to the program account at least annually amounts necessary to pay administrative costs.  Provides that a negative risk-assumed cost shall be transferred from the financing to the program account and from the program account as a nonexpenditure transfer to the general fund.  Requires all payments by or receipts of the financing accounts to be treated in the budget as a means of financing. Permits insurance commitments to be made for FY 2005 and thereafter only to the extent that new budget authority to cover the risk-assumed cost is provided in advance in an appropriations Act.  Prohibits modification of an outstanding commitment in a manner that increases the risk-assumed cost unless budget authority for the additional cost has been provided in advance.  Makes such requirements inapplicable to insurance programs that constitute entitlements. Provides for re-estimations of risk-assumed cost in each subsequent year. Requires agencies with responsibility for Federal insurance programs to develop models to estimate risk-assumed cost by year through the budget horizon and to submit such models, all relevant data, justifications for critical assumptions, and annual projected risk-assumed costs to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) with budget requests each year starting with the request for FY 2001. Directs OMB and CBO, after a comment period for interested persons, to revise the models, data, and major assumptions they would use to estimate the risk-assumed cost of Federal insurance programs. Requires the President's budget submissions and budgets and CBO's reports on the economic and budget outlook for FY 2002 through 2004 to estimate, for display purposes only, the risk-assumed cost of existing or proposed Federal insurance programs. Requires OMB, CBO, and the General Accounting Office to report to the Budget Committees on the advisability and appropriate implementation of this section. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2004 to OMB and each agency responsible for administering a Federal program to carry out this title. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to borrow from, receive from, lend to, or pay the insurance financing accounts appropriate amounts. Establishes a financing account for each Federal insurance program on September 30, 2004.  Appropriates to such accounts the amount of the unfunded risk-assumed cost of outstanding Federal insurance commitments as of the close of September 30, 2004. Terminates this section on the last day of FY 2006. Subtitle B:  Reports on Long-Term Budgetary Trends - Requires the President's budget submission to include:  (1) an analysis based upon current law and one based upon the policy assumptions underlying the submission for every fifth year of the period of the 75 fiscal years beginning with the affected fiscal year of the estimated levels of total new budget authority, outlays, estimated revenues, surpluses, and deficits and, for each major Federal entitlement program, estimated levels of total new budget authority and outlays; and (2) a specification of underlying assumptions and a sensitivity analysis of factors that have a significant effect on the projections made in each analysis and a comparison of the effects of the two analyses on the economy.  Establishes a conforming requirement for CBO's annual report to the Budget Committees on fiscal policy. Title VI:  Baselines, Byrd Rule, and Lock-Box - Subtitle A:  The Baseline - Revises required elements of the President's budget submission to include percentage changes between the current year and the fiscal year for which the budget is submitted for:  (1) estimated expenditures and appropriations which are necessary to support the Government, with an exception for detailed budget estimates; (2) laws in effect when the budget is submitted and proposals in the budget to increase revenues as well as for each of the four ensuing fiscal years; and (3) certain proposed appropriations and expenditures for legislation that would establish or expand Government activities or functions, with an exception for detailed budget estimates. Includes within the submission:  (1) a comparison of levels of estimated expenditures and proposed appropriations for each function and subfunction in the current fiscal year and the fiscal year for which the budget is submitted, along with the proposed increase or decrease of spending in percentage terms for each function and subfunction; and (2) a table on sources of growth in total direct spending under current law and as proposed in the submission for the budget year and the ensuing four fiscal years. (Sec. 612) Amends the CBA to require the report accompanying the budget resolution to include a comparison of levels for the current fiscal year with proposed spending and revenue levels for subsequent fiscal years along with the proposed increase or decrease of spending in percentage terms for each function. (Sec. 613) Includes similar requirements in certain CBO reports. (Sec. 614) Requires the OMB and CBO Directors, in making budgetary projections for years for which there are no discretionary spending limits, to assume discretionary spending levels at the levels for the last fiscal year for which such levels were in effect. Subtitle B:  The Byrd Rule - Removes the applicability of certain procedures with respect to extraneous matter in reconciliation legislation to conference reports. Subtitle C:  Spending Accountability Lock-box - Spending Accountability Lock-box Act of 1998 - Directs the chairmen of the Budget Committees to each maintain a Spending Accountability Lock-box Ledger, to be divided into entries corresponding to the subcommittees of the Appropriations Committees.  Requires each entry to consist of three components:  (1) the House Lock-box Balance; (2) the Senate Lock-box Balance; and (3) the Joint House-Senate Lock-box Balance. Authorizes Members of the House or the Senate, when offering an amendment to an appropriation bill to reduce new budget authority in any account, to state the portion of such reduction to be:  (1) credited to the House or Senate Lock-box Balance; (2) used to offset an increase in new budget authority in any other account; or (3) allowed to remain within the Appropriations Committees' subcommittee suballocation.  Credits the amount of the reduction to either Lock-box Balance, as applicable, if the amendment is agreed to and no such statement is made. Requires the Budget Committee chairmen, upon the engrossment of any appropriation bill by the House and upon the engrossment of that bill by the Senate, to credit to the applicable entry balance of that House amounts of new budget authority and outlays equal to the net amounts of reductions in new budget authority and in outlays resulting from amendments agreed to by that House to that bill.  Specifies the amounts to be credited to the Joint House-Senate Lock-box Balance. Requires a running tally to be available to Members of the House, during the consideration of any appropriations bill by the House, of the amendments adopted reflecting increases and decreases of budget authority in such bill as reported. (Sec. 633) Provides for the downward adjustment, by the amounts credited to the applicable Joint House-Senate Lock-box Balance, of: (1) allocations for the House and Senate upon the engrossment of Senate amendments to any appropriation bill; and (2) suballocations, whenever a such a downward adjustment is made to an allocation. (Sec. 634) Requires the CBO Director to include an up-to-date tabulation of the amounts contained in the Deficit Reduction Lock-box Ledger and each entry in periodic reports. Requires the downward adjustment of discretionary spending limits set forth in the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act by amounts set forth in the final regular appropriation bill for the fiscal year or joint resolution making continuing appropriations through the end of such fiscal year. Subtitle D:  Automatic Continuing Resolution - Amends Federal law to make appropriations, if any regular appropriation bill for a fiscal year does not become law prior to the beginning of such year or a continuing appropriations resolution is not in effect, to continue any project or activity for which funds were provided in the preceding year:  (1) in the corresponding regular appropriations Act for that year; or (2) in a continuing appropriations resolution for such year if the regular bill did not become law. Makes such appropriations available:  (1) at a rate of operations not to exceed the rate provided for the project in the preceding fiscal year; and (2) beginning with the first day of a lapse in appropriations and ending on the earlier of the date the regular appropriation bill, or continuing resolution, becomes law or the last day of the fiscal year.  Subjects such appropriations to any conditions imposed in the preceding fiscal year or pursuant to current law. Provides that nothing in this section shall be construed to affect Government obligations mandated by other law, including obligations with respect to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Title VII:  Budgeting in an Era of Surpluses - Amends the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act to revise the purpose of pay-as-you-go provisions to declare such purpose to be to assure that direct spending or receipts legislation does not increase the deficit or exceed the on-budget surplus. Reduces the amount of any sequestration for the budget year by any OMB estimate of excess receipts over outlays.  Excludes outlays and receipts of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors and Disability Insurance Trust Funds, or any off-budget entity from such estimates. Defines a net deficit, for purposes of sequestration provisions, as the amount by which decreases in revenues plus increases in outlays exceed increases in revenues plus decreases in outlays. Includes within sequestration preview reports the estimated excess of receipts over outlays, if any, with specified assumptions and without taking into account the effect of direct spending and receipts legislation enacted after this Act.  Requires actual levels of enacted discretionary spending limits to be used in the final pay-as-you-go report regarding information on excess receipts.",2025-08-21T16:11:41Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/4837
105-hr-4452,105,hr,4452,Requiring the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation to use dynamic economic modeling in addition to static economic modeling in the preparation of budgetary estimates of proposed changes in Federal revenue law.,Economics and Public Finance,1998-08-06,1998-08-06,Referred to House Ways and Means,House,"Rep. Campbell, Tom [R-CA-15]",CA,R,C000100,3,"Expresses the sense of the Congress that it is necessary to ensure that the Congress is presented with reliable information from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Joint Committee on Taxation as to the dynamic macroeconomic feedback effects to changes in Federal law and the probable behavioral responses of taxpayers, businesses, and other parties to such changes. Requires the Joint Committee and CBO to prepare fiscal estimates of each proposed change in Federal revenue law on the basis of assumptions that estimate the probable behavioral responses of personal and business taxpayers and other relevant entities to such change and its dynamic macroeconomic feedback effects.  Applies such requirement only to proposed changes that, pursuant to static fiscal estimates, have a fiscal impact exceeding $100 million in any fiscal year.",2025-04-07T15:33:40Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/4452
105-hr-4380,105,hr,4380,"District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 1999",Economics and Public Finance,1998-08-03,1998-08-31,Received in the Senate. Read twice. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 537.,House,"Rep. Taylor, Charles H. [R-NC-11]",NC,R,T000067,0,"TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Appropriations      Title II:  District of Columbia Student Opportunity           Scholarships District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 1999 - Title I: Appropriations - Makes appropriations for the District of Columbia for FY 1999, including amounts for:  (1) the Federal contribution to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority for improvements and expansion of the Mount Vernon Square Metrorail station located at the site of the proposed Washington Convention Center project; (2) the Federal contribution to the Nation's Capital Infrastructure Fund; (3) the Federal contribution for an environmental study and related activities at the Lorton Correctional Complex; (4) the Federal contribution for the District's Offender Supervision, Defender, and Court Services Agency (Agency) for establishment of a residential sanctions center and drug testing, intervention, and treatment, to be used to ensure adequate response to persons who violate conditions of supervision and to implement recommendations of the District's Truth- in-Sentencing Commission; (5) the Federal payment to the District's Corrections Trustee for operations and correctional facilities; (6) the Federal payment to the District courts; (7) the Federal payment to the District's Offender Supervision, Defender, and Court Services Agency for necessary expenses of Parole Revocation, Adult Probation and Offender Supervision and to be made available to the Public Defender Service and the Pretrial Services Agency; (8) the Federal payment to the Metropolitan Police Department; (9) the Federal payment to the Fire Department; (10) a Federal contribution to the Board of Trustees of Boys Town U.S.A. for expansion of the operations of Boys Town of Washington; (11) the Federal payment to the Historical Society of Washington, D.C. for the establishment and operation of a Museum of the District at the Carnegie Library at Mount Vernon Square; (12) the Federal payment to the U.S. Park Police; (13) the Federal payment to the District Department of Housing and Community Development for a study by the U.S.  Army Corps of Engineers of necessary improvements to the Southwest Waterfront in the District; (14) the Federal payment to the International Youth Service and Development Corps, Inc. for a mentoring program for at-risk children in the District and for the operation of a resource hotline for low-income individuals in the District; and (15) a Federal contribution to the public education system for public charter schools. Appropriates specified sums out of the District's general fund (and other funds, in some cases) for the current fiscal year for:  (1) governmental direction and support; (2) economic development and regulation; (3) public safety and justice; (4) the public education system; (5) human support services; (6) public works; (7) the Washington Convention Center Fund transfer payment; (8) repayment of certain loans and interest; (9) repayment of General Fund Recovery Debt; (10) payment of interest on short term borrowing; (11) lease payments in accordance with the Certificates of Participation involving the land site underlying the building located at One Judiciary Square; (12) human resources development; (13) the District's Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority (Authority); (14) receivership programs; (15) the Water and Sewer Authority and the Washington Aqueduct; (16) the Lottery and Charitable Games Control Board; (17) the Cable Television Enterprise Fund; (18) the Public Service Commission; (19) the Office of the People's Counsel; (20) the Office of Banking and Financial Institutions; (21) the Department of Insurance and Securities Regulation; (22) D.C.  General Hospital; (23) the Starplex Fund; (24) the D.C. Retirement Board; (25) the Correctional Industries Fund; (26) the Washington Convention Center Enterprise Fund; and (27) capital outlays (including rescissions). Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. Bars the use of revenues from Federal sources to support the operations of the D.C. Statehood and Statehood Compact Commissions. Requires the District to identify the sources of funding for Admission to Statehood from its own locally-generated revenues. (Sec. 110) Prohibits funds appropriated in this Act from being available to pay the salary of any District government employee whose name, title, grade, salary, work experience, and salary history are not available for inspection by specified congressional committees and subcommittees and the District Council. (Sec. 114) Bars the D.C.  Mayor from borrowing any funds for capital projects without prior approval of the District Council. (Sec. 124) Applies any sequestration orders under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to each account appropriating Federal funds in this Act rather than to the aggregate total of such accounts.  Requires the Mayor, in the event such an order is issued after amounts appropriated to the District have been paid, to pay sequestered amounts to the Secretary of the Treasury . (Sec. 127) Bars the use of Federal funds provided in this Act to provide for salaries or other expenses associated with the offices of U.S. Senator or Representative under the District of Columbia Statehood Constitutional Convention Initiatives of 1979. (Sec. 130) Prohibits funds contained in this Act from being made available under specified conditions, to pay the fees of an attorney who represents a party who prevails in an action brought against the District public schools under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act nor shall the fees be made available to an attorney who represents a party who prevails in an administrative proceeding under such Act. (Sec. 131) Prohibits the expenditure of funds appropriated under this Act for abortions except where the mother's life would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term or in cases of rape or incest. (Sec. 132) Bars the use of funds made available by this Act to implement any system of registration of unmarried, cohabitating couples for purposes of extending benefits to such couples on the same basis as such benefits are extended to married couples or to implement the District Domestic Partner Act (also known as the District of Columbia Health Care Benefits Expansion Act of 1992). (Sec. 135) Requires by FY 1999, or within 15 calendar days after the enactment of this Act, whichever occurs later, and each succeeding year, the Emergency Transitional Education Board of Trustees and the University of the District of Columbia (University) to submit to the appropriate congressional committees, the Mayor, the District Council, the Consensus Commission, and the Authority, a revised appropriated funds operating budget for the public school system and the University for such fiscal year that is in the total amount of the approved appropriation and that realigns budgeted data for personal services and other-than-personal services, respectively, with anticipated actual expenditures. (Sec. 136) Requires the Emergency Transitional Education Board of Trustees, the Board of Trustees of the University, the Board of Library Trustees, and the Board of Governors of the University of the District of Columbia School of Law to vote on and approve their respective annual or revised budgets before submission to the Mayor for inclusion in the Mayor's budget submission to the District Council or before submitting their respective budgets directly to the Council. (Sec. 137) Establishes a ceiling on total operating expenses for the District for FY 1998.  Permits increases of such amount for:  (1) one-time emergency or unanticipated operating or capital needs transactions approved by the Authority; and (2) additional approved expenditures which the Chief Financial Officer certifies will produce additional revenues during such fiscal year at least equal to 200 percent of such expenditures. Authorizes, to the extent that the sum of total revenues of the District for such fiscal year exceed the total amount provided for, the Chief Financial Officer, with the approval of the Authority, to credit up to ten percent of the amount of such difference, not to exceed $3.3 million to a reserve fund which may be expended for operating purposes in future fiscal years (in accordance with the financial plans and budgets for such years).  Prohibits the Chief Financial Officer from reprogramming for operating expenses any funds derived from bonds, notes, or other obligations issued for capital projects.  Sets forth conditions under which grants excluded from such ceiling may be accepted. Requires the Authority, within 20 calendar days after the end of each fiscal quarter starting FY 1999, to report to specified congressional committees on an itemized accounting of all non-appropriated funds obligated or expended by the Authority for the quarter. Applies local revenues collected in excess of amounts required to support appropriations in this Act for District operating expenses for FY 1999 to:  (1) the elimination of the general fund accumulated deficit; (2) a reserve account not to exceed $250 million to be used to finance seasonal cash needs (in lieu of short term borrowings); (3) accelerate repayment of cash borrowed from the Water and Sewer Fund; and (4) to reduce the outstanding long term debt. (Sec. 138) Directs the District of Columbia Emergency Transitional Education Board of Trustees to:  (1) develop a comprehensive plan to identify and accomplish energy conservation measures to achieve maximum cost-effective energy and water savings; (2) enter into innovative financing and contractual mechanisms for such purposes; and (3) encourage District agencies to participate in programs conducted by utilities for the management of electricity or gas demand or energy or water conservation. (Sec. 139) Requires an employee of the District public schools to be:  (1) classified as an Educational Service employee; (2) placed under the personnel authority of the Board of Education; and (3) subject to all Board rules. Mandates that school-based personnel shall constitute a separate competitive area from nonschool-based personnel who shall not compete with school-based personnel for retention purposes. (Sec. 140) Prohibits the use of funds made available by this Act or any other Act from being used to provide any District officer or employee with an official vehicle unless the individual uses the vehicle only in the performance of his or her official duties. Excludes travel between the officer's or employee's residence and workplace (except in the case of a police officer who resides in the District). Requires the Chief Financial Officer of the District to submit, by November 15, 1998, an inventory, as of September 30, 1998, of all vehicles owned, leased, or operated by the District government.  Specifies the contents of such inventory. Provides that, for purposes of determining the amount of funds expended by any entity within the District government during FY 1999 and each succeeding fiscal year, any expenditures of the District government attributable to any District government officers or employees who provide services which are within the authority and jurisdiction of the entity (including any portion of the compensation paid to the officer or employee attributable to the time spent in providing such services) shall be treated as expenditures made from the entity's budget, without regard to whether the officers or employees are assigned to the entity or otherwise treated as the entity's officers or employees. (Sec. 141) Sets forth Buy American provisions. (Sec. 142) Provides that, notwithstanding any provision of any federally-granted charter or any other provision of law, the real property of the National Education Association located in the District shall be subject to taxation by the District in the same manner as any similar organization. (Sec. 143) Prohibits funds contained in this Act:  (1) or any other Act from being used to pay the salary or expenses of any officer or employee of any District government agency or of any entity within the District government who fails to provide information requested by the Chief Financial Officer; (2) from being used for purposes of the annual independent audit of the District government (including the Authority) for FY 1999 unless the audit is conducted by the Inspector General of the District and the audit includes a comparison of audited actual year-end results with the revenues submitted in the budget document for such year and the appropriations enacted into law for such year; and (3) from being used by the District Corporation Counsel or any other District government officer or entity to provide assistance for any petition drive or civil action which seeks to require the Congress to provide for voting representation in the Congress for the District. (Sec. 145) Conditions expenditure of appropriations made by this Act for programs or functions for which a reorganization plan is required only on the approval by the Authority of the required reorganization plan. (Sec. 146) Makes the evaluation process and instruments for evaluating District public school employees a non-negotiable item for collective bargaining purposes. (Sec. 148) Repeals the Residency Requirement Reinstatement Amendment Act of 1998. (Sec. 149) Prohibits Federal funds appropriated under this Act from being used to carry out any program of distributing sterile needles or syringes for the hypodermic injection of any illegal drug. (Sec. 150) Prohibits funds contained in this Act from being used: (1) to transfer or confine inmates classified above the medium security level, as defined by the Federal Bureau of Prisons classification instrument, to the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center located in Youngstown, Ohio; (2) to conduct any ballot initiative which seeks to legalize or otherwise reduce penalties associated with the possession, use, or distribution of any schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act or any tetrahydrocannibinols derivative; (3) for any program of distributing sterile needles or syringes for the hypodermic injection of any illegal drug, or for any payment to any individual or entity who carries out any such program; and (4) to carry out any joint adoption of a child between individuals who are not related by blood or marriage. (Sec. 154) Makes it unlawful for any individual under 18 years of age to possess any cigarette or other tobacco product in the District with the exception of an individual making a delivery of cigarettes or tobacco products in pursuance of employment.  Sets forth penalties for violations of this section. Title II:  District of Columbia Student Opportunity Scholarships - Authorizes the establishment of the District of Columbia Scholarship Corporation as a private, nonprofit corporation to administer, publicize, and evaluate the District of Columbia (District) scholarship program and to determine student and school eligibility for program participation. Establishes the District of Columbia Scholarship Fund, to be administered by the Secretary of the Treasury, through which annual funds shall be provided to the District and used by the Corporation for the program.  Authorizes appropriations to the Fund for FY 1999 through 2003. Provides for:  (1) organization and management of a Corporation Board of Directors, as well as related offices and staff; and (2) the annual audit of Corporation records. (Sec. 203) Authorizes the Corporation to award tuition scholarships and enhanced achievement scholarships to District students in kindergarten through grade 12 with family incomes not exceeding 185 percent of the national poverty line.  Provides for:  (1) certification requirements for educational institutions for eligibility to participate; (2) payments from the Corporation to participating institutions; (3) scholarship payments and amounts; (4) participation requirements for such institutions; (5) annual institution reporting requirements; (6) program appraisal by the Comptroller General, performed through an independent evaluation agency (with an authorization of appropriations for such appraisal); (7) an annual program progress report from the Corporation to the appropriate congressional committees; and (8) judicial review of actions challenging the program. Makes appropriations to the Scholarship Fund.",2025-04-07T15:33:52Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/4380
105-hr-4328,105,hr,4328,"Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999",Economics and Public Finance,1998-07-24,1998-10-21,Became Public Law No: 105-277.,House,"Rep. Wolf, Frank R. [R-VA-10]",VA,R,W000672,0,"TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Division A:  Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations           Title I:  Agricultural Programs           Title II:  Conservation Programs           Title III:  Rural Economic and Community Development                Programs           Title IV:  Domestic Food Programs           Title V:  Foreign Assistance and Related Programs           Title VI:  Related Agencies and Food and Drug                Administration           Title VII:  General Provisions           Title VIII:  Agricultural Credit           Title IX:  India-Pakistan Relief Act           Title X:  Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing                and Regulatory Programs           Title XI:  Emergency and Market Loss Assistance           Title XII:  Biodiesel           Title XIII:  Emergency Appropriations           Title I (sic):  Department of Justice           Title II:  Department of Commerce and Related Agencies           Title III:  The Judiciary           Title IV:  Department of State and Related Agencies           Title V:  Related Agencies           Title VI:  General Provisions           Title VII:  Rescissions           Title VIII:  (Ethical Standards for Federal Prosecutors)           Title IX:  National Whale Conservation Fund Act           (Title I (sic):  District of Columbia Appropriations)           Title I (sic):  Export and Investment Assistance           Title II:  Bilateral Economic Assistance           Title III:  Military Assistance           Title IV:  Multilateral Economic Assistance           Title V:  General Provisions           Title VI:  International Financial Programs and Reform           Title I (sic):  Department of the Interior           Title II:  Related Agencies           Title III:  General Provisions           Title IV:  The Herger-Feinstein Quincy Library Group                Forest Recovery Act           Title V:  Land Between the Lakes Protection Act           Title VI:  Interstate 90 Land Exchange Act           Title VII:  Indian Tribal Tort Claims and Risk                Management           Title I (sic):  Department of Labor           Title II:  Department of Health and Human Services           Title III:  Department of Education           Title IV:  Related Agencies           Title V:  General Provisions           Title VI:  National Center for Complementary and                Alternative Medicine           Title VII:  Miscellaneous Provisions           Title VIII:  Reading Excellence Act           Title IX:  Women's Health and Cancer Rights           Title I (sic):  Department of Transportation           Title II:  Related Agencies           Title III:  General Provisions           Title I (sic):  Department of the Treasury           Title II:  Postal Service           Title III:  Executive Office of the President and Funds                Appropriated to the President           Title IV:  Independent Agencies           Title V:  General Provisions (This Act)           Title VI:  General Provisions (Departments, Agencies,                and Corporations)           Title VIII (sic):  Technical and Clarifying Amendments           Title IX:  Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of                1998           Title VI (sic):  Offsets      Division B:  Emergency Supplemental Appropriations           Title I (sic):  Military Readiness and Overseas                Contingency Operations           Title II:  Antiterrorism           Title III:  Year 2000 Conversion of Federal Information                Technology Systems           Title IV:  Other Emergencies           Title V:  Counter-Drug Activities and Interdiction           Title VI:  General Provision      Division C:  Other Matters           Title I (sic):  Other Matters           Title II:  Fisheries           Title III:  Denali Commission           Title IV:  American Competitiveness and Workforce                Improvement Act           Title V:  Salton Sea Feasibility Study           Title VI:  Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Lower Brule Sioux                Tribe, and State of South Dakota Terrestrial      Wildlife Habitat Restoration           Title VII:  Office of National Drug Control Policy                Reauthorization           Title VIII:  Western Hemisphere Drug Elimination           Title IX:  Drug-Free Workplace Act           Title X:  Canyon Ferry Reservoir, Montana, Act           Title XI:  Moratorium on Certain Taxes           Title XII:  Other Provisions           Title XIII:  Children's Online Privacy Protection           Title XIV:  Child Online Protection           Title XV:  Vaccine Injury Compensation Program                Modification Act           Title XVI:  Service Connection for Persian Gulf War                Illnesses           Title XVII: Government Paperwork Elimination Act      Division D:  Drug Demand Reduction Act           Title I (sic):  Targeted Substance Abuse Prevention and                Treatment Programs           Title II:  Statement of National Antidrug Policy      Division E:  Methamphetamine Trafficking Penalty Enhancement           Act of 1998      Division F:  Not Legalizing Marijuana for Medicinal Use      Division G:  Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998           Title XI (sic):  General Provisions           Title XII:  United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency           Title XIII:  United States Information Agency           Title XIV:  United States International Development                Cooperation Agency           Title XV:  Agency for International Development           Title XVI:  Transition           Title XX (sic):  General Provisions           Title XXI:  Authorization of Appropriations for                Department of State           Title XXII:  Department of State Authorities and                Activities           Title XXIII:  Organization of the Department of State;                Department of State Personnel; The Foreign Service           Title XXIV:  United States Informational, Educational,                and Cultural Programs           Title XXV:  International Organizations Other Than                United Nations           Title XXVI:  United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency           Title XXVII:  European Security Act of 1998           Title XXVIII:  Other Foreign Policy Provisions      Division H:  Depository Institution-GSE Affiliation Act of 1998      Division I:  Chemical Weapons Convention           Title I (sic):  General Provisions           Title II:  Penalties for Unlawful Activities Subject to                the Jurisdiction of the United States           Title III:  Inspections           Title IV:  Reports           Title V:  Enforcement           Title VI:  Miscellaneous Provisions      Division (J):  Revenues and Medicare           Title I (sic): Extension and Modification of Certain                Expiring Provisions           Title II:  Other Tax Provisions           Title III:  Revenue Offsets           Title IV:  Technical Corrections           Title V:  Medicare-Related Provisions Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999 - Division A:  Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations - Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 - Title I:  Agricultural Programs - Appropriates funds for FY 1999 for the following Department of Agriculture programs and services:  (1) Office of the Secretary of Agriculture; (2) executive operations; (3) Office of Budget and Program Analyst; (4) Office of the Chief Information Office; (5) Office of the Chief Financial Officer; (6) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration; (7) Agriculture buildings and facilities and rental payments; (8) hazardous waste management; (9) departmental administration; (10) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations; (11) Office of Communications; (12) Office of the Inspector General; (13) Office of the General Counsel; (14) Office of the Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics; (15) Economic Research Service; (16) National Agricultural Statistics Service; (17) Agricultural Research Service; (18) Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service; (19) Native American Institutions Endowment Fund; (20) extension activities; (21) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs; (22) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service; (23) Agricultural Marketing Service; (24) Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration; (25) Food Safety and Inspection Service; (26) Office of the Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services; (27) Farm Service Agency; (28) Risk Management Agency; (29) Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Fund; and (30) Commodity Credit Corporation Fund. Title II:  Conservation Programs - Appropriates funds for the: (1) Office of the Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment; and (2) Natural Resources Conservation Service. Title III:  Rural Economic and Community Development Programs - Appropriates funds for the:  (1) Office of the Under Secretary for Rural Development; (2) Rural Housing Service; (3) Rural Business- Cooperative Service; (4) Alternative Agricultural research and Commercialization Corporation Revolving Fund; and (5) Rural Utilities Service. Title IV:  Domestic Food Programs - Appropriates funds for the following:  (1) Office of the Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services; and (2) Food and Nutrition Service. Title V:  Foreign Assistance and Related Programs - Appropriates funds for the Foreign Agricultural Service and General Sales Manager. Title VI:  Related Agencies and Food and Drug Administration - Appropriates funds for the following:  (1) Food and Drug Administration; (2) Farm Credit System Financial Assistance Corporation; (3) Commodity Futures Trading Commission; and (4) Farm Credit Administration. Title VII:  General Provisions - Specifies certain uses and limits on or prohibitions against the use of funds appropriated by this Act. (Sec. 728) Designates the United States National Rice Germplasm Evaluation and Enhancement Center, Stuttgart, Arkansas, as the ""Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center."" (Sec. 729) Authorizes the transfer of specified funds for the Lower Mississippi Delta Region. (Sec. 730) Prohibits funds available under this Act from being used to enroll more than 120,000 acres in the FY 1999 wetlands reserve program. (Sec. 731) Prohibits funds available under this Act from being used to carry out the emergency food assistance program if such program exceeds $90 million. (Sec. 732) Prohibits funds available under this Act from being used for the Initiative for Future Agricultural and Food Systems. (Sec. 733) States that the City of Big Spring, Texas, shall be eligible for certain rural housing programs. (Sec. 734) States that the Municipality of Carolina, Puerto Rico, shall be eligible for certain rural utility grants and loans. (Sec. 735) States that the definition of ""rural areas"" for certain business and community facilities programs shall be as provided by statute and regulation prior to enactment of P.L.104-127. (Sec. 736) Prohibits funds available under this Act from being used for any commodity purchase program that would prohibit farmer- owned cooperative participation. (Sec. 737) Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to exclude the ionophore or arsenical classes of animal drugs from the definition of antibacterial ingredient or animal drug for certain animal drug application purposes. (Sec. 738) Prohibits the use of any funds to implement:  (1) specified milk marketing orders other than during the period February 1, 1999 through April 4, 1999, and only if effective on October 1, 1999; and (2) a clause under such orders designating California as a separate Federal milk marketing order other than during the period from final rule issuance through September 30, 1999. (Sec. 739) Requires milk marketing orders to include estimates of regional production costs, including transportation and marketing. (Sec. 740) Prohibits funds available under this Act from being used to carry out a conservation farm option program. (Sec. 741) Waives the statute of limitations on certain Department of Agriculture (Department) nonemployment discrimination complaints. (Sec. 742) Provides compensatory damages to farmers found to have been discriminated against under a Department loan program or other activity in violation of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. (Sec. 743) Amends Federal law with respect to brown tree snake introduction from Guam. (Sec. 744) Makes conservation funds available for construction of the Franklin County Lake Project, Mississippi. (Sec. 745) Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act with respect to the water systems program for rural and Native Alaskan villages to:  (1) reduce Alaska's matching fund requirement; and (2) increase the annual authorization of appropriations. (Sec. 746) Prohibits funds available under this Act for the Food and Drug Administration from being used to plan for, or close or relocate the Food and Drug Administration Division of Drug Analysis in St. Louis, Missouri. (Sec. 747) Prohibits funds available under this Act or any other Act for any fiscal year from being used to inspect and certify agricultural processing equipment unless the Secretary imposes a fee and performs such activities in a manner similar to that for agricultural products under the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946. Exempts the Secretary's authority under the Federal Meat Inspection Act, the Poultry Products Inspection Act, and the Egg Products Inspection Act from such requirement. (Sec. 748) Limits producer administrative fees for crop insurance catastrophic risk protection to not more than $50 per crop per county. (Sec. 749) Makes a specified Department personnel management demonstration project permanent. (Sec. 750) Amends Federal law to make foreign national employees of the Foreign Agricultural Service eligible for certain compensation under the Federal Employee Compensation Act, as of August 1, 1998. (Sec. 751) Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to exempt 30-year easements from certain payment limitations under the wetlands reserve program. (Sec. 753) Amends the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Research Act of 1978, as amended by the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998, with respect to the Northeastern States Research Cooperative. Amends the Honey Research, Promotion, and Consumer Information Act, as amended by the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998, to increase the honey assessment rate. Amends the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 to make State agricultural experiment stations eligible for certain research grants. Amends the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 to make State agricultural experiment stations eligible for new agricultural research, extension, and educational initiatives. Amends the Hatch Act of 1887 and the Smith-Lever Act, respectively, with respect to specified agricultural matching fund provisions for Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Guam. (Sec. 754) Prohibits funds appropriated by this Act or any other Act from being used for an agricultural budget submission to the Congress that assumes reductions from the previous year's budget due to user fee proposals unless the submission also identifies spending reductions to occur if the user fees are not enacted. (Sec. 755) Amends the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 with respect to inspections and certifications in interstate commerce to consider shell eggs packed under a Department voluntary grading program as not having been shipped for sale prior to such packing. Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to submit a shell egg and egg product safety report. (Sec. 756) Caps certain FY 1999 computer-related Department activities. (Sec. 757) Authorizes the Secretary to use specified funds for certain disaster or emergency tree loss assistance due to fire blight. (Sec. 758) Prohibits funds available under this Act from being used to establish an Office of Community Food Security or similar office within the Department without prior approval by the House and Senate Committees of Appropriations. (Sec. 759) Makes the city of Vineland, New Jersey, eligible for Rural Housing Service and Rural Business-Cooperative Service programs. (Sec. 760) Places a moratorium on the rule making authority of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission over swaps and derivatives through March 30, 1999. (Sec. 761) Prohibits the use of funds to allow the Agricultural Research Service to accept and administer the National Swine Research Center in Ames, Iowa. (Sec. 762) Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act to revise upland cotton special marketing loan provisions regarding marketing certificates and special import imposition. (Sec. 763) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to obligate specified emergency assistance appropriations for:  (1) low-income families adversely affected by utilizing Federal Emergency Management Agency guidelines; (2) Department of Commerce administrative costs, trade adjustment assistance, and disaster research and prevention; and (3) Small Business Administration direct loans. (Sec. 764) Amends the Clean Air Act with respect to methyl bromide production, production termination (not to terminate before January 1, 2005), and critical use exemption. (Sec. 765) States that county committee permanent employees employed on or after October 1, 1998, shall be considered to have civil service status only for the purpose of applying for Department civil service vacancies. (Sec. 766) Appropriates additional funds for rural empowerment zone and enterprise communities programs, with set asides for:  (1) a second round of the rural empowerment program; and (2) grants for up to 20 additional rural enterprise communities. Title VIII:  Agricultural Credit - Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to prohibit:  (1) loans to a borrower who has received loan or loan guarantee debt forgiveness; and (2) loan guarantees to a borrower who has received debt forgiveness after April 4, 1996, or who has received debt forgiveness on more than three occasions as of such date. (Sec. 801) Authorizes direct or guaranteed farm operating loans to a borrower whose loan has been restructured or whose reorganized payments are current. Authorizes emergency loans to a borrower who:  (1) has not received loan or loan guarantee debt forgiveness after April 4, 1996; or (2) has not received more than one forgiveness as of such date. (Sec. 802) Prohibits loan denial based upon lack of a specific amount of collateral if repayment is otherwise reasonably certain. (Sec. 803) Amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act and the Agricultural Market Transition Act to exempt emergency loans from their respective multiple benefits restriction. (Sec. 804) Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to require borrower notification of impending real estate loan ineligibility. (Sec. 806) Increases farm ownership and operating loan limits. (Sec. 808) Reduces certain cash flow margin criteria for loan restructuring purposes. Title IX:  India-Pakistan Relief Act - India-Pakistan Relief Act of 1998 - Authorizes the President to waive for up to one year certain export control laws for India or Pakistan under the Arms Export Control Act, the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, or the Export Import Bank Act of 1945. Title X:  Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs - Amends the Federal Crop Insurance Reform and Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to authorize the Secretary to establish the position of Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs.  Directs the Secretary to delegate those Department functions related to agricultural marketing, animal and plant health inspection, grain inspection, and packers and stockyards. Title XI:  Emergency and Market Loss Assistance - Subtitle A: Emergency Assistance for Crop and Livestock Feed Losses Due to Disasters - Directs:  (1) the Secretary to administer a disaster crop loss assistance program, with specified spending limits for 1998 disaster crop losses and multiyear (1998 and preceding year) disaster and disease crop losses; (2) producers without 1998 crop insurance to purchase 1999 and 2000 insurance in order to qualify for assistance; and (3) the Secretary to use specified amounts for livestock feed assistance to producers affected by 1998 disasters. Subtitle B:  Market Loss Assistance - Directs the Secretary to use specified amounts for owners and producers eligible for FY 1998 production flexibility contract payments to partially compensate them for 1998 market losses.  Establishes a dairy producer set-aside. Subtitle C:  Other Assistance - Directs the Secretary to provide matching assistance to Georgia for an indemnity fund for cotton producers whose properly stored and harvested crops were lost by bankrupt warehouses in 1998 or 1999. (Sec. 1122) Provides 1998 honey recourse loans. (Sec. 1123) Provides FY 1999 noninsured crop assistance to specified raisin producers. (Sec. 1124) Appropriates additional Department funds for emergency assistance for certain losses incurred under the Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976. (Sec. 1125) Amends the Food for Progress Act of 1985 to:  (1) increase FY 1999 funding limits for the food for progress program; and (2) direct the Secretary to use private voluntary organizations to the maximum extent in carrying out the FY 1999 program. (Sec. 1126) Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act to provide FY 1999 recourse loans for mohair. (Sec. 1127) Amends the Packers and Stockyards Act to direct the Secretary to:  (1) conduct a 12-month pilot program in which persons buying, selling, or marketing domestic or imported beef, sheep, or lamb for consumption shall report to the Secretary on procurement prices; and (2) conduct a 12-month investigation of electronic means for collecting related export data.  Appropriates funds. Subtitle D:  Administration - Directs the Secretary to carry out this title through the Commodity Credit Corporation. (Sec. 1132) Designates amounts made available under this title as emergency requirements pursuant to the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control of 1985, as amended. Title XII:  Biodiesel - (Language of this title was included as section 7 of P.L.105-388.)  Amends the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to set forth a statutory mechanism for the allocation of credit for specified biodiesel fuel use by a fleet or covered person. (Sec. 1201) Directs the Secretary of Energy to allocate one credit to a fleet or covered person for each qualifying volume of the biodiesel component of fuel containing at least 20 percent biodiesel by volume (B-20) purchased for use by the fleet or covered person in vehicles that weigh more than 8,500 pounds gross vehicle weight rating.   Permits the Secretary to lower the B-20 requirement for reasons related to cold start, safety, or vehicle function considerations. Prohibits the allocation of credits for a purchase of biodiesel: (1) for use in alternative fueled vehicles; or (2) required by Federal or State law. Directs the Secretary, upon the request of a fleet or covered person receiving a credit allocation, to treat a purchase as the required annual acquisition of one alternative fueled vehicle. Title XIII:  Emergency Appropriations - Makes emergency appropriations (designated pursuant to the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended) to the Department for the:  (1) Farm Service Agency; (2) Commodity Credit Corporation Fund; and (3) Natural Resources Conservation Service. Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 - Title I (sic):  Department of Justice - Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for the Department of Justice for:  (1) general administration; (2) counterterrorism activities; (3) administration of pardon and clemency petitions and immigration-related activities; (4) the Office of Inspector General; (5) the U.S. Parole Commission; (6) legal activities; (7) antitrust activities; (8) the Offices of U.S. Attorneys; (9) the U.S. Trustee Program; (10) the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission; (11) the U.S. Marshals Service, including an amount for expenses related to prisoners in the custody of the Marshals Service; (12) fees and expenses of witnesses; (13) the Community Relations Service; (14) certain uses of the Assets Forfeiture Fund; (15) administrative expenses related to the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act; (16) interagency law enforcement with respect to organized crime drug trafficking; (17) the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); (18) construction for specified agencies; (19) the Drug Enforcement Administration; (20) the Immigration and Naturalization Service; (21) the Federal prison system, including amounts for buildings and facilities; (22) the Office of Justice programs; (23) State and local law enforcement assistance, including amounts for violent crime reduction programs; (24) the Executive Office for Weed and Seed; (25) community-oriented policing services for violent crime reduction; (26) juvenile justice programs; and (27) public safety officers' benefits. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. Establishes a Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System Fund for the payment of expenses related to the scheduling and transportation of U.S. prisoners and illegal and criminal aliens in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.. (Sec. 103) Prohibits the use of funds appropriated by this title to:  (1) pay for abortions except where the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term, or in the case of rape; or (2) require any person to perform or facilitate an abortion. (Sec. 111) Requires the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to submit a study to specified congressional committees that evaluates the growth and development of the private prison industry during the past 15 years, training qualifications of personnel at such prisons, and security procedures of such facilities and compares the general standards and conditions of private and Federal prisons. (Sec. 114) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to prohibit any immigration inspection fee from being charged in connection with the arrival of any passenger, other than aircraft passengers, whose journey originated in a U.S. State. (Sec. 116) Amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to extend the deadline by which the Attorney General is required to establish an automated entry and exit control system.    (Sec. 117) Amends the Controlled Substances Act to make unlawful certain negligent failures to provide records or reports, including those pertaining to listed chemicals and certain machines.  (Current law provides that all failures to do so are unlawful.)  Limits penalties for negligent violations regarding reports or recordkeeping to $10,000. (Sec. 118) Requires the General Accounting Office to report to specified congressional committees on compliance of the Department of Justice and all U.S. Attorneys with the Guidance on the Use of the False Claims Act in Civil Health Care Matters. (Sec. 119) Amends the Federal criminal code to require applicants for firearm dealer licenses to certify that secure gun storage or safety devices will be available at any place in which firearms are sold under the license to persons who are not licensees, except in certain cases where such storage is temporarily unavailable. Authorizes revocation of licenses of dealers who fail to have such storage or devices available. (Sec. 120) Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize grants to non-Federal individuals or entities for firearm safety education. (Sec. 121) Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to prohibit the disposition of a firearm or ammunition to, and the possession of a firearm or ammunition by, an alien who has been admitted to the United States under a nonimmigrant visa. Requires the statement required from a firearms transferee to contain a statement that the transferee is not an alien who has been admitted to the United States under a nonimmigrant visa. Sets forth provisions regarding:  (1) exceptions for aliens admitted to the United States for lawful hunting or sporting purposes and for certain official government representatives, officials, distinguished foreign visitors, and foreign law enforcement officers; and (2) waivers. (Sec. 122) Amends the Federal criminal code to apply certain authorized investigative demand procedures currently applicable to Federal health care offenses to acts involving Federal offenses relating to sexual exploitation or abuse of children as well. (Sec. 123) Amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to expand the categories of sex offenders to whom penalties apply for knowingly failing to register under such Act or in States in which they reside, are employed, or are students. Removes monetary penalties for such offenses and retains existing imprisonment penalties. (Sec. 124) Authorizes nursing facilities or home health care agencies to submit requests to the Attorney General to conduct a search and exchange of specified FBI criminal history records regarding an applicant for employment if the employment position is involved in direct patient care.  Permits such information to be used only for purposes of determining suitability for employment of an applicant. Authorizes the Attorney General to charge a fee of up to $50 per request. Prescribes criminal penalties for unauthorized use of such information. Absolves a nursing facility or home health care agency that denies employment based on such information from liability in any action brought by the applicant in cases where the information is incomplete or inaccurate. (Sec. 126) Reduces the total of amounts appropriated under this title by a specified amount out of which reductions shall be made in accordance with the chart on Year 2000 funding dated September 17, 1998, provided to the Congress by the Department of Justice. (Sec. 127) Prohibits, unless the person concerned consents or disclosure is pursuant to a court order or a verdict of liability has been entered, the disclosure of specified financial records and personal information of a person employed or formerly employed by a Federal, State, or local jail, prison, or correctional facility in actions for deprivation of rights against such facilities or persons brought by a prisoner. (Sec. 128) Makes a numerical limitation on refugees under the Immigration and Nationality Act inapplicable to certain aliens who were U.S. Government employees, employees of nongovernmental organizations based in the United States, or other Iraqi nationals who were moved to Guam by the U.S. Government in 1996 or 1997 and granted asylum. (Sec. 129) Amends the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 to include within the definition of ""unit of local government"" under such Act:  (1) any law or judicial enforcement district that is established under State law and has the authority to establish a budget and raise revenues; and (2) for purposes of assistance eligibility, any Federal agency that performs law enforcement functions in and for the District of Columbia or any trust territory of the United States. Makes a parallel amendment to such definition under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968. (Sec. 130) Makes funds available for payments of judgments against the United States and compromise settlements of claims in suits against the United States arising from the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act. Title II:  Department of Commerce and Related Agencies - Department of Commerce and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for the Department of Commerce for:  (1) the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative; (2) the International Trade Commission; (3) international trade administration; (4) export administration and national security activities; (5) the Economic Development Administration; (6) minority business development; (7) economic and statistical analysis programs; (8) the Census Bureau; (9) the National Telecommunications and Information Administration; (10) public telecommunications facilities, planning, and construction grants; (11) information infrastructure grants; (12) the Patent and Trademark Office; (13) the Under Secretary for Technology-Office of Technology Policy; (14) the National Institute of Standards and Technology, including the Manufacturing Extension Partnership and for construction and renovation of facilities; (15) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), including amounts for procurement, acquisition, and construction of capital assets; (16) the Coastal Zone Management Fund; (17) the Fishermen's Contingency Fund; (18) the Foreign Fishing Observer Fund; (19) the fisheries finance program account; (20) general administration; and (21) the Office of Inspector General. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. Rescinds a specified amount of funds for Patent and Trademark Office salaries and expenses. (Sec. 210) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act to process or register any application filed with the Patent and Trademark Office under the Trademark Act of 1946 for a mark identical to the official tribal insignia of any federally recognized Indian tribe for a period of one year from this Act's enactment date. (Sec. 211) Bars certain transactions with respect to intellectual property in which the Cuban Government or a Cuban national has an interest with respect to a mark or trade or commercial name that is the same as or substantially similar to one that was used in connection with a business or assets that were confiscated unless the original owner or successor-in-interest has expressly consented. (Sec. 212) Directs the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, to convey land known as the J and J Casting site, in Lake County, Minnesota, to the city of Two Harbors, Minnesota. (Sec.  213) Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce, through the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, to exchange all right, title, and interest in the Lena Point property near Juneau, Alaska, to site a NOAA facility.  Permits NOAA to provide an easement or other long-term agreement to allow the State of Alaska to own, operate, and maintain a laboratory, classroom, and office facility on the site of the NOAA facility and to expend State funds for development of joint facilities that will be NOAA owned and operated. Title III:  The Judiciary - The Judiciary Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for:  (1) the Supreme Court, including an amount for care of the building and grounds; (2) the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; (3) the U.S. Court of International Trade; (4) the courts of appeals, district courts, and other judicial services; (5) violent crime reduction programs; (6) defender services; (7) fees of jurors and commissioners; (8) court security; (9) the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts; (10) the Federal Judicial Center; (11) judicial retirement funds; and (12) the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. Title IV:  Department of State and Related Agencies - Department of State and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for the Department of State for:  (1) administration of foreign affairs, diplomatic and consular programs; (2) salaries and expenses; (3) the Capital Investment Fund; (4) the Office of Inspector General; (5) representation allowances; (6) protection of foreign missions and officials; (7) security and maintenance of U.S. missions; (8) emergencies in the diplomatic and consular service; (9) the repatriation loans program account; (10) the American Institute in Taiwan; (11) the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Fund; (12) international organizations, conferences, peacekeeping, and commissions, including an amount for arrearage payments to the United Nations, subject to conditions; (13) the Asia Foundation; and (14) the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. Appropriates funds for the U.S. Information Agency (USIA) for:  (1) international information programs; (2) educational and cultural exchanges; (3) the Eisenhower Exchange Fellowships, Incorporated; (4) the Israeli Arab Scholarship Program; (5) international broadcasting, including broadcasting to Cuba; (6) radio construction; (7) the Center for Cultural and Technical Interchange Between East and West; (8) the North-South Center; and (9) the National Endowment for Democracy. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. (Sec. 403) Provides for border equalization adjustments for certain State Department, USIA, Agency for International Development, and International Joint Commission employees who commute from a residence in the United States to an official duty station in Canada or Mexico. (Sec. 406) Amends the International Organizations Immunities Act to extend privileges and immunities under such Act to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization in the same manner as such privileges and immunities are extended to a public international organization in which the United States participates. (Sec. 407) Amends Federal civil service provisions to make certain special agents of the Diplomatic Security Service eligible for availability premium pay for criminal investigators. (Sec. 408) Bars the use of funds made available in this Act by the State Department or USIA to provide assistance to the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation. (Sec. 409) Grants the Secretary of State discretionary authority to pay tort claims in connection with damages sought against the United States for injury or loss of property or personal injury or death caused by the negligent or wrongful act or omission of a Federal employee in a foreign country with respect to State Department overseas operations. (Sec. 410) Directs the Secretary and the Attorney General toimpose a $13 fee for the processing of applications for combined border crossing card and tourist or business visitor visa for certain Mexican citizens under the age of 15.  States that such card and visa for which the fee was reduced shall expire on the earlier of the date the child reaches the age of 15 or ten years after the issue date, unless at the request of the parent the card and visa are subject to a non- reduced fee in which case they will expire the same date as is usually provided for visas issued under the same provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Requires tourist and business visitor visas to continue to be processed at least until five years after the enactment date of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act of 1996 in the Mexican border cities of Nogales, Nuevo Laredo, Ciudad Acuna, Piedras Negras, Agua Prieta, and Reynosa.  Extends the deadline under such Act by which biometric identifiers on border crossing identification cards are required to match the biometric characteristic of the alien attempting to cross. Title V:  Related Agencies - Makes appropriations for the:  (1) Maritime Administration for maritime security, operations and training, and the maritime guaranteed loan program; (2) Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad; (3) Commission on Civil Rights; (4) Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe; (5) Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC); (6) Federal Communications Commission; (7) Federal Maritime Commission; (8) Federal Trade Commission; (9) Legal Services Corporation; (10) Marine Mammal Commission; (11) Commission on Ocean Policy; (12) Securities and Exchange Commission; (13) Small Business Administration, including amounts for the Office of Inspector General, business and disaster loans, and capital for the Surety Bond Guarantees Revolving Fund; and (14) State Justice Institute. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. Title VI:  General Provisions - Sets forth limitations on the use of funds under this Act. (Sec. 607) Sets forth Buy American provisions. (Sec. 608) Prohibits the use of funds made available by this Act to:  (1) enforce any EEOC guidelines covering harassment based on religion if such guidelines do not differ from proposed guidelines of October 1, 1993; or (2) provide specified personal comforts in the Federal prison system. (Sec. 609) Prohibits funds appropriated by this Act from being expended to pay for costs incurred in operating certain diplomatic or consular posts in Vietnam or increasing the number of personnel assigned to such posts unless the President certifies that the Vietnamese Government is cooperating in specified activities regarding resolution of sightings of, and accounting for, prisoners-of-war and individuals missing in action, recovery and analysis of American remains, and investigations in Laos. (Sec. 610) Prohibits the use of funds made available by this Act for any United Nations undertaking if:  (1) such undertaking is a peacekeeping mission and will involve U.S. armed forces under the command of a foreign national; and (2) the President's military advisors have not submitted a recommendation that such involvement is in the national security interest and the President has not submitted such recommendation to the Congress. (Sec. 616) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act to issue visas to certain individuals from Haiti, including those involved in specified extrajudicial and political killings. (Sec. 617) Bars the use of funds made available in this Act to issue or renew a fishing permit or authorization for any U.S. vessel exceeding certain limitations on length or tonnage and horsepower: (1) as specified in the permit application and authorization required to engage in fishing for Atlantic mackerel or herring under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; or (2) that would allow such vessel to engage in the catching or harvesting of fish in any other fishery within the U.S. exclusive economic zone (except territories), unless a certificate of documentation had been issued for the vessel and endorsed with a fishery endorsement that was effective on September 25, 1997. Invalidates any permit or authorization issued or renewed prior to this Act's enactment date that would allow a vessel subject to such prohibition to engage in fishing for Atlantic mackerel or herring during FY 1999.  Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act to allow a vessel with such invalidated permit or authorization to engage in the catching or harvesting of fish in any other fishery within the U.S. exclusive economic zone. (Sec. 618) Makes funds provided by this Act unavailable to promote the sale or export of tobacco or tobacco products or to seek the reduction or removal by any foreign country of restrictions on the marketing of such products, except for restrictions which are not applied equally to all products of the same type. (Sec. 619) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act to pay the expenses of an election officer appointed by a court to oversee an election of any officer or trustee for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. (Sec. 621) Prohibits funds appropriated under any law from being used for:  (1) the implementation of any tax or fee in connection with any criminal background check system that implements requirements under the Federal criminal code in connection with certain restrictions on the transfer of firearms; and (2) any such system that does not result in the destruction of information submitted by persons determined not to be prohibited from owning a firearm. (Sec. 623) Bars the use of funds made available in any Act to implement or enforce a specified executive order titled ""Federalism"" of May 14, 1998. (Sec. 624) Amends the Federal judicial code to transfer Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, from the State's Eastern Judicial District to its Middle Judicial District. (Sec. 625) Prohibits the use of funds made available by this Act for participation by U.S. delegates to the Standing Consultative Commission unless the President certifies to the Appropriations Committees that the U.S. Government is not implementing the Memorandum of Understanding Relating to the Treaty Between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Limitation of Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems of May 26, 1972, entered into on September 26, 1997, by the United States, Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Ukraine. Title VII:  Rescissions - Rescinds specified amounts of funds made available for:  (1) the Department of Justice for the working capital fund and legal activities of the Asset Forfeiture Fund; (2) FBI construction, salaries and expenses, and violent crime reduction; (3) the Immigration and Naturalization Service for the immigration emergency fund; (4) the U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration; (5) the Endowment for Children's Educational TV; (6) the National Institute of Standards and Technology for the Advanced Technology Program; and (7) the Maritime Administration for ship construction. Title VIII:  (Ethical Standards for Federal Prosecutors) - Subjects a Government attorney, including any independent counsel and employee of such counsel, to State laws and rules, and local Federal court rules, governing attorneys in each State where such attorney engages in duties to the same extent and in the same manner as other attorneys in that State. (Sec. 801) Directs the Attorney General to make and amend rules of the Department of Justice to assure compliance with this title. Title IX:  National Whale Conservation Fund Act - National Whale Conservation Fund Act of 1998 - Amends the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act to authorize the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to establish a national whale conservation endowment fund. (Sec. 903) Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to transfer specified funds to the Foundation. (Title I (sic):  District of Columbia Appropriations) - District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for the District of Columbia for FY 1999, including amounts for:  (1) the Federal contribution to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority for improvements and expansion of the Mount Vernon Square Metrorail station located at the site of the proposed Washington Convention Center project; (2) the Federal payment for management reform; (3) the Federal payment for Boys Town U.S.A. operations in the District; (4)the Federal contribution to the Nation's Capital Infrastructure Fund; (5) the Federal contribution for an environmental study and related activities at the Lorton Correctional Complex; (6) the Federal payment to the District's Corrections Trustee for operations; (7) the Federal payment to the District courts; (8) the Federal payment to the District's Offender Supervision, Defender, and Court Services Agency for necessary expenses of Parole Revocation, Adult Probation and Offender Supervision and to be made available to the Public Defender Service and the Pretrial Services Agency; (9) the Federal payment to the Metropolitan Police Department; (10) the Federal payment to the Fire Department; (11) the Federal payment to the Georgetown Waterfront Park Fund; (12) the Federal payment to the Historical Society of Washington, D.C. for the establishment and operation of a Museum of the District at the Carnegie Library at Mount Vernon Square; (13) a Federal contribution to the District to establish a National Museum of American Music and for downtown revitalization; (14) the Federal payment to the U.S. Park Police; (15) the Federal payment to the District Department of Housing and Community Development for a study of necessary improvements to the Southwest Waterfront in the District; (16) the Federal payment to the International Youth Service and Development Corps, Inc. for a mentoring program for at-risk children in the District and for the operation of a resource hotline for low-income individuals in the District; (17) a Federal contribution to the public education system for public charter schools; (18) the Federal payment to the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority for the continued funding of a Medicare Coordinated Care Demonstration Project in the District; and (19) a Federal contribution to the Children's National Medical Center. Appropriates specified sums out of the District's general fund (and other funds, in some cases) for the current FY for:  (1) governmental direction and support; (2) economic development and regulation; (3) public safety and justice; (4) the public education system; (5) human support services; (6) public works; (7) the Washington Convention Center Fund transfer payment; (8) repayment of certain loans and interest; (9) repayment of General Fund Recovery Debt; (10) payment of interest on short term borrowing; (11) lease payments in accordance with the Certificates of Participation involving the land site underlying the building located at One Judiciary Square; (12) human resources development; (13) receivership programs; (14) the District's Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority (Authority); (15) the Water and Sewer Authority and the Washington Aqueduct; (16) the Lottery and Charitable Games Enterprise Fund; (17) the Cable Television Enterprise Fund; (18) the Public Service Commission; (19) the Office of the People's Counsel; (20) the Department of Insurance and Securities Regulation; (21) the Office of Banking and Financial Institutions; (22) the Starplex Fund; (23) D.C. General Hospital; (24) the D.C. Retirement Board; (25) the Correctional Industries Fund; (26) the Washington Convention Center Enterprise Fund; and (27) capital outlay (including rescissions). Prohibits the District government from employing more than 32,000 full time employee (FTE) positions, exclusive of intra-district FTE positions, during FY 1999. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. Bars the use of revenues from Federal sources to support the operations of the D.C. Statehood and Statehood Compact Commissions. Requires the District to identify the sources of funding for Admission to Statehood from its own locally-generated revenues. (Sec. 110) Prohibits funds appropriated in this Act from being available to pay the salary of any District government employee whose name, title, grade, salary, work experience, and salary history are not available for inspection by specified congressional committees and subcommittees and the District Council. (Sec. 116) Prohibits funds provided under this Act or provided under previous appropriations Acts to the agencies funded by this Act, both Federal and District government agencies, that remain available for obligation or expenditure in FY 1999, or provided from Treasury accounts derived by the collection of fees available to the agencies funded by this Act, from being available for obligation or expenditure for an agency through a reprogramming of funds which:  (1) creates new programs; (2) eliminates a program project or activity; (3) establishes or changes allocations specifically denied, limited, or increased by the Congress in the Act; (4) increases funds or personnel by any means for any project or activity for which funds have been denied or restricted; (5) reestablishes through reprogramming any program or project previously deferred through reprogramming; (6) augments existing programs, projects, or activities through a reprogramming of funds in excess of $1 million or 20 percent, whichever is more; or (7) increases by 20 percent or more personnel assigned to a specific program, project, or activity, unless the Appropriations Committees of both the Senate and the House of Representatives are notified in writing 15 days in advance of such reprogramming of funds. (Sec. 124) Applies any sequestration orders under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to each account appropriating Federal funds in this Act rather than to the aggregate total of such accounts.  Requires the Mayor, in the event such an order is issued after amounts appropriated to the District have been paid, to pay sequestered amounts to the Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary). (Sec. 127) Bars the use of Federal funds provided in this Act to provide for salaries or other expenses associated with the offices of U.S. Senator or Representative under the District of Columbia Statehood Constitutional Convention Initiatives of 1979. (Sec. 130) Prohibits funds contained in this Act from being made available under specified conditions, to pay the fees of an attorney who represents a party who prevails in an action, including an administrative proceeding, brought against the District public schools under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. (Sec. 131) Prohibits the expenditure of funds appropriated under this Act for abortions except where the mother's life would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term or in cases of rape or incest. (Sec. 132) Permits any entity of the D.C. government, including the Authority, in using the funds for repair and improvement of D.C. public school facilities made available under this Act or any other Act, to place orders for engineering and construction and related services with the Chief of Engineers of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  Allows the Chief to accept such orders on a reimbursable basis and to provide any part of such services by contract. (Sec. 133) Bars the use of funds made available by this Act to implement any system of registration of unmarried, cohabitating couples for purposes of extending benefits to such couples on the same basis as such benefits are extended to married couples or to implement the District Domestic Partner Act (also known as the District of Columbia Health Care Benefits Expansion Act of 1992). (Sec. 136) Requires by FY 1999, or within 30 calendar days after the enactment of this Act, whichever occurs later, and each succeeding year, the Superintendent of the D.C. Public Schools, and the University of the District of Columbia (University) to submit to the appropriate congressional committees, the Mayor, the District Council, the Consensus Commission, and the Authority, a revised appropriated funds operating budget for the public school system and the University for such fiscal year that is in the total amount of the approved appropriation and that realigns budgeted data for personal services and other-than-personal services, respectively, with anticipated actual expenditures. (Sec. 137) Requires the Emergency Transitional Education Board of Trustees, the Board of Trustees of the University, the Board of Library Trustees, and the Board of Governors of the University of the District of Columbia School of Law to vote on and approve their respective annual or revised budgets before submission to the Mayor for inclusion in the Mayor's budget submission to the District Council or before submitting their respective budgets directly to the Council. (Sec. 138) Establishes a ceiling on total operating expenses for the District for FY 1998.  Permits increases of such amount for: (1) one-time emergency or unanticipated operating or capital needs transactions approved by the Authority; and (2) additional approved expenditures which the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) certifies will produce additional revenues during such fiscal year at least equal to 200 percent of such expenditures. Prohibits the CFO from reprogramming for operating expenses any funds derived from bonds, notes, or other obligations issued for capital projects.  Sets forth conditions under which grants excluded from such ceiling may be accepted. Requires the Authority, within 20 calendar days after the end of each fiscal quarter starting FY 1999, to report to specified congressional committees on an itemized accounting of all non-appropriated funds obligated or expended by the Authority for the quarter. Applies local revenues collected in excess of amounts required to support appropriations in this Act for District operating expenses for FY 1999 to:  (1) the elimination of the general fund accumulated deficit; (2) a reserve account not to exceed $250 million to be used to finance seasonal cash needs (in lieu of short term borrowings); (3) accelerate repayment of cash borrowed from the Water and Sewer Fund; and (4) to reduce the outstanding long term debt. (Sec. 139) Amends the District of Columbia Public Education Act to allow amounts appropriated to the District by the Federal Government (in lieu of donation of public lands for the endowment and maintenance of colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts) to be invested in equity-based securities if approved by the CFO. (Sec. 140) Requires, if a District government department or agency is under the administration of a court-appointed receiver or other court-appointed official during FY 1999 or any succeeding fiscal year, the receiver or official to prepare and submit to the Mayor, for inclusion in the District's annual budget for the year and to be forwarded by the Mayor to the District Council without revision but subject to the Mayor's recommendations, annual estimates of the expenditures and appropriations necessary for the maintenance and operation of the department or agency.  Allows the Council to comment or make recommendations concerning such annual estimates but bars the Council from revising the estimates. (Sec. 141) Directs the Authority and the Superintendent of the District public schools to report to specified congressional committees on measures to be taken to ensure that the District's public schools open on time to begin the 1999-2000 academic year. (Sec. 142) Requires an employee of the District public schools to be:  (1) classified as an Educational Service employee; (2) placed under the personnel authority of the Board of Education; and (3) subject to all Board rules. Mandates that school-based personnel shall constitute a separate competitive area from nonschool-based personnel who shall not compete with school-based personnel for retention purposes. (Sec. 143) Prohibits the use of funds made available by this Act or any other Act from being used to provide any District officer or employee with an official vehicle unless the individual uses the vehicle only in the performance of his or her official duties. Excludes travel between the officer's or employee's residence and workplace (except in the case of an officer or employee of the Metropolitan Police Department who resides in the District or is otherwise designated by the Chief of the Department). Exempts any vehicle provided to an officer of the Metropolitan Police Department who was wounded in the line of duty and who is referred to in the letter of July 15, 1998, from the Chief of the Department to the Chair of the Subcommittee on the District of Columbia of the House Committee on Appropriations.  Provides that, notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Chief may donate the vehicle to such officer as a gift on behalf of the District.  Exempts the donation from Federal, State, or local income or gift tax. Requires the CFO of the District to submit, by November 15, 1998, an inventory, as of September 30, 1998, of all vehicles owned, leased, or operated by the District government.  Specifies the contents of such inventory. (Sec. 144) Provides that, for purposes of determining the amount of funds expended by any entity within the District government during FY 1999 and each succeeding fiscal year, any expenditures of the District government attributable to any District government officers or employees who provide services which are within the authority and jurisdiction of the entity (including any portion of the compensation paid to the officer or employee attributable to the time spent in providing such services) shall be treated as expenditures made from the entity's budget, without regard to whether the officers or employees are assigned to the entity or otherwise treated as the entity's officers or employees. Amends the District of Columbia Government Comprehensive Merit Personnel Act of 1978 to modify reduction in force procedures. (Sec. 145) Requires the D.C. Board of Education and the D.C. Public Schools (DCPS), within 120 days after a DCPS student is referred for evaluation or assessment to:  (1) assess or evaluate such student who may have a disability and who may require special education services; and (2) if the student is classified as having a disability as defined in provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or the Rehabilitative Act of 1973, place that student in an appropriate program of special education services. (Sec. 146) Sets forth Buy American provisions. (Sec. 147) Provides that, notwithstanding any provision of any federally-granted charter or any other provision of law, the real property of the National Education Association located in the District shall be subject to taxation by the District in the same manner as any similar organization. (Sec. 148) Prohibits funds contained in this Act from being used: (1) for purposes of the annual independent audit of the District government (including the Authority) for FY 1999 unless the audit is conducted by the Inspector General of the District pursuant to the District of Columbia Procurement Practices Act of 1985 and the audit includes a comparison of audited actual year-end results with the revenues submitted in the budget document for such year and the appropriations enacted into law for such year; (2) by the District Corporation Counsel or any other District government officer or entity to provide assistance for any petition drive or civil action which seeks to require the Congress to provide for voting representation in the Congress for the District; and (3) after April 1, 1999, to transfer or confine inmates classified above the medium security level, as defined by the Federal Bureau of Prisons classification instrument, to the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center located in Youngstown, Ohio. (Sec. 149) Conditions expenditure of appropriations made by this Act for programs or functions for which a reorganization plan is required only on the approval by the Authority of the required reorganization plan. (Sec. 150) Makes the evaluation process and instruments for evaluating District public school employees a non-negotiable item for collective bargaining purposes. (Sec. 152) Requires the Authority to report to:  (1) specified congressional committees on the status of all partnerships or agreements entered into from January 1, 1994, through September 30, 1998, between the District government and any nonprofit organization that provides medical care, substance abuse treatment, low income housing, food and shelter services, abstinence programs, or educational services to children, adults and families residing in the District; and (2) the Congress on the plans by the District government for reinitiating the partnerships or agreements that have been terminated with the respective nonprofit organization. (Sec. 153) Repeals the Residency Requirement Reinstatement Amendment Act of 1998. (Sec. 155) Amends the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Act of 1995 to require that beginning with the FY 2000 fiscal plan or budget submitted pursuant to this Act, such Act shall contain $150 million for a Reserve to be established by the CFO and the Authority to be expended only according to criteria established by the CFO and approved by the Authority. (Sec. 156) Authorizes the Board of Trustees of the District of Columbia Public Library to hire a fundraiser and to raise funds from private sources and expend those funds for the benefit of the Library, with the prior review and approval of the CFO and the Authority. (Sec. 157) District of Columbia Adoption Improvement Act of 1998 - Requires the District of Columbia Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) to:  (1) maintain an accurate database listing and tracking any child found by the Family Division of the District of Columbia Superior Court to be abused or neglected and who is in the custody of the District, including any child with the goal of adoption or legally free for adoption; and (2) enter into contracts with private service providers to perform some of the adoption recruitment and placement functions of CFSA, including recruitment, homestudy, and placements. Subjects the contracts to the competitive bidding process when required by CFSA contracting policies and procedures and requires the contracts to compensate the winning bidder upon completion of contract deliverable.  Outlines criteria for contract deliverables. States that nothing in this Act shall be construed to prevent CFSA from entering into contracts that provide for multiple deliverables or conditions for partial payment. Requires CFSA to meet with contractors to address issues identified during the term of a contract, including issues related to barriers to timely adoption. (Sec. 158) Amends the Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997 to revise the duties of the Director of the District of Columbia Offender, Supervision, Defender, and Courts Services Agency to include carrying out all functions which have been carried out by the Social Services Division of the Superior Court relating to supervision of adults subject to protection orders or provision of services for or related to such persons. (Sec. 159) Permits the Authority to employ a Chief Management Officer (CMO) of the District to be appointed by the Chair with the consent of the Authority.  Requires the CMO to assist the Authority in the fulfillment of the Authority's responsibilities under the District of Columbia Management Reform Act of 1997 to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the District government. Validates the employment agreement entered into as of January 15, 1998, between the CMO and the Authority. (Sec. 160) Increases from three to five the number of consecutive fiscal years in which the Inspector General is allowed to enter into a contract with the same auditor who is not an officer or employee of the Inspector's Office to audit the complete financial statement and report on the activities of the District government for a fiscal year. (Sec. 161) Requires funds allocated to management reform by the Authority in the District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 1998 under deficit reduction and revitalization (contained in the Authority's notification of June 24, 1998) to remain available for management reform until September 30, 1999.  Limits the funds to $3.2 million. (Sec. 162) Requires a District of Columbia Court to pay an interest penalty to a business concern if the Court acquires the property or service of the concern and fails to pay the concern for each complete delivered item of property or service by the required payment date, under specified conditions. (Sec. 163) Amends the Nation's Capital Bicentennial Designation Act to replace ""President's Day"" with ""Washington's Birthday."" (Sec. 164) Amends the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Act of 1995 to allow, upon the expiration of a term of office, a member of the Authority to continue to serve until a successor has been appointed. (Sec. 165) Amends the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to require the CFO to include within the quarterly financial reports to specified congressional committees on the financial and budgetary status of the District government a statement of the balance of each account held by the Authority at the end of each quarter, together with a description of the activities within each such account during the quarter, based on information supplied by the Authority. (Sec. 166) Prohibits funds made available pursuant to provisions of this Act or any other Act now or hereafter enacted from being used to capitalize the National Capital Revitalization Corporation or for the purpose of implementing the National Capital Revitalization Act of 1998 until at least 30 days after the Authority submits to the appropriate congressional committees an economic development strategy. (Sec. 167) Requires the District government to maintain for FY 1999 the same funding levels as provided in FY 1997 for homeless services in the District provided that, in addition to such amounts, $1 million shall be paid to the Doe Fund for its Ready, Willing & Able program in Washington, D.C. (Sec. 168) Requires by November 1, 1998, or within 30 calendar days after the enactment of this Act, whichever occurs later, the CFO to submit to appropriate congressional committees, the Mayor, and the Authority a revised appropriated funds operating budget for all District government agencies for such FY that is in the total amount of the approved appropriation and that realigns budgeted data for personal services and other-than-personal-services, respectively, with anticipated actual expenditures. (Sec. 169) Makes the Oyster Elementary School Construction and Revenue Bond Act of 1998 effective upon the enactment of this Act. (Sec. 170) Prohibits funds contained in this Act from being used: (1) for any program of distributing sterile needles or syringes for the hypodermic injection of any illegal drug, or for any payment to any individual or entity who carries out any such program; or (2) to conduct any ballot initiative which seeks to legalize or otherwise reduce penalties associated with the possession, use, or distribution of any schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act or any tetrahydrocannabinols derivative. Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1999 - Title I (sic):  Export and Investment Assistance - Makes appropriations for FY 1999 for:  (1) direct loans, loan guarantees, tied-aid grants, insurance, and administrative expenses under Export-Import Bank programs; (2) Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) direct and guaranteed loans and credit and insurance programs, including administrative expenses; and (3) the Trade and Development Agency. Title II:  Bilateral Economic Assistance - Makes appropriations for FY 1999 for:  (1) expenses of the President in carrying out certain programs under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961; (2) the Agency for International Development (AID) for child survival and disease programs, including basic education programs; (3) specified development assistance (but barring assistance for the central Government of the Republic of South Africa until the Secretary of State takes steps to negotiate repeal, suspension, or termination of a specified South African law relating to medicines and related substances control); (4) international disaster assistance; (5) micro and small enterprise development programs; (6) guaranteed loans for the urban and environmental credit program; (7) the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Fund; (8) operating expenses of AID and the AID Office of Inspector General; (9) Economic Support Fund (ESF) assistance (earmarking amounts for Israel and Egypt); (10) the International Fund for Ireland; (11) economic assistance for Eastern Europe and the Baltic States (earmarking amounts for Bosnia and Herzegovina, but with a prohibition on funds for new housing construction or repair or reconstruction of existing housing in Bosnia and Herzegovina unless directly related to U.S. troop efforts to promote peace there); (12) assistance for the new independent states of the former Soviet Union (subject to specified conditions, and earmarking amounts for Mongolia and the Southern Caucasus, including Georgia and Armenia, especially the areas of Abkhazia and Nagorno-Karabakh); (13) the Peace Corps (but with a prohibition on the use of such funds for abortions); (14) international narcotics control and law enforcement; (15) migration and refugee assistance; (16) the Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund; (17) nonproliferation, anti-terrorism and related programs and activities (including a voluntary contribution to the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO)); (18) Department of the Treasury debt restructuring; (19) Department of the Treasury international affairs technical assistance activities; and (20) the U.S. Community Adjustment and Investment Program under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Implementation Act. Earmarks certain development assistance and ESF funds for:  (1) Cyprus for scholarship programs and reunification measures; (2) Burma for democracy activities; and (3) Indonesia. Prohibits funds for Cambodia (except for demining or activities administered by nongovernmental organizations) until the Secretary of State reports to specified congressional committees that the Government of Cambodia has met certain election requirements. Bars the use of development assistance funds for:  (1) coercive abortions or involuntary sterilizations; and (2) U.S. private and voluntary organizations which obtain less than 20 percent of annual funding from sources other than the U.S. Government. Makes development assistance funds for family planning available only to voluntary family planning projects which meet specified criteria.  Requires the Administrator of AID to report any violation of such requirements to specified congressional committees. Authorizes the President to withhold funds for economic revitalization programs in Bosnia and Herzegovina if the President certifies to the Committees on Appropriations that:  (1) the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has not complied with article III of annex 1-A of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina concerning the withdrawal of foreign forces; and (2) intelligence cooperation on training, investigations, and related activities between Iranian officials and Bosnian officials has not been terminated. Requires the withholding of certain funds from Russia unless the President certifies to the Committees on Appropriations that:  (1) such assistance is vital to the U.S. national security interest; and (2) Russia is taking steps to terminate arrangements to provide Iran with technology to develop a nuclear program. Title III:  Military Assistance - Makes appropriations for:  (1) international military education and training (IMET) (earmarking amounts for Indonesia and Guatemala, with specified restrictions); (2) foreign military financing grants and direct loans (earmarking amounts for Israel, Egypt, Jordan); and (3) international peacekeeping operations (subject to certain conditions). Prohibits foreign military financing for Sudan, Liberia, and Guatemala. Title IV:  Multilateral Economic Assistance - Makes appropriations for the U.S. contribution to:  (1) the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) for the Global Environment Facility; (2) the International Development Association; (3) the Inter-American Development Bank; (4) the Enterprise for the Americas Multilateral Investment Fund; (5) the Asian Development Bank; (6) the Asian Development Fund; (7) the African Development Fund; and (8) the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Makes appropriations for international organizations and programs.  Sets certain restrictions on international organization funding, including prohibiting the use of funds made available to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for activities in China.  Prohibits the use of funds for:  (1) the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO); and (2) the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Title V:  General Provisions - Sets forth limits on the use of appropriations, including that no more than 15 percent of such appropriations shall be obligated during the last month of availability.  Renews certain prohibitions, restrictions, and conditions on the use of funds that appeared in the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1998 (P.L. 105-118). (Sec. 517) Prescribes conditions on assistance to the new independent states of the former Soviet Union.  Prohibits the availability of such assistance for the Government of Russia until agreement is reached exempting such assistance from customs duties. (Sec. 518) Prohibits the use of development assistance funds for abortions or involuntary sterilizations as methods of family planning or to motivate or coerce any person to practice abortions, or provide any financial incentive to undergo sterilization. (Sec. 519) Amends Federal law to extend through FY 2000 the authority to expend funds to transfer excess defense articles to countries eligible for the Partnership for Peace as well as assistance under the Support for East European Democracy (SEED) Act of 1989. (Sec. 520) Adds Honduras to, while removing Panama and Peru from, the list of countries for which no appropriations may be obligated or expended except through the regular notification procedures of the Committees on Appropriations. (Sec. 523) Bars funding for indirect assistance or reparations to Cuba, Iraq, Libya, Iran, Syria, North Korea, or China unless the President certifies that the withholding of such funds is contrary to the U.S. national security interest. (Sec. 524) Amends the Arms Export Control Act to extend the President's waiver authority with respect to reciprocal leasing through the current fiscal year (thus, indefinitely). (Sec. 527) Authorizes the availability of ESF funds to provide general support for nongovernmental organizations located outside the People's Republic of China that have as their primary purpose fostering democracy in that country. (Sec. 528) Prohibits bilateral assistance funds to any country which the President determines:  (1) grants sanctuary from prosecution to any individual or group which has committed an act of international terrorism; or (2) otherwise supports international terrorism.  Allows waiver of such prohibition for national security or humanitarian reasons. (Sec. 531) Prohibits U.S. sale of Stinger missiles in the Persian Gulf region, with certain exceptions. (Sec. 535) Bars assistance to any country that is not in compliance with the United Nations (UN) sanctions against Iraq unless the President certifies to the Congress that such assistance:  (1) is in the U.S. national interest; (2) will directly benefit the needy people in that country; or (3) will be humanitarian assistance for foreign nationals who have fled Iraq and Kuwait. (Sec. 538) Prohibits the use of funds to provide:  (1) any financial incentive to a business for purposes of inducing it to relocate outside the United States if it will reduce the number of employees in the United States; (2) assistance for establishing or developing in a foreign country an export processing zone or other designated area in which a country's tax, tariff, labor, environment, and safety laws do not apply to activities in the area, unless the President certifies that such assistance is not likely to cause a loss of U.S. jobs; or (3) assistance for any project that contributes to the violation of internationally recognized workers rights in the recipient country. (Sec. 539) Declares that no Federal funds may be made available to modify or remove any sanction, prohibition, or requirement with respect to Serbia-Montenegro unless the President certifies to the Congress there is substantial improvement in the human rights situation there, and other specified human rights requirements are met. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. executive directors of the international financial institutions to oppose any extension of financial or technical assistance or grants of any kind to the government of Serbia-Montenegro, unless the President makes such certification. Authorizes a presidential waiver of this section to meet emergency humanitarian needs or to advance negotiations toward a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Kosova acceptable to the parties. States that this certification requirement shall not apply to Montenegro (sic). (Sec. 540) Continues the authorization for the use of foreign assistance funds to support tropical forestry and biodiversity conservation activities and energy programs aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Authorizes AID to employ personal services contractors to administer programs for the West Bank and Gaza. (Sec. 541) Expresses the sense of the Congress with respect to: (1) immediate public renunciation by Arab League countries of the boycott of Israel (reinstated in 1997) and of American firms having commercial ties with Israel; and (2) steps the President should take to encourage such renunciation. (Sec. 541) Authorizes the use of ESF funds to strengthen the administration of justice (including anti-narcotics activities) in countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, and in other regions. (Sec. 547) Declares that assistance under this Act should make full use of American resources, including commodities, products, and services, to the maximum extent possible. Declares the sense of the Congress that, to the greatest extent practicable, all equipment and products purchased with funds made available in this Act should be American-made.  Requires Federal agency heads, in providing financial assistance to or entering into any contract with any entity using funds made available in this Act, to notify such entity of this intention. (Sec. 548) Prohibits the use of funds to pay any assessments, arrearages, or dues of any UN member. (Sec. 551) Prohibits the provision of funds to any foreign government that provides lethal military equipment to a country that the Secretary of State has determined has a terrorist government, unless the President determines that such assistance is in the U.S. national interest. (Sec. 553) Prohibits the obligation of any appropriations for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) for the West Bank and Gaza unless the President has exercised certain authorities to suspend prohibitions of assistance to the PLO. (Sec. 554) Permits the President to provide up to a specified amount of commodities and services to the UN War Crimes Tribunal if doing so will contribute to a just resolution of charges regarding genocide or other violations of international law in the former Yugoslavia. (Sec. 555) Authorizes disposal on a grant basis in foreign countries of demining equipment used in support of the clearing of land mines and unexploded ordnance for humanitarian purposes. (Sec. 556) Prohibits the obligation of appropriations to create in Jerusalem a new U.S. agency office for the purpose of conducting U.S. business with the Palestinian Authority over Gaza and Jericho (or any successor Palestinian governing entity) provided for in the Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles. (Sec. 558) Limits the amount of certain foreign assistance funds to Latin America and the Caribbean region. (Sec. 559) Authorizes the President to reduce amounts owed to the United States by eligible countries as a result of:  (1) housing guarantees made pursuant to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961; (2) credits extended or guarantees issued under the Arms Export Control Act; or (3) any obligation for a Latin American country to pay for certain purchases of U.S. agricultural commodities. Sets forth conditions for the exercise of such authority. (Sec. 560) Authorizes the President to engage in certain debt buybacks or sales, subject to certain conditions. (Sec. 561) Prohibits provision to the Government of Haiti of any funds appropriated by this Act until the President reports to specified congressional committees that such Government:  (1) has completed privatization of (or placed under long-term private management or concession) three major public entities; (2) has re- signed the bilateral Repatriation Agreement with the United States (and that in the six months preceding such report it has been cooperating with the United States in halting illegal emigration from Haiti); (3) is conducting thorough investigations of extrajudicial and political killings; (4) is cooperating with U.S. authorities in such investigations; (5) has taken action to remove from the Haitian National Police, national palace and residential guard, ministerial guard, and any other public security entity individuals who have committed human rights violations; and (6) has ratified in the Haitian National Assembly the counter-narcotics agreements signed in October 1997.  Makes such prohibition inapplicable to humanitarian or counter narcotics assistance, or support for the Haitian National Police's Special Investigations Unit, the International Criminal Investigative Assistance Program (ICITAP), or anti-corruption programs for the Haitian National Police. Authorizes the availability of appropriations to support elections in Haiti when the President reports to the Congress that the Government of Haiti:  (1) has achieved a transparent settlement of the contested April 1997 elections; and (2) has made progress on the constitution of a credible and competent provisional election council acceptable to a broad spectrum of political parties and civic groups. Authorizes appropriations for the development and support of political parties and civic groups. Conditions the provision of appropriated funds to Haiti's Ministry of Justice for the training of judges upon a presidential report to specified congressional committees that the Ministry:  (1) has by certain steps demonstrated a commitment to the professionalization of judicial personnel; and (2) is making progress in making the judicial branch independent from the executive branch.  Exempts from such conditions any funds to support the training of prosecutors, judicial mentoring, and case management. (Sec. 562) Requires a specified annual report of the Secretary of State containing the voting record of each foreign member country of the UN to include a side-by-side comparison of each country's overall support for the United States at the UN and the amount of U.S.  assistance provided to it in FY 1997. (Sec. 563) Prohibits the United States from paying any voluntary contribution to the UN, including the UN Development Program, unless the President certifies to the Congress 15 days in advance of such payment that the UN is not engaged in any effort to implement or impose any taxation on U.S. persons in order to raise revenue for itself or any of its specialized agencies. (Sec. 564) Requires the Secretary of Labor to report to specified congressional committees on labor practices in Burma, including child labor and forced labor on the Yadonna gas pipeline, and the U.S. government's efforts to address and correct forced labor practices. (Sec. 565) Makes the Government of Haiti eligible to purchase defense articles and services for the civilian-led Haitian National Police and Coast Guard. (Sec. 566) Prohibits the obligation of any appropriations for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), unless the President certifies to the Congress that it is in the U.S. national security interests. (Sec. 567) Prohibits the use of funds for Croatia to relocate the remains of Croatian Ustashe soldiers at the site of the World War II concentration camp at Jasenovac, Croatia. (Sec. 568) Prohibits the use of funds for the security forces of a foreign country if the Secretary of State believes they have committed gross violations of human rights, unless the Secretary reports to the Committees on Appropriations that such country is taking steps to bring the responsible persons to justice. (Sec. 569) Requires that any agreement between the United States and the Government of Indonesia for the sale of lethal weapons shall state that such items will not be used in East Timor. (Sec. 570) Provides for bilateral and multilateral assistance sanctions (with humanitarian, democratization, and certain infrastructure project exceptions) against countries harboring war criminals indicted with respect to the former Yugoslavia. (Sec. 571) Makes funds available for FY 1999 for defense article stockpiles in foreign countries, including the Republic of Korea and Thailand. (Sec. 572) Prohibits the use of funds for the Government of the Russian Federation unless the President certifies to specified congressional committees that the Federation has not enacted laws or promulgated executive orders that discriminate against religious minorities in violation of international agreements on human rights and religious freedoms to which it is a party. (Sec. 573) Directs the President to provide:  (1) to the Congress an account of all Federal agency obligations and expenditures for climate change programs and activities (domestic and international) for FY 1998 and 1999; and (2) any plan for programs thereafter in the context of negotiations to amend the Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) in conjunction with the submission of the Budget of the U.S. Government for FY 2000. (Sec. 574) Directs the President to withhold a specified amount of foreign assistance funds (except development or humanitarian assistance) from countries that violate any UN sanction against Libya. (Sec. 575) Bars funds to the central Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo until the President reports to specified congressional leaders and committees that it is:  (1) investigating and prosecuting those responsible for civilian massacres, serious human rights violations, or other atrocities; and (2) implementing a credible democratic transition program. (Sec. 576) Earmarks specified foreign assistance funds for Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza, the Israel-Lebanon Monitoring Group, the Multinational Force and Observers, the Middle East Regional Democracy Fund, Middle East Regional Cooperation, and Middle East Multilateral Working Groups. (Sec. 577) Requires the President to submit to specified congressional committees a plan for the distribution of the assets of a Enterprise Fund before any distribution resulting from liquidation, dissolution, or winding up of the Fund. (Sec. 578) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. executive directors of international financial institutions to oppose loans to Cambodia (except loans to support basic human needs). (Sec. 580) Makes specified funds available for bilateral assistance for population planning activities. (Sec. 581)  Directs the Secretaries of Defense and of State to report jointly to the Congress on all military training provided to, and proposed to be provided to, foreign military personnel under programs administered by the Defense and State Departments during FY 1998 and 1999. (Sec.  582) Authorizes the availability of certain nonproliferation, anti-terrorism, and demining funds for KEDO, subject to specified conditions, but only for the administrative expenses and heavy fuel oil costs associated with the Agreed Framework. Directs the President to name a North Korea Policy Coordinator to:  (1) conduct a full interagency review of U.S. policy toward North Korea; (2) provide policy direction for negotiations with North Korea about nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles, and other security related issues; and (3) provide leadership for U.S. participation in KEDO. Requires the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense to report annually to the Congress on specified issues with respect to KEDO. (Sec. 583) Specifies the general contents of the annual report of the National Advisory Council on International Monetary and Financial Policies, under the International Financial Institutions Act, assessing the effectiveness of the major policies and operations of the international financial institutions, and progress made and steps taken to achieve U.S. policy goals with respect to such institutions. (Sec. 584) Prohibits the use of funds to provide any form of assistance to the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation. (Sec. 585) Declares the sense of the Congress with respect to vigorous, including surprise, inspections within Iraq by the IAEA and the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM).  Urges the United States to oppose any efforts to ease the inspections regimes on Iraq until there is clear, credible evidence that the Government of Iraq is in full compliance with all relevant UN resolutions.  Requires an assessment for the Congress of Iraq's nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction programs and its efforts to procure them and their means of delivery. (Sec. 586) Declares the sense of the Senate that there should be no change in U.S. policy toward Iran until there is credible and sustained evidence of a change in Iranian policies, including steps to end its:  (1) support of international terrorism; (2) opposition to the Middle East peace process; and (3) development and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery. (Sec. 587) Establishes within the Office of the Administrator of AID an Office of Security, to which are transferred all security functions, appropriations, and personnel of the Office of Inspector General of AID. (Sec. 588) Declares the sense of the Congress that:  (1) North Korea should be forcefully condemned for its August 31, 1998, firing of a Taepo Dong I intermediate-range ballistic missile over the sovereign territory of Japan; (2) the United States should reassess its cooperative space launch programs with countries that continue to assist North Korea and Iran in their ballistic missile and cruise missile programs; (3) any financial or technical assistance provided to North Korea should take into account its continuing activities destabilizing the region, including the missile firing, continued submarine incursions into South Korea territorial waters, and violations of the demilitarized zone separating North Korea and South Korea; (4) the recommendations of the Commission to Assess the Ballistic Missile Threat to the United States should be quickly incorporated into the analytical processes of the U.S. intelligence community; and (5) the United States should accelerate cooperative theater missile defense programs with Japan. (Sec. 589) Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a program to provide both short- and long-term technical assistance to foreign governments and foreign central banks of developing or transitional countries. Requires the Secretary of State to provide the Secretary with foreign policy guidance. Directs the Secretary to provide advisers with appropriate expertise to advance the enactment of laws and establishment of administrative procedures and institutions in such countries with respect to tax systems, debt issuance and management, budget planning and implementation, commercial banking sector development, and financial law enforcement. Sets forth administrative requirements and authorities.  Authorizes appropriations. Amends Federal civil service law to authorize payment of the travel expenses of up to two persons to escort from the place of death to the individual's home, official station, or other appropriate place of interment the remains of a deceased employee whose death occurred in travel status away from his official station in the United States or while performing official duties outside the United States. (Sec. 590) Earmarks funds for assistance to the Iraqi democratic opposition for specified activities, including a certain amount to the Iraqi National Congress for the benefit of all its constituent groups. (Sec. 591) Establishes a National Commission on Terrorism to review counter-terrorism policies regarding the prevention and punishment of international acts of terrorism directed at the United States.  Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 592) Prohibits the use during FY 1999 of specified authority under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize the use of more than the amount authorized for KEDO under section 582. (Sec. 593) Declares that it is the sense of the Congress that, among other things, the Administration should more actively support democratic institutions and processes in Indonesia and provide assistance for continued economic and political development in that country, including specified measures.  Requires the Secretary of State to report to the Congress an assessment of U.S. Government actions taken to work with the Government of Indonesia to further such objectives. Declares the sense of the Congress:  (1) condemning the mistreatment of ethnic Chinese in Indonesia and the criminal acts carried out against them during the May 1998 riots; (2) commending the Indonesian Government's investigation of armed forces members suspected of involvement in the riots and related criminal acts; (3) urging the Indonesian Government to take certain actions to protect the human rights and physical safety of the ethnic Chinese community; and (4) urging the Administration and the UN to continue to support and assist the Indonesian Government and non-governmental organizations in the investigations into the May 1998 riots in order to expedite such investigations. (Sec. 594) Requires the President to notify in detail specified congressional committees at least 15 days before the export of a lethal defense article or service of $14 million or less to certain countries, including those currently ineligible to receive IMET or Foreign Military Financing Program funds. (Sec. 595) Declares the sense of the Congress urging public release of information in Federal agencies about the murder of four American churchwomen in El Salvador on December 2, 1980.  Urges the President to direct the Attorney General to review and report to the Congress on the circumstances under which individuals involved in either the murders or their cover-up obtained residence in the United States. (Sec. 596) Declares the sense of the Congress regarding the trial in the Netherlands of the suspects indicted in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, on December 21, 1988.  Urges Colonel Qadaffi promptly to transfer the indicted suspects to the Netherlands to stand trial before the Scottish court.  Urges the U.S. Government:  (1) to remain firm in its commitment not to negotiate with Colonel Qadaffi on any of the details of the proposal approved by the United Nations in UN Security Council Resolution 1192; and (2), if Colonel Qadaffi does not transfer the suspects to the Netherlands, to promote adoption of a resolution in the UN Security Council to impose a multilateral oil embargo against Libya. (Sec. 597) Declares that it is the sense of the Congress that the U.S. Government should promote international cooperation in working to resolve those cases in which children in the United States are abducted by family members who are foreign nationals and taken to foreign countries, and in seeing that justice is served by holding abductors accountable for criminal violations. Title VI:  International Financial Programs and Reform - Earmarks dollar equivalents to specified amounts of Special Drawing Rights for: (1) an increase in the U.S. quota in the International Monetary Fund (IMF); and (2) loans to the IMF under the New Arrangements to Borrow.  Authorizes the use for the New Arrangements to Borrow of a specified amount of previously appropriated IMF Special Drawing Rights for the General Arrangements to Borrow. (Sec. 601) Prohibits funds appropriated for the U.S. IMF quota from being obligated or made available to the IMF until after the Secretary of the Treasury and the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System jointly notify the appropriate congressional committees that the major IMF shareholders have publicly agreed to, and will seek to implement in the IMF, specified policies. Requires policies that provide for conditions in stand-by agreements or other arrangements regarding the use of IMF resources, requiring that the recipient country:  (1) liberalize restrictions on trade in goods and services and on investment, at a minimum consistent with the terms of all international trade obligations and agreements; (2) eliminate the practice or policy of government directed lending on non-commercial terms or provision of market distorting subsidies to favored industries, enterprises, parties, or institutions; and (3) provide a legal basis for nondiscriminatory treatment in insolvency proceedings between domestic and foreign creditors, and for debtors and other concerned persons. Requires policies providing for public inspection of:   (1) a full written summary of any meeting of the IMF Executive Board at which a Letter of Intent, a Policy Framework Paper, an Article IV economic review consultation with a member country, or a change in a general policy of the International Monetary Fund is discussed; and (2) a copy of any Letter of Intent, Memorandum of Understanding, or Policy Framework Paper discussed at such a meeting. Requires policies providing that, in circumstances where a country is experiencing balance of payments difficulties due to a large short- term financing need resulting from a sudden and disruptive loss of market confidence, loans made from the IMF's general resources are: (1) made available at an interest rate that reflects an adjustment for risk not less than 300 basis points in excess of the average of the market-based short-term cost of financing its largest members; and (2) repaid within one to two-and-a-half years from each disbursement. (Sec. 602) Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Director at the IMF to exert influence to oppose further disbursement of funds to the Republic of Korea under the Republic's Standby Arrangement of December 4, 1997, unless the Secretary certifies to specified congressional committees that:  (1) no IMF resources made available under the Arrangement have been used to provide financial assistance to the semiconductor, steel, automobile, shipbuilding, or textile and apparel industries; (2) the IMF has neither guaranteed nor underwritten the private loans of manufacturers in such industries; and (3) officials from the IMF and the Department of the Treasury have monitored the implementation of the Arrangement, and all its conditions have either been met or the Republic has committed itself to fulfill them according to an explicit timetable. (Sec. 603) Directs the President to establish an International Financial Institution Advisory Commission, which shall report to the appropriate congressional committees on the future role and responsibilities of the international financial institutions, the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the Bank for International Settlements. (Sec. 604) Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Director at the IMF to:  (1) seek establishment of a permanent advisory committee to the Interim Committee of the Board of Governors of the IMF, to consist of elected members of the national legislatures of the member countries directly represented by appointed members of such Board; and (2) exert influence to strengthen IMF procedures for ascertaining that funds the IMF disburses are used by the central bank (or other fiscal agent) of a borrowing country in a manner that complies with the conditions of the IMF program for the country. (Sec. 606) Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to make annual progress reports to specified congressional committees on efforts to reform the architecture of the international monetary system. (Sec. 608) Amends the Bretton Woods Agreement Act to authorize the U.S. Governor of the IMF to consent to an increase in the U.S. IMF quota of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs).  Increases the maximum aggregate amount of loans the Secretary of the Treasury may make to the IMF.  Authorizes increased appropriations (in SDRs). (Sec. 610) Amends the International Financial Institutions Act to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Director of the IMF to promote vigorously specified policies to increase the effectiveness of the IMF, including its efforts to promote market-oriented reform, trade liberalization, economic growth, democratic governance, and social stability through certain actions, among them:  (1) establishment of an independent monetary policy authority that provides for a non-inflationary domestic currency fully convertible in foreign exchange markets; (2) privatization of government enterprises; (3) economic deregulation; (4) development of internationally acceptable domestic bankruptcy laws; (5) burden- sharing by investors and creditors; (6) improvement of core labor standards; and (7) greater IMF transparency, including a more open release policy toward working papers, past evaluations, and other IMF documents. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish an International Monetary Fund Advisory Committee. (Sec. 611) Amends the International Financial Institutions Act to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Director of the IMF to use the voice and vote of the United States to promote policies to encourage the opening of markets for agricultural commodities and products by requiring recipient countries to make efforts to reduce trade barriers. (Sec. 612) Amends the International Financial Institutions Act to require the Secretary of the Treasury to report to specified congressional committees on the implementation of IMF financial stabilization programs in any country in connection with which the United States has made a commitment to provide or has provided stabilization fund financing. (Sec. 613) Amends the International Financial Institutions Act to require the Secretary of the Treasury to:  (1) report annually to specified congressional committees on the progress (if any) made by the U.S. Executive Director of the IMF in influencing the IMF to adopt certain policies and reform its internal procedures; and (2) certify to such committees that the Secretary has instructed the U.S.  Executive Director at the IMF to facilitate timely General Accounting Office (GAO) access to IMF information and documents that GAO needs to perform financial reviews of the IMF that will facilitate the conduct of U.S. policy with respect to it. Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 - Title I (sic):  Department of the Interior - Makes appropriations for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for:  (1) land and resource management; (2) wildland fire management; (3) remedial action of hazardous waste substances; (4) construction; (5) payments in lieu of taxes to local governments; (6) land acquisition; (7) Oregon and California grant lands; (8) range improvements; (9) service charges, deposits, and forfeitures with respect to public lands; and (10) miscellaneous trust funds. Amends Federal law to extend provisions regarding claim maintenance fees to be paid by holders of unpatented mining claims, mills, or tunnel sites and location fees to be paid by locators. Appropriates funds for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for:  (1) resource management; (2) construction; (3) land acquisition; (4) expenses related to carrying out the Endangered Species Act of 1973; (5) the National Wildlife Refuge Fund; (6) expenses related to carrying out the North American Wetlands Conservation Act; (7) the Wildlife Conservation and Appreciation Fund; and (8) expenses related to carrying out the African Elephant Conservation Act, the Asian Elephant Conservation Act of 1997, and the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act of 1994. Mandates corrections to a map depicting a specified unit of the Coastal Barrier Resources System to exclude Pumpkin Key from the System. Makes appropriations for the National Park Service (NPS) for:  (1) the National Park System; (2) national recreation and preservation activities; (3) expenses related to carrying out the Historic Preservation Act of 1966; (4) construction; and (5) land acquisition and State assistance from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Rescinds specified contract authority to obligate funds from the Land and Water Conservation Fund for FY 1999. Makes appropriations for:  (1) the U.S. Geological Survey for surveys, investigations, and research; (2) the Minerals Management Service for royalty and offshore minerals management and oil spill research; (3) the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement for regulation and technology and the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund; (4) the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) for operation of Indian programs, construction, miscellaneous payments to Indians, Indian guaranteed loans, and a pilot program for consolidation of fractional interests in Indian lands; (5) assistance to U.S. territories and for carrying out the Compacts of Free Association with respect to Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau; (6) departmental management, the Offices of the Solicitor and the Inspector General; (7) trust programs for Indians; (8) natural resource damage assessment; and (9) management of Federal lands in Alaska for subsistence uses. Sets forth authorized and prohibited uses of specified funds. (Sec. 107) Prohibits the use of funds provided in this title for specified offshore leasing and related activities. (Sec. 116) Sets forth provisions regarding voluntary separation incentives, severance pay, and continued health benefits for employees of the NPS Denver Service Center, Presidio, and Golden Gate National Recreation Area. (Sec. 118) Designates the River Valley Trail from the town of Delaware Gap to the edge of the town of Milford, Pennsylvania, located within the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area as the Joseph M. McDade Recreational Trail. (Sec. 120) Directs the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to enter into an agreement with and provide funding to the National Academy of Sciences, the Board on Earth Sciences and Resources, to conduct a study of the environmental and reclamation requirements related to mining of locatable materials on Federal lands and the adequacy of those requirements in preventing degradation of such lands in each State in which such mining occurs.  Requires a report to appropriate Federal agencies, the Congress, and Governors of affected States. Bars the Secretary from promulgating any final regulations to change BLM surface management regulations prior to September 30, 1999. (Sec.  122) Directs BLM to determine whether certain property in Nome, Alaska, must be conveyed to the Sitnasuak Native Corporation pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.  Provides that if BLM determines that the Corporation is not entitled to such property, the Secretary shall convey such property to Kawerak, Inc., a nonprofit tribal organization.  Subjects such conveyance to valid existing rights and specified rights of way. (Sec. 123) Requires the Secretary and the State of Alaska to cooperate in the development of a management plan for the regulation of commercial fisheries in Glacier Bay National Park pursuant to existing State and Federal statutes and international conservation and management treaties.  Provides for commercial fishing in the marine waters within the Park outside of the Bay proper and in such waters within the Bay, as specified.  Limits commercial fishing in the nonwilderness waters within the Bay to certain individuals holding lifetime access permits. Prohibits commercial fishing in the designated wilderness waters within the Park and Preserve, including the waters of the Beardslee Islands and Upper Dundas Bay.  Provides compensation to certain individuals who engaged in commercial fishing for Dungeness crab in such waters during a specified time period, who have agreed to discontinue such fishing in Glacier Bay, and who meet other specified conditions. (Sec. 124) Authorizes the renewal of grazing permits which expire during FY 1999, for the balance of FY 1999 or until BLM completes permit processing, whichever comes first. Provides for modification of such permits, if necessary, and authorizes reissuance for a term of up to ten years. (Sec. 125) Requires the Secretary, acting through the BLM Director, to convey specified property to the town of Pahrump, Nevada, subject to valid existing rights.  Subjects such property to reversion to the United States if it is used for purposes other than that of a public fairground or related public purpose. (Sec. 127) Bars the use of funds provided by any Act by the Secretary to acquire State, private, or other non-Federal lands in the State of Alaska unless the Secretary seeks to exchange unreserved public lands before purchasing lands in Alaska. (Sec. 128) Designates the Charleston Public School complex in Charleston, Arkansas, as the Charleston National Commemorative Site in commemoration of the Charleston schools' role as the first public school district in the South to integrate following the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision. (Sec. 129) Directs BIA to develop and report to the Congress on alternative methods to fund tribal priority allocations base programs in future years.  Requires such alternatives to consider tribal revenues and relative needs of tribes and tribal members.  Describes income to be included and excluded in calculations of tribal revenue. (Sec. 130) Prohibits the use of funds in any Act to issue a notice of final rulemaking with respect to the valuation of crude oil for royalty purposes until June 1, 1999, or until there is a negotiated agreement on the rule. (Sec. 132) Subjects to the Mineral Leasing Act certain Federal reserved mineral interests conveyed by specified United States land patents. Authorizes any person who acquires a lease under the Act for such mineral interests to exercise the Federal right of entry reserved in such patents by occupying the surface required for purposes reasonably incident to exploration, extraction, and removal of the leased minerals.  Prescribes permissible means of occupancy. (Sec. 133) Amends the Tribal Self-Governance Act to require unexpended or unused Federal funds provided in connection with tribal self-governance agreements to be returned to the Treasury. (Sec. 134) Mandates corrections to a specified set of Coastal Barrier Resources System maps to restore the September 30, 1982, boundary for Unit M09 on the portion of Edisto Island near Jeremy Cay Causeway. (Sec. 135) Ratifies a specified land exchange agreement between the Heirs, Designees, and Assigns of the Palakia Melgenak and the United States.  Requires lands acquired by the United States pursuant to such agreement to be administered as part of the Katmai National Park in Alaska.  Designates certain lands as part of the Katmai Wilderness. (Sec. 138) Amends Federal law to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to acquire private land, easements, and buildings within the areas authorized for acquisition for the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park. (Sec. 139) Provides that amounts paid in full by the Secretary of the Interior before this Act's enactment for the purchase of Federal royalty oil by a refiner pursuant to specified preferences for small refiners under the Mineral Leasing Act and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act are ratified and deemed to be the refiner's total obligation to the United States for such purchases, subject to a certain condition. (Sec. 141) Revises Federal provisions establishing the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore to eliminate the requirements that a person owning improved property included within the Lakeshore's boundaries must have owned such property on October 1, 1991, and must have made a bona fide written offer not later than October 1, 1997, to sell the property to the Secretary of the Interior in order to retain a right of occupancy and use of such property for noncommercial residential purposes for a fixed term not to extend beyond October 1, 2020. (Sec. 145) Names:  (1) the principal visitor center for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area as the Anthony C. Beilenson Visitor Center; and (2) the Redwood Information Center in Orick, California, as the Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center. (Sec. 149) Directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey a specified road easement and right of way to the city of Juneau, Alaska. (Sec. 150) Exempts all properties administered by the NPS at Fort Baker, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and other agreements associated with such properties from all taxes and special assessments, except sales tax, by the State of California and its political subdivisions. Incorporates provisions similar to those contained in the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 (Public Law 105-83) concerning:  (1) employees of BLM's Helium Operations; and (2) Huron Cemetery in Kansas City, Kansas. Title II:  Related Agencies - Makes appropriations for the Department of Agriculture for the Forest Service for:  (1) forest and rangeland research; (2) State and private forestry; (3) the National Forest System; (4) wildland fire management; (5) construction and reconstruction; (6) land acquisition; (7) range rehabilitation and improvement;(8) forest and rangeland research; and (9) management of national forest lands in Alaska for subsistence uses. Limits the amount of funds to be made available to the Department of Energy in FY 2000, 2001, and 2002 that were made available in prior years for clean coal technology projects. Makes appropriations for the Department of Energy for:  (1) fossil energy research and development activities; (2) naval petroleum and oil shale reserve activities; (3) expenses in fulfilling the first installment under a specified settlement agreement for payment to the State of California for the State Teachers' Retirement Fund from the Elk Hills School Lands Fund; (4) energy conservation; (5) economic regulation activities of the Office of Hearings and Appeals; (6) the Strategic Petroleum Reserve; and (7) the Energy Information Administration. Makes appropriations for the Department of Health and Human Services for the Indian Health Service and Indian health facilities. Makes appropriations for:  (1) the Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation; (2) the Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development; (3) the Smithsonian Institution, including amounts for repair and restoration of buildings owned or occupied by the Smithsonian; (4) construction and improvements at the National Zoological Park; (5) construction; (6) the National Gallery of Art, including an amount for repair and restoration of facilities owned or occupied by the National Gallery; (7) operations, maintenance, and construction expenses of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; (8) carrying out the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Act of 1968; (9) the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA); (10) the National Endowment for the Humanities; (11) the Institute of Museum and Library Services; (12) the Commission of Fine Arts; (13) the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation; (14) the National Capital Planning Commission; (15) the Holocaust Memorial Council; and (16) the Presidio trust. Sets forth provisions regarding uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title. Title III:  General Provisions - Sets forth limitations on the use of funds under this Act, including Buy American requirements. Incorporates provisions similar to those contained in the Department of Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 (Public Law 105-83) concerning:  (1) the sale of timber from giant sequoias; (2) the underground lunchroom at Carlsbad Caverns National Park; (3) funding for the Americorps program; (4) the bridge between Jersey City, New Jersey, and Ellis Island; (5) patents for mining or mill site claims; (6) land acquisition for the Wayne National Forest; (7) competition for watershed restoration project contracts in the Pacific Northwest; (8) designation of Biosphere Reserves; (9) nudity in Canaveral National Seashore in Brevard County, Florida; (10) restrictions on NEA grants; and (11) watershed restoration and enhancement agreements. (Sec. 327) Amends Federal law to extend the authority of the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture (acting through BLM and the Forest Service, respectively) to collect fees to be used for operation and maintenance of recreation areas and habitat enhancement through FY 2001. (Sec. 329) Prohibits, in the financing of any forest development road, the provision of credit for road construction to any purchaser of national forest timber or products.  Sets forth related provisions regarding the construction of roads by timber purchasers. (Sec. 330) Amends the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act of 1965 to increase the number of Senators appointed by the Senate Majority Leader to serve on the National Council on the Arts from one to two. (Sec. 331) Amends the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 to extend by one year the sunset date by which funds must be appropriated from the Environmental Improvement and Restoration Fund. (Sec. 333) Amends the Arts and Artifacts Indemnity Act to increase certain coverage limits for loss or damage of items covered by indemnity agreements under such Act.  Adds new coverage provisions for loss or damage exceeding $3 million. (Sec. 334) Validates all conveyances of specified real property made by the Southern Pacific Transportation Company or its successors to the Redevelopment Agency of the City of Tulare, California, to the extent that such conveyances would be legal or valid if all U.S. rights and interest (except minerals) were held by such Company. Disclaims any and all U.S. right of surface entry to the mineral estate of such lands. (Sec. 336) Amends the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to extend a certain demonstration program for direct billing by Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Alaska Native health organizations of Medicare, Medicaid, and other third party payors through FY 2000. (Sec. 337) Repeals provisions of the Petroleum Overcharge Distribution and Restitution Act of 1986 regarding:  (1) restitution to persons injured by violations of certain petroleum pricing and allocation regulations; (2) excess amounts held in escrow accounts to be used for indirect restitution; and (3) disbursement of such excess amounts for energy conservation programs. (Sec. 339) Prohibits the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture, prior to December 1, 2000, from implementing any final rule, regulation, or policy pursuant to title VIII of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) to manage and assert control over land, water, and wild, renewable resources in Alaska for subsistence uses, with exceptions for specified public lands subject to Federal management for such uses. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to certify before October 1, 1999, if legislation has been passed by the Alaska State Legislature that would enable the implementation of State laws consistent with a specified definition, preference for subsistence uses in the taking of fish and wildlife on public lands, and participation under ANILCA. Repeals the restriction on Federal management under this section unless the Secretary makes such certification. (Sec. 341) Conveys the Wind River Nursery Site lands and facilities to Skamania County, Washington, in exchange for certain lands conveyed to the Secretary of Agriculture within the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, to be included in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. (Sec. 342) Adjusts the boundary of:  (1) the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, Washington, to exclude a certain parcel of land and waters; and (2) the Wenatchee National Forest, to include such parcel. Transfers administrative jurisdiction over Federal land and waters in the parcel from the Secretary of the Interior to the Secretary of Agriculture. Considers the boundaries of the Forest to be those as of January 1, 1965, for purposes of Federal provisions concerning allocation of Land and Water Conservation Fund monies for Federal purposes. (Sec. 343) Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct technology transfer and development, training, dissemination of information, and applied research in the management, processing, and utilization of the hardwood forest resource. Permits the Secretary of Agriculture to:  (1) assume all rights, title, and interest of the Robert C. Byrd Hardwood Technology Center, a nonprofit corporation operating under the laws of the State of West Virginia; and (2) operate and utilize Center assets as part of a newly formed Institute of Hardwood Technology Transfer and Applied Research. Requires Institute revenues to be deposited in a special Treasury fund known as the Hardwood Technology Transfer and Applied Research Fund. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 347) Authorizes the Forest Service, until September 30, 2002, to enter into up to 28 contracts with private persons (of which Region One of the Forest Service shall have authority to enter into nine) to perform services to achieve land management goals for national forests that meet local and rural community needs. Permits the Forest Service, in connection with a contract, to apply the value of timber or other forest products removed as an offset against the cost of services received. (Sec. 348) Directs the Forest Service and the Federal Highway Administration to make a specified amount available to the State of Utah for construction of the Trappers Loop connector road. (Sec. 349) Declares that the United States shall not deem as an infringement upon its ownership rights certain existing Federal contracts and leases covering land conveyed by the United States that in turn convey to surface patent holders any rights to coalbed methane gas exploration, extraction, sales, or production. Declares that this Act is applicable only to land with respect to which the United States owns coal reserved to it in a patent issued under specified Federal law. States that this Act:  (1) does not apply to any tribally owned interest in coal or land; and (2) does not limit the right of any person who entered into a contract or lease for federally owned coal before, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act to mine and remove such coal or to release coalbed methane without liability to surface patent holders with rights to explore for, extract, sell, or produce coalbed methane. (Sec. 350) Sets forth requirements for the sale of western red cedar timber sold in Region 10 of the Forest Service, including those regarding the volume of such timber available for domestic processors. (Sec. 353) Appropriates funds for:  (1) the Aleutians East Borough for construction of an unpaved road on King Cove Corporation Lands, dock, and marine facilities and equipment; (2) improvements to the air strip at King Cove, Alaska; and (3) the Indian Health Service for new construction or improvements to the clinic in King Cove. (Sec. 354) Amends the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Act to exclude certain lands from the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. (Sec. 358) Designates the Federal building:  (1) located at 15013 Denver West Parkway in Golden, Colorado, and known as the National Renewable Energy Laboratory Visitors Center as the Dan Schaefer Federal Building; (2) under construction at 325 Broadway in Boulder, Colorado, as the David Skaggs Federal Building; and (3) located at 201 14th Street, S.W. in Washington, D.C. as the Sidney R. Yates Federal Building. (Sec. 361) Rescinds specified funds approved for priority land acquisitions, land exchanges, and maintenance in the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 if such funds are not made available for obligation by the relevant land management agencies within five days of this Act's enactment. (Sec. 362) Repeals a provision of the Federal Crop Insurance Reform and Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 that prohibits pay of Department of Agriculture employees from being increased as a result of departmental reorganization. Title IV:  The Herger-Feinstein Quincy Library Group Forest Recovery Act - Herger-Feinstein Quincy Library Group Forest Recovery Act - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Forest Service and after completion of an environmental impact statement, to conduct a pilot project within the Plumas, Lassen, and Tahoe National Forests, California, to demonstrate the effectiveness of specified fire resiliency resource management activities recommended by the Quincy Library Group-Community Stability Proposal. (Sec. 401) Exempts spotted owl habitat and protected areas within the project area from such required activities and timber harvesting. Provides for riparian protection. Limits:  (1) annual project acreage; (2) funding sources; (3) project duration; and (4) report expenditures.  Requires corresponding amendments to be made to the Plumas, Lassen, and Tahoe land and resource management plans within a specified time. Sets forth reporting provisions. Requires the Alternative Agricultural Research and Commercialization Corporation to evaluate making commercialization assistance loans to support a minimum of two demonstration projects (one in the pilot project area and one in southeast Alaska) for the development and demonstration of commercial application of technology to convert wood waste or low-quality wood byproducts into usable, higher value products. Title V:  Land Between the Lakes Protection Act - Land Between the Lakes Protection Act of 1998 - Subtitle A:  Establishment, Administration, and Jurisdiction - Establishes, after a specified transfer under this Act, the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area in Kentucky and Tennessee as a unit of the National Forest System. (Sec. 511) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary) to manage the Area for multiple uses, including public recreation, fish and wildlife habitat conservation, plant and animal diversity, hunting and fishing, and environmental education. (Sec. 513) Provides for payments to States and counties in lieu of taxes, including payments by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). (Sec. 514) Considers all Area paved roads as forest highways. Subtitle B:  Management Provisions - Directs the Secretary, as soon as practicable after the transfer, to prepare a land and resource management plan for the Area in conformity with the National Forest Management Act of 1976, allowing the existing TVA natural resource management plan to provide interim management direction. (Sec. 522) Establishes the Land Between the Lakes Advisory Board. (Sec. 523) Authorizes the Secretary to charge reasonable fees for admission to and use of designated sites, or for activities, within the Area, with receipts to be deposited into the Land Between the Lakes Management Fund and used for Area management expenses. (Sec. 526) Authorizes the Secretary to issue a special use authorization to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for management of facilities and land agreed on by the Secretary and the Secretary of the Interior.  Authorizes the charge of reasonable fees upon lands administered by the Service.  Subordinates Service fish and wildlife activities to overall Area management. (Sec. 527) Designates the North-South Trail in the Area as a national recreation trail under the National Trails System Act. (Sec. 528) Directs the Secretary to maintain an inventory of and ensure access to all Area cemeteries for burial, visitation, and maintenance. (Sec. 529) Withdraws Area lands from operation under the Federal mining and mineral leasing laws.  Authorizes the Secretary to permit the use of mineral materials for Area development and maintenance. Directs the Secretary to permit hunting and fishing within the Area, with exceptions for reasons of public safety, administration, or public use and enjoyment. (Sec. 530) Requires the TVA to cause any breach in the Hematite Dam to be repaired or, if such repairs have been made, to certify the sound condition of the dam to the Secretary. (Sec. 531) Establishes the Land Between the Lakes Trust Fund for: (1) public education, grants, and internships relating to Area recreation, conservation, and multiple use land management; and (2) regional promotion in the Area.  Directs the TVA to deposit $1 million annually into the Fund for each of five fiscal years commencing in the first fiscal year of the transfer. Subtitle C:  Transfer Provisions - Transfers administrative jurisdiction over the Area from the TVA to the Secretary, effective on October 1 of the first year for which the Congress does not appropriate to the TVA at least $6 million for the Area or on this Act's enactment date, if this Act is enacted during a fiscal year for which the Congress has not made such an appropriation.  Calls for the transfer to be completed in an efficient and cost-effective manner, with due consideration to minimum disruption of the personal lives of TVA and Forest Service employees and others affected by such transfer.  Directs the Secretary and the TVA to enter into a memorandum of agreement implementing the transfer.  Provides the Secretary with access to all TVA Area management records. (Sec. 545) Directs the TVA to:  (1) provide the Secretary with an inventory of all Area property and facilities; and (2) use current TVA Area personnel (eligible employees) to facilitate the transfer of necessary property and facilities.  Authorizes the Secretary to declare as excess any personal property that cannot be efficiently managed and maintained either by the Forest Service or by lease or permit to others. (Sec. 546) Requires transfer compliance with all applicable environmental laws, under specified procedures. (Sec. 547) Authorizes the Secretary to hire appropriate personnel and retain eligible employees.  Directs the TVA to notify all eligible employees of openings in other TVA units before notifying other individuals of such openings.  Requires the Secretary and the heads of the Office of Personnel Management, the TVA, and the Tennessee Valley Authority Retirement System to enter into a memorandum of understanding for the transition of all eligible employees with respect to compensation made available through such System.  Sets forth other employee transition provisions. (Sec. 549) Describes funds to be used by the TVA for costs associated with the transfer. Subtitle D:  Funding - Authorizes appropriations to the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior for Area administration and activities. Title VI:  Interstate 90 Land Exchange Act - Interstate 90 Land Exchange Act of 1998 - Provides for:  (1) an exchange of private and Federal lands in specified lands adjacent to the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, lands near Cle Elum and Lost Lakes, or the Mt.  Baker-Snoqualmie, Wenatchee, and Gifford Pinchot National Forests, Washington, between the Secretary of Agriculture and Plum Creek Timber Company, L.P.; (2) land appraisals, including considerations for critical habitat protection, and equalization requirements; and (3) access to acquired lands.  Requires lands acquired by the Secretary to become part of the appropriate national forest. (Sec. 606) Directs the Secretary to complete determinations under the National Historic Preservation Act and report to Plum Creek and other consulting parties on any parcels of land to be conveyed on which cultural properties have been identified and for which protection, use restrictions, or mitigation requirements will be imposed.  Requires Plum Creek to notify the Secretary as to:  (1) parcels it will accept subject to such restrictions or mitigation requirements; and (2) those it will not accept because such requirements are deemed to be an unacceptable encumbrance on the land.  Directs the Secretary to delete parcels deemed unacceptable for conveyance from land selected for exchange. (Sec. 607) Authorizes and directs the Secretary to consult with Plum Creek concerning:  (1) certain lands desirable for addition to the National Forest System that are excluded from the land exchange but that Plum Creek is willing to sell; (2) opportunities for the United States to acquire by exchange or purchase lands along the Tieton River; and (3) opportunities for the United States to acquire lands deleted from the final exchange or other Plum Creek lands in the State of Washington for a future exchange. Requires the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees on future land exchange opportunities with Plum Creek. (Sec. 610) Provides for:  (1) review of the lands included in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Study Area, if the land exchange directed by this Act is consummated, for preservation as wilderness; and (2) administration of such lands as wilderness until December 31, 2003. (Sec. 611) Establishes the Kelly Butte Special Management Area in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest upon conveyance to the United States of the Plum Creek lands in the Kelly Butte area. (Sec. 612) Requires the Secretary to consult with appropriate congressional committees and local elected officials in the counties in Washington in which the offered lands are located regarding options to minimize the adverse effect on county revenues of the transfer of offered lands from private to Federal ownership. Title VII:  Indian Tribal Tort Claims and Risk Management - Indian Tribal Tort Claims and Risk Management Act of 1998 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior, in order to minimize and eliminate duplicative liability insurance coverage and to ensure the provision of cost-effective insurance to Indian tribes, to conduct a survey of the degree, type, and adequacy of liability insurance coverage of such tribes. (Sec. 704) Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress legislative recommendations that:  (1) improve the provision of insurance coverage to Indian tribes; or (2) otherwise provide relief to persons injured as a result of an official action of a tribal government. (Sec. 705) Authorizes appropriations. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 - Title I (sic):  Department of Labor - Department of Labor Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for FY 1999 to the Department of Labor for:  (1) training and employment services; (2) community service employment for older Americans; (3) Federal unemployment benefits and allowances; (4) State unemployment insurance and employment service operations; (5) advances to the Unemployment Trust Fund and other trust funds; (6) employment and training program administration; (7) the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation; (8) the Employment Standards Administration; (9) certain special benefits; (10) the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund; (11) the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; (12) the Mine Safety and Health Administration; (13) the Bureau of Labor Statistics; (14) departmental management; (15) the Assistant Secretary for Veterans Employment and Training; and (16) the Office of Inspector General. Rescinds specified amounts of funds made available for training and employment services for the Opportunity Areas of Out-of-School Youth. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title. (Sec. 102) Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act to require funds under the welfare-to-work program that have not been allotted at the end of any fiscal year due to a State not having met specified program requirements to be transferred to the General Fund of the Treasury. Title II:  Department of Health and Human Services - Department of Health and Human Services Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for FY 1999 to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for:  (1) the Health Resources and Services Administration; (2) the Medical Facilities Guarantee and Loan Fund for Federal interest subsidies for medical facilities; (3) health education assistance loans; (4) the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program Trust Fund; (5) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; (6) the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including amounts for the John E. Fogarty International Center, the National Library of Medicine, the Office of the Director, and buildings and facilities; (7) the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; (8) retirement pay and medical benefits for Public Health Service commissioned officers; (9) the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research; (10) the Health Care Financing Administration for grants to States for Medicaid, payments to health care trust funds, program management, and the Health Maintenance Organization Loan and Loan Guarantee Fund; (11) the Administration for Children and Families for family support payments to States; (12) low income home energy assistance; (13) refugee and entrant assistance; (14) the child care and development block grant; (15) the social services block grant; (16) children and families services programs; (17) family preservation and support; (18) payments to States for foster care and adoption assistance; (19) the Administration on Aging; (20) the Office of the Secretary for general departmental management; (21) the Office of Inspector General; (22) the Office for Civil Rights; (23) policy research; and (24) activities related to countering potential biological, disease, and chemical threats to civilian populations. Reduces amounts of specified funds appropriated for FY 1999 for: (1) a study of child welfare under part B (Child-Welfare Services) of title IV of the Social Security Act; and (2) certain welfare research, evaluations, and studies under such Act. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title. (Sec. 211) 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 (PHSA), unless the award applicant certifies to the Secretary 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. 213) Prohibits the final rule entitled ""Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN)"" from becoming effective before the expiration of the one-year period beginning on this Act's enactment date. Directs the Institute of Medicine to conduct a review of current OPTN policies and the final rule to determine:  (1) the potential impact on access to transplantation services for low-income populations and minority groups, waiting times for transplants, patient survival and organ failure rates, costs, OPTN member liability, and confidential information; (2) specified impacts on organ procurement organizations; and (3) recommendations to change such policies and rule.  Requires the Comptroller General to submit a report on such review to specified congressional committees. Transfers specified funds appropriated under this Act to the Comptroller General for carrying out studies required by this section. (Sec. 214) Amends title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) of the Social Security Act to replace provisions which authorize appropriations for allotments for FY 2003 and succeeding fiscal years with an authorization amount for FY 1998. (Sec. 216) 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. 218) Amends PHSA to set forth provisions regarding minimum allotments to States in FY 1999 for certain block grants regarding mental health and substance abuse. (Sec. 219) Declares that no provider of services under title X of PHSA shall be exempt from any State law requiring notification or the reporting of child abuse, child molestation, sexual abuse, rape, or incest. Title III:  Department of Education - Department of Education Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for FY 1999 to the Department of Education for:  (1) education reform; (2) education for the disadvantaged; (3) impact aid; (4) school improvement activities; (5) 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. 305) Amends the General Education Provisions Act to bar the use of funds provided to the Department of Education or to an applicable program to field or pilot test, implement, administer, or distribute national tests.  Makes such prohibition inapplicable to the International Math and Science Study or other international assessments developed under the authority of the National Education Statistics Act of 1994 that are administered only to a representative sample of U.S. and foreign pupils. Provides that exclusive authority over the direction and all policies for developing voluntary national tests shall continue to be vested in the National Assessment Governing Board. Requires the Board to report to the White House and specified congressional committees on:  (1) the purpose and intended use of any proposed federally sponsored national test; and (2) findings of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) that assert that the achievement levels of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) are flawed. Directs NAS to study and report to such entities on the technical feasibility, validity, and reliability of including test items from NAEP for fourth grade reading and eighth grade mathematics or from other tests in State and district assessments for purposes of providing a common measure of individual student performance. (Sec. 306) Allows certain institutions of higher education to use specified funds for endowment building purposes. (Sec. 307) Earmarks funds for reducing class size in elementary and secondary schools. Title IV:  Related Agencies - Makes appropriations for FY 1999 to the:  (1) Armed Forces Retirement Home; (2) Corporation for National and Community Service; (3) Corporation for Public Broadcasting; (4) Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service; (5) Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission; (6) Institute of Museum and Library Services; (7) Medicare Payment Advisory Commission; (8) National Commission on Libraries and Information Science; (9) National Council on Disability; (10) National Education Goals Panel; (11) National Labor Relations Board; (12) National Mediation Board; (13) Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission; (14) Railroad Retirement Board for the dual benefits payments account, Federal payments to the railroad retirement accounts, administration, and the Office of Inspector General; (15) Social Security Administration for payments to the social security trust funds, special benefits for disabled coal miners, the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Program, administrative expenses, and the Office of Inspector General; and (16) U.S. Institute of Peace. Title V:  General Provisions - Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this Act. (Sec. 505) Prohibits the use of funds appropriated under this Act for programs to distribute sterile needles or syringes for the injection of illegal drugs. (Sec. 506) Sets forth Buy American requirements. (Sec. 508) Prohibits funds appropriated under this Act or funds in trust funds to which funds are appropriated under this Act from being expended for abortions or for health benefits coverage that includes coverage of abortion, except in cases where the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest or where a woman suffers from a physical condition that would, as certified by a physician, place her in danger of death unless an abortion is performed. (Sec. 511) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act for:  (1) the creation of a human embryo for research purposes; or (2) research in which a human embryo is destroyed or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death greater than that allowed for research on fetuses in utero under Federal regulations and the Public Health Service Act. (Sec. 512) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act for activities to promote the legalization of a controlled substance unless there is significant medical evidence of a therapeutic advantage to the use of such substance or that federally-sponsored trials are being conducted to determine such advantage. (Sec. 514) Bars the use of funds made available in this Act to pay the expenses of an election officer appointed by a court to oversee an election of any officer or trustee for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Title VI:  National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine - Amends the Public Health Service Act to repeal provisions regarding the Office of Alternative Medicine. (Sec. 601) Establishes a National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine as an NIH agency, to be headed by a Director appointed by the Secretary of HHS. Requires the Director of the Center to study the integration of alternative treatment, diagnostic and prevention systems, modalities, and disciplines with the practice of conventional medicine as a complement to such medicine and into U.S. health care delivery systems. Sets forth additional responsibilities of the Director, including the establishment of an advisory council, a bibliographic system for the collection of worldwide research relating to complementary and alternative medicine, and a related information clearinghouse. Title VII:  Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends Federal law to revise a condition on the distribution of funds to the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) or National Public Radio (NPR) with regard to limits on rates of pay for PBS or NPR personnel. (Sec. 702) Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to revise the disproportionate share hospital allotments for Minnesota, New Mexico, and Wyoming for FY 1999. (Sec. 705) Amends the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1990 to extend through FY 1999 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, 1999, 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. 706) Amends title XXI (Children's Health Insurance) of the Social Security Act to make appropriations for additional allotments for FY 1999 for children's health insurance to Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands. (Sec. 708) Amends the Combatting Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 1996 with respect to the establishment of the Commission to Assess the Organization of the Federal Government to Combat the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction to:  (1) increase from eight to 12 the Commission's membership; and (2) extend the dates for its initial meeting and report to the Congress. Prohibits executive branch personnel from being Commission members. Bars the Commission, in carrying out specified activities, from reviewing or reporting on U.S. domestic response capabilities with respect to weapons of mass destruction or the adequacy or usefulness of U.S. laws that provide for the imposition of sanctions on countries or entities that engage in the proliferation of such weapons. Limits Commission expenses. (Sec. 709) Amends the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 to require lump-sum retirement benefits to be paid to certain surviving divorced wives who received benefits otherwise precluded by the making of a lump sum payment to a widow through administrative error if such individuals elect to repay the lump sum payments.  Applies this section retroactively to benefits paid before this Act's enactment date. Title VIII:  Reading Excellence Act - Subtitle I:  Reading and Literacy Grants - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to establish a new title II part C Reading and Literacy Grants program. (Sec. 101) (sic) Directs the Secretary of Education to make grants to State educational agencies (SEAs) to make subgrants for local reading improvement programs and tutorial assistance programs. Provides for peer review panel evaluation of SEA grant applications. Requires State establishment of a reading and literacy partnership as a condition for an SEA's receiving such a grant. Limits the portions of such grants which may be used for State administrative costs and for tutorial assistance subgrants. Requires SEAs that receive such grants to make competitive two- year local reading improvement subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) with:  (1) at least one school that is identified for school improvement; (2) the largest, or second largest, number of children in comparison to all other LEAs in the State; or (3) the highest, or second highest, school-age child poverty rate, in comparison to all other LEAs in the State.  Allows subgrantees to train, on a fee-for-service basis, personnel from schools or LEAs that are not subgrant recipients or beneficiaries, in the instructional practices based on scientifically-based reading research used by the recipient. Requires each SEA that receives such a grant to make at least one competitive tutorial assistance subgrant to LEAs with:  (1) at least one school located in an empowerment zone or an enterprise community; (2) at least one school identified for school improvement; (3) the largest, or second largest, number of children in comparison to all other LEAs in the State; or (4) the highest, or second highest, school-age child poverty rate, in comparison to all other LEAs in the State.  Sets forth authorized uses of such subgrants. Directs the Secretary to:  (1) conduct a national assessment of programs under this Act; (2) receive recommendations from the peer review panel in developing the criteria for the assessment; and (3) report on the assessment to the appropriate congressional committees. Requires the National Institute for Literacy to disseminate information on reliable, replicable research on reading and on subgrantee projects that have proven effective. Requires each SEA that receives such a grant to:  (1) evaluate subgrantee success; and (2) submit the findings of the evaluations and performance reports to the Secretary, who will submit a summary to the appropriate congressional committees. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 and 2000. Subtitle II:  Amendments to Even Start Family Literacy Programs - Amends ESEA to direct the Secretary to award competitive grants to States for the planning and implementation of statewide family literacy initiatives, including specified services. (Sec. 203) (sic) Requires grant recipients to:  (1) provide technical assistance for the evaluation of subgrant recipient local programs; and (2) develop indicators of program quality. (Sec. 205) Directs the Secretary to do research through grant or contract into successful family literacy services to improve the quality of existing programs and to develop models for new programs. Revises provisions for the dissemination of information. Subtitle III:  Repeals - Repeals certain unfunded education programs under various Federal laws. (Sec. 301) (sic) Repeals the Community School Partnership Act (contained in the Improving America's Schools Act of 1994). Repeals specified provisions of the Educational Research, Development, Dissemination, and Improvement Act of 1994 for a teacher research dissemination demonstration program. Repeals provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) for:  (1) innovative elementary school transition projects; (2) the De Lugo territorial education improvement program; (3) extended time for learning and longer school year; and (4) territorial assistance. Repeals the Family and Community Endeavor Schools Act. Repeals specified provisions of the Goals 2000:  Educate America Act for grants for the study, evaluation, and analysis of education systems in other nations. Subtitle IV:  Technical and Conforming Amendments - Makes technical and conforming amendments to various Federal laws. Title IX:  Women's Health and Cancer Rights - Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act of 1998 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to require group health plan, and a health insurance issuer providng health insurance coverage in connection with a group health plan, that provides medical and surgical benefits with respect to a mastectomy to provide, in a case of a participant or beneficiary who is receiving benefits in connection with a masetectomy and who elects breast reconstruction in connection with such mastectomy, coverage for:  (1) all stages of reconstruction of the breast on which the mastectomy has been performed; (2) surgery and reconstruction of the other breast to produce a symmetrical appearance; and (3) prostheses and physical complications of mastectomy, including lymphedemas.  Requires annual written notice of the availability of such benefits. Prohibts:  (1) denying to a patient eligibility, or continued eligibility, to enroll or to renew coverage under the terms of the plan, soley for the purpose of avoiding the requirements of this section; and (2) penalizing or otherwise reducing or limiting the reimbursement of an attending provider, or providing incentives (monetary or otherwise) to an attending provider, to induce such provider to provide care to an individual participant or beneficiary in a manner inconsistent with this section. (Sec. 903) Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to apply the same requirements, as under ERISA, to health insurance issuers in group and individual markets under PHSA. Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 - Title I (sic):  Department of Transportation - Makes appropriations for FY 1999 (with specified rescissions, transfers of funds, limitations on obligations, and liquidations of contract authorizations) for:  (1) the Office of the Secretary of Transportation; (2) the Coast Guard; (3) the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); (4) the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) (earmarking specified amounts for certain Intelligent Transportation System projects); (5) the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; (6) the Federal Railroad Administration; (7) the Federal Transit Administration (including specified national planning and research program projects, new and existing fixed guideway systems, and buses and bus-related facilities projects); (8) the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation; (9) the Research and Special Programs Administration; (10) the Office of the Inspector General; and (11) the Surface Transportation Board. Title II:  Related Agencies - Makes appropriations for FY 1999 for:  (1) the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board; and (2) the National Transportation Safety Board. Title III:  General Provisions - Sets forth specified prohibitions, limitations, permissions, and mandates with respect to the use of appropriations under this Act identical or very similar to those enacted in the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 (Public Law 105-66). (Sec. 320) Reduces the amount of funds provided in this Act for the Transportation Administrative Service Center (TASC). (Sec. 322) Prohibits the use of funds to promulgate regulations pursuant to title V of the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act prescribing corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards for automobiles in any model year that differs from standards promulgated for such automobiles before enactment of this Act. (Sec. 323) Directs the Secretary to convey, without consideration, all right, title, and interest of the United States in:  (1) the U.S. Coast Guard Pass Manchac Light in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, to the State of Louisiana; and (2) the Tchefuncte River Range Rear Light in Madisonville, Louisiana, to the Town of Madisonville, Louisiana. (Sec. 324) Prohibits the use of funds to promulgate or enforce any regulation whose practical effect is to:  (1) require more than one attendant during unloading of liquefied compressed gases; or (2) prevent the attendant from monitoring the customer's liquefied compressed gas storage tank during unloading. (Sec. 326) Prohibits the use of funds (as in Public Law 105-66) for employee training which:  (1) does not meet identified needs for knowledge, skills, and abilities bearing directly upon the performance of official duties; (2) contains elements likely to induce high levels of emotional response or psychological stress in some participants; (3) does not require prior employee notification of the content and methods to be used in the training and written end of course evaluations; (4) contains any methods or content associated with religious or quasi-religious belief systems or ""new age"" belief systems; (5) is offensive to, or designed to change, participants' personal values or lifestyle outside the workplace; or (6) includes content related to human immunodeficiency virus-acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV-AIDS) other than that necessary to make employees more aware of its medical ramifications and the workplace rights of HIV-positive employees. (Sec. 329) Requires the interest produced from the investment of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Liability Fund balance that is transferred and deposited into the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to be transferred annually by the National Pollution Funds Center to the Denali Commission to repair or replace bulk fuel storage tanks in Alaska which are not in compliance with Federal law, the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, or State law. (Sec. 331) Prohibits expenditure of funds made available under this Act by any entity that does not agree to comply with the Buy American Act. Expresses the sense of Congress that entities receiving assistance under this Act should purchase only U.S.-made equipment and products to the greatest extent practicable. Prohibits the use of funds for contracts with persons falsely labeling products as made in America. (Sec. 332) Makes receipts collected from users of fitness centers operated by or for the DOT available to support their operation and maintenance. (Sec. 333) Declares that none of the funds in this Act shall be available to implement or enforce regulations that would result in the withdrawal of a slot from an air carrier at O'Hare International Airport in excess of the total slots withdrawn from that air carrier as of October 31, 1993, if such additional slot is to be allocated to another air carrier or foreign air carrier. (Sec. 334) Prohibits the provision of essential air service to communities in the 48 contiguous States that are fewer than 70 miles from the nearest large and medium hub airport, or that require a rate of subsidy per passenger in excess of $200 unless such point is greater than 210 miles from the nearest large or medium hub airport. (Sec. 337) Rescinds unobligated balances of funds made available in previous appropriations Acts for the National Civil Aviation Review Commission and for Urban Discretionary Grants. (Sec. 338) Directs the Commandant of the Coast Guard to dispose, at fair market value, of all right, title, and interest of the United States in the Coast Guard Reserve Training Facility in Jacksonville, Florida.  Grants the city of Jacksonville, Florida, the right of first refusal to purchase such property. (Sec. 340) Directs the Secretary to waive repayment of any Federal-aid highway funds expended on high occupancy lanes or auxiliary lanes constructed on I-287 in New Jersey, if New Jersey determines that such lanes are not in the public interest. (Sec. 341) Authorizes the Secretary to convey to North Carolina such portion of Coast Guard Station Ocracoke, North Carolina, as the Secretary considers to be appropriate for transportation, education, environmental, or other public purposes. (Sec. 342) Declares that appropriated funds intended for highway demonstration projects, railroad-highway crossings demonstration projects or railroad relocation projects in Augusta, Georgia, are available for implementation of a project consisting of modifications and additions to streets, railroads, and related improvements in the vicinity of the grade crossing of the CSX railroad and 15th Street in Augusta, Georgia. (Sec. 343) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act by the Coast Guard to issue or enforce certain regulations under the Edible Oil Regulatory Reform Act, unless such regulations recognize and provide, with respect to (animal) fats, (vegetable) oils, and greases, for differences in physical, chemical, biological, and other relevant properties, and in environmental effects. (Sec. 344) Makes certain funds for emergency railroad rehabilitation and repair available for repairs resulting from natural disasters occurring from September 1996 through July 10, 1998. (Sec. 345) Requires the Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration and other participating Federal agencies, in evaluating environmental impacts of the toll road in Orange and San Diego Counties, California, to consider only those transportation alternatives previously identified by regional planning processes. (Sec. 346) Directs the U.S. Coast Guard Commandant to convey to the University of South Alabama all right, title, and interest of the U.S. Government in and to a decommissioned Coast Guard vessel if certain conditions are met by the recipient. (Sec. 348) Authorizes the conveyance to the University of Jacksonville, Florida, without consideration, of the Long Branch Rear Range Light, Jacksonville, Florida. (Sec. 349) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 and 2000 for expenses of the Amtrak Reform Council.  Revises the duties of the Council to include the identification of Amtrak routes which are candidates for closure or realignment, based on performance rankings developed by it which incorporate information on each route's fully allocated costs and ridership on core intercity passenger service, and which assume, for purposes of closure or realignment, that Federal subsidies for Amtrak will decline from FY 1999 to FY 2002.  Requires such closure or realignment recommendations to be included in the Council's annual report to the Congress. (Sec. 350) Authorizes the State of New York to proceed with the construction of additional entrances and exits between exits 57 and 58 on Interstate 495 in Suffolk County, New York. (Sec. 351) Amends Federal law to authorize the Secretary to grant a temporary exemption to passenger motor vehicles from a prescribed bumper standard.  Requires a permanent label be fixed to a motor vehicle granted an exemption under this section that describes, among other things, each bumper standard from which such vehicle is exempted. (Sec. 352) Earmarks specified amounts of Federal highway funds to the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, for research activities at the Transportation Research Institute. (Sec. 353) Authorizes the use of certain discretionary grants funds for bus and bus-related facilities (hitherto available for the Virtual Transit Enterprise project) to fund any aspect of the Virtual Transit Enterprise integration of information project in South Carolina. (Sec. 354) Amends the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century to authorize Vermont to use certain pilot project funds from the Highway Trust Fund Mass Transit Account for capital improvements to, and operating assistance for, intercity passenger rail service. (Sec. 355) Makes permanent the authority of the Delaware River Port Authority and the Delaware River Joint Commission to collect tolls on bridges or tunnels between New Jersey and Pennsylvania. (Sec. 356) Amends the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century to authorize Federal-aid highway funds allocated for projects in Idaho, Alaska, and West Virginia to be obligated for any other highway project in such State for which funds are allocated, except that the total amount of funds authorized for any other project shall not be reduced. (Sec. 357) Mandates disbursement of Economic Development Administration (EDA) funds awarded in FY 1994 to the City of Pittsburg, Kansas, (Project Number 05-19-61200) for water, sewer and street improvements, upon EDA determination that such improvements have been completed in accordance with the project description in the award documents. (Sec. 358) Amends the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century to authorize final design and construction for FY 1998 through 2003 for the Saint Barnard Parish, Louisiana intermodal facility. (Sec. 359) Authorizes the Secretary, subject to approval by the congressional appropriations committees, to transfer appropriations for any office of the Office of the Secretary to any other such office, but with corresponding increases or decreases in such appropriations of no more than 12 percent. (Sec. 360) Amends the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century to authorize the Secretary to provide assistance (not to exceed $1 million annually) under a mass transportation block grant to a transit provider that operates 20 or fewer vehicles in an urbanized area with a population of at least 200,000 to finance the operating costs of equipment and facilities used by the transit provider in providing mass transportation services to the elderly and persons with disabilities. (Sec. 361) Grants the Commonwealth of Virginia exclusive authority to determine the high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) restrictions on Interstate Highway 66 in Virginia. (Sec. 362) Prohibits the use of funds appropriated under this Act to issue a final standard under docket number NHTSA 98-3945 (relating to certain requirements for State-issued drivers licenses and comparable identification documents under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Responsibility Act of 1996). (Sec. 363) Amends the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century to earmark funds for FY 1998 through 2003 for construction of improvements to the multimodal transportation corridor along GA-400 in Georgia. (Sec. 364) Directs the Secretary to approve the construction of Type II noise barriers from certain Federal-aid highway funds at specified road sections in Fulton and Dekalb Counties, Georgia. (Sec. 365) Directs the Secretary to approve and authorizes the State of Alabama to proceed with the construction of the East Foley corridor project from Baldwin County Highway 20 to State Highway 59. Declares that environmental reviews performed by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and the Mobile District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and all other non-environmental Federal laws shall remain in effect. (Sec. 366) Amends the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century to repeal the restriction on the Winters Freeway (US 83-84) project in Abilene, Texas, for which FY 1998 through 2003 funds are earmarked, that limits expansion of the Freeway to the area between Southwest Drive and US 277. (Sec. 367) Authorizes the State of Minnesota to obligate Federal- aid highway funds apportioned to it for FY 1998 through 2003 for high priority transportation projects authorized for the Shepard Road-Upper Landing interceptor in St. Paul, subject to specified allocation percentages. (Sec. 368) Amends the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century to:  (1) cancel the high priority transportation project for construction of capital improvements to the Alaska Marine Highway and related facilities in Ketchikan, Alaska; and (2) transfer the funds authorized for such project to the project to improve marine dry dock and facilities in Ketchikan. (Sec. 369) Amends the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century to direct the Secretary to make grants to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (instead of the Pennsylvania Transportation Institute) to establish an advanced traffic monitoring and emergency response center at Letterkenny Army Depot in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. (Sec. 370) Amends the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century to declare that certain intelligent transportation system projects involving privately owned components shall not be subject to any State or local law that prohibits or regulates commercial activities in rights-of-way of a highway constructed with Federal-aid highway funds. (Sec. 371) Directs the Commandant of the Coast Guard to convey, without consideration, to the Town of New Castle, New Hampshire, all right, title, and interest of the United States in certain ocean front property there. (Sec. 372) Prohibits the use of funds to enforce any regulation or law that requires an air carrier that provides intrastate or interstate air transportation to provide a peanut-free buffer zone or any other related peanut-restricted area, or restrict the distribution of peanuts, until 90 days after submission to the Congress and the Secretary of a peer-reviewed scientific study that determines that there are severe reactions by passengers to peanuts as a result of contact with very small airborne peanut particles of the kind that passengers might encounter in an aircraft. (Sec. 373) Amends the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 with respect to the Secretary's authority to approve one or more substitute highway, bus transit, or light rail transit projects in lieu of construction of the I-94 East-West Transitway project in Milwaukee and Waukesha Counties, Wisconsin. Requires the Governor of Wisconsin to consult with appropriate local government officials before requesting the Secretary to approve such a substitute project. Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 1999 - Title I (sic):  Department of the Treasury - Treasury Department Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for the Department of the Treasury for:  (1) departmental offices; (2) automation enhancement; (3) the Office of Inspector General; (4) repair and restoration of the Treasury building and annex; (5) the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network; (6) violent crime reduction programs; (7) the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, including amounts for acquisition of additional real property and facilities and maintenance and facility improvements; (8) interagency law enforcement with respect to organized crime drug trafficking; (9) the Financial Management Service; (10) the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; (11) the U.S. Customs Service, including amounts for operations and maintenance of marine vessels and aircraft and collection of the Harbor Maintenance Fee; (12) the Bureau of the Public Debt; (13) the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), including amounts for tax law enforcement, earned income tax credit compliance and error reduction initiatives, information systems, and information technology investments; and (14) the Secret Service, including an amount for construction and improvement of facilities. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. (Sec. 115) Amends the Federal criminal code to redefine the terms ""shotgun"" and ""rifle"" as weapons using the energy of an explosive (currently, the energy of the explosive in a fixed shotgun shell or metallic cartridge). Expands the definition of ""antique firearm"" to include muzzle loading rifles, shotguns, or pistols that use black powder or a black powder substitute and cannot use fixed ammunition.  Excludes from such definition:  (1) weapons that incorporate firearm frames or receivers; (2) firearms converted into muzzle loading weapons; or (3) muzzle loading weapons that can be readily converted to fire fixed ammunition by specified means of replacement. (Sec. 117) Amends the Federal judicial code to provide that any property with respect to which certain financial transactions are prohibited or regulated under specified provisions of the Trading with the Enemy Act and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, provisions of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 prohibiting assistance to Cuba, or any order, regulation, or license issued pursuant thereto shall be subject to execution or attachment in aid of execution of any judgment relating to a claim for which a foreign state claiming such property is not immune from the jurisdiction of U.S. courts in cases where damages are sought against the state for injury or death caused by torture, extrajudicial killing, aircraft sabotage, hostage taking, or support for such acts.  Makes such requirement inapplicable if, at the time the property is expropriated or seized by the foreign state, the property has been held in title by a natural person or held in trust for the benefit of a natural person. Requires the Secretaries of the Treasury and State, at the request of any party in whose favor a judgment has been issued with respect to a claim for which the foreign state is not immune, to assist any judgment creditor or court in identifying, locating, and executing against the property of such state. Authorizes presidential waivers of this section's requirements in the interest of national security. Title II:  Postal Service - Postal Service Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for payments to the Postal Service Fund for revenue foregone on free and reduced rate mail. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. Title III:  Executive Office of the President and Funds Appropriated to the President - Executive Office Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for:  (1) compensation of the President and the White House office; (2) operating, maintenance, and reimbursable expenses of the Executive Residence at the White House; (3) special assistance to the President and the official residence of the Vice President; (4) the Council of Economic Advisers; (5) the Office of Policy Development; (6) the National Security Council; (7) the Office of Administration; (8) the Office of Management and Budget (OMB); (9) the Office of National Drug Control Policy; (10) Federal drug control programs, including amounts for the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program and for a national anti-drug campaign for youth; and (11) unanticipated needs in furtherance of the national interest, security, or defense. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. Title IV:  Independent Agencies - Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for the:  (1) Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled; (2) Federal Election Commission; (3) Federal Labor Relations Authority; and (4) General Services Administration (GSA), including amounts for the Federal Buildings Fund, Government-wide policy and operations, Office of Inspector General, and allowances and office staff for former Presidents. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. (Sec. 409) Authorizes the GSA Administrator to convey to the city of Racine, Wisconsin, certain excess real property containing the Army Reserve Center. (Sec. 410) Requires the GSA Administrator to enter into a lease to acquire space for the Department of Transportation headquarters. (Sec. 412) Requires the GSA Administrator to convey property comprising the U.S. Naval Observatory-Alternate Time Service Laboratory to the University of Miami for research-related purposes. Makes appropriations for:  (1) the Environmental Dispute Resolution Fund to carry out activities under the Environmental Policy and Conflict Resolution Act of 1997; (2) the Merit Systems Protection Board; (3) the National Archives and Records Administration, including amounts for repairs and restoration of archives; (4) the National Historical Publications and Records Commission; (5) the Office of Government Ethics; (6) the Office of Personnel Management, including an amount for the Office of Inspector General; (7) Government contributions for health and life insurance benefits for annuitants; (8) the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund; (9) the Office of Special Counsel; and (10) the U.S. Tax Court. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. Title V:  General Provisions (This Act) - Sets forth authorized and prohibited uses of funds made available under this Act. (Sec. 509) Prohibits funds appropriated by this Act from being available to pay for an abortion or for the administrative expenses of any Federal employee health plan which provides benefits for abortions.  Makes such prohibition inapplicable if the mother's life would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term or in cases of rape or incest. (Sec. 513) Authorizes the use of funds provided in this Act to initiate or continue activities to achieve Year 2000 (Y2K problem) computer conversion until such time as supplemental appropriations are made available for such purpose. (Sec. 515) Provides for payment of attorney's fees, costs, and sanctions required to be made by the Federal Government in the case Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, Inc. v. Clinton from amounts made available for compensation of the President and the White House office. (Sec. 517) Amends the Morris K. Udall Scholarship and Excellence in National Environmental and Native American Public Policy Act of 1992 to authorize non-Federal entities to use the Morris K. Udall Scholarship and Excellence in National Environmental Policy Foundation and the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution to provide assessment, mediation, or related services in connection with a dispute or conflict involving the Federal Government related to the environment, public lands, or natural resources.  Requires reimbursement to the Institute for the costs of services provided. Confers certain administrative authorities of the Foundation on the Institute as well. Title VI:  General Provisions (Departments, Agencies, and Corporations) - Sets forth authorized and prohibited uses of funds appropriated for Federal departments, agencies, and corporations. (Sec. 621) Provides that annual adjustments in rates of pay under the General Schedule shall not be considered to have taken effect in FY 1999 in the rates for the statutory pay systems for purposes of certain provisions of law amended by the Ethics Reform Act of 1989. (Sec. 623) Bars the use of funds made available for the Customs Service in this Act to allow the importation of any good produced or manufactured by forced or indentured child labor. (Sec. 627) Provides that, for purposes of provisions of law relating to tort liability, certain Federal law enforcement officers and special agents in the Diplomatic Security Service of the Department of State shall be construed to be acting within the scope of their office or employment if they take any reasonable action, including the use of force, to:  (1) protect an individual in such an officer's presence from a crime of violence; (2) provide immediate assistance to an individual who has suffered or who is threatened with bodily harm; or (3) prevent the escape of any individual who such an officer reasonably believes to have committed, in his or her presence, a crime of violence. (Sec. 628) Amends Federal law to require compensation at time-and-a-half per hour for any hours worked in excess of 106 during a biweekly pay period or 53 in an administrative workweek by Federal fire fighters. Sets forth pay provisions with respect to Federal fire fighters. Grants fire fighters subject to such pay provisions whose regular tours of duty average at least 60 hours or less per week and exclude a basic 40-hour workweek an increase in basic pay equal to two step-increases of the applicable General Schedule grade.  Provides that such increase shall not be an equivalent increase in pay. (Sec. 629) Requires the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Attorney General to conduct a review of Federal efforts and submit to the appropriate congressional committees a plan to improve coordination among Federal agencies with responsibility to protect the borders against drug trafficking. (Sec. 630) Makes a minimum amount available to specified agencies for carrying out flexiplace work telecommuting programs. (Sec. 631) Revises Federal law to entitle a Senior Executive Service (SES) career appointee awarded the rank of Meritorious Executive to 20 percent of annual basic pay (currently, a lump-sum payment of $10,000).   Grants appointees awarded the rank of Distinguished Executive 35 percent of annual basic pay (currently, a lump-sum payment of $20,000). (Sec. 632) Raises the fiscal year limit on the aggregate amount of performance awards for SES career appointees made by an agency. (Sec. 633) Revises Federal provisions regarding international postal arrangements to grant the Secretary of State primary responsibility for policy regarding U.S. participation in the Universal Postal Union and all postal treaties and conventions concluded within the framework of the Universal Postal Convention.  Authorizes the Secretary, with the consent of the President, to negotiate and conclude such treaties and conventions. Bars the Postal Service from concluding any treaty or convention related to the delivery of international postal services that is inconsistent with the Secretary's policy. Provides for the allocation of funds from the Postal Service to the Department of State to carry out international postal arrangements. (Sec. 638) Requires the OMB Director, for calendar year 2000, to report to the Congress:  (1) estimates of annual costs and benefits of Federal rules and paperwork in the aggregate, by agency and agency program, and by major rule; (2) impacts of Federal regulation on State, local, and tribal government, small business, wages, and economic growth; and (3) recommendations for reform. Directs the OMB Director to issue guidelines to agencies to standardize measures of costs and benefits and the format of accounting statements. (Sec. 643) Requires the Director of the U.S. Marshals Service to conduct a quarterly threat assessment on the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. (Sec. 646) Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, upon submission of proper documentation, to reimburse importers of large capacity military magazine rifles for which authority was granted to import such firearms into the United States on or before November 14, 1997, and which were released under bond to the importer by the Customs Service on or before February 10, 1998, provided that such an importer abandons title to the firearms to the United States. (Sec. 647) Provides for a 3.6 percent increase in rates of basic pay for Federal employees for FY 1999. (Sec. 648) Amends Federal law to require the Postal Rate Commission to report annually to the Congress on costs, revenues, and volumes accrued by the Postal Service in connection with mail matter conveyed between the United States and other countries. (Sec. 649) Extends for five years certain provisions of the Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988 which are currently due to expire ten years after such Act's enactment. (Sec. 650) Directs the Customs Service to:  (1) study the effectiveness of requiring all spring wheat, durum, or barley imports to be imported through a single port of entry; and (2) report study results to specified congressional committees. (Sec. 651) Designates the U.S. Postal Service building located at 180 East Kellogg Boulevard in Saint Paul, Minnesota, as the Eugene J. McCarthy Post Office Building. (Sec. 653) Amends Federal civil service provisions to entitle an SES employee who is involuntarily separated due to a reduction in force to use earned annual leave to remain on an agency's rolls after the date the employee would have otherwise been separated in order to qualify for an immediate annuity or health benefits coverage in retirement. (Sec. 654) Directs executive agencies, before implementing policies and regulations that may affect family well-being, to assess such actions with respect to specified criteria.  Requires each agency to:  (1) certify to the OMB Director and the Congress that such policy or regulation has been assessed in accordance with this section; and (2) provide an adequate rationale for implementation of each policy or regulation that may negatively affect family well-being. Directs OMB to:  (1) ensure that policies and regulations proposed by agencies are implemented consistent with this section; and (2) compile, index, and submit annually to the Congress the written certifications received. Directs the White House Office of Policy Development to:  (1) assess proposed policies and regulations in accordance with this section; (2) provide evaluations of such policies and regulations to OMB; and (3) advise the President on policy and regulatory actions that may be taken to strengthen the institutions of marriage and family in the United States. Requires an agency to conduct an assessment of a proposed policy or regulation in accordance with this section upon request by a Member of Congress. (Sec. 655) Prohibits the use of funds appropriated by any Act for the implementation of Federal criminal code provisions regarding a national instant criminal background check system unless the system allows, in connection with the delivery of a firearm to a Federal firearms licensee as collateral for a loan, the check to be performed at the time the collateral is offered and provided that:  (1) the licensee notifies local law enforcement within 48 hours of receiving a denial on the person offering collateral; and (2) such criminal code provisions apply at the time of the firearm's redemption. (Sec. 656) Bars the use of funds appropriated by this Act to enter into or renew a contract which includes a provision providing prescription drug coverage, except where the contract also includes a provision for contraceptive coverage.  Makes exceptions to such prohibition for religious health plans. Title VIII (sic):  Technical and Clarifying Amendments - Amends the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, with respect to provisions regarding District of Columbia retirement funds, to include Federal agencies within the definition of ""person"" under such provisions. (Sec. 801) Permits the District of Columbia Federal Pension Liability Trust Fund to be used to cover administrative expenses. Authorizes the Trustee of the Trust Fund, with the Secretary of the Treasury's approval, to enter into subcontracts with the District government or any person to provide services to the Trustee in connection with the contract to administer the Trust Fund. Revises provisions regarding reimbursement of the District government for interim administration of retirement benefits. (Sec. 802) Makes nonjudicial employees of the District of Columbia courts transferred to the Federal Employees' Retirement System eligible for Medicare and Social Security benefits. Requires, for purposes of vesting pursuant to the District of Columbia Government Comprehensive Merit Personnel Act of 1978, creditable service with the District for employees whose participation in the District Defined Contribution Plan ceases as a result of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 to include:  (1) continuous service by nonjudicial employees of the District courts after September 30, 1997; and (2) service performed for a successor employer that provides services previously performed by the District government. (Sec. 804) Makes technical amendments to provisions regarding the District's judicial retirement program. Authorizes any Trustee, contractor, or enrolled actuary of the District of Columbia Judicial Retirement and Survivors Annuity Fund, with the Secretary's approval, to enter into subcontracts with the District government or any person to provide services to the Trustee in connection with the contract to administer the Fund. Authorizes the use of the Fund for administrative expenses. Treats the Fund as a tax-exempt trust for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code and treats Fund benefits as benefits provided under a governmental plan maintained by the District for purposes of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. Supersedes provisions of the District of Columbia Retirement Reform Act that are inconsistent with this section. Confers certain authorities of the District Mayor with respect to determinations of judicial survivor annuities on the Secretary. Amends the District of Columbia Retirement Reform Act to increase the number of members on the District of Columbia Retirement Board from 11 to 12. (Sec. 805) Requires this title to take effect as if included in the enactment of title XI (the National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997) of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. Title IX:  Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998 - Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998 - Provides for the permanent resident status adjustment of certain Haitian nationals (and their spouses and children) who were paroled into the United States or filed for amnesty before December 31, 1995.  Requires adjustment applications to be filed before April 1, 2000. (Sec. 902) Sets forth stay of removal and work authorization provisions. (Sec. 903) Requires the Attorney General to collect and make available to the public certain data on detained asylum seekers and other aliens, including criminal aliens. (Sec. 102 (sic)) Makes appropriations to carry out the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933. (Sec. 103) Sets forth provisions regarding the repurchase of bonds by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) from the Federal Financing Bank.  Appropriates amounts to the Bank as necessary to pay the difference between the amount that the TVA paid to the Bank to prepay Bank loans and the amount that the Bank would have received otherwise.  Bars further Bank financing for the TVA after the date of repurchase of such bonds. Requires the use of savings from the repurchase of bonds to be used to reduce TVA debt. (Sec. 104) Repeals a provision of the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 1999 which postpones the availability of specified funds for atomic energy defense and weapons activities until September 30, 1999. (Sec. 105) Makes additional funds available for Department of Defense-Civil for the Columbia River Fish Mitigation project in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. (Sec. 106) Directs the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, to use specified amounts of funds for construction, general for:  (1) construction of the Delaware River Mainstem and Channel Deepening project in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania; (2) a review of aquatic ecosystem restoration initiatives in the Upper Susquehanna-Lackawanna Watershed; (3) construction of the Pierre, South Dakota, flood mitigation project; and (4) water-related environmental infrastructure and resource protection and development projects in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. (Sec. 107) Authorizes and directs the Secretary, acting through the Chief of Engineers, to use a specified amount of construction, general funds for engineering, design, and repair of the Archusa Dam and appurtenant structures in Quitman, Mississippi. (Sec. 108) Appropriates additional funds for Department of Energy- Energy Programs for energy supply and science. (Sec. 110) Bars funds appropriated by any Act for FY 1999 from being used to study or implement any plan to drain Lake Powell or decommission the Glen Canyon Dam. (Sec. 111) Makes appropriations for construction of, and improvements to:  (1) surface transportation projects in Massachusetts; (2) Corridor X of the Appalachian development highway system in Alabama; (3) the Appalachian development highway system in West Virginia; and (4) highway projects in a specified corridor in Arkansas. (Sec. 115) Makes funds available for grants from the Secretary of Transportation to the Alaska Railroad for capital improvements benefiting its passenger rail operations. (Sec. 116) Rescinds a specified amount of unobligated funds for discretionary grants for mass transit. (Sec. 120) Makes funds available for carrying out fisheries provisions of this Act (title II of Division C). (Sec. 121) Makes additional appropriations for:  (1) housing opportunities for persons with AIDS; (2) urban empowerment zones; (3) a grant for construction and related activities for wastewater treatment for Boston, Massachusetts; (4) grants under the National Service Trust program; (5) research associated with the Climate Change Technology Initiative; and (6) the community development financial institutions fund program account. (Sec. 122) Repeals a provision of the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 that authorizes the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation to purchase a mortgage secured by a property comprised of multifamily dwelling units where the principal balance of the mortgage exceeds 80 percent of the value of the property if the mortgage is subject to certain default loss protection. (Sec. 123) Amends the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 to require 40 percent of the assisted dwelling units available for occupancy annually in each project receiving project-based Section 8 assistance to be available for leasing only by families whose incomes do not exceed 30 percent of the area median income, with adjustments for smaller and larger families. (Sec. 127) Trade Deficit Review Commission Act - Establishes the Trade Deficit Review Commission to study the nature, causes, and consequences of, and the accuracy of available data on, the U.S. merchandise trade and current account deficits. Sets forth reporting requirements for the Commission to the President, specified congressional committees, and the Congress. Makes appropriations for the Commission. Title VI (sic):  Offsets - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to declare that the Federal bankruptcy code shall not apply to:  (1) any broadcast license or station construction permit issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for which a payment has been made or a debt incurred; (2) any interest of the FCC in property securing such a debt; or (3) any FCC act to issue, deny, cancel, or transfer control of such a license. (Sec. 129) Grants the FCC a perfected, first priority security interest in a license or construction permit and the proceeds of such a license or permit for which a debt or other obligation is owed. Applies this section to pending cases and proceedings as well as new ones. (Sec. 131)  Makes funds available to capitalize the District of Columbia National Capital Revitalization Corporation, subject to a determination by the Secretary of the Treasury that the Corporation advances the purposes of the National Capital Revitalization and Self- Government Improvement Act of 1997. (Sec. 132) Provides funding for a Federal payment to the District Public Schools for special education costs. (Sec. 133) Makes funds available for District Year 2000 (Y2K) information technology and related chip replacement projects. Considers the District government to be a Federal agency for purposes of any appropriations for emergency expenses related to Y2K conversion of Federal information technology systems. (Sec. 134) Provides funding for a Federal contribution to the District for infrastructure needs. Division B:  Emergency Supplemental Appropriations - Title I (sic):  Military Readiness and Overseas Contingency Operations - Chapter 1:  Department of Defense - Military - Makes additional appropriations to the Department of Defense (DOD) for FY 1999, as emergency supplemental appropriations under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act), for:  (1) active military personnel of the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps, as well as Navy reserve personnel; (2) operation and maintenance (O&M) of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force, defense-wide O&M (including a transfer of funds), reserve personnel of the Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force, and the Army and Air National Guards; (3) the Overseas Contingency Operations Fund (including a transfer of funds); (4) morale, welfare, and recreation and personnel support for contingency deployment (including a transfer of funds); (5) the Defense Health Program; and (6) drug interdiction and counter- drug activities, defense (including a transfer of funds).  Requires in each case (and in most other emergency supplemental appropriations under this Division) that an official budget request for such amounts be transmitted from the President to the Congress. (Sec. 101) Deems funds appropriated or transferred under this Act for intelligence activities as specifically authorized by the Congress for intelligence or intelligence-related activities under the National Security Act of 1947. (Sec. 102) Makes emergency supplemental appropriations for FY 1999 for:  (1) research, development, test and evaluation, defense, for use only for the testing, development, construction, integration, and infrastructure efforts in support of ballistic missile defense systems; and (2) emergency expenses incurred at U.S. military facilities or installations as a result of storm damage or other natural disasters, allocated among various military personnel and O&M accounts. (Sec. 104) Authorizes additional amounts for the Defense Health Program only for the construction and furnishing of additional Fisher houses (temporary quarters for the families of hospitalized military personnel). (Sec. 105) Amends the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1999 to increase by $67 million the total reduction of appropriations under such Act which reflect savings resulting from reductions in the price of bulk fuel. Chapter 2:  Department of Energy -Makes emergency supplemental appropriations to the Department of Energy for FY 1999 for:  (1) the Other Defense Activities account for the implementation of a United States-Russian accord for the disposition of excess weapons plutonium; and (2) the purchase of natural uranium associated with 1997 and 1998 deliveries under the United States-Russia HEU Purchase Agreement. Chapter 3:  Department of Defense - Military Construction - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations to DOD for FY 1999 for:  (1) military construction for the Army, Navy, and Air Force and the Army and Air National Guards; and (2) family housing for the Air Force and Navy and Marine Corps. Amends the Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 to reduce from $2 billion to $2 million the total amount of appropriations reduced to reflect savings from favorable bids, reduced overhead costs, and cancellations due to force structure changes. Chapter 4:  Department of Transportation - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations to the Department of Transportation (DOT) for FY 1999 for the Coast Guard for:  (1) O&M; (2) drug interdiction activities, earmarking such funds for specified purchases; (3) operation, maintenance, and training expenses; and (4) research, development, test, and evaluation activities. Title II:  Antiterrorism - Chapter 1:  Department of Justice - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for FY 1999 for salaries and expenses of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Makes emergency supplemental appropriations to the State Department for FY 1999 for:  (1) diplomatic and consular programs; (2) salaries and expenses; (3) the Office of the Inspector General; (4) security and maintenance of U.S. missions; and (5) emergencies in the Diplomatic and Consular Service. Chapter 2:  Department of Defense - Military - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations to DOD for FY 1999 for defense-wide O&M. (Sec. 201) Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to make DOD personnel available for:  (1) a foreign or domestic counter-terrorism operation; or (2) rendition of a suspected terrorist from a foreign country to the United States for trial.  Authorizes such Secretary to use DOD equipment to aid other Federal agencies in the transportation of such suspects, as long as the requesting agency provides security and maintains custody over the suspect. (Sec. 202) Makes emergency supplemental appropriations to DOD for FY 1999 (including a transfer of funds) only:  (1) to initiate and expand DOD activities to prevent, prepare for, and respond to a terrorist attack in the United States involving weapons of mass destruction, allocated among various military accounts; and (2) for the Air Force for the provision of crisis response aviation support for critical national security, law enforcement, and emergency response activities. Chapter 3:  Funds Appropriated to the President - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations for FY 1999 (including a transfer of funds) to the Office of the President for:  (1) the Economic Support Fund for assistance for Kenya and Tanzania; and (2) nonproliferation, anti-terrorism, demining, and related programs. Chapter 4:  Department of the Interior - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations to the Interior Department for FY 1999 for: (1) operation of the National Park System; and (2) construction for emergency security-related expenses. Chapter 5:  Architect of the Capitol - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations for FY 1999 for:  (1) the Architect of the Capitol for planning, design, and construction activities associated with the Capitol Visitor Center; and (2) the Capitol Police Board for security enhancements to the Capitol complex. Transfers from the Architect of the Capitol to the Capitol Police Board responsibility for the design, installation, and maintenance of security systems of the buildings and grounds of the Library of Congress. Chapter 6:  Department of Transportation - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations to DOT for FY 1999 for acquisition, installation, and related activities with respect to security equipment at U.S. airports. Chapter 7:  Department of the Treasury - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations to the Treasury Department for FY 1999 for salaries and expenses associated with the:  (1) Federal Law Enforcement Training Center; and (2) U.S. Secret Service. Title III:  Year 2000 Conversion of Federal Information Technology Systems - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations for FY 1999 for emergency expenses related to Year 2000 conversion (Y2K problem) of Federal information technology systems and related expenses, and the conversion of DOD information technology and national security systems and related expenses.  Provides for the appropriate transfer and obligation of funds in each instance. Title IV:  Other Emergencies - Chapter 1:  Department ofCommerce - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations for FY 1999 for:  (1) the Commerce Department for emergency disaster assistance to persons or entities in the Northeast multispecies fishery for losses from a commercial fishery failure under provisions of the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act of 1986; and (2) activities under the disaster loan program of the Small Business Administration. Chapter 2:  Department of Defense - Civil - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations for FY 1999 for DOD's Army Corps of Engineers for:  (1) emergency repairs and dredging due to flooding along the Mississippi River and its tributaries; and (2) general O&M associated with flood repairs and dredging in the United States. Chapter 3:  Funds Appropriated to the President - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations for FY 1999 for:  (1) the Child Survival and Disease Programs Fund; (2) assistance for the new independent States of the former Soviet Union; and (3) a grant to the American Red Cross for reimbursement of disaster relief, recovery, expenditures, and emergency services. Chapter 4:  Department of the Interior - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations for FY 1999 to the Interior Department for:  (1) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service construction activities; (2) National Park Service construction activities; and (3) U.S. Geological Survey surveys, investigations, and research. Chapter 5:  Department of Labor - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations for FY 1999 to the Department of Labor for training and employment services carried out under the Job Training Partnership Act. Chapter 6:  Department of Transportation - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations to DOT for FY 1999 for facility replacement or repairs arising from the consequences of Hurricane Georges. Chapter 7:  Department of Housing and Urban Development - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations for FY 1999 to the:  (1) Department of Housing and Urban Development for community development block grants authorized under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, to be used only for certain disaster relief, recovery, and mitigation activities; and (2) Federal Emergency Management Agency for disaster relief activities. Title V:  Counter-Drug Activities and Interdiction - Chapter 1: Department of Agriculture - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations for FY 1999 to the Agricultural Research Service of the Department of Agriculture for counterdrug research and development activities. Chapter 2:  Department of Justice - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations to DOJ for FY 1999 for salaries and expenses of:  (1) the Drug Enforcement Administration; and (2) Enforcement and Border Affairs. Chapter 3:  Department of State - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations to the State Department for FY 1999 for international narcotics control and law enforcement. Chapter 4:  Department of Transportation - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations to DOT for FY 1999 for:  (1) the Coast Guard, for drug interdiction operations around Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and other transit zones of operation; and (2) Coast Guard acquisition, construction, and improvement of facilities and equipment used for drug interdiction activities. Chapter 5:  Department of the Treasury - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations to the Treasury Department for FY 1999 for:  (1) departmental salaries and expenses (including a transfer of funds); (2) salaries and expenses of the U.S. Customs Service; (3) O&M and procurement under the Air and Marine Interdiction Programs; and (4) Customs facilities construction, improvements, and related expenses. Makes emergency supplemental appropriations for FY 1999 for:  (1) salaries and expenses of the Office of National Drug Control Policy; and (2) support of the National Drug Court Institute (including a transfer of funds). Title VI:  General Provision - Prohibits any part of any appropriation in this Division from remaining available for obligation beyond FY 1999 unless expressly so provided. Division C:  Other Matters - Title I (sic):  Other Matters - Authorizes the President to appoint an acting Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) to serve from the date of enactment of this Act until April 30, 1999, or, if earlier, the date on which the first TIGTA takes office.  Prohibits anyone from serving as acting TIGTA while also serving as either actual or acting Inspector General of the Treasury of the United States. (Sec. 102) (sic) Amends Federal law to revise the authority of the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a three-year personnel management demonstration project for 950 employees who fill critical scientific, technical, engineering, intelligence analyst, language translator, and medical positions in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the U.S. Customs Service, and the U.S. Secret Service. (Sec. 103) Amends the Foreign Service Act to authorize the Secretary of State to waive certain annuity termination requirements, on a case-by-case basis, for an annuitant reemployed on a temporary basis, but only if, and for so long as, the authority is necessary due to an emergency involving a direct threat to life or property or other unusual circumstances. (Sec. 104) Amends the Omnibus Diplomatic Security and Antiterrorism Act of 1986 to authorize:  (1) the Secretary of State to employ contractors (who shall not be considered Federal employees) to carry out such Act; and (2) negotiation of the terms of such contracts without regard to statutory requirements for contracts for work performed in the United States. (Sec. 106) Amends the Federal transportation code to exempt intrastate bus transportation in Hawaii from Federal preemption of State law regarding motor carriers of passengers. (Sec. 107) Amends Federal law to waive the $100 million ceiling on obligations for emergency highway repair or reconstruction with respect to emergency relief projects resulting from flooding in California in January and March of 1995. (Sec. 108) Declares that, for the purpose of any Rule of the House of Representatives, any obligation limitation relating to specified surface transportation projects under the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century shall be assumed to be administered on the basis of sound program management practices consistent with past practices of the administering agency permitting States to decide High Priority Project funding priorities within State program allocations. (Sec. 109) Declares that a State requiring annual registration of container chassis, and the apportionment of registration fees in accordance with the International Registration Plan, shall not limit the operation, or require the registration, in that State of container chassis (or impose fines or penalties on container chassis operation in the State without such State registration) if the chassis is operating under a trip permit issued by the State, although registered under another State. (Sec. 110) Amends the Federal Aviation Reauthorization Act of 1996 to repeal the termination of certain requirements for apportionment of appropriations for passenger boardings at airports (thus making such requirements permanent). Extends through half of FY 1999 the availability of funds for grants for airport planning and development and noise compatibility planning and programs. Extends public-use airport project grant authority through March 31, 1999. Allows a person to bring a civil action against the United States for insured aviation losses in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (as well as a U.S. district court).  Extends such right to a subrogee under an insurance contract which has paid the insured party for a covered physical damage loss. Extends the aviation insurance program through March 31, 1999. Makes eligible for airport development funds any commercial airport sponsor's activities assessing the Year 2000 (Y2K) processing capabilities of any airport facilities, technology systems, or equipment. Prescribes requirements for submission of joint venture agreements regarding code-sharing, blocked-space arrangements, long-term wet leases of a substantial number of aircraft, or frequent flyer programs, or any other cooperative working arrangement between two or more major air carriers affecting more than 15 percent of the total number of available seat miles offered by a major air carrier. Directs the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences to complete, and report to Congress on, a comprehensive update of the 1991 study of airline deregulation prepared by the Council's Transportation Research Board, particularly with respect to competitive issues in the airline industry.  Prohibits the Secretary of Transportation from issuing final guidelines in Docket OST-98-3713 before such report to Congress.  Declares that, if the Secretary, as a result of such study, decides to issue final guidelines different from those originally proposed, they must be accompanied by an analysis of their impact on specified items, including:  (1) scheduled service to small- and medium-sized communities; (2) airfares; (3) members of frequent flyer programs; (4) air carrier ability to carry non- origination and destination traffic on route portions served by new entrant air carriers covered by the guidelines; and (5) airline employees. (Sec. 111) Calls upon the President to:  (1) pursue enhanced enforcement of U.S. trade laws with respect to the surge of steel imports into the United States, including offsetting duties, quantitative restraints, and other authorized remedial measures; (2) pursue a more equitable sharing of the burden of accepting imports of finished steel products from Asia and the independent states of the former Soviet Union; (3) establish a task force with responsibility for closely monitoring U.S. imports of steel; and (4) report to the Congress by January 5, 1999, with a comprehensive plan for responding to the import surge, including ways of limiting its deleterious effects on employment, prices, and investment in the U.S. steel industry. (Sec. 112) Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to acquire on a willing seller basis the Spirit Mound near Vermilion, South Dakota, for administration as part of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. (Sec. 113)  Designates the Federal Building and Post Office at 100 East B Street, Casper, Wyoming, the Dick Cheney Federal Building. (Sec. 114) Designates the U.S. Post Office at 297 Larkfield Road, East Northport, New York, the Jerome Anthony Ambro, Jr., Post Office Building. (Sec. 115) Designates the U.S. Postal Service facility at Tall Timbers Village Square in Thomasville, Georgia, the Lieutenant Henry O. Flipper Station. (Sec. 116) Designates the U.S. Postal Service building at 3191 Grand Avenue in Coconut Grove, Florida, the William R. ""Billy"" Rolle Post Office Building. (Sec. 117) Designates the U.S. Postal Service building at 550 Fisherman Street in Opa Locka, Florida, the Helen Miller Post Office Building. (Sec. 118) Designates the U.S. Postal Service building at 18690 N.W. 37th Avenue in Carol City, Florida, the Essie Silva Post Office Building. (Sec. 119) Designates the U.S. Postal Service building at 500 North West 2nd Avenue in Miami, Florida, the Athalie Range Post Office Building. (Sec. 120) Designates the U.S. Postal Service building at 995 North West 119th Street in Miami, Florida, the Garth Reeves, Sr., Post Office Building. (Sec. 121) Designates the U.S. Postal Service building at 16250 Highway 603 in Kiln, Mississippi, the Ray J. Favre Post Office Building. (Sec. 122) Redesignates the U.S. Postal Service building at 2419 West Monroe Street in Chicago, Illinois, known as the Midwest Post Office Building, the Nancy B. Jefferson Post Office Building. (Sec. 123) Redesignates the U.S. Postal Service facility at 9719 Candelaria Road NE, Albuquerque, New Mexico, known as the Eldorado Station Post Office, the Steve Schiff Post Office. (Sec. 124) Redesignates the U.S. Post Office at 860 Penniman Avenue, Plymouth, Michigan, the Carl D. Pursell Post Office. (Sec. 125) Redesignates the U.S. Post Office at 202 Center Street, Garwood, New Jersey, the James T. Leonard, Sr., Post Office. (Sec. 126) Redesignates the U.S. Postal Service building at 658 63rd Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Edgar C. Campbell, Sr., Post Office Building. (Sec. 127) Redesignates the U.S. Postal Service building at 5209 Greene Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the David P. Richardson, Jr., Post Office Building. (Sec. 128) Redesignates the U.S. Postal Service building at 324 South Laramie Street, Chicago, Illinois, known as the Austin Post Office Building, the Reverend Milton R. Brunson Post Office Building. (Sec. 129) Redesignates the U.S. Postal Service building at 3750 North Kedzie Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, the Daniel J. Doffyn Post Office Building. (Sec. 130) Redesignates the U.S. Post Office at 215 East Jackson Street, Painesville, Ohio, the Karl Bernal Post Office Building. (Sec. 131) Redesignates the U.S. Post Office at 95 West #100 South, Provo, Utah, the Howard C. Nielson Post Office Building. (Sec. 132) Redesignates the U.S. Postal Service building at 11550 Livingston Road, Ft. Washington, Maryland, the Jacob Joseph Chestnut Post Office Building. (Sec. 133) Redesignates the Federal building at 309 North Church Street, Dyersburg, Tennessee, the Jere Cooper Federal Building. (Sec. 134) Enacts into law specified provisions of the Omnibus Personnel Reform Amendment Act of 1998, D.C. Law 12-124, effective June 11, 1998. (Sec. 135) Waives all U.S. right, title, or interest in specified property in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. (Sec. 136) Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to acquire from willing sellers, or floodproof or relocate, any land and property in the vicinity of Pierre, South Dakota, adversely affected by the full wintertime Oahe Powerplant releases from the Missouri River Main Stem dams of the Pick-Sloan Missouri River Basin Program.  Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 137) Authorizes the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, to carry out the project for flood damage reduction and recreation, Grand Forks, North Dakota, and East Grand Forks, Minnesota. (Sec. 138) Amends the Police Corps Act to require State Police Corps participants to attend between 16 and 24 weeks of training at a training center (currently no more than 16 weeks), which may be conducted in up to three separate sessions (currently at specified points in the overall program).  Authorizes appropriations for the Police Corps Act through FY 2002. (Sec. 139) Authorizes the President to present gold medals, on behalf of the Congress, to named individuals referred to collectively as the ""Little Rock Nine,"" in recognition of the selfless heroism they exhibited and the pain they suffered in the cause of civil rights by integrating Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of the Congress, a gold medal to Gerald and Betty Ford in recognition of their dedicated public service and outstanding humanitarian contributions to the people of the United States. Authorizes appropriations.  Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell duplicates of such medals in bronze. Amends the United States Commemorative Coin Act of 1996 to extend through December 31, 1998, the Secretary's authority to make bulk sales at a reasonable discount to the Jackie Robinson Foundation of coins minted to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Robinson's breaking of the color barrier in major league baseball. (Sec. 140) Directs the Attorney General to convey to the City of Tracy, California, specified property in San Joaquin County, California, currently administered by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, to permit the City to use part of it for a joint secondary and post- secondary educational facility, and part of it for economic development. (Sec. 141) Lorton Technical Corrections Act of 1998 - Amends the National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997, with respect to closure of the Lorton Correctional Complex, to repeal the transfer of Lorton property to the Department of the Interior.  Requires transfer of such property to the General Services Administration (GSA). Requires Fairfax County, Virginia, to submit to the Administrator of General Services (GSA Administrator) a reuse plan that aims to maximize use of the land for open space, park land, or recreation, while outlining permissible or required uses, potential development densities, and time limits on such development factors of the property. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to notify GSA of any property it requests to be transferred to it for a land exchange by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service within Virginia. Requires GSA to transfer such property to the Department at no cost. Prescribes conditions on the transfer of Lorton property east of Ox Road (Route 123).  Requires the transfer at fair market value:  (1) to the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority, the Fairfax County Park Authority, or another public entity of any property identified for use for open space, park land, or recreation in the Fairfax County reuse plan; and (2) to Amtrak of a specified parcel east of Shirley Highway on Interstate 95. Requires the GSA Administrator to report to specified congressional committees on related plans and costs. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 142) Olympic and Amateur Sports Act Amendments of 1998 - Retitles the Amateur Sports Act as the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act. Amends the Act to define ""paralympic sports organization."" Includes the Paralympic Games and amateur athletes with disabilities within the scope of the Act and the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC). Provides for:  (1) establishment of an Athletes' Advisory Council; (2) USOC membership for paralympic sports organizations; and (3) the USOC board of directors to be at least 20 percent amateur athletes. Permits the USOC to remove a civil suit from State court to Federal district court. Includes the International Paralympic Committee and the Pan-American Sports Organization (and their symbols) within the USOC trademark protections, including the exclusive right by the USOC to authorize such symbols' use. Includes the Paralympic Games within the scope of specified USOC dispute resolution provisions.  Prohibits a court from granting injunctive relief against the USOC in a dispute about an athlete's participation under specified conditions. Requires the USOC to hire an ombudsman to provide athletes with free advice about their rights under such Act. Requires the USOC to have a designated agent in Colorado to receive service of process.  (Current law requires an agent in each State.) Requires reports every fourth year. (Current law requires annual reports.) Authorizes the USOC to send an incomplete team to an event if a team roster can not be filled with qualifying athletes. Includes the Paralympic Games within the scope of certain provisions regarding recognition of amateur sports organizations. Requires the USOC to hold at least two public hearings before recognizing a national governing body. Revises related provisions regarding:  (1) written notifications; (2) arbitration; (3) criteria, election, and voting procedures for certain governing board athlete requirements; and (4) paralympic governing bodies. Requires national governing bodies to distribute certain information in a timely manner to coaches, athletes, and others involved in the sport. Requires the USOC to notify a national governing body of probation and the required corrective actions. Requires the USOC to report to the Congress five years from the date of enactment of this Act regarding the effectiveness of its provisions. (Sec. 143) Amends the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1997 to reduce from $3 million to $1 million the minimum threshold amount of each Department of Defense disbursement which must be matched to a particular obligation before it is made. (Sec. 144) Amends the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1999 to revise the prohibition against the use of appropriations for operation and maintenance or for procurement to enter into or renew a contract with any company owned, or partially owned, by the People's Republic of China (PRC) or the PRC People's Liberation Army.  Requires that such ownership be more than a 50 percent interest in the company. (Sec. 145) Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997, as amended by the Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999, to postpone until April 30, 1999, any sale of certain property belonging to the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Washington, D.C.  Requires deposit of sale proceeds in the Armed Forces Retirement Home Trust Fund. (Sec. 146) Amends the Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 to declare that mandatory advance certification of any export to the PRC of missile equipment or technology shall not apply to the export of inertial reference units and components in manned civilian aircraft or supplied as spare or replacement parts for such aircraft. (Sec. 147) Directs the Secretary of the Navy to assess the requirement for Marine Corps warfighting and attrition reserve F-A-18 aircraft and monitor the viability of the existing F-A-18 production line to meet specified requirements. (Sec. 148) Amends the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1992 with respect to mandatory final payment of any unpaid aviator retention bonus owed to a aviation officer who died as a result of flight operations during Operation Desert Storm.  Extends such payment requirement to:  (1) any supplemental payment if the officer's final military pay account is already settled; and (2) to any officer who died as a result of flight operations during Operate Desert Shield (commencing August 2, 1990), as well. (Sec. 149) Reenacts chapter 12 of the Federal Bankruptcy Code (Adjustment of Debts of a Family Farmer with Regular Annual Income) for the period beginning October 1, 1998, and ending on April 1, 1999, (thereby extending family farmer bankruptcy relief). Provides for the continuation of all cases and proceedings as if such chapter were continued in effect after April 1, 1999, including the substantive rights of parties in connection with such cases. (Sec. 150) Directs the Secretary of the Interior to offer to reinstate the Memorandum of Agreement between the Mississippi Department of Wildlife Conservation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service concerning the framework closing dates for the 1979-1980 through 1981-1982 duck hunting seasons, executed in November 1979, for the 1998-1999 duck hunting season in Mississippi.  Requires such season to end on January 31, 1999.  Limits the total number of days for the season to 51. Requires the Secretary to extend such agreement to any other requesting State on the Lower-Region Regulations Committee of the Mississippi Flyway Council for the 1998-1999 duck hunting season, if such State agrees to reduce the total number of days in the season to the extent necessary to result in no net increase in the State's duck harvest for that season. (Sec. 151) Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 - Revises Federal law regarding the filling of Federal vacancies when an appointed officer of an executive agency (including the Executive Office of the President but not the General Accounting Office (GAO)) dies, resigns, or is otherwise unable to perform office functions.  Authorizes the President, in such a situation, to direct a person who serves in an office for which appointment is required to perform such functions temporarily in an acting capacity, subject to specified time limitations.  (Retains the requirement that the first assistant of such officer shall perform such functions temporarily in an acting capacity as well, subject to specified time limitations and limitations.) Bars a person from serving as an acting officer if:  (1) on the date of the officer's inability to serve, such person serves in the position of first assistant; (2) during the 365-day period preceding such date, such person served as first assistant for less than 180 days; and (3) the President submits a nomination of such person to the Senate for appointment to such office. Revises time limitations on temporary appointments, limiting service to 210 (currently, 120) days, or, once a first or second nomination for the office is submitted to the Senate, to the period the nomination is pending.  Changes the 120-day limitation to 210 days with respect to provisions regarding rejection, withdrawal, or return of nominations. Makes this Act the exclusive means for temporarily authorizing an acting official to perform the functions and duties of any affected office for which an advice and consent appointment is required, unless:  (1) a statutory provision expressly authorizes the President, a court, or the head of an executive department to designate an officer to perform the functions and duties of a specified office temporarily in an acting capacity, or designates an officer to perform such functions and duties in a temporary acting capacity; or (2) the President makes an appointment to fill a vacancy during a Senate recess. Permits only the head of an executive agency to perform office functions and duties of a vacant office, unless a temporary acting appointment to the office is made according to this Act.  Declares that any action to perform a function of a vacant office taken by a person not acting under this Act shall have no force or effect. Directs the heads of affected executive agencies to submit to the Comptroller General and to the Congress:  (1) notification of a vacancy and the date such vacancy occurred immediately upon occurrence of the vacancy; (2) the name of the person serving in an acting capacity and the date such service began immediately upon the designation; (3) the name of any person nominated to fill the vacancy and the date such nomination is submitted immediately upon submission; and (4) the date of a rejection, withdrawal, or return of any nomination immediately upon such action. Requires the Comptroller General to report to specified congressional committees, the President, and the Office of Personnel Management any determination that an officer is serving longer than the prescribed 210-day period, including exceptions to such period. States that any notification of an intent to nominate submitted to the Senate during a recess or adjournment longer than 15 days shall be considered a nomination in itself. Title II:  Fisheries - Subtitle I:  Fishery Endorsements - American Fisheries Act - Amends Federal law with regard to ownership requirements for eligibility of certain vessels to receive a fishery endorsement to operate in certain fisheries and under certain terms and conditions.  Requires that:  (1) U.S. citizens own or control, at each tier of ownership and in the aggregate, at least 75 percent of the interest in the corporation, partnership, association, trust, joint venture, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, or other entity that owns the vessel; and (2) a fishery endorsement for a vessel that is chartered or leased to a noncitizen or to an ineligible entity be invalid immediately upon its use as a fishing vessel. (Sec. 202 (sic)) Declares that an otherwise eligible owner of a vessel with a fishery endorsement shall be ineligible by reason of a mortgage secured by the vessel to a trustee eligible to own such a vessel, where the mortgage is issued, assigned, transferred, or held in trust for an ineligible person, unless the trustee meets certain requirements and the issuance, assignment, transfer, or trust arrangement does not result in an impermissible transfer.  Allows a right under such a mortgage to be issued, assigned, or transferred to an ineligible person only with the approval of the Secretary of Transportation. Exempts from these ownership and transfer requirements (but not from other fishery endorsement eligibility requirements in effect on October 1, 1998):  (1) any vessel when it is engaged in fisheries in the exclusive economic zone under the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council; and (2) any purse seine vessel engaged in tuna fishing in the Pacific Ocean outside the U.S. exclusive economic zone or pursuant to the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Treaty. Includes as a preferred mortgage one that, with respect to a vessel with a fishery endorsement that is 100 feet or greater in registered length, has as the mortgagee:  (1) a person eligible to own a vessel with a fishery endorsement; (2) a state or federally chartered financial institution that satisfies the 75-percent U.S.  citizen controlling interest criteria; or (3) a person that complies with specified mortgage requirements. (Sec. 203) Directs the Administrator of the Maritime Administration to administer this subtitle with respect to vessels measuring 100 feet or more.  Requires the Secretary to establish compliance requirements for vessels measuring under 100 feet. Prescribes civil penalties for knowingly making false statements about eligibility under this subtitle. Exempts certain named vessels from the requirements of this subtitle until such time after October 1, 2001, as more than 50 percent of the interest owned and controlled in the vessel changes, so long as fishery endorsement eligibility requirements are met which were in effect before enactment of this subtitle. (Sec. 204) Amends the Commercial Fishing Industry Vessel Anti-Reflagging Act of 1987 to repeal a specified grandfather clause. Subtitle II: Bering Sea Pollock Fishery - Establishes an allocations program regarding the total allowable catch in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area pollock fishery.  Allocates ten percent of the total allowable catch as a directed fishing allowance to the western Alaska community development quota program, and the remainder (after certain subtractions) according to a specified schedule. (Sec. 207) Authorizes a program of payments to the owners of certain catcher-processors operating in the Bearing Sea pollock fishery (buyout program) for scrapping their vessels or at least ceasing to harvest stocks of fish inside the U.S. exclusive economic zone from catcher-processors outside such zone.  Requires the Secretary of Commerce to establish an inshore fee system for collecting fees on harvested fish for repayment of a direct loan component of the buyout program.  Authorizes appropriations.  Prescribes penalties for violation of program terms. (Sec. 208) Names catcher vessels and catcher-processors eligible to harvest pollock, subject to specified conditions, including shoreside processors meeting certain requirements which shall be the only ones to which such pollock may be delivered. (Sec. 209) Lists vessels that are permanently ineligible for fishery endorsements.  Declares extinguished any claims associated with them that could qualify any owners for any present or future limited access system permit in any fishery within the U.S. exclusive economic zone. (Sec. 210) Prescribes requirements and limitations for fishery cooperatives subject to contracts with the North Pacific Council. (Sec. 211) Sets forth certain requirements for protection and conservation measures for other fisheries in the North Pacific. (Sec. 212) Amends the Fisheries Financing Act to prohibit Federal loans for the construction or rebuilding of certain vessels intended for use as a fishing vessel if such a vessel will exceed certain specifications.     Title III:  Denali Commission - Denali Commission Act of 1998 - Establishes the Denali Commission to develop an annual proposed work plan for Alaska.  Requires the Commission, in developing the work plan, to:  (1) solicit project proposals from local governments and other entities and organizations; and (2) provide for a comprehensive work plan for rural and infrastructure development and necessary job training in the area covered under such plan. (Sec. 304) Requires the Commission to submit a report that outlines the work plan and contains recommendations for funding priorities to the Secretary of Commerce, the Federal Co-chairperson of the Commission, and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.  Directs the Secretary:  (1) to provide a 30-day period for public review and comment on such plan; and (2) within 30 days after such period, to approve, disapprove, or partially approve the plan. Requires the Commission to:  (1) provide assistance, seek to avoid duplicating services and assistance, and complement the water and sewer wastewater programs under specified provisions of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996; and (2) develop a plan to provide for the repair or replacement of bulk storage tanks in Alaska that are not in compliance with applicable Federal or State law. Exempts the Commission from the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Authorizes Appropriations. Title IV:  American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act - American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 - Subtitle A:  Provisions Relating to H-1B Nonimmigrants - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to increase from current levels the number of annual H-1B skilled nonimmigrant visas through FY 2001. (Sec. 412) Requires H-1B employer labor applications to include: (1) protections against U.S. worker layoffs, including employment transfers; and (2) demonstration of a good faith effort to recruit U.S. workers. Defines ""H-1B dependent employer"", ""exempt H-1B nonimmigrant"", and ""United States worker."" (Sec. 413) Revises enforcement and penalty provisions, including authorization of arbitration for the Attorney General and temporary additional investigative power for the Secretary of Labor. (Sec. 414) Directs the Attorney General to impose a $500 H-1B employer H-1B petition fee to be deposited in a specified Treasury fund and used for: (1) job training; (2) scholarships for low-income students in higher education programs of mathematics, computer science, or engineering; (3) enrichment programs in mathematics, science, or engineering; and (4) petition and application related administration and enforcement. (Sec. 415) Sets forth prevailing wage criteria for professional athlete and academic or research institute employee categories. (Sec. 416) Directs the Attorney General to submit specified quarterly and annual H-1B visa reports. (Sec. 417) Requires the Director of the National Science Foundation to:  (1) contract with the National Academy of Sciences for a study of older workers in the information technology field; and (2) conduct a study of high-technology labor market needs. Subtitle B:  Special Immigrant Status for Certain NATO Civilian Employees - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide special immigrant status for certain North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) civilian employees and dependents. Subtitle C: Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize H-1B aliens to accept specified academic honorarium payments for services on behalf of an institution of higher education. Title V:  Salton Sea Feasibility Study - Requires the Secretary of the Interior to complete all studiesof the feasibility and benefit- cost of various options that permit the continued use of the Salton Sea as a reservoir for irrigation drainage and:  (1) reduce and stabilize the overall salinity of the Sea; (2) stabilize the surface elevation of the Sea; (3) reclaim healthy fish and wildlife resources and their habitats; and (4) enhance the potential for recreational uses and economic development of the Sea. Requires the Secretary to:  (1) identify any options he deems economically feasible and cost-effective; (2) identify any additional information necessary to develop construction specifications; and (3) submit any recommendations, along with the results of the study to the Committees no later than January 1, 2000. Directs the Secretary to carry out the feasibility study in accordance with a memorandum of understanding entered into by the Secretary, the Salton Sea Authority, and the Governor of California. Requires the Secretary, in evaluating options, to:  (1) apply assumptions regarding water inflows into the Salton Sea Basin that encourage water conservation, account for transfers of water out of such Basin, and are based on a maximum likely reduction in inflows into the Basin which could be 800,000 acre-feet or less per year; and (2) consider the ability of Federal, tribal, State, and local government sources and private sources to fund capital construction costs and annual operation, maintenance, energy, and replacement costs and to set forth the basis for any costsharing allocations as well as anticipated repayment, if any, of Federal contributions. Sets forth the options to be considered in the study.  Directs the Secretary, no later than January 1, 2000, to complete all feasibility studies and cost analyses necessary for the Congress to fully evaluate such options. Title VI:  Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, and State of South Dakota Terrestrial Wildlife Habitat Restoration - Directs the State of South Dakota, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, and the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe to each develop a plan for the restoration of terrestrial wildlife habitat loss that occurred as a result of flooding related to the Big Bend and Oahe projects carried out under the Pick-Sloan Missouri River Basin program. Requires each plan to be submitted to the Secretary of the Army for review and to appropriate congressional committees.  Provides funding for such plans and transitional provisions.  Authorizes South Dakota to use available funds to develop a program for the purchase of wildlife habitat leases and requires such leases to provide for public access for sportsmen during hunting season and for other outdoor uses covered under the lease. (Sec. 603) Establishes in the Treasury the South Dakota Terrestrial Wildlife Habitat Restoration Trust Fund, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Terrestrial Wildlife Restoration Trust Fund, and Lower Brule Sioux Tribe Terrestrial Wildlife Habitat Restoration Fund, to be used to implement wildlife habitat restoration plans authorized under this title. (Sec. 605) Directs the Secretary to transfer to the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks specified Federal lands for fish and wildlife purposes, or public recreation purposes, in perpetuity. Grants certain permits, rights-of-way, and easements on specified land on the Missouri River between the Oahe Dam and Highway 14 and on land used by the Oglala Sioux Rural Water Supply System to the Oglala Sioux in perpetuity to be held in trust under the Mni Wiconi Project Act of 1988. (Sec. 606) Directs the Secretary to transfer to the Secretary of the Interior certain Federal land and recreation areas, to be held in trust for the Cheyenne and Lower Brule Tribes. (Sec. 608) Requires the Secretary to arrange for the U.S. Geological Survey to conduct a study of the potential impacts of the land transfers under this Act.  Bars any transfer until the Secretary determines that the transfer will not significantly reduce the amount of water flow to the downstream States of the Missouri River. (Sec. 609) Authorizes appropriations to:  (1) the Secretary for administrative expenses and the implementation of terrestrial wildlife habitat restoration plans; and (2) the Secretary of the Interior for administrative expenses in carrying out this title. Title VII:  Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization - Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 1998 - Reestablishes in the Executive Office of the President an Office of National Drug Control Policy which shall: (1) develop, coordinate, and oversee national drug control policy; (2) assess and certify the adequacy of national drug control programs and the budget for those programs; and (3) evaluate program effectiveness. (Sec. 703) Specifies that the location of the Office in the Executive Office of the President shall not be construed as affecting congressional access to any information, document, or study of the Director, or personnel of the Office. Establishes in the Treasury a fund for the receipt of gifts to aid or facilitate the work of the Office. (Sec. 704) Provides for the appointment by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate, of a Director of National Drug Control Policy, a Deputy Director of National Drug Control Policy, and Deputy Directors for Demand Reduction, Supply Reduction, and State and Local Affairs. Sets forth provisions regarding:  (1) criteria for appointing the Deputy Director for Demand Reduction; (2) duties of the Deputy Director of National Drug Control Policy (Deputy Director); (3) designation of other officers; (4) prohibitions against the Director and Deputy Director serving in any other Federal position and against any Office officer or employee participating in Federal election campaign activities, with an exception; and (5) the responsibilities of the Director and of National Drug Control Program (NDCP) agencies. Requires the Director to:  (1) develop a consolidated NDCP budget proposal designed to implement the National Drug Control Strategy (Strategy); (2) submit the consolidated budget proposal to the President and, subsequently, the Congress; and (3) review and certify budget requests and budget submissions of NDCP agencies, consistent with specified procedures. Sets forth provisions regarding:  (1) reprogramming and transfer requests; (2) powers of the Director; (3) personnel detailed to the Office; (4) fund control notices; and (5) inapplicability of certain provisions to specified foreign intelligence and military-related programs. (Sec. 705) Requires the head of any NDCP agency, at the Director's request, to cooperate with and provide the Director any statistics, studies, reports, and other information prepared or collected by the agency concerning the responsibilities of the agency under the Strategy that relate to drug abuse control or the manner in which amounts made available to that agency for drug control are being used by that agency. Requires authorities conferred on the Office and the Director to be exercised in a manner consistent with provisions of the National Security Act of 1947 with respect to the protection of intelligence information. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to annually submit to the Director an assessment of the acreage of illegal drug cultivation in the United States. Sets forth provisions regarding certification to the Director of policy changes, administrative support, and accounting of funds expended. (Sec. 706) Directs the President, by February 1, 1999, to submit to the Congress a Strategy, which shall set forth a comprehensive plan covering up to five years, for reducing drug abuse and its consequences in the United States, by limiting the availability of and reducing the demand for illegal drugs. Requires the Strategy to include:  (1) comprehensive, research- based, long-range, quantifiable goals; (2) annual, quantifiable, and measurable objectives and specific targets; (3) five-year projections for program and budget priorities; and (4) a review of international, State, local, and private sector drug control activities to ensure that the United States pursues well-coordinated and effective drug control at all levels of government. Sets forth provisions regarding:  (1) the handling of classified information; and (2) a process for development and submission of the Strategy. Specifies Strategy targets over five years for the reduction of:  (1) unlawful drug use by the U.S. population and by adolescents; (2) availability in the United States of and purity levels for cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine; (3) drug-related crime.  Requires the President to submit to the Congress an annual Strategy progress report.  Authorizes submission of a revised Strategy. Expresses the sense of the Congress regarding a national drug control performance measuring system and requires the Director, by February 1, 1999, to submit to the Congress a description of such system. (Sec. 707) Establishes in the Office the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program.  Authorizes the Director to designate any specified area of the United States as a high intensity drug trafficking area, allowing the Director to:  (1) obligate such sums as appropriated for the Program; (2) direct the temporary reassignment of Federal personnel to such area, subject to the approval of the head of the department or agency that employs such personnel; (3) take other specified authorized action to provide increased Federal assistance to those areas; and (4) coordinate administrative, recordkeeping, and funds management activities with State and local officials.  Sets forth criteria for designating a high intensity drug trafficking area. Requires the Director to ensure that no Federal funds appropriated for the Program are expended for the establishment or expansion of drug treatment programs. (Sec. 708) Establishes:  (1) within the Office the Counter-Drug Technology Assessment Center, headed by a Director of Technology; (2) the President's Council on Counter-Narcotics; and (3) the Parents Advisory Council on Youth Drug Abuse.  Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 711) Requires the Director to submit to the Congress and to each Federal drug control program agency a report regarding:  (1) marijuana, heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine seizures, and the number of persons arrested for drug import and export-related offenses during specified years, with respect to the southern and western border regions of the United States; (2) the price of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and marijuana during the year of highest price on record during the preceding ten-year period; and (3) a description of the personnel, equipment, funding, and other resources of the Federal drug control agency devoted to drug interdiction and securing U.S.  borders against drug trafficking for specified years. Requires:  (1) each Federal drug control agency to submit to the Director a description of specific personnel, equipment, funding, and other resources that would be required for the agency to meet or exceed the highest level of interdiction success for that agency; and (2) the Director to include each such submission in each annual consolidated NDCP budget proposal submitted by the Director to the Congress, accompanied by a description of any additional resources that would be required by such agencies to meet the highest level of interdiction success identified. (Sec. 712) Amends the National Security Act of 1947 to authorize the Director to attend and participate in meetings of the National Security Council. (Sec. 714) Authorizes appropriations to carry out this title for FY 1999 through 2003. (Sec. 715) Terminates this title on September 30, 2003. Title VIII:  Western Hemisphere Drug Elimination - Western Hemisphere Drug Elimination Act - Declares that it is U.S.  policy to: (1) reduce the supply of drugs and drug use through an enhanced drug interdiction effort in the major drug transit countries and support a comprehensive supply country eradication and crop substitution program, because a commitment of increased resources in international drug interdiction efforts will create a balanced national drug control strategy among demand reduction, law enforcement, and international drug interdiction efforts; and (2) develop and establish comprehensive drug interdiction and drug eradication strategies, and dedicate the required resources, to achieve the goal of reducing the flow of illegal drugs into the United States by 80 percent by January 1, 2003. Subtitle A:  Enhanced Source and Transit Country Coverage - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the Department of the Treasury for the enhancement of radar coverage in drug source and transit countries. (Sec. 811) Directs the Secretary of Defense to examine and report to specified congressional committees on the options available to the United States for improving Relocatable Over the Horizon (ROTHR) capability to provide enhanced radar coverage of narcotics source zone countries in South America and transit zones in the Eastern Pacific. (Sec. 812) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 to the Secretary of Transportation for operating expenses of the Coast Guard (including acquisition, construction, and improvement of facilities and equipment) associated with expansion of drug interdiction activities around Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and other transit zone areas of operation.  Directs the Secretary to accept seven patrol craft for use by the Coast Guard for expanded drug interdiction activities. (Sec. 813) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the Department of the Treasury for the enhancement of air coverage and operation for drug source and transit countries. Directs the Secretary of Defense to examine and report to specified congressional committees on the available options in the source and transit zones to replace Howard Air Force Base in Panama, specifying U.S. requirements to establish an airbase or airbases for use in support of counternarcotics operations to optimize operational effectiveness in the source and transit zones. Directs the Secretary of the Navy to transfer certain retired aircraft to the U.S. Customs Service. Subtitle B:  Enhanced Eradication and Interdiction Strategy in Source Countries - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the Department of State for the enhancement of drug-related eradication efforts in Colombia. (Sec. 821) Prohibits U.S. counternarcotics assistance to the Government of Colombia, except in certain circumstances, if it negotiates or permits the establishment of any demilitarized zone in which the eradication of drug production by Colombian security forces (including the Colombian National Police antinarcotics unit) is prohibited. (Sec. 822) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the Department of State for the establishment of a third drug interdiction site in Peru to support air bridge and riverine missions for enhancement of drug-related eradication efforts.   Directs the Secretary of Defense to study and report to the Congress on Peruvian counternarcotics air interdiction requirements. (Sec. 823) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the Department of State for enhancement of drug-related eradication efforts in Bolivia. (Sec. 824) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for enhanced precursor chemical control projects. (Sec. 825) Expresses the sense of the Congress that any individual serving as an assistant secretary of any Federal agency or department who has primary responsibility for international narcotics control and law enforcement (including the principal deputy of any such assistant) shall have substantial professional qualifications in the fields of management, Federal law enforcement or intelligence, and foreign policy. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the responsiveness and effectiveness of Department of State international narcotics assistance activities have been hampered due, in part, to the lack of law enforcement expertise by responsible Department of State personnel. Subtitle C:  Enhanced Alternative Crop Development Support in Source Zone - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID) for certain alternative crop development programs in Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia. (Sec. 832) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 to the Secretary of Agriculture to support the counternarcotics research efforts of Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service. (Sec. 833) Requires the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy to develop, and report to the Congress on, a ten-year master plan for the use of herbicides to control narcotic crops (including coca, poppy, and cannabis) in the United States and internationally. (Sec. 834) Authorizes the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Defense, the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to support the development and use of environmentally-approved herbicides to eliminate illicit narcotics crops, including coca, cannabis, and opium poppy, both in the United States and in foreign countries. Subtitle D:  Enhanced International Law Enforcement Training - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Department of the Treasury for the joint establishment, operation, and maintenance in San Juan, Puerto Rico, of a center for training law enforcement personnel of countries located in Latin America and the Caribbean in matters relating to maritime law enforcement (including customs-related ports management matters). (Sec. 841) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the DOT for the establishment, operation, and maintenance of maritime training vessels. (Sec. 842) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the Department of Justice for:  (1) substantial exchanges for Mexican judges, prosecutors, and police; and (2) enhanced support for the Brazilian Federal Police Training Center. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the DOT for operation and maintenance for locating and operating Coast Guard assets so as to strengthen the capability of the Coast Guard of Panama to patrol the Atlantic and Pacific coasts for drug enforcement and interdiction activities.  Makes members of the national police of Panama eligible to receive training through the International Military Education Training (IMET) program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the Department of Justice for operation and maintenance for support for the Venezuelan Judicial Technical Police Counterdrug Intelligence Center. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the DOT and the Department of the Treasury for the buildup of local coast guard and port control in:  (1) Guayaquil and Esmeraldas, Ecuador; (2) Haiti and the Dominican Republic; and (3) Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua (Central America). (Sec. 843) Authorizes the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), subject to specified conditions, to transfer or lease a specified amount of nonlethal equipment each year to foreign law enforcement organizations for the purpose of establishing and carrying out cooperative illicit narcotics control activities. Expresses the sense of the Congress that:  (1) all U.S. law enforcement personnel serving in Mexico should be accredited the same status under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Immunity as other diplomatic personnel serving at U.S. posts in Mexico; and (2) all Mexican narcotics law enforcement personnel serving in the United States should be accorded the same diplomatic status as DEA personnel serving in Mexico. Subtitle E:  Enhanced Drug Transit and Source Zone Law Enforcement Operations and Equipment - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the DEA and the U.S. Customs Service of the Department of the Treasury for enhancement of counternarcotics operations in drug transit and source countries. (Sec. 851) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 for the Department of State for the deployment of commercial unclassified intelligence and imaging data and a Passive Coherent Location System for counternarcotics and interdiction purposes in the Western Hemisphere. Directs the Secretary of Defense to examine and propose to the Congress recommendations regarding any organizational changes to optimize counterdrug activities, including alternative cost-sharing arrangements regarding certain facilities. (Sec. 852) Authorizes appropriations for the development and purchase of computer software and hardware to facilitate direct communication between agencies that perform work relating to the interdiction of drugs at U.S. borders, including the Customs Service, the Border Patrol, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the DEA, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). (Sec. 853) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of Defense should revise the Global Military Force Policy of the Department of Defense (DOD) in order to:  (1) treat DOD international drug interdiction and counter-drug activities as a military operation other than war (thus elevating its priority to just below that for war); and (2) allocate DOD assets to drug interdiction and counter-drug activities in accordance with such priority. Subtitle F:  Relationship to Other Laws - Declares that funds authorized to be appropriated for any Federal department or agency for FY 1999 through 2001 are in addition to funds authorized to be appropriated for that department or agency for those fiscal years by any other provision of law. Subtitle G:  Trafficking in Controlled Substances - Controlled Substances Trafficking Prohibition Act - Amends the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act to prohibit U.S. residents from importing into the United States a non-schedule I controlled substance exceeding 50 dosage units if they:  (1) enter the United States through an international land border; and (2) do not possess a valid prescription or documentation verifying such a prescription. (Sec. 872) Declares that such Federal requirement does not limit any State from imposing additional requirements. Title IX:  Drug-Free Workplace Act - Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1998 - Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) businesses should adopt drug-free workplace programs; and (2) States should consider incentives to encourage businesses to adopt such programs, such as reductions in workers' compensation or unemployment insurance premiums, tax deductions, or liability limitations. (Sec. 904) Amends the Small Business Act to establish a drug-free workplace demonstration program, under which the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) may make grants to, or cooperative agreements or contracts with, eligible intermediaries to provide financial and technical assistance to small businesses seeking to establish such a program.  Outlines privacy requirements for employees participating in a program.  Directs the SBA Administrator to evaluate such programs and report evaluation results to the Congress. (Sec. 905) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 and 2000. (Sec. 906) Allows the greater of ten percent of such authorized amounts or $1 million to be used to provide information and assistance to small business concerns with respect to establishing such programs on or before October 1, 2000. Title X:  Canyon Ferry Reservoir, Montana, Act - (Canyon Ferry Reservoir, Montana, Act) - Directs the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to convey to the Canyon Ferry Recreation Association (CFRA) or a purchaser 265 cabin sites and contiguous parcels around Canyon Ferry Reservoir, Montana, subject to valid existing rights and the operational requirements of the Pick-Sloan Missouri River Basin Program.  Requires the Secretary, the purchaser, CFRA, and each subsequent owner of each property, in order to maintain the unique character of the Reservoir area, to covenant that the use restrictions concerning access to the Reservoir and the future uses of the property shall:  (1) be appurtenant to, and run, with each property; and (2) be binding on each subsequent owner of each property. (Sec. 1004) Requires:  (1) a sealed bidding process for such sale; (2) a required minimum bid to be met; and (3) the CFRA to have the right to match the highest bid offered for such properties.  Outlines other conveyance terms, including that the conveyance be completed within one year after at least $3 million, or a lesser amount as offset by in-kind contributions made before full funding of a Canyon Ferry-Broadwater County Trust, is deposited as the initial corpus of such Trust. (Sec. 1005) Requires the Secretary, acting through the Commissioner of Reclamation, to:  (1) offer to contract with the Board of Commissioners for Broadwater County, Montana, to manage the Silo's campground; (2) enter into a contract if agreed to; and (3) grant necessary easements for access roads within and adjacent to the campground.  Specifies that any income generated by any concession granted by the Commissioners at the Silo's recreation area:  (1) be deposited in the Canyon-Ferry Broadwater County Trust; and (2) may be disbursed by the Trust manager as part of the income of the Trust. (Sec. 1006) Requires:  (1) ten percent of the proceeds of conveyances to be applied by the Secretary of the Treasury to reduce the outstanding debt for the Pick-Sloan project at the Reservoir; and (2) 90 percent of such proceeds to be deposited in the Montana Fish and Wildlife Conservation Trust. (Sec. 1007) Directs the Secretary to establish a nonprofit charitable permanent perpetual public trust in Montana known as the Montana Fish and Wildlife Conservation Trust to provide a permanent source of funding to acquire publicly accessible land and interests in landin Montana from willing sellers at fair market value to:  (1) restore and conserve fisheries and wildlife habitat; (2) enhance public hunting, fishing, and recreational opportunities; and (3) improve public access to public land. Establishes a Joint State-Federal Agency Board to submit to the Trust manager a request for disbursement from the Trust under specified conditions. Directs the Secretary to nominate, and the Joint State-Federal Agency Board to approve, a Citizen Advisory Board to prepare and periodically update a Trust plan including recommendations for requests for disbursement by the Joint State-Federal Agency Board. Requires the Joint State-Federal Agency Board to notify the public and provide opportunity for public comment before requesting any disbursements. Prohibits not more than half of the income from the Trust in any year from being used outside the watershed of the Missouri River in Montana, from Holter Dam upstream to the confluence of the Jefferson River, Gallatin River, and Madison River. (Sec. 1008) Directs the Commissioners to establish a nonprofit charitable permanent perpetual public trust known as the Canyon Ferry- Broadwater County Trust.  Permits a sum not to exceed $500,000 to be expended from the corpus of the Trust to pay for the planning and construction of a harbor for the Silo's recreation area.  Provides for the balance of the Trust to be held and the income to be expended annually for the improvement of access to the portions of the Reservoir lying within Broadwater County, and for the creation and improvement of new and existing recreational areas within the County. Prohibits the corpus and the Trust income from being used to reduce or replace the regular operating expenses of the Secretary at the Reservoir, unless approved by the Commissioners. (Sec. 1009) Authorizes the Secretary to:  (1) investigate, plan, construct, operate, and maintain public recreational facilities on land withdrawn or acquired for the development of the Canyon Ferry unit of the Pick-Sloan Missouri River Basin Project; (2) conserve the scenery, the natural historic, paleontologic, and archaeologic objects, and the wildlife on the land; (3) provide for public use and enjoyment of the land and of the water areas created by the project by such means as are consistent with but subordinate to the project's purposes; and (4) investigate, plan, construct, operate, and maintain facilities for the conservation of fish and wildlife resources. Title XI:  Moratorium on Certain Taxes - Internet Tax Freedom Act - Prohibits a State or political subdivision thereof from imposing the following taxes on Internet transactions occurring during the period beginning on October 1, 1998, and ending three years after the date of enactment of this Act:  (1) taxes on Internet access, unless such tax was generally imposed and actually enforced prior to October 1, 1998; or (2) multiple or discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce.  Provides an exception from such moratorium for:  (1) persons making any communication for commercial purposes, by means of the World Wide Web, of material that is harmful to minors, unless such a person requires the use of an adult personal identification number or other procedures as the Federal Communications Commission may prescribe to restrict access to such material by persons under 17 years of age; and (2) an Internet access provider unless such provider offers its customer screening software designed to permit the customer to limit access to Internet material that is harmful to minors. (Sec. 1102) Establishes the Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce to study and report to the Congress on Federal, State, local, and international taxation and tariff treatment of transactions using the Internet and Internet access and other comparable intrastate, interstate, or international sales activities. Title XII:  Other Provisions - Expresses the sense of the Congress that no new Federal taxes similar to the taxes described above should be enacted with respect to the Internet and Internet access during the moratorium period. (Sec. 1202) Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to direct the U.S. Trade Representative to identify and analyze foreign acts, policies, or practices which constitute significant barriers to U.S. electronic commerce, as well as to estimate the value of additional U.S. electronic commerce that would have been exported into, or invested in, such country except for such acts, policies, or practices. (Sec. 1203) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should seek bilateral, regional, and multilateral agreements to remove barriers to global electronic commerce through specified international organizations and other appropriate venues.  Includes as negotiating objectives under such agreements:  (1) to assure that electronic commerce is free from tariff and nontariff barriers, burdensome and discriminatory regulation, and discriminatory taxation; and (2) to accelerate the growth of electronic commerce by expanding market access opportunities for the development of telecommunications infrastructure, the procurement of telecommunications equipment, the provision of Internet access and telecommunications services, and the exchange of goods, services, and digitalized information. Title XIII:  Children's Online Privacy Protection - Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 - Prohibits an operator of a website or online service directed to children, or any operator having actual knowledge that it is doing so, from collecting personal information from a child in a manner that violates regulations required under this title which are designed to protect such children from unlawful and deceptive practices in the collection of personal information.  Provides an exception for information disclosed to a child's parent. (Sec. 1303) Directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to prescribe regulations requiring such operators to follow specified procedures in connection with the collection and use of personal information from children, including:  (1) obtaining verifiable parental consent for the collection, use, or disclosure of such information; and (2) requiring such operators to establish and maintain procedures to protect the confidentiality, security, and integrity of collected information. Provides exceptions to the parental consent requirement. (Sec. 1304) Allows an operator to satisfy such regulatory requirements by following a set of FTC-approved self-regulatory guidelines established by appropriate online representatives.  Directs the FTC to provide incentives for such self-regulation. (Sec. 1305) Authorizes the States to enforce such regulations by bringing actions on behalf of its residents, requiring the appropriate attorney general to first notify the FTC of such action.  Authorizes the FTC to intervene in any such action. (Sec. 1306) Provides for the enforcement of this title through the Federal Trade Commission Act. (Sec. 1307) Directs the FTC to review and report to the Congress on the implementation of this title. Title XIV:  Child Online Protection - Child Online Protection Act - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prescribe civil and criminal penalties to be imposed against any person who, in interstate or foreign commerce, by means of the World Wide Web, makes any communication for commercial purposes that is available to any person under 17 years of age and that includes material that is harmful to such minors.  Provides exceptions with respect to:  (1) a telecommunications carrier and other persons engaged in the business of providing Internet access and related services. (Sec. 1403) Provides an affirmative defense when such person has restricted access by such minors by requiring an adult personal identification number or other form of adult verification.  Outlines privacy protection requirements. (Sec. 1404) Requires a provider of interactive computer service to notify its customers that parental control protections are available to assist such customers in limiting access to material that is harmful to minors. (Sec. 1405) Establishes the Commission on Online Child Protection to study and report to the Congress on methods to help reduce access by minors to harmful material on the Internet. Title XV:  Vaccine Injury Compensation Program Modification Act - Vaccine Injury Compensation Program Modification Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act with regard to the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP) to eliminate the $1,000 threshold requirement for unreimbursable expenses in a petition for compensation for a vaccine-related injury or death. (Sec. 1503) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to:  (1) make rotavirus gastroenteritis a taxable vaccine for Federal sales tax purposes; and (2) limit the payment of compensation for vaccine- related injury or death to injury or death only from a vaccine which is taxable at the time it is administered (after September 30, 1988). Prohibits appropriations to the Vaccine Injury Compensation Trust Fund on and after any expenditure from the Fund which is not permitted by specified Federal law. Title XVI:  Service Connection for Persian Gulf War Illnesses - Persian Gulf War Veterans Act of 1998 - Presumes to be service-connected (and therefore compensable or treatable under Federal veterans' benefits provisions) any illness that:  (1) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines to warrant such a presumption based upon a positive association with exposure to a biological, chemical, or toxic agent, an environmental or wartime hazard, or preventive medicine or vaccine associated with service in the southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War; and (2) becomes manifest in a Gulf War veteran within a period to be prescribed by the Secretary.  Requires such presumption even though there is no record of evidence of such illness in the veteran during the period of service. (Sec. 1602) Requires the Secretary to make such determinations based on sound medical and scientific evidence and to take into account reports submitted by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) as required under this Act.  Requires the Secretary to make determinations regarding presumptions of service connection for covered illnesses within 60 days after receipt of a NAS report. (Sec. 1603) Directs the Secretary to enter into an agreement with NAS under which NAS shall identify:  (1) the agents, hazards, or medicines to which Gulf War veterans may have been exposed; and (2) the illnesses that are manifest in such members.  Requires NAS, in making such identification, to consider certain pesticides, nerve agents, repellents, compounds, radiation, particulates, endemic diseases, and vaccines.  Requires NAS to submit to the congressional veterans and defense committees (designated committees) a report specifying all agents, hazards, or medicines considered.  Directs NAS, after such identification, to determine whether a statistical association exists between exposure to such agent, hazard, or medicine and the illness.  Requires NAS to separately review potential treatment models for such illnesses, make recommendations for additional studies, and perform subsequent reviews of available evidence and data.  Requires periodic reports from NAS to the Secretary, the Secretary of Defense, and the designated committees concerning NAS activities. Terminates requirements and activities under this Act ten years after NAS submits its first report. Requires the Secretary to enter into an agreement with an alternative scientific organization if agreement cannot be reached with NAS. Title XVII:  Government Paperwork Elimination Act - Government Paperwork Elimination Act - Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget:  (1) in providing direction and overseeing the acquisition and use of information technology, to include alternative information technologies that provide for electronic submission, maintenance, or disclosure of information as a substitute for paper and for the use and acceptance of electronic signatures; (2) to develop procedures for the use and acceptance of electronic signatures by executive agencies; (3) to ensure that, within five years, executive agencies provide for the option of electronic maintenance, submission, or disclosure of information as a substitute for paper and for the use and acceptance of electronic signatures, when practicable; (4) to develop procedures to permit private employers to store and file electronically with executive agencies forms containing information pertaining to employees; and (5) in cooperation with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, to conduct and report the Congress on an ongoing study of the use of electronic signatures on paperwork reduction and electronic commerce, individual privacy, and the security and authenticity of transactions. (Sec. 1707) Provides for:  (1) the enforceability and legal effect of electronic signatures; (2) protection from disclosure of information collected in the provision of electronic signature services for executive agencies; and (3) applicability exceptions with respect to administration of the internal revenue laws. Division D:  Drug Demand Reduction Act - Drug Demand Reduction Act - Title I (sic):  Targeted Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Programs - Subtitle A:  National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign - Drug-Free Media Campaign Act of 1998 - Requires the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy to:  (1) conduct a national media campaign for the purpose of reducing and preventing drug abuse among young people in the United States; and (2) use amounts made available to carry out this subtitle for media that focuses on, or that includes specific information on, prevention or treatment resources for consumers within specific local areas. (Sec. 103 (sic)) Sets forth provisions regarding:  (1) authorized and prohibited uses of funds; and (2) matching and reporting requirements.  Requires the Director, in carrying out this subtitle, to devote sufficient funds to the advertising portion of the campaign to meet the stated reach and frequency goals. (Sec. 105) Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B:  Drug-Free Prisons and Jails - Drug-Free Prisons and Jails Act of 1998 - Requires the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance to establish a model substance abuse treatment program for substance-involved offenders by providing financial assistance to grant recipients and evaluating the success of programs conducted pursuant to this subtitle.  Limits grant awards and administrative costs. (Sec. 114) Sets forth requirements for grant applications, review and approval of awards, permissible uses of funds, and evaluation and reporting requirements.  Requires the Director to establish minimum criteria for program evaluation. (Sec. 118) Authorizes appropriations from the Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund. Subtitle C:  Drug-Free Schools Quality Assurance - Drug-Free Schools Quality Assurance Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize and encourage the chief executive officer of each State or other entity designated to be responsible for education activities to:  (1) establish a standard of quality for drug, alcohol, and tobacco prevention programs implemented in public elementary and secondary schools in the State in accordance with specified criteria (including a comparison of the rate of illegal use of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco by students enrolled over a specified period, the rate of suspensions or expulsions, program effectiveness, parental and community involvement, and the extent of review of existing community drug, alcohol, and prevention programs before implementation); and (2) identify and designate (upon application by a public elementary or secondary school) any such school that achieves such standard as a quality program school.  Sets forth provisions regarding requests for a quality program designation and public notification. Title II:  Statement of National Antidrug Policy - Subtitle A: Congressional Leadership in Community Coalitions - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the individual Members of the House of Representatives should establish community-based anti-drug coalitions in their congressional districts or should actively support such coalitions that have been established. Subtitle B:  Rejection of Legalization of Drugs - Expresses the sense of the Congress that:  (1) the States and their citizens should reject drug legalization; and (2) every State should make efforts to be drug-free. Subtitle C:  Report on Streamlining Federal Prevention and Treatment Efforts - Expresses the sense of the Congress that:  (1) Federal Government efforts to reduce the demand for illegal drugs in the United States are frustrated by the fragmentation of those efforts across multiple departments and agencies; and (2) improvement of those efforts can best be achieved through consolidation and coordination. (Sec. 221) Requires the Director of National Drug Control Policy to prepare and submit to specified congressional committees a report evaluating options for increasing the efficacy of Federal drug prevention and treatment programs and activities, including a review of the activities and potential consolidation of existing Federal drug information clearinghouses.  Authorizes appropriations. Division E:  Methamphetamine Trafficking Penalty Enhancement Act of 1998 - Methamphetamine Trafficking Penalty Enhancement Act of 1998 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act and the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act to decrease the quantities of methamphetamine necessary to trigger specified trafficking penalties (to correspond to amounts triggering penalties for trafficking in crack cocaine). (Sec. 3 (sic)) Amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to add as requirements for the use of funds under the Violent Offender Incarceration and Truth in Sentencing Incentive Grants program that a State:  (1) provide assurances to the Attorney General that the State has implemented or will implement within 18 months policies that provide for the recognition of the rights of crime victims; and (2) consider, by September 1, 2000, a program of drug testing and intervention for appropriate categories of convicted offenders during periods of incarceration and post- incarceration and criminal justice supervision, with sanctions including denial or revocation of release for positive drug tests, consistent with guidelines issued by the Attorney General. Limits the use of grant funds that may be applied to the cost of offender drug testing and intervention programs during periods of incarceration and post-incarceration criminal justice supervision. Makes funds available to the States to pay the costs of providing to the Attorney General a baseline study on their prison drug abuse problem. Division F:  Not Legalizing Marijuana for Medicinal Use - Expresses the sense of the Congress opposing efforts to legalize marijuana for medicinal use without valid scientific evidence and the approval of the Food and Drug Administration. Directs:  (1) the Attorney General to report to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees a report on the total quantity of marijuana eradicated in the United States from 1992 through 1997, and the annual number of arrests and prosecutions for Federal marijuana offenses during that period; and (2) the Commissioner of Foods and Drugs to report to specified congressional committees on the specific efforts underway to enforce provisions of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act with respect to marijuana and other Schedule I drugs. Division G:  Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 - Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 - Subdivision A:  Consolidation of Foreign Affairs Agencies - Title XI (sic): General Provisions - Foreign Affairs Agencies Consolidation Act of 1998 - Specifies the purposes of this subdivision, including:  (1) to strengthen the coordination of U.S.  foreign policy; (2) to consolidate the foreign affairs functions of the United States within the Department of State; and (3) to assist congressional efforts to balance the Federal budget and reduce the Federal debt.  Directs the Secretary of State to report to the appropriate congressional committees each FY 1999 through 2001 on budgetary cost savings resulting from the reorganization. Title XII:  United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency - Abolishes the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) as of April 1, 1999 (or, if earlier, the date mandated in the reorganization plan required by this Act), and transfers all functions of the ACDA Director to the Secretary. (Sec. 1213) Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to establish in the Department of State an Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security. Title XIII:  United States Information Agency - Abolishes the U.S. Information Agency (USIA) (other than the Broadcasting Board of Governors and the International Broadcasting Bureau) as of October 1, 1999 (or, if earlier, the date mandated in the reorganization plan required by this Act), and transfers all functions of the USIA Director to the Secretary. (Sec. 1313) Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to establish in the Department of State an Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy. (Sec. 1314) Abolishes the Office of the Inspector General of the USIA, and transfers all functions to the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of State and the Foreign Service. (Sec. 1322) Amends the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 to declare that the Broadcasting Board of Governors shall continue to exist within the Executive branch of Government. (Sec. 1328) Directs the Broadcasting Board of Governors to report to the appropriate congressional committees on the progress of the Board and of Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty (RFE-RL), Incorporated to privatize the latter. (Sec. 1334) Abolishes the United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy. (Sec. 1336) Repeals specified laws. Title XIV:  United States International Development Cooperation Agency - Abolishes the United States International Development Cooperation Agency (IDCA) (including the Institute for Scientific and Technological Cooperation, but excluding the Agency for International Development (AID) and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC)) as of April 1, 1999 (or, if earlier, the date mandated in the reorganization plan required by this Act), and transfers all functions of the Agency Director to the Secretary. Title XV:  Agency for International Development - Mandates reorganization of AID, according to a specified plan required by this Act, as of April 1,1999 (or, if earlier, the date mandated in the plan), and transfers specified functions to the Department of State. (Sec. 1522) Declares that the Administrator of AID shall report to and be under the direct authority and foreign policy guidance of the Secretary. (Sec. 1523) Directs the Secretary, under the direction of the President, to coordinate all U.S. assistance programs, except export promotion (which shall be under the Secretary of Commerce) and international economic activities (which shall be under the Secretary of the Treasury). Title XVI:  Transition - Directs the President to submit to the appropriate congressional committees a reorganization plan for:  (1) the abolition, and transfer of functions, of ACDA, USIA, and IDCA; and (2) the consolidation, and transfer of functions, of AID. (Sec. 1611) Sets forth transition administrative provisions regarding:  (1) the Secretary's reorganization authorities; (2) the transfer and allocation of appropriations and personnel; and (3) specified incidental transfers of personnel, liabilities, records, and funds. (Sec. 1617) Requires the President to submit to the appropriate congressional committees a final accounting of the finances and operations of the agencies abolished under this Act. Subdivision B:  Foreign Relations Authorization - Title XX (sic):  General Provisions - Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1998 and 1999 - Defines ""appropriate congressional committees"" for purposes of this Act. Title XXI:  Authorization of Appropriations for Department of State - Authorizes appropriations for the Department of State for FY 1998 and 1999 for:  (1) the administration of foreign affairs; (2) international commissions; (3) the Asia Foundation; and (4) contributions to international organizations and international peacekeeping activities. (Sec. 2106) Specifies limits on the U.S. voluntary contribution to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) with respect to UNDP programs and activities in Burma unless the President certifies that certain humanitarian conditions are met. Title XXII:  Department of State Authorities and Activities - Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to authorize a Federal agency to make grants to the Department, or otherwise reimburse or credit it with advance payment, for funds used in providing assistance to overseas educational facilities attended by children of agency employees. (Sec. 2202) Revises the Department of State's reward program for information leading to the arrest or conviction of any individual in connection with acts of international terrorism against U.S. persons or property or with certain narcotics-related offenses.  Adds conspiracy, attempt to commit such acts, and aiding or abetting to the list of crimes for which information rewards may be paid.  Requires approval by the Attorney General of all rewards in a matter over which there is Federal criminal jurisdiction. Authorizes appropriations for such awards, with limitations. (Sec. 2203) Adds to the permissible expenses payable from a certain defense trade controls registration fees account of the Department of State the enhancement of specified defense trade export compliance and enforcement activities. (Sec. 2205) Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to authorize the Secretary to provide training (except foreign language training unless such person is under contract to provide services to the U.S. Government) through the Foreign Service Institute to any U.S. person or U.S. company employee and his or her family engaged in business abroad. Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to authorize the Secretary to charge a fee for use of the Department's National Foreign Affairs Training Center Facility. (Sec. 2206) Authorizes the Secretary to charge a fee for the use of the Department of State's diplomatic reception rooms. (Sec. 2207) Directs the Secretary to include in the annual Congressional Presentation Document and the Budget in Brief an accounting of the total collections received from all sources, including fees. (Sec. 2208) Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to direct the Inspector General of the Foreign Service to develop and provide employees under investigation with information detailing their rights to counsel and the policies and procedures of the Office of the Inspector General. Requires a report to the appropriate congressional committees on the Office's policy guidelines with respect to public disclosure of information during an ongoing investigation. (Sec. 2209) Amends the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1994 and 1995 to allow use of the Capital Investment Fund for enhancement of information technology and other related capital investments. (Sec. 2211) Amends the International Claims Settlement Act to grant jurisdiction to the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the United States to adjudicate claims included in a category of claims against a foreign government upon referral by the Secretary. (Sec. 2212) Amends the Department of State Appropriation Act, 1937 to authorize the Secretary to accept, in certain cases, reimbursement from private sector claimants for ordinary (currently, only extraordinary) expenses incurred in pursuing a claim on their behalf against a foreign government or other foreign entity. Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to authorize the Secretary to procure personal services in prosecuting such a claim or a proceeding before an international tribunal. (Sec. 2213) Amends the International Child Abduction Remedies Act to authorize the U.S. Central Authority to make grants to, or contract with, any individual, corporation, or other Federal, State, or local agency, or U.S. private organization for the purpose of helping it remedy international child abductions (returning wrongfully removed children, as well as securing the exercise of visitation rights). (Sec. 2214) Directs the Secretary to establish, and submit to the Congress, a comprehensive, long-term strategy to carry out the counterdrug responsibilities of the Department of State that is consistent with specified objectives of the National Drug Control Strategy. Requires the Secretary to take appropriate actions to establish, for use in consideration of visa applications, an information system, or improve existing information systems containing comprehensive information on serious crimes committed by foreign nationals. Requires the chief of mission of every foreign mission to designate an officer who shall be responsible for coordination of counterdrug programs. (Sec. 2215) Amends the Foreign Service Buildings Act, 1926 to direct the Secretary to submit to the Congress a report listing overseas U.S. surplus properties that have been identified for sale. (Sec. 2216) Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require the Secretary's annual report to the Congress on human rights to include the status of child labor practices in each country.  Changes the deadline for such report from January 31 to February 25. (Sec. 2217) Directs the Secretary of State to report annually to the Congress on:  (1) the number of persons and aliens residing in the United States entitled to diplomatic immunity from criminal prosecution, including each case involving such an alien whom appropriate law enforcement authorities reasonably believe to have committed a serious crime within the United States; (2) the number of U.S. citizens residing in a receiving state who are entitled to diplomatic immunity from criminal prosecution there, including each case in which the United States has been requested by the government of the state to waive immunity; and (3) whether each foreign mission has been notified of U.S. policies relating to criminal offenses committed by individuals with diplomatic immunity. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Secretary should explore, in appropriate fora, whether states should enter into agreements and adopt legislation to provide:  (1) jurisdiction in the sending state to prosecute crimes committed in the receiving state by persons entitled to diplomatic immunity; and (2) that where there is probable cause to believe that an individual with such immunity committed a serious crime, the sending state will waive immunity or will prosecute the individual. (Sec. 2218) Declares it is U.S. policy to foster and support procurement of international telecommunications goods and services from private, commercial companies.  Directs the Diplomatic Telecommunications Service Program Office (DTS-PO) to use full and open competition in the procurement of telecommunications services, and otherwise implement such policy. (Sec. 2219) Repeals specified reporting requirements. (Sec. 2221) Makes 30 percent of the fees collected in FY 1998 and 1999 for expedited passport processing available only for enhancing passport services, investigating passport fraud, and deterring entry into the United States by terrorists and other criminals. (Sec. 2222) Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to authorize any U.S. citizen employee of the Department of State designated to adjudicate nationality abroad to issue reports of births of U.S. citizens abroad, authenticate certain foreign documents, and administer oaths.  Requires such employees to receive certain training before they can administer such activities. (Sec. 2225) Authorizes the Secretary to deny a visa to any alien who has confiscated property owned by U.S. persons. (Sec. 2226) Amends the Immigration and Naturalization Act to exclude from admission into the United States any alien who has supported the abduction of children, with specified exceptions. (Sec. 2231) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1998 and 1999 for migration and refugee assistance.  Earmarks amounts for:  (1) humanitarian assistance to Tibetan refugees in India and Nepal; (2) refugee resettling in Israel; and (3) humanitarian assistance to persons displaced as a result of the civil conflict in Burma. (Sec. 2241) Bars the use of funds for the involuntary return by the United States of a person to a country in which the person has a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, except on grounds recognized as precluding protection as a refugee under the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees of July 28, 1951, and the Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees of January 31, 1967. Bars the use of migration and refugee assistance funds for the involuntary return of a person to any country unless the Secretary first notifies the appropriate congressional committees. (Sec. 2242) Prohibits the United States from expelling, extraditing, or otherwise effecting the involuntary return of a person to a country in which there are reasonable grounds for believing the person would be in danger of subjection to torture. (Sec. 2243) Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to authorize the Secretary to waive certain congressional notification requirements with respect to the reprogramming of Department funds if failure to do so would pose a substantial risk to human health or welfare.  Requires such notification to specified congressional committees, with an explanation of the emergency circumstances, not later than three days after taking the action to which notification is required. (Sec. 2244) Amends the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1997 to extend and revise eligibility for the (Vietnamese) Orderly Departure Program. (Sec. 2245) Directs the Secretary to include in the monthly report to the Congress entitled ""Update on Monitoring of Cuban Migrant Returnees"" information on:  (1) the methods employed by the Cuban Government to enforce the United States-Cuba Immigration Agreement of September 1994 to restrict the emigration of Cuban people to the United States; and (2) the Cuban Government's treatment of persons who have returned to Cuba pursuant to the United States-Cuba Agreement of May 1995. Title XXIII:  Organization of the Department of State; Department of State Personnel; The Foreign Service - Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to establish a Coordinator for Counterterrorism within the office of the Secretary. (Sec. 2302) Amends the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1994 and 1995 to repeal the establishment of a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Burdensharing. (Sec. 2305) Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to increase the number of Under and Assistant Secretaries of State within the Department of State.  Eliminates the establishment of Deputy Assistant Secretaries within the Department. (Sec. 2311) Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to authorize the Secretary of State to provide for recognition of the meritorious or distinguished service of any member of the Senior Foreign Service by means other than an award of performance pay in lieu of making such an award. Directs the Secretary to develop and implement procedures to identify, and recommend for separation, any member of the Foreign Service ranked by promotion boards in the bottom five percent of his or her class for two or more of the five years preceding the enactment of this Act if the rating official for such member was not the same individual for any two of the years of lowest ranking. Requires a special internal review of the member's file to determine whether the member should be considered for action leading to separation in any case where the member was evaluated by the same rating official in any two of the years of lowest ranking. (Sec. 2312) Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to provide for certain retirement benefits under the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability System and the Foreign Service Pension System for employees who are involuntarily separated from the Foreign Service. (Sec. 2313) Authorizes the Secretary to separate from the Foreign Service without a hearing a member of the Service convicted of a crime for which a sentence of imprisonment of more than one year may be imposed.  (Currently, a Foreign Service member can be separated without a hearing only if convicted of a crime related to the cause of separation). (Sec. 2316) Makes qualified criminal investigators within the Diplomatic Security Service eligible for availability pay. (Sec. 2318) Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress on minorities and the Foreign Service officer corps. Title XXIV:  United States Informational, Educational, and Cultural Programs - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1998 and 1999 to carry out specified international information activities and educational and cultural exchange programs. (Sec. 2413) Revises the Muskie Fellowship Program for graduate students from the independent states of the former Soviet Union, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia to require selection of participants on the basis of academic and leadership potential in the additional fields of journalism and communications, education administration, public policy, and library and information science. (Sec. 2414) Establishes within USIA, in order to improve the coordination and effectiveness of U.S. Government sponsored international exchanges and training, a senior-level interagency Working Group on United States Government Sponsored International Exchanges and Training. (Sec. 2415) Amends the Human Rights, Refugee, and Other Foreign Relations Provisions Act of 1996 to extend through FY 1999 educational and cultural exchange programs between the United States and the people of Tibet, including scholarships to Tibetan and Burmese students and professionals who are outside their countries (including, if practicable, individuals active in the preservation of Tibet's unique culture, religion, and language). (Sec. 2416) Urges the Broadcasting Board of Governors to study and report to the appropriate congressional committees on the appropriateness, feasibility, and projected costs of providing surrogate broadcasting service to Africa. (Sec. 2417) Earmarks certain funds for FY 1998 and 1999 for grants to RFE-RL, Incorporated, only for surrogate radio broadcasting by RFE-RL, Incorporated, to the Iranian people in the Farsi language (Radio Free Iran). (Sec. 2418) Authorizes the Director of USIA to administer summer travel-work programs without regard to preplacement requirements. (Sec. 2419) Amends the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 to make permanent certain administrative authorities regarding appropriations for the USIA. (Sec. 2420) Directs the Voice of America (VOA) to devote programming each day to broadcasting information on the individual States. Title XXV:  International Organizations Other Than United Nations - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1998 and 1999 to the Department of State for international conferences and contingencies. (Sec. 2502) Prohibits the United States from becoming a party to any new international criminal tribunal (or from giving legal effect to the jurisdiction of such a tribunal with respect to persons or property located, or acts or omissions committed, within the United States, or U.S. nationals, wherever found), except pursuant to a treaty or statute enacted by the Congress. (Sec. 2503) Terminates the U.S. participation in the Bureau of the Interparliamentary Union unless the Secretary certifies to the Congress that the United States will be assessed not more than $500,000 for its annual contribution to the Bureau. (Sec. 2504) Amends the Federal civil service code with respect to reemployment of a non-congressional Federal employee after he or she terminates service with an international organization to repeal the employee's entitlement to the difference between the individual's actual pay by the international organization and the pay the individual would have received had he or she been detailed to the organization but paid by the Federal Government.  Entitles such an individual, upon Federal reemployment, only to the rate of basic pay to which the employee would have been entitled had he or she remained in the civil service. Requires the agency involved to:  (1) restore the employee's sick leave account to its status at the time of transfer; and (2) treat the period of separation caused by employment with the international organization and the period necessary to effect reemployment as creditable service for all appropriate civil service employment purposes. (Sec. 2505) Requires submission of a preliminary report regarding foreign travel to the Director of the Office of International Conferences of the Department of State as a prerequisite to the use of any funds under this Act to pay:  (1) foreign travel expenses of an employee of the U.S. Executive agencies (with certain exceptions) in attending any international conferences; or (2) the routine services that a U.S. diplomatic mission provides in support of travel by such employee.  Denies such funds to anyone who does not file such a report or who has previously failed to submit a final report on previous travel. Title XXVI:  United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 to carry out the purposes of the Arms Control and Disarmament Act. (Sec. 2602) Amends such Act to declare that nothing in such Act shall be construed to authorize any Government action which would interfere with, restrict, or prohibit the acquisition, possession, or lawful use of firearms by an individual. Title XXVII:  European Security Act of 1998 - European Security Act of 1998 - Designates Romania, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Bulgaria, provided they meet certain criteria, as eligible to receive assistance under the NATO Participation Act of 1994. (Sec. 2703) Expresses the sense of the Congress that:  (1) such countries are to be commended for their progress toward political and economic reform and meeting the guidelines for prospective NATO members; and (2) upon their complete satisfaction of all relevant criteria, such countries should be invited to become full NATO members at the earliest possible date. Makes funds under the NATO Participation Act of 1994 available to support the implementation of the Regional Airspace Initiative and the Partnership for Peace Information Management System. Extends through FY 1999 the Department of Defense's authority to transfer excess defense articles to countries eligible to participate in the Partnership for Peace and eligible for assistance under the Support for East European Democracy (SEED) Act of 1989. (Sec. 2704) Expresses the sense of the Congress that no revisions to the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe will be approved by the United States that jeopardize fundamental U.S. security interests in Europe or the effectiveness and flexibility of NATO as a defensive alliance by:  (1) extending rights or imposing responsibilities on new NATO members different from those applicable to current NATO members, including rights with respect to nuclear weapons deployment and the stationing of NATO troops and equipment; (2) limiting NATO's ability to defend the territory of new NATO members by restricting defense infrastructure construction or limiting NATO's ability to deploy necessary reinforcements; (3) providing any international organization or any non-NATO country with authority to delay, veto, or otherwise impede deliberations and decisions of the North Atlantic Council or their implementation, including deliberations and decisions with respect to NATO force deployment or the admission of additional members to NATO; or (4) impeding the development of enhanced relations between NATO and other non-NATO European countries. (Sec. 2705) Declares that an ABM-TMD (anti-ballistic missile-theater missile defense) demarcation agreement shall not be binding on the United States unless it is specifically approved with the advice and consent of the Senate. Declares the sense of Congress that no ABM-TMD demarcation agreement will be considered for advice and consent to ratification unless it would:  (1) add one or more countries as State Parties to the ABM Treaty, or otherwise convert the ABM Treaty from a bilateral treaty to a multilateral treaty; or (2) change the geographic scope or coverage of the ABM Treaty, or otherwise modify the meaning of the term ""national territory"" as used in Articles VI and IX of the ABM Treaty. Declares the sense of Congress that no ABM-TMD demarcation agreement that would reduce the capabilities of U.S. theater missile defense systems, or the numbers or deployment patterns of such systems, will be approved for entry into force with respect to the United States. Directs the President to report to specified congressional committees on cooperative ballistic missile defense projects, including early warning systems, with Russia. Title XXVIII:  Other Foreign Policy Provisions - Directs the Secretary to report to the appropriate congressional committees on specific actions taken by the Department of State, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Commerce in resolving certain commercial disputes between U.S. firms and the Saudi Government. (Sec. 2802) Directs the Secretary to report every three months to the appropriate congressional committees on implementation (including an unclassified list of entities and classified list of individuals) of the mandate to exclude from the United States any aliens who have confiscated property of U.S. nationals in Cuba, or who traffic in such property. (Sec. 2803) Directs the Secretary to report annually to the appropriate congressional committees on the compliance of its signatories with the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. (Sec. 2804) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should use its influence to suggest that the Government of Turkey:  (1) recognize the Ecumenical Patriarchate (in Turkey) and its nonpolitical, religious mission; and (2) reopen the Ecumenical Patriarchate's Halki Patriarchal School of Theology. (Sec. 2805) Directs the Secretary to report to the appropriate congressional committees on the extent to which:  (1) Vietnam cooperates with the United States in an accounting of all POW-MIA cases; (2) it has made progress toward the release of all political and religious prisoners; (3) it cooperates with U.S. requests to obtain access to persons of humanitarian interest to the United States for interviews under the Orderly Departure (ODP) and Resettlement Opportunities for Vietnamese Refugees (ROVR) programs, and provide exit visas for such persons; (4) it has taken action to end extortion, bribery, and other corrupt practices in connection with such visas; and (5) the United States has made efforts to resettle former reeducation camp victims and their families. (Sec. 2806) Directs the Secretary to report to the appropriate congressional committees on the allegations of persecution and abuse of the Hmong and Laotian refugees who have returned to Laos. (Sec. 2807) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should discuss with the democratically-elected governments of the Western Hemisphere the prospect of forming a multilateral alliance to address problems relating to international drug trafficking in the Western Hemisphere. (Sec. 2808) Declares that the Congress favors public support by Department of State officials for the accession of Taiwan to the World Trade Organization (WTO). (Sec. 2809) Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to withhold the U.S. share of assistance for International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) projects in Cuba, except those for the discontinuation, dismantling, or safety inspection of nuclear facilities or related materials.  Declares that such exception shall not apply to the Juragua Nuclear Power Plant near Cienfuegos, or the Pedro Pi Nuclear Research Center, unless Cuba:  (1) ratifies the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons or the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America (commonly known as the Treaty of Tlatelolco); and (2) incorporates internationally accepted nuclear safety standards. Directs the Secretary to instruct the U.S. representative to the IAEA to use the U.S. vote to oppose IAEA projects at:  (1) the Juragua Nuclear Power Plant, Cuba; and (2) any other IAEA project in Cuba that is, or could become, a threat to the security of the United States. (Sec. 2810) Directs the President to withhold assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to a country in an amount equal to the value of nuclear fuel and related assistance and credits provided by it to Cuba. (Sec. 2811) Amends the Anglo-Irish Agreement Support Act of 1986 to revise its purposes to require that U.S. contributions to the International Fund for Ireland be disbursed in accordance with the MacBride principles of economic justice, as specified. Authorizes the United States to make contributions to the Fund only if the President certifies to the Congress that, among other things, disbursements from the Fund will be distributed in accordance with the principles of economic justice and will create employment opportunities in communities of Northern Ireland suffering the highest rates of unemployment. (Sec. 2812) Authorizes appropriations, upon notification to the Congress, for FY 1998 to:  (1) establish an international record for the criminal culpability of Saddam Hussein and other Iraqi officials and an international criminal tribunal for their indictment, prosecution, and punishment for crimes against humanity, genocide, and other violations of international law; (2) provide support for democratic opposition forces in Iraq (earmarking amounts to the democratic opposition and RFE-RL, Incorporated, for surrogate radio broadcasting to the Iraqi people); and (3) the relief, rehabilitation, and reconstruction of people living in Iraq, and communities there, who are not under the control of the Saddam Hussein regime. (Sec. 2813) Expresses the sense of the Congress that:  (1) the United States, the international community, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector should continue to promote the building of democratic institutions and civic society in the Republic of Serbia; and (2) the normalization of relations between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) and the United States requires, among other things, that President Milosevic and the leadership of Serbia promote the building of democratic institutions, respect for human rights, and free, fair, and equal conditions for the democratic opposition there. Division H - Depository Institution-GSE Affiliation Act of 1998 - Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to specify circumstances under which the Secretary of the Treasury (the Secretary) is authorized to: (1) approve an affiliation between a depository institution and the Student Loan Marketing Association (Sallie Mae) solely in its reorganized, privatized status as ""the Holding Company,"" not in its status as a government-sponsored enterprise (GSE); and (2) impose affiliation terms and conditions, including constraints upon either the issuance of debt obligations by Sallie Mae in its GSE status, or upon the use of proceeds from such obligations.  (Current law prohibits affiliations between depository institutions and GSEs). (Sec. 2) Specifies limits for the value of the investment portfolio of Sallie Mae in its GSE status in the event such affiliation should occur. Grants the Secretary enforcement powers under the Higher Education Act of 1965. Division I:  Chemical Weapons Convention - Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation Act of 1998 - Title I (sic):  General Provisions - Directs the President to designate the Department of State to be the United States National Authority to serve as the focal point for liaison with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and other States Parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction, opened for signature on January 13, 1993. (Sec. 103) Grants the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (and concurrently U.S. district courts for claims under $10,000) jurisdiction over civil actions:  (1) against the United States for the taking of property (including proprietary information) without just compensation that occurs by reason of any action by an OPCW employee or a U.S. employee pursuant to this Act or the Convention; and (2) for money damages for torts under the Constitution or Federal or State law arising from the acts or omissions of such employees. Grants the United States authority to bring an action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, or in any international tribunal, against any foreign nation for money damages for refusing to indemnify the United States for any liability imposed on it by virtue of the actions of an inspector of the OPCW Technical Secretariat who is a national of that foreign nation acting at its direction or behest. Authorizes specified tort actions by U.S. nationals and business entities against foreign nationals or business entities. Declares it is U.S. policy to recoup all funds withdrawn from the Treasury in payment for any tort under Federal or State law or taking under the Constitution arising from the acts or omissions of any foreign person, officer, or OPCW employee, including any member of a Technical Secretariat inspection team, taken under color of the Convention or this Act. Specifies minimum ten-year sanctions against such persons, as well as any foreign person or business entity for unauthorized disclosure of confidential business information, including:  (1) arms export prohibitions; (2) controlled goods or technology export prohibitions; (3) opposition to financial or technical assistance by international financial institutions; (4) denial of Export-Import Bank guarantees; (5) prohibition of private U.S. bank credit; (6) blocking of assets under U.S. jurisdiction; and (7) denial of non-emergency landing rights to private aircraft or air carriers owned by such a person.  Requires specified similar sanctions against foreign governments assisting or encouraging unauthorized disclosure of confidential business information.  Provides for suspension or waiver of such sanctions. Requires denial of visa to, and exclusion from the United States of, any current or former OPCW officer or employee, or any corporate officer, principal, or shareholder with a controlling interest of any entity, including spouses and children, for unauthorized disclosure of U.S. confidential business information or traffic in such information. Title II:  Penalties for Unlawful Activities Subject to the Jurisdiction of the United States - Subtitle A:  Criminal and Civil Penalties - Amends the Federal criminal code to make it unlawful for any person knowingly to develop, acquire, transfer, stockpile, possess, or use any chemical weapon.  Makes such provision inapplicable to the retention, ownership, possession, or transfer of a chemical weapon by a Federal agency or a duly authorized person. (Sec. 201) Specifies both criminal and civil penalties for violations of this prohibition.  Provides for forfeiture of property owned or used by a person involved in such a violation, as well as U.S. injunctive relief against such conduct. Authorizes the Attorney General to request the Secretary of Defense for military assistance to enforce this prohibition in emergencies involving a chemical weapon. Subtitle B:  Revocations of Export Privileges - Authorizes the President to suspend or revoke the export authority of any person within the United States, or any U.S. national located outside the United States, if such person has violated this title. Title III:  Inspections - Requires OPCW Technical Secretariat inspections of plants, plant sites, or other locations in the United States which are subject under the Convention to a Schedule two or Schedule three facility agreement. (Sec. 303) Sets forth provisions with respect to the authority to conduct, procedures (including search warrants) for, and scope of facility inspections. (Sec. 306) Makes it unlawful for any person willfully to fail or refuse to permit entry or inspection, or to disrupt, delay, or impede an inspection of a facility. (Sec. 307) Authorizes the President, consistent with the objective of eliminating chemical weapons, to deny inspection of a facility in cases where it may pose a threat to U.S. national security interests. (Sec. 308) Amends the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act to declare that a contractor may not be required, as a condition of entering a Federal contract, to waive any constitutional right for any purpose related to the Convention or this Act. (Sec. 309) Requires the President to report annually to the appropriate congressional committees, in both classified and unclassified form, on inspections made under the Convention during the preceding year. (Sec. 310) Authorizes the Secretary of Defense, at the request of an owner of a facility not owned or operated, or contracted for use, by the Federal Government to assist the facility in preparing for possible inspections under the Convention.  Requires reimbursement of the Secretary's costs by:  (1) the facility owner; or (2) the United States National Authority, in the case of small business concerns or certain domestic producers of Schedule three or unscheduled discrete organic chemicals. Title IV:  Reports - Requires the United States National Authority to establish requirements of recordkeeping and reporting by persons who produce, process, consume, export, or import chemical substances subject to the Convention, or who propose to engage in such activities. (Sec. 402) Prohibits a person located in the United States from being required to report on, or to submit to, an inspection to verify the production, possession, consumption, exportation, or importation of any substance that:  (1) contains less than specified concentrations of a Schedule two or Schedule three chemical; or (2) is an unscheduled discrete organic chemical that is a coincidental byproduct of a manufacturing process that is not isolated for use or sale during the process and is routed to, or escapes from, the waste stream of a stack, incinerator or wastewater treatment system, or any other waste stream. (Sec. 404) Exempts from public disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, with specified exceptions, any information reported to or obtained by the U.S. Government under this Act or under the Convention.  Sets forth criminal penalties for unlawful disclosure. (Sec. 405) Makes it unlawful to fail to comply with recordkeeping and reporting requirements. Title V:  Enforcement - Provides for civil and criminal penalties for specified violations of this Act, as well as specific enforcement of this Act and expedited judicial review. Title VI:  Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends the Department of Defense Appropriation Authorization Act, 1978 to repeal certain congressional and community notification requirements concerning the use of humans for the testing of chemical or biological agents. (Sec. 602) Prohibits the Secretary of Defense or any other U.S. employee from:  (1) conducting any test involving the use of any chemical or biological agent on a civilian population; or (2) using human subjects for the testing of chemical or biological agents. (Sec. 603) Amends the Federal bankruptcy code with respect to exemption from the automatic stay, upon filing of a bankruptcy petition, of an action or proceeding by a governmental unit to enforce its police or regulatory power, or the enforcement of a non-monetary judgment obtained in such an action or proceeding.  Repeals such exemption except with respect to exercise of authority under the Convention. Exempts from the automatic stay any action or proceeding by a governmental unit or any organization exercising authority under the Convention to enforce its police and regulatory power, including the enforcement of a non-monetary judgment obtained in such an action or proceeding. Division (J):  Revenues and Medicare - Tax and Trade Relief Extension Act of 1998 - Title I (sic):  Extension and Modification of Certain Expiring Provisions - Subtitle A:  Tax Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend, for a limited period, the:  (1) credit for increasing research activities; (2) work opportunity credit; and (3) welfare-to-work credit. (Sec. 1004) Extends permanently the special rule for contributions of stock for which market quotations are readily available. Establishes rules for the public inspection of the returns of private foundations. (Sec. 1005) Revises provisions concerning the special rule for income derived in the active conduct of banking, financing, or similar businesses to provide, as general rule, that foreign personal holding company income shall not include qualified banking or financing income of an eligible controlled foreign corporation.  Revises the definition of insurance income and provides that, as a general rule, foreign personal holding company income shall not include qualified insurance income of a qualifying insurance company. (Sec. 1006) Extends the termination date for permitting the disclosure of tax return information to the Department of Education for purposes of the repayment of student loans based on income. Subtitle B:  Trade Provisions - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to extend the Generalized System of Preferences through June 30, 1999. Provides for the retroactive application of certain liquidations and reliquidations. (Sec. 1012) Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to extend through June 30, 1999, trade adjustment assistance (TAA) for workers, firms, and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA ) transitional adjustment assistance program (cuts funding to half its current level for such program for the period beginning October 1, 1998, and ending June 30, 1999). Title II:  Other Tax Provisions - Subtitle A:  Provisions Relating to Individuals - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit nonrefundable personal credits to offset an individual's regular tax beginning January 1, 1998. (Sec. 2002) Increases, in increments, the deduction for the health insurance costs of self-employed individuals until it reaches 100 percent on January 1, 2003. (Sec. 2003) Modifies, by one percent, individual estimated tax safe harbors for individuals with incomes above $150,000. Subtitle B:  Provisions Relating to Farmers - Permanently extends income averaging for farmers. (Sec. 2012) Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act to disregard specified payment options provided by the Emergency Farm Financial Relief Act. (Sec. 2013) Provides a five-year carryback period for farming losses. Subtitle C:  Miscellaneous Provisions - Increases the State private activity bond volume cap beginning with calendar year 2003 until it reaches $75 per resident (with an aggregate limit of $225 million) for calendar years 2007 and beyond. (Sec. 2022) Requires a study and report concerning recovery periods and depreciation methods under the accelerated cost recovery system. (Sec. 2023) Grants States a limited period of time (three months) to exempt students employed at public educational facilities from Social Security coverage. Title III:  Revenue Offsets - Amends provisions concerning the complete liquidations of subsidiaries to provide that if a corporation receives a distribution form a regulated investment company or a real estate investment trust which is considered as being in complete liquidation of such company or trust, then such corporation shall treat as a dividend from such trust or company an amount equal to the deduction for dividends paid allowable to such company or trust by reason of such distribution. (Sec. 3002) Adds any vaccine against rotavirus gastroenteritis to the list of taxable vaccines. (Sec. 3003) Deems a taxpayer identification number (TIN, which is generally a taxpayer's social security number) incorrect if the TIN provided by the taxpayer differs from that provided by the Social Security Administration (or other agency issuing a TIN).  Expands mathematical error procedures so as to be used to deny eligibility for the dependent care credit, child tax credit, and earned income credit. (Sec. 3004) Revises the definition of specified liability loss so as to list the following items:  (1) reclamation of land; (2) decommissioning of a nuclear power plant; (3) dismantlement of a drilling platform; (4) remediation of environmental contamination; and (5) payment of workers compensation. Title IV:  Technical Corrections - Revises provisions of the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 concerning, among other things:  (1) burden of proof in court proceedings with respect to tax liability; (2) relief for innocent spouses; (3) interest netting relating to tax underpayments and overpayments; and (4) the 18 month holding period for capital gains. (Sec. 4003) Revises provisions of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 concerning, among other things:  (1) the treatment of interest on qualified educational loans; (2) capital gain distributions of charitable remainder trusts; (3) revaluation of gifts for estate tax purposes; (4) Vaccine Injury Compensation Trust Fund expenditures; (5) abatement of interest in Presidentially declared disaster areas; (6) treatment of certain corporate distributions; (7) with respect to life insurance policies, the determination of unborrowed policy cash value; and (8) means of paying taxes (use of credit cards and debit cards). (Sec. 4004) Revises provisions of the Tax Reform Act of 1984 concerning the casualty loss deduction. (Sec. 4005) Amends Social Security Act provisions related to the Uruguay Round Agreements Act and the withholding of Social Security taxes. (Sec. 4006) Amends the Internal Revenue Code concerning the disclosure of tax return information to the Department Agriculture. Title V:  Medicare-Related Provisions - Subtitle A:  Home Health - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA), as amended by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA '97), to provide for: (1) increased per beneficiary and per visit payment limits under the interim system of limited payments for services provided by home health agencies; (2) a reduced update when updating any limit under such system using a home health market basket index for cost reporting periods beginning during FY 2000 through 2003; (3) a one-year delay in establishment of a prospective payment system (PPS) for home health services and in implementation of the mandatory 15 percent reduction in cost and per beneficiary limits under such interim system; (4) change from the home health market basket percentage increase to the home health applicable increase percentage (a reduced home health market basket percentage increase) for purposes of annual updates under the PPS for FY 2002 and 2003; and (5) exclusion of certain additional Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) costs from determination of the Medicare part B monthly premium. (Sec. 5101) Directs:  (1) the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to report to the Congress on research paid for by HHS on development of a PPS for Medicare home health services; (2) the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission to likewise report its analysis of the Secretary's report, including any recommendations with respect to the matters contained in it, and include in its annual report to the Congress for June 1999 an analysis of whether changes in law made by BBA '97 and this Act with respect to payments for such services impede access to them by Medicare beneficiaries; and (3) the Comptroller General to conduct an audit of the sums obligated or expended by the Health Care Financing Administration for PPS research and the data, reports, proposals, or other information provided by such research. Subtitle B:  Other Medicare-Related Provisions - Amends SSA title XI with respect to civil monetary penalties for fraudulent claims. Revises the current exclusion from prohibited remuneration of permissible waivers to apply it instead to certain permissible practices.  Denies permissible practice treatment to a practice under which a health care provider or facility pays premiums for Medicare supplemental (Medigap) policies for individuals entitled to Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) benefits, unless:  (1) the HHS Secretary promulgates a rule authorizing such a practice as an exception to remuneration prohibitions; and (2) the remuneration is offered or transferred by a person under such rule during the two-year period beginning when the rule is first promulgated. (Sec. 5101) Directs the Comptroller General to:  (1) conduct a study, if such a rule is promulgated, that compares any disproportionate impact on specific issuers of Medigap policies due to adverse selection in enrolling Medicare end-stage renal disease (ESRD) beneficiaries before the enactment of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and one year after the date of such promulgation; and (2) submit a report to the Congress on such study along with recommendations concerning whether the two year time limitation above should be extended. (Sec. 5202) Amends SSA title XVIII to expand the membership of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), with the initial terms of the additional members staggered. Subtitle C:  Revenue Offsets - Entitles a taxpayer winning a lottery, contest, jackpot, or game to be taxed as the prize payments are received, even if the taxpayer had the option to receive the entire prize in one lump-sum payment. Division K:  Pay-As-You-Go Provision - Sets forth pay-as-you-go provisions.",2025-04-07T15:33:54Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/4328
105-hr-4306,105,hr,4306,To eliminate the spending cap adjustments for International Monetary Fund funding increases.,Economics and Public Finance,1998-07-22,1998-07-22,Referred to House Rules,House,"Rep. Sanford, Marshall (Mark) [R-SC-1]",SC,R,S000051,0,"Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to remove specified increases in the U.S. quota of the International Monetary Fund Eleventh General Review of Quotas or increases in amounts available for New Arrangements to Borrow under the Bretton Woods Agreements Act from the list of amounts for which discretionary spending limits, allocations, and budgetary aggregates are to be adjusted to reflect new budget authority and outlays flowing from reported or amended legislation. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to make a parallel amendment eliminating such increases from the list of matters which trigger adjustments to discretionary spending limits.",2025-04-07T15:33:40Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/4306
105-hr-4274,105,hr,4274,"Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999",Economics and Public Finance,1998-07-20,1998-10-08,Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union rises leaving H.R. 4274 as unfinished business.,House,"Rep. Porter, John Edward [R-IL-10]",IL,R,P000444,0,"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:  Child Protection Act of 1998      Title VII:  Miscellaneous Provisions Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 - Title I:  Department of Labor - Department of Labor Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for FY 1999 to the Department of Labor for:  (1) training and employment services; (2) community service employment for older Americans; (3) Federal unemployment benefits and allowances; (4) State unemployment insurance and employment service operations; (5) advances to the Unemployment Trust Fund and other trust funds; (6) employment and training program administration; (7) the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation; (8) the Employment Standards Administration; (9) certain special benefits; (10) the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund; (11) the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; (12) the Mine Safety and Health Administration; (13) the Bureau of Labor Statistics; (14) departmental management; (15) the Assistant Secretary for Veterans Employment and Training; and (16) the Office of Inspector General. 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, 1999 - Makes appropriations for FY 1999 to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for:  (1) the Health Resources and Services Administration; (2) the Medical Facilities Guarantee and Loan Fund for Federal interest subsidies for medical facilities; (3) health education assistance loans; (4) the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program Trust Fund; (5) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; (6) the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including amounts for the John E. Fogarty International Center, the National Library of Medicine, the Office of the Director, and buildings and facilities; (7) the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; (8) retirement pay and medical benefits for Public Health Service commissioned officers; (9) the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research; (10) the Health Care Financing Administration for grants to States for Medicaid, payments to health care trust funds, program management, and the Health Maintenance Organization Loan and Loan Guarantee Fund; (11) the Administration for Children and Families for family support payments to States; (12) low income home energy assistance; (13) refugee and entrant assistance; (14) the child care and development block grant; (15) the social services block grant; (16) children and families services programs; (17) family preservation and support; (18) payments to States for foster care and adoption assistance; (19) the Administration on Aging; (20) the Office of the Secretary for general departmental management; (21) the Office of Inspector General; (22) the Office for Civil Rights; and (23) policy research. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title. (Sec. 202) Directs the Secretary of HHS to make available through assignment not more than 60 employees of the Public Health Service to assist in child survival activities and to work in AIDS programs through and with funds provided by the Agency for International Development, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund or the World Health Organization. (Sec. 211) 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 (PHSA), unless the award applicant certifies to the Secretary 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. 216) Names the Consolidated Laboratory Building (Building 50) at NIH the Louis Stokes Laboratories. (Sec. 217) Prohibits the use of funds appropriated by this Act to carry out the Medicare+Choice program if the Secretary 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. 218) Prohibits the expenditure of funds under this Act to reimburse States for Viagra (except for postsurgical treatment). Requires the availability of up to $100 million of the amount of such reduction in budget authority and outlays to enhance mental health services for children with emotional and behavioral disorders who are at risk of violent behavior. (Sec. 219) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act to take any administrative action against States that do not cover Viagra or any other drug or device under section 1927 of the Social Security Act for the treatment of erectile dysfunction. (Sec. 220) Declares that no provider of services under title X of the PHSA shall be exempt from any State law requiring notification or the reporting of child abuse, child molestation, sexual abuse, rape, or incest. Prohibits appropriations for carrying out title X of PHSA from being made available to any family planning project if any service provider in the project knowingly provides contraceptive drugs or devices to a minor, unless:  (1) the minor is emancipated under applicable State law; (2) the minor has the written consent of a custodial parent or custodial legal guardian to receive the drugs or devices; (3) a court of competent jurisdiction has directed that the minor may receive the drugs or devices; or (4) such service provider has given actual written notice, to a custodial parent or custodial legal guardian of the minor, of the intent to provide the drugs or devices, at least five business days before providing them. Title III:  Department of Education - Department of Education Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for FY 1999 to the Department of Education for:  (1) education reform; (2) education for the disadvantaged; (3) impact aid; (4) school improvement activities; (5) Indian education; (6) bilingual and immigrant education; (7) special education; (8) rehabilitation services and disability research; (9) special institutions for persons with disabilities, including the American Printing House for the Deaf, the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, the Kendall Demonstration Elementary School, the Model Secondary School for the Deaf, and Gallaudet University; (10) vocational and adult education; (11) student financial assistance; (12) the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program account; (13) higher education; (14) Howard University; (15) the college housing and academic facilities loans program; (16) the historically Black college and university capital financing program account; (17) education research, statistics, and improvement; (18) departmental management; (19) the Office for Civil Rights; and (20) the Office of the Inspector General. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title. (Sec. 301) Prohibits funds appropriated in this Act from being used to:  (1) transport teachers or students in order to overcome racial imbalance in any school or to carry out a racial desegregation plan; or (2) prevent the implementation of programs of voluntary prayer and meditation in public schools. (Sec. 305) Amends the General Education Provisions Act to bar the use of funds provided to the Department of Education or to an applicable program in any Act in FY 1999 to field or pilot test, implement, administer, or distribute national tests.  Makes such prohibition inapplicable to the International Math and Science Study or the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). (Sec. 306) Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow certain institutions of higher education to use specified funds for endowment building purposes. (Sec. 307) Prohibits use of funds under this Act to enforce certain annual compliance audit requirements of the guaranteed student loan program under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) against those lenders with guaranteed student loan portfolios that do not exceed $5 million. (Sec. 308) Allows States and local educational agencies to use specified funds for innovative programs. (Sec. 309) Amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to revise requirements relating to:  (1) child placements in alternative educational settings; and (2) the Secretary's reducing or withholding payments to States. (Sec. 311) Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to revise requirements for applications and priorities in funding bilingual education and special alternative instructional programs. Sets at two years the maximum period for a student to be in such a program, with specified exceptions involving comprehensive evaluations and a maximum of four years.  Directs the Secretary of Education to report annually to specified congressional committees:  (1) identifying the ten percent of funding recipients that have been the least successful in assisting students in attaining English proficiency by the end of their second academic year of enrollment in a bilingual education program or special alternative instructional program; and (2) explaining if and why funding will be continued for such a program. Title IV:  Related Agencies - Makes appropriations for FY 1999 to the:  (1) Armed Forces Retirement Home; (2) Corporation for National and Community Service; (3) Corporation for Public Broadcasting; (4) Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service; (5) Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission; (6) Institute of Museum and Library Services; (7) Medicare Payment Advisory Commission; (8) National Commission on Libraries and Information Science; (9) National Council on Disability; (10) National Education Goals Panel; (11) National Labor Relations Board; (12) National Mediation Board; (13) Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission; (14) Railroad Retirement Board for the dual benefits payments account, Federal payments to the railroad retirement accounts, administration, and the Office of Inspector General; (15) Social Security Administration for payments to the social security trust funds, special benefits for disabled coal miners, the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Program, administrative expenses, and the Office of Inspector General; and (16) U.S. Institute of Peace. Title V:  General Provisions - Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this Act. (Sec. 506) Sets forth Buy American requirements. (Sec. 509) Prohibits funds appropriated under this Act from being expended for abortions or for health benefits coverage that includes coverage of abortion, except in cases where the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest or where a woman suffers from a physical condition that would, as certified by a physician, place her in danger of death unless an abortion is performed. (Sec. 511) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act for:  (1) the creation of a human embryo for research purposes; or (2) research in which a human embryo is destroyed or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death greater than that allowed for research on fetuses in utero under Federal regulations and the Public Health Service Act. (Sec. 512) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act for activities to promote the legalization of a controlled substance unless there is significant medical evidence of a therapeutic advantage to the use of such substance or that federally-sponsored trials are being conducted to determine such advantage. (Sec. 514) Bars the use of funds made available in this Act to pay the expenses of an election officer appointed by a court to oversee an election of any officer or trustee for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. (Sec. 516) Amends the National Labor Relations Act to direct the National Labor Relations Board to 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 specified inflation adjustments to financial threshold amounts. Title VI:  Child Protection Act of 1998 - Child Protection Act of 1998 - Requires any elementary or secondary school or public library that has received any Federal funds for acquisition or operation of any computer accessible to minors that has access to the Internet to:  (1) install software on that computer that is adequately designed to prevent minors from obtaining access to any obscene information 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 or otherwise unprotected by the Constitution under the direct supervision of an adult designated by such school or library. (Sec. 602) Authorizes Federal agency heads, if they have reason to believe that any recipient of funds failing to comply substantially with such requirements, to:  (1) withhold further payments under that program or activity; (2) issue a complaint to compel compliance through a cease and desist order; or (3) enter into a compliance agreement with a recipient. Title VII:  Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the Social Security Act to establish standards relating to access to routine and preventive obstetrical and gynecological services under group health plans, group and individual health insurance coverage, Medicare, and Medicaid. (Sec. 702) Amends the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act to require cigarette labels and advertising to include the Surgeon General's warning that African Americans suffer the highest death rates from several diseases caused by smoking.",2025-04-07T15:33:52Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/4274
105-hr-4275,105,hr,4275,Economic Development Partnership Act of 1998,Economics and Public Finance,1998-07-20,1998-09-11,Committee on Banking and Financial Services discharged.,House,"Rep. Shuster, Bud [R-PA-9]",PA,R,S000394,105,"TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Public Works and Economic Development Programs           Subtitle A:  Reauthorizations           Subtitle B:  Innovative Financing Pilot Programs      Title II:  Appalachian Regional Development Economic Development Partnership Act of 1998 - Title I:  Public Works and Economic Development Programs - Subtitle A: Reauthorizations - Rewrites the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (the Act, for purposes of this title).     Directs the Secretary of Commerce to cooperate with States and other entities to assure that Federal economic development programs are compatible with and further the objectives of State, regional, and local economic development plans and comprehensive economic development strategies. Directs the Secretary to:  (1) provide appropriate technical assistance to such entities in order to alleviate economic distress, encourage partnerships for economic development strategies, and stimulate modernization and technological advances in the generation and commercialization of goods and services; and (2) issue regulations for intergovernmental review of proposed economic development projects.  Authorizes the Secretary to enter into appropriate economic development agreements with two or more adjoining States. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to eligible recipients (defined later under this Act) for acquisition or development of land and improvements for public works, public service, or development facility usage, as well as the acquisition, design and engineering, construction, rehabilitation, alteration, expansion, or improvement of such facilities.  Provides assistance conditions relating to the establishment of industrial or commercial plants and the increase of employment in the area.  Prohibits more than 15 percent of the appropriations made for such assistance from being expended in any one State.  Allows grants to be increased due to construction cost increases, with limitations. Authorizes the Secretary to make direct grants for economic development planning and related administrative expenses.  Requires such planning to be a continuous process and to be prepared as part of a comprehensive economic development strategy for the area involved. Requires State certification of an economic development plan's consistency with local and economic development district plans. Provides a Federal cost-share limit of 50 percent of project costs. Authorizes the Secretary to make supplementary grants for a project for which the applicant is eligible but cannot supply the required matching share.  Provides supplementary grant conditions and requirements, authorizing the Secretary to reduce or waive the required non-Federal share in such cases. Authorizes the Secretary to make direct grants for training, research, and technical assistance for alleviating or preventing conditions of excessive unemployment or underemployment.  Allows such grants to include amounts for relocation assistance. Authorizes the Secretary to make direct grants for public facilities, public services, business development, planning, technical assistance, training and other assistance which demonstrably furthers the economic adjustment objectives of the Act.  Allows such grant to be used in either direct expenditures by the recipient or through redistribution to other public and private entities, but prohibits any such redistribution to a private profit-making entity.  Authorizes the Secretary to:  (1) approve the use of grant funds for projects the scope or purpose for which changes after the grant has been made; (2) use funds for projects constructed for less than the projected costs to improve such projects; and (3) make assistance available for projects to be carried out at a military or Department of Energy installation. Prohibits any assistance under the Act which would produce unfair commercial competition. Authorizes the sale of financial instruments in revolving loan funds to further the purposes of the Act. Requires reports from grant and assistance recipients. Defines as an eligible recipient for purposes of the Act an area that:  (1) has a per capita income of 80 percent or less of the national average or an unemployment rate one percent above such average; (2) has experienced or is about to experience a special need to meet an expected rise in unemployment; or (3) is determined by the Secretary to be a pocket of poverty or high unemployment within a larger community of less economic distress and that has demonstrated a resistance to economic recovery without assistance under the Act. Requires from recipients:  (1) documentation of the presence of any such criteria; and (2) a comprehensive economic development strategy which identifies the economic problems to be addressed through such assistance, as well as related information. Authorizes the Secretary, in order to plan and carry out economic development projects of broader geographic significance, to designate appropriate economic development districts and economic development centers within such districts.   Provides geographic, population, and other requirements with respect to each such designation.  Directs the Secretary to prescribe standards for the termination of such districts and centers.  Authorizes the Secretary to increase by up to ten percent of project costs the amount of grant assistance otherwise provided in the Act for projects within designated districts. Requires each designated district to provide to the Appalachian Regional Commission a copy of such district's comprehensive economic development strategy. Authorizes the Secretary to provide assistance to a district area which does not meet the requirements of an eligible recipient under the Act when such assistance will be of substantial direct benefit to a qualifying area in such district. Directs the Secretary to administer the Act with the assistance of an Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development who shall serve as the administrator of the Economic Development Administration (EDA).  Directs the Secretary to establish in the EDA an Office of Economic Development Information to serve as a central information clearinghouse on all matters relating to economic development programs and activities of Federal and State governments, to help applicants for such assistance, and to develop electronic links or other connections to other information databases to assist such entities in identifying and applying for assistance and resources under such programs.  Requires public access to Office information and data services.  Requires appropriate consultation with other persons and agencies.  Authorizes the Secretary to furnish procurement divisions of the Federal Government with a list of business firms located in distressed areas which desire Government supplies and services contracts. Directs the Secretary to:  (1) notify specified congressional committees of any EDA reorganization of its offices, programs, or activities at least 30 days before such reorganization; (2) conduct an evaluation at least every three years of each university center and economic development district receiving assistance to assess its performance and contribution toward job retention and creation; (3) establish a Federal Coordinating Council for Economic Development to coordinate with Federal, State, and other districts and organizations its activities relating to comprehensive economic development strategies and grants; and (4) establish an Economic Development Revolving Loan Fund Task Force to review and make recommendations concerning the financial management and related standards and requirements of revolving loan funds from which financial instruments are sold in order to further the purposes of the Act. Imposes penalties upon persons:  (1) making false statements in order to obtain assistance under the Act; and (2) who embezzle or commit other fraud-related crimes while connected in any capacity with the Secretary in the administration of the Act.  Sets forth:  (1) conflict-of-interest provisions; and (2) recordkeeping requirements for the Secretary and recipients regarding assistance under the Act. Provides that assistance under the Act shall supplement and not supplant other Federal assistance. Authorizes appropriations to carry out the Act for FY 1999 through 2003.  Authorizes additional appropriations for administrative expenses and defense conversion activities. Subtitle B:  Innovative Financing Pilot Programs - Authorizes the Secretary to guarantee a loan made by a private lending institution to a State, political subdivision, Indian tribe, or organization or association for any purpose for which the Secretary can make a direct grant under title I of this Act. Provides funding. (Sec. 122) Directs the Secretary, acting through the Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, to carry out a program to demonstrate the effectiveness of encouraging economic development by making grants for reducing interest rates on loans for economic development activities.  Outlines grant requirements, terms, and conditions. (Sec. 123) Directs the Secretary to convey to the city of Two Harbors, Minnesota, the J and J Casting Site in Lake County, Minnesota, together with a road easement. (Sec. 124) Directs the Secretary, by September 30 of each of FY 1999 through 2003, to report to the Congress an evaluation of the effectiveness of the loan guarantees and grants under this Subtitle. (Sec. 125) Prohibits funds made available under this Act from being expended in violation of the Buy American Act. Title II:  Appalachian Regional Development - Amends the Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965 (the Act, for purposes of this title) to:  (1) require the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) to meet at least once a year, and allow the ARC to conduct additional meetings by electronic means as considered advisable; (2) require the ARC to obtain a quorum of State members before reaching certain decisions; (3) extend permanently the authorization of appropriations for ARC administrative expenses; (4) revise compensation levels for ARC employees; (5) extend ARC administrative authority through FY 2003; and (6) reduce from 100 to 50 percent of program costs the Federal cost-sharing requirement with respect to demonstration health projects in the Appalachian region under this Act, with an exception of 80 percent of such costs for counties designated as distressed. (Sec. 208) Repeals the following programs and provisions under the Act:  (1) the land stabilization, conservation, and erosion control program; (2) the timber development program; (3) the mining area restoration program; (4) the water resource development and utilization survey; (5) the Appalachian airport safety improvements program; (6) the sewage treatment works program; and (7) amendments to the Housing Act of 1954. (Sec. 214) Reduces from 100 to 50 percent of program costs the Federal cost-sharing requirement with respect to Appalachian vocational education and education demonstration projects, with an exception of 80 percent of such costs for counties designated as distressed.  Makes an identical reduction with respect to Federal costs for Federal grant-in-aid programs in the Appalachian region. (Sec. 218) Adds specified criteria and measurements to be considered when determining programs and projects to be given assistance under the Act. (Sec. 219) Directs the ARC to designate as:  (1) distressed counties those counties that are the most severely and persistently distressed; (2) competitive counties those counties which are approaching economic parity with the rest of the country; and (3) attainment counties those counties which have attained or exceeded such economic parity.  Requires the ARC to give special consideration to counties designated as distressed.  Limits to 30 percent of project costs the authorized assistance for a county designated as competitive, and prohibits assistance for a county designated as attainment. Provides exceptions and an authorized waiver by the ARC. (Sec. 220) Empowers the ARC (currently, the President) to make grants for administrative expenses and ARC research and development projects under the Act.  Reduces from 75 to 50 percent of program costs the Federal share of such projects, with an exception of 80 percent for counties designated as distressed.  Repeals provisions concerning such projects which:  (1) require certain ARC studies and reports; (2) authorize appropriations through June 30, 1969; and (3) ensure public availability of all information obtained from such projects. (Sec. 221) Extends through FY 2003:  (1) the authorization of appropriations under the Act; and (2) the termination date of the ARC and the Act.",2025-04-07T15:32:00Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/4275
105-hr-4276,105,hr,4276,"Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999",Economics and Public Finance,1998-07-20,1998-10-06,"The Speaker appointed conferees: Rogers, Kolbe, Taylor (NC), Regula, Latham, Livingston, Young (FL), Mollohan, Skaggs, Dixon, and Obey.",House,"Rep. Rogers, Harold [R-KY-5]",KY,R,R000395,0,"TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Department of Justice      Title II:  Department of Commerce and Related Agencies      Title III:  The Judiciary      Title IV:  Department of State and Related Agencies      Title V:  Related Agencies      Title VI:  General Provisions      Title VII:  Rescissions      Title VIII:  Local Government Law Enforcement Block Grant Act      Title IX:  National Whale Conservation Fund Act      Title X:  VAWA Restoration Act      Title XI:  Temporary Agricultural Workers      Title XII:  Nursing Relief For Disadvantaged Areas Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for FY 1999 for the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the judiciary, and related agencies. Title I:  Department of Justice - Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for the Department of Justice for:  (1) general administration; (2) a joint automated booking system; (3) counterterrorism activities; (4) administration of pardon and clemency petitions and immigration-related activities; (5) the Office of Inspector General; (6) the U.S. Parole Commission; (7) legal activities; (8) antitrust activities; (9) the Offices of U.S. Attorneys; (10) the U.S. Trustee Program; (11) the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission; (12) the U.S. Marshals Service, including an amount for expenses related to prisoners in the custody of the Marshals Service; (13) fees and expenses of witnesses; (14) the Community Relations Service; (15) certain uses of the Assets Forfeiture Fund; (16) administrative expenses related to the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act; (17) interagency law enforcement with respect to organized crime drug trafficking; (18) the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); (19) construction for specified agencies; (20) the Drug Enforcement Administration; (21) the Immigration and Naturalization Service; (22) the Federal prison system, including amounts for buildings and facilities; (23) the Office of Justice programs; (24) State and local law enforcement assistance, including amounts for violent crime reduction programs; (25) the Executive Office for Weed and Seed; (26) community-oriented policing services for violent crime reduction; (27) juvenile justice programs; and (28) public safety officers' benefits. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. Establishes a Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System Fund for the payment of expenses related to the scheduling and transportation of U.S. prisoners and illegal and criminal aliens in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.  Makes appropriations for initial capitalization of the Fund. (Sec. 102) Prohibits the use of funds appropriated by this title to:  (1) pay for abortions except where the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term, or in the case of rape; or (2) require any person to perform or facilitate an abortion. (Sec. 110) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to remove the authority for beneficiaries of certain petitions for classification or applications for labor certifications to apply to the Attorney General for adjustment of status to that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence.  Repeals provisions which allow certain employment-based immigrants to adjust to permanent residence status. Establishes the Immigration Detention and Naturalization Activity Account in the Treasury.  Provides for:  (1) the deposit of certain application fees into the Account; and (2) refunds to any appropriation for expenses incurred by the Attorney General for the detention of aliens, construction relating to such detention, and activities relating to naturalization. (Sec. 112) Prohibits any immigration inspection fee from being charged in connection with the arrival of any passenger, other than aircraft passengers, whose journey originated in a U.S. State. (Sec. 115) Amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to require the Attorney General to provide investigative assistance to tribal law enforcement agencies. (Sec. 116) Repeals provisions of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 that provide for an automated entry and exit control system.  Revises provisions requiring aliens to present border identification cards that match appropriate biometric characteristics in order to cross the border to phase in such requirement over a number of years, requiring all cards in circulation as of April 1, 1998, to match by October 1, 2003.  (Current law applies such requirement to all cards presented three years after such Act's enactment date.) (Sec. 117) Directs the President, with the FY 2000 budget request, to present the specific dollar amounts budgeted, by appropriation account and line item, for counterterrorism and antiterrorism programs.  Requires a narrative outline of the content of, and detail of the amounts budgeted for, each program for FY 1998 through 2000 and the succeeding five years of the Federal Counterterrorism Strategy. (Sec. 118) Amends the Controlled Substances Act to make unlawful certain knowing failures to provide records or reports, including those pertaining to listed chemicals and certain machines.  (Current law provides that all failures to do so are unlawful.) Limits penalties for knowing violations regarding reports or recordkeeping to $500 if no unauthorized person obtains unlawful control of a controlled substance as a result of such a violation. (Sec. 120) Requires the General Accounting Office to report to specified congressional committees on compliance of the Department of Justice and all U.S. Attorneys with the Guidance on the Use of the False Claims Act in Civil Health Care Matters. (Sec. 121) Amends the Federal criminal code to require applicants for firearm dealer licenses to certify that secure gun storage or safety devices will be available at any place in which firearms are sold under the license to persons who are not licensees, except in certain cases where such storage is temporarily unavailable. Authorizes revocation of licenses of dealers who fail to have such storage or devices available. (Sec. 122) Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize grants to non-Federal individuals or entities for firearm safety education. (Sec. 123) Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to prohibit the disposition of a firearm or ammunition to, and the possession of a firearm or ammunition by, an alien who has been admitted to the United States under a nonimmigrant visa. Requires the statement required from a firearms transferee to contain a statement that the transferee is not an alien who has been admitted to the United States under a nonimmigrant visa. Sets forth provisions regarding:  (1) exceptions for aliens admitted to the United States for lawful hunting or sporting purposes and for certain official government representatives, officials, distinguished foreign visitors, and foreign law enforcement officers; and (2) waivers. (Sec. 124) Amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to require States, in order to receive violent offender incarceration or truth-in-sentencing incentive grants, to have programs of mental health screening and treatment for categories of convicted juvenile and other offenders during periods of incarceration and juvenile and criminal justice supervision.  (Current law requires States to implement policies for the recognition of the rights and needs of crime victims in order to be eligible for such grants.) Authorizes grant funds to be applied to such programs. (Sec. 125) Amends the Federal criminal code to apply certain authorized investigative demand procedures currently applicable to Federal health care offenses to acts involving Federal offenses relating to sexual exploitation or abuse of children as well. (Sec. 126) Amends the Incentive Grants for Local Delinquency Prevention Programs Act to require priority in the awarding of grants for local delinquency prevention to be given to applicants that, among other things, have in effect a policy that requires State and local law enforcement agencies to detain for up to 24 hours any juvenile who unlawfully possesses a firearm in a school upon a finding that the juvenile may be a danger to himself or herself, or to the community. (Sec. 127) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to endeavor to expand the number of cities and counties participating in the Youth Crime Gun Interdiction Initiative (YCGII-Exile) by specified amounts in FY 2001 through 2004. Earmarks funds appropriated for the Offices of U.S. Attorneys in this Act for the hiring of additional assistant U.S. attorneys and investigators in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for a demonstration project to prosecute individuals in possession of firearms in violation of Federal law. Provides for the sharing of information derived from YCGII-Exile with State and local law enforcement through on-line computer access as soon as such capability is available. Requires the Secretary to award grants to States, counties, and cities to assist such entities in the tracing of firearms and participation in YCGII-Exile. (Sec. 128) Amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to expand the categories of sex offenders to whom penalties apply for knowingly failing to register under such Act or in States in which they reside, are employed, or are students.  Removes monetary penalties for such offenses and retains existing imprisonment penalties. (Sec. 129) Amends the Police Corps Act to extend and increase the authorization of appropriations to carry out Police Corps training and education programs. (Sec. 130) Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit, and set penalties for, publishing, through the use of any facility in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce (including any interactive computer service), any identifying information (i.e., name, address, telephone number, social security number, or electronic mail address) relating to a minor who has not attained age 17, for the purpose of soliciting any person to engage in sexual activity which is a criminal offense under Federal or State law. (Sec. 131) Amends the Federal judicial code to transfer Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, from the State's Eastern Judicial District to its Middle Judicial District. (Sec. 132) Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit a court from requiring a party to a civil action regarding prison conditions to pay the compensation or expenses of a special master.  Applies such prohibition to expenses for a special master for actions commenced before, on, or after the date of enactment of the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Makes such prohibition inapplicable to a special master appointed before such Act's enactment if the expenses relate to activities beginning on such Act's enactment date and ending on this section's enactment date. (Sec. 133) Authorizes nursing facilities or home health care agencies to submit requests to the Attorney General to conduct a search and exchange of specified FBI criminal history records regarding an applicant for employment if the employment position is involved in direct patient care.  Permits such information to be used only for purposes of determining suitability for employment of an applicant. Authorizes the Attorney General to charge a fee of up to $50 per request. Prescribes criminal penalties for unauthorized use of such information. Absolves a nursing facility or home health care agency that denies employment based on such information from liability in any action brought by the applicant in cases where the information is incomplete or inaccurate. (Sec. 134) Bars the use of funds made available to the Department of Justice under this Act for any expense relating to foreign travel by an employee of the Antitrust Division if such travel is for purposes of encouraging an antitrust action by a foreign country against a U.S. company that is a defendant in any pending antitrust action in the United States in which the United States is a plaintiff. (Sec. 135) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to make certain provisions regarding the deportability of aliens inapplicable to certain aliens who are orphans adopted by U.S. citizens unless such an alien has knowingly declined U.S. citizenship. (Sec. 136) Prohibits, unless the person concerned consents or disclosure is pursuant to a court order or a verdict of liability has been entered, the disclosure of specified financial records and personal information of a person employed or formerly employed by a Federal, State, or local jail, prison, or correctional facility in actions for deprivation of rights against such facilities or persons brought by a prisoner. (Sec. 137) Extends through FY 1999 temporary protected status for certain nationals of Liberia or aliens with no nationality who last resided in Liberia. (Sec. 138) Makes a numerical limitation on refugees under the Immigration and Nationality Act inapplicable to certain aliens who were U.S. Government employees, employees of nongovernmental organizations based in the United States, or other Iraqi nationals who were moved to Guam by the U.S. Government in 1996 or 1997 and granted asylum.  Limits fees paid by such individuals for employment authorization or adjustment of status to permanent resident to the amount imposed on a refugee for such purposes. (Sec. 140) Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to include older women within the scope of the program providing grants to combat violent crimes against women.  Adds to the list of grant purposes grants for developing a curriculum to train and assist law enforcement and court officers and prosecutors in recognizing, investigating, and prosecuting instances of elder domestic abuse. Makes elder domestic abuse experts eligible for certain State grants for training in identification and response to violent crimes against women. (Sec. 141) Requires the U.S. Sentencing Commission to:  (1) review the Federal sentencing guidelines on aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse, sexual abuse of a minor or ward, coercion and enticement of a juvenile, and transportation of minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity; and (2) promulgate amendments to the Guidelines to provide an appropriate sentencing enhancement if the defendant used a computer or knowingly misrepresented his or her identity with the intent to persuade, entice, or coerce a child of an age specified in such sections to engage in prohibited sexual activity. Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to:  (1) review the Federal sentencing guidelines on criminal sexual abuse, the production of sexually explicit material, the possession of materials depicting a child engaging in sexually explicit conduct, coercion and enticement of minors, and the transportation of minors; and (2) promulgate amendments to provide an appropriate sentencing enhancement in any case in which the defendant engaged in a pattern of activity of sexual abuse or exploitation of a minor. Amends the Federal criminal code to require a term of imprisonment of up to twice the period that would otherwise apply for repeat violations of Federal or State laws regarding illegal transportation for illegal sexual activity and related crimes, sexual abuse, or sexual exploitation and other abuse of children. Increases imprisonment penalties for specified offenses, including those pertaining to minors, with respect to transportation, the use of interstate commerce, and travel for purposes of engaging in criminal sexual activity. Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to review and promulgate amendments to the Guidelines relating to:  (1) transportation for illegal sexual activity and related crimes to provide for the amendments made by this Act; and (2) the distribution of pornography under the chapter relating to sexual exploitation and other abuse of children to clarify that the term ""distribution of pornography"" applies to its distribution for monetary remuneration or for a nonpecuniary interest. Authorizes appropriations to the Department of Justice to procure the services of individuals to serve as guardians ad litem for children who are victims of, or witnesses to, crimes involving abuse or exploitation. Title II:  Department of Commerce and Related Agencies - Department of Commerce and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for the Department of Commerce for:  (1) the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative; (2) the International Trade Commission; (3) international trade administration; (4) export administration and national security activities; (5) the Economic Development Administration; (6) minority business development; (7) economic and statistical analysis programs; (8) the Census Bureau; (9) the National Telecommunications and Information Administration; (10) public telecommunications facilities, planning, and construction grants; (11) information infrastructure grants; (12) the Patent and Trademark Office; (13) the Under Secretary for Technology-Office of Technology Policy; (14) the National Institute of Standards and Technology, including the Manufacturing Extension Partnership and for construction and renovation of facilities; (15) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including amounts for procurement, acquisition, and construction of capital assets; (16) the Coastal Zone Management Fund; (17) the Fishermen's Contingency Fund; (18) the Foreign Fishing Observer Fund; (19) the fisheries finance program account; (20) general administration; and (21) the Office of Inspector General. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. (Sec. 209) Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require anyone who, in interstate or foreign commerce in or through the World Wide Web, is engaged in the commercial distribution of material that is harmful to minors to restrict access to such materials by persons under 17 years of age. Provides criminal and civil penalties for violations of such requirement, as well as an affirmative defense. Directs the Attorney General, for the Internet web site of the Department of Justice, and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for their web site, to each make available on such web sites a definition of material that is harmful to minors. (Sec. 210) Prohibits universal telecommunications services from being provided to any elementary or secondary school unless its administrator has certified to the FCC that it has selected and installed a system for computers with Internet access which filters or blocks matter deemed inappropriate for minors.  Prohibits such service with respect to a library having Internet access unless it certifies that it employs such a filtering or blocking system on one or more of its computers.  Requires a library to notify the FCC within ten days after changing or terminating such a system. Requires the determination of what shall be considered inappropriate for minors to be made by the appropriate school, school board, library, or other responsible authority. (Sec. 211) Prohibits the Copyright Office from implementing, collecting, or awarding copyright royalty fees and provides that no obligation or liability for such fees shall accrue pursuant to the decision of the Librarian of Congress of October 27, 1997, which established a specified monthly royalty fee for the retransmission of distant broadcast signals by satellite carriers before March 31, 1999. (Sec. 212) Amends Federal air commerce and aviation safety law to modify the definition of ""public aircraft"" to include aircraft operated for law enforcement, search and rescue, or responses to imminent threats to property or natural resources without regard to whether the aircraft is operated by a governmental unit on behalf of another such unit pursuant to a cost reimbursement agreement. (Sec. 213) Amends the Controlled Substances Act to limit monthly compensation for defense attorneys appointed in capital cases to that received by the U.S. Attorney for the district in which the action is to be prosecuted. Amends the Federal criminal code to make such limitation applicable to counsel appointed for certain persons financially unable to obtain adequate representation in Federal district courts. (Sec. 214) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act to process or register any application filed with the Patent and Trademark Office under the Trademark Act of 1946 for a mark identical to the official tribal insignia of any federally recognized Indian tribe for a period of one year from this Act's enactment date. Title III:  The Judiciary - Judiciary Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for:  (1) the Supreme Court, including an amount for care of the building and grounds; (2) the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; (3) the U.S. Court of International Trade; (4) the courts of appeals, district courts, and other judicial services; (5) defender services; (6) fees of jurors and commissioners; (7) court security; (8) the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts; (9) the Federal Judicial Center; (10) judicial retirement funds; and (11) the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. (Sec. 304) Authorizes U.S. judges and justices to receive a salary adjustment during FY 1999.  Appropriates funds for such purpose. Title IV:  Department of State and Related Agencies - Department of State and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for the Department of State for:  (1) administration of foreign affairs, diplomatic and consular programs; (2) salaries and expenses; (3) the Capital Investment Fund; (4) the Office of Inspector General; (5) representation allowances; (6) protection of foreign missions and officials; (7) security and maintenance of U.S. missions; (8) emergencies in the diplomatic and consular service; (9) the repatriation loans program account; (10) the American Institute in Taiwan; (11) the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Fund; (12) international organizations, conferences, peacekeeping, and commissions; and (13) the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. Appropriates funds for the U.S. Information Agency (USIA) for:  (1) international information programs; (2) information technology improvements; (3) educational and cultural exchanges; (4) the Eisenhower Exchange Fellowships, Incorporated; (5) the Israeli Arab Scholarship Program; (6) international broadcasting, including broadcasting to Cuba; (7) radio construction; (8) the Center for Cultural and Technical Interchange Between East and West; (9) the North-South Center; and (10) the National Endowment for Democracy. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. (Sec. 403) Bars the use of funds made available in this Act by the State Department or USIA to provide assistance to the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation or a similar organization. (Sec. 404) Prohibits funds appropriated by this Act from being expended to pay for costs incurred in operating certain diplomatic or consular posts in Vietnam or increasing the number of personnel assigned to such posts unless the President certifies that the Vietnamese Government is cooperating in specified activities regarding resolution of sightings of, and accounting for, prisoners-of-war and individuals missing in action, recovery and analysis of American remains, and investigations in Laos. (Sec. 405) Grants the Secretary of State discretionary authority to pay tort claims in connection with damages sought against the United States for injury or loss of property or personal injury or death caused by the negligent or wrongful act or omission of a Federal employee in a foreign country with respect to State Department overseas operations. (Sec. 406) Prohibits the use of funds made available by any Act for:  (1) the operation of a U.S. consulate or diplomatic facility in Jerusalem unless such facility is under the supervision of the U.S. Ambassador to Israel; and (2) the publication of any official government document which lists countries and their capital cities unless the publication identifies Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. (Sec. 408) Directs the Secretary, for purposes of registration of birth, certification of nationality, or issuance of a U.S. passport to a citizen born in Jerusalem, to record the place of birth as Israel upon request of the citizen. (Sec. 409) Directs the Secretary and the Attorney General to waive the combined border crossing card and tourist or business visitor visa fee for certain Mexican citizens under the age of 15.  States that such card and visa shall expire on the earlier of the date the child reaches the age of 15 or ten years after the issue date, unless at the request of the parent the card and visa expire the same date as is usually provided for visas issued under the same provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Requires tourist and business visitor visas to continue to be processed at least until October 1, 2003, in the Mexican border cities of Nogales, Nuevo Laredo, Ciudad Acuna, Piedras Negras, Agua Prieta, and Reynosa. (Sec. 410) Directs the Secretary to study, with respect to the processing of nonimmigrant visas within the Department of State the: (1) adequacy of staffing at U.S. consular posts; (2) adequacy of service to international tourism; (3) adequacy of computer and technical support to technical posts; and (4) appropriate standard to determine whether a country qualifies as a pilot program country under the visa waiver pilot program. Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress on implementation of timeliness standards for the processing of nonimmigrant visa applications. (Sec. 412) Prohibits the use of funds made available by any Act to:  (1) extradite a U.S. citizen to a foreign nation that is under obligation to surrender persons to the International Criminal Court unless such nation confirms to the United States that applicable prohibitions on reextradition apply to such surrender or gives other assurances that it will not extradite or transfer that citizen to the Court; or (2) provide consent to the extradition or transfer of a U.S. citizen by a foreign country that is under obligation to surrender persons to the Court to a third country unless the third country makes such confirmation. (Sec. 413) Bars the use of funds made available by any Act (including prior appropriations), unless the Senate has given advice and consent to ratification of the agreement establishing the Court, for:  (1) the payment of any representation in, or contribution or provision of support to, the Court; or (2) the U.S. proportionate share of any assessed contribution to the United Nations or any other international organization that is used to provide support to the Court. Title V:  Related Agencies - Makes appropriations for the:  (1) Maritime Administration for maritime security, operations and training, and the maritime guaranteed loan program; (2) Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad; (3) Commission on Civil Rights; (4) Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe; (5) Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC); (6) FCC; (7) Federal Maritime Commission; (8) Federal Trade Commission; (9) Legal Services Corporation; (10) Marine Mammal Commission; (11) Commission on Ocean Policy; (12) Securities and Exchange Commission; (13) Small Business Administration, including amounts for the Office of Inspector General, business and disaster loans, and capital for the Surety Bond Guarantees Revolving Fund; and (14) State Justice Institute. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. Title VI:  General Provisions - Sets forth limitations on the use of funds under this Act. (Sec. 607) Sets forth Buy American provisions. (Sec. 608) Prohibits the use of funds made available by this Act to:  (1) enforce any EEOC guidelines covering harassment based on religion if such guidelines do not differ from proposed guidelines of October 1, 1993; or (2) provide specified personal comforts in the Federal prison system. (Sec. 613) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act to issue visas to certain individuals from Haiti, including those involved in specified extrajudicial and political killings. (Sec. 614) Prohibits the use of funds made available in any Act to issue or renew a fishing permit or authorization for any U.S. fishing vessel exceeding a specified length, tonnage, or horsepower that would allow such vessel to engage in fishing in any fishery within the U.S. exclusive economic zone unless:  (1) a certificate of documentation had been issued for the vessel, endorsed with a fishery endorsement effective on September 25, 1997, and endorsed at all times thereafter; or (2) the regional fishery management council recommends, and the Secretary of Commerce approves, a fishery management plan that allows the vessel to engage in such fishing. Invalidates any permit or authorization issued or renewed prior to this Act's enactment date for a vessel exceeding such limits that would allow the vessel to engage in fishing for any Atlantic mackerel or herring in the waters off the U.S. east coast during FY 1999 unless the Secretary has approved a plan to allow such fishing. (Sec. 615) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act to pay the expenses of an election officer appointed by a court to oversee an election of any officer or trustee for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. (Sec. 616) Amends the International Security and Development Corporation Act of 1985 to reduce the number of members of the Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad. (Sec. 618) Directs the Secretary of Commerce to study and report to the Appropriations Committee on:  (1) taxation of the Internet by States and political subdivisions; (2) access to the Internet; and (3) communications and transactions conducted through the Internet. (Sec. 619) Authorizes, upon the joint motion of the United States and the State of Alaska and the issuance of an order by the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska, the deposit of the joint trust funds or any portion thereof, including any interest accrued thereon, received, or to be received by the United States and Alaska under the Agreement and Consent decree issued in United States v.  Exxon Corporation (i.e., the Exxon Valdez oil spill consent decree), in appropriate accounts outside the Court Registry, including the Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration Fund. Allows any interest accrued under the authority of this section to be used only for grants for marine research and monitoring and for community and economic restoration projects. Terminates the authority provided in this section on September 30, 2002, unless by September 30, 2001, the trustees have submitted to the Congress legislation to establish a board to administer funds invested, interest received, and grants awarded from such interest. (Sec. 620) Prohibits funds appropriated under any law from being used for any criminal background check system that implements requirements under the Federal criminal code in connection with certain restrictions on the transfer of firearms unless such system: (1) results in the immediate destruction of information submitted by persons determined not to be prohibited from owning a firearm; and (2) does not require any tax or fee for the implementation of such requirements. Authorizes persons aggrieved by a violation of such prohibition to seek damages in a Federal district court. (Sec. 621) Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Congress and the President should:  (1) continue to rid the country of debt and work to balance the budget without counting social security trust fund surpluses; (2) work in a bipartisan way on specific legislation to reform the social security system to ensure that it is financially sound and will be available for future generations; (3) save Social Security first; and (4) return all remaining surpluses to American taxpayers. (Sec. 622) Directs the Judicial Conference of the United States to report to specified congressional committees on whether an amendment to Rule 6 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure permitting the presence in the grand jury room of counsel for a witness who is testifying before the grand jury would further the interests of justice and law enforcement. (Sec. 623) Expresses the sense of the Senate that the President should repeal a specified Executive Order issued May 14, 1998, entitled ""Federalism"" and reissue certain orders of 1987 and 1993. (Sec. 624) Internet Gambling Prohibition Act of 1998 - Amends the Federal criminal code to make it unlawful for any person or gambling business to place, receive, or otherwise make a bet or wager via the Internet or any other interactive computer service or send, receive, or invite information assisting in the placing of a bet or wager with the intent to send, receive, or invite information assisting in the placing of a bet or wager.  Prescribes penalties. Lists exceptions to such prohibition, including for ""rotisserie league"" participation and certain lotteries and Indian gaming activities. Grants the district courts original and exclusive jurisdiction to prevent and restrain violations of this Act. Authorizes a State attorney general, or other appropriate State official, to institute proceedings under this Act in cases where a violation is alleged to have occur or may occur.  Limits enforcement for violations that occur on Indian lands to remedies under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Permits the court, if the violation originates with the customer of the interactive computer service, to require the service to terminate the customer's account.  Requires other relief ordered by the court to be technically feasible for the system in question and reasonably effective in preventing violations of this Act. Sets forth provisions regarding expedited proceedings. Directs the Attorney General to submit a report to the Congress that includes:  (1) an analysis of the problems associated with enforcing this Act; (2) recommendations for the best use of Department of Justice resources for enforcement; and (3) an estimate of the amount of activity and money being used to gamble on the Internet. Requires the Secretary of Commerce to submit a report to the Congress that includes:  (1) an analysis of existing and potential methods or technologies for filtering or screening transmissions in violation of this Act that originate outside U.S. territorial boundaries; (2) a review of the effect on interactive computer services and the Internet of any court ordered temporary restraining orders or injunctions imposed on such services under this Act; and (3) a calculation of the cost to the economy of illegal gambling on the Internet and other societal costs. (Sec. 625) Expresses the sense of the Senate that:  (1) the President, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the U.S. Trade Representative should emphasize the importance of financial deregulation as fundamental to Japan's economic recovery; and (2) such officials and the Secretaries of Commerce and State should communicate to the Japanese Government that the first priority of the new Japanese Prime Minister should be to restore economic growth in Japan and promote stability in international financial markets. (Sec. 627) Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require Internet access providers, at the time of entering into an agreement with a customer to offer Internet access service, to offer the customer (either for a fee or at no charge) screening software designed to limit access to Internet material. (Sec. 628) Requires the U.S.  Trade Representative to report to the Congress an analysis regarding:  (1) whether the Korean Government provided subsidies to Hanbo Steel and whether such subsidies had an adverse effect on U.S.  companies; and (2) the status of contacts with the Korean Government with respect to industry concerns regarding Hanbo Steel and efforts to eliminate subsidies and contacts with other Asian trading partners regarding the adverse effect of Korean steel subsidies on such partners. (Sec. 629) Prohibits the expenditure of funds made available for FY 1999 by any Act for enforcing any regulation requiring the installation or operation of the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System aboard U.S. fishing industry vessels. (Sec. 630) Amends the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to require the President to report to the Congress on any national emergency export controls (which may not exceed one year) that he imposes on agricultural commodities.  Declares that, if within 60 days the Congress adopts a joint resolution of approval, such controls shall remain in effect for the period specified, or until the President terminates them, whichever occurs first.  States that if Congress fails to adopt a joint resolution of approval, such controls shall cease to be effective upon the expiration of the initial 60-day period. (Sec. 631) Directs at least four of the new employees authorized in FY 1998 and 1999 for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to work on investigating pricing practices of the Canadian Wheat Board and determining whether the U.S. spring wheat, barley, or durum wheat industries have suffered injury as a result of those practices. Requires such investigation to determine whether Board practices constitute violations of the antidumping or countervailing duty provisions of the Tariff Act of 1930 or the Trade Act of 1974. Requires action to be initiated under such Acts if such determination is affirmative. Directs the U.S. Trade Representative, if the investigation determines that there is no harmonization for cross-border grain transportation between Canada and the United States, to report to the Congress on action to be taken to harmonize such transportation requirements. (Sec. 632) Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to authorize it to be FCC policy to extend certain authorities for the origination of limited local programming and station operation to a licensee of an existing FM translator station operating in the commercial FM band that is licensed to a community or county with over 700,000 persons, is not an integral part of a larger municipal entity, and lacks a commercial FM radio station.  Describes limits on operating authority, including power and antenna height and proximity to the Canadian or Mexican borders. Provides for renewals of applications of licensees exercising such authorities upon a determination that the public interest would be served. Title VII:  Rescissions - Rescinds specified amounts of funds made available for:  (1) the Department of Justice working capital fund; (2) FBI construction, salaries and expenses, and violent crime reduction; (3) the U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration; (4) the Endowment for Children's Educational TV; and (5) the Department of State for contributions to the Interparliamentary Union. Title VIII:  Local Government Law Enforcement Block Grant Act - Local Government Law Enforcement Block Grant Act of 1998 - Requires the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance to pay to qualifying local governments specified sums for reducing crime and improving public safety. Prohibits a local government from expending any of the funds provided under this Act to acquire tanks or armored personnel carriers, fixed wing aircraft, limousines, real estate, yachts, consultants, or vehicles not primarily used for law enforcement unless the Attorney General certifies that extraordinary and exigent circumstances exist that make the use of funds for such purposes essential to the maintenance of public safety and good order.  Deems such circumstances to exist with respect to a local government in a rural State upon certification by such government's chief law enforcement officer that such government is experiencing an increase in production or cultivation of a controlled substance or listed chemical as defined in the Controlled Substances Act and that fixed wing aircraft will be used in the detection, disruption, or abatement of such production or cultivation. Sets forth provisions regarding:  (1) the timing of payments; (2) payment adjustments; (3) reservation of sums for adjustments; (4) repayment of unexpended amounts; (5) requirements that such funds not be used to supplant State or local funds; (6) matching funds; (7) oversight accountability and administration; and (8) technology assistance.  Authorizes appropriations.  Allows appropriations for activities authorized in this Act to be made from the Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund. (Sec. 804) Requires the Director to:  (1) establish procedures under which a local government is required to provide notice to the Director regarding the proposed use of funds made available under this Act; and (2) establish a process for the ongoing evaluation of projects developed with funds made available under this Act. Sets forth provisions regarding:  (1) general qualification requirements; (2) sanctions for noncompliance; (3) maintenance of effort requirements; (4) the allocation and distribution of funds, including grants to Indian tribes; (5) the use of funds to contract with private, nonprofit entities or community-based organizations; and (6) public participation. Title IX:  National Whale Conservation Fund Act - National Whale Conservation Fund Act of 1998 - Amends the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act to authorize the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to establish a national whale conservation endowment fund. Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to transfer specified funds to the Foundation. Title X:  VAWA Restoration Act - VAWA Restoration Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to modify procedures and provide special rules for battered spouses and children with respect to:  (1) adjustment of status; and (2) removal and deportation. Title XI:  Temporary Agricultural Workers - Agricultural Job Opportunity Benefits and Security Act of 1998 - Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish a database system of U.S. agricultural worker registries to provide temporary and seasonal agricultural job opportunity and referral information. Bases registry coverage on job opportunities in a State or group of contiguous States with a common pool of workers.  Sets forth individual registrant requirements, including validation of employment status. (Sec. 1104) Requires an employer (including employer associations) prior to hiring a temporary agricultural worker to apply to the Secretary for a U.S. worker referral from the appropriate registry. Sets forth provisions regarding:  (1) employer application and labor- related assurance requirements; and (2) registry search and worker referral by the Secretary, including alien worker visa issuances in cases of insufficient registered workers. (Sec. 1107) Sets forth employer requirements regarding:  (1) wages; (2) housing, including an allowance in lieu of housing; and (3) transportation reimbursement. (Sec. 1108) Directs the Secretary to establish an enforcement process with respect to employer application violations, including: (1) written notice of finding and opportunity for administrative appeal; (2) payment of back wages; (3) civil monetary penalties; and (4) temporary and permanent program disqualification. (Sec. 1109) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to replace the existing H-2A temporary agricultural worker admissions program with an alternative admissions program.  Sets forth provisions regarding:  (1) admissibility criteria; (2) length of stay; (3) abandonment of employment; (4) issuance of identification and employment documents; and (5) extension of stay for aliens in the United States. Prohibits admission of H-2A alien family members. (Sec. 1110) Includes certain H-2A workers who have complied with applicable visa conditions in the employment-based immigration preference allocation. (Sec. 1111) Amends the Head Start Act to make certain seasonal agricultural worker families eligible for the migrant and seasonal (as added by this section) Head Start program.  Increases the set-aside for specified Head Start programs. (Sec. 1113) States that additional funds for the registry program, if necessary, shall come from amounts available to Federal and State entities under the Wagner-Peyser Act. (Sec. 1115) Provides that the President shall not implement any provision of this Act deemed to be in violation of specified principles concerning:  (1) simplicity of program procedures to limit the burden on growers; (2) assurance of an adequate labor supply in a timely manner; (3) preference for U.S. farm workers and a means for mitigating against a structural dependency on foreign workers; (4) avoidance of transferring risks and costs from businesses to low wage workers; (5) longer periods of employment for U.S. workers; and (6) assurance of decent wages and working conditions for domestic and foreign farm workers. Title XII:  Nursing Relief for Disadvantaged Areas - Nursing Relief for Disadvantaged Areas Act of 1998 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish a nonimmigrant classification for (nonimmigrant) nurses in health professional shortage areas.  Sets forth admissions requirements, including a maximum three-year stay.  Limits:  (1) eligible hospitals; (2) fiscal year entrants; and (3) the number of entrants permitted to work in any one State. Requires the Secretary of Labor to compile a public list of facilities petitioning for the admission of such nurses. (Sec. 1203) Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to jointly submit recommendations for an alternative solution to using foreign nurses to resolve the U.S. nursing shortage.",2025-04-07T15:33:52Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/4276
105-hr-4193,105,hr,4193,"Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999",Economics and Public Finance,1998-07-08,1998-07-27,Received in the Senate. Read twice. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 496.,House,"Rep. Regula, Ralph [R-OH-16]",OH,R,R000141,0,"TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Department of the Interior      Title II:  Related Agencies      Title III:  General Provisions Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for the Department of the Interior and related agencies for FY 1999. Title I:  Department of the Interior - Makes appropriations for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for:  (1) land and resource management; (2) wildland fire management; (3) remedial action of hazardous waste substances; (4) construction; (5) payments in lieu of taxes to local governments; (6) land acquisition; (7) Oregon and California grant lands; (8) range improvements; (9) service charges, deposits, and forfeitures with respect to public lands; and (10) miscellaneous trust funds. Amends Federal law to extend provisions regarding claim maintenance fees to be paid by holders of unpatented mining claims, mills, or tunnel sites and location fees to be paid by locators. Appropriates funds for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for:  (1) resource management; (2) construction; (3) land acquisition; (4) expenses related to carrying out the Endangered Species Act of 1973; (5) the National Wildlife Refuge Fund; (6) expenses related to carrying out the North American Wetlands Conservation Act; (7) the Wildlife Conservation and Appreciation Fund; and (8) expenses related to carrying out the African Elephant Conservation Act, the Asian Elephant Conservation Act of 1997, and the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act of 1994. Mandates corrections to a map depicting a specified unit of the Coastal Barrier Resources System to exclude Pumpkin Key from the System. Makes appropriations for the National Park Service (NPS) for:  (1) the National Park System; (2) national recreation and preservation activities; (3) expenses related to carrying out the Historic Preservation Act of 1966; (4) construction; and (5) land acquisition and State assistance from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Rescinds specified contract authority to obligate funds from the Land and Water Conservation Fund for FY 1999. Makes appropriations for:  (1) the U.S. Geological Survey for surveys, investigations, and research; (2) the Minerals Management Service for royalty and offshore minerals management and oil spill research; (3) the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement for regulation and technology and the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund; (4) the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) for operation of Indian programs, construction, miscellaneous payments to Indians, and Indian guaranteed loans; (5) assistance to U.S. territories and for carrying out the Compacts of Free Association with respect to Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau; (6) departmental management and the Offices of the Solicitor and the Inspector General; (7) trust programs for Indians; and (8) natural resource damage assessment. Sets forth authorized and prohibited uses of specified funds. (Sec. 107) Prohibits the use of funds provided in this title for specified offshore leasing and related activities. (Sec. 112) Incorporates provisions similar to those contained in the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 (Public Law 105-83) concerning employees of BLM's Helium Operations. (Sec. 116) Sets forth provisions regarding voluntary separation incentives, severance pay, and continued health benefits for employees of the NPS Denver Service Center. (Sec. 118) Designates the River Valley Trail from the town of Delaware Gap to the edge of the town of Milford, Pennsylvania, located within the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area as the Joseph M. McDade Recreational Trail. Title II:  Related Agencies - Makes appropriations for the Department of Agriculture for the Forest Service for:  (1) forest and rangeland research; (2) State and private forestry; (3) the National Forest System; (4) wildland fire management; (5) construction and reconstruction; (6) land acquisition; (7) range rehabilitation and improvement; and (8) forest and rangeland research. Makes appropriations for the Department of Energy for:  (1) fossil energy research and development activities; (2) naval petroleum and oil shale reserve activities; (3) energy conservation; (4) economic regulation activities of the Office of Hearings and Appeals; (5) the Strategic Petroleum Reserve; and (6) the Energy Information Administration. Makes appropriations for the Department of Health and Human Services for the Indian Health Service and Indian health facilities. Makes appropriations for:  (1) the Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation; (2) the Smithsonian Institution, including amounts for repair and restoration of buildings owned or occupied by the Smithsonian; (3) construction and improvements at the National Zoological Park; (4) construction; (5) the National Gallery of Art, including an amount for repair and restoration of facilities owned or occupied by the National Gallery; (6) operations, maintenance, and construction expenses of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; (7) carrying out the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Act of 1968; (8) the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA); (9) the National Endowment for the Humanities; (10) the Institute of Museum and Library Services; (11) the Commission of Fine Arts; (12) the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation; (13) the National Capital Planning Commission; (14) the Holocaust Memorial Council; and (15) the Presidio trust. Sets forth provisions regarding uses of, and limitations on, funds under this title. Title III:  General Provisions - Sets forth limitations on the use of funds under this Act, including Buy American requirements. Incorporates provisions similar to those contained in the Department of Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 (Public Law 105-83) concerning:  (1) the sale of timber from giant sequoias; (2) the underground lunchroom at Carlsbad Caverns National Park; (3) funding for the Americorps program; (4) the bridge between Jersey City, New Jersey, and Ellis Island; (5) patents for mining or mill site claims; (6) land acquisition for the Wayne National Forest; (7) competition for watershed restoration project contracts in the Pacific Northwest; (8) the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore; (9) designation of Biosphere Reserves; (10) nudity in Canaveral National Seashore in Brevard County, Florida; (11) restrictions on NEA grants; and (12) watershed restoration and enhancement agreements. (Sec. 326) Names the Auditors West Building (Annex 3) located at Raoul Wallenberg Place and Independence Avenue in Washington, D.C., the Sidney R. Yates Building. (Sec. 327) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to grant Chugach Alaska Corporation an easement for the construction, use, and maintenance of public roads and facilities necessary for access to, and economic development of, land interests in the Carbon Mountain and Katalla vicinity conveyed to the Corporation under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. (Sec. 328) Amends Federal law to extend the authority of the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture (acting through the BLM and the Forest Service, respectively) to collect fees to be used for operation and maintenance of recreation areas and habitat enhancement through FY 2001. (Sec. 330) Prohibits, in the financing of any forest development road, amortization of road costs in any contract with, or the provision of credit for road construction to, any purchaser of national forest timber or products.  Sets forth related provisions regarding the construction of roads by timber purchasers. (Sec. 331) Amends the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act of 1965 to increase the number of Senators appointed by the Senate Majority Leader to serve on the National Council on the Arts from one to two. (Sec. 332) Makes this section effective only if the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 1999 does not appropriate at least $6 million in new funds for the management by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) of the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area in Kentucky and Tennessee. Requires the TVA to transfer, without reimbursement, the Land Between the Lakes Recreation Area to the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture.  Establishes the Area as a unit of the National Forest System upon such transfer.  Directs the Secretary to manage the Area for multiple use.  Directs the Secretary to conduct an inventory of and ensure access to all Area cemeteries for burial, visitation, and maintenance. Authorizes the Secretary to charge reasonable fees for admission to and use of designated sites, or for activities, in the Area, with receipts to be deposited into the Land Between the Lakes Management Fund and used for management expenses. Makes Federal lands within the Area subject to provisions for payments in lieu of taxes and requires the TVA to continue to be responsible for payments. Calls for the transfer to be completed in an efficient and cost-effective manner to minimize disruption of the personal lives of TVA and Forest Service employees affected by such transfer.  Directs the Secretary and the TVA to enter into a memorandum of agreement implementing the transfer. Sets forth additional employee transition provisions. Requires the Secretary to establish a citizen advisory board to advise the Secretary on environmental education in the Area and means of promoting public participation for the Area's land and resource management plan. (Sec. 333) Sets forth reporting and other requirements with respect to the obligation of funds for the operation or implementation of the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project. (Sec. 335) Amends the Arts and Artifacts Indemnity Act to increase certain coverage limits for loss or damage of items covered by indemnity agreements under such Act.  Adds new coverage provisions for loss or damage exceeding $3 million. (Sec. 336) Validates all conveyances of specified real property made by the Southern Pacific Transportation Company or its successors to the Redevelopment Agency of the City of Tulare, California, to the extent that such conveyances would be legal or valid if all U.S. rights and interest (except minerals) were held by such Company. Disclaims any and all U.S. right of surface entry to the mineral estate of such lands. (Sec. 338) Amends the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to extend a certain demonstration program for direct billing by Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Alaska Native health organizations of Medicare, Medicaid, and other third party payors through FY 2000. (Sec. 339) Repeals provisions of the Petroleum Overcharge Distribution and Restitution Act of 1986 regarding:  (1) restitution to persons injured by violations of certain petroleum pricing and allocation regulations; (2) excess amounts held in escrow accounts to be used for indirect restitution; and (3) disbursement of such excess amounts for energy conservation programs. (Sec. 341) Extends, through FY 1999, a moratorium under the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 on the use of Department of the Interior or Agriculture funds for Federal management over certain navigable waters transferred to the State of Alaska.  Repeals such moratorium on December 1, 1998, unless an amendment to the State of Alaska's constitution has been adopted which would enable the enactment of State laws that provide a preference for subsistence uses in the taking on public lands of fish and wildlife as required in the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act.",2025-04-07T15:34:09Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/4193
105-hr-4194,105,hr,4194,"Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999",Economics and Public Finance,1998-07-08,1998-10-21,Became Public Law No: 105-276.,House,"Rep. Lewis, Jerry [R-CA-40]",CA,R,L000274,0,"TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Department of Veterans Affairs      Title II:  Department of Housing and Urban Development      Title III:  Independent Agencies      Title IV:  General Provisions      Title V:  Public Housing and Tenant-Based Assistance Reform           Subtitle A:  General Provisions              Subtitle B:  Public Housing           Subtitle C:  Section 8 Rental and Homeownership                Assistance           Subtitle D:  Home Rule Flexible Grant Demonstration           Subtitle E:  Accountability and Oversight of Public                Housing Agencies           Subtitle F:  Safety and Security in Public and Assisted                Housing           Subtitle G:  Repeals and Related Provisions      Title VI:  FHA Property Disposition Reform Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 (titles I through IV and VI) - Makes appropriations for FY 1999 for the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development and for sundry independent agencies. Title I:  Department of Veterans Affairs - Makes appropriations for the Department of Veterans Affairs for:  (1) veterans' compensation, pensions, and readjustment benefits; (2) veterans' insurance and indemnities; (3) veterans' housing, education, and vocational rehabilitation loan accounts; (4) veterans' medical care; (5) medical and prosthetic research; (6) medical administration; (7) the General post fund, national homes; (8) departmental administration; (9) the National Cemetery System; (10) the Office of Inspector General; (11) construction; (12) the parking revolving fund; and (13) grants to States for construction of extended care facilities and cemeteries. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds made available under this title. (Sec. 109) Designates the Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in Salisbury, North Carolina, as the W.G. (Bill) Hefner Salisbury Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. (Sec. 110) Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to convey specified real property along and adjacent to Ridgecrest Children's Center in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, to the University of Alabama. (Sec. 111) Designates the Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in Cleveland, Ohio, as the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Title II:  Department of Housing and Urban Development - Makes appropriations for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for:  (1) public and Indian housing; (2) the Public Housing Capital and Operating Funds; (3) drug elimination grants for low-income housing; (4) revitalization of severely distressed public housing; (5) Native American housing block grants; (6) Indian housing loan guarantees; (7) establishing an Office of Rural Housing and Economic Development; (8) housing opportunities for persons with AIDS; (9) community development block grants; (10) brownfields redevelopment; (11) the HOME investment partnerships program; (12) homeless assistance grants; (13) housing for special populations; (14) the Federal Housing Administration (FHA); (15) the Government National Mortgage Association; (16) housing policy development and research; (17) fair housing activities; (18) the Lead Hazard Reduction Program; (19) management and administration; (20) the Office of Inspector General; and (21) carrying out the Federal Housing Enterprise Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds made available under this title. (Sec. 201) Amends the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 to extend a provision regarding authorized uses of assistance, including the improvement or replacement of housing, by public housing agencies. (Sec. 202) Amends the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation Act to authorize the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation to purchase a mortgage secured by a property comprised of multifamily dwelling units where the principal balance of the mortgage exceeds 80 percent of the value of the property if the mortgage is subject to certain default loss protection. (Sec. 207) Requires the Secretary of HUD to make a grant for any State that:  (1) received an allocation in a prior fiscal year under the AIDS Housing Opportunity Act; and (2) is not otherwise eligible for such allocation for FY 1999 because the areas in the State outside of the metropolitan statistical areas that qualify do not have the required number of AIDS cases. (Sec. 209) Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to set the monthly assistance payment for families being admitted to the voucher program who remain in the same unit or complex where rent does not exceed the payment standard at the amount by which rent exceeds the greater of 30 percent of the family's monthly adjusted income or ten percent of the family's monthly income. (Sec. 210) Authorizes the Secretary of HUD to revise the performance funding system used for making annual payments for operation of low-income housing to take into account equity among public housing agencies and include incentives for sound management. (Sec. 211) Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 to extend the Secretary of HUD's authority to enter into certain risk-sharing agreements to determine Federal credit enhancements for loans for affordable multifamily housing.  Increases the number of units to which those agreements may apply in FY 1999. (Sec. 212) Amends the National Housing Act to:  (1) extend certain conditions on obtaining FHA mortgage insurance with regard to calculations of downpayment and makes such calculations applicable to all mortgages (currently, those originating in Alaska and Hawaii); and (2) raise the limit on the amount of principal obligations involved in order to be eligible for such insurance. (Sec. 215) Deems the term ""States"" to include Indian tribes and Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa for purposes of eligibility for funding under community development block grant provisions of the 1998 Supplemental Appropriations and Rescissions Act. (Sec. 218) Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to extend a certain cap on the amount of assistance used for public services by the city and county of Los Angeles, California. (Sec. 219) Authorizes eligible low-income housing project owners to:  (1) prepay mortgages on such projects; and (2) request voluntary termination of a mortgage insurance contract with respect to such a project, notwithstanding certain requirements under the National Housing Act.  Permits mortgage prepayment or contract termination only if:  (1) such prepayment or termination is consistent with the terms of the mortgage on, or insurance contract for, the project; (2) the owner agrees not to increase rent charges for any project dwelling during the 60-day period beginning on the prepayment or termination; and (3) the owner provides notice of intent to prepay or terminate within a certain time period, with specified exceptions. (Sec. 220) Amends the Public and Assisted Housing Drug Elimination Act of 1990 to make Indian tribes eligible to receive grants for elimination of drug-related crime in public housing. (Sec. 222) Amends the National Housing Act to authorize the Secretary of HUD to conduct certain multifamily mortgage auctions through December 31, 2002. (Sec. 224) Requires the Secretary of HUD to report annually to the Congress on a plan to address each material weakness, reportable condition, and noncompliance with an applicable law or regulation identified in the FHA's most recent audited financial statement. (Sec. 230) Directs the Secretary of HUD to cancel the indebtedness of the town of Hobson City, Alabama, relating to a specified public facilities loan. (Sec. 232) Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to cap the amount of assistance used for public services activities by the city of Miami at 25 percent per fiscal year. Title III:  Independent Agencies - Makes appropriations for:  (1) the American Battle Monuments Commission; (2) the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board; (3) the Department of the Treasury for community development financial institutions; (4) the Consumer Product Safety Commission; (5) the Corporation for National and Community Service; (6) the Office of Inspector General; (7) the Court of Veterans Appeals; and (8) the Department of Defense for Army cemeterial expenses. Appropriates funds for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for:  (1) science and technology activities; (2) environmental programs and management; (3) the Office of Inspector General; (4) buildings and facilities; (5) Superfund; (6) the leaking underground storage tank program; (7) oil spill response programs; and (8) assistance to States and Indian tribes for environmental programs and infrastructure. Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to repeal a sunset regarding surety bonds under provisions regarding response action contractors. Directs the EPA Administrator to issue regulations amending existing oil pollution prevention regulations to comply with requirements of the Edible Oil Regulatory Reform Act.  Requires such regulations to differentiate between and establish separate classes for animal fats and oils and greases, fish and marine mammal oils, and other oils and greases and to apply standards to different classes based on differences in physical, chemical, biological, and other properties, and in the environmental effects, of the classes. Appropriates funds for:  (1) the Executive Office of the President for the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Council on Environmental Quality, and the Office of Environmental Quality; and (2) the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General. Makes appropriations for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for:  (1) disaster relief; (2) disaster assistance direct loans; (3) salaries and expenses; (4) the Office of Inspector General; (5) emergency management planning and assistance; (6) a specified emergency food and shelter program; and (7) the National Flood Insurance Fund. Establishes a Radiological Emergency Preparedness Fund in the Treasury and makes appropriations for the Fund. Amends the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to extend through FY 1999:  (1) a certain ceiling on obligations issued under the national flood insurance program; (2) the authority for new flood insurance contracts; and (3) the authorization of appropriations for certain studies. Makes appropriations for:  (1) the General Services Administration for the Consumer Information Center; (2) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for human space flight, science, aeronautics, and technology research and development, mission support, and the Office of Inspector General; (3) the National Credit Union Administration's Central Liquidity Facility; (4) the National Science Foundation for research, major construction projects, science and engineering education and human resources programs, salaries and expenses, and the Office of Inspector General; (5) the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation; and (6) the Selective Service System. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title. Title IV:  General Provisions - Sets forth provisions regarding availability, and prohibitions on the use, of funds appropriated by this Act.  Expresses the sense of the Congress that equipment and products purchased with funds made available in this Act should be American-made. (Sec. 423) Directs the Consumer Product Safety Commission to make arrangements for the Committee on Toxicology of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to study the potential toxicologic risks of flame- retardant chemicals identified as likely candidates for use in residential upholstered furniture for purposes of meeting proposed regulations for flame resistance of such furniture.  Provides for a report to the Congress. (Sec. 424) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act for:  (1) researching methods to reduce methane emissions from ruminant livestock; or (2) carrying out a specified executive order regarding federalism. (Sec. 428) Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to require public housing agencies to establish standards for occupancy in public housing dwellings and assistance under Section 8 that:  (1) permanently prohibit occupancy by, and Section 8 assistance for, persons who have been convicted of producing methamphetamine on the premises in violation of Federal or State law; and (2) immediately and permanently terminate the tenancy of, and such assistance for, such persons. (Sec. 429) Requires the Consumer Product Safety Commission to propose a revocation of the amendments to standards for flammability of children's sleepwear. Directs the General Accounting Office to review children's burn incident data relating to burns from the ignition of children's sleepwear from small open flame sources for a specified time period and submit such review to the Congress and the Commission. Requires the Commission to promulgate a final rule revoking, maintaining, or modifying the amendments to the Flammable Fabrics Act standards for children's sleepwear issued on September 9, 1996. (Sec. 430) Authorizes the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to enter into an agreement with the NAS for the NAS to study methods for evaluating federally-funded research and development programs. (Sec. 431) Permits the NASA Administrator to provide liability insurance for, or indemnification to, developers of experimental aerospace vehicles developed or used in execution of agreements between NASA and developers.  Sets forth conditions on such authority. (Sec. 432) Amends the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to make certain native Alaskan Vietnam veterans eligible for up to 160 acres of certain Federal land.  Permits allotments to be selected only from lands that were vacant, unappropriated, and unreserved on the date the eligible person first used and occupied such lands.  Describes lands which may not be conveyed, including those selected by Alaska pursuant to the Alaska Statehood Act or other law, and wilderness and national forest lands.  Requires all conveyances to:  (1) be subject to valid existing rights; and (2) reserve to the United States deposits of oil, gas, and coal, together with exploration, mining, and removal rights. Permits heirs of eligible persons who died in Vietnam or as a result of wounds received in Vietnam to select allotments as well. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to:  (1) study the circumstances of Vietnam veterans who served during a period other than the period required for eligibility under this Act and were eligible for such allotments under an earlier Act but did not apply ; and (2) report recommendations to specified congressional committees. (Sec. 433) Requires the NASA Administrator to deliver a study to the Appropriations Committees on alternative approaches whereby NASA could contract with a Russian entity for goods and services related to the International Space Station. (Sec. 434) Redesignates the NASA Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, as the NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field. Title V:  Public Housing and Tenant-Based Assistance Reform - Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 - Subtitle A: General Provisions - Declares that housing policy should promote decent and affordable housing through public and private sector efforts. Requires, with specified exceptions, tenant membership on public housing agency (PHA) board of directors. (Sec. 506) Amends the Housing Act of 1937 (Act) to define specified terms. (Sec. 507) Establishes, with hardship exceptions, minimum rents of not more than $50 per month for specified tenants. (Sec. 508) Revises adjusted income determinations. Disallows, for 12 months with a subsequent phase-in, from public housing rent determinations income earned by a family member previously unemployed for at least one year. Removes Rockland County, New York, from the metropolitan statistical area in which it is located for purposes of assisted housing income determinations. Authorizes PHAs not conducting a family self-sufficiency program to do so.  Terminates the program expansion requirement. (Sec. 510) Prohibits use of Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds to indemnify contractors against judgments associated with intellectual property infringement. (Sec. 511) Requires PHAs to submit annual and five-year plans to the Secretary.  Requires annual plans to contain provisions concerning: (1) local housing needs; (2) PHA financial resources; (3) admissions policies; (4) rent determinations; (5) operations and management; (6) grievance procedures; (7) capital improvements; (8) demolition and disposition; (9) designation of housing for elderly and disabled families; (10) public housing conversion; (11) home ownership; (12) economic self-sufficiency and cooperation with welfare and other agencies; (13) safety and crime prevention; (14) pets; and (15) annual certification and audits.  Authorizes streamlined plans for PHAs that: (1) are high performing; (2) have less than 250 units and are not designated as troubled; and (3) do not own or operate public housing. Requires:  (1) plan submission to HUD within 75 days of the start of a PHAs fiscal year; and (2) General Accounting Office audit and review of a representative plan sampling. (Sec. 512) Requires public housing tenants (other than the elderly, disabled, employed, or otherwise work-exempt) to participate at least eight hours monthly in a community service or self- sufficiency program. (Sec. 513) Prohibits low-income family concentration and provides for mixed-income housing. (Sec. 514) Eliminates Federal preferences for public housing admissions.  Expresses the sense of the Congress that PHAs should consider preferences for victims of domestic violence. (Sec. 515) Authorizes PHAs to form consortia and joint ventures and operate subsidiaries.  Eliminates certain energy conservation requirements. (Sec. 516) Authorizes the Secretary to permit PHAs to mortgage or otherwise grant a security interest in public housing projects. (Sec. 517) Directs the Secretary to develop a mental health services plan for public housing residents. Subtitle B:  Public Housing - Part 1:  Operating and Capital Assistance - Amends the Act to consolidate public housing assistance (other than section 8 assistance) into a Capital Fund and an Operating Fund.  (Establishes such Funds.) Directs the Secretary to establish assistance formulae.  Authorizes FY 1999 through 2003 appropriations. Authorizes:  (1) PHAs to use not more than 20 percent of capital funds for operations as of FY 2000; and (2) full spending flexibility for PHAs with less than 250 units.  Limits, with exceptions, fund use for new construction.  Obligates emergency reserve funding. Authorizes the New York City Housing Authority to use specified funds for:  (1) reduction of asthma incidence; and (2) services for elderly residents. (Sec. 520) Revises the definition of ""development costs"" with respect to public housing. (Sec. 521) Sets forth additional sanctions for improper PHA fund use. (Sec. 522) Repeals modernization fund authority. Part 2:  Admissions and Occupancy Requirements - Amends the Act to permit tenants to annually choose either a flat or income-based rent. (Sec. 524) Authorizes PHAs to:  (1)  permit tenancy for police officers and over-income families not otherwise eligible; (2) establish site-based waiting lists; and (3) permit reasonable pet ownership. Part 3:  Management, Homeownership, and Demolition and Disposition - Amends the Act to repeal the contract requirement that excess funds be used to reduce subsequent annual contributions. (Sec. 530) Provides that public housing contracts shall require PHAs to maintain housing quality standards.  Directs the Secretary to establish quality standards. (Sec. 531) Revises public housing demolition and disposition provisions.  Requires a PHA to certify:  (1) in the case of a demolition, that the project is obsolete and not cost effective to rehabilitate; and (2) in the case of a disposition, project retention is not in the best interests of the tenants or the PHA.  Authorizes HUD disapproval of a demolition or disposition application under specified circumstances.  Provides for resident organization purchase opportunity in a proposed disposition.  Eliminates the one-for-one replacement requirement.  Authorizes replacement units to be built on the demolition site only if fewer than the original number of demolished units are built. (Sec. 523) Provides for direct provision of operating and capital assistance to resident management corporations that assume primary housing management responsibility. (Sec. 533) Authorizes PHAs to convert public housing to vouchers. Sets forth related assessment and plan requirements.  Eliminates family investment center authority. (Sec. 534) Authorizes upon tenant request, and sets forth the conditions for, transfer of a distressed housing project from a PHA to a specified management entity. (Sec. 535) Authorizes the Secretary to make grants through September 30, 2002, to certain PHAs for improving severely distressed public housing.  Sets forth eligible activity and related provisions.  Authorizes FY 1999 through 2002 appropriations. (Sec. 536) Authorizes PHAs to develop homeownership programs to sell public housing units to:  (1) residents or other low-income buyers; or (2) entities for resale to such buyers.  Provides for:  (1) resident right of first refusal; and (2) rental and relocation assistance to nonpurchasing tenants.  Sets forth resale limitations. (Sec. 537) Requires the conversion of specified distressed public housing to tenant-based assistance.  Sets forth conversion requirements. (Sec. 538) Authorizes the Secretary to make matching grants to PHAs or resident organizations for supportive services and resident empowerment activities to assist resident economic self-sufficiency. (Sec. 539) Authorizes PHAs to own or operate mixed-finance projects. Subtitle C:  Section 8 Rental and Homeownership Assistance - Amends the Act to merge the section 8 voucher and certificate programs into a single voucher program.  Sets forth program provisions, including:  (1) a payment standard and discretionary set-aside; (2) monthly assistance amounts; (3) tenant rent contribution and rent cap; (4) family contribution, including local preferences; (5) annual family income review; (6) one-year (or less if PHA-approved) lease provisions; (7) PHA unit inspections; (8) vacated units; (9) reasonable market rents; (10) manufactured housing eligibility; (11) homeownership option; and (12) witness relocation participation. (Sec. 546) Amends the definition of ""public housing agency"" for section 8 purposes to include:  (1) consortia of PHAs; (2) other public or private nonprofit entities administering tenant-based assistance pursuant to a contract with the Secretary or a PHA; or (3) a PHA serving more than one local jurisdiction. (547) Revises fee provisions. (Sec. 548) Authorizes section 8 tenant eligibility for law enforcement and security personnel not otherwise eligible. (Sec. 549) Revises and makes permanent tenant notification and endless lease provisions. Makes conforming amendments with respect to such voucher program to the:  (1) Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (grants for community residences and services); (2) Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 (displaced resident assistance); (3) Housing Act of 1949 (rural housing preservation grants); (4) Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 (fair housing demonstration); and (5) Housing and Community Development Amendments of 1978 (troubled multifamily housing assistance). (Sec. 552) Requires section 8 contracts to permit law enforcement access to project common areas. (Sec. 553) Provides for voucher portability. (Sec. 555) Provides for a section 8 home ownership option. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out a home ownership demonstration program. (Sec. 557) Directs the Secretary to carry out a manufactured housing demonstration program for FY 1999 through 2001. (Sec. 558) Authorizes section 8 FY 1999 through 2003 appropriations for:  (1) incremental dwelling units; (2) relocation units for demolished housing; (3) resident relocation; (4) conversion of family self-sufficiency housing to section 8 housing; (5) family unification plan; (6) witness relocation; (7) nonelderly disabled families; and (8) housing vouchers for the homeless and portability changes of residence. Authorizes appropriations for disabled family assistance. Subtitle D:  Home Rule Flexible Grant Demonstration - Amends the Act to direct the Secretary to carry out a five-year home rule flexible grant demonstration program that authorizes local jurisdictions to receive and combine housing assistance and enter into performance contracts to:  (1) provide housing assistance that facilitates employment transition of low-income families, (2) provide permanent housing for the homeless; and (3) increase low-income family home ownership. Subtitle E:  Accountability and Oversight of Public Housing Agencies - Directs the Secretary to provide for a study of alternative methods for evaluating PHAs and other providers of Federal housing assistance. (Sec. 564) Amends the Act to revise public housing management assessment criteria. (Sec. 565) Revises HUD powers concerning troubled PHAs to permit the Secretary to:  (1) take possession of a troubled PHA, including any of its projects or functions, or provide for alternative management, including section 8 housing; and (2) grant such PHA a two- part probationary period to demonstrate satisfactory improvement, and , upon inability to make such improvement, either take over the PHA or appoint a receiver to do so. (Sec. 567) Directs the Secretary and the Housing Authority of New Orleans to establish an Authority advisory council which shall:  (1) establish guidelines to assess the Authority's performance and improvement; (2) file quarterly performance reports; and (3) submit a final report with respect to whether the Authority's performance has improved sufficiently for it to continue to manage its projects, or whether a receivership should be established. (Sec. 568) Amends the Cranston-Gonzalez Affordable Housing Act to require the comprehensive housing affordability strategy (CHAS) for a State or unit of general local government in which a troubled PHA is located to include a performance improvement plan for such PHA. Subtitle F:  Safety and Security in Public and Assisted Housing - Amends the Act to include felonies among the activities for which an expedited eviction grievance procedure shall apply. Sets forth provisions concerning the availability of tenant screening and eviction information.  Provides for limited use confidentiality. Authorizes:  (1) a PHA or owner of assisted housing to require adult household members to sign a release permitting access to certain law enforcement information; and (2) a PHA to require household members to sign a release permitting access to drug abuse treatment information. (Sec. 576) Makes a person evicted from federally assisted housing because of drug-related activity ineligible for such housing for three years unless he or she successfully completes a drug rehabilitation program. (Sec. 577) Requires a PHA or owner of federally assisted housing to establish admission and eviction standards for a person:  (1) using a controlled substance; or (2) reasonably believed to be using a controlled substance or abusing alcohol in a way that would interfere with other tenants' safety, health, or peaceful enjoyment of the premises. (Sec. 578) Prohibits public housing admission for any household with a member who is subject to lifetime registration under a State sex offender registration program. Directs PHAs to conduct related applicant information checks. Subtitle G:  Repeals and Related Provisions - Directs the Secretary to annually report on the impact of this Act upon resident demographics, PHA viability, and rent policies. (Sec. 582) Eliminates specified programs and studies under the following Acts:  (1) Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (public housing rent waivers for police, Indian housing childhood development, public housing one-stop perinatal services demonstration, public housing mixed-income new communities demonstration, public housing energy efficiency demonstration, and public and assisted housing youth sports programs); (2) Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 (public housing comprehensive transition demonstration); (3) Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 (fair housing report); (4) Housing and Community Development Amendments of 1981 (payment for development managers); (5) Housing and Urban-Rural Recovery Act of 1983 (public housing childhood development); (6) Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 (Omaha home ownership demonstration); (7) National Housing Act and the Emergency Home Finance Act of 1970 (multifamily financing); and (8) Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (special projects for elderly or handicapped families). (Sec. 584) Expresses the sense of the Congress that, to the greatest extent possible, equipment and services purchased under this Act should be American made. (Sec. 585) Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study of housing assistance program costs. (Sec. 586) Public and Assisted Housing Drug Elimination Program Amendments of 1998 - Amends the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 to make public housing drug elimination grants available:  (1) to recipients of assistance under the Native Americans Housing Assistance and Self- Determination Act of 1996 (currently available to tribally designated housing entities); (2) to PHA consortia; (3) for violent crime elimination; and (4) for sports programs. Authorizes:  (1) FY 1999 through 2003 appropriations; and (2) set- asides for PHAs with serious crime problems, federally assisted low- income housing, and program oversight. (Sec. 587) Directs the Secretary to review drug elimination program security contracts with respect to hiring discrimination, emergency contracting procedures, and contract effectiveness. (Sec. 588) Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to prohibit assistance to be used for employment relocation. (Sec. 589) Prohibits the Secretary from establishing a national occupancy standard. (Sec. 590) Directs the Secretary , for at least ten metropolitan or urban county jurisdictions, to provide certain income eligibility exceptions for community block grant and HOME investment partnership purposes. (Sec. 591) Directs the Inspector General of HUD to report on HUD- owned single family and multifamily home occupancy and conditions. (Sec. 592) Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980, as amended by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, with respect to the use of assisted housing by aliens. (Sec. 593) Amends the National Housing Act to increase (to 150,000) the aggregate number of mortgages under the senior home owners equity conversion mortgage demonstration program.  Obligates specified funding for FY 2000 through 2003 for equity conversion counseling and consumer education.  Requires disclosure of costs which are necessary for such mortgage and those which are related but not required to obtain the mortgage. (Sec. 594) Amends the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 to: (1) extend emergency home ownership counseling authority through FY 2000; and (2) require notification of delinquency on veterans home loans. (Sec. 595) Makes specified technical changes to the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996, The United States Housing Act of 1937, the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992, the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act, and the Balanced Budget Downpayment Act, I. Amends the Native American Housing Assistance and Self- Determination Act of 1996 concerning:  (1) the definition of ""Indian area""; (2) block grant tax exemption; (3) civil rights applicability; (4) low-income requirements; (5) tenant selection; (6) environmental review under the Indian housing loan guarantee program; (7) public availability of information; and (8) local cooperation agreements. (Sec. 597) Directs the Secretary, to the extent specifically provided for in an appropriations Act, to reprogram specified HUD contract funds to the City of New Rochelle, New York. (Sec. 598) Transfers specified recaptured funds to the National Cities in Schools Community Development Program account. (Sec. 599) Amends the Housing and Community Development Amendments of 1978 to provide for tenant participation in multifamily housing projects. (Sec. 599A) Amends the Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 to exempt self-propelled recreational vehicles from the definition of ""manufactured home."" (Sec. 599B) Amends the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Act concerning home ownership low-income and affordable housing determinations under the HOME investment partnerships program. (Sec. 599C) Amends the Housing Act of 1949 to make permanent:  (1) set-aside authority for targeted rural underserved areas and colonias, and for rural rental housing funds; (2) loan authority for housing and related facilities for elderly persons and families; (3) set-aside authority for nonprofit entities; and (4) loan guarantee authority for multifamily rental housing (prohibits guarantee denial due to tax- exempt financing). Makes a nonprofit limited partnership in which the general partner is a nonprofit entity an eligible farm labor housing insured lender. Authorizes conversion of rental assistance payments to operating subsidies for migrant farmworker projects. (Sec. 599D) Amends the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to extend flood insurance and emergency implementation authorities through FY 2001. (Sec. 599E) Amends the Housing Opportunity Program Extension Act of 1996 to authorize FY 1999 and 2000 appropriations for self-help housing providers.  Provides for consortia awards through a national grant competition. Eliminates the Habitat for Humanity International as a named grant recipient. (Sec. 599F) Amends the National Housing Act concerning special mortgage insurance assistance to:  (1) increase the limit on covered principal obligations; (2) increase the allowable percentage of rent to income; (3) limit principal obligations to not more than 90 percent of the property's value; and (4) subject obligations to a capped premium fee. (Sec. 599G) Authorizes, under specified conditions, the use of HOME funds for certain public housing modernization in Bismarck, North Dakota, or in North Dakota. States that during the two-year period after enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall:  (1) take no action to reduce senior citizen housing inventory if the Housing Authority of Las Vegas, Nevada, is otherwise in compliance with a specified repayment agreement; and (2) assist in identifying alternative repayment options. Authorizes the Secretary, upon owner request, to establish ceiling rents for the Marshall Field Garden Apartments Homes, Chicago, Illinois. Directs the Secretary, notwithstanding specified limitations, to consider the moving to work demonstration program applications of the Charlotte Housing Authority, Charlotte, North Carolina, or the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Provides that a specified project (Royal Pointe) under the supportive housing program shall be considered to have been approved as of December 31, 1995, for low-income benefit. Amends the Housing Act of 1949 to provide that Altus, Oklahoma, shall be considered a rural area until receipt of census 2000 data. Authorizes the Secretary to make specified funds available to the Lockport Housing Authority, Lockport, New York, for the purchase and rehabilitation of certain existing housing. Directs the Secretary to set aside, if otherwise unobligated, specified community development block grant funds for:  (1) seed money for a specified multi-State rural home ownership campaign; and (2) the Rural Housing Institute of the Muscatine Center for Strategic Action. Directs the Secretary to provide financial assistance to the Bethune-Cookman College in Volusia County, Florida, to establish the Bethune-Cookman Community Services Student Union as a community services demonstration.  Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to enforce the use agreement entered into between the Secretary and the Independence Square Foundation of Newport, Rhode Island. Authorizes the Secretary to approve otherwise qualified HOPE VI applications without regard to the demolition requirement. Title VI:  FHA Property Disposition Reform - Amends the National Housing Act to revise single family claims procedures.  Authorizes the Secretary to pay insurance benefits upon:  (1) mortgage assignment; (2) property title conveyance; (3) at fair market price preforeclosure sale; or (4) at fair market price foreclosure.  Authorizes the Secretary to:  (1) permit the mortgagee to transfer title to HUD directly from the mortgagor; (2) pay for loss mitigation; (4) permit the assigning mortgagee to continue servicing the mortgage; and (5) sell acquired real and personal property. Sets forth provisions with respect to:  (1) claims procedures; (2) insurance benefits; and (3) premium termination. (Sec. 602) Directs the Secretary to carry out a program of disposition of HUD-held single family properties in revitalization areas.  Requires for such designation that an area:  (1) be a very low-income area; (2) have a high concentration of eligible properties; or (3) have a low home ownership rate. Provides purchaser preference (including discounts) for nonprofit entities and local governments. Sets forth purchase and sale agreement provisions.",2025-04-07T15:33:52Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/4194
105-hr-4174,105,hr,4174,To amend the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to provide for the expedited consideration of certain proposed rescissions of budget authority.,Economics and Public Finance,1998-06-25,1998-06-25,Referred to House Rules,House,"Rep. Kasich, John R. [R-OH-12]",OH,R,K000016,28,Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to replace provisions regarding the rescission of budget authority with those authorizing the President to propose the rescission of any budget authority provided in an appropriation Act or repeal of any targeted tax benefit provided in any revenue Act. Authorizes the President to transmit a draft bill to the Congress with such a proposal that clearly identifies the budget authority proposed to be rescinded or the targeted tax benefit to be repealed. Includes within such bill a Deficit Reduction Account.  Permits the President to place in the Account an amount not to exceed total rescissions in the bill. Establishes expedited procedures in the Senate and the House of Representatives for consideration of such bill. Makes any amount of budget authority proposed to be rescinded available for obligation on the day after the date either House rejects such bill.  Deems any targeted tax benefit proposed for repeal to be repealed unless either House rejects such bill during a prescribed time frame.,2025-04-07T15:33:40Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/4174
105-hr-4112,105,hr,4112,"Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1999",Economics and Public Finance,1998-06-23,1998-10-21,Became Public Law No: 105-275.,House,"Rep. Walsh, James T. [R-NY-25]",NY,R,W000099,0,"TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Congressional Operations      Title II:  Other Agencies      Title III:  General Provisions Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for the legislative branch for FY 1999. Title I:  Congressional Operations - Congressional Operations Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for the Senate for:  (1) expense allowances; (2) representation allowances for the Majority and Minority Leaders; (3) salaries of specified officers, employees, and committees (including the Committee on Appropriations); (4) agency contributions for employee benefits; (5) inquiries and investigations; (6) the U.S. Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control; (7) the Offices of the Secretary, Sergeant at Arms, and Doorkeeper of the Senate; (8) miscellaneous items; (9) the Senators' Official Personnel and Office Expense Account; and (10) official mail costs. (Sec. 1) Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1973 to raise the limit on authorized mail, telegraph, telephone, stationery, office supplies, and home State office and travel expenses for Senators. Requires amounts specifically allocated for official mail expenses to be recalculated in accordance with regulations of the Committee on Rules and Administration in lieu of such amounts being included in the recalculation formula used for amounts authorized for a Senator's expense in the event that the term of office of a Senator begins after the first month of a fiscal year or ends (except by reason of death, resignation, or expulsion) before the last month of a fiscal year. (Sec. 2) Increases, from $10,000 to $35,000, the annual limitation on the disbursements from the Office of the Chaplain Expense Revolving Fund. (Sec. 3) Amends Senate Resolution 149, 103d Congress, to extend the Senate Arms Control Observer Group through December 31, 2000. (Sec. 4) Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1977 to authorize the President pro tempore of the Senate to appoint and fix the compensation of one consultant, on a temporary or intermittent basis, at the daily rate of compensation not in excess of that specified in Federal provisions relating to appointment of consultants by the Majority and Minority Leaders, the Secretary of Senate, and the Legislative Counsel of the Senate.  Provides that provisions under the Civil Service Retirement System and the Federal Employees' Retirement System relating to annuities and pay on reemployment are inapplicable to any individual serving in a position under such Federal provisions. Permits any or all appointments under such provisions to be at an annual rate of compensation rather than at a daily rate, under specified conditions. (Sec. 5) Establishes the Senate Leader's Lecture Series.  Provides that:  (1) expenses incurred in connection with such Series shall be paid from the appropriations account ""Secretary of the Senate"" within the contingent fund of the Senate and shall not exceed $30,000 in any fiscal year; and (2) such payments may cover expenses incurred by speakers, including travel, subsistence, and per diem, and the cost of receptions, including food, food related items, and hospitality. (Sec. 6) Authorizes the Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate to appoint and fix the compensation of employees necessary to operate Senate Hair Care Services (Services). Establishes the Senate Hair Care Services Revolving Fund in the Treasury within the contingent fund of the Senate to be made available, without fiscal year limitation, for disbursement by the Secretary of the Senate for:  (1) payment of salaries and agency contributions of employees of the Services; and (2) necessary supplies, equipment, and other Services' expenses. Requires the Secretary, at the direction of the Committee on Rules and Administration, to withdraw from the Fund and deposit in the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts, all moneys in the Fund that the Committee may determine are in excess of the current and reasonably foreseeable needs of the Services. Transfers to the Fund any unobligated balance in the Senate Employees Barber Shop Revolving Fund.  Repeals Federal provisions:  (1) establishing the Senate Employees Barber Shop Revolving Fund; and (2) authorizing the Sergeant at Arms and the Doorkeeper of the Senate to employ and fix the compensation of employees that operate the Senate Beauty Shop. (Sec. 7) Increases the amount made available to the Committee on Rules and Administration for expenses of consultants, under S. Res. 54, 105th Congress. (Sec. 8) Provides for increases in the aggregate compensation paid to employees in Senate offices. (Sec. 9) Authorizes the Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate, with the prior written approval of the Committee on Rules and Administration, to enter into agreements with public or private parties for the purpose of demonstrating the use of alternative fuel vehicles in Senate fleet operations.  Allows such:  (1) agreements to provide for necessary fueling infrastructure in connection with the vehicles; and (2) vehicles to be made available for a maximum 90-day period. (Sec. 10) Authorizes the Committee on Appropriations in its discretion to:  (1) hold hearings, report such hearings, and make investigations as authorized by rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate; (2) make expenditures from the contingent fund of the Senate; (3) employ personnel; (4) with the prior consent of the Government department or agency concerned and the Committee on Rules and Administration use, on a reimbursable or nonreimbursable basis, the services of personnel of any such department or agency; (5) procure the services of individual consultants, or organizations thereof; and (6) provide training of the professional staff of such Committee. Amends S. Res. 54 (Omnibus Committee Funding Resolution for 1997 and 1998) to delete provisions authorizing expenditures by the Senate Committee on Appropriations. (Sec. 11) Authorizes the Chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations to transfer funds from the appropriation account for: (1) salaries for the Committee to the account, within the contingent fund of the Senate, from which expenses are payable; and (2) expenses, within the contingent fund of the Senate for the Committee, to the account from which salaries are payable for such Committee. (Sec. 12) Amends the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to exempt travel awards relating to air transportation for a Member of the Senate, the Member's spouse, son, or daughter between the Washington metropolitan area and the Member's State from provisions which consider any travel award that accrues by reason of official travel of a Member, officer, or employee of the Senate to be the property of the office for which the travel was performed and prohibits the conversion of such award to personal use. (Sec. 13) Amends S. Res. 286, 102d Congress, to make fees established under such resolution for services received from the Attending Physician by a Senator or an officer of the Senate equal to the fees for such services received by a Member of the House of Representatives. Makes appropriations for the House of Representatives for:  (1) a specified widow of a deceased Member of Congress; (2) House leadership offices; (3) Members' representational allowances; (4) committee employees; (5) officers and employees; (6) specified allowances and expenses; and (7) the House Child Care Center. (Sec. 101) Amends H. Res. 611, 97th Congress, to exclude the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) from the Page Board's composition. (Sec. 102) Amends H. Res. 1047, 95th Congress, to increase the limitation on expenses for House participation in interparliamentary institutions, reception of members of foreign legislative bodies and foreign officials, and meetings with Government officials. (Sec. 103) Establishes an account in the House for purposes of carrying out training and program development activities of the Republican Conference and the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee.  Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 104) Amends the Legislative Branch Appropriations, Act, 1991 to allow the Official Mail Allowance to be used for payment of any nonpostage fee or charge, including fees or charges for express mail, express mail drop shipment, certified mail, registered mail, return receipt, address correction, or postal insurance.  Removes provisions permitting the use of the Members' Representational Allowance for a Representative's payment of nonpostage fees and charges for the above services and for postage for mail for official business sent outside the United States. (Sec. 105) Requires any information on payments made by the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct to an individual for attendance as a witness before the Committee in executive session during a Congress to be reported by the second semiannual report filed under specified provisions of the House of Representatives Administrative Reform Technical Corrections Act in the following Congress. (Sec. 106) Permits the Committee on House Oversight to prescribe by regulation appropriate conditions for the incidental use, for other than official business, of equipment and supplies owned or leased by, or the cost of which is reimbursed by, the House. (Sec. 107) Authorizes the Speaker and the Majority and Minority Leaders to each appoint and fix the compensation of one consultant, on a temporary or intermittent basis, at a daily rate of compensation not in excess of the per diem equivalent of the highest gross rate of annual compensation which may be paid to employees of a House standing committee. (Sec. 108) Provides that amounts appropriated in this Act for House salaries and expenses and Members' representational allowances shall be available only for FY 1999 and any amount remaining after all payments are made under such allowances shall be deposited in the Treasury to be used for deficit reduction. (Sec. 109) Allows official resources to be used during a fiscal year (beginning with FY 1999) to reimburse a Member, officer, or employee of the House for the ordinary and necessary expenses related to the official use of telecommunications lines in the residence of such individual. (Sec. 110) Allows funds deposited by the AOC resulting from the sale of certain real property in the District of Columbia to be used for reimbursement of expenses incurred by the Chief Administrative Office of the House to cover the costs of furnishings and furniture to accommodate the needs of the House child care center. Makes appropriations for:  (1) the Joint Economic, Printing, and Taxation Committees; (2) the Office of the Attending Physician; and (3) the Capitol Police Board. (Sec. 111) Sets forth administrative provisions regarding the Capitol Police Board. Appropriates funds for the Capitol Guide Service and Special Services Office and for statements of appropriations. Makes appropriations for:  (1) the Office of Compliance; (2) the Congressional Budget Office; (3) the AOC for salaries and expenses, Capitol buildings and grounds, Senate office buildings, House office buildings (requires an amount to be used exclusively for waste recycling programs), and the Capitol power plant; (4) the Library of Congress for the Congressional Research Service's (CRS) salaries and expenses; and (5) the Government Printing Office (GPO) for congressional printing and binding. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. (Sec. 112) Amends the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1998 to revise amounts appropriated to GPO for congressional printing and binding. Title II:  Other Agencies - Appropriates funds for:  (1) the Botanic Garden; and (2) the Library of Congress for salaries and expenses, the Copyright Office, books for the blind and physically handicapped, and furniture and furnishings. (Sec. 201) Amends the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1989 to allow the Secretary of the Treasury to invest, under specified conditions, any portion of the Botanic Garden, Gifts, and Donations account that, as determined by the AOC, is not required to meet current expenses. (Sec. 202) Provides a limited amount of funds for the Library and for CRS for attendance at meetings concerned with the function for which an appropriation is made. (Sec. 203) Prohibits the use of funds by the Library to administer any flexible or compressed work schedule which:  (1) applies to any manager or supervisor in a position equal to or higher than a GS-15 grade; and (2) grants such individual the right to not be at work on a workday because of time worked on another workday. (Sec. 204) Establishes limits on:  (1) the number of employees hired by the Library to perform reimbursable work for other agencies; and (2) funds for representation and reception expenses associated with the Library incentive awards program and Overseas Field Offices. (Sec. 207) Specifies limits on the obligational authority of the Library for reimbursable and revolving fund activities funded from sources other than appropriations to the Library in appropriation Acts for the legislative branch. (Sec. 208) Authorizes the Library of Congress to receive funds from participants in, and sponsors of, an international legal information database led by the Law Library of Congress, and to credit such funds to the Library's appropriations, up to the extent authorized in appropriations Acts, for the development and maintenance of the database. Makes appropriations for:  (1) the AOC for the Congressional Cemetery and for Library buildings and grounds; and (2) salaries and expenses of the GPO's Office of Superintendent of Documents and for the General Accounting Office. (Sec. 209) Requires the AOC to make a grant to the National Trust for Historic Preservation in accordance with an agreement entered into by the AOC with the National Trust and the Association for the Preservation of Historic Congressional Cemetery in order to assist in the Cemetery's perpetual care and maintenance.  Specifies the terms and conditions of such agreement. (Sec. 210) Limits, for FY 1999, gifts and trust funds of the Library of Congress transferred to the AOC for the structural and mechanical work and refurbishment of the National Audio Visual Conservation Center in Culpeper, Virginia. (Sec. 211) Transfers the unexpended balance appropriated in the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act, 1997 for the Secretary of Health and Human Services for a study of effects of Medical Savings Accounts on small group markets to the General Accounting Office for necessary expenses. Title III:  General Provisions - Sets forth prohibitions on the use of funds appropriated by this Act. (Sec. 305) Sets forth Buy American provisions. (Sec. 306) Authorizes appropriations as necessary to an account for awards and settlements authorized under the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995. (Sec. 307) Makes a limited amount of funds available for costs of the Legislative Branch Financial Managers Council. (Sec. 308) Amends Federal civil service law to apply severance pay provisions to AOC employees, other than temporary employees. (Currently, such provisions apply only to full-time employees of the Senate restaurants.) Sets forth early retirement provisions with respect to AOC employees. Includes AOC employees:  (1) (currently, up to 50 eligible Senate restaurant employees) in the voluntary program established by the AOC under which voluntary separation incentive payments may be offered to such employees for voluntary separation, through resignation or retirement, through FY 1999; and (2) in the program established by the AOC to provide retraining, job placement, and counseling services to current and certain former Senate restaurant employees (other than reemployed annuitants or temporary employees). Prohibits the voluntary separation incentive payments from being paid unless the AOC submits a described plan to specified congressional committees and the committees approve the plan. (Sec.  309) Amends Federal civil service law to apply severance pay provisions to GPO employees, other than temporary employees.  Sets forth early retirement provisions with respect to such employees and entitles them to annuities. Requires the Public Printer to establish a program under which voluntary separation incentive payments may be offered to eligible GPO employees (other than reemployed annuitants, employees eligible for Federal disability retirement systems, or temporary employees) for voluntary separation, through resignation or retirement, through FY 2001. Prohibits such voluntary separation incentive payments from being made unless the Public Printer submits a described plan to the Joint Committee on Printing or any applicable successor committees and the Committee or its successors approve the plan. Authorizes the Public Printer to establish a program to provide retraining, job placement, and counseling services to current and former GPO employees (other than reemployed annuitants or temporary employees). (Sec. 310) Requires the AOC to:  (1) develop and implement a cost-effective energy conservation strategy for all facilities currently administered by the Congress to achieve a net reduction of 20 percent in energy consumption on the congressional campus compared to fiscal year 1991 consumption levels on a Btu-per-gross-square-foot basis within seven years after the adoption of this Act; (2) submit to the Congress a comprehensive energy conservation and management plan which includes life cycle costs methods to determine the cost-effectiveness of proposed energy efficiency projects; (3) submit to the Committee on Appropriations in the House and Senate a request for the amount of appropriations necessary to carry out this Act; (4) annually present a report to the Congress on congressional energy management and conservation programs which details energy expenditures for each facility, energy management and conservation projects, and future priorities to ensure compliance with the requirements of this Act; (5) perform energy surveys of all congressional buildings and update such surveys as needed; (6) use such surveys to determine the cost and payback period of energy and water conservation measures likely to achieve the required energy consumption levels; (7) install energy and water conservation measures that will achieve the requirements through previously determined life cycle cost methods and procedures; and (8) produce information packages and ""how-to"" guides for each Member and employing authority of the Congress that detail simple, cost-effective methods to save energy and taxpayer dollars. Authorizes the AOC to:  (1) contract with nongovernmental entities and employ private sector capital to finance energy conservation projects and achieve energy consumption targets; (2) develop innovative contracting methods that will attract private sector funding for the installation of energy-efficient and renewable energy technology to meet the requirements of this Act; and (3) participate in the Department of Energy's Financing Renewable Energy and Efficiency (FREE Savings) contracts program for Federal facilities. (Sec. 311) Allows the Senate Commission on Art to use certain unobligated prior fiscal year funds for the restoration of art in the Capitol and Senate office buildings. (Sec. 312) Amends the American Folklife Preservation Act to add the following individuals to the Board of Trustees of the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress:  (1) four members appointed by the Librarian of Congress from among individuals widely recognized by virtue of their scholarship, experience, creativity, or interest in American folklife traditions and arts; (2) the President of the American Folklore Society; and (3) the President of the Society for Ethnomusicology. Requires the President pro tempore of the Senate, the Speaker of the House, and the Librarian of Congress to give due consideration to the appointment of individuals who will provide diversity on the Board. Revises provisions regarding reimbursement of travel expenses. Requires Board members to serve without pay and authorizes members who are not regular full-time Federal employees, at the Librarian's discretion, to be reimbursed for actual and necessary traveling and subsistence expenses incurred in the performance of Board duties. (Currently, such members are entitled to receive compensation at rates fixed by the Librarian of up to $100 per diem while serving on business and allowed travel expenses.) Requires the Board to meet at least once each fiscal year. Fixes the annual pay of the Center Director at a minimum of 120 percent of the minimum rate of pay for GS-15 of the General Schedule or a maximum of the pay under level IV of the Executive Schedule. (Currently, the Director's pay is not to exceed the annual rate for GS-18.) Eliminates the position of Deputy Director of the Center. Makes permanent the authorization of appropriations for the Center. Establishes a six-year term for Board members appointed by the Librarian under this Act, with exceptions. (Sec. 313) Provides that, for purposes of Federal provisions relating to the Employees' Compensation Fund, GPO is not considered an agency which is required by statute to submit an annual budget pursuant to or as provided by Government corporations requirements and is not required to pay an additional amount for administrative costs.",2025-04-07T15:33:59Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/4112
105-hr-4104,105,hr,4104,"Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 1999",Economics and Public Finance,1998-06-22,1998-10-09,Measure laid before Senate by motion. (consideration: CR S12132-12137),House,"Rep. Kolbe, Jim [R-AZ-5]",AZ,R,K000306,0,"TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Department of the Treasury      Title II:  Postal Service      Title III:  Executive Office of the President and Funds           Appropriated to the President      Title IV:  Independent Agencies      Title V:  General Provisions      Title VI:  General Provisions      Title VIII (sic):  Technical and Clarifying Amendments Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for FY 1999 for the Treasury Department, the U.S. Postal Service, the Executive Office of the President, and certain independent agencies. Title I:  Department of the Treasury - Treasury Department Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for the Department of the Treasury for:  (1) departmental offices; (2) automation enhancement; (3) the Office of Inspector General; (4) repair and restoration of the Treasury building and annex; (5) the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network; (6) violent crime reduction programs; (7) the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, including amounts for acquisition of additional real property and facilities and maintenance and facility improvements; (8) interagency law enforcement with respect to organized crime drug trafficking; (9) the Financial Management Service; (10) the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; (11) the U.S. Customs Service, including amounts for operations and maintenance of marine vessels and aircraft and collection of the Harbor Maintenance Fee; (12) the Bureau of the Public Debt; (13) the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), including amounts for tax law enforcement, earned income tax credit compliance and error reduction initiatives, information systems, and information technology investments; and (14) the Secret Service, including an amount for construction and improvement of facilities. (Sec. 115) Amends the Federal criminal code to redefine the terms ""shotgun"" and ""rifle"" as weapons using the energy of an explosive (currently, the energy of the explosive in a fixed shotgun shell or metallic cartridge). Expands the definition of ""antique firearm"" to include muzzle loading rifles, shotguns, or pistols that use black powder or a black powder substitute and cannot use fixed ammunition.  Excludes from such definition:  (1) weapons that incorporate firearm frames or receivers; (2) firearms converted into muzzle loading weapons; or (3) muzzle loading weapons that can be readily converted to fire fixed ammunition by specified means of replacement. (Sec. 117) Amends the Federal judicial code to provide that any property with respect to which certain financial transactions are prohibited or regulated under specified provisions of the Trading with the Enemy Act and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, provisions of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 prohibiting assistance to Cuba, or any order, regulation, or license issued pursuant thereto shall be subject to execution or attachment in aid of execution of any judgment relating to a claim for which a foreign state claiming such property is not immune from the jurisdiction of U.S. courts in cases where damages are sought against the state for injury or death caused by torture, extrajudicial killing, aircraft sabotage, hostage taking, or support for such acts.  Makes such requirement inapplicable if, at the time the property is expropriated or seized by the foreign state, the property has been held in title by a natural person or held in trust for the benefit of a natural person. Requires the Secretaries of the Treasury and State, at the request of any party in whose favor a judgment has been issued with respect to a claim for which the foreign state is not immune, to assist any judgment creditor or court in identifying, locating, and executing against the property of such state. Authorizes presidential waivers of this section's requirements in the interest of national security. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds made available under this title. Title II:  Postal Service - Postal Service Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for payments to the Postal Service Fund for revenue foregone on free and reduced rate mail. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. Title III:  Executive Office of the President and Funds Appropriated to the President - Executive Office Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for:  (1) compensation of the President and the White House office; (2) operating, maintenance, and reimbursable expenses of the Executive Residence at the White House; (3) special assistance to the President and the official residence of the Vice President; (4) the Council of Economic Advisers; (5) the Office of Policy Development; (6) the National Security Council; (7) the Office of Administration; (8) the Office of Management and Budget (OMB); (9) the Office of National Drug Control Policy; (10) Federal drug control programs, including amounts for the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program and for a national anti-drug campaign for youth; and (11) unanticipated needs in furtherance of the national interest, security, or defense. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. Title IV:  Independent Agencies - Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 - Makes appropriations for the:  (1) Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled; (2) Federal Election Commission; (3) Federal Labor Relations Authority; and (4) General Services Administration (GSA), including amounts for the Federal Buildings Fund, Government-wide policy and operations, Office of Inspector General, and allowances and office staff for former Presidents. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. (Sec. 409) Authorizes the GSA Administrator to convey to the city of Racine, Wisconsin, certain excess real property containing the Army Reserve Center. (Sec. 410) Requires the GSA Administrator to enter into a lease to acquire space for the Department of Transportation headquarters. (Sec. 412) Requires the GSA Administrator to convey property comprising the U.S. Naval Observatory-Alternate Time Service Laboratory to the University of Miami for research-related purposes. Makes appropriations for:  (1) the Environmental Dispute Resolution Fund to carry out activities under the Environmental Policy and Conflict Resolution Act of 1997; (2) the Merit Systems Protection Board; (3) the National Archives and Records Administration, including amounts for repairs and restoration of archives; (4) the National Historical Publications and Records Commission; (5) the Office of Government Ethics; (6) the Office of Personnel Management, including an amount for the Office of Inspector General; (7) Government contributions for health and life insurance benefits for annuitants; (8) the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund; (9) the Office of Special Counsel; and (10) the U.S. Tax Court. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. Title V:  General Provisions - Sets forth authorized and prohibited uses of funds made available under this Act. (Sec. 509) Prohibits funds appropriated by this Act from being available to pay for an abortion or for the administrative expenses of any Federal employee health plan which provides benefits for abortions.  Makes such prohibition inapplicable if the mother's life would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term or in cases of rape or incest. (Sec. 513) Authorizes the use of funds provided in this Act to initiate or continue activities to achieve Year 2000 (Y2K problem) computer conversion until such time as supplemental appropriations are made available for such purpose. (Sec. 515) Provides for payment of attorney's fees, costs, and sanctions required to be made by the Federal Government in the case Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, Inc. v. Clinton from amounts made available for compensation of the President and the White House office. (Sec. 517) Amends the Morris K. Udall Scholarship and Excellence in National Environmental and Native American Public Policy Act of 1992 to authorize non-Federal entities to use the Morris K. Udall Scholarship and Excellence in National Environmental Policy Foundation and the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution to provide assessment, mediation, or related services in connection with a dispute or conflict involving the Federal Government related to the environment, public lands, or natural resources.  Requires reimbursement to the Institute for the costs of services provided. Confers certain administrative authorities of the Foundation on the Institute as well. Title VI:  General Provisions - Sets forth authorized and prohibited uses of funds appropriated for Federal departments, agencies, and corporations. (Sec. 621) Provides that annual adjustments in rates of pay under the General Schedule shall not be considered to have taken effect in FY 1999 in the rates for the statutory pay systems for purposes of certain provisions of law amended by the Ethics Reform Act of 1989. (Sec. 623) Bars the use of funds made available for the Customs Service in this Act to allow the importation of any good produced or manufactured by forced or indentured child labor. (Sec. 627) Provides that, for purposes of provisions of law relating to tort liability, certain Federal law enforcement officers and special agents in the Diplomatic Security Service of the Department of State shall be construed to be acting within the scope of their office or employment if they take any reasonable action, including the use of force, to:  (1) protect an individual in such an officer's presence from a crime of violence; (2) provide immediate assistance to an individual who has suffered or who is threatened with bodily harm; or (3) prevent the escape of any individual who such an officer reasonably believes to have committed, in his or her presence, a crime of violence. (Sec. 628) Amends Federal law to require compensation at time-and-a-half per hour for any hours worked in excess of 106 during a biweekly pay period or 53 in an administrative workweek by Federal fire fighters. Sets forth pay provisions with respect to Federal fire fighters. Grants fire fighters subject to such pay provisions whose regular tours of duty average at least 60 hours or less per week and exclude a basic 40-hour workweek an increase in basic pay equal to two step-increases of the applicable General Schedule grade.  Provides that such increase shall not be an equivalent increase in pay. (Sec. 629) Requires the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Attorney General to conduct a review of Federal efforts and submit to the appropriate congressional committees a plan to improve coordination among Federal agencies with responsibility to protect the borders against drug trafficking. (Sec. 630) Makes a minimum amount available to specified agencies for carrying out flexiplace work telecommuting programs. (Sec. 631) Revises Federal law to entitle a Senior Executive Service (SES) career appointee awarded the rank of Meritorious Executive to 20 percent of annual basic pay (currently, a lump-sum payment of $10,000).   Grants appointees awarded the rank of Distinguished Executive 35 percent of annual basic pay (currently, a lump-sum payment of $20,000). (Sec. 632) Raises the fiscal year limit on the aggregate amount of performance awards for SES career appointees made by an agency. (Sec. 633) Revises Federal provisions regarding international postal arrangements to grant the Secretary of State primary responsibility for policy regarding U.S. participation in the Universal Postal Union and all postal treaties and conventions concluded within the framework of the Universal Postal Convention. Authorizes the Secretary, with the consent of the President, to negotiate and conclude such treaties and conventions. Bars the Postal Service from concluding any treaty or convention related to the delivery of international postal services that is inconsistent with the Secretary's policy. Provides for the allocation of funds from the Postal Service to the Department of State to carry out international postal arrangements. (Sec. 638) Requires the OMB Director, for calendar year 2000, to report to the Congress:  (1) estimates of annual costs and benefits of Federal rules and paperwork in the aggregate, by agency and agency program, and by major rule; (2) impacts of Federal regulation on State, local, and tribal government, small business, wages, and economic growth; and (3) recommendations for reform. Directs the OMB Director to issue guidelines to agencies to standardize measures of costs and benefits and the format of accounting statements. (Sec. 643) Requires the Director of the U.S. Marshals Service to conduct a quarterly threat assessment on the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. (Sec. 646) Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, upon submission of proper documentation, to reimburse importers of large capacity military magazine rifles for which authority was granted to import such firearms into the United States on or before November 14, 1997, and which were released under bond to the importer by the Customs Service on or before February 10, 1998, provided that such an importer abandons title to the firearms to the United States. (Sec. 647) Provides for a 3.6 percent increase in rates of basic pay for Federal employees for FY 1999. (Sec. 648) Amends Federal law to require the Postal Rate Commission to report annually to the Congress on costs, revenues, and volumes accrued by the Postal Service in connection with mail matter conveyed between the United States and other countries. (Sec. 649) Extends for five years certain provisions of the Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988 which are currently due to expire ten years after such Act's enactment. (Sec. 650) Directs the Customs Service to:  (1) study the effectiveness of requiring all spring wheat, durum, or barley imports to be imported through a single port of entry; and (2) report study results to specified congressional committees. (Sec. 651) Designates the U.S. Postal Service building located at 180 East Kellogg Boulevard in Saint Paul, Minnesota, as the Eugene J. McCarthy Post Office Building. (Sec. 653) Amends Federal civil service provisions to entitle an SES employee who is involuntarily separated due to a reduction in force to use earned annual leave to remain on an agency's rolls after the date the employee would have otherwise been separated in order to qualify for an immediate annuity or health benefits coverage in retirement. (Sec. 654) Directs executive agencies, before implementing policies and regulations that may affect family well-being, to assess such actions with respect to specified criteria.  Requires each agency to:  (1) certify to the OMB Director and the Congress that such policy or regulation has been assessed in accordance with this section; and (2) provide adequate rationale for implementation of each policy or regulation that may negatively affect family well-being. Directs OMB to:  (1) ensure that policies and regulations proposed by agencies are implemented consistent with this section; and (2) compile, index, and submit annually to the Congress the written certifications received. Directs the White House Office of Policy Development to:  (1) assess proposed policies and regulations in accordance with this section; (2) provide evaluations of such policies and regulations to OMB; and (3) advise the President on policy and regulatory actions that may be taken to strengthen the institutions of marriage and family in the United States. Requires an agency to conduct an assessment of a proposed policy or regulation in accordance with this section upon request by a Member of Congress. (Sec. 655) Prohibits the use of funds appropriated by any Act for the implementation of Federal criminal code provisions regarding a national instant criminal background check system unless the system allows, in connection with the delivery of a firearm to a Federal firearms licensee as collateral for a loan, the check to be performed at the time the collateral is offered and provided that: (1) the licensee notifies local law enforcement within 48 hours of receiving a denial on the person offering collateral; and (2) such criminal code provisions apply at the time of the firearm's redemption. Title VIII (sic):  Technical and Clarifying Amendments - Amends the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, with respect to provisions regarding District of Columbia retirement funds, to include Federal agencies within the definition of ""person"" under such provisions. Permits the District of Columbia Federal Pension Liability Trust Fund to be used to cover administrative expenses. Authorizes the Trustee of the Trust Fund, with the Secretary of the Treasury's approval, to enter into subcontracts with the District government or any person to provide services to the Trustee in connection with the contract to administer the Trust Fund. Revises provisions regarding reimbursement of the District government for interim administration of retirement benefits. (Sec. 802) Makes nonjudicial employees of the District of Columbia courts transferred to the Federal Employees' Retirement System eligible for Medicare and Social Security benefits. Requires, for purposes of vesting pursuant to the District of Columbia Government Comprehensive Merit Personnel Act of 1978, creditable service with the District for employees whose participation in the District Defined Contribution Plan ceases as a result of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 to include:  (1) continuous service by nonjudicial employees of the District courts after September 30, 1997; and (2) service performed for a successor employer that provides services previously performed by the District government. (Sec. 804) Makes technical amendments to provisions regarding the District's judicial retirement program. Authorizes any Trustee, contractor, or enrolled actuary of the District of Columbia Judicial Retirement and Survivors Annuity Fund, with the Secretary's approval, to enter into subcontracts with the District government or any person to provide services to the Trustee in connection with the contract to administer the Fund. Authorizes the use of the Fund for administrative expenses. Treats the Fund as a tax-exempt trust for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code and treats Fund benefits as benefits provided under a governmental plan maintained by the District for purposes of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. Supersedes provisions of the District of Columbia Retirement Reform Act that are inconsistent with this section. Confers certain authorities of the District Mayor with respect to determinations of judicial survivor annuities on the Secretary. Amends the District of Columbia Retirement Reform Act to increase the number of members on the District of Columbia Retirement Board from 11 to 12. (Sec. 805) Requires this title to take effect as if included in the enactment of title XI (the National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997) of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997.",2025-04-07T15:34:23Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/4104
105-hr-4101,105,hr,4101,"Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999",Economics and Public Finance,1998-06-19,1998-10-08,On motion to refer the bill and the accompanying veto message to the Committee on Appropriations. Agreed to without objection. (consideration: CR H10149),House,"Rep. Skeen, Joe [R-NM-2]",NM,R,S000463,0,"TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Agricultural Programs      Title II:  Conservation Programs      Title III:  Rural Economic and Community Development Programs      Title IV:  Domestic Food Programs      Title V:  Foreign Assistance and Related Programs      Title VI:  Related Agencies and Food and Drug Administration      Title VII:  General Provisions      Title VIII:  Agricultural Credit      Title IX:  India-Pakistan Relief Act      Title X:  Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and           Regulatory Programs      Title XI:  Emergency and Market Loss Assistance           Subtitle A:  Emergency Assistance for Crop and Livestock                Feed Losses Due to Disasters           Subtitle B:  Market loss Assistance           Subtitle C:  Other Assistance           Subtitle D:  Administration      Title XII:  Biodiesel      Title XIII:  Emergency Appropriations Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 - Title I:   Agricultural Programs - Appropriates funds for FY 1999 for the following Department of Agriculture programs and services:  (1) Office of the Secretary of Agriculture; (2) executive operations (Chief Economist, National Appeals Division) (3) Office of Budget and Program Analysis; (4) Office of the Chief Information Officer; (5) Chief Financial Officer; (6) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration; (7) Agriculture buildings and facilities and rental payments; (8) hazardous waste management; (9) departmental administration; (10) outreach for socially disadvantaged farmers; (11) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations; (12) Office of Communications; (13) Office of the Inspector General; (14) Office of the General Counsel; (15) Office of the Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics; (16) Economic Research Service; (17) National Agricultural Statistics Service; (18) Agricultural Research Service; (19) Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service; (20) Native American Institutions Endowment Fund; (21) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs; (22) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service; (23) Agricultural Marketing Service; (24) funds for strengthening markets, income, and supply; (25) payments to States and possessions; (26) Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration; (27) Food Safety and Inspection Service; (28) Office of the Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services; (29) Farm Service Agency; (30) State mediation grants; (31) dairy indemnity program; (32) Agricultural Credit Insurance Fund account; (33) Risk Management Agency; (34) Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Fund; (35) Commodity Credit Corporation Fund; and (36) extension activities. Title II:  Conservation Programs - Appropriates funds for the:  (1) Office of the Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment; and (2) Natural Resources Conservation Service. Title III:  Rural Economic and Community Development Programs - Appropriates funds for the following:  (1) Office of the Under Secretary for Rural Development; (2) Rural Housing Service; (3) Rural Business-Cooperative Service; and (4) Rural Utilities Service.  Title IV:  Domestic Food Programs - Appropriates funds for the following: (1) Office of the Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services; (2) Food and Nutrition Service; and (3) food stamps. Title V:  Foreign Assistance and Related Programs - Appropriates funds for the Foreign Agricultural Service and General Sales Manager. Title VI:  Related Agencies and Food and Drug Administration - Appropriates funds for the following:  (1) Food and Drug Administration; (2) Farm Credit System Financial Assistance Corporation; (3) Commodity Futures Trading Commission; and (4) Farm Credit Administration. Title VII:  General Provisions - Specifies certain uses and limits on or prohibitions against the use of funds appropriated by this Act. (Sec. 728) Designates the United States National Rice Germplasm Evaluation and Enhancement Center, Stuttgart, Arkansas, as the ""Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center."" (Sec. 729) Authorizes the transfer of specified funds for the Lower Mississippi Delta Region. (Sec. 730) Prohibits funds available under this Act from being used to enroll more than 120,000 acres in the FY 1999 wetlands reserve program. (Sec. 731) Prohibits funds available under this Act from being used to carry out the emergency food assistance program if such program exceeds $90 million. (Sec. 732) Prohibits funds available under this Act from being used for the Initiative for Future Agricultural and Food Systems. (Sec. 733) States that the City of Big Spring, Texas, shall be eligible for certain rural housing programs. (Sec. 734) States that the Municipality of Carolina, Puerto Rico, shall be eligible for certain rural utility grants and loans. (Sec. 735) States that the definition of ""rural areas"" for certain business and community facilities programs shall be as provided by statute and regulation prior to enactment of P.L.104-127. (Sec. 736) Prohibits funds available under this Act from being used for any commodity purchase program that would prohibit farmer- owned cooperative participation. (Sec. 737) Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to exclude the ionophore or arsenical classes of animal drugs from the definition of antibacterial ingredient or animal drug for certain animal drug application purposes. (Sec. 738) Prohibits the use of any funds to implement:  (1) specified milk marketing orders other than during the period February 1, 1999 through April 4, 1999, and only if effective on October 1, 1999; and (2) a clause under such orders designating California as a separate Federal milk marketing order other than during the period from final rule issuance through September 30, 1999. (Sec. 739) Requires milk marketing orders to include estimates of regional production costs, including transportation and marketing. (Sec. 740) Prohibits funds available under this Act from being used to carry out a conservation farm option program. (Sec. 741) Waives the statute of limitations on certain Department of Agriculture (Department) nonemployment discrimination complaints. (Sec. 742) Provides compensatory damages to farmers found to have been discriminated against under a Department loan program or other activity in violation of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. (Sec. 743) Amends Federal law with respect to brown tree snake introduction from Guam. (Sec. 744) Makes conservation funds available for construction of the Franklin County Lake Project, Mississippi. (Sec. 745) Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act with respect to the water systems program for rural and Native Alaskan villages to:  (1) reduce Alaska's matching fund requirement; and (2) increase the annual authorization of appropriations. (Sec. 746) Prohibits funds available under this Act for the Food and Drug Administration from being used to plan for, or close or relocate the Food and Drug Administration Division of Drug Analysis in St. Louis, Missouri. (Sec. 747) Prohibits funds available under this Act or any other Act for any fiscal year from being used to inspect and certify agricultural processing equipment unless the Secretary imposes a fee and performs such activities in a manner similar to that for agricultural products under the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946. Exempts the Secretary's authority under the Federal Meat Inspection Act, the Poultry Products Inspection Act, and the Egg Products Inspection Act from such requirement. (Sec. 748) Limits producer administrative fees for crop insurance catastrophic risk protection to not more than $50 per crop per county. (Sec. 749) Makes a specified Department personnel management demonstration project permanent. (Sec. 750) Amends the Housing Act of 1949 to extend through FY 2000:  (1) set-aside authority for targeted rural underserved areas and colonias, and for rural rental housing funds; (2) loan authority for housing and related facilities for elderly persons and families; (3) set-aside authority for nonprofit entities; and (4) loan guarantee authority for multifamily rental housing (prohibits guarantee denial due to tax-exempt financing). (Sec. 751) Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to exempt 30-year easements from certain payment limitations under the wetlands reserve program. (Sec. 753) Amends the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Research Act of 1978, as amended by the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998, with respect to the Northeastern States Research Cooperative. Amends the Honey Research, Promotion, and Consumer Information Act, as amended by the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998, to increase the honey assessment rate. Amends the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 to make State agricultural experiment stations eligible for certain research grants. Amends the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 to make State agricultural experiment stations eligible for new agricultural research, extension, and educational initiatives. Amends the Hatch Act of 1887 and the Smith-Lever Act, respectively, with respect to specified agricultural matching fund provisions for Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Guam. (Sec. 754) Prohibits funds appropriated by this Act or any other Act from being used for an agricultural budget submission to the Congress that assumes reductions from the previous year's budget due to user fee proposals unless the submission also identifies spending reductions to occur if the user fees are not enacted. (Sec. 755) Amends the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 with respect to inspections and certifications in interstate commerce to consider shell eggs packed under a Department voluntary grading program as not having been shipped for sale prior to such packing. Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to submit a shell egg and egg product safety report. (Sec. 756) Caps certain FY 1999 computer-related Department activities. (Sec. 757) Authorizes the Secretary to use specified funds for certain disaster or emergency tree loss assistance due to fire blight. (Sec. 758) Prohibits funds available under this Act from being used to establish an Office of Community Food Security or similar office within the Department without prior approval by the House and Senate Committees of Appropriations. (Sec. 759) Makes the city of Vineland, New Jersey, eligible for Rural Housing Service and Rural Business-Cooperative Service programs. (Sec. 760) Places a moratorium on the rule making authority of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission over swaps and derivatives through March 30, 1999. (Sec. 761) Prohibits the use of funds to allow the Agricultural Research Service to accept and administer the National Swine Research Center in Ames, Iowa. (Sec. 762) Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act to revise upland cotton special marketing loan provisions regarding marketing certificates and special import imposition. (Sec. 763) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to obligate specified emergency assistance appropriations for:  (1) low-income families adversely affected by utilizing Federal Emergency Management Agency guidelines; (2) Department of Commerce administrative costs, trade adjustment assistance, and disaster research and prevention; and (3) Small Business Administration direct loans. (Sec. 764) Amends the Clean Air Act with respect to methyl bromide production, production termination (not to terminate before January 1, 2005), and critical use exemption. Title VIII:  Agricultural Credit - Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to prohibit:  (1) loans to a borrower who has received loan or loan guarantee debt forgiveness; and (2) loan guarantees to a borrower who has received debt forgiveness after April 4, 1996, or who has received debt forgiveness on more than three occasions as of such date. Authorizes direct or guaranteed farm operating loans to a borrower whose loan has been restructured or whose reorganized payments are current. Authorizes emergency loans to a borrower who:  (1) has not received loan or loan guarantee debt forgiveness after April 4, 1996; or (2) has not received more than one forgiveness as of such date. (Sec. 802) Prohibits loan denial based upon lack of a specific amount of collateral if repayment is otherwise reasonably certain. (Sec. 803) Amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act and the Agricultural Market Transition Act to exempt emergency loans from their respective multiple benefits restriction. (Sec. 804) Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to require borrower notification of impending real estate loan ineligibility. (Sec. 806) Increases farm ownership and operating loan limits. (Sec. 808) Reduces certain cash flow margin criteria for loan restructuring purposes. Title IX:  India-Pakistan Relief Act - India-Pakistan Relief Act of 1998 - Authorizes the President to waive for up to one year certain export control laws for India or Pakistan under the Arms Export Control Act, the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, or the Export Import Bank Act of 1945. Title X:  Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs - Amends the Federal Crop Insurance Reform and Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to authorize the Secretary to establish the position of Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs.  Directs the Secretary to delegate those Department functions related to agricultural marketing, animal and plant health inspection, grain inspection, and packers and stockyards. Title XI:  Emergency and Market Loss Assistance - Subtitle A: Emergency Assistance for Crop and Livestock Feed Losses Due to Disasters - Directs:  (1) the Secretary to administer a disaster crop loss assistance program, with specified spending limits for 1998 disaster crop losses and multiyear (1998 and preceding year) disaster and disease crop losses; (2) producers without 1998 crop insurance to purchase 1999 and 2000 insurance in order to qualify for assistance; and (3) the Secretary to use specified amounts for livestock feed assistance to producers affected by 1998 disasters. Subtitle B:  Market Loss Assistance - Directs the Secretary to use specified amounts for owners and producers eligible for FY 1998 production flexibility contract payments to partially compensate them for 1998 market losses.  Establishes a dairy producer set-aside. Subtitle C:  Other Assistance - Directs the Secretary to provide matching assistance to Georgia for an indemnity fund for cotton producers whose properly stored and harvested crops were lost by bankrupt warehouses in 1998 or 1999. (Sec. 1122) Provides 1998 honey recourse loans. (Sec. 1123) Provides FY 1999 noninsured crop assistance to specified raisin producers. (Sec. 1124) Appropriates additional Department funds for emergency assistance for certain losses incurred under the Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976. (Sec. 1125) Amends the Food for Progress Act of 1985 to:  (1) increase FY 1999 funding limits for the food for progress program; and (2) direct the Secretary to use private voluntary organizations to the maximum extent in carrying out the FY 1999 program. (Sec. 1126) Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act to provide FY 1999 recourse loans for mohair. Subtitle D:  Administration - Directs the Secretary to carry out this title through the Commodity Credit Corporation. (Sec. 1132) Designates amounts made available under this title as emergency requirements pursuant to the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control of 1985, as amended. Title XII:  Biodiesel - (Language of this title was included as section 7 of P.L.105-388.) Amends the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to set forth a statutory mechanism for the allocation of credit for specified biodiesel fuel use by a fleet or covered person. Directs the Secretary of Energy to allocate one credit to a fleet or covered person for each qualifying volume of the biodiesel component of fuel containing at least 20 percent biodiesel by volume (B-20) purchased for use by the fleet or covered person in vehicles that weigh more than 8,500 pounds gross vehicle weight rating. Permits the Secretary to lower the B-20 requirement for reasons related to cold start, safety, or vehicle function considerations. Prohibits the allocation of credits for a purchase of biodiesel: (1) for use in alternative fueled vehicles; or (2) required by Federal or State law. Directs the Secretary, upon the request of a fleet or covered person receiving a credit allocation, to treat a purchase as the required annual acquisition of one alternative fueled vehicle. Title XIII:  Emergency Appropriations - Makes emergency appropriations (designated pursuant to the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended) to the Department for the:  (1) Farm Service Agency; and (2) Natural Resources Conservation Service.",2025-04-07T15:34:01Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/4101
105-hr-4074,105,hr,4074,Tax Dollars Accountability Act,Economics and Public Finance,1998-06-17,1998-06-23,"Referred to the Subcommittee on Government Management, Information and Technology.",House,"Rep. Neumann, Mark W. [R-WI-1]",WI,R,N000054,2,"Tax Dollars Accountability Act - Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to:  (1)  reserve from obligation and expenditure five percent of the discretionary appropriations for a fiscal year for an agency (or component thereof) that does not receive an unqualified opinion on its annual financial statements for the previous fiscal year as part of the agency audit; and (2) make available to such agency the amounts reserved upon the receipt of an unqualified opinion.    Requires the Director and the head of an agency, for each audit that does not result in an unqualified or qualified opinion on the agency's financial statements, to jointly submit to the Appropriations Committees, the House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, and the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs a statement that identifies the agency's officers and employees responsible for:  (1) financial management; and (2) the preparation and production of the financial statements.  Requires the President (in the case of an officer appointed by the President) or agency head (in the case of any other officer or employee) to remove from office or employment each officer or employee identified for two consecutive years in such a statement. Extends from 1997 to 1999 the deadline for the submission of the first of such annual financial statements.  Requires the submission of such statements to the Congress (currently, they are submitted only to the Director).",2026-03-23T12:17:56Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/4074
105-hr-4012,105,hr,4012,Honest Balanced Budget Act of 1998,Economics and Public Finance,1998-06-05,1998-06-10,Referred to the Subcommittee on Social Security.,House,"Rep. Stearns, Cliff [R-FL-6]",FL,R,S000822,1,"Honest Balanced Budget Act of 1998 - Declares that the receipts and disbursements of the social security trust funds included in the gross Federal debt shall not be:  (1) included in the Federal budget baseline for any fiscal year; and (2) counted as new budget authority, outlays, receipts, or deficit or surplus for purposes of offsetting any tax decrease and any spending increase.",2025-08-21T16:12:54Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/4012
105-hr-3989,105,hr,3989,User Fee Act of 1998,Economics and Public Finance,1998-06-03,1998-06-16,Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property.,House,"Rep. Solomon, Gerald B. H. [R-NY-22]",NY,R,S000675,0,"TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Food and Drug Administration Fees           Part A:  User Fees           Part B:  General Provisions      Title II:  Medicare Administrative Fees      Title III:  Miscellaneous User Fees      Title IV:  Tax Increases User Fee Act of 1998 - Title I:  Food and Drug Administration Fees - Part A:  User Fees - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish fees to cover activities of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in connection with:  (1) petitions and notifications for food additives, food contact substances, and color additives; (2) applications for approval of generic drugs; (3) applications for approval of animal drugs; (4) applications for approval of medical devices; (5) the review of import inspections and export certificates for drugs, devices, and food subject to regulation under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; and (6) regulating entities subject to FDA oversight. Part B:  General Provisions - Set forth provisions concerning, among other things:  (1) fee amounts and availability; (2) assessment, publication, and reduction or waiver of fees; and (3) with respect to such fees, the FDA agency plan and reporting requirements. Title II:  Medicare Administrative Fees - Amends part C (Medicare+Choice) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to impose, to the extent provided in appropriations Acts, fees for initial Medicare+Choice contracts and annual fees for renewal of such contracts and monitoring of the ongoing operations of Medicare+Choice organizations. (Sec. 201) Directs the Secretary to establish fee amounts annually, which shall not exceed reasonably estimated costs.  Allows the Secretary to provide for reduction or waiver of such fees in exceptional circumstances in the public interest.  Requires such fees to be credited to the Health Care Financing Administration Program Management Account. (Sec. 202) Amends SSA title XVIII part D (Miscellaneous Provisions) to repeal the prohibition against the imposition of fees for conducting certification surveys.  Requires imposition of such fees, except upon entities subject to the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1998.  Prohibits an entity from including such a fee as an allowable item on a cost report under SSA title XVIII or XIX (Medicaid). (Sec. 203) Directs the Secretary to establish a procedure for initial and periodic renewal of registration of individuals and entities that furnish items or services for which Medicare payment may be made and that are not otherwise subject to Medicare provisions for such procedures. Requires the Secretary, to the extent provided in appropriations Acts, to impose:  (1) fees for initial agreements with service providers, and initial registrations of other entities and individuals that furnish items or services for which Medicare payment may be made; and (2) annual fees to cover the costs of renewals of agreements and registrations of such individuals and entities.  Sets forth fee- related assessment limitations, crediting requirements, and cost- reporting restrictions similar to those for the other fees required by this title. (Sec. 204) Outlines requirements for new mandatory fees for review, audit, and cost settlement activities under the Medicare Integrity Program, to be credited to the Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Account. (Sec. 205) Subjects certain claims to a $1 processing fee, including claims which duplicate another claim submitted by the same individual or entity, and claims which are not submitted electronically.  Allows the waiver of fees in the latter case where compelling circumstances exist.  Sets forth guidelines for the collection, crediting, and availability of such fees similar to the guidelines for initial Medicare+Choice contract and renewal fees. Title III:  Miscellaneous User Fees - Amends the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to collect fees to cover costs of providing services under specified agricultural laws. (Sec. 302) Requires the Secretary of Commerce to collect fees for the provision of navigation assistance and fisheries management and enforcement services.  Limits a fisheries management fee to one percent of the ex-vessel value of harvested fish with respect to which the fee is collected. (Sec. 304) Amends Federal law to increase patent fees (including maintenance fees), except fees for the filing of provisional applications for original patents. (Sec. 305) Authorizes appropriations to the International Trade Administration, to be derived from fees collected for the provision of export promotion services. (Sec. 306) Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 to increase claim maintenance fees to be paid by holders of unpatented mining claims, mills, or tunnel sites for FY 1999 and subsequent years.  Increases and permanently extends location fees for such claims.  Makes fees available for mining law administration program operations. (Sec. 307) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to require the Secretary of Labor, beginning in FY 2000, to impose fees for the filing of applications for labor certifications, employer attestations, or similar petitions required for programs relating to the provision to an alien of immigrant or nonimmigrant employment- based status. (Sec. 308) Directs the Secretary of Transportation to collect fees for the provision of navigation assistance services. (Sec. 309) Amends Federal law to require the Surface Transportation Board to prescribe a schedule of user fees for carriers subject to the Board's jurisdiction. (Sec. 310) Requires the Secretary of the Army to collect fees from applicants for permits for the discharge of dredged or fill material into navigable waters under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act for:  (1) evaluation of permit applications; (2) preparation of environmental impact statements in connection with permit issuance; and (3) delineation of wetlands for major developments affecting wetlands. Establishes the Army Civil Works Regulatory Program Account in the Treasury into which such fees shall be deposited.  Makes the Account available to the Secretary for costs incurred in administering laws pertaining to regulation of U.S. navigable waters. (Sec. 311) Establishes in the Treasury a radiological emergency preparedness fund for offsite radiological emergency planning, preparedness, and response. Requires the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to collect fees from persons subject to radiological emergency preparedness regulations, to be deposited in such fund. (Sec. 312) Directs the Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board to collect fees from air carriers to cover partial costs of aviation accident investigations.  Caps such fees at $6 million per fiscal year. (Sec. 313) Amends title II (Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to authorize fees to be assessed on persons rendering services in connection with claims for benefits where their service fees are fixed or approved by the Commissioner of Social Security or determined by a court. Authorizes appropriations for administrative expenses in carrying out such title and related laws from amounts credited to a special Treasury account from such assessments. Applies service fee provisions to title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) of the Social Security Act as well. (Sec. 314) Amends Federal law to extend provisions for railroad carrier user fees through FY 2003. (Sec. 315) Amends the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 to authorize an increased maximum ad valorem rate adjustment for certain customs merchandise processing.  Makes fees collected in excess of the established .21 percent ad valorem to be available for expenses incurred by the Secretary of the Treasury for the National Customs Automation Program. (Sec. 316) Amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to levy fees upon applicants for pesticide registration, amendments to registration, and experimental use permits to cover costs associated with application review.  Provides for waivers or reductions of fees under specified circumstances. (Sec. 317) Authorizes the Administrator to assess fees from persons required to submit certain test data under the Toxic Substances Control Act without regard to dollar limitations specified in such Act. (Sec. 318) Amends the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1990 to extend the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's authority to assess certain user fees and annual charges through FY 2003. (Sec. 319) Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDIA) to require the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to assess fees for examinations against insured depository institutions. Amends the Federal Reserve Act (FRA) to require (currently, authorize) fees to be assessed against banks examined (other than those examined by State authorities) upon order of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve Board). Amends the FDIA to reduce annual regular examination fees imposed on any State depository institution under the FDIA, FRA, or the Home Owners' Loan Act to reflect that the supervision of the institution by a State bank supervisor has reduced the need for Federal supervision.  Bars the imposition of such fees on institutions with assets of less than $100 million. Directs the Federal Reserve Board to report to the Congress on: (1) total costs incurred by the Board during the preceding year attributable to examinations of bank holding companies; and (2) total amounts assessed against, and paid by, such holding companies for examinations. (Sec. 319) Extends through FY 2005 National Park Service (NPS) authority under the recreational fee demonstration program.  Makes such authority available for all NPS units, except that no recreational admission fee may be charged at Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Lincoln Home National Historic Site.  Requires a report from the Secretary of the Interior to specified congressional committees on the program's status. (Sec. 320) Repeals the Concessions Policy Act of 1965. Directs the Secretary to authorize, under specified conditions, private persons, corporations, or other entities to provide and operate such facilities and services as the Secretary deems necessary and appropriate in the National Park System. Authorizes the Secretary, upon request and under specified criteria, to allow such entities to provide services to park visitors through a commercial use authorization. Requires the provision of such services to have minimal impact on park resources and values and to be consistent with park purposes.  Provides a two-year term limit for the provision of such services. Requires a concession contract to be awarded to the person submitting the best proposal through a competitive selection process to be established by the Secretary.  Allows the award of a temporary contract to avoid interruption of services. Requires the Secretary to publish a notice of availability for a prospectus soliciting proposals for contracts for concessions at a park specifying minimum contract requirements and contract terms and conditions.  Requires congressional notification of any proposed contract with anticipated annual gross receipts exceeding $5 million or of a duration of ten or more years. Prohibits the Secretary from granting a preferential right to a concessioner to:  (1) renew concession contracts under this section, with exceptions; or (2) provide new or additional services at a park. Allows preferential rights of renewal to be granted for certain outfitting and guide contracts and certain contracts with annual gross receipts of under $500,000. Sets forth criteria for determining franchise fees, including fees for multiple concession contracts within a park. Requires all fees to be covered into a special Treasury account established for reallocation to National Park System units for resource management and protection, maintenance activities, interpretation, and research. Directs the Inspector General of the Department of the Interior to conduct biennial audits of concession fees. Establishes a maximum:  (1) ten-year duration for a concessions contract, provided that the Secretary may award a contract for up to 20 years if determined necessary; and (2) two-year duration for a temporary contract. Requires the approval of the Secretary before a concession contract can be transferred, assigned, sold, or conveyed and sets forth conditions that preclude such conveyance. Grants possessory interest to concessioners who have commenced acquisition or construction of any structure on Federal land within a park before the enactment of this Act. Places conditions on a concessioner's rates and charges to the public. Directs the Secretary to:  (1) periodically evaluate the performance of each concessioner under contract; and (2) terminate a contract if a concessioner fails, within the prescribed time, to meet minimum requirements identified in a notice of unsatisfactory performance. Grants the Comptroller General, until the expiration of five calendar years after the close of the business year for each concessioner, access to and the right to examine any pertinent books, documents, papers, and records of the concessioner related to contracts. Exempts contracts awarded by the Secretary under this section from certain provisions of Federal law relating to the leasing of U.S. buildings and properties. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 321) Amends Federal law to authorize the use of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund for costs incurred by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after FY 1999. Requires fees to be assessed for FAA services obtained outside the United States. Title IV:  Tax Increases - Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that specified tax increases proposed by the President should be enacted as soon as possible.",2025-08-21T16:12:25Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/3989
105-hr-3921,105,hr,3921,Federal Financial Assistance Management Improvement Act of 1998,Economics and Public Finance,1998-05-20,1998-08-06,Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee (Amended) by Voice Vote.,House,"Rep. Portman, Rob [R-OH-2]",OH,R,P000449,15,"Federal Financial Assistance Management Improvement Act of 1998 - Directs the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in consultation with Federal agency heads, to coordinate and assist Federal agencies in establishing:  (1) a uniform Federal financial assistance application or set of such uniform applications; (2) ways to streamline Federal financial assistance administrative procedures and reporting requirements for grantees; (3) a uniform Federal financial assistance system; (4) an electronic application and reporting process; (5) use of common rules; (6) improved interagency and intergovernmental coordination of information collection and sharing of data, including the development of a release form to be used by grantees; (7) a process to strengthen the information resources management capacity of State and local governments and qualified organizations; and (8) specific annual goals and objectives to further the purposes of this Act.  Permits the Director to designate a lead agency to assist him or her and use interagency working groups to assist in carrying out such responsibilities. Requires the Director to:  (1) review agency plans and reports developed under this Act for adequacy; (2) monitor each agency's annual performance toward achieving the goals and objectives stated in the agency's plan; (3) ensure that each agency plan does not diminish standards to measure performance and accountability of financial assistance programs; and (4) report to the Congress on implementation of this Act. Exempts any Federal agency from the requirements of this Act if the Director determines that the agency does not have a significant number of Federal financial assistance programs.  Requires the Director, not later than November 1 of each fiscal year, to submit to the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight:  (1) a list of each agency exempted in the preceding fiscal year; and (2) an explanation for each such exemption. Directs the Director to issue guidance on implementation of the requirements of this Act, including a statement on the common rules that he or she intends to review and standardize under this Act. Sets specifications for the development and implementation of plans by Federal agencies, including for each agency to designate a lead agency official for carrying out the agency's responsibilities under this Act.  Requires the lead official to consult regularly with representatives of State and local governments and qualified organizations during development of the plan.  Requires each Federal agency to submit the plan to the Director and the Congress and report annually thereafter on the implementation of the plan and the agency's performance in meeting the goals and objectives specified under this Act. Directs the Director or the lead agency to contract with the National Academy of Public Administration to evaluate the effectiveness of this Act.  Requires the evaluation to be submitted to the lead agency, the Director, and the Congress.   Terminates this Act five years after enactment.",2026-03-23T12:17:56Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/3921
105-hr-3865,105,hr,3865,American Community Renewal Act of 1998,Economics and Public Finance,1998-05-14,1998-08-06,Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 11 - 8.,House,"Rep. Watts, J. C., Jr. [R-OK-4]",OK,R,W000210,143,"TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Designation and Evaluation of Renewal Communities      Title II:  Tax Incentives for Renewal Communities      Title III:  Additional Provisions American Community Renewal Act of 1998 - Title I:  Designation and Evaluation of Renewal Communities - Renewing American Communities Act of 1998 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to designate (upon local or State nomination) up to 100 renewal communities, of which at least 20 percent shall be in rural areas. Requires for nomination purposes that:  (1) the area be experiencing high rates of poverty and unemployment and general distress; and (2) State and local governments enter into written contracts with neighborhood organizations to promote specified economic growth and employment activities. Treats renewal communities as labor surplus areas for all Federal law purposes. Title II:  Tax Incentives for Renewal Communities - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income capital gains on the sale or exchange of a qualified community asset (stock, business property, or partnership interest) held for more than five years. Allows a specified deduction for amounts paid into a family development account on behalf of an individual or another qualified individual who is a renewal community resident.  Excludes from gross income account distributions used for qualified family development expenses (postsecondary education, first-home purchase, business capitalization, medical, and rollovers).  Provides a penalty (with exceptions) in addition to inclusion as gross income for nonqualifying distributions. Provides for designation of up to 25 percent of qualifying renewal communities as matching demonstration areas eligible to receive family development account matching contributions. Authorizes:  (1) designation of earned income tax credit payments for family development account deposit; (2) a commercial building revitalization tax credit; (3) increased first year expensing for renewal community businesses; (4) extension of environmental remediation cost expensing and the work opportunity credit for renewal communities; and (5) similar tax treatment of renewal communities and enterprise zones for specified youth residence requirements. (Sec. 205) Makes conforming amendments to provisions respecting: (1) tax on excess contributions and prohibited transactions; (2) trust and annuity information; (3) tax exemption applications; and (4) the commercial revitalization credit. Title III:  Additional Provisions - Provides for local government transfer of unoccupied and substandard Department of Housing and Urban Development multifamily and single family housing in renewal communities, with subsequent disposition priority to be given to community development corporations. (Sec. 302) Amends the Public Health Service Act to make religious organizations eligible to administer specified substance prevention and abuse programs.  Sets forth program provisions. (Sec. 303) Amends the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 to provide that a financial institution's investments in community development organizations located in renewal communities may be considered in evaluations under such Act.",2025-08-21T16:12:28Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/3865
105-hr-3880,105,hr,3880,Human Services Amendments of 1998,Economics and Public Finance,1998-05-14,1998-05-29,"Referred to the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Youth and Families.",House,"Rep. Martinez, Matthew G. [D-CA-31]",CA,D,M000206,25,"TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Head Start Programs      Title II:  Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Programs      Title III:  Community Services Block Grant      Title IV:  Effective Dates; Application of Amendments Human Services Amendments of 1998 - Extends through FY 2002 the authorization of appropriations for programs under the Head Start Act, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981, and the Community Services Block Grant Act. Title I:  Head Start Programs - Amends the Head Start Act to revise the definition of family literacy services. (Sec. 102) Extends through FY 2002 the authorization of appropriations for Head Start programs. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to reserve specified amounts for:  (1) transition coordination with schools; and (2) research, demonstrations, evaluation activities, and longitudinal studies. (Sec. 103) Revises requirements relating to:  (1) allotment of funds, and limitations on assistance; (2) designation of Head Start agencies; (3) amendments to quality standards, and monitoring of Head Start agencies and programs; and (4) powers and functions of Head Start agencies. (Sec. 107) Limits to not more than 25 percent of total program enrollment the participation in Head Start programs of children who do not meet low-income criteria. (Sec. 108) Includes very young children with disabilities and their families in Head Start programs for families with infants and toddlers.  Requires entities receiving such program assistance to ensure formal linkages with certain agencies under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997 and providers of early intervention services for very young children with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. (Sec. 109) Doubles the annual amount authorized to be expended by the Secretary for the Head Start Fellowships program. (Sec. 110) Directs the Secretary to study and report to the Congress on the use and effects of certain quality improvement funds under the Head Start Act. Title II:  Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Programs - Amends the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Act to extend through FY 2002 the authorization of appropriations. (Sec. 202) Makes technical amendments to definitions and State allotment requirements. (Sec. 204) Revises certain requirements relating to State use of funds to emphasize assistance to those low-income households with the lowest incomes that pay a high proportion of household income for home energy. Title III:  Community Services Block Grant - Amends the Community Services Block Grant Act to extend through FY 2002 the authorization of appropriations. (Sec. 302) Revises definitions and requirements relating to applications, withholding, the discretionary authority of the Secretary, the community food and nutrition program, and an annual report. (Sec. 307) Extends through FY 2002 the authorization of appropriations for national or regional programs designed to provide instructional activities for low-income youth. Title IV:  Effective Dates; Application of Amendments - Sets forth effective dates for this Act.",2025-08-21T16:12:29Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/3880
105-hr-3832,105,hr,3832,Save Social Security First Act of 1998,Economics and Public Finance,1998-05-12,1998-05-18,Referred to the Subcommittee on Social Security.,House,"Rep. Andrews, Robert E. [D-NJ-1]",NJ,D,A000210,0,"Save Social Security First Act of 1998 - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury, at the end of each fiscal year for which the budget is in surplus, to transfer from the general fund of the Treasury an amount equal to such surplus to the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund. Divides such amount between the funds in the same proportion as all other receipts of such funds in that year. Directs the Board of Trustees of such funds to promulgate guidelines to govern the investment of transferred amounts and to submit them to each House of the Congress.  Requires such amounts to be invested in the same manner as other moneys in the funds if the Congress disapproves such guidelines by law. Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require, if the budget for the current year or the fiscal year preceding such year was not in surplus, a vote of at least two-thirds of the Members voting for passage of any legislation that repeals, increases, or waives any discretionary spending limit set forth in the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) or repeals or waives pay-as-you-go sequestration of such Act. Provides that any transfer of funds required by this Act shall not count as an outlay for purposes of pay-as-you-go requirements and exempts such transfers from sequestration under the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act.",2025-08-21T16:11:54Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/3832
105-hr-3707,105,hr,3707,To amend the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to allow reductions in the discretionary spending limits to be used to offset tax cuts.,Economics and Public Finance,1998-04-22,1998-04-22,Referred to the House Committee on the Budget.,House,"Rep. Johnson, Sam [R-TX-3]",TX,R,J000174,38,"Amends pay-as-you-go provisions of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to provide that if legislation is enacted that reduces receipts and decreases discretionary spending limits for budget authority and outlays for the FY 1997 through 2002 period for which there is such reduction in receipts, then an amount equal to the decrease in such spending limit for outlays shall be treated as direct spending legislation decreasing the deficit for the fiscal year concerned.",2025-04-07T15:33:40Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/3707
105-hr-3576,105,hr,3576,"To amend title 31, United States Code, to prohibit the inclusion of legislative provisions and nonemergency spending in emergency appropriation laws.",Economics and Public Finance,1998-03-27,1998-03-31,"Referred to the Subcommittee on Government Management, Information and Technology.",House,"Rep. Kind, Ron [D-WI-3]",WI,D,K000188,0,Amends Federal law to provide that:  (1) any legislative provision included in an emergency supplemental appropriation law shall not take effect and none of the funds appropriated by any law may be expended or obligated to carry out such provision; and (2) any nonemergency discretionary appropriation included in such a law shall not become available for expenditure or obligation.,2026-03-23T12:17:56Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/3576
105-hr-3579,105,hr,3579,1998 Supplemental Appropriations and Rescissions Act,Economics and Public Finance,1998-03-27,1998-05-01,Became Public Law No: 105-174.,House,"Rep. Livingston, Bob [R-LA-1]",LA,R,L000371,0,"TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for the           Department of Defense           Chapter 1:  Department of Defense-Military           Chapter 2:  Department of Defense-Military Construction      Title II:  Emergency Supplemental Appropriations           Chapter 1:  Department of Agriculture           Chapter 2:  United States Information Agency           Chapter 3:  Department of Defense-Civil           Chapter 4:  Department of the Interior           Chapter 5:  Department of Transportation           Chapter 6:  Department of Housing and Urban Development           Chapter 7:  Rescissions      Title III:  Supplemental Appropriations           Chapter 1:  Department of Agriculture           Chapter 2:  Department of Energy           Chapter 3:  Department of the Interior           Chapter 4:  Department of Health and Human Services           Chapter 5:  Legislative Branch           Chapter 6:  Department of Transportation           Chapter 7:  Department of the Treasury           Chapter 8:  Department of Veterans Affairs           Chapter 9:  Rescissions and Offset 1998 Supplemental Appropriations and Rescissions Act - Makes supplemental appropriations and rescissions for FY 1998. Title I:  Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for the Department of Defense - Chapter 1:  Department of Defense-Military - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations for the Department of Defense (DOD) for:  (1) military personnel, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force and reserve personnel, Navy; (2) operation and maintenance (O&M), Army, Navy, Air Force, Army Reserve, Air Force Reserve, and Army National Guard as well as defense-wide O&M; (3) the Overseas Contingency Operations Transfer Fund; (4) the Navy Working Capital Fund; (5) the Defense-Wide Working Capital Fund; and (6) the Defense Health Program. Makes additional funds available for overseas humanitarian, disaster, and civic aid. (Sec. 3) Appropriates an additional amount for DOD for the Reserve Mobilization Income Insurance Fund. (Sec. 4) Urges the President to:  (1) encourage other nations to contribute to preventing Iraq from using weapons of mass destruction; and (2) seek contributions to help defray the costs being incurred in this operation. Provides for the establishment of a special account in the Treasury to receive such contributions. Directs the Secretary of Defense to report to the Congress on the status of such effort and the results obtained in sharing the burden of common defense.  Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to report to the Congress on the establishment of the burden-sharing account. (Sec. 5) Directs the Secretary of Defense to appoint an independent panel of experts to evaluate recent measures taken to improve the quality of care provided by the Military Health Services System. Requires the panel to:  (1) review the DOD Access and Quality Improvement Initiative to assess whether all measures have been taken to ensure that the System delivers services in accordance with high professional standards; and (2) report findings and recommendations to the Secretary, to be forwarded to the Congress.  Makes specified funds available for the panel and for any activity identified by the panel that will improve System health care. (Sec. 7) Urges the President to seek concurrence among the members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on arrangements that set forth, and establish estimated target dates for achieving, specified benchmarks for achieving a sustainable peace process. Requires the President to report to the Congress on efforts to obtain such agreement and on progress in achieving such benchmarks as long as U.S. ground combat forces continue to participate in the Stabilization Force for Bosnia. (Sec. 9) Makes additional funds available for enhancements to selected theater missile defense programs to counter enhanced ballistic missile threats. (Sec. 10) Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to acquire interest in specified lands adjacent to the Massachusetts Military Reservation, Massachusetts.  Makes funds available for such purpose. (Sec. 11) Appropriates additional funds for the procurement of eight F-A-18 aircraft for the Marine Corps. (Sec. 16) Makes additional funds available for deposit in the International Trust Fund of the Republic of Slovenia, Mine Clearance, and Assistance to Mine Victims in Bosnia and Herzegovina and for other land mine-affected countries in the region, subject to a specified presidential certification. (Sec. 17) Expresses the sense of the Congress that none of the funds made available by this Act may be made available for offensive operations by the armed forces against Iraq for purposes of obtaining compliance with United Nations Security Council resolutions relating to inspection and destruction of weapons of mass destruction unless such operations are authorized by a law enacted after this Act's enactment. (Sec. 18) Extends sympathy to the families of the victims of the incident involving Marine Corps aircraft near Cavalese, Italy, on February 3, 1998. Directs the Secretary of Defense to:  (1) make available all legal and technical assistance necessary to facilitate the processing and resolution of claims for wrongful death, loss of business and profits, and property damage under the NATO Status of Forces Agreement; and (2) ensure that any claim to replace the destroyed funicular system before the upcoming winter tourist season be considered on a priority basis. Chapter 2:  Department of Defense-Military Construction - Makes additional funds available for DOD for:  (1) military construction, Army National Guard to cover costs arising from storm related damage; (2) family housing, Navy and Marine Corps and Air Force for costs arising from Typhoon Paka and El Nino damage; and (3) the Base Realignment and Closure Account, Part III for costs arising from El Nino damage. (Sec. 20) Directs the Secretary of the Navy to carry out beach replenishment in connection with the military construction project for North Island Naval Air Station, California. Title II:  Emergency Supplemental Appropriations - Chapter 1: Department of Agriculture - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations for the Department of Agriculture for:  (1) the Agricultural Credit Insurance Fund Program Account for emergency insured loans; (2) the Emergency Conservation Program; (3) the tree assistance program; (4) the Commodity Credit Corporation Fund for the implementation of dairy and livestock disaster assistance programs; and (5) the Natural Resources Conservation Service for watershed and flood prevention operations. Chapter 2:  United States Information Agency - Makes additional appropriations for the U.S. Information Agency for surrogate radio broadcasting to the Iraqi people.  Designates such broadcasting as Radio Free Iraq.  Requires the Broadcasting Board of Governors to report to the appropriate congressional committees on plans to establish such service. Chapter 3:  Department of Defense-Civil - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations for DOD for the Army Corps of Engineers for general O&M for emergency repairs. Makes additional funds available for the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation for water and related resources to repair damage caused by natural disasters. Chapter 4:  Department of the Interior -  Makes additional funds available to the Department of the Interior for:  (1) the Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Park Service (NPS) for construction expenses related to repair of damage caused by floods and other natural disasters; (2) the U.S. Geological Survey for surveys, investigations, and research related to emergency expenses resulting from floods and other natural disasters; and (3) the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) for construction expenses related to repair of damage caused by floods and other natural disasters and for replacement of fixtures and testing for and remediation of polychlorinated biphenyls in BIA schools and administrative facilities. Makes additional funds available to the Forest Service for State and private forestry and the National Forest System for emergency expenses resulting from natural disaster damages and for wildland fire management. Amends the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 to prohibit the drawdown and sale of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to the extent that such actions are determined by the President to be imprudent in light of current market conditions and the President makes a specified submission to the Congress. Chapter 5:  Department of Transportation - Makes additional funds available to the Department of Transportation (DOT) for:   (1) Federal aid highways for the emergency relief program; and (2) the Federal Railroad Administration for emergency railroad rehabilitation and repair. Chapter 6:  Department of Housing and Urban Development - Makes additional funds available for:  (1) the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for community development block grants for disaster relief purposes; and (2) the Federal Emergency Management Agency for disaster relief. Chapter 7:  Rescissions - Rescinds specified amounts of funds for:  (1) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grants-in-aid for airports; and (2) HUD Section 8 reserves. Title III:  Supplemental Appropriations - Chapter 1: Department of Agriculture - Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to compensate for economic losses of persons who had wheat stored in a storage facility that was subject to an emergency action notice relating to the presence of Karnal bunt. Makes supplemental appropriations for the Department of Agriculture for:  (1) departmental administration; (2) the Office of the General Counsel; (3) the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration for recapitalizing a specified fund in connection with inspection and weighing services; and (3) the Agricultural Credit Insurance Fund Program Account for specified loans. Makes additional funds available for salaries and expenses of the Food and Drug Administration. Chapter 2:  Department of Energy - Makes an additional amount available for Department of Energy (DOE) departmental administration to cover increases in the cost of Work for Others, provided such costs are offset by revenue increases derived from specified fees under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. (Sec. 2001) Sets forth limitations on specified DOE projects. (Sec. 2003) Amends the Emergency Drought Relief Act of 1996 to direct the Secretary of the Interior to extend the period for repayment by the city of Corpus Christi, Texas, and the Nueces River Authority relating to the Nueces River reclamation project, Texas, until:  (1) August 1, 2029, for repayment of the municipal and industrial water supply benefits of the project; and (2) August 1, 2044, for repayment of the fish, wildlife, and recreation benefits of the project. Requires the Secretary to extend the period for repayment by the Canadian River Municipal Water Authority relating to the Canadian River reclamation project, Texas, until October 1, 2021. Chapter 3:  Department of the Interior - Makes additional funds available for the Department of the Interior for:  (1) operation of the National Park System to provide for public access at Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska and for litigation costs related to the disposition of an allotment within the Park; (2) the Minerals Management Service for royalty and offshore minerals management for increased demand and workload requirements stemming from leasing activity in the Gulf of Mexico; (3) the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund, to be derived from a transfer of funds; (4) the BIA for operation of Indian programs related to litigation support involving individual Indian trust fund accounts; and (5) the Office of Special Trustee for American Indians for Federal trust programs to support such litigation. Makes an additional amount available for the Indian Health Service for suicide prevention counseling. (Sec. 3005) Petroglyph National Monument Boundary Adjustment Act - Requires the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the NPS, and the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, to enter into negotiations for the management of storm water runoff and drainage within the Petroglyph National Monument. Directs the city of Albuquerque to notify the Director prior to initiation of road construction within the area excluded from the Monument pursuant to this Act.   Authorizes the Director to submit suggested modifications to design specifications of the road construction project. Amends the Petroglyph National Monument Establishment Act of 1990 to remove a requirement that lands within the Monument boundary owned by the State of New Mexico or a political subdivision be acquired only by donation or exchange. Bars any land owned by New Mexico or a political subdivision from being acquired by purchase before:  (1) the land is identified by New Mexico or the political subdivision for disposal; or (2) two years have elapsed after the date on which the Secretary has made a final offer to acquire all remaining private land at fair market value. Adjusts the boundary of the Monument to exclude the Paseo Del Norte corridor in the Piedras Marcadas Unit.  Provides that the inclusion of such corridor within the Monument boundary before this Act's enactment shall have no effect on any future ownership, use, or management of the corridor. (Sec. 3006) Permits the Chief of the Forest Service to offer any timber sales that were scheduled in or after FY 1998, to be offered in FY 1998 or 1999, even if such sales would have been delayed or halted as a result of any moratorium on road construction in roadless areas within the National Forest System. Provides funding to States for any previously scheduled sales. Directs the Chief, during such moratorium, to report to the Appropriations Committees on:  (1) whether standards and guidelines in existing land and resource management plans compel or encourage entry into roadless areas within the National Forest System for purposes of constructing roads or undertaking any other ground-disturbing activities; (2) all roads within the System and the uses which they serve; and (3) the economic and social effects of the moratorium. (Sec. 3007) Amends the Michigan Indian Land Claims Settlement Act to revise provisions relating to health care services for Indians and Alaska Natives in the Ketchikan Gateway Borough. (Sec. 3009) Prohibits funds in any Act from being used to issue a notice of final rulemaking prior to October 1, 1998, with respect to the valuation of crude oil for royalty purposes. Chapter 4:  Department of Health and Human Services - Makes additional funds available to the Department of Health and Human Services for:  (1) the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for disease control, research, and training; and (2) Health Care Financing Administration program management. Chapter 5:  Legislative Branch - Makes supplemental appropriations for the legislative branch for:  (1) payments to widows of specified Members of Congress; and (2) the Architect of the Capitol for Capitol buildings, salaries and expenses and for the Capitol Square perimeter security plan. Chapter 6:  Department of Transportation - Makes additional funds available to DOT for:  (1) the Amtrak Reform Council; (2) FAA facilities and equipment for expenses relating to the year 2000 computer hardware and software problems; (3) the Research and Special Programs Administration for emergency transportation activities in Alabama; and (4) salaries and expenses for the National Transportation Safety Board for expenses resulting from the crash of TWA Flight 800. (Sec. 6001) Makes funds available for a transportation investment analysis of the primary urban corridor from Ewa to East Honolulu, Hawaii, from amounts available for the Federal Transit Administration in previous appropriations Acts. Chapter 7:  Department of the Treasury - Makes additional funds available to the Department of the Treasury for:  (1) year 2000 century date change conversion requirements; and (2) the Financial Management Service for salaries and expenses related to such requirements. (Sec. 7001) Amends Federal civil service provisions to apply, through FY 1999, certain additional conditions for eligibility for voluntary early retirement under the Civil Service Retirement System and the Federal Employees' Retirement System. Chapter 8:  Department of Veterans Affairs - Makes additional funds available to the Veterans Benefits Administration for compensation and pensions. Prohibits requirements set forth in any carbon monoxide Federal implementation plan based on the Clean Air Act as in effect prior to the 1990 amendments from being imposed in Arizona. Directs the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to transfer specified funds to the account for human space flight for Space Station activities. (Sec. 8002) Directs the Secretary of HUD, for purposes of allocating amounts under the AIDS Housing Opportunity Act, to allocate to the State of New Jersey the portion of funds based on the number of AIDS cases reported in the New Jersey portion of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-New Jersey primary metropolitan statistical area. (Sec. 8003) Ratifies a specified portion of an Internet intellectual infrastructure fee charged by Network Solutions, Inc. Authorizes and directs the National Science Foundation to deposit all money remaining in the Internet Intellectual Infrastructure Fund into the Treasury and credit such amount to its FY 1998 research and related activities appropriation to be available for networking activities. Chapter 9:  Rescissions and Offset - Rescinds specified amounts of Department of Agriculture funds for:  (1) the Agricultural Research Service; (2) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service salaries and expenses; (3) the Agricultural Marketing Service; (4) Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration salaries and expenses; (5) the Food Safety and Inspection Service; (6) Farm Service Agency salaries and expenses; (7) unsubsidized guaranteed operating loans from the Agricultural Credit Insurance Fund; (8) Natural Resources Conservation Service operations; (9) Rural Housing Service salaries and expenses; and (10) food program administration. Rescinds specified amounts of funds for the Department of the Interior for:  (1) Bureau of Reclamation management of lands and resources; (2) Oregon and California grant lands; (3) Fish and Wildlife Service resource management and construction; (4) NPS and BIA construction; and (5) the Bureau of Mines. Rescinds specified amounts of Forest Service funds for:  (1) forest and rangeland research; (2) State and private forestry; (3) the National Forest System; (4) wildland fire management; and (5) reconstruction and construction. Rescinds a specified amount of funds for the Department of Health and Human Services for the Health Professions Education Fund. Rescinds specified amounts of DOT funds for:  (1) payments to air carriers and small community air service; (2) the FAA for facilities, engineering, and development and grants-in-aid for airports; and (3) the Federal Railroad Administration for Conrail labor protection. Rescinds specified amounts of Department of the Treasury funds for:  (1) Customs Service salaries and expenses and O&M for the P-3 drug interdiction program; and (2) Internal Revenue Service information technology investments. Limits specified funds available for salaries and expenses of personnel to carry out a conservation farm options program. (Sec. 10003) Amends the National Sea Grant College Program Act to remove a provision that includes Lake Champlain in the definition of ""Great Lakes.""  Includes within the term ""ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources"" resources of Lake Champlain, to the extent such resources have certain characteristics and problems similar or related to those of the Great Lakes. (Sec. 10004) Authorizes certain Federal agencies to transfer funds to the Department of State. (Sec. 10005) Amends the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1997 to extend and revise eligibility for the (Vietnamese refugee) Orderly Departure Program to include unmarried adult children of Vietnamese re-education camp internees. (Sec. 10006) Requires the President to instruct the U.S. Representatives to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to seek the adoption of procedures that will ensure broader transparency and openness in WTO activities. (Sec. 10007) Makes any law affecting the employment of the Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia inapplicable to the extent such law is inconsistent with the terms of an employment agreement entered into between the Chief, the District Mayor, and the District Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority. Subjects the appointment or removal of the Chief, during a control year, to the approval of the Authority.  (A control year is any year in which a financial plan and budget approved by the Authority is in effect for periods in which the District is unable to meet certain financial obligations.) (Sec. 10008) Makes specified funds from the Economic Support Fund available for assistance to the Iraqi democratic opposition.  Requires the Secretary of State to report to the appropriate congressional committees on plans to establish a program to support such opposition.",2025-04-07T15:33:52Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/3579
105-hr-3580,105,hr,3580,1998 Supplemental Appropriations and Rescissions Act,Economics and Public Finance,1998-03-27,1998-03-27,"Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 269.",House,"Rep. Livingston, Bob [R-LA-1]",LA,R,L000371,0,"TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Supplemental Appropriations           Chapter 1:  Department of Agriculture           Chapter 2:  Department of State           Chapter 3:  Department of Energy           Chapter 4:  Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and                Related Programs           Chapter 5:  Department of the Interior           Chapter 6:  Department of Health and Human Services           Chapter 7:  Legislative Branch           Chapter 8:  Department of Transportation and Related                Agencies           Chapter 9:  Department of the Treasury           Chapter 10:  Department of Veterans Affairs           Chapter 11:  Department of Defense - Military                Construction      Title II:  Rescissions      Title III:  General Provisions - This Act 1998 Supplemental Appropriations and Rescissions Act - Makes supplemental appropriations and rescissions for FY 1998. Title I:  Supplemental Appropriations - Chapter 1:  Department of Agriculture - Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to compensate for economic losses of persons who had or will have wheat stored in a storage facility that was, or may be, subject to an emergency action notice relating to the presence of Karnal bunt. Makes supplemental appropriations for the Department of Agriculture for:  (1) departmental administration; (2) the Office of the General Counsel; and (3) the Agricultural Credit Insurance Fund Program Account for direct and unsubsidized guaranteed farm ownership loans, direct and guaranteed subsidized farm operating loans, and boll weevil eradication program loans. Makes additional funds available for salaries and expenses of the Food and Drug Administration. Chapter 2:  Department of State - Makes supplemental appropriations for the Department of State for arrearage payments for the United Nations and assessed expenses of international peacekeeping.  Prohibits the obligation or expenditure of funds for arrearages and international peacekeeping until the share of all assessed contributions for the regular United Nations budget does not exceed 22 percent (and 25 percent for each peacekeeping operation) for any single member. Chapter 3:  Department of Energy - Makes an additional amount available for Department of Energy (DOE) departmental administration to cover increases in the cost of work for others, provided such costs are offset by revenue increases derived from specified fees under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. (Sec. 301) Sets forth limitations on specified DOE projects. Chapter 4:  Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs - Makes supplemental appropriations for foreign operations, export financing, and related programs for:  (1) an increase in the U.S. quota in the International Monetary Fund (IMF); and (2) loans to the IMF under the Bretton Woods Agreements Act pursuant to new arrangements to borrow. Declares that a specified amount of bilateral economic assistance should be made available for Bolivia. (Sec. 401) Prohibits the use of funds appropriated for the U.S. quota in the IMF until the Secretary of the Treasury reports to the appropriate congressional committees that it is IMF policy that arrangements in excess of $500 million involving the use of resources available to the IMF shall include provisions committing the borrowing country to:  (1) comply with the terms of international trade agreements of which the country is a signatory; (2) eliminate the policy of Government-directed lending by financial institutions; and (3) guarantee nondiscriminatory treatment in debt resolution proceedings between domestic and foreign creditors and debtors and other concerned persons. (Sec. 402) Requires the Secretary to report to the appropriate congressional committees on:  (1) the implementation of IMF-led financial stabilization programs in countries in connection with which the United States has made a commitment to provide or has provided financing from the exchange stabilization fund; and (2) impending disbursements to such countries. (Sec. 403) Directs the Secretary to establish an International Financial Institution Advisory Commission that shall report recommendations to the appropriate committees on the future role and responsibilities of the IMF and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. International Monetary Fund Reform and Authorization Act of 1998 - Amends the Bretton Woods Agreement Act to authorize the U.S.  Governor of the IMF to consent, subject to appropriations, to a specified increase in the U.S. IMF quota of Special Drawing Rights. Makes such amendment effective only if the Secretary certifies to certain congressional committees that the investors and banks have made a significant contribution in conjunction with a financing package that, in the context of an international financial crisis, might include taxpayer supported official financing. (Sec. 406) Sets forth conforming amendments for Federal participation in new arrangements to borrow. (Sec. 407) Amends the International Financial Institutions Act (the Act) to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Director of the IMF to promote specified policies, including:  (1) structuring programs and assistance so as to promote policies and actions that will contribute to exchange rate stability and avoid competitive devaluations; (2) promoting market-oriented reform, trade liberalization, economic growth, democratic governance, and social stability through certain measures; (3) strengthening financial systems in developing countries and encouraging the adoption of sound banking principles and practices; (4) facilitating the development and implementation of internationally acceptable domestic bankruptcy laws in developing countries; (5) promoting policies that aim at appropriate burden-sharing by the private sector so that investors and creditors bear more fully the consequences of their decisions; (6) fostering structural reforms, including procurement reform, that reduce opportunities for corruption, bribery, and drug-related money laundering; (7) designing IMF programs and assistance so that governments channel public funds away from unproductive purposes, including large showcase projects and excessive military spending, and toward investment in human and physical capital; (8) structuring IMF programs and assistance so that improvement of labor standards is incorporated as an integral goal in the policy dialogue with recipient countries; (9) discouraging practices which may promote ethnic or social strife in a recipient country; (10) promoting IMF recognition that macroeconomic developments and policies can affect and be affected by environmental conditions and policies; (11) facilitating greater IMF transparency and accountability; and (12) promoting structural reforms which facilitate credit to small businesses, including microenterprise lending, especially in the world's poorest, heavily indebted countries. Directs the Secretary to establish an IMF Advisory Committee to advise the Secretary on the extent to which individual country IMF programs meet the policy goals set out in the Act. (Sec. 408) Denies Federal funds to the IMF unless the Secretary certifies to specified congressional committees that the IMF has made certain meeting minutes and reviews of loan programs available for public inspection. (Sec. 409) Instructs the Secretary to certify to certain congressional committees that the U.S. Executive Director of the IMF will oppose further fund disbursements to Indonesia unless its government complies with the terms of its IMF reform package. (Sec. 410) Expresses the sense of the Congress that Japan should assume a greater regional leadership role, coinciding with its goal of promoting strong domestic demand-led growth and avoiding a significant increase in its external surplus with the United States and the countries of the Asia-Pacific region. (Sec. 412) Instructs the Secretary to submit status reports to certain congressional committees regarding progress made toward achieving specified objectives to strengthen safeguards in the global financial system, including measures to promote more efficient functions of global markets.  Requires such a report also on progress the U.S. Executive Director of the IMF has made in influencing the IMF to adopt specified policies and reforms of its internal procedures. (Sec. 414) Directs the Secretary to certify to certain congressional committees that the Secretary has instructed the U.S. Executive Director of the IMF to facilitate timely access by the General Accounting Office (GAO) to IMF information and documents needed by GAO to perform financial reviews of the IMF that will facilitate the conduct of U.S. policy with respect to it.  Instructs the Comptroller General to report annually to such congressional committees on IMF financial operations. Chapter 5:  Department of the Interior - Makes supplemental appropriations for the Department of the Interior for:  (1) the Minerals Management Service for royalty and offshore minerals management to meet increased demand and workload requirements stemming from leasing activity in the Gulf of Mexico; (2) the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund, to be derived from a transfer of funds; and (3) the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) for operation of Indian programs and the Office of Special Trustee for American Indians for Federal trust programs to support litigation involving individual Indian trust fund accounts. Chapter 6:  Department of Health and Human Services - Makes additional funds available for the Department of Health and Human Services for Health Care Financing Administration program management. (Sec. 602) Authorizes the obligation of a limited amount of funds in FY 1998 for contracts with Utilization and Quality Control Peer Review Organizations pursuant to the Social Security Act. Chapter 7:  Legislative Branch - Makes supplemental appropriations for the legislative branch for:  (1) payments to widows of specified Members of Congress; and (2) the Architect of the Capitol for Capitol building salaries and expenses and for the Capitol Square perimeter security plan. Chapter 8:  Department of Transportation and Related Agencies - Provides additional funds for the Department of Transportation (DOT) for the Amtrak Reform Council and for National Transportation Safety Board salaries and expenses for expenses resulting from the crash of TWA Flight 800. Chapter 9:  Department of the Treasury - Makes supplemental appropriations for the Department of the Treasury for:  (1) automation enhancement; (2) Treasury building and annex repair and restoration; and (3)  Financial Management Service salaries and expenses for year 2000 century date change conversion requirements. Chapter 10:  Department of Veterans Affairs - Provides additional funds for the Veterans Benefits Administration for compensation and pensions. Prohibits requirements set forth in any carbon monoxide Federal implementation plan based on the Clean Air Act as in effect prior to the 1990 amendments from being imposed in Arizona. Authorizes the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to transfer specified funds to the account for human space flight for the International Space Station program. Chapter 11:  Department of Defense - Military Construction - Directs the Secretary of the Navy to carry out beach replenishment in connection with the military construction project for North Island Naval Air Station, California. Title II:  Rescissions - Rescinds specified amounts of Department of Agriculture funds for:  (1) the Agricultural Research Service; (2) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service salaries and expenses; (3) the Agricultural Marketing Service; (4) Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration salaries and expenses; (5) the Food Safety and Inspection Service; (6) Farm Service Agency salaries and expenses; (7) unsubsidized guaranteed operating loans from the Agricultural Credit Insurance Fund; (8) Natural Resources Conservation Service operations; (9) Rural Housing Service salaries and expenses; and (10) Food and Nutrition Service food program administration. Limits specified funds available for salaries and expenses of personnel to carry out a conservation farm options program. Rescinds specified amounts of funds for the Department of the Interior for:  (1) Bureau of Land Management management of lands and resources; (2) Oregon and California grant lands; (3) Fish and Wildlife Service resource management and construction; (4) National Park Service and BIA construction; and (5) the Bureau of Mines. Rescinds specified amounts of Forest Service funds for:  (1) forest and rangeland research; (2) State and private forestry; (3) the National Forest System; (4) wildland fire management; and (5) reconstruction and construction. Rescinds specified amounts of DOT funds for:  (1) payments to air carriers and small community air service; (2) the Federal Aviation Administration for facilities, engineering, and development and grants-in-aid for airports; and (3) the Federal Railroad Administration for Conrail labor protection. Rescinds specified amounts of Department of Treasury funds for: (1) Treasury building and annex repair and restoration; (2) Customs Service salaries and expenses; and (3) Internal Revenue Service information technology investments. Title III:  General Provisions - This Act - Prohibits any part of an appropriation contained in this Act from remaining available for obligation beyond the current fiscal year unless provided otherwise.",2025-08-21T16:13:55Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/3580
105-hr-3556,105,hr,3556,To reduce Federal spending in several programs.,Economics and Public Finance,1998-03-25,1998-04-17,"Referred to the Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education, Training and Life-Long Learning.",House,"Rep. Shays, Christopher [R-CT-4]",CT,R,S001144,0,"TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Defense      Title II:  Other Discretionary Accounts      Title III:  Entitlements Title I:  Defense - Directs the Secretary of Defense to reduce: (1) by FY 2004 the Department of Defense (DOD) strategic nuclear force to include a maximum of 300 Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles; and (2) DOD theater missile defense programs by terminating the Navy sea-based area theater missile defense system, the Army Medium Extended Air Defense System, the Air Force airborne laser for destruction of missiles system, and the Space and Missile Tracking System. (Sec. 102) Prohibits funds from being appropriated to DOD for fiscal years after 1998 for the production of Trident II (D-5) missiles for the Navy.  Requires the Secretary to retire eight Trident I submarines during FY 2001 through 2004. (Sec. 103) Prohibits funds from being appropriated to DOD for fiscal years after 1998 for:  (1) assistance to Israel for development of the Arrow missile; and (2) research, development, test, and evaluation or for procurement for the Marine Corps V-22 Osprey aircraft program. (Sec. 105) Requires the Secretary to retire 20 Air Force KC-135E aircraft during each of FY 1999 through 2003. (Sec. 106) Directs the Secretary to assign to a unit of the armed forces members who are:  (1) in transit during a scheduled move from one military installation to another; or (2) undergoing military training other than basic training. (Sec. 107) Amends the Arms Export Control Act to provide that any sale of major defense equipment approved under such Act shall include an appropriate charge for costs incurred by the United States in the research, development, and production of such equipment.  Provides an exception.  Repeals a provision of such Act which allows for the recovery of certain administrative expenses when such expenses are neither salaries of U.S. armed forces nor unfunded estimated costs of civilian retirement and other benefits. Title II:  Other Discretionary Accounts - Requires the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to terminate U.S. participation in the International Space Station program.   Authorizes appropriations for termination costs. (Sec. 202) Amends the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to require the interest rates on loans and advances under such Act to equal the coupon equivalent yield on Treasury obligations of comparable maturity at the most recent Treasury auction.  Provides for loan origination fees from borrowers of loans made under such Act. Eliminates references to existing interest rates under such Act. (Sec. 203) Amends the National Forest Management Act of 1976 to eliminate below-cost timber sales from National Forest System lands. (Sec. 204) Repeals provisions of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 regarding the foreign market development cooperator program. (Sec. 205) Repeals provisions of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 regarding the Cochran Fellowship Program. (Sec. 206) Prohibits the NASA Administrator from obligating funds for the Advanced Subsonic Technology Program, High-Speed Research, or the National Aeronautics Facility. (Sec. 207) Repeals the Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965 effective September 30, 1998. (Sec. 208) Amends the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933 to prohibit the authorization of appropriations to carry out such Act after September 30, 1998. Title III:  Entitlements - Requires, for any arrangement for the sale of electric power entered into by a Federal Power Marketing Administration after October 1, 1998, that:  (1) the rate for the sale of power be the market rate established by competitive bidding and no discount be provided to any purchaser; and (2) no entity be entitled to any preference or priority right to contract for or purchase such power. Makes certain provisions of the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act regarding a residential power exchange program inapplicable to arrangements for the purchase or sale of electric power entered into after October 1, 1998. Prohibits Federal Power Marketing Administrations from entering into or renewing a power marketing contract for a term that exceeds five years. (Sec. 302) Repeals provisions of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 regarding a market access program. (Sec. 303) Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to extend and increase tobacco price support program marketing assessments on producers, purchasers, and importers. (Sec. 304) Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for the payment of in-school interest by certain student loan borrowers. (Sec. 305) Amends Federal veterans' provisions to increase from $2 to $5 the prescription drug copayment required from certain veterans. Extends such requirement through FY 2003.",2025-07-21T19:44:15Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/3556
105-hr-3303,105,hr,3303,"Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1999, 2000, and 2001",Economics and Public Finance,1998-03-03,1998-09-17,Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 586.,House,"Rep. Hyde, Henry J. [R-IL-6]",IL,R,H001022,1,"TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Authorizations of Appropriations           Subtitle A:  Specific Provisions           Subtitle B:  General Provisions      Title II:  Authorizations of Appropriations for Programs      Title III:  Permanent Enabling Provisions      Title IV:  Miscellaneous Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1999, 2000, and 2001 - Title I:  Authorizations of Appropriations - Subtitle A:  Specific Provisions - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2001 to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for:  (1) general administration; (2) administrative review and appeals; (3) the Office of Inspector General; (4) general legal activities; (5) the Antitrust Division; (6) United States Attorneys; (7) the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); (8) the United States Marshals Service; (9) the Drug Enforcement Administration; (10) the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS); (11) fees and expenses of witnesses; (12) interagency crime and drug enforcement; (13) the Federal Prison System; (14) the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission; (15) the Community Relations Service; (16) the Assets Forfeiture Fund; (17) Federal Prisoner Detention; and (18) the United States Parole Commission. (Sec. 102) Limits the funds available to Federal Prison Industries which may be used for administrative expenses and the employment of experts and consultants. Subtitle B:  General Provisions - Directs the Attorney General to appoint 200 additional assistant U.S. attorneys by September 30, 2000, from attorneys who are incumbents of full-time DOJ litigation positions in Washington, D.C.  Authorizes appropriations. Title II:  Authorizations of Appropriations for Programs - Amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to authorize appropriations for FY 1999 and 2000 for:  (1) expeditious deportation for denied asylum applicants; (2) appointing Federal victim's counselors (under the Violence Against Women Act of 1994); (3) improving border controls; (4) expanded special deportation proceedings; (5) training programs to assist probation and parole officers and other personnel who work with released sex offenders in the areas of case management, supervision, and relapse prevention; (6) the Missing Alzheimer's Disease Patient Alert Program; (7) the Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Program; and (8) rural domestic violence and child abuse enforcement assistance. (Sec. 202) Amends the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 to authorize appropriations for FY 1999 and 2000 for metropolitan fire and emergency services training in responding to terrorist attacks and for research and development to support counter-terrorism technologies. (Sec. 203) Extends through FY 2000 the authorization for the Attorney General to transfer real or personal property of limited or marginal value to a State or local government agency or its designated contractor or transferee for use to support drug abuse treatment, drug and crime prevention and education, housing, job skills, and other community-based public health and safety programs.  Specifies that such transfer shall be subject to satisfaction by the recipient involved of any outstanding lien against the property transferred. (Sec. 204) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to increase the authorization of appropriations for FY 1999 and 2000, and to authorize appropriations for FY 2001, for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program to compensate States for the costs of incarcerating undocumented criminal aliens. Title III:  Permanent Enabling Provisions - Amends the Federal judicial code to authorize the Attorney General to use funds available to carry out the activities of DOJ for:  (1) certain general uses (including certain motor vehicle purchases, insurance, unforeseen emergencies of a confidential character, payment of interpreters and translators, payment of rewards, the purchase of evidence, uniform allowances, and certain expenses with respect to DOJ employees' dependents and families); (2) certain specific uses (such as for aircraft and boats,  and purchase of ammunition and firearms by specified agencies); (3) subsistence and medical expenses of persons in the custody of the United States Marshals Service; (4) witness fees and expenses; (5) INS administration and law enforcement; and (6) Federal Prison System activities. Prohibits the use of such funds to pay compensation for individuals employed as attorneys who are not duly licensed and authorized to practice under the law of a State, U.S. territory, or the District of Columbia.  Permits the use by the recipient of funds paid as reimbursement to a governmental unit in DOJ, to another Federal entity, or to a unit of State or local government. (Sec. 302) Directs the Attorney General to report to each House of Congress in any case in which the Attorney General:  (1) establishes a policy to refrain from enforcing any provision of a Federal statute because of the Attorney General's position that such provision is unconstitutional; or (2) determines that DOJ will contest, or will refrain from defending, in any proceeding any Federal statutory provision because of such a position. (Sec. 303) Authorizes the Attorney General to appoint officials to assist in the protection of the person of the Attorney General. Title IV:  Miscellaneous - Repeals open-ended authorizations of appropriations for the National Institute of Corrections and for the Marshals Service. (Sec. 404) Specifies that nothing in this Act or its amendments shall be construed to modify or supersede the application or operation of the Public Buildings Act of 1959. (Sec. 405) Rewrites Federal provisions regarding the Counterterrorism Fund.  Provides that amounts appropriated to the Fund shall be available for:  (1) current purposes pursuant to reprogramming procedures applicable to general Department of Justice appropriations; and (2) Federal departments and agencies for costs incurred in connection with counterterrorism technology research and development and providing training and related equipment to State and local law enforcement agencies for prevention and response capabilities against bombs and against chemical, biological, nuclear, and cyber attack. (Sec. 406) Amends the Portal-to-Portal Act of 1947 to provide that, with respect to provisions regarding relief from liability and punishment under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, the Walsh-Healy Act, and the Davis-Bacon Act for failure to pay minimum wage or overtime compensation, the use of an employer's vehicle for travel by an employee and activities performed by an employee which are incidental to the use of such vehicle for commuting shall not be considered part of the employee's principal activities if the use (including, without limitation, driving) of the employer's vehicle is subject to an agreement on the part of the employer and the employee or his or her representative (current law), or is required or permitted by the employer.",2025-07-21T19:32:26Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/3303
105-hr-3228,105,hr,3228,To amend the Line Item Veto Act of 1996 to add the requirement that if Federal budget is in surplus then the vetoed item shall be used to reduce the public debt.,Economics and Public Finance,1998-02-12,1998-02-12,Referred to the House Committee on the Budget.,House,"Rep. John, Christopher [D-LA-7]",LA,D,J000110,22,"Amends the Line Item Veto Act of 1996 to authorize the President to use the line item veto if the President determines that a cancellation will reduce the Federal budget deficit (current law) or, if the budget is in surplus, be used to reduce the public debt.",2025-04-07T15:33:40Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/3228
105-hr-3091,105,hr,3091,"To amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require a two-thirds vote on the passage of legislation that repeals, increases, or waives the discretionary spending limit or repeals or waives the pay-as-you-go provisions of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 if the current year budget was not in surplus or the budget for the fiscal year immediately preceding such year was not in surplus.",Economics and Public Finance,1998-01-27,1998-01-27,Referred to House Budget,House,"Rep. Andrews, Robert E. [D-NJ-1]",NJ,D,A000210,0,"Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require, if the budget for the current year or the fiscal year preceding such year was not in surplus, a vote of at least two-thirds of the Members voting for passage of any legislation that repeals, increases, or waives any discretionary spending limit set forth in the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) or repeals or waives pay-as-you-go sequestration of such Act.",2025-04-07T15:33:40Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/3091
105-hr-2956,105,hr,2956,Biennial Budgeting and Appropriations Act,Economics and Public Finance,1997-11-08,1997-11-18,"Referred to the Subcommittee on Government Management, Information and Technology.",House,"Rep. Luther, Bill [D-MN-6]",MN,D,L000521,2,"Biennial Budgeting and Appropriations Act - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (CBA) to revise the Federal and congressional budget processes by establishing a two-year budgeting and appropriations cycle and timetable.  Defines the budget biennium as the two consecutive fiscal years beginning on October 1 of any odd-numbered year.  Sets forth a special timetable for any first session that begins in any year immediately following a leap year and during which the term of a President begins (except one who starts a second successive term). Devotes the first session of any Congress to the budget resolution and to appropriations decisions, retaining current deadlines in most cases.  Changes certain deadlines to conform to the biennial scheme. Devotes each second session to authorization activity, subject to specified deadlines. (Sec. 3) Revises provisions relating to the reconciliation process. (Sec. 4) Sets forth revised pay-as-you-go provisions for the Senate. (Sec. 5) Conforms provisions governing the President's budget to the biennial framework. (Sec. 6) Requires all Acts making regular appropriations for the support of the Government to be enacted for a biennium and to specify the amount of appropriations provided for each fiscal year in that period. (Sec. 7) Amends CBA to provide that it shall not be in order in the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider:  (1) any bill, joint resolution, amendment, motion, or conference report that authorizes appropriations for a period of less than two fiscal years, unless the program, project, or activity for which the appropriations are authorized will require no further appropriations and will be completed or terminated after the appropriations have been expended; and (2) in any odd-numbered year, any authorization or revenue bill or joint resolution until Congress completes action on the biennial budget resolution, all regular biennial appropriations bills, and all reconciliation bills.  Provides that, in the Senate, such point of order shall not apply to:  (1) any measure that is privileged for consideration pursuant to a rule or statute; (2) any matter considered in Executive Session; or (3) an appropriations measure or reconciliation bill. (Sec. 8) Changes to a biennial basis specified requirements for certain Government strategic and performance plans, performance reports in budget submissions, and program performance reports. Requires congressional committee reviews of such plans and reports. (Sec. 9) Provides that it shall not be in order in the House or the Senate in any odd-numbered year to consider any regular bill providing new budget authority or a limitation on obligations under the jurisdiction of any Appropriations subcommittee for only the first fiscal year of a biennium unless the program, project, or activity for which such authority or limitation is provided will require no additional authority beyond one year and will be completed or terminated after the amount provided has been expended. (Sec. 10) Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to report to the Budget Committees on the impact and feasibility of changing the definition of a fiscal year and the budget process based on that definition to a two-year fiscal period with a two-year budget process based on the two-year period.",2026-03-23T12:17:56Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/2956
105-hr-2906,105,hr,2906,To authorize and direct the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to reduce nondefense discretionary spending limits by two percentage points for each of fiscal years 1999 through 2002.,Economics and Public Finance,1997-11-07,1997-11-07,Referred to the House Committee on the Budget.,House,"Rep. Neumann, Mark W. [R-WI-1]",WI,R,N000054,0,Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to reduce the adjusted discretionary spending limits for:  (1) the nondefense category set forth in the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) by two percentage points for each of FY 1999 and 2000; and (2) the discretionary category set forth in such Act by two percentage points for each of FY 2001 and 2002.,2025-04-07T15:33:40Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/2906
105-hr-2840,105,hr,2840,Regulatory Right-to-Know Act of 1997,Economics and Public Finance,1997-11-06,1998-10-13,Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E2142),House,"Rep. Bliley, Tom [R-VA-7]",VA,R,B000556,29,"Regulatory Right-to-Know Act of 1997 - Directs the President, no later than January 2000 and each January every two years thereafter, to submit to the Congress an accounting statement that estimates the costs and corresponding benefits of Federal regulatory programs and program elements.  Provides for each accounting statement submitted to:  (1) cover, at a minimum, the costs and corresponding benefits for the five fiscal years preceding October 1 of the year in which the report is submitted; and (2) also contain a projection of the costs and corresponding benefits for the next ten fiscal years.  Directs the President to propose the first accounting statement no later than one year after the enactment of this Act.  Provides for such statement to cover, at a minimum, each of the preceding fiscal years beginning with FY 1997. Requires the President, acting through the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in each year following the year in which the President submits an accounting statement and after notice and opportunity for comment, to submit to the Congress a report associated with the accounting statement containing:  (1) analyses of impacts; (2) an analysis of jurisdictional overlaps, duplications, and potential inconsistencies among Federal regulatory programs; and (3) recommendations for reform. Requires the Director to:  (1) provide guidance to agencies to standardize measures of costs and benefits in accounting statements and the format of the accounting statements; and (2) review submissions from agencies to assure consistency with the guidance. Directs the Director of the Congressional Budget Office, after each accounting statement and associated report is submitted to the Congress, to make recommendations to the President for improving accounting statements and associated reports.",2025-08-21T16:13:52Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/2840
105-hr-2860,105,hr,2860,Budget Surplus Dividend Act of 1997,Economics and Public Finance,1997-11-06,1997-11-18,Referred to the Subcommittee on Social Security.,House,"Rep. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY-9]",NY,D,S000148,0,"Budget Surplus Dividend Act of 1997 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allocate credits to taxpayers for social security taxes, during any year in which there is a Federal budget surplus of more than $1 billion, so as to utilize 50 percent of such surplus.  Requires that, during any such year, the remainder of such surplus shall be split and used to:  (1) reduce the outstanding public debt; and (2) increase nondefense discretionary spending limits.",2025-08-21T16:14:14Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/2860
105-hr-2825,105,hr,2825,Economic Growth and Social Security Transition Act,Economics and Public Finance,1997-11-05,1997-11-05,Referred to House Rules,House,"Rep. Sanford, Marshall (Mark) [R-SC-1]",SC,R,S000051,1,"Economic Growth and Social Security Transition Act - Provides that, for purposes of this Act:  (1) the initial direct spending targets for each of FY 1998 through 2002 shall equal total outlays for all direct spending except net interest as provided in H. Con. Res.  84 (105th Congress), the concurrent resolution on the budget for FY 1998, unless such outlays are reduced by a subsequent budget resolution (in which case the lower level of total outlays except net interest shall be used); and (2) the revenue targets are the amounts provided in such resolution. Requires the President, as part of each Federal budget submitted to the Congress, to provide an annual review of direct spending and receipts, including:  (1) information on total outlays for programs covered by the direct spending targets, including actual outlays for the prior fiscal year and projected outlays for the current and five succeeding fiscal years; and (2) any amount by which revenues for a budget year and any outyears through FY 2002 exceed the revenue target. Directs the Office of Management and Budget to include the amount of any changes in revenues as a deficit decrease under specified estimates and sequestration reports required by the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act).  Provides that any amount not to exceed the amount of deficit decrease may only be offset by legislation to help pay for the transition costs to a fully funded Social Security system that includes individually owned accounts that are invested in real assets. Directs the President to include a special direct spending message in the budget if the information submitted indicates that:  (1) actual outlays for direct spending in the prior fiscal year exceeded the applicable spending target; or (2) outlays for the current or future budget years are projected to exceed targets.  Requires such message to include:  (1) an analysis of the variance in direct spending over the direct spending targets; (2) recommendations for eliminating overages, if any, in the prior, current, or future budget years; and (3) the text of a special direct spending resolution implementing such recommendations through reconciliation directives instructing the appropriate committees to recommend changes in laws within their jurisdictions. Provides a point of order against consideration of any concurrent budget resolution unless it fully eliminates the entirety of any overage contained in the President's message.  Makes special message and point of order procedures inapplicable for any fiscal year in which the overage is less than one-half of one percent of the direct spending target for that year. Applies this Act to direct spending targets and revenues for FY 1998 through 2002.",2025-08-21T16:12:47Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/2825
105-hr-2780,105,hr,2780,To provide for an annual statement of accrued liability of the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Program.,Economics and Public Finance,1997-10-30,1997-10-30,Referred to the House Committee on the Budget.,House,"Rep. Sanford, Marshall (Mark) [R-SC-1]",SC,R,S000051,7,"Amends Federal budget law to require the President, in the annual budget submission to the Congress, to include a statement of the current accrued liabilities of the Federal Government for future benefits under the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Program under title II of the Social Security Act.",2025-04-07T15:33:40Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/2780
105-hr-2688,105,hr,2688,Economic Development Information Act of 1997,Economics and Public Finance,1997-10-21,1998-07-21,See H.R.4275.,House,"Rep. Traficant, James A., Jr. [D-OH-17]",OH,D,T000350,0,"Economic Development Information Act of 1997 - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish in the Economic Development Administration an Office of Economic Development Information (the Office) to:  (1) serve as a central information clearinghouse on matters relating to Federal, State, and municipal economic development programs and activities; (2) help applicants locate economic development assistance programs; and (3) develop electronic links or other connections to information databases, both public and private, and to other individuals in the process of identifying and applying for such economic development programs.  Prescribes database contents. Requires the Office to establish the means to ensure easy public access to its database service. Authorizes appropriations.",2025-08-21T16:13:00Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/2688
105-hr-2649,105,hr,2649,Expedited Rescissions Act of 1997,Economics and Public Finance,1997-10-09,1997-10-09,Referred to House Rules,House,"Rep. Skaggs, David E. [D-CO-2]",CO,D,S000462,5,Expedited Rescissions Act of 1997 - Repeals the Line Item Veto Act of 1996. Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to provide for the expedited consideration of certain proposed rescissions of budget authority.,2025-08-21T16:12:14Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/2649
105-hr-2650,105,hr,2650,To repeal the Line Item Veto Act of 1996.,Economics and Public Finance,1997-10-09,1997-10-09,Referred to House Rules,House,"Rep. Skaggs, David E. [D-CO-2]",CO,D,S000462,10,Repeals the Line Item Veto Act of 1996.,2025-04-07T15:33:40Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/2650
105-hr-2607,105,hr,2607,"An Act making omnibus consolidated appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1998, and for other purposes.",Economics and Public Finance,1997-10-06,1997-11-19,Became Public Law No: 105-100.,House,"Rep. Taylor, Charles H. [R-NC-11]",NC,R,T000067,0,"TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Fiscal Year 1998 Appropriations      Title II:  Clarification of Eligibility For Relief From           Removal and Deportation For Certain Aliens Makes appropriations for the District of Columbia for FY 1998. Title I:  Fiscal Year 1998 Appropriations - District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 1998 - Appropriates Federal funds for:  (1) payment for management reform; (2) the contribution to the operation of the District government; (3) payment to the District's Corrections Trustee; (4) payment to the District's Corrections Trustee for Correctional Facilities; and (5) payment to the District's criminal justice system. Appropriates specified sums out of the District's general fund (and other funds, in some cases) for the current fiscal year for:  (1) governmental direction and support; (2) economic development and regulation; (3) public safety and justice; (4) the public education system; (5) human support services; (6) public works; (7) financing and other uses; (8) enterprise funds and other uses; (9) the Water and Sewer Authority and the Washington Aqueduct; (10) the Lottery and Charitable Games Control Board; (11) the Starplex Fund; (12) the District of Columbia (D.C.) General Hospital; (13) the D.C. Retirement Board; (14) the Correctional Industries Fund; (15) the Washington Convention Center Enterprise Fund; (16) the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority (Authority); (17) capital outlay; and (18) deficit reduction and revitalization. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. Bars the use of revenues from Federal sources to support the operations of the D.C. Statehood and Statehood Compact Commissions. Requires the District to identify the sources of funding for Admission to Statehood from its own locally-generated revenues. (Sec. 110) Prohibits funds appropriated in this Act from being available to pay the salary of any District government employee whose name, title, grade, salary, work experience, and salary history are not available for inspection by specified congressional committees and subcommittees and the District Council. (Sec. 114) Bars the D.C. Mayor from borrowing any funds for capital projects without prior approval of the Council. (Sec. 124) Applies any sequestration orders under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to each account appropriating Federal funds in this Act rather than to the aggregate total of such accounts.  Requires the Mayor, in the event such an order is issued after amounts appropriated to the District have been paid, to pay sequestered amounts to the Secretary of the Treasury. (Sec. 127) Bars the use of Federal funds provided in this Act to provide for salaries or other expenses associated with the offices of U.S. Senator or Representative under the District of Columbia Statehood Constitutional Convention Initiatives of 1979. (Sec. 130) Amends the District of Columbia Home Rule Act of 1973 to require the Authority (currently, the Mayor) to submit certain annual reports and plans on performance accountability of the District government to specified congressional committees and the Comptroller General.  Requires the Chief Financial Officer (currently, the Mayor) to submit annual plans and reports regarding financial accountability as well as quarterly financial reports.  Changes the deadline for the initial plans and reports. (Sec. 131) Sets forth conditions regarding the Mayor's nomination of department heads pursuant to the National Capital Revitalization and Self-Improvement Act of 1997. (Sec. 132) Prohibits the expenditure of funds appropriated under this Act for abortions except where the mother's life would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term or in cases of rape or incest. (Sec. 133) Bars the use of funds made available in this Act to enforce the Health Care Benefits Expansion Act of 1992 or to implement any system of registration of unmarried, cohabitating couples for purposes of extending employment, health, or governmental benefits to such couples on the same basis as extended to married couples. (Sec. 138) Establishes a ceiling on total operating expenses for the District for FY 1998.  Permits increases of such amount for:  (1) one-time emergency or unanticipated operating or capital needs transactions approved by the Authority; and (2) additional approved expenditures which the Chief Financial Officer certifies will produce additional revenues during such fiscal year at least equal to 200 percent of such expenditures.  Sets forth conditions under which grants excluded from such ceiling may be accepted. Requires the Authority to submit to specified congressional committees a quarterly report providing an itemized accounting of all non-appropriated funds obligated or expended by the Authority for the quarter. (Sec.  140) Requires agencies under administration of court-appointed receivers or other officials to submit annual estimates of agency expenditures and necessary appropriations to the Mayor for inclusion in the annual District budget.  Provides that the Council shall have no authority to revise such estimates. (Sec. 141) Makes additional appropriations for U.S. Park Police operations in the District. (Sec. 142) Requires the District government to maintain funding for homeless services in FY 1998 at FY 1997 levels. (Sec. 143) Directs the Authority and the Chief Executive Officer of the District public schools to report to specified congressional committees on measures to be taken to ensure that the District's public schools open on time to begin the 1998-99 academic year. (Sec. 144) Appropriates from applicable District funds sums necessary to hire 12 additional inspectors for the Alcoholic Beverage Commission. (Sec. 145) Requires the General Accounting Office to study and report to the Congress on:  (1) the effects of the District's lower excise taxes on alcoholic beverages on consumption of such beverages; (2) ways in which the District's tax structure can be revised to bring it into conformity with the higher levels in surrounding jurisdictions; and (3) ways in which increased revenues can be used to lower consumption and promote abstention from alcohol among young people. (Sec. 146) Authorizes funds appropriated in this Act to be expended to hire five additional:  (1) inspectors for the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs to focus on monitoring day care centers and home day care operations; and (2) Department of Human Services monitors to focus on selecting quality day care centers eligible for public financing and monitoring safety standards at such centers. (Sec. 147) Nation's Capital Bicentennial Designation Act - Designates:  (1) the year 2000 as the Year of the National Bicentennial Celebration for Washington, D.C.--the Nation's Capital; and (2) the President's Day holiday as a day of national celebration for the 200th anniversary of the District. (Sec. 150) Amends the District of Columbia Comprehensive Merit Personnel Act of 1978 to restrict providers from whom District employees may receive disability compensation services to District government medical officers and hospitals or physicians or managed care organizations approved by the Mayor.  (Currently, employees have the option of choosing services by physicians or hospitals approved by the Mayor.) Authorizes District government agency heads, during FY 1998, to identify positions for abolishment.  Requires any District employee in such a position, regardless of hiring date, to be separated without competition or assignment rights, except as provided by this section. Entitles an affected employee who, but for this section, would be entitled to compete for retention, to one round of lateral competition limited to positions in the employee's competitive level. Sets forth provisions regarding notification, contests of determinations or separations, and severance pay. Requires the Mayor, with respect to agencies which are not subject to management reform plans under the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, to submit a listing of all positions to be abolished to the Council by March 1, 1998, or upon the delivery of termination notices to individual employees. (Sec. 151) Sets forth Buy-American requirements. (Sec. 153) Directs the District Council to annually review and adjust the amount of the monthly assistance payment that may be made under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program so that such payment is comparable with those made under such program in Maryland and Virginia counties contiguous to the District. (Sec. 155) Requires District permit or license application forms to include the telephone number established by the District Inspector General for reporting waste, fraud, and abuse.  Directs the Inspector General to make quarterly reports to the Congress on the number and nature of calls and on the waste, fraud, and abuse detected as a result of such calls. (Sec. 156) Requires the use of direct deposit or checks through the mail for payments made by the District. (Sec. 157) Amends the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Act of 1995 to require the Secretary of the Treasury, during any control year, to deposit the Federal contribution to the District into an escrow account held by the Authority, which shall allocate such funds to the Mayor.  (A control year is any year in which a financial plan and budget approved by the Authority is in effect for periods in which the District is unable to meet certain financial obligations.) Repeals a provision of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 that requires heads of Federal agencies and the Architect of the Capitol to provide notice before carrying out activities that affect real property in the District. (Sec. 158) Makes the real property of the National Educational Association located in the District subject to taxation by the District in the same manner as any similar organization. (Sec. 160) Appropriates an additional amount for a Medicare Coordinated Care Demonstration Project in the District. (Sec. 162) Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (effective as if included in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997) to revise provisions regarding an increased Medicaid Federal medical assistance percentage for expanded coverage of optional targeted low-income children.  Revises the definition of ""targeted low-income child"" to include children whose family income does not exceed the Medicaid applicable income level as of a specified date or who reside in a State that does not have such an income level. Increases the amount appropriated for FY 1998 for allotments to States for the State children's health insurance program under such Act. (Sec. 164) Provides that the evaluation process and instruments for evaluating District public school employees shall be a non-negotiable item for collective bargaining purposes. (Sec. 165) Appropriates from District funds a specified amount for a five percent pay increase for uniformed fire fighters. (Sec. 166) Authorizes the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to waive certain limitations on Federal annuities and pay for reemployed annuitants appointed as Corrections or Pretrial Services, Defense Services, Parole, Adult Probation and Offender Supervision Trustees or for employees of such Trustees. (Sec. 167) Amends the District of Columbia School Reform Act of 1995 to revise the timetable for the approval of public charter school petitions. (Sec. 168) Increases the maximum allowable number of trustees for such schools. (Sec. 170) Provides for adjustments of annual payments for:  (1) schools serving a high number of students to whom room and board in a residential setting are provided; and (2) public charter schools, upon request, to take into account leases or purchases of, or improvements to, real property. (Sec. 172) Revises provisions regarding payments for new schools. Establishes the New Charter School Fund for making annual payments for certain new public charter schools.  Authorizes appropriations. Title II:  Clarification of Eligibility For Relief From Removal and Deportation For Certain Aliens - Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act - Requires the Attorney General to adjust the status of certain Nicaraguan and Cuban nationals (and their spouses and children) to lawful permanent residents. Provides for stays of removal or deportation orders based on the filing of applications for adjusted status by such aliens.  Authorizes applicants to work in the United States during the pendency of an application. (Sec. 203) Amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 with regard to suspension of deportation provisions to modify the physical presence rule concerning certain reinitiated proceedings. Provides a special determination of physical presence rule for certain Salvadoran, Guatemalan, Latvian, Estonian, Lithuanian, Polish, Romanian, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Albanian, or Yugoslavian nationals as well as nationals of the former Czechoslovakia, East Germany, or Soviet Union granted temporary deportation protection. Establishes a special rule for the cancellation of removal, and the adjustment to permanent resident status, of such nationals, subject to certain conditions. Authorizes such aliens to file motions to reopen their removal or deportation proceedings. Revises related annual limitation and offset provisions.",2025-04-07T15:33:52Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/2607
105-hr-2586,105,hr,2586,Surplus Protection Act of 1997,Economics and Public Finance,1997-09-30,1997-09-30,Referred to the House Committee on the Budget.,House,"Rep. Minge, David [D-MN-2]",MN,D,M000795,14,"Surplus Protection Act of 1997 - Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to provide that the purpose of pay-as-you-go provisions is to ensure that legislation (currently, legislation enacted before FY 2002) affecting direct spending or receipts that results in a net budget increase (currently, increases the deficit) will trigger an offsetting sequestration, except to the extent that the total budget surplus exceeds the social security surplus. Extends pay-as-you-go and other specified provisions through FY 2008. Defines ""budget increase"" and ""budget decrease"" to mean, for purposes of pay-as-you-go provisions, an increase or decrease, respectively, in direct spending outlays or a decrease or increase, respectively, in receipts relative to the baseline. Requires a sequestration to offset the amount of any net budget (currently, deficit) increase caused by all direct spending and receipts legislation.  Applies a sequestration for a fiscal year only to the extent that any surplus, before the sequestration in the total budget (which includes both on- and off-budget Government accounts), is less than the combined surplus for that year in the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund.",2025-08-21T16:13:16Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/2586
105-hr-2496,105,hr,2496,Taxpayer Dividend Act of 1997,Economics and Public Finance,1997-09-18,1997-09-18,Referred to the House Committee on the Budget.,House,"Rep. Boehner, John A. [R-OH-8]",OH,R,B000589,32,"Taxpayer Dividend Act of 1997 - Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to require the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), for any amount by which revenues for a budget year and any outyears through FY 2002 exceed the revenue target absent growth, to estimate the excess and include such estimate as a separate entry in the report to the Congress containing Congressional Budget Office estimates of amounts and changes in outlays and receipts of direct spending and receipts legislation at the same time the OMB sequestration preview report is issued. Requires OMB to include the amount of any change in revenues as a deficit decrease in estimates and sequestration reports unless such amount is offset by legislation decreasing revenues in an amount not exceeding the amount of such decrease. Sets forth the revenue targets absent growth for FY 1998 through 2002. Considers legislation decreasing revenues in compliance with this Act to be in order for purposes of specified provisions regarding congressional pay-as-you-go points of order and consideration in the Senate.",2025-08-21T16:11:23Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/2496
105-hr-2424,105,hr,2424,To amend the Line Item Veto Act of 1996 to eliminate the requirement that a Federal budget deficit must exist in order for the President to use the line-item veto authority.,Economics and Public Finance,1997-09-05,1997-09-05,Referred to the House Committee on the Budget.,House,"Rep. Upton, Fred [R-MI-6]",MI,R,U000031,46,Amends the Line Item Veto Act of 1996 to remove a requirement that makes the President's line item veto authority contingent on a cancellation (line item veto) reducing the Federal budget deficit.,2025-04-07T15:33:40Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/2424
105-hr-2382,105,hr,2382,Highways and National Defense Investment Act of 1997,Economics and Public Finance,1997-09-03,1997-09-03,Referred to the House Committee on the Budget.,House,"Rep. Dingell, John D. [D-MI-16]",MI,D,D000355,13,Highways and National Defense Investment Act of 1997 - Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to adjust discretionary spending limits for FY 1998 and 1999 by reducing allowable outlays for the defense category and increasing those for the nondefense category.,2025-08-21T16:11:59Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/2382
105-hr-2378,105,hr,2378,"Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 1998",Economics and Public Finance,1997-08-06,1997-10-21,"For actions pursuant to the Line Item Veto Act (P.L. 104-130), see House Document 105-156. (consideration: CR H8843)",House,"Rep. Kolbe, Jim [R-AZ-5]",AZ,R,K000306,0,"(On January 6, 1998, the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia approved an agreement between the National Treasury Employees Union and the Justice Department to invalidate the President's cancellation of, and thus reinstate, section 642 of H.R. 2378.  Sec. 642, the Federal Employees' Retirement System Open Enrollment Act of 1997, authorizes individuals employed by the Federal Government as of January 1, 1998, who are subject to the Civil Serviced Retirement System (CSRS), to elect to become subject to the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) during 1998.) (The President exercised line item veto authority to cancel Sec. 642 on October 16, 1997.  The following revised digest of H.R.  2378 reflects the Act as signed into law, minus the line-item-vetoed provision.  For more information on the specific items vetoed, see the text of the conference report for H.R. 2378, H.Rept. 105-284, and Presidential Cancellation Number 97-56.) TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Department of the Treasury      Title II:  Postal Service      Title III:  Executive Office of the President and Funds           Appropriated to the President      Title IV:  Independent Agencies      Title V:  General Provision--This Act      Title VI:  General Provisions--Departments, Agencies,           Corporations Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 1998 - Makes appropriations for FY 1998 for the Treasury Department, the U.S. Postal Service, the Executive Office of the President, and certain independent agencies. Title I:  Department of the Treasury - Treasury Department Appropriations Act, 1998 - Makes appropriations for the Department of the Treasury for:  (1) departmental offices; (2) the Office of Professional Responsibility; (3) automation enhancement; (4) the Office of Inspector General; (5) repair and restoration of the Treasury building and annex; (6) the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network; (7) violent crime reduction programs; (8) the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, including amounts for maintenance and facility improvements; (9) interagency law enforcement with respect to organized crime drug trafficking; (10) the Financial Management Service; (11) the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, including an amount for construction of specified laboratory facilities; (12) the U.S. Customs Service, including amounts for operations and maintenance of marine vessels and aircraft, services at small airports, and collection of the Harbor Maintenance Fee; (13) the Bureau of the Public Debt; (14) the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), including amounts for tax law enforcement, earned income tax credit compliance and error reduction initiatives, information systems, and information technology investments; and (15) the Secret Service, including an amount for construction and improvement of facilities. Rescinds a specified amount of funds appropriated in other Acts for tax law enforcement. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. (Sec. 116) Provides that the compensation and other emoluments attached to the Secretary of the Treasury shall be those that would apply if Public Law 103-2 (which sets such compensation and emoluments at those in effect on January 1, 1989) had never been enacted.  Makes such adjustment effective on the later of:  (1) the day after the date on which the individual holding such office on January 1, 1997, ceases to hold such office; or (2) this Act's enactment date. (Sec. 117) Sets forth certain deadlines for the advance submission of testimony of Treasury Department employees scheduled to testify before the Appropriations Committees or subcommittees. (Sec. 118) Amends the District of Columbia Police and Firemen's Salary Act of 1958 to revise provisions regarding compensation for the Secret Service Uniformed Division.  Establishes a rate schedule for such compensation and sets forth administrative provisions regarding conversion to the new schedule. Revises provisions regarding premium pay for the Division and sets new limits on premium pay and compensatory time for Division members whose basic pay exceeds a specified amount. Makes any existing special salary rates, rates of pay, or pay adjustments under specified Federal laws inapplicable to the Division on the effective date of this section. (Sec. 121) Revises provisions regarding the rates of basic pay for members of the U.S. Mint and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing police forces.  Requires such rates to be fixed without regard to Federal civil service laws and establishes minimum and maximum pay rates. (Sec. 123) Requires the Secretary to establish the port of Kodiak, Alaska, as a port of entry to be served by Customs Service personnel. Authorizes appropriations. Title II:  Postal Service - Postal Service Appropriations Act, 1998 - Makes appropriations for payments to the Postal Service Fund for revenue foregone on free and reduced rate mail. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. Title III:  Executive Office of the President and Funds Appropriated to the President - Executive Office Appropriations Act, 1998 - Makes appropriations for:  (1) compensation of the President and the White House office; (2) operating, maintenance, and reimbursable expenses of the Executive Residence at the White House; (3) White House repair and restoration; (4) special assistance to the President and the official residence of the Vice President; (5) the Council of Economic Advisers; (6) the Office of Policy Development; (7) the National Security Council; (8) the Office of Administration; (9) the Office of Management and Budget (OMB); (10) the Office of National Drug Control Policy; and (11) Federal drug control programs, including amounts for the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program and for a national anti-drug campaign for youth. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. Title IV:  Independent Agencies - Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 - Makes appropriations for the:  (1) Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled; (2) Federal Election Commission; (3) Federal Labor Relations Authority; and (4) General Services Administration (GSA), including amounts for the Federal Buildings Fund, Government-wide policy and operations, Office of Inspector General, and allowances and office staff for former Presidents. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. (Sec. 409) Removes time limitations on certain allowances and mailing privileges extended to former Presidents. (Sec. 410) Appropriates funds to GSA as necessary to repay debts to the Treasury incurred pursuant to the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation Act of 1972. Makes appropriations for:  (1) the Morris K. Udall Scholarship and Excellence in National Environmental Policy Foundation; (2) expenses to carry out the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992; (3) the Merit Systems Protection Board; (4) the National Archives and Records Administration, including amounts for repairs and restoration of archives and presidential libraries; (5) the National Historical Publications and Records Commission; (6) the Office of Government Ethics; (7) the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), including an amount for the Office of Inspector General; (8) Government contributions for health and life insurance benefits for annuitants; (9) the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund; (10) the Office of Special Counsel; and (11) the U.S. Tax Court. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. Title V:  General Provisions - This Act - Sets forth authorized and prohibited uses of funds made available under this Act. (Sec. 507) Sets forth Buy American provisions. (Sec. 510) Requires, except as otherwise provided, that no more than 50 percent of unobligated balances remaining at the end of FY 1998 from appropriations for salaries and expenses remain available through FY 1999.  Requires a request to the Appropriations Committees before expenditure of the funds. (Sec. 511) Prohibits the use of funds made available by this Act by the Executive Office of the President to request an official background investigation report on any individual from the Federal Bureau of Investigation unless such individual has given prior written consent during the same presidential administration or such request is due to extraordinary national security circumstances. (Sec.  512) Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to limit the term of a Federal Election Commission member to a single term of six years (thus, prohibiting reappointment). (Sec. 513) Prohibits funds appropriated by this Act from being available to pay for an abortion or for the administrative expenses of any Federal employee health plan which provides benefits for abortions.  Makes such prohibition inapplicable if the mother's life would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term or in cases of rape or incest. (Sec. 516) Amends Federal civil service provisions to authorize a Member of Congress who has served in an executive branch position for which the rate of basic pay was reduced for the duration of the Member's service to deposit to the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund an amount equal to the difference between the amount deducted during such service and the amount that would have been deducted, plus interest, if the rate of pay which would have otherwise been in effect was in effect.  Makes conforming amendments to annuity provisions to reflect such adjustment.  Applies such amendments retroactively. (Sec. 517) Extends:  (1) the authority for entering into Government physician service agreements (physician comparability allowances) through FY 2000; and (2) the period of service covered by such agreements through FY 2002. (Sec. 518) Amends Federal retirement provisions to make certain provisions that provide for termination of a survivor annuity upon remarriage of a surviving or former spouse before age 55 inapplicable in cases where the spouse was married for at least 30 years to the individual on whose service the annuity is based.  Applies such amendments to marriages occurring on or after January 1, 1995. Title VI:  General Provisions - Departments, Agencies, Corporations - Sets forth authorized and prohibited uses of funds appropriated for Federal departments, agencies, and corporations. (Sec.  625) Requires the OMB Director to report to the Congress: (1) estimates of costs and benefits of Federal regulatory programs; (2) impacts of Federal rules on the private sector and all levels of government; and (3) recommendations for reform or elimination of inefficient regulatory programs. (Sec. 633) Directs the U.S. Trade Representative and the Secretary of the Treasury to:  (1) initiate discussions with Mexican and Canadian officials to achieve parity in the duty-free personal allowance structure of the United States, Mexico, and Canada; and (2) submit recommendations to the Congress for appropriate legislation and action if parity is not achieved within 180 days of this Act's enactment date. (Sec. 634) Bars the use of funds made available for the Customs Service in this Act to allow the importation of any good produced or manufactured by forced or indentured child labor. (Sec. 637) Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to require certain designations, statements, and reports by the Republican and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committees to be filed with the Secretary of the Senate. (Sec. 638) Amends Federal law to require Federal employees to be separated from service and barred from reemployment in the Federal service if:  (1) convicted of a violation or attempted violation of Federal criminal code provisions relating to bribery of public officials; and (2) such violation related to conduct concerning the import, export, or distribution of controlled substances prohibited under the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act. (Sec. 639) Requires the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy to submit to specified congressional committees a plan to improve coordination, and eliminate duplication, among the counterdrug intelligence centers and activities of the Federal Government.",2025-04-07T15:33:56Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/2378
105-hr-2329,105,hr,2329,National Dividend Act of 1997,Economics and Public Finance,1997-07-31,1997-11-08,Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E2225),House,"Rep. Crane, Philip M. [R-IL-8]",IL,R,C000873,1,"National Dividend Act of 1997 - Establishes a program for the distribution of certain corporate tax revenues, through the chief financial officer of each State, to the registered voters of each State in the form of dividend payments. Establishes in the Treasury the National Dividend Payment Trust Fund.  Authorizes payment into the Fund of specified amounts from:  (1) the corporate income tax; (2) the tax on the unrelated business income of certain tax-exempt organizations; (3) the capital gains tax; (4) the tax on insurance company income; and (5) the alternative minimum tax on corporations.  Establishes a National Dividend Review Board to review the manner in which payments are made from the Fund and to invest Fund amounts. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income all dividend income received by a taxpayer from domestic corporations, including dividends received under this Act. Increases the corporate income tax deduction for dividends received by a corporation on the preferred stock of a public utility. Prohibits corporate income tax rates from exceeding 34 percent. Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to declare it out of order in either the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider budget resolutions for FY 1999 and thereafter that would increase the level of total budget outlays beyond those budgeted for FY 1998. Requires a two-thirds vote of each House of the Congress to increase the internal revenue, except if there is a:  (1) declaration of war; or (2) military conflict causing an imminent and serious threat to national security and a joint resolution declaring so has been adopted.",2025-08-21T16:12:26Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/2329
105-hr-2360,105,hr,2360,Price Stability Act of 1997,Economics and Public Finance,1997-07-31,1997-08-15,Referred to the Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy.,House,"Rep. Saxton, Jim [R-NJ-3]",NJ,R,S000097,1,"Price Stability Act of 1997 - Declares that the primary and overriding goal of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Open Market Committee with regard to monetary policy shall be the achievement of price stability. Authorizes the Board and the Committee to suspend such goal if the Committee, by unanimous vote, and the President jointly determine such suspension necessary due to a public interest exigency. Instructs the Board and the Committee to establish an explicit numerical definition of the goal of price stability using prescribed criteria.",2025-08-21T16:13:28Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/2360
105-hr-2364,105,hr,2364,To reduce Federal spending in several programs.,Economics and Public Finance,1997-07-31,1997-08-29,"Referred to the Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education, Training and Life-Long Learning.",House,"Rep. Shays, Christopher [R-CT-4]",CT,R,S001144,0,"TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Defense      Title II:  Other Discretionary Accounts      Title III:  Entitlements Title I:  Defense - Directs the Secretary of Defense to reduce: (1) by FY 2003 the Department of Defense (DOD) strategic nuclear force to include a maximum of 300 Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles; and (2) DOD theater missile defense programs by terminating the Navy sea-based area theater missile defense system, the Army Medium Extended Air Defense System, the Air Force airborne laser for destruction of missiles system, and the Space and Missile Tracking System. (Sec. 102) Prohibits funds from being appropriated to DOD for fiscal years after 1997 for the production of Trident II (D-5) missiles for the Navy.  Requires the Secretary to retire eight Trident I submarines during FY 2000 through 2003. (Sec. 103) Prohibits funds from being appropriated to DOD for fiscal years after 1997 for:  (1) assistance to Israel for development of the Arrow missile; and (2) research, development, test, and evaluation or for procurement for the Marine Corps V-22 Osprey aircraft program. (Sec. 105) Requires the Secretary to retire 20 Air Force KC-135E aircraft during each of FY 1998 through 2002. (Sec. 106) Directs the Secretary to assign to a unit of the armed forces members who are:  (1) in transit during a scheduled move from one military installation to another; and (2) undergoing military training other than basic training. (Sec. 107) Requires the Secretary to increase the surcharge on sale prices of goods and services sold in commissary stores so that commissary prices are increased by at least ten percent. (Sec. 108) Amends the Arms Export Control Act to provide that any sale of major defense equipment approved under such Act shall include an appropriate charge for costs incurred by the United States in the research, development, and production of such equipment.   Provides an exception.  Repeals a provision of such Act which allows for the recovery of certain administrative expenses when such expenses are neither salaries of U.S. armed forces nor represent unfunded estimated costs of civilian retirement and other benefits. Title II:  Other Discretionary Accounts - Requires the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to terminate U.S. participation in the International Space Station program.  Authorizes appropriations for termination costs. (Sec. 202) Amends the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to require the interest rates on loans and advances under such Act to equal the coupon equivalent yield on Treasury obligations of comparable maturity at the most recent Treasury auction of such obligations.  Provides for loan origination fees from borrowers of loans made under such Act. Eliminates references to existing interest rates under such Act. (Sec. 203) Amends the National Forest Management Act of 1976 to eliminate below-cost timber sales from National Forest System lands. (Sec. 204) Repeals provisions of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 regarding the foreign market development cooperator program. (Sec. 205) Repeals provisions of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 regarding the Cochran Fellowship Program. (Sec. 206) Prohibits the NASA Administrator from obligating funds for the Advanced Subsonic Technology Program, High-Speed Research, or the National Aeronautics Facility. (Sec. 207) Repeals the Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965 effective September 30, 1997. (Sec. 208) Amends the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933 to prohibit the authorization of appropriations to carry out such Act after September 30, 1997. Title III:  Entitlements - Requires, for any arrangement for the sale of electric power entered into by a Federal Power Marketing Administration after October 1, 1997, that:  (1) the rate for the sale of power be the market rate established by competitive bidding and no discount be provided to any purchaser; and (2) no entity be entitled to any preference or priority right to contract for or purchase such power. Makes certain provisions of the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act regarding a residential power exchange program inapplicable to arrangements for the purchase or sale of electric power entered into after October 1, 1997. Prohibits Federal Power Marketing Administrations from entering into or renewing a power marketing contract for a term that exceeds five years. (Sec. 302) Repeals provisions of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 regarding a market access program. (Sec. 303) Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to extend and increase tobacco price support program marketing assessments on producers, purchasers, and importers. (Sec. 304) Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for the payment of in-school interest by certain student loan borrowers. (Sec. 305) Amends Federal veterans' provisions to increase from $2 to $5 the prescription drug copayment required from certain veterans. Extends such requirement through FY 2002.",2025-07-21T19:44:15Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/2364
105-hr-2264,105,hr,2264,"Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998",Economics and Public Finance,1997-07-25,1997-11-13,Became Public Law No: 105-78.,House,"Rep. Porter, John Edward [R-IL-10]",IL,R,P000444,0,"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:  Other Provisions      Title VII:  National Health Museum Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 - Makes appropriations for FY 1998 for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and related agencies. Title I:  Department of Labor - Department of Labor Appropriations Act, 1998 - Makes appropriations for 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 for salaries and expenses 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; and (15) 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, 1998 - Makes appropriations for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for:  (1) the Health Resources and Services Administration; (2) Federal interest subsidies for medical facilities; (3) health education assistance loans; (4) the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program Trust Fund; (5) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; (6) the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including amounts for the John E. Fogarty International Center, the National Library of Medicine, the Office of the Director, and buildings and facilities; (7) the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; (8) retirement pay and medical benefits for Public Health Service commissioned officers; (9) the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research; (10) the Health Care Financing Administration for grants to States for Medicaid, payments to health care trust funds, program management, and the Health Maintenance Organization Loan and Loan Guarantee Fund; (11) the Administration for Children and Families for family support payments to States; (12) low income home energy assistance; (13) refugee and entrant assistance; (14) the child care and development block grant; (15) the social services block grant; (16) children and families services programs; (17) family preservation and support; (18) payments to States for foster care and adoption assistance; (19) the Administration on Aging; (20) the Office of the Secretary for general departmental management; (21) the Office of Inspector General; (22) the Office for Civil Rights; and (23) policy research. Rescinds FY 1998 funds for a sample study of child welfare. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title. (Sec. 211) Authorizes the Secretary of HHS to provide for the relocation of the Gillis W. Long Hansen's Disease Center in Carville, Louisiana.  Sets forth administrative provisions with respect to relocation of patients and separation of employees. (Sec. 212) 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 applicant for the award certifies to the Secretary 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 minors into engaging in sexual activities. (Sec. 213) Requires the Secretary of HHS to contract with the Institute of Medicine to conduct a study of policies and process used by NIH to determine funding allocations for biomedical research. Directs the Institute to report study results and recommendations to specified congressional committees. Title III:  Department of Education - Department of Education Appropriations Act, 1998 - Makes appropriations for the Department of Education for:  (1) education reform; (2) education for the disadvantaged; (3) impact aid; (4) school improvement activities; (5) a child literacy initiative; (6) Indian education; (7) bilingual and immigrant education; (8) special education; (9) rehabilitation services and disability research; (10) special institutions for persons with disabilities; (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) the Institute of Museum and Library Services; (20) departmental management; (21) the Office for Civil Rights; and (22) the Office of the Inspector General. Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize appropriations for additional assistance to local educational agencies affected by specified Federal activities, including the closing of military bases on which children to whom such agencies are responsible for providing education reside. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title. (Sec. 301) Prohibits funds appropriated in this Act from being used to:  (1) transport teachers or students in order to overcome racial imbalance in any school or to carry out a racial desegregation plan; or (2) prevent the implementation of programs of voluntary prayer and meditation in public schools. (Sec. 305) Bars the use of funds provided to the Department of Education or to an applicable program in any Act in FY 1998 to field or pilot test, implement, administer, or distribute national tests. Makes such prohibition inapplicable to the International Math and Science Study or the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). (Sec. 306) Directs the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to conduct a feasibility study to determine if an equivalency scale can be developed that would allow test scores from commercially available standardized tests and State assessments to be compared with each other and the NAEP.  Requires a report to the White House and specified congressional committees. (Sec. 307) Vests exclusive authority over all policies, direction, and guidelines for developing voluntary national tests pursuant to a specified August 1997 contract entered into between the Department of Education and the American Institutes for Research in the National Assessment Governing Board.  Requires the Board to review the contract and modify it, or negotiate a new contract, as necessary. Directs the Board to determine:  (1) the extent to which test items selected for use are free from racial, cultural, or gender bias; (2) whether the test development process and test items adequately assess reading and mathematics comprehension in the form most likely to yield accurate information regarding student achievement in such areas; (3) whether such process and items take into account the needs of disadvantaged, limited English proficient, and disabled students; and (4) whether such process takes into account how parents, guardians, and students will be appropriately informed about testing content, purpose, and uses. (Sec. 308) Directs NAS to submit a report to specified congressional committees that evaluates test items in the contract for:    (1) technical quality for fourth grade reading and eighth grade mathematics; (2) validity, reliability, and adequacy and evaluates the validity of any design which links test results to student performance; (3) the degree to which they provide valid and useful information to the public; (4) racial, cultural, and gender bias; (5) whether they address the needs of disadvantaged, limited English proficient, and disabled students; and (6) use in tracking, graduation, or promotion of students. (Sec. 309) Requires NAS to report to specified entities recommendations to ensure that tests used to assess performance:  (1) are not used in a discriminatory manner or inappropriately for student promotion, tracking, or graduation; and (2) adequately assess student reading and mathematics comprehension in the form most likely to yield accurate information regarding student achievement in such areas. (Sec. 310) Bars the Federal Government from requiring:  (1) State or local educational agencies or schools to administer any pilot or field test in any subject or grade; or (2) any student to take any national test in any subject or grade. (Sec. 311)  Prohibits Federal, State, or local educational agencies from requiring private or parochial school students or home-schooled individuals to take any test pursuant to the contract without parental or guardian consent. Title IV:  Related Agencies - Makes appropriations for 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) National Commission on Libraries and Information Science; (7) National Council on Disability; (8) National Education Goals Panel; (9) National Labor Relations Board; (10) National Mediation Board; (11) Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission; (12) Medicare Payment Advisory Commission; (13) Railroad Retirement Board for the dual benefits payments account, Federal payments to the railroad retirement accounts, administration, and the Office of Inspector General; (14) 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. 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 to carry out programs of distributing sterile needles for the hypodermic injection of illegal drugs unless, after March 31, 1998, the Secretary of HHS determines that such programs are effective in preventing the spread of HIV and do not encourage the use of illegal drugs and such programs are operated in accordance with criteria established by the Secretary. (Sec. 507) Sets forth Buy American provisions. (Sec. 509) 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. 513) 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. 514) 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. 516) Amends the Social Security Act to increase fees required from States for Federal administration of State supplementary payments under the SSI program.  Provides for the deposit of a portion of such fees into a special fund and authorizes appropriations from the fund for administrative expenses of the SSI program. (Sec. 517) Amends the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997 to extend certain voluntary separation incentive payments to Federal employees who separate before December 31, 1997 (currently, September 30, 1997). (Sec. 518) Bars the use of funds made available in this Act to pay the expenses of an election officer appointed by a court to oversee an election of any officer or trustee for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. (Sec. 519) Repeals a provision of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 that requires increased excise taxes on tobacco to be credited against total payments made by parties pursuant to Federal legislation implementing the tobacco industry settlement agreement of June 20, 1997. Title VI:  Other Provisions - Morris K. Udall Parkinson's Research Act of 1997 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of NIH to establish a program for research and training with respect to Parkinson's disease. Authorizes the Director to award up to ten Core Center Grants to encourage the development of innovative multidisciplinary research and provide training concerning Parkinson's.  Designates each center funded under such grants as a Morris K. Udall Center for Research on Parkinson's Disease.  Limits support for centers to a five-year period but authorizes funding extensions based on recommendations by peer review groups. Authorizes the Director to establish a grant program to support investigators who have proven records of excellence and innovation in Parkinson's research and who demonstrate potential for future breakthroughs in the understanding of the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of Parkinson's.  Limits such grants to five-year periods. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 604) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to extend the authorization of appropriations for refugee assistance through FY 1999. (Sec. 606) Provides that certain payments made by the Secretary of Defense to persons captured and interned by North Vietnam shall not be considered income for purposes of determining eligibility for, or the amount of benefits under, titles XVI or XIX (SSI) or Medicaid) of the Social Security Act. (Sec. 609) Emergency Student Loan Consolidation Act of 1997 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to allow until October 1, 1998, the consolidation, under the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP), of all of a student's loans under both the FFELP and the Direct Loan Program. Prohibits an eligible lender from discriminating against any borrower seeking a consolidation loan:  (1) based on the number or type of eligible student loans the borrower seeks to consolidate; (2) based on the type or category of institution of higher education that the borrower attended; (3) based on the interest rate to be charged with respect to the consolidation loan; or (4) with respect to the types of repayment schedules offered to such borrower. Sets forth required interest rates for such consolidation loans. Makes such consolidation loans available notwithstanding any pending application by a student for a direct consolidation loan, upon the student's withdrawal of such application. Revises HEA need analysis requirements to exclude from the calculation of available family income, and so reduce the family contribution for dependent or independent students by, the amount of the Hope Tax Credit taken by the student, the student's parents, or the student's spouse (thus providing that students will not receive reduced financial aid as a result of qualifying for and receiving the new Hope Tax Credits under the Internal Revenue Code). Reduces the amount of certain funds available for administrative expenses under HEA student assistance provisions. Title VII:  National Health Museum - National Health Museum Development Act - Requires the facility known as the National Health Museum to be located in the District of Columbia on land owned by the Federal Government or the District of Columbia. (Sec. 704) Establishes the National Health Museum Commission. (Sec. 707) Authorizes appropriations.",2025-04-07T15:33:52Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/2264
105-hr-2267,105,hr,2267,"Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998",Economics and Public Finance,1997-07-25,1998-01-27,The communication was referred to the Committees on Appropriations and the Budget.,House,"Rep. Rogers, Harold [R-KY-5]",KY,R,R000395,0,"(On June 25, 1998, the Supreme Court ruled that the Line Item Veto Act (Public Law 104-130) is unconstitutional, thus restoring provisions that had been cancelled as summarized below.) (On December 2, 1997, the President exercised his line item veto authority to cancel $5 million in discretionary budget authority for one item included in this Act:  a cooperative agreement with Montana State University for a research program on green buildings out of funds provided for the National Institute of Standards and Technology.  The following revised digest summarizes the enacted version of H.R. 2267 as modified by line item veto.)  (Note:  The high degree of specificity of the item cancelled precluded its inclusion in the original law's summary.  As a result, the original law's summary and the summary of the law after the item veto are identical.  For more information on the specific item vetoed, see the text of the conference report for H.R. 2267, H. Rept. 105-405, and Presidential Cancellation Number 97-82.)) TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Department of Justice      Title II:  Department of Commerce and Related Agencies      Title III:  The Judiciary      Title IV:  Department of State and Related Agencies      Title V:  Related Agencies      Title VI:  General Provisions      Title VII:  Rescissions      Title VIII:  Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 - Makes appropriations for FY 1998 for the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the judiciary, and related agencies. Title I:  Department of Justice - Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 1998 - Makes appropriations for the Department of Justice for:  (1) general administration; (2) counterterrorism activities; (3) administration of pardon and clemency petitions and immigration-related activities; (4) specified violent crime reduction programs; (5) the Office of Inspector General; (6) the U.S. Parole Commission; (7) legal activities; (8) deportation of certain denied asylum applicants; (9) antitrust activities; (10) the Office of U.S. Attorneys; (11) the U.S. Trustee Program; (12) the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission; (13) the U.S. Marshals Service; (14) fees and expenses of witnesses; (15) the Community Relations Service; (16) certain uses of the Assets Forfeiture Fund; (17) administrative expenses related to the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act; (18) the Radiation Exposure Compensation Trust Fund; (19) interagency law enforcement with respect to organized crime drug trafficking; (20) the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); (21) construction for specified agencies; (22) the Drug Enforcement Administration; (23) the Immigration and Naturalization Service; (24) the Federal prison system, including amounts for substance abuse treatment in Federal prisons and for buildings and facilities; (25) Office of Justice programs; (26) State and local law enforcement assistance; (27) the Executive Office for Weed and Seed; (28) juvenile justice programs; and (29) public safety officers' benefits. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. (Sec. 103) Prohibits the use of funds appropriated by this title to:  (1) pay for abortions except where the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term, or in the case of rape; or (2) require any person to perform or facilitate an abortion. (Sec. 109) Amends the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 to eliminate provisions that make the Crime Victims Fund available for judicial branch administrative costs. Authorizes the use of unobligated sums for such costs by the Director of the Office for Victims of Crime to improve services for the benefit of crime victims. (Sec. 110) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (INA) to eliminate provisions establishing the Immigration Detention Account. (Sec. 111) Establishes additional eligibility requirements for aliens seeking adjustment to permanent resident status to require them to be beneficiaries of petitions for classification of immigrant status or applications for labor certifications filed before January 14, 1998. Amends the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1995 to repeal the sunset on the INA provision (Section 245 (i)) authorizing adjustment of the status of certain aliens to permanent resident. Extends eligibility for adjustment to permanent resident status to certain aliens eligible to receive immigrant visas who:  (1) are present in the United States pursuant to a lawful admission on the application filing date; and (2) have not, for an aggregate period exceeding 180 days, failed to maintain a continuous lawful status, engaged in unauthorized employment, or otherwise violated the terms and conditions of admission. (Sec. 112) Philippine Army, Scouts, and Guerilla Veterans of World War II Naturalization Act of 1997 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1990 with respect to the naturalization of certain Philippine World War II veterans. (Sec. 113) Amends the INA to modify the definition of ""special immigrant,"" with respect to aliens dependent on the juvenile courts, to authorize such status only with the express consent of the Attorney General to the dependency order serving as a precondition to the granting of special immigrant juvenile status.  Provides that no juvenile court has jurisdiction to determine the custody status or placement of such aliens in the custody of the Attorney General unless the Attorney General consents to such jurisdiction. (Sec. 115) Amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to repeal a requirement that a person required to register as a sex offender do so with a designated State law enforcement agency. Requires that a determination of whether a person is a sexually violent predator be made by a court after considering the recommendation of a board composed of experts in the behavior and treatment of sex offenders, victims' rights advocates, and representatives of law enforcement agencies. Authorizes the Attorney General to:  (1) waive such requirement upon determining that the State has established alternative procedures or legal standards for designating a person as a sexually violent predator; and (2) approve alternative measures of comparable or greater effectiveness in protecting the public from unusually dangerous or recidivistic sexual offenders. Modifies requirements regarding release, parole, supervised release, and probation of such persons to require specified actions by the court or another responsible officer or official, including reporting address changes as provided by State law.  Directs the court or such officer or official to inform the person that:  (1) if the person changes residence to another State, the person must report the change of address as provided by State law and comply with any registration requirement in the new State of residence; and (2) the person must also register in a State where the person is employed, carries on a vocation, or is a student. Revises registration procedures to require that State procedures ensure that:  (1) the registration information is promptly made available to a law enforcement agency having jurisdiction where the person expects to reside and is promptly entered into the appropriate State records or data system; (2) conviction data and fingerprints for persons required to register are promptly transmitted to the FBI; (3) the address for persons required to register be verified at least annually; (4) updated address information is promptly made available to a law enforcement agency having jurisdiction where the person will reside and is promptly entered into the appropriate State records or data system; and (5) procedures are in place to accept registration information from persons who were convicted in another State, convicted of a Federal offense, or sentenced by a court martial, and from nonresident offenders who have crossed into another State to work or attend school. Directs States to participate in the national sex offender registry database in accordance with guidelines issued by the Attorney General. Includes independent contractors acting at the direction of law enforcement agencies within the scope of provisions granting immunity for good faith conduct. Amends the Pam Lychner Sexual Offender Tracking and Identification Act of 1996 to:  (1) direct that States be allowed a specified time frame to establish minimally sufficient sexual offender registration programs; and (2) make related Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 provisions effective at the conclusion of such time frame. Extends registration requirements to sex offenders convicted in Federal or military courts.  Requires such offenders to register in accordance with the laws of the States in which they reside. Requires Federal and military authorities to ensure that such offenders are notified of the registration obligation. Authorizes the Attorney General to protect the confidentiality of the identity and location of persons subject to registration requirements as convicted offenders under Federal or State law, including prescribing alternative procedures to those otherwise provided by Federal or State law for registration and tracking of such persons. Expresses the sense of the Congress that each State should have in effect a law that makes it a crime to stalk any individual, especially children, without requiring that such individual be physically harmed or abducted before a stalker is restrained or punished. Grants States three years from the date of enactment to implement amendments made by this Act which impose new requirements, with two-year extensions authorized for States making good faith efforts to implement such amendments. (Sec. 116) Amends the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1993 to increase the number of visas set aside under a specified pilot program for immigrants seeking to enter the United States for purposes of engaging in a new commercial enterprise.  Extends such program. (Sec. 117) Requires the Attorney General to provide a magnetometer and guards at specified real property leased to the Federal Government in Albuquerque, New Mexico. (Sec. 118) Amends the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 to authorize the transfer of surplus Government property required for correctional facility use as needed by States, localities, and territories for law enforcement or emergency management response purposes. (Sec. 121) Directs the Attorney General to submit to the Congress a plan to require sex offenders, prior to release from Federal custody following a conviction for a criminal offense against a minor or a sexually violent offense, to provide DNA samples to the appropriate law enforcement agency for inclusion in a national law enforcement DNA database. (Sec. 122) Authorizes the FBI Director, for a three-year period and with the approval of the Attorney General, to establish a personnel management system providing for the compensation and performance management of up to 3,000 non-special agent employees to fill specified critical positions.  Sets forth reporting and evaluation requirements with respect to such system. Grants the Secretary of the Treasury the same authority provided to the Office of Personnel Management to establish three-year demonstration projects to fill specified critical positions. (Sec. 123) Authorizes the court to postpone the effective date of an automatic stay of prospective relief subject to a pending motion to modify or terminate relief in civil actions regarding prison conditions for up to 60 days for good cause. (Sec. 125) Amends the INA to extend the visa waiver pilot program for certain visitors through April 30, 1998. Title II:  Department of Commerce and Related Agencies - Department of Commerce and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 - Makes appropriations for the Department of Commerce for:  (1) the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative; (2) the International Trade Commission; (3) export administration and national security activities; (4) the Economic Development Administration; (5) minority business development; (6) economic and statistical analysis programs; (7) the Census Bureau; (8) the National Telecommunications and Information Administration; (9) public telecommunications facilities, planning, and construction grants; (10) information infrastructure grants; (11) the Patent and Trademark Office; (12) the Under Secretary for Technology-Office of Technology Policy; (13) the National Institute of Standards and Technology, including the Manufacturing Extension Partnership and for renovation and construction of new research facilities; (14) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), including amounts for procurement, acquisition, and construction of new assets; (15) the Coastal Zone Management Fund; (16) the Fishermen's Contingency Fund; (17) the Foreign Fishing Observer Fund; (18) the Fisheries Finance Program Account; (19) general administration; and (20) the Office of Inspector General. Rescinds specified amounts of funds for NOAA operations, research, and facilities and for salaries and expenses of the U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title. (Sec. 209) Permits persons aggrieved by the use of any statistical method (including sampling) in violation of the Constitution or any provision of law (other than this Act) in connection with the 2000 or a subsequent decennial census to obtain relief in a civil action against the use of such method. Declares that it shall be the duty of a district court hearing an action under this section and the Supreme Court to advance on the docket and expedite the disposition of any such matter. Permits executive branch agencies authorized to carry out a census to obtain a declaratory judgment respecting whether or not the use of a statistical method to determine the population for purposes of apportionment or redistricting of Members in Congress is forbidden by the Constitution and U.S. law. Authorizes the Speaker of the House of Representatives to commence or join in a civil action to prevent the use of any statistical method in connection with the decennial census. Requires funds appropriated for the 2000 census to be used by the Census Bureau to plan, test, and become prepared to implement a census without using statistical methods.  Sets forth provisions regarding public availability of information relating to the number of persons enumerated. (Sec. 210) Establishes the Census Monitoring Board to monitor the preparation and implementation of the 2000 decennial census.  Requires the Board to make reports to the Congress and to make recommendations as to the feasibility of using postal personnel or private contractors to help carry out the census. Authorizes appropriations. Prohibits specified individuals from serving on, or entering into contracts with, the Board. Title III:  The Judiciary - Judiciary Appropriations Act, 1998 - Makes appropriations for:  (1) the Supreme Court; (2) the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; (3) the U.S. Court of International Trade; (4) the courts of appeals, district courts, and other judicial services; (5) violent crime reduction programs; (6) defender services; (7) fees of jurors and commissioners; (8) court security; (9) the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts; (10) the Federal Judicial Center; (11) judicial retirement funds; and (12) the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. (Sec. 304) Makes permanent authorities of the Judiciary Information Technology Fund (currently, such authorities terminate at the end of FY 1998). (Sec. 305) Establishes a Commission on Structural Alternatives for the Federal Courts of Appeals to:  (1) study the present division of the United States into the several judicial circuits; (2) study the structure and alignment of the Federal Court of Appeals system, with particular reference to the ninth circuit; and (3) report to the President and the Congress recommendations for changes in circuit boundaries or structure for the expeditious disposition of the caseload of such courts. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 306) Authorizes U.S. judges and justices to receive a salary adjustment during FY 1998.  Makes appropriations for such purposes. (Sec. 308) Amends the Federal criminal code to require public disclosure of amounts paid to court-appointed attorneys upon the court's approval of such payment.  Allows limited disclosure of such fees in appropriate cases in order to protect a defendant. Requires the court to provide reasonable notice of such disclosure to counsel prior to payment approval to allow the counsel to request redaction of such disclosure in the interests of the defendant. Directs the court to withhold disclosure of such payments until completion of any appeal, unless the defendant's interests will not be compromised. Title IV:  Department of State and Related Agencies - Department of State and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 - Makes appropriations for the Department of State for:  (1) administration of foreign affairs, diplomatic and consular programs; (2) salaries and expenses; (3) the Capital Investment Fund; (4) the Office of Inspector General; (5) representation allowances; (6) protection of foreign missions and officials; (7) security and maintenance of U.S. missions; (8) emergencies in the diplomatic and consular service; (9) the repatriation loans program account; (10) the American Institute in Taiwan; (11) the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Fund; (12) international organizations, conferences, peacekeeping, and commissions; (13) the Asia Foundation; and (14) the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. Rescinds a specified amount of funds for the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. Appropriates funds for the U.S. Information Agency for:  (1) international information programs; (2) information technology improvements; (3) educational and cultural exchanges; (4) the Eisenhower Exchange Fellowships, Incorporated; (5) the Israeli Arab Scholarship Program; (6) international broadcasting, including broadcasting to Cuba; (7) radio construction; (8) the Center for Cultural and Technical Interchange Between East and West; (9) the North-South Center; and (10) the National Endowment for Democracy. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. (Sec. 404) Transfers specified funds for purposes of implementing the International Cooperative Administrative Support Services program. Title V:  Related Agencies - Makes appropriations for the:  (1) Maritime Administration for operating-differential subsidies, maritime security, operations and training, and the maritime guaranteed loan program; (2) Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad; (3) Commission on Civil Rights; (4) Commission on Immigration Reform; (5) Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe; (6) Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC); (7) Federal Communications Commission (FCC); (8) Federal Maritime Commission; (9) Federal Trade Commission; (10) Gambling Impact Study Commission; (11) Legal Services Corporation; (12) Marine Mammal Commission; (13) Securities and Exchange Commission; (14) Small Business Administration, including amounts for the Office of Inspector General, business and disaster loans, and capital for the Surety Bond Guarantees Revolving Fund; and (15) State Justice Institute. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. (Sec. 505) Requires the Legal Services Corporation to implement a system of case information disclosure which shall apply to all basic field programs which receive funds from the Corporation from funds appropriated in this Act. Title VI:  General Provisions - Sets forth limitations on the use of funds under this Act. (Sec. 607) Sets forth Buy American provisions. (Sec. 608) Prohibits the use of funds made available by this Act to:  (1) enforce any EEOC guidelines covering harassment based on religion if such guidelines do not differ from proposed guidelines of October 1, 1993; or (2) provide specified personal comforts in the Federal prison system. (Sec. 609) Bars funds made available by this Act from being expended to pay for costs incurred in operating certain diplomatic or consular posts in Vietnam or increasing the number of personnel assigned to such posts unless the President certifies that the Vietnamese Government is cooperating in specified activities regarding recovery and analysis of American remains, accounting for prisoners-of-war and individuals missing in action, and investigations in Laos. (Sec. 610) Prohibits the use of funds made available by this Act for any United Nations undertaking when:  (1) such undertaking is a peacekeeping mission; (2) such undertaking will involve U.S. armed forces under the control of a foreign national; and (3) the President's military advisors have not submitted to the President a recommendation that such involvement is in the national security interests and the President has not submitted such recommendation to the Congress. (Sec. 617) Authorizes the court, in any criminal case (other than one in which the defendant is represented by assigned counsel paid for by the public) pending on or after this Act's enactment date, to award to a prevailing party, other than the United States, a reasonable attorney's fee and other litigation expenses, where the court finds that the U.S. position was vexatious, frivolous, or in bad faith, unless special circumstances make such award unjust. (Sec. 618) Makes funds provided by this Act unavailable to promote the sale or export of tobacco or tobacco products or to seek the reduction or removal by any foreign country of restrictions on the marketing of such products, except for restrictions which are not applied equally to all products of the same type. (Sec. 619) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act to pay the expenses of an election officer appointed by a court to oversee the election of any officer or trustee for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. (Sec. 621) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act to issue visas to certain individuals from Haiti, including those involved in specified extrajudicial and political killings. (Sec. 622) Repeals provisions of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 which appropriate funds for Federal universal service support programs. (Sec. 623) Requires the FCC to review and report on the implementation of universal service provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. (Sec. 628) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to afford a named individual relief for wrongful dismissal from the Department of Agriculture during a reduction in force, notwithstanding such individual's failure to file a timely appeal. (Sec. 632) Requires the Secretary of Energy to convey certain Federal land to Los Alamos County, New Mexico, and to the Secretary of the Interior in trust for the Pueblo of San Ildefonso for purposes of preservation, community self-sufficiency, or economic diversification.  Declares that the purpose of such conveyance is to fulfill U.S. obligations with respect to the Los Alamos National Laboratory under the Atomic Energy Community Act of 1955. Title VII:  Rescissions - Rescinds a specified amount of funds made available for the Department of Justice Working Capital Fund. Title VIII:  Emergency Supplemental Appropriations - Makes additional funds available for NOAA operations, research, and facilities for disaster assistance for the Bristol Bay and Kuskokwim areas of Alaska.  Makes such amount available only to the extent that the Secretary of Commerce transmits a determination that there is a commercial fishery failure.",2025-04-07T15:34:03Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/2267
105-hr-2230,105,hr,2230,Tax Relief Guarantee Act,Economics and Public Finance,1997-07-23,1997-07-23,Referred to House Rules,House,"Rep. Pitts, Joseph R. [R-PA-16]",PA,R,P000373,0,Tax Relief Guarantee Act - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to provide a point of order in the House of Representatives or the Senate against the consideration of legislation to raise revenues to meet a revenue shortfall for any of FY 1998 through 2002 in order to achieve a balanced Federal budget by FY 2002.,2025-08-21T16:13:53Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/2230
105-hr-2209,105,hr,2209,"Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1998",Economics and Public Finance,1997-07-22,1997-10-07,Became Public Law No: 105-55.,House,"Rep. Walsh, James T. [R-NY-25]",NY,R,W000099,0,"TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Congressional Operations      Title II:  Other Agencies      Title III:  General Provisions Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1998 - Makes appropriations for the legislative branch for FY 1998. Title I:  Congressional Operations - Congressional Operations Appropriations Act, 1998 - Makes appropriations for the Senate for: (1) expense allowances; (2) representation allowances for the Majority and Minority leaders; (3) salaries of specified officers, employees, and committees; (4) agency contributions for employee benefits; (5) inquiries and investigations; (6) the U.S. Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control; (7) the Offices of the Secretary, Sergeant at Arms, and Doorkeeper of the Senate; (8) miscellaneous items; (9) the Senators' Official Personnel and Office Expense Account; (10) stationery; and (11) official mail costs. (Sec. 1) Authorizes the Secretary of the Senate to make advance payments under contracts to provide services or deliver articles for the U.S. Government without regard to requirements governing advances under Federal public finance law. (Sec. 3) Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1973 to raise the limit on authorized mail, telegraph, telephone, stationery, office supplies, and home State office and travel expenses for Senators. Amends Federal law to make the Senators' Official Personnel and Office Expense Account available for the payment of franked mail expenses of Senators, beginning in FY 1998.  Repeals a provision of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1991 which authorized transfers of a limited amount of funds for mass mail to such Account. (Sec. 4) Increases the aggregate amount authorized for Senate committees by S. Res. 54, 105th Congress. (Sec. 5) Provides for increases in the aggregate compensation paid to employees in Senate offices. Makes appropriations for the House of Representatives for:  (1) House leadership offices; (2) Members' representational allowances; (3) committee employees; (4) officers and employees; (5) specified allowances and expenses; and (6) the House Child Care Center. (Sec. 101) Makes permanent certain laws establishing the Calendar Corrections Office and providing a lump sum allowance for the Office. (Sec. 103) Amends the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1996 to authorize lump sum payments to House employees upon approval of the employing authority.  (Current law authorizes such payments for accrued annual leave of separated employees.) (Sec. 104) Amends the House of Representatives Administrative Reform Technical Corrections Act to authorize the hiring of clerk hire interns in Members' offices outside of the District of Columbia. (Sec. 106) Amends the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1987 to authorize the Chief Administrative Officer of the House to donate computer-related equipment to public elementary and secondary schools in the District of Columbia in FY 1998 without regard to certain requirements governing donations.  Limits the total number of workstations donated to 1,000. (Sec. 107) Confers certain authorities regarding waivers in reduction of pay for certain former members of the uniformed services and annuities and pay on reemployment on the Committee on House Oversight (currently, the Speaker of the House) with respect to House employees. (Sec. 108) Authorizes the Chief Administrative Officer of the House to make advance payments under contracts to provide services or deliver articles for the U.S. Government without regard to requirements governing advances under Federal public finance law. (Sec. 109) Establishes an account in the House for purposes of making payments to the Employees' Compensation Fund. Makes appropriations for:  (1) the Joint Economic, Printing, and Taxation Committees; (2) the Office of the Attending Physician; and (3) the Capitol Police Board. (Sec. 110) Sets forth administrative provisions regarding the Capitol Police Board and requires the Board to establish unified schedules of rates of basic pay and a unified leave system for members and civilian employees. Appropriates funds for the Capitol Guide Service and Special Services Office and for statements of appropriations. Makes appropriations for:  (1) the Office of Compliance; (2) the Congressional Budget Office; (3) the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) for salaries and expenses, Capitol buildings and grounds, House and Senate office buildings, and the Capitol power plant; (4) the Library of Congress for the Congressional Research Service's (CRS) salaries and expenses; and (5) the Government Printing Office (GPO) for congressional printing and binding. Title II:  Other Agencies - Appropriates funds for:  (1) the Botanic Garden; and (2) the Library of Congress for salaries and expenses, the Copyright Office, books for the blind and physically handicapped, and furniture and furnishings. (Sec. 201) Provides a limited amount of funds for the Library and CRS for attendance at meetings concerned with the function for which an appropriation is made. (Sec. 202) Prohibits the use of funds by the Library to administer any flexible or compressed work schedule which:  (1) applies to any manager or supervisor in a position equal to or higher than a GS-15 grade; and (2) grants such individual the right to not be at work on a workday because of time worked on another workday. (Sec. 203) Establishes limits on:  (1) the number of employees hired by the Library to perform reimbursable work for other agencies; and (2) funds for representation and reception expenses associated with the Library incentive awards program and overseas field offices. (Sec. 207) Establishes the Cooperative Acquisitions Program Revolving Fund for financing a Library program to acquire foreign publications and research materials on behalf of participating institutions on a cost-recovery basis. Makes appropriations for:  (1) the AOC for Library buildings and grounds; (2) GPO for salaries and expenses of the Office of the Superintendent of Documents; and (3) the General Accounting Office (GAO). Sets forth authorized uses of, and limits on, such funds. Title III:  General Provisions - Sets forth prohibitions on the use of funds appropriated by this Act. (Sec. 305) Sets forth Buy American provisions. (Sec. 306) Authorizes appropriations as necessary to an account for awards and settlements authorized under the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995. (Sec. 307) Makes a limited amount of funds available for costs of the Legislative Branch Financial Managers Council. (Sec. 308) Amends the Federal criminal code to make certain penalty provisions for unauthorized uses of the seals of the United States, President, Vice President, and Senate applicable to seals of the House and the Congress as well. (Sec. 310) Amends Federal civil service law to apply severance pay provisions to employees of the Senate restaurants, other than temporary employees.  Sets forth early retirement provisions with respect to such employees and entitles them to annuities. Requires the AOC to establish a program under which voluntary separation incentive payments may be offered to up to 50 eligible Senate restaurant employees for voluntary separation, through resignation or retirement, through FY 1999. Treats any AOC service of certain Senate restaurant employees who are involuntarily separated before FY 2000 as competitive service in the case of employees who apply for executive branch positions. Authorizes the AOC to establish a program to provide retraining, job placement, and counseling services to current and former Senate restaurant employees (other than reemployed annuitants or temporary employees). (Sec. 311) Amends Federal law to limit compensation for the Director of Engineering (under the AOC) to a rate considered appropriate by the AOC but not to exceed 90 percent of the highest total rate for the Senior Executive Service for the locality involved.    (Currently, such compensation is equal to the rate of basic pay for level V of the Executive Schedule.)",2025-04-07T15:33:52Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/2209
105-hr-2191,105,hr,2191,National Debt Repayment Act of 1997,Economics and Public Finance,1997-07-17,1998-09-16,Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H7898),House,"Rep. Neumann, Mark W. [R-WI-1]",WI,R,N000054,109,"National Debt Repayment Act of 1997 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require concurrent resolutions on the budget, beginning with the one for the first fiscal year after there is a surplus, to set forth totals of budget outlays and Federal revenues for the budget year and each fiscal year concerned such that the annual rate of change in outlays is at least one percentage point lower than the corresponding change in revenues for each such year. Permits the Congress to waive such requirement for fiscal years in which a declaration of war is in effect or the United States is engaged in military conflict posing a serious threat to national security or for the budget year and the next fiscal year if real economic growth has been negative for two consecutive calendar quarters. Amends Federal law to require the Secretary of the Treasury to use any budget surplus for a fiscal year, with one-third allocated to each of the following, to:  (1) exchange special issue nonmarketable Government bonds in the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund or the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund with marketable Government securities; (2) invest in marketable Government securities to be held in a Tax Cut Offset Trust Fund to offset future revenue reductions; and (3) exchange special issue nonmarketable Government securities in the Highway Trust Fund and the Hazardous Substance Superfund with marketable ones. Requires the surplus to be allocated, in specified increments, to repay the public debt when Government trust funds, including those described above, no longer hold nonmarketable securities. Prohibits receipts and disbursements of Government trust funds, in an amount up to the value of marketable Government securities contained in any such fund, from being counted as new budget authority, outlays, receipts, or deficit or surplus for purposes of the Federal or congressional budgets or the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Exempts such receipts and disbursements from any statutory general budget limitation on expenditures and net lending.  Directs the Secretary, upon expenditure from a trust fund of any money not so counted, to sell a corresponding amount of marketable Government securities from the fund and reduce its balance accordingly.",2025-08-21T16:14:24Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/2191
105-hr-2169,105,hr,2169,"Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998",Economics and Public Finance,1997-07-16,1997-11-04,"For actions pursuant to the Line Item Veto Act (P.L. 104-130), see House Document 105-168.",House,"Rep. Wolf, Frank R. [R-VA-10]",VA,R,W000672,0,"(On June 25, 1998, the Supreme Court ruled that the Line Item Veto Act (Public Law 104-130) is unconstitutional, thus restoring provisions that had been cancelled as summarized below.) (On November 1, 1997, the President exercised the line-item veto to cancel the dollar amounts of discretionary budget authority in connection with the following projects contained in the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998:  (1) improvements by the Federal Railroad Administration to the Seward dock, Seward, Alaska; (2) an Electronic Distribution Center for Surplus Transit-Related Equipment (Federal Transit Administration); and (3) a transportation emergency preparedness and response demonstration project, including an underground emergency transportation management center using satellite communications, Arab, Alabama (Research and Special Programs Administration).  (Note:  The high degree of specificity of the items cancelled precluded their inclusion in the original law's summary.  As a result, the original law's summary and the summary of the law after the item vetoes are identical.  For more information on the specific items vetoed, see the text of the conference report for H.R. 2169, H.Rept. 105-313, and Presidential Cancellation Numbers 97-72 through 97-74.)) TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Department of Transportation      Title II:  Related Agencies      Title III:  General Provisions    Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 - Title I:  Department of Transportation - Makes appropriations for FY 1998 (with specified rescissions, transfers of funds, limitations on obligations and direct loans, and liquidations of contract authorizations) for:  (1) the Office of the Secretary of Transportation; (2) the Coast Guard; (3) the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); (4) the Federal Highway Administration (FHA); (5) the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; (6) the Federal Railroad Administration; (7) the Federal Transit Administration; (8) the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation; (9) the Research and Special Programs Administration; (10) the Office of the Inspector General; and (11) the Surface Transportation Board. Title II:  Related Agencies - Makes appropriations for FY 1998 for:  (1) the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board; and (2) the National Transportation Safety Board. Title III:  General Provisions - Sets forth specified prohibitions, limitations, permissions, and mandates with respect to the use of appropriations under this Act identical or very similar to those enacted in the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997 (Public Law 104-205). (Sec. 316) Defines ""capital project"" for formula grant purposes. (Sec. 320) Reduces the amount of funds provided in this Act for the Transportation Administrative Service Center. (Sec. 325) Prohibits the use of funds (as in Public Law 104-205) for employee training which:  (1) does not meet identified needs for knowledge, skills, and abilities bearing directly upon the performance of official duties; (2) contains elements likely to induce high levels of emotional response or psychological stress in some participants; (3) does not require prior employee notification of the content and methods to be used in the training and written end of course evaluations; (4) contains any methods or content associated with religious or quasi-religious belief systems or ""new age"" belief systems; (5) is offensive to, or designed to change, participants' personal values or lifestyle outside the workplace; or (6) includes content related to human immunodeficiency virus-acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV-AIDS) other than that necessary to make employees more aware of its medical ramifications and the workplace rights of HIV-positive employees. (Sec. 331) Prohibits expenditure of funds made available under this Act by any entity that does not agree to comply with the Buy American Act. Expresses the sense of Congress that entities receiving assistance under this Act should purchase only U.S.-made equipment and products to the greatest extent practicable. Prohibits the use of funds for contracts with persons falsely labeling products as made in America. (Sec. 332) Makes receipts collected from users of fitness centers operated by or for the Department of Transportation available to support their operation and maintenance. (Sec. 333) Prohibits the use of funds for improvements to the Miller Highway in New York City, New York. (Sec. 334) Declares that none of the funds in this Act shall be available to implement or enforce regulations that would result in the withdrawal of a slot from an air carrier at O'Hare International Airport in excess of the total slots withdrawn from that air carrier as of October 31, 1993, if such additional slot is to be allocated to another air carrier or foreign air carrier. (Sec. 335) Directs the FAA to provide personnel at Dutch Harbor, Alaska, to provide real-time weather and runway observation and other functions to help ensure aviation safety. (Sec. 336) Prohibits the provision of essential air service to communities in the 48 contiguous States that are fewer than 70 miles from the nearest large and medium hub airport, or that require a rate of subsidy per passenger in excess of $200 unless such point is greater than 210 miles from the nearest large or medium hub airport. (Sec. 337) Amends the International Air Transportation Competition Act of 1979 with respect to exceptions to the prohibition on common carrier permits for air passenger transportation (for compensation or hire) between Love Field, Texas, and one or more points outside Texas.  Declares that the exception for commuter aircraft with a passenger capacity of 56 passengers or less includes any aircraft (not exceeding gross aircraft weight of 300,000 pounds) reconfigured to accommodate 56 or fewer passengers.  Exempts from the prohibition air transportation of individuals from Love Field to one or more points within the States of Kansas, Alabama, and Mississippi (currently, just Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas), subject to specified conditions. Directs the Administrator of the FAA to monitor the safety of flight operations in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area and take necessary action to ensure safe aviation operations.  Requires the Administrator to notify specified congressional committees if aviation operations in the area are restricted due to unsafe airspace management conditions. (Sec. 339) Directs the Department of the Navy to transfer the inactive USNS EDENTON (ATS-1) to the U.S. Coast Guard. (Sec. 340) Declares that monies paid by diversion from airport revenues for claims related to ceded lands owned by native Americans, native Hawaiians, or Alaskan natives shall not be subject to repayment.  Prohibits further payment of such claims from airport revenues. (Sec. 341) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act by the Coast Guard to issue or enforce certain regulations under the Edible Oil Regulatory Reform Act, unless such regulations recognize and provide, with respect to (animal) fats, (vegetable) oils, and greases, for differences in physical, chemical, biological, and other relevant properties, and in environmental effects. (Sec. 342) Authorizes the Secretary to allow issuers to redeem preferred stock sold to the Department of Transportation. (Sec. 343) Extends from September 30, 1997, to February 28, 1998, the authority for the operation of longer combination vehicles in Nebraska. (Sec. 344) Requires the FAA to furnish employment records of air pilots to non-scheduled air carriers within 30 days of a request before it can require such carriers to check such records before hiring an individual as a pilot. (Sec. 345) Amends Federal transportation law to direct the Secretary to grant or deny, within 120 days after receiving it, any application for an exemption (to improve air service between a nonhub airport and a high density airport) from certain requirements pertaining to the use of slots (arrival and departure spaces) at such high density airports. (Sec. 346) Authorizes the Secretary to take receipt of such equipment and sites of the Ground Wave Emergency Network (GWEN) as may be necessary for the establishment of the Nationwide Differential Global Positioning System (NDGPS).  Authorizes the Secretary to establish the NDGPS. (Sec. 347) Authorizes the Secretary, after notifying the Committees on Appropriations, to transfer certain appropriated U.S.  Coast Guard funds in order to pay rent assessments by the General Services Administration with respect to DOT's prior year's space needs. (Sec. 348) Amends the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 1998 to preclude Members of Congress from participating in a retirement plan change open season.",2025-04-07T15:33:52Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/2169
105-hr-2160,105,hr,2160,"Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998",Economics and Public Finance,1997-07-14,1998-01-27,"For actions pursuant to the line item Veto Act (P.L. 104-130), see House Document 105-179.",House,"Rep. Skeen, Joe [R-NM-2]",NM,R,S000463,0,"(On June 25, 1998, the Supreme Court ruled that the Line Item Veto Act (Public Law 104-130) is unconstitutional, thus restoring provisions that had been cancelled as summarized below.) (On November 20, 1997, the President exercised his line item veto authority with respect to discretionary budget authority for:  (1) Biocontrol and Insect Rearing Laboratory, Stoneville, Mississippi; (2) Poisonous Plant Laboratory, Logan, Utah; and (3) special research grants, projects ""Dairy, Alaska,"" ""Hydroponic Tomato Production, Ohio,"" and ""Plant Genome Research, Ohio."")  (Note:  The high degree of specificity of the cancelled items precluded their inclusion in the original law's summary.  As a result, the original law's summary and the summary of the law after the item veto are identical.  For more information on the specific items vetoed, see the text of the conference report for H.R. 2160, H.Rept. 105-252, and Presidential Cancellation Numbers 97-77 through 97-81.) TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Agricultural Programs      Title II:  Conservation Programs      Title III:  Rural Economic and Community Development Programs      Title IV:  Domestic Food Programs      Title V:  Foreign Assistance and Related Programs      Title VI:  Related Agencies and Food and Drug Administration      Title VII:   General Provisions Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 - Title I:  Agricultural Programs - Appropriates funds for FY 1998 for the following Department of Agriculture programs and services:  (1) Office of the Secretary of Agriculture; (2) executive operations (Chief Economist, National Appeals Division, Office of Budget and Program Analyst, and Office of the Chief Information Officer); (3) Office of the Chief Financial Officer; (4) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration; (5) Agriculture buildings and facilities and rental payments; (6) hazardous waste management; (7) departmental administration; (8) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations; (9) Office of Communications; (10) Office of the Inspector General; (11) Office of the General Counsel; (12) Office of the Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics; (13) Economic Research Service; (14) National Agricultural Statistics Service; (15) Agricultural Research Service; (16) Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service; (17) Native American Institutions Endowment Fund; (18) extension activities; (19) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs; (20) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service; (21) Agricultural Marketing Service; (22) Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration; (23) Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety; (24) Food Safety and Inspection Service; (25) Office of the Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services; (26) Farm Service Agency; (27) Risk Management Agency (including set-asides for approved insurance providers); (28) Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Fund; and (29) Commodity Credit Corporation Fund. Title II:  Conservation Programs - Appropriates funds for the: (1) Office of the Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment; and (2) Natural Resources Conservation Service. Title III:  Rural Economic and Community Development Programs - Appropriates funds for the:  (1) Office of the Under Secretary for Rural Development; (2) Rural Housing Service; (3) Rural Business-Cooperative Service; and (4) Rural Utilities Service. Title IV:  Domestic Food Programs - Appropriates funds for the following:  (1) Office of the Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services; (2) child nutrition programs; (3) special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children (WIC) (4) food stamp program; and (5) commodity assistance program. Title V:  Foreign Assistance and Related Programs - Appropriates funds for the Foreign Agricultural Service and General Sales Manager. Title VI:  Related Agencies and Food and Drug Administration - Appropriates funds for the following:  (1) Food and Drug Administration; (2) Farm Credit System Financial Assistance Corporation; (3) Commodity Futures Trading Commission; and (4) Farm Credit Administration. Title VII:  General Provisions - Specifies certain uses and limits on or prohibitions against the use of funds appropriated by this Act. (Sec. 728) Amends the Federal Noxious Weed Act of 1974 to include kudzu. (Sec. 729) Makes the Martin Luther King area of Pawley's Island, South Carolina, eligible for certain rural housing loans and grants under the Housing Act of 1949. (Sec. 730) Prohibits funds made available to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under this Act from being used to close or relocate the FDA Division of Drug Analysis in St. Louis, Missouri. (Sec. 731) Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act, effective October 1, 1998, with respect to cotton user marketing certificates. (Sec. 732) Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to conduct an economic evaluation of the effects of the Northeast Interstate Dairy Compact and other factors on milk prices. (Sec. 733) Authorizes the Secretary to use specified disaster reserve grain sale funds for a livestock indemnity program. (Sec. 734) Prohibits appropriations under this Act to be paid to producers of wild rice grown on Agricultural Market Transition Act acreage unless such payments are reduced for each such planted acre. (Sec. 735) Amends the Housing Act of 1949 to extend through FY 1998 program authority or authorization of appropriations for:  (1) targeted underserved areas; (2) insurance of housing and related facilities loans for elderly persons and families and other low-income persons and families; (3) nonprofit rural rental housing fund set-asides; and (4) loan guarantees for multifamily rural rental housing.",2025-04-07T15:34:05Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/2160
105-hr-2158,105,hr,2158,"Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998",Economics and Public Finance,1997-07-11,1997-11-04,"For actions pursuant to the Line Item Veto Act (P.L. 104-130), see House Document 105-167.",House,"Rep. Lewis, Jerry [R-CA-40]",CA,R,L000274,0,"(On June 25, 1998, the Supreme Court ruled that the Line Item Veto Act (Public Law 104-130) is unconstitutional, thus restoring provisions that had been cancelled as summarized below.) (On November 1, 1997, the President exercised his line item veto authority to cancel $14.015 million in discretionary budget authority for the following seven items in this Act:  (1) a new national cemetery in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; (2) a police training complex in Arab, Alabama; (3) trade and development activities of the Carter County Chamber of Commerce, Montana; (4) a solar aquatic wastewater treatment demonstration project in Burlington, Vermont; (5) the Alabama Water and Wastewater Institute operator training program; (6) wastewater and drinking water system needs in McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania; and (7) optical astronomy testbeds.  The following revised digest summarizes the enacted version of H.R. 2158 as modified by line item veto.)  (Note:  The high degree of specificity of the items cancelled precluded their inclusion in the original law's summary.  As a result, the original law's summary and the summary of the law after the item vetoes are identical.  For more information on the specific items vetoed, see the text of the conference report for H.R.  2158, H. Rept. 105-297, and Presidential Cancellation Numbers 97-65 through 97-71.)) TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Department of Veterans Affairs      Title II:  Department of Housing and Urban Development      Title III:  Independent Agencies      Title IV:  General Provisions      Title V:  HUD Multifamily Housing Reform           Subtitle A:  FHA-Insured Multifamily Housing Mortgage                and Housing Assistance Restructuring           Subtitle B:  Miscellaneous Provisions           Subtitle C:  Enforcement Provisions           Subtitle D:  Office of Multifamily Housing Assistance                Restructuring Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 - Makes appropriations for FY 1998 for the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development and for sundry independent agencies. Title I:  Department of Veterans Affairs - Makes appropriations for the Department of Veterans Affairs for:  (1) veterans' compensation, pensions, and readjustment benefits; (2) veterans' insurance and indemnities; (3) veterans' housing, education, and vocational rehabilitation loan accounts; (4) veterans' medical care; (5) medical and prosthetic research; (6) medical administration; (7) the General Post Fund, national homes; (8) departmental administration; (9) the National Cemetery System; (10) the Office of Inspector General; (11) construction; (12) the parking revolving fund; and (13) grants to States for construction of extended care facilities and cemeteries. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. (Sec. 108) Makes the enactment of this section contingent upon the enactment of legislation establishing the Medical Collections Fund. Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, if the total amount to be recovered for FY 1998 for deposit to the Fund will be at least $25 million less than the amount contained in the latest Congressional Budget Office baseline estimate for such recovery, to certify the amount of the shortfall to the Secretary of the Treasury. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, from any unobligated amounts in the Treasury, to deposit an amount equal to that certified in the Fund. Title II:  Department of Housing and Urban Development - Makes appropriations for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for:  (1) public and Indian housing; (2) the Public Housing Capital and Operating Funds; (3) drug elimination grants for low-income housing; (4) revitalization of severely distressed public housing; (5) Native American housing block grants; (6) Indian housing loan guarantees; (7) the capital grants-capital loans preservation account; (8) housing opportunities for persons with AIDS; (9) community development block grants; (10) brownfields redevelopment projects; (11) empowerment zones and enterprise communities; (12) the HOME investment partnerships program; (13) homeless assistance grants; (14) housing for special populations; (15) the Federal Housing Administration; (16) the Government National Mortgage Association; (17) housing policy development and research; (18) fair housing activities; (19) management and administration; (20) the Office of Inspector General; and (21) carrying out the Federal Housing Enterprise Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992. Rescinds specified amounts for:  (1) annual contributions for assisted housing; (2) the Supportive Housing Demonstration Program; (3) the Shelter Plus Care program; and (4) rental housing assistance. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. (Sec. 201) Extends certain provisions regarding contributions for low-income housing projects and the demolition, disposition, or conversion to home ownership of public housing. Amends the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 to extend provisions regarding the streamlining of section 8 tenant-based assistance. Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to extend specified provisions regarding section 8 rent adjustments through FY 1998. Amends the Balanced Budget Downpayment Act, I to extend provisions regarding:  (1) public and assisted housing minimum rents, income adjustments, and preferences; and (2) delays in the reissuance of section 8 vouchers and certificates. (Sec. 210) Amends the National Housing Act to authorize HUD to make partial guaranteed mortgage loan payments for health care facilities. (Sec. 214) Amends the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act to provide for allocations for affordable housing to local jurisdictions that receive initial formula allocations of less than $500,000.  (Currently, only jurisdictions that receive more than such amount are granted an allocation.) (Sec. 217) Requires the Secretary of HUD to make a grant for any State that:  (1) received an allocation for FY 1997 under the AIDS Housing Opportunity Act; (2) is not otherwise eligible for such allocation for FY 1998 because the State does not have the required number of AIDS cases; and (3) would meet such requirement if the cases in the metropolitan statistical area (MSA) for any city within the State (which was not eligible in FY 1997 but is eligible for FY 1998) were considered to be cases outside of such MSAs. Title III:  Independent Agencies -Makes appropriations for:  (1) the American Battle Monuments Commission; (2) the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board; (3) the Department of the Treasury's community development financial institutions program; (4) the Consumer Product Safety Commission; (5) the Corporation for National and Community Service; (6) the Office of Inspector General; (7) the Court of Veterans Appeals; and (8) the Department of Defense for Army cemeterial expenses. Appropriates funds for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for:  (1) science and technology activities; (2) environmental programs and management; (3) the Office of Inspector General; (4) buildings and facilities; (5) Superfund; (6) the leaking underground storage tank program; (7) oil spill response programs; and (8) assistance to States and Indian tribes for environmental programs and infrastructure. Makes the Working Capital Fund available to EPA for maintenance and operation of administrative services without fiscal year limitation. Appropriates funds for:  (1) the Executive Office of the President for the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Council on Environmental Quality, and the Office of Environmental Quality and to meet unanticipated needs in the national interest, security, or defense; and (2) the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General. Makes appropriations for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for:  (1) disaster relief; (2) disaster assistance direct loans; (3) salaries and expenses; (4) the Office of Inspector General; (5) emergency management planning and assistance; (6) a specified emergency food and shelter program; and (7) the National Flood Insurance Fund. Amends the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to extend through FY 1998:  (1) a certain ceiling on obligations issued under the national flood insurance program; (2) the authority for new flood insurance contracts; and (3) the authorization of appropriations for certain studies. Requires the Director of FEMA to promulgate a methodology for collection of fees applicable to persons subject to FEMA's radiological emergency preparedness regulations.  Permits collection of such fees only during FY 1998. Makes appropriations for:  (1) the General Services Administration for the Consumer Information Center; (2) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for human space flight, science, aeronautics, and technology research and development, mission support, and the Office of Inspector General; (3) the National Credit Union Administration's Central Liquidity Facility; (4) the National Science Foundation for research, major construction projects, science and engineering education and human resources programs, salaries and expenses, and the Office of Inspector General; (5) the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation; and (6) the Selective Service System. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. Title IV:  General Provisions -Sets forth provisions regarding availability, and prohibitions on the use, of funds appropriated by this Act. (Sec. 415) Expresses the sense of the Congress that all equipment and products purchased with funds made available in this Act should be American-made. (Sec. 417) Requires amounts necessary for FY 1998 pay raises for programs funded by this Act to be within levels appropriated. (Sec. 419) Authorizes certain corporations and agencies of HUD to make commitments without regard to fiscal year limitations as necessary to carry out provisions under the Government Corporation Control Act.  Allows any collections by such corporations and agencies to be used for new loan or mortgage purchase commitments to the extent provided under this Act, with specified exceptions. (Sec. 421) Makes funds to carry out the termination of the Office of Consumer Affairs available from those appropriated to the Department of Health and Human Services for FY 1998. Title V:  HUD Multifamily Housing Reform - Multifamily Assisted Housing Reform and Affordability Act of 1997 - Subtitle A:  FHA-Insured Multifamily Housing Mortgage and Housing Assistance Restructuring - Directs the Secretary of HUD to enter into agreements with participating administrative entities (with preference given to State or local housing finance agencies) to develop and implement mortgage restructuring and rental assistance plans for FHA-insured multifamily housing mortgages in order to:  (1) reduce expiring section 8 contracts costs; (2) address troubled projects; and (3) correct management and ownership deficiencies. Includes two-tiered mortgage restructuring among plan incentives. Terminates program authority as of a specified date. (Sec. 524) Sets forth authorities regarding renewal of certain section 8 contracts. Subtitle B:  Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends the National Housing Act to authorize the Secretary to make grants for the capital costs of rehabilitation to owners of specified insured or section 8 projects, subject to certain conditions. (Sec. 532) Requires the Comptroller General to report to the Congress on section 8 assistance for multifamily housing projects, including an analysis of how State and local housing finance agencies have benefited from rental assistance and the effectiveness of project oversight. Subtitle C:  Enforcement Provisions - Directs the Secretary to issue implementing regulations. (Sec. 542) Amends the Social Security Act to make permanent provisions authorizing disclosure by States of certain income and unemployment records of housing assistance participants or applicants to HUD.  Makes a conforming amendment to Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to tax return information of such individuals. Part 1:  FHA Single Family and Multifamily Housing -Amends the National Housing Act to expand HUD authorities with respect to:  (1) lender sanctions; (2) equity skimming; and (3) civil money penalties. Part 2:  FHA Multifamily Provisions - Amends the National Housing Act and the Housing Act of 1937 to expand multifamily housing-related civil money penalties. (Sec. 563) Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 to extend the double damages remedy. Subtitle D:  Office of Multifamily Housing Assistance Restructuring - Establishes the Office of Multifamily Housing Assistance Restructuring within HUD. (Sec. 579) Terminates Subtitle A (except for section 8 contract renewal provisions) and this subtitle on October 1, 2001.",2025-07-01T16:27:33Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/2158
105-hr-2107,105,hr,2107,"Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998",Economics and Public Finance,1997-07-01,1998-01-27,The communication was referred to the Committees on Appropriations and the Budget.,House,"Rep. Regula, Ralph [R-OH-16]",OH,R,R000141,0,"(On June 25, 1998, the Supreme Court ruled that the Line Item Veto Act (Public Law 104-130) is unconstitutional, thus restoring provisions that had been cancelled as summarized below.) (On November 20, 1997, the President exercised his line item veto authority to cancel up to $6.2 million in discretionary budget authority for the following two items included in this Act:  (1) the Franklin County Dam in Mississippi; and (2) a conveyance of Federal mineral rights to the State of Montana.  The following revised digest summarizes the enacted version of H.R. 2107 as modified by the line item veto.)  (Note:  The high degree of specificity of the items cancelled precluded their inclusion in the original law's summary.  As a result, the original law's summary and the summary of the law after the item vetoes are identical.  For more information on the specific items vetoed, see the text of the conference report for H.R. 2107, H.Rept. 105-337, and Presidential Cancellation Numbers 97-75 and 97-76.)) TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Department of the Interior      Title II:  Related Agencies      Title III:  General Provisions      Title IV:  Environmental Improvement and Restoration Fund      Title V:  Priority Land Acquisitions, Land Exchanges,           and Maintenance      Title VI:  Forest Resources Conservation and Shortage Relief      Title VII:  Miccosukee Settlement Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 - Makes appropriations for the Department of the Interior and related agencies for FY 1998. Title I:  Department of the Interior - Makes appropriations for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for:  (1) land and resource management; (2) fire management; (3) remedial action of hazardous waste substances; (4) construction; (5) payments in lieu of taxes to local governments; (6) land acquisition; (7) Oregon and California grant lands; (8) range improvements; (9) service charges, deposits, and forfeitures with respect to public lands; (10) miscellaneous trust funds; and (11) BLM administrative and enforcement expenses. Appropriates funds for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for:  (1) resource management; (2) construction; (3) natural resource damage assessment activities; (4) land acquisition; (5) the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund; (6) the National Wildlife Refuge Fund; (7) expenses related to carrying out the African Elephant Conservation Act; (8) expenses related to the North American Wetlands Conservation Act; (9) the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Fund; (10) the Wildlife Conservation and Appreciation Fund; and (11) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service administrative and enforcement expenses. Makes appropriations for the National Park Service (NPS) for:  (1) the National Park System; (2) national recreation and preservation activities; (3) expenses related to carrying out the Historic Preservation Act of 1966; (4) construction; and (5) land acquisition and State assistance from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Rescinds specified contract authority to obligate funds from the Land and Water Conservation Fund for FY 1998. Prohibits the use of funds by the NPS for activities taken in direct response to the United Nations Biodiversity Convention. Makes appropriations for:  (1) the U.S. Geological Survey for surveys, investigations, and research; (2) the Minerals Management Service for royalty and offshore minerals management and oil spill research; (3) the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement for enforcement and the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund; (4) the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) for operation of Indian programs, construction, miscellaneous payments to Indians, and Indian guaranteed loans; (5) assistance to U.S. territories and for carrying out the Compacts of Free Association with respect to Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau; (6) salaries and expenses of departmental management, the Offices of the Solicitor and the Inspector General, and the National Indian Gaming Commission; and (7) trust programs for Indians. Sets forth prohibitions on the use of specified funds. (Sec. 101) Sets forth provisions regarding the use of funds under this title for emergency reconstruction, replacement, or repair of facilities or equipment. (Sec. 108) Prohibits the use of such funds for specified offshore leasing and related activities. (Sec. 113) Sets forth provisions regarding severance and health benefits for employees of BLM's helium operations. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to provide for training to assist such employees in the transition to other jobs. (Sec. 114) Prohibits the use of funds in this or previous appropriations Acts to establish a new regional office in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service without the advance approval of the Appropriations Committees. (Sec. 115) Requires the Secretary of the Interior to convey the Bowden National Fish Hatchery to the State of West Virginia for use as part of the State's fish culture program. (Sec. 117) Amends Federal law to increase the limit on annual expenditures for projects on Kili or Ejit as part of rehabilitation and resettlement of Bikini Atoll.  Provides for annual adjustments of such amount based on fluctuations in the Consumer Price Index. (Sec. 118) Provides that any funds made available in any Act for tribal priority allocations (TPA) in excess of the funds expended for TPA in FY 1997 shall only be available for distribution to each tribe to the extent necessary to provide a tribe the minimum level of funding recommended by the Joint-Tribal-BIA-DOI Task Force on Reorganization of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Report of 1994 (and to not exceed $160,000 per tribe). States that remaining funds will be allocated according to recommendations of a task force comprised of two designated Federal officials and two tribal representatives from each BIA area. Requires the Secretary, if the task force cannot agree on a distribution by January 31, 1998, to distribute remaining funds based on recommendations of a majority of Task Force members by February 28, 1998. (Sec. 120) Vests in the United States, 90 days after this section's enactment date, all patented and valid unpatented mining claims in the Kantishna Mining District within Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska, whose owners consent to such action within such 90-day period.  Provides for just compensation to be paid to the owners of such claims. (Sec. 121) Extends to October 1, 1998, the deadline by which specified Alaska Native corporations may commence litigation to challenge Department of the Interior determinations that they will not receive conveyances of lands described in a specified 1976 Deficiency Agreement.  Authorizes the introduction of any relevant evidence bearing on the interpretation of the Agreement at the court trial if such litigation is commenced. (Sec. 123) Amends the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act to require fees to be paid to the National Indian Gaming Commission by class III gaming operations.  Revises the rate of fees to be paid by class II and III gaming operations.  Caps the total amount of fees imposed during any fiscal year at $8 million (currently, $1.5 million).  Makes such requirements inapplicable to self-regulated tribes such as the Mississippi Band of Choctaw. Extends the authorization of appropriations for the Commission. (Sec. 124) Amends Federal law to authorize the legislature of the Government of the Virgin Islands to issue notes in anticipation of the collection of taxes and revenues for the current fiscal year.  Bars extensions of notes and prohibits issuance of additional notes until all notes issued during a preceding year have been paid. (Sec. 125) Requires the Secretary to ensure that the lands comprising the Huron Cemetery in Kansas City, Kansas, are used only for religious and cultural uses compatible with the use of such lands as a cemetery and as a burial ground. (Sec. 127) Requires the NPS to initiate a competitive process to allow one entry per day for a passenger ferry into Bartlett Cove in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve from Juneau, Alaska, for the sole purpose of accessing park or other authorized visitor services or facilities at, or originating from, the public dock area at the Cove. (Sec. 128) Amends Federal law with respect to exploration of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska to authorize gas and oil lessees, for conservation purposes, to unite with others in collectively adopting and operating under a unit agreement for any oil or gas pool, field, or like area whenever the Secretary of the Interior deems necessary or in the public interest. Authorizes the Secretary, in order to encourage the greatest ultimate recovery of oil or gas or in the interest of conservation, to waive, suspend, or reduce the rental or minimum royalty, or reduce the royalty on an entire leasehold, whenever the leases cannot be successfully operated under the terms provided. (Sec. 129) Bars the Secretary, during FY 1998, from expending funds made available under this Act to review or approve initial tribal-State compacts for class III gaming entered into on or after this Act's enactment date. (Sec. 130) Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Department of Justice should vigorously enforce the provisions of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act requiring an approved tribal-State gaming compact prior to the initiation of class III gaming on Indian lands. (Sec. 131) Prohibits the expenditure of funds provided in any Act for the promulgation of a proposed or final rule to amend or replace the National Indian Gaming Commission's definition regulations. (Sec. 133) Directs the Secretary, acting through the BLM Director, to convey certain land to Lander County, Nevada. (Sec. 134) Authorizes the city of Las Vegas, Nevada, to submit to the Secretary, acting through the BLM Director, an offer to purchase specified Federal properties on behalf of adjacent real property owners adversely affected by reliance on erroneous private land surveys. Directs the Secretary to convey such properties, subject to valid existing rights, to the city upon payment by the city of the fair market value of the properties as of December 1, 1982, and on the condition that the city convey the properties to such adversely affected landowners. (Sec. 135) Directs the Secretary to accept full title to specified land located in Prince Georges County, Maryland, and, in exchange, to convey specified land in Oxon Cove Park in the District of Columbia to the Corrections Corporation of America. Bars the acquisition of such lands if contaminated with hazardous substances.  Absolves the United States of liability for hazardous wastes or substances placed on lands covered by this section after their transfer to any party.  Requires the Corporation to indemnify the United States for liabilities arising under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (Superfund) and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. (Sec. 136) Requires the NPS to begin negotiations with the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, School of Mineral Engineering to determine compensation for University facilities, equipment, and interests that were destroyed by the Federal Government at the Stampede Mine Site in Denali National Park and Preserve. Title II:  Related Agencies - Makes appropriations for the Department of Agriculture for the Forest Service for:  (1) forest and rangeland research; (2) forestry activities; (3) the National Forest System; (4) fire management; (5) construction and reconstruction; (6) land acquisition; (7) range rehabilitation and improvement; (8) forest and rangeland research; (9) restoration of the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie; and (10) administrative expenses. Requires funds appropriated by this Act to implement the Revised Tongass National Forest Land Management Plan to be spent and obligated at the Forest Supervisor and Ranger District levels, subject to specified conditions. Rescinds a specified amount of funds made available to the Department of Energy in FY 1997 or prior fiscal years for clean coal technology projects. Makes appropriations for the Department of Energy for:  (1) fossil energy research and development activities; (2) naval petroleum and oil shale reserve activities; (3) energy conservation; (4) economic regulation activities of the Office of Hearings and Appeals; (5) the Strategic Petroleum Reserve; and (6) the Energy Information Administration. Makes appropriations for the Department of Health and Human Services for the Indian Health Service, including Indian health facilities. Makes appropriations for:  (1) the Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation; (2) the Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development; (3) the Smithsonian Institution; (4) the National Zoological Park; (5) construction; (6) the National Gallery of Art; (7) the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; (8) carrying out the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Act of 1968; (9) the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA); (10) the National Endowment for the Humanities; (11) the Institute of Museum and Library Services; (12) the Commission of Fine Arts; (13) the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation; (14) the National Capital Planning Commission; and (15) the Holocaust Memorial Council. Sets forth provisions regarding uses of, and limitations on, funds under this title. Title III:  General Provisions - Sets forth limitations on the use of funds under this Act, including Buy American requirements. Prohibits Federal contracts with persons found to have falsely labeled products with a ""Made in America"" inscription. (Sec. 308) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act for:  (1) planning or offering timber from giant sequoias on BLM or Forest System lands for sale in a manner different than such sales were conducted in FY 1995; (2) entering into a concession contract (by the NPS) which provides for the removal of the underground lunchroom at Carlsbad Caverns National Park; (3) the AmeriCorps program unless the relevant agencies of the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture follow appropriate reprogramming guidelines; (4) demolishing the bridge between Jersey City, New Jersey, and Ellis Island or preventing pedestrian use of such bridge; (5) accepting or processing applications for a patent for mining or mill site claims located under the general mining laws, unless the Secretary of the Interior takes specified actions; (6) acquiring lands in specified Ohio counties for the Wayne National Forest; and (7) funding activities of the western director and special assistant to the Secretary of Agriculture in an amount exceeding FY 1997 funding for such activities. (Sec. 316) Bars the use of funds made available to the Departments of the Interior or Agriculture in any Act to issue or implement, prior to December 1, 1998, final regulations or policies pursuant to the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) to assert jurisdiction or management over navigable waters transferred to the State of Alaska pursuant to the Submerged Lands Act of 1953 or the Alaska Statehood Act of 1959. Amends ANILCA to revise provisions regarding State management of subsistence takings of fish and wildlife on public lands.  States that the preference granted is for a reasonable opportunity to take fish and wildlife, consistent with customary and traditional uses, for subsistence purposes. Bars the Secretary of the Interior from implementing provisions related to establishing subsistence resource regions, local advisory committees, and regional advisory councils upon State assumption of management duties unless a court determines that State law is inconsistent with definitions, preferences, and participation requirements of subsistence provisions. Permits State agency actions to be invalidated by the court only if they are arbitrary, capricious, or otherwise not in accordance with the law. Requires the Secretary, before December 1, 1998, to certify if laws consistent with such definition, preference, and participation provisions have been adopted in Alaska. (Sec. 319) Authorizes the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to limit competition for watershed restoration project contracts as part of the President's Forest Plan for the Pacific Northwest to individuals and entities in timber-dependent areas in Washington, Oregon, and northern California that have been affected by reduced timber harvesting on Federal lands. (Sec. 320) Revises the formula for the distribution of recreational use fees. (Sec.  323) Requires the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture, prior to the completion of any decision document or the making of any decision related to the final Environmental Impact Statements associated with the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Project, to report to the Appropriations Committees on future land and resource management planning, estimated time frames and costs of decisions, estimated production of goods and services from Federal lands, and economic and social conditions of, and environmental impacts on, communities within the Project area. (Sec. 325) Authorizes specified Alaska Native regional health entities to form a consortium to provide all statewide health services provided by the Indian Health Service through the Alaska Native Medical Center and the Alaska Area Office.  Sets forth further authorities with respect to health care services provided by the Cook Inlet Region, Inc. (Sec. 327) Prohibits the use of funds made available by this Act to require any person to vacate real property where a term is expiring under a use and occupancy reservation in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan, until the NPS indicates to the appropriate congressional committees and the reservation holders that it has sufficient funds to remove the residence on such property within 90 days of the residence being vacated.  Provides for:  (1) at least 90 days' notice to holders of expired reservations to allow them to leave the residence; and (2) fair market value rental rates, in addition to other specified charges, while occupancy continues beyond an expired reservation. (Sec. 328) Bars the use of funds made available in any Act providing appropriations for the Department of the Interior, the Forest Service, or the Smithsonian Institution for the submission of nominations for the designation of Biosphere Reserves pursuant to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization's Man and Biosphere Program.  Repeals such prohibition upon enactment of legislation specifically authorizing U.S. participation in such program. Bars the use of funds made available by this or any other Act to designate any portion of Canaveral National Seashore in Brevard County, Florida, as a clothing-optional area or an area in which public nudity is permitted if such designation would be contrary to county ordinance. (Sec. 329) Requires the Chairperson of the NEA to:  (1) award grants only for literature, National Heritage, or American Jazz Masters fellowships; and (2) establish procedures to ensure that no funding provided through a grant, except one made to a State or local arts agency or regional group, may be used to make a grant to any other individual or organization to conduct activities independent of the grant recipient. Prohibits NEA grants from being used for seasonal support to a group unless the application is specific to the contents of the season. (Sec. 331) Authorizes the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture, in FY 1998 through 2002, to make reciprocal delegations of their authorities and responsibilities in support of joint pilot programs to promote customer service and efficiency in the management of public lands and national forests. (Sec. 334) Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture, in FY 1998, to use appropriations for the Forest Service to enter into watershed restoration and enhancement agreements. (Sec. 335) Provides for the termination of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial Commission. (Sec. 339) Prohibits the expenditure of funds provided in any Act to develop a rulemaking proposal to amend or replace BLM regulations for surface mining or to prepare a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) on such proposal until the Secretary of the Interior certifies to specified congressional committees that the Department of the Interior has consulted with the Governor of each State that contains public lands open to location under the general mining laws. Bars publication of proposed regulations prior to November 15, 1998. (Sec. 340) Authorizes and directs the Secretary of Agriculture to negotiate with Skamania County, Washington, for the exchange of lands or interests in lands constituting the Wind River Nursery Site in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Authorizes and directs the County, in return for the Nursery Site properties, to negotiate the conveyance of specified high biodiversity, special management lands within the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area with the Forest Service. Sets forth additional requirements with respect to such land exchange. (Sec. 342) Prohibits the expenditure of funds under any Act for the introduction of the grizzly bear population in the Selway-Bitteroot area of Idaho and adjacent Montana or for consultations under the Endangered Species Act for Federal actions affecting such population.  Permits funds to be used for receiving public comment on the draft EIS of July 1997, issuing a Record of Decision, and for conducting a habitat-based population viability analysis. (Sec. 343) Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to phase in, over a three-year period, the portion of the fee increase for recreation residence special use permit holders which exceeds 100 percent of the previous year's fee. (Sec. 344) Expresses the sense of the Senate with respect to:  (1) preserving Civil War battlefields; and (2) Federal funding for the arts. (Sec. 346) Requires the Chairperson of the NEA to establish a grant category for programs that are of national impact or availability or are able to tour several States.  Prohibits the Chairperson from making grants exceeding 15 percent, in the aggregate, of NEA funds appropriated by this Act, to any single State, excluding grants made under this section. Revises the composition of the National Council on the Arts to include Members of Congress. (Sec. 347) Sets forth requirements regarding the sale and the availability for processing of western red cedar timber. (Sec. 348) Prohibits the use of funds in this Act for planning, design, or construction of improvements to Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House without the advance approval of the Appropriations Committees. (Sec. 349) Bars the use of funds made available under any Act for executing adjustments to annual operating plans, allotment management plans, or terms of existing grazing permits on national forests in Arizona and New Mexico deemed necessary to achieve compliance with 1996 amendments to applicable forest plans until the earlier of March 1, 1998, or such time as the Forest Service publishes a schedule for implementing proposed changes. Title IV:  Environmental Improvement and Restoration Fund - Provides for the deposit of one-half of the amounts awarded by the Supreme Court to the United States in United States of America v. State of Alaska into a Treasury fund to be known as the Environmental Improvement and Restoration Fund. Makes the Fund available for certain deferred maintenance and modernization projects of the NPS, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the BLM, and the Forest Service and for marine research activities in the North Pacific, Bering Sea, and Arctic Ocean by the Secretary of Commerce. Title V:  Priority Land Acquisitions, Land Exchanges, and Maintenance - Makes appropriations for priority land acquisitions, land exchange agreements, other activities consistent with the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965, and critical maintenance by the BLM, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NPS, and Forest Service, to be derived from the Land and Water Conservation Fund and to remain available through FY 2001. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. Sets forth requirements for the acquisition of the Headwaters Forest in Humboldt County, California, by the Secretary of the Interior and certain interests in Montana by the Secretary of Agriculture to provide for the preservation of Yellowstone National Park. Title VI:  Forest Resources Conservation and Shortage Relief - Forest Resources Conservation and Shortage Relief Act of 1997 - Amends the Forest Resources Conservation and Shortage Relief Act of 1990 (the Act) to except purchases of unprocessed timber from Federal lands west of the 119th meridian in the State of Washington from specified limitations on substitutions of unprocessed Federal timber for unprocessed timber from private lands if:  (1) the private lands are owned by the purchaser; or (2) the purchaser has the exclusive right to harvest timber from the private lands during a period of more than seven years and may exercise that right at any time. Makes existing provisions regarding applications for approval of sourcing areas applicable to sourcing areas for processing facilities located outside the northwestern private timber open market area (defined as the State of Washington). Requires the Secretary concerned, in making a determination to approve an application for sourcing areas for timber manufacturing facilities in Idaho, to consider the private timber export and the private and Federal timber sourcing patterns for the applicant's facilities and other facilities in the same vicinity and the relative similarity of private and Federal timber sourcing patterns.  Provides that private timber sourcing patterns shall not be a factor in such determinations in States other than Idaho. Prohibits the Secretary, in deciding whether to approve an application, from:  (1) considering land located in Washington; or (2) conditioning approval on the inclusion of such land in the applicant's sourcing area, except to the extent requested by the applicant. Establishes boundaries and requirements for sourcing areas for processing facilities in Washington.  Permits relinquishment of sourcing areas at any time. Makes unprocessed timber from private lands within a relinquished sourcing area immediately exportable after unprocessed timber from Federal land from within such area is no longer in the possession of the former area holder. Revises restrictions on the export of unprocessed timber from State and public land with respect to States with annual sales of more than 400 million board feet to prohibit exports originating from public lands as of this Act's enactment date (thus, changing current effective dates). (Sec. 603) Provides for reduction or suspension of penalties with respect to specified violations of the Act, based on mitigating factors. Prohibits debarment of any person from bidding for or entering into a contract for the purchase of unprocessed timber from Federal lands unless the head of the appropriate Federal agency finds, on the record and after an opportunity for a hearing, that debarment is warranted.   Permits the withholding of a contract award during a debarment proceeding. (Sec. 604) Excludes timber processed into incidental volumes of grade three and four sawlogs from the definition of unprocessed timber under the Act. (Sec. 605) Requires the Secretary concerned to issue regulations that impose marking requirements on unprocessed timber under certain conditions.  Excludes certain logs or timber from such requirements based on size.  Provides waivers from such requirements under certain conditions. Title VII:  Miccosukee Settlement - Miccosukee Settlement Act of 1997 - Ratifies the August 1996 Settlement Agreement between the Florida Department of Transportation and the Miccosukee Tribe. (Sec. 705) Directs the Secretary of the Interior, as trustee for the Miccosukee Tribe, to assist in the fulfillment of the settlement agreement concerning the transfer of:  (1) certain Miccosukee tribal land to the Florida Department of Transportation; and (2) certain Florida land to the United States to be received and accepted in trust for the use and benefit of the Miccosukee Tribe, as Miccosukee Indian Reservation lands. (Sec. 706) Exempts payments or conveyances made to the Tribe under the agreement from Federal and State taxation.",2025-04-07T15:33:52Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/2107
105-hr-2099,105,hr,2099,To provide that cost-of-living adjustments to payments made under Federal law and to Federal tax benefits shall be determined using a new price index.,Economics and Public Finance,1997-06-26,1997-08-28,Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.,House,"Rep. Smith, Nick [R-MI-7]",MI,R,S000597,0,"Requires, notwithstanding any other provision of law, that the Consumer Price Index for Government Use (CPI-G) established under this Act be used to determine the amount of any cost-of-living or similar adjustment under the Internal Revenue Code and any payment listed in this Act that is otherwise subject to an adjustment using a price index that includes prices of tobacco products or distilled spirits or both.  Includes in that payment list:  (1) Social Security Act benefits; (2) retirement benefits for former U.S. employees or former U.S. armed forces members; (3) payments on account of the death or disability of any current or former U.S. employee; and (4) tier 1 railroad retirement benefits.  Requires that the CPI-G be based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, but requires it to exclude tobacco product and distilled spirit prices.",2026-03-23T12:41:21Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/2099
105-hr-2037,105,hr,2037,Budget Enforcement Act of 1997,Economics and Public Finance,1997-06-25,1997-06-25,Referred to House Rules,House,"Rep. Smith, Nick [R-MI-7]",MI,R,S000597,1,"TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Amendments to the Congressional Budget and           Impoundment Control Act of 1974      Title II:  Amendments to the Balanced Budget and Emergency           Deficit Control Act of 1985 Budget Enforcement Act of 1997 - Title I:  Amendments to the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 - Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to include entitlement authority and the food stamp program within the definition of ""budget authority.""  Excludes salary or basic pay funded through an appropriation from the definition of ""entitlement authority."" (Sec. 105) Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (the Act) to require the concurrent resolution on the budget to set forth planning levels for at least the four (currently, two) ensuing fiscal years. Revises Senate pay-as-you-go authorities to permit revisions of committee allocations, aggregates, and other levels for legislation within a committee's jurisdiction if such legislation would not increase the deficit for the first year, and for the five fiscal years, covered by the budget resolution. (Sec. 106) Consolidates requirements currently set forth separately for the House of Representatives and the Senate with respect to committee allocations.  Requires the joint explanatory statement accompanying a conference report on a budget resolution to include allocations of the appropriate levels, for each fiscal year and a total for all years, of new budget authority, outlays, and, in the Senate, Social Security outlays, among each House and Senate committee with jurisdiction over legislation providing or creating such amounts. Requires levels only for the first fiscal year in the case of the Appropriations Committee. Provides that no legislation involving a change in Internal Revenue Code provisions regarding tax on individuals shall be treated as affecting the amount of Social Security revenues or outlays unless such legislation changes the income tax treatment of Social Security benefits. Requires the chairman of the House Budget Committee, if a concurrent budget resolution is not adopted by April 15, to submit to the House an allocation consistent with the discretionary spending limits contained in the most recently agreed to budget resolution for the second fiscal year covered by such resolution. Revises provisions regarding points of order with respect to consideration of legislation that would cause allocations or suballocations of new budget authority or outlays in a budget resolution to be exceeded. (Sec. 107) Makes a prohibition on considering legislation until the concurrent budget resolution has been agreed to inapplicable to a House bill or resolution that provides advance discretionary new budget authority which first becomes available in a fiscal year following the fiscal year to which the concurrent budget resolution applies. (Sec. 110) Revises items of authority the amounts of which are to be changed for purposes of budget reconciliation to exclude credit authority and include direct spending (including entitlement authority). (Sec. 111) Applies a point of order against legislation that would cause revenues to be less than those set forth in the concurrent budget resolution for a fiscal year or the total of all fiscal years covered by the resolution. Makes it out of order in the Senate to consider any legislation that would cause a decrease in Social Security surpluses or an increase in Social Security deficits derived from the levels of Social Security revenues and outlays set forth for the first fiscal year, and for the period of five fiscal years, covered by the concurrent budget resolution. (Sec. 112) Prohibits points of order against legislation in the Senate while an amendment to such legislation which would remedy violations of the Act is pending. (Sec. 113) Provides for adjustments to discretionary spending limits, allocations, and budgetary aggregates to reflect new budget authority and additional outlays from:  (1) appropriations measures for any of FY 1998 through 2002 reported by the Appropriations Committee that specify amounts for emergencies or continuing disability reviews; (2) specified emergency legislation reported by other committees; (3) appropriations measures for such fiscal years reported by the Appropriations Committee that include specified amounts for the U.S. quota of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Eleventh General Review of Quotas or increased amounts for the Secretary of the Treasury with respect to new arrangements to borrow under the Bretton Woods Agreement Act; (4) appropriations measures reported by the Appropriations Committee for FY 1998, 1999, or 2000 that include up to a specified amount for arrearages for international organizations, international peacekeeping, and multilateral development banks; or (5) any conference report on these measures. Repeals provisions that require levels of budget authority or outlays and revenues to be determined on the basis of Budget Committee estimates. (Sec. 114) Exempts legislation from points of order in the House if a self-executing rule for consideration of such legislation modifies provisions that violate the Act. (Sec. 115) Makes certain controls on bills providing new spending authority applicable to bills providing new credit authority. (Sec.  116) Repeals title VI (budget agreement enforcement provisions) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (some of which is incorporated into this Act). Title II:  Amendments to the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 - Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to extend discretionary spending limits through FY 2002. (Sec. 203) Repeals a provision that exempts the net costs of FY 1997 appropriations for certain loan guarantees to Israel for resettling immigrants from such limits. Revises provisions regarding a special outlay allowance in cases where outlays for a spending category exceed discretionary spending limits but new budget authority does not exceed its limit to require the adjustment in outlays to be the amount of the excess up to 0.5 percent of the adjusted limits on outlays for that fiscal year in FY 1997 or any fiscal year though 2002. Provides that, if an appropriations bill or joint resolution is enacted for any of FY 1998 through 2002 that includes an appropriation with respect to the following, the adjustment shall be the amount of budget authority in the measure that is the dollar equivalent in Special Drawing Rights of an increase in the:  (1) U.S. quota of the IMF; or (2) maximum amount available to the Secretary of the Treasury under the Bretton Woods Agreements Act with respect to new arrangements to borrow. Provides that, if an appropriations bill or joint resolution is enacted for any of FY 1998 through 2000 that includes an appropriation for arrearages for international organizations or peacekeeping and multilateral banks, the adjustment shall be the amount of budget authority and outlays flowing in all fiscal years from such authority.  Limits the total amount of such adjustments. Sets forth discretionary spending limits for:  (1) the discretionary category for FY 1997 and FY 2000 through 2002; (2) the defense, nondefense, and violent crime reduction categories for FY 1998; and (3) the defense and nondefense categories for FY 1999. (Sec. 204) Repeals provisions regarding sequestration for the Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund. (Sec. 205) States that the purpose of this section is to assure that any legislation enacted prior to FY 2002 affecting direct spending or receipts that increases the deficit will trigger an offsetting sequestration. Revises sequestration provisions to require a sequestration to offset deficit increases in a budget year caused by direct spending and receipts legislation and deficit increases in the prior fiscal year caused by such legislation which is not reflected in the final OMB sequestration report for that year. Includes CBO and OMB estimates (other than amounts for emergencies) of the budgetary effect of legislation that are not reflected in the final OMB sequestration report for the current year within the OMB's calculation of the deficit increase.  Requires OMB and CBO estimates to include the amount of change in outlays or receipts for the current and budget year and for each outyear. (Sec. 206) Extends sequestration reporting requirements through FY 2002. (Sec. 207) Adds and removes specified items to and from the lists of items exempt from reductions under the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act. (Sec. 208) Removes the National Wool Act from the list of indices whose changes trigger automatic spending increases. Revises origination fee requirements for student loans made during a sequestration period. Includes annual adjustments to Federal pay schedules and locality-based pay in Federal pay subject to reductions. Exempts administrative expenses of the Farm Credit Administration from reductions. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture, as the sole means of achieving a reduction in outlays under the milk price support program, to provide for a reduction to be made in the price received by producers for all milk produced in the United States and marketed for commercial use. Makes budgetary resources sequestered in revolving, trust, and special fund accounts available in years subsequent to the year in which a sequestration occurs. (Sec. 209) Revises baseline provisions to provide that a program with estimated current year outlays greater than $50 million may be assumed to expire in the budget year or outyears if so provided by legislation establishing or modifying that program.  (Current law states that such programs shall not be assumed to expire in such years.) Provides that such legislation shall not be subject to a point of order solely for including such a provision.  Requires any program with estimated current year outlays greater than such amount which operates under any law which expires before the budget year or any outyear to be assumed to continue to operate as in effect before such law's expiration. Requires the inflator used to adjust budgetary resources (other than those relating to personnel) to be the percent by which the average of the estimated gross domestic product chain-type price index (currently, the national product fixed-weight price index) for a fiscal year differs from the average of such estimated index for the current year. (Sec. 213) Requires the Director of OMB to:  (1) reduce any balances of direct spending and receipts legislation for fiscal years prior to 2002 to zero; and (2) not make any estimates of changes in direct spending outlays and receipts for any fiscal year resulting from the enactment of this Act or the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1997.",2025-08-21T16:14:35Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/2037
105-hr-2015,105,hr,2015,Balanced Budget Act of 1997,Economics and Public Finance,1997-06-24,1997-09-09,Disapproval bill introduced in House: H.R. 2436.,House,"Rep. Kasich, John R. [R-OH-12]",OH,R,K000016,0,"(On June 25, 1998, the Supreme Court ruled that the Line Item Veto Act (Public Law 104-130) is unconstitutional, thus restoring provisions that had been cancelled as summarized below.) (On August 11, 1997, the President line-item-vetoed Sec. 4722(c), which deemed to be permissible broad-based health care related taxes certain taxes, fees, or assessments collected by New York State from a health care provider before June 1, 1997, for which a specified waiver has been applied, or would be but for this provision.  The provision would thus exempt such taxes, fees, or assessments from the requirement that provider-specific taxes be subtracted from the State share of Medicaid expenditures for purposes of Federal share calculation.  The following revised digest of H.R. 2015 reflects the Act as signed into law, minus the line-item-vetoed provision.  For more information on the specific items vetoed, see the text of the conference report for H.R. 2015, H.Rept. 105-217, and Presidential Cancellation Number 97-3.) TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Food Stamp Provisions      Title II:  Housing and Related Provisions      Title III:  Communications and Spectrum Allocation Provisions      Title IV:  Medicare, Medicaid, and Children's Health           Provisions           Subtitle A:  Medicare+Choice Program           Subtitle B:  Prevention Initiatives           Subtitle C:  Rural Initiatives           Subtitle D:  Anti-Fraud and Abuse Provisions and                Improvements in Protecting Program Integrity           Subtitle E:  Provisions Relating to Part A Only           Subtitle F:  Provisions Relating to Part B Only           Subtitle G:  Provisions Relating to Parts A and B           Subtitle H:  Medicaid           Subtitle I:  Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the                Elderly (PACE)           Subtitle J:  State Children's Health Insurance Program      Title V:  Welfare and Related Provisions           Subtitle A:  TANF Block Grant           Subtitle B:  Supplemental Security Income           Subtitle C:  Child Support Enforcement           Subtitle D:  Restricting Welfare and Public Benefits for                Aliens           Subtitle E:  Unemployment Compensation           Subtitle F:  Welfare Reform Technical Corrections           Subtitle G:  Miscellaneous      Title VI:  Education and Related Provisions           Subtitle A:  Higher Education           Subtitle B:  Repeal of Smith-Hughes Vocational Education                Act      Title VII:  Civil Service Retirement and Related Provisions      Title VIII:  Veterans and Related Matters           Subtitle A:  Extension of Temporary Authorities           Subtitle B:  Copayments and Medical Care Cost Recovery           Subtitle C:  Other Matters      Title IX: Asset Sales, User Fees, and Miscellaneous           Provisions           Subtitle A:  Asset Sales           Subtitle B:  User Fees           Subtitle C:  Miscellaneous Provisions      Title X:  Budget Enforcement and Process Provisions           Subtitle A:  Amendments to the Congressional Budget and                Impoundment Control Act of 1974           Subtitle B:  Amendments to the Balanced Budget and                Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985      Title XI:  District of Columbia Revitalization           Subtitle A:  District of Columbia Retirement Funds           Subtitle B:  Management Reform Plans           Subtitle C:  Criminal Justice           Subtitle D:  Privatization of Tax Collection and                Administration           Subtitle E:  Financing of District of Columbia                Accumulated Deficit           Subtitle F:  District of Columbia Bond Financing                Improvements           Subtitle G:  District of Columbia Government Budget           Subtitle H: Miscellaneous Provisions Balanced Budget Act of 1997 - Title I:  Food Stamp Provisions - Amends the Food Stamp Act to define ""caseload"" and ""covered individual."" Authorizes State agencies to provide an additional 15 percent exemption from the food stamp program (program) work requirement for specified covered individuals.  Provides for related caseload and exemption adjustments. (Sec. 1002) Obligates additional FY 1996 through 2002 funds for program employment and training programs.  Sets forth State allocation provisions. (Sec. 1003) Requires State agencies, with assistance provided by the Secretary of Agriculture, to deny program benefits to prisoners incarcerated for more than 30 days. (Sec. 1004) Directs the Secretary to make specified funds available for FY 1998 through 2001 to eligible private nonprofit organizations and State agencies for nutrition education. Title II:  Housing and Related Provisions - Amends the Balanced Budget Downpayment Act, I to extend permanently certain foreclosure avoidance provisions under the single family housing mortgage insurance program. (Sec. 203) Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 with respect to the section 8 rental assistance program to make specified maximum monthly rent adjustment provisions for certain new and rehabilitated and nonturnover units applicable to FY 1999 and thereafter. Title III:  Communications and Spectrum Allocation Provisions - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 (the Act) to make competitive bidding authority with respect to licenses or construction permits involving uses of the electromagnetic spectrum (spectrum) inapplicable to such licenses and permits issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that are for:  (1) certain public safety radio services; (2) initial licenses or permits assigned to existing terrestrial broadcast licensees for digital television (TV) service; or (3) noncommercial educational or public broadcast stations. Requires the FCC to provide for the design and conduct of spectrum competitive bidding using a contingent combinatorial bidding system that permits prospective bidders to bid on combinations of licenses in a single bid and to enter multiple alternative bids within a single bidding round.  Directs the FCC to prescribe methods by which a reasonable reserve price will be required, or a minimum bid will be established, to obtain any license or permit assigned under competitive bidding, unless determined not to be in the public interest. Repeals a requirement that any funds appropriated to the FCC for FY 1994 through 1998 for assigning licenses using random selection procedures be retained in the FCC's salaries and expenses account. Requires competitive bidding information to be included in annual FCC reports in order for any funds collected after FY 1998 to be retained in such account. Extends competitive bidding authority through FY 2008. Prohibits the FCC, after July 1, 1997, from issuing a license or construction permit for spectrum through a random selection system. Excepts from such prohibition licenses or permits for noncommercial educational or public broadcast stations. Provides for the applicability of competitive bidding requirements to pending comparative licensing cases. Makes available for assignment for commercial use the 1710 to 1755 megahertz (mhz) frequency band.  Directs the FCC to assign licenses for such use by competitive bidding commenced after January 1, 2001. Directs the FCC to assign certain additional spectrum by competitive bidding no later than September 30, 2002. Directs the FCC to reallocate:  (1) spectrum located at 2110 to 2150 mhz; and (2) 15 mhz located in the 1990 to 2110 range, with an exception in both cases when not in the public interest. Requires the FCC to notify the Secretary of Commerce if it is unable to provide for effective relocation of incumbent licensees to available bands of frequencies and has identified bands suitable for such relocation that are allocated for Federal use but could be reallocated pursuant to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act (NTIA). Amends NTIA to direct the Secretary to report to the President, the FCC, and the Congress on recommendations for reallocating frequencies allocated for Federal use other than by Government licensees under the Communications Act of 1934.  Authorizes any entity which operates a Government station to accept payment for frequency relocation expenses.  Provides a relocation process triggered by a petition under NTIA.  Allows a Federal entity to reclaim a former frequency if it demonstrates that relocated facilities or spectrum are not comparable to its former facilities or spectrum. Requires the Secretary to recommend for reallocation for use other than by Government stations a band of frequencies that:  (1) in the aggregate span at least 20 mhz; (2) are located below three gigahertz; and (3) meet other relocation criteria. Directs the FCC to prepare and submit to the President and the Congress a plan for the immediate allocation and assignment of frequencies identified under this title. (Sec. 3003) Amends the Act to prohibit the renewal of a license authorizing analog TV services beyond the end of 2006, with an extension in specified circumstances. Prohibits the FCC, in prescribing regulations relating to qualifications of spectrum bidders, from:  (1) precluding any party from being a qualified bidder for spectrum allocated for any use that includes digital TV service on the basis of the FCC's duopoly rule or newspaper cross-ownership rule; or (2) applying either rule to preclude a successful bidder from using such spectrum for digital TV service. (Sec. 3004) Directs the FCC, no later than January 1, 1998, to allocate from radio spectrum between 746 and 806 mhz:  (1) 24 mhz for public safety services; and (2) the remainder for commercial purposes to be assigned by competitive bidding.  Sets deadlines for the assignment of such licenses and the commencement of competitive bidding.  Provides for the licensing of unused frequencies for public safety services. (Sec. 3005) Authorizes the FCC to allocate spectrum to provide flexibility of use, as long as such use is consistent with international agreements and upon a finding that such use is in the public interest and would not deter investment or result in harmful interference among users. (Sec. 3006) Authorizes appropriations to the FCC for FY 2001 for universal service support programs. (Sec. 3007) Directs the FCC to conduct all competitive bidding required under this title so that proceeds from such bidding are deposited no later than the end of FY 2002. (Sec.  3008) Requires seven days' public notice before the granting by the FCC of an application for spectrum frequency assignment under the Act. Title IV:  Medicare, Medicaid, and Children's Health Provisions - Subtitle A:  Medicare+Choice Program - Chapter 1:  Medicare+Choice Program - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to establish a Medicare+Choice program under which each Medicare+Choice eligible individual (one entitled to benefits under Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) and enrolled under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance)) is entitled to elect, in accordance with certain procedures, to receive Medicare benefits either through the original Medicare fee-for-service program or through a Medicare+Choice plan. (Sec. 4001) Outlines the types of Medicare+Choice plans that may be available, namely:  (1) coordinated care plans; (2) combination of a medical savings account (MSA) plan and contributions into a Medicare+Choice MSA; and (3) private fee-for-service plans. Sets forth various special rules regarding, among other things, residence, individuals with end-stage renal disease, and individuals covered under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program or eligible for veterans' or military health benefits. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to:  (1) provide for broad dissemination of coverage option and comparison information to Medicare beneficiaries and prospective Medicare beneficiaries; and (2) maintain a toll-free number for inquiries about Medicare+Choice options and program operation, as well as an Internet site through which individuals may obtain such information electronically. Requires:  (1) any Medicare+Choice organization to accept without restrictions individuals eligible to make an election at any time during which such elections are accepted; and (2) approval of Medicare+Choice marketing material and application forms before they are distributed. Provides for continuous open enrollment and disenrollment through 2001, the first six months of 2002, and the first three months of every subsequent year, limiting an individual's change of enrollment during such initial period to one.  Provides for an annual, coordinated election period during November for all participants as well as special election periods in certain circumstances. Outlines benefits and beneficiary protections.  Requires each Medicare+Choice plan (except MSA plans) to provide those items and services for which benefits are available under Medicare parts A and B (other than hospice care) and specified additional benefits, as well, at its option, as certain supplemental benefits, subject to the Secretary's approval.  Excludes individuals enrolled under a MSA plan from participating in such supplemental package.  Prohibits a Medicare+Choice organization from denying, limiting, or conditioning coverage or benefits based on any described health status-related factor.  Prescribes plan disclosure requirements and an ongoing quality assurance program.  Outlines a mechanism for grievances and appeals. Sets forth certain payment rules for providers not participating in the Medicare+Choice program. Directs the Secretary to make monthly advance payments with respect to an individual's coverage to Medicare+Choice organizations according to a specified formula.  Requires the Secretary to establish separate payment rates for individuals with end-stage renal disease. Sets forth special rules for individuals electing MSA plans. Requires such an individual to establish a Medicare+Choice MSA into which the Secretary shall make monthly deposits out of the Medicare trust funds in accordance with prescribed guidelines.  Prescribes special rules for hospice care. Details rules for the submission and charging of premiums by each Medicare+Choice organization.  Sets limitations on enrollee liability for basic, additional, and supplemental benefits.  Prescribes a special rule for private fee-for-service plans.  Prohibits a State from imposing a premium tax or similar tax with respect to payments to Medicare+Choice organizations. Sets out organizational and financial requirements for Medicare+Choice organizations and provider-sponsored organizations.  Directs the Secretary to establish solvency and capital adequacy standards for provider-sponsored organizations, and other standards for Medicare+Choice organizations. Prescribes requirements, including minimum enrollment requirements, for contracts between the Secretary and Medicare+Choice organizations. Provides for:  (1) intermediate sanctions and civil monetary penalties to enforce contract provisions; and (2) procedures for termination of contracts. (Sec. 4002) Details transitional rules for the current Medicare health maintenance organization (HMO) program, as well as specified conforming changes in the Medicare supplemental health insurance policy (Medigap) program. (Sec. 4006) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to outline special rules for Medicare+Choice MSAs.  Excludes from gross income any payment by the Secretary to an individual's Medicare+Choice MSA. Excludes from qualified deductible medical expenses any amounts paid for the medical care of any individual but the account holder. Prescribes a penalty for distributions from the Medicare+Choice MSA not used for qualified medical expenses if the minimum balance is not maintained, with certain exceptions if the account holder becomes disabled or dies. Chapter 2:  Demonstrations - Directs the Secretary to establish a Medicare prepaid competitive pricing demonstration project in up to four (eventually seven) designated Medicare payment areas, of which initially three shall be in urban areas and one in a rural area. (Sec. 4012) Directs the Secretary to appoint a Competitive Pricing Advisory Committee to recommend areas for the demonstration and research design for project implementation. (Sec. 4014) Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 to extend the authorities for the social health maintenance organization (SHMO) demonstration project.  Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 to increase the cap on the number of individuals who may participate in a SHMO demonstration. Directs the Secretary to submit to the Congress a plan for the integration of SHMO health plans and similar plans as an option under the Medicare+Choice program. (Sec. 4015) Authorizes the HHS Secretary and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a demonstration (subvention) project under which the HHS Secretary shall reimburse the Secretary of Veterans Affairs from the Medicare trust funds for Medicare health care services furnished to certain targeted Medicare-eligible military retirees or dependents.  Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to modify existing TRICARE contracts in order to provide Medicare health care services to project participants. (Sec. 4016) Directs the Secretary to conduct demonstration projects in a certain number of rural and urban areas for the purpose of evaluating methods, such as case management and other models of coordinated care, that improve the quality of items and services provided to target individuals, and reduce Medicare expenditures for such items and services.  Defines a target individual as an individual with a chronic illness who is enrolled under the Medicare parts A and B fee-for-service program. Provides for project funding. (Sec. 4017) Amends the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 to direct the Secretary to work with each municipal health service demonstration project to develop a plan for the orderly transition of such projects and project participants to a non-demonstration project health care delivery system, such as through integration with a private or public health care plan, including a Medicaid managed care or Medicare+Choice plan. (Sec. 4018) Directs the Secretary to implement a time-limited demonstration project for the purpose of evaluating the use of a third-party contractor to conduct the Medicare+Choice plan enrollment and disenrollment functions in an area. (Sec. 4019) Extends for an additional two years certain Medicare community nursing organization demonstration projects under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987. Chapter 3:  Commissions - Establishes the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare to:  (1) review and analyze the long-term financial condition of the Medicare program; (2) identify problems that threaten the financial integrity of the Medicare trust funds, including the extent to which current Medicare update indexes do not accurately reflect inflation; and (3) analyze potential solutions to the problems identified that will ensure both the financial integrity of Medicare and the provision of appropriate benefits.  Requires the Commission to make recommendations:  (1) to restore the solvency of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and the financial integrity of the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund; and (2) to establish the appropriate financial structure of the Medicare program as a whole and the appropriate balance of benefits covered and beneficiary contributions.  Requires recommendations on:  (1) the financing of graduate medical education; (2) the feasibility of allowing individuals between age 62 and the Medicare eligibility age to buy into the Medicare program; and (3) the impact of chronic disease and disability trends on future costs and quality of services under the current benefit, financing, and delivery system structure of the Medicare program.  Requires a report to the President and the Congress.  Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 4022) Establishes the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission to replace the Prospective Payment Assessment Commission and the Physician Payment Review Commission, hereby abolished.  Requires the new Commission to review and make recommendations to the Congress about payment policies under Medicare (including certain specific payment-related topics).  Authorizes appropriations. Chapter 4:  Medigap Protections - Amends SSA title XVIII with respect to the issuer of a Medicare supplemental (Medigap) policy in the case of certain individuals terminated by an employee welfare benefit plan providing supplementary health benefits who seek to enroll under a Medigap policy not later than 63 days after termination or disenrollment.  Prohibits the Medigap issuer from:  (1) denying or conditioning the issuance or effectiveness of such a policy; (2) discriminating in the pricing of such policy because of health status, claims experience, receipt of health care, or medical condition; or (3) imposing an exclusion of benefits based on a pre-existing condition. (Sec. 4031) Specifies limitations on the imposition of preexisting condition exclusions during the initial open enrollment period in the case of a Medicare supplemental policy issued to an individual who is age 65 or older with a certain minimum period of creditable coverage. (Sec. 4032) Creates under the Medicare supplemental policy program a high deductible feature which requires the policy beneficiary to pay annual out-of-pocket expenses (other than premiums) of $1,500 (indexed for inflation) before the policy begins payment of benefits. Chapter 5:  Tax Treatment of Hospitals Participating in Provider- Sponsored Organizations - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that an organization shall not fail to be treated as a tax-exempt charitable organization solely because a hospital which it owns and operates also participates in a provider-sponsored organization, whether or not the provider-sponsored organization is exempt from tax.  Provides that any person with a material financial interest in such a provider-sponsored organization shall be treated as a private shareholder or individual with respect to the hospital. Subtitle B: Prevention Initiatives - Outlines various specified new preventive health measures covered under Medicare, namely coverage for:  (1) an annual screening mammography for women over age 39 and triennial screening pap smear and screening pelvic exam for any woman (annually for a woman with cervical or vaginal cancer or other abnormality, or who is at high risk of developing such a cancer), while providing for a waiver of deductible; (2) annual prostate cancer screening tests; (3) colorectal cancer screening tests, subject to prescribed frequency and payment limits; (4) diabetes outpatient self-management training services, including blood-testing strips (with a ten percent payment reduction after 1997) and glucose monitors as durable medical equipment (DME) for individuals with diabetes; and (5) bone mass measurements for qualified individuals. (Sec. 4105) Directs the Secretary to establish outcome measures, including glysolated hemoglobin (past 90-day average blood sugar levels), for the purpose of evaluating the improvement of health status of Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes mellitus, with a view to recommending coverage modifications. (Sec. 4107) Extends through FY 2002 the Influenza and Pneumococcal Vaccination Campaign of the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA).  Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 4108) Directs the Secretary to request the National Academy of Sciences to analyze (for a report to specified congressional committees) the expansion or modification of Medicare preventive benefits to include medical nutrition therapy services by a registered dietitian, skin cancer screening, medically necessary dental care, and other specified items. Subtitle C:  Rural Initiatives - Replaces the Essential Access Community Hospital Program with an optional Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program under which participating States shall develop at least one rural health network in the State and at least one facility designated as a critical access hospital in accordance with prescribed guidelines.  Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to States for:  (1) planning and implementation of the program; and (2) establishment or expansion of rural emergency medical services.  Authorizes appropriations. Directs the HCFA Administrator to report to the Congress on the feasibility of, and administrative requirements necessary to establish, an alternative for certain medical diagnoses to the current 96-hour limitation for inpatient care in critical access hospitals. (Sec. 4202) Amends SSA title XVIII to prohibit denial, on the basis of wage comparisons, of a rural referral center's request for reclassification. Provides that any hospital classified as a rural referral center for FY 1991 shall be classified as such for FY 1998 and each subsequent fiscal year. (Sec. 4204) Extends through FY 2001 the special treatment of payment methodology and target amount for Medicare-dependent, small rural hospitals. (Sec. 4205) Amends requirements for rural health clinic services with respect to:  (1) per-visit payment limits for provider-based clinics; (2) mandatory quality assessment and performance improvement programs; (3) limitation of waivers of certain staffing requirements to clinics participating in the rural health clinic program; (4) the insufficiency of needed health care practitioners in shortage areas; and (5) regulations providing for payment for certain physician assistant services. (Sec. 4206) Directs the Secretary to make payments from the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund under Medicare part B in accordance with a specified payment methodology for professional consultation via telecommunications systems with a physician or practitioner furnishing a service for which payment may be made to a Medicare beneficiary residing in a rural health professional shortage area, notwithstanding that the individual physician or practitioner providing the professional consultation is not at the same location as the physician or practitioner furnishing the service to that beneficiary. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress:  (1) a detailed analysis of telemedicine and telehealth (T&T) services; and (2) an examination of the possibility of making similar payments for professional consultation via telecommunications systems to Medicare beneficiaries who do not reside in a rural health professional shortage area, are homebound or nursing homebound, and for whom being transferred for health care services imposes a serious hardship. (Sec. 4207) Directs the Secretary to conduct a demonstration project to use eligible health care provider telemedicine networks to apply high-capacity computing and advanced networks to improve primary care and prevent health care complications to Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes mellitus who reside in medically underserved rural or inner-city areas.  Provides funding. Subtitle D:  Anti-Fraud and Abuse Provisions and Improvements in Protecting Program Integrity - Chapter 1:  Revisions to Sanctions for Fraud and Abuse - Amends SSA title XI, with respect to health care related crimes, to exclude from the Medicare and State health care programs any person:  (1) for ten years for one previous conviction for one or more offenses; and (2) permanently for two or more previous convictions of one or more offenses. (Sec. 4302) Authorizes the Secretary to refuse to enter into Medicare agreements with individuals or entities convicted of felonies for offenses determined inconsistent with the best interests of program beneficiaries. (Sec. 4303) Authorizes the Secretary to exclude from the Medicare program any entity with respect to which a sanctioned person with an ownership or control interest in it transfers such interest in anticipation of (or following) a conviction, assessment, or exclusion against the person, to an immediate family member or member of the household who continues to maintain such an interest. (Sec. 4304) Provides for the imposition of civil monetary penalties for:  (1) any person who arranges or contracts with an individual or entity that the person knows or should know is excluded from participation in a Federal health care program; and (2) kickbacks. Chapter 2:  Improvements in Protecting Program Integrity - Amends SSA title XVIII to require the Secretary, in the annual notice of Medicare benefits, to urge beneficiaries to check the notice and any itemized statement for accuracy and report any errors or questionable charges by calling a certain toll-free number. Authorizes Medicare beneficiaries to submit written requests for itemized bills of medical or other items or services provided, and review them.  Requires the Secretary to take measures to recover amounts unnecessarily paid out. (Sec. 4312) Outlines various specified requirements regarding disclosure of information and surety bonds with regard to DME suppliers.  Includes surety bond requirements for home health agencies.  Authorizes the Secretary to apply disclosure and surety bond requirements to other health care providers or item and service suppliers (except physicians or practitioners).  Applies surety bond requirements to comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation facilities (CORFs) and to rehabilitation agencies. (Sec. 4313) Requires any participating entity to disclose to the Secretary its own employer identification numbers and social security account numbers, as well as those of persons with ownership or control interests and subcontractors in which the entity has a five percent or greater interest.  Directs the Secretary to report to Congress on the steps taken to assure the confidentiality of such social security account numbers. (Sec. 4314) Requires the Secretary, upon a party's request, to issue binding advisory opinions on whether a referral relating to designated health services (other than clinical laboratory services) is a prohibited physician self-referral. (Sec.  4315) Amends SSA title XVIII to:  (1) replace the reasonable charge payment methodology with fee schedules developed by the Secretary for particular services; (2) provide for application of inherent reasonableness to charges for all Medicare part B services other than physicians' services; (3) require bills and requests for payment for services by non-physician practitioners to include diagnostic codes; (4) outline requirements to provide diagnostic information when ordering certain items or services furnished by another entity; (5) mandate establishment of competitive acquisition areas for contract award purposes for the furnishing under Medicare part B after 1997 of described items and services; and (6) prohibit payment under Medicare part A or part B for any expenses for an item or service furnished in a competitive acquisition area by an entity other than an entity with which the Secretary has contracted, except for urgent need, or in other circumstances specified by the Secretary. (Sec. 4320) Excludes from reasonable costs and declares unreimbursable under Medicare any payments for certain items unrelated to patient care, including:  (1) entertainment, gifts, or donations; (2) personal use of motor vehicles; (3) costs for fines and penalties resulting from violations of Federal, State, or local laws; and (4) education expenses for spouses or other dependents of service providers, their employees, or contractors. (Sec. 4321) Requires a Medicare hospital's discharge planning process to include information on the availability of home health services through certain individuals or entities.  Requires a discharge plan:  (1) not to specify or otherwise limit the qualified provider which may provide home health services; and (2) identify any entity to whom the individual is referred in which the hospital has a disclosable financial interest.  Requires the service provider agreement to require disclosure of any financial interest a hospital has in any entity to which individuals are referred, or any entity has in the hospital, and related information. Chapter 3:  Clarifications and Technical Changes - Makes technical amendments with respect to fraud and abuse. Subtitle E:  Provisions Relating to Part A Only - Chapter 1: Payment of PPS Hospitals - Revises requirements for:  (1) prospective payment system (PPS) hospital payment updates; (2) maintenance of savings from the temporary reduction in capital payments for prospective payment system (PPS) hospitals; (3) additional payments to any hospital with a disproportionate share of low-income patients (disproportionate share hospital (DSH)); (4) the sales price of a Medicare capital asset (book value); (5) elimination of indirect medical education (IME) and DSH payments attributable to outlier payments; (6) the base rate of payments to Puerto Rico hospitals; (7) payments to hospitals for certain discharges to post-acute care; (8) inclusion of Stanly County, North Carolina, in the large urban area of Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill-North Carolina-South Carolina; and (9) the floor on wage area indexes. (Sec. 4409) Requires the Secretary to publish and use alternative guidelines under which certain disproportionately large hospitals qualify for geographic reclassification. Chapter 2:  Payment of PPS-Exempt Hospitals - Revises requirements for the payment of PPS-exempt hospitals, including those for:  (1) payment updates; (2) reductions to capital payments; (3) bonus and relief payments; (4) payment and the target amount for new providers; (5) treatment of certain long-term care hospitals located within other hospitals; (6) rebasing; (7) certain cancer hospitals; and (8) elimination of exemptions for certain hospitals. (Sec. 4421) Provides for a Medicare PPS for inpatient rehabilitation hospital services. (Sec. 4422) Directs the Secretary to submit to the Congress a legislative proposal for establishing a case-mix adjusted PPS for long-term care hospitals. Chapter 3:  Payment for Skilled Nursing Facilities - Declares that updates to per diem limits, with respect to payments to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), effective for FY 1998, shall be based on cost limits effective for FY 1997. (Sec. 4432) Mandates a PPS for SNF services along with consolidated billing for them. Directs the Secretary, in order to ensure that Medicare beneficiaries are furnished appropriate SNF services, to establish a thorough medical review process to examine the provisions of this section and their effect on the quality of covered SNF services furnished to Medicare beneficiaries. Chapter 4:  Provisions Related to Hospice Services - Provides for update of payments for hospice services.  Bases payment for home hospice care on the location where care is furnished.  Revises the home hospice care benefit period.  Provides for home hospice care coverage of any other items and services specified in a plan.  Allows waiver of certain staffing requirements for hospice care programs in non-urbanized areas. Chapter 5:  Other Payment Provisions - Requires reductions in payments for enrollee bad debt.  Repeals the termination date to make a permanent extension of the hemophilia passthrough.  Requires a certain reduction in the part A Medicare premium for specified public retirees.  Authorizes Medicare and Medicaid coverage of inpatient hospital and post-hospital extended care services in religious nonmedical health care institutions (currently limited to Christian Science sanatoria). Subtitle F:  Provisions Relating to Part B Only - Chapter 1: Services of Health Professionals - Revises requirements for the payment of physicians' services, with changes:  (1) establishing a single conversion factor for 1998; (2) adding new update provisions; (3) replacing the volume performance standard with sustainable growth rate; (4) adding payment rules for anesthesia services; and (5) providing for adjustments in relative value units for 1998, and the application of resource-based methodology to malpractice relative value units. (Sec. 4505) Directs the Comptroller General to review and evaluate the proposed rule on resource-based methodology for practice expenses issued by the HCFA. (Sec. 4506) Directs the Secretary to determine for each hospital: (1) its hospital-specific per discharge relative value for physicians' services; and (2) whether such value is projected to be excessive.  Requires the Secretary to notify the medical executive committee of a subset of the hospitals identified as having an excessive hospital-specific relative value, and evaluate their responses with the responses of other hospitals so identified that were not notified. (Sec. 4507) Amends SSA title XVIII to declare that nothing shall prohibit a physician or practitioner from privately contracting with a Medicare beneficiary for any item or service for which no Medicare claim will be submitted, and for which the physician or practitioner shall receive no Medicare reimbursement. (Sec. 4511) Increases Medicare reimbursement for nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, and physician assistants. (Sec. 4513) Repeals the requirement of an X-ray for reimbursement for chiropractic services.  Directs the Secretary to develop utilization guidelines for the coverage of chiropractic services where a subluxation has not been demonstrated by an X-ray. Chapter 2:  Payment for Hospital Outpatient Department Services - Eliminates formula-driven overpayments for certain outpatient hospital services. (Sec.  4522) Extends the current reductions in payments for capital-related and other costs of hospital outpatient services. (Sec. 4523) Directs the Secretary to establish a PPS for hospital outpatient department services. Chapter 3:  Ambulance Services - Provides for certain interim reductions in payments for ambulance services.  Directs the Secretary to establish a prospective fee schedule for payment of such services. Provides that, in promulgating regulations for coverage of ambulance services, the Secretary may cover advanced life support services provided by a paramedic intercept service provider (ALS intercept services) in a rural area if specified conditions are met. (Sec. 4532) Directs the Secretary to establish up to three demonstration projects contracting with local governments for ambulance services paid for under Medicare. Chapter 4:  Prospective Payment for Outpatient Rehabilitative Services - Provides for a PPS for outpatient physical (including speech-language pathology) and occupational therapy services. Chapter 5:  Other Payment Provisions - Provides for a reduction in payment amounts for items of DME and for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests.  Provides for a payment freeze for parenteral and enteral nutrients, supplies, and equipment.  Revises update requirements for payment for orthotics and prosthetics, and other payment requirements for oxygen and oxygen equipment, ambulatory surgical services, and drugs and biologicals. (Sec. 4552) Requires the Comptroller General to study and report to specified congressional committees on access to home oxygen equipment. Requires the Secretary to arrange for peer review organizations to evaluate such access. (Sec. 4553) Directs the Secretary to request the National Academy of Sciences to study (for a report to specified congressional committees) Medicare payments for clinical laboratory tests. (Sec. 4554) Directs the Secretary to divide the United States into up to five regions, and designate a single carrier for each region, for the payment of Medicare part B claims for clinical diagnostic laboratory services.  Requires the Secretary to adopt uniform policies for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests. (Sec. 4557) Provides for coverage of oral anti-nausea drugs under a chemotherapeutic regimen. (Sec.  4558) Requires the Secretary to:  (1) audit cost reports of each renal dialysis provider at least once every three years; and (2) develop a method to measure and report on the quality of Medicare renal dialysis services. (Sec. 4559) Directs the Secretary, for electrocardiogram tests furnished during 1998, to restore separate part B payment for electrocardiogram transportation based upon methods in effect on December 31, 1996.  Requires the Secretary, by a certain deadline, to recommend to specified congressional committees whether portable electrocardiogram transportation should be covered under Medicare part B. Chapter 6:  Part B Premium and Related Provisions - Revises the formula for the monthly Medicare part B premium rate the Secretary promulgates each September for the following calendar year.  Requires such rate to equal 50 percent of the monthly actuarial rate for enrollees age 65 and over for that succeeding calendar year. (Sec. 4581) Provides for a special Medicare enrollment period, with no premium penalty for late enrollment, for certain disabled workers whose continuous enrollment under an employer's group health plan is involuntarily terminated in certain circumstances. (Sec. 4582) Allows appropriate State or local governmental entities to elect to pay part B premiums for certain eligible individuals. Subtitle G:  Provisions Relating to Parts A and B - Chapter 1: Home Health Services and Benefits - Provides that, in establishing payment limits for cost reporting periods beginning after September 30, 1997, the Secretary shall not take into account any changes in the home health market basket with respect to cost reporting periods which began on or after July 1, 1994, and before July 1, 1996. (Sec. 4602) Revises requirements for interim payments for home health services. Directs the Secretary to expand research on a PPS for home health agencies under the Medicare program that ties prospective payments to a unit of service. (Sec. 4603) Directs the Secretary to establish a PPS for home health services for cost reporting periods beginning in FY 2000. (Sec. 4604) Bases the payment for home health services on the location where the service is furnished. (Sec. 4611) Provides for a modification of the Medicare part A home health benefit for individuals enrolled under Medicare part B. Provides for specified post-institutional home health services. (Sec. 4613) Directs the Secretary to study and report to the Congress on the criteria that should be applied in determining whether an individual is homebound for purposes of qualifying for Medicare home health services. (Sec. 4614) Provides for the denial of home health claims based on home health services the frequency and duration of which are in excess of normative guidelines established by the Secretary. (Sec. 4615) Denies payment for home health benefits based solely on venipuncture to obtain a blood sample. (Sec. 4616) Directs the Secretary to estimate part A and part B outlays for FY 1998 through 2002 for specified congressional committees, and report annually a comparison of actual outlays with such estimates. Chapter 2:  Graduate Medical Education - Revises requirements for direct and indirect Medicare payments for graduate medical education (GME).  Limits the number of residents in allopathic and osteopathic medicine.  Permits payment to qualified nonhospital providers for direct GME costs.  Prohibits restandardization of certain indirect GME payment amounts.  Requires the Secretary to provide for direct and indirect GME payments to hospitals for Medicare+Choice enrollees.  Makes a special reimbursement rule for primary care combined residency programs, setting the period of board eligibility. (Sec. 4626) Provides for incentive payments to hospitals under plans for voluntary reduction in the number of full-time equivalent residents in an approved medical training program. (Sec. 4628) Directs the Secretary to establish a demonstration project under which GME payments shall be made to consortia of teaching hospitals and other medical entities. (Sec. 4629) Directs the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission to develop recommendations to the Congress on whether and to what extent Medicare payment policies and other Federal policies regarding teaching hospitals and GME should be changed. (Sec. 4630) Directs the Secretary to study and report to the appropriate congressional committees on variations among hospitals in the overhead and supervisory physician components of their direct medical education costs. Chapter 3:  Provisions Relating to Medicare Secondary Payer - Revises requirements for Medicare as secondary payer.  Permits recovery against third party administrators of primary plans.  Extends the claims filing period for employer group health plans. Chapter 4:  Other Provisions - Amends SSA title XVIII to require placement of an advance directive in a prominent part of the individual's current medical record. (Sec. 4642) Provides for an increased certification period for certain organ procurement organizations. (Sec. 4643) Establishes in the HCFA the position of Chief Actuary. Subtitle H:  Medicaid - Chapter 1: Managed Care - Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to establish a new part B (Managed Care) giving States the option to require Medicaid-eligible individuals (except Medicare beneficiaries, Medicare-eligible individuals, and certain children with special needs) to enroll in managed care arrangements of the individual's choice as a condition of receiving Medicaid. (Sec. 4702) Grants States the option of providing Medicaid coverage of primary care case management services without the need for a waiver. (Sec. 4703) Repeals the (75-25) requirement that Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries constitute less than 75 percent of the membership of a participating HMO.  Repeals the prohibition on co-payments for services furnished by HMOs. (Sec. 4704) Prescribes requirements for:  (1) access to emergency care; (2) annual external independent review of managed care entity activities and other specified quality care assurance measures; and (3) fraud and abuse prohibitions and protections. (Sec. 4705) Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to require any State contracting with Medicaid managed care organizations to develop and implement a quality assessment and improvement strategy incorporating certain access standards, monitoring procedures, and other measures.  Directs the Comptroller General to analyze and report to specified congressional committees on the quality assurance programs and accreditation standards applicable to managed care entities operating in the private sector or under Medicare contracts to determine if such programs and standards consider the accessibility and quality of the health care items and services delivered under such contracts to low-income individuals. Directs the Secretary to study and report to such committees on safeguards that may be needed to ensure that the health care needs of individuals with special health care needs and chronic conditions who are enrolled with Medicaid managed care organizations are adequately met. (Sec. 4706) Requires an HMO to meet solvency standards established by the State for private HMOs, or be State-licensed or -certified as a risk-bearing entity. (Sec. 4708) Increases from $100,000 to $1 million, indexed annually, the threshold amount for HMO contracts requiring the Secretary's prior approval.  Permits the same copayments in HMOs as in fee-for-service. Chapter 2:  Flexibility in Payment of Providers - Repeals ""Boren Amendment"" provider reimbursement requirements.  Requires the Secretary to study and report to the appropriate congressional committees on the effect on access to services, service quality, and service safety of the rate-setting methods used by States as a result of such repeal. (Sec. 4712) Specifies reductions from 100 percent to 70 percent between FY 1999 through 2003 in the percentage of reasonable costs that shall be paid under a State plan for federally-qualified health center and rural health clinic services (with a special supplemental payment for services furnished under certain managed care contracts). (Sec. 4713) Repeals payment rate requirements for obstetrical and pediatric services. (Sec. 4714) Revises requirements for Medicaid payment rates for qualified Medicare beneficiaries, placing a limitation on nonparticipating providers. (Sec. 4715) Declares that, in the case of a Medicaid-eligible veteran residing in a State veterans' home, any veterans' pension over $90 per month shall be counted as income only for the purpose of applying such excess payment to the State veterans' home's cost of providing nursing care to the veteran. Chapter 3:  Federal Payments to States - Revises specified limitations of Federal payments for inpatient hospital services furnished by disproportionate share hospitals (DSH), including limitations on certain State DSH expenditures to institutions for mental diseases or other mental health facilities. Requires direct State Medicaid payment to hospitals for managed care enrollees. (Sec. 4722) Revises the treatment as broad-based health care related taxes of certain State hospital taxes which currently are not subtracted as revenues from the State share of Medicaid expenditures for purposes of calculating the Federal share of such expenditures. Declares that an exemption from such State hospital tax for certain Federal-tax-exempt hospitals that do not accept Medicaid or Medicare payments (provide free care) shall not disqualify the hospital tax as a broad-based health care related tax (thus allowing continued exclusion of such State hospital tax from the requirement that provider-specific taxes be subtracted from the State share of Medicaid expenditures for purposes of Federal share calculation). (Sec. 4723) Specifies additional funding for State emergency health services furnished to undocumented aliens. (Sec. 4724) Prohibits the expenditure of Medicaid funds for roads, bridges, stadiums, and other items and services not covered by a State plan.  Requires home health agencies to provide a surety bond. Revises conflict-of-interest safeguards.  Declares that States are not required to provide medical assistance for items or services furnished by a person or entity convicted of a felony for an offense inconsistent with the best interests of beneficiaries under the State plan.  Requires State action for program and beneficiary protection against waste, fraud, and abuse.  Conditions issuance or renewal of a DME supplier provider number on the supplier's provision of a surety bond and disclosure of all persons with ownership or control interests in the supplier, and of all subcontractors in which the supplier has a five percent or greater interest. (Sec. 4725) Provides for increased Federal medical assistance percentages (FMAPs) for the District of Columbia and Alaska and increased payment caps for the territories. Chapter 4:  Eligibility - Grants States the option to provide for 12-month continuous Medicaid eligibility for children. (Sec. 4732) Requires State Medicaid plan coverage of the Medicare cost-sharing for certain additional low-income Medicare beneficiaries whose income otherwise disqualifies them for specified Medicare benefits. (Sec. 4733) Grants States the option to permit workers with disabilities to buy into Medicaid. (Sec. 4734) Prescribes criminal penalties for knowingly and willfully, for a fee, counseling or assisting an individual to dispose of assets (including transfer in trust) in order for that individual to become Medicaid-eligible (fraudulent eligibility). (Sec. 4735) Declares that certain payments in a class settlement of the case of Susan Walker v. Bayer Corporation shall not be considered income or resources in determining Medicaid eligibility. Chapter 5:  Benefits - Changes from mandatory to discretionary a State's authority to enroll individuals under private group health plans and pay their premiums. (Sec. 4742) Repeals:  (1) certain physician qualification requirements with respect to services to pregnant women and to children under age 21; and (2) the requirement of prior institutionalization with respect to habilitation services furnished under a waiver for home or community-based services. (Sec. 4744) Requires the Secretary to study and report to the Congress on early and periodic screening, diagnostic, and treatment benefits. Chapter 6:  Administration and Miscellaneous - Repeals requirements for inspections of the care being provided at mental hospitals and intermediate care facilities for the mentally retarded (ICFS-MR). (Sec. 4752) Authorizes a State, in lieu of terminating a noncompliant ICFS-MR, to establish alternative remedies if the State demonstrates to the Secretary's satisfaction that such alternative remedies are effective in deterring noncompliance and correcting deficiencies. (Sec. 4753) Revises requirements for mechanized claims processing and information retrieval systems. (Sec.  4754) Repeals the requirement for State refund to the Federal Government of any payments received during remediation of a noncompliant nursing facility. (Sec. 4755) Requires States to establish procedures to permit a nurse aide, in the case of a finding of neglect, to petition the State for name removal from the nurse aide registry upon a State determination that:  (1) the employment and personal history of the nurse aide does not reflect a pattern of abusive behavior or neglect; and (2) the neglect involved in the original finding was a singular occurrence. (Sec. 4756) Includes the DRUGDEX Information System among the compendia to be used in drug use review for Medicaid payment. (Sec. 4757) Applies certain requirements to the extension of statewide comprehensive research and demonstration projects for which waivers of Medicaid compliance have been granted. (Sec. 4758) Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989 to extend the moratorium on the treatment of the Kent Community Hospital Complex and Saginaw Community Hospital in Michigan as institutions for mental diseases for purposes of Medicaid reimbursement. Subtitle I:  Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) - Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for Medicare programs of all-inclusive care for the elderly (PACE programs) for individuals age 55 or older who require the level of care required under the State Medicaid plan for coverage of nursing facility services.  Specifies benefit and payment requirements.  Limits PACE provider eligibility to public and private non-profit entities; but requires the Secretary to waive such limitations to demonstrate the operation of a PACE program by a private, for-profit entity. (Sec. 4802) Amends SSA title XIX to authorize a State to establish a Medicaid program of all-inclusive care for the elderly (PACE) for individuals who need not be eligible for Medicare part A benefits, or enrolled under Medicare part B. (Sec. 4804) Directs the Secretary to study and report to the Congress on the quality and cost of providing PACE program services under Medicare and Medicaid, specifically comparing the costs, quality, and access to services by private, for-profit entities under the demonstration projects with the costs, quality, and access to services of other PACE providers. Subtitle J:  State Children's Health Insurance Program - Chapter 1:  State Children's Health Insurance Program - Amends SSA to add a new title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program) in order to provide funds to States to expand the provision of child health assistance to uninsured, low-income children.  Requires a State to submit for the Secretary's approval a child health plan for the use of funds, containing strategic objectives, performance goals, and performance measures.  Mandates coverage equivalent to benefits coverage in a benchmark benefit package, consisting of benefits offered by either:  (1) the Federal Employees' Health Benefits Program (FEHBP); (2) a State employee health benefit plan; or (3) an HMO.  Makes appropriations to carry out this title.  Allows their use for abortion only if necessary to save the life of the mother or if the pregnancy results from rape or incest. Chapter 2:  Expanded Coverage of Children Under Medicaid - Amends SSA title XIX to provide for an increased Medicaid FMAP for expanded coverage of targeted low-income children. (Sec. 4912) Authorizes an approved State plan to make Medicaid available to a low-income child during a specified presumptive eligibility period after determination that family income does not exceed a certain level. (Sec. 4913) Provides for continuation of Medicaid eligibility for disabled children who lose benefits under SSA title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI). Chapter 3:  Diabetes Grant Programs - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary to make grants for services for the prevention and treatment of type I diabetes in children, and for research in innovative approaches to such services.  Provides for funding. (Sec. 4922) Directs the Secretary to make grants for services for the prevention and treatment of type I diabetes in Indians through the Indian Health Service and tribal and urban Indian health programs. (Sec. 4923) Requires the Secretary to evaluate such programs and report to the Congress. Title V:  Welfare and Related Provisions - Subtitle A:  TANF Block Grant - Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of SSA title IV to establish a program of welfare-to-work grants to States. (Sec. 5001) Sets forth requirements relating to State entitlement to non-competitive formula grants under such program and State distribution of such funds among local governments.  Authorizes State Governors to distribute up to 15 percent of such grant funds for projects to help long-term welfare recipients enter unsubsidized employment. Provides for competitive grants, based on program effectiveness and other factors, including the history of the applicant's success in moving individuals with multiple barriers into work, for State-approved projects proposed by private industry councils or local governments. Sets forth rules relating to required beneficiaries and targeting of individuals with characteristics associated with long-term welfare dependency. Authorizes use of grant funds to provide work-related services to individuals who have reached the five-year limit on assistance. Directs the Secretary of Labor to use certain set-aside funds to make grants to each successful performance State in FY 2000. Makes appropriations for FY 1998 and 1999 for grants. Sets forth requirements for:  (1) nondisplacement of other workers by participants in work activities under this program; (2) applicable health and safety standards; and (3) grievance procedures with respect to alleged violations of such nondisplacement and health and safety requirements. Provides for such grants to outlying areas territories and to Indian tribes. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop a plan to evaluate the use of such grants. Sets forth penalties for:  (1) failure of a State to maintain its historic effort during a year in which a welfare-to-work grant is received; and (2) misuse of competitive welfare-to-work grant funds. Declares that State sanctions against recipients for TANF program violations are not wage reductions. (Sec. 5002) Limits to not more than ten percent the portion of such welfare-to-work grant funds which a State may use to carry out State programs under SSA title XX block grants to States for social services. (Sec. 5003) Increases from 20 percent to 30 percent of individuals in all families and in two-parent families the limitation on the number of persons who may be treated as engaged in work by reason of participation in a vocational education program or, in the case of teen heads of household, maintenance of satisfactory school attendance. (Sec. 5004) Requires reduction of a State's welfare-to-work grant if a State fails to reduce assistance for recipients refusing work without good cause. Subtitle B:  Supplemental Security Income - Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRAWORA) to extend by six months the deadline for certain childhood disability redeterminations under SSA title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI). (Sec. 5102) Prescribes the schedule of administrative fees the Commissioner of Social Security shall assess each State from FY 1997 through 2003 and after for making optional and mandatory State SSI payments to individuals.  Revises requirements for deposit of such fees, directing that a portion be credited to a special fund for FY 1998 and subsequent fiscal years for use in defraying expenses. Provides that the amounts so credited shall not be scored as receipts under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act), but credited as a discretionary offset to discretionary spending.  Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C:  Child Support Enforcement - Amends SSA title III (Unemployment Insurance) with respect to the authority to permit certain redisclosures of wage and claim information for purposes related to the child support enforcement program under SSA title IV part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity). Subtitle D:  Restricting Welfare and Public Benefits for Aliens - Amends PRAWORA to make aliens eligible for SSI who, as of the date of enactment of such Act, were receiving such benefits, or were legally residing in the United States and are blind or disabled.  Extends the SSI grandfather provision through September 30, 1998. (Sec. 5302) Extends from five to seven years the refugee and asylee eligibility period for SSI and Medicaid, and includes Cuban and Haitian entrants within such category.  Provides a five-year food stamp eligibility period for such aliens. Includes Cuban and Haitian entrants within the definition of ""qualified alien"" for purposes of welfare and public benefits.  Exempts such aliens from specified periods of ineligibility for State and Federal means-tested benefits. (Sec. 5303) Exempts:  (1) certain American Indians (including persons born in Canada) from SSI and Medicaid eligibility limitations; and (2) certain SSI recipients with pre-January 1, 1979 applications from SSI eligibility limitations. (Sec. 5305) States that an alien who is ineligible for food stamps shall not be eligible for such program based upon SSI eligibility.  Authorizes Medicaid eligibility based upon SSI eligibility. (Sec. 5306) Treats certain Amerasian immigrants as refugees for purposes of specified public benefits eligibility. (Sec. 5307) Authorizes States to require State and local assistance applicants to provide verification of eligibility. Subtitle E:  Unemployment Compensation - Declares that no State law definition of a base period shall be considered as meeting the SSA title III (Unemployment Insurance) requirement for a method of administration reasonably calculated to insure full payment of unemployment compensation when due. (Sec. 5402) Amends SSA title IX (Employment Security) to increase the Federal Unemployment Account ceiling. (Sec. 5403) Provides for a special distribution to States of year-end excesses from the Unemployment Trust Fund. (Sec. 5404) Restricts interest-free advances to State accounts in the Unemployment Trust Fund to States which meet funding goals established by the Secretary of Labor. (Sec. 5405) Revises the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from the Federal unemployment tax any election officials or election workers whose total annual remuneration for their services is under $1,000. (Sec. 5406) Excludes any service performed by a prison inmate from the definition of employment for unemployment compensation purposes. (Sec. 5407) Exempts from the Federal unemployment tax any services performed for certain income tax-exempt elementary or secondary schools which are operated primarily for religious purposes. (Sec. 5408) Amends SSA title III (Unemployment Insurance) to authorize additional appropriations out of the employment security administration account to carry out State program integrity activities for unemployment compensation, including initial claims review, eligibility review, benefit payments control, and employer liability auditing activities. Subtitle F:  Welfare Reform Technical Corrections - Chapter 1: Block Grants For Temporary Assistance To Needy Families - Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of SSA title IV to make various specified technical as well as substantive amendments with regard to sundry (welfare reform) provisions added by PRAWORA. (Sec. 5501) Provides for a later deadline for submission of State TANF plans. (Sec. 5502) Revises the computation of bonus grants to States for a decrease in illegitimacy, requiring:  (1) use of calendar year instead of fiscal year data; (2) use of the ratio of out-of-wedlock births to all births instead of the number of out-of-wedlock births; and (3) that certain territories be taken into account. Revises the formula for annual reconciliation of payments to States with specified maximums.  Limits to non-needy States the requirement for annual State remission of excess funds to HHS. (Sec. 5504) Revises specified mandatory work requirements.  States that a family with a disabled parent shall not be treated as a two-parent family.  Allows the minimum work requirement for a two-parent family to be shared between both parents, if it amounts to a total of at least 55 hours per week.  Deems the caretaker relative of a child under age six to meet work requirements if he or she is engaged in work for 20 hours per week. Allows 12 weeks of job search to count as work in a needy State. Extends to married teens the rule that receipt of sufficient education is enough to meet work participation requirements. (Sec. 5505) Reinstates certain special rules applicable to aliens (non-213A aliens) who entered the country under affidavits of support formerly used (before PRAWORA added section 213A to the Immigration and Nationality Act, requiring such affidavits to be contracts enforceable against the sponsor by the alien or by the Federal Government for recovery of any public assistance paid the alien).  Revises the income deeming rule for such aliens. (Sec. 5506) Changes from one month to 45 days the deadline for States to file quarterly reports before incurring a penalty.  Conforms TANF penalties to those under SSA title IV part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity).  Provides for additional State TANF grant reductions for States which fail to expend additional State funds to replace previous grant penalty reductions. (Sec. 5507) Requires State quarterly reports to specify:  (1) any disability benefits a child is receiving; (2) whether or not a family member under age 20 is also a parent of a child in the family; and (3) the number of families and individuals receiving TANF, and the total dollar value of TANF received by all families. (Sec.  5508) Reduces appropriations for tribal work activities programs. (Sec. 5509) Revises requirements for the methodology for determining child poverty rates to require county-by-county estimates of children in poverty only to the extent available. (Sec. 5512) Amends SSA title XI to:  (1) revise the limitation on total payments to each territory under TANF and other specified SSA programs to require the disregard of certain payments under TANF in determining such limitation; and (2) treat certain child care and social services expenditures by territories as SSA title IV part A expenditures for matching grant purposes. (Sec. 5513) Makes conforming amendments to SSA title IV parts D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) and E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance). (Sec. 5516) Amends PRAWORA with regard to the denial of assistance and benefits for drug-related convictions.  Revises the exemption from benefit denial for convictions on or before enactment of PRAWORA to specify convictions relating to conduct on or before such enactment date. Chapter 2:  Supplemental Security Income - Amends SSA title XVI and PRAWORA to make conforming and technical amendments relating to certain eligibility restrictions on prisoners and eligibility redeterminations and continuing disability reviews with respect to SSI benefits for disabled children. (Sec. 5524) Amends SSA title XI part A (General Provisions) to designate the Commissioner of Social Security instead of the HHS Secretary as the authority who shall determine the timing of grants and payments for jointly financed cooperative agreements or grants concerning SSA title XVI research or demonstration projects. (Sec. 5525) Amends the Contract with America Advancement Act of 1996 to revise the effective dates of requirements concerning the denial of SSI disability benefits to drug addicts and alcoholics and treatment referrals of SSI beneficiaries who are drug addicts and alcoholics.  Specifies administrative and judicial circumstances in which certain SSI claims which have been denied may not be considered finally adjudicated before enactment of such Act. (Sec. 5526) Amends Federal law to repeal the requirement that the Social Security Advisory Board appoint three professional staff members one of whom does not belong to the political party of a majority of the Board. (Sec. 5527) Makes the day designated for delivery of SSI benefit payments under SSA title XVI for October 2000 the second day of such month. Chapter 3:  Child Support - Amends SSA title IV part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) to modify child support requirements affecting:  (1) individuals subject to fee for child support enforcement services; (2) distribution of State-collected support and State options for applicability of certain rules; (3) distribution of collections with respect to families receiving assistance and families under certain agreements; (4) civil penalties for failure to report required information to a State Directory of New Hires; (5) uses of the Federal Parent Locator Service, including access to its registry data for research purposes; (6) collection and use of social security numbers for child support enforcement purposes in State certificates and licenses for marriage, occupational, professional, and commercial activities; (7) availability of funds earmarked for the Federal Parent Locator Service; (8) authority to collect child support from Federal employees; (9) direct Federal grants to Indian tribes for child support enforcement; (10) State retention of child support amounts collected on behalf of a child for whom a public agency is making foster care maintenance payments to the extent necessary to reimburse it for such payments; (11) high-volume automated administrative enforcement in interstate cases; and (12) statutory procedures to ensure that persons with child support arrearages have a work or payment plan. (Sec. 5534) Requires State plans for child and spousal support to:  (1) mandate notification to the Secretary, whenever the Federal Parent Locator Service is utilized, that the State has reasonable evidence of domestic violence or child abuse, and that disclosure of such information could jeopardize the victims; and (2) prescribe safeguard procedures for State courts to utilize upon notification that the Secretary has such evidence, including a proscription against court disclosure. (Sec. 5555) Amends PRAWORA, with respect to the temporary limitation on payments under the special Federal matching rate for the development costs of automated systems, to revise the formula for allocation of such limitation to include certain systems approved by the Secretary to receive enhanced funding, as well as systems that have received funding pursuant to a waiver. Chapter 4:  Restricting Welfare and Public Benefits for Aliens - Amends PRAWORA to make certain aliens eligible for Medicare and Railroad Retirement Act benefits. (Sec. 5562) Makes technical corrections with respect to:  (1) aliens under withheld deportation; and (2) notification of unlawfully present aliens. (Sec.  5563) Requires alien veterans to have fulfilled minimum active duty service requirements to be eligible for specified Federal and State public assistance programs. Extends assistance eligibility to the unremarried surviving spouse of such a veteran. (Sec. 5565) States that the term ""Federal public benefit"" shall not apply with respect to grants, contracts, or appropriations to citizens of a freely associated state under specified circumstances. (Sec. 5566) Expresses the sense of the Congress that permanent resident Hmong and other Highland Lao veterans who fought on behalf of the United States during the Vietnam conflict should be considered veterans for purposes of continuing certain assistance benefits. (Sec. 5571) Amends the Act with respect to the treatment of certain battered aliens as ""qualified aliens"" to:  (1) transfer determination authority from the Attorney General to the providing agency; and (2) include the alien child of a battered parent under such definition and under the special income attribution rule. (Sec. 5572) Directs the Attorney General to promulgate procedures for State verification of alien eligibility. (Sec. 5573) Amends provisions concerning qualifying social security quarters. (Sec. 5581) Amends TANF provisions to require States receiving specified grants to provide the Immigration and Naturalization Service with identifying information about illegal aliens. Chapter 5:  Child Protection - Amends the Social Security Act to make technical and conforming amendments relating to child protection. Chapter 6:  Child Care - Amends the Social Security Act to make technical and conforming amendments relating to child care. Chapter 7:  ERISA Amendments Relating to Medical Child Support Orders - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), with respect to group health plan coverage of children under a medical child support order pursuant to PRAWORA, to permit payment of plan benefits to a State or local official in lieu of the child. (Sec. 5612) Requires treatment as a medical child support court order of specified similar administrative orders. (Sec. 5613) Repeals the requirement that a medical child support order specify each health benefit plan to which it applies. Subtitle G:  Miscellaneous - Amends Federal law to provide for an increase in the public debt limit to $5.95 trillion. (Sec. 5702) Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of the Treasury for FY 1998 through 2002 for improved application of the earned income tax credit. Title VI:  Education and Related Provisions - Subtitle A:  Higher Education - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) with respect to title IV student assistance programs. (Sec. 6101) Directs the Secretary of Education to recall a specified amount of reserve funds held by guaranty agencies on September 1, 2002.  Denies the Secretary any authority to direct a guaranty agency to return reserve funds before such date.  Requires each guaranty agency, between FY 1998 and 2002, to transfer a certain portion of its required share of the projected recall amount into restricted accounts for investment in U.S. obligations or other similarly low-risk securities. (Sec. 6102) Repeals the requirement that the Secretary pay direct loan origination fees to institutions of higher education. (Sec. 6103) Sets funding levels through FY 2002 for mandatory administrative expenses for the student financial aid programs.  Reduces the previously authorized level of appropriations for FY 1998 ($750 million), while authorizing increasing amounts for subsequent fiscal years until the level reaches $750 million for FY 2002.  Prescribes a formula for the calculation of administrative cost allowances payable to guaranty agencies. (Sec. 6104) Extends HEA title IV student assistance programs through FY 2002. Subtitle B:  Repeal of Smith-Hughes Vocational Education Act - Repeals the Smith-Hughes Vocational Education Act. Title VII:  Civil Service Retirement and Related Provisions - Specifies increases in certain contributions to the Civil Service Retirement System and the Federal Employees Retirement System. (Sec. 7002) Modifies the formula under which the Government contribution for health benefits for a Federal employee or annuitant enrolled in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHB) is determined. (Sec. 7003) Amends Federal law to repeal the requirement authorizing transitional appropriations to the Postal Service Fund. Title VIII:  Veterans and Related Matters - Veterans Reconciliation Act of 1997 - Subtitle A:  Extension of Temporary Authorities - Extends through December 1, 2002, the authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to issue and guarantee the principal and interest on certificates or other securities representing an interest in a pool of mortgage loans made to veterans and guaranteed by the Secretary.  Extends through FY 2002:  (1) the authority of the Secretary to charge a home loan fee under the veterans' home loan guaranty program; (2) the default procedures applicable to home liquidation sales under the program; (3) the authority of the Secretary to obtain information under the Internal Revenue Code for veterans' income verification purposes; and (4) a $90 monthly pension limitation, after three months, for a veteran having neither spouse nor child and being furnished domiciliary or nursing home care by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Subtitle B:  Copayments and Medical Care Cost Recovery - Amends the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1990 to extend through FY 2002 the authority to require certain veterans to make copayments for the receipt of Department health care benefits.  Extends through FY 2002: (1) the requirement that veterans pay $2 for each 30-day supply of medication furnished through the Department for the treatment of a non-service-connected disability or condition; and (2) the right of the United States to recover from a veteran the cost of Department care and services provided for certain non-service-connected disabilities. (Sec. 8023) Establishes in the Treasury the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Care Collections Fund for receipt of amounts recovered or collected by the Department for the provision of certain reimbursable health care and services provided to veterans and their spouses and dependents.  Specifies authorized Fund uses.  Transfers to the Fund any unobligated balance of the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical-Care Cost Recovery Fund.  Requires an implementation report. Subtitle C:  Other Matters - Provides for the rounding down to the next lower dollar of cost-of-living adjustments in veterans' disability compensation and dependency and indemnity compensation rates for FY 1998 through 2002.  Allows such adjustments to be no more than the percentage adjustment to social security increases for such year. (Sec. 8032) Increases the home loan fee rate charged for the purchase from the Department of repossessed homes (homes the loans for which were defaulted by veterans under the home loan guaranty program). (Sec. 8033) Revises the notification procedures under which the Secretary may waive all or part of the indebtedness owed by a veteran on account of any loan made to, or assumed or guaranteed by, the Department. Title IX:  Asset Sales, User Fees, and Miscellaneous Provisions - Subtitle A:  Asset Sales - Mandates the sale of Governors Island, New York. (Sec. 9102) Mandates the sale of specified air rights adjacent to Washington Union Station, including the air rights of Amtrak transferred to the Administrator of General Services (GSA). Directs Amtrak, as a condition of future Federal financial assistance, to transfer specified air rights to the GSA on or before December 31, 1997. Prohibits Amtrak from obligating Federal funds if it fails to comply. Subtitle B:  User Fees - Amends Federal law to extend higher vessel tonnage duties through FY 2002. Subtitle C:  Miscellaneous Provisions - Requires the Federal share of the cost of assistance provided under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief Emergency Assistance Act to be at least 90 percent for damages suffered in specified counties in Minnesota as a result of the 1997 floods in the Red River Valley. (Sec. 9302) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the excise tax on all tobacco products. (Sec. 9303) Permits, as specified, the storage in underutilized Strategic Petroleum Reserve facilities of petroleum product owned by a foreign government. (Sec. 9304) Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to make provisions of the Line Item Veto Act that allow the President to cancel a limited tax benefit applicable only to provisions added to the Internal Revenue Code by section 5406 of this Act. (Sec. 9305) Makes inapplicable to benefit payments otherwise payable on Sunday, October 1, 2000, the requirement that, to the maximum extent practicable, veterans' benefits be paid on the Friday immediately preceding a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. Title X:  Budget Enforcement and Process Provisions - Budget Enforcement Act of 1997 - Subtitle A:  Amendments to the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 - Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to include the food stamp program within the definition of ""entitlement authority."" (Sec. 10103) Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (the Act) to require the annual report by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to the Budget Committees to include a statement of the levels of budget authority and outlays for each program assumed to be extended in the baseline (those with estimated current year outlays greater than $50 million) and for excise taxes (dedicated to trust funds) assumed to be extended under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). (Sec. 10105) Requires the concurrent resolution on the budget to set forth planning levels for at least the four (currently, two) ensuing fiscal years. Revises Senate pay-as-you-go authorities to permit the budget resolution to set forth procedures for revisions of committee allocations, aggregates, and other levels for legislation if such legislation would not increase the deficit or would not increase the deficit when taken with other legislation enacted after the resolution's adoption for the first fiscal year or total period of fiscal years covered by the resolution.  Authorizes the budget resolution to set forth direct loan obligation and primary loan guarantee commitment levels. Revises required elements of the report accompanying the budget resolution and removes a requirement that total direct loan obligation and primary loan guarantee commitment levels be compared with those requested in the President's budget. Repeals a provision of a budget resolution from the 103d Congress (H. Con. Res. 218) regarding a social security fire wall point of order in the Senate. (Sec. 10106) Consolidates requirements currently set forth separately for the House of Representatives and the Senate with respect to committee allocations.  Requires the joint explanatory statement accompanying a conference report on a budget resolution to include allocations of the levels, for the first fiscal year, at least each of the four ensuing fiscal years, and a total for all years, of new budget authority and outlays among each House and Senate committee with jurisdiction over legislation providing or creating such amounts.  Requires levels only for the first fiscal year in the case of the Appropriations Committee. Requires the chairman of the House Budget Committee, if a concurrent budget resolution is not adopted by April 15, to submit to the House an allocation consistent with the discretionary spending limits contained in the most recently agreed to budget resolution for the appropriate fiscal year covered by such resolution. Revises provisions regarding points of order with respect to consideration of legislation that would cause allocations or suballocations of new budget authority or outlays in a budget resolution to be exceeded. Provides a specified pay-as-you-go exception to a point of order in the House in cases where legislation would not increase the deficit and meets other specified requirements. (Sec. 10107) Makes a prohibition on considering legislation until the concurrent budget resolution has been agreed to inapplicable to a House bill or resolution that provides advance discretionary new budget authority that first becomes available for the first or second fiscal year after the budget year.  Makes it out of order in the Senate to consider any appropriation bill or joint resolution for the fiscal year concerned or any subsequent year until the concurrent budget resolution has been agreed to and the allocations have been made to the Appropriations Committee for that year. (Sec. 10108) Repeals a provision that applies certain economic assumptions to revisions of concurrent budget resolutions. (Sec. 10112) Applies a point of order against legislation that would cause revenues to be less than those set forth in the concurrent budget resolution for the first fiscal year or the total of all fiscal years covered by the resolution. Makes it out of order in the Senate to consider any legislation that would cause a decrease in social security surpluses or an increase in social security deficits relative to the levels of social security revenues and outlays set forth for the first fiscal year, or for the total of all fiscal years, covered by the concurrent budget resolution. (Sec. 10113) Prohibits points of order against legislation in the Senate while an amendment to such legislation which would remedy violations of the Act is pending. Repeals provisions that require levels of new budget authority outlays, new entitlement authority, and revenues to be determined on the basis of Budget Committee estimates. (Sec. 10114) Requires the Budget Committees to make adjustments to discretionary spending limits, allocations, and budgetary aggregates in the appropriate concurrent budget resolution for the amount of new budget authority and outlays from reported legislation that provides amounts for:  (1) certain emergency requirements and continuing disability reviews pursuant to the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act; (2) increases in the U.S. quota as part of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Eleventh General Review or for increases in amounts available to the Secretary of the Treasury with respect to new arrangements to borrow under the Bretton Woods Agreements Act (for fiscal years through 2002); (3) arrearages for international organizations and peacekeeping and multilateral development banks for FY 1998 through 2000; and (4) an earned income tax credit compliance initiative for FY 1998 through 2002. (Sec. 10116) Revises provisions regarding controls on bills providing new spending authority to apply controls to bills (or, in the House only, reported measures) that provide new credit or entitlement authority.  Removes references to new spending authority. (Sec. 10117) Amends the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 to revise certain definitions and make other technical amendments. (Sec. 10118) Repeals title VI (budget agreement enforcement provisions) of the Act. (Sec. 10123) Directs the Senate Majority and Minority Leaders to each appoint three Senators to serve on a bipartisan task force to study and report on the floor procedures for the consideration of budget resolutions and reconciliation bills in the Senate. Subtitle B:  Amendments to the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 - Amends the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act to revise requirements for sequestration reports and extend adjustments to discretionary spending limits for certain activities.  Revises provisions regarding a special outlay allowance in cases where outlays for a spending category exceed discretionary spending limits but new budget authority does not exceed its limit to require the adjustment in outlays to be the amount of the excess up to 0.5 percent of the adjusted limits on outlays for the fiscal year concerned.  Provides for adjustments to such limits for fiscal years through 2002 with respect to certain allowances for the IMF and international arrearages and for the earned income tax credit compliance initiative. Sets forth discretionary spending limits for:  (1) the discretionary category for FY 1997 and FY 2000 through 2002; (2) the defense, nondefense, and violent crime reduction categories for FY 1998 and 1999; and (3) the violent crime reduction category for FY 2000. (Sec. 10204) Repeals provisions regarding sequestration for the Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund. (Sec. 10205) States that the purpose of this section is to assure that any legislation enacted before FY 2002 affecting direct spending or receipts that increases the deficit will trigger an offsetting sequestration. Revises sequestration provisions to require a sequestration to offset the amount of any net deficit increase caused by all direct spending and receipts legislation enacted before October 1, 2002. Includes, in OMB's calculation of the deficit increase, any net deficit increase or decrease in the current year resulting from estimates for such legislation that were not reflected in the final OMB sequestration report for the current year. Requires OMB and CBO estimates to include the amount of change in outlays or receipts for the current and budget year and for each outyear, excluding amounts resulting from the deposit insurance guarantee commitment and emergencies. (Sec. 10206) Extends sequestration reporting requirements through FY 2002. (Sec. 10207) Adds and removes specified items to and from the lists of items exempt from reductions under the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act. (Sec. 10208) Removes the National Wool Act from the list of indices whose changes trigger automatic spending increases. Revises origination fee requirements for student loans made during a sequestration period. Exempts administrative expenses of the Farm Credit Administration from reductions. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture, as the sole means of achieving a reduction in outlays under the milk price support program, to provide for a reduction to be made in the price received by producers for all milk produced in the United States and marketed for commercial use. Makes budgetary resources sequestered in revolving, trust, and special fund accounts available in years subsequent to the year in which a sequestration occurs. (Sec. 10209) Provides that no program established by a law enacted before this Act's enactment date with estimated current year outlays greater than $50 million shall be assumed to expire in the budget year or outyears. Requires the scoring of new programs with estimated outlays greater than such amount to be based on scoring by the Budget Committees or OMB.  Requires any program with estimated current year outlays greater than such amount which operates under any law which expires before the budget year or any outyear to be assumed to continue to operate as in effect before such law's expiration. Requires the inflator used to adjust budgetary resources (other than those relating to personnel) to be the percent by which the average of the estimated gross domestic product chain-type price index (currently, the national product fixed-weight price index) for a fiscal year differs from the average of such estimated index for the current year. Amends the Social Security Act to remove the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund from the list of funds exempted from general budget limitations and excluded from the President's and congressional budgets. (Sec. 10213) Requires the Director of OMB to:  (1) reduce any balances of direct spending and receipts legislation for fiscal years prior to 2002 to zero; and (2) not make any estimates of changes in direct spending outlays and receipts for any fiscal year resulting from the enactment of this Act or the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997. Title XI:  District of Columbia Revitalization - National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997 - Subtitle A:  District of Columbia Retirement Funds - Chapter 1: Short Title; Findings; Definitions - District of Columbia Retirement Protection Act of 1997 - Defines ""covered District employee"" as a teacher of the District of Columbia public schools or a member of the District police or fire departments. Chapter 2:  Federal Benefit Payments Under District Retirement Programs - Requires the Federal Government to make Federal benefit payments associated with the pension plans for District police officers, fire fighters, and teachers. (Sec.  11011) Prohibits reversion to the District of the responsibility for making Federal benefit payments. (Sec. 11012) Describes Federal benefit payments as payments to which an individual is entitled under a District retirement program. Prohibits service after the freeze date (June 30, 1997) from being credited for purposes of determining the amount of Federal benefit payments. Requires payments to individuals entitled to disability benefits based on determinations made after the freeze date to be equal to the deferred or normal retirement benefit an individual would receive if the individual left service on the day before commencement of disability retirement benefits. Limits death benefits that are not determined by length of service to the pre-freeze date percentage of the amount otherwise payable. Defines such percentage as the number of months of the covered District employee's service prior to the freeze date, divided by the total number of months of service. (Sec. 11013) Amends the Policemen and Firemen's Retirement and Disability Act and other specified District law to standardize cost of living adjustments with respect to annuities of District fire fighters, police, and teachers. Chapter 3:  Determinations and Review of Eligibility and Payments; Information Sharing - Requires the Trustee of the District of Columbia Federal Pension Liability Trust Fund to make determinations of eligibility for, and amounts of, Federal benefit payments. (Sec. 11022) Sets forth procedures for review of claims arising from denied benefit payments. (Sec. 11024) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for disclosure of individual tax return information for purposes of determining eligibility for, or the correct amount of, benefits under this Act. Chapter 4:  District of Columbia Federal Pension Liability Trust Fund - Establishes the District of Columbia Federal Pension Liability Trust Fund, consisting of assets transferred from the District of Columbia Police Officers and Fire Fighters Retirement Fund and the District of Columbia Teachers Retirement Fund.  Requires the Trust Fund to be used to make Federal benefit payments under this subtitle. (Sec. 11033) Requires the District government to furnish the Trustee with a final reconciliation of accounts in connection with the transfer of assets and obligations to the Trust Fund. (Sec. 11034) Exempts the Trust Fund from Federal income tax and treats benefits as benefits provided under a governmental plan maintained by the District for purposes of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). (Sec. 11035) Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to select a Trustee to administer the Trust Fund and carry out related responsibilities. Chapter 5:  Responsibilities of District Government - Continues the District's responsibilities with respect to the retirement program until the Secretary directs the Trustee of the Trust Fund to carry out such responsibilities. (Sec.  11042) Requires the District to adopt a replacement plan for pension benefits for covered District employees, to be effective as of the freeze date. Provides that if the District fails to adopt such plan, the retirement program applicable to police, fire fighters, and teachers under District laws in effect as of June 1, 1997, shall apply. Chapter 6:  Financing of Benefit Payments After Depletion of Trust Fund - Establishes the Federal Supplemental District of Columbia Pension Fund, to be administered by the Secretary and used to finance Federal obligations for benefits and administrative expenses under this subtitle. (Sec. 11054) Requires the Secretary to take certain actions when assets remaining in the Trust Fund are projected to be depleted. Chapter 7:  Reports - Directs the Trustee to engage an enrolled actuary of the Trust Fund and Federal Supplemental Fund to report annually on the actuarial status of the Funds. (Sec. 11062) Authorizes the Comptroller General to evaluate and report on the administration of this subtitle. Chapter 8:  Judicial Enforcement - Provides for judicial review of actions brought by retirement participants or the Trustee, jurisdiction and venue, and limitations of actions. Chapter 9:  Miscellaneous - Directs the Secretary to contract with an independent consultant to study actuarial alternatives for financing the Federal obligations assumed under this subtitle, and analyze the impact of each alternative on the Federal budget. (Sec. 11084) Provides that this subtitle supersedes any inconsistent provision of the District of Columbia Retirement Reform Act. Subtitle B:  Management Reform Plans - District of Columbia Management Reform Act of 1997 - Requires the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority (Authority) and the District government to develop and implement management reform plans for specified governmental departments. (Sec. 11103) Directs the Authority to contract with consultants to develop such plans.  Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 11104) Provides for management reform teams to implement such plans. (Sec. 11105) Sets forth procedures for the appointment of governmental department heads by the Mayor. Authorizes the Authority or the Mayor, with the approval of the Authority, to remove the heads of specified governmental departments during a control year.  Defines a ""control year"" as a year in which a financial plan and budget approved by the Authority is in effect (for periods in which the District is unable to meet certain financial obligations). Subtitle C:  Criminal Justice - Chapter 1:  Corrections - Requires, no later than October 1, 2001, any person who has been sentenced to incarceration pursuant to the District Code or the truth-in-sentencing system under this subtitle to be designated by the Bureau of Prisons to a Bureau penal or correctional facility for such term as the court may direct. (Sec. 11201) Provides for the closure of the Lorton Correctional Complex by December 31, 2001, and for the transfer of its felony population to a Bureau facility.  Subjects such persons to any law or regulation applicable to persons committed for violations of U.S. laws and makes the Bureau responsible for the care, education, treatment, and training of such persons. Requires the Bureau to house in private contract facilities:  (1) at least 2,000 District sentenced felons by December 31, 1999; and (2) at least 50 percent of the District's sentenced felon population by September 30, 2003.  Makes the Deputy Attorney General responsible for overseeing Bureau privatization activities and requires annual reports to the Congress on progress of, and compliance with, privatization requirements.  Directs the Attorney General to study and report to the Congress on correctional privatization, including a comparative analysis of cost effectiveness and feasibility of private sector and governmental operation of prisons and corrections programs. Requires the Bureau to acquire land and build new facilities to house the District's inmate population.  Prohibits building on the grounds of the Lorton Reservation. Transfers Lorton property to the Department of the Interior and the Fairfax County Department of Parks and Recreation. Establishes the District of Columbia Correction Information Council to report to the Bureau Director on matters affecting the District's felon population. (Sec. 11202) Requires the Attorney General to select a Corrections Trustee, an independent officer of the District, to oversee financial operations of the District's Department of Corrections until all felony offenders are designated for transfer to a Bureau facility. (Sec. 11203) Requires the Bureau to establish a priority consideration program to facilitate employment placement for District employees scheduled to be separated from service as a result of Lorton's closing. (Sec. 11206) Authorizes the District to expend funds necessary to carry out the Sewage Delivery System and Capacity Purchase Agreement between Fairfax County and the District for a specified project without regard to the amount appropriated in the District's budget for the fiscal year concerned. Chapter 2:  Sentencing - Establishes the District of Columbia Truth in Sentencing Commission as an independent agency of the District. (Sec. 11212) Requires the Commission to make recommendations to the District Council for amendments to the District Code with respect to sentences to be imposed for all felonies committed three years after this Act's enactment date. Prohibits the Commission from being empowered to recommend a sentence of death for any offense or a term of imprisonment less than that prescribed by the District Code as a mandatory minimum sentence. Sets forth laws to which such sentences apply. (Sec. 11214) Requires the Attorney General to promulgate amendments to the District Code with respect to such sentences if the Council fails to enact the Commission's recommendations or the Commission fails to make recommendations within the prescribed deadline. Chapter 3:  Offender Supervision and Parole - Transfers jurisdiction and authorities of the District Board of Parole to the U.S. Parole Commission, with respect to felons, and to the District Superior Court, with respect to misdemeanants.  Abolishes the Board of Parole upon the establishment of the District of Columbia Offender Supervision, Defender, and Courts Services Agency. (Sec. 11231) Amends the Parole Commission Phaseout Act of 1996 to increase the authorized number of U.S. Parole Commissioners to five. (Sec. 11232) Directs the Attorney General to appoint a Pretrial Services, Defense Services, Parole, Adult Probation and Offender Supervision Trustee, an independent officer of the District government, to effectuate the reorganization and transition of functions and funding related to such activities. (Sec. 11233) Establishes the District of Columbia Offender Supervision, Defender, and Courts Services Agency within the Federal executive branch.  Provides for Agency assumption of duties upon certification by the Trustee that the Agency can carry out its functions. Directs the Agency to provide supervision for offenders on probation, parole, and supervised release pursuant to the District Code.  Grants Agency supervision officers the same powers as granted to U.S. Probation and Pretrial Officers. Provides that the District of Columbia Pretrial Services Agency and Public Defender Service shall function as independent entities within the Agency. (Sec. 11234) Authorizes appropriations. Chapter 4:  District of Columbia Courts - Authorizes appropriations for the District Superior Court, Court of Appeals, and court system. (Sec. 11242) Amends the District Code to make technical and conforming changes to administrative, financing, and reporting provisions regarding the District court system to reflect the transfer of specified authorities to the Federal Government. (Sec. 11246) Treats nonjudicial District court personnel as Federal employees for purposes of compensation for work injuries, life and health insurance, and retirement benefits. (Sec. 11251) Revises provisions regarding the District of Columbia Judicial Retirement and Survivors Annuity Fund to re-establish such fund in the Treasury.  Authorizes the Secretary to review benefit determinations under this subchapter made prior to this Act's enactment date. (Sec. 11252) Amends the District of Columbia Retirement Reform Act to provide for the transfer of assets of the District of Columbia Judges' Retirement Fund to the District of Columbia Judicial Retirement and Survivors Annuity Fund (thus, terminating the Judges' Retirement Fund). Removes judges from the District Retirement Board. (Sec. 11253) Transfers specified authorities regarding the Judicial Retirement and Survivors Annuity Fund from the Mayor to the Secretary. (Sec. 11261) Makes provisions of the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Act of 1995 and the District of Columbia Comprehensive Merit Personnel Act of 1978 inapplicable to the District courts. Chapter 5:  Pretrial Services Agency and Public Defender Service - Makes technical changes to administrative provisions regarding the District's Pretrial Services Agency and Public Defender Service. Chapter 6:  Miscellaneous Provisions - Authorizes appropriations to the National Institute of Justice for activities to assess the crime problem in the District and to establish a corporation or institute supporting research and demonstration projects for the prevention, solution, or punishment of crimes in the District. (Sec. 11282) Exempts the Trustees described in this title and their respective agencies from personnel or budget limitations which otherwise apply to District agencies in appropriations Acts. Subtitle D:  Privatization of Tax Collection and Administration - Authorizes the District's Chief Financial Officer to contract with a private entity for the administration and collection of District taxes. Subtitle E:  Financing of District of Columbia Accumulated Deficit - Amends the District of Columbia Revenue Act of 1939 to permit intermediate-term advances of funds from the Treasury for purposes of assisting the District in liquidating the outstanding accumulated operating deficit of the District general fund existing as of September 30, 1997.  Conditions such advances on actions by the District, including actions to demonstrate obligations to reimburse, inability to obtain credit elsewhere, and compliance with a financial plan and budget.  Limits the aggregate of all advances to $300 million.  Permits the Secretary to require early reimbursement of the advance if the District is able to obtain credit elsewhere to refinance the unpaid balance without adversely affecting its financial stability. Subtitle F:  District of Columbia Bond Financing Improvements - District of Columbia Bond Financing Improvements Act of 1997 - Amends the District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act to authorize general obligation bonds to be sold at private (negotiated) or public sales.  (Currently, such bonds are required to be sold at public sale and only certain issues may be sold at private sales on a negotiated basis.) (Sec. 11507) Permits the Council to authorize the issuance of bond anticipation notes, the proceeds of which shall be used for the purposes for which general obligation bonds may be issued.  Provides that such notes shall constitute indebtedness which may be refunded through the issuance of such bonds.  Sets a maximum annual debt service amount for bonds anticipated by such notes, and makes such notes due within the third fiscal year following issuance. (Sec. 11508) Expands the list of activities for which revenue bonds may be issued. Authorizes the Council to delegate authority to issue revenue bonds or other obligations to any District instrumentality. Provides that revenue bonds and other obligations shall not:  (1) be general obligations of the District; (2) involve the credit of the District; and (3) constitute a debt of the District. Subtitle G:  District of Columbia Government Budget - Repeals provisions of the District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act that provide for the annual Federal payment to the District. (Sec. 11601) Amends the District of Columbia Revenue Act of 1939 to change the limit on certain short-term advances made by the Secretary to the District for seasonal cash-flow management to 15 percent of the total anticipated revenues of the District for the fiscal year concerned, as certified by the Mayor. Authorizes appropriations for a Federal contribution towards the costs of operating the District government of $190 million for FY 1998 and of such amounts as necessary for subsequent fiscal years. (Sec. 11602) Amends the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Act of 1995 to prohibit the District's expenditures from exceeding revenues in FY 1998 (currently, FY 1999). (Sec. 11603) Permits the submission and approval of a joint consensus budget and financial plan for the District by the Mayor, Council, and Authority. (Sec. 11604) Increases the District's borrowing limitation from 14 to 17 percent of the District's revenues per fiscal year. Subtitle H:  Miscellaneous Provisions - Chapter 1:  Regulatory Reform in the District of Columbia - Directs the Authority to:  (1) review District regulations and analyze the extent to which they inappropriately impair economic development and the financial stability and management efficiency of the District government; (2) review current processes for obtaining permits and applications and analyze the extent to which such processes and their completion times vary from those in other jurisdictions; and (3) repeal or revise such regulations or processes, as appropriate. (Sec. 11702) Repeals the Clean Air Compliance Fee Act of 1994, effective March 21, 1995 (date of enactment), except for the exemption of newspaper delivery from gross sales and compensating-use taxes. (Sec. 11703) Repeals a requirement of congressional authorization for certain mergers involving District public utility corporations. (Sec. 11704) Amends the District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act to exempt from specified limitations on amounts or time periods contracts entered into:  (1) by the Washington Convention Center Authority for preconstruction activities or project management, design, or construction; (2) by the District Water and Sewer Authority, other than those for sale or lease of the Blue Plains Wastewater Treatment Plant; and (3) for Federal highway improvement projects, at the option of the Council. Chapter 2:  Other Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Act of 1995 to permit the use of interest earned on accounts to promote the economic stability and management efficiency of the District government. (Sec. 11712) Authorizes covered Federal law enforcement agencies to enter into cooperative agreements with the District Police Department to assist the Department in carrying out crime prevention and law enforcement activities. Establishes penalties for knowingly obstructing bridges between the District and Virginia. (Sec.  11713) Permits garnishment of wages and other government remuneration of District employees. (Sec. 11714) Amends the District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act to authorize the District Water and Sewer Authority, beginning in FY 1997, to expend excess revenues for capital projects in fiscal years in which such revenues exceed estimated revenues. (Sec. 11715) Requires heads of Federal agencies and the Architect of the Capitol to provide notice before carrying out activities that affect real property in the District. (Sec. 11716) Repeals a prohibition on the use of land conveyed to the Columbia Hospital for Women for any other purpose than a hospital for women, without the consent of the United States. (Sec. 11717) Changes the name of the District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act to the District of Columbia Home Rule Act. Chapter 3:  Effective Date; General Provisions - Requires this title to take effect on the later of October 1, 1997, or the day the Authority certifies that the financial plan and budget for FY 1998 meet specified requirements under this title. (Sec. 11722) Authorizes Federal agencies to provide technical assistance to, and training for, District government personnel. (Sec. 11723) Absolves the United States of liability resulting from actions against the District.",2025-04-07T15:33:40Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/2015
105-hr-2003,105,hr,2003,Budget Enforcement Act of 1997,Economics and Public Finance,1997-06-20,1997-07-23,Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.,House,"Rep. Barton, Joe [R-TX-6]",TX,R,B000213,66,"TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Ensure that the Bipartisan Balanced Budget           Agreement of 1997 Achieves Its Goal      Title II:  Enforcement Provisions Budget Enforcement Act of 1997 - Title I:  Ensure that the Bipartisan Balanced Budget Agreement of 1997 Achieves Its Goal - Sets forth a timetable for completion of certain budget actions by the President, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). (Sec. 102) Directs the President to submit a special message with the OMB Analysis of Actual Spending Levels and Projections for the Upcoming Year if such Analysis indicates that:  (1) deficits or outlays in the most recent fiscal or budget year exceeded or are projected to exceed deficit targets or caps, as appropriate; or (2) revenues in such years were less than or projected to be less than revenue targets. Requires such message to include proposed legislative changes to: (1) offset the net deficit, outlay excess, or revenue shortfall; or (2) revise the deficit or revenue targets or outlay caps contained in this Act. Sets forth congressional procedures for the consideration of legislation to address excess deficits or outlays and revenue shortfalls. (Sec. 103) Requires presidential budgets to be consistent with the spending, revenue, and deficit levels established in this Act or to recommend changes to such levels.  Makes it out of order in the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider any concurrent budget resolution unless it is consistent with the levels set forth in this Act. (Sec. 104) Sets forth consolidated deficit (or surplus) and revenue targets for FY 1998 through 2002. (Sec. 105) Requires OMB to submit a report containing account numbers and spending limits for specific entitlement categories to the President and the Congress.  Applies direct spending caps, effective upon submission of such report, to all entitlement authority except for undistributed offsetting receipts and net interest outlays.  Sets forth entitlement categories subject to caps. (Sec. 106) Requires determinations of direct spending caps (as well as any breaches of such caps and actions necessary to remedy such breaches) to be based on certain economic assumptions set forth in the joint explanatory statement of managers accompanying the concurrent resolution on the budget for FY 1998 (House Concurrent Resolution 84) and subject to periodic reestimation based on changed economic conditions or changes in eligible population. (Sec. 107) Provides for automatic adjustments to deficit and revenue targets and caps for entitlements and other mandatory spending to reflect changes in specified economic and other conditions. Title II:  Enforcement Provisions - Directs OMB:  (1) to compile a statement of actual deficits, revenues, and direct spending for a fiscal year, following the end of that year, identifying such deficits, revenues, and spending by categories of entitlements and other mandatory spending; and (2) in any year in which actual or projected deficits, revenues, or spending in violation of revenue targets or caps by more than one percent of the applicable total revenues or direct spending for the year concerned occurs, to issue a report to the President and the Congress, estimating necessary spending reductions. (Sec. 202) Provides for enforcement of the direct spending caps on categories of spending established under title I of this Act.  Applies specified enforcement rules and procedures for any fiscal year in which direct spending exceeds the applicable direct spending cap. (Sec. 203) Sets forth:  (1) general rules triggering sequestration to reduce spending for programs subject to direct spending caps; (2) special rules for direct spending programs with certain characteristics; and (3) rules for insurance and loan programs and State grant program formulas.  Requires a within session sequester under certain conditions. (Sec. 204) Sets forth procedures for enforcing revenue targets, including delays in implementing tax credits, deductions, exclusions, or cuts under the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1997. (Sec. 205) Exempts certain budget accounts, activities within accounts, or income from sequestration. Authorizes the President to exempt any military personnel account from sequestration or provide for a lower uniform percentage reduction that would otherwise apply, subject to specified congressional notification requirements. (Sec. 206) Sets forth special rules for sequestration orders for: (1) the child support enforcement program under the Social Security Act; (2) the Commodity Credit Corporation; (3) the earned income tax credit; (4) regular and extended unemployment compensation; (5) the Federal Employees Health Benefits Fund; (6) the Federal Housing Finance Board; (7) Federal pay; (8) Medicare; (9) the Postal Service Fund; (10) Department of Energy power marketing administration funds or the Tennessee Valley Authority fund; and (11) programs which provide a businesslike service in exchange for a fee. (Sec. 207) Directs CBO and OMB to report to the President and the Congress the budget baselines for the budget year and the next nine fiscal years. Specifies requirements for the budget baseline. (Sec. 208) Requires amounts to be withheld from allocation to the appropriate congressional committees (within the discretionary caps for each fiscal year) and reserved for natural disasters and other emergency purposes.  Provides that such amounts shall be at least one percent of total budget authority and outlays available within those caps for the fiscal year concerned.  Sets forth conditions under which reserved amounts shall be made available for allocation to such committees. Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to make it out of order in the House or the Senate to consider legislation containing an emergency designation if it also provides an appropriation or direct spending for any other item or contains other matter.  Permits such legislation to contain rescissions or spending reductions.",2025-08-21T16:11:55Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/2003
105-hr-1962,105,hr,1962,Presidential and Executive Office Financial Accountability Act of 1997,Economics and Public Finance,1997-06-19,1997-10-22,Received in the Senate and read twice and referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs.,House,"Rep. Horn, Stephen [R-CA-38]",CA,R,H000789,7,"Presidential and Executive Office Financial Accountability Act of 1997 - Provides, within the Executive Office of the President, for the designation or appointment of a Chief Financial Officer.  Requires the Chief Financial Officer, to the extent that the President determines appropriate and in the interest of the United States, to have the same authority and perform the same functions as his or her Federal agency counterparts.  Directs the President to:  (1) notify the Congress of any provision of current law concerning chief financial officers that the President determines shall not apply to a Chief Financial Officer designated or appointed under this Act; and (2) communicate in writing, not later than 90 days after enactment, to the Chairman of the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight of the House and the Chairman of the Committee on Governmental Affairs of the Senate a plan for implementation of this Act.",2026-03-23T12:17:56Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/1962
105-hr-1912,105,hr,1912,Government Shutdown Prevention Act,Economics and Public Finance,1997-06-17,1997-06-17,Referred to the House Committee on Appropriations.,House,"Rep. Davis, Tom [R-VA-11]",VA,R,D000136,6,Government Shutdown Prevention Act - Provides for continuing appropriations (at 100 percent of the rate of operations provided for in FY 1997) in the absence of regular appropriations for FY 1998. Requires increases in the rate of operations as necessary to preclude furloughs or reductions-in-force.,2025-08-21T16:14:28Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/1912
105-hr-1916,105,hr,1916,Government Shutdown Prevention Act,Economics and Public Finance,1997-06-17,1997-09-03,Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H6723),House,"Rep. Gekas, George W. [R-PA-17]",PA,R,G000121,1,Government Shutdown Prevention Act - Provides for continuing appropriations (at 100 percent of the rate of operations provided for in FY 1997) in the absence of regular appropriations for FY 1998.,2025-08-21T16:13:53Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/1916
105-hr-1871,105,hr,1871,"1997 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Recovery from Natural Disasters, and for Overseas Peacekeeping Efforts, Including Those in Bosnia",Economics and Public Finance,1997-06-12,1997-06-12,Became Public Law No: 105-18.,House,"Rep. Livingston, Bob [R-LA-1]",LA,R,L000371,0,"TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for the           Department of Defense           Chapter 1:  Department of Defense - Military           Chapter 2:  Rescissions           Chapter 3:  General Provisions - This Title      Title II:  Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Recovery           from Natural Disasters           Chapter 1:  Department of Agriculture           Chapter 2:  Department of Commerce           Chapter 3:  Department of Defense - Civil           Chapter 4:  Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and                Related Programs           Chapter 5:  Department of the Interior           Chapter 6:  Department of Health and Human Services           Chapter 7:  Congressional Operations           Chapter 8:  Department of Transportation           Chapter 9:  Department of the Treasury           Chapter 10:  Department of Veterans Affairs           Chapter 11:  Offsets and Rescissions      Title III:  General Provisions - This Act      Title IV:  Cost of Higher Education Review      Title V:  Depository Institution Disaster Relief      Title VI:  Technical Amendments With Respect To Education      Title VII:  Food Stamp Program      Title VIII:  2000 Decennial Census 1997 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Recovery from Natural Disasters, and for Overseas Peacekeeping Efforts, Including Those in Bosnia - Title I:  Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for the Department of Defense  - Chapter 1:  Department of Defense - Military - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations to the Department of Defense (DOD) - Military for:  (1) military personnel, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force; (2) operation and maintenance (O&M), Overseas Contingency Operations Transfer Fund; (3) OPLAN 34A-35 prisoner-of-war (P.O.W.) payments to individuals; and (4) the Reserve Mobilization Income Insurance Fund. (Sec. 101) Directs the Secretary of the Navy to transfer specified funds to reimburse costs incurred for repairing damage caused by hurricanes, flooding, and other natural disasters during 1996 and 1997 to real property and facilities at Marine Corps facilities (including Camp Lejeune and Cherry Point, North Carolina; and the Mountain Warfare Training Center, Bridgeport, California). (Sec. 102) Makes additional appropriations for:  (1) direct patient care at military treatment facilities; (2) force protection and counter-terrorism activities; and (3) a grant to the American Red Cross for armed forces emergency services. (Sec. 105) Requires the President to submit to the Congress a report on the estimated cumulative cost of all U.S. activities relating to Bosnia after December 1, 1995, and a detailed accounting of the source of funds to meet such costs. (Sec. 106) Makes additional appropriations to cover incremental O&M costs from hurricane damage to family housing units at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina. Chapter 2:  Rescissions - Rescinds specified funds provided in the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1997 for:  (1) military personnel of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force; (2) O&M for the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force as well as defense-wide O&M; (3) environmental restoration by the Army, Navy, and Air Force, as well as defense-wide environmental restoration and environmental restoration of formerly used defense sites; (4) former Soviet Union threat reduction; (5) the National Defense Sealift Fund; (6) the Defense Health Program; and (7) drug interdiction and counter-drug activities. Rescinds funds made available in such Act and certain other defense appropriations Acts for:  (1) various types of procurement, including aircraft, missile, weapons, tracked combat vehicles, shipbuilding and conversion, and ammunition, by various branches of the armed forces; (2) National Guard and reserve equipment; (3) armed forces research, development, test and evaluation; and (4) chemical agents and munitions destruction. (Sec. 201) Rescinds specified amounts of the funds appropriated in specified categories in:  (1) the Military Construction Appropriations Act, 1996, including the Base Realignment and Closure Account; (2) the Military Construction Appropriations Act, 1997; and (3) the Military Construction Appropriations Act, 1995. Chapter 3:  General Provisions - This Title - Directs DOD to report to the congressional defense committees prior to transferring management, development, and acquisition authority over the National Missile Defense Program from the military services.  Requires the Joint Requirements Oversight Council to submit recommendations to such committees on the future roles of the military services with respect to such program. (Sec. 302) Authorizes the incumbent to continue to serve as the Secretary of Defense designee on the Board of the Panama Canal Commission if he retires as an officer of DOD, until and unless the Secretary designates another person to serve in this position. (Sec. 303) Authorizes the Secretary to enter into an agreement, which meets certain requirements, for the lease of a specified building at the Lexington Blue Grass Station, Lexington, Kentucky, and any associated real property, for use by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service. (Sec. 304) Authorizes the continuing obligation and expenditure of certain funds appropriated for Navy weapons procurement that were obligated and expended to settle claims on the MK-50 torpedo program. (Sec. 305) Prohibits the use of any DOD funds to pay the cost of operating a National Missile Defense Joint Program Office which includes more than 55 military and civilian personnel located in the National Capital Region. (Sec. 306) Requires the merger of certain National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Air Force funds for obligation only on Titan IV vehicles and related activities. Title II:  Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Recovery From Natural Disasters - Chapter 1:  Department of Agriculture - Makes emergency appropriations for FY 1997 with respect to flood and other natural disaster costs to the Department of Agriculture for:  (1) the Farm Service Agency's Agricultural Credit Insurance Fund Program Account for the additional cost of certain emergency insured and operating loans (including loan modifications); (2) the Emergency Conservation Program for expenses, including carcass removal; (3) the Tree Assistance Program for assistance to small orchardists to replace or rehabilitate disaster-damaged trees and vineyards; and (4) the Commodity Credit Corporation Fund, Disaster Reserve Assistance Program, to implement a livestock indemnity program.  Makes such appropriations to:  (1) the Natural Resources Conservation Service, for watershed and flood prevention operations to repair damages to the waterways and watersheds; (2) the Rural Housing Service, Rural Housing Insurance Fund Program Account, for the cost of specified loans and domestic farm labor grants for emergency expenses; and (3) the Rural Utilities Service, Rural Utilities Assistance Program, for the cost of direct loans, loan guarantees, and grants for emergency expenses. Bars the use of watershed and flood prevention funds for the salmon memorandum of understanding.  Authorizes the use of certain community facility grants for the Rural Housing Assistance Program for expenses resulting from natural disasters. Makes additional funds available for the Food and Consumer Service's Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966. (Sec. 1001) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to collect and disseminate weekly statistically reliable information on bulk cheese prices. Chapter 2:  Department of Commerce - Makes emergency appropriations for FY 1997 to the Department of Commerce for:  (1) the Economic Development Administration's economic development assistance programs for emergency infrastructure expenses; (2) the National Institute of Standards and Technology for new grants for industrial technology services under the Advanced Technology Program; and (3) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for disaster assistance related to recent flooding and red tide and for emergency construction expenses resulting from flooding and other natural disasters.  Makes additional amounts available to implement the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Makes additional appropriations for the Commission on the Advancement of Federal Law Enforcement. (Sec. 2001) Earmarks a specified amount from the Counterterrorism Fund of the Department of Justice for allocation to the appropriate unit or units of government in Ogden, Utah, for necessary expenses to counter any potential terrorism threat related to the 2002 Winter Olympic games. (Sec. 2002) Amends the Small Business Competitiveness Demonstration Program Act of 1988 to extend to the end of FY 1997 the authorization of the program for expanding small business participation in dredging. (Sec. 2003) Amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to establish certain Good Samaritan exemptions from specified violations. (Sec. 2004) Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to reprogram a limited amount of funds provided for NOAA satellite observing systems for other NOAA programmatic and operational requirements, provided certain notification requirements are met. Chapter 3:  Department of Defense - Civil - Makes emergency appropriations for FY 1997, with respect to emergency expenses due to flooding and other natural disasters, to DOD, Army Corps of Engineers - Civil for:  (1) flood control, Mississippi River and tributaries, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee; (2) general O&M (with earmarked funds for an interagency management plan and other activities related to water allocation in the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa and Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basins, subject to certain restrictions); and (3) flood control and coastal emergencies.  Makes emergency appropriations for FY 1997, with respect to flood and other natural disaster costs, to the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation (BLM) for O&M. (Sec. 3001) Makes the U.S. members and the alternate members, appointed under the Susquehanna River Basin Compact and the Delaware River Basin Compact, officers of the Army Corps of Engineers, who hold presidential appointments as regular Army officers with Senate confirmation, and serve without additional compensation, and at the President's pleasure. (Sec. 3002) Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to obligate a limited amount of funds for carrying out construction for safety purposes to modify the Willow Creek Dam, Sun River Project, Montana. (Sec. 3003) Defers specified consultation and conferencing requirements under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 for certain emergency flood control projects. Chapter 4:  Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs - Authorizes the President to waive certain minimum funding requirements under provisions of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1997 with respect to assistance for Ukraine if he reports to the Appropriations Committees that Ukraine:  (1) has not made progress toward comprehensive economic reform; (2) is not taking steps to ensure that U.S. businesses and individuals are able to operate according to generally accepted business principles; or (3) is not taking steps to cease the illegal dumping of steel plate. Chapter 5:  Department of the Interior - Makes emergency appropriations for FY 1997 to the Department of the Interior for:  (1) BLM flood damage repair and other activities for Oregon and California Grant Lands; (2) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service resource management, construction, and land acquisition; (3) National Park Service emergency expenses and construction; (4) the U.S. Geological Survey; and (5) the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Makes such appropriations for emergency expenses of the Forest Service and the Indian Health Service. (Sec. 5001) Amends the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 (part of the Omnibus Consolidated Rescissions and Appropriations Act of 1996) to revise the formula for distribution of amounts collected under the recreational fee demonstration program. (Sec. 5003) Amends the San Carlos Apache Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 1992 to extend its expiration date from June 30, 1997, through March 31, 1999, or, if before that date a Settlement Agreement between the San Carlos Apache Tribe and Phelps Dodge Corporation is submitted for approval to the Superior Court of Arizona in and for Maricopa County, through December 31, 1999. Extends the Tribe's Central Arizona Project water lease authority to Gila, Graham, and Greenlee Counties. Makes the Gila Valley and Franklin Irrigation Districts parties to the Settlement Agreement. Directs the United States, through the BLM, to operate and maintain the Black River facilities, and to contract for delivery of water at Eagle Creek to Phelps Dodge for a specified monthly fee in addition to a specified monthly power line right-of-way fee.  Sets forth provisions for a final agreement between Phelps Dodge and the San Carlos Apache Tribe under which the Tribe will operate the facilities and receive payment for leased water.  Ratifies the agreement between the Tribe, Phelps Dodge, and the Secretary of the Interior. (Sec. 5004) Amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to modify requirements for the importation of polar bear parts from polar bears legally harvested in Canada before the date of enactment of the Marine Mammal Protection Act Amendments of 1994. Chapter 6:  Department of Health and Human Services - Amends specified Federal law relating to appropriations to provide for additional amounts for:  (1) the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Health Resources and Services Administration's Health Education Assistance Loans Program; (2) the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund for priority health research; and (3) the Department of Education, Education for the Disadvantaged programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Makes funds available for the National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education. (Sec. 6001) Extends through FY 1998 the availability, to recipients in presidentially-declared disaster areas declared during FY 1997, of certain funds awarded for State-administered programs of the Department of Education for FY 1995 (and for FY 1996, with respect to such programs under the Rehabilitation Act). (Sec. 6002) Authorizes the Secretary of Education, with respect to student aid awards for award years 1996-1997 and 1997-1998, to waive or modify any statutory or regulatory provision applicable to the student financial aid programs under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to assist individuals and other program participants who suffered financial harm from natural disasters. (Sec. 6003) Prohibits the use of any funds to administer or implement in Denver, Colorado, a Medicare Competitive Pricing-Open Enrollment Demonstration program. (Sec. 6004) Provides for emergency use of certain child care funds. Authorizes eligible State Governors, for a limited time period, to use amounts received for the provision of child care assistance or services under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to provide emergency child care services to eligible individuals.  Bases State eligibility on the President's determination, pursuant to specified provisions of the Robert T.  Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, that a major disaster exists, or that an area within the State is determined to be eligible for disaster relief under other Federal law by reason of damage related to flooding in 1997.  Bases individual eligibility on:  (1) residence within such an area where a major disaster exists, or which is so eligible for disaster relief; and (2) involvement in unpaid work activities (including the cleaning, repair, restoration, and rebuilding of homes, businesses, and schools) resulting from such flood emergency.  Sets forth limitations and priorities with respect to such assistance. (Sec. 6005) Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to extend certain redetermination provisions for the supplementary security income (SSI) program. Chapter 7:  Congressional Operations - Makes supplemental appropriations for an additional amount for expenses of the Office of the Secretary of the Senate, to carry out specified provisions of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1997. Provides an amount for payment to the children of Frank Tejeda, the late Representative from the State of Texas. Makes additional amounts available for salaries and expenses of the Botanic Garden for emergency repair and renovation of the conservatory. (Sec. 7001) Amends the Legislative Branch Appropriation Act, 1968 to make a specified limitation on the minimum rate of gross compensation inapplicable to any member or civilian employee of the Capitol Police whose compensation is disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate. (Sec. 7002) Authorizes the Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate, with the approval of the Committee on Rules and Administration, to provide additional facilities, services, equipment, and office space for use by a Senator in that Senator's State in connection with a presidentially-declared disaster or emergency. (Sec. 7003) Allows the transfer of a limited amount of funds for the expense allowance of the Secretary of the Senate. (Sec. 7004) Authorizes the Comptroller General to use available funds to enter into contracts for the acquisition of severable services for periods that begin in one fiscal year and end in another and to enter into specified multiyear contracts to the same extent as agencies under the authority of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act. Chapter 8:  Department of Transportation - Makes supplemental appropriations to the Department of Transportation for:  (1) Coast Guard retired pay and for operating expenses directly related to support activities in the TWA Flight 800 crash investigation; (2) Federal Highway Administration, Federal-Aid Highways and for the Emergency Relief Program; and (3) the Federal Railroad Administration, to repair and rebuild freight rail lines of regional and short line railroads damaged by floods (with earmarks for West Virginia and the northern Plains States). Makes such appropriations to the National Transportation Safety Board for:  (1) emergency expenses resulting from the crashes of TWA Flight 800, ValuJet 592, and Comair Flight 3272; and (2) assistance to families of victims of aviation accidents. (Sec. 8003) Authorizes additional appropriations out of the Highway Trust Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account) for FY 1997 for grants to States for alcohol-impaired driving countermeasures. (Sec. 8004) Extends through FY 1997 the authorization of appropriations for the National Driver Register. Chapter 9:  Department of the Treasury - Makes supplemental appropriations to the Department of the Treasury.  Authorizes the Secretary of Treasury to use the law enforcement services, personnel, equipment, and facilities of the State of Colorado and of the county and city of Denver for security arrangements for the Denver Summit of Eight.  Makes supplemental appropriations to:  (1) the Customs Service for the automated targeting system with respect to counterterrorism and drug law enforcement; and (2) the Postal Service Fund, for revenue foregone on free and reduced rate mail for specified purposes. (Sec. 9001) Authorizes the Administrator of General Services (GSA) to obligate specified appropriations for construction of the Montgomery, Alabama, courthouse. (Sec. 9002) Prohibits the use of funds by GSA to implement certain cooperative purchasing provisions of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 prior to the adjournment of the first session of the 105th Congress. (Sec. 9003) Prohibits the Bureau of Engraving and Printing from awarding a contract for the procurement of distinctive currency paper until the General Accounting Office has completed an analysis of the optimum circumstances for procuring such paper.  Limits the term of the bridge contract with respect to such paper to 24 months and requires the Secretary of the Treasury to make certain certifications concerning the price and terms of the agreement. (Sec. 9004) Amends specified Federal civil service law to authorize and establish a leave transfer program in disasters and emergencies. Chapter 10:  Department of Veterans Affairs - Makes additional amounts available for:  (1) the Veterans Benefits Administration for compensation and pensions; and (2) the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for preserving existing housing investment, capacity building for community development and affordable housing, and for community development block grants for activities in communities affected by disasters in the upper Midwest. Authorizes appropriations for the construction of a parking garage at the Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in Cleveland, Ohio. Earmarks amounts of assisted housing special purpose grants for acquiring parking and restoring a theater in Ashland, Kentucky. Requires the HUD Secretary to enter into a contract with the National Academy of Public Administration for an evaluation of HUD's management systems. Directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), from previous appropriations for the Center for Ecology Research and Training (CERT), to obligate the maximum amount of funds necessary to settle all outstanding CERT-related claims against the EPA pursuant to the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970.  Authorizes EPA, from any unobligated balances then remaining, to make grants to Bay City, Michigan, for the purpose of EPA-approved environmental remediation and rehabilitation of publicly owned real property included in the boundaries of the CERT project. Authorizes the use of a specified amount of funds for grants to States and federally recognized tribes for multi-media or single media pollution prevention, control, and abatement for direct implementation by the Federal Government of programs required in absence of acceptable State or tribal programs. Makes additional funds available to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for disaster relief.  Conditions the availability of a portion of such funds on the submission by the FEMA Director of a legislative proposal to control disaster relief expenditures, including the elimination of funding for certain revenue producing facilities. Authorizes transfer of a specified amount of FEMA disaster relief funds to the Disaster Assistance Direct Loan Program for the cost of direct loans under certain provisions of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, under specified conditions. (Sec. 10001) Directs the HUD Secretary to submit semi-annually to the Appropriations Committees a list of all contracts and task orders in excess of $250,000 entered into by HUD, the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), and the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight in the preceding six months. (Sec. 10002) Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to revise certain time periods relating to notice requirements for terminating section 8 housing contracts. (Sec. 10003) Amends the Multifamily Housing Finance Improvement Act, under specified provisions of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992, to revise limitations on the Secretary of HUD's mortgage insurance authority to allow commitments with respect to a limited number of additional units during FY 1997. (Sec. 10005) Amends the National Housing Act to authorize HUD mortgage insurance for condominiums in an amount up to 100 percent of appraised value where a mortgagor establishes that the home was destroyed or damaged as a result of a major disaster. Chapter 11:  Offsets and Rescissions - Sets forth offsets with respect to the Fund for Rural America and the Food and Consumer Service's emergency food assistance program. Prohibits the use of Department of Agriculture funds under the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997 to pay the personnel salaries and expenses above specified levels to carry out:  (1) a combined program for export credit guarantees, supplier credit guarantees, and emerging democracies facilities guarantees; and (2) an export enhancement program. Rescinds specified funds available for:  (1) the Department of Justice for the Working Capital Fund, the Assets Forfeiture Fund, and Immigration and Naturalization Service construction; (2) the National Institute of Standards and Technology for the Advanced Technology Program; (3) the Federal Communications Commission; (4) the Ounce of Prevention Council; (5) the Department of Energy for energy supply and research and development activities, power marketing administrations, clean coal technology, and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve; (6) the Department of HHS for job opportunities and basic skills; (7) the Department of Transportation for grants-in-aid for airports, highway traffic safety grants, and other Highway Trust Fund monies; (8) GSA presidential transition expenses; (9) HUD assisted housing programs; and (10) NASA. Title III:  General Provisions - This Act - Provides that no appropriation made in this Act shall remain available beyond the current fiscal year unless otherwise provided. (Sec. 30002) Sets forth Buy-American requirements. Title IV:  Cost of Higher Education Review - Cost of Higher Education Review Act of 1997 - Establishes a National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education to study and make recommendations regarding:  (1) the increase in tuition compared with other commodities and services; (2) innovative methods of reducing or stabilizing tuition; (3) the impact on tuition of specified trends in college and university costs, student financial aid, and government mandates and fiscal policies; (4) mechanisms for a more timely and widespread distribution of data on tuition trends and other costs of operating colleges and universities; and (5) the adequacy of existing Federal and State financial aid programs in meeting the costs of attending colleges and universities. (Sec. 40006) Authorizes appropriations for the Commission. Title V:  Depository Institution Disaster Relief - Depository Institutions Disaster Relief Act of 1997 - Authorizes the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to make exceptions, during specified limited periods, to the Truth in Lending Act for transactions, and to the Expedited Funds Availability Act for depository institution offices, within a major disaster area or an area eligible for disaster relief because of the recent flooding of the Red River of the North, the Minnesota River, and their tributaries. (Sec. 50003) Authorizes the appropriate Federal banking agency to permit, for a specified time period, certain insured depository institutions, in or involved with such area, to subtract from the institution's total assets, in calculating compliance with the leverage limit prescribed under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, an amount not exceeding the qualifying amount attributable to insurance proceeds. (Sec. 50004) Authorizes qualifying regulatory agencies to take specified actions with respect to depository institutions or other regulated entities whose principal place of business is within, or with respect to transactions or activities within such area. (Sec. 50005)  Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Comptroller of the Currency, the Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the National Credit Union Administration should encourage depository institutions to meet the financial services needs of their communities and customers located in areas affected by the 1997 flooding of the Red River of the North, the Minnesota River, and their tributaries. Expresses the sense of the Congress that each Federal financial institutions regulatory agency should make exceptions to the appraisal standards prescribed by the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 for transactions involving institutions located in disaster areas if the exceptions can be expected to alleviate hardships to the public resulting from such disasters. Title VI:  Technical Amendments With Respect to Education - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make certain technical corrections relating to graduation rates data disclosures. (Sec. 60002) Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to extend from January 1, 1998, to January 1, 1999, the deadline for a final report by the Secretary of Education on a national assessment of programs assisted under ESEA title I, Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards. (Sec. 60003) Directs the Secretary to deem Kansas and New Mexico as having timely submitted certain written notices of intent to consider specified impact aid payments under ESEA in providing State aid to local educational agencies (LEAs) for school year 1997-1998.  Authorizes the Secretary to require these States to submit appropriate additional information, which shall be considered part of such notice. (Sec. 60004) Provides that no eligible LEA shall receive less than 85 percent of the FY 1996 amount in a specified hold-harmless impact aid payment for each of FY 1997 through 2000. (Sec. 60005) Revises requirements for the Secretary's use of data in providing additional assistance for heavily impacted LEAs, to specify that the student and revenue data used be expenditure data. Repeals the requirement that the Secretary use the most recent data available adjusted to the fiscal year in question. Title VII:  Food Stamp Program - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to grant States an option to issue food stamp benefits to certain individuals made ineligible by welfare reform. Title VIII:  2000 Decennial Census - Directs the Department of Commerce to provide to the Congress a comprehensive plan outlining its proposed methodologies for conducting the 2000 decennial census and available methods for conducting an actual enumeration of the population.",2025-04-07T15:33:52Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/1871
105-hr-1796,105,hr,1796,"1997 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Recovery from Natural Disasters, and for Overseas Peacekeeping Efforts, Including Those in Bosnia",Economics and Public Finance,1997-06-05,1997-06-05,Referred to House Budget,House,"Rep. Obey, David R. [D-WI-7]",WI,D,O000007,0,"TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for the           Department of Defense           Chapter 1:  Department of Defense - Military           Chapter 2:  Rescissions           Chapter 3:  General Provisions - This Title      Title II:  Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Recovery           from Natural Disasters           Chapter 1:  Department of Agriculture           Chapter 2:  Department of Commerce           Chapter 3:  Department of Defense - Civil           Chapter 4:  Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and                Related Programs           Chapter 5:  Department of the Interior           Chapter 6:  Department of Health and Human Services           Chapter 7:  Congressional Operations           Chapter 8:  Department of Transportation           Chapter 9:  Department of the Treasury           Chapter 10:  Department of Veterans Affairs           Chapter 11:  Offsets and Rescissions      Title III:  General Provisions - This Act      Title IV:  Cost of Higher Education Review      Title V:  Depository Institution Disaster Relief      Title VI:  Technical Amendments With Respect To Education      Title VII:  Food Stamp Program 1997 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Recovery from Natural Disasters, and for Overseas Peacekeeping Efforts, Including Those in Bosnia - Title I:  Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for the Department of Defense - Chapter 1:  Department of Defense - Military - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations to the Department of Defense (DOD) - Military for:  (1) military personnel, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force; (2) operation and maintenance (O&M), Overseas Contingency Operations Transfer Fund; (3) OPLAN 34A-35 prisoner-of-war (P.O.W.) payments to individuals; and (4) the Reserve Mobilization Income Insurance Fund. (Sec. 101) Directs the Secretary of the Navy to transfer specified funds to reimburse costs incurred for repairing damage caused by hurricanes, flooding, and other natural disasters during 1996 and 1997 to real property and facilities at Marine Corps facilities (including Camp Lejeune and Cherry Point, North Carolina; and the Mountain Warfare Training Center, Bridgeport, California). (Sec. 102) Makes additional appropriations for:  (1) direct patient care at military treatment facilities; (2) force protection and counter-terrorism activities; and (3) a grant to the American Red Cross for armed forces emergency services. (Sec. 105) Requires the President to submit to the Congress a report on the estimated cumulative cost of all U.S. activities relating to Bosnia after December 1, 1995, and a detailed accounting of the source of funds to meet such costs. (Sec. 106) Makes additional appropriations to cover incremental O&M costs from hurricane damage to family housing units at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina. Chapter 2:  Rescissions - Rescinds specified funds provided in the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1997 for:  (1) military personnel of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force; (2) O&M for the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force as well as defense-wide O&M; (3) environmental restoration by the Army, Navy, and Air Force, as well as defense-wide environmental restoration and environmental restoration of formerly used defense sites; (4) former Soviet Union threat reduction; (5) the National Defense Sealift Fund; (6) the Defense Health Program; and (7) drug interdiction and counter-drug activities. Rescinds funds made available in such Act and certain other defense appropriations Acts for:  (1) various types of procurement, including aircraft, missile, weapons, tracked combat vehicles, shipbuilding and conversion, and ammunition, by various branches of the armed forces; (2) National Guard and reserve equipment; (3) armed forces research, development, test and evaluation; and (4) chemical agents and munitions destruction. (Sec. 201) Rescinds specified amounts of the funds appropriated in specified categories in:  (1) the Military Construction Appropriations Act, 1996, including the Base Realignment and Closure Account; (2) the Military Construction Appropriations Act, 1997; and (3) the Military Construction Appropriations Act, 1995. Chapter 3:  General Provisions - This Title - Directs DOD to report to the congressional defense committees prior to transferring management, development, and acquisition authority over the National Missile Defense Program from the military services.  Requires the Joint Requirements Oversight Council to submit recommendations to such committees on the future roles of the military services with respect to such program. (Sec. 302) Authorizes the incumbent to continue to serve as the Secretary of Defense designee on the Board of the Panama Canal Commission if he retires as an officer of DOD, until and unless the Secretary designates another person to serve in this position. (Sec. 303) Authorizes the Secretary to enter into an agreement, which meets certain requirements, for the lease of a specified building at the Lexington Blue Grass Station, Lexington, Kentucky, and any associated real property, for use by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service. (Sec. 304) Authorizes the continuing obligation and expenditure of certain funds appropriated for Navy weapons procurement that were obligated and expended to settle claims on the MK-50 torpedo program. (Sec. 305) Prohibits the use of any DOD funds to pay the cost of operating a National Missile Defense Joint Program Office which includes more than 55 military and civilian personnel located in the National Capital Region. (Sec. 306) Requires the merger of certain National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Air Force funds for obligation only on Titan IV vehicles and related activities. Title II:  Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Recovery From Natural Disasters - Chapter 1:  Department of Agriculture - Makes emergency appropriations for FY 1997 with respect to flood and other natural disaster costs to the Department of Agriculture for:  (1) the Farm Service Agency's Agricultural Credit Insurance Fund Program Account for the additional cost of certain emergency insured and operating loans (including loan modifications); (2) the Emergency Conservation Program for expenses, including carcass removal; (3) the Tree Assistance Program for assistance to small orchardists to replace or rehabilitate disaster-damaged trees and vineyards; and (4) the Commodity Credit Corporation Fund, Disaster Reserve Assistance Program, to implement a livestock indemnity program.  Makes such appropriations to:  (1) the Natural Resources Conservation Service, for watershed and flood prevention operations to repair damages to the waterways and watersheds; (2) the Rural Housing Service, Rural Housing Insurance Fund Program Account, for the cost of specified loans and domestic farm labor grants for emergency expenses; and (3) the Rural Utilities Service, Rural Utilities Assistance Program, for the cost of direct loans, loan guarantees, and grants for emergency expenses. Bars the use of watershed and flood prevention funds for the salmon memorandum of understanding.  Authorizes the use of certain community facility grants for the Rural Housing Assistance Program for expenses resulting from natural disasters. Makes additional funds available for the Food and Consumer Service's Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966. (Sec. 1001) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to collect and disseminate weekly statistically reliable information on bulk cheese prices. Chapter 2:  Department of Commerce - Makes emergency appropriations for FY 1997 to the Department of Commerce for:  (1) the Economic Development Administration's economic development assistance programs for emergency infrastructure expenses; (2) the National Institute of Standards and Technology for new grants for industrial technology services under the Advanced Technology Program; and (3) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for disaster assistance related to recent flooding and red tide and for emergency construction expenses resulting from flooding and other natural disasters. Makes additional amounts available to implement the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Makes additional appropriations for the Commission on the Advancement of Federal Law Enforcement. (Sec. 2001) Earmarks a specified amount from the Counterterrorism Fund of the Department of Justice for allocation to the appropriate unit or units of government in Ogden, Utah, for necessary expenses to counter any potential terrorism threat related to the 2002 Winter Olympic games. (Sec. 2002) Amends the Small Business Competitiveness Demonstration Program Act of 1988 to extend to the end of FY 1997 the authorization of the program for expanding small business participation in dredging. (Sec. 2003) Amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to establish certain Good Samaritan exemptions from specified violations. (Sec. 2004) Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to reprogram a limited amount of funds provided for NOAA satellite observing systems for other NOAA programmatic and operational requirements, provided certain notification requirements are met. Chapter 3:  Department of Defense - Civil - Makes emergency appropriations for FY 1997, with respect to emergency expenses due to flooding and other natural disasters, to DOD, Army Corps of Engineers - Civil for:  (1) flood control, Mississippi River and tributaries, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee; (2) general O&M (with earmarked funds for an interagency management plan and other activities related to water allocation in the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa and Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basins, subject to certain restrictions); and (3) flood control and coastal emergencies.  Makes emergency appropriations for FY 1997, with respect to flood and other natural disaster costs, to the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation (BLM) for O&M. (Sec. 3001) Makes the U.S. members and the alternate members, appointed under the Susquehanna River Basin Compact and the Delaware River Basin Compact, officers of the Army Corps of Engineers, who hold presidential appointments as regular Army officers with Senate confirmation, and serve without additional compensation, and at the President's pleasure. (Sec. 3002) Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to obligate a limited amount of funds for carrying out construction for safety purposes to modify the Willow Creek Dam, Sun River Project, Montana. (Sec. 3003) Defers specified consultation and conferencing requirements under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 for certain emergency flood control projects. Chapter 4:  Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs - Authorizes the President to waive certain minimum funding requirements under provisions of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1997 with respect to assistance for Ukraine if he reports to the Appropriations Committees that Ukraine:  (1) has not made progress toward comprehensive economic reform; (2) is not taking steps to ensure that U.S. businesses and individuals are able to operate according to generally accepted business principles; or (3) is not taking steps to cease the illegal dumping of steel plate. Chapter 5:  Department of the Interior - Makes emergency appropriations for FY 1997 to the Department of the Interior for:  (1) BLM flood damage repair and other activities for Oregon and California Grant Lands; (2) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service resource management, construction, and land acquisition; (3) National Park Service emergency expenses and construction; (4) the U.S. Geological Survey; and (5) the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Makes such appropriations for emergency expenses of the Forest Service and the Indian Health Service. (Sec. 5001) Amends the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 (part of the Omnibus Consolidated Rescissions and Appropriations Act of 1996) to revise the formula for distribution of amounts collected under the recreational fee demonstration program. (Sec. 5003) Amends the San Carlos Apache Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 1992 to extend its expiration date from June 30, 1997, through March 31, 1999, or, if before that date a Settlement Agreement between the San Carlos Apache Tribe and Phelps Dodge Corporation is submitted for approval to the Superior Court of Arizona in and for Maricopa County, through December 31, 1999. Extends the Tribe's Central Arizona Project water lease authority to Gila, Graham, and Greenlee Counties. Makes the Gila Valley and Franklin Irrigation Districts parties to the Settlement Agreement. Directs the United States, through the BLM, to operate and maintain the Black River facilities, and to contract for delivery of water at Eagle Creek to Phelps Dodge for a specified monthly fee in addition to a specified monthly power line right-of-way fee.  Sets forth provisions for a final agreement between Phelps Dodge and the San Carlos Apache Tribe under which the Tribe will operate the facilities and receive payment for leased water.  Ratifies the agreement between the Tribe, Phelps Dodge, and the Secretary of the Interior. (Sec. 5004) Amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to modify requirements for the importation of polar bear parts from polar bears legally harvested in Canada before the date of enactment of the Marine Mammal Protection Act Amendments of 1994. Chapter 6:  Department of Health and Human Services - Amends specified Federal law relating to appropriations to provide for additional amounts for:  (1) the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Health Resources and Services Administration's Health Education Assistance Loans Program; (2) the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund for priority health research; and (3) the Department of Education, Education for the Disadvantaged programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Makes funds available for the National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education. (Sec. 6001) Extends through FY 1998 the availability, to recipients in presidentially-declared disaster areas declared during FY 1997, of certain funds awarded for State-administered programs of the Department of Education for FY 1995 (and for FY 1996, with respect to such programs under the Rehabilitation Act). (Sec. 6002) Authorizes the Secretary of Education, with respect to student aid awards for award years 1996-1997 and 1997-1998, to waive or modify any statutory or regulatory provision applicable to the student financial aid programs under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to assist individuals and other program participants who suffered financial harm from natural disasters. (Sec. 6003) Prohibits the use of any funds to administer or implement in Denver, Colorado, a Medicare Competitive Pricing-Open Enrollment Demonstration program. (Sec. 6004) Provides for emergency use of certain child care funds.   Authorizes eligible State Governors, for a limited time period, to use amounts received for the provision of child care assistance or services under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to provide emergency child care services to eligible individuals.  Bases State eligibility on the President's determination, pursuant to specified provisions of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, that a major disaster exists, or that an area within the State is determined to be eligible for disaster relief under other Federal law by reason of damage related to flooding in 1997.  Bases individual eligibility on: (1) residence within such an area where a major disaster exists, or which is so eligible for disaster relief; and (2) involvement in unpaid work activities (including the cleaning, repair, restoration, and rebuilding of homes, businesses, and schools) resulting from such flood emergency.  Sets forth limitations and priorities with respect to such assistance. (Sec. 6005) Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to extend certain redetermination provisions for the supplementary security income (SSI) program. Chapter 7:  Congressional Operations - Makes supplemental appropriations for an additional amount for expenses of the Office of the Secretary of the Senate, to carry out specified provisions of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1997. Provides an amount for payment to the children of Frank Tejeda, the late Representative from the State of Texas. Makes additional amounts available for salaries and expenses of the Botanic Garden for emergency repair and renovation of the conservatory. (Sec. 7001) Amends the Legislative Branch Appropriation Act, 1968 to make a specified limitation on the minimum rate of gross compensation inapplicable to any member or civilian employee of the Capitol Police whose compensation is disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate. (Sec. 7002) Authorizes the Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate, with the approval of the Committee on Rules and Administration, to provide additional facilities, services, equipment, and office space for use by a Senator in that Senator's State in connection with a presidentially-declared disaster or emergency. (Sec. 7003) Allows the transfer of a limited amount of funds for the expense allowance of the Secretary of the Senate. (Sec. 7004) Authorizes the Comptroller General to use available funds to enter into contracts for the acquisition of severable services for periods that begin in one fiscal year and end in another and to enter into specified multiyear contracts to the same extent as agencies under the authority of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act. Chapter 8:  Department of Transportation - Makes supplemental appropriations to the Department of Transportation for:  (1) Coast Guard retired pay and for operating expenses directly related to support activities in the TWA Flight 800 crash investigation; (2) Federal Highway Administration, Federal-Aid Highways and for the Emergency Relief Program; and (3) the Federal Railroad Administration, to repair and rebuild freight rail lines of regional and short line railroads damaged by floods (with earmarks for West Virginia and the northern Plains States). Makes such appropriations to the National Transportation Safety Board for:  (1) emergency expenses resulting from the crashes of TWA Flight 800, ValuJet 592, and Comair Flight 3272; and (2) assistance to families of victims of aviation accidents. (Sec. 8003) Authorizes additional appropriations out of the Highway Trust Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account) for FY 1997 for grants to States for alcohol-impaired driving countermeasures. (Sec. 8004) Extends through FY 1997 the authorization of appropriations for the National Driver Register. Chapter 9:  Department of Treasury - Makes supplemental appropriations to the Department of the Treasury.  Authorizes the Secretary of Treasury to use the law enforcement services, personnel, equipment, and facilities of the State of Colorado and of the county and city of Denver for security arrangements for the Denver Summit of Eight.   Makes supplemental appropriations to:  (1) the Customs Service for the automated targeting system with respect to counterterrorism and drug law enforcement; and (2) the Postal Service Fund, for revenue foregone on free and reduced rate mail for specified purposes. (Sec. 9001) Authorizes the Administrator of General Services (GSA) to obligate specified appropriations for construction of the Montgomery, Alabama courthouse. (Sec. 9002) Prohibits the use of funds by GSA to implement certain cooperative purchasing provisions of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 prior to the adjournment of the first session of the 105th Congress. (Sec. 9003) Prohibits the Bureau of Engraving and Printing from awarding a contract for the procurement of distinctive currency paper until the General Accounting Office has completed an analysis of the optimum circumstances for procuring such paper.  Limits the term of the bridge contract with respect to such paper to 24 months and requires the Secretary of the Treasury to make certain certifications concerning the price and terms of the agreement. (Sec. 9004) Amends specified Federal civil service law to authorize and establish a leave transfer program in disasters and emergencies. Chapter 10:  Department of Veterans Affairs - Makes additional amounts available for:  (1) the Veterans Benefits Administration for compensation and pensions; and (2) the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for preserving existing housing investment, capacity building for community development and affordable housing, and for community development block grants for activities in communities affected by disasters in the upper Midwest. Authorizes appropriations for the construction of a parking garage at the Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in Cleveland, Ohio. Earmarks amounts of assisted housing special purpose grants for acquiring parking and restoring a theater in Ashland, Kentucky. Requires the HUD Secretary to enter into a contract with the National Academy of Public Administration for an evaluation of HUD's management systems. Directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), from previous appropriations for the Center for Ecology Research and Training (CERT), to obligate the maximum amount of funds necessary to settle all outstanding CERT-related claims against the EPA pursuant to the Uniform Relocation and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970. Authorizes EPA, from any unobligated balances then remaining, to make grants to Bay City, Michigan, for the purpose of EPA-approved environmental remediation and rehabilitation of publicly owned real property included in the boundaries of the CERT project. Authorizes the use of a specified amount of funds for grants to States and federally recognized tribes for multi-media or single media pollution prevention, control, and abatement for direct implementation by the Federal Government of programs required in absence of acceptable State or tribal programs. Makes additional funds available to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for disaster relief.  Conditions the availability of a portion of such funds on the submission by the FEMA Director of a legislative proposal to control disaster relief expenditures, including the elimination of funding for certain revenue producing facilities. Authorizes transfer of a specified amount of FEMA disaster relief funds to the Disaster Assistance Direct Loan Program for the cost of direct loans under certain provisions of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, under specified conditions. (Sec. 10001) Directs the HUD Secretary to submit semi-annually to the Appropriations Committees a list of all contracts and task orders in excess of $250,000 entered into by HUD, the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), and the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight in the preceding six months. (Sec. 10002) Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to revise certain time periods relating to notice requirements for terminating section 8 housing contracts. (Sec. 10003) Amends the Multifamily Housing Finance Improvement Act, under specified provisions of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992, to revise limitations on the Secretary of HUD's mortgage insurance authority to allow commitments with respect to a limited number of additional units during FY 1997. (Sec.  10005) Amends the National Housing Act to authorize HUD mortgage insurance for condominiums in an amount up to 100 percent of appraised value where a mortgagor establishes that the home was destroyed or damaged as a result of a major disaster. Chapter 11:  Offsets and Rescissions - Sets forth offsets with respect to the Fund for Rural America and the Food and Consumer Service's emergency food assistance program. Prohibits the use of Department of Agriculture funds under the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997 to pay the personnel salaries and expenses above specified levels to carry out:  (1) a combined program for export credit guarantees, supplier credit guarantees, and emerging democracies facilities guarantees; and (2) an export enhancement program. Rescinds specified funds available for:  (1) the Department of Justice for the Working Capital Fund, the Assets Forfeiture Fund, and Immigration and Naturalization Service construction; (2) the National Institute of Standards and Technology for the Advanced Technology Program; (3) the Federal Communications Commission; (4) the Ounce of Prevention Council; (5) the Department of Energy for energy supply and research and development activities, power marketing administrations, clean coal technology, and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve; (6) the Department of HHS for job opportunities and basic skills; (7) the Department of Transportation for grants-in-aid for airports, highway traffic safety grants, and other Highway Trust Fund monies; (8) GSA presidential transition expenses; (9) HUD assisted housing programs; and (10) NASA. Title III:  General Provisions - This Act - Provides that no appropriation made in this Act shall remain available beyond the current fiscal year unless otherwise provided. (Sec. 30002) Sets forth Buy-American requirements. Title IV:  Cost of Higher Education Review - Cost of Higher Education Review Act of 1997 - Establishes a National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education to study and make recommendations regarding:  (1) the increase in tuition compared with other commodities and services; (2) innovative methods of reducing or stabilizing tuition; (3) the impact on tuition of specified trends in college and university costs, student financial aid, and government mandates and fiscal policies; (4) mechanisms for a more timely and widespread distribution of data on tuition trends and other costs of operating colleges and universities; and (5) the adequacy of existing Federal and State financial aid programs in meeting the costs of attending colleges and universities. (Sec. 40006) Authorizes appropriations for the Commission. Title V:  Depository Institution Disaster Relief - Depository Institutions Disaster Relief Act of 1997 - Authorizes the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to make exceptions, during specified limited periods, to the Truth in Lending Act for transactions, and to the Expedited Funds Availability Act for depository institution offices, within a major disaster area or an area eligible for disaster relief because of the recent flooding of the Red River of the North, the Minnesota River, and their tributaries. (Sec. 50003) Authorizes the appropriate Federal banking agency to permit, for a specified time period, certain insured depository institutions, in or involved with such area, to subtract from the institution's total assets, in calculating compliance with the leverage limit prescribed under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, an amount not exceeding the qualifying amount attributable to insurance proceeds. (Sec. 50004) Authorizes qualifying regulatory agencies to take specified actions with respect to depository institutions or other regulated entities whose principal place of business is within, or with respect to transactions or activities within such area. (Sec. 50005) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Comptroller of the Currency, the Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the National Credit Union Administration should encourage depository institutions to meet the financial services needs of their communities and customers located in areas affected by the 1997 flooding of the Red River of the North, the Minnesota River, and their tributaries. Expresses the sense of the Congress that each Federal financial institutions regulatory agency should make exceptions to the appraisal standards prescribed by the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 for transactions involving institutions located in disaster areas if the exceptions can be expected to alleviate hardships to the public resulting from such disasters. Title VI:  Technical Amendments With Respect to Education - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make certain technical corrections relating to graduation rates data disclosures. (Sec. 60002) Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to extend from January 1, 1998, to January 1, 1999, the deadline for a final report by the Secretary of Education on a national assessment of programs assisted under ESEA title I, Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards. (Sec. 60003) Directs the Secretary to deem Kansas and New Mexico as having timely submitted certain written notices of intent to consider specified impact aid payments under ESEA in providing State aid to local educational agencies (LEAs) for school year 1997-1998. Authorizes the Secretary to require these States to submit appropriate additional information, which shall be considered part of such notice. (Sec. 60004) Provides that no eligible LEA shall receive less than 85 percent of the FY 1996 amount in a specified hold-harmless impact aid payment for each of FY 1997 through 2000. (Sec. 60005) Revises requirements for the Secretary's use of data in providing additional assistance for heavily impacted LEAs, to specify that the student and revenue data used be expenditure data. Repeals the requirement that the Secretary use the most recent data available adjusted to the fiscal year in question. Title VII:  Food Stamp Program - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to grant States an option to issue food stamp benefits to certain individuals made ineligible by welfare reform.",2025-08-21T16:13:01Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/1796
105-hr-1785,105,hr,1785,"To amend title 31, United States Code, to provide an automatic continuing appropriation for the United States Government.",Economics and Public Finance,1997-06-04,1997-06-04,Referred to the House Committee on Appropriations.,House,"Rep. Kleczka, Gerald D. [D-WI-4]",WI,D,K000259,0,"Provides for an automatic continuing appropriation for the U.S. Government whenever a regular appropriation bill or continuing resolution for a fiscal year does not become law prior to the beginning of such fiscal year.  Appropriates such sums as may be necessary to continue any project or activity for which funds were provided in the preceding fiscal year:  (1) in the amount provided in the corresponding regular appropriation Act or continuing resolution for such preceding fiscal year; or (2) if such corresponding appropriation bill or continuing resolution did not become law, then as provided by this Act. Sets forth the terms and conditions relating to such continuing appropriations.  Prohibits funding for any project or activity:  (1) for which there is no authorization of appropriations for such fiscal year; or (2) during a fiscal year if any other provision of law makes an appropriation, makes funds available, grants continuation authority, or specifically prohibits funding or authority for such project or activity.",2024-02-05T11:50:03Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/1785
105-hr-1755,105,hr,1755,Supplemental Appropriations and Rescissions Act of 1997,Economics and Public Finance,1997-06-03,1997-06-04,Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H3285),House,"Rep. Obey, David R. [D-WI-7]",WI,D,O000007,0,"TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for the           Department of Defense           Chapter 1:  Department of Defense - Military           Chapter 2:  Rescissions           Chapter 3:  General Provisions - This Title      Title II:  Other Emergency Supplemental Appropriations           Chapter 1:  Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural                Development, Food and Drug Administration, and                Related Agencies           Chapter 2:  Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and                State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies           Chapter 3:  Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development           Chapter 4:  Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export                Financing, and Related Programs           Chapter 5:  Subcommittee on Interior and Related                Agencies           Chapter 6:  Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human                Services, and Education, and Related Agencies           Chapter 7:  Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch           Chapter 8:  Subcommittee on the Department of                Transportation and Related Agencies           Chapter 9:  Subcommittee on Treasury and General                Government           Chapter 10:  Subcommittee on VA, HUD, and Independent                Agencies      Title III:  Depository Institution Disaster Relief      Title IV:  Cost of Higher Education Review      Title V:  Technical Amendments with Respect to Education      Title VI:  General Provisions - This Act Supplemental Appropriations and Rescissions Act of 1997- Title I: Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for the Department of Defense - Chapter 1:  Department of Defense - Military - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations to the Department of Defense (DOD) - Military for:  (1) military personnel, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force; (2) operation and maintenance (O&M), Overseas Contingency Operations Transfer Fund; (3) OPLAN 34A-35 prisoner-of-war (P.O.W.) payments to individuals; and (4) the Reserve Mobilization Income Insurance Fund. (Sec.  101) Directs the Secretary of the Navy to transfer specified funds to reimburse costs incurred for repairing damage caused by hurricanes, flooding, and other natural disasters during 1996 and 1997 to real property and facilities at Marine Corps facilities (including Camp Lejeune and Cherry Point, North Carolina; and the Mountain Warfare Training Center, Bridgeport, California). (Sec. 102) Makes additional appropriations for:  (1) direct patient care at military treatment facilities; (2) force protection and counter-terrorism activities; and (3) a grant to the American Red Cross for armed forces emergency services. (Sec. 105) Requires the President to submit to the Congress a report on the estimated cumulative cost of all U.S. activities relating to Bosnia after December 1, 1995, and a detailed accounting of the source of funds to meet such costs. (Sec. 106) Makes additional appropriations to cover incremental O&M costs from hurricane damage to family housing units at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina. Chapter 2:  Rescissions - Rescinds specified funds provided in the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1997 for:  (1) military personnel of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force; (2) O&M for the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force as well as defense-wide O&M; (3) environmental restoration by the Army, Navy, and Air Force, as well as defense-wide environmental restoration and environmental restoration of formerly used defense sites; (4) former Soviet Union threat reduction; (5) the National Defense Sealift Fund; (6) the Defense Health Program; and (7) drug interdiction and counter-drug activities. Rescinds funds made available in such Act and certain other defense appropriations Acts for:  (1) various types of procurement, including aircraft, missile, weapons, tracked combat vehicles, shipbuilding and conversion, and ammunition, by various branches of the armed forces; (2) National Guard and reserve equipment; (3) armed forces research, development, test and evaluation; and (4) chemical agents and munitions destruction. (Sec. 201) Rescinds specified amounts of the funds appropriated in specified categories in:  (1) the Military Construction Appropriations Act, 1996, including the Base Realignment and Closure Account; (2) the Military Construction Appropriations Act, 1997; and (3) the Military Construction Appropriations Act, 1995. Chapter 3:  General Provisions - This Title - Requires the Joint Requirements Oversight Council to conduct an analysis and submit recommendations to the congressional defense committees as to the future roles of the military services with respect to the National Missile Defense Program. (Sec. 302) Authorizes the incumbent to continue to serve as the Secretary of Defense designee on the Board of the Panama Canal Commission if he retires as an officer of DOD, until and unless the Secretary designates another person to serve in this position. (Sec. 303) Authorizes the Secretary to enter into an agreement, which meets certain requirements, for the lease of a specified building at the Lexington Blue Grass Station, Lexington, Kentucky, and any associated real property, for use by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service. (Sec.  304) Authorizes the continuing obligation and expenditure of certain funds appropriated for Navy weapons procurement that were obligated and expended to settle claims on the MK-50 torpedo program. (Sec. 305) Prohibits the use of any DOD funds to pay the cost of operating a National Missile Defense Joint Program Office which includes more than 55 military and civilian personnel located in the National Capital Region. (Sec. 306) Requires the merger of certain National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Air Force funds for obligation only on Titan IV vehicles and related activities. Title II:  Other Emergency Supplemental Appropriations - Chapter 1:  Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies - Makes emergency appropriations for FY 1997 with respect to flood and other natural disaster costs to the Department of Agriculture for:  (1) the Farm Service Agency's Agricultural Credit Insurance Fund Program Account for the additional cost of certain emergency insured and operating loans (including loan modifications); (2) the Emergency Conservation Program for expenses, including carcass removal; (3) the Tree Assistance Program for assistance to small orchardists to replace or rehabilitate disaster-damaged trees and vineyards; and (4) the Commodity Credit Corporation Fund, Disaster Reserve Assistance Program, to implement a livestock indemnity program.  Makes such appropriations to:  (1) the Natural Resources Conservation Service, for watershed and flood prevention operations to repair damages to the waterways and watersheds; (2) the Rural Housing Service, Rural Housing Insurance Fund Program Account, for the cost of specified loans and domestic farm labor grants for emergency expenses; and (3) the Rural Utilities Service, Rural Utilities Assistance Program, for the cost of direct loans, loan guarantees, and grants for emergency expenses. Bars the use of watershed and flood prevention funds for the salmon memorandum of understanding.  Authorizes the use of certain community facility grants for the Rural Housing Assistance Program for expenses resulting from natural disasters. Makes additional funds available for the Food and Consumer Service's Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966. (Sec. 101) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to collect and disseminate weekly statistically reliable information on bulk cheese prices. (Sec. 102) Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to grant States an option to issue food stamp benefits to certain individuals made ineligible by welfare reform. Sets forth offsets with respect to the Fund for Rural America and the Food and Consumer Service's emergency food assistance program. Prohibits the use of Department of Agriculture funds under the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997 to pay the personnel salaries and expenses above specified levels to carry out:  (1) a combined program for export credit guarantees, supplier credit guarantees, and emerging democracies facilities guarantees; and (2) an export enhancement program. Chapter 2:  Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies - Makes emergency appropriations for FY 1997 to the Department of Commerce for:  (1) the Economic Development Administration's economic development assistance programs for emergency infrastructure expenses; (2) the National Institute of Standards and Technology for new grants for industrial technology services under the Advanced Technology Program; and (3) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for disaster assistance for emergency construction expenses resulting from flooding and other natural disasters.    Makes additional appropriations for the Commission on the Advancement of Federal Law Enforcement. (Sec. 201) Earmarks a specified amount from the Counterterrorism Fund of the Department of Justice for allocation to the appropriate unit or units of government in Ogden, Utah, for necessary expenses to counter any potential terrorism threat related to the 2002 Winter Olympic games. (Sec. 202) Prohibits the use of any funds made available in an appropriations Act for FY 1997 by the Department of Commerce to make irreversible plans for the use of sampling or any other statistical method in taking the 2000 decennial census for purposes of the apportionment of Representatives in the Congress. (Sec. 203) Amends the Small Business Competitiveness Demonstration Program Act of 1988 to extend to the end of FY 1997 the authorization of the program for expanding small business participation in dredging. (Sec. 204) Amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to establish certain Good Samaritan exemptions from specified violations. Rescinds specified funds available for:  (1) the Department of Justice for the Working Capital Fund, the Assets Forfeiture Fund, and Immigration and Naturalization Service construction; (2) the National Institute of Standards and Technology for the Advanced Technology Program; (3) the Federal Communications Commission; and (4) the Ounce of Prevention Council. Chapter 3: Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development - Makes emergency appropriations for FY 1997, with respect to emergency expenses due to flooding and other natural disasters, to DOD, Army Corps of Engineers - Civil for:  (1) flood control, Mississippi River and tributaries, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee; (2) general O&M (with earmarked funds for an interagency management plan and other activities related to water allocation in the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa and Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basins, subject to certain restrictions); and (3) flood control and coastal emergencies.  Makes emergency appropriations for FY 1997, with respect to flood and other natural disaster costs, to the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation (BLM) for O&M. (Sec. 301) Makes the U.S. members and the alternate members, appointed under the Susquehanna River Basin Compact and the Delaware River Basin Compact, officers of the Army Corps of Engineers, who hold presidential appointments as regular Army officers with Senate confirmation, and serve without additional compensation, and at the President's pleasure. (Sec. 302) Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to obligate a limited amount of funds for carrying out construction for safety purposes to modify the Willow Creek Dam, Sun River Project, Montana. (Sec. 303) Defers specified consultation and conferencing requirements under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 for certain emergency flood control projects. Rescinds specified funds available to the Department of Energy for energy supply, research and development activities and for construction, rehabilitation, and O&M for the Western Area Power Administration. Chapter 4:  Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs - Authorizes the President to waive certain earmarks under provisions of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1997 with respect to assistance for Ukraine if he reports to the Appropriations Committees that Ukraine is not:  (1) making progress toward economic reform and the elimination of corruption; (2) permitting American firms and individuals to operate according to generally accepted business principles; or (3) assisting American firms and individuals in their efforts to enforce commercial contracts and resist extortion and other corrupt demands. Chapter 5:  Subcommittee on Interior and Related Agencies - Makes emergency appropriations for FY 1997 to the Department of the Interior for:  (1) BLM flood damage repair and other activities for Oregon and California Grant Lands; (2) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service resource management, construction, and land acquisition; (3) National Park Service emergency expenses and construction; (4) the U.S. Geological Survey; and (5) the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Makes such appropriations for emergency expenses of the Forest Service and the Indian Health Service. (Sec. 501) Amends the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 (part of the Omnibus Consolidated Rescissions and Appropriations Act of 1996) to revise the formula for distribution of amounts collected under the recreational fee demonstration program. (Sec. 503) Amends the San Carlos Apache Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 1992 to extend its expiration date from June 30, 1997, through March 31, 1999, or, if before that date a Settlement Agreement between the San Carlos Apache Tribe and Phelps Dodge Corporation is submitted for approval to the Superior Court of Arizona in and for Maricopa County, through December 31, 1999. Extends the Tribe's Central Arizona Project water lease authority to Gila, Graham, and Greenlee Counties. Makes the Gila Valley and Franklin Irrigation Districts parties to the Settlement Agreement. Directs the United States, through the BLM, to operate and maintain the Black River facilities, and to contract for delivery of water at Eagle Creek to Phelps Dodge for a specified monthly fee in addition to a specified monthly power line right-of-way fee.  Sets forth provisions for a final agreement between Phelps Dodge and the San Carlos Apache Tribe under which the Tribe will operate the facilities and receive payment for leased water.  Ratifies the agreement between the Tribe, Phelps Dodge, and the Secretary of the Interior. (Sec. 504) Amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to modify requirements for the importation of polar bear parts from polar bears legally harvested in Canada before the date of enactment of the Marine Mammal Protection Act Amendments of 1994. Rescinds specified funds made available to the Department of Energy for clean coal technology and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Chapter 6:  Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies - Amends specified Federal law relating to appropriations to provide for additional amounts for:  (1) the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Health Resources and Services Administration's Health Education Assistance Loans Program; (2) the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund for priority health research; and (3) the Department of Education, Education for the Disadvantaged programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Makes funds available for the National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education. (Sec. 601) Extends through FY 1998 the availability, to recipients in presidentially-declared disaster areas declared during FY 1997, of certain funds awarded for State-administered programs of the Department of Education for FY 1995 (and for FY 1996, with respect to such programs under the Rehabilitation Act). (Sec. 602) Authorizes the Secretary of Education, with respect to student aid awards for award years 1996-1997 and 1997-1998, to waive or modify any statutory or regulatory provision applicable to the student financial aid programs under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to assist individuals and other program participants who suffered financial harm from natural disasters. (Sec. 603) Prohibits the use of any funds to administer or implement in Denver, Colorado, a Medicare Competitive Pricing-Open Enrollment Demonstration program. (Sec. 604) Provides for emergency use of certain child care funds. Authorizes eligible State Governors, for a limited time period, to use amounts received for the provision of child care assistance or services under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to provide emergency child care services to eligible individuals.  Bases State eligibility on the President's determination, pursuant to specified provisions of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, that a major disaster exists, or that an area within the State is determined to be eligible for disaster relief under other Federal law by reason of damage related to flooding in 1997.  Bases individual eligibility on:  (1) residence within such an area where a major disaster exists, or which is so eligible for disaster relief; and (2) involvement in unpaid work activities (including the cleaning, repair, restoration, and rebuilding of homes, businesses, and schools) resulting from such flood emergency.  Sets forth limitations and priorities with respect to such assistance. (Sec. 605) Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to extend certain redetermination provisions for the supplementary security income (SSI) program. Rescinds specified funds available to the Department of HHS for job opportunities and basic skills. Chapter 7:  Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch - Makes supplemental appropriations for an additional amount for expenses of the Office of the Secretary of the Senate, to carry out specified provisions of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1997. Provides an amount for payment to the children of Frank Tejeda, the late Representative from the State of Texas. Makes additional amounts available for salaries and expenses of the Botanic Garden for emergency repair and renovation of the conservatory. (Sec. 701) Amends the Legislative Branch Appropriation Act, 1968 to make a specified limitation on the minimum rate of gross compensation inapplicable to any member or civilian employee of the Capitol Police whose compensation is disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate. (Sec. 702) Allows the transfer of a limited amount of funds for the expense allowance of the Secretary of the Senate. (Sec. 703) Authorizes the Comptroller General to use available funds to enter into contracts for the acquisition of severable services for periods that begin in one fiscal year and end in another and to enter into specified multiyear contracts to the same extent as agencies under the authority of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act. Chapter 8:  Subcommittee of the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies - Makes supplemental appropriations to the Department of Transportation for:   (1) Coast Guard retired pay and for operating expenses directly related to support activities in the TWA Flight 800 crash investigation; (2) Federal Highway Administration, Federal-Aid Highways and for the Emergency Relief Program; and (3) the Federal Railroad Administration, to repair and rebuild freight rail lines of regional and short line railroads damaged by floods (with earmarks for West Virginia and the northern Plains States). Makes such appropriations to the National Transportation Safety Board for:  (1) emergency expenses resulting from the crashes of TWA Flight 800, ValuJet 592, and Comair Flight 3272; and (2) assistance to families of victims of aviation accidents. (Sec. 803) Authorizes additional appropriations out of the Highway Trust Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account) for FY 1997 for grants to States for alcohol-impaired driving countermeasures. (Sec. 804) Extends through FY 1997 the authorization of appropriations for the National Driver Register. Rescinds specified funds available to the Department of Transportation for grants-in-aid for airports, highway traffic safety grants, and Highway Trust Fund contract authority. Chapter 9:  Subcommittee on Treasury and General Government - Makes supplemental appropriations to the Department of the Treasury. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to use the law enforcement services, personnel, equipment, and facilities of the State of Colorado and of the county and city of Denver for security arrangements for the Denver Summit of Eight.  Makes supplemental appropriations to:  (1) the Customs Service for the automated targeting system with respect to counterterrorism and drug law enforcement; and (2) the Postal Service Fund, for revenue foregone on free and reduced rate mail for specified purposes. (Sec. 901) Authorizes the Administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA) to obligate specified appropriations for construction of the Montgomery, Alabama courthouse. (Sec. 902) Prohibits the Bureau of Engraving and Printing from awarding a contract for the procurement of distinctive currency paper until the General Accounting Office has completed an analysis of the optimum circumstances for procuring such paper. Limits the term of the bridge contract with respect to such paper to 24 months and requires the Secretary of the Treasury to make certain certifications concerning the price and terms of the agreement. (Sec. 903) Amends specified Federal civil service law to authorize and establish a leave transfer program in disasters and emergencies. (Sec. 904) Prohibits the use of funds by GSA to implement certain cooperative purchasing provisions of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 prior to the adjournment of the first session of the 105th Congress. Rescinds specified funds available for GSA presidential transition expenses. Chapter 10:  Subcommittee on VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies - Makes additional amounts available for:  (1) the Veterans Benefits Administration for compensation and pensions; and (2) the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for preserving existing housing investment, capacity building for community development and affordable housing, and for community development block grants for activities in communities affected by disasters in the upper Midwest. Authorizes appropriations for the construction of a parking garage at the Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in Cleveland, Ohio. Earmarks amounts of assisted housing special purpose grants for acquiring parking and restoring a theater in Ashland, Kentucky. Requires the HUD Secretary to enter into a contract with the National Academy of Public Administration for an evaluation of HUD's management systems. Directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), from previous appropriations for the Center for Ecology Research and Training (CERT), to obligate the maximum amount of funds necessary to settle all outstanding CERT-related claims against the EPA pursuant to the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970.  Authorizes EPA, from any unobligated balances then remaining, to make grants to Bay City, Michigan, for the purpose of EPA-approved environmental remediation and rehabilitation of publicly owned real property included in the boundaries of the CERT project. Authorizes the use of a specified amount of funds for grants to States and federally recognized tribes for multi-media or single media pollution prevention, control, and abatement for direct implementation by the Federal Government of programs required in absence of acceptable State or tribal programs. Makes additional funds available to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for disaster relief.  Conditions the availability of a portion of such funds on the submission by the FEMA Director of a legislative proposal to control disaster relief expenditures, including the elimination of funding for certain revenue producing facilities. Authorizes transfer of a specified amount of FEMA disaster relief funds to the Disaster Assistance Direct Loan Program for the cost of direct loans under certain provisions of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, under specified conditions. (Sec. 1001) Directs the HUD Secretary to submit semi-annually to the Appropriations Committees a list of all contracts and task orders in excess of $250,000 entered into by HUD, the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), and the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight in the preceding six months. (Sec. 1002) Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to revise certain time periods relating to notice requirements for terminating section 8 housing contracts. (Sec. 1003) Amends the Multifamily Housing Finance Improvement Act, under specified provisions of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992, to revise limitations on the Secretary of HUD's mortgage insurance authority to allow commitments with respect to a limited number of additional units during FY 1997. (Sec. 1005) Amends the National Housing Act to authorize HUD mortgage insurance for condominiums in an amount up to 100 percent of appraised value where a mortgagor establishes that the home was destroyed or damaged as a result of a major disaster. Rescinds specified funds made available for HUD assisted housing programs and for NASA. Title III:  Depository Institution Disaster Relief - Depository Institutions Disaster Relief Act of 1997 - Authorizes the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to make exceptions, during specified limited periods, to the Truth in Lending Act for transactions, and to the Expedited Funds Availability Act for depository institution offices, within a major disaster area or an area eligible for disaster relief because of the recent flooding of the Red River of the North, the Minnesota River, and their tributaries. (Sec. 3003) Authorizes the appropriate Federal banking agency to permit, for a specified time period, certain insured depository institutions, in or involved with such area, to subtract from the institution's total assets, in calculating compliance with the leverage limit prescribed under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, an amount not exceeding the qualifying amount attributable to insurance proceeds. (Sec. 3004) Authorizes qualifying regulatory agencies to take specified actions with respect to depository institutions or other regulated entities whose principal place of business is within, or with respect to transactions or activities within such area. (Sec. 3005) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Comptroller of the Currency, the Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the National Credit Union Administration should encourage depository institutions to meet the financial services needs of their communities and customers located in areas affected by the 1997 flooding of the Red River of the North, the Minnesota River, and their tributaries. Expresses the sense of the Congress that each Federal financial institutions regulatory agency should make exceptions to the appraisal standards prescribed by the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 for transactions involving institutions located in disaster areas if the exceptions can be expected to alleviate hardships to the public resulting from such disasters. Title IV:  Cost of Higher Education Review - Cost of Higher Education Review Act of 1997 - Establishes a National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education to study and make recommendations regarding:  (1) the increase in tuition compared with other commodities and services; (2) innovative methods of reducing or stabilizing tuition; (3) the impact on tuition of specified trends in college and university costs, student financial aid, and government mandates and fiscal policies; (4) mechanisms for a more timely and widespread distribution of data on tuition trends and other costs of operating colleges and universities; and (5) the adequacy of existing Federal and State financial aid programs in meeting the costs of attending colleges and universities. (Sec. 40006) Authorizes appropriations for the Commission. Title V:  Technical Amendments With Respect to Education - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make certain technical corrections relating to graduation rates data disclosures. (Sec. 50002) Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to extend from January 1, 1998, to January 1, 1999, the deadline for a final report by the Secretary of Education on a national assessment of programs assisted under ESEA title I, Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards. (Sec. 50003) Directs the Secretary to deem Kansas and New Mexico as having timely submitted certain written notices of intent to consider specified impact aid payments under ESEA in providing State aid to local educational agencies (LEAs) for school year 1997-1998. Authorizes the Secretary to require these States to submit appropriate additional information, which shall be considered part of such notice. (Sec. 50004) Provides that no eligible LEA shall receive less than 85 percent of the FY 1996 amount in a specified hold-harmless impact aid payment for each of FY 1997 through 2000. (Sec. 50005) Revises requirements for the Secretary's use of data in providing additional assistance for heavily impacted LEAs, to specify that the student and revenue data used be expenditure data. Repeals the requirement that the Secretary use the most recent data available adjusted to the fiscal year in question. Title VI:  General Provisions - This Act - Provides that no appropriation made in this Act shall remain available beyond the current fiscal year unless otherwise provided. (Sec. 60002) Sets forth Buy-American requirements.",2025-08-21T16:13:05Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/1755
105-hr-1707,105,hr,1707,Interim Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1997,Economics and Public Finance,1997-05-22,1997-05-22,Referred to House Budget,House,"Rep. Obey, David R. [D-WI-7]",WI,D,O000007,0,"TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Interim Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for           Recovery from Natural Disasters and Overseas                Peacekeeping           Chapter 1:  Department of Defense - Military           Chapter 2:  Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural                Development, Food and Drug Administration, and                Related Agencies           Chapter 3:  Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and                State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies           Chapter 4:  Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development           Chapter 5:  Departments of Housing and Urban                Development, and Independent Agencies      Title II:  Rescissions and Offsets      Title III:  General Provisions, This Act Interim Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1997 - Makes interim emergency supplemental appropriations for FY 1997 for the programs listed in this Act. Title I:  Interim Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Recovery From Natural Disasters and Overseas Peacekeeping - Chapter 1:  Department of Defense - Military - Provides additional funds for the Overseas Contingency Operations Transfer Fund. Rescinds amounts for the following programs from funds provided in the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1997:  (1) operations and maintenance defense-wide and for the Army, Navy, and Air Force individually; and (2) aircraft procurement and military personnel for the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Rescinds, from the following accounts, certain amounts provided in previous Department of Defense Appropriations Acts:   (1) Army, Navy, and Air Force aircraft procurement; (2) Army and Navy weapons procurement; (3) Army missile, tracked combat vehicles, and other procurement; (4) Navy shipbuilding and conversion; (5) defense-wide procurement; and (6) Army, Navy, Air Force, and defense-wide research, development, test, and evaluation. Chapter 2:  Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies - Provides additional funds to the Farm Service Agency for the Emergency Conservation Program for expenses resulting from flooding and other natural disasters. Authorizes the use of a specified amount from proceeds earned from the sale of grain in the disaster reserve established in the Agricultural Act of 1970 to implement a livestock indemnity program for losses from certain natural disasters.  Makes such authorization effective only for losses occurring in FY 1997 through this Act's enactment date. Limits the grain in the disaster reserve to 20 million bushels, beginning in FY 1998. Provides additional funds to the Natural Resources Conservation Service for watershed and flood prevention operations to repair damages to waterways and watersheds resulting from flooding and other natural disasters, including those in prior years.  Prohibits the use of such appropriations for the salmon memorandum of understanding. Provides additional funds to the Food and Consumer Service for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. Chapter 3:  Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies - Makes additional amounts available for the Economic Development Administration for economic development assistance programs for emergency infrastructure expenses and the capitalization of revolving loan funds related to recent flooding and other natural disasters. Chapter 4:  Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development - Provides additional funds to the Army Corps of Engineers for flood control and coastal emergencies. Chapter 5:  Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies - Makes additional funds available for the Community Development Block Grants Fund to remain available through FY 2000 for buyouts, relocation, long-term recovery, and mitigation in communities affected by the flooding in the upper Midwest and other disasters in FY 1997 and natural disasters designated 30 days prior to the start of FY 1997.  Excludes activities reimbursable or for which funds are made available by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Small Business Administration, or the Army Corps of Engineers. Permits the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to waive certain requirements that activities benefit persons of low- and moderate-income or that housing qualify as affordable housing under specified housing laws with respect to the use of funds under this chapter. Provides additional funds to FEMA for disaster relief. Title II:  Rescissions and Offsets - Limits the amount of funds available for the Fund for Rural America and for salaries and expenses of Foreign Agricultural Service personnel carrying out certain export credit and enhancement programs. Rescinds, with exceptions, amounts recaptured under annual contributions for assisted housing.  Directs the Secretary of HUD to recapture a specified amount in amounts previously made available to housing agencies for tenant-based assistance under the Section 8 existing housing certificate and voucher programs.  Requires such recaptures to be from amounts in the annual contributions contract reserve accounts established by HUD. Title III:  General Provisions, This Act - Prohibits any appropriation in this Act from remaining available for obligation beyond the current fiscal year unless otherwise provided.",2025-08-21T16:14:56Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/1707
105-hr-1708,105,hr,1708,Interim Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1997,Economics and Public Finance,1997-05-22,1997-05-22,Referred to House Budget,House,"Rep. Livingston, Bob [R-LA-1]",LA,R,L000371,0,"TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Interim Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for           Recovery from Natural Disasters and Overseas                Peacekeeping           Chapter 1:  Department of Defense - Military           Chapter 2:  Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural                Development, Food and Drug Administration, and                Related Agencies           Chapter 3:  Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and                State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies           Chapter 4:  Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development           Chapter 5:  Departments of Housing and Urban                Development, and Independent Agencies      Title II:  Rescissions and Offsets      Title III:  General Provisions, This Act Interim Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1997 - Makes interim emergency supplemental appropriations for FY 1997 for the programs listed in this Act. Title I:  Interim Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Recovery From Natural Disasters and Overseas Peacekeeping - Chapter 1:  Department of Defense - Military - Provides additional funds for the Overseas Contingency Operations Transfer Fund. Rescinds amounts for the following programs from funds provided in the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1997:  (1) operations and maintenance defense-wide and for the Army, Navy, and Air Force individually; and (2) aircraft procurement and military personnel for the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Rescinds, from the following accounts, certain amounts provided in previous Department of Defense Appropriations Acts:   (1) Army, Navy, and Air Force aircraft procurement; (2) Army and Navy weapons procurement; (3) Army missile, tracked combat vehicles, and other procurement; (4) Navy shipbuilding and conversion; (5) defense-wide procurement; and (6) Army, Navy, Air Force, and defense-wide research, development, test, and evaluation. Chapter 2:  Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies - Provides additional funds to the Farm Service Agency for the Emergency Conservation Program for expenses resulting from flooding and other natural disasters. Authorizes the use of a specified amount from proceeds earned from the sale of grain in the disaster reserve established in the Agricultural Act of 1970 to implement a livestock indemnity program for losses from certain natural disasters.  Makes such authorization effective only for losses occurring in FY 1997 through this Act's enactment date. Limits the grain in the disaster reserve to 20 million bushels, beginning in FY 1998. Provides additional funds to the Natural Resources Conservation Service for watershed and flood prevention operations to repair damages to waterways and watersheds resulting from flooding and other natural disasters, including those in prior years.  Prohibits the use of such appropriations for the salmon memorandum of understanding. Provides additional funds to the Food and Consumer Service for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. Chapter 3:  Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies - Makes additional amounts available for the Economic Development Administration for economic development assistance programs for emergency infrastructure expenses and the capitalization of revolving loan funds related to recent flooding and other natural disasters. Chapter 4:  Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development - Provides additional funds to the Army Corps of Engineers for flood control and coastal emergencies. Chapter 5:  Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies - Makes additional funds available for the Community Development Block Grants Fund to remain available through FY 2000 for buyouts, relocation, long-term recovery, and mitigation in communities affected by the flooding in the upper Midwest and other disasters in FY 1997 and natural disasters designated 30 days prior to the start of FY 1997.  Excludes activities reimbursable or for which funds are made available by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Small Business Administration, or the Army Corps of Engineers. Permits the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to waive certain requirements that activities benefit persons of low- and moderate-income or that housing qualify as affordable housing under specified housing laws with respect to the use of funds under this chapter. Provides additional funds to FEMA for disaster relief. Title II:  Rescissions and Offsets - Limits the amount of funds available for the Fund for Rural America and for salaries and expenses of Foreign Agricultural Service personnel carrying out certain export credit and enhancement programs. Rescinds, with exceptions, amounts recaptured under annual contributions for assisted housing.  Directs the Secretary of HUD to recapture a specified amount in amounts previously made available to housing agencies for tenant-based assistance under the Section 8 existing housing certificate and voucher programs.  Requires such recaptures to be from amounts in the annual contributions contract reserve accounts established by HUD. Title III:  General Provisions, This Act - Prohibits any appropriation in this Act from remaining available for obligation beyond the current fiscal year unless otherwise provided.",2025-08-21T16:11:57Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/1708
105-hr-1537,105,hr,1537,Keep the Government Open Act of 1997,Economics and Public Finance,1997-05-06,1997-05-09,"Referred to the Subcommittee on Government Management, Information and Technology.",House,"Rep. Meek, Carrie P. [D-FL-17]",FL,D,M000628,3,Keep the Government Open Act of 1997 - Amends Federal law to allow an officer or employee of the United States or of the District of Columbia to make a contract or obligation before an appropriation is made if the President determines that an appropriation is likely for that purpose before the end of the fiscal year in an amount exceeding the contract or obligation. Allows a U.S. officer or employee to continue to supply personal services before an appropriation or continuing resolution is enacted if the President determines that an appropriation is likely for that purpose before the end of the fiscal year in an amount exceeding the cost to the government.  Requires payment for those services even if no appropriation is enacted if the President so determines. Appropriates funds to pay salaries for each day on which funds are not available (unless an appropriations measure is enacted for the applicable department or agency and the measure makes no appropriation for that salary).,2026-03-23T12:17:56Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/1537
105-hr-1469,105,hr,1469,Supplemental Appropriations and Rescissions Act of 1997,Economics and Public Finance,1997-04-29,1997-06-10,On motion to refer the bill and the accompanying veto message to the Committee on Appropriations. Agreed to by voice vote.,House,"Rep. Livingston, Bob [R-LA-1]",LA,R,L000371,0,"TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for the           Department of Defense           Chapter 1:  Department of Defense - Military           Chapter 2:  Rescissions           Chapter 3:  General Provisions - This Title      Title II:  Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Recovery           from Natural Disasters           Chapter 1:  Department of Agriculture           Chapter 2:  Department of Commerce           Chapter 3:  Department of Defense - Civil           Chapter 4:  Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and                Related Programs           Chapter 5:  Department of the Interior           Chapter 6:  Department of Health and Human Services           Chapter 7:  Congressional Operations           Chapter 8:  Department of Transportation           Chapter 9:  Department of the Treasury           Chapter 10:  Department of Veterans Affairs           Chapter 11:  Offsets and Rescissions      Title III:  General Provisions - This Act      Title IV:  Cost of Higher Education Review      Title V:  Depository Institution Disaster Relief      Title VI:  Technical Amendments With Respect to Education      Title VII:  Food Stamp Program      Title VIII:  2000 Decennial Census      Title IX:  Government Shutdown Prevention Act 1997 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Recovery from Natural Disasters, and for Overseas Peacekeeping Efforts, Including Those in Bosnia - Title I:  Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for the Department of Defense - Chapter 1:  Department of Defense - Military - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations to the Department of Defense (DOD) - Military for:  (1) military personnel, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force; (2) operation and maintenance (O&M), Overseas Contingency Operations Transfer Fund; (3) OPLAN 34A-35 prisoner-of-war (P.O.W.) payments to individuals; and (4) the Reserve Mobilization Income Insurance Fund. (Sec. 101) Directs the Secretary of the Navy to transfer specified funds to reimburse costs incurred for repairing damage caused by hurricanes, flooding, and other natural disasters during 1996 and 1997 to real property and facilities at Marine Corps facilities (including Camp Lejeune and Cherry Point, North Carolina; and the Mountain Warfare Training Center, Bridgeport, California). (Sec. 102) Makes additional appropriations for:  (1) direct patient care at military treatment facilities; (2) force protection and counter-terrorism activities; and (3) a grant to the American Red Cross for armed forces emergency services. (Sec. 105) Requires the President to submit to the Congress a report on the estimated cumulative cost of all U.S. activities relating to Bosnia after December 1, 1995, and a detailed accounting of the source of funds to meet such costs. (Sec. 106) Makes additional appropriations to cover incremental O&M costs from hurricane damage to family housing units at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina. Chapter 2:  Rescissions - Rescinds specified funds provided in the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1997 for:  (1) military personnel of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force; (2) O&M for the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force as well as defense-wide O&M; (3) environmental restoration by the Army, Navy, and Air Force, as well as defense-wide environmental restoration and environmental restoration of formerly used defense sites; (4) former Soviet Union threat reduction; (5) the National Defense Sealift Fund; (6) the Defense Health Program; and (7) drug interdiction and counter-drug activities. Rescinds funds made available in such Act and certain other defense appropriations Acts for:  (1) various types of procurement, including aircraft, missile, weapons, tracked combat vehicles, shipbuilding and conversion, and ammunition, by various branches of the armed forces; (2) National Guard and reserve equipment; (3) armed forces research, development, test and evaluation; and (4) chemical agents and munitions destruction. (Sec. 201) Rescinds specified amounts of the funds appropriated in specified categories in:  (1) the Military Construction Appropriations Act, 1996, including the Base Realignment and Closure Account; (2) the Military Construction Appropriations Act, 1997; and (3) the Military Construction Appropriations Act, 1995. Chapter 3:  General Provisions - This Title - Directs DOD to report to the congressional defense committees prior to transferring management, development, and acquisition authority over the National Missile Defense Program from the military services.  Requires the Joint Requirements Oversight Council to submit recommendations to such committees on the future roles of the military services with respect to such program. (Sec. 302) Authorizes the incumbent to continue to serve as the Secretary of Defense designee on the Board of the Panama Canal Commission if he retires as an officer of DOD, until and unless the Secretary designates another person to serve in this position. (Sec. 303) Authorizes the Secretary to enter into an agreement, which meets certain requirements, for the lease of a specified building at the Lexington Blue Grass Station, Lexington, Kentucky, and any associated real property, for use by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service. (Sec. 304) Authorizes the continuing obligation and expenditure of certain funds appropriated for Navy weapons procurement that were obligated and expended to settle claims on the MK-50 torpedo program. (Sec. 305) Prohibits the use of any DOD funds to pay the cost of operating a National Missile Defense Joint Program Office which includes more than 55 military and civilian personnel located in the National Capital Region. (Sec. 306) Requires the merger of certain National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Air Force funds for obligation only on Titan IV vehicles and related activities. Title II:  Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Recovery From Natural Disasters - Chapter 1:  Department of Agriculture - Makes emergency appropriations for FY 1997 with respect to flood and other natural disaster costs to the Department of Agriculture for:  (1) the Farm Service Agency's Agricultural Credit Insurance Fund Program Account for the additional cost of certain emergency insured and operating loans (including loan modifications); (2) the Emergency Conservation Program for expenses, including carcass removal; (3) the Tree Assistance Program for assistance to small orchardists to replace or rehabilitate disaster-damaged trees and vineyards; and (4) the Commodity Credit Corporation Fund, Disaster Reserve Assistance Program, to implement a livestock indemnity program.  Makes such appropriations to:   (1) the Natural Resources Conservation Service, for watershed and flood prevention operations to repair damages to the waterways and watersheds; (2) the Rural Housing Service, Rural Housing Insurance Fund Program Account, for the cost of specified loans and domestic farm labor grants for emergency expenses; and (3) the Rural Utilities Service, Rural Utilities Assistance Program, for the cost of direct loans, loan guarantees, and grants for emergency expenses. Bars the use of watershed and flood prevention funds for the salmon memorandum of understanding.  Authorizes the use of certain community facility grants for the Rural Housing Assistance Program for expenses resulting from natural disasters. Makes additional funds available for the Food and Consumer Service's Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966. (Sec. 1001) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to collect and disseminate weekly statistically reliable information on bulk cheese prices. Chapter 2:  Department of Commerce - Makes emergency appropriations for FY 1997 to the Department of Commerce for:  (1) the Economic Development Administration's economic development assistance programs for emergency infrastructure expenses; (2) the National Institute of Standards and Technology for new grants for industrial technology services under the Advanced Technology Program; and (3) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for disaster assistance related to recent flooding and red tide and for emergency construction expenses resulting from flooding and other natural disasters.  Makes additional amounts available to implement the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Makes additional appropriations for the Commission on the Advancement of Federal Law Enforcement. (Sec. 2001) Earmarks a specified amount from the Counterterrorism Fund of the Department of Justice for allocation to the appropriate unit or units of government in Ogden, Utah, for necessary expenses to counter any potential terrorism threat related to the 2002 Winter Olympic games. (Sec. 2002) Amends the Small Business Competitiveness Demonstration Program Act of 1988 to extend to the end of FY 1997 the authorization of the program for expanding small business participation in dredging. (Sec. 2003) Amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to establish certain Good Samaritan exemptions from specified violations. (Sec. 2004) Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to reprogram a limited amount of funds provided for NOAA satellite observing systems for other NOAA programmatic and operational requirements, provided certain notification requirements are met. Chapter 3:  Department of Defense - Civil - Makes emergency appropriations for FY 1997, with respect to emergency expenses due to flooding and other natural disasters, to DOD, Army Corps of Engineers - Civil for:  (1) flood control, Mississippi River and tributaries, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee; (2) general O&M (with earmarked funds for an interagency management plan and other activities related to water allocation in the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa and Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basins, subject to certain restrictions); and (3) flood control and coastal emergencies.  Makes emergency appropriations for FY 1997, with respect to flood and other natural disaster costs, to the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation (BLM) for O&M. (Sec. 3001) Makes the U.S. members and the alternate members, appointed under the Susquehanna River Basin Compact and the Delaware River Basin Compact, officers of the Army Corps of Engineers, who hold presidential appointments as regular Army officers with Senate confirmation, and serve without additional compensation, and at the President's pleasure. (Sec. 3002) Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to obligate a limited amount of funds for carrying out construction for safety purposes to modify the Willow Creek Dam, Sun River Project, Montana. (Sec. 3003) Defers specified consultation and conferencing requirements under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 for certain emergency flood control projects. Chapter 4:  Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs - Authorizes the President to waive certain minimum funding requirements under provisions of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1997 with respect to assistance for Ukraine if he reports to the Appropriations Committees that Ukraine:  (1) has not made progress toward comprehensive economic reform; (2) is not taking steps to ensure that U.S. businesses and individuals are able to operate according to generally accepted business principles; or (3) is not taking steps to cease the illegal dumping of steel plate. Chapter 5:  Department of the Interior - Makes emergency appropriations for FY 1997 to the Department of the Interior for:  (1) BLM flood damage repair and other activities for Oregon and California Grant Lands; (2) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service resource management, construction, and land acquisition; (3) National Park Service emergency expenses and construction; (4) the U.S. Geological Survey; and (5) the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Makes such appropriations for emergency expenses of the Forest Service and the Indian Health Service. (Sec. 5001) Amends the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 (part of the Omnibus Consolidated Rescissions and Appropriations Act of 1996) to revise the formula for distribution of amounts collected under the recreational fee demonstration program. (Sec. 5003) Amends the San Carlos Apache Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 1992 to extend its expiration date from June 30, 1997, through March 31, 1999, or, if before that date a Settlement Agreement between the San Carlos Apache Tribe and Phelps Dodge Corporation is submitted for approval to the Superior Court of Arizona in and for Maricopa County, through December 31,1999. Extends the Tribe's Central Arizona Project water lease authority to Gila, Graham, and Greenlee Counties. Makes the Gila Valley and Franklin Irrigation Districts parties to the Settlement Agreement. Directs the United States, through the BLM, to operate and maintain the Black River facilities, and to contract for delivery of water at Eagle Creek to Phelps Dodge for a specified monthly fee in addition to a specified monthly power line right-of-way fee.  Sets forth provisions for a final agreement between Phelps Dodge and the San Carlos Apache Tribe under which the Tribe will operate the facilities and receive payment for leased water.  Ratifies the agreement between the Tribe, Phelps Dodge, and the Secretary of the Interior. (Sec. 5004) Amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to modify requirements for the importation of polar bear parts from polar bears legally harvested in Canada before the date of enactment of the Marine Mammal Protection Act Amendments of 1994. (Sec. 5005) Establishes the Commission on Section 2477 of the Revised Statutes to recommend changes to law to provide for expeditious resolutions of all outstanding claims of a right-of-way across Federal lands established pursuant to such section of the Revised Statutes.  Sets forth provisions regarding approval and congressional consideration of such recommendations. Chapter 6:  Department of Health and Human Services - Amends specified Federal law relating to appropriations to provide for additional amounts for:  (1) the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Health Resources and Services Administration's Health Education Assistance Loans Program; (2) the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund for priority health research; and (3) the Department of Education, Education for the Disadvantaged programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Makes funds available for the National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education. (Sec. 6001) Extends through FY 1998 the availability, to recipients in presidentially-declared disaster areas declared during FY 1997, of certain funds awarded for State-administered programs of the Department of Education for FY 1995 (and for FY 1996, with respect to such programs under the Rehabilitation Act). (Sec. 6002) Authorizes the Secretary of Education, with respect to student aid awards for award years 1996-1997 and 1997-1998, to waive or modify any statutory or regulatory provision applicable to the student financial aid programs under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to assist individuals and other program participants who suffered financial harm from natural disasters. (Sec. 6003) Prohibits the use of any funds to administer or implement in Denver, Colorado, a Medicare Competitive Pricing-Open Enrollment Demonstration program. (Sec. 6004) Provides for emergency use of certain child care funds.  Authorizes eligible State Governors, for a limited time period, to use amounts received for the provision of child care assistance or services under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to provide emergency child care services to eligible individuals.  Bases State eligibility on the President's determination, pursuant to specified provisions of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, that a major disaster exists, or that an area within the State is determined to be eligible for disaster relief under other Federal law by reason of damage related to flooding in 1997.  Bases individual eligibility on: (1) residence within such an area where a major disaster exists, or which is so eligible for disaster relief; and (2) involvement in unpaid work activities (including the cleaning, repair, restoration, and rebuilding of homes, businesses, and schools) resulting from such flood emergency.  Sets forth limitations and priorities with respect to such assistance. (Sec. 6005) Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to extend certain redetermination provisions for the supplementary security income (SSI) program. Chapter 7:  Congressional Operations - Makes supplemental appropriations for an additional amount for expenses of the Office of the Secretary of the Senate, to carry out specified provisions of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1997. Provides an amount for payment to the children of Frank Tejeda, the late Representative from the State of Texas. Makes additional amounts available for salaries and expenses of the Botanic Garden for emergency repair and renovation of the conservatory. (Sec. 7001) Amends the Legislative Branch Appropriation Act, 1968 to make a specified limitation on the minimum rate of gross compensation inapplicable to any member or civilian employee of the Capitol Police whose compensation is disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate. (Sec. 7002) Authorizes the Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate, with the approval of the Committee on Rules and Administration, to provide additional facilities, services, equipment, and office space for use by a Senator in that Senator's State in connection with a presidentially-declared disaster or emergency. (Sec. 7003) Allows the transfer of a limited amount of funds for the expense allowance of the Secretary of the Senate. (Sec. 7004) Authorizes the Comptroller General to use available funds to enter into contracts for the acquisition of severable services for periods that begin in one fiscal year and end in another and to enter into specified multiyear contracts to the same extent as agencies under the authority of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act. Chapter 8:  Department of Transportation - Makes supplemental appropriations to the Department of Transportation for:  (1) Coast Guard retired pay and for operating expenses directly related to support activities in the TWA Flight 800 crash investigation; (2) Federal Highway Administration, Federal-Aid Highways and for the Emergency Relief Program; and (3) the Federal Railroad Administration, to repair and rebuild freight rail lines of regional and short line railroads damaged by floods (with earmarks for West Virginia and the northern Plains States). Makes such appropriations to the National Transportation Safety Board for:  (1) emergency expenses resulting from the crashes of TWA Flight 800, ValuJet 592, and Comair Flight 3272; and (2) assistance to families of victims of aviation accidents. (Sec. 8003) Authorizes additional appropriations out of the Highway Trust Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account) for FY 1997 for grants to States for alcohol-impaired driving countermeasures. (Sec. 8004) Extends through FY 1997 the authorization of appropriations for the National Driver Register. Chapter 9:  Department of the Treasury - Makes supplemental appropriations to the Department of the Treasury.  Authorizes the Secretary of Treasury to use the law enforcement services, personnel, equipment, and facilities of the State of Colorado and of the county and city of Denver for security arrangements for the Denver Summit of Eight.  Makes supplemental appropriations to:  (1) the Customs Service for the automated targeting system with respect to counterterrorism and drug law enforcement; and (2) the Postal Service Fund, for revenue foregone on free and reduced rate mail for specified purposes. (Sec. 9001) Authorizes the Administrator of General Services (GSA) to obligate specified appropriations for construction of the Montgomery, Alabama courthouse. (Sec. 9002) Prohibits the use of funds by GSA to implement certain cooperative purchasing provisions of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 prior to the adjournment of the first session of the 105th Congress. (Sec. 9003) Prohibits the Bureau of Engraving and Printing from awarding a contract for the procurement of distinctive currency paper until the General Accounting Office has completed an analysis of the optimum circumstances for procuring such paper.  Limits the term of the bridge contract with respect to such paper to 24 months and requires the Secretary of the Treasury to make certain certifications concerning the price and terms of the agreement. (Sec. 9004) Amends specified Federal civil service law to authorize and establish a leave transfer program in disasters and emergencies. Chapter 10:  Department of Veterans Affairs - Makes additional amounts available for:  (1) the Veterans Benefits Administration for compensation and pensions; and (2) the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for preserving existing housing investment, capacity building for community development and affordable housing, and for community development block grants for activities in communities affected by disasters in the upper Midwest. Authorizes appropriations for the construction of a parking garage at the Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in Cleveland, Ohio. Earmarks amounts of assisted housing special purpose grants for acquiring parking and restoring a theater in Ashland, Kentucky. Requires the HUD Secretary to enter into a contract with the National Academy of Public Administration for an evaluation of HUD's management systems. Directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), from previous appropriations for the Center for Ecology Research and Training (CERT), to obligate the maximum amount of funds necessary to settle all outstanding CERT-related claims against the EPA pursuant to the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970.  Authorizes EPA, from any unobligated balances then remaining, to make grants to Bay City, Michigan, for the purpose of EPA-approved environmental remediation and rehabilitation of publicly owned real property included in the boundaries of the CERT project. Authorizes the use of a specified amount of funds for grants to States and federally recognized tribes for multi-media or single media pollution prevention, control, and abatement for direct implementation by the Federal Government of programs required in absence of acceptable State or tribal programs. Makes additional funds available to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for disaster relief.  Conditions the availability of a portion of such funds on the submission by the FEMA Director of a legislative proposal to control disaster relief expenditures, including the elimination of funding for certain revenue producing facilities. Authorizes transfer of a specified amount of FEMA disaster relief funds to the Disaster Assistance Direct Loan Program for the cost of direct loans under certain provisions of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, under specified conditions. (Sec. 10001) Directs the HUD Secretary to submit semi-annually to the Appropriations Committees a list of all contracts and task orders in excess of $250,000 entered into by HUD, the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), and the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight in the preceding six months. (Sec. 10002) Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to revise certain time periods relating to notice requirements for terminating section 8 housing contracts. (Sec. 10003) Amends the Multifamily Housing Finance Improvement Act, under specified provisions of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992, to revise limitations on the Secretary of HUD's mortgage insurance authority to allow commitments with respect to a limited number of additional units during FY 1997. (Sec. 10005) Amends the National Housing Act to authorize HUD mortgage insurance for condominiums in an amount up to 100 percent of appraised value where a mortgagor establishes that the home was destroyed or damaged as a result of a major disaster. Chapter 11:  Offsets and Rescissions - Sets forth offsets with respect to the Fund for Rural America and the Food and Consumer Service's emergency food assistance program. Prohibits the use of Department of Agriculture funds under the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997 to pay the personnel salaries and expenses above specified levels to carry out:  (1) a combined program for export credit guarantees, supplier credit guarantees, and emerging democracies facilities guarantees; and (2) an export enhancement program. Rescinds specified funds available for:  (1) the Department of Justice for the Working Capital Fund, the Assets Forfeiture Fund, and Immigration and Naturalization Service construction; (2) the National Institute of Standards and Technology for the Advanced Technology Program; (3) the Federal Communications Commission; (4) the Ounce of Prevention Council; (5) the Department of Energy for energy supply and research and development activities, power marketing administrations, clean coal technology, and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve; (6) the Department of HHS for job opportunities and basic skills; (7) the Department of Transportation for grants-in-aid for airports, highway traffic safety grants, and the Highway Trust Fund; (8) GSA presidential transition expenses; (9) HUD assisted housing programs; and (10) NASA. Title III:  General Provisions - This Act - Provides that no appropriation made in this Act shall remain available beyond the current fiscal year unless otherwise provided. (Sec. 30002) Sets forth Buy-American requirements. Title IV:  Cost of Higher Education Review - Cost of Higher Education Review Act of 1997 - Establishes a National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education to study and make recommendations regarding: (1) the increase in tuition compared with other commodities and services; (2) innovative methods of reducing or stabilizing tuition; (3) the impact on tuition of specified trends in college and university costs, student financial aid, and government mandates and fiscal policies; (4) mechanisms for a more timely and widespread distribution of data on tuition trends and other costs of operating colleges and universities; and (5) the adequacy of existing Federal and State financial aid programs in meeting the costs of attending colleges and universities. (Sec. 40006) Authorizes appropriations for the Commission. Title V:  Depository Institution Disaster Relief - Depository Institutions Disaster Relief Act of 1997 - Authorizes the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to make exceptions, during specified limited periods, to the Truth in Lending Act for transactions, and to the Expedited Funds Availability Act for depository institution offices, within a major disaster area or an area eligible for disaster relief because of the recent flooding of the Red River of the North, the Minnesota River, and their tributaries. (Sec. 50003) Authorizes the appropriate Federal banking agency to permit, for a specified time period, certain insured depository institutions, in or involved with such area, to subtract from the institution's total assets, in calculating compliance with the leverage limit prescribed under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, an amount not exceeding the qualifying amount attributable to insurance proceeds. (Sec. 50004) Authorizes qualifying regulatory agencies to take specified actions with respect to depository institutions or other regulated entities whose principal place of business is within, or with respect to transactions or activities within such area. (Sec. 50005)  Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Comptroller of the Currency, the Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the National Credit Union Administration should encourage depository institutions to meet the financial services needs of their communities and customers located in areas affected by the 1997 flooding of the Red River of the North, the Minnesota River, and their tributaries. Expresses the sense of the Congress that each Federal financial institutions regulatory agency should make exceptions to the appraisal standards prescribed by the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 for transactions involving institutions located in disaster areas if the exceptions can be expected to alleviate hardships to the public resulting from such disasters. Title VI:  Technical Amendments With Respect to Education - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make certain technical corrections relating to graduation rates data disclosures. (Sec. 60002) Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to extend from January 1, 1998, to January 1, 1999, the deadline for a final report by the Secretary of Education on a national assessment of programs assisted under ESEA title I, Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards. (Sec. 60003) Directs the Secretary to deem Kansas and New Mexico as having timely submitted certain written notices of intent to consider specified impact aid payments under ESEA in providing State aid to local educational agencies (LEAs) for school year 1997-1998. Authorizes the Secretary to require these States to submit appropriate additional information, which shall be considered part of such notice. (Sec. 60004) Provides that no eligible LEA shall receive less than 85 percent of the FY 1996 amount in a specified hold-harmless impact aid payment for each of FY 1997 through 2000. (Sec. 60005) Revises requirements for the Secretary's use of data in providing additional assistance for heavily impacted LEAs, to specify that the student and revenue data used be expenditure data. Repeals the requirement that the Secretary use the most recent data available adjusted to the fiscal year in question. Title VII:  Food Stamp Program - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to grant States an option to issue food stamp benefits to certain individuals made ineligible by welfare reform. Title VIII:  2000 Decennial Census - Amends Federal provisions regarding censuses to prohibit sampling or any other statistical procedures from being used in any determination of population for purposes of apportionment of Representatives.  Prohibits the use of funds by the Department of Commerce for such purposes. Title IX:  Government Shutdown Prevention Act - Government Shutdown Prevention Act - Provides for continuing appropriations in the absence of regular appropriations for FY 1998 at 100 percent of FY 1997 levels.",2025-04-07T15:33:52Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/1469
105-hr-1430,105,hr,1430,Economic Development Partnership Act of 1997,Economics and Public Finance,1997-04-24,1998-07-23,For Further Action See H.R.4275.,House,"Rep. Shuster, Bud [R-PA-9]",PA,R,S000394,4,"Economic Development Partnership Act of 1997 - Amends the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (the Act) to direct the Secretary of Commerce to cooperate with States and other entities to assure that Federal economic development programs are compatible with and further the objectives of State, regional, and local economic development plans and comprehensive economic development strategies.  Directs the Secretary to:  (1) provide appropriate technical assistance to such entities in order to alleviate economic distress, encourage partnerships for economic development strategies, and stimulate modernization and technological advances in the generation and commercialization of goods and services; and (2) prescribe regulations for intergovernmental review of proposed economic development projects.  Authorizes the Secretary to enter into appropriate economic development agreements with two or more adjoining States. Authorizes the Secretary to appoint a National Public Advisory Committee on Regional Economic Development to make recommendations to the Secretary, including regarding the coordination of activities. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to eligible recipients (defined later under this Act) for acquisition or development of land improvements for public works, public service, or development facility usage, as well as the acquisition, design and engineering, construction, rehabilitation, alteration, expansion, or improvement of such facilities.  Provides assistance conditions relating to the establishment of industrial or commercial plants and the increase of employment in the area.  Prohibits more than 15 percent of the appropriations made for such assistance from being expended in any one State.  Allows grants to be increased due to construction cost increases. Authorizes the Secretary to make direct grants for economic development planning and related administrative expenses.  Requires such planning to be a continuous process and to be prepared as part of a comprehensive economic development strategy for the area involved. Requires State certification of an economic development plan's consistency with local and economic development district plans. Provides a Federal cost-share limit of 50 percent of project costs. Authorizes the Secretary to make supplementary grants for a project for which the applicant is eligible but for which the applicant cannot supply the required matching share.  Provides supplementary grant conditions and requirements, authorizing the Secretary to reduce or waive the required non-Federal share in such cases. Authorizes the Secretary to make direct grants for training, research, and technical assistance for alleviating or preventing conditions of excessive unemployment or underemployment.  Allows such grants to include amounts for relocation assistance. Authorizes the Secretary to make direct grants for public facilities, public services, business development, planning, technical assistance, training and other assistance which demonstrably furthers the economic adjustment objectives of the Act.  Allows such grant to be used in either direct expenditures by the recipient or through redistribution to other public and private entities, but prohibits any such redistribution to a private profit-making entity.  Authorizes the Secretary to:  (1) approve the use of grant funds for projects the scope or purpose for which changes after the grant has been made; (2) use funds for projects constructed for less than the projected costs to improve such projects; and (3) make assistance available for projects to be carried out at a military or Department of Energy installation. Prohibits any assistance under the Act which would produce unfair commercial competition. Requires reports from grant and assistance recipients. Defines as an eligible recipient for purposes of this Act an area that:  (1) has a per capita income of 80 percent or less of the national average or an unemployment rate one percent above such average; (2) has experienced or is about to experience a sudden economic dislocation resulting in significant job losses; (3) is a community or neighborhood which has a large concentration of low-income individuals, substantial out-migration, or substantial unemployment; (4) has long-term economic deterioration; (5) has a special need to meet an expected rise in unemployment; (6) contains a population of 250,000 or less with growth potential; or (7) is experiencing severe out-migration.  Requires from recipients:  (1) documentation of the presence of any such criteria; and (2) a comprehensive economic development strategy which identifies the economic problems to be addressed through such assistance, as well as related information. Authorizes the Secretary, in order to plan and carry out economic development projects of broader geographic significance, to designate appropriate economic development districts and economic development centers within such districts.  Provides geographic, population, and other requirements with respect to each such designation.  Directs the Secretary to prescribe standards for the termination of such districts and centers.  Authorizes the Secretary to increase by up to ten percent of project costs the amount of grant assistance otherwise provided in the Act for projects within designated districts. Requires each designated district to provide to the Appalachian Regional Commission a copy of such district's comprehensive economic development strategy. Authorizes the Secretary to provide assistance to a district area which does not meet the requirements of an eligible recipient under the Act when such assistance will be of substantial direct benefit to a qualifying area in such district. Directs the Secretary to administer this Act with the assistance of an Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development.  Directs the Secretary to serve as a central information clearinghouse on all matters relating to economic development and adjustment, disaster recovery, and defense conversion programs and activities of Federal and State governments and to help applicants for such assistance.  Requires appropriate consultation with other persons and agencies.  Authorizes the Secretary to furnish procurement divisions of the Federal Government with a list of business firms located in distressed areas which desire Government supplies and services contracts. Imposes penalties upon persons:  (1) making false statements in order to obtain assistance under the Act; and (2) who embezzle or commit other fraud-related crimes while connected in any capacity with the Secretary in the administration of the Act.  Sets forth:   (1) conflict-of-interest provisions; and (2) recordkeeping requirements for the Secretary and recipients regarding assistance under this Act. Provides that assistance under the Act shall supplement and not supplant other Federal assistance. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1998 through 2002.  Authorizes additional appropriations for defense conversion activities and disaster economic recovery activities.",2025-08-21T16:13:01Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/1430
105-hr-1372,105,hr,1372,Budget Process Reform Act,Economics and Public Finance,1997-04-17,1997-04-17,Referred to House Appropriations,House,"Rep. Cox, Christopher [R-CA-47]",CA,R,C000830,200,"TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Statement of Congressional Purpose      Title II:  Binding Budget Law      Title III:  Enforcement of Budget Discipline           Subtitle A:  Supermajority Required to Break Budget Law           Subtitle B:  Line Item Reduction           Subtitle C:  ""Blank Check"" Appropriations Prohibited           Subtitle D:  ""Pay-as-You-Go"" Requirement for New                Spending           Subtitle E:  ""Lock-Box"" for Savings From Spending                Reductions      Title IV:  Sustaining Mechanism      Title V:  Protection of Social Security      Title VI:  Technical Amendments to Federal Law to Carry Out           This Act      Title VII:  Definitions and Rules of Interpretation Budget Process Reform Act - Title I:  Statement of Congressional Purpose - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Federal budget process should focus the attention of policymakers and the public on the aggregate impact of Federal spending on the economy, and on the tradeoffs that must be made among priorities in order to control overall spending levels.  Declares that the budget process should contain safeguards against delay and inaction, so that temporary shut-downs of the Government may be avoided. Title II:  Binding Budget Law - Requires the Congress to enact a binding budget law, in the form of a joint resolution, by April 15 of the calendar year before that in which the fiscal period commences. (Sec. 202) Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (CBA) to make it out of order in the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider any spending bill affecting spending in a major functional category unless and until a joint resolution on the budget is enacted.  Allows waiver of such prohibition if such bill is required to be approved by a two-thirds majority vote in the House and the Senate. (Sec. 203) Prohibits baseline budgeting.  Requires objective year-to-year comparisons under budget law, with the starting point for both presidential and congressional budgets the levels of budget outlays for the current fiscal year. (Sec. 204) Amends the CBA to require a budget law to include a major functional category (""rainy day fund"") for natural disasters, subject to specified conditions. (Sec. 205) Amends Federal law to require the President to submit: (1) a budget, by the first Monday in February of each year before that in which a fiscal period commences, setting forth on a single page specific budget ceilings in each major functional category; and (2) a detailed budget, on or before the 15th day after a joint resolution on the budget is enacted. Title III:  Enforcement of Budget Discipline - Subtitle A: Supermajority Required to Break Budget Law - Amends CBA to require the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to provide the appropriate House of Congress (or any committee, subcommittee, or conference) an estimate of the costs in each major functional category of each spending bill likely to result in costs of over $10 million, before being voted on by the Senate or the House, or any committee, subcommittee, or conference committee. (Sec. 301) Requires a two-thirds affirmative vote in the House or the Senate (or any committee, subcommittee, or conference committee) to consider over-budget spending bills. (Sec. 302) Requires a two-thirds affirmative vote in the House or the Senate, or both, to waive any provision of this Act. Subtitle B:  Limited Enhanced Rescission Authority - Amends the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to authorize the President to exercise line-item reduction authority if the Congress, by two-thirds vote, exceeds the budget ceilings in the binding budget law or an automatic continuing resolution for a fiscal period.  Declares that such authority shall permit the reduction of over-budget spending in a major functional category to the level established in the binding budget law or automatic continuing resolution. Subtitle C:  ""Blank Check"" Appropriations Prohibited - Declares the intent of the Congress to end open-ended, ""blank check"" appropriations which typically authorize spending ""such sums as may be necessary."" (Sec. 306) Amends CBA to require fixed-dollar appropriations for every account except Social Security and interest on the debt. Prohibits open-ended appropriations. (Sec. 307) Requires executive agencies to adjust expenditures, including program eligibility requirements and benefit levels, to ensure that appropriations for entitlement programs are not exceeded. (Sec. 308) Restricts budget authority and entitlement authority to one fiscal period. Subtitle D:  ""Pay As You Go"" Requirement for New Spending - Amends CBA to prohibit the Congress from considering any legislation which exceeds the budget ceiling unless it offsets such increased spending with an equal amount of reductions in spending in the same functional category.  Requires a two-thirds affirmative vote in the House or in the Senate to waive such prohibition. (Sec. 309) Sets forth special rules in the case of legislation that exceeds a budget ceiling for the natural disaster functional category. Repeals an exemption in the House from pay-as-you-go rules. Subtitle E:  ""Lock-Box"" for Savings From Spending Reductions - Amends CBA to:  (1) establish ""lock-box"" procedures to ensure that budget savings from House and Senate amendments to appropriations bills result in actual spending cuts; (2) require CBO reports on such procedures; and (3) mandate reduction of spending allocations to House and Senate committees and subcommittees to meet ""lock-box"" levels. Title IV:  Sustaining Mechanism - Makes appropriations to provide for an automatic continuing resolution if for any account an appropriation for a fiscal period does not become law before the beginning of such period. (Sec. 402) Provides for contingency regulations for automatic continuing resolutions.  Grants each State the option of receiving an aggregate amount for the fiscal period for social safety net programs equal to the allocation to the State for such programs in the preceding fiscal period. (Sec. 403) Restricts consideration of legislation providing budget or spending authority to only that reported by the Committees on Appropriations.  Makes such restriction inapplicable in the case of social security benefits. Title V:  Protection of Social Security - Provides that nothing in this Act shall be construed to require or permit reductions in otherwise payable Social Security benefits. (Sec. 502) Amends Federal law to provide that no reduction in benefits under title II of the Social Security Act (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) shall be made as a consequence of this Act. Title VI:  Technical Amendments to Federal Law to Carry Out This Act - Makes various technical and conforming amendments. Title VII:  Definitions and Rules of Interpretation - Sets forth definitions for specified terms. Changes the definition of budget authority to exclude offsetting receipts and collections as negative budget authority.",2025-08-21T16:11:32Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/1372
105-hr-1396,105,hr,1396,Economic Growth and Price Stability Act of 1997,Economics and Public Finance,1997-04-17,1997-05-16,Referred to the Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy.,House,"Rep. Saxton, Jim [R-NJ-3]",NJ,R,S000097,5,"Economic Growth and Price Stability Act of 1997 - Amends the Federal Reserve Act to repeal the mandate of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Open Market Committee to maintain long run growth of monetary and credit aggregates in order to promote maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates.  Replaces such mandate with a mandate to:  (1) establish an explicit numerical definition of ""price stability""; and (2) maintain a monetary policy that effectively promotes long-term price stability. Repeals the mandate of the Board and the Committee to report biannually to the Congress on national economic trends, taking into account unemployment, investment, and productivity.  Replaces such mandate with a mandate to consult semiannually with the Congress and report on their plans and the time required to achieve price stability. Repeals the Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act of 1978 (Humphrey-Hawkins Act).  Amends the Employment Act of 1946 and the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to reflect the provisions of this Act.",2025-08-21T16:14:01Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/1396
105-hr-1321,105,hr,1321,Expedited Rescissions Act of 1997,Economics and Public Finance,1997-04-15,1997-04-15,Referred to House Rules,House,"Rep. Skaggs, David E. [D-CO-2]",CO,D,S000462,18,Expedited Rescissions Act of 1997 - Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to provide for the expedited consideration of certain proposed rescissions of budget authority.,2025-08-21T16:14:12Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/1321
105-hr-1326,105,hr,1326,Government Shutdown Prevention Act,Economics and Public Finance,1997-04-15,1997-04-15,Referred to the House Committee on Appropriations.,House,"Rep. Bunning, Jim [R-KY-4]",KY,R,B001066,0,Government Shutdown Prevention Act - Amends Federal law to provide for continuing appropriations in the absence of regular appropriations.,2025-08-21T16:11:33Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/1326
105-hr-1318,105,hr,1318,National Commission to Eliminate Waste in Government Act,Economics and Public Finance,1997-04-14,1997-04-23,"Referred to the Subcommittee on Government Management, Information and Technology.",House,"Rep. Royce, Edward R. [R-CA-39]",CA,R,R000487,4,"National Commission to Eliminate Waste in Government Act - Establishes the National Commission to Eliminate Waste in Government (Commission) to:  (1) conduct a private sector survey on management and cost control in the Federal Government; (2) conduct in-depth reviews of the operations of the executive agencies; (3) review existing Government Accounting Office, Congressional Budget Office, and Inspector General reports, and other existing governmental and nongovernmental recommendations for reducing waste, including recommendations from the President's Private Sector Survey on Cost Control, and, based on this review, to periodically submit a report to the President and the Congress a list of such recommendations with estimated savings the Commission determines are most significant and to include in the report a determination of whether the recommendation can be implemented by Executive order or whether it requires legislative action; and (4) submit to the President and the Congress recommendations for improving the budget process and management and for reducing waste and costs in the Federal Government.  Sets forth the particular areas to be examined by the Commission. Mandates a final report by the Commission to the President and the Congress. Requires the Commission to be funded, staffed, and equipped by the private sector without cost to the Federal Government.  States that, to accomplish this objective, it is expected that the Secretary of Commerce will engage in a joint project with a nonprofit organization pursuant to Public Law 91-412 for the purpose of providing support for the Commission.",2026-03-23T12:17:56Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/1318
105-hr-1171,105,hr,1171,Omnibus Corporate Welfare Reduction Act of 1997,Economics and Public Finance,1997-03-20,1997-04-14,Referred to the Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy.,House,"Rep. Kasich, John R. [R-OH-12]",OH,R,K000016,10,"TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Agriculture Programs      Title II:  Energy and Water Programs      Title III:  Interior Programs      Title IV:  Foreign Operations Programs      Title V:  Transportation Programs Omnibus Corporate Welfare Reduction Act of 1997 - Title I: Agriculture Programs - Repeals the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (REA), provisions of the Disaster Relief Act of 1970 relating to adjusting the repayment schedules on REA loans, and provisions of Federal law regarding:  (1) congressional policy concerning making funds available to rural electric and telephone systems; (2) congressional policy with respect to rural telephone system financing; (3) loan programs under the Rural Electrification and Telephone Revolving Fund; and (4) rural advanced telecommunications.  Rescinds related unobligated balances. (Sec. 102) Repeals provisions of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 regarding an agricultural commodity export promotion program. Title II:  Energy and Water Programs - Prohibits obligating or spending funds for the Animas-La Plata Project, Colorado and New Mexico, except regarding alternatives that would satisfy the water rights interests of the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Tribe and the Southern Ute Indian Tribe. (Sec. 202) Declares that the Congress is concerned about the pyroprocessing program and should not proceed with a liquid metal reactor program.  Amends provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 relating to advanced nuclear reactors to remove references to liquid metal reactors. Title III:  Interior Programs - Prohibits the Department of Energy from conducting any fossil energy research and development, except as required by contracts entered into before enactment of this Act and as necessary to terminate ongoing activities.  Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 302) Amends Federal law commonly known as the National Forest Roads and Trails Act to modify requirements regarding the construction of forest development roads.  Declares that it is the sense of the Congress that the full cost of forest road design, construction, and maintenance should be recovered through user fees. (Sec. 303) Prohibits fund obligation for the Clean Coal Technology program.  Repeals, subject to exception, related appropriations from an appropriations Act for FY 1986 and rescinds any related unobligated funds. Title IV:  Foreign Operations Programs - Abolishes the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and repeals related provisions. Requires that the Office of Management and Budget perform OPIC functions on certain existing contracts until their expiration. Prohibits contract renewal.  Deposits unexpended balances in the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts. (Sec. 402) Sets forth findings regarding the International Monetary Fund and its Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF).  Declares that it is the sense of the Congress that the United States should not participate in the latest round of General Agreements to Borrow (commonly referred to as the New Arrangement to Borrow) or provide additional resources to the ESAF. Title V:  Transportation Programs - Expresses the sense of the Congress that highway demonstration projects should not be required by Federal law. (Sec. 502) Repeals provisions of the Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965 authorizing the Appalachian development highway system.",2025-08-21T16:13:05Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/1171
105-hr-1174,105,hr,1174,United States Efficient Currency Act of 1997,Economics and Public Finance,1997-03-20,1997-04-14,Referred to the Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy.,House,"Rep. Kolbe, Jim [R-AZ-5]",AZ,R,K000306,37,United States Efficient Currency Act of 1997 - Amends Federal currency law to prescribe the color and content of one-dollar coins. Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to:  (1) place certain authorized one-dollar coins into circulation before the government's current inventory of one-dollar coins bearing the likeness of Susan B. Anthony is depleted; and (2) increase capacity at U.S. Mint facilities to a level that permits replacement of one-dollar Federal reserve notes. Prohibits a Federal reserve bank from placing into circulation any one-dollar Federal Reserve note after specified deadlines.  Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to cease regular production of one-dollar Federal Reserve notes (except for such quantities ordered by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve to meet collectors' needs).,2025-08-21T16:12:02Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/1174
105-hr-1098,105,hr,1098,Save the Greenback Act,Economics and Public Finance,1997-03-18,1997-03-28,Referred to the Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy.,House,"Rep. Davis, Tom [R-VA-11]",VA,R,D000136,4,Save the Greenback Act - Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to take action to ensure that the number of Federal reserve one-dollar notes in circulation does not decrease below the number in circulation as of the date of the enactment of this Act.,2025-08-21T16:12:20Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/1098
105-hr-1031,105,hr,1031,American Community Renewal Act of 1997,Economics and Public Finance,1997-03-12,1997-03-28,Referred to the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity.,House,"Rep. Watts, J. C., Jr. [R-OK-4]",OK,R,W000210,64,"TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Designation and Evaluation of Renewal Communities      Title II:  Tax Provisions           Subtitle A:  Tax Incentives for Renewal Communities           Subtitle B:  Charitable Contribution Credit      Title III:  Low-Income Educational Opportunity Scholarship           Program      Title IV:  Additional Provisions American Community Renewal Act of 1997 - Title I:  Designation and Evaluation of Renewal Communities - Renewing American Communities Act of 1997 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to create a new subchapter on renewal communities (RCs), authorizing designation of not more than 100 areas (with the first 50 being from areas which are enterprise zones or empowerment communities) as RCs if:  (1) the areas have pervasive poverty, unemployment, and general distress and meet other requirements; and (2) State and local governments agree to take actions such as tax reduction, crime reduction strategies, and reducing, repealing, or not enforcing within the area certain governmental requirements such as licensing, zoning, and permits. Provides for:  (1) coordination of RCs with empowerment zones and enterprise communities; and (2) interaction of the provisions of this Act with other Federal programs. Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to report to the Congress concerning such designations. Title II:  Tax Provisions - Subtitle A:  Tax Incentives for Renewal Communities - Excludes from gross income the capital gain from an RC stock, business property, or partnership interest held more than five years. Allows a deduction to any qualified individual or other person for amounts paid in cash to a family development account for the individual's benefit.  Allows account use for postsecondary education, first home purchase, business capitalization, medical expenses, and qualified rollovers.  Excludes such accounts from taxation.  Requires that the individual resided in an RC and was allowed an earned income credit for the preceding taxable year. Authorizes designation of not more than 25 RCs as account matching demonstration areas.  Provides, to the extent provided in appropriations Acts, for matching contributions to accounts. Sets the commercial revitalization credit (established below) at 20 to 50 percent of the revitalization expenditures regarding a revitalization building. Increases, for an RC business, the dollar limit on expensing certain depreciable business assets. Permits a taxpayer to treat any RC environmental remediation cost as an expense which is not chargeable to capital account.  Allows any cost so treated as a deduction. (Sec. 202) Provides a special work opportunity credit rule for RCs. (Sec. 203) Provides for the commercial revitalization credit. Subtitle B:  Charitable Contributions Credit - Allows an individual a credit for 75 percent of the contributions (of up to $100 annually for a taxpayer) to an organization described in Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3) (charitable, etc., organizations) for which the taxpayer has done more than ten hours of volunteer service and which: (1) is primarily assisting poor individuals; (2) spends all of its resources providing services to the poor; and (3) has limited political activity.  Terminates such credit after December 31, 1999. Title III:  Low-Income Educational Opportunity Scholarship Program - Low-Income Educational Opportunity Act of 1997 - Requires an RC to establish and operate a Low-Income Educational Opportunity Scholarship program to:  (1) provide RC families a choice of schools; and (2) provide assistance for attending public and private elementary and secondary schools, including religious schools. (Sec. 309) Requires that children attending:  (1) private schools receive assistance for tuition, fees, and transportation; and (2) alternative public schools receive assistance for transportation. (Sec. 310) Sets forth school eligibility requirements. (Sec. 311) Declares that a scholarship under this title is an award of aid to a family, not to a school. Prohibits:  (1) a Federal, State, or local agency taking into account Federal funds provided to a renewal community, school, or parent in determining whether to provide any other funds; and (2) deeming scholarships as parental income for Federal income tax purposes or for determining eligibility for other Federal programs. States that nothing in this title shall be construed to supersede any State law prohibiting the expenditure of public funds by sectarian schools, except that no State law may prohibit the expenditure by sectarian schools of Federal funds under this title. (Sec. 316) Requires that any constitutional challenge to the program be tried in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.  Permits an appeal to the U.S.  Supreme Court. (Sec. 317) Authorizes appropriations. Title IV:  Additional Provisions - Provides for the transfer of ownership of any qualified Department of Housing and Urban Development property to the unit of local government having jurisdiction, if such unit of local government agrees to dispose such qualified property as specified, including granting to a community development corporation the right of first refusal. (Sec. 402) Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to declare that the provisions of this section apply to each program under the PHSA that makes Federal awards to prevent or treat substance abuse. Allows, notwithstanding any other provision of law, a religious organization (RO) to be an award recipient, make subawards, provide services through vouchers, or accept vouchers for providing services. Makes ROs eligible on the same basis as any other nonprofit private organization.  Prohibits Federal or State:  (1) discrimination against an organization on the basis that the organization has a religious character; and (2) requirements that an RO, in order to be a program participant, remove religious art, icons, scripture, or other symbols. Requires an RO to arrange for services through an alternative entity if an individual objects to the RO.  Allows an RO to require a beneficiary who has elected to receive services from the organization to actively participate in religious practice, worship, and instruction. Prohibits using funds for sectarian worship or instruction, unless the beneficiary may choose where the assistance is redeemed or allocated. Declares that assistance to or on behalf of a beneficiary is aid to the beneficiary and not to the organization.  Requires, if a State law or constitution would prevent the expenditure of State or local funds by ROs, that the Federal funds shall be segregated from State or other public funds. Requires, for personnel working in RO drug treatment programs, giving credit for religious education and training equivalent to credit given for secular course work.  Mandates waiver of educational requirements if the RO has a record of successful drug treatment and the State or local government fails to demonstrate empirically that the educational qualifications are necessary. (Sec. 403) Amends the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 to allow the appropriate Federal financial supervisory agency, in assessing the record of a financial institution, to consider the institution's ventures with any community development organization in an RC.",2025-08-21T16:13:42Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/1031
105-hr-1040,105,hr,1040,Freedom and Fairness Restoration Act of 1997,Economics and Public Finance,1997-03-12,1997-03-12,Referred to House Budget,House,"Rep. Armey, Richard K. [R-TX-26]",TX,R,A000217,10,"TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Tax Reduction and Simplification; Supermajority           Required for Tax Changes           Subtitle A:  Tax Reduction and Simplification           Subtitle B:  Supermajority Required for Tax Changes      Title II:  Spending Restraint and Budget Process Reform           Subtitle A:  Balanced Budget by Fiscal Year 2002           Subtitle B:  Zero Based Budgeting and Decennial                Sunsetting Freedom and Fairness Restoration Act of 1997 - Title I:  Tax Reduction and Simplification; Supermajority Required for Tax Changes - Subtitle A:  Tax Reduction and Simplification - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a 20 percent tax (17 percent after December 31, 1998) on the taxable income of every individual. Redefines ""taxable income"" to mean the amount by which wages, retirement distributions, and unemployment compensation exceed the standard deduction.  Increases the basic standard deduction and includes an additional standard deduction for dependents.  Includes in taxable income the taxable income of each dependent child under the age of 14.  Provides for inflation adjustments. (Sec. 102) Replaces the current tax on corporations with a tax on every person engaged in a business activity equal to 20 percent (17 percent after December 31, 1998) of the business taxable income of such person.  Makes the person engaged in the business activity liable for the tax. Imposes a tax of 20 percent (17 percent after December 31, 1998) on the value of excludable compensation provided during the year by an employer for the benefit of employees.  Makes the employer liable for the tax. (Sec. 103) Repeals:  (1) numerous provisions relating to pension plans; and (2) provisions imposing a tax on any employer reversion from a qualified plan. Revises requirements regarding transfers of excess pension assets. (Sec. 104) Repeals from the Internal Revenue Code:  (1) the part relating to alternative minimum tax; (2) the part relating to credits against tax; (3) the subtitle relating to estate and gift taxes; and (4) subject to exception, the chapter relating to normal taxes and surtaxes. Subtitle B:  Supermajority Required for Tax Changes - Makes it not in order in the House of Representatives or the Senate, unless waived or suspended in the House or the Senate by a three-fifths vote of the Members, to consider any bill, joint resolution, amendment thereto, or conference report thereon that includes any provision that increases an income tax rate, creates an additional tax rate, reduces the standard deduction, or provides any exclusion, deduction, credit, or other benefit that results in a reduction in Federal revenues. Title II:  Spending Restraint and Budget Process Reform - Subtitle A:  Balanced Budget by Fiscal Year 2002 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to establish maximum spending amounts for FY 1998 through 2002 and revises sequestration procedures for enforcement. (Sec. 203) Makes it not in order in the House of Representatives or the Senate, unless waived or suspended in the House or the Senate by a three-fifths vote of the Members, to consider any bill, joint resolution, amendment thereto, or conference report thereon that includes any provision that would result in total spending for a fiscal year exceeding the maximum permissible total spending amount for that fiscal year. Subtitle B:  Zero Based Budgeting and Decennial Sunsetting - Terminates, effective October 1, 1997, the spending authority for each unearned entitlement and high-cost discretionary spending program unless such spending is reauthorized after enactment of this Act. Provides that effective on the first day of the fiscal year beginning in the first decennial census after the year 2001 and each ten years thereafter, such spending authority shall terminate unless reauthorized after the last date it was required to be reauthorized under this subtitle. Terminates, effective October 1, 1998, spending authority for each discretionary spending program (not including high-cost discretionary spending programs) unless such spending authority is reauthorized after the enactment of this Act.  Provides that effective on the first day of the fiscal year beginning in the first decennial census after the year 2001 and each ten years thereafter, such spending authority shall terminate unless reauthorized after the last date it was required to be reauthorized under this subtitle. Defines the terms:  (1) ""unearned entitlement"" to mean an entitlement not earned by service or paid for in total or in part by assessments or contributions such as social security, veterans, benefits, and retirement programs; and (2) ""high-cost discretionary program"" to mean the most expensive one-third of discretionary programs within each budget function account. (Sec. 212) Prohibits the House of Representatives or the Senate from considering any bill, joint resolution, amendment, or conference report that includes any provision appropriating funds unless such appropriation has been previously authorized by law.  Permits the waiver or suspension of the provisions of this section by an affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Members.",2025-08-21T16:15:00Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/1040
105-hr-1050,105,hr,1050,"A Living Wage, Jobs for All Act",Economics and Public Finance,1997-03-12,1997-04-14,Executive Comment Requested from DOD.,House,"Rep. Dellums, Ronald V. [D-CA-9]",CA,D,D000222,46,"A Living Wage, Jobs for All Act - Declares that the Congress affirms the basic economic rights and responsibilities under the 1944 ""Economic Bill of Rights,"" while updating and extending it to include certain rights to:  (1) decent jobs; (2) income security for individuals unable to work for pay; (3) a decent living for farm families; (4) freedom from monopolies; (5) decent housing; (6) adequate health services; (7) social security in old age, sickness, accidental injury, and unemployment; (8) education and work training; and (7) certain other rights relating to collective bargaining, a safe working environment, information on trends in pollution sources and products and processes that affect the well-being of workers throughout the world, voting and campaigning, and personal security. Recognizes specified personal responsibilities of persons benefitting from such rights. (Sec. 3) Sets forth requirements relating to corporate responsibility.  Requires each corporation registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to include in its annual reports to the SEC a full and fair disclosure of the impact of its activities in the United States and other countries on environmental quality and on the rights of other stakeholders, including employees, consumers, and communities. Requires each State, in order to be entitled to receive any Federal grants or enter into any Federal contracts, to have initiated a time-phased program to require that all State-chartered corporations submit annual reports including such disclosures of information. Requires the Secretary of Labor and the Director of the Environmental Protection Agency to:  (1) identify corporations that have gone the furthest in managing their enterprises with responsible action toward environmental quality and the rights of other stakeholders, including employees, consumers, and communities; and (2) recommend to the President a special annual award to those chief executives and boards of directors that have made the greatest progress in this direction. Directs the Attorney General, with the assistance of business leaders and organizations, to establish an ongoing computerized registration program of all corporations found guilty of violating a Federal or State law.  Authorizes the President, in the absence of clear and convincing evidence of rehabilitation, to deny Federal contracts, loans, or loan guarantees to non-compliant corporations. Makes it the responsibility of each Federal agency and commission, including the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, to perform so as to help establish and maintain conditions under which all adult Americans may freely exercise the economic rights specified in 1944 and in this Act.  Prohibits Federal agencies or commissions from directly or indirectly promoting recession, stagnation, or unemployment as a means of reducing wages and salaries or inflation. (Sec. 4) Directs the President to establish a framework for the annual budget submitted to the Congress that meets specified goals with respect to:  (1) quality of life and environment; (2) responsible and sustainable growth; (3) reduction of officially measured unemployment; and (4) support for international human rights declarations.  Requires such framework also to include specific legislative proposals, budgets, and executive policies and initiatives such as:  (1) conversion from military to civilian economy; (2) truth in budgets; (3) improved indicators of progress and regress; (4) anti-inflation policies; (5) lower real interest rates; (6) public works and services; (7) international economic policy; (8) international conferences on reducing unemployment and underemployment; (9) reductions in work hours; (10) part-time employment with social benefits; (11) insurance protection for pension fund investments; and (12) other specified matters. (Sec. 5) Mandates Joint Economic Committee oversight of actions taken or proposed to be taken under this Act.  Requires the Joint Economic Committee to submit an annual Concurrent Resolution on Economic Policy setting forth both in aggregate terms and in detail its proposed goals for employment by type of employment, with special attention to hours, wages, and social benefits, and for reducing unemployment, underemployment, and poverty in urban, suburban and rural areas. Requires these goals to serve as the framework for any concurrent resolutions on the Federal budget. (Sec. 6) Authorizes appropriations.",2026-03-23T12:47:58Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/1050
105-hr-1012,105,hr,1012,Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Arkansas Tornadoes Relief Act of 1997,Economics and Public Finance,1997-03-11,1997-03-11,Referred to the House Committee on Appropriations.,House,"Rep. Dickey, Jay [R-AR-4]",AR,R,D000312,1,"Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Arkansas Tornadoes Relief Act of 1997 - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations for FY 1997, for relief from the tornadoes that occurred in the State of Arkansas, under the Department of Housing and Urban Development's community development block grant and home program assistance.",2025-08-21T16:14:57Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/1012
105-hr-987,105,hr,987,Government Shutdown Prevention Act,Economics and Public Finance,1997-03-06,1997-03-06,Referred to the House Committee on Appropriations.,House,"Rep. Peterson, John E. [R-PA-5]",PA,R,P000263,15,Government Shutdown Prevention Act - Amends Federal law relating to appropriations to provide for continuing appropriations in the absence of regular appropriations.  Limits such continuing appropriations to 90 percent of the current rate of operations or a lower rate determined according to specified requirements.,2025-08-21T16:13:46Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/987
105-hr-933,105,hr,933,To expand the definition of limited tax benefit for purposes of the Line Item Veto Act.,Economics and Public Finance,1997-03-05,1997-03-05,Referred to the House Committee on the Budget.,House,"Rep. Barrett, Thomas M. [D-WI-5]",WI,D,B000177,0,"Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to revise the definition of limited tax benefit under the Line Item Veto Act to:  (1) repeal exceptions; and (2) redefine it to mean any tax provision that has the practical effect of providing a benefit in the form of different treatment to a particular taxpayer or a limited class of taxpayers, regardless of whether such provision is limited by its terms to a particular taxpayer or class of taxpayers.",2025-04-07T15:33:40Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/933
105-hr-950,105,hr,950,Job Creation and Infrastructure Restoration Act of 1997,Economics and Public Finance,1997-03-05,1997-04-21,"Referred to the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Youth and Families.",House,"Rep. Martinez, Matthew G. [D-CA-31]",CA,D,M000206,62,"TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Department of Commerce Grants      Title II:  Public Works and Job Restoration           Subtitle A:  Jobs 2000           Subtitle B:  Employment in Support of Community Renewal           Subtitle C:  Employment Activities; Repair and                Renovation of Educational Facilities      Title III:  General Provisions Job Creation and Infrastructure Restoration Act of 1997 - Title I: Department of Commerce Grants - Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to make grants to any State or local government for construction, renovation, repair, restoration, or other improvement of local public works projects, including those for which Federal financial assistance is authorized under other titles or Acts.  Limits the Federal share to not more than 90 percent of project cost. Prohibits any new grants after the expiration of any three-month period during which the national unemployment rate remains below five percent for each such month, or after September 30, 2001, whichever occurs first. (Sec. 103) Provides for allocation of funds and for preferences. Gives priority to State or local governments with unemployment rates higher than the national average.  Requires State and local prioritization of applications.  Allows localization of unemployment determinations. (Sec. 105) Sets forth general limitations, including Buy American and minority participation requirements and applicability of laws regarding individuals with disabilities.  Requires public authorities, as part of the process of competitive bidding for contract awards under this Act, to:  (1) seek to obtain Project Agreements with Building Trades Councils, including the establishment of Project Committees; and (2) assign to each project an enforcement official to enforce standards under this Act and Project Committee orders. (Sec. 106) Authorizes appropriations and deems them to be emergency spending. Title II:  Public Works and Job Restoration - Subtitle A:  Jobs 2000 - Jobs 2000 Act of 1997 - Provides for jobs for the unemployed and underemployed, especially youth, through payments for labor and related costs for:  (1) construction, repair, or rehabilitation of community and educational facilities; (2) reclamation and conservation of public lands; and (3) creation, repair, rehabilitation, and restoration of public safety, public transportation, health, social services, and recreation facilities and other activities necessary to the public welfare. (Sec. 203) Sets forth participant eligibility and certification requirements, duration and extent of subsidized employment, participation priorities, special considerations for welfare recipients and veterans, and equal employment opportunities for traditionally underrepresented groups. (Sec. 204) Requires that at least 75 percent of funds made available to any recipient under subtitles B and C be used for wages and related employment benefits for work which the recipient certifies has been performed in authorized activities.  Sets forth other limitations on use of funds, except training costs in specified circumstances. Subtitle B:  Employment in Support of Community Renewal - Part A:  Community Improvement Projects - Requires participants to be employed in community improvement projects in various specified activities under the categories of:  (1) repair, rehabilitation, or improvement of public facilities; (2) conservation, restoration, rehabilitation, or improvement of public lands; and (3) public safety, health, social service, and other activities necessary to public welfare. (Sec. 210) Provides for joint programs, public lands projects limitations, eligibility and qualification of administrative entities, allotment of funds, requirements for receipt of funds, reports, and project design priorities and coordination. Requires, in the case of projects or activities that involve construction, reconstruction, repair, or renovation of physical structures, that:  (1) each project for which a grant is made under this title be performed by contract on the basis of competitive bidding, unless the Secretary finds that an alternative method is in the public interest under circumstances related to the project; and (2) public authorities awarding such contracts seek Project Agreements with Building Trades Councils, including establishing Project Committees, and assign project enforcement officers. Part B:  Community Improvement and Renewal Activities for Youth Trainees - Authorizes use of funds for wages and benefits for eligible youth for part-time employment up to 32 hours per week in authorized youth trainee activities at a work site of a public or private nonprofit or for-profit employer, in a manner which requires and is consistent with enrollment in high school, an equivalency program, or a program of basic skills, skills training, or employability development for at least eight hours per week. (Sec. 221) Provides for joint programs, youth eligibility requirements, exemption from unemployment duration requirements, priority for the economically disadvantaged, and equitable service for school dropouts. Part C:  State Job Programs - Reserves five percent of State allotments for:  (1) authorized State-administered programs and activities; (2) special assistance for areas with sudden or severe economic dislocations; (3) State-directed emergency aid to cope with natural disasters; and (4) special assistance to seasonal farmworkers and small farmers in areas with severe economic disruption. (Sec. 231) Sets forth requirements for program and activity selection and design. Subtitle C:  Employment Activities; Repair and Renovation of Educational Facilities - Part A:  Elementary and Secondary School Facility Improvement Jobs - Requires making funds under this part available to any eligible local education agency in an eligible jurisdiction to provide employment to eligible participants in repair, renovation, restoration, or rehabilitation of public school facilities. (Sec. 241) Provides for use of quick-start projects, permitted uses of funds, tribal school projects, allotment of funds, and receipt requirements. Part B:  Higher Education Facility Improvement Projects - Requires funds under this part to be made available to higher education institutions in eligible jurisdictions to provide employment to eligible participants in work on repair, restoration, renovation, or rehabilitation of academic facilities. (Sec. 251) Provides for use of quick-start projects, permitted uses of funds, selection of projects, allotment of funds, and receipt requirements. Part C:  Special Definitions for Subtitle C - Sets forth special definitions for subtitle C. Part D:  Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations. Title III:  General Provisions - Sets forth general requirements, including wage rates, labor standards, fiscal controls and sanctions, and judicial review procedures.",2026-03-23T12:47:58Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/950
105-hr-896,105,hr,896,Regional Cooperation Act,Economics and Public Finance,1997-02-27,1997-03-14,Referred to the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity.,House,"Rep. Traficant, James A., Jr. [D-OH-17]",OH,D,T000350,2,Regional Cooperation Act - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to include regional cooperation in economic development grant proposals.,2025-08-21T16:14:32Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/896
105-hr-898,105,hr,898,Balanced Budget Enforcement Act of 1997,Economics and Public Finance,1997-02-27,1997-02-27,Referred to House Rules,House,"Rep. Visclosky, Peter J. [D-IN-1]",IN,D,V000108,4,"TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Balancing the Budget      Title II:  Technical and Conforming Amendments Balanced Budget Enforcement Act of 1997 - Title I:  Balancing the Budget - Part A:  Purpose - Repeals parts C (Emergency Powers to Eliminate Deficits in Excess of Maximum Deficit Amount), D (Budgetary Treatment of Social Security Trust Funds), and E (Miscellaneous and Related Provisions) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Part B:  The Deficit Elimination Act of 1997 - Deficit Elimination Act of 1997 - Sets for FY 1998 through 2002:  (1) deficit reduction targets for direct spending and receipts legislation; and (2) discretionary funding limits, measured in terms of new budget authority.  Permits adjustments, whenever appropriate, to discretionary funding limits to reflect:  (1) changes in concepts; (2) changes in inflation; (3) expiring housing contracts; (4) emergencies; (5) new limits for FY 2002 and thereafter; and (6) transportation trust funds. (Sec. 103) Provides for:  (1) balancing the budget in FY 2002; (2) preventing deficits after FY 2002; (3) enactment of a spin-off law, if required, to achieve such goals; and (4) targeted sequestration if a spin-off law is in effect for a fiscal year on the date of the final sequestration report for that fiscal year. (Sec. 106) Establishes a scorecard upon which shall be entered: (1) for FY 1998 through 2002 the estimated increase or decrease in the deficit; (2) for FY 2003 and thereafter the estimated increase or decrease in the deficit or surplus; and (3) for fiscal years after FY 1998 the amount of discretionary appropriations. (Sec. 109) Declares that, for a budget year in which a spin-off law is not in effect, the amount to be sequestered:  (1) shall be the amount (if any) by which the sum of all budget-year entries on the direct spending and receipts scorecard is greater than zero; and (2) shall be increased whenever the average out-year change in direct spending and receipts, combined, achieved during that budget-year session would result in higher deficits than if that average change had equaled the amount targeted for the budget year, with that budget-year target being the amount that the sequestration preview report for the budget year shows was needed to bring the budget-year entries on the direct spending and receipts scorecard to zero. Provides that, within 15 days after the Congress adjourns to end a session, and on the same day as an across-the-board reduction of discretionary programs, such a sequestration shall take place to reduce the amount of receipts in the current policy baseline, unless the sum computed for the sequestration is less than $500 million. Mandates that sequestration be achieved by reducing each non-exempt direct spending account by the uniform percentage necessary to achieve 80 percent of the sequestration sum, and increasing receipts to achieve the other 20 percent through surtaxes as enacted under this Act. (Sec. 110) Provides for an across-the-board reduction of discretionary programs, if there is a sequestration. (Sec. 111) Lists programs and activities which shall be exempt from sequestration, including optional exemptions of military personnel. (Sec. 112) Sets forth general sequestration rules, including permanent sequestration of direct spending and receipts, as well as special rules for:  (1) block grants to States for temporary assistance for needy families (TANF) under the Social Security Act; (2) the Child Support Enforcement Program; (3) the Commodity Credit Corporation; (4) the Conservation Reserve Program; (5) extended unemployment compensation; (6) the Federal Employees Health Benefits Fund; (7) the Federal Housing Finance Board; (8) Federal pay; (9) guaranteed student loans; (10) Federal insurance programs; (11) Medicaid; (12) Medicare; (13) the Postal Service Fund; (14) power marketing administration funds and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) fund; and (15) veterans' housing loans. (Sec. 113) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the imposition of tax sequestration surtaxes on individuals and corporations. (Sec. 114) Requires both the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to prepare both sequestration preview and final reports.  Directs the Board of Estimates (established under this Act), at specified appropriate times, to choose one report from each pair as the official preview or final report.  Directs the President, on the day that the Board chooses the final sequestration report, to issue an order fully implementing without change all required sequestrations and tax actions. (Sec. 115) Provides for determination of the current policy baseline and the baseline assuming deficit reduction. (Sec. 117) Establishes in the Treasury a Stabilization Reserve Fund in order to accumulate balances during years of comparative prosperity, which balances may later be used to cover the loss of receipts and the increase in outlays that occur during times of comparative economic distress. (Sec. 118) Provides for the suspension of sequestration procedures:  (1) upon the declaration of war; and (2) during periods of low economic growth.  Sets forth procedures for the consideration of a low growth joint resolution by the Congress. (Sec. 119) Establishes a Board of Estimates to report to the President and the Congress concerning the selection of the OMB and CBO sequestration preview and final reports. (Sec. 120) Provides for:  (1) expedited judicial review of the constitutionality of provisions of this Act in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in an action by any Member of Congress or other adversely affected individual seeking declaratory judgment and injunctive relief; and (2) direct appeal to the Supreme Court of any court order issued pursuant to such an action. Title II:  Technical and Conforming Amendments - Sets forth technical and conforming amendments to:  (1) the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Act of 1974; (2) the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990; (3) the Rules of the House of Representatives and the Standing Rules of the Senate; and (4) other Federal law provisions concerning, among other things, the President's budget and the public debt limit.",2025-08-21T16:14:09Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/898
105-hr-798,105,hr,798,Balanced Budget Act of 1997,Economics and Public Finance,1997-02-13,1997-02-13,Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.,House,"Rep. Smith, Nick [R-MI-7]",MI,R,S000597,2,"Balanced Budget Act of 1997 - Prohibits issuing any obligation subject to the public debt limit after December 31, 2001, except an obligation issued to refund an obligation issued before January 1, 2002.  Provides for the suspension of such prohibition upon the enactment of a joint resolution declaring war or a national emergency.",2025-08-21T16:12:19Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/798
105-hr-638,105,hr,638,Government Shutdown Prevention Act,Economics and Public Finance,1997-02-06,1997-06-23,Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H4138-4139),House,"Rep. Gekas, George W. [R-PA-17]",PA,R,G000121,20,Government Shutdown Prevention Act - Amends Federal law relating to appropriations to provide for continuing appropriations in the absence of regular appropriations.  Limits such continuing appropriations to 75 percent of the current rate of operations or a lower rate determined according to specified requirements.,2025-08-21T16:11:18Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/638
105-hr-593,105,hr,593,"To amend the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to provide for a sequestration of all budgetary accounts for fiscal year 1998 (except Social Security, Federal retirement, and interest on the debt) equal to 5 percent of the OMB baseline.",Economics and Public Finance,1997-02-05,1997-02-05,Referred to the House Committee on the Budget.,House,"Rep. Campbell, Tom [R-CA-15]",CA,R,C000100,1,"Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to require:  (1) a sequestration of FY 1998 appropriations (including any under a continuing resolution) equivalent to five percent of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) FY 1998 baseline; and (2) the President to issue an order, by a specified date, to fully implement the sequestration.  Prohibits any reduction in benefits under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act, Federal retirement benefits for members of the uniformed services or Federal officers or employees, and payments for net interest on the national debt.",2025-04-07T15:33:40Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/593
105-hr-457,105,hr,457,"To amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to provide for budgeting for emergencies through the establishment of a budget reserve account, and for other purposes.",Economics and Public Finance,1997-01-21,1997-02-24,Referred to the Subcommittee on the Legislative and Budget Process.,House,"Rep. Castle, Michael N. [R-DE-At Large]",DE,R,C000243,32,Requires the establishment of a budget reserve account to provide for funding in the event of natural disasters and national security emergencies. Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to include such funding in the budget process. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to repeal provisions relating to emergency appropriations. Requires annual reports to the Congress on expenditures from such account.,2025-04-07T15:33:40Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/457
105-hr-392,105,hr,392,Economic Growth Incentive Act of 1997,Economics and Public Finance,1997-01-09,1997-02-14,Referred to the Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy.,House,"Rep. Andrews, Robert E. [D-NJ-1]",NJ,D,A000210,0,"TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Reduction in Individual Income Taxes      Title II:  Incentive for Purchase of American-Made Property      Title III:  Surface Transportation Programs      Title IV:  Relief from Credit Crunch      Title V:  Cap on Federal Employment      Title VI:  Reduction in Federal Overhead Expenses Economic Growth Incentive Act of 1997 - Title I:  Reduction in Individual Income Taxes - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce individual income taxes. Title II:  Incentive for Purchase of American-Made Property - Allows an itemized deduction for State and local general sales taxes imposed on the retail sale of American-made property. Title III:  Surface Transportation Programs - Amends the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 to repeal the obligation ceiling for Federal-aid highways and highway safety construction programs. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1998 through 2000 for:  (1) highway programs; (2) donor State bonus amounts; (3) apportionment adjustments; (4) set asides for interstate discretionary projects; (5) the discretionary bridge program; (6) national high-speed ground transportation programs; (7) the highway timber bridge program; (8) highway use tax evasion projects; (9) the scenic byways program; (10) construction of ferry boats and ferry terminal facilities; (11) certain highway safety programs; (12) Federal Transit Act authorizations; and (13) the motor carrier safety grant program. Removes the highway safety obligation ceilings. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the authority to make expenditures from the Highway Trust Fund until September 30, 2000. Title IV:  Relief from Credit Crunch - Expresses the sense of the Congress that:  (1) the current ""credit crunch"" should be eased by making it easier for businesses and individuals to obtain loans and leases; and (2) State banking authorities and the appropriate Federal banking agencies should more sensibly apply the requirements on loan loss reserves so as not to punish or restrain responsible borrowers. Title V:  Cap on Federal Employment - Prohibits the number of Federal employees from exceeding such number on the date of enactment of this Act.  Rescinds all unobligated amounts that were appropriated before such date to pay the salary, wages, or benefits for a position not filled on that date. Title VI:  Reduction in Federal Overhead Expenses - Rescinds ten percent of all unobligated amounts that were appropriated before the date of enactment of this Act to pay overhead expenses of any Federal agency.  Reduces authorizations for any fiscal year to pay overhead expenses of any Federal agency by ten percent.",2026-03-23T12:17:56Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/392
105-hr-397,105,hr,397,"To require that the President transmit to Congress, that the congressional Budget Committees report, and that the Congress consider a balanced budget for each fiscal year.",Economics and Public Finance,1997-01-09,1997-02-24,Referred to the Subcommittee on the Legislative and Budget Process.,House,"Rep. Bentsen, Ken [D-TX-25]",TX,D,B000400,0,"TABLE OF CONTENTS:      Title I:  Amendment to Title 31, United States Code      Title II:  Amendment to Congressional Budget Act of 1974      Title III:  Effective Date Title I:  Amendment to Title 31, United States Code - Amends specified Federal law to require that each President's budget submission to Congress be a balanced budget for the ensuing fiscal year.  Directs the President, for any fiscal year with respect to which the President determines that it is infeasible to submit a budget in compliance with such balanced budget requirement, to submit on the same day two budgets, one of them in compliance with such requirement, together with written reasons in support of that determination. Title II:  Amendment to Congressional Budget Act of 1974 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (CBA) to require reporting of balanced budgets by Committees on the Budget of both the House of Representatives and the Senate.  Requires either such Committee, for any fiscal year with respect to which such Committee determines that it is infeasible to report a concurrent resolution on the budget in compliance with such balanced budget requirement, and includes written reasons in support of that determination in its accompanying report, to report two concurrent resolutions on the budget, one of them in compliance with such requirement. Amends CBA to make it in order, in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, to consider:  (1) any amendment to a concurrent resolution on the budget for a fiscal year comprising the text of any budget submitted by the President for that fiscal year in compliance with the balanced budget requirement; and (2) whenever applicable, an amendment comprising the text of any alternative budget submitted by the President when the President determines a balanced budget is infeasible for that fiscal year. Title III:  Effective Date - Makes this Act effective for FY 1999.  Requires it to be fully reflected in the President's FY 1999 budget.",2025-04-07T15:33:40Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/397
105-hr-441,105,hr,441,To repeal the Impoundment Control Act of 1974.,Economics and Public Finance,1997-01-09,1997-02-24,Referred to the Subcommittee on the Legislative and Budget Process.,House,"Rep. Sensenbrenner, F. James, Jr. [R-WI-9]",WI,R,S000244,0,Repeals the Impoundment Control Act of 1974.,2025-04-07T15:33:40Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/441
105-hr-113,105,hr,113,Balanced Budget Requirement Act of 1996,Economics and Public Finance,1997-01-07,1997-02-24,Referred to the Subcommittee on the Legislative and Budget Process.,House,"Rep. Condit, Gary A. [D-CA-18]",CA,D,C000670,20,"Balanced Budget Requirement Act of 1996 (sic) - Amends specified Federal law to require that each President's budget submission to Congress include a detailed plan to achieve a balanced Federal budget for that fiscal year and each of the following four fiscal years (beginning with the budget submission for FY 1998, which shall include a detailed plan to achieve a balanced budget by FY 2002, and then for any budget submission for any fiscal year after FY 2002).  Suspends such requirement for any fiscal year covered by a joint resolution declaring war or a national economic or national security emergency. Requires the Director of the Congressional Budget Office to certify whether such balanced budget plan does achieve a balanced budget. Authorizes the President to submit a revised detailed plan if the original plan is not certified as achieving a balanced budget. Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (CBA) to provide that: (1) beginning with FY 1998, it shall not be in order in the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider any concurrent resolution on the budget that does not achieve a balanced budget by FY 2002; and (2) beginning with FY 2002 it shall not be in order to consider any concurrent resolution on the budget that does not maintain a balanced budget for that fiscal year and for each of the following four fiscal years.  Suspends such requirement when there is a joint resolution declaring war or a national economic or national security emergency. Amends CBA to make it in order, in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, to consider any amendment to a concurrent resolution on the budget for a fiscal year reflecting, without substantive change, the budget submitted by the President for that fiscal year and, if different, a separate amendment reflecting the detailed plan to achieve a balanced budget submitted by the President.",2025-08-21T16:12:30Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/113
105-hr-126,105,hr,126,Deficit Reduction Lock-box Act of 1997,Economics and Public Finance,1997-01-07,1997-02-24,Referred to the Subcommittee on the Legislative and Budget Process.,House,"Rep. Crapo, Mike [R-ID-2]",ID,R,C000880,55,"Deficit Reduction Lock-box Act of 1997 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require the Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to maintain a Deficit Reduction Lock-box Ledger which shall be divided into entries corresponding to the subcommittees of the Committees on Appropriations.  Requires each entry to consist of three parts:  (1) the House Lock-box Balance; (2) the Senate Lock-box Balance; and (3) the Joint House-Senate Lock-box Balance.  Requires the CBO Director, upon the engrossment of any appropriation bill by the House of Representatives and upon the engrossment of that bill by the Senate, to credit to the applicable entry balance of that House amounts of new budget authority and outlays equal to the net amounts of reductions in new budget authority and in outlays resulting from amendments agreed to by that House to that bill. Specifies the amounts to be credited to the Joint House-Senate Lock-box Balance. Requires a running tally to be available to Members of the House of Representatives, during the consideration of any appropriations bill by the House, of the amendments adopted reflecting increases and decreases of budget authority in such bill as reported. Provides for the downward adjustment of:  (1) allocations for the House and Senate upon the engrossment of Senate amendments to any appropriation bill; and (2) suballocations, whenever a such a downward adjustment is made to an allocation. Requires the Director of the Congressional Budget Office to include an up-to-date tabulation of the amounts contained in the Deficit Reduction Lock-box Ledger and each entry in periodic reports. Requires the downward adjustment of discretionary spending limits by amounts set forth in the final regular appropriation bill for the fiscal year or joint resolution making continuing appropriations through the end of such fiscal year.",2025-08-21T16:11:45Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/126
105-hr-131,105,hr,131,To provide that a new Federal program shall terminate not later than 5 years after the date of the enactment of the law that authorizes the program.,Economics and Public Finance,1997-01-07,1997-01-15,"Referred to the Subcommittee on Government Management, Information and Technology.",House,"Rep. Cunningham, Randy (Duke) [R-CA-51]",CA,R,C000994,18,Provides that any new Federal non-entitlement program shall terminate not later than five years after the enactment of the law that authorized it.,2026-03-23T12:17:56Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/131
105-hr-132,105,hr,132,Second National Blue Ribbon Commission to Eliminate Waste in Government Act,Economics and Public Finance,1997-01-07,1997-01-16,"Referred to the Subcommittee on Government Management, Information and Technology.",House,"Rep. Cunningham, Randy (Duke) [R-CA-51]",CA,R,C000994,15,"Second National Blue Ribbon Commission to Eliminate Waste in Government Act - Establishes the Second National Blue Ribbon Commission to Eliminate Waste in Government to:  (1) conduct a private sector survey on management and cost control in the Federal Government; (2) review executive agency operations and existing General Accounting Office, Congressional Budget Office, Inspector General Reports, and other existing governmental and nongovernmental recommendations for reducing waste; and (3) submit to the President and the Congress recommendations for the most significant estimated savings, for improving the budget process and management, and for reducing waste and costs in the Government. Specifies opportunities, areas, programs, services, and reforms the Commission must identify and address.  Requires reports to the President and the Congress. Requires the Commission to be funded, staffed, and equipped, to the extent practicable and permitted by law, by the private sector without cost to the Government.  Directs the Secretary of Commerce to engage in a joint project with a nonprofit organization to provide such support for the Commission.",2026-03-23T12:17:56Z,https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/132