Labor Department FY98 Appropriations bill

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

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.

(Sec. 106) Bars the use of funds made available under this Act or any other Act making appropriations for FY 1998 by the Departments of Labor or Justice to conduct a rerun of a 1996 election for specified officers of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

Authorizes the President, upon certification to the Congress that the Teamsters do not have sufficient funds to conduct a rerun election, to transfer Department of Labor or Justice funds for such purposes. Requires the Teamsters, prior to such transfer of funds, to agree to repay the Secretary of the Treasury for costs incurred in conducting such election.

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) 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. Makes a specified amount of NIH funds available for such study and report.

(Sec. 212) 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.

Requires 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.

Requires the Director to establish a grant program to support investigators with 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. 213) Comprehensive Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Prevention Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of HHS to establish a comprehensive Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects prevention program.

Requires the Director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to establish a collaborative program to provide for research, training, and dissemination of information on the cause, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of such syndrome and effects.

Sets forth eligibility requirements for grants under this Act.

Authorizes appropriations.

(Sec. 214) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to extend the authorization of appropriations for refugee assistance through FY 1999.

(Sec. 217) 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 (Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Medicaid) of the Social Security Act.

(Sec. 218) Requires the Secretary of HHS to study and report to appropriate congressional committees on efforts to improve organ and tissue procurement at hospitals.

(Sec. 219) Expresses the sense of the Senate with respect to steps to be taken by hospitals in requesting the donation of organs and tissues.

(Sec. 220) Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) of title IV of the Social Security Act, with respect to good cause waivers of certain compliance requirements for victims of domestic violence, to declare that: (1) a State shall not be subject to any numerical limitation in the granting of such waivers; and (2) an individual to whom a good cause waiver of compliance has been granted shall not be counted in determining State compliance with participation rate and other specified requirements.

Prohibits disclosure of certain personal information through the Federal Parent Locator Service and under State plans for child and spousal support if the health, safety, or liberty of a parent or child would be unreasonably put at risk by the disclosure.

(Sec. 221) Makes funds under this title available for urgent health threats posed by E. coli:157H7.

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) Indian education; (6) bilingual and immigrant education; (7) special education; (8) rehabilitation services and disability research; (9) special institutions for persons with disabilities; (10) vocational and adult education; (11) student financial assistance; (12) the Federal family education loan 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) a child literacy initiative; (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.

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) Requires the Secretary of Education to make funds available under this title to provide training and technical assistance to State and local educational agencies for programs to protect victims of, and witnesses to, incidents of school violence.

(Sec. 306) Makes a specified amount of funds available for grants for pilot student safety toll-free hotlines to provide students with confidential assistance regarding school crime, violence, drug dealing, and threats to personal safety.

(Sec. 307) Directs the Secretary of Education to make an annual certification to specified congressional committees that at least 95 percent of the fiscal year amount appropriated for Department of Education activities is being used directly for teachers and students.

(Sec. 308) Requires the Secretary of Education to study and report to the Congress on increased enrollments of secondary school students and the need for smaller class sizes in grades one through three.

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) Physician Payment Review Commission; (13) Prospective Payment Assessment 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 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 to carry out programs of distributing sterile needles for the hypodermic injection of illegal drugs unless 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.

(Sec. 506) Sets forth Buy American provisions.

(Sec. 508) Prohibits funds appropriated under this Act from being expended for abortions or for health benefits coverage that includes coverage of abortion except in cases where the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest or where a woman suffers from a physical condition that would, as certified by a physician, place her in danger of death unless an abortion is performed.

(Sec. 512) 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.513) 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. 515) 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. 516) 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. 517) Cancels a specified amount of budgetary resources available to agencies funded in this Act for salaries and expenses during FY 1998, to be allocated by the Office of Management and Budget. Makes this provision inapplicable to the Food and Drug Administration and the Indian Health Service.

(Sec. 518) 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.

(Sec. 519) Limits attorneys' fees in connection with actions by States against tobacco companies to recover tobacco-related Medicaid expenditures or for other causes of action involved in the tobacco settlement agreement to $250 per hour and a total of $5 million. Subjects the award of attorneys' fees in the settlement to specified requirements regarding public disclosure of time accounting and fee arrangements.

Requires excess attorneys' fees to be deposited in the Treasury for use by NIH for children's health research.

(Sec. 520) Expresses the sense of the Senate with respect to compensation for tobacco growers as part of legislation on the tobacco settlement.

(Sec. 523) Requires the Secretary of Education to award the total amount of funds appropriated to support programs for kindergarten through twelfth grade (with specified exceptions) directly to local educational agencies (LEAs). Sets forth a formula for determining the amount awarded to each LEA.

(Sec. 524) Grants the National Assessment Governing Board established under the National Education Statistics Act of 1994 exclusive authority over all policies, directions, and guidelines for establishing and implementing voluntary national tests for fourth grade English reading and eighth grade mathematics. Makes such tests available to States, LEAs, or private schools and provides that the use of such tests shall not be a condition for receiving Federal funds.

Increases the number of Board members and terms of service.