Commerce Department FY2000 Appropriations bill

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 Agency

Title V: Related Agencies

Title VI: General Provisions

Title VII: Rescissions

Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000 - Makes appropriations for FY 2000 for the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the judiciary, and related agencies.

Title I: Department of Justice - Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 2000 - Makes appropriations for the Department of Justice for: (1) general administration; (2) a Joint Automated Booking System; (3) conversion to narrowband communications; (4) counterterrorism activities; (5) payments of costs of telecommunications carriers in complying with capability requirements; (6) administration of pardon and clemency petitions and immigration-related activities; (7) the Office of Inspector General; (8) the U.S. Parole Commission; (9) legal activities; (10) antitrust activities; (11) the Offices of U.S. Attorneys; (12) the U.S. Trustee Program; (13) the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission; (14) the U.S. Marshals Service, including an amount for Federal prisoner detention; (15) fees and expenses of witnesses; (16) the Community Relations Service; (17) certain uses of the Assets Forfeiture Fund; (18) administrative expenses related to the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act; (19) the Radiation Exposure Compensation Trust Fund; (20) interagency law enforcement with respect to organized crime drug trafficking; (21) the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); (22) construction for specified agencies; (23) the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); (24) the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS); (25) the Federal prison system, including an amount for buildings and facilities; (26) the Office of Justice programs; (27) State and local law enforcement assistance; (28) the Executive Office for Weed and Seed; (29) community oriented policing services; (30) juvenile justice programs; and (31) 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) Makes certain provisions of the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 relating to the obligation of certain counterterrorism funds without regard to Federal acquisition rules and restriction on information disclosure in specified actions filed by prisoners applicable to FY 2000 and thereafter.

(Sec. 112) Makes a provision of the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999 relating to grants for assistance to the victims of Pan Am Flight 103 applicable for FY 2000.

(Sec. 113) Amends the Federal judicial code to increase certain bankruptcy filing fees and the percentage of such fees to be deposited into the U.S. Trustee System Fund and a fund for operation and maintenance of the U.S. courts.

(Sec. 115) Prohibits the use of funds made available by any Act to pay premium pay to any Department of Justice attorney.

(Sec. 117) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to direct the Attorney General to grant a national interest waiver of a requirement that certain professional aliens' services be sought by U.S. employers before a visa is offered on behalf of any alien physician with respect to whom a petition for preference classification has been filed if: (1) such physician agrees to work in an area designated by the Secretary of Health and Human Services as having a shortage of health care professionals or at a health care facility under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; and (2) a Federal agency or State department of public health has previously determined the physician's work in such an area or at such facility was in the public interest.

Bars the issuance of a permanent resident visa to such an alien and adjustment of status to permanent resident alien until the alien has worked full time as a physician for an aggregate of five years in the health care shortage areas described in this section. Reduces such work requirement to three years for physicians for whom waivers were filed prior to November 1, 1998.

(Sec. 118) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to make permanent the land border inspection fee program. (Currently, such program expires on September 30, 2000.)

(Sec. 119) Amends the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 to make funds available from the Crime Victims Fund for the U.S. Attorneys Offices to improve services for the benefit of crime victims in the Federal criminal justice system.

(Sec. 120) Amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to authorize the FBI Director to establish an index of analyses of DNA samples voluntarily contributed from relatives of missing persons.

Title II: Department of Commerce and Related Agencies - Department of Commerce and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000 - Makes appropriations for the Department of Commerce for: (1) the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative; (2) the International Trade Commission; (3) the 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 amounts for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership and the Advanced Technology Program and for construction of new research facilities; (15) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including amounts for procurement, acquisition, and construction of capital assets; (16) restoration of Pacific salmon populations; (17) the Coastal Zone Management Fund; (18) the Fishermen's Contingency Fund; (19) the Foreign Fishing Observer Fund; (20) the fisheries finance program account; (21) general administration; and (22) the Office of Inspector General.

Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds.

Rescinds all unobligated balances in the Fisheries Promotional Fund.

(Sec. 210) Amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to increase the number of members of the New England Fishery Management Council.

Title III: The Judiciary - Judiciary Appropriations Act, 2000 - 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. 307) Approves the consolidation of the Office of the Bankruptcy Clerk with the Office of the District Clerk of Court in the Southern District of West Virginia.

(Sec. 308) Amends provisions of the Federal criminal code regarding adequate representation of defendants to prohibit the amount of fees paid for legal services from being used as a reason to justify limited public disclosure of such amount in cases where limited disclosure is authorized to protect the defendant's interest. Applies such requirement to all disclosures related to any criminal trial or appeal involving a death sentence where the underlying alleged criminal conduct took place on or after April 19, 1995.

(Sec. 309) Requires the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint three additional district judges for the district of Arizona, four additional district judges for the middle district of Florida, and two additional district judges for the district of Nevada.

Authorizes appropriations.

Title IV: Department of State and Related Agency - Department of State and Related Agency Appropriations Act, 2000 - Makes appropriations for the Department of State for: (1) administration of foreign affairs, diplomatic and consular programs; (2) the Capital Investment Fund; (3) the Office of Inspector General; (4) educational and cultural exchange programs; (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 to reduce amounts owed by the United States to the United Nations; (13) the Asia Foundation; (14) the Eisenhower Exchange Fellowships, Incorporated; (15) the Israeli Arab Scholarship Program; (16) the East-West Center; (17) the North-South Center; and (18) the National Endowment for Democracy.

Makes appropriations for the Broadcasting Board of Governors for international broadcasting operations, broadcasting to Cuba, and capital improvements.

Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on funds appropriated under this title.

(Sec. 404) Makes a certain provision of the Department of State and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 regarding a fee for the issuance of combined border crossing cards and nonimmigrant visas effective in FY 2000 and thereafter.

(Sec. 405) Bars the use of funds made available in this Act by the Department of State or the Broadcasting Board of Governors to provide assistance to the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation.

(Sec. 406) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act for the United Nations from being used by the United Nations for the enforcement of any treaty, resolution, or regulation authorizing the United Nations to tax any aspect of the Internet.

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) Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce; (5) Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe; (6) Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC); (7) Federal Communications Commission; (8) Federal Maritime Commission; (9) Federal Trade Commission; (10) Legal Services Corporation; (11) Marine Mammal Commission; (12) Securities and Exchange Commission; (13) Small Business Administration, including amounts for the Office of Inspector General and business and disaster loans; 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; (2) pay for costs incurred in operating certain diplomatic or consular posts in Vietnam or increasing the number of personnel assigned to such posts until the President makes a specified certification; or (3) provide specified personal comforts in the Federal prison system.

(Sec. 609) 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 control 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 Congress.

(Sec. 617) 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 products of the same type.

(Sec. 618) 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. 619) Bars 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. 621) Prohibits the use of funds appropriated by this Act to propose or issue rules or orders for implementing the Kyoto Protocol.

(Sec. 622) Makes an additional amount available for SBA salaries and expenses and earmarks such amount for specified uses.

(Sec. 623) Establishes a Northern Boundary and Transboundary Rivers Restoration and Enhancement Fund and a Southern Boundary Restoration and Enhancement Fund to be held by the Pacific Salmon Commission and available for activities relating to salmon restoration, enhancement, and research, conservation of salmon habitat, and implementation of the Pacific Salmon Treaty and related agreements.

Makes funds under this section unavailable until certain conditions to the 1999 Agreement of the United States and Canada on the Treaty Between the Government of the United States and the Government of Canada Concerning Pacific Salmon, 1985 have been fulfilled.

Requires the Secretary of Commerce, during the term of the 1999 Agreement, to determine whether Southern U.S. fisheries (directed Pacific salmon fisheries in Washington, Oregon, and the Snake River basin of Idaho) are likely to cause jeopardy to, or adversely modify designated critical habitat of, any salmonid species listed under the Endangered Species Act before the Secretary may initiate or reinitiate consultation on Alaska fisheries under such Act.

Prohibits the Secretary, during the term of the Agreement, from initiating or reinitiating such consultation on Alaska fisheries until: (1) the Pacific Salmon Commission has had a reasonable opportunity to implement the provisions of the Agreement; and (2) he determines that implementation actions under the Agreement will not return escapements as expeditiously as possible to maximum sustainable yield or other biologically-based objectives agreed to by the Commission. Requires the Secretary to notify specified congressional committees of intent to initiate or reinitiate such consultation.

Authorizes appropriations for: (1) the capitalization of the Funds; and (2) salmon habitat restoration, stock enhancement, and research, and implementation of the Pacific Salmon Treaty and related agreements.

(Sec. 627) Bars the use of funds appropriated in this Act for purposes of granting immigrant or nonimmigrant visas to citizens or residents of countries that the Attorney General has determined deny or unreasonably delay accepting the return of certain deportable aliens.

(Sec. 628) Prohibits the use of funds made available to the Department of Justice in this Act for transporting any maximum or high security prisoner to any prison other than one certified by the Federal Bureau of Prisons as appropriately secure.

(Sec. 629) Bars 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, or until the Senate provides its advice and consent to the Memorandum.

Title VII: Rescissions - Reduces amounts available for the DEA Drug Diversion Control Fee Account.

Rescinds a specified amount appropriated to the INS Immigration Emergency Fund.

Rescinds a specified amount for the Department of State for international broadcasting operations of the Broadcasting Board of Governors.

Rescinds a specified amount of funds for the SBA's business loans program account.