Legislative Watch
Legislative Watch's purpose is to report on pending U.S. legislation relevant to human rights and humanitarian law. This list is not meant to be comprehensive.
A bill to amend title II of the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and section 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973 to exclude prisoners from the requirements of that title and section,
S. 33
Major Sponsors: Sen. Strom
Thurmond (R-SC), Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC)
Status: Referred to the Senate Committee
on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions on January 19, 1999.
Substance: The bill amends the ADA
to exclude prisoners from eligibility under the ADA for prison-related "services,
programs, activities, and treatment (including accommodations)." The bill also
amends the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 by disqualifying prisoners from the term
"individual with a disability," with respect to prison-related programs and
activities (including accommodations).
A concurrent resolution expressing
the sense of the Congress regarding support for the formation of the China Democracy
Party (CDP) and to urge the Government of the People's Republic of China to
guarantee the rights and safety of the CDP organizers, H. Con. Res. 6
Major
Sponsor: Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA)
Status: Referred to the House Committee
on International Relations on January 6, 1999.
Substance: The bill directs the United
States to encourage China to respect the UN Convention on Civil and Political
Rights and permit the registration of the China Democracy Party, without "discrimination
or penalties" for its organizers. The bill also provides that the United States
should encourage China to release all peaceful advocates of democracy and human
rights who have been detained, and to refrain from the "intimidation and persecution"
of such advocates in the future.
Children's Environmental Protection
Act, H.R. 199
Major Sponsor: Rep.
James Moran (D-VA)
Status: Referred to the House Committee
on Commerce on January 6, 1999, which referred the bill to the House Subcommittee
on Health and Environment and the House Subcommittee on Finance and Hazardous
Materials on January 20, 1999.
Substance: The bill amends the Toxic
Substances Control Act to include a statement regarding the U.S. policy to protect
"vulnerable subpopulations," including children, pregnant women, elderly persons,
and individuals with a history of serious illness, from environmental pollutants.
The bill includes provisions directing the Environmental Protection Agency administrator
to evaluate environmental health risks to vulnerable subpopulations, create
and review an annual list of substances with known health risks to children,
and create a family right-to-know information kit.
Civil Rights Amendments Act of
1999, H.R. 311
Major Sponsor:
Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY)
Status: Referred to the House Committee
on the Judiciary and the House Committee on Education and the Workforce on January
6, 1999; referred to the House Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations on
February 5, 1999; and referred to the House Subcommittee on the Constitution
on February 25, 1999.
Substance: The bill amends the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 and the Fair Housing Act to prohibit discrimination based
on "affectional or sexual orientation," defined as "homosexuality, heterosexuality,
and bisexuality by orientation or practice, by and between consenting adults."
The amendment provides protection in areas such as public facilities, programs
receiving federal assistance, employment opportunities, housing sale and rental,
residential real estate transactions, and brokerage services.
Civil Rights of Infants Act,
S. 41
Major Sponsor: Sen. Jesse Helms
(R-NC)
Status: Placed on the Senate Calendar
on January 20, 1999.
Substance: The
bill amends section 1979 of 42 U.S.C. 1983, making it a violation of rights
"secured by the Constitution and laws of the United States" for an individual
to give a woman an abortion with the knowledge that the woman is seeking the
abortion due to the fetus's gender. The bill does not impose liability on women
seeking abortions due to the gender of the fetus.
Drug Importer Death Penalty Act
of 1999, H.R. 295
Major Sponsor: Rep. John E. Sweeney
(R-NY)
Status: Referred to the House Committee
on the Judiciary and the House Committee on Commerce on January 6, 1999; referred
to the House Subcommittee on Health and Environment on January 20, 1999; and
referred to the House Subcommittee on Crime on February 25, 1999.
Substance: The bill amends the Controlled
Substances Import and Export Act to require courts to sentence defendants convicted
of importing into the United States a quantity of controlled substances equal
to or exceeding 100 usual dosage amounts, to life imprisonment without possibility
of release. If a defendant has violated this provision on more than one occasion
and also has intentionally killed or inflicted a lethal injury, the court is
required to sentence the defendant to death.
Freedom to Market Act, H.R. 212
Major Sponsors: Rep. George R.
Nethercutt (R-WA), Rep. Jose E. Serrano (D-NY)
Status: Referred to the Committee
on International Relations and the Committee on Agriculture on January 6, 1999.
Substance:
The bill requires the U.S. General Accounting Office to prepare an annual report
"assessing the impact and effectiveness of economic sanctions" that the United
States has imposed on foreign governments. The bill prohibits unilateral sanctions,
either those that are ongoing or those that may take effect in the future, on
exports of food, other agricultural products, medicines, medical supplies, and
other equipment. The president may waive this prohibition for a period of not
more than one year if necessary for U.S. national security.
Mass Immigration Reduction Act,
H.R. 41
Major Sponsor: Rep. Bob Stump
(R-AZ)
Status: Referred to the House Committee
on the Judiciary on January 6, 1999, and referred to the House Subcommittee
on Immigration and Claims on February 25, 1999.
Substance: The bill calls for significant
reductions on levels of legal immigration, including complete moratoriums on
certain categories of family and employment-based immigration for a five year
period, until "the first fiscal year after" 2004. In that fiscal year, the bill
requires the president to certify that fewer than 10,000 illegal immigrants
enter the country each year. The president must also certify that any increases
in immigration over the levels permitted during the five year period do not
adversely affect a number of factors, including environmental quality, public
school capacity, or employment conditions of U.S. workers.
No Frills Prison Act, H.R. 370
Major Sponsor: Rep. Robert Franks
(R-NJ)
Status: Referred to the House Committee
on the Judiciary on January 19, 1999, and referred to the House Subcommittee
on Crime on February 25, 1999.
Substance:
The bill seeks to amend the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of
1994 by preventing prisoners from enjoying prison conditions and opportunities
that are "more luxurious" than what the "average prisoner" would experience
outside of prison. The bill imposes a number of restrictions and requirements
on inmates, such as limiting prisoners' recreation and leisure activities.
The bill further restricts the rights of prisoners serving time for violent
crimes through requirements such as mandatory physical labor, a total prohibition
on television viewing, and limitations on the amount of personal property such
inmates may possess.
United States Federal Government
Preservation Act of 1999, H.R. 62
Major Sponsors: Rep. Bob Barr
(R-GA)
Status: Referred to the House Committee
on International Relations on January 6, 1999.
Substance: The bill prohibits the use of funds to
administer or enforce the provisions of Executive Order 13107, which states
that the policy of the U.S. government shall be to fully "respect and implement
its obligations under international human rights treaties to which it is a party."
The bill objects to U.S. compliance with these treaties because the U.S. Senate
has not ratified a number of them. As such, the bill finds that the Executive
Order "circumvented" the Constitution. c
The proper citation for this article in the Human Rights Brief Volume 6, Issue 3, beginning at page 31 is: 6 No. 3 Hum. Rts. Brief 31 (1999).
