[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 85 (Thursday, June 29, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H5657-H5658]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               AMENDMENTS

  Under clause 8 of rule XVIII, proposed amendments were submitted as 
follows:

                               H.R. 1304

                        Offered By: Mr. Stearns

       Amendment No. 2: Page 3, line 17, insert before the period 
     the following: ``, but only if such health care professionals 
     have received prior approval for such negotiations from the 
     Federal Trade Commission or the Assistant Attorney General 
     pursuant to subsection (i).''.
       Page 6, after line 21, insert the following new subsection 
     (and redesignate the succeeding subsection accordingly):
       (i) Prior Approval.--
       (1) In general.--Health care professionals who seek to 
     engage in negotiations with a health plan as provided in 
     subsection (a) must obtain approval from the Commission or 
     the Assistant Attorney General prior to commencing such 
     negotiations. The Commission or the Assistant Attorney 
     General shall grant such approval if the Commission or 
     Assistant Attorney General has determined that recognition 
     under subsection (a) of the group of health care 
     professionals for the purpose of engaging in collective 
     negotiations with the health plan will promote competition 
     and enhance the quality of patient care. The approval that is 
     granted under this subsection may be limited in time or scope 
     to ensure that these criteria are met. The Commission and the 
     Assistant Attorney General shall make a determination 
     regarding a request for approval under this paragraph within 
     30 days after the date it is received, if the request 
     contains the information specified in regulations issued 
     under paragraph (2). Failure by the Commission or Assistant 
     Attorney General to make such determination within such 30-
     day period will be deemed to be an approval of the request by 
     the Commission or the Assistant Attorney General.
       (2) Regulations.--The Commission, in consultation with the 
     Assistant Attorney General, shall publish regulations 
     implementing this subsection within six months of the 
     effective date of this Act. Such regulations shall include 
     the following:
       (A) A description of the information that must be submitted 
     by health care professionals who seek to obtain approval to 
     engage in collective negotiations.
       (B) Provisions for the opportunity for the public to submit 
     comments to the Commission or the Assistant Attorney General 
     for consideration in reviewing any request for approval by 
     health care professionals to engage in collective 
     negotiations under this section.
       (C) Provision for a filing fee in an amount reasonable and 
     necessary to cover the costs of the Commission and the 
     Assistant Attorney General to implement this subsection. On 
     an annual basis, this fee shall be updated to reflect any 
     increases or decreases determined to be necessary to cover 
     such costs.
       (3) Coordination.--The Commission and the Assistant 
     Attorney General shall coordinate so that an application is 
     reviewed under this subsection by either the Commission or 
     the Assistant Attorney General, but not both.
       (4) Exemption for small groups.--
       (A) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     this subsection (other than subparagraph (B)), no prior 
     approval is required under this subsection in the case of a 
     group of health care professionals who are acting 
     collectively with respect to a negotiation if such group 
     constitutes less than 20 percent of the health care 
     professionals in a specialty (or subspecialty) in the market 
     area involved, as determined under regulations of the 
     Commission.
       (B) Oversight.--The Commission shall establish a process 
     under which, if it receives a bona fide request that alleges 
     that the negotiations of a group described in subparagraph 
     (A) has not promoted competition or has not enhanced the 
     quality of patient care, the Commission will review the 
     request and may take such action as the Commission determines 
     to be appropriate. Such action may include ordering that the 
     results of the negotiations be vitiated and that the 
     exemption under subparagraph (A) not apply to such group for 
     such period as the Commission may specify.
       Page 8, after line 8, insert the following:
       (4) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
     Trade Commission.
       (5) Assistant attorney general.--The term ``Assistant 
     Attorney General'' means the Assistant Attorney General in 
     charge of the Antitrust Division of the Department of 
     Justice.

                               H.R. 4461

                         Offered By: Mr. Berry

       Amendment No. 66: On page 31, line 14, strike ``$693,000''; 
     and on page 36, line 13, strike ``41,015,000'' and replace 
     with ``41,708,000''.

                               H.R. 4461

                   Offered By: Mr. Burton of Indiana

       Amendment No. 67: Insert before the short title the 
     following title:

                TITLE IX--ADDITIONAL GENERAL PROVISIONS

       Sec. 901. None of the funds made available in the Act may 
     be expended for vaccine-related Federal advisory committees 
     (Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, 
     Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, and the 
     National Vaccine Advisory Committee) that grant waivers on 
     applicable conflicts of interest rules pursuant to the 
     Federal Advisory Committee Act and sections 202 through 209 
     of title 18, United States Code, and regulations issued 
     thereunder.

                               H.R. 4461

                   Offered By: Mr. Burton of Indiana

       Amendment No. 68: Insert before the short title the 
     following title:

                TITLE IX--ADDITIONAL GENERAL PROVISIONS

       Sec. 901. None of the funds made available in this Act may 
     be expended for a vaccine-related Federal advisory committee 
     (Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee) 
     that grants a waiver on applicable conflicts of interest 
     rules pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act and 
     sections 202 through 209 of title 18, United States Code, and 
     regulations issued thereunder.

                               H.R. 4461

                         Offered By: Mr. Coburn

       Amendment No. 69: Insert before the short title the 
     following title:

[[Page H5658]]

                TITLE IX--ADDITIONAL GENERAL PROVISIONS

       Sec. 901. None of the amounts made available in this Act 
     for the Food and Drug Administration may, with respect to 
     enforcement under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, 
     be expended to provide to any person a warning notice 
     regarding the importation into the United States of a drug 
     that is legally available in the United States.

                               H.R. 4461

                         Offered By: Mr. Gilman

       Amendment No. 70: Page 85, after line 15, insert the 
     following new section:
       Sec. ____. The Secretary of Agriculture shall use 
     $15,000,000 of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation 
     to provide compensation to producers of onions whose farming 
     operations are located in a county designated by the 
     Secretary as a disaster area for drought in 1999 and who 
     suffered quality losses to their 1999 onion production due 
     to, or related to, drought. Payments shall be made on a per 
     hundredweight basis on each qualifying producer's pre-1996 
     production of onions, based on the 5-year average market 
     price for yellow onions.

                               H.R. 4461

                         Offered By: Mr. Hayes

       Amendment No. 71: Page 31, after line 5, insert the 
     following:

                        Administrative Provision

       Any limitation established in this title on funds to carry 
     out research related to the production, processing, or 
     marketing of tobacco or tobacco products shall not apply to 
     research on the medical, biotechnological, food, and 
     industrial uses of tobacco.

                               H.R. 4461

                         Offered By: Ms. Kaptur

       Amendment No. 72: Page 85, after line 15, insert the 
     following new section:
       Sec. ____. Within available funds, the Secretary of 
     Agriculture is urged to use ethanol, biodiesel, and other 
     alternative fuels to the maximum extent practicable in 
     meeting the fuel needs of the Department of Agriculture.

                               H.R. 4461

                        Offered By: Mr. Metcalf

       Amendment No. 73: Page 6, line 16, insert after the dollar 
     amount ``(decreased by $40,000)''.
       Page 57, line 24, insert after the second dollar amount 
     ``(increased by $40,000)''.

                               H.R. 4461

                       Offered By: Mr. Visclosky

       Amendment No. 74: Strike Section 734 and insert as Section 
     734:
       None of the funds appropriated by this Act shall be used to 
     propose or issue rules, regulations, decrees, or orders for 
     the purpose of implementation, or in preparation for 
     implementation, of the Kyoto Protocol which was adopted on 
     December 11, 1997, in Kyoto, Japan at the Third Conference of 
     the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on 
     Climate Change, which has not been submitted to the Senate 
     for advice and consent to ratification pursuant to article 
     II, section 2, clause 2, of the United States Constitution, 
     and which has not entered into force pursuant to article 25 
     of the Protocol: Provided further, the limitation established 
     in this section shall not apply to any activity otherwise 
     authorized by law.