Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999

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.

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 Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 - 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. 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. 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) management and administration; (19) the Office of Inspector General; and (20) 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) 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 Balanced Budget Downpayment Act, I to extend provisions regarding public and assisted housing minimum rents and preferences. (Sec. 208) Requires the Secretary of HUD to make a grant for any State that: (1) received an allocation for FY 1998 under the AIDS Housing Opportunity Act; (2) is not otherwise eligible for such allocation for FY 1999 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 1998 but is eligible for FY 1999) were considered to be cases outside of such MSAs. (Sec. 210) 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. 211) 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. 216) 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. 222) Repeals specified Section 8 contract renewal authority of the Secretary of HUD under the Balanced Budget Downpayment Act, I. (Sec. 223) 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; and (2) the owner agrees not to increase rent charges for any project dwelling during the 60-day period beginning on the prepayment or termination. (Sec. 224) 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. 226) Amends the National Housing Act to authorize the Secretary of HUD to conduct certain multifamily mortgage auctions through December 31, 2002. (Sec. 228) 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. 229) Requires owners of low-income housing that intend to take certain actions, including termination of low-income affordability restrictions through prepayment or voluntary termination, to, within at least a year before the date such action is taken and notwithstanding existing law: (1) file a notice indicating such intent with the chief executive officer of the State or local government for the jurisdiction within which the housing is located; and (2) provide each tenant with a copy of such notice. Makes exceptions to such requirement for cases in which prepayment or termination is necessary to effect conversion to ownership by a priority purchaser or where an owner has provided legal notice as of July 7, 1998, under terms of current law. (Sec. 230) Directs the Comptroller General to report annually to specified congressional committees on the extent, and cost to consumers, of steering by lenders to certain mortgage loans insured by the Secretary of HUD under the National Housing Act and the degree to which lenders have complied with requirements regarding mortgage limits. 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. Bars EPA from using funds provided under this Act to enter into or approve agreements that enable the export of Government-owned ships to be dismantled in foreign countries unless the EPA Administrator certifies to the Congress that the environmental standards imposed in the country in which the vessel is to be dismantled or scrapped are comparable to U.S. standards. Prohibits EPA from using funds under any Act to issue or enforce a regulation or to establish an interpretation or guideline under the Edible Oil Regulatory Reform Act that does not recognize, with respect to the fats, oils, and greases described by such Act, differences in physical, chemical, biological, and other properties and environmental effects. Directs the EPA Administrator to issue regulations amending existing oil pollution prevention regulations to comply with requirements of such Act. 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 the International Space Station, the space shuttle program, space, earth, life, and microgravity science and academic programs, aeronautics, space transportation, 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 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) Requires entities that receive Federal grants for providing emergency shelter for homeless individuals to: (1) ascertain whether or not each adult seeking shelter is a veteran; (2) provide such individuals counseling relating to the availability of veterans' benefits; and (3) notify the Secretary of Veterans Affairs of the number and identity of such individuals. Makes entities that fail to meet such requirements ineligible for additional grants or other Federal funds for carrying out emergency shelter activities for homeless individuals. (Sec. 425) 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. 426) Expresses the sense of the Senate that it should be the goal of the Department of Veterans Affairs to serve all veterans at health care facilities within 250 miles of their homes and to minimize travel distances if specialized services are unavailable at a facility within such distance. Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to report to specified congressional committees on the estimated costs to, and impact on, the veterans' health care system of making specialty care available to all veterans within such distance. (Sec. 428) Authorizes the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences for the Academy to study methods for evaluating federally-funded research and development programs. (Sec. 429) 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. 430) Amends the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to make certain native Alaskans who are Vietnam veterans eligible for up to 160 acres of certain Federal land. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to: (1) study the circumstances of veterans who were eligible for such allotments under an earlier Act but who did not apply and are not eligible under this Act; and (2) report recommendations to specified congressional committees.

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 Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 - 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. 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) housing opportunities for persons with AIDS; (8) community development block grants; (9) the HOME investment partnerships program; (10) homeless assistance grants; (11) housing for special populations; (12) the Federal Housing Administration; (13) the Government National Mortgage Association; (14) housing policy development and research; (15) fair housing activities; (16) the Lead Hazard Reduction Program; (17) management and administration; (18) the Office of Inspector General; and (19) 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 Balanced Budget Downpayment Act, I to extend provisions regarding: (1) public and assisted housing minimum rents and preferences; and (2) delays in the reissuance of section 8 vouchers and certificates. 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. 203) 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. 205) Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to set a maximum monthly rent for a single person (other than an elderly or disabled person living with persons determined to be essential to the person's care or well-being) receiving low-income tenant based rental assistance in a certificate or voucher program. Sets 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. 207) 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. 209) 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. 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 Court of Veterans Appeals; and (7) 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. 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 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. 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 (NSF) 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. Requires NASA to develop a revised appropriation structure for submission in the FY 2000 budget request consisting of two basic appropriations (human space flight and science, aeronautics, and technology) with a separate appropriation for the Office of Inspector General. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds made available 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) Requires the Consumer Product Safety Commission to issue a final rule amending its Flammable Fabrics Act standards to revoke the amendments to the standards for the flammability of children's sleepwear sizes, up to size 14. Appropriates additional funds for the Department of Veterans Affairs for medical and prosthetic research and for NSF research and related activities.