hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Universal Access to Affordable Insurance for all Americans Act of 2004

Bill: 108-s-2630
Sponsor: Sen. Boxer, Barbara [D-CA]
Introduced: 2004-07-08 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Employee health benefits
Federal employees
Finance and Financial Sector
Government Operations and Politics
Government employees' health insurance
Health insurance
Health planning
Income tax
Insurance premiums
Labor and Employment
Medical economics
National health insurance
Tax credits
Tax refunds
Taxation

Summary:
action_date: 2004-07-08
text: 
Universal Access to Affordable Health Insurance for all Americans Act of 2004 - Directs the Office of Personnel Management to: (1) administer a health insurance program for non-Federal employees; and (2) enter into contracts with carriers to make health benefits plans available to eligible individuals. Allows the Office to require carriers to offer such a plan to be eligible to enter into a contract for a Federal Employees Health Benefit (FEHB) plan.
 
Prohibits individuals from joining the plan that are: (1) 65 years of age or older; (2) eligible to enroll for coverage under a public health insurance program; (3) eligible to enroll in a FEHB plan; or (4) members of the uniformed services.
 
Allows rates charged and premiums paid for such a plan to differ among geographic regions.
 
Prohibits any Government contribution to such plans.
 
Requires the Office to keep individuals under such plans in a separate risk pool from individuals covered under a FEHB plan.
 
Amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for refundable credits for payments made to such plans. Provides for full credit for those below the poverty line, and gradually decreasing credit based on individual income. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to make advance payments to such a plan on behalf of an enrollee equal to the Secretary's estimate of the amount of credit allowable for the enrollee. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2004-07-09
text: Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 622.
action_date: 2004-07-08
text: Introduced in the Senate. Read the first time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under Read the First Time.
action_date: 2004-07-08
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to require the Federal Trade Commission to monitor and investigate gasoline prices under certain circumstances.

Bill: 108-s-2631
Sponsor: Sen. Boxer, Barbara [D-CA]
Introduced: 2004-07-08 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Armed Forces and National Security
Commerce
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Energy prices
Energy supplies
Federal-state relations
Gasoline
Government Operations and Politics
Government publicity
Governmental investigations
Petroleum industry
Petroleum refineries
Petroleum reserves
Price fixing
Public Lands and Natural Resources
Public meetings
Restrictive trade practices
Strategic materials

Summary:
action_date: 2004-07-08
text: 
 Requires the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the retail price of gasoline in a State to determine if it is being artificially manipulated if, based on weekly data published by the Energy Information Administration of the Department of Energy, the average price of regular grade gasoline has increased 20 percent or more for at least seven days during any three-month period. 
 
Requires the Commission to: (1) report investigation results to Congress; (2) present such results in a public hearing in the affected State; and (3) cooperate with the Attorney General of the affected State to take appropriate action if it finds market manipulation.
 
Instructs the Secretary of Energy, within two weeks of notification by the Commission that such increase in gasoline prices is not due to market manipulation, to decide if the Strategic Petroleum Reserve should be used to assure adequate supplies of gasoline. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2004-07-09
text: Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 623.
action_date: 2004-07-08
text: Introduced in the Senate. Read the first time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under Read the First Time.
action_date: 2004-07-08
text: Introduced in Senate
First Responders Homeland Defense Act of 2004

Bill: 108-s-2632
Sponsor: Sen. Boxer, Barbara [D-CA]
Introduced: 2004-07-08 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: EBB Terrorism
Economics and Public Finance
Emergency Management
Emergency communication systems
Emergency medicine
Equipment and supplies
Federal aid to health facilities
Federal aid to law enforcement
Fire departments
Fire fighters
Government Operations and Politics
Government publicity
Grants-in-aid
Health
Labor and Employment
Law enforcement officers
Medical personnel
Medical supplies
Nonprofit organizations
Paramedical personnel
Police
Police communication systems
Police training
Science, Technology, Communications
Social Welfare
Telephone
Terrorism

Summary:
action_date: 2004-07-08
text: 
First Responders Homeland Defense Act of 2004 - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish a toll-free hotline through which local governments and nonprofit organizations may obtain information regarding all Federal grant programs that make funds available for the assistance of first responders and for terrorism preparedness.
 
Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to: (1) nonprofit organizations for training and equipping first responders; and (2) States, local governments, local law enforcement agencies, and local fire departments to assist in improving or purchasing communication systems to permit real-time, interoperable communication between State and local first responders.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2004-07-09
text: Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 624.
action_date: 2004-07-08
text: Introduced in the Senate. Read the first time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under Read the First Time.
action_date: 2004-07-08
text: Introduced in Senate
Electricity Gouging Refund Act of 2003

Bill: 108-s-2633
Sponsor: Sen. Boxer, Barbara [D-CA]
Introduced: 2004-07-08 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Administrative procedure
California
Commerce
Department of Energy
Electric power
Electric power transmission
Electric utilities
Electric utility rates
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Finance and Financial Sector
Government Operations and Politics
Independent regulatory commissions
Interest
Law
Rebates
Restrictive trade practices
Wholesale trade

Summary:
action_date: 2004-07-08
text: 
Electricity Gouging Refund Act of 2003 - Amends the Federal Power Act to instruct the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to order a refund (including interest) for that portion of charges on the transmission or sale of electric energy between June 1, 2000, and June 19, 2001, which the Commission finds unjust and unreasonable. 
 
States that the total amount of such refunds shall be not less than $8.9 billion. 
 
Directs the Commission to order the renegotiation of the long-term electricity contracts entered into between the energy companies and the State of California between January 1 and May 31, 2001. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2004-07-09
text: Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 625.
action_date: 2004-07-08
text: Introduced in the Senate. Read the first time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under Read the First Time.
action_date: 2004-07-08
text: Introduced in Senate
Anti-phishing Act of 2004

Bill: 108-s-2636
Sponsor: Sen. Leahy, Patrick J. [D-VT]
Introduced: 2004-07-09 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Commerce
Electronic commerce
Electronic mail systems
Fines (Penalties)
Fraud
Identity theft
Internet
Science, Technology, Communications
Web sites

Summary:
action_date: 2004-07-09
text: 
Anti-phishing Act of 2004 - Amends the Federal criminal code to criminalize Internet scams involving fraudulently obtaining personal information (phishing). 
 
Imposes a fine or imprisonment for up to five years, or both, for a person who knowingly and with the intent to engage in an activity constituting fraud or identity theft under Federal or State law: (1) creates or procures the creation of a website or domain name that represents itself as a legitimate online business without the authority or approval of the registered owner of such business; and (2) uses that website or domain name to solicit means of identification from any person.
 
Imposes a fine or imprisonment for up to five years, or both, for a person who knowingly and with the intent to engage in activity constituting fraud or identity theft under Federal or State law: (1) falsely represents itself as being sent by a legitimate online business; (2) includes an Internet location tool referring or linking users to an online location on the World Wide Web that falsely purports to belong to or be associated with a legitimate online business; and (3) solicits means of identification from the recipient.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2004-07-09
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2004-07-09
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S7897-7898)
action_date: 2004-07-09
text: Introduced in Senate
Secret Ballot Protection Act of 2004

Bill: 108-s-2637
Sponsor: Sen. Graham, Lindsey [R-SC]
Introduced: 2004-07-09 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Administrative procedure
Collective bargaining
Government Operations and Politics
Labor unions
Law
National Labor Relations Board
Unfair labor practices

Summary:
action_date: 2004-07-09
text: 
Secret Ballot Protection Act of 2004 - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to make it an unfair labor practice for: (1) an employer to recognize or bargain collectively with a labor organization that has not been selected by a majority of the employees in a secret ballot election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board; and (2) a labor organization to cause or attempt to cause an employer to recognize or bargain collectively with a representative that has not been selected in such manner. 
 
Make such amendments inapplicable to collective bargaining relationships recognized before enactment of this Act.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2004-07-09
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2004-07-09
text: Introduced in Senate
Veterans Benefits Outreach Act of 2004

Bill: 108-s-2638
Sponsor: Sen. Coleman, Norm [R-MN]
Introduced: 2004-07-12 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Administrative remedies
Department of Veterans Affairs
Emergency Management
Fires
Government Operations and Politics
Government publicity
Health
Labor and Employment
Law
Personnel records
Public records
Veterans' benefits
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2004-07-12
text: 
Veterans Benefits Outreach Act of 2004 - Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to prepare an annual plan for outreach activities of the Department of Veterans Affairs that addresses plans for: (1) identifying veterans who are not enrolled or registered for benefits or services with the Department; and (2) informing veterans and their dependents of modifications to benefits and services, including eligibility for medical and nursing care and services.
 
Directs the Secretary to develop and implement procedures by which veterans may appeal denied claims that could be substantiated by records destroyed in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2004-07-12
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. (text of measure as introduced: CR S7939-7940)
action_date: 2004-07-12
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S7939)
action_date: 2004-07-12
text: Introduced in Senate
Bison Nickel Restoration Act of 2004

Bill: 108-s-2641
Sponsor: Sen. Enzi, Michael B. [R-WY]
Introduced: 2004-07-13 in the Senate
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Animals
Coins and coinage
Commemorations
Emblems
Money

Summary:
action_date: 2004-07-13
text: 
Bison Nickel Restoration Act of 2004 - Amends the American 5-Cent Coin Design Continuity Act of 2003 concerning the redesigning of the nickel.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2004-07-13
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. (text of measure as introduced: CR S8031-8032)
action_date: 2004-07-13
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S8031)
action_date: 2004-07-13
text: Introduced in Senate
Cigarette Fire Safety Act of 2004

Bill: 108-s-2643
Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]
Introduced: 2004-07-13 in the Senate
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Administrative procedure
Cigarettes
Civil actions and liability
Consumer Product Safety Commission
Drug abuse
Emergency Management
Fire prevention
Government Operations and Politics
Independent regulatory commissions
Law
Liability (Law)
New York State
Product safety
Standards
State laws
Tobacco industry

Summary:
action_date: 2004-07-13
text: 
Cigarette Fire Safety Act of 2004 - Requires the Consumer Product Safety Commission to prescribe fire safety standards for cigarettes that, except as provided in this Act, are substantively the same as specified standards promulgated by the State of New York. 
 
Directs sponsors of testing methodologies employed under this Act to notify the Commission of any modifications in such methodologies. Authorizes the Commission to modify established fire safety standards to incorporate modifications that will enhance those standards.
 
Requires fire safety standards promulgated under this Act to be treated as consumer product safety standards, and directs that cigarettes shall be treated as consumer products, under the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA).
 
Precludes the preemption by this Act of the New York standard or more stringent fire safety standards for cigarettes promulgated by any State.
 
Makes the CPSA's private remedy provisions applicable to fire safety standards promulgated under this Act.
 
Denies the Commission any jurisdiction over tobacco or tobacco products except as provided in this Act.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2004-07-13
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2004-07-13
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S8034-8035)
action_date: 2004-07-13
text: Introduced in Senate
John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor Sustainability Report Act

Bill: 108-s-2646
Sponsor: Sen. Chafee, Lincoln [R-RI]
Introduced: 2004-07-13 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Commemorations
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Economics and Public Finance
Environmental Protection
Environmental education
Government Operations and Politics
Governmental investigations
Grants-in-aid
Historic sites
History
Intergovernmental fiscal relations
Massachusetts
National parks
Recreation
Regional economic development
Rhode Island
Rivers
Sports and Recreation
State parks
Water Resources Development
Watersheds

Summary:
action_date: 2004-07-13
text: 
John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor Sustainability Report Act - Requires the Director of the National Park Service (NPS) to prepare a report on the sustainability of the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
 
Requires the report to: (1) document progress made in accomplishing the purpose of the law establishing the Corridor and the strategies and goals set forth in the Cultural Heritage and Land Management Plan for the Corridor, including historic preservation, interpretation and education, environmental recovery, recreational development, and economic improvement; (2) identify further actions and commitments needed to protect, enhance, and interpret the Corridor; (3) determine the extent of Federal funding and determine how such funds have leveraged additional Federal, State, local, and private funding for the Corridor since its establishment; and (4) evaluate the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Commission's form of authority and management structure for the Corridor, and identify and evaluate options for a permanent NPS designation or a State park or regional entity as a sustainable framework to achieve the national interest of the Blackstone Valley.
 
Directs that: (1) the Director prepare the report in coordination with the NPS Advisory Board; and (2) funding to prepare the report be made available from annual appropriations for the Commission.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2004-07-13
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. (text of measure as introduced: CR S8038)
action_date: 2004-07-13
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S8037-8038)
action_date: 2004-07-13
text: Introduced in Senate
Workforce Investment for Next-Generation Technologies Act

Bill: 108-s-2649
Sponsor: Sen. Bingaman, Jeff [D-NM]
Introduced: 2004-07-13 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Administrative procedure
Commerce
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Department of Labor
Dislocated workers
Education
Employee training
Employment tests
Federal aid to education
Government Operations and Politics
Government and business
Government publicity
High technology
Higher education
Law
Licenses
Science, Technology, Communications
Standards
Technical education
Vocational and technical education

Summary:
action_date: 2004-07-13
text: 
Workforce Investment for Next-Generation Technologies Act - WING Act - Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to direct the Secretary of Labor to carry out up to twenty pilot projects to establish a system of industry-validated national certifications of skills in: (1) up to sixteen high-technology industries; and (2) up to four cross-disciplinary national certification of skills in homeland security technology. 
 
Includes among the high-technology industries: biotechnology, telecommunications, highly automated manufacturing (including semiconductors), advanced materials technology, nanotechnology, and energy technology (including technology relating to next-generation lighting).
 
Directs the Secretary to make three-to-four year grants for such projects to eligible entities with one or more of the following as a primary participant: (1) an institution of higher education; (2) an advanced technology education center; (3) a local workforce investment board; (4) a representative of a business in a target industry for the certification involved; or (5) a representative of an industry association, labor organization, or community development organization.
 
Requires each certification program to be: (1) offered at the completion of, and in addition to, a training and education program which is related to the industry competencies involved and which is offered in a flexible manner that meets the needs of those seeking certification; and (2) consistent with the requirements for a two-year associate degree.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2004-07-13
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2004-07-13
text: Introduced in Senate
Preparing Students for a High-Tech World Act of 2004

Bill: 108-s-2650
Sponsor: Sen. Bingaman, Jeff [D-NM]
Introduced: 2004-07-13 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Academic performance
American Samoa
Authorization
Career education
Commerce
Community and school
Community colleges
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Continuing education
Curricula
Department of Education
Distance education
Dropouts
Economics and Public Finance
Education
Educational accountability
Educational counseling
Educational planning
Educational technology
Educational tests
Elementary and secondary education
Employment tests
Federal aid to Indians
Federal aid to education
Government Operations and Politics
Government publicity
Guam
High technology
Higher education
Indian education
Job hunting
Mentoring
Minorities
Native Americans
Nonprofit organizations
Northern Mariana Islands
Parent-school relationships
Private schools
Public-private partnerships
Science, Technology, Communications
Secondary education
Social Welfare
Student aid
Student employment
Teacher education
Technical education
Vocational and technical education
Vocational guidance

Summary:
action_date: 2004-07-13
text: 
Preparing Students for a High-Tech World Act of 2004 - Amends the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act of 1998 to reauthorize and revise its programs, including: (1) career and technical assistance to the States; and (2) Tech-Prep education programs.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2004-07-13
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2004-07-13
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to authorize the establishment at Antietam National Battlefield of a memorial to the officers and enlisted men of the Fifth, Sixth, and Ninth New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry Regiments and the First New Hampshire Light Artillery Battery who fought in the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, and for other purposes.

Bill: 108-s-2651
Sponsor: Sen. Gregg, Judd [R-NH]
Introduced: 2004-07-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Armed Forces and National Security
Civil War
Commemorations
Fund raising
Government Operations and Politics
Government paperwork
History
Infantry
Maryland
Military parks
Military personnel
Monuments and memorials
New Hampshire
Volunteer forces

Summary:
action_date: 2004-07-14
text: 
Directs the Secretary of the Interior to authorize the establishment, at a suitable location approved by the Secretary within the boundaries of Antietam National Battlefield, Maryland, of a memorial to the officers and enlisted men of the Fifth, Sixth, and Ninth New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry Regiments and the First New Hampshire Light Artillery Battery who fought in the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2004-07-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2004-07-14
text: Introduced in Senate