hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Prevent Prematurity and Improve Child Health Act of 2005

Bill: 109-s-710
Sponsor: Sen. Lincoln, Blanche L. [D-AR]
Introduced: 2005-04-05 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Aliens
Block grants
Child health
Cigarettes
Commerce
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Contraceptives
Dental care
Drug abuse
Drug abuse prevention
Drugs
Economics and Public Finance
Employee health benefits
Families
Family planning and birth control
Federal aid to child health services
Government Operations and Politics
Health counseling
Health insurance
Identification devices
Immigrant health
Immigration
Infants
Intergovernmental fiscal relations
Labor and Employment
Low birth weight
Maternal health services
Medicaid
Medically uninsured
Performance measurement
Poor children
Pregnant women
Prescription pricing
Smokeless tobacco
Smoking
Social Welfare
State laws
Welfare eligibility
Welfare waivers
Women
Women's health

Summary:
action_date: 2005-04-05
text: 
Prevent Prematurity and Improve Child Health Act of 2005 - Amends titles XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program) (SCHIP) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to give States new options to cover: (1) low-income pregnant women; and (2) low-income legal immigrant pregnant women and children under Medicaid and SCHIP. 
 
Extends coverage under Medicaid of prescription drugs and counseling services to tobacco cessation medications to help pregnant women enrolled in the program quit using tobacco. Requires coverage of tobacco cessation counseling services for pregnant women, and exempts such services from cost-sharing charges. Covers tobacco cessation medications and counseling for pregnant women, also, under the Maternal and Child Health Services program under SSA title V.
 
Gives States the option under Medicaid to: (1) provide family planning services and supplies to individuals with incomes that do not exceed a State's income eligibility level for medical assistance; and (2) extend the postpartum period for provision of family planning services and supplies. 
 
Gives States the option to provide wrap-around SCHIP coverage to children who have other health coverage.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2005-04-05
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2005-04-05
text: Introduced in Senate
Methane Hydrate Research and Development Reauthorization Act of 2005

Bill: 109-s-711
Sponsor: Sen. Akaka, Daniel K. [D-HI]
Introduced: 2005-04-05 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Authorization
Commerce
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Economics and Public Finance
Education
Energy research
Environmental Protection
Environmental assessment
Federal advisory bodies
Federal aid to education
Federal aid to research
Government Operations and Politics
Governmental investigations
Higher education
International Affairs
International cooperation in science
Methane
Natural gas
Prospecting
Public Lands and Natural Resources
Public-private partnerships
Remote sensing
Research and development
Research grants
Scholarships
Science, Technology, Communications
Seismology
Space activities
Technological innovations

Summary:
action_date: 2005-04-05
text: 
Methane Hydrate Research and Development Reauthorization Act of 2005 - Amends the Methane Hydrate Research and Development Act of 2000 to reauthorize the methane hydrate research and development program through FY 2010.
 
Extends the current grant, contract, and cooperative agreement program to research to: (1) identify methane hydrate resources through remote sensing; and (2) acquire and reprocess seismic data suitable for characterizing methane hydrate accumulations.
 
Instructs the Secretary to establish an advisory panel consisting of representatives of industrial enterprises, institutions of higher education, oceanographic institutions, State agencies, and environmental organizations with knowledge and expertise in the natural gas hydrates field.
 
Requires the Secretary to offer to enter into an agreement with the National Research Council for a new report to Congress on program progress and recommendations by the end of FY 2009.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2005-04-05
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. (text of measure as introduced: CR S3218-3219)
action_date: 2005-04-05
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3217-3218)
action_date: 2005-04-05
text: Introduced in Senate
14th Amendment Interstate Highway Initiation

Bill: 109-s-712
Sponsor: Sen. Chambliss, Saxby [R-GA]
Introduced: 2005-04-05 in the Senate
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Alabama
Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
Commemorations
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Constitutional amendments
Due process of law
Economics and Public Finance
Equality before the law
Federal aid to transportation
Georgia
Governmental investigations
Highway finance
Infrastructure
Interstate highway system
Law
Mississippi
Names
Road construction

Summary:
action_date: 2005-04-05
text: 
14th Amendment Interstate Highway Initiation - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to complete a study and report to the appropriate congressional committees on the steps and estimated funding necessary to construct a new route to be designated as &quot;Interstate Route I-14&quot; and known as the 14th Amendment Highway, from Augusta, Georgia, to Natchez, Mississippi (formerly designated the Fall Line Freeway in the State of Georgia).


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2005-04-05
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2005-04-05
text: Introduced in Senate
Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act of 2005

Bill: 109-s-713
Sponsor: Sen. Roberts, Pat [R-KS]
Introduced: 2005-04-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Charitable contributions
Charities
Colleges
Education
Educational facilities
Higher education
Housing and Community Development
Income tax
Student activities
Student housing
Students
Tax deductions
Tax-exempt organizations

Summary:
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: 
Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit organizations organized and operated exclusively for charitable or educational purposes and which make collegiate housing and infrastructure improvement grants to continue to be treated as tax-exempt organizations so long as all of the active members of the recipient organization are full-time students at the college or university with which the recipient organization is associated.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: Introduced in Senate
Wind Power Tax Incentives Act of 2005

Bill: 109-s-715
Sponsor: Sen. Harkin, Tom [D-IA]
Introduced: 2005-04-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Agricultural cooperatives
Agriculture and Food
Cooperative societies
Electric power production
Energy
Income tax
Tax credits
Wind power

Summary:
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: 
Wind Power Tax Incentives Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit: (1) individual taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes (taxable incomes in the case of corporate taxpayers) of $1 million or less to offset passive activity losses and credits from energy-producing wind facilities against regular income; and (2) tax-exempt cooperative organizations (including farmers' cooperatives) to apportion pro rata among their shareholders tax credits received for investment in energy-producing wind facilities.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text of measure as introduced: CR S3282)
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3281-3282)
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: Introduced in Senate
Kidney Disease Educational Benefits Act of 2005

Bill: 109-s-717
Sponsor: Sen. Lincoln, Blanche L. [D-AR]
Introduced: 2005-04-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Health education
Kidney diseases
Medical fees
Medical personnel
Medicare
Nurses
Physicians
Preventive medicine
Social Welfare
Social work

Summary:
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: 
Kidney Disease Educational Benefits Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for Medicare coverage of kidney disease education services.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: Introduced in Senate
State and Local Law Enforcement Discipline, Accountability, and Due Process Act of 2005

Bill: 109-s-718
Sponsor: Sen. Biden, Joseph R., Jr. [D-DE]
Introduced: 2005-04-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Administrative remedies
Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
Civil actions and liability
Criminal investigation
Disciplining of employees
Dismissal of employees
Due process of law
Election candidates
Employee rights
Evidence (Law)
Federal preemption
Fines (Penalties)
Government Operations and Politics
Government employee unions
Government employees' political activities
Government paperwork
Government publicity
Grievance procedures
Injunctions
Judicial opinions
Labor and Employment
Law
Law enforcement officers
Leave of absence
Local employees
Local laws
Personnel records
Police
Police brutality
Police corruption
Police questioning
Police-community relations
Polygraphs
Right of privacy
Right to counsel
Self-incrimination
Sound recording and reproducing
State employees
State laws
Subpoena
Witnesses

Summary:
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: State and Local Law Enforcement Discipline, Accountability, and Due Process Act of 2005 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to set forth the due process rights, including procedures, that shall be afforded a law enforcement officer (officer) who is the subject of an investigation or disciplinary hearing. 
Declares that an officer shall not be: (1) prohibited from engaging in political activity or be denied the right to refrain from engaging in such activity, except when on duty or acting in an official capacity; and (2) prohibited from being a candidate for an elective office or from serving in such elective office solely because of the officer's status as an officer, with exceptions.
Requires that: (1) each agency adopt and thereafter comply with a written complaint procedure that meets specified requirements; and (2) an investigation based on a complaint from outside the agency commence not later than 15 days after receipt of the complaint by the agency employing the officer against whom the complaint has been made, or any other agency charged with investigating such complaint.
Directs that any officer who is the subject of an investigation be notified of the investigation 24 hours before the commencement of questioning. Establishes rights of officers before and during questioning, including the right to counsel. Requires questioning to be conducted at reasonable hours. Prohibits an officer from being compelled to submit to the use of a lie detector.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S3284-3288)
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3283-3284)
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to extend Corridor O of the Appalachian Development Highway System from its current southern terminus at I-68 near Cumberland to Corridor H, which stretches from Weston, West Virginia, to Strasburg, Virginia.

Bill: 109-s-719
Sponsor: Sen. Sarbanes, Paul S. [D-MD]
Introduced: 2005-04-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Appalachia
Economics and Public Finance
Federal aid to transportation
Highway finance
Infrastructure
Interstate highway system
Limited access highways
Maryland
Road construction
Virginia
West Virginia

Summary:
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: 
Amends the Appalachian Development Highway System program to revise the requirements for construction of an Appalachian Development Highway System and local access roads. Designates as an addition to Corridor O of the System a segment from Interstate Route 68 (near Cumberland, Maryland) to Corridor H (which stretches from Weston, West Virginia, to Strasburg, Virginia).


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3288)
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: Introduced in Senate
Paperwork Relief for Small Business Act of 2005

Bill: 109-s-720
Sponsor: Sen. Bingaman, Jeff [D-NM]
Introduced: 2005-04-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Agriculture and Food
Alcohol tax
Collection of accounts
Commerce
Government Operations and Politics
Government paperwork
Small business
Tax returns

Summary:
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: 
Paperwork Relief for Small Business Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit taxpayers who reasonably expect to owe not more than $50,000 in annual taxes on wines and beer to make quarterly (rather than semimonthly) payments of such tax.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Army to carry out a program for ecosystem restoration for the Louisiana Coastal Area, Louisiana.

Bill: 109-s-721
Sponsor: Sen. Vitter, David [R-LA]
Introduced: 2005-04-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Barrier islands
Coastal zone
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Cost control
Cost effectiveness
Ecological research
Economics and Public Finance
Ecosystem management
Emergency Management
Environmental Protection
Environmental technology
Estuaries
Federal advisory bodies
Federal aid to water resources development
Finance and Financial Sector
Flood control
Government Operations and Politics
Governmental investigations
Louisiana
Marine and coastal resources, fisheries
Marine ecology
Mississippi
Mississippi River
Navigation
Restoration ecology
Saline waters
Science, Technology, Communications
Shore protection
Soil erosion
Transportation and Public Works
Water Resources Development
Wetlands

Summary:
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: 
Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to carry out a program for ecosystem restoration, Louisiana Coastal Area, Louisiana, substantially in accordance with the report of the Chief of Engineers, dated January 31, 2005. Directs the Secretary to give priority to any: (1) portion of the program identified in that report as a critical restoration feature; (2) Mississippi River diversion project that protects a major population area of the Pontchartain, Pearl, Breton Sound, Barataria, or Terrebonne Basin and that produces an environmental benefit to the coastal area of Louisiana or Mississippi; and (3) barrier island or shoreline project that is carried out in conjunction with a Mississippi River diversion project and that protects a major population area.
 
Directs the Secretary, in coordination with the Governor of Louisiana, to develop a plan for protecting, preserving, and restoring the coastal Louisiana ecosystem. Establishes the Coastal Louisiana Ecosystem Protection and Restoration Task Force.
 
Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop a plan for modifying the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet that addresses wetland losses attributable to the Outlet, channel bank erosion, hurricane storm surges, saltwater intrusion, navigation interests, and environmental restoration; (2) establish a coastal Louisiana ecosystem science and technology program; (3) contract with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to conduct a study to identify causes of degradation of the Area ecosystem attributable to an action by the Secretary; and (4) review each federally-authorized water resources project in the Area to determine whether each project could contribute to ecosystem restoration through modification of the project's operations or features.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. (text of measure as introduced: CR S3288-3289)
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR 3288-3290)
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to reduce the tax on beer to its pre-1991 level.

Bill: 109-s-722
Sponsor: Sen. Santorum, Rick [R-PA]
Introduced: 2005-04-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Agriculture and Food
Alcohol tax
Beer
Tax rates

Summary:
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce from $18 to $9 (its pre-1991 level) the per-barrel tax on beer.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3289-3290)
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: Introduced in Senate
SIMPLE Cafeteria Plan Act of 2005

Bill: 109-s-723
Sponsor: Sen. Snowe, Olympia J. [R-ME]
Introduced: 2005-04-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Accident insurance
Commerce
Cost of living adjustments
Day care
Economics and Public Finance
Employee health benefits
Families
Finance and Financial Sector
Flexible benefit plans
Health
Health insurance
Income tax
Insurance premiums
Labor and Employment
Life insurance
Long-term care insurance
Self-employed
Small business
Tax exclusion

Summary:
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: 
SIMPLE Cafeteria Plan Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish a new employee benefit cafeteria plan to be known as a Simple Cafeteria Plan. Defines &quot;Simple Cafeteria Plan&quot; as a cafeteria plan which: (1) is established and maintained by an employer with an average of 100 or fewer employees during a two-year period; (2) requires employers to make contributions or match employee contributions to the plan; (3) requires participating employees to have at least 1,000 hours of service for the preceding plan year and allows such employees to elect any benefit available under the plan; (4) permits participation by self-employed individuals; and (5) includes long-term care insurance as a qualified benefit. Exempts employers who make contributions for employees under a simple cafeteria plans from pension plan nondiscrimination requirements applicable to highly compensated and key employees. 

Modifies rules applicable to employee benefit flexible spending arrangements, including health and dependent care arrangements, to permit participants to make or modify elections regarding covered benefits and to carry over up to $500 (indexed for inflation) of unused benefits to the succeeding year or transfer such unused amounts to another plan, including an individual retirement plan or a health savings account. 

Allows an exclusion from the gross income of an employee of up to $7,500 ($10,000 for employees with one or more dependents) for employer contributions to a flexible spending arrangement. Provides for a cost-of-living adjustment to such exclusion amounts beginning in calendar year 2006.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text of measure as introduced: CR S3291-3294)
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3290-3291)
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: Introduced in Senate
No Child Left Behind Reform Act

Bill: 109-s-724
Sponsor: Sen. Dodd, Christopher J. [D-CT]
Introduced: 2005-04-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Academic performance
Computer software
Computers
Continuing education
Data banks
Disabled
Economics and Public Finance
Educational accountability
Educational statistics
Educational technology
Educational tests
Elementary and secondary education
Elementary education
Federal aid to education
Government Operations and Politics
Higher education
Identification devices
Labor and Employment
Licenses
Rating of teachers
Recruiting of employees
School administration
School choice
School districts
School personnel
Science, Technology, Communications
Secondary education
Special education
Student enrollment
Student records
Teacher education
Teachers

Summary:
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: 
No Child Left Behind Reform Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to allow states to include measures of individual or cohort growth over time in determining whether students are making adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward state academic performance standards. Eliminates the consideration of student attendance rates.
 
Allows schools to be given credit for performing well on measures other than test scores when calculating student achievement.
 
Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award competitive: (1) grants to state educational agencies to develop or increase the capacity of data systems for accountability purposes; and (2) subgrants to increase the capacity of local educational agencies to upgrade, create, or manage information databases for the purpose of measuring AYP.
 
 Allows schools to target school choice and supplemental services to the students who are members of specified types of groups that fail to make AYP. Requires placement and service in the least restrictive environment for students who receive services under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act who use an option to transfer under ESEA.
 
Revises the definition of highly qualified teacher to authorize states to: (1) use a generalist exam for middle school teachers; and (2) issue certificates that qualify teachers to teach a number of subjects in social studies or in science.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (text of measure as introduced: CR S3295)
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3294-3295)
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to improve the Child Care Access Means Parents in School Program.

Bill: 109-s-725
Sponsor: Sen. Dodd, Christopher J. [D-CT]
Introduced: 2005-04-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Authorization
Day care
Department of Education
Economics and Public Finance
Families
Federal aid to education
Foreign students
Government Operations and Politics
Graduate education
Higher education
Immigration
Poverty
Social Welfare
Students

Summary:
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: 
Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to revise requirements for the Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program of campus-based child care.
 
Increases the minimum CCAMPIS grant to an institution of higher education from $10,000 to $30,000. 
 
Expands eligibility to participate in CCAMPIS to graduate and professional students, international students, and students from families with certain low-incomes that do not qualify for Federal Pell Grants (as well as, currently, students eligible for Pell Grants).
 
 Extends and increases the amount of the authorization of appropriations for CCAMPIS.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (text of measure as introduced: CR S3296)
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3295-3296)
action_date: 2005-04-06
text: Introduced in Senate