hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Job Access and Reverse Commute Program Improvements Act of 2008

Bill: 110-s-3466
Sponsor: Sen. Feingold, Russell D. [D-WI]
Introduced: 2008-09-10 in the Senate
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Apprenticeship
Commuting
Disabled
Economics and Public Finance
Employment of the disadvantaged
Families
Federal aid to transportation
Government Operations and Politics
Government paperwork
Governmental investigations
Labor and Employment
Mass rapid transit
Nonprofit organizations
Social Welfare
Technical education
Transportation and the aged
Transportation and the disabled
Youth employment

Summary:
action_date: 2008-09-10
text: 
Job Access and Reverse Commute Program Improvements Act of 2008 - Revises the job access and reverse commute (JARC) program to authorize a state to accept a single combined application for a project funded from at least two of the following programs that provide individuals with transportation to and from a job: (1) the JARC program; (2) the elderly and disabled specialized transit program; (3) the new freedom program (for disabled workers); and (4) any other program the Secretary deems appropriate.
 
Makes eligible for JARC formula grant funding the subsidizing of costs associated with the transportation of low income high school students and young adults to career or technical education, job training, or apprenticeship programs.
 
Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation, at state request, to waive or streamline JARC program reporting and certification requirements, provided program goals are met.
 
Directs the Secretary to study the feasibility of eliminating, revising, or reducing frequency of collection for any reporting or certification requirements relating to the JARC formula grant program, particularly examining the burden on and needs of nonprofit organizations that receive funding and are unaccustomed to Federal Transit Administration (FTA) regulations.
 
Authorizes the Secretary to carry out a grant pilot program to: (1) improve education and employment related transportation activities for eligible teens and young adults; (2) evaluate streamlined reporting and certification requirements; and (3) support more comprehensive projects integrated with other federal, state, and local transportation and human service programs, while ensuring the paperwork burden is minimized.
 
Requires the Secretary to continue and expand JARC technical assistance activities so that the Department of Transportation supports various specified efforts, including those that act as an information clearinghouse and information network.
 



Legislative actions:
action_date: 2008-09-10
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2008-09-10
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S8278-8279)
action_date: 2008-09-10
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to extend through April 1, 2009, the MinnesotaCare Medicaid demonstration project.

Bill: 110-s-3467
Sponsor: Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN]
Introduced: 2008-09-10 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Medicaid
Minnesota
Social Welfare
Welfare waivers

Summary:
action_date: 2008-09-10
text: 
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to extend through April 1, 2009, the approval of specified waivers under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act for the MinnesotaCare Medicaid demonstration project.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2008-09-10
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2008-09-10
text: Introduced in Senate
Nursing and Allied Health Education Preservation Act of 2008

Bill: 110-s-3468
Sponsor: Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY]
Introduced: 2008-09-10 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Education
Higher education
Hospital rates
Hospitals
Medical education
Medicare
Nurses
Nursing education
Paramedical personnel
Social Welfare

Summary:
action_date: 2008-09-10
text: 
Nursing and Allied Health Education Preservation Act of 2008 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Services from denying provider-operated status for a nursing and allied education program that substantially meets certain requirements pertaining to the cost of approved activities for such programs, in effect as of October 1, 2006, on the basis of an organizational structure, contractual arrangements, or legal structure of the program, or a change in such a structure or arrangement, so long as a hospital, hospitals, or health system continues to substantially control the nursing or allied program. 
 
Prohibits denial of payments for the costs of approved educational activities for a nursing or allied health education program. Requires restoration to a hospital of any recoupment or denial effected for a previous cost reporting year.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2008-09-10
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2008-09-10
text: Introduced in Senate
CAIR Reinstatement Act of 2008

Bill: 110-s-3469
Sponsor: Sen. Voinovich, George V. [R-OH]
Introduced: 2008-09-11 in the Senate
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: Administrative procedure
Air pollution control
Environmental Protection Agency
Government Operations and Politics
Interstate relations
Law

Summary:
action_date: 2008-09-11
text: 
CAIR Reinstatement Act of 2008 - Directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) and the rule establishing Federal Implementation Plans for CAIR. Declares that nothing in this Act shall change or modify the authority or obligations set forth in the Clean Air Act. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2008-09-11
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2008-09-11
text: Introduced in Senate
Support for Iraq Oil Trust Act of 2008

Bill: 110-s-3470
Sponsor: Sen. Clinton, Hillary Rodham [D-NY]
Introduced: 2008-09-11 in the Senate
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Commerce
Congress
Congress and foreign policy
Congressional oversight
Congressional reporting requirements
Crime and Law Enforcement
Democracy
Economic assistance
Economics and Public Finance
Energy
Entrepreneurs
Extremist movements in politics
Government Operations and Politics
Iraq
Iraq compilation
Law
Middle East and North Africa
Petroleum
Petroleum industry
Petroleum reserves
Public corruption
Sabotage
Smuggling
Trusts and trustees

Summary:
action_date: 2008-09-11
text: 
Support for Iraq Oil Trust Act of 2008 - Withholds specified percentages of Economic Support Fund assistance for Iraq unless the Secretary of State certifies within specified time periods to the appropriate congressional committees that U.S. government representatives have presented an oil trust plan to Iraqi government representatives. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2008-09-11
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
action_date: 2008-09-11
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to prohibit government-sponsored enterprises from making lobbying expenditures, political contributions, or other certain contributions.

Bill: 110-s-3471
Sponsor: Sen. DeMint, Jim [R-SC]
Introduced: 2008-09-11 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Campaign funds
Charitable contributions
Finance and Financial Sector
Fines (Penalties)
Housing and Community Development
Law
Lobbying
Mortgage banks
Public corruption
Tax-exempt organizations

Summary:
action_date: 2008-09-11
text: 
Prohibits the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) and their affiliates from making: (1) lobbying expenditures; (2) political contributions; or (3) contributions to any nonprofit tax-exempt organization.

Declares that violating this Act shall constitute violation of federal law limiting the use of appropriated funds to influence certain federal contracting and financial transactions (thus, imposing the same penalties).


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2008-09-11
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2008-09-11
text: Introduced in Senate
Energy and Technology Advancement Act of 2008

Bill: 110-s-3472
Sponsor: Sen. Feingold, Russell D. [D-WI]
Introduced: 2008-09-11 in the Senate
Policy area: Agriculture and Food
Subjects: Agricultural innovations
Biomass energy
Commerce
Energy
Energy facilities
Product development
Science, Technology, Communications
Small business
Technological innovations

Summary:
action_date: 2008-09-11
text: 
Energy and Technology Advancement Act of 2008 - Amends the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to require the Secretary of Agriculture, in order to further the adoption of technologies developed by the Department of Agriculture (USDA), to establish criteria and procedures to facilitate and encourage businesses and other organizations to: (1) rent government equipment and property for the development of new and improved products and processes; (2) authorize USDA and private sector employees to work together in experimental or production facilities owned by the federal government or a private entity; (3) provide business support services to start-up and small businesses; and (4) enter into cooperative agreements with educational and governmental units to support business incubators for businesses that use technologies and products of interest to the Secretary.

Requires the Secretary to submit to the appropriate congressional committees a plan for the development and construction of a biorefinery pilot plant that is able to: (1) produce liquid fuels from woody, agricultural, and other biomass in a flexible, multi-bioproduct manner, in a sustainable manner that addresses life-cycle inputs and outputs, and in quantities sufficient to provide proof of process and to allow for business incubator and support services; and (2) employ thermochemical and biochemical conversion processes in the production of liquid fuels.

Requires the Secretary to include in the plan a comprehensive estimate of each cost relating to the development and construction of the biorefinery pilot plant.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2008-09-11
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. (text of measure as introduced: CR S8387)
action_date: 2008-09-11
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S8386-8387)
action_date: 2008-09-11
text: Introduced in Senate
White Mountain Apache Tribe Water Rights Quantification Act of 2008

Bill: 110-s-3473
Sponsor: Sen. Kyl, Jon [R-AZ]
Introduced: 2008-09-11 in the Senate
Policy area: Native Americans
Subjects: Agriculture and Food
Arizona
Colorado River development
Dams
Economics and Public Finance
Federal aid to Indians
Fish culture
Government lending
Government liability
Government trust funds
Indian claims
Indian lands
Indian water rights
Infrastructure
Land transfers
Law
Minorities
Outdoor recreation
Reservoirs
Sports and Recreation
Water Resources Development
Water supply

Summary:
action_date: 2008-09-11
text: 
White Mountain Apache Tribe Water Rights Quantification Act of 2008 - Authorizes, ratifies, and confirms the White Mountain Apache Tribe Water Rights Quantification Agreement and amendments made to such Agreement by this Act. Requires the Secretary of the Interior, in implementing the Agreement, to comply with all requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, and all other applicable environmental laws.

Requires the water rights of the Tribe to be held in trust by the United States. Provides for reallocations of certain water rights to the Tribe.

Requires the Secretary to: (1) enter into a specified contract with the Tribe for tribal water rights in Maricopa, Pinal, and Pima Counties in Arizona; (2) plan, construct, and administer the White Mountain Apache Tribe rural water system; and (3) provide loans to the Tribe for the construction of the rural water system. Establishes in the Treasury the Rural Water System Construction Fund.

Requires the Secretary to provide financial and technical assistance to complete the Hawley Lake, Horeshoe Lake, Reservation Lake, Sunrise Lake, and Big and Little Bear Lake reconstruction projects and facilities improvements.

Requires the Secretary to conduct a feasibility study of options for improving: (1) the manufacture and use of timber products derived from commercial forests on the White Mountain Reservation; and (2) forest management practices.

Sets forth provisions relating to the satisfaction, waiver, or release of claims by the Tribe and for a limited waiver of U.S. or tribal sovereign immunity for the purpose of resolving issues arising under this Act. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2008-09-11
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.
action_date: 2008-09-11
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S8387-8388)
action_date: 2008-09-11
text: Introduced in Senate
Bottled Water Safety and Right to Know Act of 2008

Bill: 110-s-3475
Sponsor: Sen. Lautenberg, Frank R. [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2008-09-11 in the Senate
Policy area: Agriculture and Food
Subjects: Administrative procedure
Bacterial diseases
Beverages
Business records
Commerce
Consumer education
Department of Health and Human Services
Economics and Public Finance
Environmental Protection
Food industry
Food safety
Government Operations and Politics
Government paperwork
Government publicity
Grants-in-aid
Health
Infrastructure
Law
Potable water
Standards
Water Resources Development
Water quality
Water supply

Summary:
action_date: 2008-09-11
text: 
Bottled Water Safety and Right to Know Act of 2008 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to identify and establish standards for contaminants in bottled water that are at least as protective as standards established by: (1) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for national primary drinking water; or (2) the World Health Organization, the European Union, or the state of California. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to states for the enforcement of standards adopted under this Act. 
Transfers all functions of the Secretary relating to inspections and enforcement concerning bottled water to the EPA if the Secretary fails to publish the final regulation concerning such standards within two years. 
Requires the Secretary to: (1) promulgate regulations that require each manufacturer of bottled water to submit reports on its water and display required information on bottle labels; (2) make such reports available to the public; (3) make certain additional information available to the public about the regulation of contaminants in bottled drinking water; (4) publish information regarding violations of bottled water regulations; and (5) establish a grant program to gather information on such violations. 
Prohibits a manufacturer of bottled water from failing to submit an annual report or to display the required information on bottle labels in accordance with this Act. 
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2008-09-11
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2008-09-11
text: Introduced in Senate
National Integrated Public Health Surveillance Systems and Reportable Conditions Act

Bill: 110-s-3476
Sponsor: Sen. Hagel, Chuck [R-NE]
Introduced: 2008-09-11 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Animal diseases
Animals
Communicable diseases
Dairy industry
Economics and Public Finance
Education
Epidemiology
Federal aid to health facilities
Federal-state relations
Government Operations and Politics
Health information systems
Health surveys
Higher education
Latin America
Medical education
Medical laboratories
Medical personnel
Mexico
Public health administration

Summary:
action_date: 2008-09-11
text: 
National Integrated Public Health Surveillance Systems and Reportable Conditions Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to: (1) establish the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity Grant Program to assist public health agencies in improving surveillance for, and response to, infectious diseases and other conditions of public health importance; and (2) issue guidelines for public health entities relating to information systems to receive, monitor, and report infectious diseases and other such conditions.

Authorizes the Secretary, acting through the Director, to: (1) address documented workforce shortages in state and local health departments in applied public health epidemiology and public health laboratory science and informatics; and (2) provide for the expansion of applied epidemiology training programs.

Requires the Director, upon request, to assist the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists in developing or improving a process for states to conduct surveillance and submit reports to the Director on nationally notifiable diseases and conditions.

Requires the Secretary to adopt and use guidelines to develop improved standards and protocols for binational epidemiology, surveillance, laboratory analyses, and control of infectious diseases between the United States and Mexico.

Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director, to establish a committee to: (1) evaluate best practices in public health surveillance; and (2) assess systems needed for improving coordination among public health surveillance and monitoring systems.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2008-09-11
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2008-09-11
text: Introduced in Senate
Semester of Service Act

Bill: 110-s-3479
Sponsor: Sen. Dodd, Christopher J. [D-CT]
Introduced: 2008-09-11 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: American Samoa
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Economics and Public Finance
Educational accountability
Elementary and secondary education
Federal aid to Indians
Federal aid to education
Guam
Hawaiians
Indian education
Minorities
Native Americans
Nonprofit organizations
Northern Mariana Islands
Secondary education
Service learning
Social Welfare
Virgin Islands

Summary:
action_date: 2008-09-11
text: 
Semester of Service Act - Amends the National and Community Service Act of 1990 to direct the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service to award competitive matching grants to local educational agencies or their nonprofit partners and, through them, competitive subgrants to schools or their nonprofit partners for Semester of Service programs that allow high school juniors and seniors to earn academic credit for service-learning that meets unmet human, educational, environmental, or public safety needs in their communities.
 
Gives grant priority to applicants that propose to direct subgrants toward programs at schools that receive school improvement funds under part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
 
Requires Semester of Service programs to engage youth in service-learning for a minimum of 70 hours over a minimum of 12 weeks and have: (1) a weekly classroom-based component that is integrated into schools' regular curricula and aligned with applicable state academic content standards; and (2) a field-based component covering at least 24 of the minimum 70 hours. 
 
Directs the Chief Executive Officer to reserve funds for: (1) competitive grants to Indian tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands for such programs; (2) technical assistance and training to grantees and subgrantees, and program outreach activities; and (3) independent evaluations of the programs.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2008-09-11
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2008-09-11
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S8414-8415)
action_date: 2008-09-11
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a temporary increase in the new qualified hybrid motor vehicle credit for school buses.

Bill: 110-s-3481
Sponsor: Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY]
Introduced: 2008-09-11 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Education
Electric vehicles
Elementary and secondary education
Income tax
School buses
Tax credits

Summary:
action_date: 2008-09-11
text: 
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the dollar amount of the tax credit for new qualified hybrid motor vehicles that are school buses for vehicles placed in service during periods prior to January 1, 2013. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2008-09-11
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2008-09-11
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to designate a portion of the Rappahannock River in the Commonwealth of Virginia as the "John W. Warner Rapids".

Bill: 110-s-3482
Sponsor: Sen. Lieberman, Joseph I. [ID-CT]
Introduced: 2008-09-11 in the Senate
Policy area: Water Resources Development
Subjects: Commemorations
Congress
Congressional tributes
Dams
Members of Congress
Names
Rivers
Senate
Virginia

Summary:
action_date: 2008-09-11
text: 
Designates a portion of the Rappahannock River comprised of the manmade rapids located at the site of the former Embrey Dam in Fredericksburg, Virginia, as the John W. Warner Rapids.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2008-09-11
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2008-09-11
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S8416)
action_date: 2008-09-11
text: Introduced in Senate
Passenger Vehicle Loss Disclosure Act

Bill: 110-s-3483
Sponsor: Sen. Ensign, John [R-NV]
Introduced: 2008-09-12 in the Senate
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Administrative procedure
Air bag restraint systems
Automobile insurance
Commerce
Consumer education
Department of Transportation
Finance and Financial Sector
Government Operations and Politics
Identification devices
Insurance companies
Law
Losses

Summary:
action_date: 2008-09-12
text: 
Passenger Vehicle Loss Disclosure Act - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to require all insurers and self-insurers of passenger motor vehicles to disclose to the public, in a commercially reasonable, electronically accessible manner, for each passenger motor vehicle declared or determined to be a total loss: (1) the vehicle identification number and odometer reading; (2) the date of and primary reason for the total loss determination; and (3) whether the airbags deployed.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2008-09-12
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2008-09-12
text: Introduced in Senate
Hospice Protection Act of 2008

Bill: 110-s-3484
Sponsor: Sen. Specter, Arlen [R-PA]
Introduced: 2008-09-12 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Economics and Public Finance
Labor and Employment
Medical personnel
Medicare
Social Welfare
Terminal care
Wages

Summary:
action_date: 2008-09-12
text: 
Hospice Protection Act of 2008 - Prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services from phasing out or eliminating the budget neutrality adjustment factor in the Medicare hospice wage index before October 1, 2009.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2008-09-12
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2008-09-12
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S8480-8481)
action_date: 2008-09-12
text: Introduced in Senate