hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
FAIR Act

Bill: 110-s-3632
Sponsor: Sen. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2008-09-26 in the Senate
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Bank loans
Checks
Commerce
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Consumer credit
Consumer education
Crime and Law Enforcement
Debt
Fees
Fines (Penalties)
Governmental investigations
Interest rates
Law
Loans

Summary:
action_date: 2008-09-26
text: 
Fostering American Independence from Regressive and Abusive Credit Transactions Act of 2008 or the FAIR Act - Amends the Truth in Lending Act to prescribe a maximum annual percentage rate (APR) of 36% for any extension of credit to a consumer.
 
Prohibits a creditor from: (1) cashing or advancing money for a post-dated check in exchange for a fee or other payment of interest, other than as otherwise authorized for the payment of a preexisting debt; or (2) holding a check, requiring electronic access to an account at a financial institution, or holding title to personal property as collateral for a loan or other extension of credit (except in connection with the purchase or rental of such personal property).
 
 Requires a creditor to provide to the consumer in writing at or before the issuance of credit: (1) the applicable APR; and (2) a clear description of payment obligations.
 
Declares null and void and unenforceable any consumer credit transaction made in violation of this Act. Requires the creditor or subsequent holder to promptly return to the consumer any principal, interest, charges, fees, and any security interest associated with such a transaction. 
 

 
Subjects violations of this Act to specified civil and criminal penalties.
 
Directs the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to establish a program to encourage insured depository institutions to incorporate small consumer loans of $1,000 or less into their regular banking services.
 
Includes participation in the loan program established under this Act as a factor in the determination by the appropriate federal financial supervisory agency of whether an insured depository institution is meeting the credit needs of its community under the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977.
 
Directs the FDIC and the National Credit Union Administration to study and report to Congress on best practices to provide incentives for mainstream financial institutions to provide small dollar amount loans to consumers, including innovative state and local programs, private sector, and not-for-profit initiatives.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2008-09-26
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2008-09-26
text: Introduced in Senate
Transparency in Drug Labeling Act

Bill: 110-s-3633
Sponsor: Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH]
Introduced: 2008-09-26 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Commerce
Drug industry
Drugs
Foreign Trade and International Finance
Imports
Labeling

Summary:
action_date: 2008-09-26
text: 
Transparency in Drug Labeling Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to deem a drug to be misbranded unless the labeling of such drug lists the identity of the country of manufacture of each active ingredient and each inactive ingredient of the drug, listed in descending order based on the percentage of the number of such ingredients in the final dosage form manufactured in such countries.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2008-09-26
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2008-09-26
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S9715-9716)
action_date: 2008-09-26
text: Introduced in Senate
End Gun Trafficking Act of 2008

Bill: 110-s-3634
Sponsor: Sen. Lautenberg, Frank R. [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2008-09-26 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Business records
Commerce
Economics and Public Finance
Federal aid to law enforcement
Firearms
Firearms control
Fraud
Government Operations and Politics
Government paperwork
Identification of criminals
Sentences (Criminal procedure)

Summary:
action_date: 2008-09-26
text: 
End Gun Trafficking Act of 2008 - Amends the federal criminal code to: (1) prohibit a firearms dealer from selling a handgun to an unlicensed individual if such dealer knows or has reasonable cause to believe that such individual has purchased another handgun within the previous 30 days; (2) prohibit an unlicensed buyer of firearms from purchasing more than one handgun during any 30-day period; (3) increase from one to five years the maximum prison term for firearms dealers who make false statements in their sales records; and (4) require background check records to be retained for not less than 180 days.

Repeals prohibitions on the use of funds for: (1) implementation of the national instant criminal background check system for firearms; and (2) background check systems that do not require and result in the destruction within 24-hours of any identifying information for individuals determined not to be prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2008-09-26
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S9716-9717)
action_date: 2008-09-26
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S9716)
action_date: 2008-09-26
text: Introduced in Senate
Supporting Mentors, Supporting Our Youth Act of 2008

Bill: 110-s-3635
Sponsor: Sen. Clinton, Hillary Rodham [D-NY]
Introduced: 2008-09-26 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Collection of accounts
Compensatory education
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Economics and Public Finance
Education of the disadvantaged
Elementary and secondary education
Elementary education
Federal aid to education
Federally-guaranteed loans
Government lending
Higher education
Mentoring
Scholarships
Secondary education
Social Welfare
Student activities
Student loan funds
Volunteer workers

Summary:
action_date: 2008-09-26
text: 
Supporting Mentors, Supporting Our Youth Act of 2008 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide student loan forgiveness or cancellation under the Federal Family Education Loan or Direct Loan programs to student borrowers at institutions of higher education who volunteer to mentor an at-risk child for a period of at least one year.
 
Provides $10 of loan forgiveness or cancellation for each hour of mentoring, but limits such forgiveness or cancellation to no more than $10,000 and no more than five years of mentoring for each borrower.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2008-09-26
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2008-09-26
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S9717)
action_date: 2008-09-26
text: Introduced in Senate
Measuring American Poverty Act of 2008

Bill: 110-s-3636
Sponsor: Sen. Dodd, Christopher J. [D-CT]
Introduced: 2008-09-26 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Access to health care
Census
Economics and Public Finance
Government Operations and Politics
Government publicity
Government statistics
Income
Medically uninsured
Poverty
Social Welfare

Summary:
action_date: 2008-09-26
text: 
Measuring American Poverty Act of 2008 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Bureau of the Census, in collaboration with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, to calculate modern poverty thresholds and modern poverty rates for each calendar year.
 
Declares that the modern poverty threshold for a reference family consisting of two adults and their two related children shall be an amount equal to the average of 120% of the 33rd percentile of the distribution of annual expenditures by such families on food, clothing, and shelter during each of the three most recent years for which data is available from the Consumer Expenditure Survey, a superior federal government source of data, or some combination of such sources. Prescribes requirements for determining modern poverty rates.
 
Directs the Bureau of the Census, in collaboration with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), to contract with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to develop and publish methods of: (1) calculating a decent living standard threshold; and (2) measuring the extent to which the income of families in the United States is sufficient to meet it. 
 
Directs the Bureau of the Census, in collaboration with BLS, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to contract with NAS to develop and publish a method of: (1) measuring the extent of medical care risk in the United States; and (2) calculating the number and percentage of individuals in the United States who lack adequate health insurance, leaving them at risk of being unable to afford needed treatment. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2008-09-26
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2008-09-26
text: Introduced in Senate
Success in Countering Al Qaeda Reporting Requirements Act of 2008

Bill: 110-s-3637
Sponsor: Sen. Casey, Robert P., Jr. [D-PA]
Introduced: 2008-09-26 in the Senate
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Appropriations
Armed Forces and National Security
Congress
Congress and foreign policy
Congressional reporting requirements
Crime and Law Enforcement
Economics and Public Finance
Extremist movements in politics
Foreign Trade and International Finance
Government Operations and Politics
Government statistics
President and foreign policy
September 11, 2001
Terrorism

Summary:
action_date: 2008-09-26
text: 
Success in Countering Al Qaeda Reporting Requirements Act of 2008 - Directs the President to submit annual counterterrorism reports to the appropriate congressional committees, including an assessment of U.S. counterterrorism efforts in fighting Al Qaeda and its related affiliates.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2008-09-26
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
action_date: 2008-09-26
text: Introduced in Senate
National Windstorm Impact Reduction Reauthorization Act of 2008

Bill: 110-s-3638
Sponsor: Sen. Nelson, Bill [D-FL]
Introduced: 2008-09-26 in the Senate
Policy area: Emergency Management
Subjects: Authorization
Building laws
Climate change and greenhouse gases
Economics and Public Finance
Environmental Protection
Executive reorganization
Federal advisory bodies
Federal-local relations
Federal-state relations
Government Operations and Politics
Standards
Storms
Strategic planning

Summary:
action_date: 2008-09-26
text: 
National Windstorm Impact Reduction Reauthorization Act of 2008 - Amends the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Act of 2004 to revise provisions governing the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program. Designates the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as the lead agency for Program planning, management, and coordination. (Repeals provisions regarding the existing Interagency Working Group responsible for Program planning, management, and coordination.)

Establishes the Interagency Working Group on Wind Impact Reduction (IWG) to coordinate activities and facilitate communication among Program agencies in reducing the impacts of windstorms. 

Requires the Director of NIST to: (1) establish a Program Office to ensure coordination and synergy across Program agencies; (2) prepare the Program's annual budget; (3) facilitate preparation of the IWG's biennial report to Congress and the National Science and Technology Council; (4) support research and development for building codes and standards; (5) promote implementation of research results; (6) support deployment of interagency teams to investigate major windstorm events and data collection and analysis; and (7) participate in, coordinate, or support other Program mitigation activities.

Sets forth: (1) the duties of the Program Office and of the IWG (including preparation of an interim working plan for Program operations and a strategic plan for achieving Program objectives); and (2) supportive roles of the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Department of Transportation (DOT), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the Army Corps of Engineers. 

Authorizes appropriations for the Program for FY2009-FY2013.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2008-09-26
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. (text of measure as introduced: CR S9718-9720)
action_date: 2008-09-26
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S9717-9718)
action_date: 2008-09-26
text: Introduced in Senate
Democracy Restoration Act of 2008

Bill: 110-s-3640
Sponsor: Sen. Feingold, Russell D. [D-WI]
Introduced: 2008-09-26 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
Correctional institutions
Ex-offenders
Government Operations and Politics
Prisoners
Prisoners' rights
Voting rights

Summary:
action_date: 2008-09-26
text: 
 Democracy Restoration Act of 2008 - Declares that the right of a U.S. citizen to vote in any election for federal office shall not be denied or abridged because that individual has been convicted of a criminal offense unless, at the time of the election, such individual is serving a felony sentence in a correctional institution or facility. Provides for enforcement and remedies for violations of this Act.
 
Specifies that: (1) nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit a state from enacting any state law that affords the right to vote in any election for federal office on terms less restrictive than those terms established by this Act; and (2) the rights and remedies established by this Act shall be in addition to all other rights and remedies provided by law, and shall not supersede, restrict, or limit the application of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 or the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. 
Prohibits any state, unit of local government, or other person from receiving or using any federal grant amounts to construct or improve a place of incarceration unless that person has a program to notify each U.S. citizen incarcerated in that person's jurisdiction, on release from such incarceration, of that individual's rights under this Act.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2008-09-26
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S9720-9721)
action_date: 2008-09-26
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S9720)
action_date: 2008-09-26
text: Introduced in Senate
Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Enhancement Act of 2008

Bill: 110-s-3642
Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]
Introduced: 2008-09-27 in the Senate
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Congress
Congress and foreign policy
Congressional reporting requirements
Department of State
Diplomacy
Economic assistance
Employee training
Environmental Protection
Environmental technology
Executive reorganization
Freshwater resources conservation
Government Operations and Politics
Labor and Employment
Potable water
Poverty
Science, Technology, Communications
Sewage disposal
Water Resources Development

Summary:
action_date: 2008-09-27
text: 
Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Enhancement Act of 2008 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to direct the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to establish the Office of Water which shall: (1) implement the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005; and (2) place primary emphasis on providing safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene.
 
Directs the Secretary of State to establish the Bureau for International Water within the Office of the Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs which shall: (1) coordinate U.S. diplomatic policy regarding global freshwater issues; and (2) ensure that international freshwater issues are represented within the U.S. government. 
 
Amends the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 to: (1) direct the Secretary and the Administrator to establish in every priority country a program to train local water and sanitation managers to promote government capacity to provide access to safe drinking water and sanitation; and (2) require that the water for peace and security report includes an assessment of current and likely future political tensions over water sources and an assessment of the future impacts of global climate change on water supplies.
 
Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize grants through USAID to develop technologies for providing clean water and sanitation in high priority countries with limited resources and infrastructure.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2008-09-27
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. (text of measure as introduced in Senate: CR S10005-10006)
action_date: 2008-09-27
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S10004-10005)
action_date: 2008-09-27
text: Introduced in Senate
Increasing America's Global Development Capacity Act of 2008

Bill: 110-s-3643
Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]
Introduced: 2008-09-27 in the Senate
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Federal employees
Foreign service
Government Operations and Politics
Recruiting of employees
U.S. Agency for International Development

Summary:
action_date: 2008-09-27
text: 
Increasing America's Global Development Capacity Act of 2008 - Provides for the hiring of additional Foreign Service officers as United States Agency for International Development (USAID) employees. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2008-09-27
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. (text of measure as introduced in Senate: CR S10007)
action_date: 2008-09-27
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S10006-10007)
action_date: 2008-09-27
text: Introduced in Senate
Farm Relief Act of 2008

Bill: 110-s-3644
Sponsor: Sen. Landrieu, Mary L. [D-LA]
Introduced: 2008-09-27 in the Senate
Policy area: Agriculture and Food
Subjects: Agricultural subsidies
Appropriations
Aquaculture
Disaster relief
Economics and Public Finance
Emergency Management
Florida
Louisiana
Storage
Sugar
Texas

Summary:
action_date: 2008-09-27
text: 
Farm Relief Act of 2008 - Amends the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007 to appropriate funds for: (1) emergency financial assistance to producers on a farm that incurred qualifying natural disaster-caused quantity or quality losses for the 2008 crop; (2) certain processors in Florida for natural disaster-caused crop and other losses in 2008; (3) certain first processors of sugarcane that operate in a county affected by a natural disaster or obtain sugarcane from a county affected by a natural disaster in Louisiana; and (4) certain sugarcane growers in Texas for natural disaster-caused demurrage, storage, and transportation costs in 2008.
 
Provides specified Commodity Credit Corporation funds for grants to state departments of agriculture for assistance to eligible catfish producers to help offset natural disaster-caused feed costs or economic losses in 2008.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2008-09-27
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
action_date: 2008-09-27
text: Introduced in Senate
Magna Water District Water Reuse and Groundwater Recharge Act of 2008

Bill: 110-s-3645
Sponsor: Sen. Hatch, Orrin G. [R-UT]
Introduced: 2008-09-27 in the Senate
Policy area: Water Resources Development
Subjects: Economics and Public Finance
Federal aid to water resources development
Utah
Waste water treatment
Water districts
Water treatment plants
Water use

Summary:
action_date: 2008-09-27
text: 
Magna Water District Water Reuse and Groundwater Recharge Act of 2008 - Amends the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior, in cooperation with the Magna Water District, Utah, to participate in the design, planning, and construction of permanent facilities needed to establish recycled water distribution and wastewater treatment and reclamation facilities that will be used to provide recycled water in that District. Limits the federal share to 25% of the project's total cost.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2008-09-27
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2008-09-27
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S10007-10009)
action_date: 2008-09-27
text: Introduced in Senate
Drill Now Act of 2008

Bill: 110-s-3646
Sponsor: Sen. DeMint, Jim [R-SC]
Introduced: 2008-09-27 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Administrative procedure
Atlantic Coast (U.S.)
Continental shelf
Gas in submerged lands
Government Operations and Politics
Gulf of Mexico
Law
Marine and coastal resources, fisheries
Oil and gas leases
Oil shales
Oil well drilling
Petroleum in submerged lands
Public Lands and Natural Resources

Summary:
action_date: 2008-09-27
text: 
Drill Now Act of 2008 - Amends the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008 to repeal its prohibitions against oil and natural gas preleasing and leasing activities in specified offshore areas, including the North Atlantic, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and the Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic planning areas.
 
Declares that the United States reserves the right to designate national defense areas on the outer Continental Shelf (OCS).
 
Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to conduct leasing, preleasing, and related activities for any opened area before June 30, 2012.
 
Requires any lease issued by the Secretary for submerged land of the OCS in any opened area lying within 25 miles of the coastline of any state to include a prohibition against permanent surface occupancy.
 
Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to deposit revenues from tracts leased under this Act into: (1) the general fund of the Treasury; and (2) a special account in the Treasury, for allocation among the states in accordance with prescribed guidelines.
 
Repeals the prohibition against the use of funds to prepare or publish final regulations regarding a commercial leasing program for oil shale resources on public lands or to conduct an oil shale lease sale. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2008-11-18
text: Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 1120 under authority of the order of the Senate of 11/17/2008.
action_date: 2008-09-27
text: Introduced in the Senate. Read the first time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under Read the First Time.
action_date: 2008-09-27
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to assist the State of Louisiana in flood protection and coastal restoration projects, and for other purposes.

Bill: 110-s-3647
Sponsor: Sen. Landrieu, Mary L. [D-LA]
Introduced: 2008-09-27 in the Senate
Policy area: Emergency Management
Subjects: Appropriations
Coastal zone
Dredging
Economics and Public Finance
Federal aid to water resources development
Flood control
Floods
Louisiana
Marine and coastal resources, fisheries
Water Resources Development

Summary:
action_date: 2008-09-27
text: 
Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of the Army for levee and flood protection repairs, restoration, and improvements, critical coastal restoration projects, the dredging of affected waterways, and the beneficial use of dredged material in Louisiana. Requires the Secretary to provide such funds to the state of Louisiana on the later of: (1) a date that is 90 days after the governor of Louisiana submits a plan describing how the funds will be used; or (2) October 1, 2008.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2008-09-27
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Appropriations.
action_date: 2008-09-27
text: Introduced in Senate