hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Congressional Disclosures Protections Act of 2009

Bill: 111-hr-2572
Sponsor: Rep. Jackson-Lee, Sheila [D-TX-18]
Introduced: 2009-05-21 in the House
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Civil actions and liability
Congressional oversight
Employment discrimination and employee rights
Evidence and witnesses
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government ethics and transparency, public corruption
Government studies and investigations
Lawyers and legal services

Summary:
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: 
Congressional Disclosures Protections Act of 2009 - Amends federal personnel law to: (1) define &quot;covered disclosure&quot; with respect to federal whistleblower protections to mean a disclosure of information made by an employee to either house of Congress or to a congressional committee or staff member which such employee reasonably believes evidences a violation of any law, gross mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety; (2) allow federal employees to seek de novo review of their whistleblower claims within one year of filing such claims; (3) expand legal remedies for whistleblowers, including triple damages for lost wages, triple attorney fees, and triple compensatory damages; and (4) require the Office of Special Counsel to provide legal representation to whistleblowers, upon request.
 
Amends the Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 (No Fear Act) to expand the reporting requirements of federal agencies relating to reimbursement of the expenses of employees who have filed whistleblower claims.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-08-19
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties.
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Referred to House Judiciary
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Referred to House Oversight and Government Reform
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Introduced in House
Atomic Veterans Relief Act

Bill: 111-hr-2573
Sponsor: Rep. Abercrombie, Neil [D-HI-1]
Introduced: 2009-05-21 in the House
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Department of Veterans Affairs
Disability assistance
Evidence and witnesses
Nuclear weapons
Radioactive wastes and releases
Veterans' pensions and compensation

Summary:
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: 
Atomic Veterans Relief Act - Includes within the definition of a &quot;radiation-risk activity&quot; for purposes of eligibility for veterans' disability compensation the exposure at any time to ionizing radiation from undetonated weapons or residual contamination resulting from a nuclear detonation.
 
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to include in regulations pertaining to the service-connection of veterans' disabilities additional provisions to ensure, in the case of a claim by a radiation-exposed veteran for service-connection of a nonpresumptive disability, that the procedures for establishment of whether the disability is service-connected and which require the mathematical calculation of the level of exposure of the veteran to the ionizing radiation (commonly referred to as dose reconstruction) also require the Secretary to, among other things: (1) determine the facts and circumstances of the exposure while presuming the veteran's recitation of the event as correct, unless clear and convincing evidence establishes otherwise; and (2) obtain a reconstructed dose based on specific facts and circumstances established by the evidence.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-05-22
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Introduced in House
Urban Medicare-Dependent Hospitals Preservation Act of 2009

Bill: 111-hr-2574
Sponsor: Rep. Adler, John H. [D-NJ-3]
Introduced: 2009-05-21 in the House
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Health facilities and institutions
Hospital care
Medicare
Urban and suburban affairs and development

Summary:
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: 
Urban Medicare-Dependent Hospitals Preservation Act of 2009 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, with respect to cost reporting periods beginning on or after October 1, 2009, to revise the criteria and payment formula for &quot;subsection (d) hospitals&quot; which are urban Medicare-dependent hospitals.
 
(Generally a subsection (d) hospital is an acute care hospital particularly one that receives payments under Medicare's inpatient prospective payment system when providing covered inpatient services to eligible beneficiaries.)


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Introduced in House
Prosthetic and Custom Orthotic Parity Act of 2009

Bill: 111-hr-2575
Sponsor: Rep. Andrews, Robert E. [D-NJ-1]
Introduced: 2009-05-21 in the House
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Employee benefits and pensions
Government studies and investigations
Health care costs and insurance
Health care coverage and access
Health technology, devices, supplies

Summary:
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: 
Prosthetic and Custom Orthotic Parity Act of 2009 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to require a group health plan that provides medical and surgical benefits as well as benefits for prosthetic devices and components and orthotic devices to offer such prosthetic and orthotic coverage in the same manner as applicable to medical and surgical benefits. Prohibits separate financial requirements or more restrictive treatment limitations. 
 
Limits required benefits for prosthetic devices and custom orthotic devices and related services to the most appropriate model that adequately meets the medical requirements of the patient. Requires benefits to include repairs and replacements as determined appropriate by the treating physician.
 
Prohibits any annual or lifetime dollar limitation on benefits for prosthetic devices and custom orthotic devices and related services unless such limitation applies in the aggregate to all benefits.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-10-22
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E1239)
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Introduced in House
Chinook Nation Restoration Act

Bill: 111-hr-2576
Sponsor: Rep. Baird, Brian [D-WA-3]
Introduced: 2009-05-21 in the House
Policy area: Native Americans
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Federal-Indian relations
Indian lands and resources rights
Indian social and development programs
Land transfers
Oregon
Property rights
Washington State

Summary:
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: 
Chinook Nation Restoration Act - Extends federal recognition to the Chinook Indian Nation. Makes the Chinook Tribe and its members eligible for all services and benefits provided by the government to federally recognized tribes regardless of the existence of a reservation or the location of residence of any member on or near any Indian reservation. Designates specified counties in Washington and Oregon as the Tribe's service area for delivery of federal services to enrolled members.
 
Requires the Tribe to: (1) submit to the Secretary of the Interior a membership roll; and (2) conduct, by secret ballot, an election to adopt a constitution and bylaws. Directs the Secretary: (1) if the Tribe transfers all rights to land to the Secretary, to take such land in trust for the Tribe's benefit, subject to restrictions; (2) to negotiate with the tribal governing body regarding establishing a reservation; and (3) to develop a plan for doing so.
 
Requires the Secretary to: (1) notify and consult with all appropriate state officials and owners of land adjacent to those considered for the proposed reservation; and (2) provide complete information on the proposed plan to such officials. Requires submission of the plan to Congress upon approval by the tribal governing body.
 
Requires any real property transferred by the Tribe or any member to the Secretary to be held in the name of the United States for the Tribe's benefit. Prohibits the exercise of eminent domain for purposes of acquiring lands for the Tribe's benefit. 
 
Allows and regulates ceremonial hunting and fishing in specified Washington counties.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Referred to House Ways and Means
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Referred to House Natural Resources
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Introduced in House
Air America Veterans Act of 2009

Bill: 111-hr-2577
Sponsor: Rep. Berkley, Shelley [D-NV-1]
Introduced: 2009-05-21 in the House
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Aviation and airports
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Congressional oversight
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Intelligence activities, surveillance, classified information

Summary:
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: 
Air America Veterans Act of 2009 - Requires the Director of National Intelligence to report to Congress on the advisability of providing federal retirement benefits to U.S. citizens for their service prior to 1977 as employees of Air America or an associated company when such company was owned and controlled by the federal government and operated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Referred to the House Committee on Intelligence (Permanent Select).
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Introduced in House
Medicare Lung Cancer Early Detection Promotion Act of 2009

Bill: 111-hr-2578
Sponsor: Rep. Berkley, Shelley [D-NV-1]
Introduced: 2009-05-21 in the House
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Cancer
Cardiovascular and respiratory health
Computers and information technology
Health personnel
Health technology, devices, supplies
Medical tests and diagnostic methods
Medicare

Summary:
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: 
Medicare Lung Cancer Early Detection Promotion Act of 2009 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to prescribe an increased radiologist service payment for chest radiography (x-ray) services that use Computer Aided Detection technology for the early detection of lung cancer.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-06-02
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Referred to House Ways and Means
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Referred to House Energy and Commerce
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Introduced in House
Pathways to College Act

Bill: 111-hr-2579
Sponsor: Rep. Bishop, Timothy H. [D-NY-1]
Introduced: 2009-05-21 in the House
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Academic performance and assessments
Education of the disadvantaged
Education programs funding
Elementary and secondary education
Higher education
Performance measurement
Teaching, teachers, curricula

Summary:
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: 
Pathways to College Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award competitive five-year grants to local educational agencies that serve mostly high-need high schools for programs to increase the number of students from low-income families who attend college. Defines &quot;high-need high schools&quot; as those where at least one-half of the students are from low-income families.
 
Requires grantees to use such funds to: (1) train teachers and counselors to provide students with advice concerning postsecondary education; (2) implement a comprehensive college guidance program for all students which exposes them to postsecondary information and planning assistance before the end of their first semester of high school; (3) ensure that their schools develop comprehensive, school-wide plans of action to strengthen their college-going culture; (4) create or maintain a postsecondary access center in each school that provides information on colleges and universities, career opportunities, and financial aid options; and (5) provide a setting in which professionals working in college access programs can meet with students.
 
Directs the Secretary to provide technical assistance to grantees in calculating and analyzing their college-going rates and adopting best practices for elevating such rates.
 
Requires grantees periodically to evaluate the success of their grant activities and use the evaluations to refine such activities and their performance measures.
 
Directs the Secretary to conduct an independent evaluation of the grant program which includes an assessment of the program's affect on high school graduation and college-going rates.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-10-22
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness.
action_date: 2009-10-22
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Introduced in House
Empowering Medicare Patient Choices Act

Bill: 111-hr-2580
Sponsor: Rep. Blumenauer, Earl [D-OR-3]
Introduced: 2009-05-21 in the House
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Advisory bodies
Department of Health and Human Services
Government trust funds
Health care quality
Health information and medical records
Health programs administration and funding
Medicare
Public contracts and procurement

Summary:
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: 
Empowering Medicare Patient Choices Act - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) contract with an entity to establish consensus-based standards to certify patient decision aids; and (2) establish an expert panel to make recommendations about which patient decision aids should be implemented, appropriate training for health care providers on patient decision aids and shared decision making, and appropriate quality measures for use in the related pilot program
 
Directs the Secretary to establish a pilot program to provide for the phased-in development, implementation, and evaluation of shared decision making under the Medicare program using patient decision aids to improve beneficiary understanding of medical treatment options. 
 
Directs the Secretary to provide financial assistance for establishment of Shared Decision Making Resource Centers to support adoption, implementation, and effective use of patient decision aids and shared decision making by eligible Medicare providers. 
 
Specifies the medical conditions for approved patient decision aids
 
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary to promulgate regulations that: (1) specify for which preference-sensitive conditions beneficiaries should participate in shared decision making; (2) require service providers and suppliers to make sure that beneficiaries receive appropriate patient decision aids; and (3) specify a process for beneficiaries to elect not to use such patient decision aids.
 
Prescribes a penalty for service providers or item suppliers if a patient does not receive a patient decision aid before an item or service is furnished, unless the patient has elected not to use such an aid.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-06-02
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Referred to House Energy and Commerce
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Referred to House Ways and Means
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E1236)
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Introduced in House
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Health Survey Act of 2009

Bill: 111-hr-2581
Sponsor: Del. Bordallo, Madeleine Z. [D-GU-At Large]
Introduced: 2009-05-21 in the House
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Census and government statistics
Government information and archives
Hawaii
Health information and medical records
Health programs administration and funding
Minority health
U.S. territories and protectorates

Summary:
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: 
 Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Health Survey Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award a contract or grant to an entity to develop and conduct a health survey regarding Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders in the United States, U.S. territories, and affiliated Pacific jurisdictions in order to: (1) identify their unmet health and health care needs; and (2) establish baseline health information to achieve equity in health information for the Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander community.
 
Requires such data collection efforts to be targeted to areas with the highest concentrations of Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders based on the 2010 decennial census.
 
Directs the Secretary to award a contract or grant to an entity to: (1) analyze and prepare the data collected under this Act for distribution; and (2) submit the data, analysis, and any corresponding documents to the National Center for Health Statistics for internal review. Requires the Secretary to make such information public.
 

 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-06-02
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E1253)
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Introduced in House
To extend the supplemental security income program to Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa, and for other purposes.

Bill: 111-hr-2582
Sponsor: Del. Bordallo, Madeleine Z. [D-GU-At Large]
Introduced: 2009-05-21 in the House
Policy area: Social Welfare
Subjects: American Samoa
Caribbean area
Guam
Poverty and welfare assistance
Puerto Rico
U.S. territories and protectorates
Virgin Islands

Summary:
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: 
Amends the Social Security Amendments of 1972 to extend the Supplemental Security Income program under title XVI of the Social Security Act to Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and America Samoa. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E1248)
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Introduced in House
Women Veterans Access to Care Act

Bill: 111-hr-2583
Sponsor: Rep. Boswell, Leonard L. [D-IA-3]
Introduced: 2009-05-21 in the House
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Afghanistan
Aging
Asia
Computers and information technology
Crimes against women
Department of Veterans Affairs
Drug, alcohol, tobacco use
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Health care coverage and access
Health information and medical records
Health personnel
Health promotion and preventive care
Health technology, devices, supplies
Iraq
Medical tests and diagnostic methods
Mental health
Middle East
Sex and reproductive health
Sex offenses
Telephone and wireless communication
Terrorism
Veterans' medical care
Women's health

Summary:
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: 
Women Veterans Access to Care Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), in providing health care services to women veterans, to emphasize: (1) with respect to physical health, conditions including reproductive health, preventive medicine and early detection, sexual trauma, special needs of women with prosthetics, and rehabilitation; (2) with respect to mental health, issues including stress reduction, services for depression, anxiety, post-traumatic-stress-disorder (PTSD), and substance abuse, and conflict resolution; (3) improving health-related telecommunications technologies; (4) providing care to women veterans who served in Operations Enduring Freedom or Iraqi Freedom, live in a rural area, or are homebound or elderly; and (5) with respect to health professionals employed by the VA, hiring health professionals who are specialist in fields related to women's health, and offering additional training on special issues regarding women veterans.
 
Requires the Secretary to: (1) conduct a study on health care for women veterans; and (2) carry out an information outreach program for women veterans and their families.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-05-22
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Introduced in House
To amend title 35, United States Code, to limit the patentability of tax planning methods.

Bill: 111-hr-2584
Sponsor: Rep. Boucher, Rick [D-VA-9]
Introduced: 2009-05-21 in the House
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Intellectual property
Tax administration and collection, taxpayers

Summary:
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: 
Amends federal patent law to deny a patent for a tax planning method. Defines &quot;tax planning method&quot; as any method for reducing, minimizing, or deferring tax liability (not including tax preparation software). 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Introduced in House