hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Home Energy Retrofit Finance Program Act

Bill: 111-s-1246
Sponsor: Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT]
Introduced: 2009-06-11 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Alternative and renewable resources
Employment and training programs
Energy efficiency and conservation
Housing and community development funding
Residential rehabilitation and home repair

Summary:
action_date: 2009-06-11
text: 
Home Energy Retrofit Finance Program Act - Directs the Secretary to Energy (DOE) to: (1) provide Home Energy Retrofit Finance Program grants to states to establish or expand revolving finance funds to support financing for energy efficiency measures and renewable energy improvements to existing homes and residential buildings; and (2) conduct and report to Congress on an evaluation of such Program.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-06-11
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. (text of measure as introduced: CR S6552-6553)
action_date: 2009-06-11
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S6552)
action_date: 2009-06-11
text: Introduced in Senate
Orphans, Widows, and Widowers Protection Act

Bill: 111-s-1247
Sponsor: Sen. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2009-06-11 in the Senate
Policy area: Immigration
Subjects: Administrative remedies
Family relationships
Immigration status and procedures
Visas and passports

Summary:
action_date: 2009-06-11
text: 
Orphans, Widows, and Widowers Protection Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to revise the definition of &quot;immediate relative&quot; to: (1) permit a widow or widower of a U.S. citizen to seek permanent resident status if married less than two years by showing through a preponderance of the evidence that the marriage was entered into in good faith and not solely to obtain an immigration benefit; and (2) include an alien who was the child or parent of a U.S. citizen at the time of the citizen's death if the alien parent files a petition within two years after such date or the alien child files a petition prior to reaching 21 years old.
 
Provides specified relief for orphans and spouses regarding: (1) petitions for immediate relative status; (2) parole eligibility; (3) permanent resident status adjustment; and (4) processing of immigrant visas.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-06-11
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2009-06-11
text: Introduced in Senate
Green Transportation Efficiency Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-1248
Sponsor: Sen. Casey, Robert P., Jr. [D-PA]
Introduced: 2009-06-11 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Business records
Consumer affairs
Department of Energy
Energy efficiency and conservation
Government information and archives
Income tax exclusion
Motor vehicles
Retail and wholesale trades

Summary:
action_date: 2009-06-11
text: 
Green Transportation Efficiency Act of 2009 - Establishes in the Department of Energy (DOE) a Green Transportation Efficiency Program through which the Secretary of Energy shall: (1) authorize issuance of an electronic voucher to offset the purchase or lease price for a new fuel efficient automobile or motorcycle upon the surrender to a participating dealer of an eligible trade-in vehicle; (2) certify dealers for Program participation; (3) make electronic payments to them for vouchers they accept between January 1, 2009, and three years after implementing regulations are promulgated; (4) provide for the payment of rebates to qualifying persons; and (5) establish enforcement of measures to prevent and penalize fraud under the Program.
 
 
Prescribes requirements, including combined fuel economy, for $2,500, $3,500, and $4,500 vouchers to offset the purchase or lease price for a qualifying passenger automobile, truck, or motorcycle.
 
Limits the number of vouchers to one per customer, including joint registered owners of a single eligible trade-in vehicle.
 
Requires a dealer to certify about each eligible trade-in vehicle that the dealer: (1) has not and will not sell, lease, exchange, or otherwise dispose of the vehicle for use as an automobile in the United States or in any other country; and (2) will transfer the vehicle to an entity that will ensure that it will be crushed or shredded within the Program period, and has not been, and will not be, sold, leased, exchanged, or otherwise disposed of for use as an automobile anywhere in the world. Declares that such restrictions shall not prevent a person who dismantles or disposes of such vehicle from selling any of its parts (except the engine block and drive train, unless they have been crushed or shredded) and retaining sale proceeds.
 
Makes any person who purchased or leased a new fuel efficient vehicle after January 1, 2009, and before the enactment of this Act eligible for a cash rebate equivalent to the appropriate voucher amount.
 
Makes it unlawful for any person knowingly to violate this Act or any regulations issued under it, particularly by fraud. Prescribes civil penalties for any such violation.
 
Directs the Secretary to make Program information available on an Internet website and through other means.
 
Prescribes standards which any regulations issued by the Secretary for the Program must meet. 
 

 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-06-11
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text of measure as introduced: CR S6554-6556)
action_date: 2009-06-11
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S6553-6554)
action_date: 2009-06-11
text: Introduced in Senate
Medicare Payment Improvement Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-1249
Sponsor: Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN]
Introduced: 2009-06-11 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Advisory bodies
Health care quality
Health personnel
Hospital care
Medicare

Summary:
action_date: 2009-06-11
text: 
Medicare Payment Improvement Act of 2009 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to determine a value index for the physician work component for each Medicare hospital referral area. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-06-11
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2009-06-11
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S6491-6494)
action_date: 2009-06-11
text: Introduced in Senate
Algae-based Renewable Fuel Promotion Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-1250
Sponsor: Sen. Nelson, Bill [D-FL]
Introduced: 2009-06-11 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Alternative and renewable resources
Business investment and capital
Income tax credits
Income tax deductions

Summary:
action_date: 2009-06-11
text: 
Algae-based Renewable Fuel Promotion Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) expand the definition of cellulosic biofuel to include algae-based biofuel for purposes of the cellulosic biofuel producer tax credit; and (2) allow accelerated depreciation of property used to produce algae-based biofuel. Defines &quot;algae-based biofuel&quot; as any liquid fuel which is produced from the biomass of an algal organism (i.e., an organism that is primarily aquatic and classified as a non-vascular plant).


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-06-11
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text of measure as introduced: CR S6557)
action_date: 2009-06-11
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S6556-6557)
action_date: 2009-06-11
text: Introduced in Senate
Senior Navigation and Planning Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-1251
Sponsor: Sen. Warner, Mark R. [D-VA]
Introduced: 2009-06-11 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Advisory bodies
Department of Health and Human Services
Executive agency funding and structure
Government information and archives
Health promotion and preventive care
Home and outpatient care
Hospital care
Long-term, rehabilitative, and terminal care
Medicaid
Medicare

Summary:
action_date: 2009-06-11
text: 
Senior Navigation and Planning Act of 2009 - Amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for Medicare and Medicaid coverage of advanced illness care management services.
 
Amends the Public Health Services Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), through grants or contracts, to conduct a national public education campaign on planning for care near the end of life, including advance directives.
 
Directs the Secretary to provide for the establishment of a national, toll-free information telephone line and a clearinghouse regarding advance directive and end-of-life decisions.
 

 

 
Directs the Secretary to establish the Senior Navigation Advisory Board.
 
Requires physicians and nurse practitioners to inform individuals with specified diseases about advance directives and other end-of-life planning tools.
 
Requires a service provider, Medicare Advantage organization, or prepaid or eligible organization to give effect to an advance directive executed outside the state in which such directive is presented (portability).
 
Requires medical providers to honor written orders for medical care.
 
Provides incentive payments to hospitals for accreditation and certification in hospice and palliative care.
 
Directs the Secretary to conduct a pilot program under Medicare to test the use of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services discharge checklist.
 
Directs the Secretary to establish or designate an Office on Medicare/Medicaid Integration.
 
Directs the Secretary to establish and maintain a website providing information, online training, and instructional materials for entities, including faith-based organizations, on end-of-life issues. Authorizes grants to such entities to develop such training and materials.
 
Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to entities to develop and provide services for terminally ill individuals who are receiving hospice care in their own homes. 
 
Directs the Secretary to study and report to Congress on the storage of advance directives, and the Comptroller General to study and report on the provisions of this Act.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-06-11
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2009-06-11
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S6558)
action_date: 2009-06-11
text: Introduced in Senate
Automobile Dealers Assistance Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-1253
Sponsor: Sen. Corker, Bob [R-TN]
Introduced: 2009-06-11 in the Senate
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Bankruptcy
Contracts and agency
Government lending and loan guarantees
Manufacturing
Motor vehicles
Retail and wholesale trades

Summary:
action_date: 2009-06-11
text: 
Automobile Dealers Assistance Act of 2009 - Conditions the provision of federal funds to automobile manufacturers or distributors in connection with a bankruptcy proceeding on their use of such funds to fully reimburse their dealers for certain costs the dealers incurred over the nine months preceding the commencement of such bankruptcy.
 
Counts as reimbursable costs over that period: (1) the costs of acquiring all parts and inventory in the dealer's possession on the same basis as if the dealer were terminating pursuant to an existing franchise or dealer agreement; and (2) all other obligations owed by the automobile manufacturer or its distributor pursuant to an agreement with the dealer.
 
Requires such dealer reimbursement terms to be included in the wording of agreements between such manufacturers or their distributors and the federal government, and in the terms of credit agreements approved by bankruptcy courts.
 
Prohibits the rejection of franchise or dealer agreements by automobile manufacturers or their distributors that are debtors in a bankruptcy proceeding from becoming effective until at least 180 days after approval by a bankruptcy court.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-06-11
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S6560)
action_date: 2009-06-11
text: Introduced in Senate
Flexibility in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-1255
Sponsor: Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY]
Introduced: 2009-06-11 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Department of Commerce
Fishes
Marine and coastal resources, fisheries

Summary:
action_date: 2009-06-11
text: 
Flexibility in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act of 2009 - Amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to require fishery management plans, amendments, or regulations for overfished fisheries to specify a time period for ending overfishing and rebuilding the fishery that is as short as practicable (under current law, as short as possible). Modifies the exceptions to the requirement that such period not exceed ten years.
 
Requires consideration, in evaluating progress to end overfishing and rebuild overfished stocks, of factors other than commercial and recreational fishing.
 
Requires, when the Secretary of Commerce extends the period under specified provisions, that the maximum rebuilding time not exceed the sum of the initial ten-year period, the expected time to rebuild the stock absent any fishing mortality and under prevailing environmental conditions, and the mean generation time of the stock.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-06-11
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2009-06-11
text: Introduced in Senate
Project 2020: Building on the Promise of Home and Community-Based Services Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-1257
Sponsor: Sen. Cantwell, Maria [D-WA]
Introduced: 2009-06-11 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Health programs administration and funding
Health promotion and preventive care
Home and outpatient care
Long-term, rehabilitative, and terminal care
Nursing

Summary:
action_date: 2009-06-11
text: 
Project 2020: Building on the Promise of Home and Community-Based Services Act of 2009 - Amends the Social Security Act (SSA) to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a single-entry point system of grants to states for their own single-entry point systems providing information and counseling about public and private long-term services and supports.
 
Directs the Secretary to establish a healthy living program, with grants to state agencies for the federal share of the cost of carrying out evidence-based disease prevention and health promotion programs.
 
Directs the Secretary to establish a diversion program of grants to states for the federal share of the cost of carrying out enhanced nursing home diversion programs enabling individuals ineligible for medical assistance under SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to avoid admission into nursing homes by helping them to obtain alternative home and community-based long-term services and supports.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-06-11
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text of measure as introduced: CR S6564-6568)
action_date: 2009-06-11
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S6564)
action_date: 2009-06-11
text: Introduced in Senate
Family Building Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-1258
Sponsor: Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY]
Introduced: 2009-06-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Employee benefits and pensions
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Health care costs and insurance
Health care coverage and access
Health technology, devices, supplies
Sex and reproductive health

Summary:
action_date: 2009-06-15
text: 
Family Building Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) to require a group health plan that provides coverage for obstetrical services to include coverage for non-experimental treatment of infertility that is deemed appropriate by a participant or beneficiary and the treating physician. Requires coverage for assisted reproductive technology only if certain conditions are met. Prohibits a group health plan from taking specified actions to avoid the requirements of this Act.
 
Applies such requirements to health insurance coverage offered in the individual market and coverage offered through Federal Employees Health Benefit (FEHB) plans.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-06-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2009-06-15
text: Introduced in Senate
PATIENTS Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-1259
Sponsor: Sen. Kyl, Jon [R-AZ]
Introduced: 2009-06-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Genetics
Health care coverage and access
Health information and medical records
Health programs administration and funding
Medical research
Minority health

Summary:
action_date: 2009-06-15
text: 
Preserving Access to Targeted, Individualized, and Effective New Treatments and Services (PATIENTS) Act of 2009 or the PATIENTS Act of 2009 - Prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) from using data obtained from the conduct of comparative effectiveness research, including such research that is conducted or supported using funds appropriated under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, to deny coverage of an item or service under a federal health care program. Requires the Secretary to ensure that comparative effectiveness research conducted or supported by the federal government accounts for factors contributing to differences in the treatment response and preferences of patients, including patient-reported outcomes, genomics and personalized medicine, the unique needs of health disparity populations, and indirect patient benefits.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-06-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (text of measure as introduced: CR S6585)
action_date: 2009-06-15
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S6582-6585)
action_date: 2009-06-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Detainee Photographic Records Protection Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-1260
Sponsor: Sen. Lieberman, Joseph I. [ID-CT]
Introduced: 2009-06-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Detention of persons
Diplomacy, foreign officials, Americans abroad
Freedom of information
Government information and archives
Human rights
Military operations and strategy
Photography and imaging

Summary:
action_date: 2009-06-15
text: 
Detainee Photographic Records Protection Act of 2009 - Requires the Secretary of Defense to: (1) submit a certification to the President for any photograph taken between September 11, 2001, and January 22, 2009, that relates to the treatment of individuals engaged, captured, or detained after September 11, 2001, by the U.S. Armed Forces in operations outside of the United States if the Secretary determines that disclosure of such photograph would endanger U.S. citizens or members of the Armed Forces or U.S. government employees deployed outside the United States; and (2) submit timely notice of such certification to Congress.
 
Authorizes the Secretary to submit a renewal of a certification at any time. Provides that a certification or a renewal shall expire after three years.
 
Exempts such a certified photograph from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), but does not preclude voluntary disclosure.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-06-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2009-06-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Senior Navigation and Planning Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-1263
Sponsor: Sen. Warner, Mark R. [D-VA]
Introduced: 2009-06-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Advisory bodies
Department of Health and Human Services
Executive agency funding and structure
Government information and archives
Health promotion and preventive care
Home and outpatient care
Hospital care
Long-term, rehabilitative, and terminal care
Medicaid
Medicare

Summary:
action_date: 2009-06-15
text: 
Senior Navigation and Planning Act of 2009 - Amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for Medicare and Medicaid coverage of advanced illness care management services.
 
Amends the Public Health Services Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), through grants or contracts, to conduct a national public education campaign on planning for care near the end of life, including advance directives.
 
Directs the Secretary to provide for the establishment of a national, toll-free information telephone line and a clearinghouse regarding advance directive and end-of-life decisions.
 

 

 
Directs the Secretary to establish the Senior Navigation Advisory Board.
 
Requires physicians and nurse practitioners to inform individuals with specified diseases about advance directives and other end-of-life planning tools.
 
Requires a service provider, Medicare Advantage organization, or prepaid or eligible organization to give effect to an advance directive executed outside the state in which such directive is presented (portability).
 
Requires medical providers to honor written orders for medical care.
 
Provides incentive payments to hospitals for accreditation and certification in hospice and palliative care.
 
Directs the Secretary to conduct a pilot program under Medicare to test the use of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services discharge checklist.
 
Directs the Secretary to establish or designate an Office on Medicare/Medicaid Integration.
 
Directs the Secretary to establish and maintain a website providing information, online training, and instructional materials for entities, including faith-based organizations, on end-of-life issues. Authorizes grants to such entities to develop such training and materials.
 
Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to entities to develop and provide services for terminally ill individuals who are receiving hospice care in their own homes. 
 
Directs the Secretary to study and report to Congress on the storage of advance directives, and the Comptroller General to study and report on the provisions of this Act.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-06-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2009-06-15
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S6573-6575)
action_date: 2009-06-15
text: Introduced in Senate