hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Defense Communities Assistance Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-590
Sponsor: Sen. Snowe, Olympia J. [R-ME]
Introduced: 2009-03-12 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Civil actions and liability
Congressional oversight
Economic development
Hazardous wastes and toxic substances
Land transfers
Military facilities and property
Military procurement, research, weapons development
Public contracts and procurement

Summary:
action_date: 2009-03-12
text: 
Defense Communities Assistance Act of 2009 - Expresses the sense of Congress on the necessity of assisting local communities coping with the impact of base closures and realignments and other military actions.
 
Extends permanently (under current law, terminated at the end of FY2008) the authority of the Secretary of the military department concerned to convey, for certain purposes, real property on a military installation determined to be excess to the needs of the Department of Defense (DOD).
 
Authorizes the Secretary concerned to contract for the procurement of municipal services for a U.S. military installation from a county, municipal government, or other local governmental unit in the area. Authorizes such Secretary to so contract using procedures other than competitive procedures, under certain conditions and after congressional notification.
 
Amends the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 to extend through FY2020 a pilot program for the purchase of certain municipal services for military installations.
 
Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1993 to broaden the indemnification provided to transferees of military properties.
 
Reinstates provisions of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 which allow military departments to transfer surplus real and personal property at closed or realigned military installations without consideration to local redevelopment authorities when used for economic development purposes, without the requirement to assess the property's value.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-03-12
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services. (text of measure as introduced: CR S3083-3084)
action_date: 2009-03-12
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3082-3083)
action_date: 2009-03-12
text: Introduced in Senate
National Commission on High-Level Radioactive Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel Establishment Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-591
Sponsor: Sen. Reid, Harry [D-NV]
Introduced: 2009-03-12 in the Senate
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: Advisory bodies
Energy research
Executive agency funding and structure
Government corporations and government-sponsored enterprises
Hazardous wastes and toxic substances
Nevada
Nuclear power
Public contracts and procurement
Research and development
User charges and fees

Summary:
action_date: 2009-03-12
text: 
National Commission on High-Level Radioactive Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel Establishment Act of 2009 - Establishes the National Commission on High-Level Radioactive Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel to evaluate alternatives to high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel strategies of the federal government.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-03-12
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. (text of measure as introduced: CR S3085-3086)
action_date: 2009-03-12
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3084-3085)
action_date: 2009-03-12
text: Introduced in Senate
Ban Poisonous Additives Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-593
Sponsor: Sen. Feinstein, Dianne [D-CA]
Introduced: 2009-03-12 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Department of Health and Human Services
Food industry and services
Food supply, safety, and labeling
Hazardous wastes and toxic substances
Health promotion and preventive care
Product safety and quality
Sex and reproductive health

Summary:
action_date: 2009-03-12
text: 
Ban Poisonous Additives Act of 2009 - Treats any food container that is composed, in whole or in part, of bisphenol A or that can release bisphenol A into food as a container that is composed of a poisonous or deleterious substance for purposes of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Bans the use of such containers. Allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services to grant a waiver of such ban for one year (renewable for an additional year) under specified circumstances. Requires any product for which the Secretary grants a waiver to display a prominent warning on its label of the potential health effects associated with bisphenol A. 
 
Directs the Commissioner of Food and Drugs to periodically review substances listed in federal regulations and generally recognized as safe. Requires any such substances that are shown by new scientific evidence to cause reproductive or developmental toxicity in humans or animals to be banned or otherwise restricted. 
 
Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require (currently, permits) a manufacturer or supplier of a food contact substance to notify the Secretary of the identity, intended use, and safety of any such substance and of determinations as to the health effects of such substance. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-03-12
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (text of measure as introduced: CR S3087-3088)
action_date: 2009-03-12
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3086-3087)
action_date: 2009-03-12
text: Introduced in Senate
Agriculture Smart Trade Act

Bill: 111-s-594
Sponsor: Sen. Casey, Robert P., Jr. [D-PA]
Introduced: 2009-03-12 in the Senate
Policy area: Foreign Trade and International Finance
Subjects: Agricultural trade
Free trade and trade barriers
Horticulture and plants
Livestock
Pest management
Trade agreements and negotiations
Trade restrictions
Veterinary medicine and animal diseases

Summary:
action_date: 2009-03-12
text: 
Agriculture Smart Trade Act - Requires the President, before initiating negotiations to enter into a free trade agreement with a foreign country, to report to Congress on: (1) invasive agricultural pests or diseases in that country; and (2) sanitary or phytosanitary measures imposed by the country's government on goods the country imports.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-03-12
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text of measure as introduced: CR S3089)
action_date: 2009-03-12
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3088-3089)
action_date: 2009-03-12
text: Introduced in Senate
Community Safety Initiative Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-595
Sponsor: Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI]
Introduced: 2009-03-16 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Community life and organization
Crime prevention
Economic development
Housing and community development funding
Law enforcement administration and funding

Summary:
action_date: 2009-03-16
text: 
Community Safety Initiative Act of 2009 - Authorizes the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs to make grants in FY2010-FY2015 to the Local Initiatives Support Corporation to carry out its Community Safety Initiative (a program of partnerships between police and community development corporations in troubled neighborhoods to address issues of persistent crime, disorder, and fear).


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-03-16
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2009-03-16
text: Introduced in Senate
Nanotechnology Innovation and Prize Competition Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-596
Sponsor: Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR]
Introduced: 2009-03-16 in the Senate
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications
Subjects: Advanced technology and technological innovations
Alternative and renewable resources
Consumer affairs
Energy storage, supplies, demand
Environmental technology
Health technology, devices, supplies
Product development and innovation

Summary:
action_date: 2009-03-16
text: 
Nanotechnology Innovation and Prize Competition Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Commerce, through the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), to establish a program to award prizes to eligible persons for achievement in one or more applications of nanotechnology for: (1) improvement of the environment, consistent with Twelve Principles of Green Chemistry of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); (2) development of alternative energy that has the potential to lessen the dependence of the United States on fossil fuels; (3) improvement of human health, consistent with regulations promulgated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); and (4) development of consumer products. 
 
Describes an eligible person as an individual who is: (1) a citizen or legal resident of the United States; (2) a member of a group that includes U.S. citizens or legal residents; or (3) an entity that is incorporated and maintains its primary place of business in the United States. 
 
Requires establishment of a board to administer the program. 
 
Allows the board to make awards under the program by: (1) holding a financial award competition and making an award to the first competitor to meet such criteria as the board shall establish; and (2) recognizing (without financial remuneration) an eligible person for superlative achievement in one or more of the nanotechnology applications described above and recommending to the Secretary that the President award the National Technology and Innovation Medal to each such eligible person recognized for such an achievement. 
 
Authorizes the board to contract with a private organization to administer such a financial award competition. Prohibits the federal government from acquiring an intellectual property right in any product or idea by virtue of the submission of such product or idea in any such competition. 
 
Requires the board to submit annual reports to Congress on the nanotechnology award program established by this Act.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-03-16
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. (text of measure as introduced: CR S3116)
action_date: 2009-03-16
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3115-3116)
action_date: 2009-03-16
text: Introduced in Senate
Women Veterans Health Care Improvement Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-597
Sponsor: Sen. Murray, Patty [D-WA]
Introduced: 2009-03-16 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Advisory bodies
Afghanistan
Asia
Child care and development
Department of Veterans Affairs
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Government studies and investigations
Health facilities and institutions
Health personnel
Iraq
Licensing and registrations
Medical education
Mental health
Middle East
Military operations and strategy
Minority health
Racial and ethnic relations
Sex offenses
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
Veterans' medical care
Women's health

Summary:
action_date: 2009-03-16
text: 
Women Veterans Health Care Improvement Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to: (1) report on barriers to the receipt of comprehensive health care through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) encountered by women veterans, especially those of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom; (2) provide for an independent study on health consequences for women veterans serving on active duty in deployments in such Operations; and (3) report on the employment of full-time managers for women veterans programs at VA medical centers.
 
Requires the Secretary to: (1) develop a plan to improve the provision of VA health care services to women veterans; (2) carry out a program of education, training, certification, and continuing medical education for mental health professionals providing care for veterans suffering from sexual trauma; (3) carry out a pilot program of providing reintegration and readjustment services in group retreat settings to women veterans recently separated from service after a prolonged deployment; and (4) carry out a pilot program on subsidies for child care for certain women veterans receiving health care from VA facilities.
 
Requires women veterans recently separated from service to be included on the Advisory Committee on Women Veterans and the Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans.
 
Authorizes the Secretary to furnish care to a newborn child of a woman veteran receiving VA maternity care for up to seven days after the birth of the child.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-03-16
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2009-03-16
text: Introduced in Senate
Appliance Standards Improvement Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-598
Sponsor: Sen. Bingaman, Jeff [D-NM]
Introduced: 2009-03-16 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Administrative remedies
Department of Energy
Electric power generation and transmission
Energy efficiency and conservation
Energy research
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Government studies and investigations
Lighting and heating
Lighting, heating, cooling
Manufacturing

Summary:
action_date: 2009-03-16
text: 
Appliance Standards Improvement Act of 2009 - Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to authorize any person to petition the Secretary of Energy to prescribe or amend test procedures that are used to measure energy use by: (1) covered products under the Department of Energy's (DOE's) energy conservation program for consumer products; and (2) certain industrial equipment. Requires DOE to respond to petitions within 180 days and publish a rule on the standard within three years if a petition is granted.
 
Revises the Energy Star Program by: (1) requiring the Secretary and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to update agreements that delineate DOE and EPA responsibilities; (2) expanding the duties of the Secretary and the Administrator, to include reviewing product categories at least once every three years or when market share for a category reaches 35%, updating product criteria for categories, requiring qualified products to demonstrate compliance with criteria, and developing standardized building energy audit methods; and (3) authorizing appropriations for the Program.
 
Requires test procedures for LED fixtures and LED light engines to be based on Illuminating Engineering Society of North America test procedure LM-79, Approved Method for Electrical and Photometric Testing of Solid-State Lighting Devices.
 
Establishes minimum energy efficiency standards for portable light fixtures manufactured on or after January 1, 2012. Phases out the use of incandescent light bulbs in portable light fixtures. Excludes a GU-24 base lamp from the definition of an incandescent lamp. Prohibits GU-24 adaptors from adapting a GU-24 socket to any other line voltage socket.
 
Requires the Secretary to conduct studies on: (1) compliance with appliance energy standards; and (2) the costs and benefits of requiring high-quality, direct-current electricity supply in certain buildings.
 
Requires the Secretary to assess the use of electric motors and the electric motor market in the United States and establish a program to increase awareness of higher efficiency electric motors.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-03-19
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 111-24.
action_date: 2009-03-16
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. (text of measure as introduced: CR S3117-3119)
action_date: 2009-03-16
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3116-3117)
action_date: 2009-03-16
text: Introduced in Senate
Safety for Americans from Nuclear Weapons Testing Act

Bill: 111-s-600
Sponsor: Sen. Bennett, Robert F. [R-UT]
Introduced: 2009-03-16 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Air quality
Cancer
Education programs funding
Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Health information and medical records
Health programs administration and funding
Higher education
Medical research
Military procurement, research, weapons development
Nevada
Nuclear weapons
Radioactive wastes and releases

Summary:
action_date: 2009-03-16
text: 
Safety for Americans from Nuclear Weapons Testing Act - Deems the resumption of underground nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site or the use of any other location for such testing to be a major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment for which a separate environmental impact statement is required under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Outlines information required to be included in such statement, including: (1) the possibility of radiation containment failure and the effects of such failure; (2) possible long-term effects on the water table from underground radiation leakage; and (3) information with respect to categories of weapons subject to testing.

Prohibits the United States from resuming any such testing unless authorized by a law enacted after the enactment of this Act.

Requires: (1) advance (seven days) public notice of each test; (2) prompt notice of each release of radiation resulting from a test; and (3) a study by the National Academy of Sciences on the safety and health of citizens in the vicinity of the Site. Establishes a Nevada Test Site Citizens Review Board to address environmental, health, and safety issues related to nuclear testing at the Site.

Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to make grants to institutions of higher education to acquire and operate for ten years radiation detection equipment and sensors.

Directs the Secretary of Energy, through the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to monitor any radiation released into the atmosphere as a result of such testing. Requires: (1) DOE radiation containment assessment; and (2) public notice of monitoring data.

Requires the: (1) Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to make a grant to establish the National Center for the Study of Radiation and Human Health; and (2) Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct a study of individuals exposed to nuclear weapons tests.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-03-16
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2009-03-16
text: Introduced in Senate
Firefighter Fatality Reduction Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-602
Sponsor: Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH]
Introduced: 2009-03-16 in the Senate
Policy area: Emergency Management
Subjects: Advisory bodies
Fires
Government studies and investigations
Worker safety and health

Summary:
action_date: 2009-03-16
text: 
Firefighter Fatality Reduction Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to conduct a survey of, and report to Congress on, the compliance of fire departments in the United States with national voluntary consensus standards for staffing, training, safe operations, personal protective equipment, and fitness. 
 
Requires the Secretary to establish a Task Force to Enhance Firefighter Safety to: (1) consult with the Secretary to conduct such survey; and (2) develop a plan to enhance firefighter safety by increasing compliance with such standards, including by reviewing and evaluating the report to determine the extent of and barriers to achieving compliance and by considering ways the federal government, states, and local governments can promote, encourage, or require compliance.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-03-16
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2009-03-16
text: Introduced in Senate
Frivolous Lawsuit Prevention Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-603
Sponsor: Sen. Grassley, Chuck [R-IA]
Introduced: 2009-03-16 in the Senate
Policy area: Law
Subjects: Civil actions and liability
Lawyers and legal services
Legal fees and court costs

Summary:
action_date: 2009-03-16
text: 
Frivolous Lawsuit Prevention Act of 2009 - Amends rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to change from discretionary to mandatory the authority of a court to impose sanctions for any representations in a pleading, written motion, or other paper that violate the Rule. 
 
Revises the requirements for such sanctions.
 
Allows monetary sanctions to be awarded against a party's attorneys.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-03-16
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2009-03-16
text: Introduced in Senate
Federal Reserve Sunshine Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-604
Sponsor: Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT]
Introduced: 2009-03-16 in the Senate
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Accounting and auditing
Bank accounts, deposits, capital
Congressional oversight
Federal Reserve System
Government studies and investigations
Monetary policy

Summary:
action_date: 2009-03-16
text: 
Federal Reserve Sunshine Act of 2009 - Repeals the authority of the Comptroller General to carry out an onsite examination of an open insured bank or bank holding company only if the appropriate federal regulatory agency has consented in writing. (Retains the authority of the Comptroller General to audit a federal agency.)
 
Directs the Comptroller General to complete, before the end of 2010, an audit of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and of the federal reserve banks, followed by a detailed report to Congress.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-03-16
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2009-03-16
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to require the Securities and Exchange Commission to reinstate the uptick rule and effectively regulate abusive short selling activities.

Bill: 111-s-605
Sponsor: Sen. Kaufman, Edward E. [D-DE]
Introduced: 2009-03-16 in the Senate
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Financial services and investments
Securities
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

Summary:
action_date: 2009-03-16
text: 
Directs the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to take specified actions to regulate short sales of securities, including: (1) reinstating regulations in effect on July 5, 2007, prohibiting short sales of securities unless the previous price movement on such securities had been upward (the uptick rule); (2) rescinding the prohibition against applying certain price tests to short sales; (3) requiring trades by short sellers to yield priority and preference to transactions effected by long sellers of securities; (4) prohibiting short sales of securities of financial institutions unless such trades are effected at a price (in minimum lots, as specified by the SEC) that is at least 5 cents higher than the immediately preceding transaction in such securities; and (5) issuing regulations that prohibit short sales unless the seller can demonstrate a legally enforceable right to deliver the securities at the required delivery date and that require all short sales to settle on the same time frame employed for long sales of the same securities.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-03-19
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3636-3539)
action_date: 2009-03-16
text: Referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. (text of measure as introduced: CR S3121)
action_date: 2009-03-16
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3120-3121, S3121)
action_date: 2009-03-16
text: Introduced in Senate