hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Executive Accountability Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-1529
Sponsor: Sen. Byrd, Robert C. [D-WV]
Introduced: 2009-07-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Conflicts and wars
Congressional oversight
Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Criminal procedure and sentencing
Federal officials
Fraud offenses and financial crimes
Government ethics and transparency, public corruption
Military operations and strategy
Presidents and presidential powers, Vice Presidents
War and emergency powers

Summary:
action_date: 2009-07-28
text: 
Executive Accountability Act of 2009 - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit the President, Vice President, or any officer or employee of the executive branch from knowingly and willfully misleading Congress for the purpose of gaining Congress's support for the use of force by the Armed Forces of the United States by: (1) falsifying, concealing, or covering up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact; (2) making any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation; or (3) making or using any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry. 
 
Makes such offense punishable by a fine and up to 10 years' imprisonment. Suspends the running of any statute of limitations applicable to such offense until the end of the term of the President in office at the time the offense is committed. 
 
Requires a referral to the Attorney General of any resolution passed by either house of Congress finding that a violation of this Act has occurred.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-07-30
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S8548-8549)
action_date: 2009-07-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2009-07-28
text: Introduced in Senate
Protecting Resort Cities from Discrimination Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-1530
Sponsor: Sen. Reid, Harry [D-NV]
Introduced: 2009-07-29 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Economic performance and conditions
Executive agency funding and structure
Travel and tourism

Summary:
action_date: 2009-07-29
text: 
Protecting Resort Cities from Discrimination Act of 2009 - Prohibits a federal agency from establishing or implementing an internal policy that discourages or prohibits the selection of a travel, event, meeting, or conference location because it is perceived to be a resort or vacation destination.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-07-29
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. (text of measure as introduced: CR S8274)
action_date: 2009-07-29
text: Introduced in Senate
Department of Veterans Affairs Reorganization Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-1531
Sponsor: Sen. Pryor, Mark L. [D-AR]
Introduced: 2009-07-29 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Department of Veterans Affairs
Executive agency funding and structure
Federal officials

Summary:
action_date: 2009-07-29
text: 
Department of Veterans Affairs Reorganization Act of 2009 - Increases the authorized number of Assistant Secretaries in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from seven to eight and requires that one be the Assistant Secretary for Acquisition, Logistics, and Construction. Increases the authorized number of Deputy Assistant Secretaries from 19 to 27 and authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to appoint not more than 8 Deputy Assistant Secretaries to manage VA construction, facilities, asset management, and information technology programs. Repeals provisions requiring that there be in the VA a Director of Construction and Facilities Management.
 

 



Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-10-21
text: Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 111-264.
action_date: 2009-07-29
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2009-07-29
text: Introduced in Senate
Promoting Innovations to 21st Century Careers Act

Bill: 111-s-1532
Sponsor: Sen. Murray, Patty [D-WA]
Introduced: 2009-07-29 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Academic performance and assessments
Advisory bodies
Education of the disadvantaged
Education programs funding
Educational facilities and institutions
Educational technology and distance education
Elementary and secondary education
Employment and training programs
Executive agency funding and structure
Government information and archives
Higher education
Licensing and registrations
Performance measurement
Public-private cooperation
Teaching, teachers, curricula
Vocational and technical education

Summary:
action_date: 2009-07-29
text: 
Promoting Innovations to 21st Century Careers Act - Authorizes the Director of the National Academic and Career Innovation Center to award certain planning, implementation, transitional, and supplemental grants to state pathways partnerships to carry out activities that will create and enhance educational and career pathways for high school students to postsecondary schools (including registered apprenticeship programs) and to 21st century careers, particularly in high skill, high demand industries.
 
Requires the state partnerships to be appointed by state governors and include representatives from educational, business, labor, workforce, and economic development entities in their respective states.
 
Establishes the National Academic and Career Innovation Center to: (1) support the efforts of the state partnerships and regional partnerships (which are to receive competitive implementation subgrants from state partnerships) to offer career pathways of proven effectiveness; (2) design and conduct performance evaluations of career pathways activities; and (3) administer, oversee, and evaluate all career pathways grants.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-07-29
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2009-07-29
text: Introduced in Senate
Appalachian Development Highway System Completion Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-1534
Sponsor: Sen. Byrd, Robert C. [D-WV]
Introduced: 2009-07-29 in the Senate
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Government trust funds
Roads and highways
Rural conditions and development
Transportation programs funding

Summary:
action_date: 2009-07-29
text: 
Appalachian Development Highway System Completion Act of 2009 - Authorizes appropriations out of the Highway Trust Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account) for FY2010-FY2015 for the Appalachian development highway system program. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to apportion such funds among the appropriate states to complete construction of the Appalachian development highway system.
 
Authorizes states of the system to loan apportioned amounts between themselves.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-07-29
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2009-07-29
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S8274)
action_date: 2009-07-29
text: Introduced in Senate
Protect America's Wildlife Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-1535
Sponsor: Sen. Feinstein, Dianne [D-CA]
Introduced: 2009-07-29 in the Senate
Policy area: Animals
Subjects: Animal protection and human-animal relationships
Aviation and airports
Crimes against animals and natural resources
Endangered and threatened species
Wildlife conservation and habitat protection

Summary:
action_date: 2009-07-29
text: 
Protect America's Wildlife Act of 2009 - Amends the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 to impose criminal penalties on anyone who knowingly violates any regulation prohibiting the shooting or harassing of birds, fish, or other animals from aircraft (airborne hunting). Increases the monetary penalty for airborne hunting from $5,000 to $50,000. Expands the exceptions to the prohibition against airborne hunting to include enhancing the propagation and survival of wildlife or preventing the extinction of a species threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-07-29
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. (text of measure as introduced: CR S8275-8276)
action_date: 2009-07-29
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S8274-8275)
action_date: 2009-07-29
text: Introduced in Senate
ALERT Drivers Act

Bill: 111-s-1536
Sponsor: Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY]
Introduced: 2009-07-29 in the Senate
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Motor vehicles
Public transit
Roads and highways
Telephone and wireless communication
Transportation programs funding
Transportation safety and security

Summary:
action_date: 2009-07-29
text: 
Avoiding Life-Endangering and Reckless Texting by Drivers Act of 2009 or the ALERT Drivers Act - Requires the Secretary of Transportation to withhold 25% of a state's apportionment of certain federal-aid highway program funds for the fiscal year if the state has not enacted or is not enforcing a law that: (1) prohibits, except in an emergency, an operator of a motor vehicle from writing, sending, or reading a text message using a hand-held mobile telephone (excluding a voice-activated device); and (2) requires, upon conviction of a violation of such prohibition, the imposition of certain minimum penalties.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-07-29
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2009-07-29
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the National Park Service, to designate the Dr. Norman E. Borlaug Birthplace and Childhood Home in Cresco, Iowa, as a National Historic Site and as a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes.

Bill: 111-s-1537
Sponsor: Sen. Grassley, Chuck [R-IA]
Introduced: 2009-07-29 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Agricultural practices and innovations
Historic sites and heritage areas
Iowa
Land transfers
Parks, recreation areas, trails

Summary:
action_date: 2009-07-29
text: 
Requires, if the Secretary of the Interior acquires by donation from the Borlaug Heritage Foundation fee simple and unencumbered title to the Norman E. Borlaug Birthplace site and the Norman E. Borlaug Childhood Home site (both in Cresco, Iowa) and any related personal property, designation of all such property as a National Historic Site and as a unit of the National Park System, to be known as the &quot;Dr. Norman E. Borlaug Birthplace Home National Historic Site.&quot;


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2010-03-17
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 111-476.
action_date: 2009-07-29
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2009-07-29
text: Introduced in Senate
Black Carbon and Other Aerosols Research Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-1538
Sponsor: Sen. Rockefeller, John D., IV [D-WV]
Introduced: 2009-07-29 in the Senate
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: Advisory bodies
Air quality
Climate change and greenhouse gases
Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
Research administration and funding

Summary:
action_date: 2009-07-29
text: 
Black Carbon and Other Aerosols Research Act of 2009 - Directs the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to: (1) develop an observation, monitoring, modeling, and research plan for black carbon and other aerosols that contribute to climate-forcing and climate change, which shall analyze research gaps, identify federal research priorities, include a framework for modeling effects on climate, identify sources, monitor atmospheric concentrations, and provide for assets necessary to develop a monitoring and research program; and (2) establish a Black Carbon and Other Aerosols Advisory Panel to assist in development and implementation of such plan.
 
Directs the Administrator to establish a black carbon and other aerosols monitoring and research program that combines observations, research, monitoring, modeling, and other activities within NOAA, consistent with such plan, and that includes: (1) coordinated monitoring and research activities to improve understanding of specified factors that influence the contribution of such substances to climate change processes; (2) strategic modeling activities to improve understanding of the transportation and transformation of such substances, their distributions and climate-forcing properties, and their roles in climate change and air quality; (3) educational opportunities that encourage an interdisciplinary and international approach to exploring such substances' associated sources and impacts; (4) public outreach activities; and (5) coordination of monitoring research with various agencies and entities.
 
Directs the Administrator to establish a program to provide grants for critical research and projects that improve the ability to measure, monitor, model, and assess such substances with respect to atmospheric concentrations and deposited forms, including research that supports means of reducing their impacts on climate.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-07-29
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. (text of measure as introduced: CR S8276-8277)
action_date: 2009-07-29
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S8276)
action_date: 2009-07-29
text: Introduced in Senate
Greenhouse Gas Observation and Analysis System Act

Bill: 111-s-1539
Sponsor: Sen. Rockefeller, John D., IV [D-WV]
Introduced: 2009-07-29 in the Senate
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: Air quality
Climate change and greenhouse gases
Congressional oversight
Earth sciences
Environmental assessment, monitoring, research

Summary:
action_date: 2009-07-29
text: 
Greenhouse Gas Observation and Analysis System Act - Directs the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to establish a greenhouse gas observation and analysis system that will offer the resolution and widespread coverage required to verify reduction and mitigation of greenhouse gases. Requires the system to: (1) be an operational and scientifically robust greenhouse gas observation system that provides quantitative information about sources, sinks, and fluxes of greenhouse gases at relevant temporal and spatial scales; (2) be capable of differentiating between source and sink exchanges, identifying types of emissions, and tracking agricultural and other sinks; and (3) include sustained ground, sea, and air-based measurements, sustained space-based observations, measurements of tracer, carbon cycle monitoring and modeling, traceability to the International System of Units, and data assimilation and analysis.
 
Directs the Administrator to develop and submit to specified congressional committees a plan for an integrated and comprehensive greenhouse gas observation and analysis system, which shall: (1) describe current greenhouse gas observation networks, modeling, and data analysis efforts; (2) contain an inventory of agency data relevant to greenhouse gases; (3) assess gaps, conflicts, and opportunities with respect to such efforts and data; (4) establish priorities, define agency roles, and make recommendations on necessary capacity and capabilities for measurements, monitoring, modeling, analysis, and data management; (5) establish mechanisms for ensuring continuity of greenhouse gas measurements; and (6) contribute to international efforts to build and operate a global greenhouse gas information system.
 
Requires the Administrator to report to Congress every four years on the effectiveness of the system, progress in achieving plan objectives, the consistency of reported greenhouse gas emissions with independent observations, and changes in Earth-system sources and sinks of greenhouse gases.
 



Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-07-29
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. (text of measure as introduced: CR S8277-8278)
action_date: 2009-07-29
text: Introduced in Senate
Resolution Reform Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-1540
Sponsor: Sen. Corker, Bob [R-TN]
Introduced: 2009-07-30 in the Senate
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Bank accounts, deposits, capital
Banking and financial institutions regulation
Bankruptcy
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
Financial crises and stabilization

Summary:
action_date: 2009-07-30
text: 
 Resolution Reform Act of 2009 - Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to make it the responsibility of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and its Board of Directors, using the powers and authorities conferred by this Act, to resolve depository institution holding companies of failed or failing insured depository institutions (including their affiliates and subsidiaries).
 
Requires the FDIC to accept appointment and act as receiver of a covered depository institution holding company if it determines, in its sole discretion, that such appointment will reduce the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund, and that specified grounds exist.
 
Sets forth conditions for appointment of the FDIC as receiver. 
 
Permits the FDIC to decline to accept appointment for a covered depository institution holding company, when, in its sole discretion, it determines that resolution of the company would be better accomplished under either federal bankruptcy law or state insurance law.
 
Shields the FDIC from direction or supervision of any other federal or state agency when in its status as receiver it exercises its rights, powers, and privileges.
 
States that: (1) appointment of the FDIC as receiver terminates any proceeding under either federal bankruptcy law or state insolvency law with respect to the subject holding company; and (2) no case or proceeding may be commenced against such holding company while the FDIC acts as receiver without the written agreement of the FDIC.
 
Permits judicial review regarding appointment of the FDIC as receiver.
 
Sets forth the powers and duties of the FDIC as receiver. Authorizes the FDIC to make a determination of troubled condition for any covered company that does not have an appropriate federal banking agency.
 
Authorizes the FDIC to cooperate and coordinate with foreign courts, foreign representatives, and foreign regulatory or supervisory authorities.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-07-30
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. (text of measure as introduced: CR S8559-8561)
action_date: 2009-07-30
text: Introduced in Senate
Private Student Loan Debt Swap Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-1541
Sponsor: Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH]
Introduced: 2009-07-30 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Education programs funding
Government information and archives
Government lending and loan guarantees
Higher education
Interest, dividends, interest rates
Student aid and college costs

Summary:
action_date: 2009-07-30
text: 
Private Student Loan Debt Swap Act of 2009 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to implement a Private Education Loan Debt Swap program.
 
Requires the Secretary, under such program, to refinance the private education loans of certain borrowers who: (1) after July 1, 1994, were eligible for unsubsidized Stafford Loans under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program, or, after July 1, 2006, were eligible for FFEL PLUS Loans for graduate or professional education; (2) are not in default on a loan made, insured, or guaranteed under title IV; and (3) have made at least two consecutive payments on the private education loan to be refinanced and are not more than 90 days delinquent on such loan.
 
Makes the program applicable only to private education loans incurred after July 1, 1994, and before July 1, 2010, which were used for the cost of enrolling at institutions of higher education eligible to participate in title IV programs. 
 
Sets the interest rate on such refinanced loans at the rate applicable to: (1) unsubsidized Stafford loans, for borrowers who were eligible for such loans; and (2) Federal Direct PLUS loans, for borrowers who were eligible for those loans. 
 
Gives refinanced loans the same repayment terms, conditions, and benefits as Consolidation Loans under the Direct Loan program.
 
Directs the Secretary carry out a national awareness campaign on the availability and benefits of refinancing private education loans under this program.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-07-30
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2009-07-30
text: Introduced in Senate
Milk Import Tariff Equity Act

Bill: 111-s-1542
Sponsor: Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY]
Introduced: 2009-07-30 in the Senate
Policy area: Foreign Trade and International Finance
Subjects: Agricultural trade
Tariffs
Trade agreements and negotiations

Summary:
action_date: 2009-07-30
text: 
Milk Import Tariff Equity Act - Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to impose tariff-rate quotas (quantitative import limits) and provide various duty rates on certain casein, caseinates, milk protein concentrate, and other casein derivatives and glues imported into the United States (except imports from Mexico).
 
Authorizes the President to: (1) enter into a trade agreement with a foreign country to grant new concessions as compensation in order to maintain the general level of reciprocal and mutually advantageous concessions; and (2) proclaim any necessary modification or continuance of any existing duty, or continuance of existing duty-free or excise treatment, or any quantitative limitation. Sets forth certain limits on the reduction of duties on such products.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-07-30
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2009-07-30
text: Introduced in Senate