hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
A bill to provide benefits under the Post-Deployment/Mobilization Respite Absence program for certain periods before the implementation of the program.

Bill: 111-s-559
Sponsor: Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR]
Introduced: 2009-03-10 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Employee leave
Military personnel and dependents
Veterans' pensions and compensation

Summary:
action_date: 2009-03-10
text: 
Directs the Secretary of the military department concerned to provide uncharged leave or a monetary benefit to any member or former member of the Armed Forces who, on any day beginning on January 19, 2007, and ending on the date of implementation of the Post-Deployment/Mobilization Respite Absence program, would have qualified for a day of administrative absence under such program had it been in effect. Makes such benefit: (1) an amount not to exceed $200 for each day, in the case of a former member; and (2) either one day of administrative absence or an amount not to exceed $200, in the case of a current member. Excludes from such benefit any members discharged or released under other than honorable conditions. Sets at 40 the maximum number of days for which such benefit may be provided.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-03-10
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
action_date: 2009-03-10
text: Introduced in Senate
Employee Free Choice Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-560
Sponsor: Sen. Kennedy, Edward M. [D-MA]
Introduced: 2009-03-10 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Civil actions and liability
Employment discrimination and employee rights
Government studies and investigations
Labor-management relations

Summary:
action_date: 2009-03-10
text: 
Employee Free Choice Act of 2009 - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to require the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to certify a bargaining representative without directing an election if a majority of the bargaining unit employees have authorized designation of the representative (card-check) and there is no other individual or labor organization currently certified or recognized as the exclusive representative of any of the employees in the unit.
 
Sets forth special procedural requirements for reaching an initial collective bargaining agreement following certification or recognition.
 
Revises enforcement requirements with respect to unfair labor practices during union organizing drives, particularly a preliminary investigation of an alleged unfair labor practice (ULP) which may lead to proceedings for injunctive relief. 
 
Requires that priority be given to a preliminary investigation of any charge that, while employees were seeking representation by a labor organization, or during the period after a labor organization was recognized as a representative until the first collective bargaining contract is entered into, an employer: (1) discharged or otherwise discriminated against an employee to encourage or discourage membership in the labor organization; (2) threatened to discharge or to otherwise discriminate against an employee in order to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of guaranteed self-organization or collective bardaining rights; or (3) engaged in any other related ULP that significantly interferes with, restrains, or coerces employees in the exercise of such guaranteed rights.
 
Adds to remedies for such violations: (1) back pay plus liquidated damages; and (2) additional civil penalties.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-03-10
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2009-03-10
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S2966-2967)
action_date: 2009-03-10
text: Introduced in Senate
FLAME Act

Bill: 111-s-561
Sponsor: Sen. Bingaman, Jeff [D-NM]
Introduced: 2009-03-10 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Accounting and auditing
Advisory bodies
Congressional oversight
Disaster relief and insurance
Electric power generation and transmission
Emergency planning and evacuation
Fires
Forests, forestry, trees
Government information and archives
Government trust funds
Parks, recreation areas, trails
Water quality
Water use and supply
Watersheds

Summary:
action_date: 2009-03-10
text: 
Federal Land Assistance, Management and Enhancement Act or FLAME Act - Establishes in the Treasury the Federal Land Assistance, Management, and Enhancement Fund (Flame Fund). Requires amounts in the Flame Fund to be made available to the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture (the Secretaries) to pay the costs of catastrophic emergency wildland fire suppression activities that are separate from amounts annually appropriated for the predicted annual workload for such activities. 
 
Makes amounts in the Flame Fund available to the Secretaries only after such Secretaries issue a declaration that a wildland fire suppression activity is eligible for funding through the Fund. 
 
Directs such Secretaries to establish an accounting and reporting system for the Flame Fund.

Requires such Secretaries to: (1) report annually to Congress on the use of the funds from the Flame Fund, together with recommendations to improve administrative control and oversight of the Fund; and (2) submit a report to Congress that contains a cohesive wildland fire management strategy, consistent with the recommendations of Comptroller General reports. 

Requires the Secretaries to conduct a review of wildfires for which expenses exceeding $10 million were incurred.

 Authorizes the Secretaries to make grants to fire-ready communities, as defined by this Act, to carry out activities to reduce risks from wildfires.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-07-21
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held.
action_date: 2009-03-10
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2009-03-10
text: Introduced in Senate
Prepaid Calling Card Consumer Protection Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-562
Sponsor: Sen. Nelson, Bill [D-FL]
Introduced: 2009-03-10 in the Senate
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Consumer affairs
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Government information and archives
Telecommunication rates and fees

Summary:
action_date: 2009-03-10
text: 
Prepaid Calling Card Consumer Protection Act of 2009 - Requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to require every prepaid telephone calling service provider and prepaid telephone calling card distributor to disclose certain information, including: (1) the number of calling units or minutes of domestic interstate calls provided or the dollar value and the domestic interstate rate per minute; (2) the calling unit or per minute rates for each served international preferred destination; (3) the applicable per minute rates for each served international destination; (4) other material terms and conditions, including regarding fees, policies on refunds, recharges, decrements, and expiration, and time imitations; and (5) a toll-free customer service number and hours.
 
Makes it unlawful to: (1) deduct anything but the per minute rate and disclosed fees; (2) provide fewer minutes or charge a higher per minute rate than promoted or advertised; (3) provide fewer minutes than the number of minutes announced, promoted, or advertised through any voice prompt; (4) have an expiration date less than one year after first use (or after additional minutes are purchased); (5) charge a fee for an unconnected call; and (6) deduct a per-minute rate in an increment greater than one minute for calls that are less than one full minute (but allows deducting different destination-specific rates for each full minute of calling time in certain circumstances). Prohibits avoiding liability by stating that the terms are subject to fees or charges.
 
Treats violations as a violation of a rule defining an unfair or deceptive act or practice under specified provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act. Prohibits the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from exercising any authority given to the FTC under this Act.
 
Allows state civil enforcement and state laws offering greater protection to consumers.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-03-10
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. (text of measure as introduced: CR S2968-2970)
action_date: 2009-03-10
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S2967-2968)
action_date: 2009-03-10
text: Introduced in Senate
Utah Recreational Land Exchange Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-563
Sponsor: Sen. Bennett, Robert F. [R-UT]
Introduced: 2009-03-10 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Land transfers
Land use and conservation
Utah
Wilderness and natural areas, wildlife refuges, wild rivers, habitats

Summary:
action_date: 2009-03-10
text: 
Utah Recreational Land Exchange Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey specified federal land in Grand, San Juan, and Uintah Counties, Utah, to the state of Utah in exchange for specified non-federal land in such counties. Requires the conveyance to be in three phases.

 Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) land valuation, appraisal, and equalization; and (2) land administration, including water rights, hazardous materials, oil shale resources, mineral leasing, and revenues.
 
Requires the conveyance of certain federal land to be subject to a 1,000-foot wide scenic easement and a 200-foot wide road of right-of-way previously granted to the National Park Service (NPS) for the Dinosaur National Monument.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-03-10
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2009-03-10
text: Introduced in Senate
Wartime Treatment Study Act

Bill: 111-s-564
Sponsor: Sen. Feingold, Russell D. [D-WI]
Introduced: 2009-03-10 in the Senate
Policy area: Immigration
Subjects: Advisory bodies
Caribbean area
Europe
Government information and archives
Human rights
Latin America
Military history
Military personnel and dependents
Presidents and presidential powers, Vice Presidents
Property rights
Refugees, asylum, displaced persons
Travel and tourism
U.S. history
War crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity

Summary:
action_date: 2009-03-10
text: 
Wartime Treatment Study Act - Establishes the Commission on Wartime Treatment of European Americans to review U.S. government wartime treatment (from September 1, 1939, through December 31, 1948) of European Americans and European Latin Americans.
 
Requires the Commission to review: (1) government actions with respect to European Americans and European Latin Americans pursuant to United States laws and directives, including the Alien Enemies Acts, Presidential Proclamations 2526, 2527, 2655, 2662, 2685, Executive Orders 9066 and 9095, and related directives pursuant to these and other pertinent laws, proclamations, or executive orders; (2) registration requirements, travel and property restrictions, internment, and forced abandonment of property; (3) participation by European Americans in the U.S. Armed Forces; and (4) appropriate remedies, including public education programs and the creation of a comprehensive online database by the National Archives and Records Administration of documents related to the government's wartime treatment of European Americans and European Latin Americans during World War II.
 
Establishes the Commission on Wartime Treatment of Jewish Refugees to review the U.S. government's refusal to allow entry into the United States of Jewish and other refugees fleeing persecution or genocide in Europe. Directs the Commission to include reviews of: (1) the rationale for such refusal, its perceived benefit, and its impact on refugees; and (2) federal refugee policy concerning those fleeing persecution or genocide.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-03-10
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S2971-2973)
action_date: 2009-03-10
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S2970-2971)
action_date: 2009-03-10
text: Introduced in Senate
Comprehensive Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage for Kidney Transplant Patients Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-565
Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]
Introduced: 2009-03-10 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Digestive and metabolic diseases
Drug therapy
Health care costs and insurance
Immunology and vaccination
Medicare
Organ and tissue donation and transplantation

Summary:
action_date: 2009-03-10
text: 
Comprehensive Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage for Kidney Transplant Patients Act of 2009 - Amends SSA title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) to: (1) continue entitlement to prescription drugs used in immunosuppressive therapy furnished to an individual who receives a kidney transplant for which payment is made under Medicare; and (2) extend Medicare secondary payer requirements for end stage renal disease (ESRD) beneficiaries.
 
Amends title XVIII (Medicare ) of SSA to apply special rules to kidney transplant recipients receiving additional coverage for immunosuppressive drugs. Deems such individual to be enrolled under Medicare part B and makes the individual responsible for the full amount of the applicable premiums. Applies deductible and coinsurance requirements to the provision of such drugs.
 
Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and the Internal Revenue Code to set forth requirements for group health plans to provide coverage of immunosuppressive drugs for kidney transplant patients.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-03-10
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text of measure as introduced: CR S2974)
action_date: 2009-03-10
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S2973-2974)
action_date: 2009-03-10
text: Introduced in Senate
Financial Product Safety Commission Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-566
Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]
Introduced: 2009-03-10 in the Senate
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Consumer affairs
Consumer credit
Executive agency funding and structure
Financial services and investments
Government studies and investigations

Summary:
action_date: 2009-03-10
text: 
Financial Product Safety Commission Act of 2009 - Establishes the Financial Product Safety Commission to: (1) promulgate consumer financial product safety rules; (2) establish a best practices guide for all providers of consumer financial products; (3) conduct continuing studies and investigations of consumer financial products industry practices; (4) award grants or enter into contracts for the conduct of such studies and investigations; (5) assist public and private organizations or groups of consumer financial product providers, administratively and technically, in the development of safety standards or guidelines that would assist them in complying with any Commission rule; (6) comment on selected agency rulemakings affecting consumer financial products; and (7) establish a consumer financial product customer hotline.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-03-10
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. (text of measure as introduced: CR S2975-2978)
action_date: 2009-03-10
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S2974-2975)
action_date: 2009-03-10
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to repeal the sunset on the reduction of capital gains rates for individuals and on the taxation of dividends of individuals at capital gains rates.

Bill: 111-s-567
Sponsor: Sen. Crapo, Mike [R-ID]
Introduced: 2009-03-11 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Capital gains tax
Income tax rates
Interest, dividends, interest rates

Summary:
action_date: 2009-03-11
text: 
Repeals the termination date in the Jobs Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 for provisions reducing individual tax rates on capital gains and dividend income.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-03-11
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2009-03-11
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill for the relief of Sali Bregaj and Mjaftime Bregaj.

Bill: 111-s-568
Sponsor: Sen. Crapo, Mike [R-ID]
Introduced: 2009-03-11 in the Senate
Subjects: Private Legislation

Summary:
action_date: 2009-03-11
text: Provides for the relief of Sali Bregaj and Mjaftime Bregaj.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-03-11
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2009-03-11
text: Introduced in Senate
Incorporation Transparency and Law Enforcement Assistance Act

Bill: 111-s-569
Sponsor: Sen. Levin, Carl [D-MI]
Introduced: 2009-03-11 in the Senate
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Business records
Civil actions and liability
Congressional oversight
Corporate finance and management
Currency
Department of the Treasury
Fraud offenses and financial crimes
Government information and archives
Immigration status and procedures
Terrorism

Summary:
action_date: 2009-03-11
text: 
Incorporation Transparency and Law Enforcement Assistance Act - Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to: (1) establish uniform requirements for states relating to the disclosure of beneficial owners of corporations and limited liability companies formed in such states and the updating of such disclosures; (2) require states to maintain beneficial ownership disclosure information for five years after a corporation or limited liability company is terminated; (3) impose additional identification requirements for the beneficial owners of corporations or limited liability companies who are not U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents of the United States; and (4) provide for additional civil and criminal penalties for individuals who provide false beneficial ownership information to a state. Defines &quot;beneficial owner&quot; as an individual who has a level of control over a business entity that enables such individual to control, manage, or direct such entity.

Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to publish a proposed and final rule to require persons involved in forming a corporation, limited liability company, partnership, trust, or other legal entity to establish anti-money laundering programs.
 
Requires the Comptroller General to study and report to the House Committee on Homeland Security and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on: (1) state requirements for the disclosure of beneficial ownership information; (2) whether the lack of such information has impeded investigations into entities suspected of terrorism, money laundering, and other criminal activities; and (3) whether the failure to require beneficial ownership information for partnerships and trusts formed or registered in the United States has elicited international criticism and what steps the United States has taken or is planning to take in response.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-11-05
text: Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Hearings held.
action_date: 2009-03-11
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. (text of measure as introduced: CR S3029-3030)
action_date: 2009-03-11
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3026-3029)
action_date: 2009-03-11
text: Introduced in Senate
Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Research, Cure, and Care Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-571
Sponsor: Sen. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2009-03-11 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Health care costs and insurance
Health care coverage and access
Health information and medical records
Health programs administration and funding
Immunology and vaccination
Medical research
Musculoskeletal and skin diseases
Research administration and funding

Summary:
action_date: 2009-03-11
text: 
Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Research, Cure, and Care Act of 2009 - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to continue to expand and intensify research and related NIH activities with respect to psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. 
 
Requires the Directors of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to continue to conduct and support research to expand understanding of the causes of, and to find a cure for, psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.
 
Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to undertake psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis data collection and develop a psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis patient registry. 
 
Encourages the Secretary to convene a summit on federal efforts regarding psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis research, treatment, education, quality-of-life, and data collection. 
 
Directs the Secretary to enter into an agreement with the Institutes of Medicine to study insurance coverage of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-03-11
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2009-03-11
text: Introduced in Senate
Perpetual Purple Heart Stamp Act

Bill: 111-s-572
Sponsor: Sen. Webb, Jim [D-VA]
Introduced: 2009-03-11 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Military personnel and dependents
Postal service

Summary:
action_date: 2009-03-11
text: 
Perpetual Purple Heart Stamp Act - Directs the Postmaster General to provide for the issuance of a forever stamp (a stamp that meets first-class postage requirements even if postage rates increase) to honor the sacrifices of the men and women of the Armed Forces who have been awarded the Purple Heart.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-04-23
text: Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs referred to Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security.
action_date: 2009-03-11
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2009-03-11
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3031-3032)
action_date: 2009-03-11
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to improve the efficiency of customs and other services at the Wild Horse, Montana port of entry.

Bill: 111-s-573
Sponsor: Sen. Tester, Jon [D-MT]
Introduced: 2009-03-11 in the Senate
Policy area: Foreign Trade and International Finance
Subjects: Department of Homeland Security
Executive agency funding and structure
Montana

Summary:
action_date: 2009-03-11
text: 
Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to designate Wild Horse, Montana, as a port of entry and to assign sufficient U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel and allocate sufficient equipment to accept entries of merchandise, clear passengers, collect duties, and enforce customs and related laws at such port for 24 hours per day.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-03-11
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2009-03-11
text: Introduced in Senate