hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Highway Fairness and Reform Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-903
Sponsor: Sen. Hutchison, Kay Bailey [R-TX]
Introduced: 2009-04-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Government trust funds
Motor carriers
Roads and highways
Transportation programs funding
Transportation safety and security

Summary:
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: 
Highway Fairness and Reform Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation, beginning with FY2011, to carry out a direct federal-aid highway program to permit a state governor or chief executive officer, at least 90 days before the beginning of a fiscal year, to elect to: (1) waive the state's right to receive apportioned or allocated funds under the federal-aid highway program; and (2) receive instead a prorated amount of the taxes appropriated to the Highway Trust Fund (other than from the Mass Transit Account) which are attributable to highway users in the state. Requires a pro rata reduction of such tax-equivalent amount in order to fund contract authority for programs of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).
 
 
Requires the Secretary to accept a state's election if: (1) the state has an interstate maintenance program; (2) it submits a plan describing the purposes, projects, and uses to which such amounts will be put and the federal-aid highway programmatic requirements the state elects to continue; (3) the state agrees to obligate program amounts exclusively for projects that would be eligible for surface transportation program funding; and (4) it continues to suballocate surface transportation program funds to urbanized and other areas using certain formulae and rules.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: Introduced in Senate
Fair Pay Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-904
Sponsor: Sen. Harkin, Tom [D-IA]
Introduced: 2009-04-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Civil actions and liability
Employment discrimination and employee rights
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Legal fees and court costs
Racial and ethnic relations
Sex, gender, sexual orientation discrimination
Wages and earnings

Summary:
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: 
Fair Pay Act of 2009 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to prohibit discrimination in the payment of wages on account of sex, race, or national origin. (Allows payment of different wages under seniority systems, merit systems, systems that measure earnings by quantity or quality of production, or differentials based on bona fide factors that the employer demonstrates are job-related or further legitimate business interests.)
 
Prohibits the discharge of, or any other discrimination against, an individual for opposing any act or practice made unlawful by this Act, or for assisting in an investigation or proceeding under it. 
Directs courts, in any action brought under this Act for violation of such prohibition, to allow expert fees as part of the costs awarded to prevailing plaintiffs. Allows any such action to be maintained as a class action. 
Directs the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to: (1) undertake studies and provide information and technical assistance to employers, labor organizations, and the general public concerning effective means available to implement this Act; and (2) carry on a continuing program of research, education, and technical assistance with specified components related to the purposes of this Act. 
Makes conforming amendments relating to congressional and executive branch employees to the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 and the Presidential and Executive Office Accountability Act.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2010-03-11
text: Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 111-1135.
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: Introduced in Senate
Posthumous Citizenship for Binghamton Victims Act

Bill: 111-s-905
Sponsor: Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY]
Introduced: 2009-04-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Immigration
Subjects: Citizenship and naturalization
Crime victims
Immigration status and procedures
New York State
Violent crime

Summary:
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: 
Posthumous Citizenship for Binghamton Victims Act - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to provide for the granting of citizenship as of April 2, 2009, to an individual otherwise eligible for naturalization who: (1) was, as of April 2, 2009, an alien or U.S. national; (2) died as a result of an injury incurred during the April 3, 2009, shooting at the American Civic Association Community Center in Binghamton, New York; and (3) was not culpable for an act that was a cause of an injury during such shooting. 
 
Prohibits the granting of derivative immigration benefits to surviving relatives of an individual granted posthumous citizenship under this Act.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: Introduced in Senate
Senior Investment Protection Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-906
Sponsor: Sen. Kohl, Herb [D-WI]
Introduced: 2009-04-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Aging
Consumer affairs
Credit and credit markets
Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Financial services and investments
Fraud offenses and financial crimes
Insurance industry and regulation
Law enforcement administration and funding
Marketing and advertising
Securities

Summary:
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: 
Senior Investment Protection Act of 2009 - Directs the Attorney General to establish a program of grants to states to: (1) investigate and prosecute misleading and fraudulent marketing practices; or (2) develop educational materials and training aimed at reducing misleading and fraudulent marketing of financial products toward seniors. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: Introduced in Senate
Budget Enforcement Legislative Tool Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-907
Sponsor: Sen. Carper, Thomas R. [D-DE]
Introduced: 2009-04-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Economics and Public Finance
Subjects: Appropriations
Budget process
Legislative rules and procedure
Presidents and presidential powers, Vice Presidents

Summary:
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: 
Budget Enforcement Legislative Tool Act of 2009 - Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to authorize the President to propose, at any time and in any manner provided in this Act, the rescission of any discretionary budget authority in an appropriation Act.
 
Prohibits funds made available for obligation under this procedure from being proposed for rescission again.
 
Sets forth requirements for: (1) the President's transmittal to Congress of a special message regarding a proposed rescission; and (2) expedited consideration of such proposal.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Budget.
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: Introduced in Senate
Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act

Bill: 111-s-909
Sponsor: Sen. Kennedy, Edward M. [D-MA]
Introduced: 2009-04-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Criminal procedure and sentencing
Department of Justice
Evidence and witnesses
Executive agency funding and structure
Federal-Indian relations
Firearms and explosives
First Amendment rights
Hate crimes
Intergovernmental relations
Juvenile crime and gang violence
Law enforcement administration and funding
Racial and ethnic relations
Religion
Sex, gender, sexual orientation discrimination
State and local government operations
Violent crime

Summary:
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: 
Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act - Adopts the definition of &quot;hate crime&quot; as set forth in the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (i.e., a crime in which the defendant intentionally selects a victim or, in the case of a property crime, the property that is the object of the crime because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability, or sexual orientation of any person).
 
Authorizes the Attorney General to: (1) provide state, local, or tribal law enforcement agencies with technical, forensic, prosecutorial, or other assistance in the investigation or prosecution of violent crimes and hate crimes; and (2) award grants to assist such agencies with the extraordinary expenses associated with the investigation and prosecution of hate crimes. 
 
Authorizes the Office of Justice Programs to award grants to state, local, or tribal programs designed to combat hate crimes committed by juveniles. 
 
Authorizes appropriations to the Department of Justice (DOJ), including the Community Relations Service, for FY2010-FY2012 to prevent and respond to hate crime acts.
 
Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit willfully causing bodily injury to any person because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of such person. 
 
Amends the Hate Crimes Statistics Act to expand data collection and reporting requirements under such Act to include: (1) crimes manifesting prejudice based on gender and gender identity; and (2) hate crimes committed by and against juveniles. 
 
Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit the exercise of constitutionally-protected free speech.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S4808-4810)
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, to provide for additional monitoring and accountability of the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Bill: 111-s-910
Sponsor: Sen. Warner, Mark R. [D-VA]
Introduced: 2009-04-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Accounting and auditing
Bank accounts, deposits, capital
Banking and financial institutions regulation
Congressional oversight
Financial crises and stabilization
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Public contracts and procurement

Summary:
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: 
Amends the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA) to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to provide to the Special Inspector General of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), the Comptroller General, and the Congressional Oversight Panel ongoing, continuous, and close to real-time updates of the status of the use of funds distributed under EESA, including with respect to procurement contracts, through a standardized electronic database that combines all of the necessary information from existing public and private sources to track the status of the funds distributed under the Act.
 
Requires the Secretary also to: (1) compare the data in such database with any other data for any activities that are inconsistent with EESA purposes; and (2) collect from all federal agencies any regulatory filings, data generated by the use of internal models, financial models, and analytics associated with the financial assistance on at least a daily basis in order to help the Secretary to determine the effectiveness of TARP in stimulating prudent lending and strengthening bank capital.
 
Directs the Secretary, if TARP goals are not being met, to work with the federal agencies supplying the information to have them provide the recipients with recommendations for better meeting such goals. Requires the Secretary, furthermore, to adjust the future uses of TARP assistance if such goals are not met even following such recommendations.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: Introduced in Senate
Promoting Mortgage Responsibility Act

Bill: 111-s-911
Sponsor: Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR]
Introduced: 2009-04-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Banking and financial institutions regulation
Consumer credit
Housing finance and home ownership

Summary:
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: 
Promoting Mortgage Responsibility Act - Amends the Truth in Lending Act to prohibit prepayment fees or penalties under any consumer credit transaction secured by the consumer's owner-occupied principal dwelling. 
 
Makes any prepayment penalty in violation of this prohibition unenforceable.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S4812-4813)
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: Introduced in Senate
Transparency for Homeowners Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-912
Sponsor: Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR]
Introduced: 2009-04-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Banking and financial institutions regulation
Housing finance and home ownership
Interest, dividends, interest rates

Summary:
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: 
Transparency for Homeowners Act of 2009 - Prohibits any person from providing, and any mortgage originator from receiving, compensation that is based on or varies with the terms of any home mortgage loan (other than the loan amount).


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S4812-4813)
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: Introduced in Senate
Workforce Health Improvement Program Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-913
Sponsor: Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX]
Introduced: 2009-04-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Employee benefits and pensions
Health promotion and preventive care
Income tax deductions
Income tax exclusion
Physical fitness and lifestyle
Sports and recreation facilities
Worker safety and health

Summary:
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: 
Workforce Health Improvement Program Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of employees: (1) the value of any on-premises employer-provided athletic facility; and (2) fees, dues, or membership expenses paid to an athletic or fitness facility by an employer for its employees, but not exceeding $900 per employee per year.
 
Allows employers a tax deduction for fees, dues, or membership expenses paid to an athletic or fitness facility. Limits the amount of such deduction to $900 per employee per year. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text of measure as introduced: CR S4813)
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S4813)
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: Introduced in Senate
Cures Acceleration Network and National Institutes of Health Reauthorization Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-914
Sponsor: Sen. Specter, Arlen [R-PA]
Introduced: 2009-04-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Department of Health and Human Services
Executive agency funding and structure
Health programs administration and funding
Health technology, devices, supplies
Medical research
Minority health
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Research administration and funding

Summary:
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: 
Cures Acceleration Network and National Institutes of Health Reauthorization Act of 2009 - Establishes the Cures Acceleration Network, an independent agency, to awards grants and contracts to eligible entities to accelerate the development of cures and treatments of diseases, including through the development of medical products and behavioral therapies. Defines &quot;medical product&quot; as a drug, device, biological product, or product that is a combination of drugs, devices, and biological products. Sets forth the functions of the Network.
 
Establishes the Cures Acceleration Network Review Board. Directs the Chairperson of the Board to award matching grants and contracts to eligible entities to: (1) accelerate the development of cures and treatments, including through the development of medical products, behavioral therapies, and biomarkers that demonstrate the safety or effectiveness of medical products; or (2) establish protocols that comply with the standards of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and otherwise meet regulatory requirements at all stages of development, manufacturing, review, approval, and safety surveillance of a medical product.
 
Sets forth provisions governing conflict of interest policies for the Network.
 
Amends the Public Health Service Act to rename the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities as the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.
 
Requires the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop and enforce NIH's conflict of interest policies and respond in a timely manner when such policies have been violated by a recipient of funds provided under a grant or contract.
 
Reauthorizes appropriations for NIH for FY2010-FY2012.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (text of measure as introduced: CR S4815-4817)
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S4813-4814)
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: Introduced in Senate
Ed Walker Memorial Act for Improvements to the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program

Bill: 111-s-916
Sponsor: Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY]
Introduced: 2009-04-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Administrative remedies
Business records
Congressional oversight
Department of Energy
Department of Health and Human Services
Government liability
Hazardous wastes and toxic substances
Health information and medical records
Industrial facilities
Medical tests and diagnostic methods
Metals
New York State
Nuclear weapons
Public contracts and procurement
Radiation
Worker safety and health

Summary:
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: 
Ed Walker Memorial Act for Improvements to the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program - Amends the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 to include certain former nuclear weapons program workers in the Special Exposure Cohort under the energy employees occupational illness compensation program. 
 
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to: (1) issue regulations for designating additional classes of employees, including those employed during a period of residual contamination, as members of the Special Exposure Cohort; and (2) determine whether workers employed at the Bethlehem Steel site in Lackawanna, New York, meet the requirements of this Act for membership in the Special Exposure Cohort.
 
Requires the Secretary to provide a report to Congress identifying facilities at which classes of employees were employed that meet the requirements for membership in the Special Exposure Cohort, as well as the number of classes and the number of employees in each class. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to provide assistance to Pakistan under certain conditions, and for other purposes.

Bill: 111-s-917
Sponsor: Sen. Gregg, Judd [R-NH]
Introduced: 2009-04-28 in the Senate
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Asia
Foreign aid and international relief
Pakistan

Summary:
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: 
Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize the President to use specified funds for assistance to Pakistan upon a determination that to do so is in U.S. national security interests.
 
Terminates authority under this Act on September 30, 2010. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S4817)
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: Introduced in Senate
New York Fair Fishing Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-918
Sponsor: Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY]
Introduced: 2009-04-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Marine and coastal resources, fisheries
New York State

Summary:
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: 
New York Fair Fishing Act of 2009 - Amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to add New York State as a member of the New England Fishery Management Council. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: Introduced in Senate
Clarification of Characteristics of Combat Service Act of 2009

Bill: 111-s-919
Sponsor: Sen. Akaka, Daniel K. [D-HI]
Introduced: 2009-04-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Disability and paralysis
Evidence and witnesses
Veterans' pensions and compensation

Summary:
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: 
Clarification of Characteristics of Combat Service Act of 2009 - Requires, in each case in which a veteran is seeking service-connection for a disability after service in a particular combat zone, that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) accept credible lay or other evidence as sufficient proof that the veteran encountered an event associated with service in particular locations where the veteran served or in particular circumstances under which the veteran served in that combat zone.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. (text of measure as introduced: CR S4818)
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S4817-4818)
action_date: 2009-04-28
text: Introduced in Senate