hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
PATRIOT Sunsets Extension Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-1114
Sponsor: Sen. Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE]
Introduced: 2011-05-26 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Homeland security
Intelligence activities, surveillance, classified information
Terrorism

Summary:
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: 
 PATRIOT Sunsets Extension Act of 2011 - Amends the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 to extend through June 30, 2011, provisions concerning roving electronic surveillance orders and requests for the production of business records and other tangible things.
 
Amends the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to extend until June 30, 2011, a provision revising the definition of an &quot;agent of a foreign power&quot; to include any non-U.S. person who engages in international terrorism or preparatory activities (&quot;lone wolf&quot; provision).


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: Introduced in Senate
Department of Commerce and the Workforce Consolidation Act

Bill: 112-s-1116
Sponsor: Sen. Burr, Richard [R-NC]
Introduced: 2011-05-26 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Atmospheric science and weather
Census and government statistics
Department of Commerce
Department of Labor
Department of the Interior
Employment and training programs
Executive agency funding and structure
Federal officials
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government lending and loan guarantees
Manufacturing
Marine and coastal resources, fisheries
Metals
Small Business Administration
Transportation costs

Summary:
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: 
Department of Commerce and the Workforce Consolidation Act - Establishes the Department of Commerce and the Workforce, headed by a Secretary of Commerce and the Workforce, as an executive department for the advancement of economic growth and job opportunities. Consolidates in such Department: (1) the Office of the Workforce, (2) the Patent and Trademark Office, (3) the Small Business Administration (SBA), (4) the Office of Economic Affairs and Statistics, (5) the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), (6) the International Trade Administration, (7) the Bureau of Industry and Security, (8) the Economic Development and Training Administration, (9) the Communications and Information Administration, and (10) the Office of Inspector General. Sets forth the powers and responsibilities of the Secretary.
 
Transfers: (1) specified functions and programs of the Departments of Commerce and Labor to the Department of Commerce and the Workforce, (2) all functions of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to the Department of the Interior, and (3) all functions of the National Marine Fisheries Service of NOAA to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
 
Requires the President to issue an executive order to achieve cost savings in the areas of travel and relocation, printing and copying, and supplies and materials. 
 
Eliminates: (1) the International Labor Comparisons program of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, (2) the career pathways innovation fund established under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, (3) the Enhanced Transitional Jobs Demonstration program (4) grants for public telecommunications facilities, (5) the Baldridge Performance Excellence Program, (6) the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award, (6) the Emergency Steel Guaranteed Loan Program, and (7) certain functions and programs of the Bureau of the Census.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: Introduced in Senate
TAA Health Coverage Improvement Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-1117
Sponsor: Sen. Rockefeller, John D., IV [D-WV]
Introduced: 2011-05-26 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Employee benefits and pensions
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government studies and investigations
Health care costs and insurance
Income tax credits
Trade adjustment assistance

Summary:
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: 
TAA Health Coverage Improvement Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax credit for the health insurance costs of trade adjustment assistance (TAA) workers, to: (1) increase the rate of such credit form 65% to 95% of health insurance costs; (2) allow a 100% tax credit and a full payment of TAA worker health insurance premiums for months prior to the issuance of a qualified health insurance costs credit eligibility certificate; and (3) set forth new tax credit eligibility rules for TAA workers and their family members, including for TAA workers who are not enrolled in training programs.
 
Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to: (1) prevent a lapse of health care coverage for TAA workers and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) recipients, (2) allow a permanent extension of COBRA coverage (health insurance continuation benefits) for certain TAA workers and PBGC recipients, and (3) align COBRA coverage periods under such Act with eligibility periods for TAA workers.
 
Requires the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), jointly with the Secretary of the Treasury, to establish a program to offer TAA workers enrollment in the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program (FEHBP) and to conduct a study of the impact of such program on FEHBP.
 
Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to: (1) require a state or entity to use national emergency grant funds to provide TAA workers and their family members with health insurance coverage for periods prior to their first eligibility month, and (2) require the Secretary of Labor to report to Congress on failures to provide assistance to states in expediting applications for national emergency grants.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3439-3440)
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: Introduced in Senate
FEMA Common Sense and Cost Effectiveness Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-1118
Sponsor: Sen. Hoeven, John [R-ND]
Introduced: 2011-05-26 in the Senate
Policy area: Emergency Management
Subjects: Disaster relief and insurance
Floods and storm protection
Land transfers
Land use and conservation

Summary:
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: 
FEMA Common Sense and Cost Effectiveness Act of 2011 - Amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act and the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to authorize the construction and maintenance of levees on property acquired under the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA's) hazard mitigation grant programs, including: (1) a levee that is federally owned and operated; (2) a permanent levee that is federally constructed and nonfederally operated and maintained; (3) a levee that is federally constructed as a nonpermanent levee, that a nonfederal entity desires to operate and maintain as a permanent levee, and the owners of which are participating in, or, in a specified period after the date on which the levee is constructed, will begin participating in, the emergency response to natural disasters program; and (4) a nonfederal levee the owners of which are participating in the program.
 
Authorizes an application to construct or maintain a levee on acquired lands to be denied if the levee poses a significant threat of harm to downstream communities.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: Introduced in Senate
Propane Green Autogas Solutions Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-1120
Sponsor: Sen. Cardin, Benjamin L. [D-MD]
Introduced: 2011-05-26 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Alternative and renewable resources
Hybrid, electric, and advanced technology vehicles
Income tax credits
Motor fuels
Oil and gas

Summary:
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: 
Propane Green Autogas Solutions Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2016: (1) the excise tax credits for alternative fuels and fuel mixtures for any sale or use involving liquefied petroleum gas (propane), (2) the new qualified alternative fuel motor vehicle tax credit for vehicles powered by liquefied petroleum gas, and (3) the alternative fuel vehicle refueling property tax credit for property relating to liquefied petroleum gas. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text of measure as introduced: CR S3442)
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3441-3442)
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: Introduced in Senate
SEAL 401(k) Savings Act

Bill: 112-s-1121
Sponsor: Sen. Kohl, Herb [D-WI]
Introduced: 2011-05-26 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Consumer credit
Department of the Treasury
Employee benefits and pensions
Income tax exclusion

Summary:
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: 
Savings Enhancement by Alleviating Leakage in 401(k) Savings Act of 2011 or the SEAL 401(k) Savings Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to loans made from a qualified employer plan, to: (1) extend the period for repayment of loans if a plan terminates or a plan participant becomes unemployed, and (2) prohibit plans from allowing the use of credit cards or similar arrangements to access loan amounts.
 
Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to modify regulations governing hardship distributions from qualified employer plans to allow participants to make additional contributions to a plan during the six month period following a hardship distribution.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: Introduced in Senate
Safe Highway Markings Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-1122
Sponsor: Sen. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2011-05-26 in the Senate
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Department of Transportation
Hazardous wastes and toxic substances
Roads and highways
Transportation programs funding
Transportation safety and security

Summary:
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: 
Safe Highway Markings Act of 2011 - Prescribes standards for glass beads used in pavement markings, limiting the arsenic or lead content to 200 parts per million.
 
 
Requires the Secretary of Transportation to withhold up to 5% of the apportionment of federal-aid highway funds for any state that fails to enforce requirements to ensure that glass beads used in pavement markings on or along federal-aid highway roads or highways do not contain more than 200 parts per million arsenic or lead.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the provision of benefits and assistance under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to veterans affected by natural or other disasters, and for other purposes.

Bill: 112-s-1123
Sponsor: Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH]
Introduced: 2011-05-26 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Disaster relief and insurance
Housing finance and home ownership
Housing for the elderly and disabled
Motor vehicles
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
Veterans' loans, housing, homeless programs

Summary:
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: 
Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), notwithstanding existing limitations on the assistance available to disabled veterans eligible for specially adapted housing grants, to award grants to veterans whose homes were previously adapted with such assistance if the adapted home used and occupied by the veteran was destroyed or substantially damaged in a natural or other disaster. 
 
Requires any such awarded post-disaster adapted housing grant to be available to acquire a suitable housing unit with special fixtures or moveable facilities made necessary by the veteran's disability along with the land for such housing.
 
Permits the Secretary to: (1) extend up to an additional two months the subsistence allowances of veterans displaced by such disasters while satisfactorily following a program of employment services prescribed in a vocational rehabilitation program for certain veterans with service-connected disabilities; (2) provide or assist in providing a second automobile or other specified conveyance to eligible disabled veterans and members of the Armed Forces if an automobile or other conveyance previously purchased with assistance was destroyed by such a disaster through no fault of the individual and without compensation by a property insurer; and (3) in determining whether certain real estate housing loans are secured by a first lien, disregard or allow for subordination to a superior lien created by a duly recorded covenant running with the realty in favor of a public entity that has provided or will provide assistance in response to a major disaster as determined by the President under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-06-08
text: Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 112-116.
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: Introduced in Senate
Veterans Telemedicine Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-1124
Sponsor: Sen. Conrad, Kent [D-ND]
Introduced: 2011-05-26 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Emergency medical services and trauma care
Health care coverage and access
Health technology, devices, supplies
Hearing, speech, and vision care
Medical education
Medical tests and diagnostic methods
Mental health
Rural conditions and development
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: 
Veterans Telemedicine Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a program of: (1) teleconsultation for the provision of remote mental health and traumatic brain injury assessments in facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that are not otherwise able to provide such assessments without contracting with third party providers or reimbursing providers through a fee basis system, and (2) teleretinal imaging in each Veterans Integrated Services Network (VISN). Requires the Secretary to modify the Veterans Equitable Resource Allocation (VERA) system to provide incentives for such programs, telemedicine, and telehealth coordination services.
 
Defines: (1) &quot;teleconsultation&quot; as the use of telecommunications by a health care specialist to assist another health care provider in rendering a diagnosis or treatment; (2) &quot;teleretinal imaging&quot; as the use by a health care specialist of telecommunications, digital retinal imaging, and remote image interpretation to provide eye care; and (3) &quot;telehealth&quot; as the use of telecommunications to collect patient data remotely and send data to a monitoring station for interpretation.
 
Directs the Secretary to require each VA facility involved in training medical residents to work with each university concerned to develop an elective rotation in telemedicine for such residents.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-06-08
text: Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 112-116.
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: Introduced in Senate
REAL Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-1126
Sponsor: Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI]
Introduced: 2011-05-26 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Alternative and renewable resources
Credit and credit markets
Energy efficiency and conservation
Government lending and loan guarantees
Housing finance and home ownership
Residential rehabilitation and home repair

Summary:
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: 
Renewable Energy Access Through Leasing Act of 2011 or the REAL Act of 2011- Amends the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to make loan guarantees for the financing of renewable energy systems leased for residential use. Prohibits the Secretary from insuring a loan unless the renewable energy system owner certifies that the systems financed will be leased only to homeowners that grant easements to install, maintain, use and otherwise access the system that include the right to sell electricity produced during the life of the renewable energy system to a wholesale or retail electrical power grid. Requires a renewable energy system lease to specify that it can be assumed by new homeowners.
 
Requires the Secretary to: (1) ensure that a discount given under this Act does not adversely affect the homeowner's mortgage requirements; and (2) fix and collect premiums for insurance of loans under this Act that shall be paid for by the renewable energy system owner and that shall be adequate to cover the expenses and probable losses of administering the program. Prohibits the Secretary from assessing any other fee, premium, or charge in connection with such loan insurance.
 
Establishes the Renewable Energy Lease Insurance Fund, into which the Secretary shall deposit any such premiums.
 
Requires the Secretary to ensure that multifamily housing units are eligible for programs established by this Act.
 
Terminates the Secretary's authority to insure and make commitments to insure new loans under this Act ten years after its enactment.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. (text of measure as introduced: CR S3442-3444)
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3442)
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: Introduced in Senate
Veterans Rural Health Improvement Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-1127
Sponsor: Sen. Conrad, Kent [D-ND]
Introduced: 2011-05-26 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Department of Veterans Affairs
Health care coverage and access
Health facilities and institutions
Health personnel
Medical education
Medical research
Rural conditions and development
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: 
Veterans Rural Health Improvement Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), through the Director of the Office of Rural Health (ORH) within the Office of the Under Secretary for Health, to establish and operate at least one and up to five centers of excellence for rural health research, education, and clinical activities, including: (1) research on furnishing health services in rural areas, (2) development of specific models to be used by the VA in furnishing health services to veterans in such areas, (3) education and training for VA health care professionals, and (4) development and implementation of clinical activities and systems. 
 
Requires clinical and scientific investigation activities at each such center to: (1) be eligible to compete for awards from funds appropriated for the Medical and Prosthetics Research Account, and (2) receive priority in the award of funding from such account to the extent that funds are awarded to projects for research in the care of rural veterans.
 
Recognizes as purposes of veterans rural health resource centers that serve as satellite offices for the ORH the: (1) identification of disparities in the availability of health care to veterans living in rural areas, (2) formulation of practices or programs to deliver such health care, and (3) development and implementation of special practices and products for the benefit of such veterans.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-06-08
text: Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 112-116.
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: Introduced in Senate
National Autism Spectrum Disorders Initiative Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-1128
Sponsor: Sen. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2011-05-26 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Child health
Department of Health and Human Services
Executive agency funding and structure
Health programs administration and funding
Hereditary and development disorders
Medical research
Neurological disorders
Research administration and funding

Summary:
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: 
National Autism Spectrum Disorders Initiative Act of 2011 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish the National Autism Spectrum Disorders Initiative in the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to improve the lives of individuals with autism spectrum disorders through research focused on prevention, treatment, services, and cures. Requires the Secretary to: (1) act as the primary federal official with responsibility for overseeing all NIH research on autism spectrum disorders; (2) review and approve or reject the autism spectrum disorder research strategic plan developed by the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee and be responsible for implementation of any approved plan; (3) receive directly from the President and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) all funds available for autism spectrum disorder activities of NIH; (4) allocate such funds in accordance with the strategic plan; (5) allocate amounts within 30 days after receipt, to the extent practicable; (6) plan and evaluate NIH research and other activities related to autism spectrum disorders; (7) maintain communications with all relevant federal departments to ensure the timely transmission of information concerning autism spectrum disorders; and (8) carry out this Act in consultations with the heads of NIH agencies and their advisory councils, and the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee. Authorizes the Secretary to reallocate up to 3% of funds allocated for NIH autism spectrum disorder activities as needs change and opportunities arise. 
 
Expands authorized research for centers of excellence for autism spectrum disorders to include translational research. Requires the Director of NIH to provide for a program under which biomaterials for induced pluripotent stem cells and biosamples relevant to environmental exposures that are of use in research on autism spectrum disorders are donated, collected, preserved, and made available for such research. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2011-05-26
text: Introduced in Senate