hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Employee Stock Ownership Plan Promotion and Improvement Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-101
Sponsor: Sen. Ensign, John [R-NV]
Introduced: 2011-01-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Employee benefits and pensions
Financial services and investments
Government lending and loan guarantees
Income tax deductions
Income tax exclusion
Income tax rates
Interest, dividends, interest rates
Securities
Small business

Summary:
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: 
Employee Stock Ownership Plan Promotion and Improvement Act of 2011- Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) exempt certain distributions, including dividends, by S corporations to an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) from the penalty tax for premature employee benefit plan withdrawals; (2) exempt deductions for ESOP dividends from corporate alternative minimum tax adjustments based on adjusted earnings and profits; (3) allow deferral of the recognition of gain for certain sales to ESOPs sponsored by any domestic corporation, including S corporations; (4) allow reinvestment of ESOP stock proceeds eligible for nonrecognition of gain in certain mutual funds; and (5) modify certain ESOP stock ownership rules. 
 
Amends the Small Business Act to allow a majority-owned ESOP business concern to continue to qualify for loans, preferences, and other programs under such Act. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: Introduced in Senate
Reduce Unnecessary Spending Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-102
Sponsor: Sen. McCain, John [R-AZ]
Introduced: 2011-01-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Economics and Public Finance
Subjects: Appropriations
Budget deficits and national debt
Budget process
Legislative rules and procedure
Presidents and presidential powers, Vice Presidents

Summary:
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: 
Reduce Unnecessary Spending Act of 2011 - Amends the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to require the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to transmit, within 45 calendar days after enactment of the funding in question, a message to Congress with specified information requesting any rescission the President proposes under the procedures in this Act.
 
Prescribes requirements for timing and packaging of rescission requests.
 
Authorizes OMB, subject to a specified time limit, to withhold funding from obligation temporarily if the President proposes a rescission.
 
Prohibits the President from invoking such expedited procedures or such authority to withhold funding on more than one occasion for any Act providing funding.
 
Sets forth procedures for expedited congressional consideration of proposed rescissions.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Budget.
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: Introduced in Senate
IDEA Full Funding Act

Bill: 112-s-103
Sponsor: Sen. Vitter, David [R-LA]
Introduced: 2011-01-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Appropriations
Education programs funding
Elementary and secondary education
Special education

Summary:
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: 
IDEA Full Funding Act - Amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to reauthorize and make appropriations for the grant program to assist states and outlying areas to provide special education and related services to children with disabilities. Decreases the amount authorized and makes appropriations for FY2011, authorizes and makes specified appropriations for FY2012-FY2018, and sets forth a formula for determining the authorization of, and makes, appropriations for FY2019 and thereafter.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to finalize a proposed rule to amend the spill prevention, control, and countermeasure rule to tailor and streamline the requirements for the dairy industry, and for other purposes.

Bill: 112-s-104
Sponsor: Sen. Johanns, Mike [R-NE]
Introduced: 2011-01-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Agricultural conservation and pollution
Agricultural practices and innovations
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Environmental regulatory procedures
Oil and gas
Water quality

Summary:
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: 
Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), within 30 days after this Act's enactment, to finalize the proposed rule entitled &quot;Oil Pollution Prevention; Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure Rule Requirements--Amendments&quot; to exempt certain milk containers and associated piping and appurtenance from the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure program. Prohibits the Administrator from taking regulatory action against dairy and dairy product producers, processors, handlers, and distributors related to such exemption until the effective date of the finalized rule.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: Introduced in Senate
Save Our Industries Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-105
Sponsor: Sen. Ensign, John [R-NV]
Introduced: 2011-01-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Foreign Trade and International Finance
Subjects: Asia
Congressional oversight
Free trade and trade barriers
Government studies and investigations
Manufacturing
Philippines
Tariffs

Summary:
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: 
Save Our Industries Act of 2011 or SAVE Act - Grants duty-free treatment, subject to specified conditions, to certain apparel wholly assembled in the United States or the Philippines, or both, and components of such apparel consisting entirely of: (1) fabric cut in the United States or the Philippines, or both, from fabric wholly formed in the United States from yarns wholly formed in the United States; (2) components knit-to-shape in the United States from yarns wholly formed in the United States; or (3) any combination of such fabric or components. 
 
Grants: (1) a reduction of duty for such apparel, provided the same criteria are met; and (2) duty-free treatment to apparel that meet both the requirements for duty-free treatment and reduction of duty.
 
Prescribes single transformation duty-free rules for specified apparel articles, regardless of the source of the fabric, fabric components, components knit-to-shape, or yarns from which the articles are made, if they: (1) are wholly assembled, or knit-to-shape, in the Philippines from any combination of such components; and (2) are imported directly into the United States from the Philippines.
 
Prescribes requirements for review and enforcement of the program.
 
Prescribes penalties for exporters and importers who engage in the transshipment of apparel that has been afforded preferential treatment under this Act.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: Introduced in Senate
Telephone Excise Tax Repeal Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-106
Sponsor: Sen. Ensign, John [R-NV]
Introduced: 2011-01-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Sales and excise taxes
Telephone and wireless communication

Summary:
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: 
Telephone Excise Tax Repeal Act of 2011- Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the excise tax on communication services (i.e., local telephone service, toll telephone service, and teletypewriter exchange service). 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to treat income earned by mutual funds from exchange-traded funds holding precious metal bullion as qualifying income.

Bill: 112-s-107
Sponsor: Sen. Ensign, John [R-NV]
Introduced: 2011-01-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Financial services and investments
Income tax rates
Metals

Summary:
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: 
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat income earned by mutual funds from interests holding certain gold, silver, platinum, or palladium bullion that are regularly traded on an established U.S. securities market as qualifying income (i.e., passed through and taxed at individual income tax rates).


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: Introduced in Senate
Affordable Footwear Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-108
Sponsor: Sen. Ensign, John [R-NV]
Introduced: 2011-01-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Foreign Trade and International Finance
Subjects: Caribbean area
Consumer affairs
Haiti
Inflation and prices
Latin America
Retail and wholesale trades
Tariffs

Summary:
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: 
Affordable Footwear Act of 2011 - Expresses the sense of Congress that the reduction or elimination of duties on certain imported footwear would provide significant benefits to U.S. consumers, particularly lower-income families.
 
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to provide for the duty-free treatment of certain footwear (including children's shoes) made of rubber or plastics that are imported into the United States. Deems the outer sole of shoes made of rubber or plastics to which textile materials are attached or incorporated to be made only of rubber or plastics.
 
Amends the Caribbean Basic Economic Recovery Act to provide footwear imported directly from Haiti into the United States with the same preferential treatment that is provided to certain imported footwear under the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to require congressional approval of agreements for peaceful nuclear cooperation with foreign countries, and for other purposes.

Bill: 112-s-109
Sponsor: Sen. Ensign, John [R-NV]
Introduced: 2011-01-25 in the Senate
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Arms control and nonproliferation
Congressional oversight
Diplomacy, foreign officials, Americans abroad
International organizations and cooperation
Nuclear power
Nuclear weapons

Summary:
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: 
Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to require congressional approval of an agreement for peaceful nuclear cooperation (section 123 agreement). (Under current law such an agreement becomes effective unless Congress disapproves it within a specified time period.)
 
Directs the President to keep the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations fully informed of any initiative or negotiations relating to a new or amended section 123 agreement.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-02-03
text: Referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
action_date: 2011-02-03
text: Senate Committee on Finance discharged by Unanimous Consent.
action_date: 2011-02-03
text: Senate Committee on Finance discharged by Unanimous Consent.
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to promote charitable donations of qualified vehicles.

Bill: 112-s-110
Sponsor: Sen. Ensign, John [R-NV]
Introduced: 2011-01-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Income tax deductions
Motor vehicles
Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations

Summary:
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: 
Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to the charitable tax deduction for contributions of qualified vehicles (i.e., highway motor vehicles, boats, or airplanes) to: (1) set forth revised acknowledgment requirements for vehicles valued at $2,500 or less and vehicles valued at more than $2,500; and (2) revise the penalty for submitting a fraudulent acknowledgment.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: Introduced in Senate
Voting Integrity and Verification Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-111
Sponsor: Sen. Ensign, John [R-NV]
Introduced: 2011-01-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Disability and paralysis
Elections, voting, political campaign regulation

Summary:
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: 
 
 Voting Integrity and Verification Act of 2011 - Amends the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require each voting system purchased after December 31, 2012, and used in an election for federal office to produce an individual permanent paper record for each ballot that is cast.
 
Requires the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to establish a program to award cash prizes competitively to eligible persons that advance the research, development, demonstration, and application of voting systems which are specifically designed to enhance accessibility and provide independence for persons with disabilities during the voting process.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to authorize the application of State law with respect to vehicle weight limitations on the Interstate Highway System in the States of Maine and Vermont.

Bill: 112-s-112
Sponsor: Sen. Collins, Susan M. [R-ME]
Introduced: 2011-01-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Maine
Motor carriers
Roads and highways
Vermont

Summary:
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: 
Extends to all portions of the Interstate Highway System in the states of Maine and Vermont the application of their respective state vehicle weight limit laws and regulations in lieu of federal vehicle weight limits.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S191-193)
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: Introduced in Senate
Public Servant Retirement Protection Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-113
Sponsor: Sen. Hutchison, Kay Bailey [R-TX]
Introduced: 2011-01-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Social Welfare
Subjects: Employee benefits and pensions
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Social security and elderly assistance
Wages and earnings

Summary:
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: 
 
Public Servant Retirement Protection Act of 2011 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to repeal the current windfall elimination provision (WEP) (that reduces the Social Security benefits of workers who also have pension benefits from employment not covered by Social Security) for individuals first performing non-covered service beginning one year after enactment of this Act. 
 
Establishes a new formula for the treatment of non-covered earnings in determining Social Security benefits. Applies such formula to individuals subject to the current WEP if the benefit under the new formula would be higher.
 

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: Introduced in Senate
Migratory Bird Treaty Amendment Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-115
Sponsor: Sen. Vitter, David [R-LA]
Introduced: 2011-01-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Animals
Subjects: Birds
Disaster relief and insurance
Farmland
Hunting and fishing
Outdoor recreation
Wildlife conservation and habitat protection

Summary:
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: 
Migratory Bird Treaty Amendment Act of 2011 - Amends the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to allow an agricultural producer, or a hunter with the producer's permission, to take migratory game birds by the aid of baiting, if: (1) the manipulation occurs on the producer's land on which a crop was not harvestable during the current or immediately preceding crop year due to a natural disaster, and (2) a local representative of the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) confirms that the crop has been destroyed and that it would not be economically practicable to harvest the crop.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: Introduced in Senate
Public Access to Historical Records Act

Bill: 112-s-116
Sponsor: Sen. Vitter, David [R-LA]
Introduced: 2011-01-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications
Subjects: Atmospheric science and weather
Census and government statistics
Climate change and greenhouse gases
Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
Government information and archives

Summary:
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: 
Public Access to Historical Records Act - Directs the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to establish an official dataset on the historical temperature record. 
 
Requires NASA to utilize the raw data related to temperature that is collected by applicable stations and vessels and to quantify the statistical uncertainty of each temperature observation and any subsequent products based on that observation. 
 
Requires the gaps that exist in temperature station and temperature reading data to be clearly and fully identified. 
 
Creates a panel to assist the Administrator in the establishment of the dataset. 
 
Requires the Administrator, at least once every three years, to contract with an appropriate independent entity to perform a verification and validation of the dataset and requires the publication of any algorithms utilized, and any determinations made, in verifying and validating the dataset. 
 
Requires persons and entities engaged in global climate research funded by the federal government to utilize the dataset as a source of data on the historical temperature record. 
 
Directs the Secretary of Commerce to provide for the immediate release of: (1) all raw temperature station data from cooperative observers and automated stations collected by the National Climatic Data Center, and (2) an analysis of the differences between raw and final temperature datasets collected by the Center. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: Introduced in Senate
Moving to Work Charter Program Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-117
Sponsor: Sen. Vitter, David [R-LA]
Introduced: 2011-01-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Housing and Community Development
Subjects: Advisory bodies
Housing and community development funding
Low- and moderate-income housing
Public contracts and procurement
Public housing

Summary:
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: 
Moving to Work Charter Program Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to enter into charter contracts, beginning in FY2012, with up to 250 public housing agencies administering the public housing program or the section 8 housing assistance program under the United States Housing Act of 1937. 
 
States that such charter contracts shall: (1) supersede and have a term commensurate with any annual contributions contract between a public housing agency and the Secretary; and (2) provide that a participating public housing agency shall receive capital and operating assistance allocated to it under specified laws.
 
Exempts charter contracts from the requirements of the United States Housing Act of 1937, except those for payment of wages prevailing in the community and the demolition and disposition of public housing.
 
Requires a charter contract to provide that a public housing agency: (1) may combine section 8 low-income assistance and Public Housing Capital and Operating Fund assistance and use it for housing assistance and related services for activities under this Act; (2) shall ensure that at least 75% of the families assisted are very low-income families; (3) shall establish a reasonable rent policy designed to encourage employment, self-sufficiency, and home ownership by participating families; and (4) meet specified additional requirements.
 
Directs the Secretary to appoint a federal advisory committee to assess and develop a demonstration program to test standards, criteria, and practices for a national public housing agency accreditation system or other evaluation system.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: Introduced in Senate
Notch Fairness Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-118
Sponsor: Sen. Vitter, David [R-LA]
Introduced: 2011-01-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Social Welfare
Subjects: Social security and elderly assistance

Summary:
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: 
Notch Fairness Act of 2011 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to revise the formula for the computation of minimum Old Age Insurance benefits for individuals who reached age 65 in or after 1979, and to whom applies the 15-year transition period for the changes in benefit computation rules enacted in the Social Security Amendments of 1977. 
 
Sets forth a schedule of additional benefit increases for such beneficiaries (and related beneficiaries), with percentages declining from 55% to 5% and keyed to the year an individual became eligible for such benefits between 1979 and 1988. 
 
Allows such beneficiaries, in the alternative, to receive lump sum payments over four years totaling $5,000.
 

 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: Introduced in Senate
Government Neutrality in Contracting Act

Bill: 112-s-119
Sponsor: Sen. Vitter, David [R-LA]
Introduced: 2011-01-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Labor-management relations
Public contracts and procurement

Summary:
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: 
Government Neutrality in Contracting Act - Directs the head of any federal agency that awards or obligates funds for any construction contract, or that awards grants, provides financial assistance, or enters into cooperative agreements for construction projects, to ensure that bid specifications, project agreements, or other controlling documents do not: (1) require or forbid a bidder, offeror, contractor, or subcontractor to enter into or adhere to agreements with a labor organization with respect to that construction project or another related construction project; or (2) otherwise discriminate against such a party because it did or did not become a signatory or otherwise adhere to such an agreement. 
 
Allows exemptions to avert an imminent threat to public health or safety or to serve national security. Allows additional exemptions for certain projects. 
Directs the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation to implement this Act with respect to the applicable federal contracts.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2011-01-25
text: Introduced in Senate