hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Denali Commission Reauthorization Act of 2012

Bill: 112-s-3590
Sponsor: Sen. Begich, Mark [D-AK]
Introduced: 2012-09-20 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Advisory bodies
Alaska
Denali Commission
Economic development
Executive agency funding and structure
Infrastructure development
Intergovernmental relations
Rural conditions and development

Summary:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: 
Denali Commission Reauthorization Act of 2012 - Amends the Denali Commission Act of 1998 (the Act) to revise requirements concerning the composition of the membership of the Denali Commission. Appoints Commission members to four-year terms.
 
 Directs the Commission, in carrying out construction projects or activities under the Act, to require a cost share of: (1) up to 50% of the total cost of the project or activity; or (2) up to 20% of the total cost of a project or activity carried out in a distressed community. Exempts preconstruction procedures from such cost share requirements. 
 
Requires the Commission to seek comments from rural Alaska communities and other stakeholder groups regarding rural development needs. 
 
Rewrites the duties of the Commission. Instructs Commission members to: (1) advise the Commission regarding coordinated infrastructure planning among and for rural Alaskan communities, the state of Alaska, federal agencies, and other governmental and nongovernmental entities; (2) annually establish a list of priorities of the Commission for such communities; and (3) review ongoing and completed Commission-funded projects and programs. Makes the Cochairperson responsible for Commission operational matters, including budgetary matters. 
 
Revises requirements regarding demonstration health projects. Authorizes appropriations. 
 
Rewrites provisions concerning the powers of the Commission. 
 
 Requires the Commission to use the services of the Inspector General of the Department of Commerce. 
 
Makes permanent the authorization of appropriations for the Commission to carry out the Act. 
 
Repeals provisions regarding: (1) the exemption of the Commission from the Federal Advisory Committee Act, and (2) the Economic Development Committee. 
 
Requires the federal Cochairperson to establish a Budget Committee to serve the Commission.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Introduced in Senate
Commercial Building Modernization Act

Bill: 112-s-3591
Sponsor: Sen. Snowe, Olympia J. [R-ME]
Introduced: 2012-09-20 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Building construction
Business investment and capital
Department of the Treasury
Energy efficiency and conservation
Income tax deductions
Lighting, heating, cooling
Low- and moderate-income housing
Real estate business
Residential rehabilitation and home repair

Summary:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: 
Commercial Building Modernization Act- Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax deduction for energy-efficient commercial buildings, to: (1) extend such deduction through 2016; (2) include within the definition of "property" for purposes of such deduction a commercial building and a multifamily building (a structure of five or more dwelling units used as residential housing); (3) increase the maximum amount of such deduction; and (4) adopt the updated standard of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers and the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America applicable to property eligible for such deduction.
 
Allows through 2016 a new tax deduction for the cost of retrofitting existing commercial and multifamily buildings.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Introduced in Senate
Locally Grown Foods for Older Americans Act

Bill: 112-s-3592
Sponsor: Sen. Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO]
Introduced: 2012-09-20 in the Senate
Policy area: Social Welfare
Subjects: Aging
Agricultural practices and innovations
Food assistance and relief
Nutrition and diet

Summary:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: 
Locally Grown Foods for Older Americans Act - Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to require a state that establishes and operates a nutrition project to ensure that the project, where feasible, encourages the use of locally grown foods in meal programs for the elderly and identifies potential partnerships and contracts with local producers and providers of locally grown foods. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Introduced in Senate
Improving Services and Activities for Diverse Elders Act

Bill: 112-s-3593
Sponsor: Sen. Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO]
Introduced: 2012-09-20 in the Senate
Policy area: Social Welfare
Subjects: Aging
Foreign language and bilingual programs
Racial and ethnic relations
Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations

Summary:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: 
Improving Services and Activities for Diverse Elders Act - Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 (OAA) to make it a duty and function of the Administration on Aging to provide technical assistance, training, and other forms of instruction to state and area agencies on aging, service providers, and community-based organizations to ensure that they develop and implement, in a culturally and linguistically competent manner, programming, services, and outreach for older individuals with greatest economic and social need, with particular attention to low-income minority individuals and older individuals in rural areas.
 
Requires the Administration to consult with national and community-based organizations representing minority individuals to develop its capacity to provide such technical assistance, training, and instruction.
 
Requires the state agency charged with administering the state OAA plan to develop a formula for distribution of funds under OAA that takes into account the distribution among planning and service areas of service providers who specialize in serving populations of older individuals with greatest social need.
 
Requires area and state plans to provide assurances that programming, services, and outreach will be provided to older individuals with the greatest social need in a culturally and linguistically competent manner under certain circumstances.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to increase the alternative tax liability limitation for small property and casualty insurance companies.

Bill: 112-s-3594
Sponsor: Sen. Harkin, Tom [D-IA]
Introduced: 2012-09-20 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Insurance industry and regulation
Life, casualty, property insurance
Small business
Tax administration and collection, taxpayers

Summary:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: 
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to expand the eligibility of certain small insurance companies (other than life insurance companies) for the alternative corporate income tax by increasing the premium limitation used to determine such eligibility to $2.025 million (from $1.2 million), with an annual inflation adjustment after 2012.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide an exception from the passive loss rules for investments in high technology research small business pass-thru entities.

Bill: 112-s-3595
Sponsor: Sen. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2012-09-20 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Advanced technology and technological innovations
Business investment and capital
Income tax credits
Income tax deductions
Research and development
Small business
Tax administration and collection, taxpayers

Summary:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: 
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from passive loss rules any activity of a taxpayer carried on by a high technology research small business pass-thru entity. Defines &quot;high technology research small business pass-thru entity&quot; as any domestic pass-thru entity that: (1) spends a specified percentage of its income on research, (2) is a small business with 250 or fewer employees, and (3) does not have aggregate gross receipts in excess of $150 million. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Introduced in Senate
Honoring Service Through National Park Access Act

Bill: 112-s-3596
Sponsor: Sen. Tester, Jon [D-MT]
Introduced: 2012-09-20 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: National Guard and reserves
Outdoor recreation
Parks, recreation areas, trails
User charges and fees
Veterans' organizations and recognition

Summary:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: 
Honoring Service Through National Park Access Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to make a lifetime National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass available, at a cost of $10, to veterans who were separated from military service under conditions other than dishonorable. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Introduced in Senate
Low Value Shipment Regulatory Modernization Act of 2012

Bill: 112-s-3597
Sponsor: Sen. Thune, John [R-SD]
Introduced: 2012-09-20 in the Senate
Policy area: Foreign Trade and International Finance
Subjects: Inflation and prices
Tariffs

Summary:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: 
Low Value Shipment Regulatory Modernization Act of 2012 - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to increase from $200 to $800 for FY2013, and to $800 adjusted annually for inflation after FY2013, the aggregate retail value in the country of shipment of articles that may be imported duty-free into the United States by one person on one day.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Introduced in Senate
Careers through Responsive, Efficient, and Effective Retraining Act

Bill: 112-s-3599
Sponsor: Sen. Portman, Rob [R-OH]
Introduced: 2012-09-20 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Employee hiring
Employment and training programs
Executive agency funding and structure
Government information and archives
Performance measurement
State and local government operations
Wages and earnings
Youth employment and child labor

Summary:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: 
Careers through Responsive, Efficient, and Effective Retraining Act - Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1988, with respect to funds for statewide youth activities which are allocated to a local area for eligible youth seeking assistance in achieving academic and employment success, to require the use of such funds for training programs, with priority consideration given to those that lead to an industry-recognized, nationally portable, and regionally relevant credential.
 
Requires the operator of a state one-stop system for delivery of training services to adults and dislocated workers also to give priority consideration to training programs that lead to the same kind of credential.
 
Requires the program of a provider of training services that leads to such a credential to meet quality criteria as established by the state governor.
 
Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish in at least five states, including at least one rural state, a Pay for Performance pilot program to provide a portion of training services for adults and dislocated workers under a plan meeting specified criteria.
 
Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to prepare a plan to reorganize federal job training programs to increase their efficiency, integration, and alignment. Requires the plan to propose a decrease in the number of federal job training programs without decreasing services or accessibility to them for eligible job training participants, including individuals with specified barriers to employment such as economic disadvantage, limited English proficiency, age, a need for remedial education, or completion of a criminal sentence.
 
Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of title IV (Temporary Aid to Needy Families) (TANF) of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to disclose pertinent employment information in the National Directory of New Hires to any state agency administering part D that transmits to the Secretary the names and Social Security account numbers of individuals. Prescribes restrictions on state use of such information.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Introduced in Senate
Investment Savings Access After Catastrophes Act of 2012

Bill: 112-s-3601
Sponsor: Sen. Vitter, David [R-LA]
Introduced: 2012-09-20 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Budget deficits and national debt
Employee benefits and pensions
Income tax deductions
Income tax exclusion
Louisiana
Mississippi
Natural disasters

Summary:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: 
Investment Savings Access After Catastrophes Act of 2012 - Defines &quot;Hurricane Isaac disaster area&quot; for purposes of this Act as any parish or county of Louisiana or Mississippi in an area in which a major disaster has been declared before September 10, 2012, under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act by reason of Hurricane Isaac.
 
Provides for tax preferences in the Hurricane Isaac disaster area, including: (1) suspension of limitations on the tax deduction for personal casualty losses, (2) an extension of the carryback period for net operating losses, and (3) tax-free distributions from a retirement plan made on or after August 26, 2012, and before September 11, 2014, to an individual whose principal place of abode on August 26, 2012, was located in the Hurricane Isaac disaster area and who sustained an economic loss due to Hurricane Isaac.
 
Rescinds unobligated funds in an amount equal to the reduction in revenues resulting from the enactment of this Act. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Introduced in Senate
Food Stamp Restoration Act of 2012

Bill: 112-s-3602
Sponsor: Sen. Inhofe, James M. [R-OK]
Introduced: 2012-09-20 in the Senate
Policy area: Agriculture and Food
Subjects: Budget deficits and national debt
Citizenship and naturalization
Congressional oversight
Drug, alcohol, tobacco use
Employment and training programs
Food assistance and relief
Government information and archives
State and local government operations

Summary:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: 
Food Stamp Restoration Act of 2012 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA), for each of FY2014-FY2021, to establish a food stamp block grant program under which the Secretary shall make annual grants to each participating state that establishes a food stamp program and submits a specified annual report to the Secretary. 
 
Requires a participating state to certify that its program includes: (1) work requirements; (2) mandatory drug testing; (3) verification of citizenship or lawful U.S. permanent residency; and (4) limitations on the eligible uses of benefits that are at least as restrictive as those in place for the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP, formerly the food stamp program).
 
Provides a grant to a participating state in an amount equal to the product of: (1) the specified amount made available for the applicable fiscal year, and (2) the proportion that the number of legal residents in the state whose income does not exceed 100% of the poverty line (applicable to a family of the size involved) bears to the number of such individuals in all participating states for the applicable fiscal year.
 
Requires an annual Government Accountability Office (GAO) audit and report to Congress regarding the effectiveness of the nutritional assistance block grant program and the manner in which each participating state is implementing the program. 
 
Permits a participating state to use the grant in any appropriate manner to provide food stamps to its legal residents.
 
Authorizes funds to remain available to a state for five years and requires any funds remaining unused after five years to be deposited in the Treasury.)
 
 
Repeals: (1) the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, effective September 30, 2013; and (2) specified mandatory and direct funding provisions.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. (text of measure as introduced: CR S6554-6555)
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S6553-6554)
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to designate the Department of Veterans Affairs clinic in Sunrise, Florida, as the "William 'Bill' Kling Department of Veterans Affairs Clinic".

Bill: 112-s-3603
Sponsor: Sen. Nelson, Bill [D-FL]
Introduced: 2012-09-20 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Congressional tributes
Florida
Government buildings, facilities, and property
Health facilities and institutions
Veterans' medical care
Veterans' organizations and recognition

Summary:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: 
Designates the facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) at 9800 West Commercial Boulevard in Sunrise, Florida, as the &quot;William 'Bill' Kling VA Clinic.&quot; 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Introduced in Senate
Improving Dementia Care Treatment for Older Adults Act of 2012

Bill: 112-s-3604
Sponsor: Sen. Kohl, Herb [D-WI]
Introduced: 2012-09-20 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Aging
Appropriations
Congressional oversight
Drug safety, medical device, and laboratory regulation
Drug therapy
Fraud offenses and financial crimes
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Government trust funds
Health care coverage and access
Health care quality
Hospital care
Long-term, rehabilitative, and terminal care
Medicaid
Medicare
Mental health
Neurological disorders
Nursing
Prescription drugs

Summary:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: 
Improving Dementia Care Treatment for Older Adults Act of 2012 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, to establish and implement prescriber education programs to promote high quality evidence-based treatment through the development and dissemination of objective, educational, and informational materials to physicians and other prescribing practitioners, including such a program developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. 
 
Amends SSA titles XVIII and XIX (Medicaid) with respect to the review and reporting of antipsychotics prescribed to skilled nursing facility (SNF) and nursing facility residents with dementia. 
 
Directs the Secretary to develop a standardized protocol for such facilities to obtain informed consent from an older adult with dementia before prescribing an antipsychotic to him or her for a use not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
 
Directs the Comptroller General to study state laws and regulations concerning informed consent with respect to the administration of a psychoactive medication with regard to the effectiveness of such laws and practices in changing the frequency of prescribing of such medications to older adults with dementia.
 
Directs the Secretary to include a measure of the utilization of antipsychotics for each such facility for inclusion on the Nursing Home Compare Website as part of the quality measures or health inspection measures, or both such measures, under the Five-Star Quality Rating System.
 
 Directs the Comptroller General to study the impact of the standardized protocol for obtaining informed consent under the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
 
Directs the Secretary to enter into an agreement with the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies to study appropriate prescribing of antipsychotics for hospital inpatients and whether documentation of antipsychotic use in patients with dementia is provided during transitions of care from hospitals to other care settings.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Introduced in Senate
Restoring Effective Environmental Protection Act of 2012

Bill: 112-s-3605
Sponsor: Sen. Hagan, Kay R. [D-NC]
Introduced: 2012-09-20 in the Senate
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Congressional oversight
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Environmental regulatory procedures
Hazardous wastes and toxic substances
Licensing and registrations
Pest management
Water quality

Summary:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: 
Restoring Effective Environmental Protection Act of 2012 - Amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act [CWA]) to prohibit the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or a state from requiring a permit under CWA for a discharge from a point source into navigable waters of: (1) a pesticide authorized for sale, distribution, or use under FIFRA; or (2) the residue of the pesticide, resulting from the application of the pesticide. Excepts: (1) a discharge resulting from the application of a pesticide in violation of a provision of FIFRA relevant to protecting water quality if the discharge would not have occurred without the violation or if the amount of pesticide or pesticide residue in the discharge is greater than would have occurred without the violation; (2) stormwater discharges regulated under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES); and (3) discharges of manufacturing or industrial effluent, treatment works effluent, and discharges incidental to the normal operation of a vessel.
 
Directs the Administrator to report to specified congressional committees on: (1) the status of intra-agency coordination between the Office of Water and the Office of Pesticide Programs of EPA regarding streamlining information collection, standards of review, and data use relating to water quality impacts from the registration and use of pesticides; (2) an analysis of the effectiveness of current regulatory actions relating to pesticide registration and use aimed at protecting water quality; and (3) recommendations on how FIFRA can be modified to better protect water quality and human health.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Introduced in Senate