hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act of 2012

Bill: 112-s-3574
Sponsor: Sen. Blunt, Roy [R-MO]
Introduced: 2012-09-19 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Consumer affairs
Food industry and services
Food supply, safety, and labeling
Nutrition and diet

Summary:
action_date: 2012-09-19
text: 
Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act of 2012 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to revise the nutritional information that restaurants and retail food establishments must disclose. Requires the nutrient content disclosure statement on the menu or menu board to include: (1) the number of calories contained in the whole product; (2) the number of servings and number of calories per serving; or (3) the number of calories per the common unit division of the product, such as for a multi-serving item that is typically divided before presentation to the consumer. Permits such information to be provided by a remote-access menu, such as through the internet, for food establishments where the majority of orders are placed by customers who are off-premises at the time the order is placed.
 
Defines &ldquo;reasonable basis&rdquo; for a restaurant or similar food establishment&rsquo;s nutrient content disclosures to mean that the nutrient disclosure is within acceptable allowances for variation in nutrient content, which shall include allowances for variations in serving size, inadvertent human error in formulation of menu items, and variations in ingredients.
 
Sets forth the methods a restaurant or similar food establishment may use to determine nutritional content for disclosure, including ranges, averages, individual labeling of flavors or components, or labeling of one preset standard build. Defines &quot;preset standard build&quot; as the finished version of a menu item most commonly ordered by consumers.
 
Applies the nutritional disclosure requirements to retail food establishments that derive more than 50% of their total revenue from the sale of food.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2012-09-19
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2012-09-19
text: Introduced in Senate
LGBT Elder Americans Act of 2012

Bill: 112-s-3575
Sponsor: Sen. Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO]
Introduced: 2012-09-19 in the Senate
Policy area: Social Welfare
Subjects: Aging
Department of Health and Human Services
Executive agency funding and structure
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Health care coverage and access
Long-term, rehabilitative, and terminal care
Mental health
Sex, gender, sexual orientation discrimination

Summary:
action_date: 2012-09-19
text: 
LGBT Elder Americans Act of 2012 - Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to include LGBT individuals (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered individuals) within the purview of such Act, particularly their status as LGBT individuals among those with the greatest social need.
 
Authorizes the Assistant Secretary of Aging to: (1) designate within the Administration on Aging a person with responsibility for addressing issues affecting LGBT older individuals; (2) conduct studies and collect data to determine the services needed by LGBT older individuals; and (3) establish and operate the National Resource Center on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered Aging.
 
Revises the list of activities of national significance for families and other caregiverrs, for which the Assistant Secretary's grants may be used, to specify those provided to individuals with greatest social need which: (1) address physical and mental health, disabilities, and health disparities; (2) provide long-term care, including in-home and community-based care; (3) provide informal care and formal care in a facility setting; (4) provide access to culturally responsive health and human services; and (5) address other gaps in assistance and issues of particular importance to older individuals with the greatest social need.
 
Requires a State Long-Term Care Ombudsman to collect and analyze discrimination data with respect to LGBT older individuals in the admission to, transfer or discharge from, or lack of adequate care provided in long-term care settings.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2012-09-19
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2012-09-19
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to provide limitations on United States assistance, and for other purposes.

Bill: 112-s-3576
Sponsor: Sen. Paul, Rand [R-KY]
Introduced: 2012-09-19 in the Senate
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Africa
Asia
Congressional oversight
Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Detention of persons
Diplomacy, foreign officials, Americans abroad
Egypt
Foreign aid and international relief
Foreign loans and debt
Government lending and loan guarantees
Government studies and investigations
Legislative rules and procedure
Libya
Middle East
Military facilities and property
Pakistan
Sanctions
Terrorism

Summary:
action_date: 2012-09-19
text: 
Prohibits amounts from being obligated or expended for any direct U.S. assistance, loan guarantee, or debt relief to Libya, Egypt, Pakistan, or a host country of a U.S. diplomatic facility that was attacked, trespassed upon, breached, or attempted to be attacked, trespassed upon, or breached, on or after September 1, 2012. 
 
Authorizes the President to request that the prohibition be suspended with respect to a country if the President certifies to Congress that: (1) such country is cooperating with investigations into an attack, has arrested or extradited persons associated with the attack, and is improving local security; and (2) all persons associated with the attack have been identified by U.S. law enforcement and are in U.S. custody.
 
Prohibits any request with respect to Pakistan until: (1) Dr. Shakil Afridi has been released alive from prison; (2) all charges brought against Dr. Afridi have been dropped; and (3) if necessary to ensure his freedom, Dr. Afridi has been allowed to leave Pakistan alive. 
 
Requires the President to report to Congress regarding the extent to which advanced weaponry remaining unsecured after the fall of Moammar Qaddafi was used by the individuals responsible for the September 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
 
Prohibits anything in this Act from being construed as an authorization for the use of military force.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2012-09-22
text: Returned to the Calendar. Calendar No. 530.
action_date: 2012-09-22
text: Under the order of 9/21/2012, not having achieved 60 votes in the affirmative, failed of passage in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 10 - 81. Record Vote Number: 196.
action_date: 2012-09-22
text: Failed of passage/not agreed to in Senate: Under the order of 9/21/2012, not having achieved 60 votes in the affirmative, failed of passage in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 10 - 81. Record Vote Number: 196.
action_date: 2012-09-22
text: Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent. (consideration: CR 9/21/2012 S6679-6684)
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 530.
action_date: 2012-09-19
text: Introduced in the Senate. Read the first time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under Read the First Time.
action_date: 2012-09-19
text: Introduced in Senate
Foreign Prison Conditions Improvement Act of 2012

Bill: 112-s-3577
Sponsor: Sen. Leahy, Patrick J. [D-VT]
Introduced: 2012-09-19 in the Senate
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Correctional facilities and imprisonment
Department of State
Detention of persons
Diplomacy, foreign officials, Americans abroad
Executive agency funding and structure
Federal officials
Foreign aid and international relief
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government information and archives
Human rights
Sanctions

Summary:
action_date: 2012-09-19
text: 
Foreign Prison Conditions Improvement Act of 2012 - Directs the Secretary of State to report annually to Congress for 5 years describing prison and detention facility conditions in at least 30 countries receiving U.S. assistance or under U.S. sanction selected as a result of the Secretary's determination that such conditions raise the most serious human rights or humanitarian concerns.
 
Urges the Secretary and the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to provide assistance to eliminate inhumane conditions in prisons and other detention facilities. Prohibits such funds from being used to construct new prisons.
 
Directs the Secretary to enter into negotiations to achieve the purposes of this Act with a government listed in the report as not making significant compliance efforts. Authorizes the Secretary and the Administrator to restructure or reduce U.S. assistance to such government in order to achieve such purposes.
 
Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish within the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor a full-time equivalent Deputy Assistant Secretary level position to advance the purposes of this Act; and (2) provide training for Foreign Service officers in assessing foreign prison and detention facility conditions.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2012-09-19
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
action_date: 2012-09-19
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S6462-6463)
action_date: 2012-09-19
text: Introduced in Senate
Voter Integrity Protection Act

Bill: 112-s-3579
Sponsor: Sen. Vitter, David [R-LA]
Introduced: 2012-09-20 in the Senate
Policy area: Immigration
Subjects: Elections, voting, political campaign regulation
Fraud offenses and financial crimes
Immigration status and procedures

Summary:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: 
Voter Integrity Protection Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to make voting in a federal election (unless otherwise provided for under the federal criminal code) by an alien who is unlawfully in the United States an aggravated felony and a deportable offense.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to require the Corps of Engineers to preserve the historical integrity of Zoar, Ohio, while carrying out any study relating to or construction of flood damage reduction measures, including levees, in Zoar, Ohio.

Bill: 112-s-3580
Sponsor: Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH]
Introduced: 2012-09-20 in the Senate
Policy area: Water Resources Development
Subjects: Floods and storm protection
Historic sites and heritage areas
Ohio

Summary:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: 
Requires the Chief of the Army Corps of Engineers, consistent with the Standards for Preservation and Guidelines for Preserving Historic Buildings, to preserve in place the historical integrity of Zoar, Ohio, while carrying out any study relating to or construction of flood damage reduction measures, including levees, in Zoar.


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
A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the credit for carbon dioxide sequestration.

Bill: 112-s-3581
Sponsor: Sen. Conrad, Kent [D-ND]
Introduced: 2012-09-20 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Air quality
Climate change and greenhouse gases
Department of the Treasury
Income tax credits

Summary:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: 
Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax credit for carbon dioxide sequestration, to: (1) establish a national limitation for such credit based upon metric tons of qualified carbon dioxide (defined as carbon dioxide captured from an industrial source that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere as industrial emission of greenhouse gas and that is measured at the source of capture and verified at the point of disposal or injection); (2) direct the Secretary of the Treasury to establish processes and procedures for allocating the national limitation and for certifying projects for which an allocation has been made; (3) impose a 10-year limitation period for such credit; (4) identify the primary taxpayer eligible to claim such credit as the taxpayer who captures the qualified carbon dioxide and disposes, through contract or otherwise, of the qualified carbon dioxide in a specified manner; and (5) provide for the transferability of such credit. 


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
Community Parks Revitalization Act

Bill: 112-s-3583
Sponsor: Sen. Hagan, Kay R. [D-NC]
Introduced: 2012-09-20 in the Senate
Policy area: Housing and Community Development
Subjects: Building construction
Child safety and welfare
Educational facilities and institutions
Energy efficiency and conservation
Housing and community development funding
Juvenile crime and gang violence
Land use and conservation
Outdoor recreation
Parks, recreation areas, trails
Physical fitness and lifestyle
Sports and recreation facilities
Urban and suburban affairs and development

Summary:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: 
Community Parks Revitalization Act - Requires the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to promulgate regulations establishing a community revitalization program to provide federal grants to eligible local governments for various park and recreation purposes, including grants for rehabilitation and construction, innovation and recreation programming, and recovery action programs.
 
Authorizes the Secretary to designate local governments in standard metropolitan statistical areas not meeting program eligibility requirements to receive such grants, out of up to 15% of funds appropriated for them, under a partial eligibility waiver.
 
Authorizes the Secretary, upon approval of an application by the chief executive of an eligible applicant, to provide 70% matching rehabilitation and construction, and innovation and recreation program grants directly to such applicant.
 
Allows a recipient, at its discretion, to transfer a grant in whole or in part to private nonprofit agencies for recreational areas and facilities they own or operate which offer recreational opportunities to the general population. 
 
Requires an applicant, for project approval, to submit to the Secretary evidence of its commitment to ongoing planning, rehabilitation, service, operation, and maintenance programs for its park and recreation systems, expressed in a five-year local park and recreation recovery action program.
 
Prescribes requirements for the five-year park and recreation recovery action program under an at-risk youth recreation grant.
 
Authorizes the Secretary to increase all grants to a state under this Act by up to 15% (but not more than 85%) of total project or program cost.
 
Prohibits the conversion, without HUD approval, of any property improved or developed with assistance under this Act for uses other than for public recreation. 
 
Limits to 10% the use of funds appropriated for rehabilitation and construction grants for acquisition of land or interests in land.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. (text of measure as introduced: CR S6549-6552)
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S6549)
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Introduced in Senate
Drought Information Act of 2012

Bill: 112-s-3584
Sponsor: Sen. Pryor, Mark L. [D-AR]
Introduced: 2012-09-20 in the Senate
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications
Subjects: Atmospheric science and weather
Congressional oversight
Emergency planning and evacuation
Farmland
Government information and archives
Natural disasters
Public-private cooperation
Water use and supply

Summary:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Drought Information Act of 2012 - Amends the National Integrated Drought Information System Act of 2006 to specify that: (1) the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere shall continue to support the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) Program, and (2) the program's purpose shall be to better inform and provide for more timely decisionmaking to reduce drought related impacts and costs. 
 Revises NIDIS functions to require the NIDIS to, among other things: (1) provide certain information, forecasts, and assessments described in the Act on both national and regional levels; (2) build upon existing forecasting and assessment programs and partnerships, such as those with specified programs of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), extension system and economist offices of the Department of Agriculture (USDA), the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and the Farm Service Agency; and (3) continue ongoing research activities related to drought and the role of extreme weather events and climate variability in drought.
 
Requires the Under Secretary to provide a report to Congress concerning the NIDIS Program that includes a list of persons in the private sector with whom the Under Secretary collaborates on NIDIS implementation and a description of NIDIS outreach activities.
 
Authorizes appropriations to carry out the Act through FY2017.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Introduced in Senate
Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act

Bill: 112-s-3585
Sponsor: Sen. Tester, Jon [D-MT]
Introduced: 2012-09-20 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Department of Agriculture
Department of the Interior
Fires
First responders and emergency personnel
General public lands matters
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Migrant, seasonal, agricultural labor
Temporary and part-time employment

Summary:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: 
Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act - Makes an employee of a land management agency who served under a time-limited appointment in the competitive service eligible to compete for a permanent appointment in the agency if the original appointment was competitive, totaled a period of at least 24 months, and the employee's performance was satisfactory. Requires such an employee's appointment to a full-time position, if such a position is offered and the employee agrees to such employment, if the original position stated that there was the potential for the position to become permanent. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Introduced in Senate
RIDE Act of 2012

Bill: 112-s-3586
Sponsor: Sen. Franken, Al [D-MN]
Introduced: 2012-09-20 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Department of Health and Human Services
Health care coverage and access
Medicaid
Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations
Transportation costs

Summary:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: 
Recruiting Individuals to Drive Our Elders Act of 2012 or RIDE Act of 2012 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to publish an interim final rule to revise certain Medicaid transportation regulations to allow a state plan under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to provide, at state option, reimbursement for costs attributable to providing no-load volunteer travel services to Medicaid-eligible individuals who require transportation to receive non-emergency medical treatment.


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
California Coastal National Monument Expansion Act of 2012

Bill: 112-s-3587
Sponsor: Sen. Boxer, Barbara [D-CA]
Introduced: 2012-09-20 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: California
Land transfers
Land use and conservation
Marine and coastal resources, fisheries
Monuments and memorials
Parks, recreation areas, trails

Summary:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: 
California Coastal National Monument Expansion Act of 2012 - Expands the boundary of the California Coastal National Monument, established by Presidential Proclamation 7264, to include the Point Arena-Stornetta public lands in Mendocino County, California. 
 
Requires management of such lands: (1) in accordance with such Proclamation, and (2) as part of the Monument. 
 
Instructs the Secretary of the Interior to finalize an amendment to the Monument's management plan for the long-term protection and management of the lands added to the Monument under this Act. 
 
Permits the use of motorized and mechanized vehicles in the Monument only on roads and trails designated for their use. 
 
Specifies this Act's effect on: (1) aviation overflights, special use airspace, or military flight training routes; (2) low-level overflights above the adjacent Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary; (3) Department of Homeland Security (DHS) law enforcement authorities; (4) the rights of Indian tribes and Indian religious communities; (5) protective perimeters and buffer zones; and (6) livestock grazing. 
 
Requires management of the Monument as part of the National Landscape Conservation System. 


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: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S6552-6553)
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Introduced in Senate
Mortgage Modification Outreach Act

Bill: 112-s-3589
Sponsor: Sen. Reed, Jack [D-RI]
Introduced: 2012-09-20 in the Senate
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Banking and financial institutions regulation
Congressional oversight
Housing finance and home ownership

Summary:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: 
Mortgage Modification Outreach Act - Requires the Comptroller of the Currency to implement a pilot program to determine the feasibility of requiring residential mortgage loan servicers to use their affiliated national bank consumer banking branches to provide certain information to any of the servicer's residential mortgage borrowers applying for a loan modification.
 
Specifies information relating to: (1) all relevant contact information for the borrower's single point of contact in connection with a loan modification application; and (2) the address of a nearby location where the borrower may copy, fax, scan, transmit by overnight delivery, or mail or email documents to the borrower's customer service representative or the borrower's single point of contact at the servicer.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S6553)
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Introduced in Senate