hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Government Litigation Savings Act

Bill: 112-s-1061
Sponsor: Sen. Barrasso, John [R-WY]
Introduced: 2011-05-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Government information and archives
Government liability
Lawyers and legal services
Legal fees and court costs

Summary:
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: 
Government Litigation Savings Act - Revises provisions of the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) and the federal judicial code relating to the fees and other expenses of parties in agency proceedings and court cases against the federal government to: (1) restrict awards of fees and other expenses under such Act to prevailing parties with a direct and personal monetary interest in an adjudication, including because of personal injury, property damage, or an unpaid agency disbursement; (2) require the reduction or denial of awards commensurate with pro bono hours and related fees and expenses to parties who have acted in an obdurate, dilatory, mendacious, or oppressive manner or in bad faith; (3) limit awards to not more than $200,000 in any single adversary adjudication or for more than three adversary adjudications in the same calendar year (unless the adjudicating officer or judge determines that a higher award is required to avoid severe and unjust harm to the prevailing party); and (4) expand the reporting requirements of the Chairman of the Administrative Conference of the United States with respect to fees and other expenses awarded to prevailing parties during the preceding fiscal year. 
 
Requires the Comptroller General to audit the implementation of EAJA for the years 1995 through the end of the calendar year in which this Act is enacted.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to enhance the administration of the United States Air Force Institute of Technology, and for other purposes.

Bill: 112-s-1062
Sponsor: Sen. Portman, Rob [R-OH]
Introduced: 2011-05-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Department of Defense
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Higher education
Military education and training
School administration

Summary:
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: 
Requires the Commandant of the United States Air Force Institute of Technology (Institute) to be selected by the Secretary of the Air Force. Outlines eligibility requirements and qualifications for such position. Allows a term of five years, with the authority to continue in such position for an additional five years. Establishes at the Institute the civilian positions of Provost and Academic Dean, to be appointed by such Secretary for five-year periods. Allows the person currently serving as the Institute's Commandant to serve as Acting Commandant until the appointment is made under this Act.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: Introduced in Senate
Huna Tlingit Traditional Gull Egg Use Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-1063
Sponsor: Sen. Murkowski, Lisa [R-AK]
Introduced: 2011-05-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Native Americans
Subjects: Alaska
Birds
Indian lands and resources rights
Parks, recreation areas, trails

Summary:
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: 
Huna Tlingit Traditional Gull Egg Use Act of 2011 - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to allow members of the Hoonah Indian Association to collect the eggs of glaucous-winged gulls up to two times a year at up to five locations within Alaska's Glacier Bay National Park.
 
Requires collection schedules and locations to be based on an annual plan prepared jointly by the Secretary and the Hoonah Indian Association.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-07-28
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 112-214.
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3343)
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: Introduced in Senate
SUN Act

Bill: 112-s-1064
Sponsor: Sen. Reed, Jack [D-RI]
Introduced: 2011-05-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Department of Health and Human Services
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Product safety and quality
Radiation

Summary:
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: 
Sunscreen Labeling Protection Act of 2011 or the SUN Act - Requires the proposed rule issued by the Commissioner of Food and Drugs (FDA) pertaining to over-the-counter sunscreen drug products to take effect 180 days after enactment of this Act, unless the Commissioner issues a final rule that includes formulation, labeling, and testing requirements for both ultraviolet B (UVB) and ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation protection before such time.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (text of measure as introduced: CR S3344)
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3343-3344)
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to allow importation of polar bear trophies taken in sport hunts in Canada before the date on which the polar bear was determined to be a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

Bill: 112-s-1066
Sponsor: Sen. Crapo, Mike [R-ID]
Introduced: 2011-05-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Animals
Subjects: Animal protection and human-animal relationships
Canada
Endangered and threatened species
Hunting and fishing
Mammals
Outdoor recreation
Trade restrictions

Summary:
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: 
Amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to direct the Secretary of the Interior to issue a permit for the importation of polar bear parts taken in a sport hunt in Canada, if legally harvested before: (1) February 18, 1997; or (2) May 15, 2008, from a bear population from which a sport-hunted trophy could be imported before such date. (Polar bears were listed as a threatened species by the Department of the Interior on May 14, 2008.)


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: Introduced in Senate
Nuclear Energy Research Initiative Improvement Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-1067
Sponsor: Sen. Udall, Mark [D-CO]
Introduced: 2011-05-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Arms control and nonproliferation
Energy research
Licensing and registrations
Nuclear power
Research administration and funding
Research and development

Summary:
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: 
Nuclear Energy Research Initiative Improvement Act of 2011 - Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to direct the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to: (1) conduct research to lower the cost of nuclear reactor systems, and (2) develop and publish on the DOE website a schedule outlining a five-year strategy to lower such cost effectively.
 
Includes among research subjects: (1) modular and small-scale reactors, (2) balance-of-plant issues, (3) cost-efficient manufacturing and construction, (4) licensing issues, and (5) enhanced proliferation controls.
 

action_date: 2011-08-30
text: 
Nuclear Energy Research Initiative Improvement Act of 2011 - Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to direct the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to: (1) conduct research to lower the cost of nuclear reactor systems while increasing their levels of safety and security, and (2) develop and publish on the DOE website a schedule outlining a five-year strategy to lower such cost effectively.
 
Includes among research subjects: (1) modular and small-scale reactors, (2) balance-of-plant issues, (3) cost-efficient manufacturing and construction, (4) licensing issues, and (5) enhanced proliferation controls.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-08-30
text: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 146.
action_date: 2011-08-30
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Reported by Senator Bingaman under authority of the order of the Senate of 08/02/2011 with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 112-66.
action_date: 2011-08-30
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Reported by Senator Bingaman under authority of the order of the Senate of 08/02/2011 with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 112-66.
action_date: 2011-07-14
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
action_date: 2011-06-07
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 112-107.
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. (text of measure as introduced: CR S3344-3345)
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3344)
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: Introduced in Senate
Student Loan Simplification and Opportunity Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-1068
Sponsor: Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH]
Introduced: 2011-05-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Education programs funding
Government lending and loan guarantees
Higher education
Student aid and college costs

Summary:
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: 
Student Loan Simplification and Opportunity Act of 2011 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to repeal the Secretary of Education's authority, under the Direct Loan (DL) program, to purchase or enter into forward commitments to purchase: (1) Federal Family Education Loans (FFELs) from lenders, upon the determination that there is an inadequate availability of loan capital to meet the demand for such loans; and (2) rehabilitated loans that eligible lenders purchased under the FFEL default reduction program. (Currently, the Secretary's authority to purchase or enter into forward commitments to purchase such loans is set to expire in July 2010, as is the FFEL program.)
 
Authorizes the Secretary to offer borrowers FFEL Debt Conversion Loans, until October 2012, that cover FFELs that have not been purchased under the program this Act repeals, provided such borrowers: (1) are not in default or delinquent for 270 days or more on such loans, and (2) have an outstanding DL or an outstanding FFEL that was purchased pursuant to the program this Act repeals. (FFEL Debt Conversion Loans pay the holder of the FFEL the outstanding principal and interest on the loan, which the borrower is then obligated to repay to the Secretary under the terms of the converted FFEL.)
 
Authorizes the Secretary to offer benefits to borrowers of FFEL Debt Conversion Loans in an amount up to 2% of the amount advanced on the FFEL Debt Conversion Loan.
 
Requires federal proceeds from this Act's temporary authorization of FFEL Debt Conversion Loans to be used for the Pell grant program.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3345)
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: Introduced in Senate
Affordable Footwear Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-1069
Sponsor: Sen. Cantwell, Maria [D-WA]
Introduced: 2011-05-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Foreign Trade and International Finance
Subjects: Consumer affairs
Inflation and prices
Retail and wholesale trades
Tariffs

Summary:
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: 
Affordable Footwear Act of 2011 - Expresses the sense of Congress that the reduction or elimination of duties on certain imported footwear will result in reduced retail prices for a wide range of U.S. consumers.
 
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to provide for temporary duty-free or reduced-duty 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, with no account taken of the textile materials.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: Introduced in Senate
Fourth Amendment Restoration Act

Bill: 112-s-1070
Sponsor: Sen. Paul, Rand [R-KY]
Introduced: 2011-05-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Bank accounts, deposits, capital
Banking and financial institutions regulation
Business records
Consumer credit
Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Intelligence activities, surveillance, classified information
Judicial review and appeals
Right of privacy
Securities
Telephone and wireless communication
Terrorism

Summary:
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: 
Fourth Amendment Restoration Act - Amends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) to impose limits on roving electronic surveillance by revising specifications and adding directions required to be included in the order of a designated judge approving such surveillance, including, in cases where the facility or place at which the electronic surveillance will be directed is unknown at the time the order is issued, that the electronic surveillance be conducted only for such time as reasonable to presume that the target of the surveillance is or was reasonably proximate to the particular facility or place.
 
Amends the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 to make the following FISA provisions, subject to exceptions, read as they read on October 25, 2001 (prior to enactment of the USA PATRIOT Act on October 26, 2001): (1) effective December 31, 2013, provisions specifying the directions to be contained in orders approving electronic surveillance of a foreign power or agent of a foreign power; and (2) effective February 28, 2011, provisions authorizing the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to apply for orders requiring production of business records and other tangible things in investigations related to foreign intelligence and international terrorism and directing the Attorney General (AG) to annually inform Congress of such requests.
 
Directs the AG to establish minimization and destruction procedures, as specified, governing the acquisition, retention, and dissemination of any records received by the FBI: (1) in response to a national security letter issued under specified federal criminal code provisions authorizing the FBI to request telephone toll and transactional records from wire or electronic communication service providers for counterintelligence purposes, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978, or the National Security Act of 1947; or (2) pursuant to the above FISA provisions authorizing the FBI to apply for production of business records and other tangible things and directing the AG to inform Congress of such requests.
 
Sets forth provisions requiring judicial review of certain national security letters and suspicious activity reports.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to limit suspicious activity reporting requirements to requests from law enforcement agencies, and for other purposes.

Bill: 112-s-1071
Sponsor: Sen. Paul, Rand [R-KY]
Introduced: 2011-05-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Bank accounts, deposits, capital
Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation

Summary:
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: 
Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to require a financial institution to report a suspicious transaction relevant to a possible violation of law or regulation only upon request of an appropriate law enforcement agency.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to provide for a good faith exemption from suspicious activity reporting requirements, and for other purposes.

Bill: 112-s-1072
Sponsor: Sen. Paul, Rand [R-KY]
Introduced: 2011-05-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Bank accounts, deposits, capital
Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation

Summary:
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: 
Declares that failure by a financial institution or any of its directors, officers, employees, or agents to report a suspicious transaction is not a violation of specified monetary transaction reporting requirements if the institution or person has: (1) in effect an established decision-making process with respect to suspicious transactions, (2) made a good faith effort to follow existing policies, procedures, and processes with respect to such transactions; and (3) determined not to file a report with respect to a particular transaction.
 
Deems failure to submit a suspicious transaction report to be a violation of such reporting requirements if it is accompanied by evidence of bad faith on the part of either the financial institution or other person. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to require the Attorney General to establish minimization and destruction procedures governing the acquisition, retention, and dissemination by the Federal Bureau of Investigation of certain records.

Bill: 112-s-1073
Sponsor: Sen. Paul, Rand [R-KY]
Introduced: 2011-05-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Bank accounts, deposits, capital
Consumer credit
Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Intelligence activities, surveillance, classified information
Right of privacy
Telephone and wireless communication

Summary:
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: 
Directs the Attorney General (AG) to establish minimization and destruction procedures governing the acquisition, retention, and dissemination of any records received by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI): (1) in response to a national security letter issued under specified provisions of the federal criminal code authorizing FBI requests for telephone toll and transactional records for counterintelligence purposes, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978, or the National Security Act of 1947; or (2) pursuant to provisions authorizing FBI requests for orders from designated judges requiring production of business records and other tangible things in investigations related to foreign intelligence and international terrorism, and requiring the AG to inform Congress of such requests, under title V of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA).
 
Defines &quot;minimization and destruction procedures&quot; as: (1) specific procedures reasonably designed in light of the purpose and technique of a national security letter or a request for tangible things for an investigation to obtain foreign intelligence information, as appropriate, to minimize the acquisition and retention, and prohibit the dissemination, of nonpublicly available information concerning unconsenting U.S. persons consistent with the need of the United States to obtain, produce, and disseminate foreign intelligence information, including procedures to ensure that information obtained outside the scope of such letter or request, is returned or destroyed; (2) procedures requiring that nonpublicly available information, which is not foreign intelligence information (as defined in specified FISA provisions) shall not be disseminated in a manner that identifies, without consent, any U.S. person, unless such person's identity is necessary to understand foreign intelligence information or assess its importance; and (3) notwithstanding the first two procedures, procedures allowing retention and dissemination of information that is evidence of a crime which has been, is being, or is about to be committed and that is to be retained or disseminated for law enforcement purposes.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to remove the extension of the sunset date for section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act.

Bill: 112-s-1074
Sponsor: Sen. Paul, Rand [R-KY]
Introduced: 2011-05-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Business records
Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Intelligence activities, surveillance, classified information

Summary:
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: 
Amends the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 to make the following provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, subject to exceptions, read as they read on October 25, 2001 (prior to enactment of the USA PATRIOT Act on October 26, 2001): (1) effective June 1, 2015, provisions specifying the directions to be contained in the orders of designated judges approving electronic surveillance of a foreign power or agent of a foreign power; and (2) effective May 27, 2011, provisions authorizing the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to apply for orders requiring production of business records and other tangible things in investigations related to foreign intelligence and international terrorism and directing the Attorney General (DOJ) to annually inform Congress of such requests.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to provide judicial review of National Security Letters.

Bill: 112-s-1075
Sponsor: Sen. Paul, Rand [R-KY]
Introduced: 2011-05-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Bank accounts, deposits, capital
Consumer credit
Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Intelligence activities, surveillance, classified information
Judicial review and appeals
Right of privacy
Telephone and wireless communication
Terrorism

Summary:
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: 
Prohibits an officer or employee of the United States from issuing a national security letter under specified provisions of the federal criminal code, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978, or the National Security Act of 1947 unless: (1) the letter is submitted to a designated judge of the court established under specified provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, and (2) such judge issues an order finding that a warrant could be issued under the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure to search for and seize the information sought to be obtained in such a letter. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: Introduced in Senate