hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-1994
Sponsor: Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY]
Introduced: 2011-12-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Civil actions and liability
Congressional oversight
Criminal procedure and sentencing
Elections, voting, political campaign regulation
Fraud offenses and financial crimes
Government information and archives
Political advertising
U.S. Sentencing Commission

Summary:
action_date: 2011-12-14
text: 
Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2011 - Amends the Revised Statutes and federal criminal law to prohibit any person, whether acting under color of law or otherwise, from knowingly misleading voters regarding: (1) the time or place of holding any federal election, (2) the qualifications for or restrictions on voter eligibility for any such election, or (3) an endorsement.
 
Prohibits hindering, interfering with, or preventing another person from voting, registering to vote, or aiding another person to vote or register to vote in a federal election.
 
Creates a private right of action for any person aggrieved by a violation of such prohibition.
 
Amends the federal criminal code to prescribe criminal penalties for such deceptive acts.
 
Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to review and, if appropriate, amend the federal sentencing guidelines and policy statements applicable to persons convicted of any offense under this Act.
 
Authorizes any person to report to the Attorney General false election information. 
 
Requires the Attorney General, if receiving a credible report that materially false information has been or is being communicated, to communicate to the public accurate information designed to correct the materially false information if the Attorney General determines that state and local election officials have not taken adequate steps to promptly communicate accurate information to correct the materially false information.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2012-06-26
text: Committee on the Judiciary. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 112-893.
action_date: 2011-12-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2011-12-14
text: Introduced in Senate
Medical Device Patient Safety Act

Bill: 112-s-1995
Sponsor: Sen. Grassley, Chuck [R-IA]
Introduced: 2011-12-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Business records
Drug safety, medical device, and laboratory regulation
Government information and archives
Health technology, devices, supplies

Summary:
action_date: 2011-12-14
text: 
Medical Device Patient Safety Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting through the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, to establish a program to enhance the oversight by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of medical device recalls.
 
Requires the program to routinely and systematically assess: (1) information submitted to the Secretary pursuant to a device recall order issued under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA); and (2) information required to be reported by a device manufacturer to the Secretary regarding the manufacturer's correction or removal of a device. Requires the Secretary to use such information to proactively identify strategies for mitigating health risks presented by defective or unsafe devices. Requires such program to be designed to identify such things as recall trends, the causes of recalls, and the time to complete a recall.
 
Requires the Secretary to develop explicit criteria for assessing whether a person subject to a recall order or the manufacturer's reporting requirement has performed an effective correction or removal action.
 
Requires the Secretary to document and publish specified information concerning termination of a recall.
 
Permits the Secretary to conditionally clear for introduction into interstate commerce for commercial distribution a medical device intended for human use if such medical device is cleared pursuant to specified FDCA reporting requirements concerning the introduction of devices into interstate commerce. Permits the Secretary, as part of such conditional clearance, to: (1) impose specified restrictions on the sale, distribution, or use of the device; (2) require specified labeling for the device; and (3) require the maintenance of specified records that enable the FDA to track the device and determine the safety and effectiveness of the device.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-12-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2011-12-14
text: Introduced in Senate
Pro-Growth Budgeting Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-1996
Sponsor: Sen. Ayotte, Kelly [R-NH]
Introduced: 2011-12-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Economics and Public Finance
Subjects: Budget process
Congressional oversight
Economic performance and conditions
Economic theory
Government studies and investigations
Legislative rules and procedure

Summary:
action_date: 2011-12-15
text: 
Pro-Growth Budgeting Act of 2011 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to prepare for each major bill or resolution reported by any congressional committee (except the congressional appropriations committees), as a supplement to CBO cost estimates, a macroeconomic impact analysis of the costs of such legislation for: (1) the period for which the cost estimate is prepared, and (2) the 10-fiscal year period beginning with the first fiscal year after the last fiscal year for which such estimate was prepared and each of the 2 next 10-fiscal year periods.
 
Defines &quot;major bill or resolution&quot; as any bill or resolution whose budgetary effects, for any fiscal year in the period for which a CBO cost estimate is prepared, is estimated to be greater than .25% of the current projected U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) for that fiscal year.
 
Requires the analysis to describe: (1) the potential economic impact of the bill or resolution on major economic variables, including real GDP, business investment, the capital stock, employment, and labor supply; and (2) the potential fiscal effects of the measure, including any estimates of revenue increases or decreases resulting from changes in GDP.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-12-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Budget.
action_date: 2011-12-15
text: Introduced in Senate
FHA Bailout Protection Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-1997
Sponsor: Sen. Vitter, David [R-LA]
Introduced: 2011-12-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Housing and Community Development
Subjects: Accounting and auditing
Fraud offenses and financial crimes
Government lending and loan guarantees
Government studies and investigations
Government trust funds
Housing finance and home ownership

Summary:
action_date: 2011-12-15
text: 
FHA Bailout Protection Act of 2011 - Amends the National Housing Act (NHA) to direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to take action to ensure that the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund attains and maintains a capital ratio of at least 2%. Includes among such actions: (1) increasing mortgage insurance premiums, (2) establishing more stringent underwriting standards, and (3) increasing the amount of cash (or its equivalent) required to be paid on account of the property subject to a mortgage.
 
Directs the Secretary to raise annual insurance premiums and charge an additional risk-based annual insurance premium if: (1) the Fund fails to attain a capital ratio of 2% by a specified date or maintain it, or (2) the Fund's expected claims rate as set forth in the quarterly independent actuarial study is 10.0 or higher.
 
Directs the Secretary to require a mortgagee to indemnify HUD for losses resulting from payment of an insurance claim with respect to a mortgage: (1) executed under the direct endorsement program or insured by the mortgagee pursuant to a delegation of authority, but (2) not originated or underwritten in accordance with HUD requirements. Requires indemnification also in the event that fraud or misrepresentation was involved in an origination or underwriting.
 
Directs the Secretary of HUD to take any actions required to seek indemnification for any early term delinquency on a mortgage which: (1) is an obligation of the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund; and (2) at the time of origination was not in compliance with NHA requirements.
 
Directs the Secretary of HUD to establish a program to review the cause of each early term delinquency on such a mortgage.
 
Converts from annual to quarterly the frequency of an independent actuarial study of the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund.
 
Amends the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 to prohibit the Secretary of the Treasury from entering into specified transactions with the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-12-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2011-12-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Senior Medicare Fairness Act

Bill: 112-s-1999
Sponsor: Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN]
Introduced: 2011-12-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Aging
Disability and paralysis
Medicaid
Medicare

Summary:
action_date: 2011-12-15
text: 
Senior Medicare Fairness Act - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act for plan year 2013 and subsequent plan years with respect to payments to Medicare + Choice organizations for original fee-for-service benefits under a specialized Medicare Advantage plan for special needs individuals that: (1) offers integrated Medicare and Medicaid services under contract with the state agency under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act; and (2) is offered by a Medicare Advantage organization that as of January 1, 2010, had a contract with such state Medicaid agency that participated in the &quot;Demonstrations Serving Those Dually-Eligible for Medicare and Medicaid.&quot;
 
 Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to apply the frailty adjustment under payment rules for programs of all-inclusive care for the elderly (PACE) rather than those which would otherwise apply for plan enrollees.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-12-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2011-12-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Equity for Visual Artists Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-2000
Sponsor: Sen. Kohl, Herb [D-WI]
Introduced: 2011-12-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Art, artists, authorship
Intellectual property
Library of Congress
User charges and fees

Summary:
action_date: 2011-12-15
text: 
Equity for Visual Artists Act of 2011 - Requires, whenever a work of visual art is sold for at least $10,000 at an auction by someone other than the authoring artist, that the entity collecting the money or other consideration pay a royalty equal to 7% of the price to a visual artists' collecting society. 
 
Defines an &quot;auction&quot; as public sale run by an entity that: (1) sells to the highest bidder works of visual art in which the cumulative amount of such works sold during the previous year is over $25 million, and (2) does not solely conduct the sale of such visual art on the Internet.
 
Requires the collecting society to: (1) distribute half of the net royalty to the artist or their successor as copyright owner, and (2) deposit the other half into an escrow account to fund purchases by U.S. nonprofit art museums of works of visual art authored by living artists domiciled in the United States.
 
Establishes a copyright infringement offense for the failure of the entity collecting the money or other consideration to pay such a royalty. Subjects an infringer to the payment of statutory damages.
 
Excludes works of visual art from copyright notice procedures.
 
Directs the Register of Copyrights to issue regulations governing the designation and oversight of visual artists' collecting societies. 
 
Requires that specified fees be paid to the Register out of the total royalty payments received by collecting societies.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-12-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S8681-8682)
action_date: 2011-12-15
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S8681)
action_date: 2011-12-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Rogue Wilderness Area Expansion Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-2001
Sponsor: Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR]
Introduced: 2011-12-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Dams and canals
Electric power generation and transmission
Lakes and rivers
Licensing and registrations
Oregon
Water storage
Wilderness and natural areas, wildlife refuges, wild rivers, habitats

Summary:
action_date: 2011-12-15
text: 
 Rogue Wilderness Area Expansion Act of 2011- Adds specified federal land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in the Wild Rogue Wilderness as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS). 
 
Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to add specified segments of creeks to the designation of the Rogue River in Oregon as a component of the national wild and scenic rivers system. 
 
Prohibits: (1) the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) from licensing the construction of any dam, conduit, reservoir, powerhouse, transmission line, or other project works affecting specified stream segments; and (2) any federal department or agency from assisting in the construction of any water resources project affecting any such segment, except for maintaining or repairing existing projects. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2012-03-22
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 112-642.
action_date: 2011-12-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. (text of measure as introduced: CR S8683-8684)
action_date: 2011-12-15
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S8682-8683)
action_date: 2011-12-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Online Pharmacy Safety Act

Bill: 112-s-2002
Sponsor: Sen. Feinstein, Dianne [D-CA]
Introduced: 2011-12-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Consumer affairs
Department of Health and Human Services
Government information and archives
Health information and medical records
Internet and video services
Internet, web applications, social media
Medical tests and diagnostic methods
Prescription drugs

Summary:
action_date: 2011-12-15
text: 
Online Pharmacy Safety Act - Amends the the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to permit the dispensing of drugs only pursuant to a &quot;valid prescription&quot; and requires such a prescription to include at least one in-person medical evaluation of the patient by a licensed health care practitioner.
 
Requires the the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a Registry of Legitimate Online Pharmacy Websites for the purpose of educating consumers and promoting public health and safety. Allows only those pharmacies designated as legitimate by the Secretary on the site. Sets forth criteria for determining the legitimacy of a pharmacy.
 
Requires the Secretary to: (1) engage in a campaign to educate consumers on the availability and use of the Registry to promote public health and safety; and (2) make consumer education materials available, on the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) website, regarding how to safely purchase drugs over the Internet.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-12-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (text of measure as introduced: CR S8685-8687)
action_date: 2011-12-15
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S8684-8685)
action_date: 2011-12-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Due Process Guarantee Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-2003
Sponsor: Sen. Feinstein, Dianne [D-CA]
Introduced: 2011-12-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Conflicts and wars
Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Detention of persons
Due process and equal protection
Military operations and strategy
War and emergency powers

Summary:
action_date: 2011-12-15
text: 
Due Process Guarantee Act of 2011 - Amends the federal criminal code to specify that an authorization to use military force, a declaration of war, or any similar authority shall not authorize the detention without charge or trial of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident apprehended in the United States, unless an Act of Congress expressly authorizes such detention. 
 
Applies this Act to any such authorizations or declarations enacted before, on, or after the enactment of this Act.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2012-02-29
text: Committee on the Judiciary. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 112-383.
action_date: 2011-12-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2011-12-15
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to grant the Congressional Gold Medal to the troops who defended Bataan during World War II.

Bill: 112-s-2004
Sponsor: Sen. Udall, Tom [D-NM]
Introduced: 2011-12-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Asia
Congressional tributes
Military history
Military personnel and dependents
Museums, exhibitions, cultural centers
Philippines
Smithsonian Institution

Summary:
action_date: 2011-12-15
text: 
Authorizes the award of a single Congressional Gold Medal to collectively honor the troops from the United States and the Philippines who defended Bataan, Philippines, and were subsequently prisoners of war, in recognition of their personal sacrifice and service to their country during World War II. Provides for the Medal's display at the Smithsonian Institution.
 
Expresses the sense of Congress that the Medal should be made available for display elsewhere, particularly at locations associated with the prisoners of war at Bataan.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-12-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2011-12-15
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S8687-8688)
action_date: 2011-12-15
text: Introduced in Senate
IRE Act

Bill: 112-s-2005
Sponsor: Sen. Brown, Scott P. [R-MA]
Introduced: 2011-12-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Immigration
Subjects: Europe
Foreign labor
Ireland
Visas and passports

Summary:
action_date: 2011-12-15
text: 
Irish Immigration Recognition and Encouragement Act of 2011 or IRE Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to include nationals of Ireland coming to the United States under a treaty of commerce to perform specialty occupation services in the nonimmigrant E-3 visa category.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-12-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2011-12-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Commuter Protection Act

Bill: 112-s-2006
Sponsor: Sen. Lautenberg, Frank R. [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2011-12-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Administrative remedies
Congressional oversight
Department of Transportation
Roads and highways
Transportation costs
Transportation programs funding

Summary:
action_date: 2011-12-15
text: 
Commuter Protection Act
 - 
Amends the Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act of 1987 to expand the requirement that certain bridge tolls be just and reasonable to all bridges or tunnels constructed on a federal-aid highway. (Current law applies the just and reasonable toll requirement only to bridges constructed under the Bridge Act of 1906, the General Bridge Act of 1946, or the International Bridge Act of 1972.)
 
Requires that tolls for all such bridges and tunnels be subject to review and regulation by the Secretary of Transportation (DOT), upon complaint or the initiative of the Secretary, including with respect to increases in the amount of tolls.
 
Directs the Secretary to promulgate regulations to define, determine, and, when appropriate, prescribe just and reasonable toll rates.
 
Requires that such regulations: (1) establish an administrative complaint process for aggrieved persons to challenge such determinations or toll rate increases on bridges or tunnels, (2) authorize the Secretary or an administrative law judge to conduct investigations and hold formal hearings on such complaints, and (3) permit complainants to seek judicial review of a final administrative determination in a U.S. district court.
 
Directs the Comptroller General to: (1) evaluate the use of tolls by interstate authorities to maintain and improve surface transportation facilities, and (2) make recommendations to increase transparency and accountability of the funding decisions by those authorities.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-12-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2011-12-15
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend the African Growth and Opportunity Act to extend the third-country fabric rule, to add South Sudan to the list of countries eligible for designation under that Act, and for other purposes.

Bill: 112-s-2007
Sponsor: Sen. Baucus, Max [D-MT]
Introduced: 2011-12-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Foreign Trade and International Finance
Subjects: Africa
South Sudan
Tariffs

Summary:
action_date: 2011-12-15
text: 
Amends the African Growth and Opportunity Act to extend, through FY2015, the third-country fabric rule granting duty-free treatment of apparel articles wholly assembled, or knit-to-shape and wholly assembled, or both, in one or more lesser developed beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries, regardless of the country of origin of the fabric or the yarn used to make such articles.
 
Revises the term &quot;sub-Saharan African country&quot; to include the Republic of South Sudan under such Act.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-12-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2011-12-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Social Security Fairness Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-2010
Sponsor: Sen. Kerry, John F. [D-MA]
Introduced: 2011-12-16 in the Senate
Policy area: Social Welfare
Subjects: Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Social security and elderly assistance

Summary:
action_date: 2011-12-16
text: 
Social Security Fairness Act of 2011 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to repeal the government pension offset requirement applicable to and reducing husband's and wife's insurance benefits, widow's and widower's insurance benefits, and divorced mother's and divorced father's insurance benefits with respect to federal, state, or local government employees who receive a government pension and did not pay Social Security taxes during their years of government service, and so did not earn entitlement to Social Security benefits for those years.
 
Repeals also the windfall elimination requirement with respect to computation of an individual's primary insurance amount under which OASDI retirement or disability benefits are reduced if the individual receives a federal, state, or local government pension, did not pay Social Security taxes during the years of government service, and so did not earn entitlement to Social Security benefits for those years.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-12-16
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2011-12-16
text: Introduced in Senate