hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Homeownership Affordability Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-1508
Sponsor: Sen. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2011-08-02 in the Senate
Policy area: Housing and Community Development
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Federal Housing Finance Agency
Housing and community development funding
Housing finance and home ownership
User charges and fees
Veterans' loans, housing, homeless programs

Summary:
action_date: 2011-08-02
text: 
Homeownership Affordability Act of 2011 - Extends through December 31, 2013, specified loan limits for the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) (government-sponsored enterprises), and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
 
Directs the Federal Housing Finance Agency to increase mortgage guarantee fees charged by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for mortgage loans of between $625,500 and $729,750 originated between October 1, 2011 and December 31, 2013, in an amount necessary to increase by $336 million the revenue raised from such fees. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-08-02
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2011-08-02
text: Introduced in Senate
Promoting Accountability and Excellence in Child Welfare Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-1509
Sponsor: Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR]
Introduced: 2011-08-02 in the Senate
Policy area: Social Welfare
Subjects: Adoption and foster care
Child health
Child safety and welfare
Congressional oversight
Elementary and secondary education
Government information and archives
Performance measurement
Poverty and welfare assistance
Preschool education
State and local government operations

Summary:
action_date: 2011-08-02
text: 
Promoting Accountability and Excellence in Child Welfare Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a child welfare innovation grant program that provides eligible entities with the necessary flexibility and financial incentives to implement comprehensive reforms to existing child welfare programs under parts B (Child and Family Services) and E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act in order to: (1) achieve significant results that improve the well-being of all children in the child welfare system; and (2) incorporate higher standards of accountability for state and local agencies and organizations that provide child welfare services. 
 
Directs the Secretary to establish an interagency working group that includes representatives from the Department of Education,, the Department of Labor, the Department of Justice, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and other federal agencies administering programs that affect the child welfare system to identify existing federal financial resources that may be used to provide supplemental funding to eligible entities awarded grants under this Act. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-08-02
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2011-08-02
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S5266-5267)
action_date: 2011-08-02
text: Introduced in Senate
Gulf Coast Disadvantaged Business Relief Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-1511
Sponsor: Sen. Landrieu, Mary L. [D-LA]
Introduced: 2011-09-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Alabama
Disaster relief and insurance
Louisiana
Mississippi
Natural disasters
Public contracts and procurement
Small business

Summary:
action_date: 2011-09-06
text: 
Gulf Coast Disadvantaged Business Relief Act of 2011 - Permits any small business located in a Louisiana parish or Mississippi or Alabama county that was designated by the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) as a disaster area by reason of Hurricane Katrina or Rita while it was participating in a SBA small business and capital ownership development program to continue participation and eligibility in such program for an additional 24 months. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-09-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. (text of measure as introduced: CR S5343)
action_date: 2011-09-06
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S5342-5343)
action_date: 2011-09-06
text: Introduced in Senate
Promotion and Expansion of Private Employee Ownership Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-1512
Sponsor: Sen. Cardin, Benjamin L. [D-MD]
Introduced: 2011-09-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Capital gains tax
Department of the Treasury
Employee benefits and pensions
Executive agency funding and structure
Securities
Small business

Summary:
action_date: 2011-09-06
text: 
Promotion and Expansion of Private Employee Ownership Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend to all domestic corporations, including S corporations, provisions allowing deferral of tax on gain from the sale of employer securities to an S corporation-sponsored employer stock ownership plan (ESOP).
 
Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish the S Corporation Employee Ownership Assistance Office to foster increased employee ownership of S corporations.
 
Amends the Small Business Act to define "ESOP business concern" and allow such a concern to continue to qualify for loans, preferences, and other programs under such Act.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-09-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2011-09-06
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend title XII of the Social Security Act to extend the provision waiving certain interest payments on advances made to States from the Federal unemployment account in the Unemployment Trust Fund.

Bill: 112-s-1513
Sponsor: Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY]
Introduced: 2011-09-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Government trust funds
Interest, dividends, interest rates
Intergovernmental relations
State and local finance
State and local taxation
Unemployment

Summary:
action_date: 2011-09-06
text: 
Amends title XII (Advances to State Unemployment Fund) of the Social Security Act, as added by the Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act, to extend through December 31, 2012, the waiver of certain interest payments on advances made to states from the federal unemployment account in the Unemployment Trust Fund. (Thus continues temporary assistance for states with such advances.)
 
Denies application of this waiver, between January 1, 2011, and December 31, 2012, to any state that, between January 1, 2011 and enactment of this Act, imposed any tax, assessment, or other charge on any taxpayer to pay interest otherwise due from the state, unless the state makes all reasonable efforts to fully reimburse taxpayers that were subject to such interest assessment.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-09-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2011-09-06
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to authorize the President to award a gold medal on behalf of the Congress to Elouise Pepion Cobell, in recognition of her outstanding and enduring contributions to American Indians, Alaska Natives, and the Nation through her tireless pursuit of justice.

Bill: 112-s-1514
Sponsor: Sen. Tester, Jon [D-MT]
Introduced: 2011-09-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Native Americans
Subjects: Alaska Natives and Hawaiians
Congressional tributes
Federal-Indian relations
Indian social and development programs
Racial and ethnic relations

Summary:
action_date: 2011-09-06
text: 
 Authorizes the President, on behalf of Congress, to award a gold medal of appropriate design to Elouise Pepion Cobell in recognition of her outstanding and enduring contributions to the welfare of individual Indians in this country and her inspiration to indigenous peoples across the globe. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-09-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2011-09-06
text: Introduced in Senate
Sustainable States Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-1516
Sponsor: Sen. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2011-09-07 in the Senate
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: Economic performance and conditions
Energy efficiency and conservation
Energy storage, supplies, demand
Public-private cooperation
Solid waste and recycling
State and local government operations
Water use and supply

Summary:
action_date: 2011-09-07
text: 
Sustainable States Act of 2011 - Establishes a program under which the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shall provide no more than 20 grants to sustainable state consortia (partnerships consisting of local governments, states, public universities, and other municipal organizations, businesses, or nonprofit organizations) to establish and carry out municipal sustainability certification programs. Requires each grant to have a three year term. Defines &quot;municipal sustainability certification program&quot; as a program that: (1) determines a set of state-specific benchmarks for use in evaluating sustainability, and (2) certifies a municipality as sustainable based on documented achievement of those benchmarks. 
 
Directs the Administrator to: (1) establish flexible guidelines that reflect regional differences for use by such consortia in establishing such programs; (2) annually compile data from such consortia and report to Congress on municipal actions undertaken to obtain municipal sustainability certification; (3) encourage such consortia to establish certification standards beyond the guidelines established by the Administrator, adapt the administration of the program to meet regional or local needs, and plan for public-private partnership agreements that will sustain the operation of the certification program of a state beyond the term of the grant; and (4) establish a website that permits interactive dialogue and collaboration among community leaders and citizens engaged in municipal sustainability certification. 
 
Establishes a program under which the Administrator shall award no more than 20 project grants to municipalities certified by sustainable state consortia to extend the leadership of the municipalities in meeting sustainability challenges.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-09-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2011-09-07
text: Introduced in Senate
21st Century WPA Act

Bill: 112-s-1517
Sponsor: Sen. Lautenberg, Frank R. [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2011-09-07 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Department of Labor
Emergency planning and evacuation
Employment and training programs
Executive agency funding and structure
Fires
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Income tax rates
Infrastructure development
Law enforcement administration and funding
Law enforcement officers
Manufacturing
Unemployment

Summary:
action_date: 2011-09-07
text: 
21st Century WPA Act - Establishes within the Department of Labor a Works Progress Administration (WPA).
 
Requires eligible federal departments to submit to the WPA proposals for works projects that produce a high number of employee hours per dollar of the total project cost, and meet certain other criteria. 
 
Permits such projects to include: (1) residential and commercial building weatherization projects; (2) residential and commercial water use efficiency improvement projects; (3) highway, bridge, and rail repair and maintenance projects; (4) manufacturing projects; (5) school, library, and firehouse construction projects; (6) soil erosion and pesticide runoff prevention projects; and (7) trail maintenance projects.
 
Makes an employer who is unable to hire an individual to fill a job position that has been vacant for 90 days eligible to enter into an agreement with the WPA to provide training to a WPA fellow in order to become qualified to fill such position. Prescribes WPA fellowship program requirements.
 
Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to transfer amounts appropriated under this Act to the Attorney General and to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for grants for the hiring of eligible public safety individuals.
 
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a 5.4% surcharge on individual taxpayers whose modified adjusted gross income exceeds $1 million ($2 million for joint returns). Dedicates amounts collected from such surcharge to federal deficit reduction.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-09-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2011-09-07
text: Introduced in Senate
Jobs Score Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-1518
Sponsor: Sen. Manchin, Joe, III [D-WV]
Introduced: 2011-09-07 in the Senate
Policy area: Economics and Public Finance
Subjects: Appropriations
Budget process
Economic performance and conditions
Legislative rules and procedure
Unemployment

Summary:
action_date: 2011-09-07
text: 
Jobs Score Act of 2011 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis of any public bill or resolution reported from a congressional committee (except on Appropriations of each chamber) to estimate the number of jobs which would be created, sustained, or lost in carrying out such measure in the fiscal year in which it is to become effective and in each of the four ensuing fiscal years, together with the basis for each such estimate.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-09-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Budget.
action_date: 2011-09-07
text: Introduced in Senate
Pan Am Flight 103 Accountability Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-1520
Sponsor: Sen. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2011-09-07 in the Senate
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Africa
Aviation and airports
Bank accounts, deposits, capital
Congressional oversight
Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Diplomacy, foreign officials, Americans abroad
Government studies and investigations
Libya
Middle East
Sanctions
Terrorism

Summary:
action_date: 2011-09-07
text: 
Pan Am Flight 103 Accountability Act of 2011 - Directs the President to continue any federal investigative activities regarding the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 and any other terrorist attacks against U.S. citizens attributable to the government of Muammar Qaddafi. 
 
Directs the President to: (1) urge the Transitional National Council (TNC) and any successor government of Libya to cooperate with such investigative activities, and (2) consider such cooperation when making decisions about U.S. assistance to the successor government.
 
Prohibits the President from distributing property confiscated from Muammar Qaddafi, his family, and the government of Libya to the TNC or any successor government of Libya until the President certifies to Congress that the TNC or successor government is cooperating with such investigative activities.
 
Exempts property distributions for humanitarian purposes from such restriction. Authorizes the President to waive such restriction if in the U.S. national interest.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-09-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
action_date: 2011-09-07
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to provide assistance for agricultural producers adversely affected by damaging weather and other conditions relating to Hurricane Irene.

Bill: 112-s-1521
Sponsor: Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY]
Introduced: 2011-09-07 in the Senate
Policy area: Agriculture and Food
Subjects: Agricultural conservation and pollution
Agricultural prices, subsidies, credit
Disaster relief and insurance
Natural disasters
Watersheds

Summary:
action_date: 2011-09-07
text: 
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to provide emergency conservation program assistance and emergency watershed protection program assistance to agricultural producers in qualifying counties adversely affected by Hurricane Irene and related weather conditions.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-09-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
action_date: 2011-09-07
text: Introduced in Senate
Joint Select Committee on Job Creation Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-1522
Sponsor: Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT]
Introduced: 2011-09-07 in the Senate
Policy area: Congress
Subjects: Congressional committees
Congressional operations and organization
Employment and training programs
Legislative rules and procedure
Unemployment

Summary:
action_date: 2011-09-07
text: 
Joint Select Committee on Job Creation Act of 2011 - Establishes the Joint Select Committee on Job Creation, whose goal shall be to restore the nation's workforce to full employment over FY2012 and FY2013.
 
Requires the joint committee to provide recommendations and legislative language that will significantly improve the short-term and long-term employment levels in the United States.
 
Prescribes legislative procedures for consideration in both chambers of the Joint Committee's recommendations.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-09-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
action_date: 2011-09-07
text: Introduced in Senate
Protecting Jobs From Government Interference Act

Bill: 112-s-1523
Sponsor: Sen. Graham, Lindsey [R-SC]
Introduced: 2011-09-08 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Business investment and capital
Industrial facilities
Labor-management relations
Manufacturing
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)

Summary:
action_date: 2011-09-08
text: 
 Protecting Jobs From Government Interference Act - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to deny the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) any power to: (1) order an employer (or seek an order against an employer) to restore or reinstate any work, product, production line, or equipment; (2) rescind any relocation, transfer, subcontracting, outsourcing, or other change regarding the location, entity, or employer who shall be engaged in production or other business operations; or (3) require any employer to make an initial or additional investment at a particular plant, facility, or location.
 
 Applies the amendment made by this Act to any complaint for which a final adjudication by the NLRB has not been made by the date of enactment.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-09-08
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2011-09-08
text: Introduced in Senate
Action Plan for Public Lands and Education Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-1524
Sponsor: Sen. Hatch, Orrin G. [R-UT]
Introduced: 2011-09-08 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Alaska
Arizona
California
Colorado
Education programs funding
Elementary and secondary education
Government trust funds
Hawaii
Idaho
Land transfers
Mining
Montana
New Mexico
Oregon
State and local finance
Utah
Washington State
Wyoming

Summary:
action_date: 2011-09-08
text: 
Action Plan for Public Lands and Education Act of 2011 - Makes grants of land to the following states in lieu of receiving, for the support of the common schools, 5% of the proceeds of the sales of federally owned land within such states which have not been sold by the United States as of January 1, 2011: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. 
 
Makes the amount of land granted to each state 5% of the number of acres of federally owned land within that state as of January 1, 2011. Requires land selected to be held in trust to be sold or leased and the proceeds to be used only for the support of public education.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-09-08
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2011-09-08
text: Introduced in Senate
Mechanical Insulation Installation Incentive Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-1526
Sponsor: Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY]
Introduced: 2011-09-08 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Business investment and capital
Energy efficiency and conservation
Income tax deductions
Lighting, heating, cooling

Summary:
action_date: 2011-09-08
text: 
Mechanical Insulation Installation Incentive Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an additional tax deduction for the cost of installing mechanical insulation property. Limits the amount of such deduction to the lesser of 30% or the reduction in energy loss from the installed mechanical insulation property compared to property that meets the minimum requirements of American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) standard 90.1-2007. Allows the cost of replacing mechanical insulation property to be treated as a deductible business expense in the current taxable year.
 
Defines "mechanical insulation property" as insulation materials, facings, and accessory products: (1) placed in service in connection with a mechanical system which is located in the United States and of a character subject to an allowance for depreciation; and (2) utilized for thermal, acoustical, and personnel safety requirements for mechanical piping and equipment, hot and cold applications, and heating, venting and air conditioning applications which can be used in a variety of facilities.
 
Allows a tax deduction for capital expenditures related to mechanical insulation property. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-09-08
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2011-09-08
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to authorize the award of a Congressional gold medal to the Montford Point Marines of World War II.

Bill: 112-s-1527
Sponsor: Sen. Hagan, Kay R. [D-NC]
Introduced: 2011-09-08 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Congressional tributes
Military history
Military personnel and dependents
North Carolina
Racial and ethnic relations
Smithsonian Institution

Summary:
action_date: 2011-09-08
text: 
Authorizes the award of a single Congressional Gold Medal to collectively honor the Montford Point Marines, U.S. Marine Corps, in recognition of their service during World War II. (Camp Montford Point, North Carolina, was the site for the training of the first African-American Marines.)
 
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 Montford Point Marines.
 
Permits the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal, at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the medals.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-09-08
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2011-09-08
text: Introduced in Senate