hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
SAFER Act of 2011

Bill: 112-hr-1523
Sponsor: Rep. Maloney, Carolyn B. [D-NY-14]
Introduced: 2011-04-13 in the House
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Crime victims
Crimes against women
Criminal justice information and records
Evidence and witnesses
Genetics
Government information and archives
Law enforcement administration and funding
Sex offenses

Summary:
action_date: 2011-04-13
text: 
Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Registry Act of 2011 or the SAFER Act of 2011 - Amends the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 to: (1) allow states or local governments to use grant funds under such Act to conduct audits of samples of sexual assault evidence that are awaiting testing, and (2) provide funding in FY2012-FY2016 for such purpose. Authorizes the Attorney General to award grants for such audits only if the grant recipient (i.e., a state or local government) submits a plan for performing the audit of samples of sexual assault evidence and includes a good-faith estimate of the number of such samples. 
 
Requires the Attorney General to: (1) establish a Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Registry to include information about samples of sexual assault evidence awaiting testing and to track the testing and processing of such samples, and (2) develop and disseminate to law enforcement and other appropriate agencies a report on best practices for the testing and use of DNA evidence collected as part of a criminal investigation of sexual assault cases. Sets forth requirements relating to information required to be included in such Registry, the protection of personally identifiable information in the Registry, and the updating of information in the Registry. 
 
Expresses the sense of Congress that law enforcement agencies and other appropriate entities should use the best practices developed by the Attorney General to develop, evaluate, and improve DNA evidence protocols.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-07-11
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
action_date: 2011-04-13
text: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2011-04-13
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E706)
action_date: 2011-04-13
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2011-04-13
text: Introduced in House
Lead Act

Bill: 112-hr-1524
Sponsor: Rep. Payne, Donald M. [D-NJ-10]
Introduced: 2011-04-13 in the House
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Education of the disadvantaged
Education programs funding
Elementary and secondary education
Higher education
Performance measurement
School administration
Teaching, teachers, curricula

Summary:
action_date: 2011-04-13
text: 
Lead Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to direct the Secretary of Education to award a competitive grant to a partnership between a nonprofit organization and an institution of higher education (IHE) to establish a school leadership academy that develops and provides evidence-based leadership training to school leaders (turnaround leaders) and their supporting mentors (turnaround mentors) to transform and improve turnaround schools.
 
Defines &quot;turnaround schools&quot; as schools that are subject to corrective action or restructuring under the ESEA or are secondary schools that have a graduation rate below 60%.
 
Requires the Secretary to award competitive grants to partnerships between or among a nonprofit organization, IHE, or a nonprofit organization and an IHE, and state or local educational agencies to establish school leadership centers of excellence, after the initial cohort of turnaround leaders and mentors have been trained by the school leadership academy.
 
Directs such centers to: (1) adopt and adapt the leadership training program developed by the school leadership academy so that such program is informed, on an ongoing basis, by evidence regarding effective school leadership and meets the needs of the local educational agencies they serve; and (2) work with the school leadership academy to best train and support program participants.
 
Requires leadership training participants at the academy and the centers of excellence to receive a stipend for participating and agree to serve for at least four years at turnaround schools.
 
Requires the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences to support: (1) research on identifying the skills and conditions necessary for school leaders to improve turnaround schools, and (2) evaluations of this Act's programs and activities. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-05-20
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.
action_date: 2011-04-13
text: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
action_date: 2011-04-13
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2011-04-13
text: Introduced in House
All-STAR Act of 2011

Bill: 112-hr-1525
Sponsor: Rep. Polis, Jared [D-CO-2]
Introduced: 2011-04-13 in the House
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Academic performance and assessments
Building construction
Education of the disadvantaged
Education programs funding
Educational facilities and institutions
Elementary and secondary education
Government lending and loan guarantees
School administration

Summary:
action_date: 2011-04-13
text: 
All Students Achieving through Reform Act of 2011 or All-STAR Act of 2011 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to direct the Secretary of Education to award competitive grants to certain eligible entities and, through them, subgrants to successful public charter schools to allow such schools to expand or replicate to serve additional students.
 
Lists, as eligible grantees, state and local educational agencies, authorized public chartering agencies, and tax-exempt organizations that have successfully supported the replication and expansion of such schools.
 
Sets forth the attributes that are to give such entities grant priority, including their serving or planning to serve a large percentage of low-income students from public schools with low-graduation rates or schools identified as needing improvement, corrective action, or restructuring under the ESEA.
 
Authorizes grantees to use up to 25% of a grant to establish a reserve account to assist them in acquiring and developing new facilities for successful public charter schools through: (1) credit enhancement initiatives, (2) the establishment of revolving loan funds, (3) direct spending or financing, or (4) partnerships with community development or other mission-based financial institutions.
 
Directs the Secretary to conduct an independent, comprehensive, and scientifically sound evaluation of the effect this Act's initiatives have on student achievement and other areas, as determined by the Secretary.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-05-20
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.
action_date: 2011-04-13
text: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
action_date: 2011-04-13
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2011-04-13
text: Introduced in House
Housing Recovery Act of 2011

Bill: 112-hr-1526
Sponsor: Rep. Posey, Bill [R-FL-15]
Introduced: 2011-04-13 in the House
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Employee benefits and pensions
Housing finance and home ownership
Sales and excise taxes

Summary:
action_date: 2011-04-13
text: 
Housing Recovery Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a premature distribution from a tax-exempt retirement plan without penalty if such distribution is used to acquire a residence which has been in foreclosure for one year prior to the date of such acquisition and such residence is not sold or otherwise disposed of for two years beginning on the date of such acquisition.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-04-13
text: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
action_date: 2011-04-13
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2011-04-13
text: Introduced in House
Taxpayer Receipt Act

Bill: 112-hr-1527
Sponsor: Rep. Quigley, Mike [D-IL-5]
Introduced: 2011-04-13 in the House
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Budget deficits and national debt
Tax administration and collection, taxpayers

Summary:
action_date: 2011-04-13
text: 
Taxpayer Receipt Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require the Secretary of the Treasury to provide every taxpayer who files an individual income tax return for any taxable year an itemized tax receipt showing: (1) the proportionate allocation of the taxpayer's payment in such year among major expenditure categories of the federal budget (e.g., social security, national defense, Medicare and other federal health programs, low-income assistance programs, unemployment benefits, net interest on the federal debt, and other federal programs); and (2) the amount of the federal debt at the end of the fiscal year and the amount of additional borrowing by the federal government in such fiscal year per each legal U.S. resident.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-04-13
text: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
action_date: 2011-04-13
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2011-04-13
text: Introduced in House
Consumer Privacy Protection Act of 2011

Bill: 112-hr-1528
Sponsor: Rep. Stearns, Cliff [R-FL-6]
Introduced: 2011-04-13 in the House
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Administrative remedies
Business records
Consumer affairs
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Federal preemption
Right of privacy

Summary:
action_date: 2011-04-13
text: 
Consumer Privacy Protection Act of 2011 - Requires any entity that collects, sells, discloses for consideration, or uses personally identifiable information of more than 5,000 consumers during any consecutive 12-month period to: (1) provide consumers notice (meeting specified requirements) before using personally identifiable information for purposes unrelated to the transaction for which it was collected or upon a material change of the entity's privacy policy; and (2) establish a privacy policy (meeting specified requirements) with respect to the collection, sale, disclosure for consideration, dissemination, use, and security of consumers' personally identifiable information. Authorizes the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to facilitate the development of harmonized, universal wording or logo-based graphics to convey the contents of privacy policy statements.
 
Requires each such entity to: (1) provide a consumer with the opportunity to prevent for up to five years the sale or disclosure for consideration, to any covered entity that is not an information-sharing affiliate of the entity, of the consumer's personally identifiable information that may be used for a purpose other than a transaction with such consumer; (2) give notice of any additional opportunities to limit such entity's practices with respect to collection or use of personally identifiable information; and (3) implement an information security policy that is applicable to the information security practices and treatment of personally identifiable information maintained by such entity and that is designed to prevent the unauthorized disclosure or release of such information.
 
Sets forth provisions concerning compliance with, approval of, and requirements of a self-regulatory program that provides protections for consumers and their personally identifiable information that are equal to or greater than protections provided under this Act.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-04-25
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade.
action_date: 2011-04-15
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H2860-2861)
action_date: 2011-04-13
text: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
action_date: 2011-04-13
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2011-04-13
text: Introduced in House
To establish the Afghanistan-Pakistan Study Group.

Bill: 112-hr-1530
Sponsor: Rep. Wolf, Frank R. [R-VA-10]
Introduced: 2011-04-13 in the House
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Advisory bodies
Afghanistan
Asia
Congressional oversight
Economic development
Government studies and investigations
Military operations and strategy
Pakistan
Reconstruction and stabilization

Summary:
action_date: 2011-04-13
text: 
 Establishes in the legislative branch the Afghanistan-Pakistan Study Group which shall conduct an independent assessment of the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan, its impact on the surrounding region, and its consequences for U.S. interests. 
 
 
Expresses the sense of Congress that the Group should be modeled on the Iraq Study Group. 
 
Terminates the Group 60 days after it submits the report to the President and Congress required by this Act.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-04-13
text: Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
action_date: 2011-04-13
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H2610-2611, E707-710)
action_date: 2011-04-13
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2011-04-13
text: Introduced in House
Access to Complete Education Act

Bill: 112-hr-1531
Sponsor: Rep. Woolsey, Lynn C. [D-CA-6]
Introduced: 2011-04-13 in the House
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Art, artists, authorship
Child health
Community life and organization
Earth sciences
Economic theory
Elementary and secondary education
Foreign language and bilingual programs
Geography and mapping
Health promotion and preventive care
Historical and cultural resources
Libraries and archives
Museums, exhibitions, cultural centers
Music
Performing arts
Physical fitness and lifestyle
Teaching, teachers, curricula

Summary:
action_date: 2011-04-13
text: 
Access to Complete Education Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to award grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to promote and strengthen as an integral part of the curriculum one or more of the subjects of music and arts, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, history, geography, and physical education and health.
 
Gives priority to LEAs that have the greatest numbers or percentages of children from families below the poverty line.
 
Requires grantees to coordinate, to the extent practicable, their programs to promote or strengthen education in such subjects with opportunities provided by public or private cultural entities, including museums, education associations, libraries, and theaters.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-05-20
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.
action_date: 2011-04-13
text: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
action_date: 2011-04-13
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2011-04-13
text: Introduced in House
Race to the Top Act of 2011

Bill: 112-hr-1532
Sponsor: Rep. Polis, Jared [D-CO-2]
Introduced: 2011-04-14 in the House
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Academic performance and assessments
Education of the disadvantaged
Education programs funding
Elementary and secondary education
Minority education
Performance measurement
Preschool education
School administration
Teaching, teachers, curricula

Summary:
action_date: 2011-04-14
text: 
Race to the Top Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of Education to award competitive grants to states and local educational agencies (LEAs) to implement reforms and innovations designed to improve educational outcomes significantly for all students and reduce achievement gaps significantly among specified student subgroups.
 
Requires each grant applicant to have a comprehensive and coherent plan for doing so that includes, if applicable: (1) improving the effectiveness of teachers and school leaders and promoting their equitable distribution; (2) strengthening the use of data to improve education; (3) implementing internationally benchmarked, college- and career-ready elementary and secondary academic standards; (4) turning around its lowest-performing schools; (5) supporting, or coordinating with, early learning programs for high-need children from birth through third grade; (6) assessing kindergarten students' readiness for school success; and (7) creating or maintaining successful conditions for high-performing charter schools and other innovative, autonomous public schools.
 
Requires each grantee to establish performance measures that track its progress in implementing its plan, and improving educational outcomes for students and specified student subgroups.
 
Gives grant priority to LEAs with the highest number or percentages of impoverished children and those that serve rural schools.
 
Requires each state grantee to use at least 50% of its grant for subgrants to LEAs that participate in its plan. Allows LEAs to receive a grant and subgrant for the same fiscal year.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-05-20
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.
action_date: 2011-04-14
text: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
action_date: 2011-04-14
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2011-04-14
text: Introduced in House
Short Sea Shipping Act of 2011

Bill: 112-hr-1533
Sponsor: Rep. Tiberi, Patrick J. [R-OH-12]
Introduced: 2011-04-14 in the House
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Canada
Great Lakes
Marine and inland water transportation
Navigation, waterways, harbors
Saint Lawrence Seaway
Sales and excise taxes
Transportation costs

Summary:
action_date: 2011-04-14
text: 
Short Sea Shipping Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from the harbor maintenance tax commercial cargo (other than bulk cargo) loaded at: (1) a port in the U.S. mainland and unloaded at another such port after transport solely by coastal route or river or unloaded at a port in Canada located in the Great Lakes Saint Lawrence Seaway System, or (2) such a port in Canada and unloaded at a port in the U.S. mainland.
 
 Defines the &quot;Great Lakes Saint Lawrence Seaway System&quot; as the waterway between Duluth, Minnesota, and Nova Scotia, encompassing the five Great Lakes, their connecting channels, and the Saint Lawrence River. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-04-14
text: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
action_date: 2011-04-14
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2011-04-14
text: Introduced in House
SAVE Act of 2011

Bill: 112-hr-1534
Sponsor: Rep. Kind, Ron [D-WI-3]
Introduced: 2011-04-14 in the House
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Consumer affairs
Department of Labor
Department of the Treasury
Elementary and secondary education
Employee benefits and pensions
Financial literacy
Income tax credits
Income tax deductions
Income tax deferral
Sales and excise taxes
Small business
Teaching, teachers, curricula

Summary:
action_date: 2011-04-14
text: 
Small Businesses Add Value for Employees Act of 2011 or the SAVE Act of 2011 - Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to employer-established simple individual retirement accounts (IRAs) to: (1) repeal certain restrictions on rollovers from simple IRAs, (2) allow employers to elect to terminate qualified salary reduction arrangements at any time during the year, (3) repeal the enhanced 25% penalty on premature withdrawals made from simple IRAs within the first two plan years, (4) allow additional nonelective employer contributions to simple IRAs, (5) establish automatic deferral IRAs, (6) allow a transfer of unused balances in flexible spending arrangements to a qualified retirement or eligible deferred compensation plan, (7) increase the tax credit for small employer pension plan startup costs, and (8) establish multiple small employer retirement plans that provide for automatic employee contributions. 
 
Requires the Office of Financial Education of the Department of the Treasury to develop and implement an outreach plan to educate small businesses on the types and benefits of available retirement plans. 
 
Requires the Secretaries of the Treasury and Labor to develop recommendations for small businesses to improve retirement outcomes. 
 
Requires the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, to develop age-appropriate financial literacy curricula for elementary and secondary schools.
 
Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to: (1) permit payroll deduction plans for individual retirement accounts or annuities, and (2) require disclosures relating to lifetime income from pension plans and annuities.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-05-20
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2011-05-20
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.
action_date: 2011-04-14
text: Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2011-04-14
text: Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2011-04-14
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2011-04-14
text: Introduced in House
To amend the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 with respect to the identification of high priority corridors and the inclusion of certain route segments on the Interstate System, and for other purposes.

Bill: 112-hr-1535
Sponsor: Rep. Farenthold, Blake [R-TX-27]
Introduced: 2011-04-14 in the House
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Roads and highways
Texas
Transportation programs funding

Summary:
action_date: 2011-04-14
text: 
Amends the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 to include U.S. Route 83 from U.S. Route 281 to U.S. Route 77 as part of the high priority Lower Rio Grande Valley Corridor of the National Highway System in Texas.
 
Declares that the requirement of connection to an existing Interstate System segment shall not apply to segments of the Lower Rio Grande Valley Corridor or to the U.S. Route 59 Corridor from Laredo through Houston to near Texarkana, Texas.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-04-15
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.
action_date: 2011-04-14
text: Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
action_date: 2011-04-14
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2011-04-14
text: Introduced in House