hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Military Justice Improvement Act of 2014

Bill: 113-s-2992
Sponsor: Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY]
Introduced: 2014-12-09 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Crime victims
Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Criminal justice information and records
Criminal procedure and sentencing
Government studies and investigations
Military command and structure
Military law
Military personnel and dependents

Summary:
action_date: 2014-12-09
text: 
Military Justice Improvement Act of 2014 - Amends the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) to direct the Secretaries of Defense (DOD) and Homeland Security (DHS) to require the Secretaries of the military departments to modify the process for determining whether to try by court-martial a member accused of: (1) certain UCMJ offenses for which the maximum punishment includes confinement for more than one year; (2) a conspiracy, solicitation, or attempt to commit such offenses; or (3) retaliation or obstruction of justice offenses regardless of the maximum authorized punishment. 
 
Requires courts-martial determinations for such offenses to be made by a commissioned officer available for detail as trial counsel who is outside the chain of command of the member subject to the charges. (Currently, courts-martial decisions are made by commanding officers of accused members.)
 
Excludes from the revised procedures that require counsel outside the chain of command to make such courts-martial determinations certain UCMJ offenses relating specifically to military service, including absence without leave, insubordination, and aiding the enemy. 
 
Prohibits an outside counsel's determination not to proceed to trial by general or special court-martial from altering the authority of commanding officers to: (1) refer noncapital offenses to summary courts-martial with limits on the punishments that may be imposed; or (2) impose non-judicial admonitions, reprimands, or disciplinary punishment for minor offenses. 
 
Requires military chiefs of staff to establish offices to convene general and special courts-martial. Prohibits officers in the chain of command of an accused or a victim from detailing members to serve on a resulting trial by court-martial.
 
Codifies as an offense under the UCMJ a person's retaliation against a person subject to his or her orders for reporting a criminal offense. Establishes an offense for obstruction of justice.
 

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-12-10
text: Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 644.
action_date: 2014-12-09
text: Introduced in the Senate. Read the first time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under Read the First Time.
action_date: 2014-12-09
text: Introduced in Senate
Students Before Profits Act

Bill: 113-s-2993
Sponsor: Sen. Murphy, Christopher [D-CT]
Introduced: 2014-12-10 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Academic performance and assessments
Advisory bodies
Civil actions and liability
Congressional oversight
Department of Education
Education of the disadvantaged
Education programs funding
Executive agency funding and structure
Government lending and loan guarantees
Government studies and investigations
Higher education
Performance measurement
Student aid and college costs

Summary:
action_date: 2014-12-10
text: 
Students Before Profits Act - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to require the Secretary of Education to: (1) use corrected data and information to recalculate the cohort default rates for institutions of higher education (IHEs) that have engaged in default manipulation, and (2) use the recalculated cohort default rates to redetermine whether those IHEs are disqualified from participating in title IV programs. (The cohort default rate represents the percentage of a school's borrowers who begin to repay Federal Family Education Loans [FFELs] or William D. Ford Federal Direct Loans [DLs] in a fiscal year but default on those loans before the end of the second fiscal year following the fiscal year they began repaying them.)
 
Directs the Secretary to establish an Institutional Risk-Sharing Commission to study and make recommendations for the implementation of a new risk-sharing system that holds IHEs that participate in the DL program financially accountable for poor student outcomes.
 
Authorizes the Secretary to: 
 
 
 impose a civil penalty on IHEs that engage in certain substantial misrepresentations or other serious HEA violations; 
 
 impose smaller civil penalties on IHEs that engage in less serious title IV violations; 
 
 impose employment sanctions and civil penalties against the officer of an IHE who knowingly and willfully, or with gross negligence, violates a title IV provision;
 
 limit, suspend, or terminate an IHE's participation in title IV programs for violating a title IV provision or any applicable special arrangement, agreement, or limitation; and
 
take emergency action to withhold funds from an IHE or its students and withdraw the IHE's authority to obligate title IV funds in certain circumstances where immediate action is required to prevent the misuse of federal funds.
 
 
Provides for the use of the civil penalties to: (1) conduct program reviews and ensure the integrity of IHEs participating or seeking to participate in title IV programs; and (2) finance a Student Relief Fund that is to be used to provide financial relief to any student enrolled in an IHE that fails to comply with the HEA's eligibility requirements or the terms of its title IV program participation agreement or that has been sanctioned pursuant to this Act's penalty provisions.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-12-10
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2014-12-10
text: Introduced in Senate
Clean Water Compliance and Affordability Act

Bill: 113-s-2995
Sponsor: Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH]
Introduced: 2014-12-10 in the Senate
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Administrative remedies
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Environmental regulatory procedures
Intergovernmental relations
Licensing and registrations
State and local government operations
Water quality

Summary:
action_date: 2014-12-10
text: 
Clean Water Compliance and Affordability Act - Requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to carry out a pilot program to work with and facilitate the efforts of eligible municipalities to develop and implement integrated plans to meet wastewater and stormwater obligations under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) in a cost-effective and flexible manner and consistent with the Integrated Municipal Stormwater and Wastewater Approach Framework issued by EPA in May 2012.
 
Directs the EPA to select at least 15 municipalities to participate in the program. Sets forth eligibility and selection factors. Prescribes standards for approval of a municipality's integrated plan under the pilot program. Allows priority to be given to municipalities seeking to develop and implement approaches that adapt to changed or future uncertain circumstances.
 
Authorizes the EPA to: (1) extend the allowable national pollutant discharge elimination system permit term to a maximum of 25 years, (2) modify the implementation terms of a consent decree, and (3) provide additional regulatory flexibility in approving and implementing an integrated plan that includes adaptive approaches.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-12-10
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2014-12-10
text: Introduced in Senate
PATH Act

Bill: 113-s-2996
Sponsor: Sen. Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO]
Introduced: 2014-12-10 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Department of Health and Human Services
Drug safety, medical device, and laboratory regulation
Drug therapy
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Summary:
action_date: 2014-12-10
text: 
Promise for Antibiotics and Therapeutics for Health Act or the PATH Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a program to approve an antibacterial drug intended to treat a serious medical condition and address an unmet medical need within an identifiable limited population as a limited population antibacterial drug.
 
Requires the sponsor of a drug eligible for approval as a limited population antibacterial drug to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of the drug for its intended use.
 
Requires an HHS determination of the safety and effectiveness of a limited population antibacterial drug to reflect the drug's benefit-risk profile in the intended limited population. Prohibits a lack of evidence of a favorable benefit-risk profile in a broader population from resulting in a denial of approval.
 
Directs HHS to require: (1) the labeling of a limited population antibacterial drug to indicate that the drug has been approved for use only in a limited population, and (2) submission of promotional materials related to the drug prior to dissemination.
 
Directs HHS to describe considerations for demonstrating the safety and effectiveness of limited population antibacterial drugs and how the limited population pathway can be expanded to other therapeutic areas.
 
Requires HHS to conduct postapproval monitoring programs to study how antibacterial drugs approved through the limited population pathway are used and to monitor changes in bacterial drug resistance.
 
Allows HHS to remove the labeling, marketing, and postapproval monitoring requirements of a limited population antibacterial drug if the drug is approved for broader use.
 Allows the limited population pathway to be expanded to other drugs intended to treat serious illness beginning October 1, 2016.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-12-10
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2014-12-10
text: Introduced in Senate
Child and Dependent Care FSA Enhancement Act

Bill: 113-s-2997
Sponsor: Sen. Burr, Richard [R-NC]
Introduced: 2014-12-10 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Adult day care
Child care and development
Employee benefits and pensions
Income tax exclusion
Inflation and prices

Summary:
action_date: 2014-12-10
text: 
Child and Dependent Care FSA Enhancement Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase to $7,500 the amount of employer-provided dependent care assistance that an employee may exclude from gross income. Allows an annual inflation adjustment to such increased amount after 2015. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-12-10
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2014-12-10
text: Introduced in Senate
Expanding School Choice Act

Bill: 113-s-2998
Sponsor: Sen. Vitter, David [R-LA]
Introduced: 2014-12-11 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Education of the disadvantaged
Education programs funding
Elementary and secondary education
Poverty and welfare assistance

Summary:
action_date: 2014-12-11
text: 
Expanding School Choice Act - Amends part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow states to allocate school improvement grant funds among their local educational agencies (LEAs) on the basis of the number of children aged 5 through 17 whose family income lies below the federal poverty level and who are enrolled in the public and state-accredited private schools within each LEA's geographic jurisdiction.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-12-11
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2014-12-11
text: Introduced in Senate
Hurricane Sand Dunes National Recreation Area Act of 2014

Bill: 113-s-3000
Sponsor: Sen. Hatch, Orrin G. [R-UT]
Introduced: 2014-12-11 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Land transfers
Motor vehicles
Parks, recreation areas, trails
Utah

Summary:
action_date: 2014-12-11
text: 
Hurricane Sand Dunes National Recreation Area Act of 2014 - Establishes the Hurricane Sand Dunes National Recreation Area in Utah to provide for the enhancement of recreational uses and the use of off-highway vehicles.
 
Provides for the conveyance of federal lands in Washington County in an equal-value exchange for certain state lands identified on a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) map for the area dated November 14, 2014.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-12-11
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2014-12-11
text: Introduced in Senate
Wounded Warriors Federal Leave Act of 2014

Bill: 113-s-3001
Sponsor: Sen. Tester, Jon [D-MT]
Introduced: 2014-12-11 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Congressional oversight
Disability and paralysis
Employee leave
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
Postal service
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2014-12-11
text: 
Wounded Warriors Federal Leave Act of 2014 - Entitles any federal employee who is a veteran with a service-connected disability rated at 30% or more, during the 12-month period beginning on the first day of employment, to up to 104 hours of leave, without loss or reduction in pay, for purposes of undergoing medical treatment for such disability for which sick leave could regularly be used. Requires the forfeiture of any such leave that is not used during such 12-month period.
 
Requires such employee to submit to the head of the employing agency certification that such employee used such leave for purposes of being furnished treatment for such disability by a health care provider. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-12-11
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2014-12-11
text: Introduced in Senate
Guarding Our Great Lakes Act

Bill: 113-s-3002
Sponsor: Sen. Stabenow, Debbie [D-MI]
Introduced: 2014-12-11 in the Senate
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: Aquatic ecology
Dams and canals
Fishes
Great Lakes
Illinois
Indiana
Lakes and rivers
Marine and inland water transportation
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi River
New York State
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Water quality
Water resources funding
Water storage
Watersheds
Wisconsin

Summary:
action_date: 2014-12-11
text: 
Guarding Our Great Lakes Act - Requires the Chief of Engineers, the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and each other applicable federal agency to take actions to prevent the transfer of aquatic invasive species, with a focus on Asian carp species, through the Brandon Road Lock and Dam on the Illinois River. 
 
Directs the Chief to: (1) construct measures to prevent the upstream transfer of swimming aquatic invasive species through the Lock and Dam; and (2) submit a cost estimate for, and schedule for completion of, measures to be constructed.
 
Requires the Director of the USFWS to implement all appropriate measures in compliance with applicable state and federal law around the Lock and Dam to prevent the upstream and downstream transfer of swimming and floating aquatic invasive species, with a focus on Asian carp species.
 
Authorizes the Chief, the Director of the USFWS, and the Director of the USGS to acquire real estate to carry out this Act. 
 
Directs the EPA Administrator, acting through the Great Lakes Interagency Task Force, to coordinate with the governor of Illinois, the city of Chicago, and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago to carry out engineering and construction of flood mitigation and water quality measures on the Chicago Area Waterway System related to permanent prevention of the transfer of aquatic nuisance species between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins. Permits the federal share of the cost of a project to be up to 100%.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-12-11
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2014-12-11
text: Introduced in Senate
Dormant Therapies Act of 2014

Bill: 113-s-3004
Sponsor: Sen. Hatch, Orrin G. [R-UT]
Introduced: 2014-12-11 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Department of Health and Human Services
Drug safety, medical device, and laboratory regulation
Drug therapy
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Intellectual property
Prescription drugs

Summary:
action_date: 2014-12-11
text: 
Dormant Therapies Act of 2014 - Requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to designate medicines being, or intended to be, investigated to address unmet medical needs as dormant therapies. Gives a dormant therapy a 15-year protection period during which no drug can be approved by relying on the approval of the dormant therapy absent a right of reference from the holder of the approved application for the dormant therapy.
 
Requires the sponsor of a potential dormant therapy to have a clinical plan to investigate the medicine and intend to file an application for approval or licensure of the medicine as a new drug or biological product. Prohibits the active moiety of the medicine from being the same as an active moiety in a drug or highly similar to one in a biological product for which an application has been submitted.
 
Requires the sponsor of a potential dormant therapy to list their patents that apply to the medicine and waive rights to those patents at the end of the dormant therapy protection period if the medicine is approved.
 
Allows a sponsor to withdraw a dormant therapy designation request unless the medicine has been approved or licensed.
 
Entitles the sponsor of a dormant therapy to extend patents that apply to the medicine to the end of the protection period.
 
Prohibits a dormant therapy from receiving specified protections that apply to pediatric, infectious disease, or rare disease or condition medicines.
 Directs HHS to require a sponsor to certify that the clinical plan for a dormant therapy has been completed and that approval was based on investigations in the clinical plan.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-12-11
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2014-12-11
text: Introduced in Senate
Progressive Consumption Tax Act of 2014

Bill: 113-s-3005
Sponsor: Sen. Cardin, Benjamin L. [D-MD]
Introduced: 2014-12-11 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Capital gains tax
Corporate finance and management
Financial services and investments
Income tax credits
Income tax deductions
Income tax rates
Inflation and prices
Sales and excise taxes
Tax administration and collection, taxpayers
Tax reform and tax simplification
Tax treatment of families
Wages and earnings

Summary:
action_date: 2014-12-11
text: 
Progressive Consumption Tax Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a consumption tax of 10% of the taxable amount of domestic goods and services. Exempts from such tax certain goods and services exported or used outside the United States. 
 
Lowers individual and corporate income tax rates. Repeals specified income tax credits and deductions, except for the deductions for mortgage interest, charitable contributions, state and local income taxes, gambling losses, alimony payments, and investment interest. 
 
Provides for a family allowance of up to $100,000 for married individuals filing a joint tax return. 
 
Allows a rebate for U.S. taxpayers consisting of an earned income amount and a child benefit amount. 
 
Provides for a refund of excess consumption tax revenue (net consumption tax revenues that exceed 10% of gross domestic product in a calendar year) to individual taxpayers.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-12-11
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2014-12-11
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S6630-6631)
action_date: 2014-12-11
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to use existing authorities to furnish health care at non-Department of Veterans Affairs facilities to veterans who live more than 40 miles driving distance from the closest medical facility of the Department that furnishes the care sought by the veteran.

Bill: 113-s-3006
Sponsor: Sen. Moran, Jerry [R-KS]
Introduced: 2014-12-11 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Health care coverage and access
Health facilities and institutions
Home and outpatient care
Hospital care
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2014-12-11
text: 
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to use the Secretary's existing authority to furnish health care to veterans at non-VA facilities to provide health care at non-VA facilities to veterans who reside more than 40 miles driving distance from the closest VA medical facility providing the care they seek.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-12-11
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2014-12-11
text: Introduced in Senate
Ensuring Enhanced Access to Primary Care Act

Bill: 113-s-3007
Sponsor: Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN]
Introduced: 2014-12-11 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Medicaid
Medicare
Mental health
Neurological disorders
Women's health

Summary:
action_date: 2014-12-11
text: 
Ensuring Enhanced Access to Primary Care Act - Extends through calendar 2016 the requirement that state plans under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act provide for payment of 100% of the payment rate for primary care services.
 
Adds physicians with primary specialties in neurology, psychiatry, obstetrics and gynecology to the types of those eligible for reimbursement for providing such services.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-12-11
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2014-12-11
text: Introduced in Senate