hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Honor Flight Act

Bill: 113-s-2671
Sponsor: Sen. Toomey, Patrick [R-PA]
Introduced: 2014-07-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Aviation and airports
Monuments and memorials
Transportation safety and security
Veterans' organizations and recognition

Summary:
action_date: 2014-07-28
text: 
Honor Flight Act - Directs the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security Administration [TSA]) to establish a process for providing expedited and dignified passenger screening services for veterans traveling on an Honor Flight Network charter flight or that of another organization to visit war memorials built and dedicated to honor their service.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-07-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2014-07-28
text: Introduced in Senate
Columbia River Basin Restoration Act of 2014

Bill: 113-s-2674
Sponsor: Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR]
Introduced: 2014-07-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
Executive agency funding and structure
Hazardous wastes and toxic substances
Idaho
Lakes and rivers
Montana
Oregon
Pacific Ocean
Washington State
Water quality
Watersheds
Wildlife conservation and habitat protection

Summary:
action_date: 2014-07-28
text: 
Columbia River Basin Restoration Act of 2014 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a Columbia River Basin Restoration Program to reduce toxic contamination and clean up contaminated sites. Requires the program to be collaborative and stakeholder-based.
 
Requires the EPA to: (1) assess trends in water quality and toxic contamination or toxics reduction; (2) collect, characterize and assess data on toxics and water quality to identify possible causes of environmental problems; (3) update the Columbia River Basin Toxics Reduction Plan (Action Plan) and the Estuary Partnership Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (Estuary Plan) and ensure that the plans form a coherent toxic contamination reduction strategy; and (4) provide technical assistance in implementing and updating the Action Plan.
 
Directs the EPA to establish a Columbia River Basin Toxics Reduction Working Group to: (1) participate in developing updates to the Action Plan, (2) recommend and prioritize projects and actions for the Action Plan, and (3) review progress made.
 
Requires the Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership to perform those duties and fulfill those responsibilities of the Working Group relating to the Lower Columbia River Estuary.
 
Requires the EPA to establish a Columbia River Basin toxics grant program to provide funding to develop or implement projects to implement the Action Plan and the Estuary Plan.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-07-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2014-07-28
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to support religious freedom in foreign countries.

Bill: 113-s-2675
Sponsor: Sen. Rubio, Marco [R-FL]
Introduced: 2014-07-29 in the Senate
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Human rights
Presidents and presidential powers, Vice Presidents
Religion
Sanctions

Summary:
action_date: 2014-07-29
text: 
Amends the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to revise presidential requirements, including reporting requirements, with respect to the designation of a country as a country of particular concern for religious freedom.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-07-29
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
action_date: 2014-07-29
text: Introduced in Senate
Domestic Violence Gun Homicide Prevention Act of 2014

Bill: 113-s-2676
Sponsor: Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT]
Introduced: 2014-07-29 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Child safety and welfare
Crime victims
Crimes against children
Domestic violence and child abuse
Firearms and explosives
Law enforcement administration and funding
Sex offenses
Violent crime

Summary:
action_date: 2014-07-29
text: 
Domestic Violence Gun Homicide Prevention Act of 2014 - Authorizes the Director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to make grants to assist eligible states in carrying out policies, procedures, protocols, laws, or regulations relating to the possession or transfer of firearms or ammunition that:
 
 
impose restrictions and penalties substantially similar to or more comprehensive than those applicable to possession by or transfer to persons subject to a court order for stalking-related offenses against an intimate partner or child or persons convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence;
 
require the seizure or surrender of all firearms and ammunition from an individual convicted of any crime for which any such restrictions or penalties apply or against whom a court has issued a protection order;
 
require state and local courts to consider, at the initial appearance before a magistrate of any individual arrested for any crime for which such restrictions or penalties apply, if the individual possesses a firearm or ammunition that has been or is likely to be used to threaten, harass, or harm the victim or the victim's child or otherwise pose a danger to them and to issue a protection order prohibitting the possession of any firearm or ammunition and require the surrender or seizure of any firearm or ammunition possessed;
 
give state and local law enforcement the authority to seize a firearm or ammunition when responding to specified domestic violence situations, if there is probable cause to believe such firearm or ammunition is contraband or illegally in the possession of the suspected offender and is likely to be used to threaten, harass, menace, or harm, or to otherwise pose a danger to, the victim or the victim's child; and 
 
provide for the safe return of any seized or surrendered firearm or ammunition when such restrictions and penalties no longer apply.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-07-29
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2014-07-29
text: Introduced in Senate
Lesser Prairie Chicken Voluntary Recovery Act of 2014

Bill: 113-s-2677
Sponsor: Sen. Inhofe, James M. [R-OK]
Introduced: 2014-07-29 in the Senate
Policy area: Animals
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Birds
Department of the Interior
Endangered and threatened species
Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
Wildlife conservation and habitat protection

Summary:
action_date: 2014-07-29
text: 
Lesser Prairie Chicken Voluntary Recovery Act of 2014 - Removes the Department of the Interior's listing of the lesser prairie chicken as threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Prohibits further treatment of the species as threatened or endangered before January 31, 2020.
 
Requires Interior to monitor and submit an annual report on progress in the conservation of the lesser prairie chicken under:
 
 
the Lesser Prairie-Chicken Range-Wide Conservation Plan of the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies,
 
all related Candidate Conservation Agreements (agreements to voluntarily undertake measures to conserve a covered species),
 
 all related Candidate Conservation Agreements With Assurances (agreements to voluntarily undertake measures to conserve a covered species with assurances that additional measures will not be imposed if the species becomes listed in the future), 
 
 conservation programs administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the Department of Agriculture (USDA),
 
state conservation programs, and 
 
private conservation efforts. 
 
 
Prohibits the lesser prairie chicken from being treated as threatened or endangered beginning on January 31, 2020, unless Interior publishes a determination that conservation efforts under the Range-Wide Plan, agreements, programs, and efforts have not achieved the Plan's conservation goals.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-07-29
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2014-07-29
text: Introduced in Senate
American Burying Beetle Relief Act of 2014

Bill: 113-s-2678
Sponsor: Sen. Inhofe, James M. [R-OK]
Introduced: 2014-07-29 in the Senate
Policy area: Animals
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Department of the Interior
Endangered and threatened species
Insects

Summary:
action_date: 2014-07-29
text: 
American Burying Beetle Relief Act of 2014 - Removes the United States Fish and Wildlife Service's listing of the American burying beetle as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. Prohibits the beetle from being listed as a threatened or endangered species.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-07-29
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2014-07-29
text: Introduced in Senate
Superfund Polluter Pays Restoration Act of 2014

Bill: 113-s-2679
Sponsor: Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2014-07-29 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Government trust funds
Hazardous wastes and toxic substances
Inflation and prices
Oil and gas
Pollution liability
Sales and excise taxes

Summary:
action_date: 2014-07-29
text: 
Superfund Polluter Pays Restoration Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) reinstate the Hazardous Substance Superfund financing rate beginning 60 days after enactment of this Act; (2) increase such rate from 9.7 cents to 15.8 cents per barrel of crude oil; (3) adjust for inflation in taxable years beginning after 2014 the $3.5 billion Superfund threshold after which no tax is imposed; (4) reinstate and increase the rates of tax on taxable chemicals; (5) modify the definition of &quot;crude oil&quot; to include any bitumen or bituminous mixture, any oil derived from such mixture (including oil derived from tar sands), and any oil derived form kerogen-bearing sources (including oil derived from oil shale); and (6) allow the use of the Superfund for environmental remediation without further appropriation. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-07-29
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2014-07-29
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S5053)
action_date: 2014-07-29
text: Introduced in Senate
Buy it in America Act

Bill: 113-s-2680
Sponsor: Sen. Pryor, Mark L. [D-AR]
Introduced: 2014-07-29 in the Senate
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Advanced technology and technological innovations
Business investment and capital
Buy American requirements
Consumer affairs
Employee benefits and pensions
Income tax credits
Income tax exclusion
Licensing and registrations
Manufacturing
Public-private cooperation
Securities
Small business
User charges and fees

Summary:
action_date: 2014-07-29
text: 
Buy it in America Act - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish the America Star Program as a voluntary program under which manufacturers may have products certified as meeting the standards of a label (i.e., America Star label) that indicates to consumers the extent to which such products are manufactured in the United States.
 
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow a new tax credit (angel investment tax credit) for up to 25% of equity investment in a small business entity that is located in the United States and engages in a qualified high technology trade or business; (2) make permanent the 100% exclusion from gross income of gain from the sale or exchange of qualified small business stock; and (3) establish tax-exempt small business startup savings accounts to make distributions for small business operating capital, the purchase of equipment or facilities, marketing, training, incorporation, and accounting fees. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-07-29
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2014-07-29
text: Introduced in Senate
Keeping Jobs in America Act

Bill: 113-s-2681
Sponsor: Sen. Pryor, Mark L. [D-AR]
Introduced: 2014-07-29 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Accounting and auditing
Business investment and capital
Economic development
Employee hiring
Foreign and international corporations
Government lending and loan guarantees
Income tax credits
Income tax deductions
Inflation and prices
Lighting, heating, cooling
Poverty and welfare assistance
Rural conditions and development
Taxation of foreign income
U.S. territories and protectorates
Unemployment

Summary:
action_date: 2014-07-29
text: 
Keeping Jobs in America Act - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish a program to award grants to states that are recruiting high-value jobs (e.g., manufacturing, software publishing, and computer system design jobs that pay a higher than average wage). Allows the use of grants to issue forgivable loans to entities that employ not fewer than 50 full-time employees in high-value jobs and that are deciding whether to locate in rural and distressed areas. 
 
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) grant business taxpayers a tax credit for up to 20% of insourcing expenses incurred for eliminating a business located outside the United States and relocating it within the United States, and (2) deny a tax deduction for outsourcing expenses incurred in relocating a U.S. business outside the United States. Requires an increase in the taxpayer's employment of full-time employees in the United States in order to claim the tax credit for insourcing expenses.
 
Extends through 2017 the additional allowance for depreciation of business property (bonus depreciation) and the election to accelerate the alternative minimum tax credit in lieu of bonus depreciation. Makes permanent: (1) the increased $500,000 expensing allowance for depreciable business property and qualified real property, and (2) the new markets tax credit. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-07-29
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2014-07-29
text: Introduced in Senate
Made in the U.S.A. Act

Bill: 113-s-2682
Sponsor: Sen. Pryor, Mark L. [D-AR]
Introduced: 2014-07-29 in the Senate
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Aviation and airports
Building construction
Buy American requirements
Congressional oversight
Department of Transportation
Economic performance and conditions
Government buildings, facilities, and property
Income tax credits
Income tax exclusion
Infrastructure development
Manufacturing
Metals
National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak)
Public contracts and procurement
Public transit
Railroads
Roads and highways
Securities
Trade agreements and negotiations
Trade restrictions
Transportation programs funding

Summary:
action_date: 2014-07-29
text: 
Made in the U.S.A. Act - Prohibits the head of a federal agency from obligating or expending funds or providing financial assistance for projects for the construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair of a public building or public work unless substantially all of the iron, steel, wood products, cement, and manufactured goods used in the project are produced in the United States (Buy American requirements).
 
Authorizes the head of an agency to waive such prohibition in certain circumstances.
 
Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the Build America Bond program, to: (1) extend permanently the authority to issue such bonds and the authority for payments to issuers of such bonds, (2) reduce the bond holder tax credit percentage, and (3) treat as bonds qualified for the tax credit any bond (or series of bonds) issued to refund a qualified bond if certain criteria are met.
 
Revises Buy American requirements with respect to federal-aid highways, particularly the handling of waiver requests.
 
Revises similar Buy American requirements with respect to public transportation and Amtrak, particularly rolling stock. Requires the cost of rolling stock components and subcomponents produced in the United States to increase from 60% in FY2015 by 10% annual increments up to 100% for FY2019 and ensuing fiscal years. 
 
Prescribes Buy American requirements for procurement of a facility or equipment under federal aviation programs similar to those for rolling stock.
 
Requires the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to report annually to Congress on: (1) each project for which a waiver of Buy American requirements was issued; and (2) the country of origin and product specifications for steel, iron, or manufactured goods acquired pursuant to each waiver.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-07-29
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2014-07-29
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to direct the Administrator of General Services, on behalf of the Secretary of the Interior, to convey certain Federal property located in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska to the Olgoonik Corporation, an Alaska Native Corporation established under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.

Bill: 113-s-2684
Sponsor: Sen. Murkowski, Lisa [R-AK]
Introduced: 2014-07-29 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Alaska
Alaska Natives and Hawaiians
Indian claims
Indian lands and resources rights
Land transfers
Oil and gas
Strategic materials and reserves

Summary:
action_date: 2014-07-29
text: 
Directs the Administrator of General Services (GSA), on behalf of the Secretary of the Interior, to convey to the Olgoonik Corporation, an Alaska Native Corporation, approximately 1,518 acres of real property and improvements that comprise a former Distant Early Warning Line site in the National Petroleum Reserve near Wainwright, Alaska. 
 
Requires the Corporation to pay the fair market value of the property. 
 
Permits the Secretary to authorize the Corporation to enter the property at no charge for pre-construction and construction activities. 
 
Exempts this conveyance from certain provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-07-29
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2014-07-29
text: Introduced in Senate
Wounded Warrior Tax Equity Act of 2014

Bill: 113-s-2686
Sponsor: Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX]
Introduced: 2014-07-30 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Military medicine
Military operations and strategy
Military personnel and dependents
Tax administration and collection, taxpayers

Summary:
action_date: 2014-07-30
text: 
Wounded Warrior Tax Equity Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prevent any extension of the tax collection period after assessment for taxpayers who are members of the Armed Forces due to a hospitalization for combat zone injuries. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-07-30
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text of measure as introduced: CR S5137)
action_date: 2014-07-30
text: Introduced in Senate
Access to Contraception for Women Servicemembers and Dependents Act of 2014

Bill: 113-s-2687
Sponsor: Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH]
Introduced: 2014-07-30 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Assault and harassment offenses
Crime victims
Crimes against women
Family planning and birth control
Health care costs and insurance
Health care coverage and access
Health promotion and preventive care
Military medicine
Military personnel and dependents
Sex offenses
Women's health

Summary:
action_date: 2014-07-30
text: 
Access to Contraception for Women Servicemembers and Dependents Act of 2014 - Expands the TRICARE health care program managed by the Department of Defense (DOD) to entitle additional female beneficiaries and dependents to care related to the prevention of pregnancy. (Currently, such care is limited to certain female members of the uniformed service or a reserve component performing active duty or certain servicewomen performing inactive-duty training.) Prohibits cost-sharing from being imposed or collected for such pregnancy prevention care, including for any method of contraception provided through a facility of the uniformed services, the TRICARE retail pharmacy program, or the national mail-order pharmacy program.
 
Provides for such pregnancy prevention care to include all methods of contraception approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), sterilization procedures, and patient education and counseling.
 
Directs the DOD Secretary to: (1) ensure that every military treatment facility has a sufficient stock of a broad range of FDA-approved methods of contraception to dispense to any women members of the Armed Forces and female covered beneficiaries who receive care through such facility; (2) disseminate clinical practice guidelines and decision support tools to DOD-employed health care providers; (3) ensure that women members of the Armed Forces have access to contraception counseling during health care visits; and (4) establish an education program for all members of the Armed Forces, including both men and women members, consisting of a uniform standard curriculum on family planning.
 
Requires questions regarding family planning services and counseling to be incorporated into DOD health surveys.
 
Requires every military treatment facility, upon request, to provide emergency contraception, or information about FDA-approved methods of emergency contraception, to any woman who: (1) states to personnel that she is a victim of sexual assault or is accompanied by another individual who states that the woman is a victim of sexual assault, or (2) is reasonably believed to be a survivor of sexual assault.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-07-30
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
action_date: 2014-07-30
text: Introduced in Senate