hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Lower East Side Tenement National Historic Site Improvement Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-925
Sponsor: Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY]
Introduced: 2013-05-09 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Historic sites and heritage areas
Museums, exhibitions, cultural centers
New York City

Summary:
action_date: 2013-05-09
text: 
 Lower East Side Tenement National Historic Site Improvement Act of 2013 - Amends P.L. 105-378 (relating to the establishment of the Lower East Side Tenement National Historic Site in New York City, New York) to add the lower east side tenement at 103 Orchard Street to the Historic Site. 
 
Prohibits anything in this Act from authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to acquire the property at 103 Orchard Street. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-07-31
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 113-93.
action_date: 2013-05-09
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2013-05-09
text: Introduced in Senate
National Guard Youth Education Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-926
Sponsor: Sen. Begich, Mark [D-AK]
Introduced: 2013-05-09 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Military history
National Guard and reserves
Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations

Summary:
action_date: 2013-05-09
text: 
National Guard Youth Education Act of 2013 - Includes the National Guard Educational Foundation among those youth and charitable organizations eligible for National Guard assistance.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-05-09
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
action_date: 2013-05-09
text: Introduced in Senate
Veterans' Outreach Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-927
Sponsor: Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT]
Introduced: 2013-05-09 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Advisory bodies
Cemeteries and funerals
Congressional oversight
Department of Veterans Affairs
Executive agency funding and structure
Government information and archives
Health facilities and institutions
Intergovernmental relations
Rural conditions and development
Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations
State and local government operations
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
Veterans' medical care
Veterans' pensions and compensation

Summary:
action_date: 2013-05-09
text: 
Veterans' Outreach Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out a two-year demonstration project to assess the feasibility and advisability of using state and local government agencies and nonprofit organizations to increase veteran awareness of available benefits and services, and to improve the coordination of outreach activities between the Secretary and federal, state, and local government and nonprofit providers of health care and benefit services for veterans. Allows the Secretary to extend such program for an additional two years.
 
Authorizes the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with various state departments and agencies concerning the provision of veterans' activities.
 
Requires the Secretary to include, in annual VA budget justification materials, a separate statement of amounts requested for outreach activities of the VA in aggregate as well as for each of the Office of the Secretary, the Veterans Health Administration, the Veterans Benefits Administration, and the National Cemetery Administration.
 
Directs the Secretary to establish: (1) an advisory committee on VA outreach activities; and (2) for each VA medical center, an advisory board relating to outreach activities at such center.
 
Changes from biennial to annual a required report to Congress on VA outreach activities. Requires the inclusion in each report of recommendations: (1) to maximize resources for VA outreach activities, and (2) to focus such efforts on activities proven to be more effective.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-06-12
text: Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 113-111.
action_date: 2013-05-15
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3528)
action_date: 2013-05-09
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2013-05-09
text: Introduced in Senate
Vietnam Human Rights Sanctions Act

Bill: 113-s-929
Sponsor: Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX]
Introduced: 2013-05-09 in the Senate
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Asia
Bank accounts, deposits, capital
Congressional oversight
Foreign property
Human rights
Immigration status and procedures
International law and treaties
Protest and dissent
Religion
Rule of law and government transparency
Sanctions
Vietnam
Visas and passports

Summary:
action_date: 2013-05-09
text: 
Vietnam Human Rights Sanctions Act - Directs the President to: (1) impose financial and immigration/entry sanctions on listed nationals of Vietnam who are complicit in human rights abuses committed against nationals of Vietnam or their family members, regardless of whether such abuses occurred in Vietnam; and (2) submit to Congress a publicly available list of individuals determined to be complicit in such human rights abuses.
 
Authorizes the President to waive sanctions to comply with international agreements or if in the U.S. national interest.
 
Terminates sanctions if the President certifies to Congress that the government of Vietnam has: (1) released all political prisoners; (2) ceased its practices of violence, detention, and abuse of citizens of Vietnam engaging in peaceful political activity; and (3) conducted a transparent investigation into the killings, arrest, and abuse of such political activists and prosecuted those responsible.
 
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the U.S.-Vietnam relationship cannot progress while the government of Vietnam's human rights record continues to deteriorate, and (2) the Secretary of State should designate Vietnam as a country of particular concern with respect to religious freedom.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-05-09
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. (text of measure as introduced: CR S3341-3342)
action_date: 2013-05-09
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in cases of overpayments of educational assistance under Post-9/11 Educational Assistance, to deduct amounts for repayment from the last months of educational assistance entitlement, and for other purposes.

Bill: 113-s-930
Sponsor: Sen. Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO]
Introduced: 2013-05-13 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Student aid and college costs
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation

Summary:
action_date: 2013-05-13
text: 
Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), in the case of an overpayment of educational assistance under the post-9/11 educational assistance program, to deduct the appropriate amount from the last payment(s) to which the individual is entitled. Allows for the charging and collection of appropriate interest on such overpayment.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-06-12
text: Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 113-111.
action_date: 2013-05-13
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2013-05-13
text: Introduced in Senate
Breast Cancer Patient Education Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-931
Sponsor: Sen. Blunt, Roy [R-MO]
Introduced: 2013-05-13 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Cancer
Congressional oversight
Government information and archives
Health care costs and insurance
Health care coverage and access
Health promotion and preventive care
Minority health
Rural conditions and development
Surgery and anesthesia
Women's health

Summary:
action_date: 2013-05-13
text: 
Breast Cancer Patient Education Act of 2013 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide for the planning and implementation of an education campaign to inform breast cancer patients anticipating surgery regarding the availability and coverage of breast reconstruction, prostheses, and other options, with a focus on informing patients who are members of racial and ethnic minority groups.
 
Requires such campaign to include dissemination of the following information: (1) breast reconstruction is possible at the time of breast cancer surgery or at a later time; (2) prostheses or breast forms may be available; (3) federal law mandates that both public and private health plans include coverage of breast reconstruction and prostheses; (4) the patient has a right to choose the provider of reconstructive care, including the potential transfer of care to a surgeon that provides breast reconstructive care; and (5) the patient may opt to undergo breast reconstruction at a time after surgery for personal or medical reasons during treatment or after completion of all other breast cancer treatments.
 
Requires the information required to be disseminated by this Act to be posted on the Internet websites of relevant federal agencies, including the Office of Women's Health, the Office of Minority Health, and the Office of Rural Health Policy.
 
Prohibits such campaign from specifying, or being designed to serve as a tool to limit, the health care providers available to patients.
 
Requires biennial reports to Congress describing and evaluating the activities carried out under this Act.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-05-13
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2013-05-13
text: Introduced in Senate
Putting Veterans Funding First Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-932
Sponsor: Sen. Begich, Mark [D-AK]
Introduced: 2013-05-13 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Appropriations
Building construction
Cemeteries and funerals
Computers and information technology
Department of Veterans Affairs
Executive agency funding and structure
Government buildings, facilities, and property
Health facilities and institutions
Indian social and development programs
Long-term, rehabilitative, and terminal care
Medical research
Veterans' loans, housing, homeless programs
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2013-05-13
text: 
Putting Veterans Funding First Act of 2013 - Authorizes the provision of advance appropriations for the following discretionary (under current law, medical care) accounts of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA): (1) Veterans Health Administration Medical Services, Medical Support and Compliance, Medical Facilities, and Medical Research and Support; (2) National Cemetery Administration; and (3) Veterans Benefits Administration, Native American Veteran Housing Loan Program.
 
Authorizes the provision of advance appropriations for the following VA discretionary administration accounts: (1) general operating expenses, (2) information technology systems, (3) the Office of the Inspector General, (4) construction for major and minor projects, and (5) grants for the construction of state extended care facilities and veterans cemeteries.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-11-19
text: Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
action_date: 2013-06-12
text: Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 113-111.
action_date: 2013-05-13
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2013-05-13
text: Introduced in Senate
Supporting Working Moms Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-934
Sponsor: Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR]
Introduced: 2013-05-13 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Labor standards
Women's employment
Women's health
Worker safety and health

Summary:
action_date: 2013-05-13
text: 
Supporting Working Moms Act of 2013 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to extend the requirement that certain employers provide reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child to bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity employees or outside salesmen who are exempt from federal labor laws that limit the number of hours in a workweek. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-05-13
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2013-05-13
text: Introduced in Senate
Quicker Veterans Benefits Delivery Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-935
Sponsor: Sen. Franken, Al [D-MN]
Introduced: 2013-05-13 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Disability and paralysis
Health information and medical records
Medical tests and diagnostic methods
Veterans' medical care
Veterans' pensions and compensation

Summary:
action_date: 2013-05-13
text: 
Quicker Veterans Benefits Delivery Act of 2013 - Prohibits the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), during the six-year period after the enactment of this Act, from requesting a medical examination in connection with a claim for veterans' disability compensation when the claimant submits medical evidence provided by a non-VA medical professional that is competent, credible, probative, and otherwise adequate for making a claim decision.
 
Requires the Secretary, during the same period: (1) to assign a prestabilization disability rating of total, 50%, or 30%, as appropriate; (2) to provide temporary minimum disability ratings for veterans not assigned a permanent rating; and (3) to not count any veteran assigned a prestabilization or temporary minimum rating under any backlog of unassigned ratings.
 
Authorizes the Secretary, during the same period, to certify benefit payments by mail or account deposit before the first day of the month for which such payments are due.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-06-12
text: Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 113-111.
action_date: 2013-05-13
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2013-05-13
text: Introduced in Senate
Transparency in Small Business Assistance Act

Bill: 113-s-936
Sponsor: Sen. Heller, Dean [R-NV]
Introduced: 2013-05-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Business education
Congressional oversight
Government information and archives
Government lending and loan guarantees
Small Business Administration
Small business

Summary:
action_date: 2013-05-14
text: 
Transparency in Small Business Assistance Act - Directs the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to collect, for specified periods, information from small businesses that receive SBA assistance, including a loan, loan guarantee, grant, or counseling services.
 
Requires such information to include: (1) the operational status of the small business concern and, if it is no longer operational, the reason for closure; (2) the number of part- and full-time employees; and (3) the number of referrals that SBA makes to another federal assistance program if it is unable to provide assistance to the concern.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-05-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
action_date: 2013-05-14
text: Introduced in Senate
Protect Against Ideology-Based Targeting Act

Bill: 113-s-937
Sponsor: Sen. Flake, Jeff [R-AZ]
Introduced: 2013-05-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Administrative remedies
Congressional oversight
Department of the Treasury
Government ethics and transparency, public corruption
Government studies and investigations
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Tax administration and collection, taxpayers
Tax-exempt organizations

Summary:
action_date: 2013-05-14
text: 
Protect Against Ideology-Based Targeting Act - Prohibits the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), in reviewing applications for tax-exempt status, from developing or using any methodology that applies disproportionate scrutiny to any applicant for tax-exempt status based on the ideology expressed in the name or purpose of the applicant's organization. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to expand the duties of the Inspector General for Tax Administration of the Department of the Treasury to require reporting to Congress on the number of complaints that allege disproportionate scrutiny of taxpayers who apply for tax-exempt status.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-05-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2013-05-14
text: Introduced in Senate
Franchise Education for Veterans Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-938
Sponsor: Sen. Moran, Jerry [R-KS]
Introduced: 2013-05-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Business education
Employment and training programs
Self-employed
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation

Summary:
action_date: 2013-05-14
text: 
Franchise Education for Veterans Act of 2013 - Allows eligible individuals to use Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) veterans' educational assistance benefits for franchise training. Provides training assistance limits for each 12-month period, prohibiting an individual from receiving more than 12 months and more than $15,000 of such assistance.
 
Authorizes such training assistance under the post-9/11 veterans' educational assistance program, with the same assistance limits.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-06-12
text: Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 113-111.
action_date: 2013-05-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2013-05-14
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to treat certain misfiled documents as motions for reconsideration of decisions by the Board of Veterans' Appeals, and for other purposes.

Bill: 113-s-939
Sponsor: Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT]
Introduced: 2013-05-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Administrative remedies
Judicial review and appeals
Specialized courts
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
Veterans' pensions and compensation

Summary:
action_date: 2013-05-14
text: 
Provides that if a person adversely affected by a final decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals who has not filed a notice of appeal with the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims within the required 120-day period files a document with the Board or the agency of original jurisdiction within 120 days after the Board's decision expressing disagreement with the decision, such document shall be treated as a motion for reconsideration by the Board.
 
Provides that such a document shall not be considered a motion for reconsideration if the Board or agency of original jurisdiction receives the document, determines that it expresses an intent to appeal the decision to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, and forwards the document to such Court within the 120-day period.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-06-12
text: Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 113-111.
action_date: 2013-05-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2013-05-14
text: Introduced in Senate
Graduation Promise Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-940
Sponsor: Sen. Udall, Tom [D-NM]
Introduced: 2013-05-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Academic performance and assessments
Education of the disadvantaged
Education programs funding
Elementary and secondary education
Higher education
School administration
Special education
Teaching, teachers, curricula
Vocational and technical education

Summary:
action_date: 2013-05-14
text: 
Graduation Promise Act of 2013 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make matching grants to states and, through them, subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) for differentiated high school improvement systems targeting support to schools with low student achievement and graduation rates after such schools fail for two consecutive years to make annual measurable growth pursuant to state academic performance standards. Allots grant funds to states pursuant to a formula that favors states with low graduation rates and a high percentage of students attending low-income LEAs.
 
Requires state grantees to establish comprehensive school performance indicators and minimum annual improvement benchmarks for use, in addition to annual measurable growth indicators, in analyzing school performance and determining the improvement category into which a school is placed.
 
 Directs LEA subgrantees to: (1) categorize each of their schools that fail to make annual measurable growth for two consecutive years as needing targeted intervention, whole school reforms, or replacement; (2) convene a local school improvement team for each of such schools that will use school performance indicators, annual measurable growth indicators, and other relevant data to conduct a school needs assessment and develop a multiyear school improvement plan tailored to the school's need categorization; and (3) support the successful implementation of such plans and district-wide high school improvement strategies. 
 
Authorizes the Secretary to award competitive grants to LEAs, nonprofit organizations, and institutions of higher education to develop and implement, or replicate, effective secondary school models for struggling students and dropouts.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-05-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2013-05-14
text: Introduced in Senate
Taxpayer Nondiscrimination & Protection Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-941
Sponsor: Sen. Rubio, Marco [R-FL]
Introduced: 2013-05-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Department of the Treasury
First Amendment rights
Government ethics and transparency, public corruption
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Tax administration and collection, taxpayers

Summary:
action_date: 2013-05-14
text: 
Taxpayer Nondiscrimination and Protection Act of 2013 - Amends the federal criminal code to set penalties of a fine, up to five years' imprisonment, or both, for any Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employee who engages in misconduct that warrants termination of employment (as specified in the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998) during the performance of official duties.
 
Declares that, for purposes of acts and omissions constituting misconduct referred to in that Act, the protections and guarantees afforded under the First Amendment of the Constitution to political speech and political expression shall not fail to be treated as rights under the Constitution.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-05-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2013-05-14
text: Introduced in Senate