hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Restoring America's Watersheds Act of 2014

Bill: 113-s-2916
Sponsor: Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM]
Introduced: 2014-11-12 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Aquatic ecology
Disaster relief and insurance
Endangered and threatened species
Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
Fires
Fishes
Floods and storm protection
Forests, forestry, trees
Government trust funds
Lakes and rivers
Land use and conservation
Parks, recreation areas, trails
Roads and highways
Water quality
Water resources funding
Water use and supply
Watersheds
Wetlands
Wildlife conservation and habitat protection

Summary:
action_date: 2014-11-12
text: 
Restoring America's Watersheds Act of 2014 - Directs the Forest Service to establish a Water Source Protection Program within the region of the National Forest System west of the 100th Meridian. 
 
Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to enter into water source investment partnerships with specified end water users to protect and restore the condition of National Forest watersheds that provide water to non-federal partners. 
 
Allows the Secretary to produce a water source management plan. 
 
Directs the Secretary to establish a Forest Service Legacy Roads and Trails Remediation Program within such region to: 
 
 
carry out critical maintenance and urgent repairs and improvements on National Forest System roads, trails, and bridges; 
 
restore fish and other aquatic organism passage by removing or replacing unnatural barriers to the passage of fish and other aquatic organisms;
 
decommission unneeded roads and trails; and 
 
carry out associated activities. 
 
 
Requires the Chief of the Forest Service to develop a national strategy to implement the Remediation Program. 
 
Directs the Forest Service to establish a Watershed Condition Framework within such region to: 
 
 
evaluate and classify the condition of watersheds,
 
identify for restoration up to five priority watersheds in each National Forest and up to two priority watersheds in each national grassland,
 
develop a watershed restoration action plan for each priority watershed,
 
prioritize restoration activities for each watershed restoration action plan,
 
implement each watershed restoration action plan, and
 
monitor the effectiveness of restoration actions and indicators of watershed health. 
 
 
Reauthorizes the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Fund for FY2015-FY2024. 


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

Bill: 113-s-2918
Sponsor: Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT]
Introduced: 2014-11-12 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Commemorative events and holidays
Elections, voting, political campaign regulation

Summary:
action_date: 2014-11-12
text: 
Democracy Day Act of 2014 - Designates Federal Election Day, the next Tuesday after the first Monday in November in each even-numbered year, as a legal public holiday.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-11-12
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2014-11-12
text: Introduced in Senate
Copyright and Marriage Equality Act

Bill: 113-s-2919
Sponsor: Sen. Leahy, Patrick J. [D-VT]
Introduced: 2014-11-12 in the Senate
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Art, artists, authorship
Intellectual property
Intergovernmental relations
Marriage and family status
State and local government operations

Summary:
action_date: 2014-11-12
text: 
Copyright and Marriage Equality Act - Amends federal copyright law to revise the definition of "widow" or "widower" for purposes of provisions concerning the transfer of a copyright to an author's spouse or other next of kin following the author's death. Declares that an individual is the widow or widower of an author if the courts of the state in which the individual and the author were married (or, if the individual and the author were not married in any state but were validly married in another jurisdiction, the courts of any state) would find that the individual and the author were validly married at the time of the author's death. (Currently, only the author's surviving spouse under the law of the author's domicile at the time of death is considered a widow.)


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-11-12
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S5921)
action_date: 2014-11-12
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S5920-5921)
action_date: 2014-11-12
text: Introduced in Senate
Nazi Social Security Benefits Termination Act of 2014

Bill: 113-s-2920
Sponsor: Sen. Casey, Robert P., Jr. [D-PA]
Introduced: 2014-11-13 in the Senate
Policy area: Social Welfare
Subjects: Citizenship and naturalization
Congressional oversight
Poverty and welfare assistance
Social security and elderly assistance
War crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity

Summary:
action_date: 2014-11-13
text: 
Nazi Social Security Benefits Termination Act of 2014 - Makes any participant in Nazi persecution ineligible for: (1) Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI) benefits under title II of the Social Security Act (SSA), and (2) Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits under SSA title XVI.
 
Requires the Attorney General (AG), as soon as practicable after determining that an individual is a participant in Nazi persecution, to notify the Commissioner of Social Security of the individual's identity and residence.
 
Directs the AG, in cooperation with the Commissioner, to report to Congress specified information regarding such individuals.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-11-13
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2014-11-13
text: Introduced in Senate
Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas Equal and Fair Opportunity Settlement Act

Bill: 113-s-2923
Sponsor: Sen. Tester, Jon [D-MT]
Introduced: 2014-11-13 in the Senate
Policy area: Native Americans
Subjects: Civil actions and liability
Federal-Indian relations
Gambling
Indian claims
Indian lands and resources rights
Indian social and development programs
Land transfers
Texas

Summary:
action_date: 2014-11-13
text: 
Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas Equal and Fair Opportunity Settlement Act - Amends the Alabama-Coushatta Tribes of Texas Restoration Act to repeal a provision prohibiting the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas from conducting gaming activities on its lands if those gaming activities are prohibited by Texas. 
 
Requires the United States and the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe to execute and file in each applicable court a motion for dismissal of any pending claim arising out of or relating to the aboriginal land of the Tribe or an interest in that land.
 
Deems any claim by or on behalf of the Tribe against the United States or the state of Texas for the loss of aboriginal title to be extinguished. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-11-13
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.
action_date: 2014-11-13
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend title 46, United States Code, to exempt old vessels that only operate within inland waterways from the fire-retardant materials requirement if the owners of such vessels make annual structural alterations to at least 10 percent of the areas of the vessels that are not constructed of fire-retardant materials.

Bill: 113-s-2924
Sponsor: Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH]
Introduced: 2014-11-13 in the Senate
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Civil actions and liability
Fires
Marine and inland water transportation
Transportation employees
Transportation safety and security
Worker safety and health

Summary:
action_date: 2014-11-13
text: 
Amends federal shipping law to extend through October 31, 2028, the exemption of certain vessels from the requirement that U.S. passenger vessels having berth or stateroom accommodations for at least 50 passengers be constructed of fire-retardant materials in order to be granted a certificate of inspection.
 
Continues to apply this exemption only to vessels in operation before January 1, 1968, which operate only within the Boundary Line (the dividing point between inland waters and high seas).
 
Requires the owner or managing operator of an exempt vessel to: 
 
 
notify crew members that the vessel does not comply with applicable fire safety standards due primarily to the wooden construction of passenger berthing areas, and
 
make annual structural alterations to at least 10% of vessel areas that are not constructed of fire-retardant materials.
 
 
Requires any noncombustible material requirements prescribed by the Coast Guard (with which an exempt vessel is still required to comply) to be consistent with the preservation of a vessel's historic integrity in areas carrying or accessible to passengers or generally visible to the public.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-11-13
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2014-11-13
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to revise the boundaries of John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System Sachuest Point Unit RI-04P, Easton Beach Unit RI-05P, Almy Pond Unit RI-06, and Hazards Beach Unit RI-07 in the State of Rhode Island.

Bill: 113-s-2926
Sponsor: Sen. Reed, Jack [D-RI]
Introduced: 2014-11-13 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Marine and coastal resources, fisheries
Rhode Island

Summary:
action_date: 2014-11-13
text: 
Revises the boundaries of the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System units in Rhode Island.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-11-13
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2014-11-13
text: Introduced in Senate
Inspectors General Streamlining Act

Bill: 113-s-2927
Sponsor: Sen. Coburn, Tom [R-OK]
Introduced: 2014-11-13 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Accounting and auditing
Computers and information technology
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations

Summary:
action_date: 2014-11-13
text: Inspectors General Streamlining Act - Amends the Inspector General Act of 1978 to authorize each federal agency inspector general, in conducting an audit, investigation, inspection, evaluation, or other review authorized by such Act, to compare any records with other records or non-federal records. Provides that such comparison of records shall not be considered a matching program for purposes of the Privacy Act of 1974 or any other provision of law.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-11-13
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2014-11-13
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to prohibit the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from issuing certain decisions that will raise costs for ratepayers, and for other purposes.

Bill: 113-s-2928
Sponsor: Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY]
Introduced: 2014-11-13 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Electric power generation and transmission
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
Government studies and investigations
Public utilities and utility rates

Summary:
action_date: 2014-11-13
text: 
Requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to publish a cost-benefit analysis before issuing any decision that would either: (1) authorize creation of a new capacity zone, or (2) affect the supply and demand curves or models used to determine prices at points in a capacity zone.
 
Prohibits FERC from issuing any such decision if it determines that such analysis shows that costs will be raised for ratepayers. 
 
 Backdates the effective date of this Act to January 1, 2014.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-11-13
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2014-11-13
text: Introduced in Senate
Providing Opportunities to Work for Energy Reliability Act

Bill: 113-s-2929
Sponsor: Sen. Stabenow, Debbie [D-MI]
Introduced: 2014-11-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Administrative remedies
Contracts and agency
Electric power generation and transmission
Energy storage, supplies, demand
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
Government studies and investigations
Public utilities and utility rates

Summary:
action_date: 2014-11-17
text: 
Providing Opportunities to Work for Energy Reliability Act or the POWER Act - Amends the Federal Power Act to direct the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to review any decision by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NAERC) to approve a new balancing authority that would alter cost allocations under an existing system support resources agreement. 
 
Precludes such new balancing authority from taking effect until approved by FERC.
 
Requires FERC to publish a cost-benefit analysis of the proposed NAERC decision, including its likely financial impact upon ratepayers, before issuing a decision to approve, disapprove, or modify the NAERC decision.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-11-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2014-11-17
text: Introduced in Senate
Clay Hunt SAV Act

Bill: 113-s-2930
Sponsor: Sen. McCain, John [R-AZ]
Introduced: 2014-11-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Department of Veterans Affairs
Drug therapy
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Health personnel
Health promotion and preventive care
Higher education
Home and outpatient care
Medical education
Mental health
Military medicine
Military personnel and dependents
National Guard and reserves
Neurological disorders
Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations
Student aid and college costs
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2014-11-17
text: 
Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act or the Clay Hunt SAV Act - Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to each arrange for an independent third party evaluation of, respectively, the VA and DOD mental health care and suicide prevention programs.
 
Directs the VA Secretary to publish an Internet website that serves as a centralized source to provide veterans with regularly updated information regarding all of the VA's mental health care services.
 
Requires the VA Secretary and the DOD Secretary to enter into certain strategic relationships to facilitate:
 
 
 the mental health referrals of members of the reserve components who have a service-connected disability and are being discharged or released from the Armed Forces, 
 
 timely behavioral health services for such members, 
 
 communication when such members are at risk for behavioral health reasons, and 
 
 the transfer of documentation for line-of-duty and fitness-for-duty determinations.
 
 
Requires the VA Secretary to carry out a three-year pilot program to repay the education loans relating to psychiatric medicine that are incurred by individuals who:
 
 
are eligible to practice psychiatric medicine in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) or are enrolled in the final year of a residency program leading to a specialty qualification in psychiatric medicine, 
 
demonstrate a commitment to a long-term career as a psychiatrist in the VHA, and
 
agree to a period of obligated service with the VHA in the field of psychiatric medicine in exchange for the repayment of such loans.
 
 
Requires the DOD Secretary to submit to Congress a review of the staffing requirements for individual State National Guard Commands with respect to Directors of Psychological Health.
 
Authorizes the VA Secretary to collaborate with nonprofit mental health organizations to prevent suicide among veterans. Requires the collaborators to exchange training sessions, best practices, and other resources to enhance their suicide prevention efforts. Directs the Secretary to select a Director of Suicide Prevention Coordination within the VA to undertake any collaboration with nonprofit mental health organizations.
 
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-11-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2014-11-17
text: Introduced in Senate
Unfunded Mandates Accountability Act of 2014

Bill: 113-s-2931
Sponsor: Sen. Portman, Rob [R-OH]
Introduced: 2014-11-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Economic performance and conditions
Federal Reserve System
Government information and archives
Judicial review and appeals
Monetary policy
Unemployment

Summary:
action_date: 2014-11-17
text: 
Unfunded Mandates Accountability Act of 2014 - Revises rulemaking requirements under the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA) to: (1) require federal agencies to prepare and publish in the Federal Register an initial and final regulatory impact analysis prior to promulgating any proposed or final rule that may have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more (adjusted for inflation); (2) make consideration of the least burdensome alternative to a rule mandatory and require the selection of the least costly, most cost-effective, or least burdensome alternative; (3) extend UMRA requirements to independent regulatory agencies; and (4) expand judicial review of agency rulemaking. Exempts from UMRA requirements rules that concern monetary policy proposed or implemented by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or the Federal Open Market Committee. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-11-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2014-11-17
text: Introduced in Senate
Microlab Technology Commercialization Act of 2014

Bill: 113-s-2932
Sponsor: Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM]
Introduced: 2014-11-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Energy research
Research administration and funding
Technology transfer and commercialization

Summary:
action_date: 2014-11-17
text: 
Microlab Technology Commercialization Act of 2014 - Authorizes the Secretary of Energy (DOE), in collaboration with the directors of national laboratories, to establish a program meeting specified criteria under which DOE sets up microlabs located in close proximity to national laboratories and accessible to the public in order to: (1) enhance collaboration with regional research groups, such as institutions of higher education and industry groups; and (2) accelerate technology transfer from national laboratories to the marketplace. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-11-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2014-11-17
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to prohibit the unauthorized use of electronic tracking devices.

Bill: 113-s-2933
Sponsor: Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY]
Introduced: 2014-11-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Intelligence activities, surveillance, classified information
Motor vehicles

Summary:
action_date: 2014-11-17
text: 
Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit knowingly using an electronic tracking device to determine the location or movement of an individual with the intent to place the individual under surveillance without such individual's consent, except: (1) by a law enforcement agency if the use is not otherwise prohibited by law, (2) by an individual to track a dependent of the individual, or (3) to reasonably protect the health or safety of the individual being tracked. 
 
Defines &quot;electronic tracking device&quot; to mean a device attached to a vehicle that reveals the location or movement of the device through the transmission of electronic signals.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-11-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2014-11-17
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to prohibit trespassing on critical infrastructure used in or affecting interstate commerce to commit a criminal offense.

Bill: 113-s-2934
Sponsor: Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY]
Introduced: 2014-11-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Crimes against property
Historic sites and heritage areas
Infrastructure development
Monuments and memorials

Summary:
action_date: 2014-11-17
text: 
Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit knowingly going upon any critical infrastructure used in or affecting interstate commerce to commit a criminal offense.
 
Defines "critical infrastructure" as a vital physical system or asset, including a national monument, the incapacity or destruction of which would have a debilitating impact on security, national economic security, or national public health or safety.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-11-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2014-11-17
text: Introduced in Senate
STOP Act

Bill: 113-s-2935
Sponsor: Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY]
Introduced: 2014-11-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Child health
Department of Health and Human Services
Drug, alcohol, tobacco use
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Food supply, safety, and labeling
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Health programs administration and funding
Health promotion and preventive care
Higher education
Marketing and advertising
Medical research
Performance measurement
Research administration and funding
Roads and highways
School athletics
State and local government operations
Television and film
Transportation safety and security

Summary:
action_date: 2014-11-17
text: 
Sober Truth on Preventing Underage Drinking Reauthorization Act or STOP Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize the program to reduce underage drinking for FY2015-FY2018.
 
Revises reporting requirements for state programs on underage drinking.
 
 Specifies additional requirements for the development of the national media campaign to prevent underage drinking.
 
Directs the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to make grants to professional pediatric provider organizations to increase effective practices, including the screening of children and adolescents for alcohol use, to reduce the prevalence of alcohol use among individuals under the age of 21, including college students.
 
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to collect data and conduct or support new research on underage drinking that improves and conducts public health surveillance of alcohol use and alcohol-related conditions in states among individuals between age 18 and 20 by increasing the use of surveys, such as the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, to monitor binge and excessive drinking and related harms.
 
Amends the Federal Alcohol Administration Act to prohibit the manufacture, sale, distribution, or possession of powdered alcohol.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-11-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2014-11-17
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to provide that in the case of leases to local education agencies and elementary and secondary schools, consideration may be at or below fair market value or for no consideration.

Bill: 113-s-2936
Sponsor: Sen. Scott, Tim [R-SC]
Introduced: 2014-11-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Educational facilities and institutions
Elementary and secondary education
Military facilities and property

Summary:
action_date: 2014-11-18
text: 
Authorizes the Department of Defense (DOD) to lease non-excess military property to local educational agencies or elementary or secondary schools at or below fair market value or for no consideration.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-11-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
action_date: 2014-11-18
text: Introduced in Senate